Browsing Yearly Archives for 2009

This just arrived from the ‘Couldn’t-Make-It-Up’ department.  I assumed it was a joke, but there is in fact a website as well, so if it is a joke it’s been pretty thoroughly done: “We would…

Day 10:  A Kick In The Ballochs… Bang on 7am and our alarm clock blasts into action, as welcoming a sound as a prize festival bottling smashing on a stone floor and the accompanying ‘yelp’…

The Malty-Millionaires…. Holiday: n: ‘A day free from work that one may spend at leisure, especially a day on which custom or the law dictates a halting of general business activity to commemorate or celebrate…

A bunch of prize tossers It was another early start on Friday as we had a lot of ground to cover.  First up was a 9.30am tasting at Islay’s newest distillery, Kilchoman, where we were…

Day Seven “Can I throw my apple-core in the sea?” Ahhh! A rare lie-in for the bloggers with just an 11am start to our day. Bliss! Today was another day of tastings and we were…

Jeepers, these tastings just keep getting earlier and earlier!  The alarm goes off at 7.30 and we’re blearily making tea and filling bowls of sugar puffs before leaving at 8.45 to our first tasting at…

I just got this message from my colleagues back at TWE Towers in Park Royal, asking me to announce the following on the blog: “It is with regret to inform our Swedish friends that shipping…

Day 5 –there’s no way a Chinchilla can play drums like that…. After shaking the bed out to check for any errant sand fleas that might have escaped the heel of a brogue the night before,…

Day Four –  Shame, Sunsets and Sandfleas Today was all about Caol Ila.  After watching Newcastle and ‘Boro crash out from the Premiership on Sunday night we were in high spirits on the way up…

The weather had improved incredibly after Saturday’s wash out, so onwards to the Bruichladdich open day. Speaking to Jim McEwan the night before, the last 8 years of festivals have remained sunny for the distillery’s…

The 6.30 wake up call resonated through our ears like plates being dropped in a restaurant; initial shock followed by reluctant applause.  But you get on with enjoying your lot and pay your bill at…

Islay Day One Day 1- Well, this is it. Over 6 months of planning and many excited emails, the 22nd of May has arrived – our first day on the trek towards Islay and 2009’s…

Right, time is cracking on on Friday afternoon, so I’ll make this brief.  After a splendid tasting by Suntory at TWE Vinopolis on Wednesday night I was rather disappointed that the 12 year-old Hibiki (which…

I received an email from Angus Winchester’s mailing list today that has revolutionised my future tasting notes for this blog in a small but brilliant way. For those of you who haven’t heard of him,…

This just into my inbox: “To celebrate this year’s Islay Festival of Malt & Music on 23-30 May, Diageo is once again making available two special Festival editions of its Islay Single Malt Scotch Whiskies….

You never know what you’re going to get with Port Ellen – it’s remarkable how many different styles of malt the distillery was capable of.  I’ve tried long-aged austere, lemony beauties; young bourbon casks with enough delicate complexity…

Very exciting developments here at TWE Towers, as our sister company Speciality Drinks Ltd has launched a new range of Single Islay Malts! Here’s the press release: “The single malts of Islay are arguably Scotland’s…