Inspired by a 4,000 year old Pictish standing stone overlooking the distillery,the new Balblair range is bound to
set pulses racing. We find out what’s been going on
It takes a lot of guts to change direction, even if your instincts tell you it is the right decision.
For years whisky connoisseurs had been bowled over by Balblair’s venerable offerings, such as the 38 Years Old. But overnight all has changed and now the emperor has new clothes and new liquid to b...
By Rob Allanson
from Issue 63 published on 20/04/2007
Pip Hills explains how his Scotch Whisky Directory can help you improve your tasting skills
There can be no doubt that science is a big improvement on astrology, necromancy and reading tealeaves as a way of predicting the future. It has its limitations, though, and is a victim of its own success when it comes to the big picture.
A century ago Jules Verne and H G Wells could predict flying...
By Pip Hills
from Issue 52 published on 30/11/2005
Ian Wisniewski assesses the effect of the water used in whisky production and as mixer on the drink we love
Explaining differences between single malts on the basis of the water used was always very convenient. Embodying a host of ecovalues, the image of a bubbling brook is far more evocative than explaining the contribution made by other factors such as the strain of yeast, the degree of
reflux, the infl...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 26 published on 16/10/2002
Marcin Miller joined a very select number of invited guests for the ultimate Macallan tasting.
Without a hint of exaggeration, this was the most remarkable tasting of The Macallan ever staged. Ulf Buxrud, the deferred consumer (see Whisky Magazine Issue 21), wanted to celebrate his 60th birthday. What better way to toast this landmark than by opening some of the very rarest bottles from his a...
By Marcin Miller
from Issue 24 published on 16/7/2002
There is no doubt that the glass you use has an effect on the appreciation of the spirit therein. Marcin Miller investigate further.
Why do we make life so difficult for ourselves? Why couldn’t we just have one whisky and seven different glasses? That is what most people would have done. But no. That would have been too easy. This tasting featured seven different glasses and five different whiskies. This was done because we all k...
By Marcin Miller
from Issue 24 published on 16/7/2002
Instead of the usual acidic finish, why not enjoy a somewhat sweeter, slightly sentimental, but not overpowering, finish with John Lamond- just for a change
I became a father at the age of 46, after 11 years of happy marriage, during which my mantra had always been: “Budgies are much less trouble!”
With hindsight, parenthood is something which I possibly should have experienced many years ago. The demands of this little person are a real shock to a sys...
By John Lamond
from Issue 21 published on 16/2/2002
Pip Hills penetrates the smokescreen surrounding the complexities of tasting, flavour and how to describe them in a way we can all understand …
Let’s begin by looking at wine. These days, lots of supermarket bottles carry a detailed description of the flavour of the wine on a back label. You may have noticed that the taste of the wine seldom, if ever, resembles this elegant description. When that happens, there are two possibilities: either...
By Pip Hills
from Issue 20 published on 16/12/2001
Pip Hills, author of Appreciating whisky, elucidates on the subject of tasting whisky- a seemingly simple exercise that requires a wee bit of thought before being fully appreciated.
The editor has asked me to write a few words on taste and tasting. It’s a big subject and the basics have been well covered elsewhere, so I will restrict myself to a few topics which I think may be of interest. They are of interest to me, anyway, and hopefully will be to those of you who have progre...
By Pip Hills
from Issue 16 published on 16/6/2001
Alex Kraaijevild examines whether there is a correlation between the taste of whisky and distillery location.
Did you know that the regional classification of Scottish malt whiskies and distilleries used today (Lowlands, Islay, Campbeltown, Speyside, Northern Highlands and so on) has its origins in 18th century excise laws?It was The Wash Act of 1784 that drew the 'Highland Line' and divided Scotland in to ...
By Alex Kraaijeveld
from Issue 14 published on 16/2/2001
the final instalment of Philip Hills' abridged extract from his fascinatin new book Appreciating Whisky.
The chemistry of maturation is a pretty tough subject which, if you don’t already know a lot of chemistry, will require a good many years of study. However, there are certain basic things which happen to alcohol which you ought to know about and can be outlined fairly briefly.
Aldehydes
When an alc...
By Pip Hills
from Issue 13 published on 16/12/2000
A mystery flavour, a grand tasting and French chemists- all involved in Gary Regan's whisky adventure.
Sitting in an upmarket restaurant drinking single malt scotch that retails, in the USA, for $7,000 a bottle is how adventures should begin – exactly how my rancio odyssey started.
In 1997 a group of writers and whisky enthusiasts were invited to taste the 40-Year-Old bottling of Bowmore that had ju...
By Gary Regan
from Issue 13 published on 16/12/2000
Philip Hills writes an introduction to the first part of an abridged extract from his fascinatin new book Appreciating whisky
The great Doctor Johnson once said that no man but a blockhead ever wrote - except for money. I take it as a compliment that the editor should think I may be one of the blockheads, since he has asked me to explain why I wrote Appreciating Whisky. I suppose it's obvious that money was not uppermost...
By Pip Hills
from Issue 12 published on 16/11/2000
Whisky Magazine's Michael Jackson teamed up with a panel of fellow experts to assess the new Balvenie vintage cask
What constitutes a vintage cask of malt whisky? One that I like, apparently. So long as it is also enjoyed by the French writer on whisky and food Martine Nouet (my frequent drams partner of late); the eclectic author Ian Wisniewski (whose predisposition toward vodka does not prevent earnest study...
By Michael Jackson
from Issue 11 published on 16/9/2000
Malcolm Greenwood digs beneath the surface to discover how water works to make Scotch so special
I read recently that nine hundred billion litres of rain falls on Scotland every year and, from this, nine million litres of whisky is produced.
The Scotch Whisky Association can of course verify the latter. The former, well anyone who has visited Scotland will confirm – the country is wet, wet, we...
By Malcolm Greenwood
from Issue 10 published on 16/6/2000
Do you always know your blend from your malt? See who got it right when whisky magazine hosted a blind tasting.
It was the perfect place for a tasting, Milroys’ new bar upstairs in the centre of London’s Soho, soft lighting, gleaming bottles, old oak furniture and not a strip of chrome in sight. The cold, damp night had put our tastebuds on action stations, and Doug McIvor, Milroys’ general manager, had a dr...
By
from Issue 9 published on 16/4/2000
In the final part of his nosing course, Charles Maclean suggests that classifying malts by region has little meaning classification by flavour is more useful: but how on earth do you do it?
Traditionally, malt whiskies have been classified by region: first Highland/Lowland, then Highland/Lowland/Islay/Campbeltown/Speyside, then a proliferation of sub-divisions of Highland and Speyside. The original division – and to an extent the later sub-divisions – discerned differences in the flavo...
By Charles MacLean
from Issue 5 published on 4/8/1999
In part four of his nosing course. Charles Maclean looks at how malts came to be classified by region
Traditionally, malt whiskies were classified geographically by their region of origin – the region itself lending style and character to the whisky made there. With the rediscovery of malt whiskies in recent years, this classification has been eagerly adopted, and indeed expanded, by writers and mar...
By Charles MacLean
from Issue 4 published on 13/6/1999
Charles Maclean continues his course by reinventing the wheel.
The first two pieces in this series have stressed the importance of smell in the evaluation and enjoyment of Scotch whisky – hence the use of the rather ponderous ‘sensory evaluation’ rather than simply ‘whisky tasting’. So when we address ourselves to the question of how to describe whisky, we are ...
By Charles MacLean
from Issue 3 published on 13/5/1999
Charles Maclean, glass in hand, continues his course in how to taste whisky
The way that you choose to drink whisky should of course be the way that you enjoy it most. Nevertheless, to appreciate your dram to the full, in all its glorious complexity, there is nothing better than to follow the procedure adopted by professional ‘noses’. Although I shall go into this in some d...
By Charles MacLean
from Issue 2 published on 16/3/1999
The nose has it: Charles Maclean on how to tast whisky, and exactly what your nose can tell you.
A sure sign of over-zealous indulgence is (of course) drinking alone. Another is (of course) drinking in the morning.This should concern me, I suppose. Solitary drinking is part of my job, and the best time to taste is late morning, when the palate is fresh. But though solitary, I am not alone: the ...
By Charles MacLean
from Issue 1 published on 12/1/1999
Every issue of whisky magazine will review whiskies new fot the market tasted by regular contributor Michael Jackson and Jim Murray. Here Michael prepares the way by explaining the criteria he uses when assessing a whisky and what he considers when marking out of ten
How does one unravel the flavours of whisky? How does one pin down in mere words (and worse, marks out of ten) the flavours and aromas, from ginger to cedar to hay; lavender to juniper; marzipan to pepper, that make up this most deliciously complex, teasing and satisfying of drinks?
Of course, it ...
By Michael Jackson
from Issue 1 published on 12/1/1999
