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Issue 14   |  Buy this issue   |  Other issues
Whisky Magazine Issue 14

Whisky Magazine Issue 14

Published on 16/2/2001

Whisky Tastings

Glen Garioch 1968, 29 Years Old

With its chestnut colour and highly distinctive flavour.....

Signatory Glenlossie 1980

Delicate, appetising and refreshing, but falls away in .....

Private Collection Caol Ila 1998 Calvados

The Calvados character is almost overwhelming but Caol .....

Private Collection Caol Ila 1988 Cognac Finish

All the action is in that finish. A clear points victor.....

Private Collection Caol Ila 1998 Claret Finish

The least characterful of the three Caol Ila wood finis.....

Signatory Dallas Dhu 1978

More woody and astringent than earlier bottlings at sim.....

Auchentoshan 1978, 18 Years Old

This seems to me the definitive light tasting (triple-d.....

Kingsbury Glen Albyn 1965

No distillery deserves to be knocked down to accommodat.....

Gordon & MacPhail Linkwood 1969

Linkwood is a lovely whisky, especially in its older in.....

Gordon & MacPhail Miltonduff 1968

Remarkably scenty. Very clean indeed. Delicate for my t.....

Murray McDavid Springbank 1965

The characteristic salt and coconut characteristics of .....

Kingsbury Tamdhu 1966

A welcome bottling of this neglected malt, and an inter.....

The Balvenie 1968

Tasting from the cask resulted in slightly different de.....

Glenfiddich 40 Years Old, Rare

This is an urbane whisky that will not easily reveal it.....

The Glenlivet 1967 Cellar Collection

The Glenlivet is the fruitiest, most flowery and most d.....

Signatory Bowmore 1968

At first tasting, I was hard-pressed to find any Islay .....

Bunnahabhain 1968, The Family Silver Vintage Reserve

Because it is less aggressive than some of its neighbou.....

The Macallan 1981, Unfiltered Cask Strength

When I tasted this bottling, I was shocked by its spici.....

Scotch Malt Whisky Society Highland Park 1970, 4.73

Not as sophisticated as the distillery bottlings, but r.....

The Glenrothes 1971

I have always felt that Glenrothes deserved to be more .....

Aberlour 1976

Had I not known that it was matured in first-fill bourb.....

Gordon & MacPhail Benromach 1974

I have always found Benromach assertively flowery, her.....

Adelphi Glen Grant 1969

Glen Grant is a delicate whisky and does not always ben.....

Contents

p5

From the Editor

A thrill ran through the press shortly before Christmas, summed up by The Scotsman’s headline: "Cheaper Whisky As Good As Fine Malts Say Experts" and inspired by a Which? report which had completed a ...

By Charles MacLean in the section From the Editor

p7

The Night Porter

Michael Jackson on the road again, testifies to the magic of malt... and music

Paris. Around midnight. No, it's later: the wee small hours. The dinner is long over, whiskies and all. Robin Laing has poured out the last of his vocal tributes to the water of life. Norma Monro has ...

By Michael Jackson in the section The Gospel According to Michael Jackson

p8

Tribute to a whiskey dreamer

Jim Murray mourns the loss of Cecil Williams, a man dedicated to whiskey and a much loved friend to the end.

It’s strange how fate will play its quirky little tricks on life. And how often are they unbearably sad. The other day I was talking to my octogenarian neighbour in England who observed that it is alw...

By Jim Murray in the section The Gospel According to Jim Murray

p16

Strong whisky, stronger women

James Berry examines the growing trend of women drinking whisky, traditionally a male preserve.

You probably think that it’s beyond you to pin her down, that all-evasive female whisky drinker. What exactly is her natural habitat? How does she behave? Can she be characterised? But the fact of the...

By James Berry in the section Whisky and Women

p20

Whisky pioneer

In the male-dominated world of whisky, the contributuin of women is oftern overlooked. Helen Arthur puts the record straight

A formidable, able tyrant who ruled the family with a rod of iron – and half the countryside as well!” This is how John Bruce Lockhart described his great grandmother Jean in an interview with The Str...

By Helen Arthur in the section Whisky and Women

p24

From concert pianist to connoisseur

Michael Jackson talks to Rachel Barrie, a woman who had childhood dreams of being a ballerina or a concert pianist, but became Glenmorangie's Product Development Leader.

Ambitions? Between the ages of five and ten, I wanted to be a ballerina. From ten to 15, I switched to concert pianist. Then I wised up, I realised that your have to be absolutely exceptional for care...

By Michael Jackson in the section Whisky and Women

p26

Whisky's women

Whisky's longevity can be credited to the efforts of many hard working people. Gavein D Smith lists nine successful women who are currently working hard to secure whisky's future.

BRIDGET ARTHUR is joint-Manager of Vintage Hallmark of St James’s, London’s latest shop dedicated to the sale of quality spirits. It opened last autumn on a site on the corner of Jermyn Street and St ...

By Gavin D. Smith in the section Whisky and Women

p30

Whisky magazine live

Whisky Magazine Live is to be launched very soon, intended to give you, the whisky enthusiast, the opportunity to taste many great whiskies. The event will also give you the chance to enjoy to speakin...

By Marcin Miller in the section Whisky Live

p32

Gangsters, guns and the real McCoy

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 qu...

By Tom Bruce-Gardyne in the section Whisky History

p36

Singularly malt cocktails

Gary Regan is currently in hog heaven. Critics believe that he desecrated 'precious malt whisky' live on American television, but malt whisky cocktails aren't quite as strange as you may think

It was a cold winter’s night some seven years ago when I got the call. I had gone to bed that evening envisaging a good night’s sleep only to be woken by the shrill tones of the telephone. It was the ...

By Gary Regan in the section Whisky Cocktails

p38

Beauty is in the glass of the beholder (Old Pulteney)

Gavin D Smith tells the story of Old Pulteney, a beautiful whisky from a 'ginm, windswpt fishing town.'

Some single malts feature illustrations of the distilleries from which they originate on their bottle labels and sleeve packaging, but Old Pulteney prefers a picture of a herring drifter. Pulteney’s o...

By Gavin D. Smith in the section Distillery Focus

p44

Exploring the geography of taste.

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 centu...

By Alex Kraaijeveld in the section Whisky Tasting

p48

The spirit of independence

Damian Riley-Smith visits the home of Julian Van Winkle III, a nam dedicated to producing quality bourbon and adhering to traditional, family values.

Waiting more than a decade for a bourbon is the exception rather than the rule. Yet for the Van Winkle family it has become their trademark. There is no full production distillery, the 'family' is cur...

By Damian Riley-Smith in the section Independent Bottlers

p52

Two hundred million reasons to enjoy retirement

Marcin Miller talks to Owsley Brown Frazier, former Vice Chairman of the Brown-Forman Corporation, and finds him calmly enjoying his retirement

The large corner office occupied by Owsley Brown Frazier exudes an air of harmony, as does the man himself. Unflustered and unhurried since his retirement in June, he gives an impression of a man at p...

By Marcin Miller in the section Whisky Dynasty

p54

Faith in family values: the Brown-Forman story

Martin Betts recounts a tale of a family company that was on the brink of extinction yet became a significant force in the drinks industry.

When a company is balancing precariously on the edge of oblivion, ready to freefall towards extinction, you wouldn't expect its saviours to be two young men under the age of 35. Despite the displeasur...

By Martin Betts in the section Whisky Dynasty

p56

The bar in the Bluegrass

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 Ho...

By Ken Hoskins in the section Whisky Travel

p58

Scotch whisky Big in Japan

Marcin Miller captures the spirit of the Far East, where Scotch malt whisky is revered and there is no indigenous whisky publication to indulge the passion of the many Japanese Malt enthusiasts

For many years, the Far East has been regarded as an area in which Britain’s fifth biggest export, Scotch malt whisky, is revered. Many whisky producers have attempted to seduce the Japanese with excl...

By Marcin Miller in the section Japanese Whisky

p60

Tough guys with tender hearts

Martine Nouet embarks on another culinary experiment with Islay malts, pungent yet sweet whiskies she describes as sharing the same character traits as the lleachs

How many times have I heard my daring culinary experiments, such as cooking a full meal with Islay malts, mocked or ridiculed. “These whiskies are too pungent to allow other flavours to express themse...

By Martine Nouet in the section Whisky and Food

p64

Scotland's obscure corner shop (Whisky Shop)

David Stirk makes a pilgrimage to the heart of Speyside to meet Fiona Murdoch at the Whisky Shop, Dufftown, and collect his medal for visiting this 'obscure corner of Scotland'

Until three years ago, Dufftown, the heart of Speyside and malt whisky country, did not have a whisky shop. It had a kilt maker, seven distilleries, a cooperage and a clock tower but nowhere to buy ui...

By David Stirk in the section Great whisky retailers

p82

In conversation with Norman Shelley

Charles Maclean talks to 'The Perfect Collector', Norman Shelley

CM When did you become involved with whisky? NS Although I was educated in England, I have lived abroad all my life. My father worked for Shell Petroleum and during my first 21 years on this planet...

By Charles MacLean in the section Whisky Interview

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