Archive for the 'Opinions' Category

The future of Michael Jackson’s single malt scotch book

Friday, February 1st, 2008

I would like your thoughts on the fate of Michael’s “Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch” (”Malt Whisky Companion” in the overseas edition).
As you know, it’s been nearly four years since he last revised it. For many of us, this book has been our “go to” book for many years. With Michael’s passing, what do […]

Is Glenmorangie 10 yr. the best of the line?

Monday, January 28th, 2008

I think so. And if you ask Dr. Bill Lumsden, the whisky-maker behind all of the Glenmorangie whiskies, he will agree.
How do I know this? I was with Bill for two hours this past week, and I asked him.
How refreshing it is to taste a line of whiskies from one distillery ranging from 10 years old to […]

Will 2008 be a “breakout” year for Irish whiskey?

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

Not much has being going on in the Irish whiskey category over the past few years (particularly here in the U.S.). But, as Grace Slick said at Woodstock, “It’s a new dawn!” The stars are aligning properly to make 2008 the most exciting year this decade.
All the new whiskeys I mention below have already been […]

Sazerac Rye 18 yr. old, Part II

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

Expanding on my blog posting last Thursday regarding the past two vintages of Sazerac Rye 18 year old being stored in stainless steel tanks, I thought it would be interesting to discuss the reasons why this is happening.
The obvious one is to keep the whiskey from aging longer, which would increase the risk of the […]

I helped pick a cask of whisky. Don’t buy it.

Sunday, January 13th, 2008

When was the last time you ever heard me say that?
First off, let me say it’s not that the whisky I helped to pick is bad. In fact, I think it’s quite good. It’s just that I think there’s one even better. And if you are on a limited budget (these whiskies are fairly expensive), […]

News clip blunder #1 for 2008

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

If you’ve been following my blog last year, you’ll know I gave several examples where writers for newspapers or magazines (some of them highly regarded) wrote articles on whisky that contained blatant errors. It was clear that they didn’t know what they were writing about.
We all make mistakes and I’m willing to allow some latitude, but […]

What’s in store for 2008?

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008

Welcome to 2008 everyone. The whisky industry is booming. Distilleries are working at full capacity. New distilleries and new warehouses are being built.
But guess what? None of this is going to help us (the consumer) in 2008. All this will be great in a decade or two, but demand out-stripping supply in the short term is […]

$54,000 for a 60 year old Macallan?

Monday, December 10th, 2007

Well, it’s pretty obvious that there are people out there with far too much money to spend.
On Saturday, Christie’s hosted the first spirits auction in New York since Prohibition. This is great news! It’s about time!
The highlight of the auction was a 1926 Macallan, bottled in 1986. (That would make it 60 years old, not […]

Three things that really frustrate me: Part 3

Monday, November 26th, 2007

This is something that really frustrates me. Far too many times, there are writers doing stories on whisky for big name newspapers and magazines and they keep writing things that are incorrect or very misleading. Sometimes, it seems obvious that the writer doesn’t even like whisky.
This happens fairly frequently (i.e., a few to several times a […]

Your Islay dream home awaits you

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007

This is all good stuff: donate about $50 to a good cause, and have a chance to win your own dream home on Islay, in addition to other cool prizes.
The contest is called “Spot the whisky barrel.” Basically, here’s how it works. A whisky barrel (empty, sorry) is going to be dropped by plane off of […]