The Scotch Blog

Whisky galore! An English malt, please

I read this article in The Independent about the English Whisky Company, which I thought you'd also like to read. Enjoy.

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Whisky galore! An English malt, please

Originally published March 10, 2008 and reprinted with kind permission of The Independent.

The sweet smell of ground grist wafts over the surrounding peat marshland as a one-tonne copper still boils and distils mash into the unmistakable dark liquid that will eventually become whisky.

The first run of single malt, meanwhile, lies maturing in hundreds of specially imported Bourbon barrels from the United States watched over by Molly, Bert, Oscar and Zeb, the distillery's four Labrador dogs.

At first glance nothing in this particular distillery looks out of the ordinary. But to the factory's founders and whisky connoisseurs worldwide what lies in those casks is not just whisky; it is history in the making.

For this is not just another new distillery to add to Scotland or Ireland's already thriving industries. This is the English Whisky Company, the latest attempt to try and cash in on the unprecedented clamour for fine whisky worldwide and, also, the first company to produce an English malt whisky in more than 100 years.

Read the Rest of the story at The Independent site

'Allo Guv'nor

Here's an ad you're not likely to see anywhere else - as it was turned down by an unnamed financial periodical.

Have you NO sense of humor?

Here's the Deal

Today I am in England.

I'm here to serve as a judge in the International Wine & Spirits Competition. Then I'll be seeing friends, and drinking in pubs.

When I get back next week, I'll be back on the road - Spring is full of travel for me: Whisky Live; Whisky Fest, and miscellaneous speaking engagements and consulting.

In April I'll be in Scotland at the World Whiskies Conference,  touring distilleries, and FINALLY - after all these years - wandering around Edinburgh like a stupid tourist.

I'm pretty sure I'll be missing my Brother's wedding. [Sorry, John.]

I'm just about to hit my 500th post. This is the 4th calendar year I've been writing in and I'm tired of meeting self-imposed deadlines.

SO I won't be making any posts for a while - I won't even make an attempt to put up some "BEST OF" stories - as I am without a portable computer and Apple has not yet sent me a free MacBook Air (and I'm not holding my breath).

SO, while I'm gone:

• Read the Archives
• Visit some of my favorite sites:
  • Jeffrey Morgenthaler
  • MartiniGroove
  • Cocktails with Camper
  • Art of Drink
  • Liquor Snob
  • Dr. Whisky
  • Stephen Beaumont's World of Beer
  • Whisky Channel
  • Whisky Fun
• Read a good book
• Go see a movie
• Get outside...Spring is upon us.
• Go to a Bar and talk to a stranger. Buy them a drink (preferably whisky).

When I get back I'll finally get around to writing about my trip to Maker's Mark.

Any guest writers want to fill in the gaps? let me know...

How to Fake Whisky Color

Dear TSB

Sorry but I have an unusual request. I have one of those large bottles of Chivas Regal on the swing (4.5ltr). It sits on the bar. However I have drank all the scotch of course and wanted to fill it up with something that looked like scotch but wasn’t. I thought someone said some teas, but then that didn’t work. What else could I use that best looks like scotch?

Thanks, Adam

I had always heard the iced tea was used as a stunt double for whisky in movies when one of the actors had to take a swig.  (The next time some tough guy picks up a bottle and chugs, take a look and you can see how the liquid foams up...whisky doesn't do that.)

I would think that tea would be a little translucent, but it might work if you used a more robust black tea. And maybe used red and brown food coloring to massage it?

Any ideas out there?

Since we are talking "fake" and "whisky" in the same breath, I wanted to remind everyone of Serge's "War on Whisky Fakers".

2008 Scotch Whisky Extravaganza

For the fourth year in a row The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America would like to extend discounted admission to the 2008 U.S. Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza Tour for readers of The Scotch Blog.

That's right, Once again readers of The Scotch Blog pay the same admission price that members of the SMWS pay.

Read on for the schedule and how to get the discount:

WWW - the Weakening Whisky WoundTable

Here's a good question, from regular reader Brendan H. which allows me to solicit the opinion of some friends...

Hey Kevin,
 
Another weird question for you, thinking as I kick a bottle of Cigar Malt.

Does the alcohol content of my whisky decrease as I near the bottom of the bottle?

I ask this because (1) there seems to be less alcohol burn as I wind through the bottle and (2) because alcohol being a light, fairly volatile liquid, could be in vapor form at the top of the bottle and released when I remove the cork.
 
If so then it might seem wise to swish the whisky around the top of the bottle to recapture any vaporous alcohol before opening.

Thanks for the science lesson.

Brendan

I responded to Brendan...

Theoretically, It COULD.
If it sits for a long time with a bad seal, the alcohol could evaporate...reducing the amount of Alcohol (by volume) in the liquid.

Once the alcohol has entered a gaseous state I don't think it will recombine with the liquid by swishing...
-Kevin

But I thought I'd ask for input from some of my industry friends...

Chris Morris, Master Distiller, Brown Forman

You are correct. Every time a bottle is opened, a drink poured out, and the bottle resealed you have created headspace. The headspace will be filled with evaporate.

Keep doing this and the ever increasing headspace will continue to sap the alcohol strength from the spirit (very small amount overall).

If you desire to return the alcohol vapor to the spirit you would have to chill the bottle to condense it. That of course is not standard storage procedure. I wouldn't worry about it.

-Chris

Dave Pickerell, Master Distiller, Maker's Mark

At the risk of being too technical ... here goes.

If the bottle is tightly sealed, only a relatively small amount of alcohol will evaporate ... and then an equilibrium condition will set up where alcohol evaporates and condenses at the same rate and the concentration of alcohol in the vapor state is constant throughout the space.... it will not stratify... The proof in the liquid will remain essentially unchanged.  Even if the bottle is opened and partially consumed, and then tightly re-sealed, this same equilibrium will be achieved, and there will be essentially no proof reduction ... even as the liquid volume decreases.  (Theoretically, there might be a minuscule proof reduction here, but I don't think you could notice it).

If the bottle is loosely closed ... or not capped at all ... The alcohol will continue to evaporate and will never reach an equilibrium because it will continue to escape from the open mouth of the bottle into the surrounding air space.  Thus, the proof will continue to drop.  This also explains why a non-chill filtered whisky bottled at a proof of 86 or greater will eventually cloud up if left for a long time with the cap off or the seal loose.  When the product reaches a proof below 86, a chill haze begins to develop, because some of the components become insoluble in alcohol and water mixtures below 86 proof ... This haze can be anything from a little cloudy to something akin to river mud.

Mark Reynier, Bruichladdich

When reducing  to obtain the desired 46% vol that we like to bottle at, it is notoriously difficult to arrive at the precise figure because the alcohol strength (in bulk) and at cask strength is so volatile. We have a legal  0.1 variance and a matter of 60 minutes is enough to reduce the strength by 01 or more.

Therefore, even at a reduced volume (a bottle) and strength -  and with exposure to air, I imagine that the strength would fall . . . albeit at a stultifyingly slow rate.

The reduced alcohol burn referred to is probably reduced by the rasping cigar smoke in the throat.

Mark

Ian Millar, Glenfiddich

First off, why would you have a bottle open so long this could happen??? THAT wouldn't happen in Scotland!

Secondly, yes - you could lose something in evaporation and the rate of loss would relate to the temperature of the room and was the bottle in direct sunlight or indeed artificial light.

(Never take a chance - store the bottle in a cool dark place, open with good friends and devour with joy).

All the best
Ian

Traverso's Glenfarclas Bottling

Traverso's Private Scotch Whisky Cask now available.

Cask # 685
11 years Old
750 ML
92 proof
Distilled on February 15, 1996
Personally tasted and hand-selected at Glenfarclas Distillery on March 23, 2007. 
Bottled on July 18, 2007

$59.95 each, or 3 bottle special $149.95 + tax

Michael Traverso's Tasting Notes

It was a cool March morning.  The wind was coming from the North and rain was beginning to fall as we drove along the river Spey enroute to Glenfarclas Distillery.  After an early lunch of venison sausage and local beer, we began to taste from the casks.  One after one...the decision was very difficult.  But then...Cask #685 presented itself...like and old friend.  This was the one!  It clearly stood out as the winner.  We selected this cask for its rich flavor and smooth finish.  This is a fine malt that can be enjoyed and appreciated by the Scotch connoisseur or novice.  Notes of leather, tobacco, and hints of caramel on the nose.  Palate flavors dominated by expressions Oloroso Sherry and underlying hints of maple.  Little to no peat.  Only 306 bottles available.

We can ship to you or hold for pick-up.
Contact us today:
www.traversos.com

707-542-2530
877-456-7616 toll-free

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This is not a paid promotion for either Traverso's or Glenfarclas.

Acceptance Speeches

"We are chuffed to bits!  This means more to us than any of the other industry bollocks. Great showing from Islay and the independents too. And I would like to thank our  customers, followers, shareholders, bank manager etc. etc."
Mark Reynier
Bruichladdich - Distiller/Blender/Independent Bottler of the Year

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Thank you!  We are absolutely delighted with the award!
We only have enough to last till the close of 2009 so I recommend everyone stocks up on it as I am doing!
Davinia Small
Ardbeg - Best New Product (whisky) (Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist)

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"That is really terrific and I am really surprised that our Glasgow amnesty reached across the pond.
I will pass on the news to the team who will be delighted."
Jason Craig
Highland Park - Best Packaging/ Marketing Campaign

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Cheers Kevin, keep up all the good work, and thanks to Everyone who voted for Glenfarclas all the support is much appreciated.
Bring on the 2008 Drammies!!!

George Grant
Glenfarclas - Most under-rated-whisky

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This is great news!  Thanks very much
John Glaser
Compass Box - Most Innovative New Product (Canto Series) 

Will Lyons talks with Ian Curle

Will Lyons recently had a chance to sit down with Ian Curle, Chief Executive of The Edrington Group.

Edrington produces such well-known favorites as Highland Park, Macallan & The Famous Grouse. They recently acquired a large stake in Brugal - a little known Rum from The Dominican Republic.

I had a chance to visit Brugal in 2003, and it became my favorite Rum on the spot. Unfortunately it's not easy to get here in the US... but it's worth finding. With the backing of Edrington, it could give Bacardi a run for it's money - it's delicious, priced well, and head and shoulders in taste and quality over the ubiquitous Bacardi line.

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Interview: Ian Curle: It was a rum thing to learn Spanish
by William Lyons
Read Will Lyons online: www.scotsman.com/wine

FOR the past three years Ian Curle has been keeping a secret close to his chest. Once a month, sometimes more often, he would board the British Airways lunchtime flight to Miami. To the outside world the chief executive of Edrington, one of Scotland's largest whisky makers, was doing nothing more than paying a routine visit to a key market.

The reality was somewhat different. After arriving in the Florida sunshine Curle would board a second flight to Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, where he would meet his finance director Richard Hunter and his company secretary Martin Cooke, who flew in via New York. The purpose of these clandestine visits was made clear last Wednesday when Curle announced that he had spent GBP 200m acquiring a majority stake of just over 60 per cent in Brugal, the largest rum brand in the Caribbean. Such was the secrecy surrounding the talks that nobody was aware that Hunter and Cooke had both learned Spanish in order to conduct the negotiations.

"We had to keep it very quiet," says Curle, fresh off a flight from Madrid where he has been in discussions with his distribution company Maxxium to build the brand across Europe.

And now...the winners of the 2007 Drammies

Wow.
What an interesting award season THIS has been.
We've had quite a bit of over-exuberance regarding the awards.

And the winners don't even get a cool statuette! Just the knowledge that a world-wide audience of thousands of whisky lovers had the chance to nominate and select the winners.

You've likely read here and in all of the UK papers regarding an unfortunate incident. But never fear, the awards come off untarnished...as do the nominees.

One significant point of order on voting and how votes were counted.

We looked VERY closely at all of the votes - and anything that so much as hinted of impropriety was disregarded.

What was worthy of being disregarded?

1. Suspicious Volumes from industry domains - I don't want to create a misconception. Industry people were certainly allowed to vote in the awards - there are a lot of industry people who read this site. It was the volume of emails from single domains that created a problem for me. So floods of emails with similar votes from industry domains were disregarded.
2. Single votes - There were some nominees who let their fans and friends know that they were up for an award. Nothing wrong with that - BUT all votes that came in which consisted of a single vote, for a single product in a single category were disregarded.
3. Voting in a bloc - You certainly did not have to have an opinion on every category - most people did not. And as stated in #2 above, single votes were disregarded. But if someone submitted votes only in categories in which a single company's products were nominated - and only voted for those products, the votes were disregarded.
4. Uninformed votes - A couple of votes were disregarded for specific reasons. There was no ill intent in these votes, BUT when a statement was included that said (for example) "I haven't tried any of these products, but like the idea of a "Coffee-flavoured malt", then the vote was disregarded. You get the idea.

The Drammies were created to be, above all, a "People's Choice" award and to try to disregard the influence that the industry has over the spirits writers and periodicals that generally grant the awards that get touted.

No fees here. Only nominations for the more interesting things out there, and awards for (hopefully) the most deserving products.

I've also included some of the more entertaining/insightful quotes that accompanied some of the votes.

So without further ado, your winners...