10 January 2017

The Macallan Tweet Tasting


As we continue our triumphant teeming throng of Tweet Tastings into the New Year, we’re absolutely thrilled to announce that on January 25th, we’ll be celebrating Burns Night in fine style, as we team up with those majesty’s of the malt at The Macallan.
 
On the night we’ll be sharing, sipping and savouring The Macallan’s trilogy of 12 Year Old’s; Fine Oak, Sherry Oak and Double Cask. We’re also delighted to announce that Brand Ambassador, Sietse Offringa will also be joining us and tweeting in on the action.
 
If you would like to take part in what will be an epic evening of dramming discovery, with one of the most iconic Scotch whisky distillery’s click here to register your interest by emailing your name, address and Twitter handle, remembering to mark the subject line of the email: #TheMacallan
 
The closing date to register is January 17th, and if you are registering to take part please make sure that you will actually be free on the night!
 
Even if you're not one of our selected Tweet Tasters, it'd be great to have you following all the evening’s dramfotainment, so we look forward to seeing you over on Twitter on January 25th at 19:00 GMT via hashtag #TheMacallan
 
Registration open to over 18's only
 
For more information on The Macallan, visit: themacallan.com
 
@TheWhiskyWire
@The_Macallan

5 January 2017

Whisky Insiders Interview - Julie Trevisan Hunter



Company:
The Scotch Whisky Experience

Job:
Head of Marketing

Website:
scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk




How long have you been working in the whisky industry?
Just over 20 years. I have loved working in that unique space between whisky and tourism, it has to be the ultimate combination for a Scot!  Both industries are exceptionally collaborative on one level or another and that element really broadens your horizons and makes every day different.

What has been your biggest career highlight to date?
That is a really difficult question to answer. I am going to cop-out and give you a few. Co-blending our 21st anniversary blend with my colleague under the watchful eye of William Grant’s Master Blender was phenomenal, culminating in a 10cl sample bottle which passed all the critics and made it to bottling. Having never worked in production I was pretty sure that there would be a substantial gap between theory and practice, but we got it right!
 
Launching our new tour following our biggest ever investment in 2009 was also incredibly exciting. It was the culmination of a huge amount of work, lots of research together with a few risks and leaps of faith so the success that it met with was both a delight and a relief! It has also provided the springboard for annual investments throughout the business allowing us to go from strength to strength.
 
Can you remember your first dram, and indeed what it was?
I can remember my first drams in the plural. Early entries in the list that intrigued and beguiled me were Longmorn, Bruichladdich, GlenDronach, Talisker, Highland Park and Lagavulin. I can remember trying each one for the very first time and truly picking up distinguishable unique flavours. That was it…no turning back!
 
I can also clearly remember that this led on to sending a gift of a bottle Lagavulin to try to convince my partner of the time to follow me home to Scotland and settle here… it worked!
 
What does whisky mean to you?
I believe that every whisky is really a story. It is the essence of that moment in time when it was first casked, locking in the skill of the people who made it, but changing and softening and adapting and taking on the effects of the little world around it. This is what we all do as time passes and it creates our own stories and that of the whisky.
 
When the time comes we ship the bottle off to who knows where, like an invitation from Scotland to discover the story and perhaps even retrace the whisky’s voyage to discover its origins. I strongly believe that everyone that works in the Scotch whisky industry has the same ultimate responsibility: to create or to tell that story.
 
Where would you like to see yourself in five years’ time?
Hosting more and more fascinated press and media from all over the world and converting them to Scotch whisky. Telling more stories!
 
What was your last dram?
To be honest I’m not sure as it was hidden in a hip flask for a chilly day at the rugby. I think it was a Glenlivet Nadurra.
 
Do you have a favourite whisky and food pairing combination?
Yes!  I love whisky and food at the end of a meal with dessert of cheese. My ultimate pairing is quite specific so maybe not for everyone:  Hotel du Chocolat hazelnut praline with a touch of chilli chocolate paired with Dalmore 18 Year Old, and I also love Hebridean Blue cheese with Lagavulin 16 Year Old.
 
What’s your favourite time and place to enjoy a dram?
Always in company because whenever I drink whisky I want to talk about it!  That usually means at the end of a meal at home with friends, passing round glasses, trying new derivations and exchanging contrasting views!
 
What do you think is going to be the next big thing on the whisky horizon?
Whisky tourism!  It is time for it to really start booming. We’ll soon see even great floods of visitors taking us up on the invitation to discover Scotch whisky’s homeland.
 
What’s the one dram you couldn’t live without?
From a taste point of view there are so many I love that I think I would cope!  But there are two which I just love to see whenever I travel as sort of “calling cards” for Scotland and I would be gutted not to see them championing us all over the world; Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal. From my marketing point of view I just love the brands.
 
Many thanks to Julie Trevisan Hunter. Who will be our next Whisky Insider? Click back soon to find out!

21 December 2016

Quick Fire Whisky Tasting Notes

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Rye
 
 
Nose: Gloriously garish rye grains - wood cocktail bitters - foam bananas from a pick ‘n’ mix - grilled peaches - bergamot oil - warm cherry pie drenched in Madagascan vanilla custard - toffee popcorn - ground cinnamon - ripe avocado - dill pickles - poly cement (Airfix) glue and exuberant echoes of the brands signature charcoal mellowing.
 
Palate: Sweet charred oak - rye spice - sugared almonds - freshly grated nutmeg - Dentyne cinnamon chewing gum - caramelized fennel fronds - peach and apricot Muller Fruit Corner yogurt - Tiptree orange marmalade smeared over buttered granary toast - Luxardo maraschino cherries - more of those ripe avocados and something moreishly menthol-esque.
 
Finish: A sassy spiced, teasing Tennessee treat, of lush liquid Americana on the finish front, that neither under or overstays its welcome on the palate.
 
Summary: As a big fan of both Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Select and the much underrated but ever growing rye whisky category, I was beyond intrigued to find out more about this latest release. After sampling I can well and truly confirm that it offers up some very ‘good, good, good, good rye-brations’! In addition to being a superb solo sipper, it also just happens to make a rather fine and dandy Old Fashioned.

 

12 December 2016

The 12 Drams of Christmas 2016


For the last five six we’ve brought you our ’12 Drams of Christmas’ as chosen by you! So we thought it would only be rude not to do the same again this year, and use it as a great excuse to start getting into the festive spirit.
 
Since November 23rd you’ve been nominating your top three favourite festive drams in abundance, and after trawling through all the entries and tallying up all the nominations, here are our '12 Drams of Christmas' in ranking order, as chosen by you!
 
Just in case you're thinking of gifting any of this year’s dramspanking festive dozen, we've done all the hard work and have also included the most current and competitive retail details. Hootendrammy!
 

A huge thanks to all those who took part and entered, the response was absolutely phenomenal. In return for your nominations we added the names of everyone who entered into our virtual Santa hat for a chance to win a bottle of The Glenlivet 18 Year Old and two guaranteed spaces in any of our Tweet Tastings in 2017.
 
We’re delighted to announce that Sharon James from Reading had her name drawn from the hat and is our winner, congratulations! Your bottle will be winging its way to you later this week!

1 December 2016

Whisky Insiders Interview - Winston Edwards



Company:
Balcones Distilling

Job:
Distillery Ambassador

Website:
balconesdistilling.com




How long have you been working in the whisky industry?
I started working with Balcones just over four years ago, but I’ve been involved with the whisky industry in some form since 2008.
 
What has been your biggest career highlight to date?
The recent opening of our new distillery really does surpass all previous highlights in my whisky career. I remember stepping foot in that building, exactly five years ago last week and imagining how amazing it would be one day, and much to my surprise, it turned out even better than I could have possibly visualized. It is incredibly rewarding to see what some people very close to me have accomplished, and to be a part of it. It’s almost as if the dream is over, and now we get to wake up and live it.
 
If I had to pick something slightly more personal and amusing, another big highlight was discovering that one of my biggest musical influences growing up is a fan of Balcones. Thanks to that, he’s now an acquaintance of mine. It’s amazing the kind of opportunities this business affords you!
 
Can you remember your first dram, and indeed what it was?
I’m going to assume that by “dram” we’re referring to the first glass of whisky I truly enjoyed. For me that would be Woodford Reserve. I had been dabbling in some fairly common blended scotch but never found anything that really piqued my senses. Then along came a friend with a bottle of Kentucky bourbon. I had tried bourbon before, but nothing I would admit to today. One sip and I was hooked, I was now a diehard bourbon drinker. This eventually led to me attending the Woodford Reserve Bourbon Academy at the distillery, where a week in Kentucky opened me up to many new whiskies I had never even heard of. It was all downhill from there and I spent many hours and even days feeling the effects of the whisky bug, chasing down rare, old and allocated bottles.

What does whisky mean to you?
Whisky means a lot of things to me. For one, it’s an artisanal product, the culmination of efforts by a group of people to create something that delights us. There’s something special about that because it takes a lot of time to make something worthwhile, and I can’t help but respect that kind of patience.

Whisky of course is my job, but it’s not just about being my livelihood. Rather, it’s more about being involved in something I truly believe in, and getting to interact with that product and the people that make it almost every day. To us, whisky is a way of life, one that we are immensely grateful for.

Last but not least, like most people that drink whisky, it’s something that pleases my senses. I’ve always been big on food, which grew into a love for wine and beer, and whisky is like the pinnacle of manmade beverages. It’s an experience that can excite me much in the same was as music, which is another one of my passions.

Where would you like to see yourself in five years' time?
Japan, Australia, Germany… who knows. We get a lot of international interest in Balcones and I’d love to help grow our presence abroad. Of course we have lots of work to do in Texas first, never mind the rest of the country, but I really look forward to the day that I can start showing the rest of the world just how special what we do is.

What was your last dram?
One of our commemorative editions from the opening event we had two weeks ago, a cask strength version of Baby Blue. I was just at the distillery giving a tour and helped myself to a taste. Less than 500 bottles were made and were only sold exclusively at the distillery. It’s a curious approach we took with the whisky, which typically ages in small oak casks. This particular rendition went into 60-gallon American oak that had been refilled a few times already, so it allowed us to mature the spirit much longer and develop the grain flavour, while still maintaining the lighter wood profile of Baby Blue.

Do you have a favourite whisky and food pairing combination?
Food and whisky are tricky with me, I’m more likely to enjoy a beer or wine while eating. But, honestly, I don’t think there is a better pairing than a good whisky and chocolate. Lots to be said about how they complement and contrast each other.

What’s your favourite time and place to enjoy a dram?
Late night gatherings with my friends are my favourite time and place to have a whisky. It’s great fun to gather around a few special bottles of whisky and share something excellent together.

What do you think is going to be the next big thing on the whisky horizon?
I think this is good time for craft whisky to graduate and become a serious player in the industry. People are starting to care more and more about where what they consume comes from, and hyper local spirits will be a big extension of that foodie movement.

What’s the one dram you couldn’t live without?
Besides Balcones, right? For me that would be Four Roses Single Barrel. That is just such an immediately accessible but delicious whisky. I think I may have to grab one now…

Many thanks to Winston Edwards. Who will be our next Whisky Insider? Click back soon to find out!