Contents
p5
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
