New Talisker & Glen Ord Food Ventures; New Cooperage; Tariffs, Expansions & Contractions; Graham Eunson Retires

Hello everyone

Well, Glasgow has been massively warm and sunny since my last piece here and it looks like it‘s staying with us until it‘s time for Feis Ile from this weekend. Even Bruichladdich might get a drop of rain which is unusual. Depends on whether you trust a weather forecast for that far out but certainly looking a bit damp in time for my trip there from next Wednesday. However, it‘s always good to be back on Islay unless it‘s a raging storm. Still coming to final decisions on the whiskies to match my Feis dinner again. I thought I had them all worked out and the whiskies themselves are all requested but I might still juggle a couple of them round on the menu.

News has reached me today of some new gourmet activity in two of Diageo‘s distilleries – Talisker on Skye and Glen Ord up near Inverness. In Glen Ord‘s case, the activity is from now till end of August and involves The Singleton of Glen Ord‘s unveiling of a new single malt and pâtisserie pairing, created in collaboration with renowned Master Pâtissier Nicolas Rouzaud (left). It‘s available to book now at £55 per person. Monsieur Rouzaud, renowned for his London pâtisserie, Nicolas Rouzeaud at The Connaught, has created a three-part cake dessert with each part complementing a different expression of The Singleton, namely The Singleton of Glen Ord 12-Year-Old, The Singleton of Glen Ord 18-Year-Old, and The Singleton of Dufftown 21-Year-Old whiskies. The pairings are as follows:

Top layer (The Singleton of Glen Ord 12-Year-Old): A light caramel mousse with orange confit, echoing the delicate citrus and smooth sweetness of the whisky.

Base layer (The Singleton of Glen Ord 18-Year-Old): A gingerbread-inspired, cake-like texture, packed with dried apricot, fig, and raisins, and coated with cacao nibs and praliné for a rich, complex finish.

Decoration (The Singleton of Dufftown 21-Year-Old): A chocolate sculpture shaped like a salmon, paying homage to The Singleton emblem. Crafted with roasted and caramelised barley, hazelnuts, and chocolate, it adds elegant depth and marks the first time Nicolas has used barley in his creations which was inspired by his visit to the distillery.

Sounds positively fabulous and could perhaps be combined in one trip of a few days with the other new venture between Talisker and the world famous Three Chimneys restaurant with rooms on Skye. It‘s been years since I was at either Talisker or The Three Chimneys and that was in one trip too. Time for another visit, maybe. Talisker already has an association with this restaurant but the pair have announced their latest plans. The Three Chimneys will have a more permanent position at Talisker and they say, „ ...showcasing the rise of the gastro-distillery, and reinforcing the island’s reputation for culinary creativity. [Cracking idea! Others take note.] Inspiration for the menus is taken from Talisker Distillery’s unique location on the Minginish peninsula and an air that is filled with the salt and spray of the sea. Dishes complement the maritime character of Talisker with its notes of smoke, spice, peat, salt and pepper.

Led by head chef, Paul Green and his team, The Three Chimneys at Talisker’s a la carte menu for summer 2025 will include an array of freshly caught langoustines, oysters, mussels and scallops. Diners can also enjoy the already famous seafood platter or locally cured meats and cheeses. A variety of exclusive themed evening and lunchtime events will also showcase the best of Skye’s culinary and cultural offerings, including summer barbecues, Scottish Ceilidhs and bespoke ‘Made by the Sea’ dining experiences, inspired by Talisker Whisky and the rich maritime heritage of Skye.The Three Chimneys at Talisker is currently open seven days per week until the end of the summer from 12pm until 4pm. The newly designed waterfront venue at Talisker provides space for up to 40 diners. Advance online bookings of up to eight people per table are welcomed. Larger and exclusive use bookings are accepted by prior arrangement by emailing talisker@threechimneys.co.uk 

For more information, sample menus, events and to book The Three Chimneys at Talisker experience, go tohttps://talisker.threechimneys.co.uk.” A pilgrimage to be made for all of us foodies who like to match with whiskies but I‘m not sure my summer schedule is going to let me. I‘m not back on Skye till October and this experience doesn‘t seem to be open then. Time for a rethink either by me or them!

A new coopering facility backed by £1.3million investment is to be launched at Callendar, Stirlingshire (central Scotland). It is Trossachs Cooperage named after the local hills and is founded by Gary Drummond (pictured here) who is a second-generation cooper with nearly 20 years of experience with Diageo cooperages. You might think it a bold move in the current climate for the whisky industry but it may well make sense given the number of distilleries currently looking for casks though others here and globally are scaling down.

The plan is that 12 skilled local jobs will be created in the first year. Four of them are long-term coopers and they are seeking four apprentices. Bear in mind that there are women coopers out there too who are just as capable as men of doing the job so aspiring lady coopers shouldn’t be put off applying. The apprentices will be mentored by Gary Drummond‘s father and the company aims to become a certified training hub. Premises are currently being fitted out with the latest equipment and building in the most up-to-date safety features. Gary Drummond commented, „The Scotch whisky industry is a pillar of Scotland’s food and drink economy, but coopering — a centuries-old craft — has faced serious challenges. Skills shortages and limited repair capacity have led to hundreds of thousands of casks being scrapped, which if repaired and rejuvenated could have gone back into circulation…Trossachs Cooperage aims to reverse that trend by repairing, rejuvenating, and hardening oak casks to make them fit for fill — reducing waste, cutting costs, and lowering environmental impact.“

Mr. Drummond also says that for the above reasons distillers are forced to rely solely on more expensive first fill casks. Now, I‘m not at all sure that I agree with that entirely as I get news and samples of whiskies that do include refill or re-made casks but the new venture is still a laudable one and their approach equally so as the release goes on to say, „Built with sustainability at its core, the facility is committed to achieving zero waste. All waste materials — from offcuts to sawdust — will be recycled, repurposed, or converted into firewood, which will be used in their traditional rejuvenation process. The cooperage will also be powered by 100% renewable energy, drawn from both solar and wind sources, ensuring minimal environmental impact across its operations.“ I‘m pleased to say they also intend, at some future point, to include a visitor centre and cafe which will add to the area‘s tourist attractions and further help the local economy.I hope it’s a success for them.

Back on to those pesky tariffs again. With all the uncertainty and concern within the industry over USA tariff issues, there was some good news by means of the UK‘s trade deal with India which the Scotch Whisky Association has certainly welcomed, given that tariffs on Scotch Whisky in India have been sitting at 150% for years. I do recall that at Teacher‘s years ago we started shipping in bulk to India and partnering with a trusted bottler there, thus bringing more employment in that area. What I don‘t remember is how much that might have helped with tariffs but it was the biggest selling blend in India for quite a while. India is already a large and important market but has capacity to be even bigger. It remains to be seen how the 10% tariffs currently on Scotch in the USA will affect it long-term and whether they stay at that level or are increased again – or even decreased if you‘re a raging optimist. The US is the most important market for our industry. Diageo has already announced cost-cutting activity; some spirit producers, not just in Scotland, are cutting staff or reducing production and others are reducing or guarding their marketing budgets very carefully. A young contact of mine has been looking for sponsorship for a garden which will receive a lot of TV and print coverage at one of the UK‘s major garden shows this summer. He needed only £15,000 and even the big whisky guys couldn‘t help. Some had already fully committed budgets but the smaller companies just couldn‘t do it even if the project was a good brand fit for them. We watch the industry situation with interest.

Time to say goodbye to one more industry stalwart. Last item this time is news last week that Graham Eunson, Master Distiller and Distillery Operations Director at Tomatin and, formerly, Glenglassaugh and Glenmorangie (where I first knew of him) is to retire on 30th May after 34 years in Scotch Whisky. He‘s truly steeped in it! Originally from Orkney, Graham arrived at Tomatin in 2011 and, since then, has led the distillery in winning a number of prestigious awards. As he oversaw Tomatin‘s flagship Legacy expression amongst others, a fitting tribute on his retirement is a limited edition Tomatin Legacy Makers – Graham Eunson Edition single malt. Only 514 bottles are available globally and come from two treasured casks – a 1990 refill hogshead marking the year he joined the industry and a 2011 French oak barrique for his arrival at Tomatin. It‘s bottled at 56.1% abv and is on sale at £150 or thereabouts. Find it on the web at https://tomatin.com/shop/limited-releases/graham-eunson-limited-edition/ and in some very select retailers. Another legacy Graham leaves is that his two children also work in the Scotch Whisky world. Wishing Graham well for a long and happy retirement.

That‘s all from me for now. I‘ll be back at the end of the month having done my Feis Ile dinner, if all goes to plan so there will be some news on that. Meantime, keep enjoying the drams.

Slainte mhath,

Caroline