The Eighth Wonder
John Haydockreflects on his many past and present glories
People often ask me, âJohn, what is it that motivates you to continue to aspire to the very highest levels of achievement in the world of whisky writing, after all these heady and glorious years?â
âIs itâ, they ask, âthe luxurious first-class round-the-world travel at othersâ expense, the five-star hotels, the lifetime Platinum Master Distillerâs Club Card for the Archiestown Hotel, or the generous and often unbidden cheques that arrive on your doormat on a daily basis from pot-still product pluggers across the globe?
Or perhaps it is the contrasting solitude of the Hebrides, experienced from your retained apartment of suites in the Islay Hotel at Port Ellen (an unlikely and little-known outcome of the Distillerâs Concordat there)? Or that you are paid on a frequent basis to eulogise lain Henderson, that unlikely self-styled deity of distillation, muse with McEwan on the unexpected synergies between the aromas of an Islay roadside bog and a well-matured Bruichladdich, or that you can still survive a seven-hour âshort tourâ of Port Ellen Maltings?â
Or, âplease do tell us John, is it the booze? The vast stocks of whisky that arrive hourly chez Haydock, enough to have inspired you (in a characteristic industry-leading and shaping sort of way) to open the now well-known and highly lucrative Haydocksrareandveryexpensivewhiskystoreonline. john, purveyors of specialist and largely otherwise unobtainable whiskies to all corners of the world?
Or maybe the i.....
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By John Haydock
Section : An acidic finish
Page number : 82
