Contents
p5
As we enter 2006, China and the environment are going to be key issues for the world of whisky
If 2005 was a roller coaster year for whisky, strap yourself in for the ride of your life in the next 12 months.
It’s shaping up to be a stormer, as a whole host of producers step up their game and w...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
From the Editor
p11
A kiss is just a kiss. Or does it count as sexual harassment?
The taxi home swerved just slightly, to avoid an approaching car that was being driven too liberally, probably by someone who had been taking his drink the same way.
In the back of the cab, our bodie...
By Michael Jackson in the section
Musings with Michael Jackson
p12
Louisville,home of bourbon,is under threat from the globalisers. Its quirkiness needs defending
Every time I go to Louisville (which isn’t frequently enough now that the editor has discovered bourbon) I try and go to EarX-tacy, one of the finest record stores in the world.
There’s always some n...
By Dave Broom in the section
A dram with Dave Broom
p15
Hosted for the second time in the magnificent Palais Brongniart, the old Stock Exchange, Paris Whisky Live welcomed 60 distilleries from all other the world including the newcomers from India, Wales a...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky Events
p16
Whisky Magazine and The Glenlivet hosted a readers’ round table in London. In the first half we asked about wood finishes and innovations
Chairman
Dominic Roskrow - Editor, Whisky Magazine
The participants
Pieter Badenhorst (PB) - Teacher,Waltham Cross
Svat Buchlovsky (SB) - Consultant, Basingstoke
Brendon Humphreys (BH) - Development ...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky Debate
p18
Once upon a time,moonshine was big business,and the American South played out a daily game of cat and mouse as fast cars raced for the border. Jim Leggett goes in search of an American institution
The Dukes of Hazzard TV series may be relegated to reruns, but a new ‘Dukes’ movie introduced a fresh generation of fans to moonshine, rustic humour and gleeful car chases. In search of former moonshi...
By Jim Leggett in the section
Whisky Production
p24
Oban is a wonderful but compact distillery in a picturesque port town. Ian Buxton visited it
After 37 years in the business, it seems churlish to deny Oban’s manager Kenny Gray an easy commute to work. After all, he’s worked man and boy for Diageo, starting out as laboratory assistant to the ...
By Ian Buxton in the section
Distillery Focus
p30
Glen Moray is Glenmorangie’s third distillery and is somewhat forgotten,lying as it does in the shadow of Tain’s finest and the wonderful Ardbeg.But is it underrated? The mystery visitor had a look…
The road to Glen Moray takes you past some rather smart housing, largely comprised of ‘executive villas’ and climaxing in a mock gated estate (in Elgin?) rejoicing in the name of Bruceland Mansions.
...
By Mystery Visitor in the section
Mystery Visitor
p32
Tullamore Dew is reasserting its Irishness and it’s paying dividends. Dominic Roskrow reports
The Irish have a canny knack of turning their history to their advantage. When Irish Distillers needed to expand and moved to a new purpose-built distillery in Cork the company didn’t knock the old on...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky Spotlight
p34
Jack and Jean Oswald have turned their passion in to a hobby and business. Dominic Roskrow reports
They say film-makers and photographers make their own luck.
It’s not so much a case of being in the right place at the right time, but knowing to be in the right place at the right time.
So for Amer...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky Spotlight
p36
Pip Hills explains how his Scotch Whisky Directory can help you improve your tasting skills
There can be no doubt that science is a big improvement on astrology, necromancy and reading tealeaves as a way of predicting the future. It has its limitations, though, and is a victim of its own suc...
By Pip Hills in the section
Whisky Tasting
p40
The times they are a-changing in Kentucky as the bourbon producers enjoy a renewed interest in their products. Dominic Roskrow reports
The road is a nightmare. Little more than an uneven dirt track, its entrance sufficiently concealed that we drive by it twice.
We’re just outside Bardstown in Kentucky, and we’re meant to be getting ...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky Trends
p44
Whisky and food is a new concept in Australia,but trendy Sydney restaurant China Doll was prepared to give it a go. Naren Young went along
Australia is not renowned as a land of whisky lovers. Well not Scotch whisky anyway. The spirit certainly doesn’t have the cachet it boasts in many other parts of the world.
Part of this problem stem...
By Naren Young in the section
Whisky and Food
p47
Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory recalls a fond seasonal ritual. Jefferson Chase reports
Originally this column was going to be about Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a fine drinking novel that’s considerably darker and more down-to-earth than the Audrey Hepburn film.
But among the shorter pieces...
By Jefferson Chase in the section
Whisky Literature
p48
The recent Pernod Ricard-Allied deal reunited two great whisky names. But they were linked once before by whisky entrepreneur Jimmy Barclay. Iain Russell reports
Pernod Ricard’s acquisition of Allied Domecq will bring together two of the great names in the whisky world, in the form of their subsidiaries Chivas Brothers and George Ballantine & Son.
But the con...
By Iain Russell in the section
Whisky History
p50
Ian Wisniewski on a very old classic
Thriving on tradition, and offering ease of preparation, not to mention a sense of well-being (or at least an illusion of this), the hot toddy seems to have it all.
Except that a hot toddy is never o...
By Ian Wisniewski in the section
Whisky Cocktails
p52
The Pattison brothers could have taught media guru Max Clifford a thing or two about promotion.They even used parrots to promote their whisky. Ian Buxton reports
Every age has its ‘bubbles’ and every age seems determined to repeat the mistakes of the last. Think of the South Sea Bubble; of Victorian railway bonds; of the mania for tulips that possessed Holland...
By Ian Buxton in the section
Whisky History
p55
Joe Bates with the latest from travel retail
Store focus
Amsterdam Schiphol airport
Holland’s main international gateway has developed a well-earned reputation for offering customers excellent value.
The Dutch airport has recently expanded its ...
By Joe Bates in the section
Travel retail
p64
Ian Wisniewski looks at how the bourbon barrel influences the taste of whisky
Although bourbon barrels dominate most cask inventories, it’s ironic that most malts also include the influence of sherry casks, with only a certain number of malts, or individual expressions, aged ex...
By Ian Wisniewski in the section
Whisky Production
p67
Tynron is a sleepy Scottish town and it once had its own whisky. Dave McFadzean goes in search of this unusual blend
It is almost two decades since I first heard tales of the whisky making that once took place in the sleepy hamlet of Tynron.
Some older folk could remember the hard stuff being produced and consumed ...
By Dave McFadzean in the section
Whisky History
