When I first started drinking whisky, I found myself regularly surrounded by whisky snobs. Some were Scotch single malt purists, others were Irish and bourbon drinkers. Myself? I’m an explorer. I think to understand what each distiller has done with their unique ingredients and this ancient method of making spirit. Like comparing Van Gogh to… Continue reading Next Week’s Tasting: A Whisky Worldview
Tag: whisky
Women Who Whisky 2017
A brief update to let you know more about this year’s upcoming Women Who Whisky event in Auckland. We started this annual event last year and I was delighted to sell out the venue as we toured through six exceptional whiskies that all feature prominent women as part of their history, present or future. Since… Continue reading Women Who Whisky 2017
I Once Went to Bruichladdich, on the Isle of Islay
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] There are some people and some places that have a certain magic to them. If you are lucky enough to encounter the magic people in the magic places, then things get turned around, upside down and put back to centre inside you – in a… Continue reading I Once Went to Bruichladdich, on the Isle of Islay
The Shout: 2017 Whisky Trends piece
I was asked to compile a short guide to emerging whisky trends for the April edition of The Shout. The big trends I see emerging are a little more subtle than some of the big talk recently. Japanese whisky is still popular but it’s new world whisky and American whisky that is trending big time.… Continue reading The Shout: 2017 Whisky Trends piece
How To Become A Whisky Girl.
It was Curiosity that did it. The truth is while I was on the way to becoming a whisky girl, I was learning a lot about life and so here it is, the lessons so far. Apply them liberally to whisky, love and friends. You won’t regret it.
A Philosophy of Tasting & Treasure Hunting
The story of the day is simply a question: when you should drink whisky and when should you store it away? Which is in turn, closely followed by the question when should you invest in a bottle or just in a dram? And where do you find the very best treasures to be savoured or stored away? The answer to one of those questions is the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
The Ardbeg Story Continues: where to next?
As night fell, the smoke and mist rose up in a late autumn haze and we ducked under the cover of our own darkened den, a safe haven underground called the Jefferson.
The beauty of this vertical tasting is to explore the Ardbeg Day whisky as part of the Ardbeg story.
A Taste Of The Dark Cove (Ardbeg Day 2016)
Reminds me of an orange and almond cake I make. Caramelised vanilla sugar crust with the sharpness of citrus developing. Now I taste elements of Persian orange water. Slowly more baked apple emerges with cinnamon and nutmeg. Big, tobacco leaf and old leather starts to emerge out the back where the peat overtakes any leftover smoke. Now it’s starting to feel like a true Ardbeggian expression.
Douglas Laing, Premium Barrel Talisker 6 year old.
The bottle alone is something to gaze at. Be warned, it doesn’t pour that well and takes a practiced hand. You’ll get plenty of practice though, because for a young whisky it exudes character beyond its years. Not surprisingly, because this is a Talisker and I believe whisky is indelibly marked by the people who make it and the place comes into being from.
5 Essential Ardbeg Cocktails
Delightful things happen when delicious ingredients are shaken, muddled, thrown, stirred and strained together. Scotch whisky is notoriously difficult to use in cocktails, however there are a few classics that not only stand up to Scotch whisky but cry out for the complexity, richness and smoke of a classic Islay single malt like Ardbeg.