Category: Wisdom & Opinions

The Scotch whisky distillery building boom

If you’ve been somewhat overwhelmed by all the new whisky distilleries to appear in recent years, you’re not alone! The Scottish whisky distillery construction business is in a true boom cycle at present, with the building pursuit effectively splitting itself into four vastly different endeavours.

The first is the raft of new, relatively small distilleries being built.  Of course, this got its start a little over 10 years ago or so with the likes of Daftmill and Abhainn Dearg, but has exploded more recently with the likes of Kingsbarns, Ballindalloch, Ardnamurchan, Wolfburn, Glasgow…and well, the list goes on, right down to the tiny operations of, say, Strathearn and Dornoch.  If you haven’t kept up, it’s almost alarming to discover that over 30 new distilleries have recently started up or are currently under construction from the Lowlands to the Islands and everywhere in between.

Continue reading “The Scotch whisky distillery building boom”

Whisky is just like Sudoku

Whisky is like Sudoku.  Or, depending on which pursuit you got involved with first, Sudoku is just like whisky.  Sound a bit far-fetched?  The two have more in common than you think…

Contrary to its appearance, Sudoko is not a maths puzzle or an exercise in arithmetic.  Despite the array of numbers and a crossword-like pattern, it’s merely a logic puzzle based on nothing more than elimination.  The puzzle is solved by eliminating incorrect possibilities as you fill in the blanks.  Sudoku’s similarity with whisky becomes apparent when you look at the journey an individual goes on as they transition from novice to expert.

Continue reading “Whisky is just like Sudoku”

TIB – Tasmanian Independent Bottlers

The local Australian whisky scene continues to expand and self-cultivate.  Between the many new distilleries starting up and the older distilleries bringing new and matured stock to market (plus a couple of larger enterprises starting to flex their muscles), there’s plenty to taste and get excited about.   It also seems that the scene can now sustain the one last gap that remained to be filled:  The Australian independent bottler.   And TIB – Tasmanian Independent Bottlers – is going the whole hog.

Tasmanian Independent Bottlers is not the first Australian independent bottler (Trappers Hut possibly took that honour over 10 years ago) and there are certainly other labels around – Dark Valley and Heartwood being obvious examples.  But it’s no accident that we mention Heartwood here, for TIB is Heartwood’s younger cousin.

Continue reading “TIB – Tasmanian Independent Bottlers”

Whisky’s impossible question

I was at a social gathering recently and found myself amongst a circle of newly-made acquaintances whom I was introduced to just five minutes earlier.  In the course of our social dialogue and etiquette-driven pleasantries (relax, this isn’t a Jane Austen novel), the fact that I was an avid whisky enthusiast and involved in its industry came up.  “Oh, what’s your favourite whisky?” was the question immediately thrown at me.  I’ve been asked that more times than I can possibly remember, and I have my standard answer always queued at the ready, but I reflected on the way home later that evening that it’s an increasingly irrelevant question.

Continue reading “Whisky’s impossible question”

10 things every whisky lover should know before visiting Scotland

[Updated April, 2024]  Visiting Scotland soon? Are you planning a trip to Scotland to visit your favourite whisky distilleries?  Yes, for every whisky lover, it’s the ultimate pilgrimage:  After listening jealously to other people’s travels and dreaming of making it to the promised land, you’ve FINALLY saved up for and planned your first whisky trip to Scotland.  Exciting times!

Of course, every first-timer always asks the same questions in the early stages of planning:  Where’s the best place to stay?  Which distilleries should I visit?  Should I hire a car?  Do I have time to get to Islay?  How many days should I spend in Speyside?  Is the trip up to Orkney worth it? 

Naturally, the answers to these are highly subjective and individual.  They’ll depend on your budget, the amount of time you can spare, which distilleries are your favourites, and what transport options are at your disposal.  But there are a few things to appreciate about visiting distilleries that you won’t read in the guide books or find online.  Here are ten things you ought to know before heading off to Scotland…

Continue reading “10 things every whisky lover should know before visiting Scotland”

Unknown heroes of the whisky industry

When was the last time you poured yourself a healthy dram of Braeval?  Or had a good swig of Miltonduff?  How about a Glenburgie?  Or an Allt-a-Bhainne?   An Auchroisk?  Dufftown perhaps?  Have you even heard of these whisky distilleries, let alone seen a bottle of their whisky at your local liquor retailer?

What about Ardbeg?  Oban?  Bruichladdich?  These names are more familiar, yes?  And, chances are, you’ve had a dram of their product more than once or twice on your malt journey.

The irony here is that the first group listed above are some of the biggest distilleries in Scotland.  And the second group are amongst the smallest.   There’s a cliched conclusion here that you might have heard before:  Size doesn’t matter, it’s what you do with it that counts!

Continue reading “Unknown heroes of the whisky industry”

The stink about sulphur

Sulphur in whisky?  What does “sulphured whisky” even mean?  And why do people use terms like “dirty cask” or “tainted cask”.   Hmmm…I’m reminded of a quote from a movie:  “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”  The Usual Suspects, 1995

Substitute “whisky industry” for devil and “sulphur” for he and you’ll get a quick snapshot of what’s being discussed here.  Sulphur taint is one of the more confusing and least understood aspects in today’s whisky community, and there are plenty of industry folks trying to convince you it doesn’t exist.  Let’s cut through the taint and kill a few myths and misunderstandings…

Continue reading “The stink about sulphur”

The Top Six things to do in Speyside

[Updated April 2024] Yes, of all the things to do in Speyside, the most obvious is to visit the distilleries and drink whisky.  But there’s so much more on offer if you look beyond the distilleries…

Continue reading “The Top Six things to do in Speyside”

Ardnamurchan – The western jewel of Scotland

(Or everything you wanted to know about Ardnamurchan but were afraid to ask!)

In this digital age of whisky websites and social media activity, there are very few secrets left in the whisky industry.  Once upon a time, a new distillery would suddenly appear and no one knew much about it except for what might have been published in a subsequent book.  Today, by the time a new distillery’s first release is bottled, it seems we’ve all followed the journey of the distillery breaking ground; building the stillhouse; installing the stills; starting production; and filling the casks.  We’ve done the virtual tour of the distillery before the Visitor Centre has even opened its doors!

One of the primary reasons for this is simply because most of us will never get to make the journey to the distillery, and thus we live and drink vicariously through what we read and view online.   Consider, also, that not all distilleries are blessed by geography:  Auchentoshan and Glenkinchie, for example, are an easy bus ride from the big city centres of Glasgow and Edinburgh respectively, but things are trickier for the more remote distilleries that sit well off the tourist trail or are located on the fringes of Scotland’s reaches.

Ardnamurchan is one such distillery.  If you’re looking to start up a new distillery, your choice of location is fairly critical.  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 materials and the departure of spirit and filled casks.  So – with all these essentials being key to a successful distillery venture – 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.

Continue reading “Ardnamurchan – The western jewel of Scotland”

The Whisky Lover’s Guide to climbing Ben Rinnes

Thinking about climbing Ben Rinnes?  If you love whisky and you’re visiting Speyside, then a hike up to the top of Ben Rinnes is a must.

Each year, thousands of whisky tourists make their way to Speyside to visit their own personal mecca.  Each pilgrim no doubt has their own favourite distillery and plans their itinerary around getting a glimpse into the factory that produces their most revered malt.

Of course, no one travels all the way to Speyside to visit just one, single distillery and thus it’s not uncommon for we pilgrims to set up camp in one of the many hotels or B&B’s and use it as a base to explore multiple distilleries over several days.

Outside of the distilleries, however, your average whisky tourist quickly runs out of things to do in Speyside.  The only other pursuits are the outdoors – golf, salmon fishing, and hiking.  And it’s this last category that offers something pretty special to the whisky enthusiast.

Ben Rinnes is the highest mountain in the Speyside region.  At 840m, it’s officially a “Corbett”, being 300 feet shy to qualify as a Munro.  It towers above many of the distilleries, and the snow melt and water run-off from the hills goes a long way to supplying many of the surrounding distilleries in its foothills.  Needless to say, the view from the summit is incredible, and distillery spotters can have fun trying to identify the many distilleries visible from the top.  For the whisky enthusiast or jaded Speyside visitor looking for a new perspective, climbing Ben Rinnes is a highly recommended and rewarding journey.  So here’s the whisky lover’s guide to climbing Ben Rinnes…

Continue reading “The Whisky Lover’s Guide to climbing Ben Rinnes”