I thought it was about time to put a somewhat less known distillery under the loop, and (quite at random) decided to go for Auchroisk. Never heard of them? Good, good! I tried to find some history on them but came up with a rather unsatisfying amount; the distillery was founded in 1972 (I believe) and production began in 1974 (I know), with most of their whisky going into J&B and a small share bottled as ‘The Singleton’ (not of dufftown), apparently due to Auchroisk being rather difficult to pronounce (Athrusk).
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Set off the fireworks, treat yourself to a whisky marinated steak and pour yourself a double measure of Jura – we’ve reached our final destination in the wee series of the Scottish whisky regions. We’ve climbed the hills of the Highlands to visit the likes of Clynelish and Glenmorangie, we’ve dared go within smelling distance of Glasgow to sample the Lowland distillery of Auchentoshan, we’ve swam across to Islay and had our minds blown by a peat overload and we’ve visited the former Whisky Capital of the World, Campbeltown. There is only one, or rather several, place to go – the Scottish islands!
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Apart from beer and whisky, both of which you may have read reviews of on the site before, I’m also a fan of Cognac, and as such I felt it was time to write a wee review of one here on the blog. When choosing which Cognac should go first, there really was no choice – when most people think ‘Cognac’ it is hastily followed by ‘Remy Martin’, and hence I shall begin by taking a look at their standard bottling, the V.S.O.P.
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Recently, upon having visitors who stayed in town for a few days, I ventured into the basement of the Whisky Experience – up by Edinburgh Castle – for a bite to eat. Thankfully it wasn’t quite as gruesome an experience as it may sound, as their basement actually serves as the home of a rather good restaurant called Amber. It was my first visit to the restaurant, though I have previously attended the whisky tour upstairs, and with my expectations set not too high, I was actually quite delighted!
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If you’ve ever had meatballs in IKEA, you will have been offered “jam and gravy” or more specifically “lingonberry jam and gravy”. Like me, you may not have had a clue what the heck “lingonberry” actually is. One thing is for sure, though, the Swedes ruddy love the stuff – it seems to me that they have it with just about anything! So far I’ve been served it as an accompaniment to various savoury meals, ice cream and even in a whisky cocktail!
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Glenlivet is one of those distilleries that I’ve never really been able to bond with. They are a big name, and their sale levels indicate that a lot of people have become rather more affectionate with them than have I. As such, I keep thinking that there must be something I’m missing. By all means, the expressions I have tried have all been perfectly fine, good even, but not good enough to deserve some of the ratings they’ve achieved nor the rave reviews they’ve received.
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