Cask & Still Magazine Issue 13 by Cask & Still Magazine

ISSUE THIRTEEN | FREE

STAR QUALITY Outlander’s whisky-loving lead man Sam Heughan is just one of the high-profile celebrities bringing glamour appeal to booze brands

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Cask & Still Magazine | 3 @caskandstillmag

caskandstillmagazine.com

From the

Bottom right: Dave Foster Photography

EDITOR

I was lucky enough to be one of just two journalists invited along to Barnbougle Castle on the banks of the Firth of Forth to witness the remarkable spectacle of the inaugural The Distiller’s One of One auction of rare and one-off whiskies. Put together by Sotheby’s auction house on behalf of The Worshipful Company of Distillers, this was one of the most memorable days in over thirty years of attending some pretty spectacular events in the course of my journalistic duties. Over £3m was raised for good causes, and some eye-watering prices paid for some stellar, one-off whiskies. A four-bottle collection of 1950s Glenfiddichs raised over a million pounds, and being within a few feet of the table of five multi-lingual auctioneers taking a torrent of incoming bids, I could hear discussions in Mandarin and Japanese, plus bids in

dollars. It was a truly extraordinary and international exercise – hopefully I’ll be there for the next one in two years’ time. But one of the most astonishing things was the generosity of the whisky industry. So many companies donated incredible lots, for a trio of really deserving charities. In these straitened times, that alone is worth applauding.

EDITOR Richard Bath

ON THE COVER: Sam Heughan

Contributors

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MARK LITTLER A whisky broker who advises on bottle and cask investment, Mark is a straight-talker who is well known for having the inside track, which is why he’s now writing a regular column for Cask & Still on investing in whisky.

SAM HEUGHAN The star of the massively successful Outlander television series is also a passionate advocate of the joys of the water of life – so much so that he’s launched his own distinctive tipple, Sassenach.

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4 | What’s inside

In this

ISSUE 20 12

Cover line 10 ME AND MY DRAM Outlander star Sam

Heughan tells us all about his first whisky drinking experience and what makes a great dram

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Cask and Still Magazine | 5

S DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE THIRTEEN @caskandstillmag

The team

DESIGN & EDITORIAL

Editor: Richard Bath Design: Grant Dickie Production: Andrew Balahura

Inside

06 NEWS Remember, you heard it here first...

08 BAR SNAPS Find whisky heaven on board a luxury cruise ship 12 DRINKING WITH THE STARS The cult of

celebrity has reached the drinks industry

18 THE RANT Johanne

McInnis mourns the demise of the brand ambassador

a trip to Speyside than drams, but the whisky is pretty darned amazing

46 WHISKY HERO

MiAlgae’s sustainable use of whisky co-products and algae for animal feed

49 CONNOISSEURS SELECTION 56 ONCE UPON A DRAM Challenging the

20 TURNING THE AMBER NECTAR GREEN Distilleries are

connection between the price and quality of whisky

28 ALL IN THE MIX

visitor centres are bolstering brands

focusing on sustainability

Whisky cocktails to get the party started

30 COME SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Blair Bowman on the rise of English whisky

35 WHISKY BY NUMBERS 36 A BLUFFER’S GUIDE TO WHISKY REGS

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40 TAKE ME TO THE RIVER There’s more to

58 HOST WITH THE MOST How gin distillery

62 SPIRIT LEVEL It’s time to mead your maker with Dr Brooke Magnanti 65 OVER THE BARREL The cult of foraging has reached the beer industry

66 DRINKING WHISKY IN ARGENTINA with

Chief Sub-Editor: Rosie Morton Staff Writers: Kenny Smith Morag Bootland Contributing Editor: Blair Bowman Contributors: Dr Brooke Magnanti, Mark Littler, Federica Stefani, Geraldine Coates, Johanne McInnis, Peter Ranscombe, Lila Serenelli Email: editor@caskandstill magazine.co.uk

ADVERTISING Business Development Executive: John Boyle jboyle@scottishfield.co.uk Tel: 0131 551 7911

PUBLISHING Publisher: Alister Bennett, Fettes Park, 496 Ferry Road, Edinburgh EH5 2DL. Tel: 0131 551 1000

Published by Wyvex Media Ltd. While Cask & Still is prepared to consider unsolicited articles, transparencies and artwork, it only accepts such material on the strict understanding that it incurs no liability for its safe custody or return. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of Wyvex Media Ltd.

Lila Serenelli, co-founder of La Alazana distillery

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6 | News feed

MAKING HIS MARK

The Scotch Whisky Association has announced that Mark Kent, former British Ambassador to Argentina, will succeed Karen Betts as chief executive. Mark spent more than three and Development Office, most recently as Ambassador to Argentina. He also served as the Ambassador to Thailand, Ambassador to Vietnam, as well as in roles at British Embassies in Mexico City, Brasilia and the UK Representation to the European Union. Mark will take up the position in January 2022, and take over from Karen Betts, who leaves the SWA in December 2021 to take over as chief executive at the Food and Drink Federation. He becomes the the ninth chief executive in the SWA’s 110-year history. www.scotch-whisky.org.uk

News FEED

decades with the Foreign, Commonwealth

CHARITY SUCCESS

More than £3 million was raised at the inaugural Distillers One of One charity auction on 3 December. A four-decanter lot of Glenfiddich single malt whisky from the 1950s (pictured above) achieved £1,037,500 (including fees) following more than half an hour of bidding in the room and on the phone. The Talisker 1978 Cask of Distinction sold for £625,000, and the Bowmore Onyx 51 Year Old 1970 went for £400,000. The Balvenie 56 Year Old 1964 reached £175,000. Held at Barnbougle Castle near Edinburgh, the £3,095,000 raised will go to the Distillers’ Charity, which will fund charities working with disadvantaged young people in Scotland. www.sothebys.com

@caskandstillmag

SCOTCH KNOW-HOW

SAYING FAREWELL

Johnnie Walker master blender Jim

Pernod Ricard has become the first international

Beveridge has created a new extremely

spirits and wines group to establish a fully

rare Scotch celebrating the fine art of

operational malt whisky distillery in China – led

whisky before he retires at the end of the

by Scottish know-how. Guided by expertise

year. Johnnie Walker Masters of Flavour

from Chivas Brothers, Pernod Ricard’s Scotch

are crafted from the finest maturing

production got underway in August at the

whiskies in the Johnnie Walker

Chuan Malt Whisky Distillery in Emeishan. Sandy

reserves, aged for at least 48 years

Hyslop, Chivas Brothers’ director of blending and

and only 288 bottles will be released.

inventory, worked closely with the distillery team.

Johnnie Walker Masters of Flavour

www.pernod-ricard.com

is the third and final whisky in the series. www.johnniewalker.com

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Cask and Still Magazine | 7

NEW

SCOTCH AT THE HEART

EXPRESSIONS

Dead Sea whisky. M&H Distillery remains faithful to Scotch whisky

TAMDHU QUERCUS ALBA DISTINCTION

M&H Distillery, Israel’s first whisky distillery, has released the APEX traditions in the production, but takes advantage of Israel’s five unique climate zones defined by the late Dr Jim Swan, the whisky expert who acted as the distillery’s consultant.

Speyside Single Malt, 48% ABV, RRP £64.99

The zones are: the Dead Sea, Upper Galilee,

Celebrating the characteristics of first-fill American oak sherry cask maturation, the casks were imported to Spain where they were crafted in the ‘sherry triangle’ for six years.

Jerusalem mountains, the Negev desert and the Mediterranean coast. Twenty ex-bourbon, ex-red wine, and ex-STR casks were placed on

EDEN MILL 2021

the rooftop of a hotel at

Single Malt, 60.7% ABV, RRP £85

approximately 423 metres

The small batch 2021 release is crafted by a perfect marriage of first-fill bourbon casks and ex-oloroso sherry casks, incorporating spirit distilled using pale malted barley. The exclusive limited-edition 800 bottles of the 2021 single malt Scotch were released for St Andrew’s Day.

below sea level. The casks

BUNNAHABHAIN 12 YEAR OLD

Islay single malt, 55.1% ABV, RRP £75

Matured on the remote, north-eastern coastline of Islay, the 12 Year Old Cask Strength is a celebration of the distillery’s hugely popular 12 Year Old, and inspired by visitor tastings in the distillery’s Warehouse 9.

GLEN MORAY WAREHOUSE 1 2008 MANZANILLA FINISH 54.6% ABV, RRP £74.95

Glen Moray’s latest release from Warehouse 1 is the 2008 Manzanilla Finish. Bringing together the soft Spey water of Glen Moray’s spirit with the slightly sea-salt tang of Manzanilla sherry, this dram is limited to only 1,240 bottles.

then matured for an entire year before being returned to the Tel Aviv warehouse, and were finally bottled in July 2021. www.mh-distillery.com

CHOCS AWAY!

The Macallan has unveiled The Macallan Harmony Collection Rich Cacao, the first limited edition whisky in a new series of single malts that will see the brand progress towards sustainable packaging. The Macallan Whisky Maker Polly Logan embarked on a journey to Girona, Spain, where she immersed herself in the world of chocolate, exploring the chocolate-making process and uncovering the distinctive flavour profiles. www.themacallan.com

A TREMENDOUS GESTURE

Gordon & MacPhail is donating £80,000 to Trees for Life, a charity with a mission to restore the Caledonian Forest, following the sale of the world’s oldest single malt Scotch whisky at auction. The lot went under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, which included decanter #1 of Gordon & MacPhail Generations 80-Year-Old. After costs, auction proceeds of £80,000 have been donated to help fund the tree nursery at Dundreggan in Inverness-shire. www.gordonandmacphail.com

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8 | Whisky bars of the world

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SCENIC ECLIPSE, CRUISE SHIP The Discovery Yacht features a unique allinclusive whisky bar which has 110 drams from all around the world. The floor to ceiling display includes premium single malts like 25 YO Glendullan and 30 YO Jura The Loch, as well as premium blends from Johnnie Walker Blue and Jameson Select Reserve Black Barrel. www.scenic.co.uk

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10 | Me and my dram

Me & my

DRAM Outlander star Sam Heughan is transported back to Scotland by a taste of the water of life Interview by Rosie Morton

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When did you first try whisky? Probably as a teenager. I’ve got a vague recollection of trying a really bad blended whisky when I was in my teens. But the ﬁrst time I tried a whisky and it really had an effect on me was when I was living in London. I was pretty homesick and was sitting one Christmas in a bar with a friend of mine and we decided to both try a single malt – we had a Speyside. It tasted delicious and just reminded me of Scotland and how much I love the country and how much I missed it. I think that was the most memorable moment. What is it that you enjoy the most about whisky? The idea about my whisky, Sassenach, is that it is called ‘Spirit of Home’. Wherever you are in the world it should transport you back to Scotland. Whisky is such an interesting drink because it has a lot of emotion tied up in it. It gives you an emotional reaction when you drink it. I don’t think you get the same with a lot of other spirits. There’s something about the way that whisky is a living product – it depends on where it has been aged, and what wood it has been sitting in, and the ‘terroir’ around that can really affect the taste and ﬂavour. I think that’s really interesting.

What’s in your own whisky collection? I have an Asian collection. Japanese, Vietnamese, interesting things like that. I’ve got a little American collection I’m trying to work on. I’m really interested in Bourbon, and actually single malt American whiskey is really interesting right now.

‘When I climb to the top of a mountain, I always take a hip-flask for a celebratory nip’

Whether it’s with a splash of water or by a campfire, what’s the best way to enjoy a dram? Well, I would say anytime, anywhere! But I remember being up on Mull and camping there one night. I bought a bottle of the local whisky. It was just so amazing. Or when I climb to the top of a mountain, I always take a hip-ﬂask for a little celebratory nip to toast it. I always enjoy that. Or with friends. It’s about the occasion, isn’t it? It’s a remarkable drink. I’m not encouraging people to become raging alcoholics here!

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Do you ever take a nip of whisky at the end of a long day filming? We notoriously have – on a tough day on the Starz TV show Outlander – shared a little dram together, or when we needed a little bit of Dutch courage. It’s nice to share it with friends. Interestingly, my business partner who works with me on my whisky didn’t really drink and he had never tried whisky before. We called him The Whisky Virgin. He’s the perfect palate to test on.

What’s your favourite dram? Mostly I drink single grain. I love it. I think it’s really underrated. It’s maybe not as complex a ﬂavour proﬁle as single malt, but you can get an aged bottle that’s a 30-Year-Old for the fraction of the price and it will have delicious butterscotch and toffee and honey and all the good things.

If you could sit down for a dram with anybody, dead or alive, who would you choose? Elon Musk would be interesting. Someone like Barack Obama would be pretty cool. But it would probably be a member of my family. Probably my dad. Round a campﬁre or on top of a mountain. That would be cool. Do you think Bond would enjoy a dram of your whisky, Sassenach? Yes, for sure. Firstly, he has got Scottish roots. We saw that in Skyfall when he’s up in Scotland. I think everyone’s going to enjoy the whisky. It’s award-winning!

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12 | Celebrities and booze

DRINKING W IT H T HE

STA R S Celebrities are sprinkling some of their magic dust on the drinks industry, not only through advertising and endorsements but also by launching their own brands Written by Peter Ranscombe

ew phrases strike more fear into my heart than the dreaded term ‘celebrity culture’. Whether it’s magazines full of stories concocted by publicists about who’s dating who, ‘reality’ television shows in which people become famous for simply appearing on the gogglebox, or the never-ending scroll of ‘inﬂuencers’ on social media, it appears that there’s no escaping the cult of the A-listers. A-listers The drinks industry hasn’t evaded the onslaught of the rich and famous either. From simply promoting drinks through to owning their own brands, celebrities are

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leaving an indelible mark across categories as diverse as whisky, gin and wine. One of the most high-proﬁle ‘partnerships’ is between retired footballer David Beckham and Haig Club, the single grain Scotch whisky brand launched in 2014 by Diageo, Scotland’s largest distiller and the owner of Gordon’s gin, Guinness stout and Smirnoff vodka. ‘Think of Haig Club and you think of David Beckham – not because of clever marketing or glossy advertising campaigns – but because David is a brand partner in every sense of the word,’ trumpets the whisky’s website.

From left: Haig Club; David Beckham (credit: Andrea Raffin).

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CELEBRIT IES ARE LEAVING AN INDELIBLE MARK ACROSS CAT EGORIES AS DIVERSE AS WHISKY, GIN AND WINE

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14 | Celebrities and booze

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Clockwise from far left: DFree; Daniel Muresan; Edinburgh Gin; Kathy Hutchins; Ovidiu Hrubaru; Russell Ouellette IV; Isogood_patrick (all Shutterstock.com)

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Clockwise from far left: Ryan Reynolds is an investor in Aviation Gin; Phoebe Waller-Bridge has teamed up with Edinburgh Gin to produce Fleabag Gin; US Actor Nick Offerman created his own series of whiskies with Lagavulin; Colin Montgomerie endorsed Loch Lomond’s The Open Special Edition in 2019.

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Setting aside the fact that Beckham’s globetrotting to promote the whisky at events is both a form of marketing and advertising, the former England and Manchester United captain’s connections and social media following have helped to take grain whisky from its niche into the mainstream – even if one of its earlier selling points was that it could be mixed with cola. The huge success of the brand – with its distinctive perfume-like blue bottle – has also put the noses of many Fifers out of joint as it’s now apparently much harder to get its forerunner, the competitively-priced Cameron Brig single grain whisky, on the optics in local pubs. Beckham and Haig Club aren’t the only game in town when it comes to roping celebrities into promoting Scotch. After being a lifelong fan of Lagavulin, Nick Offerman – star of US comedy series Parks & Recreation – was invited by Diageo to create his own series of whiskies following Skype blending sessions with

distillery manager Colin Gordon, including a Guinness cask ﬁnish. While actors are popular, other whisky distillers have opted to team up with sports stars, with Loch Lomond targeting golfers, through ﬁrst Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clarke before moving onto Lee Westwood. Glen Moray teamed up with John Barclay and Edinburgh Rugby for a special edition Scotch, while Finlay Calder has been the face of Mossburn Distillers’ Borders site as its project director, and David Sole is a brand ambassador for Balvenie. Connections between celebrities and drinks brands extend far beyond Scotch. When he’s not buying football clubs like Wrexham, being praised for his quick wit on social media, or donning spandex to play Deadpool, actor Ryan Reynolds is the face of Aviation Gin. Reynolds – who I’ll freely admit is my guycrush – bought shares in the gin maker in 2018 and received a healthy return on his investment when the company was sold to Diageo in 2020 for £460 million, with the actor agreeing to continue promoting the drink for ten years. Closer to home, Edinburgh Gin has teamed up with actress and writer Phoebe WallerBridge to create a Fleabag Gin – marking her one-woman play’s connection to the city and raising money for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – while Eden Mill launched a series of six gins in partnership with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. Back across the pond and it’s tequila that’s attracting huge attention from celebs. Perhaps the most famous example is actor George Clooney’s Casamigos, the tequila brand he founded with entrepreneurs Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman in 2013. The trio sold Casamigos for £790 million in 2017, again to Diageo. Utilising the spirits giant’s distribution network, sales have soared from 100,000 cases in 2017 to one million in 2020. Clooney is just the tip of the tequila iceberg; Constellation Brands bought a minority stake in Dos Hombres, the mezcal label founded in 2019

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Cask and Still Magazine | 17 CELEBRITIES IN WINE

Panel, clockwise from top left: Luis Javier Villalba; Featureflash Photo Agency; Cubankite ; lev radin; Tinseltown; PAN Photo Agency (all Shutterstock.com)

SAM NEILL

KYLIE MINOGUE

Arguably best known for his role in Jurassic Park, actor Sam Neill’s pinot noirs from the Central Otago region in New Zealand are among the most widely-respected bottles produced from a celebrity-owned winery. Neill planted his first vines in 1993 and now has four small vineyards scattered across the region.

Like Parker’s sauvignon blanc, pop princess Kylie Minogue’s rosés have also impressed at supermarket wine tastings. Her brand is backed by wine distributor Benchmark Drinks and now also includes cava, Prosecco, merlot and sauvignon blanc. Her posher selection features a Margaret River chardonnay.

ANGELINA JOLIE & BRAD PITT

GRAHAM NORTON

‘Brangelina’s’ ownership of Provence rosé Château Miraval has lasted longer than their marriage. The couple bought the estate in 2011 and were married at the site in 2014, before Jolie filed for divorce two years later. Ownership of Miraval has formed part of their lengthy divorce wranglings.

Chat show host Graham Norton’s surreptitiouslyplaced glass of New Zealand sauvignon blanc became as much part of his BBC1 show as his ‘big red chair’. NZ winery Invivo approached Norton in 2011 and he has gone on to promote the wines and get involved with blending. He now owns shares in the business.

SARAH JESSICA PARKER

FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA

Building on its success with Norton, Invivo is also working with Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker on a range of wines. Like Norton, Parker gets involved in blending the remarkablycredible New Zealand sauvignon blanc. Her range now also includes a rosé from the South of France.

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The director of The Godfather bought his first vineyard in 1975 and went on to build an American wine empire, most of which he sold to Delicato Family Wines in 2021. Coppola has kept his iconic Inglenook winery at Napa Valley in California and Domaine de Broglie winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

From top: Crystal Head Vodka Original, Aurora and Onyx; Dan Aykroyd with Crystal Head Vodka (credit: Amanda Nikolic).

by Breaking Bad actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. Then there’s Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria‘s Casa del Sol, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine’s Calirosa, and model Kendall Jenner’s 818. Away from tequila, we have singers Bruno Mars’ SelvaRey rum, Mariah Carey’s Black Irish cream liqueur, and Ellie Goulding’s Served hard seltzer. And that’s before we get into the American whiskey scene, with actor Jamie Foxx’s Brown Sugar bourbon, ﬁlm star William H Macy’s co-ownership of Woody Creek Distillers, and Brother’s Bond, the bourbon label launched by The Vampire Diaries co-stars Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder. Yet perhaps one of the strangest stories from the worlds of celebrities and booze comes from an icon of the 1980s. Ghostbusters legend Dan Aykroyd designed the distinctive bottle for Crystal Head vodka with artist John Alexander, with the pair making a big play based around their vodka’s purity, including the fact that it’s ﬁltered through diamonds.

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18 | The Rant

What rises,

L FAL

MUST ALSO

The pandemic may have put paid to whisky brand ambassadors and the industry will be much poorer without them Written by Johanne McInnis

ule of thumb: Don’t start a conversation with ‘No offence but’, yet here I am once again. I glide in to host masterclasses, interview the likes of master blenders, international brand ambassadors and from time to time put a good story to paper – well screen, who still writes on paper? But amidst the headlines and stories I hear, I inevitably feel the elasticity of my patience snap and off goes the little muse that lives somewhere in the dark recess of my psyche – a middle aged man with a crumpled suit and disheveled hair (think Boris Johnson but much smarter) and… the rant is born. If you remember 1995 and drank whisky like I did, you likely recollect your ﬁrst whisky festival. Otherwise get in the whisky time machine and strap in...

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Scripted, trained soulless individuals that likely don’t know how to pronounce Auchentoshan

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It’s 1995, and a college mate purchased whisky festival tickets and gave me one as a birthday gift. It was odd at the time – a whisky what? We were ushered into a large ballroom-type setting where 15-20 people were standing behind tables borrowed from gardens and basements. There were no banners, gimmicks, decorations or even tablecloths, just middle-aged tweed jacket-wearing tasting club volunteers pouring whiskies for 100 ticket holders. To the best of my recollection – a ‘brand ambassador’ did not exist. Fast forward to 2010 and there are no more rickety card tables. Epic whisky festivals are now taking place worldwide, with tickets selling out within minutes. These festivals include brand ambassadors, marketing galore, luxurious grand gala masterclasses, a travelling field of barley (I kid you not), banners, exquisite/rare bottles and 500-800 people stumbling back to their hotel room with their free Glencairn. Clearly the conglomerates running the whisky industry saw the opportunity to fill their pockets and began working their brand ambassadors to sheer exhaustion. Many of these hardy souls spent 200-225 days a year living out of a suitcase – you know: 7am flight to Taiwan, arrive at event, pour latest greatest whiskies, spew marketing spin/stories, shake hands, take photos, meet with reps/importers, finally get a late bite to eat, drink a few with ‘handlers’ and get delivered to hotel door only to wake up for the 4:30am ride back to the airport to head to the next destination. Sounds glamorous right? The next stop in our whisky time machine is January 2020. Videographers pose brand ambassadors so their stellar Instagram accounts are filled with Photoshopped bottle shots in fantastic locations for their 43K followers to admire while lighting up the faces of the executives around the corporate whisky boardroom tables. But wait… In March 2020, a global pandemic brings it all to a screeching halt. In the UK alone the majority of whisky entities shutter their doors and furlough over 12,000 employees.

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All you can hear now is the sound of the penny dropping. In the UK, four companies dominate whisky production and their sales rose by 30% within the ﬁrst eight months of the pandemic. Wait, people are buying whisky without all the fanfare? Hello HR – could you please get our brand ambassadors on the phone? The conversations went like this: ‘Let’s discuss your contract, we no longer need you to travel or attend whisky events but still want to use your social media to our advantage, oh and as you don’t have to travel your salary is cut by 80%.’ By March 2021 hundreds of whisky ambassadors have disappeared. Many left quietly while others posted messages of parting ‘amicably’. So, are you following along here? So, I’m stating this here and now: brand ambassadors are going the way of the dodo bird. In 2023, when you pay £200 to walk into that big lovely ballroom converted into whisky Shangri-La, look who is standing behind the tables pouring and talking. I can almost guarantee you’ll hear titles such as key account manager or brand activation champion, the new buzzwords. ‘Personnel’ at functions that can represent any brand. Scripted, trained soulless individuals that likely don’t know how to pronounce Auchentoshan or Bunnahabhain ? Now I’m not daft. I get that these companies see huge cost saving measures. But isn’t it funny how greed and the ‘cost of doing business’ is leading to unreachable prices, poor quality whisky and now programmed puppets who passed the weekend ‘brand activation manager’ class? Brand ambassadors were manufactured by the bigwigs but they became the faces we know and trust. As a long time whisky enthusiast, if I’m going to pay that much money for a ticket, I’d much rather be in a roomful of passionate whisky people that are just as knowledgeable behind the stand as they are in front. I think the fall of the brand ambassador has kicked the door off its hinges and the whisky industry is hammering yet another nail in their coﬃns. No offence, but… there, I said it...

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20 | Sustainability

Turning the

AMBER NECTAR

green

Scotland’s distilleries are blending sustainability into their daily operations, all the way through from whisky production to packaging Written by Peter Ranscombe

fter building her Nc’Nean Distillery on the beautiful Morvern Peninsula back in 2017, Annabel Thomas could have been forgiven for resting on her laurels. After all, she’d installed a biomass boiler to provide renewable energy from woodchips, she’d introduced the UK’s first clear recycled glass bottle, and she’d chosen to use only organic Scottish barley to make her whisky. Yet Thomas is now going further. Following the release in 2020 of her maiden whisky, she’s now working with her farmers to measure and reduce their carbon dioxide emissions too, as well as introducing bees to the distillery, and trying to find a recyclable refill pouch that will have a lower carbon footprint than her bottle. ‘Sustainability is very important personally, but I think

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it is incumbent upon all businesses to prioritise this now,’ she says. ‘It is one of the most important issues facing the world and I think corporates need to take responsibility.’ Making organic whisky has struck a chord with her consumers too. ‘I think people appreciate the care it shows for our supply chain, beyond our own operations – what they may not appreciate is that we also think it inﬂuences the taste and texture of our whisky, bringing extra richness and depth to the liquid,’ she adds. Thomas is one of a growing band

Top: Annabel Thomas with Nc’nean Organic Whisky in the fully recycled glass bottle. Bottom: Nc’nean Distillery.

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Sustainability is one of the most important issues facing the world

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22 | Sustainability

of distillers in Scotland who are taking a long hard look at their impact on the environment and are working to make their spirits and their distilleries more sustainable, with brands including Benromach, Bruichladdich and Deanston embracing organic barley. The Scotch Whisky Association, the body that represents distilleries, has even laid out a ‘roadmap’ for how the industry as a whole aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2045.

Arbikie wants to be one of the world’s most sustainable distilleries Over on the east coast, Arbikie Distillery in Angus has already gone beyond simply cutting the amount of greenhouse gases pumped into the air and has instead created its Nàdar gin and vodka, which absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during their production process than they give out. That’s because they’re made from peas grown on Arbikie’s farm instead of wheat, which soak up carbon dioxide and make the spirits ‘climate positive’. Nàdar was developed as part of master distiller Kirsty Black’s doctorate in partnership with the James Hutton Institute and Abertay University. ‘Even though we launched Nàdar gin just before lockdown and Nàdar vodka during, both are selling well as consumers are very much looking

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07/12/2021 17:02:14

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for sustainable products and, in our case, sustainable spirits,’ explains Iain Stirling, one of the brothers who launched the distillery on their family farm by Lunan Bay. Like Thomas, his family is using farming methods to regenerate their soils, as well as taking part in a UK Government green distilleries funding competition to investigate using a combination of hydrogen, wind and solar to power the distillery. ‘Arbikie wants to be one of the world’s most sustainable distilleries,’ he adds. Arbikie is one of the biggest proponents of ‘farm to glass’, growing as many botanicals as it can for its gin on its farm, along with experiments to grow juniper bushes. Near neighbour Ogilvy turns potatoes that would be too ‘ugly’ to sell to supermarkets into vodka, while the Secret Herb Garden just outside Edinburgh grows juniper and dozens of other botanicals for use in its Old Curiosity Distillery. Back on the west coast, Kintyre Gin maker Beinn an Tuirc Distillers on Torrisdale Castle Estate near Campbeltown has been hailed as ‘climate positive’, with the business removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it produces. Steps Kintyre Gin has taken have

Clockwise from top left: Organic barley; woodchips; Arbikie pea field; the Stirling brothers; Nàdar vodka and gin; Kirsty Black; Nc’nean’s renewable powered stills; The Arbikie Distillery.

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07/12/2021 17:02:51

Add a touch of Cardrona Magic

aster Distiller and qualified Maltster, Sarah Elsom, is passionate about crafting Whisky. Sarah knows that great Whisky begins with great ingredients - distiller’s barley, pure Cardrona water, quality yeast. With this foundation Sarah builds Cardrona’s character through every quirk and nuance of the distillery. From the milling ratio, mashing temperatures, length of fermentation, the shapes and size of the bespoke copper pot stills and the speed of distillation, Sarah crafts every element together to create the magic of Cardrona Single Malt Whisky. Last ever bottling of the award winning Just Hatched Solera Single Malt Whisky, taking its place in collectors' archives. 5 year old Growing Wings releases are now available in the UK, from Central Otago Pinot noir Single Cask Release, Old Forester Bourbon Single Cask Release and Growing Wings Solera.

w w w.c a rd ronad ist i l ler y.c om

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10/12/2021 09:05:15

Cask and Still Magazine | 25 >>>

Clockwise from top left: Dr Bill Sanderson (right) and George Stoyle emerge from the Dornoch Firth with oysters from the Glenmorangie ‘Deep’ project; Sanderson retrieving an oyster; Glenmorangie Distillery still house; Bloodline Spirits’ sea-green bottle.

included planting trees and using hydro-electric power to run its stills. It’s not just the newer, smaller distilleries that are doing their bit for the planet. At Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire, Glen Garioch – owned by global giant Beam Suntory – has been investing £6 million to lower its carbon footprint. In August, Glenmorangie reached a milestone in its appropriately-named ‘Deep’ or Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project, when the 10,000th native European oyster was reintroduced to the Dornoch Firth. Oysters became extinct in the ﬁrth more than 100 years ago due to overﬁshing, but Glenmorangie – which is owned by French luxury goods giant LVMH – has been working since 2014 with

Heriot-Watt University and the Marine Conservation Society to create a reef with four million oysters, which will purify the water by filtering out the organic waste from the distillery. Innovative Scottish companies are also coming up with other uses for wastewater from distilleries. MiAlgae is using it to grow marine algae that’s then turned into a feed for fish, farm animals, and pets that’s rich in Omega-3 oils, while Celtic Renewables is building a ‘bio-refinery’ at Grangemouth to turn whisky waste into biofuels. Away from the production process, many distilleries and drinks brands are working hard to reduce perhaps the most visible part of their environmental impact – their bottles. Bloodline Spirits in Peebles – which was founded by Julie Mclean, a descendant of Andrew Usher, one of the pioneers of blended Scotch whisky – has recently introduced a sea-green bottle, having already gone plastic-free for its packaging. ‘The bottles are 100% recycled glass and are created by a

Companies are coming up with other uses for wastewater

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07/12/2021 17:03:29

The Cadillac of Whisky glasses. When you think of a simple, beautiful glass to fully enjoy a dram there is no other option! Graeme Wylie - England - Royal Navy

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10/12/2021 09:06:33

Cask and Still Magazine | 27

Clockwise from top left: Harris Gin aluminium bottles; recycle envelopes; The Isle of Harris Distillery; Wonky Glass from River Rock Distillery; Rock Rose Gin are now supplying refills of their gin in a pouch.

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company called Wildly Crafted, which is dedicated to sustainable materials,’ explains Mclean. ‘All bottles are unique in the way that they are never identical and can have small air bubbles or dark specs in them that are more than likely from brown or black bottles.’ River Rock single malt whisky has also embraced bottles that look different to each other. ‘Our bottles are all made from glass that would normally go unused in the glass-making process,’ says co-founder Mark Geary, who is also working with the John Muir Trust to plant a tree for each bottle his company sells. ‘We call it our “‘wonky” glass. Instead of adopting the traditional approach of insisting every bottle is the same colour, we embrace the fact that all our bottles are different, every one beautifully unique.’ When Edrington changed the name of its ‘Naked Grouse’ to ‘Naked Malt’ in May, it also took the opportunity to switch to 100% recycled packaging. Isle of Harris Distillery is experimenting with aluminium bottles as part of its ‘refill project’ available to subscribers, which allows fans to hang onto the brand’s distinctive spiral glass bottles and top up their gin. Dunnet Bay Distillery has also created refills for its Rock Rose gin and Holy Grass vodka. The distillery – which recently appointed Sarah Lyons as its first environment manager and which generates all the electricity it needs from solar panels – opted for recyclable refill pouches, again giving fans the chance to reuse its popular ceramic bottles. The maker of Scotland’s most recognisable glasses is also reducing its impact. Glencairn Crystal is investing £2m in its East Kilbride site, including installing solar panels so it can generate all the electricity it needs. With Scotland in the spotlight during the United Nations’ climate change summit in Glasgow, many of the makers of its national drink and other spirits are stepping up to tackle their environmental impact. The amber nectar is starting to look a whole lot greener as a result.

07/12/2021 17:04:01

28 | Hebridean Baker cocktails

THE MIX

ALL IN

TikTok sensation Coinneach MacLeod, better known as The Hebridean Baker, shares some unmissable cocktails to enliven your Hogmanay celebrations

f you’re looking for a good ol’ Scottish knees-up, you’ve come to the right place, writes Rosie Morton. Whether you are hoping to start the Christmas party games with a bang, or enliven the Hogmanay celebrations, TikTok sensation Coinneach MacLeod – better known to his troupes of devoted followers as ‘The Hebridean Baker’ – has you covered with his fabulously festive cocktails. ‘The one recipe that got people the most excited was the “Cèilidh Martini”,’ says Coinneach, who hails from Cromore on the Isle of Lewis. ‘Myself and one of the storytellers at the Isle of Harris Distillery created it together. Even though nobody knew what was in it, they wanted to try it!’ Having won the hearts of millions across the globe after sharing his Scottish-inspired recipes on the social media platform, Coinneach has launched his own cookbook, The Hebridean Baker, amalgamating his top recipes, stories, and quirks of island life in the hope of encouraging more people to live life in the slow lane. ‘Somebody asked me if there was a Gaelic translation for the Danish word Hygge,’ he says. ‘We use the word Blàths. It means “contentment” or “warmth”. There’s a lovely phrase, beiridh blàths air luaths, which means “there is a time for everything”. I wanted the book to reﬂect that.’

PREPARING FOR THE CÈILIDH MARTINI... GRAPEFRUIT OLEO & GRAPEFRUIT SYRUP 2 grapefruits 200g sugar, plus sugar for the syrup

Muddle the peels and sugar. The

METHOD FOR SYRUP:

sugar will dissolve in the oils released

Slice the peeled grapefruits in half,

by the citrus peel.

juice them and pour the juice through

Once all the peels have been

a sieve into a clean saucepan. For

muddled, cover the bowl with a dish

the syrup, we will do a simple 1:1 ratio

towel and leave it for 24 hrs, stirring

of juice to sugar, so add the same

METHOD FOR OLEO:

occasionally. Once complete, extract

weight of sugar to juice.

First peel the grapefruits in full.

the oleo by squeezing the liquid

Put the grapefruit peels into a bowl

through a muslin or clean kitchen

over a medium heat until all the sugar

and sprinkle the sugar over the peels.

towel. Refrigerate until required.

is dissolved. Let it cool and refrigerate.

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Add the sugar to the pan and stir

07/12/2021 15:39:45

Cask and Still Magazine | 29

CÈILIDH MARTINI SERVE IN: Martini glass

HEBRIDEAN HOGMANAY COCKTAIL

250ml whisky (I recommend a Jura

60ml Isle of Harris gin

SERVE IN: Whisky tumbler

70g oats

5ml grapefruit syrup 5ml grapefruit oleo

ATHOLL BROSE SERVE IN: Martini glass

Seven Wood) 3 tsp heather honey

3 tbsp marmalade

40ml double/whipping cream

200ml herbal tea (choose your METHOD: Fill a stirring glass with

favourite)

METHOD: Pour the whisky over the

good ice.

1 clementine, juiced

oats in a bowl and rest under a clean

50ml whisky – roughly a double dram

dishtowel for 24 hours.

Add the gin, grapefruit syrup and grapefruit oleo. Stir for at least 30

5-6 ice cubes, enough to fill your

seconds, taste and continue stirring,

whisky glass

checking every 10 seconds or so until

The next day, use a muslin (or cotton dishtowel) to squeeze out the whisky into a fresh bowl. Be sure to

you are happy with the dilution level.

METHOD: Scoop your marmalade

get every last drop! You can discard

Pour into a chilled martini glass.

into a large mug. Get the kettle on,

the oats.

then make a cup of your favourite

Warm up your honey for 10 seconds

herbal tea and once it’s steeped, pour

in the microwave – or very gently in

over your marmalade and stir until

a pan on the stove – and whisk into

combined. Let that cool. Squeeze the

the Brose mix. Add your cream and

juice from the clementine.

whisk again. You can drink it now, but

To assemble, fill a whisky tumbler

it’s even better if you let it rest in the

with ice, pour in the double dram of

refrigerator for 24 hours in a sealed

whisky, the clementine juice and the

container. Make sure you shake it

cooled marmalade-infused tea.

before serving. You’ll find it’s perfect

Garnish and serve your guests!

as an after-dinner sweet treat.

You will find more of Coinneach MacLeod’s delicious island-inspired recipes in his new book The Hebridean Baker: Recipes and Wee Stories from the Scottish Islands [Black & White Publishing, RRP £20.00]. Alternatively, you can follow him on TikTok @hebrideanbaker, or visit his website at www.hebrideanbaker.com

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07/12/2021 15:43:41

30 | Whisky in England

This joint venture between two Cornish businesses saw the rebirth of English whisky

Above: Symbols of a Green and pleasant land. Right: The English Whisky Company distillery.

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07/12/2021 14:52:41

Cask and Still Magazine | 31 >>>

Come south of the Border Scotland isn’t the only country in the UK producing top notch amber nectar – the English are hot on our tail Written by Blair Bowman

espite Scotland being the world’s biggest producer of whisky, we haven’t always had a monopoly on production of the amber nectar in the United Kingdom. Our Irish cousins are currently experiencing a resurgence in whiskey production but perhaps, more surprisingly, so are our English neighbours. Historically there were whisky distilleries operating in London, Liverpool and Bristol before production stopped entirely in 1903 with the closure of the Lea Valley Distillery in Stratford in the East End of London. This closure heralded a century devoid of whisky production across England’s green and pleasant land. It wasn’t until 2003 when a joint venture between St Austell Brewery and Healey’s Cyder Farm started

030-033_cs12.indd 31

producing their own Hicks & Healey Cornish Single Malt Whiskey. This joint venture between two Cornish businesses saw the rebirth of English whisky made by St Austell Brewery and Healey’s, a company more famous for cider production. Then in 2006 the St George’s Distillery in Norfolk established the English Whisky Company and English whisky was put ﬁrmly back on the map and things haven’t slowed down since. By my count, which I will say is ever changing at the moment, there are currently thirty-four whisky distilleries in England at various stages of production, including a few which have whisky for sale and many more which are under construction or in planning phases. Sixteen of these have now released an inaugural ﬁrst release whisky, so there is enough out there to start exploring and many more to come.

Unfortunately, one of the new wave of English distilleries went into administration in January 2020. The London Distillery Company, founded in 2011, was the ﬁrst whisky distillery in London for over 100 years. Its brands were subsequently bought by the British Honey Company. However, this seems like a one-off rather than a warning of things to come, as the rest of the English whisky industry seems to be thriving and in a strong position

07/12/2021 14:53:02

32 | Whisky in England

to experience continued growth. Perhaps inspired by the Hicks & Healey joint venture, a few English whisky distilleries have decided to effectively ‘outsource’ the mashing stage of whisky production to a local brewery. It’s no surprise to anyone that England has a long and established history of producing excellent beers. This would not be permitted in Scotland as the laws of Scotch whisky making specify that everything (except from the malting and maturation) must happen at a single distillery site in order to be designated as a single malt Scotch whisky. This idea of outsourcing the wash to a brewery is also becoming popular among new world whiskies that are establishing themselves in areas that have a history of beer making or access to expert local brewers. It is a nice way to build collaborations between local businesses. It also (slightly) reduces the set-up costs of a new distillery as you wouldn’t require a mill or mash tun installed. This frees up space and allows the distillery to focus on the distillation process and maturation. One distillery that uses this set up is the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery which I visited a few years ago. The founders had been running the award-winning Wold Top Brewery since 2003 before they decided to set up a distillery down the road from the brewery site. They grow 100% of their barley on their own farm and have a strong focus

030-033_cs12.indd 32

Clockwise from top left: Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery’s Filey Bay; admiring the colour of a Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery whisky; The Lakes Distillery; The Oxford Artisan Distillery’s Oxford Rye Whisky; Nautilus, The Oxford Artisan Distillery’s still; The Lakes Distillery’s Dhavall Gandhi; English Whisky original and smokey whiskies; Andrew Nelstrop, Chairman of The English Whisky Company, in his distillery’s still room (credit: Anthony Kelly).

on a field to bottle process. In 2016 they fired up their Forsyth’s-made pot stills and were mentored by the late Dr Jim Swan. In 2019, they released their inaugural whisky and now have a range of core releases, including their Filey Bay Flagship Yorkshire Single Malt and small batch releases featuring interesting cask finishing programmes. Some of the new wave of English whisky distilleries already seem to be gathering a bit of a cult following and appreciation. One example of this is Bimber Distillery in London. Interestingly, their distillery is less than five minutes away from the Diageo HQ and The Whisky Exchange HQ in Park Royal. They are doing things a bit differently and really take care over the

‘craft’ of their whiskies. Using singlefarm English-grown barley, traditional floor malting, a whopping seven day fermentation using a specifically created yeast strain, direct fired stills and an on-site cooperage, they are controlling each aspect of the process. Some bottles from a few of their single cask releases have now been trading for between £1,000-2,000, despite an original retail price of around £120. They are certainly one to watch. English whisky distilleries don’t have such a long tradition, so are flexing a lot more creative muscle when it comes to flavour and production styles. This sometimes involves using innovative stills and less commonly used grains. One of the most interesting releases I’ve

07/12/2021 15:05:09

Cask and Still Magazine | 33

The reincarnation of England’s whisky scene is starting to heat up tasted from an English distillery was the inaugural batch Oxford Rye Whisky from the Oxford Artisan Distillery. It had everything you could wish for in a rye whisky: dusty, fruity, spicy, with a delicious chewy mouthfeel. They have also started doing some interesting Heritage Corn whisky which is worth a try if you get the opportunity to taste it. It’s incredibly exciting to see distillers experimenting with ancient grains and producing some fantastic quality whiskies as a result. The Lakes Distillery have also consistently been releasing incredibly high quality, ﬂavour-forward whiskies. It’s been a pleasure to follow their journey from a distance and taste the progression of their whiskies as their

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expert master blender really starts to show off their creativity and innovative whiskies. I’ve been particularly impressed by the whiskies released from Lakes under the watchful eye of Dhavall Gandhi. He is one of these whisky makers who you can tell is completely in their element and really understands the art of whisky making and blending. Absolutely one to keep an eye on. Finally, another distillery project whose development I am very excited to follow is the Wiltshire Whisky Distillery Company. I was lucky to have a short Zoom call with the founders recently and they have some unique and exciting ideas that they are bringing to life.

The distillery hasn’t started construction yet, but I believe it will start soon. As well as a novel distillation process, they will be making their own single malt as well as single grain whisky, and as such will be able to create a single estate blended whisky which sounds like a very innovative idea. So suﬃce to say, the reincarnation of England’s whisky scene is starting to heat up. It is now becoming much more widely distributed and easier to get a hold of. It is well worth seeking out if you’ve yet to raise a glass of English cheer.

07/12/2021 15:05:53

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T SCOTTISH

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cs13 Piper and Speyside advertorial.indd 34

his independently owned bar, which is situated in the fabulous George Square in Glasgow has something on offer for everyone. You will not be disappointed with the legendary customer service, live music, amazing range of whisky and traditional Scottish food. The Scottish tapas has traditional favourites for you to try and they can be perfectly paired with a dram. With traditional surroundings the bar has a welcoming feel to it and offers a wide selection of beers, wines, rums, gins and much more. The range of Scotch malt whisky is outstanding. If you fancy something different then this is your place, it’s ﬁlled with experimental and traditional whisky. With scheduled and bespoke whisky tastings you’ll ﬁnd someone here to take you on a trip around the whisky regions of Scotland and more. We have gift vouchers and gifts available too. From all of us here at the Piper whisky bar, we wish you a very Merry 15:49 Christmas and best wishes for 2022. 07/12/2021

10/12/2021 09:19:46

Cask and Still Magazine | 35

Whisky by numbers Impress your friends with these facts and figures 36 bottles of Scotch whisky are shipped from Scotland to 166 markets around the world each second, totalling over 1.14 billion a year

There are currently 134 operating Scotch whisky distilleries across Scotland

342,000 KM

Laid end to end, those bottles would stretch about 342,000km – which is 90% of the distance to the moon

More than 10,000 people are directly employed in the Scotch whisky industry in Scotland...

10,000

...and over 40,000 jobs across the UK are supported by the industry...

...7,000 of these jobs are in rural areas providing vital employment and investment to communities across the Highlands and Islands

To be classified as a Scotch whisky, the spirit must have been matured within oak casks in Scotland for a minimum of three years

£3 . 8 BILLION

Some 22 million casks lie maturing in warehouses in Scotland just waiting to be discovered

Scotch whisky exports are worth £3.8 billion each year (down from £4.9bn pre-Covid)

Source: Scotch Whisky Association figures from 2020. www.scotch-whisky.org.uk

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09/12/2021 10:12:28

36 | A bluffer’s guide to...

A BLUFFER ’S GUIDE TO.Whisky . Written by: Federica Stefani

regulations around the world

Whether you believe that rules surrounding whisky production are essential to quality control or a barrier to creativity, Scotland isn’t the only country to lay down the law on what is – and isn’t – whisk(e)y

he last few decades have seen a surge in the whisky

SCOTLAND

industry worldwide, with a growing demand that has led to

The rules for Scotch

a steep increase in new distillers, producers and retailers.

whisky production are

In order to protect and safeguard the status and quality of the

among the strictest

local liquid sunshine, the main producing countries and industry

around, and if on one

groups have set out standards to regulate the markets at home

side they are essential

and globally. These rules have been in place for some time in the

to protect the name of Scotch, some distillers are

USA and Canada, whereas in other countries like Japan and New

calling for more freedom to enable them to set aside old

Zealand they have been introduced relatively recently. Meanwhile,

stereotypes that give the Scotch whisky industry the

many more countries in which whisky is a new industry are yet to

reputation of being antiquated and slow-moving.

introduce rules and regulations. There is also a continual debate raging on whether stricter

According to the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 – which are part of UK law – Scotch has to be:

rules (such as the ones we have in Scotland) are beneficial to the

made in Scotland from only cereals, water and yeast;

industry, or a limitation on those willing to experiment.

matured for a minimum of 3 years in oak casks; bottled

So let’s have a look at some of these standards...

at a minimum strength of 40% ABV and distilled below 94.8% ABV so that it retains the flavour and aroma derived from its raw materials. No flavouring or sweetening is permitted (but the use of plain caramel colouring is allowed in very limited quantities). In 2019 the Scotch Whisky Association expanded the range of casks allowed to mature whisky, bringing it more in line with industry trends: these now include oak casks that have previously been used to age wine, beer, ale and spirits. The amendment excludes casks from anything ‘produced from, or made with’ stone fruits and spirits which are not matured as part of their traditional production process (such as cider and gin). The final product must also keep the traditional colour, taste and aroma characteristics of Scotch whisky.

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07/12/2021 15:31:24

Cask and Still Magazine | 37

There are six recognised categories: Single

spirit must be filtered through layers of charcoal

Malt (from one distillery and a mash of 100% barley,

before barreling in what is known as the Lincoln

distilled in pot stills); Blended Malt (a blend of

County process (with a special exception made for

two or more Single Malts), Single Grain (from one

Prichard’s).

distillery and is not Single Malt or Blended Malt),

American Rye whiskey must be made from a

Blended Grain Scotch Whisky (blend of two or

mash of at least 51% rye and distilled to a maximum

more Single Grains) and Blended Scotch Whisky (a

of 80% ABV and aged exclusively in charred,

blend of any type of the whiskies above).

American oak casks at no more than 62.5% ABV – after a minimum maturation of two years, it can can be labelled as straight rye whiskey. The same

USA

goes for wheat whiskey.

On the other side

Last but not least, Corn Whiskey is whiskey

of the Atlantic,

made with at least 80% corn. There is no legal

things are a bit

requirement to age the whiskey but the distillers

easier for whiskey

who do have to use uncharred or previously used

makers, although

American oak casks.

complications are caused by the variety of styles traditionally produced in the country. The following rules apply to whiskey made for US consumption, although standards are not the same for consumption abroad. Bourbon: According to The Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits, bourbon must be produced in the US and made of a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn, distilled to no more than 80% ABV (160 proof), and aged in new, charred oak barrels. It can’t be introduced in the barrel at

There is debate raging on whether stricter rules are benficial or a limitation

A category on the rise is that of American Single Malt, with a specific commission for the category set up in 2016. It must be mashed, distilled and matured in the United States, distilled by only one distillery, and distilled to a proof not exceeding 80% ABV from fermented mash of 100% malted barley. It must be stored in oak containers not exceeding 700 litres, and bottled at no less than 80° proof.

IRELAND

a higher ABV than 62.5% (125 proof) and has to

Legal requirements

be aged for a minimum of two years to be called

for whiskey made

Straight Bourbon. It can be produced anywhere

on the Emerald

in the US (a bourbon produced in Kentucky and

Isle are set out in the Irish Whiskey

matured for at least 2 years can be labelled as Kentucky Straight Bourbon). A bourbon that

Act of 1980 and in the technical file submitted to

has been matured for less than 4 years must

the European Commission in 2014 to secure the

have its age stated on the label – when an age

Geographical Indication status.

statement is on the label, it has to be the age

To be labelled as such, Irish Whiskey must be

of the youngest whisky in the bottle (the same

‘saccharified by the diastase of malt contained

applies to Scotch and Irish whiskies).

therein, with or without other natural diastases’

For Tennessee Whiskey, a much debated

(which means the starch contained in the grain

law introduced in 2013 declared that to be

is turned into sugar), ‘fermented by the action of

recognised as such, the whiskey must be distilled

yeast’ and matured in wooden casks (which allows

in Tennessee from at least 51% corn, aged in

the use of casks other than oak) on the island of

new charred oak barrels and the new-make

Ireland, for a minimum of three years. It must also be

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07/12/2021 15:32:10

38 | A Feature bluffer’s title guide to...

distilled to less than 94.8% ABV ‘in such a way that the distillate

to tackle this issue, the Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers

has an aroma and flavour derived from the materials used.’

Association announced the introduction of a new set of rules.

There are also four different styles which are recognised

According to the new Standards for Labeling Japanese

and have different additional requirements. 1) Pot Still Irish

Whisky, raw ingredients must be limited to malted grains (which

Whiskey must contain at least 30% each of malted and

must always be used), other cereal grains, and water extracted

unmalted barley, plus up to 5% of other cereals, such as oats

in Japan. Saccharification, fermentation, and distillation must be

and rye. 2) Malt Irish Whiskey is defined as a spirit made from

carried out at a distillery in Japan. Alcohol content at the time

a mash of 100% malted barley, whereas 3) Grain Irish Whiskey

of distillation must be less than 95% ABV. The distilled product

is produced from malted barley (not exceeding 30%) including

must be poured into wooden casks not exceeding a capacity

whole unmalted cereals (usually maize, wheat or barley).

of 700 litres and matured in Japan for a period of at least three

Other natural enzymes may be used at the brewing and the

years. Bottling must take place only in Japan, with alcoholic

fermentation stage. 4) Finally, Blended Irish Whiskey is a blend

strength of at least 40%. Plain caramel colouring can be used.

of two or more of the above styles, and all the components must be produced in Ireland.

These new rules are also very restrictive of any brand trying to evoke Japanese imagery and names on labels of products not adhering to the above-mentioned requirements

CANADA

WORLD WHISKIES

Rules for Canadian whisky are

With the incredible buzz whisky is

stipulated within Canada’s Food

generating around the world, more and

and Drugs Act. According to the

more countries are becoming hubs of

act, Canadian Whisky, Canadian

whisky-making, and the demand for

Rye Whisky or Rye Whisky is

new regulations is increasing.

obtained from a mash of cereal grain or cereal grain products, has to be aged in ‘small wood’ (casks under 700 litres), and

In March 2021, New Zealand’s body Distilled Spirits Aotearoa (DSA), revealed

‘possess the aroma, taste and character generally attributed

new guidelines and definitions for New Zealand single malt

to Canadian whisky’. Canadian whisky must be mashed,

whisky: made from 100% malted cereal grain, water and yeast,

distilled and aged in Canada, and contain not less than 40%

the whisky must be be batch distilled in copper pot stills, and

ABV. Interestingly, Canadian whisky doesn’t require rye to be

mashed, fermented, distilled (at one distillery), matured for

called rye whisky. It may contain caramel colouring and can also

at least two years and bottled in New Zealand. Only natural

contain up to 9.09% added flavouring, as long as it’s a spirit

colouring can be used.

aged at least two years in wood or wine barrels. After the three

In neighbouring Australia, a country with several distilleries

years of maturation have passed, any period not exceeding six

and many new ones popping up, relatively relaxed laws have

months during which that whisky was held in other containers

allowed a flair of experimentation. Australian whisky is defined

may be claimed as age.

as made from cereal grain possessing the smell, taste and

JAPAN

appearance of whisk(e)y and aged for at least two years. Despite being one of the most prominent whisky

Japan has been on the radar

consumers, India’s own production of whisky couldn’t be, for

of whisky lovers for years,

the major part, labelled as such in Europe and elsewhere in

mostly for the quality of whisky

the world, as the majority is a blend of neutral alcohol made

produced. However, an almost

from sugar cane molasses and mixed with Foreign Made Liquor

non-existent set of regulations

(FML), grain spirit, or some malt spirit added. Several Single Malt

and high demand meant that some companies would import

distilleries such as Paul John and Amrut are however working

Scotch whisky and brand it as Japanese. Earlier this year,

at standards more similar to those accepted in the EU.

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07/12/2021 15:33:01

WARM, FRIENDLY AND PERSONAL SERVICE

Every Time

Over-looking the picturesque and world famous Spey Valley, the Dowans Hotel is a family-run establishment which focuses on friendly, passionate and professional service. The Still, our whisky snug, is an industry favourite having built its reputation over years of great drams, innovative whisky tastings and priceless moments with the trailblazers of the whisky community. If you’re looking for a unique and relaxed space to sample the finest bottlings, look no further...we’ll see you there!’.

The Dowans Hotel, Dowans Road, Aberlour, AB38 9LS 01340 871488 @TheDowansHotel /TheDowansHotel

thedowanshotel

peyside represents the very best of Scotland and all that it is famed for: stunning scenery, friendly and welcoming people, exciting outdoor and sporting pursuits, a large number of sites of historical signiﬁcance, a bountiful larder with a wealth of produce from hill, sea and pasture, and, of course, whisky. But to experience it requires a base and there is no better place to explore and experience everything that Speyside has to offer than the Dowans. Passion, dedication and attention to detail are at the core of this family run and operated boutique hotel translating into service that is all about ensuring your stay is exceptional, every time. With 17 fully renovated, contemporary bedrooms, two restaurants focusing on local and seasonal produce, a cocktail bar and a whisky snug, you will not be left wanting. But don’t trust us, trust the growing number of returning guests who can’t help but utter the simple assertion: ‘It’s like coming home’. The Dowans: warm, friendly and personal service. Every time.

For that that special special gift... gift... For GORDON & MACPHAIL RETAIL SHOP GORDON MACPHAIL SHOP 58-60 SOUTH&STREET, ELGIN, RETAIL SCOTLAND IV30 1JX

58-60 SOUTH STREET, SCOTLAND IV30 1JX T | + 44(0)1343 545110 ELGIN, E | retail@gordonandmacphail.com T | + 44(0)1343 545110 E | retail@gordonandmacphail.com

WWW.GORDONANDMACPHAIL.COM WWW.GORDONANDMACPHAIL.COM

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WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/GORDONMACPHAILRETAILSHOP WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/GORDONMACPHAILRETAILSHOP

10/12/2021 09:35:45

40 | Speyside Distilleries

Take me to the river

Speyside is home to more than fifty per cent of the country’s uisge beatha – it’s time to start exploring

Written by Morag Bootland

It’s hardly surprising that this lush and fertile part of Scotland is jam-packed with whisky

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Cask and Still Magazine | 41 >>>

peyside is the most densely populated of Scotland’s main whisky producing regions. It is also home to more than half of all of the distilleries in the country and one of the world’s largest annual celebrations of whisky in the Spirit of Speyside Festival. So it’s hardly surprising that this lush and fertile part of north-east Scotland is totally jam-packed with whisky-related things to see and do. If you’re looking to plan a trip to Speyside you will of course want to visit some of the incredible distilleries that pepper the land that borders the banks of the mighty River Spey. But there’s much more to offer here than just whisky, so if you’re making the pilgrimage for the uisge beatha, then make

sure you don’t miss out on the other treasures that can be uncovered along the way. If you’re looking for a base from which to discover the many delights of Speyside then Copperbroc (www.copperbroc.com), just outside Aberlour might fit the bill. This self-catering Highland home-from-home is just a short stroll from the banks of the Spey and centrally located in the region. It’s also just a pretty darn nice place to enjoy a dram by the fire. And if that’s not enough to persuade you then it also benefits from having the family-owned Glenfarclas Distillery (www.glenfarclas.com) within walking distance, so taking a tour and tasting or just picking up a bottle to enjoy by that fire is nice and easy. And if you’re looking to be fed, the nearby Dowan’s Hotel (www.dowanshotel.com) is a great shout for fine Scottish dining. There’s plenty of opportunity here to try out

Spirit of the Spey: Strathisla Distillery was originally established back in 1786.

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09/12/2021 12:43:55

42 | Cask and Still Magazine

J & G GRANT, GLENFARCLAS DISTILLERY, BALLINDALLOCH, BANFFSHIRE, SCOTLAND AB37 9BD TEL +44 (0)1807 500257 INFO@GLENFARCLAS.COM WWW.GLENFARCLAS.COM J & G GRANT, GLENFARCLAS DISTILLERY, BALLINDALLOCH, BANFFSHIRE, SCOTLAND AB37 9BD Glenfarclas encourages responsible drinking. TEL +44 (0)1807 500257 INFO@GLENFARCLAS.COM WWW.GLENFARCLAS.COM Glenfarclas encourages responsible drinking. J003510 105 Scottish Field 13x190.indd 1 J003510 105 Scottish Field 13x190.indd 1

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Cask and Still Magazine | 43 >>>

Here you can witness and learn about the ancient art of coopering

some local produce, with the menu regularly featuring game from the Ballindalloch Estate and fresh fish and shellfish from Portsoy and Lossiemouth. I admit to having a soft spot for The Glenlivet Estate (www. glenlivetestate.co.uk). The first distillery I ever visited was Glenlivet (theglenlivet.com). The still room here was the place where I first appreciated how beautiful these curvaceous copper creations really are. The warmth and the concoction of smells proving to be a heady combination after a hike up one of the freezing hills behind the distillery. The estate is situated in the Cairngorms National Park and is also home to Tomintoul Distillery (tomintoulwhisky.com). In the 1800s there were thought to be around

A looker: The Macallan Distillery is a sleek, modern design.

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200 illegal stills operating in Livet Glen. The area is criss-crossed with smugglers’ trails, from which explorers on foot or bike can discover ruined castles in Drumin and Blairﬁndy, Knock Earth House, the old Scalan Seminary, as well the site of The Battle of Glenlivet in 1594. Seek out the picturesque Packhorse Bridge for a great photo opportunity where it spans the River Livet at Bridgend of Livet. If your visit happens to be in winter while the days are short, then you’ll be spending much of your time under the stars. Glenlivet Estate is home to three dark sky discovery sites, places where light pollution is low and you can enjoy incredible views of the sky at night. Speyside Cooperage (speysidecooperage.co.uk) in Craigellachie makes a great day out for lovers of whisky and admirers of whisky barrels. Here you can witness and learn about the ancient art of coopering and how from tiny acorns, whisky casks grow. The cooperage is on the Speyside malt whisky trail, meaning there are lots of distilleries nearby, including The Glenallachie Distillery (theglenallachie.com), an independently owned distillery near Aberlour, or along the banks of the Spey there’s Aberlour Distillery (aberlour.com). For history buffs Balvenie Castle and Ballindalloch Castle are close by, as is the home of the exponents of yet

09/12/2021 12:45:42

44 | Speyside Distilleries

Sláinte: The Spirit of Speyside Festival is the world’s largest annual whisky celebration.

another world-famous Scottish creation,Walkers Shortbread (walkersshortbread.com). Heading north, away from the water of the Spey, you’ll find Tamdhu (tamdhu.com) and Cardhu distilleries along with the 16,000-acre Knockando Estate (knockando-estate.co.uk), a great place for fans of country pursuits and Knockando Woolmill (kwc.co.uk) for anyone who needs to wrap up warm for their Speyside adventure. Here you’ll also find the eye-wateringly expensive, but incredibly beautiful design of The Macallan’s distillery visitor centre (www. themacallan.com), which was presented to the brand’s adoring public in May 2018. The undulating roof that makes this building so unique is one of the most complicated timber structures in the world and is made up from 380,000 component parts. Beneath this architectural wonder visitors can explore a bar, boutique and brasserie, as well as witnessing the whisky production. The distillery is an attraction in its own right, but The Macallan Estate stretches over 585 acres and is home to an array of wildlife. It supports 100 acres of farmland, made fertile by the two-mile stretch of the River Spey that flows through it. There’s much

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to explore here beyond the still room. If you follow the path of the River Spey you’ll soon hit the coast. While the distilleries become less densely populated as you move north, there are lots of other sights to see. Head to Spey Bay, where the mighty river meets the sea and there’s a great opportunity to see some of the famous cetaceans that make the Moray Firth their home. A visit to the Scottish Dolphin Centre (dolphincentre.whales.org – closed until mid-February 2022) will help you to find the best places to watch the resident bottlenose dolphins, which are regularly spotted from the shore. From here, the town of Elgin is just a short drive south-west and a visit wouldn’t be complete without a tasting at Gordon & MacPhail (gordonandmacphail. com). The shop was founded as a grocery in 1895 and by the start of the early 20th century the owners began blending some of the fine whiskies sourced from around Speyside. Over 125 years later this family business is still creating fine whisky and still has a shop that visitors can enjoy. While you’re in the town you can book a personal shopping experience at the luxury cashmere brand, Johnstons of Elgin (johnstonsofelgin.com), or just pop in and browse their mill shop. Or, if you’re visiting after after Easter 2022, check out the Moray Motor Museum (moraymotormuseum.org), a delight for petrol-heads. There are more than 50 distilleries in Speyside and I’ve only had space to mention a few. But the beauty of having such a small area of Scotland that is so rich in whisky heritage is that you can discover so much in a relatively short space of time. The Malt Whisky Trail (maltwhiskytrail.com) is a great guide, or download the Cask and Still whisky app for inspiration for whisky trails in Speyside and every other part of Scotland.

You can discover so much in a relatively short space of time

09/12/2021 12:46:59

The Speyside Whisky Shop is situated The Speyside Shop is opened situated in the heart ofWhisky Speyside and The Speyside Whisky Shop is situated in the heart of Speyside and opened in October 2018.Shop Weisstock a wide The Speyside situated in the heart ofWhisky Speyside and opened in October 2018. We stock a wide in the heart ofofSpeyside and opened different inselection October 2018. We stock craft a widegins, tonic selection of different craft gins, tonic in October 2018. We stock a wide selection different craft gins, waters,ofmerchandise and tonic whisky. selection of different craft gins, tonic waters, merchandise and whisky. waters, merchandise and whisky. We specialise inand highly collectable waters, merchandise whisky. We specialise in highly collectable We specialise in highly collectable single maltinbottlings with a range We specialise highly collectable single malt bottlings with awith range single malt bottlings a range single malt bottlings with a range froma variety a variety of distilleries. from of distilleries. from a variety of distilleries. from a variety of distilleries. We look forward to welcoming Welook look forward to welcoming We forward to welcoming We look forward to welcoming you soon. you soon. you yousoon. soon. 110a High Street, Street, Aberlour AberlourAB38 AB389NX 9NX 110a High 110a High Street, Aberlour AB389NX 9NX sales@thespeysidewhiskyshop.com 110a High Street, Aberlour AB38 sales@thespeysidewhiskyshop.com

sales@thespeysidewhiskyshop.com www.thespeysidewhisky.com www.thespeysidewhisky.com sales@thespeysidewhiskyshop.com 01340 871260 01340 871260 www.thespeysidewhisky.com www.thespeysidewhisky.com 01340 01340 871260 871260

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the speyside whisky shop

ld and rare collectable whiskies are at the heart of what The Speyside Whisky Shop does best. Aberlour based, they have earned an international reputation for superb service and become an essential pit stop on The Speyside Whisky Trail for collectors and connoisseurs. This stunning single malt emporium was founded by renowned whisky collector Matteo Menestrina, a popular Italian-Speysider recognised for his knowledge of vintage whiskies by those in the know. Matteo is passionate about sharing his whisky knowledge and specialises in sourcing collectables from Scotland and beyond. The Speyside Whisky Shop has an exquisite range of whiskies including the best of Scottish, Japanese malts, and some super rare imports. They also have an impressive collection of Scottish artisan Gin. The shop is open Monday – Saturday 10-5pm. Visitors will receive the warmest welcome from founder Matteo and his team. You can also visit the online shop at www.speysidewhisky.com Tel: 01340 871260

10/12/2021 09:54:41

46 | Whisky Hero

Green machine

What exactly does the whisky industry, a bowl of dog food and an aquatic photosynthetic eukaryotic organism have in common? Written by Morag Bootland

cotland is brimming with green innovation, but there are few new businesses that are quite as green as MiAlgae. And that’s because MiAlgae are on a mission to produce some seriously nutritious and seriously bright green algae. The starter point for the company, as managing director Douglas Martin explains, was seeing algal blooms proliferating in the North Sea. ‘These blooms are so large that they can be seen from space and I wanted to know how you could capture that huge event and use it for something valuable that could also help the planet.’ The answer was to grow algae in large stainless steel tanks. The algae that MiAlgae cultivate at their site in Balfron is incredibly rich in Omega-3s, which are an essential ingredient in animal feed. Currently, most of the Omega-3 that reaches the food our pets eat comes from fish. Entire shoals are pulled from the sea and minced up to add to pet and animal feed. But here’s the rub. Fish do not produce Omega-3s, they obtain them from the food that they eat, and that food happens to be algae. So, if you can grow nutrient-rich algae to put directly into animal feed, you can cut out the fishy middle man and help save the planet.

Very good, I hear you cry, but what on earth has this got to do with whisky? In their wisdom, the boffins at MiAlgae have realised that they can feed their algae on co-products from the whisky industry. These liquids include the pot ale (or the water left in the wash still after the first distillation), the spent lees (or the liquid left in the spirit still following the second distillation) and the wash water. ‘These co-products from the whisky industry act as food for our algae, and by feeding it to our algae they use up all of the nutrients and leave the water cleaner than when it came to us,’ explained Douglas. ‘So, at the end of the process we are left with clean water amd Omega-3-rich algae.’ These liquids come from a few different distilleries, all of which are top secret while MiAlgae begin to commercialise their product. So, for now, there’s no way to tell if Fido will be chowing down on Speyside’s finest or if he’s more of a Lowland single malt kind of a dog. MiAlgae started up in 2015 and is now through its technical development stage, a process that, as with most bio-tech innovations, took years. But, the algae is ready to roll and with a huge pet and animal feed market ready for an environmentally-friendly alternative to fish, the world is their oyster.

the answer was to grow algae in large stainless steel tanks

046-047_cs12.indd 46

Clockwise from top left: Some of the 18 strong MiAlgae team; founder and MD Douglas Martin; the good, green stuff; Martin from the production team with one of the stainless steel tanks at the Balfron site; the technical development of the product has taken years to get just right.

www.mialgae.com

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w w w. o l d p e r t h w h i s k y. c o m @oldperthwhisky

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/oldpe r thwhisk y

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s ’ r u e s s i o n on

N O I T EC

L E S Befuddled by the dizzying range of drinks on offer? Feel the fog of

confusion lift with our guide to what the real experts drink

S &

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09/12/2021 13:00:16

50 | Connoisseurs’ Selection

Robin Russell OWNER, ROBBIE’S DRAMS WHISKY MERCHANTS, AYR

robbieswhiskymerchants.com

Robbie’s Drams Whisky Merchants is an independent family-run business, situated in the seaside town of Ayr. Fine character, great whisky since 1984. Here Robin selects some of his favourite malts on the market.

GLEN SCOTIA 12 YO SEASONAL RELEASE - LIMITED EDITION 70CL

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

74.99

54.7

This whisky has joined the ever-increasing torrent of cracking whiskies from the Wee Toon. Released as this year’s Limited Seasonal dram, it does not disappoint. After eleven years of maturation in first fill Bourbon and American Oak hogsheads, this single malt was then finished for twelve months in first fill Oloroso hogsheads and heavily charred American Oak barrels before being married prior to bottling at cask strength. Another successful

BUNNAHABHAIN 12 YO CASK STRENGTH - 2021 LIMITED RELEASE 70CL

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

55.1

Bunnahabhain 12 YO Cask Strength is a limited edition whisky inspired by visitor tastings in the distillery’s iconic Warehouse 9. Matured on the remote, north-eastern coastline of Islay and produced using pure spring water from the Margadale Spring, the 12 YO Cask Strength is an undiluted celebration of the distillery’s hugely popular Bunnahabhain 12 YO expression. This is a great take on a well-respected Islay dram and gives you the chance to sample the real provenance of the whisky in the comfort of your own home. NOSE: Dark berries, citrus and toasted oak which gradually transitions to sweet vanilla and a hint of cinnamon spice. PALATE: Creamy chocolate, sherry-soaked fruit and a balanced nuttiness give way to cloves, nutmeg and a subtle sea salt spray. FINISH: A lingering sweet finish with cherries and a touch of wood spice.

bottle by Iain McAlister, Glen Scotia Distillery. NOSE: Toffee, apple, sea spray, soft vanilla and salted caramel. PALATE: Creamy vanilla and brown sugar are balanced by warm, spicy notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. FINISH: Long, nutty finish with dried orange peel and gentle warming spice.

THE ARRAN 21 YO 70CL SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

125

This is a long-standing favourite dram from within the Arran core range, never failing to tease and tantalise your taste buds. It is evident immediately that the whisky is 100% matured in a mix of some of the oldest Sherry Butts from the distillery. An absolutely stunning dram. NOSE: Bitter chocolate and ginger, pink grapefruit peel with a dusting of cinnamon. PALATE: Hints of soft spices and chocolate covered Brazil nuts with deep luscious citrus buttery notes leading to fresh orchard fruit. FINISH: Indulgent and sophisticated with rich dark plums apple. and candied apple

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NORTH POINT SPICED RUM SPICED RUM

39.95

North Point Distillery in Thurso was established in 2020 and is all about small batch production. The owners are true entrepreneurs who have succeeded in creating this wonderful pot distilled, un-chill-filtered rum. NOSE: Vanilla and orange zest, a hint of aniseed and cinnamon.

BERRY BROS & RUDD ROYAL BRACKLA 14 YO SINGLE MALT CHRISTMAS EDITION SINGLE MALT WHISKY

99.95

PALATE: Aromatic, warm, orange with a suggestion of honey. Light spices. FINISH: Sweet, orange and all spice and very delicious!

50.6

A festive bottling by Berry Bros & Rudd. This 14 YO was distilled in 2007 and bottled in 2021. It’s a limited release of 539 bottles. It was matured for 12 years in a refill hogshead and

CHEMIST AMERICAN GIN

finished in a Pedro Ximez butt.

GIN

It is un-chill-filtered and natural in colour.

39.95

A New World gin created using local botanicals from the Highlands of North Carolina. Crafted by traditional vapour infusion, the taste of juniper is softened and flavours of citrus,

NOSE: Mixed spice with stewed apples and pears. PALATE: Very much influenced by the sherry

rose and fragrant mountain botanicals are highlighted. Winner of the Double Gold Medal, Women’s Wine and Spirits Award in London. NOSE: A lovely citrus aroma alongside juniper gives this gin a fresh vibrant nose. PALATE: The rose petals and rose hips come out in the taste, with a slight touch of spice.

with hints of caramel and honey, stewed prunes and a touch of cinnamon and clove. FINISH: Long with spices and rich fruits. A Christmas cracker!

FINISH: Light and fresh, a lovely finish which is very refreshing.

c Ewan M Ilwraith OWNER, ROBERTSONS OF PITLOCHRY

www.robertsonsofpitlochry.co.uk

Ewan bought Robertsons of Pitlochry in 2013, an award-winning whisky shop and tasting room. Robertsons have their own range of Single Cask whiskies and a gin. A warm welcome is always on offer and friendly advice readily available at Robertsons of Pitlochry.

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09/12/2021 12:58:43

52 | Connoisseurs’ Selection

Jen Laird & Rachel Grant CO-OWNERS, THE CALLANDER DRINKS CO.

www.callanderdrinkscompany.co.uk

Jen and Rachel founded The Grail in Doune in 2018 having worked in the industry for a number of years at distilleries, whisky shops and festivals. Today you can find them at the Callander Drinks Company which they opened in 2020. The Grail remains the tastings side of the business and virtually on their YouTube whisky channel.

ASKIVAL RUM

SCOTTISH RUM

A rum from the Isle of Rum! This bottling is a blend of 5YO Caribbean rums, local water and a selection of botanicals foraged and inspired by the island, including roasted kelp, spruce and meadowsweet. A new and different style of rum. NOSE: Light citrus and tangy sherbet with a very subtle herbal note. PALATE: Salted caramel, orange, pineapple, cardamom and mulled fruit punch. FINISH: Warm spice and just a whisp of light smoke, like blown out birthday candles.

THE JAUNTY CAMPER GIN SCOTTISH GIN

Created by Yva McKerlich in Strathaven,

‘CALLANDAR’ DRINKS COMPANY EXCLUSIVE DUNCAN TAYLOR GLENALLACHIE LIMITED EDITION SINGLE MALT WHISKY

55.3

was inspired by her travels round Scotland in her vintage camper. It gives a nod to Kyle of Lochalsh, the seaside village

Bottled exclusively for the shop by Duncan Taylor, this single

where she was born, using dulse

cask Glenallachie has been finished for nine months in sherry

seaweed for robust salty flavour,

octave casks. Distilled in 2011 and bottled this year, we find this

which partners perfectly with a basil

10YO dram very different from what we have come to expect

leaf garnish.

from the rich, raisin-led distillery bottlings. There are only 80 bottles available. NOSE: Sweet malt and vanilla upfront, dried orange peel with cinnamon and nutmeg.

NOSE: Fresh piney juniper, sweet and salty seaweed with a gentle pepper note. PALATE: Soft juniper with warming peppery cardamom and a good hit of umami from the

PALATE: Creamy vanilla custard with a fruity, sherry sweetness

seaweed.

followed by toasted almonds.

FINISH: Clean and fresh like a seaside breeze. Just a

FINISH: A long lingering warmth of mellow spices.

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this distinctly coastal gin

hint of warming spice lingering and a salty, sea air tang.

09/12/2021 12:57:23

Cask and Still Magazine | 53 >>>

LEVI SERAFINO, VERMOUTH DI TORINO ROSSO CON BAROLO VERMOUTH

39.50

The Negroni has been one of my favourite cocktails for quite a while, using this glorious decadent vermouth really brings a new level to the whole experience. Levi Serafino is one of Italy’s top Grappa producers, and this vermouth not only uses Barolo as the base wine but it is also fortified with their Grappa. NOSE: Deep and rich, with cherry, spice and hints of strawberry. PALATE: Firstly we see some floral notes, maybe rose, cherry and soft strawberry. FINISH: The finish is long, sweet and bitter with notes of rhubarb and spice. spice

NORTH STAR ’SUPER SONIC MACH 3’

BLENDED MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Another great whisky from one of the best new independent bottlers in Scotland. This is part of a series and all the Super Sonic whiskies are sherry matured blended malts, bottled at different strengths. This Mach 3 comes in at a healthy 55%. NOSE: The nose is packed with rich sherry notes, dried fruit, dates, sultanas, orange peel and ginger spice. PALATE: There is an intensity that comes with the strength, along with that comes a touch of treacle and leather, followed by some tobacco leaf.

ACQUA BIANCA LIQUEUR

This is a fascinating modern liqueur, created by Salvatore Calabrese. Taking the best of classic liqueur recipes and combining that with the art of the perfumer. He has created a delicate, floral and fresh liqueur that is not cloying and perfect for the modern palate. NOSE: The first thing you notice is a light minty note, followed by rose and citrus. PALATE: Oily, with a lovely delicate fresh mint that fades to a gentle floral note. FINISH: Just enough sweetness to balance the flavour, the finish lingers and slowly fades leaving a lovely hint of rose.

FINISH: This is long, decadent and dangerously drinkable. A great dram to finish off Christmas day!

Matthew M Fadyen CO-OWNER, THE GOOD SPIRITS CO., GLASGOW

www.thegoodspiritsco.com

Matt can usually be found at the helm of The Good Spirits Company on Glasgow’s Bath Street, hosting monthly whisky, gin and cocktail tastings.

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09/12/2021 12:55:35

54 | Connoisseurs’ Selection

DEANSTON 2002 ORGANIC PX FINISH HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT

150

49.3

A limited edition and organic Deanston. This whisky was first of all filled into refill American oak casks in 2002 and matured for an initial 14 years before being transferred into casks which held organic Pedro Ximenez Sherry and matured for a further three years. Only 2,505 bottles of this whisky were produced. NOSE: Aromas are varied and welcoming with marzipan, coconut, fresh nougat, white chocolate and baked apple. Over time it develops some darker fruits such as bramble and damson as well as some orange peel and heather honey. PALATE: The flavour has a dessert like sweetness, toffee apple, lime jelly, nectarine and tropical fruit punch. FINISH: Raisins, plums and peach tea.

TALISKER 8 YO SPECIAL RELEASE 2021 ISLANDS SINGLE MALT

BOWMORE ASTON MARTIN 21 YO ISLAY SINGLE MALT

300

59.7

This year’s limited edition offering from Talisker is an 8 YO cask strength, non chill-filtered, matured in American oak

51.8

This limited edition Bowmore is a collaboration between Bowmore master whisky blender Ron Welsh and Aston Martin’s executive vice

barrels. Talisker in its truest form. This makes up part of a series of eight single malts called the Legends Untold, others in this collection include Oban, Dufftown, Lagavulin, Mortlach, Cardhu and Lochnagar.

president and chief creative officer Marek

NOSE: Aromas of lemon and lime with

Reichman. This whisky contains Bowmore

crushed sea salt, seaweed and iodine,

matured in both Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso

smoky/greasy and all the way through

Sherry casks plus some older Bowmore,

lemon is the top note, lemon biscuit,

matured for over 35 years. A desirable bottle

lemon zest.

for fans of whisky and of classic motors.

PALATE: A warming flavour, quite

NOSE: Aromas of chestnuts smouldering on a smoky/peaty fire and hessian coal sacks then a touch of parma violets, luxurious dark chocolate with chilli, old leather and fresh cuban cigars. PALATE: On the palate it’s full bodied with a touch of copper against a backdrop of earthy peat, charred oak, cigar leaf and a peppery spice. FINISH: On the finish black forrest gateaux, some brown sugar and some rich fruit compote still spicy and still some smoky charred oak.

youthful with an oily texture, herbal, black tea, oily smoke, coal tar soap water brings through classic Talisker peppery notes, some cough sweeties and a wee touch of dried flowers. FINISH: The finish has smoky fish, (kippers), salt and pepper and lots of warming spice. One for a cold wintery walk.

Darren Leitch NATIONAL RETAIL MANAGER, THE WHISKY SHOP

whiskyshop.com

The Whisky Shop is the largest independent specialist retailer of whisky in the UK. The website enables the company to meet an even greater global demand for Scotch whiskies. Darren is a senior judge on the Scottish Field Whisky Challenge.

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10/12/2021 11:39:38

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10/12/2021 11:34:27

n 56 | Investing in whisky

Once upon a

DRAM This may come as a surprise, but collectable whiskies are not priced on quality or rarity Written by Mark Littler

e live in an unprecedented age, with accessibility of whisky at an alltime high and some incredible drams available across the market. The only limit to what you can try seems to be your budget. The world record price for a bottle of single malt lies at

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over £1.4 million, while many high age statement releases, both new and secondary market bottles, cost tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds. Which leads to the inevitable question: is every whisky worth what you have to pay to acquire it? To presume there is a correlation between price and quality would be to assume that the market for whisky resembles that of wine. Wine critics such as Robert Parker, Jancis Robinson, James Suckling and Tim Atkin cause the value of wine to rise and fall based on their assessment of quality. Furthermore, these critics’ reviews are often close in terms of their tasting notes and scores. This is seldom the case with whisky. Tasting notes for whisky are rarely repeated from one critic to another, and the opinions of whisky critics rarely, if ever, has a discernable impact on secondary market prices. The most glaring examples of a disconnect between the price of a whisky and its quality occurs where a whisky has been re-bottled by the

distillery. This is where a distillery takes one of its former releases – often one that did not sell out – and rebrands it. The whisky is decanted from the original bottle into a new one, the packaging is updated, and it is re-released. The whisky in the two versions is identical, but the difference in price between the original and the re-bottled version is often vast. The pinnacle of re-bottling is Springbank’s 1919 50-Year-Old. This incredible whisky was laid down one year after World War I and matured for five decades before being bottled in 1970. The whisky was first bottled in a pear-shaped bottle featuring Springbank’s distinctive gothic ‘S’ on the label. In the 1980s the whisky was re-bottled by Springbank into a taller glass bottle with a new label and a wooden presentation box. The record price at auction for the original pearshaped bottle is £20,000. The record price at auction for the re-bottled version is £226,200 – over ten times the value achieved by the original, despite the fact that the whisky is

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Cask and Still Magazine | 57

identical and the only difference is the packaging. The Macallan-Glenlivet 1937 37-Year-Old is another example. First bottled in the mid-1970s, it is an official Macallan bottling but due to bottling laws at the time was bottled for the distillery by Gordon & Macphail. Despite the old vintage and high age statement, it sells at auction for an average of just £3,000. In 2002 Macallan re-bottled it as part of the Macallan Fine & Rare Series, complete with a new label and wooden presentation box. At £34,813, the record auction price for the Fine and Rare 1937 37-YearOld is more than ten times the original bottle’s average price. A last example is the Black

difference in value is being driven by factors other than just quality. Even scarcity is not the ultimate indicator of value, as shown by the world record holder. The Macallan 1926 60-Year-Old Fine and Rare sold for £1.45 million and is itself a re-bottling. The series consists of a single cask of forty bottles in four different bottle styles. There is quite a spread in the values achieved by the different bottles, and counter intuitively it is not the rarest of the bottles that holds the world record. The world record price Fine and Rare 1926 (which incidentally, had an RRP of £20,000), exceeded both the Peter Blake and Valerio Adami releases, and the unique ‘One of One’ release by Michael Dillion.

‘The whisky in the two versions is identical but the price difference is often vast’ Bowmore 1964 Final Edition. The 1964 31-Year-Old Final Edition (which is actually the third edition, as there are now six releases in the Black Bowmore series) was released in 1995 for £100. The Final Edition has steadily grown in value over the past 26 years and currently averages around £11,000 at auction. In 2021, Bowmore released the Black Bowmore 1964 DB5 in collaboration with Aston Martin. The Black Bowmore DB5 release consisted of 25 bottles, and despite being a re-bottling of the Final Edition, each bottle had an RRP of £50,000. On the secondary market the record price for this re-bottling currently stands at £81,000; over seven times the original bottling’s average. Ultimately in each of those whiskies the liquid is identical, as are the tasting notes. So the

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So is any whisky really worth £1.45 million, or even £81,000? In short, probably not. Do Lalique decanters, collaborations with luxury car makers or elaborate packaging make any difference to the taste? Of course not. But these questions miss the wider point of the current market. Single malt whisky is no longer simply a drink; it is a status symbol and a collector’s item. As such, scarcity and market desirability have as much, if not more, influence on value as quality. What collaborations and packaging do is create marketing awareness, which in turn widens the appeal of the product to a demographic who are willing to pay more for a bottle. This in turn benefits the distillery when they come to release their next high-end product. Eventually, the marketing impact also helps you pick your

chosen tipple when faced with a shelf of choice. To blame collectors and investors for the price phenomenon would be misguided. Ultimately it is the distilleries driving the evolution of whisky and in turn the value. Thanks to their clever marketing, single malt is now seen as a signifier of wealth and status from New York to Singapore. While this may cause dismay to some, these changes have a positive impact for many. Scotch is responsible for generating billions of pounds of revenue and for employing tens of thousands across Scotland. Day-to-day whisky drinkers like to believe that quality is what ultimately matters, yet market valuations like those above demonstrate that the whisky itself is only one of the factors determining price. So, next time you look at a bottle of whisky on the shelf, remember that you are being marketed to first and foremost through the packaging, and that if you want to know about the whisky that is inside, do some research on review sites and through magazines like this one. The good news is that there are bargains out there!

09/12/2021 13:02:03

58 | Gin

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09/12/2021 12:49:41

Cask and Still Magazine | 59 >>>

Hosts with the most

Whether it’s a Scottish barn on a remote island or a bespoke angular new-build, the look and feel of gin visitor centres is crucial in bolstering a brand’s identity Written by Geraldine Coates

or spirits enthusiasts there are few things as enjoyable as a leisurely afternoon pottering around a distillery learning all there is to know about your favourite brand. However, it’s only in the last ten years that gin lovers have had this option widely available. Back in gin’s dark days most big brands were making a virtue out of secrecy. In fact Plymouth Gin, who pioneered the telling of the brand story, were the only notable exception. They shone a light on their famous product’s mysteries, and what a story to tell – the oldest gin distillery in the UK, a fantastic location in the heart of historic Plymouth, a long association with the Royal Navy and even a special EU law that prevented any other gin calling itself Plymouth (since abrogated). Their distillery opened to the public in 1985. ‘In the early days we were very much about promoting gin as a category itself and getting

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people to understand what gin is about,’ says Master Distiller Sean Harrison. ‘Our location has always been important in attracting tourists looking for something to do but nowadays people are coming to Plymouth to visit the distillery. We’ve become the destination.’ In October 2014 the gin distillery visitor experience was taken to a whole new level when the Bombay Sapphire Distillery at Laverstoke in Hampshire hosted a glittering event to celebrate its opening. I was very happy to be there as I had worked on the project for months, watching this spectacular venue rise from the ruins of a former paper mill that made banknotes for countries around the world. No expense had been spared and, despite Bacardi’s shyness around actual figures, there’s no question many millions were involved. You can certainly see where the money went from the Thomas Heatherwick-designed glasshouses to the state of the art green energy technology.

09/12/2021 12:50:46

60 | Gin

‘Not only has Laverstoke completely changed people’s perceptions of Bombay Sapphire, it’s become an absolute hub of innovation,’ says Senior Ambassador Sam Carter. ‘We’ve got a captive consumer research group in the 100,000 visitors who come every year so we can experiment more and try new things like our latest Premier Cru expression, as well as small limited edition bottlings and new cocktail recipes. Laverstoke is constantly evolving so there’s always something new to come back for.’ How different from when Bombay Sapphire was distilled by Greenall’s in Warrington and rather looked down on by the snootier, cool bartenders... Not all gin distillers have Bacardi’s deep pockets but what is interesting now is to realise the extent to which the distillery visitor centre has become a crucial part of a gin brand’s personality and outreach, whether you’re in a gorgeous bespoke building or in a barn on a remote Scottish island. In fact the diversity is important, because each brand is different and a brand home should reflect that. In many ways the gin community learned the benefits of throwing open the distillery doors from their whisky counterparts. It’s all been part of the ongoing drive to reposition gin as a fine spirit with a history of craftsmanship and create a sense of connoisseurship around premium gin. Tastings, tours, masterclasses and gin making sessions feed consumers’ thirst for knowledge whilst a tutor-led focus on each gin’s botanical recipe is the ideal way to promote each individual brand’s distinctive flavour. It’s not rocket science. Having your own distillery and shouting about it is an important way of communicating core values of provenance and authenticity. Perhaps unfairly many gins that are made by a third party distiller are perceived as inferior and (note to some Scottish gins) they certainly can’t claim that their location makes them special.

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From top left: Plymouth Gin distillery; Bombay gin visitor centre bar; Bombay Gin glasshouse; Oro gin and rum centre; Darnley’s Gin; Kingsbarns Distillery opened in 2014.

The Wemyss’ family-owned Darnley’s Gin (www.darnleysgin.com) is another brand that made the leap from third party production to invest in its own purpose built distillery. Kingsbarns Distillery opened in 2014 to produce Wemyss Malts in-house. Distillation of Darnley’s Gin was then transferred from London to a converted cottage behind the main distillery, with a Visitor Centre and Gin School built alongside. There’s also a pop-up Gin Experience in Edinburgh where you can make your own gin. Kingsbarns Distillery is now one of the top attractions in the East Neuk of Fife with the Darnley’s Gin Cottage alone attracting around 10,000 visitors a year. But more importantly, as brand owner William Wemyss says: ‘Hosting people here is the ideal way to engage directly with consumers. Provenance is such a big issue now and here people can see how our gin is made and experiment with the botanicals we grow here to make their own gin. The gin market is very competitive so building brand loyalty through this type of experience is logical. It’s a huge asset.’ Every bottle of gin sold in a distillery gift shop is worth 2.6 times more to brands because they are quite literally cutting out the middleman. So, embracing an open doors policy from the start makes commercial sense, particularly if you’re in a remote and scenic location. The Clynick family always envisaged a visitor centre when they bought a tumble down former pottery just outside Dalton in the wilds of Dumfries and Galloway and created The Oro Distillery, where they produce a range of awardwinning Oro gins and Oro rum. Ray Clynick, head distiller and former scientist, is emphatic: ‘We always wanted to be a destination that people would want to come to, not a factory unit. We have a really broad food and drink offering here and our bar has become the equivalent of the local pub. We’re always busy.’

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Cask and Still Magazine | 61

GIN DISTILLERY VISITOR CENTRES There’s constant experimentation here too and Ray and his team took advantage of lockdown to create a range of over one hundred bottled cocktails that are available online and in the distillery shop. (www.orogin.co.uk) It’s no wonder that the gin visitor centre sector boomed prepandemic but is now poised to get back to where it was as restrictions lift. Most consumer surveys tell us that people value experiences far more than things, particularly if they are able to learn something new. Visiting a gin distillery ticks all the boxes: it’s a fun day out, it’s perfect for a celebration, and it’s the ideal way to entertain clients. Distillers are invariably hospitable and interesting people, whilst gin drinkers tend to be curious and willing to experiment. In my humble opinion, that’s a match made in heaven.

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There are over 300 gin distilleries the length and breadth of the UK and at least a third of them have visitor centres. In London Beefeater, Hayman’s and Sipsmith have stunning visitor facilities. Here are some Scottish favourites: Pickerings Gin, Summerhall, Edinburgh – tastings and tours bookable at www.pickeringsgin.com Lussa Gin, Ardlussa, Isle of Jura, Argyll. Tours are available by appointment only, Monday to Friday 11.30am and 2.30pm. www.lussagin.com Bruichladdich Distillery, Isle of Islay, Argyll – home of The Botanist Gin – www.bruichladdich.com Gin tours run daily at 1pm. Caorunn Gin, Balmenach Distillery, Grantown-on-Spey. Tours bookable at www.caorunngin.com Shetland Reel Gin, Saxa Vord, Unst, Shetland the most northerly distillery in the UK – open during the summer months, bookable at www.shetlandreel.com The Borders Distillery, Hawick, Scottish Borders – www.thebordersdistillery.com Tours every day, must be booked.

09/12/2021 12:51:34

62 | Spirit Level

mead the maker

Forget sickly sweet meads from the seventies. This age-old drink can be as delightfully dry and effervescent as you like, says Brooke Magnanti

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09/12/2021 10:08:24

Cask and Still Magazine | 63

here is something about living in a post-Brexit, post-pandemic world that has brought out the domestic in many of us. With carefree jaunts to Costa del Wherever off the menu, at least for now the smart money has been fluffing their nest and sharpening their homebody skills for a wee while. A confession: I’ve been known to haunt socalled ‘prepper’ forums, where the God and Guns variety of American shares tips on how best to collect rainwater and shoot intruders. Over and again, would-be post-apocalyptic warlords tickle the hive mind to try and figure out which goods would be best stockpiled for barter in case of the end of the world as we know it. It is not, in my opinion, bullets or tobacco or cans of squeezy cheese or any of the other myriad usual answers. It’s obvious to me that the twilight of human civilisation is going to need some alcohol. But you needn’t hoard it when it’s a doddle to make. Welcome back to the column that takes you on a magical mystery tour of my memory every few months or so. Yes, I’m talking about mead. Put out of your mind whatever sickly-sweet mead your parents brought back as a souvenir from a monk-infested British beauty spot in the 1970s and relegated to the back of the drinks cupboard never to be sipped again. The simple combination of honey, lemon, tea and yeast, left to ferment, can be as dry as a Pinot Grigio, and when bottle conditioned as delightfully effervescent as champagne. Without distillation it reaches only the upper heights of winerange ABVs, but believe me when I say that will be plenty boozy when it counts.

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WORTH A LOOK

I first got into making mead when I moved to Scotland. Thanks to the impulsive purchase of a winemaking kit from a home brew shop before leaving Bristol I was already familiar with the rudiments, but our move to the West Coast brought new pressure because we’d spent all, and I do mean all, of our money on a house. The domestic budget for that first year in Strontian was ruthless. What was the cheapest way to drink agreeable tipple? Why, by making it. Enter Morrison’s value honey, high alcohol tolerant yeast bought online, and visitors having to put up with the gentle bubbling of carboys next to the guest room radiator all night. I learned a lot in that first year. That if you forget the tannin it will taste off (and we’ll drink it anyway), and that if it goes ropey it will look scary (and we’ll drink it anyway). As wiser heads than me have opined, no one ever died from drinking homebrew. Well... not specifically from that anyway. Over time it improved. This is how I learned that the tea used for tannin will make some difference to the finished product, that replacing fresh lemons with cost-effective citric acid crystals none at all, and that the addition of a handful of foraged raspberries or gorse flowers elevates it from an everyday drink to something approaching delightful. I also learned, painfully, never to mix mead with lager – the so-called ‘turbo shandy’ that tasted of nothing more sinister than lemonade will live long in my catalogue of regrettable hangovers. But you needn’t be house-poor nor pandemic-stranded to enjoy mead. Nor do you have to make it yourself, though I’d urge anyone to give it a go, as it is far more forgiving a hobby than crafting drinkable beers. Gosnell’s London Mead is a very crisp and modern take on the ancient drink, with a sessionable offering available in cans, while the Cornish Mead Co blackberry mead (technically a melomel) will tempt those whose taste runs to fruit-spiked ciders. So as the nights draw in, why not channel your inner Viking (or your inner Hobbit) with a glass of man’s oldest brew?

MONIACK MEAD

Produced at Moniack Castle in Invernessshire by Highland Wineries, this mead is smooth and warming with a certain dryness. It has prominent honey and caramel flavours.

THE ROOKERY LAVENDER MEAD

The Rookery is a ‘craft mead’ producer based in Perthshire. Complex and rich, it tastes firstly of lavender, then mellows with gingerbread and burnt sugars.

LYME BAY RHUBARB MEAD

Rhubarb mead showcases the delicious pairing of honey and rhubarb. Served chilled or on the rocks, this tangy mead is sweet and fruity, and pairs well with blue cheese.

09/12/2021 10:08:50

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10/12/2021 10:27:27

n Cask and Still Magazine | 65

Over a

BARREL Foraging isn’t simply about mushrooms, but also ingredients for Scotland’s beers too Written by Peter Ranscombe

quelching through the forests near Balquhidder on a recent foraging trip with chefs Tom Lewis and Nick Nairn, I was reminded just how well Scotland’s natural larder can pair with wine. Mushrooms galore were retrieved from the woods, later accompanying venison for lunch, served with Champagne Charles Heidsieck’s new Coteaux Champenois pinot noir red wine. Yet foraging isn’t just about food and wine matching. Scotland’s brewers are busy demonstrating the role that ingredients gathered from the countryside and coast can play in the craft beer scene too. Exhibit A is Futtle, a brewery in a former stable block outside the village of St Monans in Fife. Lucy Hine and Stephen Marshall moved to there in 2018 to set up Triassic Tusk, their record label, and they host regular gigs at their brewery too. Hine and Marshall use wild yeasts to ferment their grains, and also produce kombucha. What’s particularly exciting is the range of foraged ingredients that they add to their organic beers, with current incarnations including seaweed for a gose wheat beer and pineapple weed for their table beer. Previous concoctions have included alexanders and sea salt going into their gose, hogweed seeds ﬂavouring their saison, and yarrow creeping into their table beer. Fellow Belgian beer enthusiast Robert Lindsay – who named his Stonehaven brewery ‘Six Degrees North’ because that’s its latitudinal location in relation to Brussels – is another fan of

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‘Foraging isn’t just about food and wine matching’

foraging. His ‘Foraged & Found’ series has included a sea buckthorn saison made in partnership with Burning Sky brewery in the South Downs, a spruce saison made with Burnt Mill in Suffolk, and a green anise Berliner wheat beer with BFM in Switzerland. Other prominent proponents of foraged ingredients for beers include Amy Rankine, a foray leader who has worked with breweries including Lothians trio Alchemy, Campervan, and Cross Borders. She shares recipes on her ‘Hipsters & Hobos’ website. Just before the pandemic struck, Sean Fleming gave up his career as an accountant to launch Tartan Shark, his small batch brewery in Edinburgh. What’s striking about his brews is their seasonality, including gathering elderflowers for his early summer India pale ale (IPA) and saison. He’s also invested in cargo bike to make ‘low-carbon deliveries’ around Edinburgh, with stalwarts including Appellation Wines, Beer Hive, Cork & Cask, and Cornelius stocking his cans. His ‘7 Cyclepaths’ saison surely deserves a prize for its name alone, given he gathered its elderflowers along the city’s cycle routes. Like so many aspects of Scottish brewing, Williams Bros in Alloa got there first. It’s been making ‘Froach’, its heather ale, since 1988. Yet that’s not the only trick in its book, with its Alba pine ale using a 19th-century recipe from the Highlands, its Nollaig festive ale harnessing spruce sprigs, and its Kelpie seaweed ale using fresh seaweed to recapture a concept from the early 1800s, when seaweed was used to fertilise coastal barley fields.

07/12/2021 15:21:12

66 | Whisky in Argentina

However, our whisky has a marked Patagonian influence, which comes mainly from the climate and the pure water we have in this valley. It’s a moderate, mild mountain climate, which is perfect for balanced spirit maturation, with a great harmony between the extractive reaction and the evolution of the spirit, and low evaporative loss.

We visit Patagonia to discover whisky in Argentina with Lila Serenelli, co-founder of La Alazana, the first single malt distillery in the country My husband Nestor grew up in the countryside and they would drink a lot of whisky there. Distilling also runs in the family as his grandfather used to distill grappa back in Italy, so it has always been a passion for him. We have always been distilling, but mainly fruit brandies. When we decided to start making single malt commercially, we started travelling to Scotland. That was when I was able to start my career and obtain a MSc in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt University. When we first came to visit Scotland we fell in love with Islay. Bruichladdich is like a second home to us. They were very open with us and we got to meet the team when Jim McEwan was still in the distillery. He was a very good friend and teacher to us and inspired some of our expressions. I love a lot of Scottish whiskies but Bruichladdich is one of my favourites, especially their wine cask finishes. In Argentina, regulations for whisky are very loose but we follow Scottish regulations for our product, and our spirits are tested in a lab near Edinburgh.

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When we first started, we imported most of our barley from the UK as the varieties grown for malting in Argentina are all for beer. That said, we managed to introduce two varieties specific to our area that are great for distilling and we now grow 100% of our unpeated barley here. We have also been working with local scientists to ferment spirit using local wild yeast, and this is developing very well. The whisky scene in Argentina is starting to move. We are the first single malt distillery and many brands still import whisky from abroad and mix it with locally distilled grain whisky. I think we are behind the world trend, but demand is definitely growing. Blended whiskies were very popular in the past but now the trend is moving on to single malt, mostly Scotch single malt. There aren’t many specialist bars at the moment but there are a few that are starting, like Drams Devoto in Buenos Aires. There are several small batch distillers around but because of the difficulties of opening a business and getting investments, they have to do it on the side. It would be very good to have more distillers around as it would mean that things are going very well for the industry. It’s very challenging for us to keep up with demand and maintain the high quality of the whisky, which is paramount to us. But when you get people travelling so far south to get a bottle – we only sell them at our distillery – that is very special. This year we will be presenting our first ten-year bottling, and we’ve already sold all the bottles – it’s amazing!

07/12/2021 15:08:07

START YOUR JOURNEY AT CASK88.COM

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10/12/2021 10:29:50

Cask & Still Magazine Issue 13

Articles inside

SPIRIT LEVEL It’s

OVER THE

HOST WITH THE

CONNOISSEURS SELECTION

WHISKY HERO

A BLUFFER’S GUIDE TO WHISKY REGS

COME SOUTH OF THE BORDER

ALL IN THE MIX

TURNING THE AMBER NECTAR

NEWS Remember you heard it here first...

THE RANT Johanne

DRINKING WITH

WHISKY BY NUMBERS

BAR SNAPS Find