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Issue 40   |  Buy this issue   |  Other issues
Whisky Magazine Issue 40

Whisky Magazine Issue 40

Published on 4/6/2004

Whisky Tastings

Gordon & MacPhail Bladnoch 1991

The nose is unusual, closer to a sour Chinese broth tha.....

Gordon & MacPhail Caol Ila 1991

What you nose is what you get. A beautiful uncompromisi.....

Dewar's Founder's Reserve 18 Years Old

Attractive nose but a wee more restrained palate than e.....

Glen Grant 14 Years Old, Cask Strength

A midsummer's night dream dram. So delicate, so rich bu.....

Dram House Vatted Malt, 12 Years Old, Milroy's

Conclusion: A true and easy-going mariner. Straight for.....

Frisky Whisky Milroy's

Frisky to say the least! The palate is much more talkat.....

The Glenlivet 16 Years Old, Cask Strength

The rich fruity profile of Glenlivet blossoms at cask s.....

James MacArthur Glentauchers 1990, 13 Years Old

Pleasant fruitiness on the nose but the palate is somew.....

Longmorn 17 Years Old, Cask Strength

Maybe not as balanced as the classic 15 year-old. But w.....

Silver Barley Milroy's

A very young, new-make like whisky. On the bitter side......

Strathisla 15 Years Old, Cask Strength

Make the effort to sample a cracking dram and to visit .....

Karuizawa 15 Years Old

I would have enjoyed the whisky more if I had stuck to .....

Karuizawa Master's Blend, 10 Years Old

For once, a whisky that delivers more on the palate tha.....

Nikka Black 8 Years Old

Easy-going, well-balanced. To be enjoyed as a refreshme.....

Miyagikyo 10 Years Old

Nose is more attractive than the palate. Lacks elegance.....

Taketsuru 17 Years Old

The creamy notes n the nose suggest more sweetness on t.....

Evermore 2004 Blend, 21 Years Old

Perfect blend of aromas and textures. Really appealing......

Fujigotenba 15 Years Old, Single Grain

Characterful but I would have easily mistaken it for Co.....

Fujigotenba 18 Years Old, Single Malt

I like its balance and elegance. Again in a cognac styl.....

Mercian Ship

A promising nose but a somewhat worn out palate......

Hibiki 505 17 Years Old, Non chill filtered

Virile. Rich display of flavours. If I was to climb up .....

Hokuto 12 Years Old

A wee cracker. Nothing sophisticated. Clean, straight a.....

Contents

p5

It's been a long time since...

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

Love, war and whisky

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

Going down the toilet?

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

Limburg Whisky Fair grows on ...

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

Glenlivin’ it up

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

Back for more at Edradour

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

Are we good finishers?

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

Music’s dark heart

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

Forever drinking

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

Taking Caol comfort at Islay's biggest distillery (Caol Ila)

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

Wacky, weird and wonderful

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

Anything but a Greek tragedy

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

A book with a central Flaws

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

Teaching an old distillery new tricks

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

Naughty but nice

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

What happens in the cask

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

Blowing hot and cold

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

Whisky’s own grand national?

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

Marriages made in Hebrides

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

Small but perfectly formed?

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

Mixing it

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

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