Archive for May, 2009

The Great Islay Adventure: Part One

Today we have a real treat for you. The first part of an amazing travelogue by our guest blogger, representative, ambasador and, above all, a great friend… the one an only, unstoppable, unpredictable, unbelievable - Miss Paula Arthur!
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The adventure began at 12am, Monday 25th May 2009. I’d had 3hrs sleep so it took me until [...]

A Quick Dram: Glenburgie 10 yo

Glenburgie 10 yo
Speyside
40% ABV
£22.50 from here

Colour: Light tan
Nose:  Christmas mince pies, aniseed and lemons. An appetising dram.
Palate: Spicy on the top. Berries, cherries, roses and honey.
Finish: Very sweet.
Overall: 10 years in a mixture of sherry barrels really gives this whisky some lovely flavours, and at £22.50 it’s an absolute bargain.
Person: Andy Murray. Another couple of [...]

Albanach Tasting

It’s the beginning of the summer. The nights are getting warm and the sun seems to be out (for now). It’s time for another Edinburgh Whisky Blog tasting! Any excuse is good I guess.
Change of venue for this one though. The management at the Albanach pub on the Royal Mile have offered us an interesting [...]

You-Know-Who Releases You-Know-What

Newly reopened Glenglassaugh distillery in Banffshire announced a release of a single mash (unusual) batch of their new make spirit. It is 8,160 50cl bottles of their unspoiled by oak, crystal clear, pure and raw Moonshine.
It’s called… “The Spirit Drink that dare not speak its name™”
From Edinburgh Whisky Blog Glenglassaugh distillery hereby receive a one-off [...]

We lost the Kilchoman auction

You may remember that the first ever bottle of Kilchoman from the first cask ever filled at the distillery (2005) was to be auctioned during Kilchoman’s open day of Islay Festival, which happened to be yesterday. Well, it was auctioned. Unfortunately our bid of £20 did not take us very far… one Niels Ladefoged outbid [...]

St. George ain’t that saint no more…

When some time ago David from St. George’s distillery (yes, it is in England) told me he had sent me a sample of their heavily peated spirit I instantly thought it was going to be easy. We would sample some, I presumed, talk it over and then slag it right down for being nasty and [...]

Islay, the Hulk, Oscar the Grouch and the Albanach

For unforseen reasons, Lucas and I couldn’t make it to the Islay Festival. Gutted.
This is a picture of how we look right now:

But don’t worry, we are both big strong lads. A wee whisky followed by a rather larger whisky, and we will be fine.
Just to give you all some notice, we will be organising [...]

Islay Festival Attendance Cancellation

Islay Festival, which has started yesterday, was meant to be the highlight of the year for Chris and me.
Unfortunately an array of unforeseen circumstances led to us no longer being able to go and enjoy our stay there.
I regret to inform you, and I write this almost literally sitting on my packed bag, that neither [...]

Whyte & Mackay, Jura, Mince Pies and much more

What a great night at Leslie’s! After a slow start (everyone looked slightly scared when Lucas and I said “7 whiskies each”) it all got rolling. And then spinning.
Big thanks to Whyte & Mackay for sending Isle of Jura 16 yo and Whyte & Mackay 19 yo. We got the group’s opinions of these whiskies, [...]

Ian Macleod Distillers pull out the 40yo big guns

A few months back, Lucas and I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening watching Champions League football, drinking pints and sampling what we thought was going to be one of Ian Macleod’s biggest weapons in 2009, Smokehead 18yo. You can read our review here. We didn’t realise Ian Macleod so had many weapons left in the [...]