The Whisky Exchange BLOG

Time for some more tasting notes now, but first a quick check on the predictions…

Well, the Ardbeg debate has definitely kicked off on the forums, with the news that the official website have raised their price of Ardbeg 10yo to £36.99 and the other two major online whisky sites selling out (or at least declaring that they’re out of stock). That’s one tick for the predictions (although as I said at the time, it was a total gimme, so it doesn’t really count).

Next up, I’m delighted to report that my last prediction (TWE to continue being the Daddy) is also coming true already, with us being crowned as World Online Whisky Retailer of the Year at Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky awards for the second year running!!  This is particularly gracious of Whisky Magazine, who organise the awards, in the light of some harsh words from these quarters in the not-too-distant past.

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The truth, of course, is rather more mundane, and it’s a fact that working in the drinks industry is often a thankless slog with a routine procession of prosaic tasks and a mountain of irritating or idiotic emails to wade through, just like most other jobs. But it’s also a fact that the fringe benefits are, just occasionally, pretty amazing.  And today is one of those days, as I’ve been allowed, in the interests of your vicarious pleasure, to wade into the collection of legendary malts Sukhinder keeps in his office. 

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First things first.  Open a new window and listen to this while you’re reading the blog.  It’ll put you in a good mood, and this might be the last you see of me before Christmas, so I want you to be happy.

Anyway, what recession?!!  It’s been so mind-bendingly busy here at TWE Towers that I’ve not had a chance to do any blogging at all in the last month.  It’s got so crazy that I’ve had to go downstairs and get my hands dirty picking orders 12 hrs a day for the last week.  Quelle Horreur!! Even now, I may be dragged back to the coalface at any moment, so I’m going to make this pretty brief.

So, it’s that time of year again.  Octomore, Bruichladdich’s controversial uber-peated behemoth, is back - still as a 5 year-old – and this time, it’s coming with a twist: it’s been finished in wine casks.

 Well, let’s face it - it’s Bruichladdich we’re talking about here.  This was always going to happen.

But these are no mortal wine casks – the world’s peatiest whisky has been finished in casks formerly home to one of the world’s most expensive wines: Chateau Petrus. Does this qualify to be called gilding the lily?

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Okay, so last night I was lucky enough to attend the press tasting of this year’s special Release from Diageo, the details of all of which are in my last post.  It was a fairly merry affair, although I wasn’t socialising much – firstly because on paper we only had an hour and a half to sample nine cask-strength malts, and secondly because I’m pisspoor at networking – as a card-carrying whisky nerd I can be quite nervous around new folk and whisky ’slebs, and I’m also very poor at feigning interest if I get stuck with someone really boring, which I find particularly excruciating.  Not that I encountered any boring people at last night’s tasting, I hasten to add – on the contrary, everyone that I did speak to was great.

Now, I like to think of my readers as intelligent types, with a healthy mix of up-to-date bespectacled middle-aged intellectuals perusing their laptops from the comfort of a big leather armchair in their libraries, alongside the thrusting, iconoclastic young whisky troubadours taking everything as it comes and making up their own minds on lots of important stuff. 

How I like to think of you all, reading Kerouac with a cup of java

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Just received the following stuff on the Diageo Special Releases for this year, so thought I’d better share.  I’m going to a tasting of these tomorrow night, so will post my own impressions later in the week.

The full line-up has already been revealed on various sites, so I won’t publish much of the bumf -  just the official tasting notes and photos for starters. 

Benrinnes

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I’m delighted to have a preview bottle of the general release of Ardbeg Corryvreckan sitting on my desk, so I thought I’d dip in and share my thoughts in what has turned out to be the first blog post for a few weeks (due to me busting a gut on a separate project, about which more in the very near future). 

Actually, I’ve had this bottle for over a week, but it’s been embargoed so I had to keep it under my hat.  It wasn’t easy, let me tell you – for one thing, hats don’t suit me.  Also, I have a very small head.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan - not ideal under headgear

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In the interests of full disclosure, and to give any conspiracy theorists out there more grist for their mills, I will begin this blog by revealing that I and several other lucky whisky-lovers will be going to watch a cricket match on Monday as the guest of Richard Paterson and Whyte & Mackay -  Lucky me!  However, the below review has been in the works for the last fortnight and has not been influenced in any way by W&M’s largesse - I promise.

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Well well, what’s this? 

How exciting! Kilchoman 3yo

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The Malty-Millionaires….

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A bunch of prize tossers

Kilchoman Wash Still

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 shown around by deputy manager Gavin Douglas who was filling in at short notice for Jim Swan who had been injured in an accident at home – our best wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery.

We hadn’t realised just how small Kilchoman was – it really is tiny.  Small but perfectly-formed, I suppose.  Gavin told us that the small stills produce only enough 45ppm spirit to fill three casks per day (a mix of fresh and refill bourbon plus some fresh sherry, although we also saw some French wine casks in the warehouse).

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