Contents
p5
Time is relative, and in the whisky industry you are reminded so regularly.
In a world where years and decades define the product, 20 months is no time at all. But even so, I was surprised on a recent trip toIslay to be described as the new editor of this magazine on no less ...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
From the Editor
p11
Michael Jackson has a few drinks with Buffalo Bill
So long as red-haired women walk the earth and John Jameson distils whiskey, I can be sure of staying in trouble. Only if those normalities ceased would I consider advertising for a girlfriend.
I wou...
By Michael Jackson in the section
Musings with Michael Jackson
p12
Dave Broom gets all nostalgic while visiting the gents
So there I was in Rothesay, gazing at Zavaroni’s (as in Lena) fish and chip bar. For those of you who haven’t heard of the town, Rothesay is the capital of the Isle of Bute, though like most Glaswegia...
By Dave Broom in the section
A dram with Dave Broom
p14
In just three years, the Whisky Fair at Limburg in Germany has established itself as one of THE events in the continental whisky diary.
In just three years, the Whisky Fair at Limburg in Germany has established itself as one of THE events in the continental whisky diary. And going by the number of faces and names from the Scotch whisk...
By Brian Townsend in the section
Whisky Events
p16
This year’s Speyside Festival was a great success. Marcin Miller was there
Visiting a distillery gives you greater understanding of the meaning of whisky. Attending a festival gives you that to the power of 10 or more. How? Contextually, culturally and exclusively, that’s ho...
By Marcin Miller in the section
Whisky Events
p18
It’s four years since our mystery visitor was at Edradour, and a lot has happened since then. So what’s the tour like now?
It’s been some four years since I reported on Edradour and, as nearly two years have passed since this tiny distillery was sold to the enterprising Andrew Symington and his Signatory operation, a repe...
By Mystery Visitor in the section
Mystery Visitor
p20
In the latest of our round table debates, we look at special finishes.
The Panel
Dave Broom, drinks guru (DB)
Paul Godfrey, group marketing manager for malts, William Grant & Sons (PG)
Bill Lumsden, Global brands ambassador/ master distiller, Glenmorangie (BL)
Arthur Mot...
By in the section
Whisky Debate
p22
Blues – from its roots in black rural poverty through 60s psychedelia and on to the college rock scene of today has always been about attitude. Here Jefferson Chase takes a walk on the wild side, while on page 24, Dave Broommeets the masters of psychedelic blues, Love.
Everyone knows the legend of Delta bluesman Robert Johnson going down to the crossroads and selling his soul in return for being taught how to play the guitar, but the story of Johnson’s death is equa...
By Jefferson Chase in the section
Whisky Trends
p25
Dave Broom talks music with seminal 60s band and whisky drinkers, Love.
Brighton 2003. We don’t quite know what to expect. I mean, Arthur Lee and Love are about to play Forever Changes, in total, with horns and strings, something which is scarcely believable for those of ...
By Dave Broom in the section
Whisky Trends
p28
A high proportion of Caol Ila whisky is used for blends. But as Ian Buxton discovered, Diageo is making some excellent single malts available from the enigmatic Islay distillery.
How pleasant is the process of exploration when performed in fine weather and in company with good companions.” So observed Alfred Barnard, the original Colossus of whisky writers, on the occasion of ...
By Ian Buxton in the section
Distillery Focus
p32
We might moan about nanny state governments these days, but over the years legislators across the world have tried all sorts of bizarre things. Here Christine Green looks at some of the stranger alcohol laws
Do you consider yourself a whisky connoisseur or someone who merely enjoys partaking in a glass or two when entertaining? Alternatively, you may find your fascination of the world of alcohol draws you...
By Christine Green in the section
Whisky Trends
p34
Greece has one of the biggest markets for whisky in the world. Tom Bruce-Gardyne reports
If ever there was a drink designed for chasing away the winter blues it would be whisky.
When the Irish monks first introduced their magic potion to the Scots, it was seized upon as a medicinal spiri...
By Tom Bruce-Gardyne in the section
Greek Whisky
p37
Guttered is a decadent and bawdy drinking romp. Perfect terrain for Jefferson Chase, then
The problem with a title that stops bookshop browsers in their tracks is that the entire work has to match the expectations raised by the cover. Tom Morton almost pulls off this feat in his 1999 novel...
By Jefferson Chase in the section
Whisky Literature
p38
Buffalo Trace takes its name from the great pioneering days when Kentucky marked the new frontier.Today, it’s still blazing a trail for whiskey. Charles K. Cowdery reports
American straight whiskey is now taken seriously throughout the drinking world. This phenomenon is no longer new. Maker’s Mark, the first craft bourbon, has been on the market for close to 45 years. B...
By Charles K. Cowdery in the section
American Whiskey
p42
Impossible to do whisky justice when it’s in a cocktail? That’s rubbish, as our recent Whisky Cocktail Challenge showed
Boy, have we come a long way in a few short months. When we first held a mini cocktail challenge the results were patchy to say the least. It’s not that the cocktails weren’t good – they were. It’s ju...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky Cocktails
p46
The reactions that go on in the cask and create whisky are still not fully understood. Ian Wisniewski takes a close look at the most recent research on the subject to see what it can tell us
It’s a ritual for the senses: colour, aroma, texture, flavour and follow-through, making the experience of a dram complete in itself.
But I also relish another form of fulfillment, based on analysis ...
By Ian Wisniewski in the section
Whisky Production
p54
Coffee and whisky make an ideal after-dinner partnership. We put together a panel of tasters to match some outstanding coffee blends with some provocative malts. Dominic Roskrow reports
The Panel
Jeremy Torz, roast master, Union Coffee Roasters
Ian Wisniewski, drinks writer
Niall Barnes, proprietor, Albannach Restaurant
Richard Jones, drinks writer
Richard Paterson, master blender, W...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky and Coffee
p57
Ian Bankier’s dream is to give whisky lovers a national retail chain of their own. Gavin D Smith spoke to the former Burn Stewart boss
In February of this year Ian Bankier became the proud owner of the Whisky Shop, and the former Burn Stewart boss has ambitious plans for his retail chain.
Bankier was born in Glasgow and educated at ...
By Gavin D. Smith in the section
Whisky Profile
p58
It’s easy to spice up your food offering with whisky. Here Martine Nouet uses Islay and Jura to pep up her menu
Islay malts register the best growth in the single malts category, not only in Europe. The global success of the Islay Whisky Festival is but a sign. Some 20 years ago medicinal whiskies were complete...
By Martine Nouet in the section
Whisky and Food
p67
Recent issues have reported on two micro distillery projects being launched this year. On this page Terry Williams writes about the Loch Ewe Distillery at Drumchork Lodge, Wester Ross
Their licence to run a small, private distillery gives Frances Oates and John Clotworthy several more superlatives to add to The Drumchork’s existing list: Top malt whisky bar of the year in 2001, one...
By Terry Williams in the section
Whisky Spotlight
p74
We have invited four of the best drinks writers to take it in turn to write for us. First up, award-winning journalist Andrew Jefford argues that whisky is a matter of tastes
It’s never comfortable to be a heretic. Agreed, I’m not going to be burned at the stake, disembowelled or thrown into Laphroaig’s lauter tun for my apostasy, but even self-exclusion is a lonely busine...
By Andrew Jefford in the section
The Last Word
