Valencia is currently hosting sailing’s weirdest event. So what is Chivas Regal doing there? Our man went to find out
It’s like waking up in the middle of a surreal psychedelic nightmare, a strange blend of Teletubbies, Captain Pugwash and a United Nations summit set by the seaside.
In front of me a small army swathed head to toe in orange is waddling through the squally rain towards a boat decorated with a drago...
By
from Issue 64 published on 01/06/2007
A new elite in Russia is demanding the world’s very best products, quality single malt among them. Marcin Miller reports
It’s 1.20am on a Thursday in October. A party of four, we shake the snow off our boots and check in our coats at Prado, one of Moscow’s most chic style bars.
I am astounded that we are considered fortunate to get a table, in the early hours, midweek. That’s the way it is in the capital city of one ...
By Marcin Miller
from Issue 53 published on 12/01/2006
Prague is known for great beer.But what about whisky? Jefferson Chase went in hunt of the perfect Czech whisky retailer
Despite living for years near the border between Western and Eastern Europe, I’d never been to Prague. The disinclination to battle millions of tourists – many seduced by discount airfares and the prospect of a cheap piss-up – simply outweighed the undeniable charm of one of the world’s loveliest ci...
By Jefferson Chase
from Issue 50 published on 09/09/2005
Glasgow has a long association with whisky. Robin Laing tells its story
In September thousands of people will congregate in George Square for Glasgow’s second Whisky Live event. Glaswegians think of their city as a no-nonsense sort of place, where whisky is the natural drink – quite different from the pretentious sherry drinkers of Edinburgh. But what are the facts? Wha...
By Robin Laing
from Issue 49 published on 15/07/2005
The Speyside Festival starts April 28th. To mark the event Michael Jackson visits the region and considers its boundaries
To say that something is taken for granted can imply that perhaps it shouldn’t be. Can I take it that you are familiar with the geography of famous drinks? Yes? Hand on heart? So, how about using the index finger of the other hand to point out, on an unmarked map, the following: Pilsen and Budweis, ...
By Michael Jackson
from Issue 47 published on 05/04/2005
Did Whisky Magazine’s secret agent really feel like a VIP on The Macallan’s special tour?
On more than one occasion in this column, I’ve aired my theory that too many distillery tours are too similar. With growing interest and knowledge, especially in malt finishes and ages, it’s time to give the so-called ‘connoisseur consumer’ the chance to learn more by providing an alternative to the...
By Secret Agent
from Issue 32 published on 13/7/2003
The Road Hole Bar in the Old Course Hotel, St Andrews, carries a bottle of single malt from every Scottish distillery, as Brigid James discovered
The Old Course Hotel is home to world-renowned golf courses, such as the eponymous Old Course, and accommodates high-profile guests, from Tiger Woods to Hugh Grant. The Road Hole Bar is located within the hotel, overlooking the 17th hole. It has been a specialist whisky bar
since 1990, and is open t...
By Brigid James
from Issue 32 published on 13/7/2003
Dave Broom and company survived a hike up the Paps of Jra to tell the tale. Just
Sheltering from the rain and the wind in the doorway at 7am, I was already wondering if this was such a great idea. The storm had been blowing for most of the previous two days, the wind had groaned against the house for most of the night, waves were being blasted across the
Port Charlotte pier, yet...
By Dave Broom
from Issue 27 published on 16/11/2002
Mrcin Miller explores Edinburgh's five star attraction that seeks to increase awareness of Scotlanad's whisky heritage
The vast majority of tourists who come to Scotland don’t travel any further north than Edinburgh and, therefore, don’t make it to the distillery visitor centres that are found in the rest of the country. To cater for those unadventurous types who don’t head further north, The Scotch Whisky Heritage ...
By Marcin Miller
from Issue 16 published on 16/6/2001
Ken Hoskins visits Lousiville's Seelbach Hilton Hotel, where Al Capone gambled away his ill-gotten gains, F.Scott Fitzgerald became so drunk he was physically ejected and Max Allen Jr., Kentucky's legendary bartender, held court.
Whiskey, especially Kentucky’s bourbon whiskey, lost a true champion earlier this year with the passing of Max Allen Jr. The legendary bartender held court at Louisville’s venerable Seelbach Hilton Hotel touching the lives of many thousands of whiskey lovers throughout his 40-year career. Yet his sp...
By Ken Hoskins
from Issue 14 published on 16/2/2001
'Win a week's sailing in the Classic Malts Millennium Cruise,' writes Philip Froude, 'too good a chance to let pass by I think and, blow me down, I win!'
Saturday 15th July
Well, the waiting’s over, today’s the day. Carol, my wife, and I are off to claim our prize. Flying to Glasgow via Gatwick gives me an opportunity to gloat at my colleagues at World of Whiskies as we sail through.
We are met at Glasgow and driven to Oban were we meet our fellow p...
By Philip Froude
from Issue 12 published on 16/11/2000
Visitors ot the new Dewar's World of Whisky centre will be dazzled by the arry but thank heavens real distilling gets a look in.
The Scotch whisky industry has come a long way since the day in 1969 when Glenfiddich opened the country’s first purpose-built distillery visitor centre, while their competitors looked on with a blend of curiosity and amusement.
However, with the opening last month of the innovative £2 million Dewa...
By Gavin D. Smith
from Issue 10 published on 16/6/2000
Andrew Jefford took the slow boat around Scotland’s most famous distilleries and discovered that malt whisky is the best antidote to bad weather
The skipper looked the part, anyway, even if the week's guests were a motley crew. Jamie Robinson was his name. Sea dogs don't come any saltier: weather-beaten cheeks, rolling gait, the strength of three men when it came to reefing the mainsail in a rising force six. It wasn't just the seamanship, e...
By Andrew Jefford
from Issue 6 published on 16/10/1999
Jim Murray goes in search of Whiskeytown and encounters more water than whiskey
One hundred and fifty years ago this year, America’s greatest gold rush began. The Forty-niners headed for California in their tens of thousands, doubling and doubling again the population of this remote part of the continent.
With the prospectors came towns, and with towns came bars, and with bars...
By Jim Murray
from Issue 2 published on 16/3/1999
