Liquorature’s sister site, All Things Whisky, is proud to host an interview with Bruichladdich’s Master Distiller, Jim McEwan. Jim was gracious enough to spend a few moments chatting whisky and sharing insight into Islay life, his craft and some of the inner workings.
Greetings, Liquorature gang and followers…
ATW has posted a feature interview with Ardbeg Distillery Manager, Michael ‘Mickey’ Heads. Mickey was open and wholeheartedly endorsed the idea of sharing a few words. There will be a follow-up piece upon my return from the Distillery in October.
You can check it out here: http://www.allthingswhisky.com/?p=203
Slainte!
One of Liquorature’s favorite whisky resources, Ralfy, is featured in an exclusive interview on All Things Whisky (ATW). Head to http://www.allthingswhisky.com/?p=177 to check it out.
Slainte!
Greetings, readers.
For those of you who visit Liquorature for its whisky content, I would like to announce the launch of a new sister site. All Things Whisky went live just a couple of days ago. Be patient and wear a hard hat…the site is under construction. The biggest changes to come will be visual, but much of the content is only half loaded. (Hey…I have a day job, what can I say). You will notice that much of the whisky content was copied over from Liquorature. Being the author of said material, I felt it would be ridiculous to reinvent the wheel.
Some of the Liquorature team (myself, Clint and Pat) will carry over to Allthingswhisky.com.
There was somewhat of an unwritten rule to not delve too deeply into general natter and news about the whisky world on Liquorature. As interest grew however, the decision was finalized to create a separate site for us whisky lovers. Alas, fear not…Liquorature will still have whisky talk and new reviews as well.
As I said…forgive the mess, but feel free to pop in to http://www.allthingswhisky.com/. Drop a line or two regarding anything you’d like to know more about. This site is a place to share our experience with you.
Industry folk…this site is about what you have out there. If you are interested in having any of your products reviewed or featured, please do not hesitate to contact me (Curt) at uisgebeatha7@hotmail.com.
Wish us luck!
Slainte!
…Or do you?
Do you have a snazzy backlit set of glass shelving? A gorgeous deep mahogany bar? A dusty cupboard above the fridge?
I have 45 bottles right now. Some I am nearly done and hoping to get rid of soon, but others will always be stand-bys. I don’t really see myself being content with much smaller of a selection than I have.
That being said, I am looking for the perfect way to display my scotch selection/collection.
Care to share some thoughts on how you display yours now, or how you would like to?
Though we all love those 18 year old malts…cask strength monsters…and bold pricey Ardbegs…it is fairly reasonable to assume that it is a little byond most of us to kick the hell out of one of those bottles on a daily basis. Ahem…not that we’d be daily sippers or anything though, right?
So, while we await a bottle of the mysterious McCutcheon’s to become a reality on our bar (come on, folks…what’s the reference here?), we must settle for something a little less refined. My aristocracy has bounds.
That bottle, that daily dram, for me is Highland Park 12.
Not very original, I know, but originality for the sake of originality is something I have foregone since high school (maybe university). This is simply the most palate-pleasing whisky for all moods and cravings.
The important things to consider are 1) price and 2) drinkability.
So what are your ‘go-to’ bottles?
Lads and Lassies,
After a final discussion with our friend, David Michiels, at Willow Park…
The Calgary Whisky Club is finally a reality!
To any who do not know me yet…my name is Curt. I, along with David, will be spearheading this adventure.
The inaugural meeting of this exclusive little enclave will be on the first Sunday of September, 2010. This rather informal gathering will be at Willow Park Wines and Spirits in Calgary South. Details regarding time, agenda and directions will follow in the coming days.
If you are interested, please confirm with me, Curt, at antihero7@hotmail.com in order to ensure a spot.
Membership will be limited to 40 people. When our maximum is met, we will have a wait list. Annual dues are yet to be determined. Your input at the first meeting will help decide many details about this club, including (but not limited to):
While there will be a nominal fee associated, the benefits will far outweigh anything you put in. Exposure to many new products, access to industry persons and their knowledge, discounts and exclusive opportunities at products…and most importantly…a social circle of like-minded individuals out to have fun.
To all involved thus far, thanks for your help. To those I have yet to recruit into supporting roles…uh, sorry…and again…thanks for your help.
To any reps and industry persons…if you are interested in being involved in hosting tastings, providing samples for review or simply sitting in…please do not hesitate to contact me. Once a month you will have a captive audience of 40 whisky drinkers just itching to sample and purchase your product from Willow Park.
Please hang tight for more information.
Until we meet in September…Slainte!
As you may have read here (or listened to, if you are one of the Liquorature core) Lance and I have occasional volleys regarding our views on reviews. Topics include, but are not limited to: subjectivity, assignation of a numerical rating, format, etc. One of the topics that has cropped up a few times is my lack of reviews for those truly awful whiskies out there.
The observation itself is valid. A quick perusal of the whisky reviews here will attest to exactly Lance’s point.
So…should my integrity be doubted? Should be nosing/tasting abilities be questioned? Should a high degree of skepticism be employed when reading these reviews?
Short answer…absolutely. These reviews ARE subjective. They are comprised entirely of my personal evaluation and will continue to be so. You, as a reader, should always question what is put in front of you.
So, why are the reviews seemingly universally high? Simple, really. Whisky is expensive. I, and we, buy it to enjoy it. A low end rum may only gouge you for $15-$20, while a low end single malt will still cost somewhere in the low $30′s. Of course, we all pad our cabinets with a few of those buffer bottles that help preserve the good stuff (or to offer guests you just…don’t…like), but the secret is to find those affordable bottles that are actually really good so we never have to drink rotgut. More on this in a future post.
The moral however is that we in the whisky world are spoiled by choice. There are thousands of exceptional malts on the market (and more to come as the world stage is being shared with many new distilleries in far-flung corners of the globe). When shelling out our hard-earned ATM-dispensed food stamps should we buy a clunker just for the novelty of writing a review of an inferior product? I don’t care about creating a bell curve based on my reviews, so this becomes incidental to me.
Lance’s point hits home more on his side of the fence. Being a rummie, he is at the mercy of the liquor outlets and their prejudices. A tour of almost any outlet will show a vastly more expansive Scotch whisky section than rum selection. It is quite feasible for our resident caner (and his newfound disciples – notably Robert and Bauer) to exhaust the choices rather quickly. Lance has, in exasperation, mentioned this challenge many times. We whisky anoraks on the other hand are still overwhelmed by the available choices and future prospects.
This brings me back to the point. I have not found many bad whiskies yet, because there are too many good (or at least promising) ones to try. I tend to have an idea (through other reviews, distillery history, local industry resources and whisky forums) as to the quality of what I am buying before presenting plastic. Further, many of the whiskies reviewed are from tastings, where an ambassador is highly unlikely to present anything less than the best of his/her line, or are Liquorature club selections. The Liquorature selections are always chosen with a view to impress, not shock.
Alas, fear not…for I have tried some really…not good drams. I will not mention names here as future reviews will cover them when I am brave enough to re-pop those corks. Anyone who says there is no such thing as a bad whisky is lying to you. Fortunately for us though…there aren’t that many. Relatively speaking
A final note…
I recently picked up the latest edition of Michael Jackson’s Malt Whisky Companion. The introduction to this edition speaks to the character as well as the integrity and expertise of this sorely missed whisky legend. It mentions Michael’s adherence to the ‘if you can’t say anything nice…’ idiom. While I do not necessarily agree to this philosophy, I will admit I do not go out of my way to review what I feel is an inferior product.
Thoughts, folks?
Lads n’ lassies of the swillin’ sort,
There was a similar post here a while back asking what was on your wish list. Here I want to simplify that, as your wishlist, if anything like mine, is just that…wishes. Some on my list are far beyond these shallow pockets. For now anyway.
So instead I ask…what is your next bottle going to be? Why?
Not speaking of woodwork here, folks.
Here’s the question…
If you were given free rein to pick up 10 (and 10 only) bottles to be the basis of starting your cabinet, what would they be? What is your idea of a well-rounded whisky wall?
Extremely interested to see what you come up with in terms of what you think are the cornerstones, and what the prices will look like to give a solid set-up.
Get cracking.
CURT:
Though I am WELL beyond 10 bottles, these are where I would start from, or recommend as ‘the basics’. I have 9 of these 10 in my cabinet right now:
ABERLOUR A’BUNADH (Speyside) – You gotta have a cask strengther or two in there, and this one is hard to beat. A bold sherry bomb. 59.7% abv* (*varies according to batch).
ARDBEG TEN (Islay) – Ardbeg is the sexiest whisky on the market. Though this is not the best of the Ardbeg line, it is absolutely stellar, and relatively affordable. A clean, smoky and apple-ish peat monster. 46% abv.
AUCHENTOSHEN 12 Y.O. (Lowland) – A light triple-distilled whisky. Fruity and floral sipper. Great aperitif dram. 40% abv.
CAOL ILA 12 Y.O. (Islay) – They don’t get much better than this. Delicate, but bold. Peat, salt and smoke. 43% abv.
GLENFIDDICH 15 Y.O. SOLERA (Speyside) – I was initially going to put the Glenfiddich 12 y.o. here, but thought it was worth the $10-12 bump in price to have this instead. Brilliant whisky. Fruity and balanced. Quintessential Speysider. 40% abv.
GLENMORANGIE ORIGINAL (Highland) – A nicely balanced, light-weight whisky to represent the Highlands. Quite similar to many of the big Speysiders. 40% abv.
HIGHLAND PARK 12 Y.O. (Island) – Stunning whisky. Beautiful balance. Smoke, fruit, caramel, vanilla and sherry. Creamy and smooth. Suits all moods and occasions. 40% abv.
LAGAVULIN 16 Y.O. (Islay) – One of the ‘classic malts’. A slightly more medicinal edge than most of the Islay big boys. Still a peat and smoke bomb though. 43% abv.
LAPHROAIG QUARTER CASK (Islay) – A smoke and peat monster. Raw and earthy. Incredible value for your dollar. 48% abv.
TALISKER 10 Y.O. (Island) – Some smoke and peat there for sure, but a dry peppery edge differentiates this from the other peated offerings. 45.8% abv.
…and when you start expanding…
BALVENIE 12, GLENFARCLAS 15, SPRINGBANK 10 and ABERLOUR 10.
Though there seems to be a heavy Islay contingent here, trust me…they are all very distinct and deserving of a spot and individual attention.