Whisky, whisky and (almost) nothing but whisky!
By Maltmannie
In the North-East of Scotland lies a small town called Oldmeldrum. The following story is told of two elderly gents who were once residents there:
Jock and Jim had been friends all their lives. They had drank a bottle of whisky together for New Year, every year for 60 years. There is no evidence for it, but being local lads it may well have been a bottle of Glen Garioch.
Glengarioch Distillery, Oldmeldrum
Tragedy struck in the late 1980s when doctors told Jock he would not be around for the next New Year. Jim visited Jack in hospital religiously throughout his illness, always hoping for the best. Sometimes Jim would smuggle a little whisky into the hospital for his pal Jock such was his dedication.
Slowly but surely Jock’s health deteriorated. Sensing he may not get another chance he summoned his lifelong friend to give him his last wishes:
Jock: “Jim, we’ve been pals all our lives”
Jim: “Aye Jock, we have.”
Jock: “And every year we’ve drank a bottle of whisky together for New Year”
Jim: “Aye Jock, we have indeed.”
Jock: “Well Jim, I’d like you to do something for me after I’m gone.”
Jim: “Of course Jim, what is it”
Jock: “Jim, I’d like you to pour my half of the bottle over my grave every New Year in memory of all the New Years we have spent together.”
Jim thought about his friend’s request before replying:
Jim: “Jock, I cannae refuse your last wish. I was wondering though, would you mind awfully if I filtered it through my kidneys first?”
By Maltmannie
Whisky for Christmas could be a lifesaver if you leave Christmas shopping to the last minute – it’s widely accessible and can be easily wrapped. But that’s doing whisky for Christmas a great disservice, as there are many more advantages that whisky has as a present, over your other alternatives.
If you can sneak a look at your favourite whisky collector’s prized bottle collection, you’ll know it’s never complete. So your (careful) choice of the right bottle of whisky for Christmas could be the extension of their collection that they were desperate for. Make new friends.
Love Whisky For Christmas
If you love whisky – and also have a partner, why separate the two? A present of whisky for Christmas could be a great way for you to share your hobby with your partner. Remember to keep to your budget though! Because the industry is huge and has many enthusiasts there’s no shortage of outlets and professionals to advise you on your purchase. As part of this, there’s a great range of prices available.
Get In The Christmas Spirit, With Whisky!
Get yourself whisky for Christmas – you deserve a present too! At Christmas and new year (Hogmanay in Scotland) there’s no better time to have a wee bottle or two of single malt waiting by the door for surprise visitors to have a warming dram. Go on, be sociable!
By Maltmannie
Single cask whisky is simply whisky that has come from just one cask. This could mean only 300 bottles of the whisky you are drinking have ever been created. So as you can imagine, this is a whisky- sampling experience that is taken very seriously. Single cask whisky is, therefore no cheap hobby.
Single Malt whisky terminology made simple
If you’re interested in single cask whisky, you may notice that the terms vintage bottling and cask strength bottling also appear in specialist expression collections, as well as single cask whisky. The three can overlap, as many vintage bottlings (and respectively) cask strength bottlings are single cask whisky produced.
How do I know I’ve got real single cask whisky?
Single cask whisky is produced by the malt having just water added to it before it is bottled. In the case of ‘cask strength’ whisky not even water is added. Single cask whiskies are not vatted with whiskies from other casks. You should find on the label of your single cask whisky the number of your bottle, the number of its cask and the dates of distillation and bottling. Your bottle is truly individual and promises the possible of finding a limited supply of your perfect single cask whisky.
By Maltmannie
Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better – Edradour distillery is certainly proof of that. An early 19th-century whisky distillery, in the real farm distillery tradition, Edradour distillery is well worth a visit.
Visitors Are Welcome at Edradour Distillery
The malt barn has been converted into a visitors’ centre in recent years, illustrating the draw and popularity of the tiny Edradour distillery for both whisky enthusiasts and tourists keen to take a wee bit of Scotland home.
Edradour Distillery History
It was 2002 when Edraour distillery became under Scottish ownership once more. This is just one element that makes the working distillery worthy of interest. The old, really easy to understand whisky-making equipment makes the site a truly memorable for young and old visitors.
Where Can We Find Edradour Distillery?
Arguably Scotland’s most picturesque distillery, Edradour distillery is based near and above Pitlochry. The history of Edradour distillery goes back to 1837, with its original establishment in 1825 by a group of Perthshire farmers. And we are lucky that the distillery still exists – it’s thanks in part to William Whitely, known locally as the ‘dean of the distillers’ that it does. He is one of the characters of the distilling industry in the early 1920s – their equivalent of Richard Branson perhaps?
By Maltmannie
Part art, part science, it’s no wonder us non-whisky experts sometimes feel a little out of our depth when confronted with scotch tasting. And scotch tasting isn’t just the taste, like a meal might be – instead you will be greeted with an aroma (nose) that could include scents like marzipan and charcoal. So there’s no one expert-sounding comment that you can throw out in your scotch tasting that will see you through. But here are a couple of the stages most tasters use.
Appearance
Scotch tasting is like wine tasting in this respect: from pale straw to a green (no this is serious) tinge. This aspect of scotch tasting will inform your later flavour-savourings, as it tells you if the malt has matured where and for how long. Colouring can also be added to produce a repeatable product – so the colour can be ‘faked’.
Aroma (undiluted)
Sniff the malt, gingerly, as you swirl it in the glass – this will alert you immediately to the initial elements in the malt’s perfume that will broaden your scotch tasting experience. You may get palate burn from the strong aromas – perfumiers use coffee or cocoa beans to rebalance their nose senses between tastings – you might find this a useful trick. Following on from this, you will also rate the aroma (dilute) and mouth-feel.
Primary taste in scotch tasting
Scotch tasting is one way to remind yourself that your tongue does indeed have different regions which can register differing aspects of one food or drink. What is the initial taste sensation – sweet? And does it change as it travels across to the back of your mouth – hint, most whiskies do this.
By Maltmannie
Edradour whisky sets itself high targets. In the 1920s this single malt was renowned as ‘the world’s most excellent and expensive whisky’: the King’s Ransome expression. Quite some tradition for all future expressions to follow. Edradour whisky is developing a new range, if gossip is to be believed.
Edradour Whisky’s Exceptional Nose
When inhaling Edradour whisky’s aroma for the first time, you could be forgiven for thinking you were with Alan Titchmarsh, such is the overpowering floral scent. Unlike a traditional meal layout, this malt begins sweet and finishes spicy. But if the Edradour whisky isn’t enough of a meal for you, why not try Edradour whisky as an after-dinner drink?
Choose your favourite Edradour whisky
There are five well-known expressions of Edradour whisky. The strongest comes in at 60.2 per cent vol and is as the label proclaims, ‘straight from the cask’, carrying a hot flavour. Unlike a great number of single malts (and the other Edradour single malt whiskies) it’s unchillfiltered – this expression of the Edradour is known as Edradour 1992 and leaves you with a more soothing impression of this highland malt. If neither of these attract you, there’s also a ten-year-old, cask strength and signatory cask strength series to sample.
By Maltmannie
Shiny and rich in appearance, the Whisky Exchange dot com packages its contents well. Miniatures, birthday single malts to extra-special Scotch whisky, whether you’re an expert or just enjoying learning, you’ll find this marketplace ideal to meet your needs.
The Whisky Exchange gives useful practical information about shipping and currency translations. And attractively enough, the most popular single malt whisky searches is displayed as a cloud of words. All the words are linked to their search results, so you can find out what the crowd are hunting this week on The Whisky Exchange.
Overseas Whisky From the Whisky Exchange
Whisky lovers don’t limit themselves to one country’s whisky. So Japanese, American, Canadian and Irish whiskies all get a look in on The Whisky Exchange. The only difficulty in all this is that the site might start to look like it’s overstretching itself, with all spirits and nationalities of whisky on offer. But the site’s not meant to be an encyclopaedia, simply a place to find the spirit you were after. Perhaps best of all the features, if you buy any products through The Whisky Exchange you can track the malt’s progress towards you.
They like a gossip – just like anyone – at The Whisky Exchange. There’s a special section on The Whisky Exchange for new products and whisky news. This is nicely linked in with the rest of the site’s content.
By Maltmannie
Speyside malt whisky is actually many whiskies. Speyside malt is the name given to a variety of whiskies found in the Speyside region of Scotland. The other whisky regions are known as Island, Islay, Highland and Lowland. Speyside malt whiskies are so called due to the Scottish river that their distilleries lie on the banks of, the Spey.
The Speyside Area
The Spey area is well worth a visit to follow a Speyside malt whisky tour. The Speyside malt as an object of study is enough to make even history interesting, with many whisky trails to follow in this region.
There is some debate about where the dividing line lies. So one Speyside malt may have the nose and flavour of a highland malt, while another may be far gentler and similar to a lowland whisky. Depending on how you define the region, Speyside malt whiskies make up half to two-thirds of all malt whiskies.
Speyside Malts separated at birth
Balvennie and Tamdhu are just two examples of the Speyside malt, known for the wide variety of flavours available. Great after-dinner whiskies, some of the Speysides are full-bodied. But lighter bodied malts will be fruity and flowery in nose. The typical Speyside malt is complex and there is a tending towards sweetness. The Speyside malt is usually made from very lightly peated malt.
By Maltmannie
Caol Ila whisky is an Islay malt whisky, and is another Islay whisky growing in popularity. In 2002, three more expressions were launched at the Islay Whisky Festival, to much approval from the crowds. Caol Ila whisky’s distillery is in an excellent location, overlooking the Sound of Islay and with that all-important supply of water from Loch nam Bam.
A flavour loved by many – even if you’ve never heard of Caol Ila whisky. The Caol Ila whisky is not only enjoyed as a single malt, but also blended to produce Johnny Walker and Black Bottle. But the most well-known of the Caol Ila whisky expressions are the 12 and 18-year-olds, which are 43 per cent vol.
What Do The Experts Say About Caol Ila Whisky?
Unlike these professional whisky-drinkers, the rest of us will only ever try a fraction of all the whiskies on offer. David Broom, whisky writer and expert says of Caol Ila whisky ‘This malt is a fantastically balanced Islay with juniper and wet grass/light salt fish subtleties.’ And if you’re looking for a whisky that works well with food, Michael Jackson, another whisky connoisseur, calls Caol Ila whisky a ‘wonderful aperitif’.
But the whisky itself could be described as having an unusual attraction. With a greenish tinge and a finish described as charcoal, Caol Ila has, in the last couple of decades, caught the popular whisky drinker’s vote. And it makes sense therefore, that it’s no longer independently bottled but instead it has been bottled by is owners since 1988-9, showing their recognition of the need to control the supply to add value.
By Maltmannie
Love it or hate it. That’s the challenge from Laphroaig whisky’s owners. And with its reputation for being the most pungent of all Scotch whiskies, Laphroaig whisky has every right to expect extreme reactions from those who sample its awesomely peaty flavours.
Recommended Laphroaig expression: Laphroaig 30-year-old, with a seaweed taste after spending time in sherry casks brought over by the SS Auk.
Laphroaig Whisky – Taste It and See
A true Islay malt, Laphroaig whisky is bound to be peaty – the distillery owns its own peat banks. From one type of warming fuel to another. Rumours abound that the water that the whisky is made from is dark with the traditional firestuff. And instead of the usual ‘hmm, I think the Laphroaig whisky tastes of its source water’ why not try impressing your fellow drinkers by reminding them that the water on Islay taste of whisky. That’s bound to make you sound knowledgeable.
Drink Up Your Laphroaig
Laphroaig whisky’s principal markets are the UK, US, France and Italy, and it consistently rates among the five top-selling malts. But that’s not all. Laphroaig whisky has a royal connection. In 1994 Laphroaig whisky became the only whisky with the right to carry the Royal Warrant of HRH, Prince Charles of Wales. This honour was awarded by Prince Charles himself, during a visit to the Laphroaig whisky distillery.
My name is Andrew, but I post on this blog as "Maltmannie". This blog is dedicated to whisky, which I love! Please note my love is for whisky, not whiskEy. Whisky (without an 'e') is Scotch Whisky, no offence to WhiskEy lovers but Whisky is superior ;)