Contents
p5
It ‘s a big world out there,new Editor Rob Allanson ponders the view
So here it is, my first column at the helm of Whisky Magazine and what a time to take the reins.
The industry is incredibly buoyant with some cracking whiskies being released, so a very exciting time...
By Rob Allanson in the section
From the Editor
p11
Michael Jackson on recurring dreams of the circus coming to town
Wake up. Better try again. A sentence that ends in a preposition is not a propitious way to begin a new day.
Don't know where I am. Never do until the day's first downfall of coffee. "Bad for your bl...
By Michael Jackson in the section
Musings with Michael Jackson
p12
Dave takes us on a walk through the Glasgow
of his childhood
Where is home? The place of your birth, the place you live in now, somewhere else where you feel the most content? When people ask me where I am from, I say Glasgow even though I’ve been clinging to t...
By Dave Broom in the section
A dram with Dave Broom
p14
In this issue we ask some of the industry’s luminaries to discuss the sensitive issue of pricing and effect on the public’s perception
of whisky.
Panel
Iain Baxter – Inver House senior brand manager IB
Ronnie Cox – The Glenrothes brand ambassador RC
Ken Grier – Malt Director for the Edrington Group KG
Dominic Roskrow – Whisky Magazine consul...
By in the section
Whisky Debate
p17
Blending is about combining ingredients that stand the test of time,Rob Allanson finds out more
They say it’s a little like conducting a symphony orchestra, when it all comes together you can be swept off your feet.
The art of the blender has always been a fascinating one, how you keep some of ...
By Rob Allanson in the section
Whisky Blends
p21
Is a passion for blends on the rise? Ian Wisniewski looks at what is being done to promote blended Scotch.
It’s a strange position to be in. While blended Scotch accounts for around 90 per cent of the sales volume of Scotch whisky, malts have been far more dynamic, attaining a cult status with a devoted an...
By Ian Wisniewski in the section
Whisky issues
p25
What makes great whisky music? Our new
music brain Rocky McCabe ponders
the issue and recommends a Mercury
prize nominee
I used to spend many a happy hour debating with my predecessor, the late Lew Guthrie III, about the link between whisky and music.
We were poles apart. He reckoned music was only relevant when it was...
By Rocky McCabe in the section
Whisky and Music
p26
The Scapa Distillery is producing spirit regularly again after a two year renovation programme. Dominic Roskrow reports
It’s the stillroom at Scapa that you remember most, and in particular the large window at one end of it, and the still at its heart.
Chalk and cheese really; the window providing vantage across the F...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Distillery Focus
p31
Ian Buxton looks at turbulent times during whiskey’s history
So begins William Findley’s classic account of the Whiskey Rebellion, his History of the Insurrection, published in Philadelphia in 1796.
You have to admire his understatement.
“Interesting scenes” ...
By Ian Buxton in the section
Whisky rebellion
p34
Dave Broom gives us his guide to staying ,eating,drinking and visiting in Japan
Japan is disorienting, bewildering, exciting and, occasionally, a little alarming. No matter how many times you visit the country, no matter how much you think you can more or less understand how it w...
By Dave Broom in the section
Visitor Guides
p41
Two of the greatest shows on earth.We provide an overview ofWhisky Live in Glasgow and Paris.
The grandeur of Glasgow bathed in the most glorious sunshine was the backdrop for this year’s Whisky Live event.
The world’s premier whisky tasting show, held in George Square, was packed with enthus...
By in the section
Whisky Live
p44
The concept of whisky and food has come a long way in recent years. Dominic Roskrow charts its progress
A couple of years ago The Guardian newspaper in Britain reviewed Whisky Magazine alongside a selection of British wine magazines.
The fact that the female journalist bracketed a whisky title in with ...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky and Food
p47
Jefferson Chase on the drinking culture in Georgia
Good travel writing makes you curious about places you'd never want to go to. In Wendell Steavenson’s Stories I Stole, that place is Georgia – a den of lawlessness full of boozing, jesting, musical, g...
By Jefferson Chase in the section
Whisky Literature
p48
After 200 years,George Washington’s distillery has been restored to its former glory, Charles K. Cowdery looks at the history and takes us behind the scenes
George Washington’s distiller was from Scotland, so Prince Andrew cut the ribbon at the restored distillery’s grand opening in Mount Vernon, Virginia, on September 27. A thin reed, perhaps, but His Ro...
By Charles K. Cowdery in the section
Distillery Focus
p50
Sounds simple enough,but there is more going on as Ian Wisniewski finds out
Enjoying whisky in the form of a long, refreshing drink, or a sophisticated cocktail, certainly has its appeal.
But to savour a malt whisky a typical recommendation is diluting with water, on the bas...
By Ian Wisniewski in the section
Whisky Cocktails
p51
Whisky musician Robin Laing experiences the Kentucky Bourbon Festival for the first time and finds a home from home.
Oh, the buzzin’of the bees and the cigarette trees and the soda water fountain.
At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings, in the big Rock Candy Mountains’ Bardstown must be one of the few tow...
By Robin Laing in the section
Whisky Events
p52
The dignified advertisements you see in this publication belie the rough and tumble past of
American whiskey promotion. Charles K.Cowdery reports
Although advertising historians usually cite soaps such as Ivory and Pears as the first products to be promoted with modern mass marketing, American whiskeys such as Old Forester first appeared at abo...
By Charles K. Cowdery in the section
Whiskey advertising
p55
Joe Bates sets sail in search of a bargain
Before the abolition of duty-free inside the European Union seven years ago cross- Channel operators such as P&O Ferries used to make huge profits on their onboard sales.
Times have changed—these day...
By Joe Bates in the section
Travel retail
p56
Ian Wisniewski gets to grips with an often
overlooked yet vitally important stage of the
production process – milling
With commercial maltsters preparing the vast majority of the industry’s malt requirement, milling is usually the first process undertaken at a distillery.
Although this may seem an entirely practical...
By Ian Wisniewski in the section
Whisky Production
p59
Ian Buxton gets his taste buds tickled with the latest releases
Cult Islay distillers Bruichladdich has announced the release of a staggering eight new expressions.
Top of the heap is the Bruichladdich 125th Anniversary, commemorating the distillery’s 1881 foundi...
By Ian Buxton in the section
Whisky Spotlight
p74
New to whisky? Then this new series goes back to basics. Dominic Roskrow explains
So there we were, having a heated debate about what did and didn’t constitute pot still whiskey, when someone suggested we look it up in a glossary.
Which we did, only to discover that the definition...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Understanding whisky
