Crown Royal Shutters Bottling Plant In Canada
London-based spirits behemoth Diageo – owners of Crown Royal – have announced plans to shutter its plant in Ontario, Canada, and move operations to the USA. Crown Royal was initially introduced 86 years ago to celebrate a visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and was only available in Canada until the 1960s, when […]
Lochlea Plans To Stick Around With Permanent Lineup
UK-based independent distillery Lochlea has released Single Estate Range – their first-ever permanent whisky lineup – consisting of Orchard & Oak, Dark Briar and Smoke Without Fire. All three whiskies are made from 100% barley grown on Lochlea Farm, and matured and blended onsite at the distillery. Lochlea Orchard & Oak was matured in a […]
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Annandale distillery set to reopen
Imagine falling asleep for 91 years, 91, and waking up in 2010 – how different the world would be to the one you had known. The buildings, transport, clothing, social structure, technology and, perhaps most importantly, tastes would all be completely different to what you had once known. Life as you knew it would be forever lost, and finding your place in this new world probably prove difficult, time-consuming and […]
Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old
I decided, on a whim, to go on a 3 week vacation to Sweden. As you may know from previous posts I have family here and I try to come over every once in a while. After a short road trip I arrived at my final destination – the coastal city of Karlskrona – where I am staying right by the sea. At the moment of writing, the sun is […]
Whisky Caramelized Bacon
Okay! So we’ve covered the burger and the marinade, what we need now is something that can act as a side dish or burger topping. One of my favorite things in cooking is to try and think of something new, and one of my most recent, and popular, “inventions” is whisky caramelized bacon. The basic thinking was take two delicious things (bacon, whisky) and combine them in a delicious way […]
Ardmore Traditional Cask
Why I decided to get a white carpet for my “library”/whisky room is, in retrospect, beyond me. Quite apart from the fact that it is tasteless, how did I not stop to think something along the lines of “hang on a minute… I’ve never owned a white item of clothing which hasn’t been, within the first 3 times of wearing it, horribly stained. Perhaps a white carpet isn’t a great […]
Whisky Cocktail: Champagne Julep
A fancy name for a flashy cocktail, I love this stuff on a warm summer day. The only problem is that you can only really make it if you’re a rather heavy drinker or have guests, as it I at least find the selection of miniature sparkling white or champagne is quite limited. This is guaranteed to go down a treat with some chocolate cake by the way, the darker […]
Tesco Whisky
The name alone may be enough to put most people off this whisky, in fact it probably is enough to make all but the very young and those very deep in the pit of alcoholism take a quick step to the side and forget they even saw it. What I am talking about is Tesco Special Reserve Scotch Whisky, the special probably referring to what separates this whisky from most […]
Suntory Yamazaki 12 Year Old
Founded in 1923, the Yamazaki distillery – named after the Yamazaki Valley, where the distillery lays – is the oldest distillery in Japan. And that, I’m afraid, is pretty much all the history I could find. I suppose that leaves us with little choice but to go straight for the tasting. Ah, life can be tough at times, wouldn’t you say? I was actually given the miniature bottle standing in […]
Arran 10 Year Old
I was just about to state that this is the youngest distillery I have written about so far, as it was founded in 1995, but that would actually be a lie. It is, in fact, 4 years the senior of Mackmyra. It is the youngest Scottish distillery I’ve written about, however, and in my opinion that is enough to make it quite interesting! It is also the only distillery on […]
Whisky Cocktail: Loretto Limonade
This one usually goes down nicely with the ladies at any time or with pretty much anyone after a big meal when you want something sweet. While the recipe calls for a shaker, don’t let that put you off if you don’t have one, a thermos will do just fine. You’ll need: 2 parts Bourbon (as ever, Benchmark is good for the purpose) 1 part Midori (melon liqueur, available at […]
Talisker 10 Year Old
Yet another distillery owned by the fairly well known and decently large corporation that is Diageo, Talisker is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye and was originally founded in 1830. The first Talisker distillery was built in 1831, however it has since been completely rebuilt after it was lost in a fire in 1960. Exact replicas of the original stills were built for the new distillery in an […]
BrewDog Paradox Isle of Arran
This isn’t the first time that I’ve mentioned BrewDog on the blog – they’re a Scottish brewery of modern, bold ales. While they’ve only been around since 2007, they’ve already made quite the name for themselves on a global scale; partly due to the high quality of their products, but partly due to releases such as their Tokyo stout (18.2% abv) which was banned in the UK due to a […]
Smokehead
Smokehead is a single malt Islay whisky, distilled by… I don’t know, actually, it’s a bit of a secret. Popular guesses include Lagavulin and Ardbeg, I’m personally not sure which one I lean more towards. Whoever distils it, it’s young, I can tell you that much. From the design of their bottle and website, it is fairly clear that Smokehead are trying to attract a younger audience, and I’m all […]
Bruichladdich 3D3 Norrie Campbell
As the thermometer outside my window approaches the 70F mark, growing closer day by day, and the first BBQ of the year has been prepared, carried out and consumed; only one thing could possibly happen next. I’ve become ill, more specifically I regret to announce that I have contracted acute viral rhinopharyngitis; there is little doctors can, or will, do. The common cold is a rascal! Luckily I know of […]
Whisky Marinade
I personally love a good burger, but some people don’t – and that’s why I’ve developed this delicious barbecue marinade for steaks (it works just fine on pork and chicken as well, though). It makes for absolutely delicious and tender meat, and takes about 15 minutes to make – but you’ll need to leave it on the meat over night for it to work its way in properly.
Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old
Dalwhinnie 15 year old is considered by a few to be a bit of a lady’s drink, not quite suitable as a man’s dram. How it earned this reputation I do not know, though I would suppose that it is due to a combination of its mild mannered characteristics and the label being just a tad too neat. That doesn’t mean that any man ordering it in a Scottish pub […]
Bushmills Original
I was recently fortunate enough to be contacted by the good people over at Bushmills, offering me a free bottle of their original expression. I figured that the least I could do in return would be to write a little review of what I consider to be Ireland’s version of Whyte & Mackay (a favourite Scottish blend of mine) – in the sense that they both produce fairly priced, good […]
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