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. . .To get in your nominations for the 2007 Drammie Awards.
Get off your lazy ass, and get your nominations in.
I don't want to hear the whining about how the 1972 Glen Spleen should have won, when it wasn't even nominated. If you don't nominate it, it doesn't have a chance.
Continuing our "12 days of Scotchmas" gift guide.
A few years ago in London I picked up a great little DVD called "Scotch Whisky: 
The Myth and the Magic"
Produced by HeeHaw Publishing who specialize in Scottish interest.
Our products present engaging and informative portraits of Scotland, concentrating on popular Scottish themes and significant eras in Scotland’s fascinating history. They present an entertaining and in-depth view of Scotland's turbulent past and unique culture and are sold throughout the UK, Europe, the US and Canada.
Why are you telling me about a 4 year old DVD?
Originally
released in 2003, the DVD has received a cosmetic makeover (the
actual documentary is the same). This means that if you have the
version with the old cover, there's no need to pick this one up.
A few months ago I visited the grand opening ceremony for the George Washington distillery.
In the story I wrote about the event, I mentioned that the original distiller was a Scotsman called James Anderson.
Alex Nicol, let me know that James Anderson actually lived at Spencerfield Farm - where Alex now resides and from where he runs Spencerfield Spirits - producing Pig's Nose & Sheep Dip.
Over on Spencerfield's blog, Alex decided to commemorate George Washington's death (December 14th, 1799) by hosting an open house of sorts and inviting people over for a few drams.
So if you are anywhere near Inverkeithing, tomorrow (December 14th), head over to Spencerfield farm, meet Alex, enjoy a few drams, and celebrate the historical relationship between Spencerfield & Mount Vernon farms.
Spencerfield Spirit
Inverkeithing, Fife, Scotland (Google Map)
Continuing our "12 days of Scotchmas" gift guide.
Remember those Malt Whisky T-shirts I created and sold a few years ago? Only 50 were made and they sold out quickly - but never resulted in the cease and desist letter from Disney that would have resulted in my selling a million of them.
I still get emails asking when I'm going to make more. Maybe someday.
It was a big outlay of cash to get those suckers printed.
This year I'm doing it like an evil American corporation and outsourcing the whole she-bang. I'm using CafePress to make, sell and distribute the shirts.
Always controversial, This year's official shirt says Free Scotland on the front, with 
The Scotch Blog logo on the back.
Just to mix it up, for those of you who don't want to be so political, there are some shirts available with just TSB logo on the front. There are also a few available with just Free Scotland on the front (for those of you who don't really like this site).
Also, just to let you know, I won't be making a dime on the shirts. CafePress allows a seller to set a "mark-up" on each item and I set mine to "$0.00".
As an extra incentive. If you DO buy one of the shirts, send me a picture of you wearing it, and I'll see if I can send you a thank you somehow... You may move to the top of the list the next time I get a stack of schwag sent my way <hint hint>.
Shirts are available from 8.99 up.
Ah, Scotchmas - the most wonderful time of the year!
And what better way to celebrate Scotchmas than with the 12 days of Scotchmas - a guide to gift sets, a few discounts for you, and some general gift ideas. Check in everyday to see what's new...
To kick off the 12 days, I've unearthed another stash of Port Charlotte PC 5 - along with a discount offer for U.S. readers.
U.S. MARKET ONLY:
This offer is good through December 21st.
Email orders only - mention you read about the discount on The Scotch Blog.
Ships UPS ground anywhere in the US (except MI) Regular price is $139.99.
Shipping charge for UPS ground: $15 for 1, $20 for 2, $28 for 3, $30 for 6.
Contact Patrick@winfieldflynn.com
Kessler Wines & Spirits
New York, New York
This is NOT a paid promotion.
The emails are in and you've made your choices.
Rules for submitting nominations
The New Categories
I asked YOU to tell me if we should keep these categories and you were torn:
In the end Innovator of the year is tied closely to Most Innovative New Product - so, I decided to drop it.
Most over-rated Whisky ends up be a subjective hate-fest, and we all know who will be the perrenial candidates, BUT it's fun to point out the bad as well as the good, so we've decided to morph it to Worst marketing campaign.
Most Under-rated Whisky on the other hand is a real interesting category - So we decided to keep it.
Best Distillery Tour is out. Unfortunately many of you just haven't had a chance to visit that many distilleries, or not enough to offer up nominees. Instead, I'll continue reporting on the various distillery tours in my stories... And invite you to submit stories about your experiences at distilleries.
Also some people don't understand the concept of "These categories
are staying". Best Packaging is a category that is staying. Marketing
Counts. It always has and it always will. But it's been expanded to cover all marketing practices.
Without further ado, here are the categories:
Continue reading "The 2007 Drammies: Categories & Call for Nominations" »
I've heard of Bill Dowd - and had been told that he was a well-known and well-educated writer on the subject of Spirits.
However, I'd not had an opportunity to go to his site or read his work until today (Friday December 7, 2007) when a Google Alert let me know about a beer story that mentioned Scotch:
Dowd On Drinks: But Is It Beer?
Falls Church News Press - Falls Church,VA,USA
The world of brewing, therefore, has entered the same field of controversy as that of Scotch whisky and tequila. When the original product is changed to a ...
Controversy? In the world of Scotch? Why didn't I know about this???
I went to read the story...which turned out to be about Utopias a new "beer" from Sam Adams.
But it was these few paragraphs that caught my eye:
The world of brewing, therefore, has entered the same field of controversy as that of Scotch whisky and tequila. When the original product is changed to a marked degree, is it legitimate to include it in the same category?
Some Scotch distillers and blenders have succumbed to the lure of changing their manufacturing process to expand their product line and, ultimately, their sales.
The switch to closed-pot stills, for example, blocks the traditional smokiness of the whisky, making it more like Irish whiskey (yes, spelling the liquor with or without an "e" also is a difference between them), and maturing it in used brandy, sherry or bourbon casks further changes it.
Likewise with tequila, a Mexican spirit usually consumed young but in recent years becoming available in an "extra-aged" style that involves maturation for longer periods in used casks and results in more of a cognac-style spirit.
The bolded sections show a complete ignorance of the manufacturing and maturation processes for Scotch.
I'm not really sure what Mr. Dowd means by "closed-pot stills". I've seen a lot of pot stills, and I've never seen an open one. And is it just me or does the use of the term "used casks" sound just a little disparaging?.
The worst part of all of this is that the mention of Scotch is not only erroneous, it is a complete non sequitur, and completely unnecessary for support of his original question "Should Utopias be considered beer?". Had he simply left out this section, his article would have been an interesting musing on a topic.
According to Mr. Dowd's personal site, his column is:
distributed by both the New York Times News Service and the Hearst News Service. His writings have been published by literally dozens of North American newspapers, on numerous Web sites, and various magazines, and his work has been made available in at least 10 different countries.
I can't fault someone for success - but is it worrisome to you - as it is to me - that someone has a column that is printed around the world - and they talk about Scotch - yet they have no freaking idea how Scotch is made?
Maybe it's because I spend my time trying to educate and demystify whisky that I take particular umbrage when someone has a much broader forum than do I, yet their ignorance of the topic equates to the spread of mis-information.
Today's story comes from Foodie & blogger-extraodinaire, Kate Hopkins, the brains behind Accidental Hedonist.
Kate's been getting into our favorite beverage lately and has a great take on the 'surgence' (yeah, yeah, I know - that's not a word) of premium Bourbon.
There's the feeling out there that Scotch drinkers don't like Bourbon and that Bourbon drinkers don't go near Scotch. Speaking from my personal experience and the people that I meet, that's simply not true.
If you know a Scotch snob who looks down his nose at Bourbon, kick him in the nuts and find some new friends.
Coming in 2008 we'll devote a substantial chunk of time to Bourbon. And my annual whisky tasting this year will be focusing on non-Scotch whiskies (yes, like Bourbon), so look for that story. But to whet your appetite for the U.S's official liquor, here's Kate...
The Marketing of the Ultra-premium Whiskeys
Accidental Hedonist, November 29, 2007
by Kate Hopkins
Eric Asimov, the drink writer at the New York Times, takes a look at bourbon and its increase in popularity.
The dive in sales forced bourbon producers to accept that the whiskey market had changed. They might not be able to compete with vodka, but to avoid permanent relegation to the dusty back shelves of liquor stores, bourbon producers would have to find a way to attract the budding connoisseur class.
For me, this evolution in the whiskey industry here in America is quite fascinating. For all of this talk of "tradition" and "history" in the Kentucky/Tennessee whiskey industries, the fact remains that these companies didn't really hit their stride until our own lifetime. Around the fifties and sixties, Canadian Whisky was the popular drink. Then Jack Daniels and Jim Beam hit their stride in the sixties and seventies, mostly from the fact that they had good financial backing, decent marketing, and the ability to get into markets that other distillers could not. No where on this list is the phrase "devoted to the quality of the product".
Continue reading "The Marketing of the Ultra-premium Whiskeys" »
Apparently the Port Charlotte PC5 is pretty tough to get - if you can find it.
Well, I'm here to hook you up.
The Wine Specialist (Washington, DC, USA) has a stash of 4 cases left (That's 24 bottles).
Oh wait. They have 23 bottles left now :).
And it's selling at a great price - $125.99.
Contact my boy Matt to snag one of those remaining bottles:
You can order the PC5 through their website: www.winespecialist.com; email: matt@winespecialist.com, or by phone: 202.833.0707.
OK. I did you a solid. Can anyone find me a god damned Wii, so my kids will love me again??
No, this is not a paid advertisement you cynical bastards. This is what we call a Public Service Announcement.
The Wine Specialist
2115 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20037
Voice: 202-833-0707
Fax: 202-833-9507
