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Whisky Magazine Issue 63 cover image

Whisky Magazine Issue 63

In this issue - World Whiskies Awards - The Best Whiskies in the World - New distilleries - Balblair Vintages - Kentucky Visitors Guide - Whisky and Food - Port Ellen and more...

Published on 20/04/2007

5

Weather watching

Rob Allanson ponders that eternal question:what’s your favourite?

Well I am not sure what the weather is like where you are reading this, but here in Norfolk the seasons are turning again. Gone is that gloomy, damp, slightly chilly winter that never really amounted...

By Rob Allanson in the section From the Editor

11

Dancing with Donleavy

Michael talks about the joys of Irish whiskey and the dangers of method acting

“Quiet, please. Quiet on the set. Thank you.” The set represents the exterior of The Bleeding Horse. It is a pub. Or is it a grave? Or a horse? The text is not clear. I should have been paying mo...

By Michael Jackson in the section Musings with Michael Jackson

12

New builds and buses

Are we coming in to another golden period for whisky – Dave gives his views on the latest news

I used to stand, cold and shivering, in Hope Street (never was a thoroughfare so appropriately named) waiting for the No.3 bus to carry me home. Often this would be so prolonged that I’d seek refuge...

By Dave Broom in the section A dram with Dave Broom

16

Out of the box

There have been several high profile repackaging of famous brands recently. We are beginning to see
more attention paid to bottle shapes and presentation boxes. We decided to ask members of the
WhiskyMag.com what was catching their eye on the shelves and why.

Panel KW Keith Wood, Markt Schwaben,Germany KG Kenneth Graham Crieff, UK MM Michael Medve Emeryville, USA PM Pierre Mullin Fredericton, Canada Does packaging affect how the customer views a bran...

By Rob Allanson in the section Whisky Debate

18

World's best whiskies honoured

More than 150 whiskies, three rounds of judging and there can be only five...we reveal the winners

See our main awards page at http://www.whiskymag.com/awards/wwa/ Whisky Magazine Panel Rob Allanson Thierry Benitah Dave Broom Charles Maclean Annabel Meikle Martine Nouet Dominic Roskrow Kei...

By Rob Allanson in the section Whisky Awards

26

Boom time

Two new distilleries announced in as many months...are we on the brink of a golden time for whisky? Ian Buxton finds out

Things are stirring in the world of Scotch whisky. With growing affluence in the so called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) the demand for luxury whisky is growing rapidly. Sales of pre...

By Ian Buxton in the section Whisky Production

28

Tasty trio (Balblair)

Inspired by a 4,000 year old Pictish standing stone overlooking the distillery,the new Balblair range is bound to
set pulses racing. We find out what’s been going on

It takes a lot of guts to change direction, even if your instincts tell you it is the right decision. For years whisky connoisseurs had been bowled over by Balblair’s venerable offerings, such as t...

By Rob Allanson in the section Whisky Tasting

31

Arcade classics

The Arcade Fire are on the verge of superstardom.Lew Guthrie III checks out their credentials and reviews new album The Neon Bible

March 2007 and The Arcade Fire are coming in like lambs and will leave like lions. As I write this feature they are playing small churches in England. By the time you read it, they will be selling tic...

By Lew Guthrie III in the section Whisky and Music

32

Cutting no corners (The Macallan)

The Macallan is one of the truly iconic distilleries but it is not resting on its laurels. Dominic Roskrow went to stay there

Easter Elchies House is an imposing and impressive rural retreat at any time. This evening, though, as it comes in to view as we walk back from the warehouses, with its walls lit up and every window ...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Distillery Focus

36

Kentucky calling

To really enjoy the bourbon experience of Kentucky you must immerse yourself in the character and culture of the state itself. Our man does exactly that

The moment that the madness of Kentucky started to make total sense – and the rebelliousness, unpredictability, friendliness, and contrariness formed in to a coherent whole – came on one hot summe...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Visitor Guides

42

Raising the stakes

The Spirit of Speyside Festival has grown in to a major celebration of the region’s food and drink. So how do you set about catering for such an event? Dominic Roskrow went to find out

As anybody who has ever been to a dinner where hundreds of people sit down to eat at exactly the same time will know, it is no easy task. When the diners are there not for some secondary purpose such ...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Whisky and Food

46

Dewar's guardian

Caroline Dewar meets the latest in the line of Dewar’s master blenders

The master blender at Dewar’s in Glasgow is a calm and collected presence as she welcomes you to the premises. Following Tom Aitken’s retirement in summer 2006, Stephanie McLeod is now one of only...

By Caroline Dewar in the section Whisky Interview

48

Split personality

Jefferson Chase offers us another recent whisky read

The moral of Matt Ruff’s Set This House in Order might be: watch out for the eggnog – especially if you can’t be entirely sure who’s drinking it. Baffled? You should be. The hero of this comp...

By Jefferson Chase in the section Whisky Literature

50

Gone but not forgotten (Port Ellen)

In the latest of our new series,Gavin D Smith delves in to Port Ellen’s past

It is a fair bet that if Whisky Magazine was to conduct a readers’ poll to establish which closed distillery of the past half century represented the greatest loss, Port Ellen would come out very ne...

By Gavin D. Smith in the section Lost distilleries

52

Sssshhhh....!!

Naren Young packs his library card and is welcomed to one of New York’s newest centres of higher learning

Sure this is no Julliard or NYU, but if you have any interest at all in learning more about many of the world’s great spirits, then there are few places on earth that boast the range of liquor and t...

By Naren Young in the section Whisky Spotlight

53

Ask the expert

John Rose fields more of your questions

Q. While shopping on the internet, I came across a whisky flagon and began to bid on it. After watching it for several days I ended up winning the item much to my surprise. It is a 1990 Old Glasgow Wh...

By John Rose in the section Whisky Questions

54

A region once again (Campbeltown)

Robin Laing packs his bags and heads out to Campbeltown to find whisky production is thriving again

Back in 1098, the Treaty of Tarbert granted to the King of Norway, Magnus Bareleg, “all the western isles round which a ship could sail”. The Viking warlord immediately had his longships dragged a...

By Robin Laing in the section Distillery Focus

57

The Fair City (Dublin)

Joe Bates checks out the latest offers in Dublin

Ireland’s booming economy has led to phenomenal growth at Dublin airport in the 1990s and 2000s. Last year the country’s main international gateway broke the 20 million-passenger mark for the firs...

By Joe Bates in the section Travel retail

58

It's show time!

The greatest shows on earth. We provide an overview of Whisky Live in London and Tokyo

The historic city of London, birthplace of a nation, 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 the...

By Rob Allanson in the section Whisky Live

62

Barrels of innovation

Ian Wisniewski looks at how companies are pushing the boundaries with casks

Innovative cask selection provides two valuable opportunities, enhancing the flavour profile of the resulting malt whisky, while also giving the distiller (and marketing department) a story to promote...

By Ian Wisniewski in the section Whisky Production

78

Key processes

In the latest in our series looking at the language of whisky, Dominic Roskrow looks at the letters E and F

When it comes to whisky-making you really can’t help but use the F words. Some of the key distillery processes for making new make spirit require use of F words. The first is fermentation – the p...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Understanding whisky

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Whisky Tastings

Old Malt Cask Ardbeg 15 Years Old
Too chimney-like for me. Lacks the balance between sweetness and dryness you need in such a peaty dram.

Berry's Own Selection Benrinnes 1989
Bizarrely, the nose reminded me of an Argentinian Torrontes. Where’s the famed Benrinnes meatiness?

Chieftain's Choice Benrinnes 10 Years Old
For me this has been bottled too early and before the sulphuriness of youth has been fully matured out.

Gordon & MacPhail Benromach Sassicaia Wood Finish
A success.

Old Malt Cask Clynelish 23 Years Old
All comes together at the end.

Old Malt Cask Glen Grant 12 Years Old Wine Finish
Seems cobbled together.

Berry's Own Selection Glencadam 1973
A ripe dram which seems to have headed across to Kentucky. Big and lush.

Chieftain's Choice Imperial Speyside 24 Years Old
One for the palate and not the nose.

Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 18 Years Old
This has balance. Like it.

Old & Rare Lochnagar, 33 Years Old
Full but very well balanced for such an ancient character.

Old Malt Cask Director's Tactical Selection, 18 Years Old
This has it all but goes about it in an unflashy manner. Good.

Chieftain's Choice Port Ellen 24 Years Old
Complex stuff going on here. A really rewarding Port Ellen.

Old Malt Cask Scapa 13 Years Old
Light and discreet. Perfectly pleasant but not exactly exciting.

Old Malt Cask St Magdalene, 24 Years Old
If this was in a better cask it would have been a rather pleasant whisky.

Tyrconnell 14 Years Old
A decent drink, but the port finish is the winner out of the trio.

Tyrconnell Madeira Finish 10 Years Old
Well put together, the finish not too obtrusive.

Tyrconnell Port Finish
This just balances the whisky and the finish.

Bruichladdich 15 Years Old Limited Edition
The nose puts you off, the palate tries to make it up but the result is not exciting.

BenRiach Curiositas, 10 Years Old
Quite a nice dram but a bit edgy.

BenRiach 21 Years Old
Reveals a rich profile by a succession of aromatic layers. Alcohol is perfectly tamed.

Caol Ila 8 Years Old Unpeated
A straightforward example of a bourbon cask maturation. A bit burning on the tongue for me but some like hot, don’t they?

Bruichladdich Celtic Nations
Seems to have stored all the ingredients for a healthy breakfast. A morning dram? Quite inviting.

Connemara 12 Years Old
That lactic note overwhelms nose and palate. Not sure that a dairy whisky is something to look forward to! Surprisingly, a dash of water makes more palatable.

Connemara Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Characterful, vivid but not complex. “tastes” stronger than 40%. A body warmer for cool evenings.

Bruichladdich Infinity Second Edition
Alcohol is perfectly tamed. No burn or tang. A cheery dram for a sunny afternoon.

Old Ballantruan
A charming nose with a less delicate palate but all together a refreshing dram.

Penderyn WRU 125th Anniversary Limited
The oaky start leads way to a cheerful fruity and floral profile. Marked by the sherry but not on the dark (woody) side. Avoid water.

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