All smiles as peace breaks out?
Dave Broom wryly observes the surreal lovefest that Whisky Live has become
Depressed? Down in the dumps? Visit Whisky Live and bring a smile back to your face! For sheer entertainment it is the best show in town,
attracting such a diverse bunch of people.
There were hippies (who else would be worshipping the roots of a tree while wrapping his arms round its trunk? stunt men (one gave an impromptu masterclass on how to fall backwards while walking forwards) and a tall, bald man dressed as Margaret Rutherford (apparently itâs the latest thing in Poland).
It was good to catch up with familiar faces; to see Richard Joynsonâs face when he heard that Dewarâs is to bottle limited editions of Aultmore, Craigellachie and Royal Brackla; exciting to judge the final of the whisky cocktail competition â and to do so without being strung up and whipped with wet âNo salt in whiskyâ polo shirts. Maybe the fundamentalist wing of the malt maniacs is mellowing with age â perhaps after a short period of extra maturation in a chardonnay barrel.
Indeed after a period when the industry seemed intent on tearing itself apart, a spirit of equanimity prevailed. A few days later came the news that Diageo had âchanged its mindâ and decided to withdraw Cardhu âPureâ Malt from the market. While the shape of the firmâs strategic withdrawal bears a similarity to the 21st letter of the alphabet, it has apologised for underestimating the reaction the switch from single to vatted caused.
âIt shows that the company is big and brave enough to make decisions.....
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By Dave Broom
Section : A dram with Dave Broom
Page number : 12
