The Scotch Blog

12 days of Scotchmas: Scotch Whisky Review

And concluding our "12 days of Scotchmas" gift guide.

Hopefully something struck your fancy and you took advantage of some of the discounts these companies were kind enough to offer!

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I have been reading the Scotch Whisky Review for some time - but only first wrote a story about it back in February 2007. In that story I said:

Wickedly smart. Bitingly funny. Loads of caustic wit.

These are just some of the terms that might be used to describe the Scotch Whisky Review.

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The bottom line is that The Scotch Whisky Review should be on the reading list of every serious whisky fan.

And to make sure that you read it, I've arranged for a discount:

Current subscription rates are:

UK £10.00
EUROPE £14.00
REST OF WORLD £17.00

The SWR is published quarterly (4 times per year), but if you email them with 12 days of Scotchmas in the subject line, they'll be happy to give you 5 issues for the regular subscription price of 4 issues.

And they are apparently working on that god-awful web site. The Scotch Whisky Review. 

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This is NOT a paid promotion.

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The bottom line is that The Scotch Whisky Review should be on the reading list of every serious whisky fan.

And to make sure that you read it, I've arranged for a discount:

Current subscription rates are:

UK £10.00
EUROPE £14.00
REST OF WORLD £17.00

The SWR is published quarterly (4 times per year), but if you email them with 12 days of Scotchmas in the subject line, they'll be happy to give you 5 issues for the regular subscription price of 4 issues.

And they are apparently working on that god-awful web site. The Scotch Whisky Review. 

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This is NOT a paid promotion.

12 days of Scotchmas: Malt Advocate Magazine

Continuing our "12 days of Scotchmas" gift guide.
We've got gift ideas, discounts, and Free Stuff through the weekend and right up until Christmas Eve day (December 24th), so keep checking in!

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To close out our 12 Days of Scotchmas, here's a discount on another must-read whisky publication - Malt Advocate.

Malt Advocate magazine is the United States'  leading whisky magazine. It’s published quarterly and covers more than just Scotch - all the world’s finest whiskies grace the pages - Irish whiskey, bourbon American, Japanese and Canadian whisky.

The magazine includes features, columns, product reviews in their acclaimed Buyer’s Guide and up-to-date whisky news.

Malt Advocate is offering a special rate of $3 off the normal subscription rate (The U.S. subscription is $18 <$18-$3=$15>).

The $3 USD discount extends to all non-U.S. orders as well.

The special super secret code for the discount is newsub07 which you will have to enter in the appropriate box when subscribing.

The offer is for new subscribers only and is good until December 31st.

Subscribe here.

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This is NOT a paid promotion.

Ratings revisited and the horror of "Edvertising"

I hate ratings.

We'll get to whisky in a bit, but first, take a walk with me into the strange and unbelievable world of wine critique.

The triumvirate of wine publications.

Wine Enthusiast, Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator. These magazines aren't sold for their editorial content. They are sold on the numerous, abridged reviews they do each month, to people who are apparently incapable of making wine purchasing decisions on their own.

Taste, review; taste, review. They churn through wines (apparently by the case load) for each monthly issue - slapping each wine with a breviloquent single paragraph review and a rating . . . allegedly on a scale from 0 - 100.

Yes, the scale is 0 - 100, but apparently it's ass water if it scores below 80, and "Wines receiving a rating below 80 are not reviewed".

I wonder - "why not?" Aren't readers of these magazines just as interested in what NOT to buy as what to buy? I'd wager the answer to that question is "Yes".

So why wouldn't a magazine that prides itself on being the final word in wine critique actually do some critiquing???

Could the impact of (potential) lost advertising sales be a factor in not mentioning the unmentionables? Of course it could.

The Scotch Blog is the Best!

It's Saturday July, 14th and I've come to Can Can, one of my favorite local restaurants (French-themed if you couldn't guess), for a dinner of Moules & Frites (that's mussels and french fries, savages).

They've asked me to step away from the bar, as the Can Can girls are about to start dancing. On the bar.

My night is looking up.  No, this isn't an everyday occurrence. It's Bastille Day.

I've just picked up my mail from the office and in the pile is the latest issue (#64 - August 2007) of Whisky Magazine, sent to me from my friend Elliot Fishbein, owner of Town Wine & Spirits (Rhode Island, USA)

As some of you know, I moved my residence back in February and apparently one of the things lost in the shuffle was my subscription (Yep, I pay for my subscriptions, just like everyone else.)

Well the reason that Elliot has sent me the issue is that apparently Whisky Magazine says I'm the best.

My night is looking even more up.

The article is called "Blogging It" and despite the fact that "blog" is an integral part of this site's name, I really dislike the term. It's almost dismissive. But I digress. It's The Scotch Blog, and I'm stuck with it for now.

Written by Richard Jones, the article declares that The Scotch Blog is indeed, the best. And I think it is pretty cool to be recognized by a leading industry publication.

The actual article must have been written some time ago as they reference stories from last Fall, but here we are, still going strong, months later.

Reproduced, totally without permission:

www.thescotchblog.com

At the time of this writing, this is simply the best all-around Scotch whisky blog on the web.

Author Kevin Erskine provides frequent, well written, considered and often thought-provoking posts on a range of whisky related subjects. Recent examples of the more controversial variety include 'Men Behaving Badly', a criticism of certain attendees at a recent whisky event and 'Too Many Bruichladdich Editions?' questioning the number of releases from this Islay distillery along with a robust defence by Mark Reynier.

(ed. note - I actually wrote about the issue of too many Bruichladdich expressions in a story called 'A Visit to the Laddie'. Too Many Bruichladdich Editions was Mark's response.)

The blog is an excellent source of up-to-date whisky news with such items as the reorganisation of distillery managers at InverHouse, the latest BenRiach wood finishes and the new-look packaging for Highland Park.

It also has features more commonly found on a traditional website / forum such as 'Ask the Collector', a chance to pick the wisdom of The Whisky Exchange's Sukhinder Singh on matters of rare whiskies and their values.

Kevin is a US based blogger so some of his entries on forthcoming tastings are only of interest to readers on his side of the Atlantic, but this is a minor criticism.

The Scotch Blog is an invaluable, informative and highly entertaining resource for Scotch whisky lovers everywhere.

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Much thanks to Whisky Magazine; Richard Jones and Rob Allanson (Editor) as this is the type of recognition that makes writing The Scotch Blog worth my time. I especially like when terms like "well-written" are used to describe my work.

I'd also like to thank Sukhinder Singh for taking time to actually value the whiskies. He answers 10 emails for every one that makes it on the site.

Of course, I'd like to thank the readers, without whom, this would just be masturbation. In the mental sense of course ;)

Now, who do I talk to about getting nominated as a Keeper of the Quaich?

Other worthy sites mentioned:

The Daily Dram - Dormant since January 2007

Whisk(e)y 2.0 - Hungary represents

Whisky Fun - Malt Maniac Serge Valentin talks whisky and music

Whisky School - Also dormant since January 2007 - but James Thomson of Ladybank likes to come here and argue with me over my views on India :)

Wink and a nod

Wickedly smart. Bitingly funny. Loads of caustic wit.

These are just some of the terms that might be used to describe the Scotch Whisky Review, now under the stewardship of Dave Broom and Marcin Miller - there some other well-known malcontents who contribute - but I'm pretty certain these two guys are behind the really mean-spirited knocks.

Though the web site leaves an awful lot to be desired this is forgivable as it is apparent that these guys spend the vast majority of their time coming up with the excellent content.

To fully appreciate the nuances of The Review an insider's knowledge is required - and the writers are unapologetic in that the SWR is, in fact, an insider's joke.

Article on Glenrothes 1979

Someone emailed me to let me know that there was an article about Scotch in Men’s Vogue.

Men’s Vogue?!?!? That isn't really a magazine, is it?

Regardless, there was a link - and the link is real - the author of the story was part of a group invited to sit down with Ronnie Cox (Director of the Glenrothes) and go through a tasting of the Glenrothes line, capped with a dram of the "new" 1979 Single Cask.

Aside from the inexplicable “whiskey” spelling (usually the work of the ill-informed editor), there was one iffy statement:

“A $1,000 dollar bottle is actually not that outrageous these days: Last year a South Korean collector paid close to $75,000 for a bottle of 1926 Macallan.”

A fine example of logical fallacy - just because some fool paid $75,000 doesn’t make $1,000 “not that outrageous”. But I’ll forgive the author for hyperbole.

Aside from those small issues, the article is extremely well written and quite informative.

Check it out: Single—and loving it

Harvard Alum?

Are you a Harvard Alum who is also a Scotch enthusiast?
02138 magazine contacted me and they are looking to write a piece about you.
Please contact me, and I'll put you in touch with them.
You'll be famous.

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.

Have Ratings/Tasting Notes Gone Too Far?

I don't think it is a secret that I have never been a fan of published whisky ratings. Perhaps it's the aura of objectivity concealing the raw subjectivity that raises my ire.

Ratings along any scale: 1-10; 1-100; A-F; 1 - 5 stars; it doesn't matter- all carry with them the appearance of some application of "science" behind their bestowment. If, in fact, there were any way to truly assign a score to a whisky (or anything else for that matter) truly based on scientific discovery and a true absolute scale (think temperature), I'd have no issue with it.

The problem is that the scores are granted not on an absolute scale, but on a relative scale - and not a consistent relativity at that - even when scored by the same reviewer.

Ask any renowned whisky maven (or drinking buddy) his or her favorite dram, and you are likely to be given (if you're lucky) a short list, along with a litany of exclusions and limitations, about how "favorites" depends on the time of day, time of year, food accompaniment, mood or present company. And all that is quite fair.

How then can the same person give, what to all intents and purposes is a score based on an apparently absolute scale? I believe they simply cannot.

Whisky Magazine: Free Stuff, Discount

The fine folks at Paragraph Publishing publish four great magazines - the flagship Whisky Magazine , Cigar Buyer, Scotland Magazine, and the brand new Beers of the World.

They also are the organizers and hosts of the Whisky Live events I wrote about on December 8th.

Rebecca at Paragraph was kind enough to supply me with some free copies of two of their magazines (Whisky and Scotland) to share with some lucky readers of The Scotch Blog.

I love Whisky Magazine. I mean, how could you not love a magazine that has whisky icons like Michael Jackson and David Broom as contributing editors? You can't. Don't argue with me.

Paragraph was also kind enough to let me pick which issues I'd like to offer to you, So I chose issue 46 from April 2005 (The latest issue is 52).

So of course your question is "Kevin, why did you choose an older issue?"

Good question. The reason I chose issue 46 was because it was in this issue that the 2005 Best of the Best were named.

Best of the Best is held every two years, and is a tasting of the finest whiskies scored in Whisky Magazine over the previous 24 months.

Almost 60 great whiskies tasted blind in five countries by more than 100 tasters over four months... the Best of the Best event in 2005 can rightly claim to be the most ambitious whisky tasting ever held.

And the results reflect just how thoroughly we searched for the finest products from America, Ireland, Japan and Scotland... and what an exceptional standard of whisky enthusiasts have been able to enjoy over the last two years.

And how can I argue with a multi-continent, blind tasting by well over 100 individuals? Especially when they are obviously spot on -- they chose Laphroaig Cask Strength as the Best single malt Scotch. (Which I personally selected as my favorite upon tasting it in London in February 2005.)

This selection methodology stands in stark contrast to the selection of Highland Park 18.

It is also in this issue that Whisky Magazine announced the winners of the Icons of Whisky 2005. For example, who is the Retailer of the Year? That would be Park Avenue Liquors (New York City). What about Hotel of the Year? Not surprisingly, the Craigellachie Hotel (Speyside region, Scotland).

The issue also includes a story on The Glenrothes, (my favorite under-rated distillery), a visit to Glen Grant, a story about the women involved in the mostly male-dominated whisk(e)y industry, and a number of other great features.

One of my favorite standard features is the always interesting side by side whisky reviews by Michael Jackson, Dave Broom and Martine Nouet.

I was also given copies of the latest issue of Scotland Magazine, which is serendipitous, as the cover story is about Perthshire - and I'm now in the midst of planning the Perthshire leg of my trip to Scotland this coming Spring.

But these copies aren't for me, they are for you - or at least 10 of you. And this month, the normal "Free Stuff" rules are out the window. If you've won before, you can win again.

And how do you win?

It's easy. Simply visit the Whisky Magazine site and send me an email telling me who owns the famous face on the cover of issue 51.

While you are at the Whisky Magazine site, check out the forums, which are inhabited by a very lively community of whisky lovers. You may even see the occasional post from yours truly.

UPDATE: (1/2/2006): Sorry, all of the issues are spoken for.

Didn't you say something about a discount?

The best part of all is that Paragraph has decided to extend, to readers of The Scotch Blog, a very generous 22% discount on an annual subscription. This discount code is only valid for US subscriptions.

To claim your discount you need to go Whisky Magazine website; go to subscriptions and type in the code BLOG1205. The 22% discount will then appear.

Upcoming Whisky Live events:

• Whisky Live Tokyo - February 12, 2006
• Whisky Live London - March 3 & 4, 2006
• Whisky Live New York - April 5, 2006

Happy Hogmanay!