Greece has one of the biggest markets for whisky in the world. Tom Bruce-Gardyne reports
If ever there was a drink designed for chasing away the winter blues it would be whisky.
When the Irish monks first introduced their magic potion to the Scots, it was seized upon as a medicinal spirit to soothe sore throats and rub on aching joints.
Even now the thought of a Scottish winter withou...
Greek Whisky
from Issue 40 published on 4/6/2004
Caroline Whitfield decided to give up life in the fast lane in London and decided to set up a distillery in The Shetlands instead. Tom Bruce-Gardyne reports
One morning in June 2002, Caroline Whitfield found herself doing some internet research on the Shetland Isles.
Living in London with her Scottish husband and pregnant with child number three, she was searching for a bolt-hole –somewhere to escape from terrorist threats and dirty bombs.
She had be...
Whisky Profile
from Issue 39 published on 1/5/2004
Glenrothes has a formidable reputation as a single malt and is a key component in the internationally renowned Cutty Sark. Tom Bruce-Gardyne visited the distillery
Glenrothes single malt from Speyside slipped onto the market fairly late in the day. It was only in 1987 that the decision was taken to release a limited amount as a 12 year-old.
The big names of the region, whiskies such as The Macallan and The Glenlivet, were by then fully established and start...
Distillery Focus
from Issue 36 published on 28/12/2003
France remains an exciting and intriguing territory for whisky. Tom Bruce-Gardyne reports
All fashions are fickle by their very nature. Some endure longer than others, but eventually ‘the next big thing’ will come along to sweep away
what once reigned supreme.
This is the way of the world, whether it be hair-styles, hemlines or the type of alcohol in vogue.
In France, the country’s ind...
French Whisky
from Issue 33 published on 25/9/2003
Tom Bruce-Gardyneinvestigates the success of an Italian club for whisky-lovers: the
Single Malt Club of Scotland
Sei un amante del whisky di qualità?” is the opening line on the Single Malt Club of Scotland website. Somehow, it just sounds better in Italian, this invitation to the country’s lovers of fine whisky to sign up and share their passion with like-minded souls from Sicily to the Alps.
In just the two...
Italian Whisky
from Issue 31 published on 9/6/2003
Some of the great whisky brands have remained popular, others have all but disappeared. Why? Tom Bruce-Gardyne investigates
When The Stranglers first growled the words “Whatever happened to … ” in their hit No More Heroes, they could have been singing about
Scotch. For just as punk destroyed many older bands in the late ‘70s, some of the great names in whisky were beginning to get pushed aside.
Twenty-five years on, it ...
Whisky Trends
from Issue 30 published on 7/4/2003
The market for whisky in India is huge. Tom Bruce-Gardyne examines its colourful, unconventional nature
Thank God for Spain!” was a cry that echoed round the boardrooms of the great whisky corporations in the 1990s. With the American market in fullscale retreat, dropping by six million cases that decade alone, the surge in Spanish imports came at just the right time. Today it has become the most valua...
Indian Whisky
from Issue 29 published on 24/3/2003
Tom Bruce-Gardyneexamines the life and times of the determined, self-made whisky pioneer William Teacher
Of all the founding fathers of the Scotch whisky industry, there is something endearingly down-toearth about William Teacher. In a photograph taken shortly before his death in 1876, he stands square-on to the camera, wrapped in a thick Astrakhan coat and hat, his eyes peeking out above a magnificent...
Whisky Hero
from Issue 28 published on 16/1/2003
Tom Bruce-Gardyne reports on a firm which has flourished bottling fine single malts
This October, Alistair Hart celebrated 40 years in the whisky business, during which time the industry has changed almost beyond recognition, partly because of the technological revolution. Today, Hart Brothers, the firm of independent bottlers he runs with his brother Donald in Glasgow, cruises cyb...
Independent Bottlers
from Issue 28 published on 16/1/2003
Tom Bruce-Gardyne looks into the story of the Haig empire
To judge by the number of top hats and tails featured in their early advertising, many brands of Scotch whisky were obsessed with the Establishment. It was as though they craved nothing more than to join the club and be accepted into Edwardian society. For those at whom the advertisements were aimed...
Whisky Dynasty
from Issue 26 published on 16/10/2002
Tom Bruce-Gardyne takes an irreverent look at the world's 15 largest whisky markets- plus the characters and caricatures you might find in each country. The world of whisky is full of exaggerated personalities- this is Whisky Magazine's light-hearted tribute to them. Slainte!
“Vamos de copas esta noche!” – the words crackle across the ether from Barcelona to Bilbao via countless mobile phones. It is early evening and one half of Spain is inviting the other out for a drink. When Paul, a young English teacher in Madrid, receives the call-up from Consuela Dìaz, a glamorous...
Whisky tales
from Issue 24 published on 16/7/2002
Tom Bruce-Gardyne visits Speyside still-makers Forsyth’s to find out about the leading coppersmiths
At the heart of every malt whisky distillery stands the still-room where its glorious diversity of weird shaped stills reside. The fact they are all so different allows each distillery to stamp its own genetic thumb print on its new-make spirit. This adds greatly to the fascination of Scotch whisky,...
Whisky Production
from Issue 22 published on 16/5/2002
Tom Bruce-Gardyne meets one of single-cask bottling’s real success stories, as Lorne Mackillop and his Mackillop’s Choice label go from strength to strength
London’s west end is famed for its private doctors and dentists and for the size of their consultation fees, but it is not the first place you would look for a firm of independent bottlers, nor the heir to the chief of a Scottish clan. Yet the two come together here in Mackillop’s Choice, a relative...
Independent Bottlers
from Issue 22 published on 16/5/2002
Tom Bruce-Gardyne finds that Carneronbridge Distillery is ready to return to the public eye after years in the background of the Scottish whisky industry- all thanks to a member of the Royal family
Fife, as the world is about to discover, is a small county on Scotland’s east coast just north of Edinburgh. News of its existence is being beamed around the planet as I write by the massed ranks of tabloid hacks, TV reporters and paparazzi already in position. The reason of course is William, Brita...
Distillery Focus
from Issue 21 published on 16/2/2002
Tom Bruce-Gardyne talks to Fred and Stewart Laing, the independent bottlers who are not only brothers and business partners but a potentially successful cabaret duo as well
Douglas Laing & Company of Glasgow may not be the oldest bottler of single malts on the planet, but as Stewart Laing is at pains to point out: “We’re no johnnie-come-latelys either.”
Stewart is a part of a well-known double-act, along with his brother Fred, on the blended Scotch whisky circuit wher...
Independent Bottlers
from Issue 19 published on 16/11/2001
Tom Bruce-Gardyne recounts the history of Cadenhead, a company once regarded as a “soft touch” but now better known for being quick to spot business opportunities in the whisky industry
Miss Ann Oliver was a legend of the swinging, psychedelic sixties – well, at least she was in the drinks trade of Aberdeen. Whenever orders were thin on the ground the place to head for was number 47 Netherkirgate where Miss Oliver ran the firm of William Cadenhead Ltd. For the steady stream of sale...
Independent Bottlers
from Issue 17 published on 16/7/2001
Tom Bruce-Gardyne talks to Sir James Ackroyd and Ricky Christie, two of the key figures searching for 'little gems' in an attempt to revive Speyside Distillery.
Six months ago the Scotch whisky industry was in a state of fevered excitement as the Speyside Distillery Co. was sold off by its Swiss parent company to the North Yorkshire firm of Alexander Muir & Sons. Speyside was a Glasgow-based blender and bottler, founded in 1955 by the infamous George Christ...
Independent Bottlers
from Issue 16 published on 16/6/2001
Tom Bruce-Gardyne talks to Robin Tcek, proprietor of the independent bottler blackadder, and finds out why he dislikes filtering, industry attitudes and armchairs
Being asked to blind taste a whisky and identify it in front of an audience can be a little unnerving. To do so on TV as the last item on the six o’clock news sounds positively terrifying. When the evening’s presenter turned to his guest with the dreaded words “and finally”, handing him a miniature ...
Independent Bottlers
from Issue 15 published on 16/4/2001
Tom Bruce-Gardyne traces the history of Berry Bros. and Rudd through Prohibition, a period that saw the birth of one of themost famous blends in the world, Cutty Sark.
Jack Diamond was not a typical Berry Brothers customer – that much was obvious. For one thing, not many of those who bought their port and claret from this ancient and venerable wine merchant had a quashed conviction for one homicide, let alone five. And not many were destined for the same fate.
Af...
Whisky History
from Issue 14 published on 16/2/2001
The keepers of the Quaich are a clan shrouded with mystery. Tom Bruce Gardyne reveals what it's like to experience one of their twice yearly gatherings.
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great Chieftain o' the Puddin-race ..." declares the booming voice of a small, kilted man, caught in the spotlight. And with these opening lines from Robert Burns' immortal Address to a Haggis, the banquet is well and truly underway. Our speaker is the world famous...
Keepers of the Quaich
from Issue 13 published on 16/12/2000
An eccentric entrepreneur is seeking to challenge Talsiker's status as the only distillery on Skye. Tom Bruce-Gardyne went ot meet the man behind a special brand of Gaelic whisky.
Sitting at his desk on the Isle of Skye, Sir Iain Noble is gently extolling the virtues of Gaelic. His office is a cosy, wood-panelled room that dates back to 1812 and was once a shop. Outside the sea sparkles as intermittent shafts of sunlight break through the clouds rolling in across the Sound of...
Gaelic whisky
from Issue 11 published on 16/9/2000
Tom Bruce Gardyne profiles Muray McDavid, the enfant terrible of independent bottlers.
“Independent bottlers have had to exist on the fringes of the industry ... [and are seen as] scavengers, dodgy, unscrupulous and a pain in the arse."
So says Murray McDavid on its refreshingly irreverent website. And after a long, lazy lunch in Glasgow with Gordon Wright, director and co-founder of...
Independent Bottlers
from Issue 11 published on 16/9/2000
Andrew Symington has made huge success of Signatory, the world's second largest independent bottler. But this is just the beginning, as Tom Bruce-Gardyne found out.
Tucked away in the back streets of Edinburgh’s Newhaven district, Andrew Symington sits at the helm of the world’s second biggest independent whisky bottler. No mean feat for Signatory, the company he set up from scratch only 12 years ago. There is no sense of self congratulation however, not the fa...
Independent Bottlers
from Issue 10 published on 16/6/2000
A woman's touch has made Drambuie the force it is today, with a little bit of help form Bonnie Prince Charlei. Tom Bruce Gardyne sheds light on some legendary characters.
Million dollar secret of the Cannie Wee Grannie by Herbert Kretzmer, blazed a 1961 headline in the US Sunday Dispatch. “ ... a little Scots grannie with snow-white hair and forget-me-not blue eyes .. [who] .. seems so frail, so wispy “.
The interview took place up the Eiffel Tower and its subject ...
Whisky Hero
from Issue 10 published on 16/6/2000
Restless genius Peter Mackie was a true champion of malt. Tom Bruce-Gardyne describes the life of the whisky baron who created the White Horse.
Peter Mackie was a man with a mission. Hanging from the wall of his office at 13 Carlton Place, Glasgow, was a huge sign emblazoned with the words, "Take Nothing for Granted." As the father of White Horse, he was the most passionate of all the pioneers of modern blended Scotch, in his beliefs about ...
Whisky Hero
from Issue 9 published on 16/4/2000
The glass of whisky in my hand is a pale, straw gold with the faint aroma of pears. Its flavour is gentle, understated and above all smooth. So smooth that someone, after probably at least a bottle, was transported to such heights of lyrical fantasy to write, “It slips down the throat like Elizabeth...
Whisky Hero
from Issue 8 published on 16/2/2000
Handsome dividends could be in store for whisky drinkers and the Scotch industry, now Scotland has its own government.Tom Bruce-Gardyne reports
The southernmost distillery in Scotland is William Grant’s at Girvan, in Ayrshire, 400 miles from where the British Parliament sits in the House of Commons in London. If Scotch whisky workers ever felt neglected by the Government, such a distance can hardly have helped. So when Scotland finally ach...
Whisky Politics
from Issue 8 published on 16/2/2000
Tom Bruce-Gardyne wades through the archives to discover the extraordinary story of two young brothers who spawned the great whisky dynasty of Dewar's
A clutch of whisky bottles huddle together in my local supermarket in Angus. Their well-known names are proudly displayed across their chests; venerable yet vulnerable. Around them swirls a sea of vodka and gin, of mixers, breezers and all manner of novelty drinks concocted only yesterday. Across th...
Whisky Hero
from Issue 7 published on 16/12/1999
Nature and native cunning have nurtured the distillery industry on the banks of the Spey. Tom Bruce-Gardyne took a trip through a whisky wonderland
Pity the poor wine-lover visiting Bordeaux for the first time only to discover the finest châteaux amassed on the dreary banks of the Gironde estuary. No such disappointment awaits the devotee of Speyside malts – for here the setting of the distilleries is truly worthy of the spirit they produce.
...
Distillery Focus
from Issue 6 published on 16/10/1999
Tobermory distillery has made whisky for only14 of the last 69 years- and its incarnatuons have included a blend and a vatted malt. Tom Bruce-Gardyne mulls over it.
At times it feels just like the west of Ireland. If you visit in the spring, the vivid greens, lush pasture and dank, moss-covered walls of Mull seem straight out of Donegal. The climate is equally fickle. Seasons change by the hour with cloudless skies turning black, and then clearing again as if o...
The inside track
from Issue 5 published on 4/8/1999
