July 2007
The Twelfth Edition of "A Whiff of Peat Smoke...." , Why ? because i can !
It's the height of summer and all the highly peated malts have been put aside for the light floral ones in the high temperatures.......NOT!
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Happy 10th Birthday !
Well it's hard to believe that the first distillation Glenmorangie Produced off the Ardbeg stills is now Ten Years Old ! Congratulations and long may it continue , we now just have to wait till next year until the official release of the New 10yo .
To the next Ten Years !
Last night (Mon 25th June ) we had an extra chat in The Stillroom to celebrate the 10th birthday , we were also joined by Mickey Heads , the Ardbeg manager, for part of the evening . The chat and Ardbeg Whisky flowed and a good night was had by all . Cheers Mickey for giving us some of your time , it was appreciated by everyone present and thanks to Martin for arranging it , we owe you a drink !
Ardbeg "Double Barrel"
As already discussed on the forum , i've seen a sneak preview of one of the next Ardbeg release (which was mentioned on the forum a while ago). It is a two bottle special release containing Vintage 1974 Ardbeg . It is presented in a Hand stitched "shotgun" case (by the same person who does cases for Purdey guns ) complete with 8 Bespoke Hamilton And Inches ( Very posh jeweller in Edinburgh ) silver drinking cups . There are only 50 cases for the UK market ( by cases i think they mean Gun cases not 300 sets ! ) . It is a stunning set , gloriously presented but quite frankly way over priced at £10,000 ! Yes you read right £10,000 !!!!
Thats a lot of money for what in the end is 2 bottles of 1974 Ardbeg Malt......
Alls Quiet on the release front ......
You can tell when it's summer , all seems to go quiet on the whisky release front !
But i'm sure Laddie will relieve the boredom with it's 18yo , Redder Still and final Legacy Releases soon .....there's always the New Valinch at the distillery !
Talking of Laddie.....
All Sweetness and Light
A New Press release.....
New European regulations may force Whisky distillers to include E
numbers on labels, as a result of new rules on production and labeling agreed in
Brussels.
The European Parliament has approved an updated legal definition of whisky, designed to
prevent abuse, both at home and overseas, in the production of Scotland’s spirit.
The Scotch Whisky Association welcomed the new definitions saying that it reflects
traditional practice, making it explicit that ‘whisky cannot be flavoured or
sweetened.’ Article (d) of the new definition states clearly that “Whisky or
whiskey shall not be sweetened or flavoured, nor contain any additives other than plain
caramel colouring.” Plain caramel colouring is E150 - the permissible additive has
been in use for decades as a method of standardising the colour and flavour of big brand
whiskies and other drinks. But the colouring, from dark brown to black hue, is made
“by controlled heat treatment of sugar beet or sugar cane (with or without the
presence of alkalis or acids)”. In an apparent contradiction, under the new
regulations, sweetnings that are not allowable in whisky appear to share the same
production methods as the allowable E150. It states: a sweetening “includes burned
sugar, which is the product obtained exclusively from the controlled heating of sucrose
without bases, acids or other chemical additives.” The regulations require that if
any sweetening is added to the spirit “it shall be indicated on the label, stating
the product used for sweetening”. A movement started by Scotland’s smaller
distillers to market whisky without the addition of E150 has just started to gain
acceptance by one or two larger brands. Islay’s Bruichladdich Distillery –
the self-styled natural single malt whisky - has never used caramel in their whisky since
reopening in 2001. Managing Director Mark Reynier: “It’s encouraging the SWA
welcome the new regulations preventing sweetening of whisky, and I assume they include in
that E150 added to most large bottlings. “I fully appreciate the practical
necessity for some brands to add E150 for commercial reasons. I suppose, like in Germany,
this rule is to make the consumer aware of it. “Being a private distiller we prefer
our spirit’s natural flavour and we can say to hell with standardisation. But
I’d love to know when sugar is not considered a sweetener? “It’s an
educational thing. The industry has made E150 a commercial necessity, now we have to
explain why it isn’t. Cognac learnt that lesson the hard way. “As they become
more knowledgeable, how long are consumers honestly going to believe that a 10 year old
whisky looks exactly the same as a 30 year old ? Nick Soper of the SWA said: “the
industry will now look at how best to bring forward national rules on Scotch whisky
branding and labelling to the European level.
Personally i think it shouldn't be allowed , it's not needed , all we need in this product is Malted Barley , Water and Yeast ! I like to see the natural colour of the whisky and i'm sure alot of others do and regardless of what the industry says i'm sure it affects the finish products taste !
Whisky Fringe 2007
Saturday is sold out !
Get Rid of UK Duty Petition
One of the major gripes about being a Whisky Drinker in the UK is the amount of duty we have to cough up . There has been an online petition started up to Abolish the duty , it may not happen but at least it will let the Government know we're not happy about it ! So if you reside in the UK click the link below and sign it ! (closing date 9th August 2007) Last month to sign it !!!!
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Whisky/
