I always look forward to pieces by Will Lyons in Scotland on Sunday.He recently did a piece on Johnnie Walker that goes beyond the usual reporting on facts and figures and gets to the heart of the real story. Love it or hate it, Johnnie Walker is the face of Scotch whisky to much of […]
The growth in popularity of “Brown Spirits” can be best evidenced in the growing number of “festivals” to celebrate their consumption. Like this new one for the fine people of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Please note that this event is NOT associated with the Malt Advocate “Whisky Fest” events) Pittsburgh Whiskey Festival Inaugural Festival Offers World-Renowned Whiskies […]
Crown Royal, everyone’s favorite Canadian blended whisky, is getting the special treatment. Or at least a single expression of it is. Crown Royal Cask No. 16 begins with a blend of more than 50 different aged whiskies. The blend is then placed in French oak casks which had previously held cognac. There is no age […]
More Peat The crazy bastards at Bruichladdich are getting ready to fire up the stills for a new expression of yet another heavily peated mash. This one, to be called Lochindaal (after the large body of water just yards from the front gate - and also one of the names that the now long gone […]
We return to our regular schedule of Ask the Collector - the last Friday of each month. We still get lots of requests for valuation of whisky, but many of the requests are from people who can’t read. 2 basic rules are consistently violated: Send a picture. Before asking, take a look at the”Ask the […]
Ingvar Ronde (Editor of the Malt Whisky Yearbook) tells me that he is in the midst of finalizing the 2008 edition - and soon it will be off to the printer. Who knows, maybe I’ll get a stack to sell again this year. Pre-order interest anyone? Here’s what to expect in this year’s editionSome of […]
If you think I get a lot of inside information, you should meet my friend John Hansell. Name sound familiar? John publishes a little magazine called Malt Advocate and is behind the Whisky Fest shows (with Amy Westlake, of course). Yeah, that John Hansell. John started a new feature on the Malt Advocate site called […]
Still on vacation . . . I am NOT able to approve comments whilst gone. Originally Posted - December 15, 2005 Attracting new Scotch drinkers Attracting new drinkers. That seems to be the new imperative for many distillers. Bruichladdich introduces “Rocks” a single malt actually designed to be served over ice. HERESY! Glenlivet sponsors a […]
Of course by now, you all know of the untimely death of Beer & Whisky writer legend Michael Jackson on August 30th. At the time of his death I was in the middle of Nevada’s Black Rock desert with no access to the outside world. I did not learn about his death until my return. […]
You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a whisky school now-a-days, and why not? The more schools that pop up, the more likely you are to spend some quality production time at the same place your favorite dram is made. Springbank, a perennial fan favorite and the distillery that literally put Campbeltown back on […]