The 2021 Malt Whisky Yearbook was released this month, garnering due and appropriate attention around the world. It’s worth looking into this remarkable publication….
Category: News
Free the whisky
Most whisky enthusiasts around the globe have heard of the dramas and dilemmas taking place in British Columbia, Canada, where the government conducted a raid on a whisky bar and confiscated over 240 bottles of single malt whisky. It’s time to free the whisky.
Chivas ‘The Blend’ Experience
Have you ever tried your hand at blending? Think you’ve got what it takes to come up with a delicious whisky? Would you like to be a Master Blender for a day? The Blend by Chivas is giving you that very opportunity!
Chivas ‘The Blend’ Experience is a fantastic event to not just learn a bit about Scotch whisky and the story behind one of Scotland’s most famous blends, but to also have a crack at blending and putting together your own blended Scotch. Best of all, you get to take home a 200ml bottle of your own creation at the end of the session!
Chivas ‘The Blend’ Experience is coming to four cities across Australia over the next five months and whisky drinkers are able to sign up and register for their own session. Full details on this a little lower below but, first of all, what’s involved?
Icons of Whisky 2020 – The Australian Awards
The Icons of Whisky 2020, Australia awards were held in Sydney on October 21st this year. The Icons of Whisky is an awards program convened by Whisky Magazine and its international agents to recognise the people, places, and products that strive for excellence in the whisk(e)y industry.
Originating in the UK back in 2007, the awards have since grown to recognise the local players in many international markets, with countries/regions such as America, India, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, and Rest of the World now holding annual awards. The winners in each category in their local awards go forward to be part of the Global Icons of Whisky Awards, held in London.
The Australian awards were a fun (if slightly boisterous) affair, with the room filled with distillers, distributors, brand ambassadors, bartenders, hospitality managers, whisky tourism and visitor attraction personnel, accounts managers, sales teams and, yes, even the occasional whisky writer. James Buntin, a long-time whisky ambassador who’s worked with many of the brands over the years, was an appropriate MC for the evening.
Continue reading “Icons of Whisky 2020 – The Australian Awards”
Archie Rose Six Malt New Make – the giant stirs
As the Australian whisky revival and renaissance marches on, there are now countless highlights and spikes on the radar. Australian whiskies winning awards; new distilleries being established; new releases being launched…the scene now generates its own continuously scrolling newsfeed.
As for the Australian distillers and distilleries themselves, the field has grown to the point where there is a marked split between the craft players and the big guys that now run genuinely industrial and commercial operations.
Continue reading “Archie Rose Six Malt New Make – the giant stirs”
Johnnie Walker Black Label Sherry Edition
The Johnnie Walker stable of whiskies continues to grow and expand, as the latest edition to the Black Label, the “Sherry Edition” demonstrates. Whisky & Wisdom has covered off most of the new releases and expressions in recent times (see links below), but whether Johnnie Walker is your cup of tea or not, you can’t accuse the world’s biggest selling brand of Scotch whisky of standing still. I guess that’s why Johnnie Walker is the striding gent.
Continue reading “Johnnie Walker Black Label Sherry Edition”
Diageo Special Releases 2017
Our annual take on the range each year, this is our piece on the Diageo Special Releases 2017 whiskies…
Glenmorangie Spios
The whisky calendar is blessed these days to have annual events and annual releases that we all look forward to. For example, Islay-philes hang out each year for the Feis Ile bottlings, and Ardbeg fans are always keenly anticipating May for Ardbeg Day and the release of the special Ardbeg limited edition that accompanies it. For those who prefer a more typical “Highland” style of whisky, there is always huge interest in the annual release of Glenmorangie’s Private Edition bottling. This year’s release – Private Edition No. 9 – is called Spios. Glenmorangie Spios.
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society presents….Exotic Cargo
Members or watchers of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society may recently have heard about one of the Society’s latest projects: The release of a blended malt. No, not a blend….a blended malt. (And if that subtle distinction in terminology still confuses you, you are welcome to write to the Scotch Whisky Association and let them know your thoughts on the matter. Good luck.) It goes by the name of Exotic Cargo
If there’s one thing you can’t accuse the Society of doing in recent times, it’s standing still. Clubs, societies, bottlers, and brands need to continually evolve and change with the times, and the Society has been particularly pro-active in expanding its list of bottlings and the benefits that membership bestows on its members.
Continue reading “The Scotch Malt Whisky Society presents….Exotic Cargo”
Ardnamurchan 2016/AD
It’s hardly shiny or earth-shattering news to write that new distilleries are popping up all over Scotland. In fact, such a statement is unlikely to pique any interest amongst the more learned whisky enthusiasts. However, what does become interesting is when you start to look at the geography of these new distilleries. Many are now re-populating the Lowlands, such as the Glasgow Distillery, or the wee-explosion of distilleries in Fife (e.g. Kingsbarns, Daftmill, etc). Others are adding to the spectrum of Speyside, such as Ballindalloch or Dalmunach.
When starting a new distillery in these current times, the owners will be looking for some key necessities when deciding upon the site of their distillery. In addition to the most obvious requirement (i.e. a good water source), other considerations will be existing infrastructure, convenient access, shared resources, a ready-made tourist trail for visitors, and ease of transport for both the delivery of raw materials and the departure of spirit and filled casks. So – with all these essentials being key to a successful distillery start-up, why would you choose to locate your distillery in one of the most far flung, remote, and inaccessible parts of Scotland? In the case of Ardnamurchan, the answer is pretty simple: Because they can.