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…
Continue reading »Islay Festival Day Six: Bowmore & Port Ellen
Posted on 28 May 2009 by Tim F
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TWE Shipments to Sweden suspended
Posted on 27 May 2009 by Tim F
3 Comments on TWE Shipments to Sweden suspended
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…
Continue reading »Islay Festival Day Five: Ardbeg and Laphroaig
Posted on by Tim F
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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,…
Continue reading »Islay Festival Day Four: Caol Ila
Posted on 26 May 2009 by Tim F
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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…
Continue reading »Islay Whisky Festival: Day Three – Bruichladdich
Posted on by Tim F
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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…
Continue reading »Islay Festival Day Two: Lagavulin & Ardbeg
Posted on 25 May 2009 by Tim F
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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…
Continue reading »Islay Festival 2009: Day One
Posted on 24 May 2009 by Tim F
1 Comment on Islay Festival 2009: Day One
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…
Continue reading »Tasting Notes: Suntory Hibiki 12 Years Old
Posted on 15 May 2009 by Tim F
16 Comments on Tasting Notes: Suntory Hibiki 12 Years Old
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…
Continue reading »Colour Me Goodd, I'm Chlorochrous With Envy
Posted on 12 May 2009 by Tim F
16 Comments on Colour Me Goodd, I'm Chlorochrous With Envy
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,…
Continue reading »Diageo Announces Islay Festival Bottlings 2009
Posted on 5 May 2009 by Tim F
14 Comments on Diageo Announces Islay Festival Bottlings 2009
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….
Continue reading »Tasting: Old Bothwell Port Ellen 1982 Cask 2729
Posted on 1 May 2009 by Tim F
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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…
Continue reading »Port Askaig: New Single Islay Malt Range
Posted on 24 April 2009 by Tim F
47 Comments on Port Askaig: New Single Islay Malt Range
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…
Continue reading »Tasting: New Laphroaig 25 yo Cask Strength
Posted on 1 April 2009 by Tim F
3 Comments on Tasting: New Laphroaig 25 yo Cask Strength
I only got a small olfactory glimpse of this one as I had to share a sample with two fellow attendees at the Laphroaig tasting in Albannach I told you about on Monday. Unfortunately, over-attendance at a previous…
Continue reading »Tasting: New Laphroaig 18 Year Old
Posted on 30 March 2009 by Tim F
17 Comments on Tasting: New Laphroaig 18 Year Old
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to a Laphroaig tasting held at Albannach (a posh whisky bar in Trafalgar Square in London). I’m not often invited to this sort of event as…
Continue reading »Bruichladdich Octomore / Ardbeg Supernova Tasting
Posted on 25 March 2009 by Tim F
12 Comments on Bruichladdich Octomore / Ardbeg Supernova Tasting
To be honest, peating levels shouldn’t be a competition. “My ppm is bigger than yours” sounds pretty ridiculous however you dress it up. This sort of thing might be construed as macho willy-waving and not…
Continue reading »Tasting: Hanyu Ten of Clubs Japanese Malt
Posted on 20 March 2009 by Tim F
2 Comments on Tasting: Hanyu Ten of Clubs Japanese Malt
Okay, cutting it fine to get this out on time, but I’m determined – so here we go (this might look familiar to readers of the last post): Introducing (drum roll, please) Hanyu Distillery –…
Continue reading »Tasting: Hanyu Five of Spades Japanese Malt
Posted on 18 March 2009 by Tim F
2 Comments on Tasting: Hanyu Five of Spades Japanese Malt
Okay, I know it’s not like me to blog on consecutive days (or even twice in a week , let’s face it), but I made a promise yesterday and I’m going to try and be…
Continue reading »Exclusive: New Douglas Laing Provenance Packaging
Posted on 17 March 2009 by Tim F
4 Comments on Exclusive: New Douglas Laing Provenance Packaging
Gadzooks, has it really been so long since my last post? Apologies, it has simply flown here at TWE towers, where I managed to take home my Supernova before doing my notes with water, then…
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Recent Comments
Unfortunately, the answer is 'between 400g and 2000g per litre' :)
Posted on: 9 October 2024
What ratio of Sloe to gin is used, I see anything from 400 to 2000g of sloe to 1 litre of gin!
Posted on: 7 October 2024
What really makes Bob Harris' predicament in 'Lost In Translation' so absurdly funny is that he nailed it in one take, and the director just couldn't accept that.
Posted on: 11 January 2024
I'd say there's not a lot between them. I'd say that the techniques used to make the rum change the flavour more than the raw material between molasses and cane honey, so it'll be other factors that...
Posted on: 26 October 2023
Such a pity that the distillery was destroyed. I had the great luck to try one of these, to me almost magic, Karuizawas. It was a 1972/2008, 36y, #7290 with 65%. Since today I have memoriesof this...
Posted on: 17 October 2023