Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2023 i Whisky Magazine

“Ultimately you only learn by doing it,” Julieann Fernandez says brightly. Along with master distiller Brendan McCarron, we’ve rendezvoused at Highland single malt Scotch distillery Deanston, and we’re chatting matchmaking. However, this isn’t about a quest for human connection. More edifyingly, this is about spirit – specifically, matching distillate with cask types. Which, it turns out, can be just as unpredictable as pairing up people. On the surface, it’s fairly straightforward. To be called Scotch whisky, new-make spirit must be aged in oak casks no larger than 700 litres for at least three years. In Scotland, of course. But with more than 140 distilleries and myriad approaches across the country, there is more to maturation than meets the eye. Luckily for Distell – the parent company for, among others, Deanston,…

There’s never been a better time to be a fan of, well, anything. These days, no matter what sparks your interest, you’ll be able to hop online and find a ready-made community to engage with. But it wasn’t always so easy. Back in the year 2000, the internet was a very different place and, for those living in rural communities, the best bet was to try to meet kindred spirits in real life. This might explain why, despite having a population of only 3,228 people, the island of Islay is said to have more than 140 active committees. Colin Gordon, Ardbeg’s distillery manager, has lived on the island for around seven years and has come to know this fact of Islay life well. “I think I’ve been in two committees…

The history of the cask reaches back into the ancient woodlands of north-western Europe and to the enigmatic Celts more than 3,000 years ago. Europe’s forests furnished the first staves to fashion these wooden containers. These vessels were skilfully constructed, ensuring the staves fitted tightly, then bound by hooped branches to securely hold liquid such as beer and mead, the favoured libations of the Celts. Old Celtic words for beer are familiar to modern brewers: ‘cervesia’ and ‘bior’. This pan-European family were more than partial to alcoholic beverages, striving to achieve excessive levels of inebriation. Where the Romans had the genteel Bacchus as the god of wine and intoxication, the Celts worshipped the god of the woodlands and beer, Secellos, who ominously carried a mallet and small cask. After Julius…

When I last saw him during a press trip in Dublin, award-winning whisky writer and author Dave Broom managed to convey both annoyance and pride when I congratulated him on his new book A Sense of Place, complaining that his publisher made him tone down the amount of Gaelic poetry featured in its pages but that he was happy enough with the book in its final form. Far from a straightforward guide to Scotch whisky, in his latest book Broom draws on history, archaeology, sociology, biology, forestry, ecology and indeed poetry to answer the following question: what is bioregionalism and how does it apply to Scotch whisky? In figuring out the answer, we get to see Broom’s best qualities as a writer and whisky thinker shine through – few can…

As distillery tour guides in both Kentucky and Scotland love to tell visitors, bourbon barrels can be used only once for bourbon, part of the regulations governing the spirit. After their single use in the US, the barrels are usually sold on to whisky makers in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and elsewhere. This arrangement works out splendidly for both parties, as bourbon distillers can recoup some of their investment in the wood and other whisky makers get a steady, affordable supply of casks with plenty of life left in them. Tucked into a typical Scottish warehouse, first-fill ex-bourbon barrels reliably yield flavors of vanilla, caramel, and honey – lovely on their own, and also a sturdy canvas for layering finishes such as sherry, port, and rum. About 90 per cent of…

“Home of World Renowned Fortified Wine and Iconic Australian Whisky.” So reads the sign on the Morris Wines maturation shed, located just outside the small town of Rutherglen in northeast Victoria. No, not Rutherglen in Glasgow. This Rutherglen, although named after the Scottish town, is a three-hour drive north of Melbourne and is surrounded by some of the world’s best fortified wine producers. Since 1859, five generations of the Morris winemaking family have created what Jancis Robinson has referred to as “Australia’s greatest gifts to the wine world”. Walk into the dark, dirt-floor maturation sheds at Morris, breathe in the musty, heady, burnt-toffee aroma that fills the air, and you quickly understand how these fortified gifts have enthralled wine lovers around the world for decades. “Some of the wine in…

October’s TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes saw relatively few whisky launches compared to pre-pandemic times. There were a host of reasons for this. Older single malts are in particularly short supply for many brands. Then there’s the shortage of glass bottles, secondary packaging and even containers to ship products. So, perhaps it’s no surprise that this year’s show was not a bumper one for launches. Instead, the big drinks multinationals used the high-profile annual event to explore some of the big issues facing the travel-retail industry. For instance, Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail (GTR) held a panel event at the Majestic Hotel to showcase its determination to take the lead in becoming more sustainable. It pointed to research which shows that eight out of 10 travellers now think about sustainability…

Get your Glencairn glasses ready: Whisky Live’s flagship London tasting experience is returning to the city in 2023 with an exciting new format. Whisky Live gives the chance for both experts and novices to meet the makers behind some of the world’s most iconic whiskies and try unlimited samples from the hundreds of expressions on offer from exhibitors. The 2023 London show will be taking place on Saturday 1 April, returning once again to the stunning surroundings of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) in the heart of the city. Our sister show, Gin Live, will be taking place simultaneously at the same venue. In a new format for 2023, the event will be split into two sessions: one in the afternoon and one in the evening. There will be three…

Welsh whisky is a story of difference and entrepreneurship, of great opportunities and challenges. While consumers have an idea of what to expect from Scotch and Irish, it is not the same for Welsh whisky. When asked if people truly understand Welsh whisky, Penderyn’s chief executive Stephen Davies responded, “Not really. Not as a category. Penderyn is known for a style that is lighter [and] fruitier, but it is niche knowledge.” This burgeoning industry is working towards greater recognition, though. Led by Penderyn and Aber Falls, Welsh distillers joined forces to create the Welsh Whisky Organisation, and after exhaustive discussions and public consultation the organisation applied for a geographical indication (GI) of ‘Single Malt Welsh Whisky’ (or ‘Wisgi Cymreig Brag Sengl’ in Welsh) in August 2021. If it secures approval…

The best way to understand why Caol Ila was built in a comparatively impenetrable location, between a steep cliff and the Sound of Islay, is to view the distillery from the sea. That way, its remote location on the far northeastern shores of Islay makes most sense. Like most of Islay’s distilleries, Caol Ila was designed to be served directly from the sea, and the site was close to an extremely good water supply, rising through limestone in Loch nam Ban and entering the sea at Caol Ila. The distillery, near the ferry port of Port Askaig, has its origins in the first half of the 19th century, but was recently unveiled as the final ‘corner’ in Diageo’s Four Corners of Scotland quartet of distilleries that make major contributions to the…

J.J. Corry founder Louise McGuane has spent almost her entire career in the whisky industry, working across numerous high-end brands and experiencing the ins and outs of the drinks industry’s biggest players. After graduating college, she got a job with Moët Hennessy, followed by roles at Pernod Ricard and Diageo. McGuane says it was a team trip to Glenmorangie during her time at Moët Hennessy that really ignited her passion for whisky. She founded J.J. Corry in 2015 and takes great pride in the Irish whiskey brand’s transparency as well the quality and popularity of its spirits. WHISKY #1 George Dickel Bottled in Bond I’m a whisky person, I’m not just an Irish whiskey person… and I have great admiration and respect for what’s going on in the US in…