Innholdsfortegnelse for Dec 2018/Jan 2019 i Whisky Magazine

It just sits there now, and I am really not too sure what to do with it. I don’t feel like deleting it just yet, but then it is only a few words. The ‘it’ in question is the last contact I had with the revered master distiller, Dave Pickerell. I had been chasing Dave after news came out that he had been working with the metal band Metallica to produce a whiskey for them. Now, if ever there had been a combination of celebrity and whiskey, this was going to be one of the best. So I had dropped him a note on Facebook messenger; simple and, unlike a phone call, not likely to disturb him wherever in the world he was. As ever the response was quick. “Yes…

2018 has been a fantastic year for whisky, with single malt proving to be one of the fastest growing spirits categories globally. It’s a market shaped and defined by The Glenlivet, which enjoyed growth in 70 different markets-returning to the position of the number one single malt brand in travel retail- and we’ll continue to embrace the latest opportunities and trends as we move into 2019. A human touch Human authenticity has played a huge part in the growth of single malt, and ever since our founder, George Smith, distilled his first licensed dram in 1824, The Glenlivet has been renowned for quality and craftsmanship – traits which are still demonstrated by our people today. Our master distiller, Alan Winchester, delivers single malts that push the boundaries of taste, providing…

The year was 1993, and while The X Files debuted on national television and Jurassic Park broke box office records, Buffalo Trace Distillery quietly distilled and then laid away some of its Bourbon to slumber, undisturbed, for 25 years, to be exact. Now that Bourbon has been bottled, and the result is the next offering of the O.F.C. Vintage Bourbon, set to release in December. Although limited, there are more bottles available of this 1993 vintage than the previous O.F.C. Vintage dated releases from 1985, 1989, and 1990. The O. F. C. vintage-dated Bourbons has a name derived from this National Historic Landmark’s original moniker – the O.F.C. Distillery – renowned for producing top class whiskey during its tenure. Tasting notes for this 25-years-old Bourbon describe it as having a…

At whisky events across Canada, it is almost impossible to sing the praises of any other spirit without some seventh generation ex-pat, sporting the tartan of his barely remembered clan, setting you straight with this cliché and a knowing chuckle. Best to smile, remembering some wise words from John Schreiner’s beautiful 2017 book Icon, about Western Canada’s 100 best wines. “I was brought up short once in 1990 when I took a Canadian Merlot from a new producer to France and offered it to a tasting in a venerable Bordeaux chateau. The wine was embarrassingly poor, not deserving of the acclaim it was being given by its home winery, this shows the merit in tasting wines from other countries and broadening one’s palate.” Tasting a broad range of wines is…

The story of the Oliva cigar company begins in 1886, when Melanio Oliva grew tobacco in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio region. Following in his footsteps, the subsequent generations of the Oliva family learned from their patriarch and continued to take the path he had forged. Unfortunately, like many of his generation, Melanio’s grandson Gilberto Oliva was forced to leave his fields and his home in the late 1950s and make a new life for himself in Nicaragua. Thankfully, the climate and soils of this new home nation were perfect for continuing the Oliva family’s tobacco-growing legacy. The following decades held a number of ups and downs for the family, but they persevered. Then, during the ‘cigar boom’ of the 1990s, the fourth generation of the family, who had been raised…

Taster biographies Rob Allanson Rob is editor of Whisky Magazine and formally held the position as a global brand ambassador for William Grant & Sons' whisky portfolio. His experience in the industry, which has seen him explore whiskies from around the world, has given him a keen and well-versed palate. Lyndsey Gray Lyndsey is manager of the world-famous Quiach Bar at the Craigellachie Hotel in the heart of Speyside. She enjoys creating world-class bespoke tastings, events and drinks, where she can challenge people's opinions on whisky. THE PROCESS All samples are blind tasted, with ABV and style the only information disclosed. Samples are tasted individually over a two week period. Tasters are provided tasting and scoring guidelines for consistency. The top scorer is awarded Scores of 17+ receive a…

Master Blender Billy Leighton Irish Distillers Master blender, Billy Leighton encapsulates the Jameson aesthetic in a sentence, and as a leading figure within the whiskey brand’s family, he certainly has an anecdote to tell. With almost a decade of experience as master blender behind him, Billy’s first experience harks back to his days as a trainee accountant, before being given the opportunity to move into production. Under a new title of vatting manager, Billy prepared the whiskey for bottling. As the years went by, this role grew, eventually encompassing blending, warehousing, maturation and expanding further into distilling. An exhaustive familiarity with the Irish Distiller’s stocks means Billy now knows all the products available to him. Far from being wrapped up in a white coat and confined to the lab sniffing…

If you’re the owner of Johnnie Walker or Jack Daniel’s it’s worth several billion dollars in brand equity alone – assuming they ever wanted to sell the trademark. This brand equity rests entirely with consumers, as they buy labels they trust, creating brand loyalty, which in turn generates repeat future sales and consumption. Rivers of revenue gold. Since the 1850s, there have been over 50,000 unique whisky brands. By a weird statistical chance, this averages a new whisky brand every day somewhere in the world. Today, only a small fraction of these 50,000 whisky trademarks are on the shelves around the world. The vast majority now fill the whisky cemetery. Before the advent of modern marketing, whisky was a provincial spirit, sold in bulk containers through trade channels to be…

Many German, Belgian and Dutch whisky enthusiasts annually prepare in Spring for a special crossing of the North Sea by ferry from IJmuiden to Newcastle, usually taking their car with them. The ultimate goal is the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival. The company that takes care of a safe journey on the waters between the European continent and Great Britain is called DFDS Seaways – a respected 150-years-old Danish company. IJmuiden We’re talking about thousands and thousands of people here. The journey takes roughly 18 hours. Boarding in the port city of IJmuiden, near Amsterdam, is at 4pm local time and arrival in Newcastle at 10:30 AM the following morning, ship’s time. The crew of DFDS takes ample care of the passengers and offers a varied program aboard. Those who…

Bottles bearing the name Naked Grouse first hit the shelves in 2011, in a famously unlabelled (hence ‘naked’) clear bottle with the brand’s iconic grouse mascot debossed in the glass. The liquid inside was apparently Famous Grouse’s standard blend that had then been filled into first fill sherry casks for further maturation. It’s unclear whether this was originally intended to be a short finishing period to simply impart some punchy sherry wine notes or a secondary maturation period that would impart the full benefits of Edrington’s much-lauded made-to-order sherry seasoned casks. However, while touring Grouse’s former brand home distillery, Glenturret, a few years ago, it was noted that there were a great many casks on site containing liquid destined for Naked Grouse that had been enjoying secondary maturation for more…

8 ISSUES FOR £38.10* + RECEIVE A FREE TASTING GLASS & JOURNAL + EDITOR’S CHOICE TASTINGS POSTER ALL WORTH £23.45 Never miss an issue Enjoy exclusive subscriber offers All 8 issues delivered to your door To subscribe online go to whiskymag.imbmsubscriptions.com or call us on: +44 (0) 1293 312 196 and use promotional code WX18 T&CS APPLY: DISCOUNT IS CALCULATED INCLUSIVE OF POSTAGE FOR UK, EUROPE AND ROW * PRICE QUOTED BASED ON THE STANDARD PRICE FOR A ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION TO A UK POSTAL ADDRESS…

I met Emmanuel Dron, ‘Manu’ to his friends, some 20 years ago, when he came to present his newsletter, La Part des Anges (The Angels’ Share) to the La Maison du Whisky whisky club in Paris. A 10-sheet, A4, black and white, laserprinted document, it was maybe not written in the best style, but it was infused with passion and curiosity. “I started looking at whisky in 1995,” Emmanuel remembers. I had then been offered a bottle of Glenfiddich and immediately liked its pear flavours. I bought Michael Jackson’s Malt Whisky Companion, it became my bedside book. I used to spend evenings in a jazz club in Lille with my best friend. They had an incredible single malt list for the time. In three months we tasted them all and…

For the second year, the Icons of Whisky Ireland awards have celebrated the emerald isle’s whiskey resurgence, which has been driven by decidicated and passionate people, bars, producers and retailers. Presented in Dublin, the winners will now go head-to-head with their contemporaries from around the world, battling it out for the prestigious global titles. Additionally, in reverence of their outstanding dedication, experience and expertise, master blenders Billy Leighton, of Irish Distillers, and Helen Mulholland, of Bushmills, have been inducted into the prestigious Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame as inductees #51 and #52. We are proud to honour the following as Icons of Whisky Ireland 2019: Distiller of the Year Irish Distillers Highly commended Teeling Whiskey Co. Brand Innovator of the Year Teeling Whiskey Co. Highly commended Method & Madness Craft…

Recent years have seen unprecedented growth of small-scale distilling ventures the length and breadth of Britain, making everything from gin, vodka and whisky to vermouth and liqueurs. Where once distilling was for established commercial organisations, now a spirit of experimentation has emerged, often led by newcomers. If you have been tempted to turn distiller yourself, then The Microdistillers’ Handbook is the book for you. Even if the idea remains fantasy, you can learn just how it is done, discovering far more about the practicalities of distilling than you ever knew before in the process. Starting with a history of distilling, the Handbook guides the would-be distiller through the structure of the spirits industry in the UK, the story of modern micro-distilling and the equipment required to turn pipedreams into reality.…

I was in Seoul when I heard the news of Dave Pickerell’s sudden passing. I was at a bar called Pussyfoot Saloon, a polished vintage-train-themed cocktail joint that’s all class and creativity. The Korean-born owner, Wendell Louie, lived in New York for more than 25 years. He and I and the bar manager, Seoul-based Parisian Bob Louison, had been chatting about the city’s thriving bar scene and whiskey matters of all sorts, when a friend called with the ghastly news. I am sure I was an ashen shade of pale when I shared the news with the gentlemen, who immediately took action. Before I knew it, 15 shot glasses were lined up on the bar and Bob filled each one with Maker’s Mark. Then, in a tidal wave of hospitality,…

It’s a real irony. Excessive tannin levels are easy to recognise on the palate, but all the benefits of a desirable level are not. This is partly because they do a lot of important work without having a discernible presence, whereas you can’t miss the astringency and overt dryness of too much influence. Additionally, some advantages that tannins provide are described conceptually, rather than literally, such as ‘adding structure' and ‘backbone’ to a malt whisky, which is easier to appreciate than to define. Tannins are acquired from the cask, with the level depending on the origin of the oak (in conjunction with the length of ageing). Levels in European oak can be up to several times higher than American oak. In terms of the two main cask types used, Bourbon…

For far too long, great Canadian whisky has been almost impossible to find in the States. Ask sales clerks about Canadian spirit and they will most likely point to a few offerings by Crown Royal or Canadian Club. Wiser’s is rare. The most coveted expressions are totally absent from the shelves. Hopefully, that is not the case in the rest of the world. In the US, though, the abundance and competitive pricing of Bourbon and rye have kept Canadian whisky underrepresented. But, at least in my opinion, what has minimised demand is the lack of appreciation for the distinguishing qualities of Canadian whisky. In other words, it’s a matter of consumer education or the lack thereof. You may have heard the terms ‘Canadian rye’ or ‘blended rye.’ Canadians produce 100…