Whisky Insiders Interview No. 95 - Gregg Glass

Company:
The Whisky Works / Whyte & Mackay

Job:
Whisky Maker and Blender

Website:
thewhiskyworks.com



How long have you been working in the whisky industry?
I started in the whisky industry in the Summer of 1999, initially as a tour guide at my local Highland distillery and I knew then this was the industry I wanted to work in. Thereafter I had a number of other roles within whisky.
 
I later joined Compass Box and focussed on cask selection, quality control and whisky creation, becoming their Whisky Maker in 2005. Working alongside the team both past and present was great and I have a huge amount of pride and respect for what the company has achieved.

In December 2016, I joined Whyte & Mackay to work alongside Master Blender Richard Paterson.

What has been your biggest career highlight to date?
Working alongside Richard is an obvious one but in terms of whisky development and creation, to start making and using Scottish oak casks built by Scottish Coopers through The Whisky Works project. This has been something I’ve been personally researching, trialling and developing for over a decade.

Visiting local sawmills, collaborating with the coopers, and developing with the Whyte & Mackay team as part of the launch of The Whisky Works, and specifically King of Trees, has been extremely rewarding.

Can you remember your first dram, and indeed what it was?
In my early teens, I remember tasting Glenmorangie 10 Year Old from my parents’ home drinks cabinet. My first pub dram was Black Bottle.

What does whisky mean to you?
It’s about people. From farmer or forester through to drinker. A particular aspect of this is the community of hardworking, dedicated and passionate individuals within the industry itself.

Whisky is about both appreciating the whisky and celebrating the many people involved in creating it. I see myself as a “hands-on” whisky maker. For me, to truly understand a craft you need both the knowledge and first-hand experience of the processes you manage. With The Whisky Works, we are closer to every part of the whisky-making process.

Quick Fire Whisky Tasting Notes

Kilchoman Loch Gorm

2019 Edition

Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
46% ABV

 

 

Nose: The last remaining smoking embers from a beach barbecue - a just opened bag of Frazzles – hoisin sauce – a clove studded Seville orange – sherry soaked ladyfingers – unbaked fruit cake mix – Werther’s Original soft caramels - sugar coated almonds – chocolate covered coffee beans – toasted cinnamon sticks and a tease of something mentholy fresh.

 

Palate: A salted coastal kiss of the sea – wood smoke – allspice – crispy smoked bacon rinds – Muller blueberry fruit corner yogurt - gooseberry compote – Dapple Dandy plums – chocolate limes - the cherry and slice of orange peel that’s been soaking up all the loveliness from an Old Fashioned – buttered slices of malt loaf and a sip-ette of espresso.

 

Finish: A vivacious and vibrant, lingering finish, that’s as full, fine and feisty as its first nose and sip!

 

Summary: Keeping it plain and simple, this is another beautifully balanced, kick ass, killer of a Kilchoman!

 

 

JJ Corry Irish Whiskey Tweet Tasting

Continuing our teeming throng of industry leading, Twitter trending Tweet Tastings, we’re absolutely thrilled to announce that on April 17th, we’ll be teaming up with the Chapel Gate Irish Whiskey Co, to pour and explore a trio of expressions from their multi award-winning JJ Corry whiskey brand.

 

Founded in 2015 by Louise McGuane, who has resurrected the lost art of Irish whiskey bonding under the JJ Corry brand name. The Chapel Gate Irish Whiskey Co, is maturing whiskey in a purpose built bonded rackhouse on the McGuane family farm in Cooraclare, County Clare, on the West Coast of Ireland.

 

In addition to sharing, sipping and savouring JJ Corry’s rather dram epic, inaugural ‘The Gael’ blended whiskey expression, we’ll also be uncovering and discovering two other dramming ditties, but for now details of these are on a hush, hush, mums the word, all will be revealed in good time basis!

 

If you would like to take part on what promises to be an epic evening of Irish whiskey dramfotainment click here to register your details by emailing your name, postal address, Twitter handle and age confirmation. Please also remember to mark the subject line: #JJCorryWhiskey

 
The closing date to register is March 29th, and if you are registering please make sure that you will actually be free on the evening of April 17th to take part!
 
Even if you're not one of the 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 April 17th at 19:00 BST via #JJCorryWhiskey

 

Registration open to over 21's only!

 

For more info on JJ Corry, visit: chapelgatewhiskey.com

 

@TheWhiskyWire

@WhiskeyGate

#JJCorryWhiskey

 

 Be part of the dramfotainment!

Whisky Insiders Interview No. 94 - Louise McGuane

Company:
JJ Corry Irish Whiskey

Job:
Founder & CEO

Website:
jjcorry.com



How long have you been working in the whisk(e)y industry?
I’ve been working in the drinks industry over 20 years, but with whiskey specifically for about 12 years.

What has been your biggest career highlight to date?
Quitting my job at Diageo and resurrecting the lost art of Irish Whiskey Bonding.

Can you remember your first dram, and indeed what it was?
Yes, the first one I vividly remember was Glenmorangie, when I was working for LVMH. We were at the Brand Home in the great hall, surrounded by African hunting trophies listening to the history of the place. An incredible moment.

What does whisk(e)y mean to you?
Whiskey is basically my entire life. As a whiskey entrepreneur running an independent start-up it can’t be any other way. It’s what I think of before I go to bed at night, it’s what I dream about when I’m asleep and it’s the first thing on my mind when I wake up. It’s a total obsession.

Where would you like to see yourself in five years’ time?
I’d like to have four or five rack house’s full of maturing whiskey on the farm, an expanded blending room with lot more cool kit and a Napa Valley Style tasting room in my local village creating high quality employment locally. I also want to have expanded our global footprint to all the key markets where Irish Whiskey in in growth.

What was your last dram?
It was a 1991 sherry cask single malt - a very rare Irish whiskey, that I shared with some new customers.

Do you have a favourite whisky and food pairing combination?
In County Clare where we are based, we have some amazing food producers. We’ve played around with smoked salmon gravlax cured with new make and it’s pretty delicious. Best served up with soda bread heaped in locally made butter and a glass of The Gael.

What’s your favourite time and place to enjoy a dram?
Late night unwinding after a long day, sitting on the couch with my husband and my dog Ruby snuggled in.

What do you think is going to be the next big thing on the whisky horizon?
Irish will continue to rise and the new Independent distilleries emerging will begin doing really interesting things outside of the Technical File. The Highball serve will break out of Japan where it’s a powerhouse and become a lot more popular elsewhere. I think English Whiskey has a bright future too.

What’s the one dram you couldn’t live without?
I have a 28 year old, sherry cask in my rack house on the farm. It’s one of the first casks we sourced, and I now consider it to be a very good friend of mine.  I honestly don’t think I am ever going to sell it, we will simply grow older together.

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