Whisky Chef - Martine Nouet shows why an Islay whisky is different

Posted on August 17, 2008
Filed Under Inspiration, Islay, Whisky Fun, Whisky websites, WhiskyBuzz | Leave a Comment

Well, I’m not 100% sure it’s only the weather. But this wonderful video from SingleMaltTV on YouTube that features Whisky Chef - Martine Nouet challenging a force 9 gale on Port Charlotte pier in the name of her favorite winter malts at least makes me wanna go Islay hopping.

Enjoy!

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The making a bottle of Lagavulin 16 yrs in mosaic

Posted on August 17, 2008
Filed Under Inspiration, Islay, Whisky Fun, WhiskyBuzz | Leave a Comment

Santi. Artist, freak, lover and friend according to his YouTube profile had a client coming into his studio. The order? A bottle of Lagavulin Single Malt Whisky 16 yrs made purely in mosaic.

In a series of 5 videos on YouTube we get to follow how Santi (who by the way thinks lagavulin is a bourbon) makes his artwork from sketch to final mosaic wall. I’m not 100% sure I would hang the piece in my living room, however I do think that if you’re the ultimate whisky freak, then this would be what you place in the bottom of your pool, on the wall of your mosaic covered spa or maybe on the wall of your secret “whisky grotto”

Warning! For whisky freaks only.

The video is split up into 5 parts. If you really wanna know how Read more

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Oloroso and Manzanilla in Bruichladdich latest whisky comparison experiment

Posted on August 14, 2008
Filed Under For the collector, Islay, WhiskyBuzz | 1 Comment

Bruichladdich has released two bottlings of the same vintage to compare and contrast.

In July 1998, identically distilled whisky was filled in to Sherry casks for full term maturation. Recent tastings proved that unexpectedly two types of casks were used.

One cask type had contained Oloroso, a dark, sweet, fortified wine, the backbone of ‘cream’ sherry. The other Manzanilla, a pale, dry, sophisticated wine aged by the Atlantic. Having absorbed Read more

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More whisky in the tank

Posted on August 12, 2008
Filed Under Islay, Whisky Fun, WhiskyBuzz | 1 Comment

I wrote yesterday about Lagavulin being used as fuel. Well, didn’t take long before I had another strange whisky fuel experiment in my inbox. This time it involved Bruichladdich.

BBC filmed an unusual biofuel experiment on the whisky island of Islay.

The experiment involved TV’s wine expert Oz Clarke and Top Gear’s James May attempting to run a high performance racing car on a special distillation of Bruichladdich single malt whisky.

Bruichladdich’s unique quadruple-distilled X4 Islay Spirit was first tasted by wine & spirit expert Oz Clarke for proof before 3 litres were filled in to the car’s fuel tank.

A 150 mph Radical SR4 racing car from Radical Sportscars, the Peterborough-based manufacturer, was selected for the test. The engine was not modified in anyway at all.

Using an Atlantic shore road closed to traffic by the island’s 5 policemen - cleared of sheep and cattle - the racing car achieved a hair-raising 0-60 in 3.5 seconds over four runs.

“The exhaust smells much better than petrol”, said Duncan MacGillivray, Bruichladdich distillery manager, “sure it’s a sustainable biofuel; but at £26 a litre, the Duty and VAT isn’t! Fuel here is a whopping £1.50 - £1.60 a litre - so it’s not a viable alternative - just yet. The police even tried to breathalyse the car but fortunately they had the wrong type of tester.”

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Glenlivet XXV launches in the US this autumn

Posted on August 12, 2008
Filed Under Speyside, Tastings, Whisky Advertising, Whisky websites | 2 Comments

Last week, Pernod Ricard, owners of the Glenlivet scotch whisky brand, unveiled an addition to The Glenlivet portfolio in the US. Named The Glenlivet XXV, it represents the oldest permanent release in the brand’s range, and will be available in the country in a limited quantity.

It’s made from hand-selected vintage that has been finished in first-fill Sherry casks for at least two years before bottling. Glenlivet XXV was also signed off by four expert whisky-makers: Alan Winchester, who oversees the production process; Bill Lamb, who supervises the filling and warehousing of the casks; David Boyd, who regularly “noses” the whisky to inspect its progress and selects the casks for bottling; and Jim Cryle, The Glenlivet’s acclaimed Master Distiller.

The XXV comes packaged in a wooden box accented with limestone and brushed steel.

Unlike other products in The Glenlivet’s permanent range, Read more

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A local of Islay pour Lagavulin whisky into his 1978 Rolls Royce

Posted on August 11, 2008
Filed Under Islay, Links, Whisky Fun | 3 Comments

Newstrack India got a little post about a different (and quite stupid) way to beat fuel costs.

With the cost of fuel going up day-by-day, crafty islanders have discovered a unique way to keep their wheels running - fuelling cars with whisky.

The locals of Islay have been running their cars on nothing but whisky, a fine example was Donnie MacKinnon, 66, who was seen tipping a full gallon of Lagavulin Scotch into his six-litre 1978 Rolls Royce.

Comment: It seems quite expensive to pour Lagavulin into your car…

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How to store scotch whisky

Posted on August 10, 2008
Filed Under Links, WhiskyBuzz | 5 Comments

Maybe this is a waste of your time, but definitely not mine.

ILoveIndia had a post the other day that gave some tips on how to store scotch whisky. Short but informative. Anyone have other ideas, feel free to comment!

How to Store Scotch Whisky

Do not expose the bottle directly to heat. Temperatures higher than 70 deg Fahrenheit / 21 Celcius are not suitable to store a bottle of Scotch. Major temperature fluctuations are also unfavorable conditions for its storage. A place which has a cool temperature is the ideal place to store the bottle. For e.g. basement has a cool temperature throughout the year.
Take caution to store the bottle of Scotch in a box. Light causes a descent in the quality of the whisky. Keep the bottle away from artificial lights as well, such as bulbs, tubes, etc. If you are storing the bottle in the bar, take notice that the bottle is not exposed to light that opens up automatically when the bar door opens.
Ensure that the bottle is kept straight and not lying tilted. When the liquor comes in contact with either the metal or the cork, it leads to a decline in the quality of the drink.
Once you have poured the drink in your glass, make sure you cork the bottle immediately. Air acts as an oxidizing agent and if the bottle is kept open for a long time, it may result in the deterioration of the quality and taste of the Scotch Whisky.

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Spot the parachute-jumping whisky barrel on Islay

Posted on August 10, 2008
Filed Under Charity, Whisky Fun, WhiskyBuzz | 6 Comments

Local charities on Argyll’s Isle of Islay are going to drop a whisky barrel on a parachute from a plane. Choose the position where the barrel will end up on our chart and YOU COULD WIN up to £250,000 cash!

Spot the Whisky Barrel is a unique fund raising competition from the Scottish whisky Island of Islay.

The rules are simple. Visit the ‘Spot the Barrel website’ and for £25 a ticket, you get to guess exactly where the whisky barrell will finish up after it’s dropped from an aircraft at 5000ft. This will generate an entry form with the Ordnance Survey coordinates of your chosen position.

The drop will take place on Thursday 14th of August. The barrell will drift for five minutes. If you guessed where the pick up is, you’re the lucky winner. Read more

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8 new bottlings and 4 premier barrels from Independent bottler Douglas Laing & Co

Posted on August 9, 2008
Filed Under For the collector, Independent | Leave a Comment

Independent bottler Douglas Laing & Co, headed by brothers, Fred and Stewart Laing released another eight new bottlings of their Old Malt Cask together with four (4) Premier Barrels .

Here are the tasting notes:

Tasting notes follow firstly Read more

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Exclusive single malt whisky available in new online whisky shop

Posted on August 7, 2008
Filed Under For the collector, Whisky Store, Whisky websites | Leave a Comment

Dream Drams today announced the launch of their online shop.

Although newly launched, the company behind Dream Drams, MWBH Bottling Co. Ltd, has been bottling one-off special cask whiskies for over 10 years.

MWBH Bottling Co. Ltd are based in Kendal, Cumbria and owned by Paul Smith who originally set up the company to help those caught in the 1990s whisky scams, whereby unfortunate victims were persuaded to invest in whisky casks. Paul helped many thousands of investors recoup their money Read more

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10000$ on the table as Basil Hayden’s Kentucky ask you to dress him up

Posted on August 7, 2008
Filed Under Bourbon, Whisky Advertising, Whisky Fun | 2 Comments

The Kentucky straight bourbon brand Basin Hayden’s has partnered with Out and Chicago Home + Garden magazines for a design competition.

The rules are simple. To enter, create an Read more

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Read the feed from WhiskyGrotto.com in any language (almost)

Posted on August 6, 2008
Filed Under Whisky Fun, Whisky websites, WhiskyBuzz | Leave a Comment

Hey whisky lovers. I just wanted to let you guys who doesn’t enjoy reading the WhiskyGrotto blog in English that I’ve added the possibility to read my feed in any preferred language.

Look for the MLOOVI banner to the right. It contains our feed in Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish & Swedish. The English feed is of course available of the top right on the blog as usual.

If you’re a blogger too. Go ahead and get your own feed translator on the Mloovi website.

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