The Scotch Blog

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) 

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...

Road to the Drammies: Kevin's Picks

Of course the Road to the Drammies would not be complete without me adding my $0.02, would it?

And to prove that the Drammies really are selected by the Scotch Blog readership, you'll see, once the winners are announced, that I did not completely agree with the voter-ship. Heck, there were some nominees that I think were missed!

Producers, feel free to take my comments and plaster them all over your ads :)

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My ‘picks’ for The Drammies
Kevin Erskine

Best Packaging/Marketing Campaign
Highland Park 18 "Whisky Amnesty" at Glasgow, Whisky Live
I'm a big fan of the Maker's Mark Ambassador program (I'm also a participant), it's simply the best ongoing affinity program in the whisky world today. But the Whisky Amnesty was an inspired marketing stunt, and one that's sure to be copied.

Bang for the Buck
Forty Creek
I love me some Laphroaig, but the QC is slightly too high in price to fit into my personal definition of "Bang for the Buck". I've never met a Glenfarclas I didn't like. Benromach Traditional is damned fine stuff and a great price. Black Bottle is pretty darned good - and the 10 year old (my preferred of the 2) is still a great value (even here in America). And I love Bulleit Bourbon.

But for cost vs. bang, flavor, and whatever other measure you want to apply, Forty Creek walks away with the award (in my book)...

Road to the Drammies: Serge's Picks

The Third in our series of "Guest Picks" for the Drammies, Serge Valentin, of Whisky Fun & Malt Maniac.

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Fun with The Drammies
Serge Valentin

Best Marketing Campaign
This has to go to all distillers and bottlers who are NOT making the fakers’ lives easier. Labels that are not easy to take off and re-stick on another bottle, capsules/foils that you can’t just take off and then replace once you’ve refilled a bottle, engraving or serigraphy on the bottle and so on. Lagavulin springs to mind.

Distiller/Blender/Independent Bottler of the Year
Springbank
Because of their recent 1997. Great spirit in its naked truth.

Most Innovative New Product
Compass Box Canto Series
Experimentation that’s not only for the sake of experimentation or easy-easy range widening. Oh, and because of the heavy use of Clynelish.

Best New Product (whisky)
Glenfarclas Family Casks.
Indeed, despite the prices of the younger versions. They could do it and they did it. Ah, the 1960 and the 1965...

Best New Product (Non-whisky)
The Legend of Laphroaig
Fabulous book by Marcel van Gils and Hans Offringa. There should be such books about every distillery in Scotland.

Most under-rated-whisky
Glenugie (but Glenugie was closed in 1983). Otherwise, young Clynelishes.

Worst Marketing Campaign
Anything bling bling aimed at Russian oligarchs or Chinese IT wizards - and while the stock markets plunge.  By the way, ever saw Petrus or Cheval Blanc in fancy bottles? (and mahogany-leather-crystal-pewter-whatever?) Shared between The Macallan 55yo Lalique, Ardbeg’s Double Barrel and The Dalmore’s 60plus bottles.

Road to the Drammies: Sam's Picks

The second in our series of "Guest Picks" for the Drammies, Sam Simmons, aka Dr. Whisky...

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The Drammies according to Dr. Whisky
Sam Simmons

Always eager to exercise democracy in any way shape or form, the Drammies represent a grass-roots "people's choice" whisky awards that Dr. Whisky is only too happy nominate, be nominated, vote, and be voted for.

BUT, asked Kevin Erskine, if the world was a perfect totalitarian whisky-soaked dream and I was its dictator (or author of works I thought so holy I  called them Bibles), who would I deem to be worthy to win these awards?

Bang for the Buck
Forty Creek Barrel Select
A difficult category this year with 5 excellent whiskies that are affordable AND delicious. But like Mussolini favoured the North and let the south starve or die in senseless war in Ethiopia, I support a Canadian. Resourceful, affordable, and tasty!

Distiller/Blender/Independent Bottler of the Year
Single Malts of Scotland
Another challenging category because the bundling of distiller, blender and indie is a contentious one. They all do different things so really, how can they be evaluated as competitors? Easily. Like Suharto did in Indonesia, with an Iron Fist. What other bottler released a drinkable Tobermory(1995, £30)? a 30 year old Glenlivet that was tasty, sherried, and only £65? one of the best Clynelishes to ever pass the lips of this Clynelish lover (1972, £110)? No one. And if they did, I would imprison, squash, or stone them.

Road to the Drammies: Ian's Picks

The polls are now closed and the votes are being tabulated.

While we wait for the results, I thought I'd get some friends to pick THEIR choices for a Drammy in each category.

First up: Ian Buxton

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My ‘picks’ for The Drammies
Ian Buxton

Well, the Whisky Writers Union hasn’t declared a strike.  The Oscars may be under threat but the big one carries on.  Yes, The Drammies are with us once again and Kevin asked me for my ‘picks’.  I have no idea which way the voting has gone but, if it were up to me, these babies would come out on top:

Best Packaging
Highland Park 18 "Whisky Amnesty" at Glasgow, Whisky Live
There were some nice things here – I really liked the Port Charlotte tins, for example – but if you had seen the queue of excited whisky fans at the Highland Park stand you’d know this was THE winner.  Tough to think of something genuinely new but the HP boys did it.

Bang for the Buck
Black Bottle
Black Bottle is consistently under-rated.  I would pick Glenfarclas but I’ve got a bigger win in mind for them!

The Drammies Polls are closed

The voting for the 2007 Drammies has ended.

Stayed tuned for the announcement of your winners.

I've also asked a few friends to tell you about their picks for the Drammies, so I'll have those selections up prior to the final announcement of the best whisky awards in the world...

Polls Close Soon!

Only 1 day left to Vote for the 2007 Drammies

Voting Improprieties, Ethics, and Plain Old Stupidity

Who would have thought that there would be an attempt to stuff The Drammies ballot box?

Not me. But it happened.

A mass of emails flooded the ballot box. All selecting the same products. All coming from either the domain of a very large producer of alcohol or from the domain of a small marketing firm - that does work for a large producer of alcohol.

Now, while I can believe that all these folks read The Scotch Blog, it was interesting that none of these emails came to the address provided in the story. They ALL were sent to the same, but wrong email address.

I'm guessing this was the result of some memo that went out - these guys didn't even have the courtesy to come to the site to commit the voting fraud!

Here are are my "Voting for Dummies" tips (with handy analogies):

• When you want to cheat on a test - don't all fill out the same answers
  • (Mix your submissions up a little)
• When you want to rob a bank, don't wear a name tag.
  • (Next time use personal emails and not your corporate ones)
• When you all want to forge a check, change the name on the check once in a while.
  • (Don't all submit from the same memo)
• Most importantly, hire an inside man.
  • If you really want to rig the contest, then try to bribe me - it has a better chance of working.

Nice try, but if this happens again, all of your nominees will be removed from consideration.

The 2007 Drammies: Nominees

The Nominees are in

The emails are in and you've made your choices.

We received hundreds of nominations - I'm impressed with some of the stuff the readership is drinking. Some of the potential nominees were things that are so rare (or hard to get, like the Laphroaig Oloroso Sherry) I doubt we'd have enough people who could have possible tried them in order to vote - but points for obscurity to you nominators!

We also had the same products nominated in both Best & Worst Marketing Categories (can you say "Macallan 55 yo Lalique?); and also received some nominations in the "NEW" categories that, while they may have been new to you, have been on the streets for some time - disqualifying them from the 2007 awards.

In the end the nominees come down to what received the most nominations - and what really deserved to have a shot at the most coveted award in the whisky world - The Drammies.

Why coveted? Because instead of an off-hand comment by Jim Murray that becomes turned into "The Best in the World" and splashed in ads, press releases, and stories by "journalists" who are too lazy to really write a story - these awards are nominated and voted on by people who actually drink and enjoy the subject matter.

Without further ado: