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Issue 53   |  Buy this issue   |  Other issues
Whisky Magazine Issue 53

Whisky Magazine Issue 53

Published on 12/01/2006

Whisky Tastings

Bruichladdich 'Islands' Third edition, 20 Years Old

Surely a finish, but I couldn’t quite place the influen.....

Dewar Rattray Invergordon 1964

A pretty bundle of US oak, slathered in silky creamines.....

Signatory Straight from the Cask Edradour 11 Years Old, Madeira Finish

Bags of cask character, and fine if you find finishes f.....

The Glenrothes Select Reserve

Youthful, but without the lip-smacking class of the old.....

Glengoyne 32 Years Old, Single Cask

Complex, old, not perfect, but good darned fun!.....

Rare Malts Linkwood 1974

I couldn't decide if this lacked a little, or was just .....

Single Malts of Scotland Ardmore 1994 11 Years Old

Speyside you say, eh? A real region buster, and I loved.....

Wild Turkey Single Barrel 101 Proof

Good dram, lacked the greatness you'd hope for with suc.....

W.L. Weller

Remarkably drinkable at full strength, which is just as.....

Auchentoshan 10 Years Old

Lots of American Oak, and a super clean character. Nowt.....

Auchentoshan 21 Years Old

A fruity rumble in the hay. Oo arr missus......

Auchentoshan Three Wood

Lowlands just as aperitifs? Pah! A well constructed mal.....

Berry's Own Selection Bladnoch 1992

So subtle it's barely there, but an intriguing mystery......

Berry's Own Selection Rosebank 1990

Cute as a button......

Glenkinchie 10 Years Old

Very much in its regional style, but lacks finesse or g.....

Gordon & MacPhail St Magdalene 1975

Typically lowland, with a nice progression of sensation.....

Old Masters Bladnoch 1992 13 Years Old

I know, I know – it's a Lowland! Still, I want a little.....

John McDougall's Bladnoch 15 Years Old

Distinctive and fascinating sourness: a complex, tangy .....

Littlemill 12 Years Old

Marked down for that cabbagey character – right back to.....

Cadenhead's Classic Range, Islay

You can see why the Germans get so obsessed with this s.....

Carme

Put off slightly by a fatty edge, but otherwise a balan.....

Dun Bheagan Lowland 8 Years Old

A pretty face with muddy feet......

MacLeods 8 Years Old Lowland

A pleasing balance of spirit and wood, but lacked compl.....

Berry's Best Lowland 12 Years Old

An fine dram to start off a tasting, but not enough int.....

Contents

p5

Image is everything

When you think of poker, what is the dominant image before you? I ask because when we were discussing the cover story, one of the team talked of smoke-filled rooms, male only events where the players...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section From the Editor

p11

Bottling the Holy Ghost

What happens when you have a Mass at the mash-tun?

Saints alive! A classic beer vaporises... and now there’s a Samichlaus spirit. The priest had a glint in his eye, and was warming to his theme: the role of St Nicholas as the patron saint of bakers, ...

By Michael Jackson in the section Musings with Michael Jackson

p12

Why Glenfiddich stands for a load of tripe

South Africa provided Dave Broom with a whisky magic triple whammy

It is hard to define what constitutes a great whisky moment. They just sneak up on you. Suddenly the drink in your hand isn’t just an accompaniment, rather everything flows from it. It is place, peop...

By Dave Broom in the section A dram with Dave Broom

p14

A slice of paradise

We recently asked for nominations for our ‘great whisky bars of the world’ award. On the opposite page is the list of the first recipients. Here Damian Riley Smith reports on one of the best

Cape Town lives up to every visitor’s preconception; it is magnificent, stunning, exciting. And while you can experience all these sensual experiences at different points and times throughout the city...

By Damian Riley-Smith in the section Great whisky bars

p15

Great whisky bars of the world

A couple of issues ago we launched a new scheme to honour the world’s best whisky bars. Here are the first recipients – congratulations to them all

Albannach, London, England Altona, Bergen, Norway Atheneum Hotel, London, England Auld Alliance, Paris, France Talbott Tavern Bascule Bar, Cape Grace Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa Bishops Arms, Helsi...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Great whisky bars

p16

Tomorrow’s world

We recently teamed up with The Glenlivet for a readers’ evening to discuss the world of whisky. We asked them about the future

Chairman Dominic Roskrow, Editor, Whisky Magazine The participants Pieter Badenhorst (PB) Teacher,Waltham Cross, 29 Svat Buchlovsky (SB) Consultant, Basingstoke, 52 Brendon Humphreys (BH) Development...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Whisky Debate

p18

A big hand for gambling nights

Social poker nights both at home or at style bars and clubs have been the fad trend of 2005 – and whisky has been the drink of choice. Rob Allanson reports

Think of poker and it stirs up images of either suave casinos or dirty smokefilled back rooms: the tuxedoed Monte Carlo high life of James Bond, or seedy, salacious danger-tinged impromptu card school...

By Rob Allanson in the section Whisky Trends

p24

Worth rediscovering (Jura)

Jura makes no economic sense. But when it comes to putting quality before profit it stands like a beacon. Ian Buxton made the long journey

Burning money is boring. Official. Famously (or should that be notoriously?), musicians and art pranksters the KLF burnt a million quid on Jura in August 1994. In cash. There were bundles of 50,000 s...

By Ian Buxton in the section Distillery Focus

p28

Recreating history

What happens to United States Presidents after they leave office? The first one made whiskey. Charles K. Cowdery reports

Mount Vernon is George Washington’s estate in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. It is America’s most-visited historic home. The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, which owns the estate...

By Charles K. Cowdery in the section American Whiskey

p30

How Low can you go? (Auchentoshan)

The mystery visitor turns his sights on iconic Lowland malt Auchentoshan. Surely he won’t savage that, too?

Apparently the Editor has been getting complaints. Some distilleries have felt that recent reviews have been a trifle harsh, unfair even. But I haven’t been asked to hide my claws, and they haven’t e...

By Mystery Visitor in the section Mystery Visitor

p32

Spey Pride

The Speyside region is getting its act together and making life easier for the visitor. Here Dominic Roskrow reports on its changing face. And on page 34 we provide the complete visitors’ guide to the region

Speyside might boast the largest number of distilleries in one region anywhere in the world but boy, at times in the past it sure didn’t feel like it. There’s always been something fragmented about t...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Visitor Guides

p34

The visitors’ guide to... Speyside

In each issue of Whisky Magazine this year we will look at a whisky region from a tourist’s point of view. First up, Speyside

Some might consider Speyside to be the epicentre of malt whisky production and it can claim to have the greatest geographical concentration of distilleries anywhere in the world. Depending on where y...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Visitor Guides

p37

The beautiful South?

Lew Guthrie III on Southern Rock Opera by Drive-By Truckers – an epic concept album on the life and times of Lynyrd Skynyrd

Being a heavy rock fans has always presented a moral dilemma for anyone with a social conscience. Too often chauvinistic or downright sexist, politically insensitive and sometimes reactionary and righ...

By Lew Guthrie III in the section Whisky and Music

p38

Russians seek out a taste of luxury

A new elite in Russia is demanding the world’s very best products, quality single malt among them. Marcin Miller reports

It’s 1.20am on a Thursday in October. A party of four, we shake the snow off our boots and check in our coats at Prado, one of Moscow’s most chic style bars. I am astounded that we are considered for...

By Marcin Miller in the section Whisky Travel

p42

Heather, honey and whisky’s future

Jamie Forbes is Albannach’s young, gifted and enthusiastic bar manager, and he’s bringing malt whisky to a younger audience. Rob Allanson spoke to him

As he settles into one of Albannach’s comfortable sofas, and talks to you about his passion for whisky, you realise that the future of whisky is safe in this 22-year-old Scotman’s hands. Jamie Forbes...

By Rob Allanson in the section Whisky Profile

p44

There’s something about Mary

If you visit Islay you have to try the cooking of Mary McKecknie and the outstanding visitor centre at Ardbeg Distillery. Richard Jones reports

A visit to a whisky distillery anywhere is always a memorable experience, but there are some that are more anticipated than most. In many cases, it is the quality of the whisky that arouses the expec...

By Richard Jones in the section Whisky and Food

p47

A cut (or two) above the rest

After reading this disturbing Scotland-based offering from Christopher Brookmyre you'll never look at school reunions the same way again says Jefferson Chase.

If you’re looking for an inventive excuse not to attend your next class reunion, then Christopher Brookmyre’s One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night is your source. A winner of the Critics’ First Blo...

By Jefferson Chase in the section Whisky Literature

p48

The crazy world of James Grant

With Glen Grant up for sale it’s timely to look at the man behind the distillery. Iain Russell reports

Major James Grant was the archetypal Victorian laird. Short in stature and stocky of build, he dressed for most occasions in his Grant tartan kilt and Glengarry bonnet. He spent long hours fishing on...

By Iain Russell in the section Whisky History

p50

Irish Coffee

Ian Wisniewski on a winter favourite

Before cappuccino, espresso, latte and macchiato became part of our daily vocabulary, the ultimate choice was an Irish coffee rather than anything Italian. An inspired combination of Irish whiskey, c...

By Ian Wisniewski in the section Whisky Cocktails

p52

Working in harmony

The new Whisky Exchange shop at London’s Vinopolis is part of a new project that shows how grape and the grain can make a harmonious blend. Kate Ennis reports

For fans of renowned mail order website The Whisky Exchange the news that proprietor Sukhinder Singh has opened a retail shop in central London will be music to the ears. Before now, experiencing Suk...

By Kate Ennis in the section Whisky Trends

p54

A true touch of glass

Glencairn Crystal is playing a major role in promoting dedicated whisky glasses. But as Dominic Roskrow reports, there is more to the company than that

Question:What do British actor Leslie Grantham, American superstar Kelsey Grammer and the folk behind Glencairn Crystal got in common? Answer: They have all been very successful, and they have all be...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Whisky Spotlight

p55

Whisky’s coming home

Joe Bates with the latest from travel retail

Store focus. Edinburgh Airport. Edinburgh airport finally has the whisky offer it deserves. Earlier this year BAA opened a World of Whiskies shop in shop at the airport’s main World Duty Free store, ...

By Joe Bates in the section Travel retail

p58

No Spain no Grain

In the last issue we looked in depth at bourbon casks. Here Ian Wisniewski considers how sherry ones perform

It was entirely due to practicality that sherry casks became a staple choice for maturing malts. Sherry was originally shipped in casks from Jerez to the United Kingdom, principally the ports of Brist...

By Ian Wisniewski in the section Whisky Production

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