Contents
p5
I’m not one for snobbery, pretentiousness or elitism. Can’t stand it. But if I’ve learned anything over the last few years it’s that you get what you pay for and that quality comes at a cost.
I’m not one for snobbery, pretentiousness or elitism. Can’t stand it. But if I’ve learned anything over the last few years it’s that you get what you pay for and that quality comes at a cost.
Let me ...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
From the Editor
p11
Michael Jackson brainstorming on behalf of Scotch Whisky.
The American business magazine Fortune calls for a chat on the future of Scotch whisky. Among the reporter’s questions, a particularly pertinent one: some consumers have spurned the big blended brands...
By Michael Jackson in the section
Musings with Michael Jackson
p12
Dave Broom launches the resistance against the whisky terroiristes
Apparently supermarket lighting is engineered to make us blink less frequently, inducing a trancelike state which makes us more amenable to
suggestions. I suspect a similar thing goes on in airports.
...
By Dave Broom in the section
A dram with Dave Broom
p16
Young consumers are seeking innovative ways to drink alcohol. Andy Knott reports on how Diageo is promoting its super premium blends
For you, is it complete when neat? Alternatively, does a cube or two of ice suffice? Or does a dash of H20 steal the show?
With the exception of the cocktail and long, mixed drink, the parameters for...
By Andy Knott in the section
Whisky Trends
p19
There is a new wave of whisky drinkers who are confident, intelligent, young and individualistic. Many of them are women. Dominic Roskrow reports
It started off as a simple enough idea: to feature women who enjoy whisky, some employed in the trade, some not, and to get a feminine view of the world of whisky.
Hold a tasting and see what happens...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky Trends
p20
This month we ask a female only panel of whisky drinkers whether the image of malt whisky is changing
The Panel
Gillian Bell, proprietor of online catering company Caledonian Connoisseur (GB)
Abigail Bosanko, author and whisky enthusiast (AB)
Annabel Meikle, Scotch Malt Whisky Society (AM)
(Q) Whisky...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky Debate
p22
If a group of women conducted a whisky tasting, would it be very different to a men’s one? Well yes, actually. Dominic Roskrow meets the girls
The panel
Gillian Bell Proprietor,Caledonian Connoissseur
Abigail Bosanko Author
Susan Brannan Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Anna Conway Business development manager, Fior brands
Isabel Coughlin Press an...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky Trends
p24
Abigail Bosanko’s new book is a romance aimed at the professional female. But it includes whisky tasting notes and its central character is a whisky expert. What’s going on?
On the face of it A Nice Girl Like Me would seem to be a typical girlie novel. It’s got a pink cover. It’s about a woman married to an older man but is romantically drawn to a young, dashing, handsome...
By Abigail Bosanko in the section
Whisky Trends
p26
Iseabail Mactaggart could have pretty much chosen to work anywhere. She chose the Islay whisky industry. Here’s why…
Although she would hate anyone to say it, Iseabail Mactaggart was the sort of person they were thinking of when they coined the phrase ‘high flyer.’
By the time she had reached her 20s she had a degr...
By Iseabail Mactaggart in the section
Whisky Trends
p28
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is under new ownership and enjoying new premises. Our Mystery Visitor went and checked out one of our more interesting members’ clubs
If you haven’t joined yet, you are running out of excuses. I refer, of course, to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, a group of enthusiasts dedicated to the pursuit of their own single cask bottlings of ...
By Mystery Visitor in the section
Mystery Visitor
p30
Girvan isn’t your normal run of the … er… mill distillery. Ian Buxton paid it a visit
Here’s a curiosity. This article celebrates a distillery you’ve probably never heard of; whose whisky you’ve never consciously drunk and which you can’t visit. It’s a mere 40 years old, located in a r...
By Ian Buxton in the section
Distillery Focus
p34
Ireland isn’t normally associated with single malts, but at Bushmills they’re investing heavily in producing outstanding whiskeys. Dominic Roskrowwent there
At the start of every week Colum Egan goes on the internet, looks up his list of oil suppliers, picks up the phone and plays broker for a few hours. And right now, with pressure on oil prices unlikely...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Distillery Focus
p36
How many of us have thought about giving it all up and starting afresh as a worker in the world of whisky? Richard Jones speaks to some people who have done just that
Go on, admit it, the thought has crossed your mind. There you were after a distillery tour, one dram safely inside you and another in your hand, quietly soaking up the atmosphere, the history, the gen...
By Richard Jones in the section
Whisky Trends
p39
Patrick McCabe’s disturbed protagonist McNab first appeared in The Butcher Boy; Jefferson Chase sees how he’s grown
The great dilemma faced by today’s generation of gifted Irish writers is all the other gifted Irish writers from past generations who have, as we Americans say, “been there, done that.” Call it James ...
By Jefferson Chase in the section
Whisky Literature
p40
Among great bourbon families it doesn’t get much bigger than the name Beam. And as Charles K.Cowdery reports, another generation is considering its options
One day you’re driving through Ohio, on the interstate highway, just minding your own business. You pass a flatbed truck. It is hauling something strange, unfamiliar.
It looks like a big copper pot, ...
By Charles K. Cowdery in the section
American Whiskey
p44
Our new food and whisky series will look at restaurants and chefs who cook with whisky or serve it as an accompaniment to food. This issue, Christine Manfield (above) and East@West, London
When Glenfiddich approached top Australian chef Christine Manfield in Sydney some years back and asked her to match some of her recipes with its whisky, she was split between two very conflicting emot...
By in the section
Whisky and Food
p46
Switzerland might not seem an obvious place to find a good whisky bar, but the Widder Bar is just that. Jefferson Chase reports
Zurich is one of those places you go when you want to pretend to be James Bond for a while. Set against a fantastic backdrop of shimmering lake waters and snow covered Alpine peaks, the city still exu...
By Jefferson Chase in the section
Whisky Spotlight
p48
Fake whisky bottles appear in most markets of the world. But as Erkin Touzmohamedov reports, there are some bizarre ones in Egypt
When Moses went to Egypt (to let his people go), he’d hardly have imagined that this land’s inventors would give the world ‘water of life’. It is generally considered that Alexandria’s alchemists pass...
By Erkin Touzmahamedov in the section
Whisky Trends
p55
Adrian and Alison Murray are combining business and pleasure by selling whisky to tourists in England’s Peak District. Dominic Roskrow reports
It’s not actually what you might expect to stumble across after a hard day’s hiking in one of Britain’s most popular tourist resorts – a shop specialising in the finest malt whisky.
But everything ab...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky Profile
p56
Ian Wisniewski looks at the role of the cooper and assesses what future the profession has
Oak management has become a mantra in the industry, reflecting the fact that between 40-70 per cent of a malt’s flavour is derived from the cask. But the people who help to ensure that casks give of t...
By Ian Wisniewski in the section
Whisky Production
p67
In a new series looking at different distillery careers, Richard Jones talks to Hilary Lamont – distillery gardener at Linkwood
There’s really no such thing as a typical day,” begins Hilary Lamont, gardener at Linkwood distillery. “As any gardener will tell you, your work is dictated by the season and the weather. You might ha...
By Richard Jones in the section
A day in the life
p74
This month’s guest writer is market analyst Tom Stinson
At Manchester Piccadilly railway station they have turned the area outside platform 13 and 14 in to what they laughingly describe as a lounge.
The concrete and glass area has been fitted with seats a...
By Tom Stinson in the section
The Last Word
