The Scotch Blog

And more on Dominic's plans...

On July 26th, I wrote that Dominic Roskrow was stepping down as editor of Whisky Magazine.

Here's more information from Dominic:

I leave here on August 18 and start my own business, True Spirit, on September 4.

I will be staying as consultant editor to Whisky Magazine and Beers of the World and will be writing for both of them and will be involved with events and shows.

I am also launching a whisky tasting and corporate hospitality business and am involved with the opening of a whisky shop in Norwich in association with Ian Bankier of the Whisky Shop chain. I will be using his stock for my events.

I'm also talking to one or two people about ambassadorial work so lots happening!

I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more from Dominic.

Where in the world is Robbo?

The word on the street (from 3 different sources - and Robbo is NOT one of them), is that Dave Robertson has left the Edrington fold and will be moving over to Whyte and Mackay to head up a new innovations team.

It MAY be that JMR wasn't getting as much support from Edrington as Robbo expected/would have liked.

What does this mean for the brand? Time will tell if the brand has legs or was just a nice marketing experiment. But you collectors out there might want to pick up a few bottles just in case.

I look forward to some new and innovative things coming out of W&M in the near future.

July Potpourri

Dominic has left the building

Well, not really, but Dominic Roskrow IS stepping down as editor of Whisky Magazine. Dominic will still be contributing to Whisky Magazine, but plans to focus on consulting as well as opening a retail outlet.

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Go West, Young Whisky Fest

Malt Advocate's Amy Westlake tells me that they've decided to set up a California-based Whisky Fest.

That's right, West Coasters will soon have a choice between two whisky expos. In addition to the current spring-time Whiskies of the World, residents and visitors to San Francisco now get a Fall Whisky Fest expo. But you'll have to wait a year, as the show doesn't kick-off until 2007.

Miscellany

New graphic?

You may have noticed that the old The Scotch Blog graphic was reminiscent of a Balvenie label. It had always been my plan to occasionally swap out the graphic with other whisky labels. This weekend was the first chance I actually set aside some time to get around to it.

There's a story that goes along with the new graphic.

A few months ago, I told John Glaser (Compass Box Whisky) that he should name his next whisky "Coelacanth".

"Why?" said John.

"Because" I told him "Most people can't pronounce the name of your whiskies as it is - and this would just fit in."

What did I mean by that?

• Eleuthera (pronounced Eh-loo-thuh-rah)
• Asyla (It's Uh-sy-lah, though I've heard it called Ah-see-la)
• Hedonism The word is pronounced He-donism [with a long 'e'], though I've heard some people pronounce it Head-onism)
• Orangerie (Is it pronounced with a faux french accent as Au-ron-ger-ee or the more straight-forward Orange-er-ie?)

While I don't think John will ever use the name Coelacanth for one of his whiskies, if he does you'll know where the idea came from :). In the meantime, I mocked up what I thought a Coelacanth whisky label by Compass Box might look like. And that's the story.

By the way, a Coelacanth (pronounced "see-lah-canth") is a species of fish believed to have been extinct since the end of the Cretaceous period — until a live specimen turned up off the east coast of South Africa in 1938. Today they can be found in the Comoros, Sulawesi (Indonesia), Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and the St. Lucia Marine Protected Area in South Africa.
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Getting a free year's worth

A few months back, I told you that the majority of available Bruichladdich 10 year old is actually 12 years old.

Well, it turns out that Macallan 17 year old Fine Oak is actually an 18 year old. Rumor has it that it was believed that having two 18 year olds old on the market might cause some confusion. Calling it a 17 year old apparently alleviates the fear of confusion. I should also note that in Europe, it is marketed as an 18 year old.

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Another Malt Whisky t-shirt siting

Laager and Limehouse, is an online comic book. The characters in the comic book are usually rendered wearing t-shirts gathered from around the Internet.

It was pointed out to me that in one issue Bell, one of the main characters, was "wearing" one of the sold-out "Malt Whisky" t-shirts which I had produced to promote The Scotch Blog. The author of the comic sent me this "photo" of Bell.

Bowmore Tour Guide/ Rumor & Innuendo

A funny thing happened while taking pictures at Bowmore...
So...I stop off at Bowmore distillery to take some pictures when I run into Percy McPherson, Distillery Manager.

Percy McPherson: Want a tour?

Kevin Erskine: No, I was just going to wander around and take some pictures - is that all right?

PM: No problem.

I start to wander about unfettered. Malt House, Kiln, Mill, Mash, Tun rooms; snapping away happily. I get to the Still room - when I happen upon a tour group - and continue to take pictures.

Snooty Tour Guide: What are you doing?

KE: Taking Pictures. (I thought it was apparent).

STG: Are you on the tour?

KE: No. (Which I also thought was apparent).

STG: Please leave. And don't come back! (Her exact words).

Dumbfounded, I left. On the way out of the distillery grounds, I ran into Percy again.

PM: Well, that was quick.

KE: Well, I didn't finish - In the Still room one of your tour guides told me to "leave. And don't come back!"

PM: No she didn't. (incredulous).

KE: Her exact words. Oh, she did say "Please".

PM: We'll see about that. Follow me.

Percy marched off towards the still room with me in tow. When we arrived he pulled the tour guide aside and had some quick words with her.

PM: You'll be fine now.

Thanks, Percy.

I finished up my picture taking and drove down to Lagavulin for the master class.

When I told this story I heard the following response no less than three times:

"That never would have happened when Christine was there."

They were referring of course to Christine Logan, much-beloved former manager of the Bowmore Distillery Visitor Center.

Don't worry Suntory, I still like Bowmore.

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Introducing a new feature..Rumor & Innuendo.
Obviously, It will only be viable as people continue to feed me information. So...if you are in the know, use the ...I've got a hot tip link and send me some inside dirt. Anonymity guaranteed.

• Martin Markvardsen is leaving the Craigellachie. Will he become the newest brand ambassador for Macallan?
• The fact that Diageo is looking to sell the Port Ellen Maltings seems to be the worst kept secret ever. Rumors abound over who might be interested in taking it off their hands. One rumor is...nobody.
• Fine Expressions is the best drinks magazine to surface in a while. But there seems to be a question about how long it will last. it would be a shame to see it disappear, so check it out.