Whisky Fringe 2008

[BruceCrichton]

Strathmill 1966 31yo (Adelphi).

This is from 1976 and is brilliant. I had it in Dufftown.

Kilchoman 2.5yo New Spirit
Bunnahabhain 31yo (Dewar Rattray)
Oban Double Matured
Cragganmore 15yo (Adelphi)
Glenmorangie Astar
Hazelburn 8yo

A fine collection.

I voted for the first one I had - The Glenlivet Nadurra but virtually every dram was a contender. I'll probably try and pick up the DTC Port Dundas and Auchentoshan when I get to Dufftown.

I also wonder what Aberlour Batch 23 tastes like but, since I haven't opened my bottle of Batch 22, I decided to skip it this time.

[Deactivated Member]

This is from 1976 and is brilliant. I had it in Dufftown.

Thanks - I've edited my typo.

[BruceCrichton]

That said, my highlight was Dewar Rattray's 26YO Caperdonich - this was head and shoulders above the pack - really spritely and lively for its age and beautifully presented. The Glenmorangie Astar was also worth its star billing although it was really played down by the team on the stand, who seemed to struggle to muster any enthusiasm for their bottlings. I think we will hear plenty more about this dram in due course.

Bullshitter of the day award goes to Dalmore - well done guys, for their 15min dissertation on how King Alexender III went into the woods and slayed the 12 point stag in finest Tarantino fashion blah blah blah - to be fair though the bottles do look good.

Also looking good were the girls on the Tomintoul stand - top marks for appearance and chit chat girls - there should be an award for this category.

.

That Caperdonich was excellent when I had it in Dufftown.

Annabel Meikle was enthusiastic about the Astar though I don't think she was there on the Sunday.

Glad I managed to miss the spiel from Dalmore. Dalmore Gran Reserva was excellent but I'm a bit wary of shelling out that much cash for a bottle at 40%abv and with no age statement.

The girls from Tomintoul are always brilliant and my mum is getting the Oloroso finish for her birthday.

[BruceCrichton]

This is from 1976 and is brilliant. I had it in Dufftown.

Thanks - I've edited my typo.

It's a snip, this whisky. By a mile, the best Strathmill I've had and worth about 50 bottles of the foul stuff I had from Flora and Fauna.

[Rosebankfan]

Forgot to add that I also enjoyed 2 fine old grain drams today - DTC 1973 34YO Port Dundas and a 1963 North British. I'm not a huge grain fan but I would say these were fine examples of the class.

Also no sign of any Rosebanks today but rather that inferior lowlander, Glenkinchie 20YO - although one of my party told me he enjoyed it. When I asked the guy on the stand why no Rosebank he told me not to be silly as Rosebank is so rare - not that rare surely !.

I also quite enjoyed the much maligned Longmorn 16YO - a little flat but not as bad as many have made out and a perfectly respectable dram (although not as good as the original 15YO in my humble opinion).

Off to bed now as a long week ahead beckons

Rosebankfan

[BruceCrichton]

I also quite enjoyed the much maligned Longmorn 16YO - a little flat but not as bad as many have made out and a perfectly respectable dram (although not as good as the original 15YO in my humble opinion).

It's not worth the extra £15 on top of the 15. it's a total waste of time.

[A Motley]

Thanks for all the kind comments about this year's Fringe. I keep meaning to ask Whisky Mag forum people to come up to the rum stand to say hello as I always enjoy reading posts from you lot. Always next year.

I could but salivate with envy as I watched you lot enjoy all the amazing drams on offer, but here were the favourites I did try:
Glenlivet Eclipse - gorgeous, youthful, zesty 21 yr old livet. Lots of citrusy elements (grapefruit, satsuma that kind of stuff) and a nice almondy character too.
El Dorado 12 - cracking rum. Actually, just a great drink when measured against malt or anything else. A great spirit, and at under £30. El Dorado 3 y.o White also amazed me.

Happily, there were a lot of half-empty bottles that have returned to warehouse so the hard-working staff should get to educate themselves on all the new releases and old favourites when the dust settles.

As ever thanks to the enthusiastic suppliers all working hard through their weekend, and the punters who were fun to host and generally well behaved.

On the subject of food (good point Bute) we would've loved to have a food offering there but the venue has a tie-in deal with a caterer. To get anything half-way decent it would have cost a great deal of money and ticket prices would have to go up a lot. We have always tried to keep prices low so punters don't end up drinking too much in an attempt to get 'good value'. Corporate arse-covering Drink-Aware chat aside, our heart would not be in putting on an event that only succeeded in providing lots of hangovers and unpleasant drunks. So, back to food: we try and time it so people arrive after a good lunch and head back home for some stodgy dinner.

Any other suggestions to improve Whisky Fringe? I'll make sure Neil and Keir see any of the comments at the post-Fringe meeting.


Arthur

[Deactivated Member]

Arthur - a couple of suggestions as per last year:

More seating and/or perch tables would help those of us who like to write notes. And I think the prize draw shouldn't stipulate that you have to vote for the winning whisky. That encourages people to vote for whaterver the Bruichladdich table tells you to vote for rather than risk voting for a more obscure whisky that you might have preferred. This year I voted for Berriach 1988; last year I voted for Mackmyra - both times in the knowledge that I was ruling myself out of the £100 prize draw.

I thought the stands that advertised opening special bottles at set times were to be commended. It's nice to see ordinary punters get a chance of trying something special - not just industry insiders and those who know the special handshake!

[Deactivated Member]

More seating and/or perch tables would help those of us who like to write notes.

Myself and Bobby were both looking for somewhere to sit and chat and write notes so I wholeheartedly second this suggestion. A little seated area with tables and chairs would be great. Shame we couldn't get outside but I realise the issues with this.

[A Motley]

Good point. More seating next year, that will be easy enough to sort.

Keep it coming...

[Deactivated Member]

Shame we couldn't get outside but I realise the issues with this.

The first year I went, they let people go downstairs to the grassy area that doesn't open directly onto the street. That was a nice idea, but with the small, sip sized drams it did mean a lot of going up and down stairs.

[Redland Hill]

Really enjoyed the fringe yesterday ... good to meet a couple of guys from the forums (my interested in scapa gave me away)

Some great drams on offer ... really good day out

[Redland Hill]

... and I popped into Queen street on the way home. Was after the new heavily sherried Bunna ont he summe rlisting but alas they were out.

Following a swift tasting I bought a 54.26 .... have to agree a very NICE DRAM

[Deactivated Member]

Weirdo of the weekend - the guy with straight black hair who was pouring every dram into carefully labelled miniature bottles whilst crouching down behind the Bunnahabhain stand.

[Whiskibar]

Was at Whisky Fringe yesterday (Sunday) and this was our first time but must say that we really enjoyed it, venue was stunning and had a great day sampling all the different whiskies. I think compared to whisky live, it was much easier to get to the stalls and have a chat with the staff and can only see this becoming more popular as time goes on and it becomes more well-known.

Overrall, thanks for organising, it was great.

[Deactivated Member]

...can only see this becoming more popular as time goes on and it becomes more well-known.

Gosh, I hope not. The tickets for the Saturday sold out within hours, I think. I'm not sure the Whisky Fringe could cope with being any more popular and well known!

[Whiskibar]

Gosh, I hope not. The tickets for the Saturday sold out within hours, I think. I'm not sure the Whisky Fringe could cope with being any more popular and well known!

Exactly ! I think that shows how popular it is. The venue is stunning but I think moving to a bigger venue maybe something that has to be considered.

[A Motley]

"Weirdo of the weekend - the guy with straight black hair who was pouring every dram into carefully labelled miniature bottles"
Thanks for highlighting this . Definitely NOT in the Spirit of Whisky Fringe (it's supposed to be a fun day out!)

[Leither]

Another brilliant event - thanks to all at RMW for organising this and those manning the stalls for being so generous with the pours whilst being inundated with thirsty punters and keeping a smile all at the same time.

I have to report that I have a bit of a light head today I hereby promise to use the spitoons more next year!

Anyway, star of the show for me (I don't see the point of voting for single cask independents) was Tobermory 15 - fantastic packaging but more importantly the whisky itself is in another league compared to the usual Ledaig/Tobermory offerings. A cracking briney and coastal influenced sherried dram. A bit of a shame tho to see 'mit farbstoff' on the box. However, this stuff was a revelation for me, well done Burn Stewart.

Other stars, as noted above, for me were the Glenmorangie Astar, Kiklchoman 2.5 YO, Glenfarclas 1988 Family Cask and many (too many to mention) of the independents single cask offerings. Signatory had a 1963 NB Single grain (on the Sat) that was out of this world also DTC had another lovely old grain from Port Dundas.

Stars of the independents for me this year were Dewar Rattray - from them I had a wonderfully sherried Linkwood, even better than their Mortlach, followed by a very peaty and cracking young 1998 Bowmore Independently bottled Bowmore can be great.

Anyway, well done to all involved.

PS - I agree with those suggesting more room and seating for the more serious punters wishing to take detailed notes. All the more drinking space for me

[jmrl]

What about a vomitorium so we can drink more without collapsing. Or would we need a complete blood transplant?

Only one dram less than great, too politically sensitive to name.

Signatory NB superb, Astar, Nadurra and Benriach virgin oak 1988 really showed beautiful wood influence. Linkwood from Dewar Rattray top gear as well as their Braes. When I thought my palate had gone into its underground bunker the 8yo Ben Nevis (from a totally disinterested DTC rep) sorted me out. Must get a bottle. If it wasn't piggy-backing I'd do a 'My Favourite Whisky Fringe Drams Tasting'

[BruceCrichton]

What about a vomitorium so we can drink more without collapsing. Or would we need a complete blood transplant?

Only one dram less than great, too politically sensitive to name.

Signatory NB superb, Astar, Nadurra and Benriach virgin oak 1988 really showed beautiful wood influence. Linkwood from Dewar Rattray top gear as well as their Braes. When I thought my palate had gone into its underground bunker the 8yo Ben Nevis (from a totally disinterested DTC rep) sorted me out. Must get a bottle. If it wasn't piggy-backing I'd do a 'My Favourite Whisky Fringe Drams Tasting'

DTC's Battlehill stuff is great. I did notice that some of the reps had the enthusiasm of a man sweeping up on death row. Wonder why that was?

[BruceCrichton]

Gosh, I hope not. The tickets for the Saturday sold out within hours, I think. I'm not sure the Whisky Fringe could cope with being any more popular and well known!

Exactly ! I think that shows how popular it is. The venue is stunning but I think moving to a bigger venue maybe something that has to be considered.

I think that might be the case. I was quick enough to get mine and I took advantage of the offer to get warning that the tickets were online.

[jmrl]

Thanks to RMW for giving us one of the true highlights of the whisky calender. Those poor swines have to miss out so we can decadantly live it up. It wouldn't be the same without the whisky companies hosting stands. Great to see so many people having such a good time with so many wonderful drams.

Cheers

[Willie JJ]

Stars of the independents for me this year were Dewar Rattray - from them I had a wonderfully sherried Linkwood, even better than their Mortlach,

Both these drams were superb I thought. I was in Morty heaven, until I tried the Linkwood and it just stole it.

When I thought my palate had gone into its underground bunker the 8yo Ben Nevis (from a totally disinterested DTC rep) sorted me out.

Much praise to DTC for the Battlehill range. Excellent malts at budget prices.

My vote for whisky of the weekend went to:
Benriach 1988 Virgin American Oak

This dram was right up there for me too. Thanks for the tip on that one Nick.

Other highlights for me were new makes from the Glenlivet Sma' still (Wow, Ian, just wow!) and a first try of new make from Daftmill (Thanks to Francis for persuading Arthur to relinquish a wee drop of the sample he had just given him (sorry Arthur)). Thanks also to Des from Signatory for his recommendation of the CS Collection Glen Ord which was a cracker.

Very sad that I didn't have time to get to many of the stalls and that I didn't get more time at others. Too many misses to think about really.

Overall just a fantastic event. Many thanks to Arthur and crew for a brilliant day.

Questionable as to whether I should have gone to the pub afterwards though; far too many pints, more whisky (and who the hell ordered the Wood's Navy Rum?) meant that I have had a bit of a thick head today. Also seem to have mislaid the programme so I can't see what I missed.

Ah well; next time.
Cheers

[Deactivated Member]

If it wasn't piggy-backing I'd do a 'My Favourite Whisky Fringe Drams Tasting'

I think that would be a great idea - something really personal. I'd go - so long as you avoid my epic trip to Africa.

[Willie JJ]

If it wasn't piggy-backing I'd do a 'My Favourite Whisky Fringe Drams Tasting'

I think that would be a great idea - something really personal. I'd go - so long as you avoid my epic trip to Africa.

Yes that works for me too. Bring it on.

[A Motley]

Willie

No problem about getting the sample of the Francis's spirit, and sorry I didn't recognise you from the forum picture...I would have poured you some of his wacky sloe'n'new make stuff too if I'd known.

I'm sure we'll have some spare programs left over. Want me to leave one at the shop for you? We're running a special offer in August...free Fringe program with ever case of Ardbeg Double Barrel ordered - can't say fairer than that!

[Willie JJ]

Ha ha, that's nice. Who could refuse such a deal?

No problem with the programme though, Nick has a spare and has offered to pop it in the post for me; splendid fella that he is.

Cheers

PS

I would have poured you some of his wacky sloe'n'new make stuff too if I'd known.

Sounds very interesting, I'm sorry I missed it. But then there was so much to try...

[Deactivated Member]

A wee report from Toshie:

http://glasgowswhiskyclub.blogspot.com/ ... thing.html

[Deactivated Member]

So the Balblair 1989 won the Spirit of the Fringe? Never saw that coming...

http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/catego ... =HELPSPIR8

My choice was 9th. Hahaha...at least it was in the Top 10.