While Tomatin, the company who make Antiquary, was established in 1897, it has only been around in its current (Japanese owned) format since 1986.
Antiquary is a well known brand, but that is not only because of the quality of their whisky or the fact that they have been around for over a century. There is also a further factor, one less prestigious, and that is their bottle. Inspired by the shape of a diamond, it has indeed got a quite distinctive shape; intended to give it a unique and classy look, and feel. It certainly scores a full 10 points for uniqueness, but as far as class goes it’s a swing and a miss in my opinion. I’m well aware that this is a childish reason to dislike something; but I simply can’t stand the shallow attempt at convincing consumers of the quality of the whisky which the bottle represents.
continue reading »
If I say Irish Coffee, which whiskey (yep, with an E, silly Irish…) comes to mind? Chances are it will be Jameson – the classic choice – though I would save that job for one of this guy’s younger brothers, as it would be a waste of both money and fine whiskey.
While they’ve given up arguing over who’s the oldest Irish whiskey with Bushmills, there is no contest over who’s more popular. Jameson is the best selling Irish whiskey pretty much wherever you go, and having been around since the late 1700s, they certainly aren’t new to the game either.
continue reading »
It has been suggested that it means Hollow Broadbay, but that’s something that I can neither confirm nor refute, however what I can tell you is that it is the name of what is arguably one of the best known whiskies in the world: Laphroaig.
Found in the Islay region of Scotland, with its roots going back to 1810, Laphroaig is one of the big boys of the whisky world; known for its intense, smoky character. The bottle which I’ll be introducing you to today is known as Quarter Cask, which thankfully doesn’t mean that it was made out of American 25c silver coins. What it does mean is that the barrels in which the whisky was matured were smaller than the industry standard, one quarter of the size of the barrels normally used by Laphroaig (would you believe it!), which the distillery claims gives the whisky more contact with the wood, hence a richer flavour.
continue reading »
The Clynelish distillery is situated on the north-eastern coast of Scotland, in the town of Brora. Founded in 1819, it was originally known as Brora, and would be for quite a few years until a new distillery was built along side the old in 1968; the whisky produced in the new distillery, still a part of the same company, would instead be given the name Clynelish.
It is not at all unlikely that you will never have seen or even heard of Clynelish single malt, and there’s a quite simple reason for that; only 1% of the whisky distilled is sold as single malt, with the rest going in to the Johnnie Walker blend.
continue reading »
Golden Salmon – upon first letting your nose draw close to it, you may detect hints of orange marmalade and honey; the first taste, meanwhile, may be better described as oaky with hints of haulm. Though fairly unlikely to be found in the sea, I am, of course, not talking about a rare breed of sweet water fish. No, what I’m trying to describe are a few of the characteristics of a Scottish whisky, namely Speyburn Bradan Orach single malt, with Bradan Orach meaning Golden Salmon.
continue reading »
