Whisky TAG - a blog all about whisky » news http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog Find a new favourite whisky Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:38:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Laphroaig live tasting online http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/11/21/laphroaig-live-tasting-online/ http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/11/21/laphroaig-live-tasting-online/#comments Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:19:28 +0000 will http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/11/21/laphroaig-live-tasting-online/ It’s been a while since I wrote anything here – sorry about that. The day job’s been a bit manic!

I received an email from someone at Laphroaig about a cool-sounding event they are running this evening. Apologies for the late notice, but if you’re free at 8pm tonight (and not watching the football!) then it looks like it might be worth checking out Laphroaig live.

Here is the press release:

A special treat for whisky connoisseurs

Live opening of a 27-year-old rare single malt is highlight of online whisky tasting

Chat date: Wednesday 21st November 2007 Chat time: 8pm

Is your idea of heaven a relaxing evening with a wee dram of the good stuff? Are you a whisky connoisseur? Or a keen amateur who would like to learn more about single malts and how they are blended to produce the whiskies we know and love? If so you are in for a treat today as we host an exclusive whisky tasting session which will include five Laphroaig whiskies, culminating in the opening of a rare 27 year-old single malt.

Our guests will take you through all the finer points of getting the best out of a single malt whisky, from the colour, weight and nose to the all important taste and finish. How much water, if any, should you add to your glass? What do the aromas and ‘legs’ tell you about the whisky? Which flavours and textures should you be expecting as the whisky hits your palate?

Laphroaig whisky is made on the island of Islay, which has a long tradition of producing first class whiskies. The people of the island are strong & uncompromising people yet fiercely loyal and honest with a deep sense of community spirit. It is said that you can taste all of these qualities in Laphroaig whisky, so why not join our leading experts in the studio and find out just how true that is?

Robert Hicks, Laphroaig’s Master Blender, John Campbell, Distillery Manager, and whisky writer Jim Murray join us live online on Wednesday 21st November at 8pm for a live whisky tasting.

For more information visit www.Laphroaig.com/live.

]]> http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/11/21/laphroaig-live-tasting-online/feed/ 0 Arran, the source of our whisky presents turns a profit http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/01/03/whisky-presents/ http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/01/03/whisky-presents/#comments Wed, 03 Jan 2007 15:33:27 +0000 will http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/01/03/whisky-presents/ Arran, the source of the whisky for our little venture selling whisky presents (A Dram in Time) and a favourite distillery of mine has been in the news a bit recently.

The Herald talks about Arran in an article about the pressures on smaller players in the whisky market. It’s good to hear that they have been profitable through much of 2006. The article came out just before the end of the year, so I haven’t heard whether that extends to the whole of 2006, but it’s good news either way. I’ve seen similar articles pop up in a few places recently – it’s nice to see them doing a good job with their PR.

]]> http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/01/03/whisky-presents/feed/ 0 Whisky and food http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/01/03/whisky-and-food/ http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/01/03/whisky-and-food/#comments Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:51:59 +0000 will http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/01/03/whisky-and-food/ There is some controversy about pairing whisky with food – many people feel it taints both, but The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival seems to think it’s ok (I saw the story in The Publican online ). They are running a competition for chefs to demonstrate some innovative Speyside / food combinations.

I am a fan of some pairings – I enjoy a dram alongside haggis and dark chocolate can be an excellent after-dinner accompaniment, but I would like to experiment a bit more – there are a number of combinations of food and whisky that I haven’t tried yet. Some that are supposed to be good but haven’t tried include:

  • big Islay plus blue cheese (Lagavulin plus rocquefort?)
  • something like a Dalmore with gamey meat (Venison / hare)
  • a speyside (or Japanese whisky!) with Japanese food
  • a hot, spicy dish with any whisky that can hold its own
]]> http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2007/01/03/whisky-and-food/feed/ 1 Winners of the Drammies http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/22/winners-of-the-drammies/ http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/22/winners-of-the-drammies/#comments Fri, 22 Dec 2006 12:20:19 +0000 will http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/22/winners-of-the-drammies/ So I wrote about the drammies yesterday – before the winners were announced and it’s a good job I wasn’t betting on them because I didn’t pick many of the consensus winners!

See below for some links to the actual winners in each category (with my nomination in brackets)

Best Packaging
Highland Park
(Monkey Shoulder)

Most Innovative New Product
Compass Box – The Spice Tree – unfortunately I can’t link directly to the spice tree whisky because of the flash on their website
(Laphroaig Quarter Cask)

Innovator of the Year Yay. I got this one!!: Compass Box / John Glaser

Bang for the Buck
Old Pulteney 12
(Dalmore 12)

Distillery of the Year
Bruichladdich
(Ardbeg)

Best Distillery Tour
Aberlour
(No experience of any of the nominations!)

Most under-rated Whisky
Longmorn 15 – on the Scotch Whisky website – I can’t find a Longmorn website – is there one? I have just heard from Neil MacDonald at Chivas that there is a new Longmorn website in the pipeline – you’ll hear more when we do!
(Springbank)

Best New Product
Benriach Authenticus 21
(Laphroaig Quarter Cask)

Most over-rated Whisky
Johnnie Walker Blue Label
(Macallan 18)

]]> http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/22/winners-of-the-drammies/feed/ 1 The Drammies http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/21/the-drammies/ http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/21/the-drammies/#comments Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:13:34 +0000 will http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/21/the-drammies/ I think I’m a bit behind the time on this one, but I’ve just seen the nominations over at the drammies.

If my vote were going to count for anything, I would be going for:

Best Packaging
Monkey Shoulder

Most Innovative New Product
Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Innovator of the Year
Compass Box / John Glaser

Bang for the Buck
Dalmore 12

Distillery of the Year
Ardbeg

Best Distillery Tour
No experience of any of the nominations!

Most under-rated Whisky
Springbank

Best New Product
Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Most over-rated Whisky
Macallan 18

Just my personal opinions. Let’s see what the ‘right’ answers are tomorrow!

Update – the winners of the drammies have been announced. I didn’t pick very many!

]]> http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/21/the-drammies/feed/ 0 Whisky in China http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/18/whisky-in-china/ http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/18/whisky-in-china/#comments Mon, 18 Dec 2006 11:24:54 +0000 will http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/18/whisky-in-china/ Apparently Chinese imports of whisky have increased from about £2 million in 2001 to about £45 million in 2005 (this is where I read it: Seattle Times meaning China is now in the top 10 whisky-drinking countries in the world.

The bit of the news I found particularly interesting was the new ‘cocktail’ that I hadn’t heard about previously – whisky with sweet green tea. I might have to try that. All kinds of health benefits!

]]> http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/18/whisky-in-china/feed/ 0 Blended whisky versus single malt whisky http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/17/blended-whisky-versus-single-malt-whisky/ http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/17/blended-whisky-versus-single-malt-whisky/#comments Sun, 17 Dec 2006 16:03:03 +0000 will http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/17/blended-whisky-versus-single-malt-whisky/ I hope pretty much every whisky drinker has a copy of Jim Murray’s whisky bible? (If not, better, head to Amazon and buy it).

Well, I have a few copies from different years, and have just heard that he has given a blend 97 out of 100 – equalling the highest score ever awarded. The lucky whisky is the Old Parr Superior, bottled by MacDonald Greenlees Distillers. Apparently it is almost exclusively exported to the Far East. Murray reckons we are suffering in Britain in terms of the decent blends that are available – especially when you look at what is available in Japan, for example.

Blended whisky – my experience

I would very much like to try this blend (or any others getting decent reviews). To date, I have been pretty much exclusively a single malt drinker (with a few vatted whiskies thrown in for good measure). My sole experiences of blends have been some pretty dire Bells, Grouse, etc.

Incidentally, if you get stuck with only the dodgy blends available – go for Teachers above Bells or Grouse. The Ardmore in it helps it stand above the other similar-priced blends.

]]> http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/17/blended-whisky-versus-single-malt-whisky/feed/ 0 Personalised whisky labels http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/05/personalised-whisky-labels/ http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/05/personalised-whisky-labels/#comments Tue, 05 Dec 2006 08:36:16 +0000 duncan http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/05/personalised-whisky-labels/ I have just seen that the famous grouse are offering personalised labels. I tried it out and the simple piece of software to create your own label seems to work very well.

I have to admit that I didn’t buy my personalised bottle, after all, a personal label doesn’t hide the fact that it is still famous grouse inside the bottle. To be fair to the famous grouse, I have drunk their whisky, and would drink it again, if their was nothing else available. But I am a single malt man, and however nice the whisky is, it just doesn’t compare to a single malt.

All credit to them though, personalised whisky labels should give them a boost in sales running up to christmas. For me though, my money is staying firmly in my wallet.

]]> http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/05/personalised-whisky-labels/feed/ 1 Huge Threshers discounts http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/04/huge-threshers-discounts/ http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/04/huge-threshers-discounts/#comments Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:57:56 +0000 will http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/04/huge-threshers-discounts/ The UK off licence Threshers is offering a 40% off voucher for wines and champagnes.

It’s not entirely clear that they meant it to get this big! I enjoy looking at these kinds of stories – it’s interesting to think through whether it is going to turn out to be a net positive experience for their business (and what anyone could do to replicate / avoid it as appropriate).

In the meantime, it might not be whisky-related, but if you are into other tipples, head on down to Threshers, voucher in hand. Happy drinking!

]]> http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/04/huge-threshers-discounts/feed/ 0 Whisky running out on Islay? http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/04/whisky-running-out-on-islay/ http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/04/whisky-running-out-on-islay/#comments Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:38:48 +0000 will http://www.whiskytag.co.uk/blog/2006/12/04/whisky-running-out-on-islay/ Bruichladdich, one of the less pronounceable distilleries on Islay (facing some decent competition from the likes of Laphroaig) are warning that they are running out of whisky as a result of Shell’s oil tankers not being able to get through in rough weather.

Rough weather is a common feature up there, making this an apparently predictable result of EU directives increasing the size of the tankers that Shell uses to deliver oil. Changes were made to allow the new tankers to dock, but locals apparently warned that it wouldn’t all work in bad weather.

Whisky galore!

We’re not convinced, however, that this actually means whisky is running out (not like it did before – see the classic whisky galore DVD and whisky galore book). Surely if they have run out of oil, the problem is that they aren’t currently producing whisky? Not that they are about to run out in their warehouses!

Since whisky matures for years (at least 3 before it can be called whisky – and normally much longer) it seems to me that they shouldn’t be that close to running out.

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