Whisky Magazine Issue 74
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It has been a little slow at the moment travel wise.The rigours of moving house have taken their toll somewhat, however a recent trip up to The Macallan provided a welcome break.
I have not been up t...
By Rob Allanson in the section
From the Editor
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Thursday 30th October 2008
Òran Mór, 731-735 Great Western Road,Glasgow
Whisky Magazine is delighted to announce that the Whisky Live Glasgow Dinner will be held on Thursday 30th October, the eve of Whisky Live Glasgow, at Oran Mor, 731-735 Great Western Road in Glasgow.T...
By Rob Allanson in the section
Whisky Magazine Aged 10 Years
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The Macallan join the celebrations!
As a fitting addition to our 10th Anniversary celebrations,we have teamed up with The Macallan to select acask of their finest 10 Years Old,to be bottled and offered exclusively to Whisky Magazineread...
By Rob Allanson in the section
Events
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Whisky Magazineh as scoured the whisky producing world to find an artist who best captures the mood
of the dram.Internationally renowned artist Ian Gray has produced a series of ten limited edition prints
exclusively for Whisky Magazine readers.The third and fourth prints in the series are unveiled here.
How many times have you wished you could visit the great distilleries of the world or witnessed an iconic whisky image you longed to take home with you? Well, as part of our tenth anniversary celebrat...
By Rob Allanson in the section
Whisky Prints
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Dave looks at the famous bird’s new clothes with an eye on past trends
Snow Grouse, eh? To begin with I thought it was a new ad campaign for its more famous cousin: you know, a blank white poster with âSâNo Grouseâ as the tag, but apparently not. This, the latest a...
By Dave Broom in the section
A dram with Dave Broom
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There is only one place to take the temperature of the great cocktail makers,New Orleans. Liza Weisstuch went to see what’s shaking.
The past, they say, is precedent. The cocktailâs Golden Age is firmly entrenched in the hallowed halls of history. After recent decades, when drinks bearing less than debonair names, like Sex on the...
By Lizza Weisstuch in the section
Cocktails
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As part of our 10th Anniversary celebrations Rob Allanson headed up to Speyside as the magazine was
invited to lay down a couple of special barrels at The Macallan Distillery.
There are some moments in life that are worth savouring and can be made all the more memorable by some fine company. A trip to The Macallan will normally tick both these boxes but when you add in fill...
By Rob Allanson in the section
Macallan
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Nothing quite beats the thrill of visiting a distillery by water. Dominic Roskrow looks at the link between whisky and sailing.
These are tense moments. Sturdy breeze is cutting up the water, choppy waves are rocking our boat Grampus, and weâre edging forward like a hesitant toddler towards two posts as wide as a goal mouth....
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Whisky and Sailing
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Gavin D Smith discovers Glentauchers unplugged.
The expression âunpluggedâ in musical circles has come to denote an acoustic set performed by an artist or group.
The implication is that there is no electronic wizardry to distract audience atte...
By Gavin D. Smith in the section
Whisky issues
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Ian Wisniewski looks at the turbulent world of barley.
With production levels rising at various distilleries, the industry accounted for 479,000 tonnes of barley in 2007, compared to 442,000 tonnes in 2006, and 409,000 tonnes in 2005, according to The Sco...
By Ian Wisniewski in the section
Production
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Gavin D Smith uncovers the story of Comber Distilleries
Having taken a look at the story of Belfastâs Royal Irish Distilleries in the last issue,we stay in Northern Ireland to examine the heritage of whiskey-making at Comber, in County Down.
Comber is l...
By Gavin D. Smith in the section
Lost distilleries
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In our latest in our series on whisky terms we look at the second part on the letter S,and the role of the spirits still in Scotch whisky production.
At Glenrothes itâs known as the Cathedral.Some have argued that it should be known across the industry as the gallery.But whatever words you use to describe it, the still room is the buzzing heart o...
By Rob Allanson in the section
Glossary
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Joe Bates finds himself at Glasgow airport facing early morning drams and security warnings
A trip north of the border to watch the Scottish Open earlier this summer saw me fly from the vast, ultra-modern steel and glass edifice of Heathrow Terminal 5 to the gloomy concrete and confusing lay...
By Joe Bates in the section
Travel retail
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Now you can find both of John Rose’s superb articles about collecting whisky in one place. In collections,he looks at some of the latest bottles to come up at auction. In questions,he fields your enquiries
I would like you to explain to me why bottles of Flora & Fauna are so much more expensive when they are sold at action in their wooden boxes, ie up to £120.The Flora & Fauna series is still being pro...
By John Rose in the section
Questions and Answers
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Canada is a great holiday destination and has a fascinating take on whisky production. In this guide we look at two centres:Ontario and Calgary
ONTARIO THE DISTILLERIES
Walkerville/Canadian Club There are some legendary names scattered through the history of Canadian whisky but there are few bigger than Hiram Walker.And while it might be str...
By Rob Allanson in the section
Visitor's guide
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It's more than ten years since Ardbeg ended a period of stop-start production and went back on stream properly. And as Dominic Roskrow reports, it's going from strength to strength.
When you look back over the whisky industry in 2008, what will you remember most about it?
Will it be the spate of distillery openings, distillery re-openings, the distillery sales or rumours of sale...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Distillery Focus
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Much has been made of the Scotch whisky boom,but Irish whiskey is also in rude good health. Dominic Roskrow looks at the new kids on the block.
Irish whiskey finds itself in a good place right now. Not just in terms of sales but in terms of quality and product development too.
Dave Broomâs recent series on the established players excellent...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Irish Whiskey
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You may think you've had enough of classrooms and teachers, but what about a new learning experience - a whisky school?
Itâs the most recent development in whisky tourism, with a healthy dash of marketing thrown in. As whisky drinkers get ever more knowledgeable and demand a deeper and deeper experience so whisky sch...
By Rob Allanson in the section
Whisky school
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Martine Nouet takes us through recent whisky and food combinations she has discovered.
NIBBLING AT FESTIVALS Food has taken a place of its own in a number of whisky festivals, whether it be as a topic of masterclasses or with whisky dinners hosted in hotels or even distilleries.
No dou...
By Martine Nouet in the section
Whisky and Food
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Dave looks at the increasing interest in rum.
The doors have just opened and Mansfield Traquair: âEdinburghâs Sistine Chapelâ [TM] immediately fills with 400 whisky lovers. Thereâs angels soaring above our heads, which I suppose is approp...
By Dave Broom in the section
Rum
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While it has always been Whisky Magazine’s remit to celebrate the great whiskies of the world,we have long realised thatthere are other great spirits out there which whiskylovers either alreadydrink or might be interested
in learning more about.It makes perfect sense therefore for Whisky Magazineto devote space to rum.
In this mini supplement Dave Broom (whose book on rum won the Glenfiddich award) will take you through how it is made,where it comes from and give some notion as to where rum is now going.Weâve even...
By Rob Allanson in the section
Rum
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Travelling around the rum world, Dave introduces us to the various styles.
Distillers, as well we know, use what grows around them and rum is no exception to that rule. So,wherever you find cane growing youâll be pretty sure to find a rum close by.
Its heartland however l...
By Dave Broom in the section
Rum
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Dave takes us through the production process.
Though it may seem a rather derogatory way to talk about a noble spirit rum, perhaps uniquely, is a by-product. It first appeared in the 17th century as a result of sugar planters finding a way in whi...
By Rob Allanson in the section
Rum
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Dave tell's it like it is.
Quite when rumâs new boom first happened itâs hard to tell. In some ways, it just sneaked up on us. Let me start at the beginning, or rather my beginning as far as writing about rum was concerned....
By Dave Broom in the section
Rum
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Jefferson Chase delves into a Pulitzer prize winner’s follow up work.
In my second installment of a series about under-appreciated second novels, I thought weâd have a stare into Robert Olen Butlerâs Sun Dogs.
First published in 1982, the book was dismissed as over...
By Jefferson Chase in the section
Nightcap
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Ian Wisniewski talks with Paul Miles,managing director of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society
IANWhatâs the societyâs mission statement?
PAULWeâre a membership organisation, and our mission is to delight and intrigue our members.
We are about single cask, single malt whiskies, and weâ...
By Ian Wisniewski in the section
Chat
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email the team editorial@whiskymag.com
Star letter - Islay character?
On a recent visit to the Lagavulin distillery on Islay I was devastated to learn that the raw spirit is now being tankered off the island and filled into casks somewhe...
By Rob Allanson in the section
Forum