The Scotch Blog

Buy The Malt Whisky Yearbook

The Malt Whisky Yearbook is Out!

The problem is, like the Jim Murray 2006 Whisky Bible, this is impossible to get in the U.S.

I decided to work out a bulk purchase with Ingvar Ronde to sell The MWY directly - there's no reason Americans should get screwed again just because of cost prohibitive shipping and a weak dollar!

I'm now taking pre-orders for the 2007 Malt Whisky Yearbook.

I have to order 50 in order to be able to offer this discount. If I don't get enough orders, money will be refunded.

The list price for the MWY is £12.95 (Approximately US $24.18) and if you order from the MWY site, you'll pay an additional £3.95 shipping to the US or Canada (US $7.40) for a total cost of $31.57.

NOT HERE! Your total cost (which includes shipping in the United States) is a flat $25.

Order through DoceonPress

Read the Story (9/27/2006)

Visit the Malt Whisky Yearbook site

Curious & Authentic

Benriach has an interesting history - built in 1897, the distillery was closed just 6 years later and then  lay dormant for 62 years. In 1965, the distillery was reopened by new owners, Glenlivet Distillers, but closed again in 2002. In 2004 the distillery was purchased by a team which included Billy Walker, formerly of Burn Stewart.

Probably best known for Curiositas and Authenticus their 10 and 21 year old (respectively) heavily peated whiskies - a unique departure from the standard lightly peated Speyside style, BenRiach also offers 12, 16, 20, 25 and 30 year old (lightly peated) versions - as well as the non-aged labeled Heart of Speyside.

I met Billy at Whisky Live Paris where we talked about the past and future of BenRiach as well as some of the things one the horizon.

Whisky Fest NY SOLD OUT

This in from from Amy Westlake...

The good news is that we sold out of WhiskyFest NY tickets on Friday, October 13th. The bad news is the event is not for another three weeks and we're going to be inundated with calls from people who didn't yet order their tickets!

Good thing we're moving to the largest ballroom the Marriott has (the Broadway Ballroom) in 2007.

If you don't have your tickets, you are out of luck - BUT there are plenty of things going on around town. Here's a partial list of Whisky Fest NY associated events:

A visit to the Laddie

Much as it is the obligation of every Muslim to make “the Hajj”, the pilgrimage to Mecca; it is the obligation of the whisky lover to make the pilgrimage to Islay – arguably the origination point of the introduction of whisky to Scotland.

One should plan to visit all eight working distilleries on the island – as the variety of whiskies produced by these eight is as varied as the many whiskies produced across the whole of Scotland.

While most people associate Islay with the strongest and peatiest of all whiskies, this is simply a fallacy, as whiskies of great delicacy are to be found at both Bunnahabhain and Bruichladdich.

But it is only at Bruichladdich that one can observe whisky being made much as it was made 125 years ago – and interestingly enough, with much of the same equipment.

The staff of Bruichladdich take great pride in the fact that the whisky is made largely by hand, without a computer controlled gadget to be found.

Luddites? Not at all - the former distillery manager’s house (current Distillery Academy quarters and Bed & Breakfast) is wired for WiFi. Inventory is computerized - one concession to the computer age - though not tracked by bar code – Bruichladdich still stencils each and every cask with contents and year of distillation.

Massachusetts Macallan Tasting

For those of you who are within driving distance to the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts (US), here's an event that might interest you. A Macallan tasting and whisky dinner.

Gateways Inn & Restaurant
51 Walker Street
Lenox, Massachusetts
Saturday, October 21, 2006 @ 7 pm

There is a discount for readers of The Scotch Blog as well...

Glenfarclas Events

The guys at Glenfarclas let me know about some of the upcoming events around the world where you can try Glenfarclas:

The whisky festival season is now well and truly in full swing. Do please come and visit the Glenfarclas stand at these festivals and events:

Malt Advocate

Who's that handsome devil on the last page of the new issue of Malt Advocate Magazine?
Well that's Dr. David Wishart, author of Whisky Classified.

But the guy with him is me. Thanks for the compliment, MA! <blush>.

We were both on Islay for the festival this past May (that's the ruins of Finlaggan behind us).

Also, remember that Malt Advocates's Whisky Fest New York is coming up and there is a discount for The Scotch Blog Readers.

I'm still in the midst of figuring out travel plans (those New York hotels are too damned expensive) - so hopefully I'll see you there.

Drambuie airs ads. They suck.

Drambuie has decided to create the worst whisky-related television ads since the horrible Basic Instinct inspired William Lawson ad.

The first Drambuie ad I saw starts with some goofy bastard running along the rooftops. (That doesn't seem very safe.)

Cut to a woman's fantasy of what Scottish men look like - all long-haired and kilted, running along the mountain tops.

Cut back to modern, goofy bastard jumping from roof to roof. Cut to stereotype Scotsman jumping from crag to crag.

Happy Birthday Cask 311

On my recent stint at the Bruichladdich Distillery Academy, while I was moving casks into and out of Bruichladdich's Warehouse #2 (the last stop for most casks before being moved to the bottling hall), I ran into Teun, Arthur and Bob, the Bruichladdies from Holland.

You may have seen Bob & Teun at one of the European Whisky festivals - they are are hard to miss in their Saint Andrew's Cross Rugby shirts.

They are also the organizers of the recent Whisky Walk Peat Night which had taken place just the Saturday (9/16) before I saw them. Duncan MacGillivray, Bruichladdich Distillery Manager, was a guest at the Whisky Walk and told me it was a fantastic event.

Of Flaming Hearts and Oak Crosses

At the Paris Whisky Live I got a chance to catch up with John Glaser and try Compass Box Whisky's newest products: Flaming Heart and Oak Cross.

John has once again decided to utilize high quality sessile oak in the mix - but instead of using inner staves, he's had new cask heads (the "top" and "bottom" ends of the casks) created.

Cask heads are generally made of oak which is thicker than the wood used to make the staves for the body of a barrel. The sessile oak used in the construction of the heads is not toasted to the level of the wood used in making The Spice Tree. The idea is similar though - the interaction of the whisky with high quality oak and toasted to specific levels - results in some interesting flavors.

To clear up any confusion: Compass Box refers to the cask they've had made with American white oak bodies and Sessile French oak heads as "Oak Cross" casks. Both the Flaming Heart and the Oak Cross whiskies have their final maturation in the Oak Cross casks.