Opinions

It’s a surreal and honestly painful feeling, to within the space of an hour, announce that your distillery is to shutter its doors to all visitors, cancel your monthly whisky club and watch as all of the tastings, festivals and masterclasses that you were either presenting at, or simply attending abandon their plans for the foreseeable future. An entire part of life removed, or at the very least put on hold for what is likely to be some time.

Moonshine is traditionally so named because it tends to be manufactured late into the evening without the assistance of artificial light sources – just the illumination of the moon with which to operate an illicit still, hidden away from prying eyes – and particularly the tax man. In Poland, moonshine is known under several monikers - Samogon, duch puszczy, księżycówka or simply Bimber. A near mythical high proof spirit that has been produced in the country since the 19^th Century, and is said to not cause a hangover. Drawing its name from this tradition, equally hidden away (though this time in a West London industrial estate), and operated much more legally is Bimber Distillery - who’s single malt whisky reached three years of maturity last week.

Paul Martin is at his best when he’s in front of an audience. Whether it’s tutoring a new generation of bartenders or providing motivational talks to the hospitality industry, his passion for the drinks industry is apparent. As a PR for my entire working life, I know only too well the pressures of effective public speaking – for Martin, it’s an arena that he thrives in. Working across the bar trade for over 30 years, Martin has developed an extensive portfolio – from training courses, half a dozen cocktail books (including the recently launched 101 Award Winning Cocktails from the World’s Best Bartenders) and even a qualification in British Sign Language. He’s also no strange to whisky having launched Dream Whiskies in early 2017.

2016 was dubbed ‘the year of gin’ – a 16% rise in UK sales (to over £1bn) outstripped the growth across both beer and wine. But, now, there’s chatter that 2018 might well turn out to the ‘the year of rum’. Sales are expected to top £1bn for the first time in history, following the overall success story of the alcoholic drinks industry over the recent years. However, unlike gin which can be produced relatively quickly and inexpensively, rum is both time-consuming to produce and likewise costly (yields tend to be low). But, there’s still the promise for producers and distributers of riding the wave of growth – and one new brand is poised to grab their surfboard and do just that – That Boutique-y Rum Company.

The Scottish whisky industry is going through a purple patch – its biggest for several generations. Growth brings a wealth of opportunities, and whereas a little under 40 years ago sites were closing left, right and centre, now, there’s rarely a month that goes by without news of a new distillery being planned. Production on Islay continues to grow, the Lowlands re-emerge from decades of limited single malt production, and Macallan has built a particularly sizable new home overlooking Craigellachie. But, with all this expansion going on, only one entirely new distillery has been founded in Speyside – and they’re not planning to release any whisky until at least 2022.

In March, Gemma Paterson was named as the new Balvenie Global Brand Ambassador. Originally from the Scottish Highlands, Gemma might not have been born into whisky, but over the past four years she has completely embraced it, obtaining her General Certificate in Distilling, and studying for the three year Institute of Brewing and Distilling Diploma – all the while representing the Balvenie brand and its range of single malt whiskies. Dedication, commitment and passion all come naturally to Gemma.

A little over 10 years ago distilling south of the border was all but unheard of. It used to be easy to keep abreast of distilling trends in England – there were few. Fast-forward to 2018 and there’s a veritable resurgence in English distilling – the number of English distilleries has risen by 413% in the last 6 years alone. Driven by increased interest in spirits, craft beverages and, of course, cocktails, there are now over 14 distilleries in England producing single malt whisky and countless more producing gin, brandy and other spirits. You’ve probably heard of some of them – but The Dramble had the opportunity to visit one of, if not England’s smallest distillery operation – Northamptonshire's Wharf Distillery.

The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David A. Embury was first published in 1948. Offering a conversational and oft-times witty take on the fundamentals of mixology, it is one of the most referenced and cited cocktail books, and responsible for influencing a generation of cocktail enthusiasts including Frankfurt-based Dominik M.Falger. Inspired by his background in, and love for, mixing drinks, Falger has recently opened Embury Bar, Drawing from his own private collection, Falger has created a venue that encapsulates both the growing zeitgeist in Frankfurt for high quality well-constructed cocktails, as well as a veritable mecca for whisky lovers, with a selection as deep as it is broad.

Isle of Arran Distillery are in a bit of a party mood this month. Master Distiller James MacTaggart has been with Arran for 10 years, and to celebrate this milestone, a new limited edition ‘James MacTaggart Anniversary Single Malt’ bottling is being released later this month. Originally from Islay, MacTaggart started his career at Strathclyde Regional Council in Bowmore. In 1975 he was asked by the then Manager of Bowmore (Harry Cockburn) to help in the distillery office whilst they installed a new computer system – whilst the computers never happened (back in 1975 they would presumably have taken up the whole office!), MacTaggart still found a role – working in the Bowmore warehouses and maltbarns.

Once the preserve of die-hards and bargain hunters, auctions are now part and parcel of daily whisky life. Data from Scotchwhisky.com shows that from April to June 2017 more than 21,000 bottles were sold at auction – a 70% increase on the same period in 2016. The growth of online auctions continues unabated with a whole new cohort of buyers and sellers driving the secondary market to stratospheric levels never before seen. But, if you’re just setting out on your whisky journey and want to check out the auction scene, where should you start?

In 2011 Ian Buxton wrote in Whisky Advocate ‘Mark my words, this “investment” bubble will end badly and people – and whisky – are going to get hurt’. Six years later and this prophecy has yet to come true – in fact, depressingly, speculation, apocalyptic hoarding, price gouging, fetishisation and completely loopy behaviour only seem on the increase. Enthusiasts and commentators are oft-times all too quick to point the finger at producers and retailers, but the truth of the matter lies much closer to home. Perhaps it’s time we all took a long hard look in the mirror.

The first account of storing alcohol in barrels comes from the 5^th Century BC courtesy of the Greek historian Herodotus who wrote about the use of palm-wood in the shipping of Armenian wine over to Mesopotamia. However, it seems likely that the move from clay amphorae to what we would understand as a watertight wooden container probably occurred several hundred years before that. Not only was wood a stronger material than brittle fired clay, it could also be shaped into barrel-like shapes which allowed it to be moved and stored more readily.

It's quite the honour to be selected to join the Arran annual tasting panel who will decide on the whisky which will become the 2017 White Stag bottling. As part of the panel, I joined a 20 strong group who were all sent a tasting pack containing three different whiskies. But, unlike most tasting packs, no hints at all were give as to the contents of the bottles. They were just labelled as Samples 1, 2 & 3. Decisions, decisions!

Japanese whisky might be hotter than the sun right now, but how much do you really know about it? You've heard of Suntory and Nikka, but what about Akkeshi and Shizuoka? Fear not, for help is at hand in the form of 'Whisky Rising – The Definitive Guide to the Finest Whiskies and Distillers of Japan'. Written by the authoritative Stefan Van Eycken and published by Cider Mills Press, Whisky Rising truly is a definitive guide to Japanese whisky, covering the highs and lows (and highs again) of the industry, detailed overviews of distilleries past and present, tasting notes for renowned bottlings, cocktail recipes and bar recommendations. The Dramble was fortunate to catch up with Stefan to talk to him about the his new book, whisky drinking memories and thoughts for the future of Japanese whisky.

The scale of Britain’s industrial expansion during the Victorian era in the 19^th Century was massive. Driven by greatly increasing international trade, growing demand for consumer goods and most significantly, widespread application of steam technology,  Britain emerged as the most powerful trading nation in the world. Founded in 1881, Bunnahabhain was born of this period of industrialisation and, you can still see this, even today.

History suggests that Irish monks first introduced distilling to the Isle of Islay way back in the 14th Century. Islay's environment is ideal for the growing of barley, plentiful with peat bogs and also littered with excellent sources of pure water. Little has changed in those regards in the seven centuries since. The Dramble spent a week on Islay at the start of May 2017, visiting all 8 currently active distilleries, meeting friends, both old and new, and fully immersing ourselves in to what some believe to be the spiritual home of Scotch whisky.

Ciaran Mulgrew is a man with a plan, and that plan aims to put Derry right back at the heart of the Irish whiskey trail.

The process of envisaging and building The Dramble has resulted in Danny and me having countless discussions about web design, font sizes and choosing between 400 different shades of the same green. In the end the site we’ve just launched has been built with a large amount of IT experience and knowledge (all Danny’s), but also firmly on the basis of our opinions. So, it occurred to me, whilst looking pensively at Pantone PMS354, that deep down, opinion is at the very heart of whisky appreciation. It’s also why we’ve created this website.