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Issue 51   |  Buy this issue   |  Other issues
Whisky Magazine Issue 51

Whisky Magazine Issue 51

Published on 07/10/2005

Whisky Tastings

Gordon & MacPhail Benromach 22 Years Old, Port Wood Finish

Should the pink tangerine blush of this whisky hint at .....

Berry's Own Selection Rosebank 1990

A teasing early freshness is the overture to a richer, .....

Chieftain's Choice Banff 1978, Sherry Wood

Too burnt and dry. Not for everyone. Reminds me of a pa.....

Cooper's Choice Caol Ila 1992, 13 Years Old

Incredibly appetising. Perhaps a touch more acidity som.....

Dewar Rattray Invergordon 40 Years Old

A strange, huge, dark and dense whisky. Try with Pecan .....

Jon, Mark and Robbo's The Smooth Sweeter One

A curious whisky. Not sure where it’s coming from, or g.....

Old Islay Single Malt Bunnahabhain 33 Years Old selected by Royal Mile Whiskies

Caramel and creamy notes dominate this whisky, which co.....

The Wee Dram Caol Ila 12 Years Old

I like this young man: he’s showered and shaved, suited.....

Blanton's

A complex, rich and interesting character. Water cuts t.....

Booker's Bourbon

An enticing nose but quite a rough palate. Water does n.....

Elijah Craig 12 Years Old

Oak (and age) has lessened the creaminess and sweetness.....

Elmer T. Lee

A superbly balanced giant. More on the sweet side than .....

Evan Williams Black

Reminiscent of an old calvados at first. Palate is less.....

George T. Stagg

Where is the pleasure? Even with water, one feels the b.....

Pappy Van Winkle 15 Years Old, Family Reserve

A big guy. On a frosty Christmas Eve maybe, waiting for.....

Old Fitzgerald Very Special

Surprising. Seems subdued at first, then shines through.....

W.L. Weller 12 Years Old

The nose delivers more than the palate. Once more, oak .....

Queen of the Moorlands 12 Years Old

Has nothing to be ashamed of, but could do with more ac.....

Basil Hayden's 8 Years Old

Has an aromatic profile close to a rye whiskey. Quite c.....

JTS Brown

A pleasant balance between oaky and creamy notes. The f.....

Cadenhead's Classic Range, Highland

How nice this would be with one of those tasteful deser.....

Contents

p5

Fight back now!

Are whisky drinkers getting the sort of service standards they – and the product – deserves? Not according to Dominic Roskrow they’re not.And enough’s enough

There are a few things that really get my goat, but two of them relate to the way whisky is presented to customers in top hotels, bars and restaurants. Number one is when a supposedly top establishme...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section From the Editor

p11

Elegy for the ‘Easy’

The death of New Orleans has been exaggerated

The elegaic song American Pie spoke of the day the music died. People were drinking whiskey (bourbon, presumably) and rye. The lyrics invited interpretation, most of it a trifle earnest. Afriend of m...

By Michael Jackson in the section Musings with Michael Jackson

p12

Spicing up the industry

Compass Box's new product is a cracker. But will it upset the traditionalists?

A few weeks back, John Glaser took me on an oak hunt round the more obscure parts of Kew Gardens. It rained. Hard. Like a good Boy Scout he was prepared and put on an emergency poncho. The walk in th...

By Dave Broom in the section A dram with Dave Broom

p15

How do the Scots like their whisky? They love it LIVE

The water of life flowed freely at this year’s Whisky Live show in Glasgow, with thousands of dram hunters making the pilgrimage to the event held in the main square of Scotland’s biggest city. With ...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Whisky Events

p16

Are they coming to get us?

Smokers are facing ever increasing restrictions.Will the alcoholic drink sector be next?

The Panel James Leavey (JL) - Editor The FOREST Guides to Smoking in. London and Scotland. Dominic Roskrow (DR) - Editor Whisky Magazineand Cigar Buyer. David Williamson (DW) - Scotch Whisky Associati...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Whisky Debate

p18

Fuelling affairs of the state

Whisky has often served as a lubricant driving the cogs of diplomacy and politics. But as Chris Hill reports,it has also been a hinderance as well as a help

The idea and image of the drunken politician is essentially a cliché, and like most clichés it is not without its basis in truth. Politicians, like the leaders in any industry (business, entertainme...

By Chris Hill in the section Whisky Politics

p22

A matter of art in a glass

What makes a great blend,and why do the biggest brands command such loyalty? Ian Buxton reports

I can buy blended Scotch whisky at Tesco for £6.86. It’s called Horseman. A full 70cl bottle and the proper 40% ABV strength it carries the claim ‘Distilled, Blended & Bottled in Scotland.’ That means...

By Ian Buxton in the section Whisky Blends

p27

Still hot for Teacher's

Teacher’s is celebrating its 175th birthday with a new owner. And the brand’s still bullish

With 175 years of history behind you, you might be excused for looking back. It would be entirely understandable if you wanted to concentrate on past glories and emphasise the long tradition and heri...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Whisky Blends

p32

Carving out a niche (Karuizawa)

Karuizawa is one of Japan’s smaller and lesser known distilleries.But as Dave Broom found out, it’s producing some fine and unusual whisky

The landscape is strobing past the train window. The concrete of the city has been left behind and we’re climbing. House:tunnel:field:tunnel:orchard:tunnel: cliff:tunnel:bridge:tunnel:river:space.The...

By Dave Broom in the section Distillery Focus

p35

The Collins

Ian Wisniewski on the most refreshing of all whisky cocktails

The Collins is a cocktail with a definitive mission statement: providing serious refreshment. This makes it perfect to sip by the pool, on a terrace, or in fact anywhere that you happen to be. Howeve...

By Ian Wisniewski in the section Whisky Cocktails

p36

Liquid thunder, storm in a glass

Talisker is an icon malt and it's celebrating its 175th anniversary. Dave Broom takes a walk on its wildside.

The Wild Spirit. Saturday night on Scotland’s utter northwest coast. I was staying with a friend who was working on a fish farm and we were heading to a ceilidh in Ullapool. Fortification for the jo...

By Dave Broom in the section Whisky Trends

p40

In need of good loving (Glen Grant)

Our mystery visitor discovers a melancholy garden at Glen Grant

I visited Glen Grant on a late summer’s day, keenly anticipating a stroll in the famous gardens (that’s middle age for you). However, though it may be a truism, first impressions do count for a lot. ...

By Mystery Visitor in the section Mystery Visitor

p42

Arran flying like an eagle

The Isle of Arran Distillery is 10 years old. Dominic Roskrow joined the celebrations

When a majestic eagle rose up from the hills behind the Isle of Arran Distillery at precisely the time that it reached its 10th birthday it was either a remarkable coincidence or the result of some ve...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Whisky Spotlight

p43

Licensed to still

They fought the law,and they won. Dominic Roskrow visits Drumchork Lodge

Some time next year, after just less than nine years at Drumchork Lodge, John Clotworthy and Frances Oates will fulfil a dream. They will officially become distillers. Not just any old distillers, e...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Whisky Spotlight

p44

Entente cordiale

Pascal Barbot is a young award-winning chef in Paris who wasn’t too familiar with whisky before Glenfiddich challenged him.Martine Nouet reports

In quite a short time, pairing whisky and food has gone from the status of an anorak oddity to that of a challenging entertainment for all kinds of whisky lovers. I remember when I started working on...

By Martine Nouet in the section Whisky and Food

p47

How black can black be? Blacker...

This issue Jefferson Chase on Terence Blacker's bleak novel 'Kill your Darlings'

Literature, as anyone involved with the production side knows, is a nasty business. The act of writing encourages an unsavoury mix of insecurity, solipsism, arrogance and obsession that sends many a s...

By Jefferson Chase in the section Whisky Literature

p48

From Bardstown to Brooklyn

Charles Cowdrey reports on a one-woman crusadeto bring Kentucky’s finest in to the Big Apple

LeNell has changed the way people drink in this part of Brooklyn,” says Alex Haskell, manager of MiniBar, a cosy drinking establishment as diminutive as its name implies. ‘LeNell’ is Tonya LeNell Smo...

By Charles K. Cowdery in the section American Whiskey

p52

Malice in the mix

A book on the great Glasgow whisky scandal of 1872 is set to be republished.According to Ian Buxton,it makes essential reading

Ah, the good old days. Whisky just a few pennies a glass; hundreds of independent companies competing for our business; distilleries now lost in the mists of time sending forth their wonderful drams. ...

By Ian Buxton in the section Whisky History

p55

Canada fly...

Joe Bates with the latest from travel retail

Store Focus. Vancouver airport. Vancouver airport hit the headlines earlier this year after its duty-free stores announced they had stocked five bottles of the world’s most expensive cognac, L’Esprit...

By Joe Bates in the section Travel retail

p64

Mixing the grain with the grape

Ian Wisniewski looks at wine finishes

Fortified wine casks introduced the concept of special finishes, with spirits such as calvados, cognac and rum following, but the range of wine cask finishes has become the most extensive. This inclu...

By Ian Wisniewski in the section Whisky Production

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