Hello

As a tiny extra to my column from the other day where I advised that Glengoyne are having an online tasting tonight for World Whisky Day (8p.m. GMT) with the two Gordons – Dundas and Dallas), I have word today from Bunnahabhain that they are doing the same but different person hosting, obviously. Fortunately it’s 1 hour later than Glengoyne so you could spend your entire evening doing this stuff! The key part of their release says:

“Join us live on our Facebook page for a masterclass on Friday the 27th March from 9pm GMT with our host, Derek Scott, Bunnahabhain Brand Director. He’ll be tasting our 12 year old and 25 year old, but you’re more than welcome to join with your own favourite dram.

He’ll be answering your questions on the night, but if you’d like to send something to us before, we invite you to do so via our Facebook page. We’ll put everyone who asks a question into a prize draw, where one lucky winner will receive a bottle of Bunnahabhain 25 year old (T&Cs apply), so get your thinking cap on!”

That sounds like a good enough reason to me to join in but it will be interesting to watch and listen even without the competition.

Back with some more words in 10 days or so.

Happy dramming.

Caroline

My first mention this month must be of the death of Duncan McGillivray, former General Manager at Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay. I don’t follow their website daily so it was only after my first March column that I learned he had passed away in the second week of this month. A friend over there told me an announcement had been made but it wasn’t in any of my daily drinks feeds. I’ve known for a while that Duncan was ill, but not  that he was suffering from a rare illness called PSP or Progressive Supranuclear Palsy which can seem like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s early on. More details on it can be found via a link on Bruichladdich’s website alongside some lovely tributes from colleagues and friends.

Over the years since Bruichladdich reopened I have met Duncan almost every year on Islay and occasionally spoken over the phone, he giving generously of his time and knowledge. He was an engineering and mechanical genius, getting the long-mothballed Bruichladdich back up and running in months instead of years. He began his whisky career at Bruichladdich and during the inbetween years from 1994, when it closed, to its reopening in 2001, he found other work. As a hobby, he indulged his passion for engines and vehicles, telling me about restoring two tractors from the 1960s and the first ever lorry (1935 vintage) to go to Islay, where it spent all its life.

In a Twitter-style interview I used to do for a US site, he was one of my interviewees in 2013 and spoke of how he loved seeing his grandchildren who lived in the Scottish Borders and how he had no intention of retiring, “…always seem to have something on the go”. My final question to him then was to ask what would be his desert island dram, pointing out that  it didn’t have to be one of his own. Ever a Bruichladdich man, he replied it would be Bruichladdich 15 Year Old 2^nd Edition, “one of my all-time favourites, finished in a very good Sauternes cask.” However, he did say if he couldn’t have that it would be “a Highland Park”. I think he was one of the very few interviewees generous enough to give a mention to another brand. A mark of the man.

My friend told me his funeral must have been about the biggest ever seen on Islay. A very fitting turnout and a testament to the regard people had for him. I was privileged to have had even a little of his time.

Well, here we are in lockdown in Scotland, allowed out to buy foods and collect medicines, no high street shops and no restaurants, hotels or bars until it’s deemed safe for them to reopen. Rightly so. We need to stamp out this nasty coronavirus. Today, though, I see from internet news that we’ve now been told wine and spirit shops in the UK (not just supermarkets) are also “essential”. Somebody lobbied hard there!

I mentioned in my last column that word was awaited on whether this year’s Islay Whisky Festival and Spirit of Speyside would go ahead. Both were cancelled a couple of days later, as many of you will now know. Bruichladdich closed its doors completely for at least a few weeks and others will have followed. Distillery visitor centres had largely already shut. Stupidly, some people were still coming into Scotland thinking they could escape this or because they had booked trips and weren’t prepared to cancel. So selfish. As mentioned before, our islands don’t have medical or food supply infrastructure for these people. Islay, for example, does have a wee hospital but there are only 6 beds and those are for islanders who become ill but don’t need to be transported to the mainland for their conditions. Well, the ferries to/from our islands are now accepting as passengers ONLY people who are full-time residents (not second home owners) needing to come home, those bringing essential supplies or people needing to go to the mainland for treatment for other conditions. The message from the Scottish government is very clear. If you don’t live here, STAY AWAY. That’s harsh and the opposite of our usual hospitality but it’s necessary to preserve lives in the whisky industry and all over Scotland so we can welcome you better when it’s safe to return.

Calmac (ferries) is accepting no new reservations for dates before 16^th July. Two Islay accommodation owners told me last week that their room bookings for April and May had been cancelled. However, one said that an intended Festival visitor had e-mailed 5 minutes after the Feis Ile announcement that he was still coming as there was more to do on Islay than distilleries. Well, he won’t get on a ferry or flight now! Unless, of course, rules are relaxed by then but I’m not holding my breath. I’ve still to cancel my own ferry and B&B for the Islay event as I can’t now go over to do my annual dinner. We’ll maybe look at something another point in the year, perhaps to celebrate not being under house arrest any more!

Oddly, the Whisky Fair in Limburg, Germany may still go ahead on 25th and 26th April. The e-mail I received was a bit confused around state regulations and honouring of existing contracts and what takes precedence. I thought Chancellor Merkel had forbidden gatherings of more than a couple of people so it shouldn’t really go ahead at all. Please check on the Limburg Fair site for latest news but I couldn’t see any today.

A whole raft of distillers, large and small, are contributing to the production of hand sanitiser for our health services and for the general public. A notable one is Diageo who are supplying enough alcohol to make 8 million bottles of the stuff over some of its key markets. LVMH is also making a sizeable contribution in certain areas as are Pernod Ricard and Beam Suntory. Many companies, including these just mentioned, are giving large donations to funds that are to provide financial support for people in the bar/restaurant/hotel trades or, like Wemyss Malts (UK only), vouchers against purchases that you can use to support local businesses once they are open again. Diageo is also offering online training while people cannot go into work.

Just in my inbox this afternoon is an e-mail from the Scotch Whisky Association to say it is, “…launching an online portal to help with the supply of hand sanitiser to frontline health and social services, emergency services, local communities and other industries in need of it across the UK.  The SWA is working closely with government and relevant authorities, including HMRC and the Health & Safety Executive and now have a green light from regulators to follow WHO guidelines in the production of hand sanitiser from denatured alcohol. Scotch Whisky producers are being invited to submit details to the portal of what they can provide, be that either high-strength alcohol or hand sanitiser. The portal will help distillers to source necessary ingredients, whilst organisations in need of sanitiser will be able to specify their requirements. Those who can support with packaging and distribution will also be able to state on the portal how they can assist.”

So what else might you whisky enthusiasts do to while away your time during this health crisis?

• Jo and Sue from The Whisky Ambassador (and owners of this site) are holding conference calls with their course tutors in various countries later this week to see if it may be possible to run anything online. Courses at venues in Europe are pretty much all cancelled or postponed but their courses in other areas may be running. Check this site for news later this week or early next.
• Go online to look for tutored whisky tastings from distillers and blenders and some well-known whisky writers. Watch the experts, not those who think they are. There may be new live or recorded ones and there are older ones you can go back to and watch again. You may not have the whiskies to hand but you can take notes, learn more about nosing and tasting and try them another time.
• UPDATE 26 March: GLENGOYNE DISTILLERY is currently closed but is holding an online event for World Whisky
  

  Glengoyne Distillery in Autumn

  Day on Friday 27th March.“Starting as we mean to go on, we’re delighted to invite you to join us for a Facebook live tasting on Friday 27th March from 8pm GMT. Be sure to join us with a dram in hand on International Whisky Day as Gordon Dundas, Glengoyne International Brand Ambassador hosts a Facebook Live Tasting. Whisky Experiential Ambassador, Gordon Dallas will also join Gordon, and both will be thrilled to answer all your questions.” They have asked that questions are submitted in advance via their Facebook, Instagram or Twitter pages, or they can be asked live on the night. Anyone joining the tasting will be in with a chance of winning a bottle of Teapot Dram, Batch 007, with the winner being notified on 30 March. Teapot Batch 007 is a wonderful dram so do join in the tasting.

• Expand your knowledge by reading whisk(e)y books. If you have some whisky books but haven’t had time to read them, put your feet up with a dram (not at breakfast!) and make time now. There are reading lists attached to The Whisky Ambassador courses and other books out there too by Charles MacLean, Dave Broom and Ian Buxton, amongst others. And let’s not forget Michael Jackson, Helen Arthur or Andrew Jefford. Subscribe to Whisky Advocate and Whisky Magazine too.
• Go back into your own whisky stocks and set yourself up a small tasting. Remind yourself of things you haven’t tried in a while but do it like the professionals you are – taste and spit, don’t drink it. Maybe find out or remind yourself of how good blends are. Stephanie MacLeod of Dewar’s once told me of a meeting at a whisky fest where someone said he didn’t like blends. She secretly gave him some Dewar’s 18, I think it was. He reckoned he didn’t know blends could be that good. All he needed was the education. It ain’t all about malts, you know.

I promised a review of a new US book about whisk(e)y but still haven’t read it. Next time. Also, Ardbeg are partners in bringing out a new beer but its release has had to be delayed (that virus again). I’m hoping to get hold of some and keep it here for my brother who works for UN World Food Programme trying to get aid to the people of Yemen. He’s currently stuck in Amman, Jordan with no beer delivery as they’re on lockdown too. Anyway, I’ll cover it if I can get some to taste.

Back in another week or two. Till then, stay safe and well and, if you’re in an area with coronavirus, don’t go out unless you absolutely must.

Slainte,

Caroline

First of all just to let all readers know that I’m moving to a twice monthly column now and they should each be shorter than the previous once-a-month version. I’ll still be doing an interview now and again and am hoping that the next one will be conducted next week for me to post at the weekend. We have a date set for the interview but not a time as yet.

Of course, that’s if things aren’t brought to a halt by the spread of coronavirus. Any of you out there who may have already booked for this year’s Feis Ile (Islay Festival) in late May, or are thinking about it, be aware that the Feis Committee is having an emergency meeting on Monday (16th March) to discuss what to do. I’d hope we’ll get a decision then. I’m hoping to be back over this year to do my 17th annual dinner at the Port Charlotte Hotel but it all depends on imminent decisions on Islay. The event gets an audience of several thousand over the course of the Feis and a lot of those people come from Europe where the virus is already more widespread than here. Our lovely little islands don’t have the infrastructure to cope with a lot of visiting people who might develop the virus or those living there who might contract it afterwards.

I would hope a lot of the problem would be over by late May but there’s no certainty at present. Also the Scottish Government is banning all gatherings of more than 500 people from Monday until it is deemed safe to resume such things. This is so as not to overstretch our emergency and health services. That’s far bigger than a Feis event but everyone is concentrated in a smaller area over that week. I will update on this in my column later this month.  Laphroaig and Bowmore (both owned by Beam Suntory) are closing their visitor centres till further notice.

It could be a similar story with the Spirit of Speyside festival which should run from 29th April to 4th May in that facilities may not be enough to cope with a large number of people with the virus. At time of writing there’s no firm info on it other than a reported statement which indicated they still wish to be able to run the event as maximum numbers  at any single event tend not to be as high as 500, but they don’t want to put visitors or local people at risk and will update as necessary in the coming weeks. The official ban also covers indoor events of more than 100 people. There’s nothing on the website at time of writing.

News came into my inbox today of the impending retirement  (from October 2020) of the excellent Mickey Heads, Manager at Ardbeg for the last 13 years. I’m sure he’s too young to retire but he has decided it’s time to wander off and do his own thing, though he will continue to be Ardbeg Committee Chairman for a further few years and be presiding over Ardbeg Day at Feis Ile for those three years too. He’ll need to let a newbie see how it’s done, after all! And he’s staying on the island.

I e-mailed Jackie Thomson about it (both of them in this pic from today’s e-mail) and she says he’s been a great figurehead for the distillery in all this time but has decided it’s time to relax a bit. Certainly it’s pretty full on being a distillery manager these days with day-to-day running of a distillery, festival events to participate in, social media postings to do (for some) and domestic and overseas trips as a brand ambassador for the distillery. I’m exhausted just reading that list. Mickey was Assistant Brewer at Laphroaig, if I recall correctly, when I worked on the marketing of the brand and later moved on to Jura as Manager before taking over at Ardbeg. He’s been so helpful and kind to me and others I have taken there and to Jura over the years so I hope he enjoys things at an easier pace from the autumn. Slainte, Mickey!

Wemyss Malts have some new single cask whiskies in stock so nip over to their web shop and have a look – https://wemyssmalts.com/shop and scroll down to Single Cask Scotch Whiskies. There’s much to tickle the palate in the new selection including several Invergordon single grain whisky bottlings. They all look luscious but I haven’t had the chance to try them.

Now, St. Patrick’s Day is coming up and our mad Irish friends from Jameson’s  made sure of stocks at the world’s highest whisky bar. The Irish Pub at Namche Bazaar is at 3,440m above sea level, in the Himalayas . It’s the  last stop before Everest base camp. The pic here shows a group of Jameson’s drinkers out there in the cold. We should do something equally adventurous with Scotch Whisky for St. Andrew’s Day in November… Ideas wlecome.

Yet another new distillery is to pop up like a mushroom, this time in John O’Groats. You’d have thought there would be one there already but, no. Or not since the 1830’s.  It’s timed to open in 2021 if all goes to plan. The location will make it the most northerly mainland distillery, taking over from Wolfburn in Thurso.  Capacity will be “60,000 litres per year” but the release doesn’t say if that’s liquid litres or litres of alcohol. I assume  the latter but will check. The site will have the distillery, a visitor centre and a 1500 square foot dunnage bonded warehouse for maturation.  There will be six jobs created over  the whole site.  I wish them well as it’s a great idea and a boost to the local area.

Now, as this is meant to be a shorter version, I’ve said enough for now and will be back again later this month with, I hope, more news about whisky festival events. Also. some on a question I get asked a lot and one of my major bugbears in the current industry.

Till then, happy dramming. I find myself wondering, if alcohol hand sanitiser helps against the coronavirus, what would drinking whisky do to the bug? Just kidding, there’s no science behind that one so just stay safe and well.

Caroline