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...
By Tom Bruce-Gardyne
from Issue 28 published on 16/1/2003
Stuart Maclean Ramsay chats to Lincolm Henderson, a whiskey vetern with 37 years of knowledge and experience
For a gentleman who has sampled whiskey from around 400,000 barrels, Lincoln Wesley Henderson looks mighty fine. Trim and professorial, with silver hair and goatee beard, Lincoln exudes the confidence and contentment of a man at the peak of a career he loves.
His job is tasting whiskey, he’ll casua...
By Stuart MacLean Ramsay
from Issue 26 published on 16/10/2002
Dave Broom talks to Davied Stewar, the unassuming yet innovative force shaping the Wiliam Grant's portfolio, and long-term colleague, Whisky Records controller Eric Robertson
Glasgow in the early ‘60s. An industrial city, its buildings soiled by the grime from the chimneys, a city with starlings blackening its skies every dusk, a place where ships still crowded the Clyde, unloading cargoes, taking on passengers, being built. Acity of slums and genteel suburbs, of parks a...
By Dave Broom
from Issue 26 published on 16/10/2002
Stuart Maclean Ramsay catches up with wild Turkey's Jimmy Russel, roving bourbon ambassador, family man and true Kentucky gentleman.
...
By Stuart MacLean Ramsay
from Issue 19 published on 16/11/2001
In our modern world of television, internet and persuasive advertising products appear, are accepted, flourish or even disappear merely to be replaced by a similar product. However this was not alway the case, writes Malcom Greenwood.
In the Victorian era, the approval of products was a much longer process often requiring a cultural shift or gradual, mental realignment by the consumer. These changes were of course influenced by many factors but often they could be encouraged by the subtle actions of a few.
Is it not, then, rema...
By Malcolm Greenwood
from Issue 12 published on 16/11/2000
Stuart Maclean Ramsay roams among the magnificent buffalo of Kentucky.
One fine gentleman,’’ is how Jimmy Russell, Master Distiller at Wild Turkey describes his friend and fellow bourbon alchemist, Elmer T Lee.
“And he makes a good whiskey, too,” Jimmy adds. I met with Elmer, Master Distiller Emeritus of the Buffalo Trace Distillery by Frankfort, Kentucky, earlier thi...
By Stuart MacLean Ramsay
from Issue 11 published on 16/9/2000
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 ...
By Tom Bruce-Gardyne
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 ...
By Tom Bruce-Gardyne
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...
By Tom Bruce-Gardyne
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...
By Tom Bruce-Gardyne
from Issue 7 published on 16/12/1999
Noble qualities created Chivas Regal, the 'Chieftain's Tipple' and royals’ favourite. Charles MacLean explores the history of the Chivas brand.
What's in a name? Plenty where Chivas Regal is concerned, one of the world's top selling whiskies whose label hints of royal favour and intriguing Celtic ancestry.
The figures speak for themselves – three million cases of Chivas are sold every year. A classic case of a superb product, developed an...
By Charles MacLean
from Issue 6 published on 16/10/1999
Charles Maclean examines the curious story of Clan Campbell and its acquired pedigree
It appears that S. Campbell & Sons, the predecessors of Campbell Distillers, the owners of Clan Campbell, were not actually Campbells at all. Samuel Campbell’s original name was Samuel Rosenbloom, and before he became a Campbell he had changed his name to Ross. When asked why he did this, he replied...
By Charles MacLean
from Issue 5 published on 4/8/1999
Charles Maclean meets the chairman or Ireland's newest distillery, Cooley, and finds that his story can only be told in epic form
Did you see my brown bull, when you were up at the distillery?’ asks John
Teeling, chairman of Cooley Distillery.
‘I did’, I replied. ‘What’s its significance?’
‘The Bull of Cooley; The Donn Cualnge.’
The penny dropped. Until then I had had no idea that theTain Bo Cualnge, ‘The Cattle-Raid of Coo...
By Charles MacLean
from Issue 3 published on 13/5/1999
The original John Walker supplied tea and biscuits, wine and whisky to the sober bughers of Kilmarnock; his descendant Sir Alec Walker built a bath big enough for Churchill. Charles Maclean looks at a family that took a giant leep.
The striding Regency dandy with a twinkle in his eye, so familiar from the Johnnie Walker label, was first sketched on the back of a menu card over lunch in London in 1908. The artist was Tom Browne, a well-known cartoonist and poster designer of the day; his hosts were George Paterson Walker, chair...
By Charles MacLean
from Issue 2 published on 16/3/1999
