Whiskeria Autumn 2014

Autumn 2014 £3.49 where sold

Music Special––––

MIXING IT UP––––CAPERCAILLIE’S

DONALD SHAW GIVES US THE INSIDE TRACK ON CELTIC CONNECTIONS

+STRATHISLATHE STUNNING SPEYSIDE DISTILLERY EXPLORED

––––AUTUMN ARRIVALS20 NEW WHISKIES INCLUDING: HAIG CLUB, GLENFARCLAS 60 AND MUCH MORE

––––CÔTE D’AZURHEADING SOUTH FOR A TOUCH OF GLAMOUR

––––DEWAR’SCHARLES MACLEAN GIVESUS HIS EXPERT INSIGHT

The benriach Single MalT ScoTch WhiSky

Established in 1898 and located in the ‘Heart of Speyside’, the

BenRiach Distillery became independent in 2004.

With access to an impressive inventory of maturing whiskies dating

back as far as 1966, our range of expressions is varied both in

terms of age and style, including ‘classic Speyside’, special ‘finishes’,

heavily peated BenRiach and single cask vintage bottlings. www.benriachdistillery.co.ukUNLOCK THE SECRETS

The benriach Single MalT ScoTch WhiSky

Established in 1898 and located in the ‘Heart of Speyside’, the

BenRiach Distillery became independent in 2004.

With access to an impressive inventory of maturing whiskies dating

back as far as 1966, our range of expressions is varied both in

terms of age and style, including ‘classic Speyside’, special ‘finishes’,

heavily peated BenRiach and single cask vintage bottlings. www.benriachdistillery.co.ukUNLOCK THE SECRETS

www.glendronachdistillery.co.uk

The Sherry Caskconnoisseurs

WE ONLY PUT OUR NAME ON THE WORLD’S FINEST SHERRY CASKS.

Nearly 70% of the flavour in whisky is

derived from the cask it has been matured

in. Wood’s important, which is why we

adopt a ‘ no compromise ’ approach when

choosing our world renowned Sherry

casks to enrich our whisky.

The GlenDronach - Highland Single Malt Scotch WhiskyPioneers of sherry cask maturation since 1826www.glendronachdistillery.co.uk

5C H A I R M A N ’ S W E L C O M E

Chairman’s WelcomeIan P. Bankier

I hope that you will enjoy this Autumn edition of Whiskeria, in which we have introduced a music theme. There is a happy and natural relationship between enjoying a favourite dram in a favourite setting while listening to a favourite piece of music. Our editorial team have discussed this often and on this occasion we have decided to do something about it. We have also included ‘playlists’ and intend to run these in future issues of Whiskeria. Our new releases section covers an array of interesting items that will be available in Store this autumn. Included in that section is an innovative new brand called Haig Club, of which more will be written as it rolls out across the UK over the next few months. This entirely new-look brand will, undoubtedly, be successful, but what sets it apart from its single malt cousins is that it is a blend – albeit a hybrid grain blend. We say quite a lot about blends in this issue, as we also cover the Chivas range in the Shop Section and in our history piece we look back at the ‘glory days’ of blends in the UK. This got me thinking, could blends possibly make a big come back in Britain? As a post war baby boomer I clearly remember the prominence Scotch blends enjoyed. On the silver salver on the sideboard stood the crystal tumblers, the favoured bottle of Scotch blend and the ubiquitous soda syphon. That was the drink of choice and visitors rarely got offered anything else. I can even recall attending a formal dinner in Glasgow where on each table there was planted a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label – no wine! The simplest explanation for the UK’s decline in blended Scotch drinking has been a change in consumer drinking habits, coupled with much wider choice, especially in the wine category. That said, Scotch has suffered uniquely at the hands of other powerful adversaries. The first I would cite is the catastrophic devaluation of this fine product

through remorseless discounting by supermarkets over a sustained period of three decades. The second, caused directly by the first, would be the consumer misconception that blends are inferior to single malts. This misconception is so widespread and so deeply held that it will take something pretty special to lurch the public psyche out of its prejudice. In Haig Club, I do believe we have that very thing, which is why I predict that it will be very successful, not only in the glamour markets of the world, but here in ‘fuddy-duddy- old fashioned-market declining’ Britain. Some years back I coined the phrase “the UK is the prism through which the whole world views Scotch whisky” and I implored drinks companies to cherish our home market, even though it is not as exciting as others in foreign fields. My contribution has been to build The Whisky Shop chain so as to establish a national platform upon which our greatest national product can be shown off in the best possible light. Happily, malts are in rude health. I now sense that the stars are aligned for Scotch blends to make a significant comeback. I could hedge my bet and qualify this by suggesting that I might be early with this prediction, but I won’t – I think the time is now and that Haig Club is the brand that can do it. I once listened to an investment analyst proudly announce that with a particular prediction he was right but he was early. I tried to imagine myself getting off a moving train at the right station, but 700 yards early. That did not summon up a pretty picture!

Ian P BankierExecutive Chairman,

The Whisky Shop

“Could blends possibly makea big comeback in Britain?”–

6 C O N T R I B U T O R S

For the facts

Here, the abundance of nature and the centuries-old passion for making single malt whisky conspire to create the generous and multi-layered whisky of Aberlour.

Enjoy Aberlour responsibly

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7W H I S K Y S H O P . C O M

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–– Prices effective September 2014. All prices in this edition of Whiskeria are subject to change if Alcohol Duty rates increase.

Claire BellClaire Bell has written on travel for Time magazine, The Herald, The Times, The Guardian and Wanderlust. She lives in Glasgow where she runs The Old Barn-Bookery, a book charity that helps build libraries in disadvantaged schools in her native South Africa. On her recent trip to Islay she fell in love with Laphroaig 18 Year Old, describing it as light and delicious compared to ‘the insanely smoky’10 Year Old.

Gavin D. SmithGavin is one of the world’s most prolific and respected whisky writers, is regularly published in a range of top magazines and has written more than a dozen books on whisky, while co-authoring many more. He is currently preparing a new version of The Malt Whisky Companion.

Victor BrierleyThe face of The Whisky Mavericks, whisky tastings, writer, ex-advertising guy, lover of everything Scottish. Spent time visiting every Scotch whisky distillery but as a new one seems to open (or reopen) every few months, there are now others to catch up on.

Charles MacLeanCharles has published ten Scotch whisky books to date, including the standard work on whisky brands, Scotch Whisky and the leading book on its subject, Malt Whisky, both of which were short-listed for Glenfiddich Awards. He was script advisor for Ken Loach’s 2012 film The Angels Share and subsequently played the part of a whisky expert in the film. He says it’s his biggest career highlight to date.

Autumn 2014Contributors

1 0 C O N T E N T S

Autumn 2014Contents

Listen to Whiskeria Playlists on Spotify – Simply scan the QR code or type in the URL when you see them throughout the magazine, and enjoy specially curated track listings on online music platform Spotify from those featured.

12 A T I M E I N H I S T O R Y 1970s Blends16 T H E K N O W L E D G E Whisky World Round Up18 M Y C R A F T Guitar Maker Jimmy Moon 22 N E W A R R I V A L S Autumn Reviews

Cover Story:48 M Y W H I S K E R I A Capercaillie's Donald Shaw 54 T R A V E L Côte D'Azur

61 THE WHISKY SHOP62 The Whisky Shop News Round-up 64 The Art of the Finish 66 The Chivas Range68 The Aberlour Range70 Happy Birthday Jack Daniel's74 Off-Piste dramming76 Collecting Whisky78 Customer Favourites 82 The Directory

84 DISTILLERY VISIT Strathisla88 EXPERT TASTING Dewar's & Aberfeldy94 ON THE OTHER HAND Whisky-a-go-go

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1 2 A T I M E I N H I S T O R Y

Gavin D Smith Visiting a bar in Scotland during the late 1960s or early ’70s was a rather different experience to that of today. For a start, the clientele would be largely masculine, the air would be heavy with cigarette smoke, and if you asked for food you would probably be offered crisps (ready salted or salt and vinegar) or a pickled egg…

The gantry would look quite different, too, with not a flavoured vodka to be seen, and in terms of whisky you might spot a bottle of Glenfiddich, but you would have to be in a pretty classy establishment to see any other single malts, and then the choice would be severely limited. Whisky was all about blends, often drunk as a hauf an’ hauf (half and half) – a half pint of beer with a whisky chaser. Cynics might suggest this was because blends at the time were harsher and more assertive than those most popular today, and there would always be the obligatory open bottle of lemonade on the bar counter for customers to add to their drams. Each blend would have its own devoted following, and if you were a ‘regular,’ the barman would immediately reach for, say, the Red Hackle or John Begg optic when you entered. So which blends can we still see on a Scottish bar gantry today that were also there 40 years and more ago? The labels may have changed, but the likes of Ballantine’s, Bell’s, Black Bottle, Chivas Regal, Cutty Sark, The Famous Grouse, Grant’s and Whyte & Mackay have stayed the course, but other once well-known brands are rarely seen, or never seen at all.

The highest profile names to be missing from the bar are all former Distillers Company Ltd (DCL) blends, headed by Johnnie Walker Red Label, Haig, Dewar’s, Vat 69, White Horse and Black & White – all now in the ownership of successor company Diageo, bar Dewar’s, which belongs to Bermuda-based Bacardi Limited. So why have such heavily-advertised household brands disappeared in the UK? To find the answer we have to delve back into the history of DCL, and to 1977/78, when an EEC ruling decreed that DCL’s ‘sole-distributor’ system, which meant that lower wholesale prices were charged in the UK compared to other EEC countries, was illegal. DCL’s response was to remove a number of brands entirely from the UK, most notably Haig and Johnnie Walker Red Label. Both boasted a great heritage, with the Haig dynasty being at the heart of Scotch whisky distillation through much of the 18th and 19th centuries. With documented evidence that one Robert Haig was making whisky as early as 1655, it has been claimed that Haig is the oldest whisky distilling company in the world. The firm became part of DCL in 1919. The distinctive brown Haig Gold Label blend bottle with its white and gold label became a permanent fixture in just about every bar across Scotland and far beyond. By the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Haig Gold Label was DCL’s best-seller globally, and remained Scotland’s leading blend until the 1970s. Who can forget Thomas Henry Egan’s advertising strapline ‘Don’t be vague ask for Haig,’ though Egan was only paid £25 and a case of the product for his efforts! Although not able to boast such ancient antecedents as Haig, the company of John Walker & Sons Ltd claims a founding date of 1820 – as in the famous ‘striding man’ themed adverts, accompanied by the slogan ‘Born 1820 – still going strong.’ The firm was founded by 14-year-old John Walker in Kilmarnock, and Johnnie Walker Red Label was originally known as Extra Special Old Highland Whisky, being re-branded as Red Label in 1909. John Walker & Sons joined Buchanan-Dewar Ltd (the two distilling ventures having merged in 1915) as part of DCL in 1925. Although the Red Label variant of Johnnie Walker disappeared from UK outlets in the 1970s, consumers have continued to be familiar with Johnnie Walker through an increasing range of other expressions, headed by Black Label. Traditionalists were delighted, however, when Diageo announced last year that Red Label – the world’s best-selling whisky - was to return to the UK, being re-launched with a

A time in history:

1970s blends


£7.2 million promotional budget. One old name could now be restored to the shelves of the nation’s bars. While Haig and Red Label disappeared from the UK in the late 1970s, fellow DCL brands like Black & White, Dewar’s, Vat 69 and White Horse continued to be available to domestic consumers, but the retail costs rose significantly. In the case of Dewar’s the average price of a bottle went up from £4.30 to £4.73, and sales dwindled, though in overseas markets these brands thrived. For example, Dewar’s – created by John Dewar & Sons’ legendary first blender AJ Cameron in 1899 - is the best-selling blended Scotch in the USA, Haig has established a major following in Greece, and the Buchanan Blend – the original name of Black & White – performs strongly in several South American countries. The Black & White bottle famously features a West Highland terrier (white) and a Scottie (black) and the story goes that founder James Buchanan came up with the idea for the label while travelling home from a dog show! The Black & White blend was established in 1884 by Buchanan, a Canadian-born, Northern Ireland-educated individual of Scottish parentage, who formulated the blend specifically to suit discerning English palates.

While Black & White used its dog motif in advertising, White Horse went for the obvious, and the slogan ‘You can take a White Horse anywhere’ appeared in many advertisements. The blend took its name from The White Horse Cellar Inn, located on Edinburgh’s Canongate, and was established by Peter Mackie, a year after he inherited Lagavulin distillery on Islay in 1889. The new blend was launched initially in export markets, and did not appear in the domestic arena until 1901. Its distinctive character has traditionally been ascribed to the Lagavulin malt whisky in its makeup. Meanwhile Vat 69 had been launched in 1882, by Leith-born William Sanderson. Aided by his son William Mark, William Sanderson Snr assembled nearly 100 different permutations of blends, each of which was filled into a small vat. The Sandersons then invited a number of friends and associates to choose their favourite blend. The result was a unanimous vote of confidence for vat number 69, which delighted William Sanderson, as that was his personal favourite. Contrary to the old pub joke, Vat 69 is not the Pope’s telephone number…

K N O W L E D G E B A R :D R I N K I N G B L E N D S

» Compared to their single malt cousins, Scotch Blends are light to drink. That is because they contain a high proportion of Grain whisky.

» Grain whiskies are distilled from cereals, not malted barley. They are purer than malts and hence lighter.

» Nonetheless, blends are very flavoursome as they contain a blend of many styles of both grain and malt whisky.

» Around the world Blended Scotch is most commonly served on the rocks. Depending on individual taste, a little water can then be added.

» Scotch blends are also enjoyed as a long drink. The traditional serving is with soda or sparkling mineral water. They also mix particularly well with ginger or lemonade or cola.

» Whilst a Scotch malt is often reserved for after dinner sipping a blend can be drunk on any occasion. The inclusion of a mixer with a blend aids responsible drinking, as it helps keep you hydrated.

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1 6 T H E K N O W L E D G E

Glasgow ‘Commonwealth Cocktail’ is a record breaker

Glasgow staged the 20th Commonwealth Games this summer, but

not all records were broken on the track. Glasgow-based mixologist,

Mal Spence, broke a cocktail making record with 71 ingredients going

into his 'Commonwealth Cocktail'. The list of ingredients included

exotic Tanzanian cloves, Belizean dragon fruit, Malaysian galangal,

English red apple and Scottish wild strawberries.

The Scotch whisky-based cocktail was stirred in partnership by

Spence and the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau to commemorate

the Commonwealth games which saw 4,500 of the Commonwealth’s

finest athletes competing in 17 sports over 11 days. With most cocktails

featuring just three or four ingredients, creating the Commonwealth

Cocktail and finding a way to balance such a vast number of flavours

was a challenge mixologist Spence said he could not resist.

W O R L D N E W S :

RUSSIA COULD CRISIS SPELL SANCTIONS?

The Scotch whisky industry has expressed fears that sales in Russia will

be affected by tit for tat sanctions between the European Union (EU)

and the Kremlin, while highlighting the effects of the continuing crisis

in Ukraine. So far Scotch has not been included on the list of banned

imports, but the possibility of sanctions being extended to alcoholic

beverages remains open.

K N O W L E D G E B A R :C O M M O N W E A L T H

Commonwealth Countries account for

19%of the total exportof Scotch Whisky–Almost a fifth (19%) of exports of Scotland’s national drink goes to Commonwealth countries. Last year exports to the Commonwealth were up 1% on 2012 to £793 million, out of a global total of £4.3 billion.


1.Singapore£330M

2.South Africa£163M

3.Australia£84M

4.India£69M

5.Canada£66M

Top 5 Export Markets for Scotch Whisky in the Commonwealth –Singapore is the largest market in the Common-wealth for Scotch Whisky with exports of £330m last year. However, a lot of that Scotch will go to other parts of Asia as Singapore is a distribution hub for the region.

The second biggest over-seas destination for Scotch in the Commonwealth is South Africa with exports of £163m last year. This has been a growing mar-ket for several years. New markets are also emerging across Africa, for example, Nigeria, where last year, exports were up 43% to almost £14m, making it the seventh biggest market in the Commonwealth.

BURMA TRADEMARKS GUARD AGAINST FAKES

A collective trademark to protect Scotch Whisky against fakes in Burma

has been introduced. The changes will allow action to be taken more

effectively against products wrongly being sold or passed off as Scotch

whisky, giving greater protection to both consumers and the industry.

Alan Park, legal advisor of the Scotch Whisky Association, said:

“Products suspected of misleading consumers and damaging the

legitimate trade are already under investigation and may become the

subject of legal action using the protection now given to Scotch whisky

in Burma.” Annual exports of Scotch to Burma total around £2m in

value. This is an increase of 65% on the previous year.

IRELAND FIRST NEW DUBLIN DISTILLERY IN OVER 125 YEARS

The Teeling Whiskey Company has announced that work has

commenced on a new whiskey distillery located in Dublin’s

Newmarket in The Liberties, Dublin 8. This will be the first new

distillery in Dublin in over 125 years and will be a modern revival

of the family distillery that thrived in the area in the 18th century.

The Teeling Whiskey distilling equipment is scheduled to arrive in

October and commissioning of the distillery will commence before the

end of this year. There will be more than 100 people employed during

the construction of the distillery with 30 permanent jobs created

following its completion.

Total exports to the Commonwealth£793M

M Y C R A F T1 8

My Craft: Guitar Maker

Jimmy Moon


Behind a bog standard sandstone tenement in the south side of Glasgow sits an unlikely range of buildings that would have been a stable block in times gone by.

It’s difficult to work out what came first, the stable or the tenement. At the back of the complex is a little dusty shop and workshop and that is where one of the world’s most renowned guitar makers has been plying his craft for more than two decades. Jimmy Moon, a soft spoken and innately modest Glaswegian is known across the world for his special guitar making and fixing skills. Customers range from Scotland’s own rock royalty like Texas, Simple Minds and Del Amitri, to more recent international artists like Adele, Coldplay and Steve Earle. It’s safe to assume that his skills are in much demand! Where did it all begin for you? My father drummed into me the need to get a job and a skilled one if possible. So I started working life as an apprentice tool maker. Like all boys of my time I played at the guitar but I was not a major talent. We all taught ourselves guitar. Because I was good with my hands, I kind of slipped into mending guitars What got you into the music industry? In ’74 I ran dances – while living on Arran where I met and married my wife Joan, great days – with my partner Jak (Milroy), disco and dances with bands, often with 500 people in the hall at Brodick. My younger brother, who loved my record collection, pursued a music career. He was in constant contact with other musicians all based at the legendary melting pot that was Park Lane Studios in Glasgow. He became my main hustler – getting me repair jobs and relationships with his contacts for repairs and commissions. How did you make your first guitar? At first I didn’t know any better. I worked from first principles, but my engineering skills took me a long way towards viable products – my first guitar was copied from a photo of a Martin Guitar and was made from a mahogany window sill. Sadly I gave it to a mate to sell for me, but never saw the guitar or the money ever again! Key life lesson learned. Nothing leaves the shop without payment. So nobody taught you your craft? No one. I’m self-taught and by working from first principles I just worked it all out, from the complexity of layouts to jig making and manufacturing processes. Blind ambition I’d say! What is important about a bespoke guitar, is it the sound or the look? The most important part of the guitar is the neck – because that’s the bit in your hand. If it is too thin you will have

difficulty holding down chords. If it is too big, it will take too much physical effort to play. Then there is the sound and tone of the instrument. Different woods and different shapes will give different results. Most of my customers have an idea of what they are looking for and I discuss this with them at the outset. I can do almost anything for them. Looks are also important. A great many of my customers appear on stage and they want the instrument to stand out and also relate to their stage identity. So we take a lot of care and time with the finish. A guitar is a very personal thing. The worst thing you can do for someone is buy the instrument as a surprise present. What else do you make? We make a range of mandolins and mandolin family instruments. We also famously built a ‘Telecaster’ shaped electro acoustic mandolin for Steve Earle.

How long does it take? It takes two or three months to produce a custom guitar. I have some ready-made stock, really for demonstration, but also for sale if someone wants something in a hurry. What’s the end product like? Well I’ll let others tell you, but my client list speaks for itself. The end result is very personal. You have to experience a guitar as a player to appreciate what has been created.

Do you work alone? No. First, there is my wife, Joan, in the office. She does all the paperwork that I wouldn‘t have a chance of keeping up with. And then there is my assistant, Stephen, who has been with me for 28 years. He does all the finishing work and also works on assembly. The ‘new boy’ Inness has been with me for 15 years (!) and is currently working part time while he focuses on his jewellery making business.

“We made a guitar from the inaugural cask of ‘Caledonia’ whisky cask inspired by Dougie Maclean’s song”

2 0 M Y C R A F T

Guitars are made all over the world, but where are the best guitars made? America, without doubt. They have the biggest market and they have been doing it for the longest. What’s the most iconic guitar make? Apart from a Jimmy Moon’s Guitar? I would say a Martin. That’s the American company that invented the six string steel strung guitar but famously didn’t copyright their work. What’s the most unusual guitar you have made? We made a guitar from the inaugural cask of ‘Caledonia’ whisky cask (from Edradour) inspired by Dougie Maclean’s song (see playlist) that was very unusual in a good way – we auctioned it off at a Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy event. It was an Oloroso 1997 cask of Spanish Oak using the staves for the back, sides and neck. Various novelty finishes on guitars have been requested. For Ian Harvie (Del Amiti) I made a tartan solid body guitar and a ‘Flying V’ banjo for Babydaddy of the Scissors Sisters! Looking back what advice would you give a young man starting out? Get a trade. I didn’t do too bad listening to the advice my farther gave me. But I had to really take chances and believe in myself. So I suppose the second piece of advice would be take chances and believe in yourself! What’s your favourite whisky. Balvenie Double Wood variants are very nice.

K N O W L E D G E B A R :J I M M Y M O O N ’ ST O P 5 G U I T A R S

1 Gibson L-5 Lloyd Loar designed 1922 – still in production.

2 Martin D-28 First developed in 1931.

3 Gibson J200 Super jumbo acoustic created in 1938.

4 Fender Telecaster Developed by Leo Fender in 1950, it put solid body guitars on the map.

5 Gibson Les Paul Designed in 1952 by Ted McCarty and endorsed by famous player of the day, Les Paul.

Listen to Jimmy Moon’sWhiskeria Playlist on Spotify » goo.gl/rm8lB6– Copperhead Road | Steve EarleThe Lion’s Roar | First Aid KitLeaving Lerwick Harbour | Willie Hunter,Violet TullochYou Can’t Always Get What You Want | Rolling Stones Police & Thieves | Junior MurvinCaledonia | Dougie Maclean


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2 2 N E W R E L E A S E S

New releases – Autumn 2014 »Charles MacLean

runs the rule over the latest products to hit The Whisky Shop shelves.


Haig Club is made at Cameronbridge Distillery in Fife – the largest distillery in Scotland, capable of producing a staggering 95 million litres of grain whisky a year and a further 42 million litres of neutral alcohol for rectification into gin. For many years it was the only single grain available – named Cameron Brig. Now it has been joined by examples from William Grant & Sons Girvan Distillery [see last issue of Whiskeria] and by Haig Club. The ‘Haig’ reference is to the distillery’s founder, John Haig. Tradition has it he was riding home past the Cameron Mills on the River Leven, near Windygates, with an ‘old servant’ to whom he turned and said: “D’ye ken Sandy, there’s money to be made here, aye, from whisky”. This was in 1822; John Haig was only twenty years old, but came from a distinguished distilling family which could trace its involvement with whisky back to 1627 [the brilliant blue Haig Club bottle proudly states this as the date of the firm’s foundation!]. His father, William, held the licence for Kincaple Distillery near St. Andrews and built Seggie Distillery at Guardbridge in 1810, where young John had served an apprenticeship. He leased the land from its owner, Captain Wemyss – the lease being taken in his father’s name since he was a minor - and Cameron Bridge Distillery was first licensed in October 1824. After 1828 John Haig installed one of the earliest continuous stills, invented by his first cousin, Robert Stein. Two years later he switched to the more efficient patent still, invented by Aeneas Coffey, a former Inspector General of Excise in Dublin. By the 1850s John was a leading spokesman for the Scotch whisky industry and an adviser to the Prime Minister, William Gladstone, influencing the latter’s important Spirit Act of 1860. He was also the moving force behind the foundation, in 1877, of the Distillers Company Limited, a combination of the six leading grain whisky distilleries, commanding around 75% of the market. From the 1890s to the outbreak of the First World War, Glenleven was the company’s best selling brand; after 1924, when Field Marshall Earl Haig (John’s youngest son) became chairman Haig Gold Label and Dimple enjoyed phenomenal success in both the home and export markets, with sales rising steadily by nearly 10% between 1924 and 1939. In 1960 Gold Label was the first brand of Scotch to sell over a million cases in the home market; this rose to 1.5 million, with the nearest competitor 400,000 cases behind. Haig Club is a whole new approach to Scotch whisky. First, it is a single grain. Second, it is presented in a square blue flask, with the name embossed in the glass and a copper stopper, which looks more like a bottle of aftershave than a whisky. Third, Diageo have partnered with David Beckham (yes, the David Beckham) and Simon Fuller, creator of American Idol, manager of Beckham, Lewis Hamilton, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Andy Murray, etc., and a legendary entrepreneur and philanthropist, to promote it. Fourth, the whisky itself is different… (see my tasting note).

HaigClub–S I N G L E G R A I N S C O T C H W H I S K Y 4 0 % V O L | £ 4 5

Tasting Note Full, bright gold. A light aroma; fresh, clean, simple, delicately sweet (Frosties breakfast cereal, butterscotch), with fresh fruit undertones. A pleasant smooth mouthfeel; a fresh, sweet and sherbet-like taste. Water raises artists’ turpentine and fresh oak, then tropical fruits; the taste remains light, fresh, sweet and crisp. A whisky for those who don’t think they like whisky!

»


Caol Ila 17 Years Old–S I N G L E I S L A Y M A L T F R O M O L D M A L T C A S K5 0 % V O L | £ 1 2 0

Caol Ila is the largest distillery on Islay. Such is its popularity with blenders that its owner, Diageo, spent £3.5 million in 2011/12 on the site, adding a fourth pair of stills and increasing capacity from 3.6 to 6.5 million litres. The next largest distillery, Laphroaig, is half the size. It was founded in 1846, close to the ferry point at Port Askaig, overlooking the ferociously tidal Sound of Islay, after which it is named. Seventeen years later it was bought by the, at the time, well known firm of Glasgow blenders, Bulloch Lade & Company, who built a pier capable of withstanding the twelve foot tidal fall and strong currents in the Sound, to allow for the delivery of coal, casks and barley, and the shipment of whisky by sea. The vessels used for this were Clyde puffers, the small cargo vessels which were such a familiar sight up and down the West Coast until the early 1970s, immortalised by Neil Munro in his ‘Para Handy’ stories, published in the Glasgow Evening News from 1905 and in book form from 1931 (and still in print). They had flat bottoms, so they could land cargo on beaches. In 1927, Bulloch Lade joined the Distillers Company Limited (now Diageo), and Caol Ila – along with Lagavulin, Port Ellen, Oban and Talisker – was serviced by the Pibroch, a puffer built at Bowling on the Clyde in 1957 for Scottish Malt Distillers,

the DCL’s production division. The original distillery was demolished in 1972, apart from its substantial three-storey warehouse (which still stands, although all the spirit made at Caol Ila is now shipped by road tanker to be filled into cask on the mainland). It was replaced by a larger and more efficient building in what became known as the ‘Waterloo Street’ style, named after SMD’s headquarters in Glasgow. A feature of this design, which was applied to a further ten SMD sites between 1962 and 1974, was that the outside wall of the still-room should be of glass, with large windows which could open, making for a light and airy working space – and in the case of Caol Ila providing a stunning view across the Sound to Jura. Caol Ila’s popularity as a blending whisky limited its availability as a single malt, indeed the first bottling done by its owner was not released until 1989, at 15 years old. Bottlings at 12 and 18 years old became familiar after 2002. Each year a certain amount of unpeated whisky is made, known as Caol Ila Highland Style, and small batches of this are released annually.

Tasting Note Full gold in colour, and an immediate aroma which combines Wright’s Coal Tar Soap with an extinguished barbeque. Beach smells once it settles – brine and seaweed; oily sea-bird feathers. A very sweet taste, with salt and scented soap, and smoke in the finish. Water reduces all of this and introduces putty. Classic Caol Ila. Best drunk straight.


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Great King Street (Glasgow Blend)

–B L E N D E D S C O T C H W H I S K Y5 0 C L | 4 3 % V O L | £ 3 7

In spite of the reference to Glasgow in this new expression (which follows GKS ‘New York Blend’ and GKS ‘Artists Blend’), Great King Street, illustrated on the label of this whisky, is a noble boulevard within the New Town of Edinburgh. The ‘New’ Town was begun in 1767, a planned development to the north of the medieval ‘Old’ city of Edinburgh, following the architectural principles of that f lowering of art and science known as the Enlightenment, which for a brief period made Edinburgh the intellectual capital of Europe. Its first phase embraced only George Street, terminating at either end by elegant squares and having two ‘terraces’: Princes Street to the south and Queen Street to the north. Thirty years later the city authorities decided to extend this, similar in plan to the first phase and laid out by Robert Reid, Architect to the Crown in Scotland, with elegant streets running parallel and at right angles to the original, interspersed with parks and gardens – Robert Louis Stevenson, a fan of the Old Town, described them scornfully as “draughty parallelograms”. Heriot Row and Abercromby Place were built first, separated from Queen Street by extensive private gardens, then Northumberland and Cumberland Streets, then the “broad and stately thoroughfare” of Great King Street, divided into two equal parts by Dundas Street, with gardens at each end,

completed around 1820. The ‘Great King’ was George III and it was originally proposed that a statue of him be erected at the west end of the street, where Royal Circus now stands. It seems curious to me that the sycophantic Edinburgh establishment did not name it after George IV, who would visit the city three years later – the first monarch to come to Scotland since Charles II. The makers of this whisky are Compass Box, founded in London in 2000 by John Glaser, former Marketing Director (premium Malts) with Diageo. The company is London-based, but has an office in Edinburgh – on Great King Street – and its ethos used to be summarised on its website as: “Creators of hand-crafted, small batch Scotch whiskies in distinctive and original styles”. They might have added “…presented in unusually creative packaging and with very odd names!” John summed up its positioning to me as: “First, the company’s essence is to explore new flavours and create new whiskies, so we are more flexible than traditional independent bottlers of single malts. Second, we don’t purvey single malts by name, and I think this will make it easier for us to obtain quality whisky as producers become more concerned about guarding their trademarks”.

Tasting Note Very pale gold (no spirit caramel added). A spicy and lightly medicinal nose – might easily be taken for an Islay malt – with Coal Tar soap and iodine, and also hard fresh pears. Smooth mouthfeel; very sweet to taste, then salty, with a long maritime aftertaste. Simple but distinctive. No need to add water.


The Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter–S I N G L E S P E Y S I D E M A L T W H I S K Y | 4 8 . 7 % V O L | £ 5 7

In July 2010, Chivas Bros., owners of The Glenlivet Distillery (among others) launched the ‘Age Matters’ campaign, “to help consumers understand the importance of Scotch whisky age statements”. This bucked the trend being pursued by the rest of the whisky industry, which was to remove age statements wherever possible and encourage consumers to concentrate on flavour and use their own best judgement of what they liked. The basic reason for wanting to move away from age statements was the shrinking supply of long-aged stock: maybe The Glenlivet had secret sustainable resources of old whisky… Certainly, the company’s stand on the issue was popular with retailers, who understandably find it difficult to persuade customers to part with substantial amounts of cash for a bottle when they can’t justify it by age. Marketing people call this giving the customer ‘permission to buy’. Over the past few years, however, The Glenlivet has slipped gradually into the mainstream. In May last year, Alpha was launched as a ‘mystery expression’ without an age statement, with whisky enthusiasts being invited to try a range of sensory challenges to help them “master their senses to unlock the secrets of The Glenlivet Alpha”. The sensory challenges were hosted on The Glenlivet Facebook page and website, and on Twitter, with films on YouTube exploring the senses. In September last year, the company extended this idea to ask its global fan-club, The Guardians of The Glenlivet, to select the next limited edition release, which would be named The

Guardians’ Chapter, on the basis that they were “writing a new chapter in the history of The Glenlivet”. It worked like this: Alan Winchester, The Glenlivet’s distinguished Master Distiller, created three expressions of the famous single malt with different f lavour characteristics –Classic (fruity with soft sweet caramel and toffee notes), Exotic (rich with warm spicy notes) and Revival (fruity with a creamy sweetness). The three whiskies were then toured worldwide and showcased at tasting events in thirty-nine countries, reaching over a million Facebook users. Guardians in each country came together to sample, savour and select the expression they liked best and then vote for it on-line on a dedicated “on-line hub of cultural content inspired by the three flavours”. Finally, in December 2013, following the final tasting event, the Guardians’ votes were counted and the The Guardians’ Chapter announced. A limited run of 2000 nine litre cases were released globally in February 2014. Nikki Burgess, Brand Director for The Glenlivet, commented: “Choosing a Scotch whisky is normally a privilege reserved for a very select handful of experts revered for their knowledge, passion and experience. With The Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter, we wanted to recognise and reward the knowledge, passion and experience of our Guardians and invite them to write the next chapter in The Glenlivet’s history. We’re excited to see which whisky our Guardians choose and hope it brings members – new and old – closer together.”

Tasting Note Deep amber in colour, with light beading indicating good texture. A caramel top note, with breakfast cereal behind (Sugar Puffs?), becoming moist fruit loaf , and a hint of allspice. Big smooth texture; big sweet taste, drying very slightly. Water brings much of the same, with dried banana and pineapple and a hint of char. The taste is now perfectly balanced.


Talisker 5 Years Old–S I N G L E I S L A N D M A L T F R O M D O U G L A S O F D R U M L A N R I G4 6 % V O L | £ 5 2

In 1887 Robert Louis Stevenson famously wrote: “The King o’drinks as I perceive it –Talisker, Islay and Glenleevet” Since ‘Islay and Glenlivet’ were both regions, this leaves Talisker standing proudly alone! What makes a ‘King o’ Drinks’, a great malt whisky? It all comes down to f lavour – a combination of aroma, taste and texture – and while all malt whiskies are unique, in that they all have different f lavours, it might rightly be claimed that Talisker is the most unique of all. Its combination of sweetness and smokiness, fruitiness and peppery spice is inimitable, and perfectly reflects the elemental beauty of the Isle of Skye, where it is made. Another writer and broadcaster, Derek Cooper, described it simply as “the lava of The Cuillin”, but this fails to catch its distinctly maritime character, although it well expresses its strength: Talisker is always bottled at a slightly higher ABV, typically 45.8%Vol. As well as being bottled at higher strength it was commonly bottled slightly younger than other malts, usually at eight years, but occasionally (as with this excellent expression) at five years, to give full reign to its elemental personality. Part of its magic is that science still does not know for certain where some of these flavours come from. So even if you wanted to, you couldn’t re-create the flavour of Talisker elsewhere in Scotland – let alone abroad!

The distillery had a rocky start. It was founded in 1830 by two brothers who had come from the Isle of Eigg and taken the lease of the Talisker Estate. They were obliged to sell out to their bank in 1848, and two subsequent licensees also went bankrupt, before it was acquired by Roderick Kemp and Alexander Grigor Allan in 1879. Kemp was a wine & spirits merchant in Aberdeen and would go on to buy Macallan Distillery in 1890, and Grigor Allan was a solicitor and partner in Glenlossie Distillery. In 1898 Talisker merged with Dailuaine Distillery at Carron, Speyside, on the suggestion of the latter’s owner, Thomas Mackenzie, who was also a substantial shareholder in the former. When he died without heirs in 1915, his executors sold his substantial shareholding in Daluaine-Talisker to a consortium comprising James Buchanan & Co, John Dewar & Sons, the Distillers Company and John Walker & Sons. All these companies joined the DCL in the ‘Big Amalgamation’ of 1925. Talisker is an important component to the Johnnie Walker blends – it lends the key-note spiciness in Red Label, the best-selling blended Scotch.

Tasting Note Pale gold with green lights. A powerfully peppery nose, backed by mulchy seaweed, brine and smouldering varnished wood. Not as aggressive to taste as the nose suggests: sweet, salty and spicy across the tongue, with light smoke in the finish. A drop of water reduces the spice and fractionally increases the smoky note; in the mouth it is clean and fresh, lightly mentholated, sweet, salty and spicy.


Glentauchers 8 Years Old–S I N G L E S P E Y S I D E M A L T F R O M D O U G L A S O F D R U M L A N R I G4 6 % V O L | £ 5 3

So far as I am aware, Glentauchers was only bottled once by its owner – then Allied Distillers – as a 15YO in 2000. The reason for this is that it is a key component in the best-selling Ballantine blends. The distillery dates from 1897/98 and was built for James Buchanan & Company, in partnership with their spirit supplier, W.P.Lowrie & Co. of Glasgow. James Buchanan started in the whisky trade in 1879, as an agent for Charles Mackinlay & Co., in London. Within five years he was operating on his own account, and had created a blend – made up for him by his friend William Phaup Lowrie – which was lighter in style than most Scotch then current and designed to have a broader appeal to non-Scottish palates. In only a year, he was stocking the Members’ Bar in the House of Commons and most of London’s music halls. The Buchanan Blend was presented in a very dark bottle with a plain white label. Soon it was being asked for as ‘Black & White’, and before long the name was changed to this, with advertising featuring black Scottish and white West Highland terriers. By the time they built Glentauchers, James Buchanan & Co was numbered among ‘The Big Three’ whisky companies, along with John Walker & Sons and John Dewar & Sons. James Buchanan himself made a fortune and was elevated to the peerage by Lloyd George in 1922 as Lord Woolavington.

Like many other distilleries in the 1890s, the distillery’s site was chosen on account of its water supply and proximity to the railway, in this case the line between Inverness and Elgin, at Mulben, three miles west of Keith. Building was supervised by Charles Doig, the doyen of distillery designers, although the architect was John Alcock. Buchanans joined the Distillers Company, along with Walkers and Dewars, in the ‘Big Amalgamation’ of 1925; the distillery was expanded from two to six stills in 1966, but mothballed in 1985 during the general down-turn in the whisky trade, then sold to Allied Distillers in 1989. Ownership passed to Pernod Ricard/Chivas Bros. in 2005, when that company bought most of Allied’s Scotch whisky interests. The mash-house was up-graded in 2007, at which time it was decided that the site should remain a manual operation – unlike most of Chivas Brothers’ distilleries, which are heavily automated – in order to provide a training facility for staff and management. Since 2011, capacity at Glentauchers has been increased from 3.4 to 4.2 million litres per annum. In twenty-five years of professional whisky tasting I have scored only three cask samples as 9.5/10 – close to the perfection which is only discovered in Heaven. One was a Glentauchers…

Tasting Note The profound amber hue suggests a first-fill American oak cask. The aroma is soft and mild, with traces of fudge and marzipan, maraschino cherries and candied fruits, a hint of milk chocolate. A soft mouth-feel; sweet, slightly malty, with coconut in the finish. A little water raises hard-wood shavings and dessicated coconut. The taste is bland; better to enjoy this straight.


Isle of Arran 18 Years Old–S I N G L E I S L A N D M A L T F R O M O L D M A L T C A S K 5 0 % V O L | £ 1 1 5

It used to be said that the whiskies of Arran were second only to those of Glenlivet. This has always mystified me, since, so far as we know, there has only ever been one licensed distillery on the island, founded in 1825 and last heard of in 1837. So the ‘mountain dew’ of Arran must have been illicit. Indeed, there was a long tradition of whisky-making on the island, born of ideal conditions. Barley was grown in the fertile southern and western parts of the island; peat was abundant; there were and are any number of remote glens, with fast-run-ning burns, well-suited to the illicit distillers’ purpose. And, most important of all, the island’s situation within a day’s sail from Glasgow, meant that goods could easily be conveyed to market. I myself tasted illicit Arran whisky, forty years ago. It was pretty horrible, and very fiery – made palatable only by the addi-tion of orange juice. One of my fellow imbibers was mowing a golf course the morning after and kept falling off his tractor! However, since 1995 it has been unnecessary to make your own whisky on the island: in that year the Isle of Arran Dis-tillery came into production. The distillery is situated at Lochranza, in the north-east corner of the island, a pretty village of white cottages on a bay with a sandy spit running out into it, upon which stands the ro-mantic ruin of a 16th century castle. All about the bay rise steep slopes, and behind these, the island’s rugged peaks.

The distillery itself stands a short distance from the village, tucked into a fold of the hills. Neat, compact, white-washed buildings, with steep slate roofs, surmounted by copper pagodas, the whole complex fits naturally into its setting. The principal building houses the entire production plant – mash tun, wash-backs, stills and receivers – in one barn-like room about 70 feet long by 40ft wide. Next door is the visitor centre, and behind them both stand two maturation warehouses. Everything was built from scratch by a privately owned company founded by Harold Currie, formerly Managing Director of Chivas Bros. It produces an excellent dram, with a fresh Speyside sweetness to start, a wild-flower herbal note, and a dry finish. Unlike most other island whiskies there is no trace of smoke. The Visitor Centre next door was opened by H.M. The Queen in 1997 and has quickly become second only to Brodick Castle as the island’s main tourist attraction. It is also one of only three distillery visitor centres to have been awarded ‘5 Stars’. It has all the usual facilities – exhibition, audio-visual (in a reconstructed 18th century inn), shop, dramming bar, etc. – but also a first class but informal restaurant (ranked among the Top 100 Restaurants in Scotland), offering light dishes during the day and a la carte dining in the evening.

Tasting Note Pale gold, from a refill American oak cask. Light nose prickle; a vibrant, youthful nose, with boiled sweets (pear drops and acid drops), dusted with icing sugar, these scents giving way to an overall dried grass note after a while. Sweet and slightly acidic to taste, with a warming finish. Water increases the estery (pear drops) aroma; the taste now softer and less acidic.


Kininvie 23 Years Old (Batch 2)

–S I N G L E S P E Y S I D E M A L T | 3 5 C L | 4 2 . 6 % V O L | £ 9 7

Kininvie Distillery was built from scratch in 1990 by William Grant & Sons, on the same spacious site as Glenfiddich and Balvenie Distilleries in Dufftown. Uniquely in Scotland, its mash tun is located within Balvenie Distillery, next door, the wort being pumped across to fill nine Douglas fir washbacks within Kininvie. It was built to supply malt whisky fillings for Grant’s hugely successful blends, Family Reserve and Clan Macgregor, and after 2005, Monkey Shoulder blended malt. For much of the first twenty years of its existence it operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to meet demand, then in 2009 production was cut back when the company opened Ailsa Bay Distillery on their Girvan site in Ayrshire, and in October 2010 Kininvie was mothballed to take account of required stock adjustments. Production resumed in September 2012. To date, Grants have released only two single malt bottlings, both highly limited: the first was Hazelwood 105 (in 2006; 15 years old, bottled at 52.5%Vol or 105° Proof) to commemorate Janet Sheed Roberts 105th birthday; the second was Hazelwood Reserve released to mark her 107th birthday in 2008. Hazelwood is the name of her home near Dufftown. Janet Sheed Roberts was William Grant’s granddaughter and opened Kininvie Distillery in 1990.

To mark her 110th birthday in 2011 – by which time she was the oldest person in Scotland – Grants released eleven very special bottles of Glenfiddich 1955, The Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve. The first bottle was sold at Bonham’s whisky auction in Edinburgh in December, fetching £46,850 which was donated to international charity WaterAid. Then at an auction in New York in March 2012 a bottle sold for US$94,000 (£59,252), breaking the record for the most expensive bottle of whisky ever sold at auction. Mrs. Roberts studied at both Glasgow and Edinburgh universities, reading law at Edinburgh, where she was the only woman in her class. While she was there she played hockey and during one mixed game found herself marking Eric Liddell, whose Olympic success was captured in the film Chariots Of Fire. She practised law for many years, met her husband Eric at the firm McGrigor Donald and later became a director of William Grant & Sons promoting the business around the world with her husband. Kininvie was first released as a single in 2013 at 23 YO, exclusively in Taiwan. Batch 2 was made available in the U.K. only in July this year. Very discreetly on the back of the carton it says: “Only available upon invitation or request”… Don’t you love it!

Tasting Note Natural leonine amber. A mild nosefeel, with light spice. The top note on the nose is fresh hardwood, somewhat sappy, with apples and pears tucked in behind, and even a discreet floral scent. Mouthfilling and smooth. Very sweet to taste, then drying elegantly in the finish, with almonds and desiccated coconut. Water raises more wood notes; the taste is less sweet, but still has great finesse.


This gorgeous and venerable malt is a miraculous survivor from a bygone age, and was made at a time when the whole Scotch whisky industry was about to change, at the very dawn of the ‘new age’. Let me explain. By the end of the Second World War, stocks of whisky were at an all time low: the output of the previous six years had been equal to that of a single pre-war year. It was essential to increase stock, but the Labour government elected in 1945 ignored Winston Churchill’s famous memo - “On no account reduce the barley for whisky” – and adopted the slogan “Food Before Whisky”. Duty was increased repeatedly and the quantity of cereals made available to distillers was strictly controlled. Only in August 1953 were these controls removed, and during the season 1954/55 production at last reached its pre-war level. Yet demand had never been stronger: Scotch whisky had terrific caché. It epitomized the new post-war/post-fascist world and was widely promoted by Hollywood films. The very fact that it was scarce added to its desirability. Exports of Scotch became a key component of the drive to pay back the war debt, and whisky companies were required by government to sell at least 75% of their product in hard currency markets – particularly the U.S.A. This quota system remained in force until 1954 (the same year that food rationing finally ceased), but was voluntarily kept in place for older whiskies until around 1960, owing to lack of mature fillings. As soon as money and cereals were available whisky companies began to modernize and expand existing sites and to build new distilleries. As Messrs. Duncan, Hume and Martin write in The Scotch Whisky Industry Record: “Most distilleries were operating with antiquated plant, long written off and probably best described as picturesque, there was an ideal opportunity for adopting new techniques, materials and labour-saving devices to increase output, reduce labour costs and maintain or improve the quality and consistency of the product”. Glenfarclas was no exception. The distillery was (and remains) family owned and proudly independent. It was clear to George Grant, who had become managing director of the family company on the death of his father in 1949, that expansion and modernisation was required. Although the distillery was operating flat out, the old still house had not changed since the 1890s. In 1959, a second pair of stills was added. Unusually for the period, George Grant insisted that the new stills continue to be direct fired by naked flame, rather than indirect fired by internal steam-heated coils. Today, Glenfarclas is one of only three distilleries that continues this practice: and three week experiment with indirect firing in 1980 altered the character of the spirit. The same year a new warehouse was built, but – again, unlike most of the industry – continued to fill into the top quality ex-sherry casks, as Glenfarclas had always done.

Tasting Note Old polished oak, with magenta lights. An immensely rich nose, with prunes on top, supported by sweet sherry, with traces of almond oil and hair lacquer, candied peel and fudge, becoming treacle toffee over time. A smooth oily texture and a sweet overall taste, some hessian and oak in the mid-palate, a waft of smoke and a very long warming finish. Drink straight.

Glenfarclas 60 Years Old–S I N G L E S P E Y S I D E M A L T 4 3 . 9 % V O L | £ 1 4 5 0 0


Old Pulteney 35 Years Old–S I N G L E H I G H L A N D M A L T 4 2 . 5 % V O L | £ 5 0 0

Tasting Note Full gold with tawny lights. A venerable perfumed aroma – scented handcream, rose-water, pot-pourri – fading into fresh fruit salad in syrup. Sweet and mouthfilling, with white chocolate, drying in the finish with waxed jackets and canvas, and leaving a spicy aftertaste. Delicious!

The port of Wick is named Pulteneytown. It was built between 1803 and 1820 as a ‘model village’ by the British Fisheries Society, designed by Thomas Telford (‘The Father of Civil Engineering’) who named the village after his patron, the Director General of the B.F.S., Sir William Pulteney. The distillery was built on the wester edge of the village by a local farmer, James Henderson of Stemster, in 1826 to cater for the needs of the rapidly growing population. By the middle of the nineteenth century over a thousand boats were using the harbour, employing 3,800 fishermen and 4,000 associated trades. Wick had become the leading herring port in Europe. A local minister noted sourly that “there is a great consumption of spirits – not less than 500 gallons of whisky a day when the fishing is successful – there being 22 public houses in Wick and 23 in Pulteneytown… seminaries of Satan and Belial”. In 1922 the town voted to go ‘dry’.


Old Pulteney Clipper–S I N G L E H I G H L A N D M A L T 4 6 % V O L | £ 5 0

Tasting Note Full gold in colour, with tawny lights. Toffee apples on the nose initially, with creamy vanilla ice-cream, but the scent of the sea always present in the background. A sweet and distinctly salty taste, with a warm, spicy finish. Water develops the maritime notes, softens the texture, increases the sweetness and introduces a hint of orange zest.

“There has never been a day like it in Wick’s electoral history”, wrote a local historian. Rowdy meetings were held in packed halls. A vigorous ‘No-Licence Union’ had been established to counter the local branch of the Licence Holders Defence Association, and nothing would satisfy them but a complete ban. The Wick Salvation Army Group (led by the appropriately named Captain Dry!), paraded, as did the Boys Brigade – more than a hundred of the latter, bearing umbrellas inscribed: ‘VOTE NO TO LICENCE. AS I HAVE NO VOTE WILL YOU VOTE FOR ME?’! The Licence holders made the fatal mistake of reducing the price of drink on the day, as a result of which many of their supporters stayed in the pubs! The result was a landslide for the antis. Prohibition remained in place until 28th May 1947. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of repeal, a 12YO bottling of Old Pulteney was released by the distillery owners (the first

proprietary bottling). The sixtieth anniversary was marked by a charity ball at the distillery, in aid of the local lifeboat station. This has since become an annual event. So it is with good reason that Old Pulteney can claim to be ‘The Maritime Malt’. The company is much involved with the local lifeboat station, created the annual Old Pulteney Maritime Heroes Awards to reward “outstanding passion, commitment and achievements among Britain’s maritime communities”, sponsored the I.R.C. Scottish (Yacht Racing) Championships and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s second round-the-world voyage. This year the distillery entered its own yacht in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, “one of the most remarkable seafaring adventures of our times”, skippered by Patrick van der Zijden, who managed a complete circumnavigation, competing against crews from all over the world. Old Pulteney Clipper commemorates the event. Old Pulteney 35 Years Old is quite simply an outstanding whisky, a pearl beyond price.



Bowmore Tempest V–1 0 Y E A R S O L D S I N G L E I S L A Y M A L T | 5 5 . 9 % V O L | £ 5 5

These two small batch releases make an interesting contrast: a study in the influence of the casks in which the whisky is matured. Tempest was matured in first-fill American oak [Quercus alba] ex-bourbon casks and Devil’s Cask exclusively in first-fill European oak [Quercus robur] ex-sherry casks from the top Spanish supplier, Miguel Martinez. They are both 10 years old, and both bottled at natural strength (55.9% and 56.3%), without chill-filtration. Look at the contrasting colours: full gold from the American oak, polished mahogany from the European oak. Consider the aroma of each – fresh fruits in the first, dried fruits and treacle toffee in the second – and the taste: Tempest sweet and salty, Devil’s Cask rich and tannic. But with the backbone Bowmore distillery character – maritime, oily, lightly smoky – behind everything. The limited edition Tempest, is the fifth edition of this popular malt. Batch I was awarded a gold medal at the International Wine & Spirit Competition 1910, and batch II won Best Islay Single Malt in the World Whisky Awards. Rachel Barrie, Bowmore’s talented Master Blender writes poetically of “…harmonious and enveloping layers of honeycomb, rich bourbon vanilla and ripening fruits carried on anocean breeze”.

Of the Devil’s Cask, she says: “The first edition of this expression was one of the most sought after whiskies of 2013. This second small batch release will no doubt emulate that success thanks to its devilishly tasty dark side, in debt to the first-fill sherry casks it has been carefully mellowed in”. Bowmore is the oldest licensed distillery on Islay, and one of the oldest in Scotland – if not the oldest. The date ascribed to its foundation by its owners is 1779, but I believe it may have been established a decade earlier, when the model village of Bowmore was founded and built by Daniel Campbell of Shawfield. At the top of the main street is the famous ‘round church’, built this way ‘so the Devil cannot hide in the corner’, and this gives rise to the name of the Devil’s Cask… Legend has it that one day Auld Nick came to visit Bowmore to make mischief and finding he couldn’t conceal himself in the church was spotted and chased through the town. He sought refuge in the distillery, but even after a thorough search was nowhere to be seen, having escaped into a whisky barrel! Daniel Campbell’s father, another Daniel, had been M.P. for the City of Glasgow and had voted in favour of a Malt Tax in 1725, as a result of which the Glasgow mob looted his house and broke all its windows. The government of the day paid him £9,000 in compensation, and with this he bought the island of Islay.

Tasting Note Full gold, with moderate beading. Dense and slightly oily, with maritime scents giving way to complex fruits – nectarine, peach and crème de cassis, with a tang of lime zest and a hint of star anise. Full bodied, oily and spicy to taste, with a sweet start, a salty middle and a puff of smoke in the finish.

Bowmore Devil’s Casks II–1 0 Y E A R S O L D S I N G L E I S L A Y M A L T | 5 6 . 3 % V O L | £ 5 8

Tasting Note Bright polished mahogany with good beading. The top note is of treacle toffee and crème brulee, supported by dates and sultanas, pecan nuts and maple syrup. Slightly smoky with a dash of water. The taste is sweet then tannic and spicy, with treacle toffee in the long finish and more smoke in the aftertaste.



Glen Garioch 1998 Wine Cask Matured–S I N G L E H I G H L A N D M A L T 4 8 % V O L | £ 1 3 0

Tasting Note Burnished copper, with a faint pink blush. Rich fruit loaf, with a very subtle breath of red wine and after a while strawberry jam and powdered ginger; slightly nose-drying. Very sweet to taste (especially at full strength); fruity, with warming ginger-spice in the finish.

Glen Garioch 15 Years Old Renaissance–S I N G L E H I G H L A N D M A L T 5 1 . 9 % V O L | £ 8 5

Tasting Note The colour of golden syrup, the aroma is of Highland toffee and butterscotch, with digestive biscuits and ripe pears behind. At natural strength, the taste is sweet and gingery. Water introduced fruit loaf and baked apples with cinnamon. Still very sweet, spicy and warming.

The Garioch – pronounced ‘Geery’ – is a tract of richly fertile land, some 150 square miles in extent, bounded on every side by rolling hills. The quaint market town of Oldmeldrum, where stands Glengarioch Distillery, is on its easterly border, some eighteen miles north-west of Aberdeen. Curiously, the distillery is named ‘Glengarioch’, but its single malt whisky has long been known as ‘Glen Garioch’. At the same time, ‘Oldmeldrum’ was formerly ‘Old Meldrum’… why this should be is a mystery. The district is known as ‘the granary of Aberdeenshire’. Cereal crops have been abundant here for over a thousand years, while the crystal springs which supply Oldmeldrum made the town famous for its beer. So it is not surprising that Glengarioch Distillery was established as early as 1797 – one of the oldest operating distilleries in Scotland. The founder was John Manson, aged twenty-seven; he was joined four years later by his nineteen year old brother, Alexander. They were succeeded by John’s son, also named John. John II’s son, Sir Patrick Manson, was the first person to demonstrate conclusively the connection between mosquitos and diseases such as elephantiasis, and to postulate the origins of malaria, earning for himself the soubriquet ‘Mosquito Manson’. He is recognised as ‘The Father of Tropical Medicine’. The Manson family relinquished ownership in the 1880s and the distillery passed through several hands, until it was bought by the Glasgow whisky broker, Stanley P. Morrison, who also owned Bowmore Distillery on Islay.

During the 1970s fuel costs escalated dramatically. The owners of Glengarioch installed an innovative waste heat recovery system, which not only provided for the distillery’s needs but was enough to heat two acres of glasshouses, saving around £90,000 a year. Glengarioch became famous for its tomatoes and hot-house plants! Glen Garioch Wine Cask Matured 1998 is what it says on the label: wholly matured in (Saint Julien Bordeaux) French oak wine casks, rather than the more usual ‘wine finishing’ for a year or so. One might think of it as a celebration of La Vieille Alliance; a touch of French finesse to the robust Aberdeenshire malt. The edition is limited to 450 cases (5,400 bottles) globally, is bottled at a generous 48%Vol without chill-filtration. It is the first time Glengarioch has experimented with wine maturation. Glen Garioch Renaissance will be the first of four limited bottlings (12,000 bottles) at different ages (15, 16, 17, 18) to be released annually and showcase the distillery character and the effect of age. The ‘renaissance’ which inspired the name is due to the fact that the distillery was closed between 1995 and 1997.


The region we now know as Speyside was the heart-land of Clan Grant, whose territory stretched between two ‘craggy rocks’ [Creag Eilechaidh in Gaelic], one to the south of Aviemore, marking the border of Strathspey and Badenoch, the other on the left bank of the River Spey itself at the narrows close to where the River Fiddich meets the Spey, described in a nineteenth century guidebook as “a lofty, picturesque quartz rock… eminently beautiful”.The latter was the clan’s gathering place, summoned by a beacon on the summit; it also gave rise to their slogan or war-cry – “Stand Fast Craigellachie” – and to the Grant crest, ‘a mountain inflamed, proper’. The narrows also provided a convenient place to cross the river – by ferry until 1815, when a handsome single arch iron bridge 160 feet in span, was designed and installed by Thomas Telford, ‘The Father of Civil Engineering’. Until the 1860s, Craigellachie village was little more than a hamlet with a post office. Then the Strathspey Railway arrived, via a new viaduct across the Spey, connecting the village to Elgin in the north and Aviemore in the south, while a branch line led to Dufftown. The railway opened up the whole district to sporting visitors and made it possible for commercial distilleries to be built along its path: Glen Grant (1840; John and James Grant were very influential in bringing the line as far as Rothes), Dailuaine (1854), Cragganmore (1860), Glenrothes (1878), Glenfiddich (1886), Craigellachie (1890). Two men were behind the scheme to build a distillery at Craigellachie: the first was a young local man, Alexander Edward, the second was Peter Jeffrey Mackie, owner of Lagavulin Distillery, Islay, and of the White Horse brand of blended Scotch. Alexander Edward was the son of a local farmer and distiller who had acquired the lease of Benrinnes Distillery in 1864 and who made the lease over to his son in 1888, when Alexander was twenty-four years old.

In 1878 Peter Mackie had joined his uncle at Lagavulin, and in 1890 had succeeded him as senior partner of the family firm. He was energetic and opinionated – known as ‘Restless Peter’ – and met all councils of caution with the words “nothing is impossible”. A friend described him as “one third genius, one third megalomaniac, and one third eccentric”. Although an ardent Tory, he was made a baronet by a Liberal prime minister in 1920; an authority on shooting – he wrote a guidebook for gamekeepers - and a vociferous champion of many worthy causes, including that of allowing whisky to mature, he also took a somewhat obsessive interest in his employees diet, inventing a ‘power flour’ called ‘BBM’ (‘Bran, Bone and Muscle’) which was prepared at Craigellachie, and which he required all employees to take each day for their health. With the support of some investors, Mackie and Edward employed Charles Doig of Elgin, the leading distillery designer of the day (and the inventor of the pagoda roofed malt-kiln, known as the ‘Doig Ventillator’). Building commenced in 1890; that autumn the National Guardian reported that the barley was to be brought down from the fertile Laich o’Moray by train: “An important feature is [the distillery’s] proximity to a railway station, which, compared with the long distances which separate some of the Glenlivet Distilleries, means an annual saving in cartage alone which will lessen the cost of production by 2d or 3d per gallon”. Next year, the Aberdeen Evening Express was reporting:“…the latest addition to the already large number of manufactories for the production of “mountain dew” which have made Speyside so famous. It has just been completed, and is situated close to Craigellachie station. In fact passengers from the station may see its tall stalk peeping over the hill top which flanks the right bank of the Fiddich… it is said that very good “dew” has, during the week or so that the distillery has

Stand fast Craigellachie–Charles MacLean explores the early history of Craigellachie Distillery


Stand fast Craigellachie–Charles MacLean explores the early history of Craigellachie Distillery

been in operation, been produced. “On Friday evening [10th July] the workmen and the people of the surrounding district were entertained to a ball celebrating the inauguration of the concern. A large number attended and all enjoyed themselves heartily.” With Craigellachie Distillery up and running, Alexander Edward turned his attention to Benrinnes, transforming it into a joint stock company with eager investors, “largely engaged in the Spirit Trade in the South”, investing in the venture. The same year, he took over the brick and tile works in Craigellachie village. The National Guardian reported that the business was small scale when he took over, but “now Mr Edward has completely remodelled it and has introduced machinery and other appliances by which a vastly increased amount of work can be accomplished….. The peculiarity of the Craigellachie bricks and tiles is that they do not sustain any damage from exposure to frost…” Having expanded the brickworks, he went on to take an interest in the Craigellachie Building Company and began to build ‘new villas’, which could be rented out to summer visitors. Next year, 1895 - he was still only thirty-one years old – he embarked on an even grander scheme: the building of a substantial hotel which would transform the village from a railway hub into a tourist destination. The Dundee Courier and Argus reported on 15th August 1896: “I am bound to say Craigellachie is difficult to beat. Strange as it appears, it was only within the past dozen years or so that the beauties of the situation as a resort for strangers was discovered. This did not satisfy Mr Edward however. He saw that something more was wanted than villas to make Craigellachie the fashionable place it is now. He determined to build a first-class hotel. “There was an old hotel or roadside inn, I know not which, but of the same class as was common at points along public roads fifty years ago. Though good enough in its way and capable of

giving a very limited amount of accommodation to a certain class of people, it was quite unsuited for modern requirements, especially of that class which it was Mr Edward’s intention to encourage to visit." He, therefore, set about forming a company and giving the shares to the public… “The result was the erection of the present handsome structure. To make the thing complete a tennis court was made behind the hotel, and a piece of ground with walks enclosed and seats put down and soon there will be a golf course. But what to many is the greatest boon and attraction of all is a stretch of fishing on the Spey open to any person staying at the hotel…” After some years of decline, I am happy to report that ‘The Craig’ has now been completely (and superbly) refurbished under new ownership and its legendary ‘Quaich Bar’ greatly expanded. I can recommend it whole-heartedly.

K N O W L E D G E B A R :C R A I G E L L A C H I E

» The original Benrinnes Distillery was founded around 1826, but this was ‘washed away’ by a great flood in 1829 and relocated to another site.

» As well as ‘BBM’, restless Peter Mackie pioneered the manufacture of cattle-cake from draff and the manufacture of concrete slabs and partitions. He also interested himself in the weaving of Highland tweed and the distribution of Carragheen moss. He introduced an annual prize for the best kept garden in the village, judged by the directors. “Mr Edward’s success in having amassed an independent fortune before he was barely entered in his 30s is regarded as a perfect marvel. He is not contented to make his pile by the thousand, but by his potent tact and skill can accomplish this by tens of thousands…. Mr Edward is endowed with a most warm and generous heart, showing constant kindness and attention to those under him…“. [Banffshire Herald, 31st January 1896]

» The same year he was able to buy Sanquhar House, on the edge of Forres, “an elegant mansion of two storeys in the Elizabethan style”. In 1900, Alexander Edward pulled out of the Craigellachie Distillery Company and Peter Mackie became chairman.

» Much of the make from Craigellachie went into White Horse, which by 1914 was among the top four best-selling blends. Craigellachie is ranked 1st Class by blenders.



Tasting Note Full gold in colour, from American oak casks. Strikingly more aromatic and fruity that the 13YO: ripe Galia melon, ripe peaches, juicy grapes, also shampoo and later light toffee. An oily mouthfeel and a sweet, slightly acidic taste, with nougat in the aftertaste. The scented, soapy aroma is enhanced by water, and the taste opened up.

Tasting Note Chardonnay in colour, from American oak casks. A deeply mellow aroma, with putty and woodsmoke, behind the scented soap noted in the 17YO. A voluptuous texture, and all these scents are translated into tastes. A drop of water develops both aroma and taste, now slightly mentholated. An unusual and delicious dram.

Tasting Note The colour of Pinot Grigio white wine, from refill American oak casks. A youthful nose, with creamy rice pudding as a top note, acidic tropical fruitiness in the middle (lychees, mangosteins, even a fugitive trace of pineapple), and the most subtle hint of smoke at the back. The taste follows this: sweet, acidic, slightly smoky. More estery with water (warm vinyl), with a gentle mouthfeel and a sweetly acidic taste.

Craigellachie 13 Years Old– S I N G L E S P E Y S I D E M A L T @ 4 6 % V O L | £ 4 3

Craigellachie 17 Years Old– S I N G L E S P E Y S I D E M A L T @ 4 6 % V O L | £ 8 3

Craigellachie 23 Years Old– S I N G L E S P E Y S I D E M A L T @ 4 6 % V O L | £ 3 3 7


John Dewar, the founder of one of the world’s leading blending houses, must have been an extraordinarily able man – and his sons were exceptional. Three of them became lords: the oldest, Lord Dewar, a Senator of the College of Justice, and the two who followed his footsteps into the whisky trade, Lord Forteviot and Baron Dewar of Homestall. John came from humble stock – his father was a small farmer near Aberfeldy in the Scottish Highlands – and was born in 1805, one of nine children. At the age of twenty-three he walked thirty miles to Perth, the county town, to work as a cellar-man in his uncle’s wine merchants, becoming a partner in the firm nine years later. In 1846 he opened his own wine and spirits shop on Perth’s High Street. In those days, whisky was sold by the small cask or ceramic jar, which could be refilled. The problem with this was that there was no control over the quality of the whisky it was refilled with, so John adopted the – at the time – novel idea of filling his whisky into glass bottles with driven corks (like wine bottles), so his spirits could not be adulterated. He also proudly attached his name to the bottles on a paper label, as a personal guarantee of the quality of their contents. Although this seems obvious to us today, it was unusual at the time, and John Dewar is generally credited with being the first whisky merchant to brand his goods with his own name. By the 1860s he was creating ‘mixture whiskies’ (blends of malt and grain), and in this he was also a pioneer. Blended Scotch had a broader appeal than the heavy malt whiskies or the fiery grain whiskies of the day. And since it could be made to a repeatable formula, it was infinitely more consistent in f lavour and quality than ‘single’ whiskies. Dewar’s products certainly found favour. On his death in 1880, John left an estate worth nearly £35,000 (over £2 million in today’s money). He had come a long way from the small

farm near Aberfeldy. John’s sound business acumen passed to his sons, John Alexander and Thomas Robert (known as ‘Tommy’). They were young men in their early twenties, and made a formida-ble partnership! John took responsibility for production and sent his younger brother to London to develop business there. In a later interview Tommy remembered: “I arrived in London… armed with two cards of introduction to two prospective customers. At the first address I called the man had died – I thought then to evade me – and the other one had gone bankrupt. The whole goodwill of my entire business was shattered in one morning. Then I felt the terrible loneliness of a stranger in a city with millions of inhabitants”. He was not lonely for long - indeed Tommy Dewar was the most gregarious of men - and when their whisky won a silver medal at the 1886 International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art in Edinburgh, customers began to ask for samples and place orders – not least some of the leading public houses and restaurants in London. By 1890, both the Perth and London offices had to be expanded, and more staff taken on, including A.J. Cameron, Master Blender. Demand was now so great that the brothers leased a small distillery and bought a bonded warehouse in Perth itself. Tommy was an accomplished socialite, and never missed an opportunity to court the press and promote his brand. He was famously witty – a collection of his aphorisms, called ‘Dewarisms’, was published in 1904 – and like a celebrity of today, the society reporters followed his every movement and hung upon his every word. [Haughty Society lady]: “My name’s Porter-Porter, with a hyphen”. [Tommy Dewar, cheerfully]: “And mine’s Dewar-Dewar, with a syphon”. [Note: Scotch was usually drunk with soda water in those days] “The quality of the article should be its greatest advertisement”. “If you don’t advertise, you fossilise”. “Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they’re open”. By 1891 the name ‘Dewar’ had assumed such significance in the whisky trade, that it was felt prudent to register it as a trademark. Indeed a later commentator would write that: “Tommy Dewar was probably more responsible than any other single individual for the success of Scotch whisky in London”. In six years he had increased sales of the brand by 250%.

Dewar’s–Charles MacLean explores the early days of John Dewar & Sons


The same year the brothers received the following letter from the legendary steel magnate, billionaire and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie: Messrs John Dewar & Sons Merchants, Perth Cluny Castle, September 21, 1891 Gentlemen: Can you get a small keg – say nine or ten gallons – of the best Scotch Whisky you can find, and ship it addressed as follows: To the PRESIDENT, The Honorable Benjamin Harrison, Executive Mansion, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Send bill to me. Yours very truly,(Sgd.) Andrew Carnegie

The idea of a U.S. President drinking Scotch rather than Bour-bon did not go down well with the American press, but it was very good news for the Dewar brothers, and orders started to f low in from all over the States, leading to the establishment of a New York office in Bleeker Street four years later. Tommy resolved to travel “in search of representatives in the leading foreign and colonial markets”, and immortalised his trip in his lively book A Ramble Around the Globe. It took him two years; he visited twenty-six countries and appointed thirty-two “first class and responsible agents”. “My first cab drive [in New York] was what they call an ‘eye opener’ to me; for although I went only a short distance, the fare was a dollar. After that, I gave up cabs, and threw in my lot with the millionaires by always using the ‘street car’. Everyone uses the car, and I am not surprised at it; the fare is very moderate. Five cents will take one anywhere while cabs are very dear, and very bad”. A young man abroad for the first time, reporting back to his older brother! The book, published in 1894, was used as a promotional gift, and later the cover was reproduced on a f lask of Dewar’s whisky – another example of Tommy’s genius for marketing! But his journey laid the foundations for the inter-national success of the brand.

Dewar’s White Label–B L E N D E D S C O T C H W H I S K Y | 4 0 % V O L | £ 2 1 Tasting Note

A well integrated nose, with mellow toasted cereal and dried fruits, edging towards moist fruit loaf, perhaps with a smear of apricot jam. Pleasant texture, tasted straight, with a sweet taste overall, a medium body and finish. Easy drinking. A drop of water introduces a pleasant acidity to the nose and sweetens the taste fractionally.

Dewar’s 12 Years Old ‘The Ancestor’–B L E N D E D S C O T C H W H I S K Y | 4 0 % V O L | £ 3 7 Tasting Note

Oilier in the glass than White Label and slightly darker. The aroma is rich and dense, fruity (baked apples and glazed apple tart) and faintly sherried; the taste smooth, lightly sweet, well balanced and lightly spicy. A little water raises faint cedar notes, with more dried fruits; the taste is sweeter, with a hint of char in the finish. Smoother and fuller-bodied than White Label.

K N O W L E D G E B A R : D E W A R ’ S

Most Awarded…

» Dewar’s can proudly boast that their whisky

has won more awards than any other. On 28th

April 1893 John Dewar & Sons received a Warrant

from Queen Victoria as ‘Purveyors of Whisky’

to the Royal Household, an honour the company

has been bestowed by every successive British

monarch who granted such Warrants.

Coming Soon

The Mortlach and associated logos are trade marks. © Diageo 2014

DIA_11571 Mortlach BF - Whiskeria.indd 1 16/05/2014 17:31

4 8 M Y W H I S K E R I A

Donald Shaw grew up on the west coast of Scotland, in Taynuilt, Argyll, surrounded by traditional music. His father played accordion, his mother the piano and they made their living as a ceilidh band. Donald first picked up the accordion aged about 11, with his dad as his first teacher, but describes the parent-child teaching relationship as “tricky – my dad thought I was a bit of a show off!” so when he was 14 his mother found a world-champion accordion player, living in Perth, to be his teacher. A turning point in his musical education, Donald recalls her insistence that folk music wasn’t the best thing for him to be playing at that time, and encouraged him to focus his energy instead on classical music, which he found he loved: “…so when I won the all-Britain national accordion championship at the age of 16 I was actually playing an entirely classical repertoire – Variations on Paganini, all kinds of Baroque music… really challenging stuff – I couldn’t play it for you now to save myself!” Meantime, traditional music continued to be a constant presence at

Donald Shaw has achieved international success with his Scottish folk band, Capercaillie, founded in the 1980s. More recently, in 2008, he took on the role of artistic director for Celtic Connections festival – an international folk festival that has been running in Glasgow since 1994. As the dust of the 2014 Glasgow Commmonwealth Games settles, he sits down for a dram and a chat with Whiskeria… Words Mil Stricevic, Pictures Renzo MazzoliniDonald photographed at Bar Gandolfi, Glasgow

In the mix


In the mix


home and of course Donald was joining in, playing in the family band at the weekends, all the while keeping it secret from his teacher! Having just celebrated their 30th anniversary, Capercaillie was formed by the 16 year old Donald while still a student at Oban High School; the other members of the original band were simply school friends who shared common musical interests and ambitions. The fusion of different cultural forms and traditions that underpins the Capercaillie sound first emerged at this early stage: “Our window to the world was Radio Nan Gaidhael (BBC’s gaelic radio station), and in particular the DJ John Carmichael, who played pretty much every new record that came through from both Scotland and Ireland. Capercaillie was formed around a bunch of school pals, so naturally all of our influences went into the mix. Our guitarist was really into jazz fusion and he’d lend me all these great records by folk like Weather Report, the Brecker Brothers, Yellow Jacket… listening to all of this stuff together made me start to realise that music didn’t have to be categorised, that perhaps it wouldn’t be so strange to take a traditional tune and set a funky beat or unusual chord progression behind it.” Donald admits that the first few Capercaillie records were really quite conventional in their approach. Even so when, after several years, they finally did start to experiment, such as Donald’s decision to play an analogue synthesiser in the context of Gaelic song, no-one else was really doing that at the time, and as a result the band were still considered – as he puts it – ‘quite out there.’

“The timing was good, because this coincided with a younger generation’s renewed interest in what it meant to be Scottish. People have told me that our music helped them reconnect with their sense of heritage and culture. You can see parallels with things like Paul Simon’s 1986 ‘Graceland’ album, the launch of Peter Gabriel’s Real World records in 1989… all of a sudden there was a new section in record shops called ‘World Music’, and we found a natural home there. This really became apparent after we made ‘Delirium’, which was our first for a major record label, when we found ourselves playing on a different kind of touring and festival circuit. No longer seen as an extension of the Scottish folk scene, Capercailie were now perceived as a world-music act, which opened us up to a whole new audience.” Though Donald suggests that while nothing was really ‘planned’, the recipe proved commercially as well as critically successful. Despite the growing scale and scope of the

Capercailie recorded sound and live show, one of the constants in the band remained their love of intimate, live, acoustic jam sessions. “Pretty much wherever we are, no matter how large, elaborate, technical and amplified our live production might be, you’ll always find Charlie (McKerron, fiddle) and me playing tunes somewhere local an hour or so later – that’s what we love doing, and it remains a part of both our live set and who we are.” The band found success on the international circuit, a fact that Donald puts down to the common bonds that link traditional musics across the globe: “We’ve always felt very welcome in the USA… it's interesting the way that America doesn’t really have its own, indigenous folk tradition, and adopted Scottish and Irish songs as their own: you saw it really clearly in the huge success of the Coen Brothers’ movie ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’ when it came out about 15 years ago. It was built around this great soundtrack, peppered with what people thought of as old time Americana: authentic, bluegrass songs and tunes, but in fact most of these great tunes by Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminsky and the Soggy Bottom Boys: these were Scottish and Irish songs! American audiences loved the fact that they had finally rediscovered their roots, but these roots are really the remnants of a culture that travelled from Scotland and Ireland in the seventeen, eighteen hundreds and if you go back to significant moments in American history you’ll find scottish music as a constant presence.” After 20 years or so Capercaillie found themselves with an enviable critical reputation, financial stability and, to their great surprise, in the unusual position of being able to make a living playing gaelic songs and tunes all over the world. And it is at this point that the organisers of Celtic Connections – a traditional music festival with its home in Glasgow, Scotland, conceived in 1994 – came knocking on Donald’s door seeking a new artistic director: “At that time my main thing apart from Capercaillie was film music, and I had been directing a tv series called ‘Tacsi’ for BBC Gaelic TV. The show really centred around bringing a bunch of musicians into a building, giving them a day to rehearse and then filming what they had come up with. These were often quite crazy collaborations between people who might not otherwise have got together… things like putting together the Scottish String Ensemble with the piper Martyn Bennett and jazz saxophonist Tommy Smith – we’d rehearse 2 songs and then film it.” Donald turned down Celtic Connections, feeling that he could not improve on an already great product. A few weeks later they approached Donald once again. He agreed to come in for a day the following week and put together a list of 20 great concerts that he’d like to see – if they liked them they could try and book them and he’d leave it at that. “But of course as soon as I started to imagine these shows, I found myself giving someone a call to see if they liked it in principle, and they’d say “ yes, that sounds cool... we’d be up for that” and so by the time I came in to pitch my ideas to the festival organisers, I was actually already doing the job, so I

"The timing was good, because this coincided with a younger generation’s renewed interest in what it meant to be Scottish. People have told me that our music helped them reconnect with their sense of heritage and culture."


Top to bottom: Glasgow's Old Fruitmarket provides an atmospheric setting for a wide variety of acts during the annual Celtic Connections festival, the current Capercaillie line up; Capercaillie live on stage at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient, France, 2007.All photos: Lieve Boussauw

Listen to Donald’sWhiskeria Playlist on Spotify » goo.gl/MIEc2c– Birdland | Weather ReportBlackbird | Martyn BennettI Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow | Dan TyminskiThrow Down Your Heart | Haruna Samake Trio, Bassekou KouyateSuperfly | Trecherous OrchestraRanaliyo | Rajasthan,Habib Khan, Suri Sindhi ArtistsBlunderbuss | Jack WhiteKarma | Tommy SmithSeavaigers | Storm-Sally Beamish, Scottish Ensemble, Chris StoutImperial Strut | Yellow Jackets

Donald on whisky…– I remember my first whisky encounter very clearly…. I was camping with my parents and 3 sisters on the shore of Loch Etive, aged about 5 years old, and one evening as we sat overlooking the water I felt thirsty and took a long swig of what I thought was orange juice but turned out to be whisky, and ran screaming into the loch! Oddly enough (or perhaps not!) I didn’t really get into it properly until the band started touring in America, when I would always be asked what kind of whisky I would like… there was clearly an association in people’s minds between whisky and the kind of music we were playing. My parents were what I guess you’d call ‘sensible’ whisky drinkers, and would have a dram every night, so I guess it’s always been around me. My late father-in-law, Kenny, was a lovely man from the Isle of Skye, who also played the accordion, and I spent a lot of time with him. Every evening when he got in from his work in the quarry, he’d have his tea and then make himself busy with cutting the grass or whatever else had to be done, and would come in at 9, have 2 drams of Whyte & Mackay and be in bed for about quarter past ten. I think it was through him that I came to realise the pleasure in whisky as something to share with friends over a good chat… he was a ‘no frills’ kind of guy, and over the years I would come back from wherever we’d been with a bottle of something new, maybe a malt or something, and he’d always be gracious but I kind of knew it would sit at the back of the cupboard: that really he preferred the familiar ritual of his Whyte & Mackay! In terms of my own taste, I’m probably a Speyside man at heart, and particularly enjoy a Mortlach, but also an Oban: perhaps that’s a sub conscious local bias! The Port Charlotte Hotel on Islay is a great spot to try things…


agreed to do it for a year... and here we are, eight years later!” Donald’s initial fears were offset by the realization that he was being offered a fantastic opportunity to explore a whole other world of potential collaborations and commissions, to engage with other cultures... to take it from a celtic and roots traditional festival to one with a more expansive world outlook. Retrospectively, he recognises that at the centre of his proposal lay a simple mission statement – to shift the emphasis from ‘Celtic’ to ‘Connections’. As a way of pinning his colours to the mast, he put together a string of events to launch his inaugural festival as director that would exemplify the breadth and scope of his ambition, including the finale of the first day’s programme: “Before I took over at Celtic Connections I had met Béla Fleck, one of the all-time great American banjo players and an incredible musician who has played with all kinds of folk, from Irish musicians to traditional bluegrass players to the jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. He had told me of his anger that Americans – and a lot of the rest of the world – perceived the banjo to be an American instrument, whereas in fact it originates from Africa. I told him I thought he should go there and prove it, so he went to Africa and made a film about his journey, going to places like Mali and Senegal and meeting all these incredible players. It was a real challenge to make it happen, but for that first festival we managed to put together a show called ‘Throw Down Your Heart’, where we brought together Béla, Oumou Sangare – one of the biggest Malian singers, a goddess! – and Toumani Diabate – a great kora player – plus 3 or 4 others for the closing show of that first day. During that show one of our great Scottish traditional singers, Kathleen McKinnes, got up and sang with 2 african singers, accompanied by Béla, and to me that whole event encapsulated what we were going for... pointing out the connections between a little village in Africa and the music of the Outer Hebrides; that perhaps we’re not so far apart.” Celtic Connections festival has been running for 20 years now, and Donald sees its continuing success as a direct parallel to what has been happening with the overall renaissance of traditional music in this country over that period, evident less in the big name acts that they put on, but much more so in the smaller, more experimental grassroots events, where he sees the greatest developments and innovation. “The most exciting thing that has come out of Celtic Connections is what happens after the big concerts: the late night sessions and the Open Stage that we created in the Festival Club, where bands get up and welcome other musicians they might have bumped into earlier that day… they’ll get up and jam together, and very often something will happen during these unplanned, jams that will prove to be the conception of something new. I spend a lot of my time meeting people... although I do come up with ideas for shows, commissions and collaborations, a big part of what I do is to act as a catalyst for others: the festival is a bit like a vehicle for people’s musical dreams, and we are prepared to take a gamble on an idea, and put that in front of an audience. Some work, some don’t, and some go on to become important new collaborations or pieces of work in their own right.”

We talk about the audience response to Celtic Connections: “Our research shows that around 30% of the audience for Celtic Connections is now coming from overseas, and in many ways the festival is now like a shop window for the world to come and see what we have to offer. Showcase Scotland happens in the middle weekend of the festival and we consider it a flagship event, inviting 200 international delegates - festival organisers, promoters etc – from all over the world to come and hear and meet with a lot of exciting new Scottish artists. 3 years ago we assessed the impact of that initiative on the 40 or so artists we had programmed for that weekend, and found out that in the following year those acts had collectively earned in excess of £1 million as a direct result of the connections established during the festival. It is certainly true to say that traditional music is a real cultural export success story now.” Having just finished a successful programme of cultural events to coincide with the Commonwealth Games across the city, Donald is now setting his sights on 2 exciting new opportunities: the first to explore in greater detail the possibility of a Celtic Connections festival in New York, which is very much at the exploratory stage, and the second being the challenge of finding a suitable sponsor for the festival as it moves ahead. Any takers?

Clockwise from top: Béla Fleck (r) performs with Malian virtuoso Bassekou Kouyate at Celtic Connections 2009, Capercaillie's first album, Cascade, was released in 1984 when Donald was just 17 years old, 'Come and Try' is a year-round Celtic Connections initiative designed to make traditional music and instruments accessible to children from all walks of life across Scotland.


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Autumn in the south of France. The crowds have returned to Paris. The bougainvillea is still in bloom. The salty Mediterranean is à point, cooked to perfection by the languid summer heat, and that table for two, overlooking the sea, is libre, no reservation required. As the clouds gather in the northlands, now is the ideal time to explore the French coast. But rather than follow the well-heeled sandals to St Tropez, head west to discover a more laidback, and no less beautiful stretch of the Côte d’Azur. Words Claire Bell Illustrations Francesca Waddell

The alternative Côte d’Azur


The alternative Côte d’Azur

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There is an island in the Mediterranean that feels like it is in the Indian Ocean. Pink and white mimosas fill the spaces between palm trees, squeaky old bikes exist in place of cars, and faded colonial buildings, first built for soldiers returning from Napoleonic wars, now offer rest and recuperation for weary 21st century souls. Bienvenue a Porquerolles, one of the three Îles d’Or (island of gold) that lie off the westerly stretch of the Cote d’Azur coast.Much of the island is a designated nature reserve and the only way of getting around is by foot or bicycle, following the 30 miles of footpaths that meander among forests of oak and pine, to reach secluded coves. French crime writer Georges Simenon captured the timeless charm of Porquerolles in his novel Mon Ami Maigret. Set in the 1940s, it describes life in a Provençal haven of wooded hills and quiet coves of translucent water, where the loudest sounds are the tolling of a church bell and the clank of boules in the village square. “When you go there, you will find the world of Simenon,” remarks Gabrielle from the regional tourism office. “Nothing much has changed. The characters in the book are still around.” She is right. On a high ridge stands an ancient fort now occupied by a Greek monastic order which jealously guards its solitude. Close to the town is the vineyard of Domaine Perzinsky which was established by the great grandsons of two Czarist naval commanders who sailed away from the Bolshevik revolution in 1919. And sitting on the wooden wraparound veranda at L’Escsale at sunset, sipping pastis and listening to the halyards tinkling against the masts, while locals play boules in the sandy square behind you, it feels like you have fallen into the pages of a novel. Which is apt. The island lies off one of the Côte d’Azur’s least known towns: Hyeres des Palmieres. In the 19th century, before the joys and benefits of sea bathing lured the travellers to Nice, Cannes and Antibes, Hyeres was the favourite winter haunt of the writers and the jet set: Edith Wharton, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Queen Victoria all spent winters here.Set on a craggy hill, three miles back from the sea, Hyeres’ Medieval centre is a maze of narrow streets and cobbled squares featuring a 13th century tower built by the Knights Templar, open-air restaurants with a flair for Provençal cuisine and lots of tiny gastronomic boutiques selling spices and tastes from North Africa and Provence. A stroll through the Medieval quarter will lead you to Castel Sainte-Claire, the gardens planted by Wharton and the house where Stevenson once lived (now a private home), and of which he famously wrote: “I was only ever happy once, and that was at Hyeres.” Further up on the hillside is Villa Noailles, one of the first modernist houses in France, built in the 1930s for Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the couple were patrons of modern art, particularly surrealism, supporting film projects by Man Ray, Salvador Dalí, and Luis Buñuel and commissioning paintings by the likes of Miró.

Today Villa Noailles continues to host art, photographic and fashion exhibits, drawing the Paris arty set to this stretch of the coast. However it's not tourism, but the cultivation of flowers and palm trees that sustain the local economy – Hyeres produces 70% of France’s cut flowers. This local love of nature also means that much of the surrounding nature has been declared a no-build zone. Between the town and the Iles d’Or is a low-lying peninsula bounded on one side by a wildlife habitat of salt flats popular with pink flamingos, and on the other by a sandy beach popular with kite surfers and wind surfers. At the end of the peninsula is Pres qu’il Giens, a promontory that boasts the beautiful Provencal village of Giens and a 6km coastal path, popular with hikers who have a head for heights. Heading back from the coast are wooded hills and 17 vineyards, most of them producing the delectable rosés typical of this region. One must-visit vineyard is Chateau Léoube, which boasts one of the coastline’s most beautiful beaches, Le Pellegrin. Visitors park in an olive grove (8 Euros/day), and walk down to a beach, shaded in part by Mediterranean pines, protecting the vines from the sea winds. From there, a coastal path runs all the way along to Fort Bregancon, the French president’s official holiday residence, which is built on a tiny island, connected to the mainland by a causeway. Until 28 September 2014, the fort is open to visitors. Jean-Michel, a former marine, is one of the tour guides who lead a two-hour tour through the public rooms in the east tower, and the internal gardens, modelled on the interior of the Alcázar of Seville. “This is not a chateau, this is not a museum, this is a real place,” comments Jean-Michel, as we stand in the French president’s official office in the south. “Imagine if these walls could talk, what they would say.” From Fort Bregancon, you can see across to Port-Cros, another of the Iles d’Or. If Porquerolles seemed laid back, its diminutive neighbour Port-Cros, a rumpled quilt of mountainous forest rising from the sea, complete with old forts and watchtowers, trails over cliffs and hidden coves for anchoring pirate frigate, is comatose. The entire island of less than four square miles is a nature reserve, an open-air hothouse of dense vegetation sprinkled with lavender, rosemary and myrtle, and Phoenician juniper clinging to sheer cliffs.The only settlement is a small cluster of restaurants and apartments around a bay, and for ramblers the rest of the island is a treasure trove of trails winding through woods of green oak to places like the Cove of False Coins. The sea around it was Europe’s first maritime park, and is teeming with 70 species of fish that can be seen with mask and snorkel on an underwater trail marked out for the purpose. On land, maps beckon with magic names - the cove of false coins and the path of the golden apple – and exploring them is like rediscovering the wonders of childhood. From Hyeres, continue further west by train, along the local railway line, that connects each of the seaside towns to the port city of Marseille.


The crumbling train station at La Ciotat is a place of legend. It was here that the Lumière brothers made their first film “L’Arrivée d’un train en gare de La Ciotat” which was show in September 1895 and infamously caused the audience to jump out of their seats as the image of the steam train rushed towards them. The connection with art of the past continues at the coastal village of Cassis. It was here that Fauvist artists Dérain and Dufy painted at the turn of the 20th century, where Virgina Woolf wrote part of To The Lighthouse, and where Winston Churchill decamped to paint watercolours. Today it continues to inspire artists. Christian Doux, 72, the poet of Cassis, runs a poetry business in the town’s old quarter. Dressed entirely in white, and sitting behind a laptop at an old wooden bureau, Doux pens original poems for any occasion and any state of the heart. He was inspired into business by his father who was a prisoner of war during World War 2, and wrote a letter to his mother every day. “Poetry is my passion,” he says. “I have written and sold over 5,000 original poems.” The backstreets of Cassis are a warren of old fishing cottages painted in chalky pinks, blues and yellows, and the marina is a pleasing mix of fishing boats and small yachts – no poseur’s mega-yachts in sight. This is a place to amble, to absorb the sea, and if it is a fair-weather day, to take a boat trip out to the Calanques, the steep, craggy limestone coves that distinguish the coast between Cassis and Marseille. The sight of the deep blue sea against the white cliffs is a Mediterranean spectacle. If you do not have sea legs (it is frequently a rough trip), it is possible to discover the Calanques via the GR98 footpath. It takes about 90 minutes to reach En Vau where you can climb down the white rocks and immerse yourself in the deep blue, and congratulate yourself for heading west, and discovering the real soul of the Côte d’Azur.

K N O W L E D G E B A R :F R E N C H S C O T C H

Our pidgin-French guide to France’s love affair with le Scotch.

Le plus grande exportation » More Scotch is sold in France than in any other country in the world» The total annual value of Scotch exports to France is in excess of £400 million

Vers le bas avec austéritié!» In 2012 Scotch sales suffered a fall because of a tax hike by the government pursuing austerity measures.

Ça va? Oui ça va… tres bien!» Sales of Scotch in France are currently buoyant with the market up 16% on last year

Cognac? Non, c’est Scotch » More Scotch is sold in France in one month than Cognac in a year

J’aime le mélange » Most Scotch consumed in France is blended.

William Peel and Label 5 are two home grown French Scotch blends.

J’adore Johnnie! » The top performing Scotch in France is Johnnie Walker

Listen to Claire Bell’sWhiskeria Playlist on Spotify » goo.gl/rm8lB6– Padam Padam | Edith PiafCafe Atlantico | Cesaria EvoraFields of Gold | Eva CassidyRene & Georgette Magritte with their dog after the war | Paul SimonReflections | Diana Ross & The SupremesTop of the World | CarpentersWalking on Sunshine | Katrina and the WavesClub Tropicana | Wham!He’s the Greatest Dancer | Sister SledgeWhere do you go to my lovely | Peter SarstedtNatural Beauty | Neil YoungRoyals | Lorde

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J & G GRANT, GLENFARCLAS DISTILLERY, BALLINDALLOCH, BANFFSHIRE, SCOTLAND AB37 9BDTEL +44 (0)1807 500257 [email protected] WWW.GLENFARCLAS.CO.UKGlenfarclas encourages responsible drinking.


The Whisky Shop/Autumn 2014

The Whisky Shop News Round-up /62

The Art of the Finish /64

The Chivas Range/66

The Aberlour Range/68

Happy Birthday Jack Daniel's/70

Off-Piste dramming/74

Collecting Whisky/76

Customer Favourites /78

The Directory /82

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The Whisky Shop NewsRound-up–New WebsiteThe Whisky Shop website launches in October 2014. Look out for it!

–Competition An exciting competition (p98) offering one lucky reader the chance to win an exclusive selection of six great whiskies.

–The W ClubIf you're not already a member of The W Club –where The Whisky Shop's customers are the first to know about and benefit from great deals – join up at www.thewclub.co.uk.

You will receive 10% discount on all stock items,access to limited edition bottlings, and selected free of charge distillery tours and tastings. –Click & CollectNow it’s even easier to buy at The Whisky Shop. Visit our website to use our Click & Collect service to pick up from any of our stores across the UK.

Guess who? Forget everything you thought you knew about Scotch: Haig Club is a new Single Grain Whisky developed in partnership between Diageo, British entrepreneur Simon Fuller and a certain global sporting icon…

The Whisky Shop’s world leading store in Piccadilly was the venue for an exclusive launch of this sensational new brand. For three days motorists and pedestrians were intrigued by The Whisky Shop frontage, as it was converted for the launch to take the appearance of the Haig bottle. Haig Club is made at Cameronbridge distillery in Scotland. The liquid has been crafted using a unique process that combines grain whisky from three cask types. Perhaps more striking is the new packaging, especially the azure blue bottle that everyone will want to have in the home drinks cabinet.

Click & Collect: whiskyshop.com


Marathon man – David's 160 mile charity challengeDavid Whyte, The Whisky Shop Operations Manager, had an interesting summer holiday this year including a bit of a run for his favourite charity. The Whiskeria editor caught up with him on his return to work.

Why 6 Days. 6 Marathons? My wife Rachael and I were planning our summer holiday and I thought it would be good to combine this holiday with a little run. Then things escalated into a challenge.

Why raise money and why support Glasgow’s Yorkhill Children’s Hospital Charity?I am always nervous asking people for donations. I felt that this was enough of a challenge and something a little different that people might not get offended at if asked to donate. Yorkhill Children’s Charity was an easy one for me. I have two young daughters and over the years we have visited Yorkhill Hospital a few times and each time going through the hospital it reminds me how lucky and fortunate I am to have two healthy children. It’s humbling to see how children and their families deal with the obstacles that some face, that’s inspiring!

How much training did you do?Not enough would be the obvious answer but certainly I did a few long runs and tried to back those up with a run of some description the following day to try and replicate the day after day feeling I knew would be there on the challenge.

Worst part?This is one of the most common questions. There are two stand out bad spells. Firstly, mile 11. In the rain, carrying too much liquid and having just climbed a monster hill. That was the first and last time I thought I might not be able to do it. Next was mile 2 on the last day, my leg was sore and mile 26 seemed a long way off. I was so frustrated that I had to hobble and not run properly as I wanted. It wasn’t a case of not finishing, it was a case of wanting to run the last day properly and enjoy it.

Best part?Easy answer… mile 14 on the fourth day. The biggest climb on the challenge going north from Tarbert on Harris. The climb was spectacular, a mile long with a steep gradient. Without doubt the best I felt during the whole run.

Daily routine?It started the night before, a bowl of microwavable rice (not pleasant) was eaten. During the night I tried to drink at least 2L of fluids. In the morning it was another bowl of rice (even more unpleasant!).

Best tip given?Drink before you get thirsty. Dehydration is the easiest and worst thing to get wrong… I started drinking water on mile one to ensure I never felt thirsty.

Team work?Without Rachael and children as my back up team there is no way I would have managed it. They provided constant encouragement and helped me through the bad miles. Rachael gave up her summer holiday to help me with this challenge. She had the lucky(!) job of occupying two young girls in a car with the rain lashing down. A big thank you to her.

Afterthoughts?The response and reactions from everyone since I have completed the challenge has been amazing. The money raised is incredible, the money will do so much help to those that need it. Not having run a marathon before the first day of this challenge I felt I handled the distance and repetition pretty well but it was a tougher challenge than I expected and one that I am very happy to have completed! There were lows and highs along the way and although sometimes the lows seemed never ending while on the road, they seem a distance memory now… The Yorkhill Children’s Charity and myself are so grateful to everyone who has donated… Thank you so much.Next year it will be a relaxing summer holiday!

To donate to Yorkhill Children's Charity via David's JustGiving page, visit: www.justgiving.com/6days

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What is it? This edition was released in 2008 and, being originally limited to 1,800 bottles, there is not much of it around today. This Auchentoshan spent the first eight years of its life slowly maturing in American bourbon barrels, followed by a further twelve years maturation in the finest Saint-Julien Bordeaux wine casks.

What’s it like? The Bordeaux cask has imbued it with a ruby red colour and on the nose there is an overall sensation of ripe summer fruits. On the palate there is fresh eucalyptus, mixed berries and a wonderful sweet nuttiness. The finish is velvety smooth, long and deeply rewarding. Simply amazing!

What is it? Bottled at 46% abv, this is the latest addition to a series of Glendronach wood finishes. It follows on from the Glendronach 15 year old Tawny Port finish. This expression was first matured in European oak casks and thereafter finished off in a small batch of Tawny Port casks. This gives the whisky its own unique flavours and aromas – in particular a distinctive rich red fruit taste.

What’s it like? As might be expected it has a bright amber colour and on the nose there are elegant notes of golden syrup and touches of spice. On the palate, it is incredibly fruity, but at the same time delicate and again slightly spicy. The finish is rich and suitably long to allow full appreciation of this unique single malt.

The art of the finish…–Every Scotch whisky has to be matured in oak casks in Scotland for a minimum period of three years. Single malts, in general, mature for a much longer period – 12 years being typical. The whisky does not have to spend its maturation life in the same cask and distillers frequently change over to a different style of cask part way through the process. This practice has become known as ‘finishing’ and the art of finishing has become a subject of folklore within the industry. The results can be quite spectacular. There are a lot of finishes out there to sample, but for our Autumn edition we have picked out some incredibly good examples that can be enjoyed or collected.–

Auchentoshan 1988 Wine Cask Finish– £250

Glendronach 18 year old Tawny Port Finish– £86



What is it? The Glenturret Distillery that sits on the River Turret in one of the loveliest Perthshire glens in Scotland has been quietly going about its craft for longer than any other in Scotland. Since 1775, the Glenturret Distillery has produced small, precious quantities of Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky. This round and soft malt has been finished in top quality sherry casks.

What’s it like? On the nose there is the distinct aroma of home baking and on the palate it is rich and smooth with flavours of toffee and sweet spices. The finish is warm and satisfying. This bottle will not be with you for long – it is extremely moreish!

What is it?For this special edition, Glenturret has used peated barley. It is believed that this is more akin to how the whisky would have tasted when the distillery was first registered in 1775.

What’s it like?The malted barley would have been dried over peat fires imparting a heavy smokiness to the new make spirit. The nose gives warm bitumen and freshly baked brownie, followed in taste with a sweet, smoky flavour with slight salty notes. This is another ‘must have’ for the peat lovers out there.

What is it?Casks that once contained premium Caribbean rum are used to finish this 21 Year Old expression. The whisky spends four months finishing in selected Gran Reserva rum barrels, producing a finish that releases layers of intensity and sets this 21 Year Old apart.

What’s it like?This dark gold single malt has a sweet vanilla aroma. On the palate it offers a complex mix of citrus and spice flavours and even a touch of smoke. Its finish is very long, dry and spicy.

What is it?Something completely different, Islay’s newest distillery shows us that single malts do not have to be ancient to be enjoyed. Distilled in 2011, matured in Ruby Port casks and bottled in 2014, this ‘youngster’ shows what can be done if needs must.

What’s it like?It has a gentle mahogany colour with a touch of ruby and on the nose there are powerful citrus notes. The palate has a wonderful balance of port influence but maintains much of Kilchoman’s signature characteristics.

Glenturret Sherry Finish– £45

Glenturret Peat Finish– £45

Glenfiddich 21 year old– £ 120

Kilchoman Port Cask Matured – £100

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What is it?A blend of many different malt and grain Scotch whiskies, matured for at least 12 years. This rich, smooth blend balances style with substance and tradition with a modern twist.

What’s it like? It has a radiant, warm amber colour and an aroma of infused wild herbs, heather, honey and orchard fruits. It tastes rich and fruity, with the smooth taste of ripe, honeyed apples, and notes of vanilla and butterscotch.

What is it? Chivas 18 year old is a uniquely rich and multi-layered blend that includes over twenty of Scotland’s rarest single malt Scotch whiskies, all over 18 years old. With 85 flavour notes in every drop, each sip is a new discovery.

What’s it like?Darker than the 12 year old, it has a rich and indulgent aroma of dried fruits, toffee and dark chocolate. It has a velvety mouth feel and a dark chocolate palate yields to elegant floral notes and a wisp of sweet, mellow smokiness.

Chivas 12 year old– £33


The Chivas range–Single malt enthusiasts are slow to recognise the qualities of blended whiskies and, indeed, many, through sheer lack of knowledge, consider them to be inferior. On the contrary, a blended whisky, especially one with age, is an excellent proposition and one that is preferred by Scotch drinkers around the world. Chivas Regal is one of the world’s leading brands of luxury Scotch Whiskies. The history of Chivas Brothers can be traced back to a grocery store established in Aberdeen in 1801. As the business grew, Chivas Brothers quickly gained a reputation for supplying goods, provisions and malt whiskies of the highest quality to their customers.

Chivas Regal created the concept of a luxury Scotch Whisky when they launched a 25 Year Old in 1909. It was an exceptional blend and was shipped to New York where it was enthusiastically received amongst the social elite of Manhattan. The fame of Chivas Regal soon spread across North America and across the rest of the world.–



What is it? Chivas 25 year old is a rare and exclusive blend of the finest Scotch whiskies that have all been aged for a minimum of 25 years. This 25 Year Old is available only as a strictly limited release in individually numbered bottles.

What’s it like?Rich and golden, it has an enticing fruity aroma of sweet orange and peach, followed by notes of marzipan and nuts. On the palate it is rich and creamy with hints of chocolate orange. Its finish is smooth, rounded and luxuriously long.


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What is it? An award winning Aberlour, this expression, non chill filtered and bottled at 48% ABV, offers a generous whisky that has been expertly crafted. Every ex-sherry cask is nosed personally before being filled with spirit and then, before being passed for bottling, every cask of mature whisky used is personally nosed by a member of the whisky making team.

What’s it like?Aromas of juicy fruits, lemons and grapefruit before it sweetens. On the palate there are initial flavours of orange dipped in chocolate leading to spices, clove and ginger, before a finish which is both herbal and earthy.

What is it? Aged in a mix of Bourbon ‘Hogshead’ and Sherry butts for 14 years, the casks are then blended together and refilled into a new sherry cask to achieve a unique finish. Demonstrating the perfect harmony of the Distiller’s art and Blender’s skill, this process adds considerable depth and complexity to the whisky.

What’s it like?It has an elegant golden ochre colour and on the nose flowery, grassy notes and an underlying citrus burst. The palate is a creamy balance of sweet sherry nuttiness, orange and toffee, with smoky undertones. Its finish is buttery and smooth, with superb length and balance.

Aberlour 12 year old Non Chill Filtered– £52

Aberlour 15 year old – £73

The Aberlour range–Steeped in centuries of legend and surrounded by the dramatic Highland scenery of Ben Rinnes, the village of Aberlour lies at the very heart of Speyside, where the Lour burn joins the River Spey. The exceptionally pure, soft spring water used for making Aberlour whisky is drawn from nearby natural springs. The current Whisky Maker and his team are the same men who originally laid down the casks of what is bottled today as 18 year-old. The Aberlour single malts are usually double cask matured for at least 12 years in the finest hand-picked Oloroso Sherry butts and first fill Bourbon casks. When judged ready for bottling, they are marshalled into a distinguished range of rich and rewarding single malts.–



What is it? With the depth and complexity that comes from being matured for 16 years in a combination of first fill oak Bourbon casks and the finest Sherry butts, this expression’s warm fruity notes are enriched by an engagingly spicy sweetness.

What’s it like?Its golden amber colour gives sweet raisin aromas and a spicy nuttiness on the nose. The palate is a smooth blend of floral and spicy flavours, paired with a sweet plum fruitiness and gentle oakiness. Its finish is gloriously long, with a warm, honeyed spiciness.

What is it? Greater age adds body and a rich raisin character to Aberlour’s characteristic depth and spiciness. Matured in the highest quality casks, where it develops deep Bourbon and Oloroso Sherry flavours, this is the richest and most indulgent Aberlour expression.

What’s it like?It has a sumptuous auburn gold colour that has a rich and complex nose with notes of toffee and butterscotch combining with ripe peach and bitter orange. On the palate it is superbly structured, with initial notes of soft apricot and cream, offset by developing flavours of leather and oak, with a touch of honey. The finish is very long and well balanced, progressing from sweetness to a gentle oak flourish.

What is it? With each batch carefully made by hand, Aberlour A’bunadh is a unique cask strength single malt whisky that has achieved cult status among whisky connoisseurs. Meaning ‘the original’ in Gaelic, A’bunadh is made in homage to Aberlour’s founder, James Fleming, using only traditional methods without chill filtration or other modern processes. The result is a heavier, creamier single malt than most have ever experienced – memorably flavoursome, with an intense raisin character.

What’s it like?It has a deep rich amber colour and on the nose there are terrific aromas of allspice, praline and spiced orange, in harmony with notes of Oloroso Sherry. On the palate it carries flavours of black cherries, dried fruit and ginger with dark bitter chocolate. Always there is a lingering sherry and oak tone. It is superlatively full bodied and creamy. The finish is robust and long lasting, with bittersweet notes of exotic spices.



Aberlour A’bunadh– £60

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What is it?Just like Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, Gentleman Jack is charcoal mellowed before going into the barrel. Gentleman Jack, however, receives an additional “blessing” when it is charcoal mellowed again after reaching maturity – making it the only whiskey in the world to be charcoal mellowed twice, giving it ultimate smoothness.

What’s it like?Gentleman Jack is full-bodied with fruit and spices, and its finish is silky, warm, and pleasant. When you drink Gentleman Jack, do so with pride, for this is the whiskey a gentleman orders.

What is it? The Legend of Old No. 7 – was it simply his lucky number? Some say that Jack Daniel had seven girlfriends or the #7 train carried his barrels. Only Mr. Jack knows the real reason.They do things a little differently around Jack Daniel’s – and that’s what gives Jack Daniel’s its distinctive character. They charcoal mellow the whiskey drop by drop, then let it age in their own handcrafted barrels… and they don’t follow a calendar.

What’s it like?Charcoal mellowed drop by drop, the Tennessee Sippin’ Whiskey is ready only when the tasters say it is. They use their senses, just like Jack Daniel himself did. In fact, more than a century later, the Tennessee Whiskey is still judged the same way. By the way it looks. By the way it smells. And, of course, by the way it tastes.

Gentleman Jack– £34

Jack Daniel's No. 7– £28

Jack Daniel'sHappy Birthday –No one knows exactly when Jack Daniel was born because there are no birth records, but it’s customary to celebrate Mr. Jack’s birthday in September. We celebrate it in this Autumn edition of Whiskeria with six very attractive and easy drinking bourbons.–



What is it?The highest standard is maintained when crafting and selecting Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel. In fact, just one out of every 100 barrels is set aside to mature in the highest reaches of the barrelhouses, where dramatic temperature changes cause the colour and taste to deepen further. The Distillery says “It’s not easy making a whiskey like Single Barrel. But easy never interested us in the first place.”

What’s it like?Each barrel is hand-selected for its one-of-a-kind flavour, robust taste, and notes of toasted oak, vanilla, and caramel.

What is it? This special edition honours Mr. Jack’s opening of the White Rabbit Saloon formerly located in Lynchburg’s town square. The saloon was a favourite Lynchburg gathering place where he and his friends could spend time together and enjoy a glass of Mr. Jack’s fine Tennessee sipping whiskey.

What’s it like?Aromas of bubble gum then crystallised ginger and candied fruits. Flavour wise it starts delicate with some toasted coconut then becomes richer and lightly spiced, then a finish of charcoal and pepper with some bitter fruits.

What is it? Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey is a blend of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and a unique honey liqueur made by Jack Daniel’s, for a taste that’s one-of-a-kind and unmistakably Jack.

What’s it like?With hints of honey and a finish that’s naturally smooth, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey is something special.

What is it? Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select is bottled at 90 proof and gains its rich character from specially crafted “Sinatra Barrels” mingled with the classic Tennessee Whiskey. The Sinatra Barrels are handcrafted with the addition of deep grooves on the inside of the barrel staves. The smooth, bold character of the whiskey embodies the smooth, bold character of the man himself, Frank Sinatra.

What’s it like?The specially crafted ‘Sinatra Barrels’ expose the whiskey to extra layers of oak which imparts a rich amber colour, bold character and a pleasant smokiness, followed by an incredibly smooth vanilla finish.

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel– £47

Jack Daniel's White Rabbit– £32

Jack Daniel's Honey– £28

Jack Daniel's Sinatra Select – £175

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What is it?From the Nikka Whisky Co. – owners of two Japanese distiller-ies Yoichi and Miyagikyo. Masataka Taketsuru was born into the Taketsuru family, who owned a “sake” brewery that goes back to 1733 – and contin-ues to produce today. However, Scotch whisky captured the young man’s imagination, as well as the interest of few other enterprising Japanese of that day. He decided to dedicate his life to whisky.

What’s it like? This pure malt whisky is charac-terised by a deep and flavourful richness and excellent balance unique to whisky matured for 21 years. You’re sure to enjoy the nose, which blends the richness of ripe fruit with the elegance of the aged cask, and the complex changes in character that appear as the finish approaches.

What is it?Malt whisky is distilled exclusively from barley malt, and is considered to be the forefather of all other types of whisky. In general, it is divided into single malt whisky (several malt whiskies from a single distillery vatted together) and pure malt whisky (malt whisky from several distilleries vatted together). What’s it like? A subtle aroma of peat builds up over time and its mellow, well-rounded nose and palate are sure to please.

Off-pistedramming–We extend the range of drams that are off the beaten track. This time we feature two Japanese pure malts, a Glenfarcas, a Glenfiddich and a couple of Juras. Each is highly individual and well worth exploring.

–

Taketsuru Pure Malt 21 year old– £165

Taketsuru Pure Malt 17 year old– £130



Glenfarclas 2000– £77

Glenfiddich Excellence 26 year old – £350

Jura Tastival Bottling – £95

Jura Elixir 12 year old – £49

What is it? The Grants family have been distilling at Glenfarclas since 1865 and to this day it remains a family owned and run concern. This means that everything they do, they do it their way. This is a Whisky Shop exclusive Glenfarclas 2000.

What’s it like? Rich and fruity aromas of bramble, and orange marmalade. Flavours are big, rich and spicy leading to a light peat finish with citrus and spice.

What is it? A rare and aged single malt Scotch whisky that has spent 26 years carefully maturing in American Oak ex-bourbon casks. This expression was created to honour Glenfiddich’s line of continuous family ownership since William Grant founded the distillery in 1887. This is a luxurious single malt that truly lives up to its name. What’s it like? This is a vibrant yet soft and delicate expression, with a deep and complex balance of sweetness and dry oak tannin.

2014 Jura Whisky Festival Exclusive – a Limited Edition bottling, describing itself as “a cryptic concoction”.

What is it?A whisky to celebrate the Isle of Jura Whisky Festival – Tastival 2014, bursting full of flavour and inspiration. Matured in no fewer than 7 different oak finishes.

What’s it like?Its rich amber colour reveals an equally rich and fruity aroma that converts on the palate to flavours of liquorice allsorts and ginger bread.

What is it?The water of Jura has long been believed to possess mystical qualities, owing to a legendary blessing by St Columba nearly 1,500 years ago. The islanders certainly have a history of longevity, with stories of a man who lived to see 180 Christmases in his own home – as an ancient gravestone not far from the Distillery attests. Whether island myth or fact, Diuriachs can certainly control the ageing process when it comes to whisky. What’s it like?Endlessly intriguing overtones of crushed almonds, pineapple and fresh roasted coffee, borne of a mix of American white oak and sherry casks. Sip it slowly, and you’ll also pick up citrus fruits, dark toffee and warming ginger spice.

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noted on the bottle. It has authenticity, it’s from a great distillery, and the quality is superb.

What if the sum is £100 to £300?David: I would see what’s available from independent bottlers, such as Hunter Laing. Their speciality is to select a single cask and bottle it out, often numbering each bottle. So rarity and exclusivity are immediately in play.Andy: It could be interesting to go for distillery-exclusive bottlings. More and more distilleries offer these now. For example, The Macallan 2013 Easter Elchies originally sold for £185, and currently commands between £500 and £600 at auction.David: It’s also worth signing up to things like the Dalmore Custodians, Balvenie Warehouse 24 and The Glenlivet Guardians which allow you to buy exclusive bottles.

And if you were fortunate enough to have more than £5,000 to spend?Andy: I’d suggest a blended portfolio rather than one bottle. With that sort of budget, you can begin to consider bottles from the 1970s. Anything with a 1970s or earlier vintage will increase in value.David: Bear in mind the distilleries which are seen as being the best of the best – The Macallan, Springbank, Bowmore, Balvenie, Talisker and Mortlach and so on, and buy bottlings from those. Very rare vintages of those distilleries, from the 1930s through to the 1960s, also seem to be a real favourite with connoisseurs, collectors and investors.

Why should we believe whisky investment is here to stay and not a flash in the pan?Andy: Personally, I am very bullish about the future for whisky, but there have been specific instances of decline. There was, what I call ‘The Glenmorangie Crash’ of 2010. Values of rare old Glenmorangies halved, due to over-supply and not enough demand. Fifty per cent was wiped off the values and only now are we back at pre-crash levels. So it can happen, and there is no stock exchange to control markets, of course.There was also a problem with Bruichladdich, which released so many new expressions so often that it was impossible for collectors to keep on top of them! David: There are risks, as with every form of financial investment and I accept that values can go down. However, the market at present is buoyant and values have rocketed. Total UK auction sales in 2010 were £1.2 million, and the 2014 figure is estimated to be £6.7 million, with average bottle prices rising from £216 to £228.

If you are a Whiskeria reader considering spending money on whisky, either as a collector, or investor, what are a few basic dos and don’ts? Andy: One person’s collectible today is someone else’s drink tomorrow, so quality is paramount. Lean towards the famous distilleries such as The Macallan, Bowmore and Balvenie. Age matters for collectors, though there are exceptions, as we shall see.David: Whisky from closed distilleries sells – the Port Ellen, Brora and Rosebank do well. For lesser-known distilleries it doesn’t seem to matter whether the actual whisky is great or not. Look out for the likes of Banff, Convalmore, Glenugie, Glenury Royal, and obviously the more limited the release the better. If someone wishes to start a collection by buying something between £50 and £100 what would you recommend?David: I’d opt for things like Bowmore Devil’s Cask or Arran Devil’s Punchbowl, which are released in relatively small numbers, but are affordable.Andy: I agree. Bowmore values have increased quite rap-idly – for example the Devil’s Cask first release sold for £50 and now sells at auction for £150 plus. Bowmore is one of the good names and these releases are good value.David: I’d also recommend Balvenie Tun 141 bottlings, which are small-batch releases. Although they have no age statements that’s not an issue here, because of the integrity of the distillery, and also cask numbers are

Collecting Whisky – Gavin Smith gets expert advice_________________________________________________The increasing focus on old and rare whiskies has coincided with record low interest rates in the UK, meaning that rather than put money in the bank, people have been looking for alternative investments likely to give higher yields. So it is that the interest in collecting whisky, both for pleasure and as an investment, is stronger than ever. Gavin talks to David Robertson and Andy Simpson, the founders of Whisky 101 Limited, an agency that offers whisky advice and brokerage services._________________________________________________


Is there a parallel with fine wine, which has seen prices fall dramatically in recent years and which also seems to have more than its share of questionable investment companies offering wine for well over the odds?Andy: Yes, that cannot be denied and some of the recent revelations about the fine wine market have been quite alarming. There is, however, a major point of difference. There’s so much more wine around and the amount of whisky being sold is peanuts by comparison. Also, whis-

ky lasts indefinitely, whereas wine has a ‘drop down’ date. David: There are a lot of wine fakes out there, and while fake whisky bottles do turn up from time to time they are really very few. The most important thing is to know who you are buying from and to have some knowledge of the whisky’s provenance.

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Customer favourites–We call these ‘whiskies with legs’ because they walk out of our shops! These are the whiskies our customers buy in the greatest numbers. In terms of a guide you need look no further. There is something here for everyone. –

Aberfeldy12 Year Old– £42

The Perthshire distillery of Aberfeldy produces elegant yet robust single malts which deserve to be much more widely celebrated, though the bulk of Aberfeldy’s output goes into the best-selling Dewar’s White Label blend. The 12-year-old has an attractive honeyed nose and on the palate it is full bodied, quite sweet, with malty notes. Overall it is very nicely balanced. The finish is long and complex, becoming progressively more spicy and drying.

Bowmore Laimrig15 Year Old– £65

This Whisky Shop exclusive bottling of Bowmore takes its name from the Gaelic for ‘pier,’ referring to the ancient stone pier that once served the distillery. It is presented at cask strength after sherry cask finishing and with the addition of a little water it opens up beautifully. The nose offers an instant aroma of coal tar soap, but the rich Oloroso sherry notes deliver an attractive counterbalance. On the palate it is full bodied, with a luxurious raisin and sherry taste, complemented by wood smoke. The finish is long and spicy and smoky .



Balvenie17 Year Old– £90

Like the popular 12-year-old Balvenie DoubleWood, this 17-year-old version was matured initially in ex-bourbon casks before a final few months of European Sherry cask ageing. The result is a quintessential Balvenie, with honey, malt, vanilla, and green apples on the nose. Smooth and extremely easy to drink, the palate majors in dried fruits, vanilla and spices. The finish is medium to long, with more honey and vanilla, plus aniseed and warming oak. This is an excellent example of why it pays to trade up from a 12 year old single malt.

Glenfiddich 18 Year Old– £65

This expression of the world’s best-selling single malt has been matured in a mix of ex-sherry casks and former bourbon barrels, which gives it greater complexity than its younger siblings. The nose offers raisins, sultanas, vanilla and a dusting of cinnamon over apple. Full-bodied and creamy in the mouth, with sherry, dried fruits and brittle toffee. The finish is lengthy, with toffee and ginger. This is a cracking dram!

Glenturret Triple Wood– £45

This Whisky Shop exclusive bottling from Glenturret in Perthshire has been matured in a combination of first-fill Spanish oak sherry butts, refill American oak hogsheads and first-fill former bourbon barrels. The nose delivers, oak, vanilla and milk chocolate notes in equal measure. On the palate it is medium-bodied, with a gor-geous toffee flavour followed by more savoury flavours from the oak wood combination used in maturation. The finish generates bourbon and softly spiced herbal sensations.

Aberlour 12 Year Old– £44

Aberlour uses a mix of ex-bourbon and former sherry casks for most of its maturation, with sherry usually playing a prominent part. The 12 year old is ‘double cask matured’ in this manner and Oloroso sherry is prominent on the sweet nose, along with honey, almonds and wood. Christmas spices, sherry, stewed apple, honey and almonds appear on the palate, while ginger features in the lengthy, drying finish, along with nutmeg.

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Customer favourites(cont.)–

Dalmore 12 Year Old– £46

Stylistically, The Dalmore is a muscular Highland single malt with plenty of evidence of sherry wood maturation in most expressions. The attractively perfumed nose of the 12-year-old offers sweet malt, thick cut orange marmalade, sherry and a hint of leather. It’s a brilliant drink, full-bodied, with sweetening sherry in the mouth, along with spice and balancing, delicate, citrus notes. The finish is as long as your arm, with spice, ginger, lingering Seville oranges and even a suggestion of vanilla. A Whisky Shop malt of the year.

Balblair 1997– £69

This 1997 bottling of Balblair is one of four vintages in the core range, though these change regularly, as only limited quantities are released. Maturation of the 1997 vintage has taken place in first-fill American oak, ex bourbon barrels. On the nose it is fresh, light, and fruity. The palate features lots of succulent soft fruits, milk chocolate, honey, and spice. Spicy chocolate notes persist in the finish.This is a beautifully crafted product from a distiller at the top of its game.



Isle of Jura Superstition– £40

Jura’s iconic distillery does not traditionally produce peated whiskies. Superstition, however, comprises 13 per cent of heavily peated malt and this ingredient delivers a lightly peated result. Furthermore, components of the peated element have been aged for up to 21 years, the significance of that being that age will have softened the overall peat impact. The nose yields gentle peat aromas, a hint of sherry, toffee and honey, while on the smooth palate smoke, toffee and barley merge. The finish is medium in length, with a hint of salt and smoke. This is a very individual and attractive dram that has many followers.

Strathisla12 Year Old– £42

Strathisla is one of Speyside’s more elusive single malts, due to the fact that most of the ancient distillery’s output is destined for the Chivas Regal and Royal Salute premium blends. With a pedigree like that, this has to be good! It has a rich sherried nose with stewed fruits and spices. On the palate is it round, smooth and full-bodied, with toffee, honey, nuts and mild oak. The finish is medium in length, slightly smoky, with more oak and a final flash of ginger.

Auchentoshan12 Year Old– £42

From Glasgow’s own distillery, this dram is triple-distilled in classic Lowland fashion, but the lightness of character associated with triple-distillation gives the brand subtlety rather than anything approaching blandness. The nose features ripe orchard fruits, almonds, crème caramel and a hint of sherry. The palate delivers citrus fruits, sherry and soft oak, while the finish gives nuts and cloves. This is a smooth and attractive dram that will persuade any Irishman to switch allegiance.

Glenfarclas 10 Year Old– £43

This fabled Speysider comes in a wide range of ages, right up to 60, but the 10-year-old is a perennially popular example of the brand and its style. It exhibits a nose of rich Christmas cake, featuring sherry, raisins, nuts and spices. A background hint of smoke is also present. The palate is defined by quite dry sherry, with a developing and gradually sweetening full body. The finish is long, nutty, and comparatively dry. A family classic.

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The Directory –Join the W Club and you will receive all future editions of Whiskeria. Visit whiskyshop.com to buy your whisky the easy way and use thewclub.co.uk to read reviews, news, blogs, tasting notes, exclusive content and deals, and more! We’re also on facebook – just search for ‘The W Club’.

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8 4 D I S T I L L E R Y V I S I T

Many of the distilleries we know today had not been built when the journalist Alfred Barnard toured Scotland between 1885 and 1887, visiting all the country’s distilleries and writing about them at a time of great expansion for the industry. The fruits of his labours were ultimately published in what may be regarded as the first true ‘whisky book,’ The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom. However, one whisky-making enterprise which he visited had already been distilling for a century. This was Strathisla in the Banffshire town of Keith, known in Barnard’s time as Milton distillery, and after time spent there Barnard wrote that “…all the Distillery buildings have an old-world look, suggestively characteristic of the long established character of the works…”The distillery had been established in 1786 beside the River Isla by Alexander Milne and George Taylor under the name Milltown, soon changed to Milton, and it was acquired by McDonald Ingram & Co in 1823. Seven years later, William Longmore purchased the plant, and it was in the ownership of William Longmore & Co Ltd when Alfred Barnard visited, having briefly traded as Strathisla from 1879 before reverting to its earlier name. Barnard noted, however, that the ‘make’ of the distillery was sold as Strathisla Whisky. He wrote of Milton that “…originally a small work, it has from time to time been considerably enlarged, and under the superintendence of the present managing partner most of the newest appliances have been added, and the premises remodelled, so that the Distillery is quite comparable with the recently built Distilleries on Speyside, in modern improvements, whilst possessing the charm of age few others have.” The distillery remained in the ownership of William Longmore & Co Ltd until 1940, when London financier Jay Pomeroy purchased the plant. However, Pomeroy was found guilty of tax evasion in 1949, and the business was

declared bankrupt. This was highly fortuitous for the Seagram Company of Canada, which had just purchased Chivas Brothers Ltd of Aberdeen through its Robert Brown subsidiary. The Canadian drinks’ giant now owned the Chivas Regal blend, a North American favourite, and required distilling capacity for future production of the brand. Better still, Strathisla had long been a component of Chivas blends. Acting on behalf of Seagram, James Barclay bought ‘Milton’ for Chivas Brothers Ltd at auction for just £71,000, and a programme of refurbishment and upgrading was instigated, with the Strathisla name being reinstated during 1951. The capacity of what is arguably the oldest distillery in the Scottish Highlands was doubled from two stills to the present four in 1965, but not before an entirely new distillery had been constructed on the opposite bank of the River Isla to Strathisla. It was built in 1957/58 to help slake the growing thirst for Chivas Regal, and was named Glen Keith. It was silent between 1999 and 2013, when production resumed in the face of another whisky ‘boom.’ To service its two distilleries, Chivas constructed vast tracts of warehousing outside Keith, where some 100 million casks of malt whisky are now maturing. The company also developed bonds where Chivas Regal is blended, prior to being transported by road tanker for bottling near Glasgow. Strathisla and Glen Keith distilleries, along with Seagram’s other spirits assets, were purchased by French-based Pernod Ricard in 2001, with the company adding the best-selling Ballantine’s brand and associated distilleries to its portfolio four years later. For promotional purposes, Strathisla became the ‘Home of Chivas Regal,’ and is also closely associated with the luxury blend Royal Salute. Given that the Chivas Brothers’ range of single malts

Gavin D Smith explores the history of Strathisla Distillery

StrathislaTour



contains heavily-promoted brands such as The Glenlivet and Aberlour, it is perhaps inevitable that Strathisla is destined to remain one of the company’s ‘backroom boys,’ dedicated to supplying malt for blending purposes, though the principal 12-year-old single malt variant is an extremely good dram in its own right. So just what is it about the character of Strathisla that makes it such an ideal blending whisky? According to Peter Prentice, Heritage and Brand Experience Director at Chivas Brothers, “Our Strathisla distillery has two pairs of small, short and uniquely shaped copper-pot stills, which produce a full-bodied, fruity and nutty spirit with a warm lingering finish. It’s a classic Speyside, with a wonderful balanced richness to it and it’s the heart of all Chivas Regal and Royal Salute blends. It’s an iconic Speyside malt that provides the ultimate platform upon which to

build a luxury blended Scotch whisky, as Chivas Regal and Royal Salute so clearly demonstrate.” Strathisla attracts more than 10,000 visitors per year, and Peter Prentice points out that “They come from all over the world and are usually the most discerning types of whisky tourists, who are looking for something special and to really learn about what makes Speyside single malts some of the most revered whiskies in the world. “As one of the few distilleries to offer a tasting presentation that includes a single grain 12-year-old whisky in the experience – which allows us to talk about blending as we nose and taste Strathisla 12, Strathclyde Grain 12, Chivas Regal 12 and Chivas Regal 18 – we are well placed to meet our visitors’ needs and the feedback we receive is highly positive.” Along with its strong association with the Chivas Regal


K N O W L E D G E B A R :S T R A T H I S L A

Chivas Regal » The Chivas Regal blend has its origins in Aberdeen, where William Edward opened a grocery store in 1801, being joined in 1836 by James Chivas. The firm of Chivas Brothers was established in 1857 by James Chivas and his brother John. The company laid down stocks of whisky and ultimately begin blending in its own right. Chivas Regal was launched in 1909 and was soon enjoying strong sales in a number of global markets, being formulated as a 12 year old after the brand’s acquisition by Seagram. Today, Chivas Regal is one of the world’s best-selling premium blends, available in 12, 18 and 25 year old expressions.

Royal Salute » The super-premium Royal Salute was launched on 2 June 1953 as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her coronation. The youngest expression is a 21 year old, while others include Stone of Destiny (38 years old), 50 year old (released in 2002 to cele-brate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee), 62 Gun Salute (a minimum of 40 years old) and most prestigious of all, Tribute to Honour, launched in 2011, presented in a diamond-encrusted bottle and aged for at least 45 years.

family of whiskies, Strathisla is also home to the Royal Salute Vault, which showcases Chivas Brothers’ most exclusive blend. Participants on the ‘Ultimate Strathisla Experience Tour’ not only get to sample 21 year old Royal Salute but also to enter the Vault and taste the Royal Salute 38 year old Stone of Destiny expression straight from its cask. Additionally, there is the unique opportunity to purchase from the shop a bottle of the distillery-exclusive Strathisla 19 Year Old Cask Strength Edition, which complements the more widely available 12 year old.Apart from such attractions, it is the over-riding “charm of age,” as Alfred Barnard put it, and the quirky, highly photogenic nature of the distillery with its twin pagodas and water wheel that make spending time at Strathisla an essential experience for anyone visiting Speyside.

8 8 E X P E R T T A S T I N G

{ Charles MacLean }Expert Tasting

Dewar’s 18 Years Old & Aberfeldy 21 Years Old


Dewar’s 18 Years Old Founder’s Reserve was only introduced in 2003, the same year as the super de luxe Dewar’s Signature, but the company had a long tradition of using aged whiskies in its blends – an early predecessor of Founder’s Reserve was named Victoria Vat - and had pioneered the practice of ‘marrying’ or ‘ageing’ since 1901.

Age Matters The obligation to mature spirit for three years before it can be called ‘Scotch whisky’ was only introduced in 1916. Prior to this, standard blends were often very young indeed: in the famous ‘What is Whisky?’ case of 1905, the contents of a bottle of Fine Old Scotch Whisky had been made “less than a year before” it was sold, and this will not have been uncom-mon. Responsible blending houses like Dewar’s eschewed this practice. As early as 1897, they were urging their customers to allow whisky to mature for at least four years. An advertise-ment promoting cask sales from their Tullymet Distillery, near Ballinluig, Perthshire, states: “Customer’s Casks filled and kept Rent and Insurance Free for Four Years” Peter Mackie, owner of Lagavulin and Craigellachie Distilleries, and of the White Horse blend, urged a Royal Commission in 1909 to make a rule about compulsory bond-ing - “People engaged in the better class trade would favour a three-years minimum [maturation period]” – but it was not until the outbreak of the First World War that this was put in place. In 1915 the Immature Spirits Act required that whisky be bonded for at least two years prior to bottling (this was increased to three years in 1916), on the basis that young whisky made the drinker ‘fighting foo’, while mature whisky made him mellow. In parallel the Central Control Board (Liq-uor Traffic) was established by the Secretary of State for War, David Lloyd George, in terms of the Defence of the Realm Act, with powers to regulate the drink trade as it thought fit. Among many other measures the Board reduced the strength at which spirits could be sold, first to 75 Proof (42%Vol) then to 70 Proof (40%). Lloyd George was passionately anti-drink and wanted prohibition or at least state control of the manufacture and sale

of intoxicating liquors. His justification for the introduction of the Central Control Board was that the increased wages paid to munitions workers encouraged drinking and had to be con-trolled. He told Parliament, fatuously: “Drink is doing more damage than all the German submarines put together”. Peter Mackie, famously outspoken [see p.40], described Lloyd George as “a faddist and a crank”! Although he, and the Dewar brothers, were all in favour of minimum bonding – not least because both companies held large stocks of mature whisky – they were not at all happy about reducing the strength. The Wine & Spirit Brands Association echoed their concerns in a memo to the Control Board: “Compulsory dilution to a degree that would rob high-class brands of their distinctive characteristics, and practically reduces all brands to a common level of mediocrity, would obviously be to the advantage of those whose aim is cheapness rather than quality”. They went on to point out that it took years to estab-lish a proprietary brand, and that the ‘goodwill’ of its devotees “would be entirely destroyed if the proprietary whiskies were to be so reduced as to lose their individual characteristics and qualities”.

Double Ageing John Dewar was the firm’s first Master Blender. He was succeeded by his son, John Alexander, but by 1890 spe-cialist help was required in the blending room at Perth and A. J. Cameron joined the firm. By 1900, when he was appointed Master Blender, Alexander Cameron was an acknowledged expert in the trade. Perhaps his most significant achievement was the invention of ‘marrying’, now called ‘ageing’ by the company. John Dewar & Sons’ first historian, John L. Anderson (who was company secretary), explains:

“Hitherto [i.e. before 1901] our blending had been done on the primary principle of mixing all single Whiskies at once and completing the proprietary blend in one single operation. Mr. Cameron – then in charge of the blending department – began a series of experiments by vatting all the malts in the first instance and allowing them to lie for three or four months before re-vatting along with primary grains to arrive at the pro-prietary blend. The result was such as to justify him, later on,

9 0 E X P E R T T A S T I N G

in vatting the grains in similar manner, thus involving three operations before a proprietary blend could be completed. “This method was found to give greater uniformity and more dependable consistency to the blends, and, notwithstand-ing its complexity, has been retained as an integral part of our blending system”. The final stage was to return the finished blend to cask to allow it to ‘marry’ for two or three months, so as to ‘har-monise’ the f lavours. For many years, one of the company’s slogans was “It never varies”. The process was soon adopted by many other blenders – one, William Whitely, going so far as to send his whisky, King’s Ransom, round the world by sea to marry! - but has now generally been discarded. Ian Buxton, Dewar’s most recent historian, writes: “Over time, as whisky styles converged, this practice grew less and less used, due partly to better quality whiskies all round, as the industry modernised and developed superior quality control”. However, soon after John Dewar & Sons was acquired by its current owner, Bacardi, and following experiments done by its then Master Blender, Tom Aitken, it was revived. Tom demonstrated convincingly that the extra steps involved in ageing added a depth of f lavour, harmony and distinction to the whisky – I have tasted samples, married and unmarried, and can vouch for this – and the extra time, and therefore cost, is worth it. Every bottle of Dewar’s 18 Years Old Founder’s Reserve, now proudly displays the legend ‘Double Aged’!

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Aberfeldy 21 Years Old With the construction of Aberfeldy Distillery, to supply them with the ‘heart malt’ for their now hugely successful blends, John Dewar & Sons came of age. The Victualling Trades’ Review of September 1896 noted: “We learn that Messrs Dewar & Sons, Limited Perth and London, have taken a site on the estate of the Marquis of Breadalbane, near Aberfeldy, to erect a distillery capable of turning out 200,000 gal-lons per annum. The site is a good one, as there is a railway siding in the grounds, and the water supply is received from the Borlich Burn [today known as the Pitilie Burn] which is always full, even in the driest summer. The water has been carefully analysed, and has proved to be of the best quality for distilling purposes.” Indeed, the water was tried and tested. In 1825 Archibald McLean licensed the Pitilie Distillery a mile up-stream (it continued until 1867); furthermore, as the Aberfeldy 21 Years Old’s carton reminds us, the burn is rich in gold and is one of the few places in Scotland where people still come to pan for the precious metal. “Alchemy, the process by which base ma-

terials are turned into gold, is made a little easier when your principal ingredient already contains that precious metal”, it tells us, tongue in cheek. John and Tommy Dewar commissioned Charles Cree Doig of Elgin, the leading distillery architect of the day, who was at the height of his fame by 1896, and who is said to have designed almost a hundred whisky distilleries in Scotland and Northern Ireland. His signature invention, which would become (and remains) an iconic feature of Scottish malt distilleries, was the pagoda roof for the malt kiln – correctly named the ‘Doig Ventillator’. The one at Aberfeldy is still a key architectural feature, although it has not been used since the 1970s, and the malt f loors themselves house the excellent visitor centre, Dewar’s World of Whiskies. The new distillery was as modern as could be. Built of locally quarried stone, it incorporated a water turbine and a steam engine to provide power. A private generator supplied electricity. The duty-free warehouse was provided with a hy-draulic lift. A siding was led onto the Aberfeldy-Perth railway line which ran close by, to dispatch whisky to Dewar’s HQ in Perth for blending and bring in barley – although local farms provided most of the requirement. Initially, 20 butts of spirit (2,200 gallons or 5,700 litres of pure alcohol) were made each week. Aberfeldy Distillery went into production in 1898. Two years later, the boom years of the 1890s turned to bust. Throughout the decade, the whisky trade was seen as blue chip by banks and investors; cash for expansion was readily available, the market for blended Scotch seemed inexhaustible – Scotch (and soda) was the drink of the Empire - and skilful advertising and promotion by the leading companies, includ-ing John Dewar & Sons, kept the pot boiling. “If you don’t advertise, you fossilise”, wrote Tommy. “Keep advertising and advertising will keep you”. Dewar’s survived better than most. During his world tour in 1892-94 Tommy had appointed distributors and agents in twenty-six countries and in the early years of the twentieth century, the company’s export business compensated for the down-turn in U.K. sales, following Lloyd George’s ‘People’s Budget’ in 1909 which increased the price of a bottle. Because of this, and the continuing success of Dewar’s White Label (especially in the United States), Aberfeldy was not released as a single malt by its owner until 1991; the splen-did 21YO first appeared in 2003. As Tommy Dewar wrote: “We have great regard for old age – when it’s bottled!”


Dewar’s 18 Years Old –B L E N D E D S C O T C H W H I S K Y | 4 0 % V O L | £ 8 7

Tasting Note Similar in colour to the 12YO. The first impression on the nose is of almond oil (in time this becomes marzipan), with traces of beeswax; the texture is creamy, the taste sweet and nutty with a long, warming finish. Water increases the waxy aroma, and now there is beeswax and flower honey in the taste.

Aberfeldy 21 Years Old–S I N G L E H I G H L A N D M A L T | 4 0 % V O L | £ 1 1 5

Tasting Note The colour of amontillado sherry, dull and natural.; good legs. Beeswax cloaks the aroma, gradually revealing heather pollen, dried fruits and toasted coconut. The texture is thick and creamy – voluptuous – the taste sweet, with a tang of orange peel, a hint of oak and a trace of allspice. Profoundly mellow. Drink straight.


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9 4 O N T H E O T H E R H A N D

In saying this I do accept that whisky’s relationship with the music industry is not exactly uplifting, particularly, when you mix in the powerful toxin of love! From Sinatra’s bar-room torch songs, to assorted bourbon bore-fests, denouncing whisk(e)y as the work of the devil, in these cheery ditties, the depressed diva describes a descent into drunken-ness and doom, often decrying the quality of the whisky that has catalysed this downward spiral. They’ve lost their love, they are alone with a bottle, they are wandering from bar to bar. Sixties rock icons, The Doors, sang: ‘show me the way to the next whisky bar’ and spurred a thousand imitators, who went on to write blues and boozed based numbers blaming it all on whiskey. Francis Albert Sinatra urged ‘Joe’ to ‘set em up’ and ‘give me ‘one for my baby and one more for the road’ so, not only was he

{On the other hand} Victor Brierley

Whisky a-go- go You don’t have to drink alcohol. You don’t have to listen to music. But if you’re going to, Scotch and music might be the perfect couplet…


sitting with a barman, in a deserted, about to close bar, but he was also contemplating driving with obviously a vastly excessive amount of Bourbon in his system. Yes, the record shows (pun intended) that whisky drinking and music don’t exactly go together like the lyrical ‘horse and carriage’. So what am I saying? Good question! Well, there is another side to this dark and dingy moon. That would be a respectable, 21st Century Drink-aware, grown up, politically correct side. When you consider the range of beverages behind the bar and the many and various drinking occasions, as a generalisation it can be said that beer is for when you are thirsty and standing at a bar, wine is for dining, but whisky is for that special moment when you want to engage the sensory pleasures of time and place. The scene I set and offer to you as a starter for ten, is your favourite room in the house, your favourite chair, your favourite time of day, your favourite dram, your favourite etc etc (you’ve got the picture) and, crucially, your favourite music! I think it works. When I drink whisky, which is reasonably often, my choice of tune tends to be ‘Scotch’. And there’s the rub, because in 21st Century Scotland, what actually IS ‘Scottish’ music? There have been numerous crimes against music recorded in the ‘Scottish’ genre – kilted patriots extolling the virtues of ‘hame’ and other places beloved by the North American post war audience – but that’s not my kind of ‘Scotch’.

No, there’s loads of great Scottish musical medicine which help the drams go down, and precious little of it is what you might call ‘traditional’. I spent a ‘dram-tastic’ Hogmanay in Ullapool where the strains of a massive, ever changing, instrument swapping and incredible bunch called ‘The Treacherous Orchestra’, helped create the most memorable perfect New Years’ Day whisky party ever. Ditto, the Vatarsay Boys from down Barra way. They are good, old, traditional boys. Except they’re not really boys anymore and they are about as far from traditional as you can get. A manic, crammed out event in Glasgow’s Barrowland or, on their home-ish turf, The Castlebay Hotel on Barra, (which although not focused hugely on Whisky, is one of the World’s best bars to drink whisky in) really can’t be dreamed about without a dram as the accompaniment. I can’t really write this without mentioning my local bar in Glasgow. The Ben Nevis, has ‘sessions’ every week and lots of Scotland’s best student (and visiting) talent, swapping instruments, putting a modern spin on traditional tunes or putting a traditional spin on modern tunes all designed to help the whisky go down. And if you think of ‘modern’ music to drink Scotch to, sample Calvin Harris, KT Tunstall, Texas… och there’s loads, so let’s just focus on The three P’s: Paolo Nutini, Primal Scream and of course, the Proclaimers. I can go on and on and on! Have I whetted your appetite? When you’re trapped in a bar, sheltering from a storm and Travis comes on the sound system, mournfully asking: “Why does it always rain on me?”, remember, all that rain is tomorrow’s whisky. In music, there’s always something to be thankful for.

Victor’s pretentious tasting notes

This issue’s small selection proves to me that if you taste too

many whiskies, actually, you go mad!

1 / “Indulgent and slightly dangerous – delicious”

Conversation in whisky bar:-

– Waiter: What can I get you Sir?

– Customer: I’d like something indulgent and slightly dangerous!

– Waiter: Only slightly dangerous, Sir?

– Customer: If you have something very dangerous but

not at all indulgent, I would to give it a shot.

– Waiter: I will see what I can do, Sir.

2 / “Surely a finish, but I couldn’t quite place the influence, despite

it having the malt in a half nelson. Curious but I liked it.”

Sadly, I fear that this is not all the writer cannot place – too much time

on the wrestling mat? Definitely curious.

3/ “Jumps and bites”

That would be a crab – wouldn’t it?

4 /“Sometimes the palate cries out for whiskies as direct as this,

especially on cold days like today”

Come on whisky, give it to me straight, I can take it!

5/ “Homemade syrup sponge meets the nose (SPLAT!) with a

sweetness and warmth that invites you in..”

Listen to Victor’sWhiskeria Playlist on Spotify » goo.gl/bdGMZM– [My Baby Does] Good Sculptures | The RezillosWillie Stewart | Eddie ReaderRockin’ Through The Rye | Bill HayleyTwistin’ The Night Away | Rod Stewart10/10 | Paulo NutiniYou Were Made For Me | Freddie And The DreamersMay You Never | John MartynLosing Sleep | Edwyn CollinsI’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) | The ProclaimersThe Road To Vatersay | Vatersay BoysMovin’ On Up | Primal ScreamBuona Sera | Louis Prima

“An astonishing, life-remembering

dram of labyrinthine complexity”

The Last Drop Distillers brings you its latest

and smallest offering– only 388 bottles in all.

Jim Murray awards it 96.5 – among the World’s top 20

whiskies. Award yourself this great experience,

before there is no more.

www.lastdropdistillers.com

Whiskeria FP Ad No 1.indd 1 19/02/2014 17:14

“An astonishing, life-remembering

dram of labyrinthine complexity”

The Last Drop Distillers brings you its latest

and smallest offering– only 388 bottles in all.

Jim Murray awards it 96.5 – among the World’s top 20

whiskies. Award yourself this great experience,

before there is no more.

www.lastdropdistillers.com

Whiskeria FP Ad No 1.indd 1 19/02/2014 17:14

9 8 C O M P E T I T I O N

HEY CHECK ME OUT

COMPETITION:mixed six fix! Hard to say, and even harder to believe; to celebrate this music-fuelled edition of Whiskeria we are delighted to offer you the chance to win all 6 of these fabulous whiskies.

That’s right, all 6 for free!

Still here... what are you waiting for?! To be in with a chance, simply visit our facebook page for further information:

www.facebook.com/thewhiskyshop

The winner will be drawn at random from all correct entries received by 31st October 2014.

The judges’ decision will be final. All normal competition rules apply. Entrants must be over 18 years old.

Enter our competition on Facebook.com/thewhiskyshop


Enter our competition on Facebook.com/thewhiskyshop

Documents

Whiskeria Autumn 2014