Allotment Dram - Smokehead

For those of you that follow us on Instagram (if you're not, why not? - click the tab at the top of the right hand column), you will know that we regularly post pictures of our 'allotment dram' - the whisky we are enjoying whenever we visit our allotment in North London to do some work or gardening. In these strange times, we have decided to bring this to life and record a brief tasting of each one, along with an update on the allotment's progress.

For this episode, Matt is visiting and working at the allotment on a much more traditional 'April Showers' type of day than we have experienced recently. He has picked an 'allotment dram' to suit the colder and damper conditions - Smokehead, an Islay single malt whisky that packs a peaty punch. Enjoy.

#allotmentdram

Review - Filey Bay Moscatel Finish

This bottling is the latest limited edition single malt from the English whisky producer Spirit of Yorkshire. The Filey Bay Moscatel Finish has been filled to American oak ex-bourbon barrels back in the Summer of 2016 before then being transferred for a finishing period to ex-Moscatel hogsheads that were sourced from Spain. Filey Bay is named after the beach and holiday resort that is located a few miles from the distillery. There are just 6,000 bottles available and these are currently for sale exclusively via the distillery website at www.spiritofyorkshire.com. It joins the original Filey Bay release from Autumn 2019 and a series of six preview bottlings under the Maturing Malts Distillery Projects label.

Review - Smokehead

Smokehead is an Islay single malt brand that is owned and bottled by Iain Macleod Distillers. The company also own the Glengoyne and Tamdhu single malt distilleries, and are currently renovating the fabled Rosebank distillery after almost 30 years of closure. Smokehead was first released in 2006 and stirred up the whisky category at the time with its then unconventional look and contemporary packaging. This has since had a revamp a couple of years ago. This whisky carries no age statement and is from an un-named distillery on the famous whisky island of Islay. There is much speculation as to which distillery it may be - tap it in to a search engine if you do not believe us.

Back to School with Edinburgh Whisky Academy - Part 1

In these times of lockdown and quarantine it seems that people have been going back to basics to fill their time. Maybe revisiting an old hobby or learning a new skill that they have always wanted to do. It could be one of the positive things to come out of the global pandemic as the world we knew and the way we operate in our lives, both socially and professionally, seems to be changing for ever.

Therefore, I decided to do the same but wait for the correct inspirational opportunity to arise. Then I saw that the Edinburgh Whisky Academy were offering a 30% discount on their courses for a short period as people were unable to physically attend their classes. Having heard good things about them I decided to sign up and go 'back to school'.

Allotment Dram - Jack Daniel's Rye

For those of you that follow us on Instagram (if you're not, why not? - click the tab at the top of the right hand column), you will know that we regularly post pictures of our 'allotment dram' - the whisky we are enjoying whenever we visit our allotment in North London to do some work or gardening. In these strange times, we have decided to bring this to life and record a brief tasting of each one, along with an update on the allotment's progress.

Matt visits the allotment again as we experience an unseasonably warm spell of April weather and this time he has selected the Jack Daniel's Rye, a fairly recent addition to the famous Tennessee distillery's range of whiskeys, as his 'allotment dram'. We hope you enjoy.

#allotmentdram 

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (April 24, 2020)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.

Allotment Dram - Glenlivet Captain's Reserve

For those of you that follow us on Instagram (if you're not, why not? - click the tab at the top of the right hand column), you will know that we regularly post pictures of our 'allotment dram' - the whisky we are enjoying whenever we visit our allotment in North London to do some work or gardening. In these strange times, we have decided to bring this to life and record a brief tasting of each one, along with an update on the allotment's progress.

On Matt's latest visit he samples the Glenlivet Captain's Reserve on a sunny but blustery afternoon. Find out who the whisky is named after and what the influence of rare ex-Cognac casks does to the aroma and flavour of this single malt.

#allotmentdram

Allotment Dram - The Singleton of Dufftown 12 Years Old

For those of you that follow us on Instagram (if you're not, why not? - click the tab at the top of the right hand column), you will know that we regularly post pictures of our 'allotment dram' - the whisky we are enjoying whenever we visit our allotment in North London to do some work or gardening. In these strange times, we have decided to bring this to life and record a brief tasting of each one, along with an update on the allotment's progress.

Join Matt as he visits the allotment on an overcast and muggy Spring day and chats about what he has been doing, then samples The Singleton of Dufftown 12 years old - a classic single malt from the 'whisky capital of Speyside'. Apologies for the quality of sound at times, but we hope you still enjoy it.

#allotmentdram

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (April 17, 2020)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.

Review - Uncle Nearest 1856

Uncle Nearest is a Tennessee whiskey brand that has been reborn to honour a pioneer of the American whiskey industry. He was named Nathan Green and was believed to be the first African-American master distiller in the USA during the 1850s. Green is often described as "the best whiskey maker that the world never knew" and lived just outside Lynchburg in Tennessee. He was known as Nearis to his friends and colleagues and worked at a distillery on Dan Call Farm that was owned by Reverand Call, a Lutheran preacher.

Green became the figurehead after the Reverand's congregation disapproved of him distilling and he is said to have been at the forefront of developing The Lincoln County Process - the process where the matured whiskey is filtered through charcoal. He is also said to have trained and later worked under Jack Daniel, the founder of the world's biggest selling Tennessee whiskey, who held Green in high esteem and is thought to have referred to him as Uncle Nearis.

Review - Big Mouth

Big Mouth is a blended Scotch whisky that is owned by Crucial Drinks. The brand has the tagline of "blended to break the rules" and this refers to the fact that it has a higher proportion of single malts in the recipe than the majority of blends around the same price. Big Mouth contains 50% single malt and 50% single grain whisky, although the exact distilleries are not revealed, and was developed by the in-house blending team at Crucial Drinks. It was launched in 2019 and is bottled at 41.2% ABV.

Big Mouth can be purchased via the brand website - www.shutyourbigmouth.co.uk - or at other selected online whisky and spirits retailers. A bottle should cost around £30.

Allotment Dram - Benriach 12 Years Old

For those of you that follow us on Instagram, you will know that we regularly post pictures of our 'allotment dram' - the whisky we are enjoying whenever we visit our allotment to do some work or gardening. In these strange times, we have decided to bring this to life and record a brief tasting of each one, along with an update on the allotment's progress.

Join Matt as he visits the allotment on a warm Spring day and chats about what he has been doing, then samples the Benriach 12 years old - a classic sherry cask matured Speyside single malt. We hope you enjoy ...

#allotmentdram

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (April 10, 2020)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.

Review - Rosebank 1993 Casks #433 & #625

These two highly exclusive whiskies are from the Lowland distillery of Rosebank, which is currently being reborn under Ian Macleod Distillers. The two very special single casks were both distilled in 1993, the year that Rosebank was last in production. Both casks are re-fill ex-bourbon hogsheads. The Rosebank 1993 Cask #433 has yielded just 280 bottles and is released at its natural strength of 53.3% ABV. Cask #625 has yielded only 259 bottles and is released at 50.4% ABV.

Allotment Dram - Mackmyra 20th Anniversary Whisky

So as we emerge from our two weeks of self isolation/quarantine and suspected coronavirus infection, Matt uses his daily exercise to walk to and work at our allotment. For those of you that follow us on Instagram, you will know that we regularly post pictures of our 'allotment dram' - the whisky we are enjoying whenever we visit.

In these strange times, we have decided to bring this to life and record a brief tasting of each one, along with an update on the allotment's progress. We hope that you enjoy and here is the first one ...

#allotmentdram

Review - Glendronach Traditionally Peated

This whisky is the new smoky addition to the core range of the highly regarded east Highland distillery of Glendronach. The Traditionally Peated pays homage to the robust earthy smoke that would have been prevalent throughout the distilleries in the Highlands during the first half of 19th century when Glendronach was founded. It combines rare smoky spirit, which is only made at the distillery for a short period each year, which is produced using peat cut in Aberdeenshire - this has a softer, gentler and sweeter feel than that taken from areas more famous for peaty whisky, such as Islay and the western isles. It is also specially malted locally for the distillery.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (April 3, 2020)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.