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WELCOME

WELCOME

“Welcome to the pages of Australia’s very own whisky magazine”. I wrote those words 18 months ago with great expectations of bringing you a magazine each year focused on everything whisky.

From around the world. Thoughts of travel to far flung distilleries and meeting the great innovators was front of mind, but far from reality. Zoom calls and, God forbid, Teams meetings replaced in-person research: a new ideal was formed. Having no idea of the global storm waiting in the wings, ready to throw everyone’s world into disarray I am now very pleased to be able to bring you this edition, as long overdue as it is. Most of all I’m excited by the prospect of borders reopening (maybe) and research to. There is much to catch up on.

My thanks must go to the advertisers in the publication as they’ve shown unwavering support when faced with delays and uncertainty. They have enabled this project to happen, and I hope their involvement is of great value to them and to you the readers.

Matthew McConaughey Zooming Australian retailers

The passion behind this project spans the globe, as we are proud to work with expert writers from the UK and beyond, as well as our home-grown talent eager to share the knowledge and insight from decades of experience in this industry. Dominic Roskrow gives us a global update on pressing matters such as how 106-year-old Mary “Polly” Nicholson beat COVID 19 with her evening tipple of whisky, and the latest Macallan record breakers at auction. Roskrow also pens an answer to the question of Whisky and Terroir (page 46), and an update on Emerging Whiskies from countries such as India (page 76). There are also features on the Emerald Isle and some exciting new Irish whiskies (page 70) and the explosion (not literally) of Cask Finishes on page 64.

Our resident Queenslander, Ken Gargett, extols the virtue of Australian whiskies and how our traditional love of Bourbon, while unabated, is now being challenged by whisky from our own doorstep. How do Australian whiskies stack up against our Scottish forefathers, American cousins and Irish brethren? Gargett has all the answers doused with a nip of Bundy no doubt (page 32).

This edition features our pick of the World’s Most Beautiful Distilleries starting on page 90. Beauty is most definitely in the eye of the beholder, so send your favourite

Highfern Angel's Nectar - Page 30

distillery image to editor@explorewhisky. com.au I’ll be sure to post your vote to join the gallery.

In our Meet section this edition we invite you to read all about some greats of our industry: past, present and future. It starts on page 40 with legends such as Marjorie Samuels, modern day leaders like Rachel Barrie and Brian Kinsman, and future stars such as Kelsie McKechnie. Hear their stories and views on what makes a good, even great, whisky.

For a bit of fun why not test yourself on the world’s top 10 best-selling whiskies from around the world. See how many you can get before turning to page 112. Bonus points for picking the order. I got five out of ten, and just one in the right position.

I encourage you to visit www.explorewhisky. com.au and join our whisky community; you’ll get information on new releases, special offers, invitations to events and an opportunity to express your opinion on all things whisky. This road is not to be travelled alone, and we would love to hear from you.

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS NEWS & INSIGHTS 54 Bowmore Aston Martin

70 Ireland

58 Ardbeg’s Wee Beastie

76 Emerging Whiskies

115 Westward American Single malt

90 World’s Most Beautiful Distilleries

FEATURES

MEET

20 New Luxury

40 Past, Present and Future Legends

32 Advance Australia Fair

42 Kelsey McKechnie

PROFILE

44 Keepers of the Quaich

38 Brian Kinsman

36 Hellyers Road

46 Whisky and Terroir

56 Dennis Malcolm

46 Glenfiddich Grand Cru

64 Cask Finishes

62 Matt Bailey

10 The Dram – Ken Gargett, Australia 24 Whisky Filtered – Dom Roskrow, UK 78 Whisky Business 84 Post Pandemic Whisky 108 World’s Most Popular Cocktails 112 World’s Top Ten Whiskies

36

42 44

54 115

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CONTRIBUTORS DOMINIC ROSKROW is an international spirits writer and magazine Editor, having written 16 books and served as Editor of Whisky Magazine. His work has appeared in National Geographic, The London Times and The Observer. In 2016 he was The Fortnum & Mason Drink Writer of the Year. He has dual British and New Zealand citizenship, and is a huge All Blacks fan, and a season ticket holder at Leicester City. He is a Keeper of The Quaich, for services to the Scotch whisky industry, a Kentucky Colonel, for services to the bourbon industry, and he has several Polynesian tattoos. In other words, he’s a cultural screw-up (Ed. In his own words).

CONTRIBUTORS

KEN GARGETT was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. A nontrendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. Convinced he is a grave disappointment to his family; his mother once chastised him for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. When not writing, you’ll find Ken fly-fishing for trout in NZ and bonefish on the flats of Cuba; travelling; following a variety of too-often dismal sporting teams – Queensland Reds rugby, Washington Redskins, Arsenal and our once glorious cricket team.

BOTTLED IN BOND

THE DRAM There are still a few odds and ends to tie up from the year 2020: COVID disruption aside, we’ve collected some quick-reads and updates on happenings in the recent history of the whisky industry.

SPANISH WHISKY FRAUDS BUSTED Anyone following the news in recent years will be aware that counterfeiting fine wine has become a major criminal industry. It was inevitable that this would spill over into spirits, at every level.

Spanish authorities have had a big win in the fight against fakes, with a series of arrests at the end of 2020 (something good had to come out of that horrible year).

The raid by the La Guardia Civil and the Spanish Tax Agency revealed 27,000 boxes of what has been described as a ‘“well-known” whiskey brand’. It was a well-planned raid on a well-planned criminal operation, making and distributing fake whisky. We have not been advised of the brand which was the subject of the counterfeits but it was estimated that the fraud could have cost the genuine producer as much as four million euros. What was seized was valued at around A$1,000,000 (although why fake whisky is worth anything is a question I cannot answer).

14 people, between 37 and 52, were arrested.

There was a chain of more than 60 businesses and factories involved in the operation, with different enterprises attending to different parts of the plan – one importing counterfeit tax stamps, another sourcing fake bottles and labels, yet another producing the cheap knock-off whisky, and so on.

The whisky was reportedly destined for Spain, and for export to Austria, Belgium, France, Holland, Moldova and Russia.

Such a success by the forces for good is something to which all whisky lovers can raise a glass. Of the real stuff.

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INSIGHT INTERNET SITE PLAYS DETECTIVE As anyone who has had any of their precious old whiskies stolen knows, it is a gut-wrenching experience. Speaking from experience, I can

say that any reports where the perpetrators are caught are music to grumpy ears (in my case, when the thieves were caught, the real dagger to the heart was that they were not enjoying any of the decades-old malts but the cheapest white rum imaginable – needless to say, despite great work by the police, the bottles were never found).

So it was a joy to read that the sharp-eyed team at the London-based internet site Whisky.Auction has aided police in the capture of a man described as a ‘dangerous and prolific fraudster’.

On receipt of a note from a potential vendor late last year, alarm bells went off. The note said that the vendor had “a very valuable new release” that he wanted to move quickly. Staff described that bottle as “an unusual choice to be sold on

so quickly”. As they do with every bottle, it was thoroughly inspected to ensure authenticity.

Although there was no direct evidence of theft and it was not on the list of stolen bottles, the team decided something was not right and alerted the police.

Turned out the vendor was a ‘prolific burglar who had been evading police capture for some time’. The team at Whisky.Auction assisted the police to track him down and he was subsequently arrested. Clearly, a good bottle of whisky is not good for everyone’s health and we hope he spends a long period incarcerated. The team has form in assisting the police. In 2017, they provided evidence to help the police arrest a London-based spirits counterfeiter, although he skipped bail and is still free.

Cheers to the team at Whisky.Auction!

LIVE LONG AND DRINK WHISKY! Around the world, everyone knows that this pernicious coronavirus is especially dangerous to anyone who has, shall we say, passed the first bloom of youth. Our aged population has been especially at risk.

So when 106-year-old Mary ‘Polly’ Nicholson contracted the virus, not once but twice – the second time with a positive test on New Year’s Eve – it is no doubt her friends and family were extremely concerned. But to everyone’s surprise and relief, our intrepid pensioner survived on both occasions.

The secret? Polly believes it is down to two things. She has always enjoyed a butter-andcream-rich diet and especially her evening tipple of whisky.

Now it might be wishful thinking, but if a glass of whisky proves to be the virus’s nemesis, that would be reason for a celebration. And cheers to Polly Nicholson, but perhaps she better lay off all that butter and cream.

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INDIAN WHISKY If all of the “whisky” drunk in India was true whisky, then they would be a clear winner in consumption and production stakes. They drink more ‘whisky’ than any other nation in the world. Unfortunately, there is a more lax attitude to labelling than most whisky-producing nations would tolerate.

Most Indian whiskies tend to be blends of various spirits including a considerable quantity of neutral spirit distilled from molasses (one might say that their whisky industry is closer to rum than whisky). India does not have a compulsory definition for whisky and there is no requirement that it be distilled from cereal or be matured. There are no regulations pertaining to flavourings. In the end, what we might call whisky is around 10 to 12% of production.

No prizes for guessing that the popularity of whisky in India dates back to the Raj and the influence of the British. The Kasauli Brewery, established in the late 1820’s, was converted to Indian’s first distillery.

Amrut Distilleries kicked off in 1982 and its use of barley was the first serious effort at what we would see as whisky; but as there was little tradition of single malts, blending was the order of the day.

Eventually, they offered India’s first malt whisky in 2004. Other distillers emerged and Indian companies also acquired foreign producers, like Dalmore, Isle of Jura and Whyte & Mackay.

India’s fascination with Scotch has grown exponentially. Whisky, in whatever form you like, occupies 60% of their spirits market. Issues have been the use of grains for alcohol in a country struggling with poverty and hefty duties. Ageing is an issue but distillers believe one year in the Indian climate equals three years in Scotland. India is now the second largest market for Scotch whisky in the world by volume (131 million bottles) and the seventh largest by value ($303 million AUD).

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INSIGHT TECHNOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENTS TO FILLING CASKS One of the major problems faced by whisky distillers is inconsistent cask fill, whether it comes from overspill, underfill or foaming. And it costs the industry millions every year.

To try and prevent this, Diageo has teamed with the University of Strathclyde and technology firms to come up with a digital cask-filling process. Diageo is, of course, owner of the ubiquitous Johnnie Walker, as well as Talisker, Haig, J&B, Buchanan’s, Grand Old Parr, Singleton, Lagavulin and more, so it is easy to see how important this could be.

WHISKY GALORE! Over the years, numerous tales of shipwrecked champagnes have emerged, none more famous than the unfortunate schooner, the Jonkoping, sunk by a German U-Boat, and its cargo of 1907 Heidsieck (a truly amazing champagne still drinking beautifully if you are so fortunate as to come across a bottle). What was less well known was that there was also a large quantity of spirits on that ship, but they did not survive their time under the waves of the Baltic.

No doubt that the scientists among us could better explain the process, but it involves test rigs and a cyber-physical system (any the wiser? I’m not). This includes a digital twin replicating the process. This will allow distillers to “account for every drop that goes into each cask, achieving more than 99% fill consistently on a 200-litre cask in under one minute”. It will also enable a “high degree of repeatability”, contribute to improvements to health and safety, and also reduce waste.

Diageo alone has more than 11 million casks so even saving a few drops from each will soon add up.

It seems that those who salvaged an old Scottish shipwreck had more luck.

The ‘SS Politician’ sank off a part of the Scottish coast known as the the Outer Hebride in 1941, but the biggest question of all in this tale must surely be what on earth would encourage anyone to name a ship the ‘Politician’? It was surely destined to sink.

Commercial diver George Currie discovered the wreck in 1987 while working on a subsea cable

repair. Originally, the ship had been carrying 28,000 cases of whisky. Currie was able to recover five bottles and kept one. The whiskey, along with cotton and biscuits and $3 million in Jamaican banknotes, was on its way to New Orleans and Jamaica when it ran aground on a sandbank (despite it being War time, it seems our vessel had a most prosaic termination).

Another report says 8 bottles were recovered and the diver was Donald MacPhee. I guess we can say that a few bottles, most of which were sold, were recovered by a diver.

The rest? Apparently, locals from the island of Eriskay helped themselves, provided the plot to a popular novel and movie of the day, ‘Whisky Galore’. The government was so incensed by this looting (or ‘salvage’ as the Islanders preferred to think of it) that they set explosives in the Politician to sink it and destroy any remaining bottles. Turns out a few bottles survived.

Currie’s bottle, deemed undrinkable, was to be auctioned with some bricks recovered from the wreck and a diving helmet. The estimate was £20,000 for the curious mixed bundle.

The result? No idea. Although there were many news reports leading up to the auction, there appears to be nothing advising of the result.

Perhaps there was less interest than anticipated in a bottle of undrinkable whisky, a few bricks and a helmet. Go figure.

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THE RED COLLECTION

MACALLAN MAGIC

So what is the oldest whisky ever bottled and what is it worth?

Last issue of Explore Whisky revealed some of the extraordinary prices being paid for old and rare whiskies. We had bottle of 1966 Bowmore go for almost $70,000 ($128,000 AUD). That was left in the dust by a pair of 1926 Macallan whiskies, which sold for US$1.2m each.

The answer was to be found at Sotheby’s in London last October. A set, donated by The Macallan, of their Red Collection of six extraordinary whiskies, went up for auction on Halloween. The (low) estimate was just £200,000 ($365,700 AUD), but the set went for an impressive £756,400. Purchased by an ‘Asian private collector’, proceeds went to City Harvest London, the food charity which redistributes surplus from the food industry to vulnerable people. It is estimated that this generosity will provide nearly 2.5 million meals for those in need.

The Macallan Red Collection consists of a 40-Year-Old, 50-Year-Old and 60-Year-Old, plus the 71-Year-Old and 74-Year-Old. The final bottle is the 78-Year-Old, the oldest whisky ever released

by Macallan and what is believed to be the oldest age-statement whisky ever offered at auction, or indeed, bottled. The labels were done by Spanish artist Javi Aznarez.

This Collection has only two sets – this one and one to remain in the Macallan archives.

Covid might be ravaging the planet but it is certainly not slowing the interest in old and rare whisky.

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Earlier this year, prices went nuts again. The collection of whisky devotee Richard Gooding went up on Whisky Auctioneer as a two-part online sale called ‘The Perfect Collection’. Part One offered 1,932 bottles and Part Two was intended to be similar.

Part One drew more than 1,600 bidders from 56 countries, who spent US$4.3 million. Another bottle of the 1926 ‘Valerio Adami’ Macallan (impressive as only 40 bottles of this 1926 were ever bottled,) sold for a record US $1,072,000 ($1,300,000 AUD), not including commissions and taxes. What makes this bottle even more special is that of the 40 bottles made, only 24 received special labels from two famous designers: Sir Peter Blake - of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” popularity - and Valerio Adami. Each person created 12 labels for an already rare Macallan.

Makes you wish you’d grabbed the two auctioned around the turn of the century

which went for £15,000 and £18,000, or grabbed one in 2003 for £20,000 as part of the Vintage Macallan program.

Part Two was offering The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare, Glenfiddich 1937 Rare Collection 64-YearOld, Macallan 50-Year-Old Lalique Six Pillars, Dallas Dhu 1921 Private Cask 64-Year-Old, Glenfiddich 50-Year-Old 1st Edition, Macallan 1928 Anniversary Malt 50-Year-Old, The Balvenie 1937 Pure Malt 50-Year-Old and other gems.

Sadly, a cyber attack on the site put the auction on hold so hopefully you will still have a chance at some of the world’s rarest and most valuable whiskies.

DRINKS

exploredrinks.com 15

PRESENTS

HUNT YOURS DOWN TODAY!

STARRING

FEATURING

DIRECTED BY

FROM THE PEOPLE WHO BROUGHT YOU

PETE SMOKE•ANNIE SEED•RICH COCO•C.SPRAY SCOT.S PINE•PEP.R•T.BONE MICKEY HEADS•DR BILL LUMSDEN•SHORTIE ARDBEG TEN YEARS OLD•ARDBEG AN OA 16 exploredrinks.com

INSIGHT

DOUBLE GOLD FOR AUSTRALIA The San Francisco World Spirits Competition winners have been announced and Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky has been named Australia’s best. It was the only local rye whisky to take home a double gold medal, meaning every judge awarded Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky a gold medal after a blind tasting.

Archie Rose Distiller’s Strength Gin also received the coveted double gold stamp and its Single Malt Whisky was awarded a shiny gold medal too.

Five more Archie Rose spirits took home silver and bronze medals in the comp. Silver for Signature Dry Gin, Sydney Opera House Outside Gin and White Rye, and bronze for Original Vodka and Sydney Opera House Inside Gin. For so many of its spirits to stand up like this on the world stage is an amazing result for the Archie Rose team, and further proof of how truly great Australian distilling is. We’ll toast to that!

HIDDEN TREASURES So what is hidden away in the walls of your home?

Up in the attic? Behind that panel in the cellar?

For Nick Drummond and Patrick Bakker, a couple in Ames, New York, carrying out renovations revealed an unimagined treasure. What they thought was insulation in the walls turned out to be bottles of whisky, squirreled away by a previous owner. The couple had been told that their home was originally built by a famous bootlegger, but it had never occurred to them that some of his illicit loot was literally on site!

Drummond made the find when he pulled off some of the wooden exterior panels. He found more underneath the floorboards of his ‘mudroom’ (and no, I have no idea what a ‘mudroom’ is). The bottles dated back into the 1920’s.

As one does these days, he announced his find, as ‘bootlegger bungalow’, on social media.

Originally, they unearthed full 42 bottles. Sadly, some others were broken. They were packed in brown paper bundles, six bottles in each.

Each individual bottle was wrapped in straw and labelled ‘Old Smuggler Gaelic Whiskey’, bottled

by the Stirling Bonding Company. Stickers on the bottles dated them to 1923.

It is believed that the house was built by the mysterious Adolph Humpfner in 1915. He died in 1932 with a disputed estate worth US$140,000. Adolph was a German immigrant who called himself Count Humpfner, although he had several aliases. He was always seen in a buffalo hide coat.

Drummond has said he hopes to try one of the bottles (one wonders what is stopping him) and intends to install a glass panel in his floor so he can view the bundles below, which seems a rather bizarre thing to do and something that might well change when he discovers how much such bottles might be worth. When the cache expanded to 66 bottles, and they were valued at, at least $1000 each, the plans did change. The couple intend on drinking one or two and selling the rest.

Apparently, Old Smuggler, named after the whisky smugglers who operated around the Scottish Islands, was first bottled back in 1835. It is still popular in Argentina and Belgium. The divinities certainly have a sense of humour, a bootlegger with a whisky called Old Smuggler!

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GLENMORANGIE AND GIRAFFES What on earth do giraffes have to do with Glenmorangie whisky? It turns out that the distiller, founded in 1843 in the Highland district and now part of the LVMH empire, has stills – the tallest in Scotland – which are approximately the same height as that of a fully grown giraffe. And over time, this majestic animal became the symbol of this much-loved whisky.

Unfortunately, giraffes are suffering. Numbers have declined 30% in 30 years. Glenmorangie has, admirably, decided to do something

THE WEIRD AND THE WONDERFUL In a previous edition of Explore Whisky, we detailed some of the weird and wonderful whiskies/spirits that, in the absence of common sense, I had sampled. African Hots in the Cameroons and a Scorpion Whisky from Taiwan perhaps the two that really stand out. We even looked at a few I’d not been so stupid as to try – yet.

Well, the thing about the drinks industry, there’ll always be something new come along, whether utterly magnificent or truly horrifying.

Sometimes, these won’t actually be new but simply finally found their way onto your radar.

A quick recap with appropriate additions. Not all of them are whisky-based, of course, but that does seem a spirit that makes a few too many appearances in this field.

RU’O’U THUÔC. A cobra whisky from Vietnam.

Our friends from Vietnam are not known to restrict themselves solely to venomous snakes but have included everything from geckos to termites. Rather poetically, there have apparently been more than a few occasions when the snake has somehow managed to survive and felt entitled to take up the issue of its incarceration with the poor sod who opened the jar! But why snake venom whisky? Virility and hair loss, apparently.

ALCHERMES. A spirit based tonic with all manner of herbs and spices and such goodies as ambergris, ground pearls, raw silk, gold leaf and rose water (and much more), but made scarlet red by the addition of a small scale insect called Kermes. Allegedly good for the heart.

And measles and smallpox.

GIANT CENTIPEDE WHISKEY. Vietnam has cobra whisky; Thailand has foot long centipedes in theirs. Supposedly good for back and muscle pain and can even work as an aphrodisiac, but then doesn’t everything? In case you

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about it. They have entered into a three-year global conservation partnership with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. As well as providing funds to help conserve them in the wild, they will also assist in financing a suitable environment for those giraffes at the Edinburgh Zoo. As Thomas Moradpour, president and chief executive of The Glenmorangie Company, said, “Together, we will work to protect giraffes in the wild and shine a light on their predicament before it’s too late.”

And should anyone wish to aid the effort, https:// giraffeconservation.org/partners/glenmorangie/.

were concerned, the centipede is apparently ‘detoxified’ before immersion in the bottle.

Perhaps the Vietnamese should try that as well?

AGWA DE BOLIVIA. A bit like Coca-Cola in that the psychotropic components from the coca leaves, those used in the production of cocaine, have been stripped before use. Distillation proceeds and the resulting bright green liqueur is considered to assist in the treatment of headaches and altitude sickness. There are apparently some 37 other herbs and botanicals included in the preparation, such as green tea and ginseng.

Variations have been made in South America for centuries, but it was the De Medici family in Bologna in 1820 who first brought it to Europe. Production is now centred in Amsterdam, which does not seem so surprising. Rudyard Kipling described it as made “from the clippings and shavings of angels’ wings”.

BABY MICE WINE. Given there is some debate as to whether this should be considered a wine or a high alcohol concoction, perhaps we will spare you this Chinese/Korean delicacy. Given our next horror show is from a spirit, you don’t get to escape.

THREE PENIS LIQUOR. Distilled with the penis of a dog, a seal and a deer, it, and this will come as a shocker, apparently improves vitality and virality (although perhaps not for the unfortunate trio). But who on earth came up with this recipe in the first place? A disgruntled zookeeper?

INSIGHT

WILLIE PRATT (AKA DR NO) PASSES The sad news of Willie Pratt’s passing came in the last few days of 2020, rounding off what we mostly will see has a terrible year. Aka Dr No, Willie Pratt was a highly influential master distiller known for his 45 years working at Brown Forman before becoming the master distiller at Michter’s.

Willie Pratt’s influence in whiskey is immense.

His reputation as a perfectionist giving him the nickname, Dr No, referencing his determination not to release a Bourbon until ready. He often credited the marketing department with this moniker, but insiders confirmed this reluctance on release date.

Willie joined the industry at the tender age of 20, joining Brown Forman as an apprentice while studying evening classes at the University of Louisville. Willie repaid Brown Forman’s faith in him devoting the next 45 years working in a variety of roles for the distiller of Jack Daniels before retiring at 65.

His passion for Bourbon lured him back in the role of master distiller for Michter’s, responsible for the development of the Shively Distillery.

“To work with Willie and to have him as a friend was a tremendous gift. When challenges seemed overwhelming, that’s when Willie’s leadership would shine through”, said Michter’s President Joseph J Magliocco.

Willie is survived by his beloved wife Patsy, his children, his grandchildren and great grand children, and his dog Sophie.

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Luxury

OR NOT?

Domaine de la Romanee Conti’s ‘Romanee Conti’: A legendary wine if ever there was one. A unicorn wine. New releases can go for $15,000 to $20,000 a bottle. Older great vintages many times that. The 1978 Domaine de la Romanee Conti ‘Romanee Conti’.

A spectacular vintage if ever there was one. Put simply, there would be few winelovers who would not have this on a bucketlist (I wonder, should one have things ‘in a bucketlist’, rather than ‘on a bucketlist’?), few who do not dream of the opportunity to try it and who wouldn’t crawl over broken glass to do so.

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FEATURE

A few years ago, after a particularly long, and very good, lunch, a friend suggested we adjourn back to his place as it was nearing the time for the evening meal. He had a bottle of the 1978 Romanee Conti and he had always wanted to see how it went with a simple spag bol.

Now, some might be horrified. This bottle demanded parades, trumpets, skies opening to blinding shafts of sunlight carrying angels to earth. A bowl of spag bol? Surely heresy of the most heinous kind.

But why not? Did we need fifteen waiters and sommeliers standing by with goldplated corkscrews? Crystal decanters, the finest stemware, caviar and truffles (okay, I’d not have complained had there been truffles)? No. None of it. This was three or four mates enjoying an experience among themselves and I’m not sure anything could have improved it.

Another occasion, a few friends and myself took off to Cuba to fish for the wonderful bonefish.

Each fly-fisherman is allocated a local guide who punts a small craft around the shallows searching for these ‘silver ghosts’ (never understood how they do not get lost trying to find their way back but they never do). One of my mates brought a bottle of Yquem with him as he planned to meet up at lunch, somewhere out on the salt flats of Las Salinas and share the bottle before we’d punt off in different directions to chase more bonefish.

Could there be a less salubrious, and yet more enjoyable, environment to crack open an Yquem?

You don’t need to have five star surroundings to enjoy the great wines and spirits of the world. Far more important is the company and experience. Sure, if gold trimming on the barstools and wearing the latest designer sunglasses, even though it is

night time, is your thing then knock yourself out. But if a good old-fashioned, hidden in a basement, dive bar does it for you, why not?

Does a great malt taste better if you are wearing black tie or in torn jeans and bare feet (although for some, those torn jeans probably cost more than my entire wardrobe)? This is something which Balvenie are keen to explore.

Balvenie is a Speyside Distillery, part of the William Grant & Sons empire. William Grant & Sons are the producers behind brands such as Glenfiddich. As detailed in the story on the Glenfiddich Grand Cru (page 50), original William gave up his job at the Mortlach Distillery in the 1880’s, to set up on his own. What was not mentioned was that land he purchased to do so was near-adjacent to Balvenie Castle. In 1892, he began converting an 18th-century mansion, known as ‘Balvenie New House’ into a

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distillery (not bad when you have already established Glenfiddich). Fifteen months later, the first distillation took place. Water is sourced from the very same stream as Glenfiddich, all those years ago, the Robbie Dubh. Whatever they put in their whiskies must be the good stuff. Original William’s granddaughter passed away in 2012, at the age of 110.

Fast forward to today and Balvenie are especially proud that they remain the only distillery in Scotland which practices what they call the ‘Five Rare Crafts’ on site – growing barley, malting barley, the use of an onsite coppersmith, the use of an onsite cooperage, all under the supervision of an experienced Malt Master.

Balvenie’s Malt Master, David Stewart MBE, is one of the most honoured and respected men in world of whisky. And no one has been doing it longer! David started at the Balvenie Distillery in 1962 at the age of 17, where he undertook a 12-year apprenticeship to learn the skills he would need. He is still going strong today.

The distillery has five wash stills and six spirit stills with a capacity over five million litres.

They offer a wide range of age-statement whiskies and various vintage whiskies as well.

Balvenie uses the traditional batch process of the production for its single malts. Locally grown barley is preferred, and floor-malted

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FEATURE

where possible. Balvenie is one of just seven of the distilleries (out of more than 120) in Scotland with its own malting floor. They have a trophy cabinet bulging with awards, medals, bling of all kind, picked up around the world for their extensive range of superb malts.

Fast forward downunder and Balvenie are working closely with a couple of those supposedly dodgy dive bars, with more to come. At the Ramblin Rascal Tavern in Elizabeth Street Sydney, they are looking at the best of both worlds – a five-star dive bar. This is an ideal location to combine a laid-back casual approach to drinking great whisky, with drinking great whisky. They have come up with some exciting cocktails to celebrate. The Baller Maker combines a

glass of Perrier-Jouët Grand Champagne with a nip of The Balvenie 12-Year-Old. Or go big with the Coup de Grace (just $150 a serve) – The Balvenie 30-Year-Old with Angostura bitters and chilled Scottish Breakfast tea syrup poured over Bare Bones ice (apparently, all ice ain’t ice) and served in a Waterford Crystal glass. Now that is perhaps leading back to our five star destinations but you can still drink it in torn jeans, though I’m guessing bare feet might breach the code. Burgers and fried chicken are on the menu!

likely if one takes the dive bar route, rather than the road to five star luxury. That extraordinary bottle of 1978 Romanee Conti? Corked. And my mate’s attempt to share a bottle of Yquem on the salt flats of Las Salinas near Bay of Pigs in Cuba? Well we never got to get the punts together at lunchtime (they never do) and my friend completely forgot the bottle, leaving it in the guide’s esky. I’d love to know what our Cuban friend thought of Yquem, but it is surely the best tip he ever received, whether he knew it or not!

Balvenie are also working with The Gidley.

Don’t let that put you off. If you want to enjoy great spirits casually, go right ahead.

The distilleries are right behind you.

Of course, things don’t always go to plan and that can be half the fun and far more

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WHISKY FILTERED It’s been a successful, not to mention award-winning, year for whisky in the UK. Let’s break down some of the recent highlights of the industry there Dan Szor, Cotswolds Distillery Founder signing ‘Spirit Guide’

ENGLISH DISTILLER’S SWAN SONG The founder and owner of the Cotswolds Distillery, Daniel Szor, has paid a moving tribute to whisky expert and consultant Dr Jim Swan, who died four years ago.

Despite the pandemic the English Distillery has had a productive few months, and is celebrating a clutch of awards as well as the launch of its first sherry cask whisky.

The quality of the distillery’s whisky, bottled at less than five years old, has astounded many. But Szor says that it is not climatic advantages in the South of England, but the influence of Dr Swan.

“Jim took the view that if you took care of your new make spirit and made it to the highest quality, then put it in to top quality wood then you could make whisky ready to drink at three years old.

“To get that fruitiness he encouraged distilleries to run shorter heads – ours is just five minutes – and to make the cut at 68% or 69% ABV.

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Dr Jim Swan

“And he knew where to find the best casks.

If it hadn’t been for him I would have wasted a lot of time and money. There are people selling barrels that are just terrible. The French have an expression which means ‘barrel merchants’ and it is almost an insult.

It might be years before you realise that the cask was doing nothing.

“When you’re new to distilling and all the flavour and aroma is already there in the spirit after six months, it’s a great comfort. Jim would find the most incredible casks.

“And he developed the Shave Toast and Rechar (STR) process for barrels. Because of the three separate processes there is so much going on inside the cask, so many different effects on the spirit.

“It makes for a very flavoursome whisky.

And it’s the flavour business we’re in, not the alcohol business. A perfumier would never say he was in the alcohol business, but he uses alcohol to promote the scent of his creations. And so it should be with the flavour and aroma of whisky.”

The legacy of Dr Swan can be found in a whole range of outstanding whiskies made by a diverse range of distilleries: Lindores Abbey, Kilchoman, Clydeside and Annandale in Scotland, The London Distillery, Cotswold and St George’s in England, Penderyn in Wales, Kavalan in Taiwan, Victoria Caledonian in Canada, Milk & Honey in Israel and Amrut in India.

Meanwhile the Cotswolds Distillery is looking forward to releasing a five year old whisky and Szor is clearly relishing playing a leading role in the growth of English whisky.

A native New Yorker, he has spent most of his working life in finance in America. His journey from the frantic city trading floors to a rural idyll in England is recorded in a book he has written. Called Spirit Guide – In Search of an Authentic Life, it captures his enthusiasm.

“I love being part of the growth of English whisky,” he says. “We had a Zoom call recently where there were 14 distillers and everything was so positive. It wasn’t competitive and the atmosphere was cordial and friendly – a long way from my old life.”

Edinburgh

INSIGHT

Holyrood Distillery

DISTILLERS SET TO CAPITALISE With its impressive castle, cobbled streets, annual festival and street pipers, Edinburgh all but epitomises Scotland. But there has been one thing missing – whisky. Apart from the Scotch Whisky Experience at the top of the Royall Mile, a few whisky shops, an industrial grain distillery and a distillery 15 miles from the city, Edinburgh hasn’t been a natural home for the country’s greatest export – at least not for a few decades.

Royal Yacht Britannia, Leith

That, though, is changing rapidly. And despite a year long hiatus, Edinburgh may have three working distilleries by the end of 2021.

It already has two, and they’re both bringing a fresh and innovative twist to the art of making Scotch whisky.

Holyrood Distillery was founded by Canadians Rob & Kelly Carpenter and Scot David Robertson. Robertson has a long and distinguished history in the whisky industry, having been master distiller at Macallan, launched a range of blended malt whisky under the name of Dave Mark & Robbo’s Easy Drinking Whisky Company, and acted as an analyst and consultant on the secondary whisky market for Rare 101, a company he co-founded.

Holyrood Distillery is producing peated and unpeated whisky on a site about 15 minutes walk from the Royal Mile. But the distillery’s unique selling point is its experimentation with different types of malt.

“We want to go as far up the malt river as its possible to go. A few years ago Dr Bill Lumsden made Glenmorangie Signet, which used chocolate malt. We want to try to make great flavoured whisky.”

Royal Yacht Britannia Bell The second Edinburgh distillery is the Bonnington Distillery owned by Crabbie & Co, named after the man who is most famous for creating Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer, but was an established wine and whisky retailer in the early 19th century. The new distillery is not far from where Crabbie owned warehouses in the Port of Leith.

It was from there that he traded in spices and other ingredients from India, China, Indonesia and Nigeria, among other places.

Crabbie & Co is now owned by Halewood International, and the company made the decision to re-enter the whisky market a few years ago.

The distillery manager is Marc Watson, a graduate of the Heriot Watt Brewing and Distilling course and former head of product at Eden Mill.

The distillery is small but highly innovative with unique twin linked receivers which allow the distillers the ability to create two spirit types from the same distillation.

The third distillery is currently a building site but will be a vertical distillery in the very heart of Leith, close to The Royal Yacht Britannia.

At the core of the building will be a vertical production process, with grain milling and mashing at the top, leading down through fermentation to distillation at the bottom.

The owners are also creating a unique experience for visitors, allowing them to get as close to the process as possible. All of this will be encased in a bold and modern building sitting on Leith’s waterfront - a beacon for cruise ships entering the port and an iconic new structure for Edinburgh.

At the top of the building will be a bar, and the distillery will have a shop and will offer tours and events.

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AWARDED As 2020 staggered to a ragged conclusion, the whisky industry did what it likes doing best – patted itself on the back.

The end of the year saw a flurry of Awards.

Here are the best of them.

GLASGOW DISTILLERY WIN SCOTTISH WHISKY DISTILLERY OF THE YEAR Glasgow Distillery has won Scottish Whisky Distillery of the Year in the prestigious Scottish Whisky Awards,

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The team behind Glasgow Distillery was praised by the judging panel for great progress in product development, marketing, and securing a range of new international deals.

“We really are over the moon to have won Scottish Whisky Distillery of the Year and two gold medals in the taste categories,” said Liam Hughes, CEO & co-founder of the distillery. ”The quality of talent, not just from the winners, but from those who were nominated as

finalists, clearly demonstrates the strength of the Scotch Whisky industry today, and we are so proud to play our part in something that is so loved and respected around the globe, not just here in Scotland.

ON TOP OF THE WORLD Jameson Distillery Bow St. has been named the World’s Leading Distillery Tour at the World Travel Awards (WTA) for the third year in a row.

The awards acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence in global travel and tourism. The win further strengthens Bow St.’s position as a leader in tourism, globally.

Having been awarded Europe’s Leading Distillery Tour, Jameson Distillery Bow St. competed against an impressive finalist list from around the world that included Macallan, Hennessy, Jack Daniels and Jose Cuervo.

Over the years, Jameson Distillery Bow St. has established itself as an important attraction on the itineraries of international visitors to Dublin,” said Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland.

“We look forward to continuing to work closely with the team there, in 2021 and beyond, to welcome many more overseas

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Bow Street

visitors when the time is right, coming to experience all that Jameson Distillery Bow St. and our great city of Dublin have to offer.”

The doors of Jameson Distillery Bow St. have been open for over two centuries,

with millions of people crossing the threshold over the years. While in-person distillery tours are closed in line with Government recommendations, Bow St continues to welcome Jameson fans in new and unique ways.

INSIGHT

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN Port Charlotte 10 has triumphed in leading London whisky retailer The Whisky Exchange’s annual tasting, taking the top spot in the only official blind whisky judging undertaken by members of the public.

Islay distillery Bruichladdich won the tightly fought battle in the annual Whisky of the Year blind tasting by specialist spirits retailer The Whisky Exchange.

Runner Up: Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 14 Year Old

Six whiskies went head to head after they were nominated by global customers of The Whisky Exchange, with more than 2000 putting forward their favourites.

Nikka Coffey Malt

Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 Year Old

Kilkerran 12 Year Old Lagavulin 16 Year Old

All whiskies in the tasting were under $120 AUD retail price, and all ongoing, commercially available releases. In addition to Port Charlotte 10, the shortlist included:

UP TO THE CHALLENGE

“The spirit is versatile and approachable, offering an alternative to the traditional Islay style; it’s a softer, heathery style of smoke. “

“Port Charlotte whisky is a joy to create,” said Adam Hannett, head distiller of Bruichladdich Distillery.

Sukhinder Singh, co-founder and owner of The Whisky Exchange, added: “The aim of the Whisky of the Year competition is to make excellent affordable whiskies known to all spirit-lovers around the world. Port Charlotte is an exceptional rich and smoky whisky with a maritime tang – a worthy winner of the title.”

Richard Paterson

The renowned industry body, the International Spirits Challenge (ISC), has awarded The Dalmore 35 Years Old the accolade of Supreme Champion 2020.

The International Spirits Competition is widely regarded as one of the most authoritative and influential spirits competitions in the world due to its rigorous judging process conducted by a panel of independent expert judges.

Alongside the accolade, The Dalmore‘s master distiller and blender, Richard Paterson, was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication of over 50 years to the industry.

“The ISC is now in its 25th year and it is firmly established as the premier event for celebrating outstanding spirits from across the globe,” said Justin Smith, International Spirits Challenge director. “Congratulations to all our medal winners, trophy winners and the Supreme Champion, Dalmore 35

Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky. They impressed respected panels of industry experts in a rigorous blind tasting process, and they deserve to celebrate their achievements. We look forward to the ISC returning bigger and better than ever in 2021.”

The Dalmore has previously announced the release of one bottle of an exceptionally rare expression: The Dalmore 60 Years Old. The bottle was set to be sold at auction this December at Harrods of London.

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Karuizawa Budo

Dr Rachel Barrie

BENRIACH GOES BACK FOR ITS FUTURE

“The new Benriach range is for those open to new possibilities, building on a wealth

Speyside distillery Benriach is shaping up for the future by launching a new range of single malt whiskies which pay tribute to its past.

of experience and tradition. I invite the drinker to join me on this creative journey, as we explore the rich rewards of Single Malt whisky.”

Under former co-owner Billy Walker, the distillery built a formidable reputation for a diverse and eclectic range of whiskies, covering everything from classic fruity Speyside whiskies, to heavily peated malts, and an almost limitless supply of single casks covering a myriad of finishes and including triple distilled whisky.

Under the new ownership, the distillery now has the highly respected Dr Rachel Barrie at its helm.

“The new range perfectly marries tradition and innovation that is central to Benriach’s story,” she says. “Inspired by the 1994 bottling of the Original Ten, with its fruitladen complexity and smooth, rounded taste, the new range re-imagines the 1898 origins of Benriach, brought to life in the 21st century through fusing distilling styles with extraordinary casks.

“The Twelve balances richly sherried malt with added layers of fruit complexity, reaching a pinnacle at twelve years old. The new Smoky Ten and Smoky Twelve explore the sweet smokiness of Benriach, enriched through innovative combinations of rum, virgin oak and marsala casks interwoven with more traditional bourbon and sherry.

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“In addition to Benriach The Original Ten, the core range will feature a new recipe for Benriach’s richly sherried twelve year old whisky, Smoky Ten and Smoky Twelve Year Old expressions. A premium selection of Twenty One, Twenty Five and Thirty Year Old Single Malts.

“As one of just two distilleries in Speyside still to practice traditional floor malting on site, a new small batch and limited edition ‘Malting Season’ expression will celebrate this time-honoured practice. Benriach’s seasonal peated spirit production will also be captured in a new ‘Smoke Season’ bottling, which explores the full intensity of Benriach’s fruit-forward smoky spirit, amplified through bespoke cask selection.

“Benriach will also continue its legacy of capturing unique moments in time through its Cask Edition Programme, and will continue to offer a travel retail collection featuring the Triple Distilled aged 10 years, as well as Quarter Cask and Smoky Quarter Cask expressions.”

Over 120 years since it was established, Benriach is also expected to unveil its first official visitor centre to the public later this year, allowing visitors from around the world to explore this Speyside whisky gem.

BEGINNING OF THE END FOR RARE JAPANESE WHISKY Specialist Japanese whisky retailer Dekanta has launched a new set of extremely rare Karuizawa whiskies, taken from some of the last casks left of the iconic whisky.

The Japanese distillery has been closed since 2000 and as global interest in Japanese whisky has grown in recent years, demand for stock from it has increased dramatically, along with the price of the remaining bottles, which have reached prices in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars on the secondary market.

The new private label bottling of rare Karuizawa single malt features handpainted street art inspired by Japanese modern martial arts.

Each of the bottles includes art from one of three Japanese street artists, individually hand-painted by the original artists, and inspired by one of three modern Japanese martial arts: Kendo, Karate and Sumo.

Called The Budō Collection, the set consists of three bottles of Karuizawa 35 Year Old (1981 – 2017) Single Cask Whisky bottled at 51.00% ABV. Bud ō is a Japanese term to describe martial arts, and translates literally to ‘The Martial Way’. The name was chosen to celebrate the dedication to craft which is shared by martial arts practitioners, street artists and master distillers alike.

INSIGHT

GLEN MORAY UNEARTHS A WAREHOUSE GEM Glen Moray has launched its inaugural release from the distillery’s new ‘Warehouse 1 Collection’: Glen Moray Sauternes Cask Matured expression is at cask strength and was matured in Warehouse 1 for 14 years, exclusively in five sweet Sauternes wine casks.

Sauternes Cask Matured will be the first in a new collection of eclectic, small batch

releases from Glen Moray, named in honour of Warehouse 1: the Elgin distillery’s bluefronted dunnage warehouse where an adventurous assortment of interesting and innovative casks are tucked away.

“There are a good few warehouses at our Elgin site, but Warehouse 1 is special,” said Glen Moray brand ambassador Iain Allan.

“Over the years, this is where our distillery teams have quietly stored the results of their experiments and cask adventures. As a result we have pockets of casks holding the most interesting and incredible tasting whiskies

scattered throughout the warehouse, which we are now uncovering, tasting and making plans to release.”

Sauternes is one of France’s most famous wines, made in the dessert wine producing region just south of Bordeaux and renowned for its intense sweetness and notes of zest and spice.

Glen Moray Sauternes Cask Matured is bottled at cask strength – 59.6% ABV - at its natural colour, and non-chill-filtered.

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WEIRD OR WONDERFUL? WEMYSS STRIKES A POSE Sticking to the old adage that the only bad publicity is no publicity, Scottish independent bottler and whisky producer Wemyss has decided it wants to get more noticed.

The company marked the end of its 15th year in business by giving its core range of malt whisky what it describes as a ‘bold and colourful new look to match its vibrant taste and vivid personality.’

The new-look blended malt whiskies – ‘The Hive’, ‘Spice King’ and ‘Peat Chimney’ – are bottled at 46% abv and non-chill-filtered to preserve their flavourful character. The new packaging includes a bespoke decanter bottle and ornately illustrated labels and gift cartons.

“We believe that our journey through the wonderful world of whisky should be led by bold and unique flavours,” says the company. “This is the perfect time to focus on our original values as independent, family whisky makers that encourage the exploration into adventurous f`lavours.

“With whisky becoming more and more a lifestyle drink, popular among regular

consumers, cocktail aficionados and spirit experts, Wemyss Malts can match the personality of the drinker with one of its’ core range whiskies.

“Each bottle of small batch, hand-crafted whisky captures the true spirit of the brand with the bespoke artistic blend of colours reflecting the exciting blend of flavour.”

Cairngorns National Park

ANGELS’ DELIGHT

Bottled in partnership with the Cairngorms Trust Angels’ Nectar Cairngorms 2nd Edition is an 11 Years Old Speyside Single Cask from a distillery within the Cairngorms National Park.

breeding ospreys and mountain footpath restoration. The Cairngorms National Park is by area the United Kingdom’s largest National Park (bigger than Luxembourg),is the location of four of the UK’s five highest mountains, and is home to the headwaters of the River Spey.

Endangered wildlife residents in the park include capercaillie, Scottish wildcats, golden eagles, and black grouse. Just 18000 people live within the park, but 1.92 million people visit per (normal) year.

Recent projects the Cairngorms Trust include improving habitat to encourage

Highfern also has plans for a new Angels’ Nectar Islay Edition in 2021.

Scottish whisky retailer Highfern has teamed up with the Cairngorns National Park to support environmental and community projects there.

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INSIGHT

SWISS ON A ROLL Swiss distillery Langatun kicks off 2021 by rolling out its new release.

Its 10 Years Old 2nd Edition will be launched in the United Kingdom , and is en route to other markets.

The release marks a significant point in the distillery’s history.

“This Langatun Whisky has been matured for 10 years in a former Pinot Noir cask and is considered a masterpiece of the distiller’s craft,” says the company’s Robert Ransom.

“It has a beautiful colour of bright amber, and has been bottled at 49.12% vol., which allows the aromas to flow generously.”

The release is a limited edition of just 555 bottles.

Highfern provided the following tasting notes: COLOUR: Amber NOSE: Chocolate-banana, sandlewood, dried figs PALATE: Demerara sugar, pepper, dark chocolate and red wine FINISH: Liquorice, sherry spice, long lasting

SCOTTISH RYE ON THE RISE Scottish family distiller Arbikie is celebrating its 200 year heritage with 1794, the third edition of its unique Highland rye whisky.

Following the successful launch of limited editions of Highland Rye in 2018 and 2019, the distillery, on Scotland’s East coast, is now launching a five-year-old rye that combines the unique use of rye with charred American oak.

Unlike the previous limited editions, 1794 has not been finished in a further cask, but matured in lively, virgin oak casks creating a whisky with a nose of fresh cloves, nutmeg, Christmas cake spices, creamy butterscotch, a taste of cinnamon and a spicy burst tempered by sweet muscovado sugar and fresh honey.

When Arbikie launched its first, limitededition Highland Rye in 2018, it saw the revival of rye whisky in Scotland, the first rye scotch for nearly 200 years. Other distilleries, such as Bruichladdich and InchDairnie, are expected to launch their rye whiskies soon, resulting in the emergence of a new rye whisky category.

Ardbikie was launched by Iain, John, Sandy and David Stirling in 2014 with the aims of becoming one of the world’s most

Stirling Brothers sustainable distilleries. The Stirling family has been farming for over 400 years and brothers, Iain, John, Sandy and David carry on the Stirling tradition of being custodians of their lands.

“Arbikie has capitalised on the rising demand for terroir, provenance-focused luxury spirits by using both the existing crops on our farm and by growing new crops to create unrivalled traceability,” says Arbikie export director, Iain Stirling. “It’s a very exciting time at Arbikie as we look for further expansion in the Middle East and Asia.”

Highland Rye recently agreed a new distribution deal in Canada with Southern Glazer and is now stocked in British Columbia at BC Liquor Stores, the prestigious state drinks monopoly.

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ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR Quick poll: How many have bought Australian whisky in the last 12 months? Are you a regular purchaser or was this a one-off (a bit of patriotism)? Where do you think Australian whisky sits in comparison with those from Scotland, Ireland or Japan? Do you think they are fair value or over-priced (and if so, are you prepared to pay the extra)? Do you look for aged bottles? Perhaps all of this can be summed up in just one question – has the Australian whisky industry established its own style of whisky or is it still simply an echo of Scotland (not that there would be anything wrong with that)?

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FEATURE Jodie Dawes

Of course, it is far too early to make any definitive statements about styles of Australian whisky.

That will come in time. Indeed, there is also the question of whether there are, or will be, significant differences between whiskies from Tasmania to those from the Mainland.

Whatever your thoughts, one thing cannot be ignored. In the last decade or so, local whisky has gone from a rarely encountered curiosity to, perhaps not mainstream but certainly a level once unimaginable by most of us. Of course, if the quality was not there then curiosities they would have stayed. Instead, our whiskies have stunned the world and aficionados around the globe have been keen to sample them.

It is not that dissimilar to what happened in Japan, a few decades earlier, when we saw whiskies from that nation start to make an impact (or at least, those who were around then, did). They were little more than exotic oddities, but have now been elevated to near mythical status in some cases – one example from many: the Ichiro Malt Card series, a limited edition of 54 different malts (two jokers for the pack), which gathered dust on the shelves for years and are now some of the most valuable and sought after bottles on earth – a set going for a million plus!

Look to Sullivan’s Cove. They brought Australian whisky to the attention of the world, winning the World’s Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards in 2014, and a lot more bling since then.

Heather Tillott, head distiller at Sullivan’s Cove, notes that they are selective in their choice of competitions, not least because with a production under 20,000 bottles last year, they simply don’t have the whisky to enter them all. The awards do

provide validation of what they are doing, and also justification for the prices, seen by some as excessive. David Vitale, founder of Melbourne distillery, Starward, sees awards as a way to “help us to showcase our new way of thinking and crafting and our dedication to using quality Australian ingredients, particularly Australian wine barrels, to bring to market a distinctively Australian whisky for everyone.”

It is early days for Aussie whisky, but they are fast headed to that cherished mainstream status. While there will no doubt be plenty of NAS offerings (No Age Statement), economies of scale will mean that competing with the world’s largest whisky producers will be nearly impossible at the everyday, bargain bottle standards. If Australian whisky does not compete at the very highest levels, then curiosities or tourist souvenirs is all it will ever be (eventually, commercial reality dictates that there will have to be larger production). Heather Tillott agrees that the industry is currently “super-premiumised”, and feels that this is not balanced. Commercial necessities will require more mainstream Aussie whiskies in time, but she believes that they will retain their “identity of Australia”.

David Vitale

For now, special bottlings are crucial. Jodie Dawe, distiller at Lark Distillery, notes that they “sometimes release as many as 2 or 3 special bottlings a month. Some are born of demand, some are born of collaboration, and some are born out of experimentation and our drive to share our passion and create unforgettable experiences”.

Winning awards, such as those picked up by Sullivan’s Cove and others, have allowed the industry to set the highest standards. This has been aided by what some may see as very lax

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Bill Lark

regulations, allowing for more innovation than is encountered in most countries (it has been said that, basically, make it from grain and whack it in a barrel for two years and we have something which can be called Aussie whisky). Heather Tillott believes that there will be more boundaries and structure in the industry in time but that Australia will always allow the capability for flexibility and innovation.

Establishing a spirits industry is not easy, given the extensive time needed to mature the material – assuming one is not dabbling with the instant ageing technology gaining some traction, or making spirits such as gin, which can be still to shelf in a month. The costs are such that enormous dedication is necessary. And the pioneers in Tasmania, beginning with Bill Lark, had exactly that.

The general consensus is that most of the whiskies around the world owe not only their origins to Scotland (and here is not the place for a debate

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on just where whisky did come from), but also their styles (although good luck finding anything that can match that glorious peaty note that seems unique to Islay malts). This is largely because the usual method is pot stills using malted barley and in the early days (not that long ago), Australian whiskies were no different.

Differences have emerged, though probably only really identifiable to serious aficionados – using brewers’ malt rather than the more traditional distillers’ malt (and using local malts from Australian farmers, rather than importing them from Scotland, as happens in many parts of the world). Bill Lark has been quoted as suggesting that this is leading to richer and more oily malts, quite different to those from Scotland.

The team at Sullivan’s Cove have been actively trialing unfiltered and unflocked whiskies (the process of allowing whiskies which have not been chill-filtered to settle, over a number of months at ambient temperature, in order that “the

heaviest particulate can fall out of solution and be removed with a simple paper filter”, leaving the whisky in its most natural state), which as they suggest, leaves the good stuff in. The fats and oils remaining contribute to the flavours, depth and texture. Unfiltered and/or unflocked is not unique to Sullivan’s Cove and is used by other Tasmanian/ Australian distilleries, though far less common offshore. This contributes to the Australian style being distinct from whiskies found in other countries.

Then there is the ‘Aussie’ route. The Adelaide Hills Distillery, in their ‘Native Grain Whiskey’, for example, uses wattleseed to access the starch leading to fermentable sugars, rather than the more typical grain. They believe that this leads to more chocolate notes in the final product. The Starward Two-Fold incorporates Australian wheat with their malted barley.

Australia is hardly alone in using barrels which formerly housed wine to age their spirits, but

FEATURE

few places have taken to it quite so extensively – of course, having a thriving wine industry has helped this. A fine example is the Starward “Nova”, aged in barrels which were previously home to Australian Shiraz, Cabernet or Pinot Noir. The barrels are often still wet from the wine when filled.

The result is a delicious whisky with red fruit notes, florals and caramel/oak characters. It goes further.

Archie Rose incorporates the use of ex-Apera (Aussie sherry) barrels in their award-winning Single Malt Whisky.

Needless to say, this provides for different flavour profiles than from the ex-bourbon barrels used for Scottish malts – more fruity than their vanilla notes. In addition, climatic differences play a role, not least in the speed of maturation – more on this below.

Australia’s love of bourbon – we are one of the biggest importers of that spirit – has also seen attention given to styles with noticeable amounts of rye, wheat and corn. Archie Rose is known for their 100% Rye, a rich, supple, powerful and complex whisky with notes of teak, cinnamon, cocoa, and spices with an utterly seductive texture.

It won ‘Best Australian Whisky’ at the IWSC Awards in London 2018.

Lark Distilling, a pioneer of Tasmania’s whisky industry, is reaping the rewards of the efforts of founder Bill Lark. Their new Legacy series will offer some exceptional whiskies of an age very rarely seen in this country. The inaugural Legacy release will be as a pair of 19-year-old whiskies – HHF582B and HHF585A (the latter is also a single cask release). Bill Lark has said, “My first reaction to tasting this release was one of sheer joy.

To think that we could lay a whisky down 19 years ago, in our infancy in Australia and to come out with a whisky like this that is so drinkable but yet so rich and intense in flavour is a great milestone.”

Despite a price of nearly $2000 a bottle, such has been the demand that sales will take place by ballot. Consider also the speed at which the Sullivan’s Cove releases sell out – often within the hour – and it is obvious that many have no issue with the price of the best Aussie whiskies.

David Vitale has a slightly different take on prices, seeing his whiskies as “without a doubt” providing value. His vision is “to democratise access to tasty Australian whisky”. He notes that Starward Two-Fold was crafted to be “an affordable and approachable blend of two quintessential Aussie grains”.

Wherever whisky comes from around the world, there is no debate as to the importance of barrel age. Edwards makes the excellent point that it is not simply a matter of sticking the spirit into a barrel and waiting around. As he says, ageing “is often mischaracterised as simply a waiting game whereby the older the whisky, the better it is. This couldn’t be further from the truth as whisky, like wine, cannot simply remain in cask indefinitely without proper management or it will become critically over-oaked, tannic, and fundamentally flawed. We don’t aim for an age, but rather monitor our spirit and bottle it when we feel it is at its absolute peak

One area that Australia is addressing is the special bottlings – with such small stocks relative to many nations, this makes sense. Will Edwards, the founder of Archie Rose (better known for their gins but give it time) notes that they “have released in the past, and will continue to release, a number of smaller, unique bottlings under our Trials & Exceptions label – a series reserved for exceptional casks we discover in our bond store and smallbatch trials from our extensive R&D program.”

What of winning awards? As with the wine industry, mixed feelings (often influenced by whether you’ve won them or not). Edwards again – “There are still a small number of highly regarded global awards that we enter each year. While the degree to which winning any individual award “helps” is highly subjective, consistently winning “World’s Best”, or “Australia’s Best” over multiple years does provide validation that we are on the right track and, from a spirits quality standpoint, can absolutely stand alongside the best spirits in the world year on year.”

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– in Australia, this almost always means bottling a younger spirit as the environmental impacts of the Australian climate accelerate maturation by, very approximately, 3-5 times over that experienced in most areas of the UK and Europe.”

Many consumers like to buy the oldest whiskies they can, assuming that they must be the best, but as Edwards says, “there are outstanding whiskies produced at three years of age and there are outstanding whiskies released at 30, 40 or >50 years of age. Both young and old, can be as good (or as bad) as each other. It all comes down to the skill, experience and dedication of the distillery to manage the maturation of the whisky appropriately considering the spirit, environmental conditions, cask size, cask type, bond store location, and a number of other factors. If this is done correctly and the distiller is committed to bottling the spirit when it is at its absolute peak, rather than aiming for a predetermined “age”, the best expression of that spirit will result.”

Heather Tillott feels that their whiskies are somewhat of a hybrid in respect of ageing.

Technically, their whiskies do have their age noted on the labels, but they do not seek to release pre-decided ages. She describes it as listening to each individual barrel and when it is ready, it will be bottled and released. Bottling normally starts around ten or eleven years but one cask might be ready at ten years, the one next to it may need another decade. So these are not traditional age statement whiskies.

That said, look to three recent examples of Sullivans Cove whiskies to exhibit the differences from age, but also the influence of oak – TD0352; TD0089; and HH0541. The first from American oak, ex-Bourbon and aged 11 years; the second from American oak refills aged 14 years; and the final bottle, French oak, ex-Tawny and aged 19 years.

The first offers florals and cinnamon notes, a touch of nutmeg. Terrific complexity with the palate moving to more caramel, chocolate and spices. Great length. The fruit just sings and some peach notes emerge towards the finish.

The second whisky seems to have more depth and concentration and yet remains elegant, a whisky of finesse. Florals, cherries and a note like freshly made pancakes dripping with maple syrup.

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Seamless, a never-ending finish and an ethereal richness. Finally, our last offering gives us notes of spices, orange marmalade, raspberries, apricots, hazelnuts and a very fine Cohiba cigar. The palate offers honey, caramel, the finest chocolate (if it doesn’t sound too pretentious, imagine To-ak Chocolate – okay, yes, a bit pretentious). It seems to offer a mix of invisibility and balanced intensity.

Invisibility in that this is so balanced that it offers no resistance. It seems to just melt into your tastebuds leaving a wonderful memory.

David Vitale makes the point that ageing in Australia is very different to other parts of the world (the ultimate example often used is the difference between a barrel ageing in a cold Scottish cellar

and one in a Caribbean distillery). David notes that “thanks to Melbourne’s highly reactive climate”, he has some of “the hardest working barrels in the world. Our four seasons in a day weather results in the whisky liquid expanding and contracting within the barrels, this helps to extract the juicy goodness that has soaked into the barrel staves – considerably shortening the maturation time.”

As he says, “three Melbourne years is very different to three years elsewhere.” Those of us fortunate to live in Queensland would not argue!

But we can all enjoy the efforts of not only David and his team but all these quality distillers and their brilliant range of very different whiskies.

FEATURE

WHY NAS WHISKY? NAS stands for ‘No Age Statement’, meaning whiskies that are bottled and labelled without any indication of their actual age. A great many bottles will list an age, however, let’s say you have a bottle which says ’12 Years’, then that bottle must have no whisky younger than 12 years maturation. It can have plenty of older whisky included but if there is a single drop of 12-year-old whisky in the blend then it must be called ‘12 Years’.

NAS whiskies give the distillery flexibility. They may feel that their whisky benefits from some younger material to freshen it – say a dollop of five-year-old material to freshen their 30-yearold whisky – but that would mean they would

have to label it a ‘Five Year’ whisky. And that would mean marketing suicide. As a NAS, it gets the benefit of the blend without restriction in labelling. There is room for both. Johnnie Walker Red and Blue are NAS whiskies whereas their Black (12 years) and Gold (18 years) are not. It has proved an essential tool in battling the issue of shortages of aged material.

Whiskies with age statements are obviously limited by what was put in barrel at the time.

NAS can be blended continuously – obviously, it is important to maintain consistency as best as possible, but they can continue producing.

Macallan is a famous distiller which replaced much of its aged range with NAS whiskies

allowing them to continue producing despite shortages.

Jodie Dawe of Lark notes that “despite being the oldest whisky distillery in Australia, we usually choose not to put an age statement on our product. Lark is usually released between 5-7 years of age but it is not unheard of for us to leave casks for up to 10 or 11 years, if we think they will improve with more time. Because of the climate in Tasmania, the spirit under maturation can change rapidly so all casks are monitored closely to ensure that they are being picked when they’re perfectly ripe. We’ve broken with tradition and released Legacy with an age statement.

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D A O R S R E Y L L E H

Y R O T S Y K S I H W D O O G A F O S R E Y L L E H ONE

s. and quiet succes n io at in m er et d inspiration, ationally distilling story of n ow kn tle e is lauded intern lit ov ’s C ia s n’ va lli Su d It is Austral Andy ter Lark an general manager whisky distiller af ith w ird e th ’s ok ia sp an y sk sm hi Ta Explore W ceptional quality. ex w him in. of s ie sk hi w for its thenticity that dre au nd ra b e th t Bower abou Hellyers Road celebrated a big win when named the Best Australian Single Malt Whisky at the 2021 World Whisky Awards for its Henry’s Legacy Freestone Cove.

Recently appointed General Manager Andy Bower says it’s not the first time the distillery has come home with a gong after passing the taste test with the world’s best whisky palates. His challenge is getting the team at Hellyers Road excited about it because what motivates them is a pure and unabashed passion for the product more than the international awards it accumulates.

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Bower says it’s about time the award-winning distillery was more vocal about its plethora of wins; the team should be proud that their hard work and dedication is being recognised on a global scale.

“The Best Australian Single Malt Whisky” is not the first time they have won awards.

The World Whisky Awards website is full of awards Hellyers has won, and nobody knows it; it is the best-untold whisky story in town,” says Bower.

The story of Hellyers Road began with an unlikely group of would-be distillers who

were making a buck in the dairy business close to a town called Burnie in Tasmania’s northwest. Already accustomed to building, growing and milking things, these innovative farmers knew their environment was perfect for sourcing ingredients of purity and quality.

In the late 1990s, they thought it might be an excellent place to build a distillery. It turns out their vision was ahead of the time, with Tasmania now boasting over 80 distilleries.

Not many Australians would know about the whisky’s namesake, Henry Hellyer, but he was an explorer and an iconic figure in the establishment of Tasmania. Brought over by

PROFILE

WE’VE GOT THIS WONDERFUL BRAND WITH A STORY TO TELL, AND IT IS ALMOST LIKE THE PEOPLE INVOLVED ARE TOO MODEST TO TELL IT the Van Diemen’s Land Company in 1827, his job was to find land for development. He cut his way through the northwest of Tasmania and was responsible for naming more than 300 places. Bower says one of his original exploration roads winds its way straight through the Hellyer Road property in Burnie, quite literally straight through the distillery car park.

Hellyer drew Bower in through its true story of patience, tenacity, foresight and authenticity.

“Coming from American Distillery Jack Daniels and other places, I have dealt with brands that have genuine authenticity, and they are rare to find. A lot of businesses or brands create their stories. We’ve got this wonderful brand with a story to tell, and it is almost like the people involved are too modest to tell it. It has an authentic appeal and is a brand that doesn’t try to be genuine -it just is.

“The more I looked into the business, the more I discovered how much authenticity the distillery had. A group of dairy farmers built the company with enormous foresight and an awful lot of determination and fortitude. This also summarises Henry Hellyer’s attitude. He also had determination and fortitude and of course authenticity, “says Bower.

The founders built the distillery in 2001, and the company still has barrels in the warehouse from 2002, when the brand’s first whisky launched to market. Since, Hellyers has built up the cellar every year because, as

Bower says, whisky is a slow burn and what you distilled in 2002 doesn’t come into focus until ten years later.

Hellyers is one of the few distilleries on the island with genuine aged stock and although they wish they had made more whisky ten years ago, Bower says it’s his job to ensure supply meets demand without compromising on quality. He says they are already supplying 20 international markets and have increased production but will not sacrifice quality for quantity, even if that means putting the breaks on emerging markets.

Besides excellent single malts, Hellyer Road also produces an outstanding whisky liqueur made with fresh cream that makes perfect sense given the founders’ experience with dairy products. The liqueur is the brand’s second-biggest seller.

“These guys use the fresh cream because they had the milk and the dairy technology to do it, and this is where the two businesses have become wedded in many ways. This technology these dairy farmers had in their dairy production has transferred over to Hellyers and that whisky cream liqueur is to die for,” says Bower.

“It’s a typical story for Hellyers - fantastic product, fantastic story, the authenticity, the people, so many stories that haven’t been told, and that’s what I am going to do is tell the story because it deserves it,” says Bower.

For more on Hellyers Road visit hellyersroaddistillery.com.au

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WHISKY’S

SHINING LIGHTS “This is a man’s world”, says Mr James Brown.

Look into whisky’s past, present and most definitely its future, and you’ll see that it would be “nothing without a woman.”

Historical records and recorded wills reveal more than thirty women have controlled some of the most famous distilleries in Scotland. Many continue to do so today.

Take Bessie Williamson, ‘the First Lady of Laphroaig’. She started with the distillery as a secretary. She finished, some forty years later, as managing director. In 1934, young Bessie took a job as a typist at the distillery, intending to move on in a few months. Twenty years later, she owned the place, the only woman to own a distillery in Scotland in the 20th century. She was behind the push for Laphroaig to expand into the States and also seen as a key force in the rise of single malts, over blends.

Further back in 1811, Elizabeth Cumming became the first woman to found a distillery, although granted it was an illegal one at the time. By 1824, it had its licence and Cardhu was born.

Beyond the Scottish borders, Jesse Roberta Cowan, known locally as Rita Takatsuru, was ‘the mother of Japanese Whisky’. She met Masataka Taketsuru when he lodged in the family home in Glasgow while studying the industry. She returned to Japan with Masataka and played a key role in establishing the Nikki Distillery.

Across the pond, Marjorie “Margie” Samuels was well known for her contributions to Maker’s Mark, including the signature red wax.

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Nicole Austin

Bessie Williamson

Elizabeth Cumming

MEET Rita Taketsuru with Masataka Taketsuru

In Ireland, Ellen Jane Corrigan oversaw the international expansion of Irish whiskey, Bushmills, during the 1880’s.

Marjorie Samuels

Today, Rachel Barrie has established an illustrious reputation having worked with such distilleries as Bowmore, Glenmorangie, and Ardbeg. Now she is master blender at The GlenDronach, BenRiach and Glenglassaugh. Scotland’s First Lady of Whisky, indeed.

Rachel Barrie

Over in Nashville, Tennessee, Victoria Eady Butler left her job at the Department of Justice and, although originally having no experience, has established herself as master blender for ‘Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey’. In fairness, distilling might just run in the family. Her great-greatgrandfather, Nathan “Nearest” Green, himself a master distiller who taught the famous Jack Daniels how to distill. Yes, THAT Jack Daniels.

Victoria Eady Butler

Nicole Austin is the master distiller at Tennessee’s George Dickel Whiskey. She had originally intended on a career as an environmental lawyer, until one evening when her date offered her a glass of whiskey.

Marianne Eaves became Kentucky’s first master distiller in 2015 (well, first since Prohibition) when she joined Castle & Key. Looking to the future we have distilling stars at home: think Jodie Dawes (Lark), Silvia Segato (Forty Spotted Gin), Suzy Brett (Spring Bay), Naomi Mcintosh (Chief’s Son) and Carlie Dyer from Starwood.

Internationally, Kelsey McKechnie is carving her way into whisky folklore as she takes the reigns at The Balvenie, Scotland. Her interview is next.

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KELSEY MCKECHNIE APPRENTICE MALT MASTER

Kelsey McKechnie was appointed to the position of Apprentice Malt Master just over two years ago, becoming one of the youngest apprentice malt masters in the world. McKechnie embodies the future of whisky and along with gaining a coverted position, she’s done it in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Her talent was spotted early by whisky in blending and barrel finishing, along with the most respected of mentors guiding the way, put the future of The Balvenie whiskies in safe hands.

Ash Pini caught up with McKechnie to see if some of the magic dust can rub off on us, and learn more about the changing the perception of who the average whisky drinker is.

Ash Pini: How have you found the first two years working as the apprentice to the great David Stewart? What has changed in that time for you?

For example we have launched Balvenie Stories, a limited edition 25 Year Old Double Wood and new 50 Year Olds, just to name a few during this time.

Kelsey McKechnie: The past few years have definitely been exciting and we have produced a lot of innovation. It’s only when I take a second to look back on how many new products we have created for The Balvenie I realise how much has changed.

AP: Can you describe the local whisky distilling and blending community in Speyside? Is it a tight knit community and how accepting are they of a young, talented apprentice?

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KM: Speyside is not only renowned for producing great whisky, it is also renowned for the friendly people who live in the area.

There is also a true sense of pride in The Balvenie especially within our local whisky community. I actually lived on site at The Balvenie and Glenfiddich distillery for six months where I met really interesting and knowledgeable people, but now I travel to the distillery a couple of times per month - it is one the highlights to my role.

MEET

and learn from it. I hope we can recruit new whisky drinkers to take on this journey with us because evolving ideas and working on new flavours is part of our DNA. Explore WHISKY: Balavnie is well known for cask finishing, what’s your view on how this is evolving?

KM: It has evolved quite a lot in recent years. Ultimately the definition of casks, which can be used in Scotch Whisky, has changed to allow whisky to be finished in casks from other traditional alcoholic beverages whilst maintaining the traditional AP: What part of your role do you enjoy the most?

KM: One of the most exciting parts of my role is reviewing the quality of the liquids before, during and after finishing.

We sample a lot of stock from all of our distilleries, from new make spirit (straight from the stills) to maturing inventory.

Monitoring the progress of our finishes before bottling and giving them their final sign off with David Stewart MBE and Brian Kinsman is always a great feeling.

AP: What project tops your to-do list for 2021?

KM: Although 2021 has not been the year any of us had planned, we are still doing a lot of sampling to make sure we monitor the quality of the spirit. However, nothing beats spending time in Speyside and I can’t wait to spend time at The Balvenie distillery and our warehouses. We also have lots of projects and new releases launching.

AP: What should we be looking out for in 2021?

KM: The Balvenie has a lot of exciting new projects for 2021, however I can’t share anything just yet!

AP: How are you seeing whisky evolving?

And what role do you play in innovating for the changing whisky drinker?

KM: Whisky has evolved quite a lot over the past few years, however I am at such an early stage in my career. I hope to continue to build my knowledge in whisky and take learnings from other industries whilst bringing my skills back to scotch to create new styles and flavours. Having David Stewart MBE as a mentor means the bar has been set quite high!

AP: How is the whisky drinker changing?

KM: I think the perception towards whisky has changed a lot. From people feeling they needed to be a whisky connoisseur to drink it to now enjoying whisky purely for its taste. That’s how I think it should be, with no preconceived ideas apart from purely enjoying a wee dram.

AP: What role do you play in the evolution of the whiskies you create?

And how do you make sure you keep the traditions built over so many years, while innovating to recruit new drinkers?

KM: I am very fortunate to be David’s apprentice, becoming a malt master does not happen overnight. The main focus is learning how to ensure consistency in all of The Balvenie spirits. We pride ourselves on our craft and making sure our traditions go unchanged. One of our oldest traditions has been our innovative spirit and we always try new experiments. The fact that we are family owned ensures we have flexibility in our stock to be able to try something new

nose, taste and appearance of Scotch. I think it is really exciting because it means we can push the boundaries and try cask finishes that have never been used before.

AP: What’s your view/opinion of NAS (No Age Statement) whiskies?

KM: I think when NAS’s are done well they are great. As a blender they give a lot more freedom in terms of selecting stock based solely on its nose and taste, without being restricted by an age statement.

AP: And your thoughts on the role of whisky in cocktail culture?

KM: Cocktails are a great way of introducing more people to whisky and I think people should enjoy whisky whichever way they prefer. This year in particular many people have started experimenting and creating cocktails at home, creating the perfect Old Fashioned is a skill in itself.

AP: Having followed your “Fist Full of Bourbon” project with interest, are there any plans for a dhórn of Scotch maybe?

KM: Fistful of Bourbon has been a lot of fun to work on and although we do not know everything about bourbon, we know how to blend it. I am very lucky to have the chance to work on other variants in the William Grant and Son’s portfolio such as Monkey Shoulder and Grants Triple Oak, which keep my blending fix at bay.

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KEEPERS OF THE QUAICH “For those that make great Scotch Whisky, and those that make Scotch Whisky great,” his Royal Highness Prince Charles, the Duke of Rothesay.

BY ASH PINI

The Keepers of the Quaich (pronounced ‘quake’) is a semi-secret international society, recognising those that have shown outstanding commitment to the Scotch Whisky industry. It’s not widely publicised as a society; its members are invited, not nominated, and number less than 3,000 worldwide. Those invited become Keepers and, after ten more years, maybe invited to become a Master of the Quaich.

Inductions to the society happen twice a year, in spring and autumn, where guests are treated to a lavish banquet at Blair Castle in Pitlochry. I’ve heard it described as “a Scottish Cinderella’s ball, complete with red carpet, ball gowns, kilts, pipers and

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plenty of toasts”. The evening is presided over by Sarah Troughton, Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire and the grandmaster of the Keepers of the Quaich and the Atholl Highlanders.

The Atholl Highlanders are officially Europe’s only private army.

the spirit and aims of the Keepers of the Quaich. Everybody signs the members’ list, which features such illustrious names as the former US President Ronald Reagan. The rest of the evening is an opulent, classic Highland dinner, of course with whisky, haggis, Robert Burns poems, and bagpipers.

Tradition and ceremony take centre stage as inductees drink from the quaich (a twohandled traditional Scottish drinking cup), signifying a welcome to the society.

The society was founded in the 1980s and is relatively young when counting in terms that the whisky industry does. Nevertheless, the society has its coat of arms and copyrighted tartan.

In a ceremony not open to the public, each keeper swears with his right hand resting on a giant handmade silver quaich to uphold

For now the banquets are on hold and may not resume until borders reopen, and international travel becomes the norm once

FEATURE Prince Charles

Australian Chapter celebrations, 2019

Michael Samios, Liquorstax, and Colin Rochester, William Grants and Sons Keeper of the Quaich, Sven Almenning (centre)

Australian Master of the Quaich, Rob Hirst (right) A toast to the haggis

more. So, in it’s place, the society sends a message to the Scotch Whisky devotees around the planet. The most recent one (the Scottish spring) featured his Royal Highness Prince Charles, the Duke of Rothesay (his Scottish title), passionately addressing the society via video: “Scotch whisky is about people, the men, and women that make it, who promote it, and sell it across the world. And that is what the Keepers of the Quaich represent as a society. All of the people that make great Scotch Whisky and those who make Scotch Whisky great.”

Here in Australia the society is robust with a number of high-profile members, including the ex-prime minister, John Howard. The Australian chapter has renewed its commitment to the global society and hosted the Australian Keepers event at the National Art School in Sydney prior to the pandemic.

Australian Keeper of the Quaich, Ben Davidson

Whisky ambassador, James Buntin

A piper calls forward the inductees

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THE QUESTION OF

&

TERROIR WHISKY

As someone who also spends a considerable time investigating the world of wine, questions about terroir – that sense of place that a good wine can convey (obviously it is far more complex than that) – are always top of mind.

But for spirits? And whisky?

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Peat fields such as this one give Scottish whisky its unique smoky flavour.

FEATURE

American Oak barrels, originally used to age bourbon, are now used to age and finish Scottish whisky.

I remember a guide in the Havana Club distillery in Cuba insisting that no other nation on earth could make good rum because Cuba’s terroir was far superior to that found anywhere else. Nothing would sway him.

But then I have heard similar claims from winemakers many times.

TERROIR: DISTINCT CHARACTER IN WHISKY? Another who spends considerable time looking at both wine and whisky is the esteemed British writer, Andrew Jefford, and he recently delved into the question of whisky and terroir.

On one hand it might seem absurd to claim this when one looks at barrels from different decades containing material sourced from a range of regions, even if within the general classification. On the other, anyone who has stuck their nose into a glass of fine malt whisky from Islay can spot the origins instantly. Surely, that is evidence of terroir?

First, define terroir. It has been attempted many times but in truth, this is an elusive concept – like trying to bottle fog. And as Justice Stewart from the United States Supreme Court said in 1964, although he was speaking of pornography and not terroir, I shall not attempt further to define it, “but I know it when I see it”.

So what of whisky terroir? Much, as I believe also applies to terroir in respect of wine,

The River Spey, in the northeast of Scotland, acts as an important water source to many noteworthy Speyside distilleries.

depends on the extent to which you include the human contribution. Even more so with whisky.

If one acknowledges that, then I can find no argument to exclude the concept of terroir with malt whisky. That and the fact that a region, such as the aforementioned Islay, can produce a product so distinctive that as yet no other region can replicate it.

The inestimable and highly respected Mr Jefford is not so convinced. He, as he puts it, goes for “place before work”, a most simplified description of his argument which deserves better as he looks at this topic in

considerable detail. He thinks whisky goes for ‘work before place’.

And for me, this is one of the contributing factors which makes great whisky (and wine) so fascinating. There are so many things on which we agree and so many more on which we do not. The debate on this can continue long into the night over a glass or two of the finest.

As a final word for now, this is a topic not really explored in the depth it deserves (other than by Mr Jefford) and I have no doubt we’ll hear more from all sides in the future.

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GLENFIDDICH

GRAND CRU 23-YEAR-OLD William Grant & Sons have launched the much awaited Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23-Year-Old malt.

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PROFILE

Glenfiddich is the most awarded single malt in the world so the possibility of a new, elite release has had whisky lovers exhilarated for ages. Exquisitely packaged, this is a 23-year-old malt from Speyside ($390), that is thrilling both in appearance and taste. Even more exciting, this is just the first in their new “Grand” series. The idea is to offer malts which are pitched very much at the luxury end of the market, but which will still be readily available, not just curiosities of a few cases only, read about in obscure publications and auction press releases.

and 10 pence for a copper pot still and associated equipment and, with the assistance of his seven sons and two daughters, set off to make that “best dram.”

Christmas Day 1887 saw the first spirit shared among the family, and his little distillery was dubbed Glenfiddich, meaning “valley of the deer.”

As soon as he could, Grant purchased the nearby Robbie Dhu Spring, an incomparable source of quality water for whisky. The nearby stream was actually called the Fiddich.

The origins of this superb malt go back nearly 150 years, when a Scottish bookkeeper working at the Mortlach Distillery, named William Grant, had a dream of making the “best dram in the valley.”

Glenfiddich remains the only Speyside distillery distilling, maturing, and bottling on site (these days, the 12-Year-Old is an exception).

Grant took careful note of all that was happening, in case he ever got his chance. Finally, at the age of 47, Grant quit his job and paid £119,19 shillings

Clearly, the Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23-Year-Old malt is a whisky which has excited the marketing and PR gurus as well as spirit lovers – “sets out to

redefine moments of celebration,” “a new and extraordinary drinking experience,” “created for the non-conformists,” “uniquely crafted as a surprising delight,” and “for those tearing up the rule book.”

Their malt master for the last decade has been Brian Kinsman. Over this time, he has earned a reputation for innovation of the highest standards.

This is not always easy, as when your company sells around 14 million bottles of malt every year, your highest priority must be to keep the traditional customers happy, while walking the high-wire act of innovation. Kinsman seems to have mastered the balance.

The new Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23-Year-Old malt is matured in American and European oak casks before it is finished in “French cuvée casks” for a further six months. It is the only Glenfiddich malt

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PROFILE

to receive this treatment. The six-month period was the result of a series of experiments as to what length of time best suited the malt.

Just what are French cuvée casks? Some have speculated that they are from Champagne, but it should be stressed that no one from Glenfiddich, or anyone associated with the company, is suggesting that is true. All we know is that they are talking “a great sparkling wine from France.” Unfortunately, commercial agreements prevent Glenfiddich from revealing the source of its casks.

While the majority of champagne houses tend to use stainless steel rather than oak casks, we are seeing more and more producers, not least through the emergence of quality growers like Selosse and Collin, among many

others, who do use oak. Also, producers like Krug and Bollinger use oak, usually however these are casks that are very old as the aim is not to give cask character to the wine. How much is given to the malts is a question to be explored. Of course, there are plenty of other superb sparkling wines made around France so speculation it shall remain.

More importantly than exactly where the casks may come from is the question of why did Glenfiddich choose to use French cuvée casks? The reason, according to Kinsman, was keen to accentuate the floral notes of the whisky.

The Grand Cru is 40 percent, and the bottle is 700 ml. As mentioned, it is exquisitely presented. The Grand Series will have further releases in the near future.

Of course, in the end, all this means nothing unless we have a cracking whisky.

Ever so slightly pale in color, it walks a fine line between the richness it offers and the elegance and floral notes. A hint of glacé fruit, brioche and apple orchards. There is vanillin oak on the palate, with white chocolate and stone fruits, spices, and the merest hint of raspberry. The texture is cushiony soft and creamy with excellent finish and great length. This malt is impeccably balanced and complex throughout.

Glenfiddich Grand Cru is a malt that is finely crafted and utterly superb. Whether it offers value will be up to each individual, but there is no question that it is a really lovely whisky and a wonderful addition to premium malts. We look forward to the next release in the series.

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INNOVATION, TRADITION, AND CASK FINISHES AN INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN KINSMAN

Brian Kinsman is renowned throughout the whisky industry for his expertise following over 20 years of work. Having trained as a blender under David Stewart MBE, Kinsman consistently maintains the quality of some of the world’s best-loved whiskies at William Grant & Sons. Working now as malt master at Glenfiddich and master blender, Ash Pini caught up with Kinsman to get his perspective on his innovative career.

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MEET

Ash Pini: How do you balance the influences of innovation and keeping the DNA of the whisky with protecting the history.

Brian Kinsman: In many ways that is the key part of my role. I need to ensure the new distillate is of the same high quality with the Glenfiddich DNA to ensure all the maturing inventory will progress and mature to create the core range in the decades to come. At the same time, I work with the distillery team to innovate and explore new flavour opportunities.

AP: Your remit is broad across all of the brands in the portfolio, how do you manage all those whiskies?

BK: Our diverse portfolio helps me to be aware of the diversity of flavour and to make sure each distillery and brand maintains consistent.

If I was only focused on a singular flavour it would be more likely to get some drift over time. However, every day in the sample room is different and I can be nosing new make spirit one day followed by rum and Irish whiskey the next day. That keeps my nose and palate agile and it makes it easier to tune into the nuances of each brand. We are also expanding the team to look after the ever-growing portfolio!

AP: Is there a whisky that demands more of your time than others?

BK: Not really. New make spirit is probably the most time-consuming part of our routine analysis because it is so important. If the new distillate from a distillery isn’t spot on then we will have real problems in the future. Beyond that every day is different and it depends on what new expressions are being developed or if we have specific maturation trials to analyse AP: What is the most exciting piece of innovation you’ve been involved with over the last few years?

BK: I love seeing projects from start to finish

and in whisky that can obviously take many years or decades. Seeing how Monkey Shoulder has grown as a brand has been a particular pleasure. I remember working on the prototype blended malts back in the early 2000’s and targeting a smooth, rounded and mixable malt whisky that would be appealing to experienced whisky drinkers, as well as new entrants to the category. In more recent years the various wine cask maturations for Glenfiddich have been great fun to work on. From the Age of Discovery to Winter Storm and Grand Cru, each one has a different maturation profile and a different base whisky to make the final cask finish work.

AP: What role does technology play in creating new whiskies or improving existing liquid?

BK: Technology tends to help with ensuring consistency rather than creating new whisky.

We use instrumentation to ensure a consistent new make spirit character and to analyse the whisky to understand how the flavour compounds are interacting. However, I am happy to say the creation of new whiskies and the final QC on our ranges still relies heavily on the human senses!

AP: How has the work you’ve been doing with the Hudson quarter casks been influencing the whiskies?

BK: The small casks from Hudson have a significantly greater surface area per litre of whisky than standard barrels. That means the whisky / oak interaction is quite different and more flavour is available in a shorter time.

Interestingly that doesn’t necessarily mean the overall maturation time is less. I find a short burst in a Hudson cask creates an incredibly intense, oak rich whisky that benefits from a longer maturation in traditional refill cask to come into balance. That is where the term “cask starting” comes from.

AP: Can you tell us what the term ‘micro maturation’ refers to?

BK: It refers to both the smaller casks (Hudson) and the attention to detail where we are monitoring and controlling maturation to a greater degree than normal. We use Hudson and new oak casks that have such a powerful influence on the maturing whisky so it is important to move the whisky out of these casks at the right time to get the final balance of oak to distillery character.

AP: Why does Ailsa Bay have a PPM statement and a SPPM statement, and have you received feedback from whisky lovers on these statements?

BK: PPM is the traditional way of measuring peatiness, although we take the view of measuring this in the liquid rather than in the malted barley. SPPM is a measurement we have used for years in the technical team at the distillery. It is an analytical measurement of the main compounds that contribute to the sweetness of a whisky and it helps us to understand the influence of distillate and cask extractives to the final flavour. We have had a great response from whisky lovers on both of these numbers – I think this will grow as more batches are released and consumers can compare them.

AP: Do you hope the industry will start to pick these up as standard?

BK: I really don’t mind! It would be great if everyone measured PPM in the liquid rather than the peated malted barley as it relates to what we all taste in the glass.

AP: As the master blender at the company famous for cask finishes, can you let us in on your personal favourite cask finish?

BK: I love the vibrancy and spicy sweetness in virgin American oak.

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The Ultimate

WHISKY LOVERS CAR What can a car say about your taste in whisky? Which would be your favourite? A Jim Beam Grand Cherokee or a Yamazaki Lexus? Bowmore have chosen theirs, and it’s the Aston Martin SUV, the DBX. Bowmore revealed a partnership with ‘Q by Aston Martin’ developing an extremely limited edition Bowmore Aston Martin DBX’s that will be built and delivered to just 18 customers at a private event in Scotland.

So what do you get? Your own paint colour for a start, named Bowmore Blue. Though customers will have the option to choose an different colour if blue isn’t your thing. The wheels are ‘smoked’ and the interior a copper tan (again with options) with flashes of Bowmore Tweed, reflecting the company’s Islay ancestry and created by the Islay Woollen Mill.

Expect polished copper cup holders and sill plaques, made of recycled copper from the original Bowmore still. The gloss black centre console trim inlay features hand-laid, copper foil detailing. Each car comes with a selection of specially designed Q by Aston Martin accessories such as a Bowmore tweed picnic blanket and leather holdall. Any whisky?

All in good time as they say. The 18 Bowmore DBX owners are invited to the Aston Martin Art of Living experience in Scotland. Grab your passport, your COVID vaccine card and fly to Edinburgh to collect your car, before embarking on a 270-kilometer road trip through the Scottish countryside, around Loch Lomond and through

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the Trossachs National Park before driving onto the ferry bound for Islay. There you get to visit the Islay Woollen Mill and enjoy fine-dining throughout a three-night stay, including a private tour of the Bowmore Distillery. Ah, whisky time at last. During the tour you will get to hand-fill your own bottle of a 39 year-old, specially selected Bowmore straight from the cask and be given exclusive access to the No 1 Vaults, the oldest maturation warehouse in the world.

THE CAR The partnership between Aston Martin and Bowmore is not new. They created the ‘Black Bowmore DB5 in 1964. While that was technically a sportier car, the all-new DBX will launch you from 0-100km/h in just 4.1 seconds and hurtle along the highways with 405kw at your disposal topping out at 291km/h. At those speeds your visit to Loch Lomond could be all the way to the bottom At print we didn’t have a price for the ‘Q by Aston Martin’ special Bowmore edition, but expect it to be north of $360,000AUD (the current model price).

The Q by Aston Martin DBX Bowmore Edition is on sale globally now and customer deliveries will take place in Q4 2021.

PROFILE

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THE CONSISTENT QUALITY OF GLEN GRANT Glen Grant is a distiller of Single Malt Whisky since 1840. Based in the Scottish Highlands, they are a brand that is steeped in rich tradition, from its historic distillery site to the attitude of its master distiller, Dennis Malcolm. Malcolm started working for Glen Grant at just 15 yearsold, dedicating his life to making quality Single Malt Scotch Whisky. After being with the brand for the better part of 60 years, Malcolm is the expert on all things Glen Grant.

Explore WHISKY: It’s a remarkable story, being born in on the grounds of Glen Grant, and to work for the business for six decades. Do you have a view on how whisky making, distilling and blending, has evolved over the past 60 years?

Dennis Malcolm: Since I started work some 60 years ago the process parameters for making The Glen Grant have not changed. However, the way that the process is controlled has evolved in as much that most of the manual side of the operation has been automated, making it more interesting and far safer for the modern-day operator. I say “safer” because the cleaning of the Mash Tun/Fermenters and Stills do not require anyone to enter into these vessels to carry out this task any longer - it is all controlled by computer now. This computer automation control, in my view, has led to create an extremely consistent product, as computer programmes tend to check control parameters every second, which is impossible for the operator to do.

EW: Was there a time where you contemplated / considered leaving Glen Grant or the whisky industry?

DM: If so, was there something in particular that kept you there? I never had any intention to leave the industry that I loved being part of, however, like most young people, I wished for new challenges and to progress my career in the Industry industry and moved firstly to The Glenlivet as distillery manager for a period of four years. I then moved to the position of General Manager for the Group with responsibility for the operation of some 9 Distilleries /1 Gin Distillery / I Distillery Co-Product production plant and 3 farms. Following that, I returned to manage

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MEET

operations at Glen Grant in 2006, when the Campari Group purchased it, and where I have remained to this day in the role of master distiller and am now mainly involved with the creation of new expressions and support to marketing and sales. During my time away from The Glen Grant in these different roles I gained a much broader knowledge and skills base of operating and quality parameters at different sites. This, coupled with the additional people-management-skills that I developed throughout, has been put to good use at The Glen Grant and enabled me to extend our range of expressions that our customers enjoy today.

EW: How would you describe your whisky making philosophy and how has Glen Grant shaped that?

DM: I have always strived to make the most consistent quality single malt, which embraces the profile style created by my predecessors and while never compromise compromising on quality for cost benefit.

EW: How has the whisky community changed? Are you seeing a greater interest in whisky now, compared to 10, 20 and even 30 years ago?

DM: When I started in the industry it was very much a more mature person’s thing- an evening /after dinner drink…but now it is getting huge interest from a much younger age of men and women, and this new generation has a new appreciation for the product which is always

marvellous to see. We have just relaunched the product last year, and introduced a new expression, Arboralis, so it’s a great time to see the brand and category getting more attention and exposed on a global level more prominently.

EW: Are you seeing a change in the whisky drinker – are people more interested in the detail now, or maybe less so?

DM: I am seeing a very welcome change in whisky drinkers of today. First of all, I believe they are more knowledgeable and interested and curious- to know how single malts differ from distillery to distillery. I’ve seen a lot of new interest from people about half my age with many more young women taking a keen interest also – very inspiring.

EW: Has visitation increased over the years (to your distillery)? And what sort of experiences are offered at the Glen Grant distillery?

DM: I am pleased to say that the number of visitors in the last 15 years has doubled to around 20K. The uniqueness of Glen Grant helps because we can say that we go from barley in to bottle out since 2013, so the visitor can see and hear about the production / maturation /dumping and bottling and finish up with a choice of tasting two malts from our range. The visitors can also spend some time relaxing in our 27-acre Victorian garden or have a more restful time enjoying a cup of tea or coffee with friends in our Coffee coffee shop.

EW: How would you describe the Glen Grant style?

DM: Glen Grant is a typical Speyside malt, bright golden in colour being dry fruity /creamy on the nose, an explosion of ripe orchard fruits on the palate and finishing long creamy /fruity with a delicate nutty note. The standard DNA to me is slightly dry/fruity/creamy and nutty, having a long soft and lingering finish. These descriptors to me are there in every expression and when you change the cask type for different expressions other aromas and flavours come into play also.

EW: What process do you utilise to craft and select whiskies to be bottled?

DM: Before a single cask is selected for bottling any of our expressions, a sample is taken and checked for colour, aroma, and taste to ensure that we maintain consistent quality at all times. This is a pillar of everything we do - consistent quality. I repeat it all the time.

We can do this, with our own bottling hall on site, and this procedure ensures that aroma and taste are always in complete harmony.

EW: Which whisky did you celebrate your OBE with? (And congratulations on the well-deserved award) DM: I have to be honest - I did not select any particular expression because to me they are all part of my whisky family and equally important in their own way.

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ARDBEG’S WEE BEASTIE A WHISKY IS WREAKING FLAVOUR IN ITS PATH At the height of the global pandemic, the Ardbeg Distillery launched their own beast, a 5-year-old feisty and intensely powerful whisky which they claimed was… “untamed by its age”. And they were right. Ardbeg Wee Beastie has been described as a ‘monster of a dram’, with a formidable bite.

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PROFILE

When Ardbeg adds a permanent expression to its lineup, it makes waves. It’s the sort of news that generates intrigue and questions alike. How will the peat balance with such a young whisky? How will they tame the beast? Ardbeg has a history of exploring inexplicable legends in their bottlings, however this next unearthly expression is said to have emerged from the peat bogs of Islay themselves.

Matured in ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, Wee Beastie is instense, bristling with aromas of cracked black pepper, sappy pine resin and sharp tangs of smoke. An explosive mouthfeel bursts forth with chocolate, creosote and tar. As savoury meats sink into the palate, the long salty mouth coating finish slinks away.

“I’m in no doubt that Ardbeggians will love this tongue-tingling expression. The casks chosen for its creation make it ideal for enjoying neat or as the mouth-watering main ingredient in a powerfully smoky cocktail,” said Ardbeg’s director of whisky creation, Dr Bill Lumsden.

Mickey Heads, Ardbeg distillery manager, agrees, “a new permanent expression in the core range is always momentous for the Distillery, but Wee Beastie is a particularly special dram. As it’s a younger whisky, it means we’re able to get as close to the still as possible. So it’s safe to say this is a ferociously good wee nip!”

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TASTING NOTES: COLOUR: Bright Auric NOSE: Very bright, fresh and herbal, with hints of vanilla, pear, freshly cracked black pepper, honey-glazed ham. Rich Turkish coffee, sappy pine resin.

With water, more herbal top notes like vetiver and fennel, along with aniseed, green apple and leather.

TASTE: A rich, explosive mouthfeel with lots of chocolate, tar, creosote and smoked bacon, followed by a burst of antiseptic lozenges, eucalyptus and more aniseed.

FINISH: A long, salty and mouthcoating finish with hints of cocoa, fudge and savoury meats.

CASKS: Ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry

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AWARD-WINNING ARDBEG Ardbeg is the world’s most highly awarded smoky single malt whisky.

Since 2008, Ardbeg has won more than 50 gold and double gold medals in key whisky competitions. Ardbeg was voted ‘Scotch Whisky of the Year’ twice by Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible (2008, 2009) and has twice been awarded ‘World’s Best Single Malt’ at the World Whiskies Awards (2010, 2013). At the 2014 Global Icons of Whisky Awards, Mickey Heads was voted ‘Distillery Manager of the Year’.

The following year, Ardbeg’s expressions took the top three spots in Whisky Advocate magazine’s review of the best single malt Scotch whiskies under US$100.

Meanwhile, both Ardbeg Corryvreckan and Ardbeg Uigeadail have been awarded gold medals at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In 2019, Dr Bill Lumsden was awarded Master Distiller of the Year for the third time in four years. Ardbeg 10 Years Old also won the Best Single Malt Scotch 10-Year-Old at the International Whisky Competition 2019, while the Ardbeg Distillery was named the Distillery of the Year 2019.

PROFILE

A CULT CLASSIC MALT Ardbeg prides itself on being The Ultimate Islay Malt Whisky.

Established in 1815, Ardbeg is known to whisky lovers around the world as the peatiest, smokiest and most complex of all the Islay malts. Despite its smokiness, Ardbeg is renowned for its delicious sweetness, a phenomenon that has affectionately become known as ‘the peaty paradox’. During the 1980s and 1990s, Ardbeg suffered from an uncertain future and it was not until the brand was purchased by The Glenmorangie Company in 1997 that the Distillery was saved from extinction. Since then, the Distillery has risen like a phoenix and today Ardbeg is well established as a niche, cult malt, with a passionate following.

That following formed itself into an organized force safeguarding the legacy of the whisky in 2000 by the formation of the Ardbeg Committee. The Committee is made up of thousands of Ardbeg followers worldwide who are keen to ensure that “the doors of Ardbeg never close again”. Today there are more than 100,000 members of the Ardbeg Committee in over 130 countries.

Committee members are regularly consulted on new bottlings and expressions and are offered exclusive Committee bottlings. Members also receive invitations to special gatherings, tastings and events. The Committee, chaired by Mickey Heads, is free to join at ardbeg.com.

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ENHANCING THE

? ” C I R B A F Y K S I “WH

tt Bailey, minic Roskrow spoke to Ma Do s? ion iat oc ass or bs clu y sociation Is there any point to whisk the Scotch Malt Whisky As for r ge na ma nt me lop ve de dor and Australian national ambassa DR: What’s the point of a club or association?

MB: The point of a club or association is to create a positive community of like-minded members who share a sense of belonging and shared growth amongst each other. That club might be in-person, it might be online, it might meet once a year or once a week, but it’s an important part of the ‘whisky fabric’ in Australia.

The point is to learn, to be entertained, and to make friends you’ll keep for life.

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DR: What are the benefits?

MB: The benefits are always centered around people. It’s through hosts, ambassadors, and shared positive experiences online and in-person that create the benefits of delving even deeper into your whisky journey. Whisky clubs can take your whisky journey from supermarket malts to true whisky epiphanies through shared experiences.

DR: Can you please tell me about the Scotch Malt Whisky Society?

MB: I head up the Australian branch of the club as brand ambassador and development director. It’s a hugely active branch with thousands of members across this great sunny land. Membership however is global and gives you access to the experiences, events, bottlings, education, member rooms and Partner Bars around the world. We release about 12-15 new single cask whiskies

MEET

every month, along with both in-person and virtual events every month.

DR: Do clubs and associations have access to more unusual and rarer whisky, or are the leading retailers just as likely to offer this service?

MB: More and more yes. In the case of the SMWS, all of our bottlings each month are made available exclusively to members of the club. Some retailers do often release ‘store picks’, but the clubs like SMWS are first and foremost leading that. The needs of large retailers and aggregators are such that they aren’t often able to work with the quantities they require to meet demand. I’d prefer to stick to a qualitative model myself.

DR: How do distillers and distilleries treat established associations and clubs?

MB: In Australia, with great acclaim. The ‘modern’ Australian distilling industry is relatively young having been kickstarted by Bill & Lyn Lark in 1992. As the industry grows with 300+ distilleries operating in Australia,

the opportunity to connect with them in both an independent bottling level and special membership options made available to them grows. The SMWS has shared a long history with many of the distilleries and Australian bottlers over the last 17 years.

DR: Under lock down the virtual meeting has become more common, as have online tastings. Are there arguments for and against ways of experiencing whisky, both face to face or on line?

MB: I think for many this has been a fast learning curve on how to best manage this.

I’m a firm believer that no matter what the technology, the truly in-person experience of whisky tastings and gatherings cannot be fully replaced, ever. While online tastings and ‘Zoom chats’ have grown out of necessity more recently, they are also an excellent way for clubs like the SMWS to interact with members from indeed around the country. We have members in the cities but also in rural areas that even in normal circumstances aren’t able to get to the inperson tastings, so for them to be able to

connect with some online conviviality is truly incredible. I see no reason why even postCovid19 the scope of online tastings and ‘whisky broadcasts’ needs to stop.

DR: Hard one this: how do you think everything will pan out? Will the virtual world remain a key component in the future, or will the need to meet and interact become paramount?

MB: I think it’s a bit of column A, bit of column B. The virtual world of tastings, events, launches, and gatherings can and will remain a part of the future as more and more become more comfortable with it and utilise it to the fullest potential, however the need to meet and share drams in-person will come rushing back once this all settles down. That warm and convivial feeling in a room, sharing drams and stories, making friends and having a shared sense of ‘whisky epiphanies’ cannot be replaced, and I’m personally super excited to be back up the front of the room as soon as possible!

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CASK UP: FINISHES IN SCOTLAND, AND HOW TO CATCH UP Increasingly, distillers are transferring their whiskies in to another sort of cask and maturing it for a few extra weeks or months to add a twist in the tail to its flavour. Is this a good thing?

DOMINIC ROSKROW REPORTS

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FEATURE

“Please, please, don’t send me another sample of pink whisky!”

You could all but hear the frustration in the whisky reviewer’s words. What had started as a fad was rapidly turning in to a failing.

Finishing a whisky in an unusual cask often one which had contained port - was becoming to Scotch whisky what the drum solo had become to a heavy rock gig.

But while reviewers were pouring scorn on such whisky, the flame never went completely out. And thanks to the likes of Dr Bill Lumsden, who was creating oral fireworks at Glenmorangie, the cask finish was not only able to survive - it positively flourished.

And here we are some 15 to 20 years later, not only with a far greater understanding of the relationship between wood and spirit, but able to dip in to an array of exceptional whiskies where wood and whisky have created a new sort of magic.

Maturation or young spirit in a wooden cask, is, of course, key to the production of whisky.

Over time the liquid will come in to contact with the wood, and will be changed by it.

Four processes take place in the cask. The spirit will seep in to the wood, taking colour and flavour from it; the wood will remove some elements from the spirit, including negatives such as sulphur; a chemical reaction between wood and spirit will create a number of flavours which will help define the finished whisky. And finally, oxidation will take place as the cask ‘breathes’ and allows moisture to exit the cask, and oxygen to enter it.

Transferring the maturing whisky in to a cask that has contained something else, will add a new dimension to the whisky, and introduce a range of new flavours.

“There are three critical elements to cask finishes,” says master distiller and whisky expert David Robertson. “They can create or add new aromas/flavours; they can help elevate or amplify or mask aromas/flavours;

they can shift the visual appeal of the liquid - colour/tone/hue; all with the ambition to make the resulting spirit more desirable, more interesting, more delicious....

“Plus they can add value by using casks from suppliers with additive perceived value fine wine chateau, sherry, rare and unusual liquids, etc.”

Doug McIvor, spirits manager at Berry Bros & Rudd, agrees.

“Cask finishes bring something fresh, with each expression for both seasoned whisky drinkers and newcomers to experience, and it gives alternative nuance to the mainstay malts from the distilleries.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder really.

Good sherry is safe. Wine finishes can be erratic. Certain rum finishes can work very well as long as the rum element does not overpower.”

Kirstie McCallum is head of whisky creation at Glen Moray, a distillery which is coming in to its own with a special series of excellent cask finished whiskies.

“Cask finishes bring an added layer of complexity, either through complementing or contrasting with the flavours of the whisky itself,” she says. “For example the silky sweet character of a Pedro Ximenez sherry (PX) finished whisky or the flavour of pears balanced with the flavours of the whisky. They also increase the variety for the consumer bringing different expressions and different flavours to their favourite dram.

“I love whisky and port, the subtle spice, toffee, and pear notes. We’re very lucky at Glen Moray that we have Porto Cruz as part of the group which gives us access to some phenomenal port casks. Another favourite for me is the more traditional PX finish, I love the silky sweetness and mouth coating texture the PX cask gives the whisky.”

The issue of pink whisky dates back to a time when at least some distillers were more than a little cack-handed when it came to marrying port or red wine casks with maturing whisky spirit. Under Scotch Whisky Association rules, whisky must be made with just grain, yeast and water. Using an oak cask which previously contained bourbon or sherry is key to the production of Scotch whisky, but you can’t add anything else to the spirit. But how much of what’s left in a sherry or bourbon cask when malt spirit is added is a grey area. And pink whisky would seem to cross an undefined line.

Dr Rachel Barrie, master blender for BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh whiskies says it shouldn’t happen now.

“I can’t speak for anyone else, but it will never happen under my watch (and nose),” she says. “In my mind, finishing is a form of ‘fine-tuning’, enriching, perfecting and finessing. Every step of the journey is about quality - top quality spirit character filled into quality oak, matured then transferred into bespoke, quality finishing casks, then left for as long as it takes to enrich and mature.

It’s like creating the finest multi-layered cuisine, where flavours first collide, then combine and intertwine until a multi-layered, fully integrated taste is achieved. It takes time, patience, experimentation, and lots of sampling for the pinnacle to be achieved.”

The SWA represents a whisky fortress, and its rules rightly protect the integrity of Scotch whisky. But in an era of innovation and experimentation, it hasn’t been against relaxing the rules if it deems it necessary.

It has recently allowed the use of casks containing a number of alcoholic beverages to be used in whisky production. Kirstie McCallum speaks highly of a Glen Moray finished in cider barrels. Dr Rachel Barrie welcomes the changes.

“Having been involved in this consultation, I would definitely say they are about right,” she says.

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“FINISHING IS A FORM OF ‘FINE-TUNING’, ENRICHING, PERFECTING AND FINESSING...

IT’S LIKE CREATING THE FINEST MULTI-LAYERED CUISINE”

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FEATURE

“Actually, in my view, the rules have not been changed, but rather more clearly defined, with ‘quality guardrails’ firmly in place to ensure the industry maintains the high standards for which it is renowned. Let’s not forget, Scotch whisky consumers have exceedingly good taste, favouring whiskies that are rich, complex, mature and integrated.

As long as Scotch whisky master blenders continue to be guardians of quality, with continued investment in the highest quality oak casks, the reputation of Scotch whisky will continue to grow all around the world.”

David Robertson agrees.

“Ultimately the consumer will decide what is good/attractive or bad and vote with their wallets,” he says.

“I think wood, toasting and roasting plus previous contents has still a long, long way to go. The wine industry is way ahead of us in understanding what are the critical control points in delivering oak casks that can shape shift the soul of a drinks product.”

Doug McIvor picks up on the point about further experimentation.

“We have released some great and funky ex Caroni rum finishes,” he says. “Anything that Bill Lumsden or Jim McEwan have had a hand in always interests me. I’m pretty open to experiments but the last thing I would want to do is ruin a potentially good whisky in its own right by throwing it to the lions.

The rules governing cask finishes in Scotland don’t apply elsewhere. Although the Cotswolds Distillery in England doesn’t use cask finishes for any of its whisky, it’s not adverse to using casks which have been used for the production of a wide range of other drinks products. Distillery owner Daniel Szor is open to all sorts of experimentation.

“We love full-term ageing - putting the new-make straight into various sherry, wine, port, madeira, rum, calvados, vermouth, etc casks to see how it evolves as it matures.

As I answer this I’m sipping on our newest

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“THE SCOTCH INDUSTRY NEEDS TO KEEP PACE WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD...

IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE ANOTHER CATEGORY THAT ALLOWED FOR MORE EXPERIMENTATION”

release, our Hearts & Crafts series Sauternes cask bottling, which is fully-matured for four years in French oak seasoned with Sauternes wine. It’s our first release in European oak, and I’m in love with the slightly bitter tannic note which gives way to an explosion of delicate peach and mango flavours. Very moreish, this one…

“We’ve come out with a pink one ourselves, recently – our full-term aged port cask Festival release (a two-cask vatting bottled for our 2019 summer festival) and it was rather lovely, I think! The story behind this one was that when the portseasoned casks arrived they contained rather a lot of ‘transfer port’ to keep them moist during the journey to us. I didn’t know what to do with it so I called Jim Swan and asked his opinion. He said ‘if you were in Scotland, then under SWA rules you’d have to dump it, but you’re in England – so I’d keep it in the cask if I were you!’

“Perhaps he didn’t realise just how much port there was – which is why this release was a pink-hued raisin-bomb! But given the quality of the spirit, the wood, and the full-term ageing, the result was rather wonderful.”

And Szor would be happy to see more experimentation.

“I’m glad we can bloody well do what we want in this area,” he says. “Why hold back on experimentation? We’re very happy, even with our modest production, to be able to put away small parcels of funky things such as Pineau de Charentes, Tokaji, Calvados (we had to drive our truck to Normandy to pick them up), Vermouth, etc. One thing I’d like to do, but haven’t had the time to look into enough, is to source some alt woods such as chestnut, cherry and acacia. One of these days...”

Given what is happening in France, Australia and America, where rules would seem to be there to be broken , it seems inevitable that we’ll be seeing some exciting experimentation in the field of cask finishing.

Doug McIvor seems a way forward.

“The Scotch industry needs to keep pace with the rest of the world,” he says. “I have often thought that it would be good to have another category that allowed for more experimentation and maturation practices without threatening the protected status of the existing product.”

Pink, then. But not necessarily called whisky.

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IRISH WHISKEY Ireland has reclaimed its position as one of the world’s best whisky producers. And there’s more to come. Dominic Roskrow reports on how the country’s leading producer has responded to the new world

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To say that the world of whisky has changed a bit in the last two decades is like saying the corona virus caused something of a disruption in 2020.

The world of whisky has been turned completely on its head. In just 20 years it has changed beyond all recognition, and things will never be quite the same again. When we welcomed in the new millennium Scotland had more than 100 distilleries, and the rest of the world, including America, could boast perhaps 30 of any note.

Today Australia alone has that sort of number, America’s micro distillers run in to hundreds, and Sweden, France, England and the Alpine region all have thriving and sizeable whisky industries.

And then there is Ireland. One of the oldest, if not the oldest, whisky making nation on the planet, it had been reduced to a skeleton by the end of the 20th century. Some 40 years before the few remaining producers – Jameson, Midleton, Paddys, Powers and Bushmills -had sought strength in numbers and banded together. They defined Irish whiskey as not Scotch – a triple distilled peat free, blended whiskey, bottled at 40% ABV. When businessman John Teeling launched Cooley and offered a range of diverse whiskey styles, Irish Distillers as it was now known, tried to shut him down.

Fast forward 20 years and Ireland is a world whiskey force once more, and there is plenty more to come. All sorts of innovative and exciting whiskeys are in the pipeline, and the

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country’s whiskey community is vibrant and animated.

It has not been all plain sailing. The Irish Whiskey Association, set up to protect the Irish whiskey category, has been criticised for being dominated by Irish Distillers, and for being unduly restrictive in the way it defines Irish whiskey.

And yet Irish Distillers, owned by drinks giant Pernod Ricard, is still the dominant force in the country. With Jameson a leading world brand, that’s not surprising perhaps. But there is more to it than that. Irish Distillers has successfully reaffirmed its position as the main exponent of Irish whiskey due to a two pronged approach: firstly, it adopted a ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, befriend ‘em’ approach, and secondly it set about ‘owning’ Ireland’s most important whisky style –pot still whiskey.

The first part was achieved by dangling carrots in front of the new distillers. Irish Distillers has gone from strength to strength in recent years and has had to expand its operation as a result. When it built new stills a few years back

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it surprised the whisky world by unveiling a new training centre and made it available to budding distillers, ensuring that they produce quality whiskey and maintained the country’s world reputation. And it offered the new boys a whiskey buddy, an Irish Distillers employee available to offer advice and help as needed.

The masterstroke, though, was to invest time and effort in its pot still whiskey portfolio. Pot still whiskey is Ireland’s unique whiskey selling point. It is made using a mashbill of malted barley and another un-malted grain.

The definition isn’t without controversy. For years writers have got away with defining it as a mix of malt and un-malted barley, and although the Irish Whiskey Association allows some leeway for other grains, the definition has been heavily criticised.

Experts such as Finn O’Connor historian and author of Irish whiskey book A Glass Apart, and Peter Mulryan, a former whiskey writer and now owner of the Blackwater Distillery in County Waterford, argue that the IWA definition is too close to the recipes used by Irish Distillers, and

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FEATURE

that it ignores a slew of historical recipes using other grains and in far greater proportions.

But Irish Distillers’ record for quality whisky releases is all but faultless. A few years back it committed to new pot still whiskeys every year for 10 years, and it has delivered, with a number of releases under its Redbreast, Midleton and colour spot releases labels.

The most recent release is Blue Spot, a whiskey aged in Madeira casks for at least seven years and bottled at cask strength. It joins Red Spot, Green Spot, and Yellow Spot, and reunites the whole family of spotted whiskeys for the first time in more than half a century. The name refers to the colour daubed on each cask to show how long it was to be matured for.

And the company isn’t done yet, as the company’s business acceleration director Simon Fay explains.

“We have several new releases planned across our portfolio this year, the details of which we look forward to unveiling in due course,” he says. “While we cannot reveal too much at the moment, we are particularly looking forward to sharing our Midleton Very Rare 2021 Vintage Release with whiskey drinkers across the globe.

“In a break from tradition, and in response to consumer demand for the annual vintage to be made available earlier in the year in question, newly appointed master distiller Kevin O’Gorman will reveal the 2021 expression earlier. Kevin will become only the third master distiller to influence one of the world’s most sought-after whiskey collections and the 2021 marks the beginning of a new chapter in the world of Irish whiskey.”

As we have noted elsewhere in the magazine 2021 doesn’t come without its challenges for the Irish whiskey sector. The virus didn’t retire on New Year’s Eve, and will continue to have a major influence on all of us for some time

yet. No-one knows what the fall out for the hospitality industry will be, but few if any are predicting that life will return to the way it was pre virus.

“Beyond product innovation, Covid-19 has fundamentally changed how we think, behave and consume, which in turn has changed how we engage with our whiskey drinkers,” says Simon Fay. ‘E-commerce has unsurprisingly accelerated since the pandemic and we have seen impressive numbers joining our online members’ clubs such as Redbreast’s The Birdhouse and Midleton Very Rare’s 1825 Room, giving us a unique opportunity to connect directly with whiskey drinkers, offering them exclusive content, launches and experiences.

“We are extremely optimistic about the future of the whisk(e)y category. In May, the IWSR noted that global Irish whiskey sales for the 12 months of 2019 fell just short of 12 million cases, a target set by the Irish Whiskey Association on its establishment in 2014. This completed an extraordinary decade of export led growth which made us the fastest growing international spirit category worldwide.

“Looking ahead to 2021, we’re finding that the pandemic has accelerated the trend of premiumisation. Heightened by the closure of the on-trade, consumers are drinking less, but better-quality products, seeking to recreate a premium drinking experience at home.”

The other event casting a long shadow in the months ahead is Brexit. Ireland is uniquely affected by the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Ireland remains part of the Union but Bushmills, no longer owned by Irish Distillers having been sold first to Diageo and then to Casa Cuervo, is in Northern Ireland, which is leaving with Great Britain.

Like the rest of Northern Ireland, the distillery is stuck between a rock and a hard place. There is an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, a key component of the Good Friday Agreement which brought peace to the island.

A border in the Irish sea between Northern Ireland and the British mainland would keep the harmonious relationship between North and South intact, but this would mean a special status for Northern Ireland, and that is anathema to Ulster Unionists.

Simon Fay recognises that Brexit will bring challenges, but says Irish whiskey producers are geared up to raise to them.

“Brexit is certainly a significant event in that it will change the way business is done with the UK for all its trading partners, not least other European countries,” he says. While the ‘transition period’ came an end on December 31t, but both the Pernod Ricard Group and Irish Distillers have been working hard over the past few years to make sure we are well prepared as a business for all eventualities.”

Challenging times, then, but Ireland remains confident that it will continue to make strides in the months and years ahead.

“As with most spirits categories, Irish whiskey sales have been impacted by the challenges of 2020, but thankfully our year end results to June 2020 show that our whiskeys have demonstrated great resilience,” says Fay. “We know from history that the Irish whiskey industry has proven itself to be both strong and dynamic. Of course, the future remains unclear, but we are confident we will bounce back to continue our growth trajectory.”

With so many distilleries in Ireland – both North and South – still yet to bottle their first whiskeys, it seems that the Irish whiskey category is set for more acrobatics in the future. We live in unpredictable but potentially exciting times.

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EMERGING WHISKIES

There was a time when whisky/whiskey came from Scotland/ Ireland or North America. Anything else was nothing but a shallow pretender. How things have changed. So many nations around the globe now have a whisky industry, some truly thrilling. I’m not talking about that bottle of Syrian whisky, as clear as gin and sitting next to an equally clear bottle of Syrian gin on the shelf, which I picked up for a few bucks while backpacking, down a back alley in Damascus. I’m talking about the real thing.

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Japan was one of the earliest new nations, a curiosity for many years but now acknowledged as making some of the great examples of this spirit found anywhere.

Of course, we all know that there are some crackers being made here in Australia but for most of the world, we are merely aspiring to be a curiosity. It will take time, and a sufficient volume, but we will get there.

WHERE ELSE? We have touched on India already, a huge name in whisky and certain to be one of the most important over the coming decades. Also in Asia, Taiwan, notably Kavalan, has developed a cult following.

Head south from Scotland and we have the Cotswolds as a locale with an emerging whisky production. Wales and even the Isle of Man have seen a number of whisky distilleries open in recent years. A touch east and France is getting in on the fun. Belgium and Switzerland have quality whisky emerging from operations there. Go north and Scandinavia, which does have a long history of quality distilling, is focusing on whiskies. Cross the pond and there is a long history of whiskey, but even it is spreading. Whiskey from Utah, anyone? Go south again and Mexico? Sierra Norte and Abasolo are both putting Mexican whisky on the map. Of course, like many of these, your chances of finding them at your local bottleshop in Australia are slim.

Israel is hardly the first name one thinks of for whisky, but the M&H distillery (Milk & Honey), which might be niche, is making waves, especially impressive as it is an urban distillery in Tell Aviv.

Who knows, maybe in time, the Syrians will also make something one can actually enjoy.

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ZOOMING IN: WHISKY BUSINESS What has the age of COVID meant for the whisky industry, and has it changed the world of whisky forever?

DOMINIC ROSKROW REPORTS

If they ever make a film about the world in 2020.

REM’s It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) will demand to be on the soundtrack.

They won’t though. After all, who wants to sit through a stultifying, boring, and endlessly repetitive series of lock downs, chronic illness, death, and social distancing? And you can’t even see the enemy. What sort of spectacle would that be?

Whatever else happens, though, our world has been well and truly rocked. And as some of us emerge on the other side, and others get dragged back in to the morass, the world will probably be very different. Almost overnight our world was turned upside down.

Dave Worthington, brand ambassador for That Boutique-y Whisky Company, recalls vividly how events unfurled rapidly.

“At (parent company) ATOM Brands the message came through to avoid any nonessential travel more or less as I landed in Edinburgh for a short trade visit in early March,” he says.

“I decided to continue with plans, seeing as I’d already landed in Edinburgh, and I followed guidelines of washing hands and using hand sanitisers and minimising physical contact with people. I got home late afternoon on Friday 13th March and have remained here since, venturing out only for food supplies and exercise.

“I’m fairly active on social media anyway (well Twitter certainly) so nothing really changed on that front. Initially I spent my time looking at what we had for our sales team, and what we needed, and started to create documentation I thought necessary for our team.

“Being a ‘remote worker’ I was already familiar with online meetings, it’s a regular occurrence anyway, we just have to do all meetings that way for the time being.

“I was asked to go live on Twitter/Instagram, something I wasn’t particularly keen to do at first. It’s an odd experience, talking to a camera and not knowing if anyone is even watching. However, it’s gone much better than I anticipated. I’ve been hosting online tastings with our partners around the world, as well as whisky clubs, via the Zoom meetings.”

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For companies such as The Whisky Lounge, which stages live events around the whole of the United Kingdom, the effect of the virus was severe. The United Kingdom has had among the worst experiences of the virus, and weeks of lock down quickly turned in to months .

“It has been difficult,” says Whisky Lounge founder Eddie Ludlow. “We cannot do festivals at the moment so finding ways to get larger numbers together online seems challenging.

However, we are trying.

“It has forced us to completely change the way our business works. - from being a business in the business of ‘physical’ events and promoting the ideal of getting together over a few drams, to being one that is completely online. Instead

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of festivals and tastings at venues, we are now running virtual tastings with special guests and supported by tasting packs we are putting together and sending out.”

On the face of it, the words ‘virtual tastings’ would seem to be a contradiction in terms.

They have, however, been one of the surprise success stories during the pandemic.

Billy Abbott an ambassador, writer and educator of leading on line operator The Whisky Exchange.

“We’ve been running a programme of virtual tastings since April 2020, with a new one taking place every Thursday evening,” he says. “We started with rum – we were already celebrating

it as rum month – and then moved on to world whisky in May, before a more eclectic lineup leading up to Father’s Day in June. With announcement of the next month’s tastings happening towards the end of the previous.

“Outside of our own tastings, I’ve been involved in a number with brands, whisky clubs, and charities – the genie is very much out of the bottle.

“In the main, they’ve been very good. There are lots of different ways of running them, from the pure presentation to the interactive free-for-all, and, as someone who’s hosted a few, it can be a bit of work to keep them on track and fun.

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“However, people have definitely risen to the challenge, both as presenters and participants. There are tales of Zoom hijacking and other problems, but they are rare and with a small amount of care those issues are avoidable and solvable.

“I’ve really enjoyed on-line tastings, and I suspect I will continue doing them in some form even beyond the end of the current situation.”

Dave Worthington’s experience of on-line tastings is just as positive.

“I’ve hosted a number of on-line whisky tastings with our partners around the world, including three very successful tastings in Sydney, Australia,” he says. “While sceptical

at first, I must admit I’ve really enjoyed the tastings that we’ve done. The feedback has been superb, and for many the option of attending a tasting on-line has been a welcome addition to their calendar.

As a member of The Three Drinkers, who present television shows from different locations, Colin Hampden-White has had to deal with more change than most. But, he says, there is an upside.

“It’s brought a new audience to the industry; people who ordinarily can’t make it to a store tasting for various reasons, can now join in from their own homes. I’ve also hosted tastings for local whisky clubs who have bought a lineup of Boutique-y Whiskies and then messaged me on social media, asking if I could introduce them.

It’s been great meeting new people this way.”

“I have taken part in a bunch of virtual tastings, seminars and chats,” he says. “The two best have been the Summerton Whisky festival where I chatted with two brands and another presenter to a crowd which was more than double what it would normally be at the physical festival.

Tastings are one thing, but the big whisky festivals and shows across the road are the industry’s lifeline. Has it been possible to recreate them?

“The virtual festival was able to attract higher profile presenters. I was presenting with Matthew Wright from television’s The Wright Stuff, and Joe Wadsack, from BBC’s Food and Drink

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programme. Festivals can’t afford such presenters in normal circumstances, but with a virtual festival, there’s less input of travel time etc. so everyone was happy to take part.

“Effectively the consumer is able to take part in many masterclass sessions in one day rather than just one or two, depending on one’s budget. People can much more easily ask questions and get to know brands in depth.

In a normal festival one has to queue at a table for five or ten minutes to get a brand representative’s time. One’s own home is definitely more comfortable than a humid town hall or event space!

“The obvious downside is the social interaction one gets at a physical show with your friends, and the ability to try many more whiskies. I do believe both have their merits.”

“I think International travel could have restrictions in place for some time, and my guess is the days of relatively cheap international flights may certainly be numbered,” he says.

“The whisky community has been a global family for a long time, and just like our family gatherings have moved to online calls, so has the whisky industry with online collaborations for events and discussions. The way the industry quickly focussed attention to making hand sanitiser for the front line workers at the beginning of the pandemic was a remarkable success. The industry has also come together to support other key charities such as the Drinks Trust here in the United Kingdom and The Bartenders Guild Foundation in the United States.”

Colin Hampden-White agrees.

With distillers and whisky producers finding new ways of reaching their consumers, it may well be that the role of the global brand ambassador might never be quite the same again. Dave Worthington thinks so - but he says that it was a trend that was already developing before the pandemic. It’s just happened more quickly.

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“From a personal point of view, with the number of tastings we were having to attend at certain times of year, the Zoom tasting has been a blessing,” he says. “They save me hours of traveling around the country! However, much of what we learn about new products and what

people think about them is discussed, and questions asked, during the informal part of press tastings. And I am sure it is the same for consumer events. There are pros and cons for both. I can see a world where both are used in the future.

“Zoom does have the advantage of bringing people together who would normally not get the chance to talk much. I’ve been to wine events with people joining from all over the world.

“This is one of the pros of Zoom, however I think it needs to be mixed, when we can mix, with live events. Whisky is a social hobby and social interaction with consumers and press alike will still be needed. Dram drinkers have an emotional attachment to whisky, and that is difficult to fulfil through a screen.”

So do we simply write off 2020 as an anomaly, or is there a happy ending?

The Whisky Lounge’s Eddie Ludlow isn’t sure.

“I would like to say there will be, and maybe there will be in years to come, but I truly believe this is going to leave a deep scar,” he says.

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“THE PHRASE ‘THE NEW NORMAL’ ... IT’S A TAUTOLOGY - THE NORMAL IS ALWAYS NEW, AND IS ALWAYS CHANGING”

“People will have trepidation about getting together in large numbers for some time to come, understandably. Our business will have to continue to evolve to survive.

“I honestly don’t know what it is all going to look like in the next few months, never mind years. Scary times but we all just have to stay strong and roll with the punches.”

Billy Abbott argues that the pandemic has merely sped up existing trends.

“I see mostly exaggerations of the good and bad things of our normal lives,” he says. “People who didn’t get out much are increasingly isolated; people who embrace technology are often doing better than those who don’t; people who want to get involved with whisky things have more opportunity with a lower barrier to entry. Lockdown has turned everything up to 11, with the good and bad things that come from that.

“The future is just getting here faster than it was before. The pandemic has accelerated the use of tools, processes and ideas that were already growing, and there’s no turning back the clock. Life never goes back to how things

were: there are always learnings and advances, and good and bad things fall by the wayside.

The phrase ‘the new normal’ shouldn’t only be banned for its clichéd nature, but because it’s a tautology – the normal is always new, and is always changing. We’ve just had a push towards the future in some places that we didn’t necessarily expect.”

Which just leaves Colin Hampden-White, a renowned bon viveur, to make the case that as long as there’s whisky, we’ll be right.

“I don’t think life will ever be the same,” he says. “Humans are ingenious and we will find ways to make the best of what is available. I hope when the film production world starts up again that we will be able to make the same great programmes and I can see this being backed up by even more digital content and engagement with consumers.

“A world with more direct engagement can’t be a bad thing. Whether glasses are clinked for real or in a virtual world, as long as we communicate in any form with a dram in hand, we’ll be okay.”

Let’s drink to that. See you on the other side.

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BRING IT ON! The world of whisky isn’t just optimistic. It’s positively bullish.

Dominic Roskrow reports It is a vast understatement to say that rarely has a New Year been more welcome than that of 2021.

The second decade of the millennium began with a nine month long tsunami, as corona virus wreaked havoc across the world, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives, destroying entire industries, causing mass unemployment, and changing the way we live our lives forever.

The hospitality industry had a particularly hard time during 2020, with pubs, bars and restaurants across the world forced to close their doors for long periods. Many will never reopen. International travel all but ground to halt and passenger numbers went in to freefall. That in turn ripped the floor out of the travel retail market.

For smaller distilleries relying on tourists to provide cash while they waited for their spirits to mature, the year was particularly difficult. But no area was left unscathed, as producers struggled to get their casks out of their distilleries, and bottling plants were closed.

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“It only takes one bottling hall worker to test positive for the virus and all the other 30 or so employees working there have to self isolate for two weeks,” one distillery manager observed.

As a result there has been a backlog of companies wanting their whisky bottled, with the larger companies ensuring that they are first in line.

We’re not out of the woods yet. The virus hasn’t gone away and the fallout from it will influence events for months or even years to come. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. In mid December the United Kingdom became the first country to authorise a vaccine and began inoculating its health service employees and care workers.

It’ll take time before the virus is properly tamed.

And yet overall the whisky industry is highly optimistic – bullish even – that 2021 will be a succesful year, if the first 5 months are anything to go off of.

INSIGHT

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We took an industry snapshot in December. And this is what we were told: IAIN STIRLING ARDBIKIE DISTILLERY, ARBROATH, SCOTLAND: “We are very optimistic about 2021 as the world hospitality industry starts to recover from the pandemic and with global consumers more likely to buy sustainable and premium spirits. We are introducing our rye whisky to new markets ongoing and with a number of other major distilleries due to launch their own rye whiskies soon, a new rye whisky category will be created and create an exciting event for the global whisky industry..”

MATT MCKAY, BIMBER DISTILLERY, LONDON “Despite the testing circumstances of 2020, Bimber has had a remarkably successful first year for bottling and distributing its London single malt. The company has seen all of its releases sell out rapidly, has expanded into a variety of new overseas markets and has launched a new membership option (Bimber Klub) which has resulted in over 1,400 members in under six months. 2021 will see Bimber consolidate and build on this strong performance. New expressions will be added to the distillery’s evolving range, whilst we continue to explore the versatility of our spirit in a broader variety of wood types.

“We hope to be able to once again welcome visitors to the distillery in 2021 and are already planning a selection of outstanding experiential events for when it is safe for us to open our doors once more.

“We are very optimistic about the outlook for next year. Whilst 2020 has disrupted the competitive landscape and market dynamics of world whisky, the traits which underpin the industry remain robust and demand – particularly for high-quality, craft products – is still extremely buoyant.

“Over the last five years, English whisky has undergone a renaissance moving from niche product to mainstream attention. This revival has only just begun and 2021 will see several new English distilleries releasing their first ‘of-age’ products. All these things provide great reasons to be positive about the future fettle of the whisky industry.

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Iain Stirling

Matt McKay

INSIGHT

DANIEL SZOR, OWNER, COTSWOLDS DISTILLERY, ENGLAND “We’re looking forward to another very busy year in 2021 on the whisky front, following a surprisingly strong 2020 despite all of the wellknown hindrances. As was the case in 2020 the focus will be on UK off-trade and grocery, online sales (our own and others) and export. We have a number of new releases planned including the second in our annual Hearts & Crafts series and our much-awaited Bourbon Cask – 100 per cent first fill bourbon, five years old. We also expect to see a number of single cask releases, both in our own retail channel and also for a number of our overseas distributors.

Daniel Szor “We feel there is good reason to be optimistic about 2021. At the end of a year like 2020 you can’t help but feel that short of an asteroid hit or a world war there’s little that can be thrown at us that we haven’t seen in 2020. Seriously though, we believe people will continue to work from, and enjoy their premium spirits moments at home for much of the year in a way that will benefit whisky in general, and in particular those brands which reward ‘flavour explorers’ with creativity and authenticity.

“As far as our company is concerned, we’ve managed to keep production – both distilling and bottling – going through the worst of the year so far, and our management team is working more effectively together than ever in the past. Our brand continues to grow, and as the first English whisky to grace the shelves of both Waitrose and Sainsburys we are proud to be at the forefront of what is a truly exciting new category (we can call it that, with nearly 25 distilleries in or near production) – English Whisky.

ASHOK CHOKALINGAM, AMRUT, INDIA: “Our plans for 2021 are to get back to where we were in 2019 On a scale of one to 10 and one being very optimistic, I will rate it as five at the moment. A lot depends on how different countries are planning on vaccination programmes and travel restrictions.

This will have a profound effect on our business”

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INSIGHT Patrick Zuidam

ROBERT RANSOM, LANGATUN, SWITZERLAND: “We have basically lost a quarter this year, so expect sales to be 25 per cent down. Compared to others, particularly our friends on the front line of hospitality, we have fared better. The small size of the business, with no employees nor office or retail rent bills to pay, has been a blessing in disguise. Similarly with next to no travel nor events to participate in our overheads are down.

As for 2021 we have plans for new releases of Angels’ Nectar. Asia is having more success at controlling Covid-19, so I expect to see Asian markets bounce back first. Elsewhere we will get better with living with the virus, so economically things will slowly improve. Whisky Festivals though, will be one of the last things to return, whilst at the same time I suspect consumer’s interest in on-line festivals will dwindle. Why do an on-line tasting, if your local pub has re-opened? I envisage a new whisky festival format which is 100 per cent master class with the consumer staying seated (socially distanced), whilst a series of distillers present their drams to the audience in turn.”

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PATRICK ZUIDAM, ZUIDAM, THE NETHERLANDS: “The whisky industry will remain strong and hopefully the lockdowns of 2020 will be behind us.

That will hopefully give our friends in the on-trade around the world some chances of recovery as they have had the worst burden to bear in 2020. We had a pretty decent 2020 given the circumstances but expect a stronger growth in 2021 as we finally have more stock of Malt and Rye Whisky that we can sell. Rye whisky is doing great and seems to finally get some traction in the rest of the world as opposed to only in the United States.”|.

PAUL DEMPSEY, SPEY , SPEYSIDE, SCOTLAND: “I’m optimistic for the industry and ourselves next year. Independent specialist retailers in many countries (where most of our whisky is sold) have

mostly managed to stay operational through Covid, and have adapted their businesses to embrace virtual tastings etc. Hopefully as physical events start to return, these can be combined with the virtual events to reach an even wider audience.”

These industry experts from around the world all seemed optimistic in December, but have their predictions come true? Sources point to yes: with the lifting of lockdown restrictions in many countries, and the distribution of millions of vaccines in the UK, Europe, and America, travel and tourism - is on the rise. Globally, people are scratching the itch to be active again, and what’s better then a distillery tour in doing so? While this story will continue to develop throughout the rest of 2021, we at Explore Drinks echo this message of optimism.

MEET

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THE WORLD’S

Most Beautiful

DISTILLERIES Around the world in 16 pages, here is our list of the most unique and beautiful distilleries from across Scotland, Ireland, Japan, Canada, the USA, and right here at home in Australia.

Do you agree? Nominate your favourites for the next edition and show some love to your favourite whisky distiller.

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MEET

SPEYSIDE – SCOTLAND THE BALVENIE

A Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery founded in 1892 Dufftown, Scotland United Kingdom.

THE NAME BALVENIE MEANS ‘VILLAGE OF LUCK’. THE DISTILLERY IS BOASTS IT’S OWN MALTING FLOOR, NINE STILLS, WAREHOUSE, COPPER SMITH AND COOPERAGE ON SITE….

AND, MAKES ITS OWN LUCK.

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MEET

SPEYSIDE & HIGHLANDS – SCOTLAND MACALLAN Easter Elchies Craigellachie, Moray United Kingdom

A STUNNING EXAMPLE OF ARCHITECTURE, MACALLAN BLENDS INTO THE LANDSCAPE PERCHED ABOVE THE RIVER SPEY. THE ESTATE IS THE HOME OF THE ORIGINAL DISTILLERY, EASTER ELCHIES HOUSE, AND SCOTLAND’S GRANDEST AND MOST MODERN DISTILLERY. A MUST VISIT.

STRATHISLA Keith, Moray United Kingdom

OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING DISTILLERY IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS.

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ISLAY – SCOTLAND ARDBEG

South coast of the isle of Islay Port Ellen, Islay United Kingdom A BENCHMARK FOR PEATED WHISKIES.

LAGAVULIN

Just around the corner from Ardbeg.

Lagavulin, Islay United Kingdom PERHAPS ONE OF SCOTLAND’S MOST FAMOUS, AND CERTAINLY STRIKING, DISTILLERIES.

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IRELAND BUSHMILLS

2 Distillery Road, Bushmills Ulster AN IRISH ICON SINCE 1784; SET IN ULSTER AND OWNED BY THE CUERVO FAMILY OF MEXICO.

SLANE IRISH WHISKEY Slane Castle, Demesne Co. Meath, Ireland

SLANE CASTLE, HOST OF MANY OF THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS ROCK BANDS, HAS CONVERTED ITS STABLES INTO A BOUTIQUE DISTILLERY. 2019 SAW METTALLICA PLAY AT THE CASTLE, PERHAPS GETTING INSPIRATION FOR THEIR OWN WHISKEY: BLACKENED.

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JAPAN HAKUSHU

2913-1 Hakuschucho Torihara Hokuto, Yamanashi Japan LESS THAN 40 YEARS OLD, HAKUSHU DISTILLERY IS NESTLED AMONGST THE FORESTED SLOPES OF MOUNT KAITOMA.

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CANADA GLENORA INN & DISTILLERY 13727 Highway 19, Mabou Nova Scotia, Canada

SURROUNDED BY HILLS, THIS OLD-WORLD INN DOUBLES AS A MALT WHISKY DISTILLERY.

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USA HIGH WEST

27649 Old Lincoln Hwy. Wanship, Utah, USA HIGH WEST DISTILLERY IS A MANUFACTURER OF DISTILLED SPIRITS LOCATED IN PARK CITY, UTAH, UNITED STATES. IT IS THE FIRST LEGALLY LICENSED DISTILLERY IN UTAH SINCE THE END OF THE AMERICAN PROHIBITION.

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AUSTRALIA MCHENRY 229 Radnor Rd, Port Arthur Tasmania

RESTING ON THE SIDE OF MOUNT ARTHUR AND LOCATED ON THE TASMAN PENINSULA.

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AUSTRALIA LAWRENNY ESTATE 6485 Lyell Hwy, Ouse Tasmania

LAWRENNY ESTATE DISTILLERY HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AS A ‘PADDOCK TO BOTTLE’ ESTATE FOR SINGLE MALT WHISKY.

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exploredrinks

The World's Most Popular Cocktails

Whisk(e)y and cocktails have long been bedfellows, especially so of the American styles. This year, a whiskey cocktail has topped the list once more, with Drinks international magazine announcing the Old Fashioned as the world’s most popular (best-selling) cocktail in 2020, albeit with a lower percentage than the previous year.

It’s important to note that the list is compiled using a survey of bars and doesn’t relate to how much that bar sells in volume. We suspect the Daiquiri, Margarita and Aperol Spritz may be ordered in high quantities, and surprised the Cosmopolitan doesn’t feature at all, but hey, a list that includes three whisky cocktails in the top ten deserves a mention. Here they are.

OLD FASHIONED The Old Fashioned has topped the biggest selling list for the past seven years. However, Drinks International said “for the first time, succession looks plausible”. This year only 23% of bars said the sweetened American whiskey drink was their top seller, down from 35% last year.

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NEGRONI The Negroni has been runner up on the biggest selling list for the past seven years, but it’s gaining ground – 22% of respondents made it their most likely serve (up from 13% last year).

DAIQUIRI The rum one said

Daiquiri is the world’s top tipple. Rarely the number cocktail in a bar (only 3% it was the top seller) this Cuban white rum and lime classic was among the two most likely served in almost of a third of venues polled.

DRY MARTINI The purist’s gin cocktail, the Dry Martini, completes a static top four this year.

This classic was among the top five in just under a quarter of our polled bars, while just under half said it figured in their top 10.

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MARGARITA Up two places on last year, the Margarita is the top tequila cocktail on the list. It’s among the top five drinks in 17% of bars and top 10 in 46% of cases. “If we hadn’t split out the votes for the Tommy’s Margarita, it’d be a place higher,” Drinks International said.

ESPRESSO MARTINI Now an established member of the top 10, the vodkacoffee cocktail retains sixth spot. It’s a top-10 serve in almost 40% of polled bars, and the number one classic in 5%.

WHISKEY SOUR Down a couple of places, this old timer comprising American whiskey and lemon was first published in Jerry Thomas’s book How to Mix Drinks or the Bon Vivant’s Companion in 1862.

This isn’t too many bars’ top serve but was a top-10 classic in 40% of bars polled.

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MANHATTAN It’s eighth again for the whiskey classic, the Manhattan, with 36% of polled bars making it among their top 10. This rye (and sometimes bourbon) and vermouth veteran mix may play second fiddle to the Old Fashioned in the whiskey cocktail stakes but it was still among the top-three classics in more than 10% of bars.

APEROL SPRITZ Up one is the Aperol Spritz. Just under 30% of bars named it in their top 10 – a “sign of the spritz-loving times we live in”.

MOJITO The white rum, lime and mint long drink is a top-10 classic in about a quarter of Drinks International’s sample of the world’s best bars.

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N E T P O T THE

st-selling list of the top ten be s on pi m ha C d an annual Br m ks Business issue, an on annual sales fro rin d D se d ba te g ec in sp nk re ra ly 20 The high ed their 20 e e globe, has releas t least the complet th no , nd es ou ris ar rp m su d fro an ds ts whisky bran usual suspec me famous names, so e er w e er th y bl 2019. Inevita tish influence. absence of any Scot please…

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CANADIAN CLUB

Part of the Beam-Suntory empire, it did not appear in this list last year, but sale s remained steady. 2 million cases.

RK MAKER’S MA Beam-

Another from the from No 10 Suntory stable. Up ed sales. ov pr im th last year wi 2.4 million cases.

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TORYS Despite shor tages of Japanese w hisky, this b rand improved b y more than 10%, moving up from 9th la st year.

2.6 million cases.

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Did someone KAKUBIN say shortag e of Japanese whisky? 4.6% growth saw this brand, which includes its Highball, m aintain 5th spot. 5.

2 million ca ses.

CROWN ROYAL

Another from Diageo, this Canadian whisky saw growth of 8.6%, ensuring it kept 4th place. 7.9 million cases.

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The Brow sales by increased have only ore than m as w that 1.1%, but first to hold on enough to s. se ca n io ill m place. 13.4

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MEET MILES MUNROE

HEAD DISTILLER

WESTWARD WHISKEY, THE HIGHEST RATED AMERICAN SINGLE MALT, IS A WHISKEY OF NORTHWEST PROVENANCE. THE PINNACLE OF AMERICAN WHISKEY, WESTWARD IS DISTINCT, RICH, BRAZEN, AND FULL OF FLAVOUR. IT’S BALANCED AND BOLD. We are a whiskey of the elements, born from the unique culture, climate, and abundant resources of the American Northwest.

Westward is matured to perfection in Oregon, where our hot dry summers and cool, wet winters are the ideal environment to raise a world class whiskey.

We begin by brewing an artisanal American pale ale from scratch, using locally malted barley, ale yeast, and a slow, low temperature fermentation. We distill twice in custom low-reflux pot stills that we designed to create a robust spirit, and transform our fresh, flavourful ale into whiskey. We mature to perfection in new, low char American oak barrels selected to accentuate the bold characteristics of our whiskey. We mingle our barrels in small batches to achieve Westward’s signature flavour profile – balanced and bold.

WESTWARD ORIGINAL 700ML Distinct, rich, brazen and full of flavour, balanced and bold, with just the right amount of spice and sweetness.

WESTWARD STOUT 700ML Rich and robust with notes of roasted grain, stone fruit, toasted pecan, milk chocolate and a bold, dry finish.

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