whiskeria summer 2014

Summer 2014 £3.49 where sold

ISLANDS SPECIAL––––

SPINNINGYARNS OVER ADRAM THE RISE AND RISE OF HARRIS TWEED

+ISLAND HOPPOTTERING ABOUT ON SCOTLAND’S WEST COAST

––––GLENFARCLAS DISTILLERY A FAMILY AFFAIR

––––THE WHISKY SHOP:EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR THE SUMMER SEASON – AND MORE!

––––VICTOR BRIERLEY ON ICE…

The benriach Single MalT ScoTch WhiSky

Established in 1898 and located in the ‘Heart of Speyside’, the

BenRiach Distillery became independent in 2004.

With access to an impressive inventory of maturing whiskies dating

back as far as 1966, our range of expressions is varied both in

terms of age and style, including ‘classic Speyside’, special ‘finishes’,

heavily peated BenRiach and single cask vintage bottlings. www.benriachdistillery.co.ukUNLOCK THE SECRETS

The benriach Single MalT ScoTch WhiSky

Established in 1898 and located in the ‘Heart of Speyside’, the

BenRiach Distillery became independent in 2004.

With access to an impressive inventory of maturing whiskies dating

back as far as 1966, our range of expressions is varied both in

terms of age and style, including ‘classic Speyside’, special ‘finishes’,

heavily peated BenRiach and single cask vintage bottlings. www.benriachdistillery.co.ukUNLOCK THE SECRETS

www.glendronachdistillery.co.uk

The Sherry Caskconnoisseurs

WE ONLY PUT OUR NAME ON THE WORLD’S FINEST SHERRY CASKS.

Nearly 70% of the flavour in whisky is

derived from the cask it has been matured

in. Wood’s important, which is why we

adopt a ‘ no compromise ’ approach when

choosing our world renowned Sherry

casks to enrich our whisky.

The GlenDronach - Highland Single Malt Scotch WhiskyPioneers of sherry cask maturation since 1826www.glendronachdistillery.co.uk

For the facts

Here, the abundance of nature and the centuries-old passion for making single malt whisky conspire to create the generous and multi-layered whisky of Aberlour.

Enjoy Aberlour responsibly

Aberlour_4Oct.indd 1 04/10/2013 12:50

5C H A I R M A N ’ S W E L C O M E

Chairman’s WelcomeIan P. Bankier

Welcome to the second issue of Whiskeria this year. It heralds the start of a busy summer in the UK and particularly Scotland where, in addition to the usual seasonal festivities, Glasgow will proudly host the 20th Commonwealth Games. In this issue our travel piece guides you through the enchanting Western Isles of Scotland and our distillery visit takes you to the heart of Speyside, where the Grant family of Glenfarclas has been making superb Scotch Malt Whisky since 1865. Glasgow would be a good stepping off point for both of these excursions. When we assembled our round up of world news and events for this issue we included an item on wine. We did so, not only because it is an interesting story, but more importantly it resonates profoundly with Scotch Whisky. An Indonesian born wine dealer was found guilty by a New York court of faking and selling over 12,000 bottles of vintage wine at auction for a reputed $1.3m. Meantime, in China, a Government official claims that almost half of first growth Chateau Lafite sold in China is fake. The background here is that over the past 15 years or so, worldwide interest in investing in the top vintages of French wines has grown to such an extent that values and demand reached all-time highs. This class of investment is especially appealing to investors in South East Asia and China. And, sadly, it would appear to have attracted a fair share of crooks and villains. The impact of these and other reported instances of malpractice upon the whole wine investment circle must be shattering. My question is, could the same happen to Scotch Whisky? It is the case that investment activity in vintage and limited edition Scotch Malts has grown substantially. It is also true that the spirits industry has attracted counterfeiters. However, activity thus far has been limited to counterfeiting the leading white spirit and blended Scotch brands. These sell in high volumes across every border in the

world permitting greater opportunity for crime. The brand owners, whose brands are attacked by criminals, each have employed a range of sophisticated devices to trace counterfeiting and I do believe that they are winning the battle. So far as I know, fakers and counterfeiters have not turned towards investable whiskies – yet. I say ‘yet’ because it must only be a matter of time. Some comfort can be taken from the fact that vintage Scotch differs from wine in so far as there are fewer bottles in circulation, making a large scale fraud more difficult. But that is not to say that fraudsters won’t be lured into this attractive arena. I would venture that evidence of counterfeiting will emerge soon. My guidance to investors and collectors, who should be concerned by these unsavoury developments, is as follows. If you are investing in a newly released vintage or limited edition single malt, buy from The Whisky Shop. The very best releases and, therefore, the most investable ones, are extremely limited and are not discounted. We get the largest allocations ahead of the market, straight from the distiller and provenance is thereby guaranteed. If a notable release is offered at a substantial discount to launch price, I would be highly suspicious. Furthermore, be wary of anything old and rare appearing in auctions. The provenance simply cannot be assured, unless it has come to auction straight from the distiller. Above all, do not buy from dealers, middle men or from unlikely sources and be extremely careful with EBay and other internet sellers. And, lastly, if it is too good to be true, then most likely it is!

Ian P BankierExecutive Chairman,

The Whisky Shop

“If you are investing in a newly released vintage or limited edition single malt, buy from The Whisky Shop. We guarantee provenance.”–

For the facts

Here, the abundance of nature and the centuries-old passion for making single malt whisky conspire to create the generous and multi-layered whisky of Aberlour.

Enjoy Aberlour responsibly

Aberlour_4Oct.indd 1 04/10/2013 12:50

6 C O N T R I B U T O R S

7W H I S K Y S H O P . C O M

––Produced by: Ascot Publishing LimitedPO Box 7415 Glasgow G51 9BR ––Contact: [email protected]

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–– Creative Direction: Buro Design Thinking Partners0141 552 1574––Design: Emlyn Firth––Feature Writers: Charles MacLean; Gavin D Smith; Claire Bell; ––Feature Photography: Christina Kernohan––Illustration: Francesca Waddell

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WHISKY SHOP. Opinions expressed in

WHISKERIA are not necessarily those of

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–– Prices effective June 2014. All prices in this edition of Whiskeria are subject to change if Alcohol Duty rates increase.

Claire BellClaire Bell has written on travel for Time magazine, The Herald, The Times, The Guardian and Wanderlust. She lives in Glasgow where she runs The Old Barn-Bookery, a book charity that helps build libraries in disadvantaged schools in her native South Africa. On her recent trip to Islay she fell in love with Laphroaig 18 Year Old, describing it as light and delicious compared to ‘the insanely smoky’10 Year Old.

Gavin D. SmithGavin is one of the world’s most prolific and respected whisky writers, is regularly published in a range of top magazines and has written more than a dozen books on whisky, while co-authoring many more. He is currently preparing a new version of The Malt Whisky Companion.

Victor BrierleyThe face of The Whisky Mavericks, whisky tastings, writer, ex-advertising guy, lover of everything Scottish. Spent time visiting every Scotch whisky distillery but as a new one seems to open (or reopen) every few months, there are now others to catch up on.

Charles MacLeanCharles has published ten Scotch whisky books to date, including the standard work on whisky brands, Scotch Whisky and the leading book on its subject, Malt Whisky, both of which were short-listed for Glenfiddich Awards. He was script advisor for Ken Loach’s 2012 film The Angels Share and subsequently played the part of a whisky expert in the film. He says it’s his biggest career highlight to date.

Summer 2014Contributors

1 0 C O N T E N T S

Summer 2014Contents

1 2 A T I M E I N H I S T O R Y The First World War

1 6 T H E K N O W L E D G E Whisky World Round Up

1 8 M Y C R A F T Dewar’s Brand Ambassador

2 2 W H I S K Y R E V I E W Just In! New Releases

Cover Story:

4 4 M Y W H I S K E R I A Harris Tweed’s Renaissance

5 0 T R A V E L Hop–scotch

5 7 T H E W H I S K Y S H O P

5 8 An Island Hop

6 2 Glenglassaugh

6 6 Off-Piste Dramming

7 0 What the heck… let’s buy the barrel

7 2 Focus on Balvenie

7 4 Focus on Glenfarclas

7 6 More Gift Ideas

8 0 Customer Favourites

8 4 T H E D I R E C T O R Y

8 6 D I S T I L L E R Y V I S I T Glenfarclas

9 0 E X P E R T T A S T I N G Charles MacLean

9 4 O N T H E O T H E R H A N D Victor Brierley – on ice

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1 1W H I S K Y S H O P . C O M

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1 2 A T I M E I N H I S T O R Y

When Great Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914 the Scotch whisky industry was in a relatively fragile state. It had not enjoyed significant recovery from the ‘Pattison Crash’ of the turn of the century, with any signs of optimism in the domestic market being crushed by Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George’s ‘People’s Budget’ of April 1909. The provisions of this budget included an increase in distillers’ licence fees and in duty on spirits by 3s 6d (17.5p), from 11s (55p) to 14 s 6d (72.5p). This was a rise of approximately one-third, and at the same time, beer and wine duty levels were left unchanged. The increase in taxation was ostensibly to help bankroll Lloyd George’s ambitious social reform programme, but the Welshman was also a noted temperance advocate and distillers were predictably furious. In 1914 there were 133 operational distilleries in Scotland, but during the war, supplies of grain were diverted from distilling to the production of explosives and the brewing of beer, though the influence of the temperance movement, as well as military necessity, was almost certainly also at work. With Britain at war, government spending on arms and munitions rose significantly, putting more money into the pockets of employees, which led to an increase in demand for whisky, and for alcoholic drinks generally. Lloyd George seized on excessive drinking as a reason for the shortage of essential supplies reaching the frontline, when in fact it was due to the private sector being overwhelmed by demand for equipment, weapons and munitions.

Gavin D Smith The Scotch Whisky industry had its own battle to fight…

A time in history:

First world war


The Chancellor famously declared that “Drink is doing more damage in the war than all the German submarines put together,” and “We are fighting German, Austrians and drink.” In his budget of 1915, Lloyd George proposed doubling the level of duty on spirits, but as he knew such a measure would be opposed in Parliament by the Irish Nationalists, who held the balance of power, he agreed on a compromise. This was the Immature Spirits Act, which introduced a compulsory period of bonding, initially set at two years, increased to three the following year. In this, Lloyd George was bowing to the unscientific belief among temperance advocates that young spirit caused more drunkenness than mature spirit, and much of the blended whisky on sale at the time comprised spirit aged for no more than two years. 1915 also saw the formation of the Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic), which decreed that whisky could be sold at 35 degrees under proof, or 37.2 per cent, and in areas where major munitions works were situated, along with the naval base of Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth, the state effectively nationalised the drinks industry. One notable example was based around the city of Carlisle, where the country’s largest munitions facility was built in the Scottish Borders, between Longtown and Gretna. Ultimately, the factory employed over 25,000 people, and in June 1916, the Central Control Board took charge of the licensed trade and possession of all licensed premises within an area of 320 square miles, also controlling beer brewing and whisky blending in Carlisle. Almost 40 per cent of public houses were closed and all off-sales licences were revoked. Extraordinarily, Carlisle’s ‘State Management Scheme’ outlived the war and only finally ended in 1971! As a result of the various wartime measures taken, whisky consumption in Britain fell, and in May 1916 the Central Control Board decreed that distillation could only take place in plants licensed by the Ministry of Munitions, with the intention of closing all pot still malt whisky distilleries and using patent stills in grain distilleries to produce industrial alcohol. Voluble protests from distillers followed, causing the government to settle on a plan to allow malt whisky producers to make up to 70 per cent of their average output over the previous five years. However, pot still distillation was banned entirely in June 1917, and the following year there were just eight grain distilleries in production across Scotland. Arguments raged about further reducing strength of whisky – the average before the war had been around 15 to 22 degrees under proof (48.6 per cent to 44.6 per cent abv) – and despite pleas from the industry, in February 1917 it became illegal to sell spirits at more than 40 degrees below proof (40 per cent

abv) in Britain as a whole. The comparable figure in designated areas of munitions production was 50 degrees below proof (28.6 per cent abv). Opposition to these changes was led by the Wine and Spirits Brand Association, but on 23rd May 1917 this organisation became the Whisky Association – later the Scotch Whisky Association – with the intention of lobbying strongly for the future of the industry. The effect of the various government measures was to steadily increase prices of whisky in the marketplace, and while distillers had made money by continuing to export their products during the war, this practice was banned from January 1918 in order to preserve stocks for domestic consumption.The 1918 Budget saw duty on whisky doubled, while a compulsory retail price of nine shillings (45 pence) per bottle of 70 degrees below proof blended whisky was agreed upon. The effect of this was that distillers released very little whisky during the last few months of the year, and consumption fell dramatically. Indeed, in Scotland it dropped to its lowest level since the Excise Act was passed in 1823! The end of the war in November 1918 led to a relaxation of most wartime legislation which had hit the whisky industry hard, though the amount of whisky permitted for export was limited, and the Budget of 1919 raised duty by two-thirds, while the fixed price of a bottle of whisky was only raised by three shillings (15 pence), or around half the additional duty. This was one reason why peace was not to herald a return to great posterity for the Scotch whisky industry, either at home or abroad, with global recession and total US Prohibition also looming. However, in the long-term, Lloyd George’s relentless campaigns against the whisky industry actually served it well. Ironically, the imposition of a minimum maturation period ultimately led to whisky gaining a reputation for consistency and higher quality, while the formation of what was to become the Scotch Whisky Association created a trade body dedicated to the successful protection and promotion of Scotch whisky around the world.

The Chancellor famously declared that “Drink is doing more damage in the war than all the German submarines put together… we are fighting Germans, Austrians and drink.”

1 6 T H E K N O W L E D G E

INDIA DIAGEO MOVES ON USL

Diageo is seeking to increase its stake in USL, the Indian Spirits Division of United Breweries, the group formerly controlled by the force behind Force India Formula One Team, Vjay Mallya. This demonstrates Diageo’s commitment to becoming No 1 in India, as this move may restrict them from doing other niche drinks acquisitions in the near future.

USA POWDERED ALCOHOL TO BE LAUNCHED

A company called Lipsmark in the US plans to launch a powdered alcohol called Palcohol. Although they are still working with The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to obtain approval for labels and the amount of powder in each bag, Lipsmark plans to launch its product this autumn in a range of six different flavours. The principle versions will be Vodka and Rum and in addition there will be four cocktail versions. To activate, mix with the prescribed amount of water. No news of a whisky powder – thank goodness!Not surprisingly the proposal is controversial!Apparently, powdered alcohol products are already available in countries including the Netherlands, Japan and Germany.

JAPAN/USA SUNTORY ACQUIRES JIM BEAM

Japanese Drinks Group, Suntory has completed its USD 13.6 billion acquisition of Jim Beam. Its completion sees Suntory become the world’s third largest drinks group, behind Diageo and Pernod Ricard.The acquisition will bring together Beam’s brands, which include the world famous Laphroaig single malt and Cooley Irish Whiskeys and on a bigger scale Jim Beam, Sauza Tequila and Courvoisier Cognac, with Suntory’s leading Japanese whiskies Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki, and Kakubin. Combined sales of Beam Inc and Suntory’s spirits business were $4.6 billion in 2013. The new company will be headquartered in Beam’s main office in Deerfield Illinois, creating a stronger distribution presence for Suntory’s portfolio in the US.

CHINA PREMIUM SPIRITS BITTEN BY AUSTERITY DRIVE

The austerity and anti-corruption drive in China could cost the economy some $100 billion this year, according to a consensus of forecasting groups. Certainly the crackdown on ostentatious consumption by officials and functionaries is being keenly felt by the producers of luxury goods, especially premium spirits.

K N O W L E D G E B A R :W O R L D U P D A T E


UK EMPERADOR BUYS WHYTE AND MACKAY

Following a highly competitive bidding contest, Drinks Group Emperador, based in the Philippines and quoted on the Manila Stock Exchange has agreed terms to purchase 100% of Whyte and Mackay. It is thought that more than 20 bidders were involved in the process. The deal now requires a number of conditions to be met before it legally completes. The shareholders of USL and the Office of Fair Trading (now called the Competition and Markets Authority) each need to approve the transaction in addition to a related approval from the Reserve Bank of India before legal ownership of the business can transfer. There is no fixed or rigid time for how long these approvals will take to obtain, but it could take a few months. Emperador Brandy was the No 1 selling brandy and the No 2 selling spirits brand in the world by volume in 2012. Emperador, headed by Chairman Mr Andrew Tan, is in turn controlled by the Alliance Global Group, a listed Filipino conglomerate.

NEW YORK – FRANCE - CHINA

COUNTERFEIT WINE

A 37 year old Indonesian born wine dealer, Rudy Kurniawan, is facing up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced after he was found guilty of several counts of fraud by a New York Jury. Between 2004 and 2012, Kurniawan is believed to have manufactured 12,000 bottles of fake vintages which he then sold at auction in 2006 for $1.3 million before using the counterfeit wines as collateral to secure a loan of $3 million.Meanwhile, a Chinese Government official has claimed that almost half of first growth Chateau Lafite sold in China is fake. China is battling a serious counterfeit problem with fine wines mostly purchased for investment. Government official, Xinshi Li described the existence of boats being used as “faking stations” as the most “shocking” aspect of China’s counterfeit market.The boats are believed to be making not only Château Lafite fakes but many other high-end Bordeaux fakes, using low-end wine to maximise profits.

S T O P P R E S S

The Whisky Shop wins prestigious award!

» The Whisky Shop has been named Best Specialist Drinks Retailer of the Year at the prestigious Harpers

Awards 2014 held recently in London’s Hurlingham Club.

The Harpers Awards bring all

channels of the wine and spirits

trade together to celebrate success

across all the sectors, including

the retailer, supplier and hospitality

sectors.

The judging criteria included

the diversity of our offer, our

commitment to responsible and

sustainable retailing and our

commercial performance and growth

strategy for the year ahead.

M Y C R A F T1 8

The Ambassador’sReflections: Andy Gemmell, Global Brand Ambassador for Dewar’s Whisky

“A good bartender can find a malt or a cocktail for any occasion and time of day.”


Andy Gemmell is Global Brand Ambassador for Dewar’s, the iconic Scotch Whisky Blend. Dewar’s White Label is a brand that resonates with the older generation of UK whisky drinkers. In the 1960s and ’70s it was riding high as one of the top selling brands in the UK. It was even associated with 007 James Bond. Then suddenly The Distillers Company withdrew it from the domestic market in reaction to a challenge it received regarding its European pricing policy. However, the brand continued to prosper in other markets, notably the USA. Under the relatively new ownership of Bacardi Brown Forman, it is steadily being revitalised in the UK. Andy Gemmell (36) is the brand’s Global Ambassador, and his special interest is working on the education of classic cocktails using whisky. What’s your career background and how did you get into your present role? I always thought I would be a footballer growing up, but after a bad injury I had to change that idea pretty quickly. So I started helping out in my uncle’s pub and realised I had a natural way with people and, most importantly, I liked making them happy – a good quality in a hospitality person which is forgotten a lot of the time.

At the age of 20 I was running two bars in my home town on the west coast, and the next step was a move to Glasgow and a bartender role at TGI Fridays. I then worked in some of the UK’s top bars developing my craft before starting Scotland’s first bar consultancy company, Liquid Assets. I have been lucky enough to have travelled the globe working and training in several countries including Japan, Taiwan, Greece, Spain and America in some of the world’s best bars.

In January of 2006 I joined forces with Wayne Collins at Maxxium UK and was appointed by global drinks company Maxxium Worldwide as a senior manager of their ‘Mixxit’ training project. We devised innovative training and education programmes to encourage bartenders around the world to enhance and develop their own spirit knowledge and bartending skills. I also had a regular slot on Scottish television’s ‘The Hour,’ and I write a weekly bar review column in The Sunday Herald and contribute to some of Scotland’s top trade publications. What is a brand ambassador and what do you do? I travel the world educating and inspiring people, not only about ‘my’ whiskies but about Scotland and whisky as a category. That’s an important thing for me – I’m not just here to push cases. I also host visitors at our brand home in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, and work on new product creation. For me an ambassador is a hugely important role for drinks brands (I would say that though!). They are the embodiment of the product; they live out its values and have a pretty great time in the process!

It sounds very exciting – is it? It can be. You can just imagine my family back home in Greenock when I fill them in on what I’ve been up to with work. I’m pretty sure my dad has no concept of what my role actually is; with him being a painter in the shipyards it must seem like the most ridiculous job in the world. There are, however, tough times being away from my partner and kids, but it all balances out in the end and at least I’ll have plenty of stories to tell when I’m old.

What impact do you think you make on the fortunes of the brand? It’s pretty hard to measure, but I believe I secure brand loyalty through my sessions. I’m honest and straight to the point - no magical whisky fairies in the talks, I hope people trust me and the story I tell as it’s all true and hopefully that impacts on the fortune of the brand. You specialise in cocktail making. Why have you chosen this particular facet of whisky drinking? I’ll probably get taken out here by the old Scotch snipers, but I believe you should do whatever you want to do with whisky. Of course you should be flicked on the ear if you mix something that is too good to be mixed, but for blends and younger malts then go for it! If it’s getting folks into our category then can it be a bad thing? Whisky cocktails offer a platform for the category to get a new demographic interested in it - and they should be, given the craft and history involved in making it. How is cocktail drinking trending at the moment? I would say we are going through a golden era in cocktails and the trend at the moment seems to be that less is more incorporating good quality ingredients with a great base spirit. There is a great trend just now for foraged ingredients, and home-made tonics and syrups, which works particularly well with whisky due to its earthy flavour compounds. Who drinks cocktails? Who are you particularly targeting? There is a cocktail for anyone, I even had my father-in-law, who is more of a single malt man, enjoying a Dewar’s Old-Fashioned the other day and he loved it! It’s great to see mixed drinks starting to be treated like good cooking, because ultimately that’s what it is, and there are more and more people now experimenting with mixing drinks at home. One of the challenges for single malt whiskies is that the occasions when they are to be drunk are considered to be limited. Can the same be said of cocktails? I think it comes down to who is making it. A good bartender can find a malt or a cocktail for any occasion and time of day. There is a myth that these are much stronger drinks than wines and beers but that isn’t necessarily true.

2 0 M Y C R A F T

Whisky has a relatively powerful flavour. Does that hold it back as a cocktail ingredient? You do certainly have to respect it more when using it in mixed drinks. One of the key philosophies to making a good drink is to bring out nuances of the base ingredient, and there are many nuances in whisky. So it’s a challenge but way more interesting than using vodka. Which whisky cocktail is your favourite? Is it easy to make at home? When is the ideal time to drink it? The Penicillin, created by legendary bartender Sam Ross in 2005. It’s basically a Whisky Sour with honey and ginger syrup and a splash of peated malt over the top. It’s a really well balanced drink which appeals to lots of tastes. What do you think of pre-mix cocktails that can be picked up in supermarkets? They have their place, although nothing beats the real thing. I reckon demystifying the mixology techniques so that more folks could create them at home would encourage more people to try cocktails. I feel like there are two kinds of consumer in the modern world; people who just want things done quickly and those who want them done right. What are the do’s and don’ts of cocktail making? Do smile and try to have fun. Too many bartenders take it too seriously. Do listen to what people want, even if it’s ‘not cool’. Don’t add the coke to a Long Island ice tea, then shake it as it will explode, soak you and around 20 customers. That definitely didn’t happen to me the first time I made it… What are the special characteristics of Dewar’s? What’s the best way to drink it? How important is ice? What’s the best mixer? Dewar’s as a portfolio has a honeyed, fruity character and is ideal for mixing. Ice is very important, as the more of it you have, the colder your drink will be, and the colder it will stay for longer. However, I do love a Dewar’s 18-year-old with one lump of ice, slowly letting it dissolve while I enjoy it. Watching a bartender in Tokyo in 2002 create an ice ball from a solid block of ice changed my bartending career. I do love a simple Dewar’s Highball, but created with the Japanese Mizuwari technique

If you were choosing a single malt (not from the Dewar’s/Bacardi stable) which one would you choose and why? At the end of the night there is nothing quite like a Lagavulin 16-year-old as we have no peated malts in our portfolio – as yet! What advice would you give to someone just starting to get into single malts? Try each one more than once. The more you taste them, the more you will discover the depth of their flavours. Have an open mind. Don’t get stuck in your ways, like the guys who only drink Islay malts. The industry has finally embraced innovation and there are some amazing malts out there.

And what advice would you give to someone wanting to have a shot at making cocktails? Go wild! The great thing about making drinks for yourself is that you know what you like. Balancing the flavour is important but the best way to work that out is to try. Technique and knowledge can come later, so go for it and get experimenting. Many drinkers are irrationally ill disposed to whisky. They either like or are neutral about everything until it comes to whisky and then the population seems to split into extremes. Do you agree with this assessment and if so what can be done about it? Of course there is the old adage that “My dad/uncle made me try it when I was younger,” that stops people enjoying it when they are older. I feel that across the world people feel a connection to whisky and to Scotland and have an opinion on it, as it’s one of the world’s most famous ‘ brands’ and no-one comes close to us for the way we create whisky and for its history and heritage. I do believe most people can enjoy whisky, but we need to remove the barriers of the archetypal older-male-whisky drinker to express that. Do you think blended Scotch will make a big come-back in the UK? I really hope so and not just for Dewar’s. Bartenders and their top-end bars are where brands and categories are built in my opinion, and I have recently felt a new respect for blended Scotch amongst this group. They are starting to realise and respect the time and care that has gone into its creation and no longer think of it as malts’ wee cousin from the council estate down the road. Do you think that the people of Scotland should know a lot more about their national drink? I believe they should, although I believe they know more than they used to. I’ve seen a lot more relatively young people interested in our national drink, males and females, and I believe the interest will only grow. People all over the world love our whisky and would give anything to have our national spirit as their own. That’s something we as a nation should be incredibly proud of. Being a brand ambassador is perhaps not an obvious career choice – did you choose it or did it choose you? It chose me, I think a combination of enjoying being the centre of attention and educating people stood me in good stead for the role, it was either that or one of those guys you see on QVC trying to sell you a blender. Guess I got lucky! What kind of person do you need to be to succeed at what you do? Professional. People don’t believe that, but it’s true. You can get caught up in the endless nights out entertaining, exotic locations and so on, so it’s important that you focus on the way you are doing it and stay professional at all times – unless someone plays a Michael Jackson track, that’s my weakness!


@ALEXHONNOLD TO ME, THE TRUE RISKWOULD BE NOTTO CLIMB EVERY DAY#LIVETRUE

DRINK RESPONSIBLY. BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY 40% ALC. BY VOL.©2013 IS A TRADEMARK.

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2 2 W H I S K Y R E V I E W

New releases – Summer 2014 Charles MacLean runs

the rule over the latest products to hit The Whisky Shop shelves


Johnnie Walker Blue Label was introduced in 1992 and won the International Wine & Spirits Competition Gold Medal for ‘The Best Blended Whisky in the World’ the following year – the first of many prizes. At the time it was positioned at the very pinnacle of the de luxe market, in terms of price and packaging – since its launch there have been many more super-de luxe blends, not least from the House of Walker itself – but perhaps the most innovative feature of the brand was that it did not bear an age statement. This has also become inceasingly commonplace, but was un-heard of in 1992, especially for such an expensive Scotch.

I worked with Dr. Jim Beveridge, Johnnie Walker’s Master Blender, on early ‘advertorial’ promotions. Not surprisingly, my first question was “how do you justify not stating the whisky’s age?” Jim is a shy, modest and scholarly craftsman – a stranger to hyperbole and promotional puffery. Here is what he told me: “We use some very old malts in Blue Label – up to 60 years old – but the blend is not about simply, ‘being old’ – that’s why it bears no age statement. “We balance these old malts with younger grain whiskies (between 10 and 20 years old), otherwise their precious individual characteristics would be lost. The blend would also lose vitality.” “Likewise, some of the malts we use are very rare – either because there is not much around, or because the individual casks selected are superlative examples of the make - but, again, we don’t use them simply for this reason, we use them because they each contribute to the overall composition.” “In order to allow individual contributions to impact on the blend, we use only a small number of constituents – around fifteen malts and grains. So the personality of each of these old or rare whis-kies works harmoniously with the others in creating the ‘organised whole’: something which is more than the sum of its parts”. Next we spent an afternoon trying to discover ‘the per-fect serve’ for Blue Label – straight, with ice, a drop of water, different glasses. After several hours of experimentation – well, someone has to do it! – Jim gave a small cry: “I think I’ve got it”. He had rinsed his mouth with iced water, and then tasted the whisky straight, from a brandy snifter. It was like velvet! Truly remarkable! I eagerly joined him. The key is to chill your palate – I prefer to put an ice cube in my mouth for a few seconds; Jim prefers taking a mouthful of well-iced water – then take a sip straight. Incredible! Later I asked Jim why this should be so. “The most distinctive features of very old, mature whiskies is their complexity of f lavour and their thickness of texture. By adding water directly to a glass of Blue Label, the f lavours trapped by the spirit are released into the atmosphere. We can smell them, sure, but we lose a lot of taste.” “If we taste without adding water, the effect of the alcohol can overpower the complexity. By chilling the palate first, and covering it with a film of water, we a) retain the smooth mouthfeel and b) release the f lavours gradually, directly into the mouth.” “It makes for a wonderful experience – and it can only be achieved with very special whiskies like Johnnie Walker Blue Label!” I think we can allow him this final little puff! Each bottle of this Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ryder Cup Limited Edition is individually numbered and the distinctive design of the bottle depicts the unforgettable, classic view of the iconic Gleneagles Hotel, and celebrates the return to Scotland after 41 years of The Ryder Cup.

Johnnie WalkerBlue Label Ryder Cup Edition–B l e n d e d S c o t c h W h i S k y 4 0 % V o l | £ 2 2 5

Tasting Note Dull amber in colour. A complex aroma which balances freshness (raspberry jam, fudge) and maturity (soft leather, musk, furniture polish). In the mouth, the whisky’s smooth viscosity is immediately apparent. The first taste is sweet and honeyed, then lightly citric, then dry and nutty. As your palate warms, other layers of flavour emerge: toffee, dark chocolate, tobacco, nutmeg – all against an understated back-drop of scented smoke. In the after-taste, a trace of beeswax is a reminder of the viscosity noted at the start.


Balvenie 15 Years Old1 5 Y e a r s O l d –s i n g l e B a r r e l s p e Y s i d e M a l t W h i s k Y | 4 7 . 8 % V O l £ 8 0

Four years after he had built Glenfiddich Distillery, William Grant bought twelve acres of adjacent land, including ‘The New House of Balvenie’. The Old ‘House’ or Castle of Balvenie is a massive medieval keep which stands not far away, its sturdy walls veiled by trees, overlooking the site of the Grant Distilleries. Balvenie House was actually a neo-classical mansion, com-missioned in 1722 by William Duff, later 1st Earl of Fife, from the prominent architect James Gibbs, who had just completed the church of St. Martin in the Fields in Trafalgar Square. It is said that Duff built the house for ‘a beautiful countess’ (not his wife), who had been gifted a greyhound by a local admirer. The dog turned out to be rabid. It bit her and she soon died of hydrophobia, as a result of which the house was abandoned by its owner. It had been lived in for only eight years, and had been derelict for eighty years when William Grant bought it. The new distillery went into production on 1st May 1892, with the old mansion house being converted into a maltings. In 1929 the upper storeys were demolished, and the lower storey turned into Warehouse 24. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman… Balvenie Distillery prides itself on ‘doing everything in-house’. The distillery grows its own barley (albeit only a tiny amount), has its own floor maltings (producing about 10% of

its requirement), its own coppersmiths and coopers, and its own bottling facility. Balvenie single malt was first bottled in the early 1970s, in the iconic ‘triangular bottle’ used by Glenfiddich and Grant’s Standfast blend (I have been told it was designed by Prince Ingvar Bernadotte, brother of the King of Sweden, but this is denied by Grants). From 1982 Balvenie Founder’s Reserve was filled into a striking ‘vintage champagne’ bottle, while Balvenie Classic went into an oval f lask. The equally stylish current bottle-shape dates from 1993. The label of the 15 Years Old is signed by David Stewart, Balvenie’s ‘Whisky Master’, who might be described as ‘The Grand Old Man’ of the Scotch whisky industry. He joined Wil-liam Grant & Sons in 1962, aged seventeen. At the dinner held to mark his 50th year with the company, Peter Gordon, Grant’s managing director, read out the report to management after his interview. It concluded simply: “He’ll do…” ! David retired as Malt Master last year, although he still acts as a brand ambassador and mentor. He is universally respected throughout the industry, especially as an innovator, although this distinguished example of Balvenie, drawn from a single 500 litre butt made from Spanish oak and seasoned with sherry, has been matured in the traditional way.

Tasting Note Deep amber in colour, suggesting Spanish oak maturation which is confirmed by the nose, which starts briefly with scents of scrambled egg and develops into dried fruits (with Maraschino cherries and maybe some lemon peel) and fruit cake, slightly waxy. A lightly sweet taste to start then dry over all, with dark chocolate in the aftertaste


William Grant Rare Cask ReservesO V E R 2 5 Y E A R S O L D–4 7 % V O L | £ 2 5 0

On 10th March this year, a group of us travelled to Dufftown on the invitation of William Grant & Sons, to choose whiskies which would be specially bottled for The Whisky Shop. I was accompanied by Darren Leitch (National Retail Man-ager at The Whisky Shop), Scott Dunn (Manager of The Whisky Shop in Inverness), Alan Mitchell and Phil Fraser, two enthusi-astic customers of The Whisky Shop who had won the privilege of helping to select casks and ensure fair play! We were generously hosted in Glenfiddich’s recently opened ‘Family Room’ – for V.I.Ps only! – by members of the Wm. Grant team (who also joined the tasting), and after a compre-hensive tour of the distillery, were admitted to Brian Kinsman’s inner sanctum and blending room. Brian is the company’s Malt Master, responsible for the quality and consistency of William Grant’s malts, Glenfiddich and Balvenie, Girvan singe grain, and Hendrick’s gin, as well as the company’s best-selling blend Grant’s Family Reserve. An awesome responsibility. He is only the sixth Malt Master/Master Blender in the company’s history and succeeded the legendary David Stewart last year – a difficult act to follow (see Balvenie 15YO, p.24). There was a full and interesting interview with Brian Kinsman in the last issue of Whiskeria. From our point of view – about to judge and choose a blended malt, a blended grain and a blended Scotch whisky – his reply to the question “What changes would you imagine lie ahead for the whisky industry?” was particularly interesting: “I think age remains very, very important for certain products and I think it’s not so important for others. I think we will get to a

place where it is appreciated in the right context. There are certain times when you want the reassurance of a 12 year old age statement and other times when you want a certain f lavour profile that actu-ally the age statement almost prevents you from achieving. The nice thing about taking an age statement off means that the balance you can get when balancing an old whisky with a young whisky, blended together, is totally different from, for example, a 12 year old” [and see Jim Beveridge’s comments about Johnnie Walker Blue Label, p.23]. To get us going, we first looked at two samples of blended grain whisky at natural strength and over 25 years old, which Brian Kinsman had created from four single grain. They were similar but different; six out of eight of us chose sample two, although the tasting notes for each were quite similar. Then we looked at three blended Scotch whiskies, all at natural strength, and each made from a relatively narrow palette of 12 to 15 malt and grain whiskies. This time the choice was unanimously in favour of the richest of the bunch. Finally, the most difficult challenge was to vat our own blended malt. Brian provided us with a base malt which had already been blended and four single malts (Glengarioch, To-mintoul, Cragganmore and Bowmore) all over 25 years old and drawn from a range of cask-types. We formed five sub-groups, produced a trial blend each, discussed them as a whole group, then started tweaking. Without giving anything away, our final recipe was: 40% base malt, 5% malt A), 30% malt B), 20% malt C), 5% malt D). Then we tasted it at various strengths and decided to settle on 47%.

Tasting Note Deep amber. Slight nose prickle, but generally nose cooling. A light mossy note to start, with some baked apple and burnt toffee. With a little water, it still remains dense, then comes an artificial lavender scent. The taste is sweet then dry and slightly bitter, with a surprising spiciness; with water the taste is less sweet/dry, with a very light smokiness in the finish.

Tasting Note Full gold in colour, with bigger body than most grain whiskies. A sweet, lightly cereal nose (vanilla sponge), faintly herbaceous, and even lighter with water, with a hint of oaky spice. A sweet, cooling mouthfeel, then drying; a light sweetness, with violets, then a tart oakiness; still some spice (nutmeg, white pepper).

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Tasting Note Deep amber colour, and a relatively gentle nose-feel. The nose clearly indicates American oak – sawdust, oak shavings, bourbon. Behind this, fresh red apples, with a touch of cinnamon, and buttery vanilla sponge. A pleasant texture and a sweet taste to start (with clover flowers), becoming drier, with oak notes in the middle.

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NOW AVAILABLE IN THE UK

DIA_11025 Singleton Sunfire and Tailfire BF Whiskeria.indd 1 16/02/2014 13:03


Caol Ila 17 Years Old–S i n g l e M a l t S C O t C H W H i S k y f r O M O l d M a l t C a S k5 0 % V O l | £ 1 2 0

I have written about Bunnahabhain Distillery elsewhere in this magazine: Caol Ila [pronounced ‘Cull-eela’] stands at the south-eastern end of the same stretch of water, the Sound of Is-lay, which gives its name to the distillery, close to the ferry point to Jura at Port Askaig. It’s a pretty situation – the view from the still-house, with its huge picture-window, overlooking the Sound, the mountainous ‘Paps of Jura’ as a backdrop, is as good as any view from any distillery – but it cannot have been an easy site to build on: in the 1880s the great Victorian distillery visitor, Alfred Barnard, described it as being “on the very verge of the sea… in a deep recess of the mountain [what!?], mostly cut out of the solid rock”. In spite of its remoteness, the site was chosen on account of the access it allowed to the sea for importing barley, coal and casks and exporting whisky to the mainland. Also because of a fast-running stream flowing out of Loch nam Ban, capable in the early days of generating power as well as supplying process and cooling water. In his most lyrical vein, Barnard describes the loch “over which, ever and anon the fragrant breeze from the myrtle and blooming heather is wafted”. The distillery was established as early as 1846, but the founder and his successor both went bankrupt. Then it was tak-en over (in 1863) by the well-known Glasgow blender, Bulloch

Lade & Company, who extended it substantially in 1887 (includ-ing building a fine pier, permitting access at any state of the tide) to supply traditional, smoky whisky to the blending trade.

For a time in the early 1920s it was managed by Robertson & Baxter, another well-known Glasgow blender and broker (now part of Edrington, which owns The Famous Grouse, Macallan and Highland Park Distilleries), who spent a lot of money mak-ing general improvements and reducing costs. But R&B faced difficulties in the mid-1920s and both Bulloch Lade and Caol Ila Distillery were acquired by the Distillers Company Limited, with whom it remains under their new name, Diageo. The original distillery was demolished in 1972 (apart from the three-storey warehouse which stands nearby) and replaced by a larger and more efficient building, with the aforementioned picture-window in the still-house and six rather than 2 stills. In 2011/12 it was again expanded to increase capacity by 700,000 litres of pure alcohol, to 6.4 million litres. The make was entirely used for blending until 1989 when a single malt was released by its owner in their well-loved ‘Flora & Fauna’ series, at 15 years old. Since 2002 many more bottlings have been released by Diageo.

Tasting Note A tawny colour; dull gold. Good beading. A full-on nose which combines carbolic soap with peat smoke, and after a short while fills the room! Further concentration reveals toffee and damp wool, but all clean and fresh as a sea-breeze. Water just reduces all this, in balance. The first taste is oily-smooth, sweet, salty, iodine-medicinal, with charred sticks in the finish. With water it is even sweeter; otherwise similar, though less smoky. Drinks well straight.


Dailuaine 21 Years Old–S i n g l e M a lt S C O t C H W H i S k y f r O M O l d M a lt C a S k5 0 % V O l | £ 1 2 5

Dailuaine (pronounced ‘Dal-Ewan’) means ‘the green valley’. So does ‘Glenfarclas’: Gaelic is a confusing language! The valley or dale in question is on the south bank of the River Spey, created by the Carron Burn and not far from Carron village itself, just across the river. The site was chosen by a local farmer, William Mackenzie, in 1851; in 1879 he was succeeded by his son, Thomas, who soon embarked upon a major expansion, employing Charles Doig of Elgin, who would soon be recognised as the leading distillery designer of the day. It was at Dailuaine that ‘the Doig Ventillator’ – what we know as the ‘pagoda roof’, now the distinguishing architectural feature of a malt whisky distillery – first appeared. This style of kiln was designed to draw heat and smoke through the bed of green malt more rapidly than previous kilns were capable of, in order to inhibit peat smoke adhering to the damp husks and imparting flavour to the spirit. Thomas Mackenzie went on to build Imperial Distillery at Carron in 1897 – this was demolished last year and has been rebuilt on a much larger and more modern scale. He also amalgamated with Talisker Distillery on the distant Isle of Skye the next year to form Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries Ltd, with himself as chairman and managing director. When he died without heirs in 1915, Dailuaine-Talisker was bought by its

principal customers, John Walker & Sons, James Buchanan & Co., John Dewar & Sons and the Distillers Company Limited. Next year Dailuaine was badly damaged by fire and had to be substantially rebuilt, now with four stills and electric lighting from its own generator. A further major reconstruction took place in 1959/60, when the floor maltings were converted to Saladin boxes – malting was done on site until 1983 [see Tamd-hu 12YO, p.33] - another pair of stills was added and mechanical coal-stoking was introduced. Between 1897 and 1939 a ‘saddle-tank’ locomotive was used to transport barley, coal and casks of whisky to and from the distillery and Carron Station. She was “a joy to behold”, with bright paintwork and polished brassware, according to a retired British Rail engine driver, and is now to be seen outside Aberfeldy Distillery. Ranked ‘First Class’ by blenders, Dailuaine has always been blending whisky – it was not bottled by its owners until 1991, in the ‘Flora & Fauna’ edition highly esteemed by connoisseurs - and is still uncommon. It is famously full-bodied, rich and meaty, and takes sherrywood maturation well – the proprietary bottlings are from sherrywood, which makes this independent bottling from Hunter Laing especially interesting.

Tasting Note Dull gold in colour (from an American oak cask), the whisky has an oily texture in the glass and a rich, heady aroma which is at once floral and fruity: geranium and scented hand-cream; maraschino cherries and tropical fruits. A big, sweet taste, with an unctuous texture; some spicy fizz across the tongue at full strength. Water brings out its Speyside character and reduces the spice a little, but it remains big and fruity. An excellent example of the make.


Girvan No.4 Apps–P a t e n t S t i l l S i n g l e g r a i n S c o t c h W h i S k y 4 2 % V o l | £ 4 5

Tasting Note Very pale gold in colour, like tarnished silver. A fresh, very clean, sweet nose, with light apple pie notes, otherwise very faint. A drop of water opens it fractionally, and introduces lint and freshly laundered sheets . A sweet, fresh taste, with a thin texture and a short finish, leaving a pleasant tingling across the tongue.

Girvan 30 Years Old3 0 Y e a r s O l d –P a t e n t s t i l l s i n g l e g r a i n s c O t c h W h i s k Y4 2 % V O l | £ 3 7 5

Tasting Note Pale gold in colour, with pale green lights. Light nose prickle; an initial faintly oaky aroma gives way to caramel toffees covered with hard icing sugar, all very faint. Water adds a trace of mint and whin flowers (light coconut). A smooth texture and medium body; a very sweet taste, centre palate; a short finish and fresh oak in the aftertaste.


Currently, there are 101 operating malt whisky distilleries in Scotland, with the capacity to produce 334.32 million litres of pure alcohol per annum. There are only seven grain whisky distilleries, but they currently have the capacity to produce 419 million litres. Almost all our Scotch whisky distilleries are cur-rently working to capacity. Girvan is the second largest grain distillery in Scotland, with a capacity of 105 million litres per annum. It was built by William Grant & Sons, of Glenfiddich fame, in 1962/63, under the supervision of the company’s late chairman, Charles Gordon, who died last year. It has been substantially expanded since its foundation. Ever innovative, Grants were planning to run a campaign for their hugely successful blend, Standfast (now Family Re-serve, the fourth best-selling Scotch in the world) on the recently established commercial Independent Television network. The mighty Distillers Company Limited, which controlled over half the domestic market for Scotch, was not happy about this and threatened to cut off Grant’s supply of grain fillings. So Grants resolved to build their own grain distillery. The site chosen was in Ayrshire, close to the small port of Girvan where grain could be landed – until 1984, this was maize, imported from the United States, thereafter wheat – and also because the local authority offered to supply water from Penwhapple Loch above the site at 1d [slightly less than 1p] per

thousand gallons, via a private pipe line. The site had been used as a munitions factory during World War II and there were also two 100 million gallon water storage tanks available. ‘Apparatus 1’ – this is how Grants describe their stills; hence ‘App. 4’ in the name of one of their recently released single grains – was a modified Coffey still, made entirely of copper to make grain whisky. Today this is used only occasionally. App. 2 was a ‘clean up’ column still to make neutral grain spirit; App. 3 was also a column still for making both whisky and neutral grain spirit. Apps. 4 and 5 were installed in 1992 and operate a unique vacuum distillation, ‘multi-pressure’ pro-cess in the analyser column, heated by vapour off the rectifying column. The process was patented jointly with Alco, Finland’s state distiller, and installed by Finnish engineers – who are re-membered with great respect by John Scott, Girvan’s long-serv-ing Master Distiller. It is a fiendishly complex system: highly automated, environ-mentally friendly, and producing a very clean, light, fruity spirit. Girvan is the only distillery to have such a system, although the new Starlaw Distillery, near Bathgate, apparently uses some-thing similar. The only previous bottlings of Girvan were a small amount bottled for the U.S. as Black Barrel, and a 1964 limited edition bottling, released in 2000.


Tullamore D.E.W. Phoenix–I r I s h W h I s k e y 5 5 % V O L | £ 5 9 . 4 9

Tullamore is the county town of Co. Offaly and stands on the Grand Canal, equidistant between Dublin and Galway City. The distillery was founded in 1829 to take advantage of the Canal, which was finished in 1804 and connects Dublin in the east with the River Shannon in the west. The D.E.W. derives from the initials of the man who put the brand on the map, Daniel E.Williams, who started work at the distillery aged fifteen and rose to be its general manager in 1887 and later bought the place from its absentee owner. At this time the make was triple-distilled pure pot still whiskey and had a high reputation not only in Dublin, but also in London, Liverpool and Australia, sold with the slogan “Give Every Man His Dew”! It was always a light style of whiskey, and after a visit to the United States in 1947, Daniel William’s grandson and successor added a new product, Tullamore Dew Blended Whiskey, a mix of three types of Irish Whiskey and the first ever blended Irish. He also produced a successful liqueur whiskey named Irish Mist, but by the mid-1950s the distillery equipment was antiquated and the distillery closed. The original stills have been moved to Kilbeggan Distillery not far away. The Tullamore Dew brand was sold to John Powers & Son, which merged with John Jameson and Cork Distillers to become Irish Distillers, with their headquarters at Midleton Distillery in

Co. Cork. In 1994 the brand was sold to the old established Irish drinks distributor, Cantrell & Cochrane, who had previ-ously bought Irish Mist. The latter is currently made at Clonmel and the former at Midleton. But not for long. The brand and old distillery buildings were bought by William Grant & Sons; the original bonded warehouse on the bank of the Grand Canal has been restored and is now a visitor and conference centre and work on a new, state-of-the-art distillery is well advanced. The ‘Phoenix’ in this expression’s name has an interesting derivation. In 1785 Tullamore was the scene of the world’s first recorded aviation disaster, when a hot-air balloon caught fire above the town, dropped to earth and destroyed 130 houses – the majority of the town. The determined inhabitants rebuilt their city so that it literally ‘rose from the ashes’, phoenix-like, and ever since Tullamore has included a phoenix in its coat of arms. Between 2000 and 2010 an annual ‘Phoenix Festival’ - described on-line as a celebration of “extreme arts, culture and heritage” and incorporating hot air balloons, fireworks, a fire pa-rade, sky diving and outdoor concerts was held each summer to commemorate the event. It is to be hoped that the new owners of Tullamore Distillery might revive this colourful tradition!

Tasting Note Deep gold in colour, with light beading indicating light texture. Slight nose prickle, but little aroma at full strength. A little water reveals canvas/hemp rope, machine oil and cricket bats (linseed oil). There is also a grassy note – in fact I was transported to a cricket pavilion! A thin texture and a very sweet taste, with oil and canvas; some lingering ginger in the aftertaste.


Tamdhu 12 Years Old1 2 Y e a r s O l d –s i n g l e M a l t s C O t C H W H i s k Y f r O M d O u g l a s O f d r u M l a n r i g4 6 % V O l | £ 6 7

Looking back through many dozens of personal and panel tast-ing notes for Tamdhu, the words ‘well made’ recur frequently, and this example is no exception. The distillery was built (in 1897) by Highland Distilleries and owned by them until 2011, when it was sold to Ian Macle-od Distillers (owners of Glengoyne and Macleod’s Isle of Skye blended Scotch), when Highland decided to focus on their ‘core malts’, Macallan and Highland Park. It was the only distillery on Speyside which made all its own requirement of malt, and it was unusual in operating Saladin boxes – a method of mechanical malting invented by Colonel Charles Saladin, a Frenchman, during the 1890s and widely adopted by the brewing industry, but only by whisky distillers in 1949 (at North British Distillery). Saladin boxes were installed at Tamdhu in 1950, and later at Dalmore, Glen Moray, Dailuaine, Glen Albyn, Glen Ord and Imperial during the 1950s and ‘60s, although all these distilleries apart from Ord soon bought in their malt from outside. Regretfully, the new owners have decid-ed to abandon malting on site. Readers of Whiskeria will, I’m sure, be aware that there is much debate about the role water plays in the flavour of malt whisky. Until relatively recently, the nature of the water was believed to be crucial; now chemists rate its contribution as minimal; distillers themselves are divided on the subject.

A key reason for choosing to site Tamdhu Distillery where it is was because of the purity of its water. Like many other distilleries, the site had formerly been prized by illicit distillers and drew its water from both the Knockando Burn close by and from springs. In the early months of production, the spirit was found not to have the body of other Glenlivet-style makes. The manager blamed this on the use of spring water and experi-mented with water from the burn, which, he reported, made for a “thicker and better spirit”. Some of the directors of Highland thought otherwise, however: the make was used entirely for blending, and many blenders preferred a lighter style. The other key reason for its location – and I’m sure much more important to the directors - was its proximity to the Strathspey Railway line, from which a spur was built right into the distillery, with a passenger station named Dalbeallie close by. The line itself was owned by the Great North of Scotland Railway Company – described as “a little railway with an inspir-ing title”. When Tamdhu was first released as a single malt, in 1976, the old station was refurbished as a visitor centre – the line itself having been closed by Dr. Beeching in the 1960s. Tamdhu can therefore claim to be one of the first distilleries to welcome visitors.

Tasting Note Silver in colour, with distinctly green lights: clearly not ‘colour-adjusted’; Vin Gris in the glass. Light vanilla ice-cream immediately identifiable, with pale fruits behind – white grapes, melon, lychees – and a suggestion of both short-crust pastry and sweet tobacco. Very sweet to taste, straight, with creamy texture and light acidity. Water raises estery, Speyside scents of new polythene to begin with; the taste remains very sweet, the texture still creamy.


Stagg Jr.–K e n t u c K y S t r a i g h t B o u r B o n W h i S K e y 1 3 4 . 4 u . S . P r o o f / 6 7. 2 % u . S .V o l£ 8 0

In their excellent, recently published, King’s County Distillery Guide to Urban Moonshining (Abrams, New York, 2013) Colin Spoelman and David Haskell write: “Whiskey evokes the place of its making, as weather and climate inf luence its fermentation and aging. It measures time in degrees of color and taste, the liquid gradually darkening and mellowing… It tastes of both past and present. It is, literally, a field of grain, cooked and fermented; distilled and aged; reduced to something of such great and abstract value that it is cherished next to art and litera-ture. It is simultaneously inert and living, conservative and liberal, rarefied and common. Of all the spirits, it is the most challenging and rewarding to make, as well as the most personal. There is a reason why so many bourbons are named after people and so few other spirits are.” Who, then, is ‘Stagg Jr.’ (i.e. Junior, I assume)? I guess it refers to a leading distiller, George T. Stagg, who bought the Old Fire Copper Distillery in Leestown, Kentucky in 1878, rebuilt it following ‘The Great Fire’ of 1882 and changed its name to the George T. Stagg Distillery. In 1936, soon after Prohibition ended, Schenley Distillers Corporation, which now owned Stagg Distillery, introduced a ‘bourbon-style’ whiskey, named Ancient Age. Until after World War II this was made in Canada, then production returned to

the Stagg Distillery, now named The Albert B. Blanton Distillery, after the man who modernised and expanded it. In 1969 The Blanton Distillery became the Ancient Age Distillery, and in 1999 Buffalo Trace Distillery… Phew! The final name change occurred when the new flagship brand, Buffalo Trace, was launched. The distillery’s website tells us: “Ancient buffalo carved paths through the wilderness that led America’s first pioneers and explorers westward. One such path led to the banks of the Kentucky River where Buffalo Trace Distillery has been making bourbon whiskey in the same way for over 200 years”. Mmm… So the Stagg whiskeys – and Ancient Age, Blanton’s, Buffalo Trace itself, and a raft of others - are all now made at Buffalo Trace Distillery, and I can only assume that the reason for the ‘Jr./Junior’ is that one of their brands is named George T. Stagg and described as: “Extremely hearty… Straight out of the barrel, uncut and unfiltered, the taste is powerful, f lavorful and in-tense. Open it up with a few drops of water, sit back and ponder the wonders of the universe”. The same might be said of the ‘Junior’ expression. This is a massive whiskey – “Un-cut, unfiltered, this robust bourbon whiskey ages for nearly a decade and boasts the bold character that is reminiscent of the man himself”.

Tasting Note Magenta in colour - old polished rosewood – with an oily texture, but only light beading. Considerable nose prickle to begin with, at this strength, as one would expect, then deep toasted oak notes emerge – even sweet toasted brioche – with vanilla toffee and dark fruits. A drop of water makes it more accessible and fresher, slightly mentholated and lightly oily. Smooth and mouth-filling, very sweet and oaky, with a trace of mint in the cool, spicy finish.


Longmorn 21 Years Old2 1 Y e a r s O l d –s i n g l e M a l t s C O t C H W H i s k Y f r O M O l d M a l t C a s k 5 0 % V O l | £ 1 5 5

Longmorn is one of only a dozen malts (all Speysides) rated ‘Top Class’ by blenders, and as a result the vast majority of its make goes for blending – particularly for Chivas Regal. Only very occasional bottlings were done by its owners before 1993 when a 15YO was released – this won gold medals at the International Wine & Spirits Competition that year and the following year. It was replaced in 2007 by a 16YO, with stylish new packaging. The distillery is situated two and a half miles south of Elgin, on the main road to Rothes. The village was once a railway junction and the beginning of a rail-spur on the Strathspey Line between Elgin and Craigellachie. Longmorn Station and its platform still exist in good order, although the track has gone – there are currently plans to clear it as a cycle path, linking with the Speyside Way at Craigellachie, and from there to Aviemore and the National Cycle Network. ‘Longmorn’ is an interesting name, not Gaelic but Brythonic (‘British’ or Welsh) – an indication of how the early peoples mingled in the ancient Pictish Kingdom of Moray. Scholars are divided on the name’s derivation. Some say it comes from Lhan-morgund, ‘the Place of the Holy Man’; some that it was named for the 7th Century British saint, Eran or Earnain, after whom Killearn in Stirlingshire is also named and to whom Longmorn church is dedicated: it was originally known Lann M’earnain, apparently, which means ‘the enclosure of beloved [St] Earnain’.

A third school holds that the name comes from another saint, Marnoch (Marnan or Maernog), an Irish missionary who died in 625 and whose feast day is celebrated in many Scottish towns – including, presumably, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, and the parish of Marnoch and Aberchirder in Aberdeenshire. Be that as it may, the Longmorn Distillery was built by one John Duff, a publican and former manager of Glendronach Distillery in 1893, in partnership with other local business-men. Duff’s family owned the lands of Miltonduff to the west across the River Spey. He had previously been involved with the building of Glenlossie Distillery (1876), and went on to build BenRiach Distillery close to Longmorn (1897). At its opening, the local newspaper began its report: “Still another distillery! Evidently the latest one announced for Longmorn is not the last that this district will see… When is this all going to end?” However, by the end of the year the National Guardian reported that the make had “jumped into favour with buyers from the earliest day on which it was offered”. Until 1980 a railway line connected the two distilleries, since BenRiach supplied malt to Longmorn; the ‘puggie’ diesel locomotive which plied between the two is now preserved at Aviemore. BenRiach continued to supply malt to Longmorn until 1999, so this 21 years old example of the make will have used locally malted barley.

Tasting Note Sun-faded polished mahogany in colour, with good viscosity. A rich, fruity nose – bruised pears and baked apples; perhaps a trace of sage and onion, and even pork crackling. Smooth and mouth-filling; very sweet to start, with coconut in the middle and a long, warming finish. Water tames it a bit and increases the fatty/pork crackling aroma, now joined by desiccated coconut. A chewy mouth-feel and a sweet taste throughout. No wonder Longmorn is so highly thought of!


Glenfiddich 26 Years Old2 6 Y e a r s O l d –s i n g l e s p e Y s i d e M a l t W h i s k Y4 3 % V O l | £ 3 2 0

Brian Kinsman, Glenfiddich’s Malt Master since December 2009 – and only the sixth Malt Master (formerly called Master Blender) in the distillery’s 125 year history – has responsibility for the quality and consistency of all Wm. Grant & Sons prod-ucts, including this venerable 26 years old. The pale gold colour of the whisky indicates maturation in well-used, American oak refill casks; Brian does not want the original f lavour of the malt – its ‘distillery character’ – to be dominated by flavours coming from the wood. Had this whisky spent 26 years in first-fill casks, its distillery character would have been lost. “It is very important to get the balance between distillery character and mature character right. Time is a key factor in making good whisky, but long maturation in the wrong casks – i.e. casks that are too active – will create a whisky whose taste is all about wood. I don’t mean it tastes woody - although this can happen – rather that the flavour profile is dominated by wood-derived compounds”. Glenfiddich is far and away the best-selling single malt in the world, outselling its nearest rival by two to one. Last year, sales topped one million nine litre cases for the first time. But in spite of its size and success, William Grant & Sons, is still controlled by direct descendants of its founder. The eponymous William Grant was the son of a tailor in Dufftown and had worked at Mortlach Distillery for twenty years (1866-86), latterly as manager on a salary of £100 per an-num. In the autumn of 1886 he bought a site on the bank of the River Fiddich, and assisted by his wife and nine children, began carting stones from the river bed to build his distillery, which he named ‘Glenfiddich’, ‘the Valley of the Deer’ – hence the proud stag which decorates every bottle of Glenfiddich single malt.Fortunately for Mr. Grant, soon after Glenfiddich went into pro-duction, a well known firm of blenders in Aberdeen, William Williams & Company, placed an order for 400 gallons a week – the entire output of the nascent distillery – and with this sound base the Grant family were able to expand production. By 1902 Glenfiddich was being bottled by the Grants in small quantities, and two years later some was being sold in Canada. This was the era of blended Scotch, however, and the enter-prising William Grant soon launched his own blend, named Standfast (the motto of Clan Grant): by 1914 the firm had appointed 63 agencies around the world. Today, Glenfiddich has the largest number of pot stills in the world – 10 wash stills and 18 spirit stills, although the latter are among the smallest in the industry – and produces 12 million litres of spirit each year. Unusually, the stills are all direct fired by gas burners; Glenfarclas is the only other distillery to employ this traditional method on all its stills.

Tasting Note Pale gold/sauvignon blanc in colour. A mild nose, with light fresh fruits (pineapple, blood orange, tinned peach), a hint of candlewax and ‘the interior of a new car’ after a while. The taste is fresh, sweet and citric – I was reminded of lemon sherbet sweets and Schweppes Bitter Lemon – with a short to medium length finish and a lingering spiciness. A drop of water flattens the aroma but introduces almonds to the taste.


Lauder’s Oloroso Cask–B l e n d e d S c o t c h W h i S k y 4 0 % V o l | £ 2 5

All I know about Archibald Lauder & Co is that they had a working model of a still in their Glasgow offices, for which they had to have a distiller’s licence. According to the bottle label, the firm was founded by the eponymous Archibald in 1834; in 1871, he (or perhaps his son, also named Archibald) acquired the famous Lauder’s Bar on Sauchiehall Street. In those days it had seven bars, including a secret one upstairs, and a barber’s shop downstairs. This unusual expression celebrates ‘sherrywood maturation’. Maturation in casks which have been seasoned with sherry has been esteemed since at least the 1860s. In his seminal British and Foreign Spirits (1864), Charles Tovey writes: “It is well known that Whisky stored in Sherry casks soon acquires a mellow softness which it does not get when put into new casks; in fact, the latter, if not well seasoned, will impart a woodiness, much condemned by the practised palate. In Sherry casks the Spirit likewise acquires a pleasing tinge of colour which is much sought for; this is frequently imitated by the use of colouring, but it is not creditable to those who adopt such petty deceptions.” The sherry casks are not ‘ex-solera’ – they have not been used to mature the sherry - they are ‘transport casks’, used to ship the fortified wine, which, of course, is made in Andalusia, Spain. The butts are made from both American White Oak

(Quercus alba) and European ‘Red’ Oak (Q. robur), the latter coming mainly from Galicia. Until about 1960 American oak was favoured for transport casks, and after this Spanish oak. Until 1946, when American oak ex-Bourbon casks began to arrive in large numbers and at a much cheaper price, ex-sherry casks were the main casks used by the Scotch whisky indus-try, but as sherry’s popularity declined after 1980, such casks became rarer, and in 1983 the shipment of sherry in cask was banned by a European Union decree. Now the sherry had to be bottled in Spain. Today, only around 5% of the casks coming into the industry each year are ex-sherry (the rest being ex-bour-bon) - although, because of the size (500 litres) and thickness of sherry butts they survive longer, so there will be more than 5% in the system at any one time. Today, ex-sherry casks are made to the order of the individual whisky companies, mainly from Spanish oak (Lauder’s Oloroso displays f lavours associated with Spanish oak), sometimes from American oak. The butts are filled with sherry – usually dry oloroso, which means ‘scented’ in Spanish – in Spain for between one and four years, as specified by the whisky company, then shipped to Scotland to be filled with spirit.

Tasting Note A fine rich polished chestnut colour (conkers), and a first aroma which says ‘Spanish oak’. Creamy rice pudding (with a burnt skin) containing sultanas; a whiff of pencil rubber (this blows away) and pencil box. A very sweet taste, grainy in the middle (breakfast cereal), and warming in the end. Water increases the grainy note and softens the taste. A surprisingly short finish. An uncomplicated dram.

3 8 D I S T I L L E R Y V I S I T

The Excise Act of 1823 laid the foundations of the modern Scotch whisky industry by making it possible for small distillers to make good whisky at an affordable price. As Professor Michael Moss writes in The Making of Scotch Whisky: “The new regulations allowed each distiller to choose his own method of working, the strength of his wash within a broad limit, the size and design of his stills and the quality and flavour of his whisky. The only restraint on the industry was now the market. If demand… grew, the industry would expand; if it fell, it would contract”. All over Scotland, many former smugglers ‘went legal’, some of them enduring the wrath of their former accomplices; not many remained in business beyond the 1830s, owing to overproduction and the general economic situation. Immediately following the Act seven distilleries were ‘entered’ in the district we now know as Speyside: Delnashaugh (which lasted only five years), Balmenach, Cardow, Drumin (which would relocate and become The Glenlivet), Macallan, Miltonduff and Mortlach. All were built on sites which had formerly been used by smugglers. Mortlach Distillery was discreetly situated in a wooded glen on the southern edge of Dufftown – the first licensed distillery in the town which would become the ‘whisky capital’ of Speyside, with eight distilleries – and drew its water from ‘Highlander John’s Well’, much esteemed by illicit distillers. The founder was James Findlater, who had obtained a lease of the ground from James Duff, 4th Earl of Fife. The early years were not easy and Findlater was obliged to sell the distillery in 1831 to one John Robertson, ‘distiller and tanner’ for £270 [around £13,000 in today’s money]. Production resumed between 1833-37, when it was bought by John and James Grant, who at that time had the lease of Aberlour Distillery and went on to build Glen Grant Distillery in 1840. Intriguingly, The Elgin Courant of 21st February 1862 reports that the Grant brothers “took away the distillery apparatus”. Maybe they removed it to their new distillery in Rothes? Thereafter “the distillery was unoccupied for some years, the barley granary serving in

the interval as a Free Church until one was erected in Dufftown. Mr. John Gordon then bought the distillery, and for some time conducted a brewery business in it. In a short time, however, he commenced distilling… The spirits are of excellent quality. They are mostly sold in Glasgow and Edinburgh, but have attained some celebrity in the district under the name of The Real John Gordon”. The subsequent history and ultimate triumph of Mortlach Distillery is down to two very able individuals: George Cowie and his son, Alexander. George was a local man who qualified as a surveyor and worked for two of the leading railway engineers of the ‘railway boom’, Thomas Grainger and John Miller. During the 1840s he applied his unusually creative and analytical mind to the development of railway bridges, viaducts, tunnels and stations all over the United Kingdom, then, in 1852, returned to his native Speyside to become John Gordon’s partner at Mortlach. Here he not only applied his agile mind to the production of malt whisky, but to overseeing the clean water supply and sewerage arrangements in Dufftown, soon being elected provost [i.e. mayor] of the town. On John Gordon’s death he became sole owner of the distillery and began to win a high reputation for his whisky far beyond Speyside. The Elgin Courant remarked:“There is not perhaps a distillery in Scotland that has so many private customers as Mortlach from which spirits are sent not only over the three kingdoms to families, but to America, India, China and Australia, in all of which Mr. Cowie has customers who prefer his distillation to all others…” Increasingly, during the whisky boom of the 1880s and ‘90s, Mortlach found favour with the blending houses – so much so that there was little available to be bottled as single malt. George Cowie was succeeded by his son, Dr. Alexander Cowie, who until 1896 had pursued a highly successful career as a doctor in Vienna, London and Hong Kong, and who now applied his scientific learning to distillation.

Focus on Mortlach–Charles MacLean explores the history of Mortlach Distillery


K N O W L E D G E B A R :M O R T L A C H

Mortlach Stills» The stills from the original Mortlach Distillery were moved to the new Glen Grant Distillery when the latter was built in 1840

Dufftown first» Mortlach was the first distillery in Dufftown, of which it was later written: “Rome was built on seven hills.But Dufftown stands on seven stills”

George Cowie & Son» George Cowie was a highly talented engineer and applied his skills to distilling at Mortlach. His son, Dr. Alexander Mitchell Cowie, had been the senior medical officer in Hong Kong before joining his father

William Grant’s apprenticeship» Between 1866 and 1886 William Grant of Glenfiddich learned his trade at Mortlach, working in all parts of the business and finishing as manager before moving down the road to start his own distillery with his family

43.4% strong» The curious bottling strength of strength of 43.4% derives from the strength of bottles for the U.S. in 1939


Within a year he had doubled the size of the distillery to six stills, and introduced a complex distilling regime - unique in the whisky industry and still followed today – which makes use of an unusually small spirit still, known as ‘The Wee Witchie’, to distil the spirit almost three times – 2.8 times to be exact: it takes six months of training for new stillmen to operate this. The heavy spirit thus produced became known as ‘The Beast of Dufftown’! Dr. Cowie’s only son was killed in the First World War, and when he retired in 1923 he sold Mortlach to a leading customer, John Walker & Sons, who joined the Distillers Company Limited two years later (now Diageo). The demand for the spirit in the Johnnie Walker blends and others – Mortlach is ranked Top Class by blenders – radically limited the amount available as a single malt, indeed, although a small amount was released by ‘George Cowie & Son’ in the 1970s, and a 22 years old limited edition in 1995, the first proprietary bottling was only released in 1986, at 16 years old. By 2011 there were grumblings that the distillery deserved wider recognition; however plans were already being laid to double the size of the operation in an entirely separate building, replicating the original and connected to it. Work started on this in March this year, and it is hoped the new plant will be in operation by the end of 2015. Meanwhile, Diageo has set aside mature stock from a variety of casks to release three new expressions of this legendary malt, which will be launched in June and July 2014. They are all sensational whiskies, highly recommended.


Tasting Note Richly scented – dried flowers, hair oil – with hard toffee, cocoa powder, apple pie, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sweet and spicy to taste at natural strength, with an earthy finish. A dash of water increases the oily note, now becoming both buttery, and sweetly smoky in the development. A Halloween turnip lantern. The taste is sweet and lightly spicy; a balance of first-fill ex-sherry butts and refill American and European oak casks. .

Tasting Note The casks for this expression are exclusively U.S. oak refills, and they have bestowed a deep amber colour and that delicious scented face cream top-note only found in old examples from such wood. Beneath it a complex of tropical fruits, chocolate box (dark liqueur chocolates), cedar wood and nutmeg; a dense overall impression. The taste at full strength is sweet, spicy and vibrant. With water the aroma becomes sweeter, with hard toffee and cinnamon; warm wood and a suggestion of marzipan. The taste is sweet and mouth-cooling. Sensational!

Mortlach 18 Years Old4 3 . 4 % V O L | 5 0 C L £ 1 8 0

Mortlach 25 Years Old4 3 . 4 % V O L | 5 0 C L £ 6 0 0

Tasting Note Although under 50%ABV, it hold its beading admirably. A rich nose, with meaty notes in the foreground (roasting tin, over-cooked beef,char), with fruits behind (peach, blood orange, red apple). At full strength the taste is sweet and fruity, with light char in the finish. A little water dries out the aroma and introduces caramelised apples with cinnamon, with light orange zest or oil. Smooth and spicy; sweet and soft to taste.

Mortlach Rare Old4 3 . 4 % V O L | 5 0 C L£ 5 5

Vintages timed to perfection. At Balblair Distillery we exclusively release Vintages,

only when the whisky tells us that it is ready.

Please savour this fi ne single malt responsibly.

balblair.com

Coming Soon

The Mortlach and associated logos are trade marks. © Diageo 2014

DIA_11571 Mortlach BF - Whiskeria.indd 1 16/05/2014 17:31

Vintages timed to perfection. At Balblair Distillery we exclusively release Vintages,

only when the whisky tells us that it is ready.

Please savour this fi ne single malt responsibly.

balblair.com

4 4 M Y W H I S K E R I A

When Maison Martin Margiela hit the Paris catwalks with its Autumn/Winter 2014 collection, the front-row fashionistas were met with a sartorial volte-face. The Belgian fashion house, renowned for its ultra-discreet branding, had emblazoned its latest collection with an iconic Scottish mark: the Harris Tweed orb. In their typical elusive style, the fashion house refused to comment, but Mark Hogarth, creative director of Harris Tweed Hebrides, the mill responsible for 80% of Harris Tweed sales, had the inside line. “They wanted to represent the weaver on the catwalk and give the artisan some credit and exposure,” he says. One of those artisans is 43-year-old Ian MacKay, a crofter from the Hebridean island of Lewis who fits his time at the loom around his other jobs: tending sheep, cutting peat, planting potatoes and being a part-time fireman. How did MacKay feel seeing his cloth turning Paris heads? “Aye, it’s lovely to see,” says MacKay in his soft, lilting Highland accent. “We just make the cloth, we don’t normally see the end product, so it’s lovely to see how it gets used.”

Craftsmanship, heritage, provenance, taste – and enjoying a renaissance with younger consumers. Harris Tweed has so much in common with whisky. We trace the storybehind the headlines.Words Claire Bell, Pictures Christina Kernohan, Brian Sweeney

Cutting

a dash


Cutting

a dash


And it’s not just Margiela who MacKay will be weaving for this year. Saint Laurent, Valentino and Japan’s Comme des Garcons are all incorporating tweed into their 2014 collections. So how did an antiquated fabric that was synonymous with badly cut jackets worn by Miss Marple and the shooting and fishing set, become an international fashion player? Since the late nineties, the sales of Harris Tweed had been in steady decline. Its fortunes hit an all-time low in 2006 when one of the three Harris Tweed mills that finishes and distributes the cloth was closed down, while another, which had been sold to Yorkshire businessman Brian Haggas, restricted production to four tweed patterns, all of which were used in-house to make jackets. “It was terrible. I’ve been weaving 25 years, and there were times when it was less than part-time work. We knew that was the wrong way to go,” says Mackay. Dan Fearn, creative director of Walker Slater, the Edinburgh tailoring firm agrees. “It was a very uncertain time. It became very difficult to buy Harris Tweed,” says Fearn. Fortunately there was a knight in woolly armour on the horizon. Brian Wilson, the former Labour Party MP and director of Celtic Football Club, had a long-term love affair with the Scottish islands. His wife is from Lewis and in the 1970s, before going into politics, he had co-founded the West Highland Free Press on the island of Skye. Just as the tweed industry foundered, Wilson was leaving politics and looking around for a new challenge. “I know how critical tweed is to the island economy. What looked like a threat, was an opportunity. It was manna from heaven,” he says. Wilson convinced Scots businessman Ian Taylor, who made his money in oil, to buy the mothballed mill, and they pulled together a stellar team including Iain Angus MacKenzie, a former weaver, to be CEO, and Mark Hogarth, a former fashion model, to be creative director. Hogarth had spent many years working in Japan and had returned with a vision which he believed would secure the future of Harris Tweed. “For the Japanese, the aesthetic is not just about the look of the finished goods, it’s about the complexity of the process. The way it is made is integral to the product’s luxury,” explains Hogarth. It was something he had noted that the whisky industry – especially the Islay whiskies – had already capitalised on in the Japanese market. “They weave the island story into their whisky. I realised that although the big names like Chanel, Dior and YSL knew about Harris Tweed, they didn’t understand it.” So what didn’t they understand? That by order of an Act of Parliament, Harris Tweed can only be made by a resident of

the Hebridean islands. That the weavers are all self-employed, working on manual looms in tiny sheds on their crofts. And that the colours of the cloth were derived from Hebridean landscapes - gold and purples from heather, greens from spring machair, deep red from lichen and deep blues from the Atlantic. “The romantic mysticism of the Hebridean islands and the soulfulness of the tweed was missing from the story,” he says. Hogarth also felt that tweed had become too conservative in its designs. “There was this thinking that bright and big patterns don’t sell, but the Japanese love bright cloths and eccentric prints. The designs were being dictated by what the industry thought that market wanted, rather than giving the market something new.” Hogarth was preparing for a revolution. In his first year he took Harris Tweed Hebrides to Première Vision, the world’s leading fabric show in Paris that courts the global fashion world. He got two bites: Yves St Laurent, who wanted some tweed to add a bit of je ne sais quoi to their autumn/winter collection, and avant-garde Belgian designer, Dries van Noten, who commissioned a bespoke exaggerated plaid. All of a sudden the ball was rolling, and soon orders were coming in from Brooks Brothers and J Crew across the Atlantic, and from the Japanese brands Beans and United Arrows. “The beautiful thing about the fashion industry is that everyone is doing something unique and original, but there is also quite a bit of magpie-ing going on,” Hogarth says. This high-fashion fascination with old-world elegance soon filtered down to the street. Whereas the style of the early 80s had been defined by mods and punks, and the early 90s by grunge, the first years of the second decade of the 21st century was the territory of the moustachioed hipster, sporting tweed, a dog and a bicycle. So how come tweed has captured the modern fashion imagination? Mike Donald is the founder of the Glasgow Harris Tweed Bike Ride, an annual event that celebrates all things tweed. He reckons the popularity has something to do with a growing human consciousness. “People have become more conscious about the impact their clothing has on the environment and other human beings. It is hard to be comfortable knowing your designer clothing has been made in sweatshops or by child labour. With Harris Tweed you know the cloth has provenance, that it’s made in a sustainable way by skilled local people in a very specific part of the world,” he says. So a victory for morality, and a financial success story for a windswept Scottish island. In 2012, the Harris Tweed cottage industry saw production double to that of 2009, and for the first time in 15 years, they sold in excess of 1 million metres of


Clockwise from top left: Mike Donald –Harris Tweed weaver and founder of Glasgow’s Harris Tweed Ride – in his weaving shed on Lewis / Emma of the band ‘Emma’s Imagination’ on a music promo shoot on Luskentyre Beach, wearing Harris Tweed Hebrides / Scenes from the recent Harris Tweed Ride Glasgow.

Previous Page: Mark Hogarth, Creative Director of Harris Tweed Hebrides, photographed on location at Kelvingrove Cafe, Finnieston, Glasgow.


cloth, with 40% of that exported to Japan. This was not only good news for old weaving hands like MacKay, but also for the next generation. At the industry low-point in 2006 there were just 80 weavers on the island. That figure is now back up to 185. Rebecca Hutton, 31, grew up on Harris and returned to her native island from the Scottish mainland three years ago to be trained as a weaver. “My great-grannie and grannie both wove tweed. When I think of tweed, I think of the clickety-clack of the loom going in the attic in the evening. I really like being part of all that history and putting a new chapter to it,” says Hutton, who works on a hand-me-down Hattersley loom that had been rescued from an old shed where it had been rusting. “We have awakened something that should never have been asleep,” says Harris Tweed Hebrides’ Brian Wilson. If the hammers ding-dong was the song of the Clyde, the clatter of weaver’s looms, was the song of Hebrides. So where to next? Wilson is cautious. “We have no empire building ambitions. Harris Tweed is critical to the economy of the Hebrides. It is important to keep trade at a stable level. We are marketing scarcity, rather than risk boom and bust.” In the meantime, Harris Tweed remains in vogue. Cue Gleneagles in spring of 2014, where two smouldering-eyed models are strutting Harris Tweed plus fours for television cameras on the pitch and putt green. This summer sees the return of the Ryder Cup to Scotland for the first time in 41 years and to mark the occasion, the organisers of the tournament have commissioned a blue tweed that has been fashioned into golfing togs, picnic blankets, cuff-links, hip flasks, flat caps and satchels. The blue was chosen as a nod to the Scottish flag and to Ryder Cup branding, but its source lies far away from the hustle and bustle. “If you stand on the west coast of Harris, and if the sun is not too strong and the clouds are not too dark, then you get a deep sea view out to the Atlantic. That’s the blue in the tweed,” muses Hogarth. It is a romantic view shared by generations of Hebridean islanders, now captivating fashion trendsetters of the world.

K N O W L E D G E B A R :H A R R I S T W E E D

Timeline – from the land to the clothCatherine Murray, Countess of Dunmore, commissions Harris weavers to reproduce her clan tartan – the Murray of Atholl – in tweed. Her social connections prove so successful that sales and trade of Harris Tweed, up until that point only used on crofts and sold at local markets, quickly become established across the UK. As demand for the fabric grows amongst the highest social circles, weavers from across the Outer Hebrides are employed in the production of Harris Tweed to meet ever increasing orders. Following concerns that imitators may attempt to flood the market with counterfeit goods, a company is founded – The Harris Tweed Association Ltd – whose purpose is to protect the good name and reputation of Harris Tweed via the introduction of a certification mark – the distinctive Orb and Maltese Cross – which can only be applied to fabric whose provenance can be certified as Harris Tweed. The Trademark Definition of Harris Tweed is amended to allow millspun as well as handspun yarn, enabling a huge leap in production, following which the yardage of fabric ‘stamped’ with the Orb increases tenfold. Harris Tweed now employs 1,200 hand loom weavers, reaching an annual production peak of 7.6 million yards of fabric. The industry modernises itself by introducing double-width looms, re-training weavers, introducing new, tougher quality standards and marketing a new wider, softer and lighter tweed. An Act of Parliament –The Harris Tweed Act – transfers custody of the brand to the Harris Tweed Authority, making the definition of Harris Tweed statutory and forever tying production to the islands: “Harris Tweed means a tweed which has been hand woven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the islands of Harris, Lewis, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Barra and their several purtenances (The Outer Hebrides) and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides” Businessman Brian Haggas buys the 90 year old Stornoway Mill and establishes Harris Tweed Scotland, with a focus on the production of traditional men’s jackets. Harris Tweed Hebrides is established by entrepreneur Ian Taylor in the disused Shawbost Mill, with intent to maintain supply to the high end, international fashion industry. 450,000 metres of fabric produced Annual production reaches a 17 year high of 1 million metres, with application visible across the worlds of furnishings, interiors and fashion, both high street and catwalk. Harris Tweed Scotland, Harris Tweed Hebrides and the independent Carloway Mill are the only 3 surviving Harris Tweed mills, now supplying reviving markets in the USA and Europe as well as emerging markets within the BRIC nations and the Far East.

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5 0 T R A V E L

The sky is hanging low in the Scottish sky. Caledonian MacBrayne’s Isle of Arran is ploughing through the Firth of Clyde en route to her namesake, her twin red funnels rumbling like a bodhrán. They say whisky is best enjoyed with a splash of water and it looks like the rain gods are pouring on this first day of our island tour, sailing between Arran, Kintyre, Islay, Jura and Oban, to sample the best of the isles. In Brodick harbour, a lonely yacht is moored to a buoy. The sun has burned a narrow hole through the blanket of clouds, beaming a spotlight onto distant hills and turning the town into a silhouette. “It will lift,” assures a Scottish voice, as we wait for the ferry to dock. “You’re an optimist,” replies an Englishman, dressed in ill-fitting lycra. It makes no difference either way. You feel the relaxed pace of Arran as soon as the ferry ushers you out. You are here just to be here. To skip stones, to listen to the sound of the water lapping the shore, to stop, to be. Arran is often billed as Scotland in miniature. The Highland fault line cuts through the middle of the island, separating the lush pastures and a palm-fringed shoreline of

Arguably, the best way to see Scotland is from the water. Claire Bell takes us to the Isles.

Words & Images Claire Bell Illustration Francesca Waddell

Hop–

scotch


Hop–

scotch

5 2 T R A V E L

the south, from the wilder mountainous landscape of the north. Today we head north, winding through a densely forested shoreline, thick with elms, oak, hazel and pine, before coming to our first stop in Corrie, the small, sheltered village that gazes sleepily back towards the Scottish mainland. The whimsy of the village is captured in its harbour, where a jaunty white and blue pleasure boat is tied up to a bollard in sheep’s clothing, the fancy of a local artist. You could spend all day here, drinking in the silence and the sea, but we are looking forward to a different kind of dram, and so we continue on, over high moorland, thick with bracken and heather, and down into the village of Lochranza. The Isle of Arran distillery was established in 1995 by Harold Currie, formerly of Chivas Regal, who wanted to create a non-peaty island whisky. When planning the distillery they sent water samples from eight lochs to be tested at Glasgow University, but it was the water of Loch na Davie, above Lochranza, that scientists deemed the sweetest and softest in all of Arran. Campbell Laing, an ex-Glasgow policeman, takes visitors to taste this legendary water. “Pure, clear, not a fleck in it,” he says, kneeling in his kilt to scoop up a glass from the burn behind the distillery. It is rich and fruity, but then so are the Arran Malts, especially the 17-year-old matured in single cask bourbon, sold exclusively at the distillery. From here we board another CalMac ferry to cross the Kilbrannan Sound to Kintyre. You might be tempted to turn left on the winding single-track road that hugs the coastline all the way to Campbeltown and its Springbank, Glengyle and Glen Scotia distilleries, but don’t miss the hidden gem of Skipness, two miles down a road popular with wild campers. From May to September, the beach at Skipness Castle is turned into a seafood cabin, serving fresh shellfish from rustic beachfront tables. On a sunny Scottish day, you’ll feel like you’re in a wild corner of the Mediterranean. Another Kintyre gem is the whisky bar at the Ardshiel Hotel in Campbeltown, not only for its 600 single malts, including a rare 40-year-old Springbank and an Old Elgin from 1938, but because it is owned and run by two women, Marion MacKinnon and Flora Grant. “We often have people asking to speak to the owners, and they are surprised to find it is us. Whisky can be a very male world,” Flora says with a laugh. The women’s touch is clearly paying off: they were voted Whisky Bar of the Year 2013 by the readers of Scottish Field magazine. From Kintrye, it’s across the sea to Islay, the peat-whisky capital of the world, aboard Fionlagan, CalMac’s newest, flashiest ferry, which sells a double shot of each of the Islay whiskies in the coffee shop. “If you can start someone as they mean to continue…” laughs John McKinlay, the steward.

Today we are bound for Laphroaig, one of the two Islay distilleries (Bowmore is the other) that malts its own barley in its centuries-old kilns, using peat cut from the island’s peat banks. It is also the official favourite of Charles, the Prince of Wales, who infamously crashed his plane into the peat bogs when he first came to visit the distillery in 1994. No one was injured. The prince gave up flying shortly after. We join the Water to Whisky tour and don our wellies for a tramp to the water source at Kilbride Dam, and to the peat bogs where we try our hands at cutting this combustible mud. It is a wild afternoon. The rain is horizontal, sandpapering our skin. “What an awful day. Isn’t it great?” laughs David Wallace, a whisky lover from Michigan, slaking back a dram of Quarter Cask. “This whisky is never going to taste the same as it does right now.” Laphroaig has been a favourite in the US since Prohibition when its “iodine nose” meant it could be sold legally in pharmacies as a “medicinal spirit.” “Coming here makes it real,” says Greg Maxwell, also from Michigan. “You begin to understand that whisky is a synergy of this land, the sea and the people who live here. Now whenever I drink a Laphroaig, I will taste this place.” Back in the warehouse, we taste three unique barrels, bottling our favourite. I choose a 1999 Laphroaig with a cask strength of 60.3%. Richard Andersen, another American, here to celebrate his 60th birthday opts for a 2002 with a distinct seaweed nose, from the dimly lit Dunnage warehouse 7. “These distilleries are like monasteries,” he says. “They have not changed much in hundreds of years. Still full of people practicing the same spiritual practice.” Our bed for the night is the eco lodge at Coillabus on the Mull of Oa, built by the granddaughter of a Port Ellen distillery maltman. The Oa is a wild place, but the lodge’s huge windows and steaming outdoor cedar hot-tub, make a luxurious idyll from which to marvel at the enormous skies. Dinner is a platter of lobster, spider crab, langoustine and prawns (£16/head), delivered to the door by the wife of local fisherman Frazer Aitken. Two years ago the shellfish would go straight off the fishing boats to tables in Spain, but as the Spanish economy hit hard times, fisherman have had to grow markets closer to home.


The next morning we head to the Oa Nature reserve, where the grassy cliffs, constantly carved by waterfalls, form a bulwark against the Irish sea. We walk through blooming heather, beneath a singing sky filled with skylarks, watching for golden eagles, but today the only golden object in the sky is the sun. At last. From Islay it’s a five-minute crossing to Jura, population, 188, arguably the wildest of all the Scottish islands. It was here that George Orwell wrote his classic novel, 1984. Literary pilgrims can drive over barren moorland to the end of the single-track road, from where it’s another four miles on foot to Barnhill, the isolated farmhouse where Orwell spent three years hunched over a typewriter. Fortunately life is a bit easier for whisky pilgrims coming to visit the largest stills in Scotland. Jura distillery is in the island’s only village of Craighouse, across the road from the Jura Hotel, the island’s only hotel, recently refurbished by a young Scottish couple who were keen to retain the hotel’s unique, friendly character, while giving it a stylish face-lift. “We want our guests to feel like they are in their best friend’s house,” says owner Cath McCallum. Willie Cochrane, Jura’s distillery manager, treats his visitors in a similar fashion. “If you make the effort to come to Jura, you deserve to be treated well. Coming here is a pilgrimage. Our warehouse is a

cathedral to maturation,” he says. If Willie is not available you’d be equally charmed by Rachel MacNeill, the resident whisky storyteller, recently poached from Islay, who launched four new tours this May. Her Connoisseur’s Tour weaves whisky tales with the landscape, starting with a glass of Turas Mara at a standing stone overlooking the shore and an Elixir at the distillery’s waterfall. For the more refined palate, the Tasting Experience, hosted in the designer interiors of the Jura Lodge, is a chance to sample the distillery’s boutique bottlings. “I call whisky a verb because it’s a living experience,” muses MacNeill. “We use it at the thresholds of time. When the year turns. When a baby is born. The dram doesn’t exist unless it’s drunk. It changes at every stage of its life, and of our lives.” From Jura it’s a short hop back to Islay and then a four-hour sail to Oban, via the island of Colonsay (sailings only on Wednesdays and Saturdays), from where you can continue on by sea to Mull, Ardnamurchan and the Isle of Skye, where more uisge beatha awaits. Slàinte mhath.

For more details on Caledonian Macbrayne’s Whisky Hopscotch tour, visit www.calmac.co.uk. A week at Coillabus luxury ecolodges costs £1600 www.coillabus.com. A double seaview room at Jura Hotel costs £99/night www.jurahotel.co.uk

Clockwise from above left: The lounge bar of the Jura Hotel / Overlooking The Mull of Oa / Claire Bell making friends on the Laphroaig ‘Water to Whisky’ tour. Photographs: Gavin Bell

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The Whisky ShopSummer 2014An Island Hop /58 Some of the finest single malts from the Western Isles of Scotland

Glenglassaugh Distillery /62 once forgotten now striding out

More off-piste dramming /66 From West to east – Girvan to Japan

What the heck… let’s buy the barrel /70 A sure-fire way to acquire an exclusive dram

Focus on Balvenie /72 once a secret now a legend

Glenfarclas /74 Drink one – collect one

More Gift Ideas /74

Customer Favourites /80 The whiskies that The Whisky Shop customers choose

The Directory /84

The Whisky Shop –Victoria Street, Edinburgh

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What is it? The Island of Arran is on the Firth of Clyde and is easily accessed by car ferry. Arran has lowlands, mountains, beaches, golf courses and a distillery and is often described as a mini Scotland. This 17 YO will have been from the very first release in 1996. There are only 9,000 bottles of this whisky available worldwide. Bottled at 46% volume.

What’s it like? On the nose it is rich with notes of candied citrus peel. On the palate there is plenty of sweet spice and a splash of water reveals dark chocolate and orange oil adding depth to this decadent dram. The finish lingers on with the classic sherry wood character coming to the fore, and the slightest puff of bonfire smoke in the tail.

An Island HopSome of the finest single malts from the Western Isles of Scotland

–echoing our travel piece in this issue we offer a selection from the Western Isles. renowned for their remoteness, rugged scenery and windswept beaches, the Western Isles of Scotland are much more accessible than many would think. We tell you how to island hop using the extensive ferry network, but if that still feels too remote, simply visit your nearest branch of The Whisky Shop or click online at www.whiskyshop.com and all will be revealed. read on…

–

Arran 17 Year Old– £72.99

Click & Collect: whiskyshop.com


What is it? Tobermory distillery is the only distillery on the Island of Mull, a mountainous island visible from the picturesque town of Oban. In September 2010, a new style of Tobermory was released – un-chillfiltered and bottled at 46.3%abv. This gives the malt a new vigour such that it is now light and zestful.

What’s it like? The aroma has a sea-air freshness laced with wild berries and orange. The taste carries cinnamon and cloves with added vanilla and the extra strength gives a buzzy, butterscotch finish. Water adds further freshness. Overall it’s light and elegant.

What is it? This malt and the next two malts are from Islay, the mecca of Scottish Island peated malts. One of the most westerly islands in the British Isles and suitably wind swept, it is a must-visit for all Scotch whisky aficionados. Scottish Gaelic for ‘pier’, Laimrig celebrates Bowmore’s ancient stone pierwhere the distillery’s barley would once have been unloaded and where the Single Malt first set sail for the four corners of the world. Bottled at 53.7% abv.

What’s it like? Its nose reveals sweet dark sherry balanced with smoky peatiness and a salty tang. On the palate it delivers a rich combination of chocolate, sherry, raisins and smoke. The finish is long and lingering.

Tobermory 10 Year Old– £44

Bowmore Laimrig 15 year old– £70

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What is it?Machir Bay is the first general release from Kilchoman distillery. It has been available since 2012 and is a vatting of 3, 4 and 5 year old whisky, matured in fresh bourbon barrels and finished in oloroso sherry butts for 8 weeks. Bottled at 46% abv.

What’s it like? It carries an aroma of soft cooked fruits with strong peat. On the palate there are fruits and vanilla with an intense sweetness. Its finish is classic Islay.

What is it? Distilled in April 2002 and bottled in September 2013, this is a limited edition bottling by Hunter Laing & Co. The Old Malt Cask range bottles its whiskies at 50% abv. being the strength at which Hunter Laing believe allows the whisky to reveal all of its colours. There are very few independent bottlings of Laphroaig and this is one of only 311 bottles which have been taken from a refill butt.

What’s it like? Just what you would expect from a Laphroaig! Packed full of peat, so much smoke it will blow you away. Not for the faint hearted, but truly joyous for the fans.

An Island Hopcont.

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Kilchoman Machir Bay– £46

Laphroaig 11 Year Old Old Malt Cask– £108



What is it? The Isle of Jura sits off the north east coast of Islay and is highly visible not only from Islay itself, but also from the Scottish mainland. This is on account of its several steep and high peaks – known as The Paps of Jura – that tower above the island. Jura has only one distillery and this is it. This was our Customer Choice favourite whisky last year and it is from a distillery that has moved towards the top of Britain’s favourite malts.

What’s it like? This particular expression isn’t typical of the island distillery and brings a moderate amount of peat to the otherwise sweet, fruity and creamy whisky.

What is it?Skye is our final island, famed for its rugged and absolutely huge mountains. Port Ruighe is Gaelic for the Isle of Skye’s bustling port town of Portree. Unlike other Taliskers, Port Ruighe is double matured in port casks.

What’s it like? A combination of Talisker’s powerful maritime character with succulent sweet notes of rich berry fruit for a superb contrasting taste experience. Bottled at a cask strength of 45.8% abv.

What is it? The distillery attaches no age statement to Talisker Storm because they are confident that the way the dram drinks speaks for itself. The peaty spirit relies on both rejuvenated and refill casks, which combine to give it a woody character.

What’s it like? At first sweetly mellow and rich in the mouth then quickly very spicy and then smoke and pepper, but with a good balance between sweetness, smoke and salt, which is all the more evident when a little water is added.

What is it? Its 18 year old life in wood makes this a pleasantly sweet and warming malt. Strong notes of fruit develop into toffee and smoke, especially when you add a splash of water.

What’s it like? On the nose it is rich and fruity and on the palate the richness continues - sweet in front, then more assertive, with a whiff of smoke. The overall effect is warming. Its finish has the characteristic Talisker ‘chilli catch’.

Jura Superstition – £40

Talisker Port Ruighe – £65

Talisker Storm– £50

Talisker 18 Year Old – £86

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A visit to…Glenglassaugh–Glenglassaugh Distillery is located just beyond the boundary of the Speyside region in the North east of Scotland. Having been closed for more than twenty years, a group of investors and whisky enthusiasts bought the distillery in 2008 and set about re-commissioning its silent stills. Several months later, the wheels began to turn and new spirit began to flow. In 2013, independent distiller, Benriach, took over the distillery and brought to the party renowned expertise and creativity. enough time has elapsed for the new product to be available as well as some seriously rare and collectable expressions from older casks that have survived. The Whisky Shop has picked the best.

–Single CasksWhat are they?To compliment the latest Glenglasssaugh expressions, the new owners have scoured the industry for older casks from the iconic Distillery. They are rare and exceptionally interesting.

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What is it? The Revival is the first expres-sion released from Glenglas-saugh distillery after beingmothballed for more than 20 years. The Glenglassaugh Revival has been matured in a balanced mix of Rioja and fresh Bourbon casks, vatted and re-racked for double matura-tion in first fill Oloroso Sherry Butts. Bottled at 46%, non-chill filtered and of natural colour.

What’s it like? Described by its makers as a Highland Single Malt with a coastal charm, it has a copper colour and a sweet and nutty aroma. On the palate it is sweet, rounded and creamy with a delightful sherried finish.

What is it? This is a unique peat expres-sion, quite different from the usual style of Highland malt. Its name, ‘Torfa’, refers to the Old Norse word for peat – a brooding, edgy character, whose personality is to be found at the darker end of the spectrum. Bottled at 50%, non chill filtered, natural colour.

What’s it like? Yellow gold in colour, its nose has a sooty campfire aroma, yet with sweetness coming through. On the palate the peat flavours continue, overlaid with more sweetness and warm hints of stem ginger and spiced fruits.

Glenglassaugh Revival – £43

Glenglassaugh Torfa – £50


Bottled at its cask strength of 41.6% vol. this golden nectar gives off an aroma of sweet sultanas and ripe peaches. On the palate it is soft, round and warm exuding a rich fruitiness with an elegant finish.

A higher cask strength of 52.1% vol. gives this expression a full-on aroma of sherry with bursts of orange. As you would expect for its strength and age, it is full bodied on the palate, but the judicious addition of water brings out an amazing spectrum of fruits and flavours leading to a complex and satis-fying finish.

Glenglassaugh 1978 35 Year Old Cask 1803 – £430

Glenglassaugh 1973 40 Year Old Cask 6801 – £630

Bottled at its cask strength of 50.6% vol. its nose reveals a deep aroma of prunes and rums and on the palate there is spice and hints of cocoa, also expanded by the addition of water. Its finish is crisp and satisfying, belying its old age.

A bottling at 45 years, this carries a cask strength of 44.3% vol. Its nose is delicate and sur-prisingly light. On the palate it delivers a pleasing softness that contains oak spices and ripe fruits. Its finish is deep and long making it an exceptional dram by any standard.

Glenglassaugh 1972 41 Year Old Cask 2114– £700

Glenglassaugh 1968 45 Year Old Cask 1601– £1399


What is it? Evolution is an exclusive series from single variety oak cask styles. Bottled at 50%, naturalcolour and non-chill filtered, this expression was matured in first fill ex-George DickelTennessee Whisky barrels and shows great depth of character and finesse, a harmoniouscombination of whisky and oak.

What’s it like? The crisp harvest gold liquid produces a buttery vanilla nose that on the palate evolves into a robust flavour of spicy oak and caramelised fruits.

Glenglassaugh Evolution – £55

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What is it?Watch this space – grain whiskies are on the cusp of becoming very trendy. This one is bottled at 42% vol. and contains no age statement. The term ‘Apps’ is distillery speak for ‘Apparatus’ referring to the still that has been producing vacuum distilled spirit since 1992 – a method pioneered by Wm Grants. This results in a very pure clean tasting spirit that balances perfectly with the American oak used for maturation.

What’s it like? The whisky is light and fruity with notes of candied fruit and cream with a lovely balance of oak.

What is it? This is the oldest and most luxurious expression of grain whisky launched to date having been mellowed and matured in American Oak and bottled without the addition of caramel. Being non-chill filtered the natural golden colour shines through.

What’s it like? Its 30 years in cask has given it a suitable richness with deep honey and toffee flavours running through to a woody spiced finish.

off-pistedramming–We include in this section some more drams that are off the beaten track. They range from some very special Girvan grains, to an exceptional bourbon and some Japanese curiosities. These whiskies are aimed at enthusiastic explorers, aficionados and

collectors.

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Girvan Patent Still Number 4 Apps– £45

Girvan 30 Year Old Grain Whisky– £375



Stagg Jr Bourbon – £80

K N O W L E D G E B A R :B O U R B O N W H I S K E Y

The original – No.1 Apps » The original Girvan Patent Still, known affectionately as No 1 Apps, was built in 1963 under the stewardship of Charles Gordon, a whisky production pioneer and the great-grandson of William Grant. It was the most advanced distillery in the world at the time. Further innovation led in 1992 to Charles pioneering ‘vacuum distillation’ with the introduction of ‘No.4 Apps’. This distilla-tion at lower temperatures, results in a very pure, clean-tasting grain spirit that balances perfectly with the vanilla notes from American white oak casks during maturation.

K N O W L E D G E B A R :G R A I N W H I S K E Y

What is it? Uncut and unfiltered, this is a robust bourbon whiskey from Buffalo Trace Distillery aged for nearly a decade and boasts the bold character that is reminiscent of its founder George T Stagg. This is a batch bourbon aged in white oak. Bottled at 67.2 abv. What’s it like? Rich, sweet, chocolate and brown sugar flavours mingle in perfect balance with a rye spiciness. A long finish that lingers with hints of cherries, cloves and smokiness.

Stagg do… » George T. Stagg was born in Kentucky on December 19, 1835. Stagg built the most dominant American distillery of the 19th century on the banks of the Kentucky River, during a time known as the Gilded Age of Bourbon. The Distillery survived floods, fires, droughts and even Prohibition – when it made whiskey for medicinal purposes. Today, Buffalo Trace Distillery strives to carry on the tradition of its famous forefather.

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off-pistedramming–cont.–

Nikka Coffey Malt– £70

Taketsuru Pure Malt – £60


What is it? Bottled at 45% vol. this original whisky is the result of a unique process: Malted barley is distilled in “Coffey” type column stills, which are normally used for grain whisky distillation. This gives a rich and opulent result with an overwhelming softness.

What’s it like? On the nose there are distinct citrus aromatics (clementine, orange) which develop on the palate towards vanilla cream with underlying fruits and a surprisingly soft texture.

What is it? This Japanese whisky is named in honour of Masataka Taketsuru, who established Nikka Whisky in 1934. It is bottled at 43% vol.

What’s it like? This is smooth and gentle with an overall malt flavour leading to fruitiness and an extremely well-balanced taste. It’s a perfect entry point into the world of Nikka.

K N O W L E D G E B A R :C O F F E Y S T I L L S

Aeneas’ Invention

» The Coffey Still was patented by Irishman Aeneas Coffey and it represented an improvement on two previous attempts at a design of the column still – a method of continuous distillation that enhances the heat within the still and consequently the alcoholic strength of the new spirit. The first was by another Irishman, Sir Anthony Perrier, in 1822 and the second was by a Scotsman, Robert Stein, in 1826.

He patented a single column still in 1830, enhancing the original designs. His column still became widely popular and is known as the “Coffey Still” or “Patent Still”. Early Coffey stills produced spirits of about 60% strength. Modern versions can achieve much higher alcohol concentrations – approaching 95.6% alcohol by volume. As alcohol forms an azeotrope with water at this concentration, it is impossible to achieve higher purity alcohol by distillation alone.

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What’s the deal?Barrels with the potential to be Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel have been rested in the upper reaches of the barrelhouse, known as the “Angel’s Roost.” This is where the temperatures are more extreme, causing the whiskey to move in and out of the barrel dramatically, resulting in a more intense maturation process. As a consequence the spirit develops richer colour, aromas and flavours.

The Distillery offers customers around the world the opportunity to buy their own barrel of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel whiskey. A customer can taste a number of samples from different barrels and the chosen barrel is then bottled by hand and personalised medallions are applied. Then the bottles are delivered along with the barrel itself.

Each barrel yields a slightly different amount of whiskey, due to evaporation – the Angel’s Share – the whiskey that evaporates during the maturation in new white oak barrels. For the UK the barrel is bottled into 70cl decanter-style bottles prior to shipment. Although the yield varies, a rough average would be 260 bottles.

What the heck … let’s buy the barrel!–Believe it or not some customers around the world want to buy and collect the whole of a cask of whisky - an edition that will be strictly limited to one person only. These customers are few and far between, but they do exist and The Whisky Shop is happy to help. It’s not a straight forward exercise and there are pitfalls, but with our guidance it can be done. Jack Daniels Distillery has stepped into this heady arena.–

Buy the Barrel: Jack Daniels – £13,500


Readers interested should contact The Whisky Shop Managing Director, Andrew Torrance, who will give the enquiry his personal attention. He can be emailed on: [email protected] or telephoned on: +44 (0) 141 427 2919

What’s it like?What finally emerges from the wood is a bold, full-bodied whiskey with a balance of sweet vanilla, caramel and oak character. And it will be totally unique!

K N O W L E D G E B A R :B U Y I N G A C A S K

Not commonly available » Whole casks of maturing Scotch Whisky are not readily available to the public, because distilleries are organised and set up to produce in volume for themselves. They simply cannot easily manage ownership in fractions of one or two casks.

Take expert advice» However, one or two independently owned distilleries have privately owned casks in their warehouses.

No guarantees» There is no guarantee (other than through the good reputation of the distiller) that there will be any whisky left in a cask when emptied. Firstly the whisky evaporates over time –‘The Angel’s Share’, and secondly whisky can leak out of a cask if the staves of the barrel become old and weak.

There’s duty to pay» All casks are stored under bond. This means that Customs Duty and VAT are outstanding and have to be paid by the owner whenever an individual cask is released from bond. A typical amount of tax and duty to be paid would be £5000!

There are further processes» When a cask is emptied (or as the trade calls it ‘disgorged’) the whisky will require to be filtered, for it will contain particles of wood and bits and pieces that get into the cask over the time of maturation. A further filtration process to take out finer particles and fatty esters is discretionary.

Strength may vary…» The strength of the whisky in a cask will vary depend-ing on age and make, but a typical cask strength of a 12 YO will be in the high 50s and possibly over 60% abv. This allows it to be diluted, if required, thereby making the whisky go further.

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What is it? The Balvenie DoubleWood is a 12 year old single malt which gains its distinctive character from being matured in two wood types. Over the period of maturation it is transferred from a traditional oak whisky cask to a first fill European oak sherry cask. Each stage lends different qualities to the result-ing single malt – the traditional casks soften and add character, whilst the sherry wood brings depth and fullness of flavour.

What’s it like? On the nose there are fruity Oloroso sherry notes and on the palate it is smooth and mel-low with beautifully combined flavours of spices and fruits. The finish is long and warming.

What is it? The Balvenie Single Barrel First Fill has been aged for at least 12 years in a first fill, ex-bourbon cask; that is a cask brought to Scotland from America and used for the very first time.The Balvenie Malt Master samples the aged whisky, cask by cask and selects only those characterised by sweetness and subtle vanilla oak to be bottled as The Balvenie Single Barrel First Fill. Each bottle is one of no more than 300 drawn from a single cask and each is hand-numbered and carries the number of the cask in which it matured.

What’s it like? On the nose there is a bounty of sweet oak and spice and on the palate it is rich and complex with deep vanilla oakiness and subtle spices. The finish is lingering and sweet.

A visit to…Balvenie–For years Balvenie stood in the shadow of its big brother, Glenfiddich Distillery. But while Glenfiddich was achieving premium status as the world’s number 1 Scotch Malt, Balvenie Distillery was quietly producing some of the best Speyside whisky in Scotland. And on the way, it was attracting a loyal and knowledgeable following. In a typically understated fashion, Balvenie pioneered many of the maturation techniques that are praised today. Balvenie recognised the importance of maturation and innovation using the very best wood casks. The results are here to be sampled.

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Balvenie 12 Year Old DoubleWood – £47

Balvenie 12 Year Old First Fill – £54



What is it? Malt Master David Stewart, who celebrated his 50th year at The Balvenie in 2012, returned to one of his most celebrat-ed achievements for this. Consecutive maturation in two different types of cask - often referred to as ‘cask finishing’ - is at the heart of The Balvenie DoubleWood. The whisky is matured first in American oak barrels, which impart soft sweet vanilla notes, then transferred to European oak sherry casks, which add rich spicy flavours and a depth and fullness of flavour.

What’s it like?On the nose there is an elegant confluence of oak, vanilla, hon-eyed sweetness and a hint of green apple. Its taste is sweet with dried fruits, layered with distinct toffee notes and traces of oak and deep vanilla.

What is it?To create The Balvenie PortWood Aged 21 Years, a marriage of rare Balvenie is transferred to port casks, or pipes, which have held fine port wines. Here it is sampled regularly by The Balvenie Malt Master to ensure that just the right amount of character is imparted by the port casks, enhancing and developing the single malt whilst preserving its original characteristics.

What’s it like? On the nose there is a perfume of fruity and ripe raisin notes, backed by a nutty dryness. It tastes refined with remarkable character – creamy and silky with fruit, honey and spice and a long, gentle, nutty finish.

Balvenie 17 Year Old DoubleWood – £90

Balvenie 21 Year Old PortWood – £155

Balvenie 30Year Old – £540

Balvenie 40Year Old – £3,000

What is it?The Balvenie Thirty is a rare and especially fine single malt for which David Stewart selects only exceptional casks that were laid down over thirty years ago. By marrying The Balvenie slowly aged in traditional oak whisky casks with that aged in European oak sherry casks, David creates a rich, mellow Scotch whisky with unusual depth and complexity. ‘Thirty’ is bottled at 47.3% abv to cap-ture all the signature character-istics of The Balvenie.

What’s it like? On the nose there are mellow oaky tones and hints of can-died orange peel and its taste combines great depth with rich dark chocolate and hints of marzipan. The finish is excep-tionally smooth and warming with gentle spice and lingering sweetness.

What is it?To create Batch One of only 150 bottles of The Balvenie Forty, Malt Master David Stewart has skilfully married together small amounts of The Balvenie ma-tured in 4 refill hogsheads and 3 sherry butts that have lain in the warehouses for at least forty years.

What’s it like? On the nose there are rich oak notes overlaid with stewed fruits. The addition of a little water releases sweeter fruit notes and hints of vanilla. It is silky smooth on the mouth pro-ducing sweetness and a spicy sensation of cloves, cinnamon and ginger. The flavour devel-ops towards oak with hints of dark chocolate. As expected of a whisky of this age and stature, the finish is rich, slightly dry and extremely long.

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Drink one,Collect one:Glenfarclas–The Grants family have been distilling at Glenfarclas since 1865 and to this day it remains a family owned and run concern. This means that everything they do, they do it their way. Unconcerned by fads or trends within the industry, the Grants of Glenfarclas have maintained a steady course since the current owner’s great – great grandfather purchased the distillery for £511 plus a few bob. They uphold all of the traditions of craftsmanship of whisky making and they produce a very fine product. Perhaps the single thing that sets them apart from other distillers is their commitment to using sherry casks for everything they do. Glenfarclas whiskies are not only extremely good to drink but they are also highly collectable.

Grants Family Casks – what are they? The Family Casks are a unique collection of the best single casks from the distillery’s warehouses. Launched in 2007, the collection initially comprised 43 single cask bottlings, with one cask from every year from 1952 to 1994. In order to continue to offer as wide a range of consecutive vintage dated single casks as possible, since 2007 there have been seven further releases, to replace casks which have sold out, and to extend the range to include 1996. The Family Casks are bottled at cask strength and natural colour, allowing you to explore the subtle differences between casks and the history of family owned Glenfarclas. –



What’s it like? Like all the other 1964 casks a lovely rich dark copper. Big oloroso nose, stewed apples and pears, golden syrup. Toffee and caramel also present with oak on the end of nose. A very dry whisky that sings Glenfarclas to you. Dry, sweet and bitter all in one go. Lots of burnt demerara sugar.

What’s it like? A fresh alluring nose of butterscotch and toffee and a powerful taste with some smokiness and more than a hint of sherry with sweet and malty tones. A big finish, long and light.

What’s it like? A beautifully fresh and light whisky with an aroma of toasted nuts and light vanilla. A light taste with the effect of lots of fruit on the tongue, leading to a slow finish which gathers pace after time.

What’s it like? 1994 is a fantastic vintage for Glenfarclas. This dram oozes sherry with great balance of vanilla, nuts, chocolate and fruit. Good balance finish, with more sherry. A big whisky for its age. A truly moreish whisky (you will have more!)

Glenfarclas 1964 Cask: 4722 Sherry Butt Autumn 2013 | 41% abv– £775

Glenfarclas 1974 Cask: 5785 Sherry Butt Autumn 2013 | 53.3% abv– £495

Glenfarclas 1984 Cask: 6030 Plain Hogshead Release VII | 51% abv–£460

Glenfarclas 1994 Cask: 2950 Sherry Butt Release IX | 57.9% abv–£240

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What is it?This beautifully scented range has met with instant popularity with customers at The Whisky Shop. Its aroma is enticingly different, some describe it as addictive.

What is it?Tennent Caledonian is Scotland’s oldest brewery. It has a prodigious history of brewing lagers and ales at its Wellpark Brewery in Glasgow that have earned worldwide acclaim. With a rich history and heritage dating back to 1556, Tennent’s were in a unique position to create a beer combined with Scotland’s other national drink, whisky. Master Brewer, Keith Lugton, has used a blend of four international hop varieties with Scottish-grown malts to create Tennent’s Beer Aged with Whisky Oak.

What’s it like?On the nose, expect a full bodied, aromatic burst of citrus derived from the North American hops, Summit and Zeus. The infusion of Single Malt Whisky also adds to the fruity aroma and on the palate, you’ll be greeted by the smoky, woody flavours of the oak. Sweet vanilla notes are also present, as are the bittering qualities of the European hops, Tettnang and Aurora.

How do you drink it?Keith recommends drinking Tennent’s Beer Aged with Whisky Oak at between 6 to 10 degrees C to allow for all of its flavours to come to life. A tulip-shaped, stemmed glass is the ideal choice.

Noble Isle Whisky and Water Luxury Hand Wash / Lotion– £18 / £20

Tennent’s Beer Aged with Whisky Oak – £2.50

MoreGiftIdeas–Finding something different


7 8

What’s in it? A limited edition Hendrick’s hipflask by Jewellery designer Hannah Martin, entirely hand-crafted in the UK from blown glass and the finest of leather and pewter. To compliment this, there is also a silk and cashmere scarf, produced by Walker Slater of Edinburgh and designed by London Artist, Adam Dant which depicts a map of London detailing sixty individual points of interest, each of which in some way relate to London’s history of gin drinking. All of this and a bottle of Handcrafted Hendrick’s Gin are presented within a beautiful handmade leather bag.

What’s in it? The three miniatures which make up this fantastic gift pack are: Balvenie 12 year old DoubleWood, Balvenie 17 year old DoubleWood and Balvenie 14yo Caribbean Cask. Nowhere else will you find a distillery that still grows its own barley, still malts in its own traditional floor maltings and still employs a team of coopers to tend to all the casks and a coppersmith to maintain the stills.

What’s in it? A Premium Gift pack containing a 5cl miniature of Chivas Regal 12yo, The Glenlivet 12yo, Aberlour 12yo and Jameson Irish Whiskey.

MoreGiftIdeas–

Hendricks Travel Pack– £795

The Balvenie Tasting Collection 3x5cl– £24.99

Premium Whisky Selection – £18.99



What’s in it? A gift pack of three miniature bottles of Glenfiddich – their best-selling 12 year old, the 14 year old Rich Oak and the 15 year old Solera matured.

What’s in it?A gift set containing three different miniature bottles from the Glenfarclas Distillery in the heart of Speyside – the 10 year old, the 105 Cask Strength and the 12 year old.

Glenfiddich miniature pack– £20.49

Glenfarclas miniature pack– £27.99

BenRiach miniature pack– £29.49

What’s in it?A group of BenRiach miniatures, comprising the NAS ‘Heart of Speyside’ and the 12yo, 16yo and 20yo.

8 0

Customer favourites–We call these ‘whiskies with legs’ because they walk out of our shops! These are the whiskies our customers buy in the greatest numbers. In terms of a guide you need look no further. There is something here for everyone. –

Aberfeldy12 Year Old– £42

The classic example of a Highland malt. Gentle traces of beeswax and buttered toast, covering a zesty note of orange peel. Smooth and scented to taste; sweet to start, with a hint of white pepper, drying in the warming finish. Water increases the waxy note in both the aroma and texture.

Glenturret Triple Wood– £45

A mix of mature Glenturret malts from three different styles of cask: first fill ex-Bourbon American oak barrels, first fill ex-sherry Spanish oak Butts and refill American oak hogsheads. The resulting whisky is a fragrant mix of orange peel, peardrops and vanilla, with cedarwood, marzipan (dusted with cinnamon) and coconut in the taste, drying lightly in the shortish finish.



Glenfiddich18 Year Old– £65

The leading expression of the world’s best-selling malt, introduced in the mid-1980s, this is a classic – a benchmark whisky – developing and expanding the flavour profile of the 12 years old. Bronze in colour, the nose is a combination of orchard fruits, baked apple and oak shavings. The taste starts sweet, then dries out somewhat, with the fruity flavours becoming dried fruits, with candied peel and dates, imbued with an atmosphere of fresh oak.

Balvenie17 Year Old– £90

Full gold in colour; an elegant and complex aroma, with honeycomb and vanilla, indicating the use of active American oak casks, and behind this a hint of fresh green apple. The taste is sweet to start, with a sherbet-like fizz, followed by dried fruits, toasted almonds and cinnamon, with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. A lengthy, sweet finish.

Bowmore Laimrig15 Year Old– £70

Laimrig is the Gaelic for ‘pier’ and celebrates the distillery’s ancient stone pier, where sacks of barley and coal were once landed, and casks of whisky dispatched by ‘puffers’ – the shallow-draft, coastal steamers that operated up and down the West Coast of Scotland until the 1960s. This cask strength whisky is the colour of teak – indicating the use of Spanish oak butts. The first nose confirms this with a scent of Olo-roso sherry, dried figs and raisins. Behind this lurks some cocoa and peat smoke against a maritime, beach-like, background. The taste reflects all these elements: rich and full-bodied, with a sweetish start, a salty middle, and a long dry finish.

Aberlour 12 Year Old– £44

A distillery in Speyside noted for its pure, clean taste, this distillery makes big berried sherried whiskies and delicate honeyed and vanilla ones, then mixes them to create this. There’s some green apple too, and you might find a hint of mint.

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Customer favourites(cont.)–

Glenfarclas10 Year Old– £43

This is a vintage motor car of a whisky: no frills, no gimmicks, just a growling sherried engine and a big display of the very finest that well made sherry cask whisky can be. Highly enjoyable on all counts.

Isle of Jura Superstition– £40

From a distillery that has moved towards the top of Britain’s favourite malts, this particular expression isn’t typical of the island distillery. However it brings a moderate amount of peat to the otherwise sweet, fruity and creamy whisky.



Balblair1997– £57

This is one of Scotland’s best ‘hidden gems’ from a distillery up on the North East coast on the road from Inverness to Wick. It is a Starburst fruit bowl with fresh citrus and green fruit notes and just enough earthiness to stop it from being cloying.

Dalmore12 Year Old– £46

Beautifully packaged, full of Highland flavour and of outstanding quality, this has long been popular with our customers. There’s some big orange and apricot flavours, peanut toffee crunch and a healthy level of oak, a big all rounder.

Auchentoshan12 Year Old– £42

One of the few distilleries in the Lowlands, this distillery lies close to Glasgow and its fortunes have risen significantly since the brand was repackaged and its age moved from 10 to 12 years. This is relatively light and clean, an easy drinking fruity whisky ideal for warm autumn evenings.

Strathisla12 Year Old– £42

This is a prince of a malt, one of the most iconic Speyside whiskies of them all. It is bursting with rich fruity flavours and has depth and complexity. If you like Chivas Regal and are ready to move towards malt, this is the one for you as it’s a core malt in that blend.

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The Directory –Join the W Club and you will receive all future editions of Whiskeria. visit whiskyshop.com to buy your whisky the easy way and use thewclub.co.uk to read reviews, news, blogs, tasting notes, exclusive content and deals, and more! We’re also on facebook – just search for ‘The W Club’.

Click & Collect–Now it’s even easier to buy at The Whisky Shop. visit our website to use our Click & Collect service to pick up from any of our stores across the UK. | whiskyshop.com

Scotland Glasgow Buchanan Galleries 0141 331 0022

Edinburgh Princes Mall 0131 558 7563

Edinburgh Victoria Street 0131 225 4666

Edinburgh Ocean Terminal 0131 554 8211

Inverness 17 Bridge Street 01463 710525

Fort William 93 High Street 01397 706164

Oban 52 George Street 01631 570896

Callander 11 Main Street 01877 331 936

Gretna Gretna Gateway Outlet Village 01461 338004

NorthGateshead MetroCentre 01914 603777

Manchester 3 Exchange Street 0161 832 6110

York 11 Coppergate Walk 01904 640300

Stoke-on-Trent Trentham Gardens 01782 644483

Nottingham 3 Cheapside 0115 958 7080

Birmingham Gt Western Arcade 0121 212 1815

South London Piccadilly 0207 499 6649

London Paternoster Square 0207 329 5117

Lakeside Lakeside Shopping Centre / 01708 866255

Brighton 64 East Street 01273 327962

Guildford 25 Chapel Street 01483 450900

Oxford 7 Turl Street 01865 202279

Norwich 3 Swan Lane 01603 618284

J & G GRANT, GLENFARCLAS DISTILLERY, BALLINDALLOCH, BANFFSHIRE, SCOTLAND AB37 9BDTEL +44 (0)1807 500257 [email protected] WWW.GLENFARCLAS.CO.UKGlenfarclas encourages responsible drinking.

J & G GRANT, GLENFARCLAS DISTILLERY, BALLINDALLOCH, BANFFSHIRE, SCOTLAND AB37 9BDTEL +44 (0)1807 500257 [email protected] WWW.GLENFARCLAS.CO.UKGlenfarclas encourages responsible drinking.


Think of the great single malts associated with sherry maturation and Glenfarclas is sure to be on your list, up there with the likes of The Macallan, The Dalmore and GlenDronach. The Speyside distillery offers a comprehensive array of whiskies, ranging in age from eight to 40, along with a unique series of Family Casks, initially comprising single cask bottlings of Glenfarclas from every year between 1952 and 1994, now amended t0 1954-1998, as time has passed and the oldest whisky has become too precious and limited in quantity to release. Ten new variants were introduced in the autumn of 2013 to keep the run unbroken. The distillery was also the first to launch a cask strength expression, back in 1968, and that is now marketed as Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength. The fact that any distillery has the stock to do all of this is testament to the thread of continuity that runs through the history of Glenfarclas, located in stunning countryside close to the A95 road between Grantown-on-Spey and Aberlour. It has been owned by successive generations of the Grant family since 1865, having been established in 1836, and the original 1790s farmhouse around which distilling first commenced remains in the middle of the distillery site, serving as a storehouse. The present company chairman is John Grant, who must be unique among modern-day distillery owners by living with his wife Ishbel in a house right beside the distillery itself! John’s son George serves as Director of Sales, and the Grant family’s eldest sons have invariably been christened either John or George. The present George has two daughters, neither of whom is called Georgina, despite family tradition! As the Scotch whisky industry has undergone relentless consolidation of ownership, the Grants have steadfastly refused a number of tempting offers for its distillery, which makes Glenfarclas one of the few truly family-owned and run distilleries in Scotland.

This allows for a certain degree of individuality, and the distillery ran its own farm until 1988, when the last of the cattle were sold off. At the time, it boasted the second-oldest Aberdeen Angus herd in the country after that of nearby Ballindalloch Castle. The fabled use of ex-sherry casks for maturation, rather than the significantly cheaper former Bourbon casks favoured by most distillers today, also has much to do with the independence of Glenfarclas. Received wisdom is that the spirit flourishes when matured in sherry casks, and in particular second-fill ex-oloroso sherry butts, so why change a regime that works so well, even if a good sherry cask may cost £800, while an ex-Bourbon barrel can be acquired for around £50? Since 1989 John Grant has made an annual visit to the sherry capital of Jerez in southern Spain to source the following year’s supply of casks. For the ‘standard’ range of expressions a mixture of first-fill, refill and even third and fourth-fill casks are used to obtain the required balance of aromas and flavours. All casks are made from European oak and only hogsheads and butts are employed. No peated expressions of Glenfarclas are produced and cask finishes are not countenanced. In its own quiet way, Glenfarclas is one of the major success stories of the Scotch whisky industry, with sales rising by 75 per cent during the last five years, and some 700,000 bottles now sell annually in more than 70 international markets. Glenfarclas single malts are sold to consumers at sensible prices, with the family philosophy being that they would rather customers bought a bottle of their whisky, drank it and came back for more, than put it on a shelf and look at it. So it is that a bottle of 30-year-old Glenfarclas retails for around £205. Compare that with the prices being asked by some of the brand’s rivals! The competitive pricing structure is possible partly because

Gavin D Smith explores the history of Glenfarclas Distillery

GlenfarclasTour


the distillery boasts much larger stocks of aged whisky than most of its rivals, while another factor is John Grant’s dislike of over-elaborate packaging. Most expressions of Glenfarclas are sold in simple cardboard cartons, and even the most exclusive Family Cask bottlings are offered in a relatively plain wooden box. Grant has been heard to declare that they would not even be presented in wooden boxes, but for the insistence of his marketing team! Age statements remain a cornerstone of the Glenfarclas ethos, but then aged stock is readily available to produce such expressions, unlike some rivals who have been forced to make a virtue of offering no-age-statement variants. Back in the 1950s George Grant Snr saw a future not just in blended Scotch, as almost everybody else did, but also in single malts, hence the present healthy inventory. Additionally, through the whisky industry’s difficult times during the 1980s when virtually every other distiller cut back production, the Grant family increased it, with the result that when the crisis passed, blenders were desperate for stocks of mature whisky and Glenfarclas was able to oblige, reaping the financial rewards in the process. In order to keep up with potential future demand, the distillery currently works seven days per week, and turns out around three million litres (mla) of spirit per annum, though last year saw a record 3.2 mla produced, and the team is aiming for 3.5 mla in 2014. To store all the spirit being distilled, four new

warehouses were constructed last year, taking the total to 34 – between them holding some 53,000 casks of maturing whisky. Glenfarclas is notable for operating the biggest mash tun and the largest stills on Speyside. Unusually, the three pairs (of which each wash still has a capacity of 26,500 litres and each spirit still 21,000 litres) are direct-fired by gas, rather than heated by steam, and the Grants insist that the firing regime does make a significant difference to the character of the whisky, having experimented with steam heating some years ago, and rapidly rejected it. The distillery’s prime location close to one of the busiest ‘A’ roads in Speyside makes it notably popular with visitors, keen to see whisky-making in progress and buy a bottle or two to take home. Glenfarclas was actually one of the first distilleries to create a purpose-built visitor centre, which opened in 1973. The ‘Ship’s Room,’ in which participants enjoy their complementary dram, boasts wood panelling from the liner Empress of Australia, along with the original ship’s bar. During this spring’s annual Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, the Ship’s Room was regularly thronged with people, and a distillery-exclusive release of just 300 bottles of 25-year-old 1988 whisky was released for the occasion, producing queues at the visitor centre doors prior to opening and selling out in four days. This was the first distillery-exclusive offering from Glenfarclas but is unlikely to be the last!


{ Tasting Notes }

Tasting Note Nose: Rich, nutty sherry notes; cinnamon and caramel, with a hint of milky coffee.

Palate: Smooth, with old leather, almonds, lots of spice, dried fruits and oak.

Finish: Long and nutty, with lingering sherry.

Glenfarclas 10 Year Old4 0 % V O L | £ 4 3

Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength6 0 % V O L | £ 6 4

Glenfarclas 21 Year Old4 3 % V O L | £ 1 1 5

Tasting Note Nose: Sherry, raisins, nuts, spices, and a hint of smoke.

Palate: Quite dry sherry, with a developing and gradually sweetening full body.

Finish: Lengthy and comparatively dry.

Tasting Note

Nose: Sweet, with orchard fruits, and a suggestion of mint.

Palate: Silky and malty, with butterscotch and black pepper.

Finish: Medium to long, with vanilla, honey, sherry and very light oak notes.

K N O W L E D G E B A R :S H E R R Y

A Fortified Wine» Sherry is a fortified wine, produced from the Palomino and Pedro Ximénez grape varieties

Jerez… Sherry» The name ‘sherry’ is an Anglicisation of ‘Jerez,’ and the southern Spanish city of Jerez de la Frontera is the capital of the sherry industry

The ‘Sherry Triangle’» There are some 130 sherry bodegas – or wine cellars – in the ‘Sherry Triangle,’ which embraces Jerez, Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Jerez is home to the best-known names in the sherry trade, such as Gonzales Byass, Harvey’s, Pedro Domecq and Sandeman

Fino & Oloroso» The two principal styles of sherry are Fino (very dry and light-bodied) and Oloroso (also dry, but richer in flavour and more full-bodied)

Casks for whisky» A number of sherry bodegas supply used casks to the Scotch whisky industry, and some whisky producers have casks specifically coopered for them and filled with sherry under their direction, prior to around 18 months of maturation, after which the sherry is disgorged and the casks shipped to Scotland

9 0 e x p e r t t a s t i n g

{ Charles MacLean } Expert Tasting

Bunnahabhain was first bottled as a single malt in 1979 and soon after this my former business partner landed the low-budget advertising account. He came up with the clever theme ‘Great Unpronounceables of Our Time’ and ran the campaign from small ad spaces beside crosswords in up-mar-ket newspapers, comparing the brand with other ‘unpro-nounceables’ – ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’, for example – and defining Bunna as ‘The Gentle Islay Malt’. Clever, what? It is gentle, compared with the ‘Big Smokies’ – Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Caol Ila and Bowmore - some of which might also be entered for a ‘Great Unpronounceable’ compe-tition – but it has a rich character all of its own, especially the recently released older expressions at 18 and 25 years old. The distillery location on the north coast of Islay – “with views out into the vast expanse of water that is the Sound of Islay”, the carton tells us [Actually, the Sound is only a mile or so wide at this point; maybe the writer is thinking of the Atlantic Ocean, which the Sound joins close to Bunnahabhain] – is among the most remote in Scotland. “Why on earth choose such a spot?” You might well ask. The answer: unusually hard, mineral-rich water from a spring in the Margadale Hills inland and copious supplies of cooling water from Loch Staoinsha – another unpronounceable? – behind the distillery; a sheltered site, and ready access to the sea for the importing of barley and coal and the exporting of whisky. When the first navvies’ huts appeared on the shore in May 1881 the surroundings were bleak indeed. A stony beach stretched the length of Bunnahabhain Bay; desolate moorland began immediately behind and rose steadily to the horizon; there was not a tree in sight, let alone a human habitation. The site had to be levelled; stone quarried for the sizeable distillery buildings, the extensive warehouses and the village which would accommodate the workforce and excisemen. A

strong pier had to be built out into the fast-f lowing Sound of Islay, and a mile-long road (some of it up the steep slope, al-most a cliff, behind the distillery) was also required to connect the site to the outside world via Islay’s single-track roads. Despite a savage storm in November 1881 which damaged the half-completed buildings and swept away a pair of large steam boilers, recently unloaded onto the beach, the distillery was completed in eighteen months and commenced produc-tion in October 1882. An early visitor was the tireless whisky tourist, Alfred Barnard, who described it as “…a fine pile of buildings in the form of a square and quite enclosed. Enter-ing by the noble gateway one forms an immediate sense of the compactness and symmetrical construction of the work”. The style required by its owners was unpeated – one of the reasons for using a fresh-water spring was to minimise any peat influence in the process water – since the whisky was used for blending. In 1997 a trial was done with peated malt and this was so successful that since 2003 a small amount of peated Bunna, which the owners name Moine (pronounced ‘Moy-nya’; Gaelic for ‘peat’), has been made each year. The Bunna XVIII is in the traditional style, revealing only a very slight smokiness. It is presented in a traditional dark green bottle (originally used because clear glass was very much more expensive) and is bottled at the old-fash-ioned strength of 46.3%Vol [80° Imperial Proof], proudly proclaiming that it is of ‘natural colour and un-chillfiltered’. The former confirms that a large proportion of the casks used in this bottling are Spanish oak, and the lat-ter indicates that the liquid will have a good rich texture, which it does.

Bunnahabhain XVIII–1 8 Y e A r S o L D –S I N G L e I S L A Y M A L T | 4 6 . 3 % v o L | £ 9 9

Tasting Note A deep, polished mahogany hue, with thick legs indicating full-bodied texture. A big, sherried nose, with hard toffee and mixed nuts, soon becoming fruit cake with baking spices. Smooth texture, then lots of peppery spice in the increasingly tannic finish, long and warming. A drop of water makes it easier to taste, but introduces a slight cordite note.


Alexander III, King of Scots, was a colourful character. He succeeded his father, Alexander II, to the throne in July 1249, aged only seven – which led, inevitably, to an embittered strug-gle for control of the kingdom between powerful barons, one of whom kidnapped the young king until a regency agreement had been drawn up. While still only nine, he was married to Princess Margaret of England, daughter of Henry III, who immediately demand-ed that Alexander do homage for his kingdom of Scotland (which he refused). Rafael Holinshed, in his often fanciful his-tory of Scotland, which was nevertheless Shakespeare’s source for MacBeth, states that at the wedding a horrible monster, mostly skeleton but with raw f lesh, appeared at the end of the procession and caused the ceremony to be hurriedly conclud-ed. In tradition, such an apparition was an omen of death. Queen Margaret died in 1275, but according to a contem-porary chronicle, Alexander did not mourn for long: “he used never to forbear on account of season nor storm, nor for perils of f lood or rocky cliffs, but would visit none too creditably nuns or matrons, virgins or widows as the fancy seized him, sometimes in disguise.” Apart from driving the Norse from the West Coast of Scot-land following the Battle of Largs in 1263, Alexander is most remembered for his death. Following a banquet in Edinburgh Castle to celebrate his second marriage, he determined to visit his new queen at Kinghorn in Fife, since her birthday was the following day. The hour was late; the weather stormy. He made it across the Firth of Forth, then became separated from his guides and fell from his horse, tumbling down a small cliff near Kinghorn. “But what”, you might ask, “has this to do with Dalmore?” Well, a less-known event in Alexander III’s life

happened in 1263 when he was nearly killed by a rampant stag during a hunt. He was saved by the valour of one Colin, ances-tor both of Clan Matheson and Clan Mackenzie, who bravely intervened and skewered the stag with his spear. In gratitude, the king permitted Colin’s descendants to bear a ‘royal’ stag’s head (i.e. with 12 ‘points’ or tines on its antlers) in their coat of arms. Dalmore Distillery in Ross and Cromarty was founded by Alexander Matheson in 1839, then owned by William Mac-kenzie and his descendants for nearly a century. The stag’s head granted to their forbear decorates every bottle of Dalmore, including this special bottling commemorating King Alexander III. The carton of The Dalmore King Alexander III tells us that it is “A Unique Six Cask Marriage of Specially Selected Aged Stocks… Whiskies matured in ex-bourbon casks, Matusalem oloroso sherry wood, Madeira barrels, Marsala casks, port pipes and Cabernet Sauvignon wine barriques are brought together in perfect harmony” by Richard Paterson, Dalmore’s legendary Master Blender.

The Dalmore King Alexander III–S I N G L e H I G H L A N D M A L T | 4 0 % v o L | £ 1 7 5

Tasting Note The colour of polished rosewood, with an initial aroma of almond marzipan, ripe plums, candied orange peel, dried sultanas and figs macerated in liquor, with a trace of gun oil in the background. A smooth texture and a rich taste which starts sweet, then dries elegantly, with some spice (cinnamon and nutmeg) leaving a hint of dark chocolate in the aftertaste. Water introduces caramel and sweetens the taste overall.

TDM_0214_WhiskeriaMagazine_PrintAd_1c_100%.indd 2 25/02/14 11:02

9 4 O N T H E O T H E R H A N D

Boston, Massachusetts. When you think of it, and if you’re a fan of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band (ask your dad) you can’t help thinking of a nice, hot cup of tea. Who wouldn’t want to go to the Boston Tea Party? However it’s not tea but something altogether more cool that REALLY put Boston on the drinkypoos world map. Ice. They gave the world something that revolutionised drinking and something that is so ubiquitous in drinking dens these days that we throw it down the sink. When you clink a couple of large cubes around in your Whisky highball, you probably don’t give a thought to the fact that before around 1810, in warmer climes, ice simply didn’t exist. Ice used to be the preserve of rich folk. Very rich folk. In fact, before refrigeration, you needed an Ice House and a large quantity of blokes to dig the stuff up and store the stuff over the winter, where it would be brought out on special occasions. Normal geezers and geezer-ettes did not have ice, particularly in warm countries. No chilled rum punch, gin & tonics or whisky & soda. How did they go on? This set a Bostonian man thinking. You can imagine the frosty looks he would have got, at a 19th Century ‘Dragon’s Den’ pitch: Good afternoon Dragons, my name is Frederic Tudor and I have invented a revolutionary idea to chop up ice, in massive big chunks, from the lakes at the back of my house and ship it all over the World, like to Calcutta and the West Indies and Cuba and that. Scottish Dragon: “Refrigeration husnae been invented yet, ahm oot! You are bonkers, yer assets wull get frozen.” Tall Dragon: “It’s the early 1800s, it takes 4 months to sail to Calcutta, you clearly have not done the figures. You need to cool down and think again.”

Victor Brierley on ice...{On the other hand}


Frederic Tudor: “Well, if you Dragon guys won’t help me, I’ll do the cool bit myself.” In a nutshell, this is exactly what Mr Tudor did. After a holiday in the Caribbean, he witnessed that people there simply weren’t able to enjoy ice in the same way that Bostonians did, because over the winter months they didn’t get any lakes freezing over in tropical or Equatorial areas, so they couldn’t chop the ice up and store it in ice houses. They didn’t exist. So, in the early 1800s Frederic began using some of his wealthy Bostonian lawyer father’s wealth to buy small frigates, and begin on what most people thought was a thoroughly madcap scheme. Dig up ice from Lake Wenham and other New England ponds and quite literally sail it half way across the world. Of course, it was not all plain sailing and in the initial years of the early 1800s, Frederic had erm... liquidity problems and even endured a wee spell in a Debtor’s prison in 1813. However, once he got the logistics sorted (which meant ice wasn’t lying melting on quaysides) and started to insulate his ships properly, the cash began to slide in. He masterminded an ‘Ice Plough’ drawn behind a horse, which made the process faster, the ‘chunks’ bigger and the whole process much more economical. One trip to Calcutta in 1833 attracted numerous, ice-based hilarious headlines in the newspapers. As it had left several months beforehand and from even more than several thousand miles away, many stood at the Calcutta docks (which was one of the largest and most prosperous in the World at the time) expecting puddles of very expensive water and an opportunity to ridicule this tepid idea. When they cracked open the double skinned and carefully sealed ship with its insulation based on using the remnants from tanneries and

saddlery by-products, out of the 180 tons which made the 16 week voyage, over 100 tons still remained. Frederic went on to make £200,000 profits from this one route alone over the following years, meaning he didn’t receive a chilly reception from his bank manager. Over the next few years, ice and in particular, ‘Lake Wenham’ ice, became the ‘must have’ accessory at 19th Century nouveau-riche gatherings. In fact, posh people in India, the Caribbean and Africa paid a LOT of money to have ice. It was even featured on society gathering invitations “Lake Wenham ice shall be served”, which meant your drinks reception was the cold ticket in town. It seems strange to us now but can you imagine the Drinks world without ice? Is it a coincidence that so many cocktails originated on the Eastern Seaboard of America? Would there have been a ‘Boston Cocktail Shaker’ without Frederic? To be fair, history charts that Frederic was a risk taker and some of his equally slippery ideas did not sparkle quite so much. He died comfortable, but not after having a lot of business ups and downs in his interesting and risk taking life. Frederic Tudor, the Boston Ice King. Definitely a character worth raising a glass to. One very chilled individual. So, when you are next enjoying a ‘Scotch on the Rocks’, or a Bourbon-based ‘Boulevardier’ cocktail with a very impressive chunk of slow-frozen, artisan and hand crafted ice, think back and raise your chunky crystal, ‘rocks’ glass to the original ‘King of Cool’.

Victor’s advice on iceSo, what’s all this about big bits of ice in my drink?The idea is big bits of ice are slow to melt so keep the drink undiluted longer.

So what about smaller ice cubes? It can be easier for small ice to rearrange and stay submerged in a drink as you sip it. So in the case of a chilled Old-Fashioned, all that really matters is you use ice that stays submerged for as long as you intend to drink the cocktail. [Here’s the ‘science-bit’, thanks Google!] However, when you add small ice to a drink, that surface water immediately dilutes the drink without adding any chilling benefit. An iced drink translates into a more diluted drink, as ice does not chill unless it also melts – a shaken cocktail ended up at 48 proof, while its stirred twin finished at a much higher 65 proof.

Seems like an argument still rages about adding ice to your drink then?The basic argument for not adding ice to Scotch is this: ice waters down the Scotch and chills it. When you chill Scotch, fewer aromatic compounds from the spirit get released into the air, which means you experience much less of the Scotch’s potential.

What do you recommend at home?When drinking cocktails at home, I’m perfectly happy using lots of small cold ice cubes straight from the freezer. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like the amazing big hand chopped cubes ‘off the block’ as served in Kelvingrove Cafe – they make a difference in chilling. So perhaps look at having some oversized moulds in your freezer.

What about Japanese style ‘ice ball’ moulds?There’s some good things out there, but they’re a bit fussy – keep in mind that real-world factors like glassware, room temperature, and humidity will affect your results.

Victor’s pretentious tasting notes

“It has the suave and brooding character

of Mr Fox in Jemima Puddleduck.”

Now that’s far too raunchy for the genteel readers of Whiskeria!

“The distillery character shouts from the rooftops.”‘

But what?’ I hear you ask. What does it shout?

“Its edgy assertiveness might bother aesthetes but I warm

to a whisky that knows its own mind.”

Well, of course, you can have a whole conversation with a whisky that

knows its own mind. What’s that nurse? Time for my nightly pills.

“The distillery character is buried far below the wood. One can

hardly detect even a light puff of smoke. Water does not help.”

How about a map? Would that help?

“Anenticing combination of sweet and warm.AnHebridean

welcome dram. Would also workas a wakeup call. Very more-ish.”

This is exactly as written by the anonymous, but presumably earnest author.

The wake-up call might be to go back to school!.

“Sensational (both literally and figuratively).”

Yes! I see what you mean.

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9 8 C O M P E T I T I O N

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The winner will be drawn at random from all correct entries received by 31st August 2014.

The judges decision will be final. All normal competition rules apply. Entrants must be over 18 years old.

FORE!WIN TICKETS TO THE RYDER CUP WITH JOHNNIE WALKERGLENEAGLESSeptember 2014For the first time in over 40 years, and only the second time in its history, this year the Ryder Cup will be held in Scotland, the Home of Golf.

To win a pair of tickets to this historic event, courtesy of The Whisky Shop and the world famous Johnnie Walker whisky, simply enter our competition below.

“An astonishing, life-remembering

dram of labyrinthine complexity”

The Last Drop Distillers brings you its latest

and smallest offering– only 388 bottles in all.

Jim Murray awards it 96.5 – among the World’s top 20

whiskies. Award yourself this great experience,

before there is no more.

www.lastdropdistillers.com

Whiskeria FP Ad No 1.indd 1 19/02/2014 17:14

enter our competition on Facebook.com/thewhiskyshop

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