What's in a name?
John Haydockcongratulates himself on discovering the secret behind current whisky-naming trends
Iâm still recovering from a grossly unjustified attack I received at the hands of several of my whisky-writing colleagues at the recent âBest of the Bestâ (sic) tasting. True, I may have got my blends confused with my bourbons, and my Irish with my Islays, but these are errors that anyone, no matter how accomplished, can make in the heat of the moment. Moreover, as my samples were prepared by the Whisky Magazineâs new nice young man, Dominic, who seems to get everything mixed up, I frankly doubted the veracity of the flights I was presented with.
So, dear readers, as I can hear you asking, what to write about? Some tedious technical stuff with an interest quotient somewhere between watching paint dry on a still-house wall, or debating with briny types the saltiness of whisky controversy? Not Haydock style, I fancy. Or an insightful piece on the fact that there now seem to be more boutique, marketing-free (ha!) distilleries being promoted than there were bubbles in the South Sea or tulips in Turkey. Well, what about the fact-filled fakery fiasco? No â Iâve done that too.
So, despite the brickbats of the green-eyed feckless fictionpeddlers who purport to be the industry leading commentators and experts, I will return, like a lion to its kingdom, like a warrior to his mountain fortress, like an explorer to his ⦠(For Christâs sake John â get on with it â Ed)
Taste! Haydockâs territory. As I complete the last few hundred pages of my forthcoming Haydockâ.....
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By John Haydock
Section : An acidic finish
Page number : 82
