Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2024 i Whisky Magazine

When it comes to food and drink, Belgium is a country that unquestionably punches above its weight. Synonymous with rich chocolates and dark, monk-brewed beers, as well as for its infatuation with waffles and fries, this small nation of 11 million has attained a culinary reputation the envy of many of its European neighbours. It is not, however, an established name in the world of whisky. At least, not yet. Across the country, from Bruges to Arlon, a quiet revolution is brewing. Small Belgian distilleries are gaining recognition, in part by embracing the quality over quantity approach that has brought such success in the realms of confectionery and blond ales. These distilleries are carving out a niche built on foundations of artisanal craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail, with each…

Egypt has the Great Pyramid of Giza, India has the Taj Mahal, and Montreal has Five Roses. In 1888, the Lake of the Woods Milling Company introduced its Five Roses Flour. Then, in 1954, Ogilvie Flour Mills acquired the brand and updated the enormous sign on top of its plant in the old port of Montreal to 15-foot illuminated letters that even today flash ‘Farine Five Roses’, like a giant bat signal, except for bakers rather than Batman. It is no surprise that a plant linked to food has become a city landmark. Tourists flock to Old Montreal’s nearby gothic Notre Dame Basilica. But the diverse mix of cultures that call Montreal home more commonly direct their adorations to the city’s robust food and cocktail scene. And for whisky lovers,…

The story of Gledfield Distillery begins in the early years of the 20th century, when Highland crofter and illicit distiller Marjorie McBeath used oats as a base to make botanical spirit. Marjorie was born in 1884, and lived on a croft in Kilmachalmack, Strathkyle, near the village of Ardgay, in the Kyle of Sutherland. Known as Red Marj, it is said that she once evaded detection for making spirits without a licence by hiding her “sma’ still” under her voluminous petticoats when a party of excise officers approached from the town of Beauly. Inspired by family stories of Marjorie McBeath, her great-great-granddaughter, Ciara Bow, has established Gledfield Distillery to give a modern — and legal — take on Red Marj’s craft. Ciara has lived most of her life in the…

In the annals of whisky history, few names evoke the same level of reverence or disdain as the Distillers Company Limited (DCL). From its formation in 1877 until its acquisition by Guinness in the heady 1980s, DCL’s story is one of strategic vision, adaptability, and an unyielding commitment to quality — and, arguably, a dose of raw capitalism. As we journey through the pivotal moments that defined DCL, we uncover how this powerhouse shaped the whisky landscape, influencing the industry as a whole, and the global perception of Scotch whisky. The late 19th century was a time of immense change for the whisky industry in Scotland. Recognising the storms ahead, in 1865, a number of distillers formed a trade association to set prices for grain whisky used for blends. It…

The year 1972 saw the British public still getting to grips with decimal currency, introduced the previous February. In Scotland Whisky Galore author Sir Compton Mackenzie died, while Orcadian George Mackay Brown’s influential novel Greenvoe was published. In April, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards’ rendition of Amazing Grace topped the UK singles chart. In May of that year, in men’s football, Rangers FC landed the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup courtesy of a 3–2 victory over Dynamo Moscow in Barcelona, while in November, the first official women’s international football match to be played in the UK saw England beat Scotland 3–2 at Ravenscraig Stadium in Greenock. Further south, on the Ayrshire coast at Girvan grain distillery, the staff of William Grant & Sons were busy filling refill American oak casks with…

We have crafted a delicious American whisky that respects tradition but also empowers people to experience something new.” Those are the words from singer, actor, dancer, entrepreneur, multi-hyphenate extraordinaire Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. She had just revealed SirDavis, her new whisky (she chose to drop the letter ‘e’), to the world at the end of August. The spirits world quaked from its impact — the most elevated of the A-list not just fronting a celebrity drinks brand, but co-founding it too. Plus there’s the clout that comes from that founder being Beyoncé. But she did not build a distillery to create SirDavis. Instead, alongside Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s director of maturing whisky stock, she went to behemoth third-party spirits supplier MGP Ingredients to source the liquid. Never before has the practice of sourcing…

Standing at the quayside of the former Queen’s Dock on the River Clyde, visitors to Scotland’s largest city are surrounded by the modern face of Glasgow. Further upstream, the multicoloured wrap-around lights of the Hydro music venue and the Sydney Opera House-esque Armadillo auditorium stand facing the glass and metal latticework of the BBC and STV television studios and the Glasgow Science Centre on the opposite bank. Downstream, the Riverside Museum’s roof resembles a print-out of a spiky electrocardiogram test. One hundred and fifty years ago the Queen’s Dock formed the beating heart of Glasgow’s international trade, as ships laden with whisky set sail across the Atlantic and beyond. Standing guard over the moored vessels and the quaysides lined with warehouses was the stone-built Pumphouse, a fourstorey tower that provided…

Anything that happened before the moment of you reading these words is history. Technically. What is historic, however, is harder to classify. What might seem like a casual occurrence in real time could have unintended consequences with effects that inspire countless others or trickle down through time — for better or for worse. I believe that few set out to make history. History makes them. When it comes to the whisky industry, it’s near impossible to predict what or who will have a lasting impact, or even be remembered and talked about down the line. It was, after all, impossible to have predicted that a small illicit family distilling operation could turn into a global juggernaut a century-plus later, or that American rye whiskey, the stuff that was largely the…

Dubai Duty Free is used to dealing with some very big numbers. Last year, the retailer sold US$310 million (£234.4 million) worth of wines, beers, and spirits, including more than 2.3 million bottles of Scotch whisky. Nonetheless, I suspect the senior buying team were shocked by the size of their latest record-breaking transaction — August’s US$140,000 sale of the seven-bottle Royal Salute Platinum Jubilee Collection. Bought by an unnamed “avid collector”, it was the single largest liquor purchase in Dubai Duty Free’s 41-year history. A tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II’s historic 70-year reign, the Royal Salute Platinum Jubilee Collection comprises seven crystal decanters, one for each decade, inspired by the Queen’s famously brightly coloured brooches. The blended whisky was aged for at least 30 years, included whiskies from…