Latest from Edinburgh Whisky Blog

Balblair Vintages and Jazz

I think I will be one of the most hated and envied people in Edinburgh when I publish this article. I spent an evening in the Balblair Vintages lounge, listening to the excellent Jazz singer Niki King and supping on some superb Balblair Vintages. Add some tasty canapes, one of the best views in Edinburgh and some lovely company and you get an extremely relaxing and indulgent night. If you want to recreate this experience: purchase some Balbalir and buy Niki King’s album. It is definitely worth it.

Check out Niki King here

Check out Balblair here

Niki King in the middle, Andy Hannah (Balblair Brand Manager) on the left and  John MacDonald (Distillery Manager) on the right

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Glengoyne: The lads day out

Pretty much everyday of my working life, someone will ask me ‘what is your favourite distillery to visit?’. This question is normally answered with  the story of a drunken Uni bus trip (I was not driving. Our bus driver was sober) around the country, visiting Dalwhinnie, nearly making it to Bladnoch (nearly, check out that adventure here) and visiting  Blair Athol. Then I think about it some more, and I say Glenlivet (read about here) was an excellent experience. Their distillery goes the extra mile in terms of education and offers different dimensions to the normal distillery visit format (smuggler’s walking tour as an example). At this moment, the person looks downcast ‘I am based in Edinburgh/Glasgow, and I don’t have my own transport’

The distillery I  always recommend is Glengoyne. This recommendation was based on a leaflet filled with promising experiences, beautiful scenery and lots of enticing drams. I had to go and check it out for myself!

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40 Years at Whyte and Mackay

Richard Paterson Celebrates 40 years at Whyte and Mackay next month. Lucas and I are growing our Tache’s in anticipation!

Press:

RICHARD PATERSON ‘TACHE MOB

Everyone knows about Flash mobs but we want to do something a little bit different.

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Highland Park Tasting

Keep it simple. This is the main point I have taken from a tasting with Gerry Tosh from Highland Park. So let’s keep it simple.

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Whisky Fringe

Guest Writer and drinking buddy, Andreas Mott.

There was a lot of talk about Whisky Fringe. ‘It’s gonna be amazing!’ people would say to me and ‘ best event of the year’. One problem though: It was sold out!  It’s a bit like telling a child there is a toy shop across the road but it’s closed.  Luckily some things are meant to be. I strolled into my local bar, the Albanach, and I was greeted by the cheerful face of Chris. He just happened to be on the phone to a fellow with a ticket. SOLD were my next words.  A short conversation with said fellow and a deal was struck and tickets confirmed.    We were going to Whisky Fringe!

Now, not only was it Whisky Fringe, it was also my 30^th birthday. A night of partying was already on the cards. Whisky Fringe was going to be the perfect warm up.

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A Quick Dram: Milford Single Malt (NewZealand)

Milford Single Malt Whisky
Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand
10 yo, 1993-2004
Ex bourbon cask
43% ABV
Check them out here

Nose: Malty, nutty, heather honey and peaches. It almost smells of the wash-backs it is so malty.  Then this lovely sweetness powers through. Very promising! I almost thought they may have used other grains, like rye, because it had such a prominent grainy, malty nose.

Palate: Zesty and grapey. Call me crazy (Lucas frequently does) but a slight taste of Ribena! Creamy and hints of white chocolate. It really doesn’t need water. A very smooth dram. I have to add water though, just for my own inquisitiveness

Ww: It goes in a citrusy direction. Grassy and green apples.

Finish: Orangey and warming.

Overall: An Awesome whisky! Very drinkable. Dangerously drinkable. Sadly, as far as I understand it, they are not distilling anymore. The stills were dismantled in 1999.

(The Picture below is me getting ready to jump off the Sky tower in Auckland, New Zealand. I just thought the post needed a picture!)

And this is the tower! I wish I had known about Milford Whisky then. It may have steadied my nerves!

Jura Boutique Barrels? You know you want them!

What is a boutique? It is a place on George Street in Edinburgh where my missus goes to buy a piece of fabric made in China, worth more than a couple of bottles of good whisky, which she is only going to wear once. Doesn’t sound like I’m a fan, right? In all honesty even the sound of the word used to give me shivers… but it seems that recent releases from Isle of Jura distillery could change the bad connotation of this word for me. Really.

It is indeed a great summer so far. After that spectacular Balblair 2000 I had a chance to try recently, I also got to work my way through three rather unique expressions of Jura - Boutique Barrels. I’ll put it simply - they were very good. And the Boutique I liked least was still better than the Jura Pap I like most. And Boutique Barrels are cheaper than Paps. And they have a much cooler name!

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Isle of Jura 1995 Boutique Barrel
‘Bourbon JO Finish’
56.5% ABV
£63.95

Nose: A rich nose of elderflower, cedar wood and floor polish with chocolate-coated marzipan lingering in the background. Makes me think of German Market in Edinburgh around Xmass. Water brings out pine forest undergrowth and finally treats me to a glimpse of the signature Juron.

Taste: First smooth then spicy then juicy then bitter. A chameleon of a dram. A bit like licking an unwashed orange. Some nutmeg and black cardamom bite Read More…

Glenfiddich led me astray somewhat…

The picture says it all really. The bottle I received earlier this week in a locked wooden was to celebrate Glenfiddich’s new online toy - a warehouse to explore. Check it out if you want, it’s rather well done. I found it cool from a professional point of view but may not be your cup of tea.

It was a clever attention grabber from Glenfiddich and they got good coverage all over web. Good for them. Quite funny (embarrassing?) how I got to open the thing, though. I think the idea was that someone else would get my padlock code and I would get somebody else’s and we would have to get in touch to open our boxes. For one reason or another I never received the code email though, so I just picked the lock. I know I’m bad but Tim from The Whisky Exchange and guys at caskstrength.net did the same thing as soon as they received their bottles! A bunch of intellectuals, eh? High flyers, crème de la crème, the future of the industry. God help us all.

Lucas

Diageo Special Releases for Autumn 2010 (leak)

Look what a little bird dropped through my bedroom window this morning! A leak on Diageo’s Autumn 2010 Special Releases. I tinkered with the photo a bit to fit it in our blog column but essentially this is the resolution I have and there is no good and easy way to blow it up. But from what I can see there is a Brora in the line-up, possibly another 30yo. Next to it there is an Auchroisk, which I am only mildly excited about to be honest, followed by a no-statement Talisker, Glen Spey 21yo, Glenkinchie 20yo, Caol Ila 12yo Unpeated, Port Ellen 10th Annual Release, Cragganmore 21yo and Lagavuln 12yo CS.

What do you think?

Lucas

A sample well secured

By now I’m quite used to getting wee samples from distillers delivered to me for Chris and myself to try. Usually they come well protected - bubble wrapped and boxed. But as you can see Glenfiddich took sample security a step further and decided to protect me from my own whisky by locking the bloody thing. I have a sneaky feeling I’m going to have to jump through hoops to get the code. And you know what? I’m game. Bring it on.

Lucas