Inbox - May 11, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we 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.

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Benriach - Floor maltings to re-open
The award winning and independently owned Speyside distillery of Benriach have announced that the floor maltings will re-open shortly. The maltings at the distillery, which is just south of Elgin, have been out of action for the last 13 years.  All of the original equipment has been restored with the help of former employees, including Robert Fleming who is now distillery manager at Tomatin.  Benriach's own distillery manager Stuart Buchanan has overseen the work and explains,

"We have been working hard since Christmas getting the BenRiach maltings back up and running. Surprisingly, after being shut for the best part of 13 years, the machinery is all in great condition! The next stage is to get some weight on the system to see how it runs under stress. I have 3 tonnes of barley sitting ready to go for a whirl round the floors. The kiln is working well and all going well, it should all be ready in around 10 days maximum".

Bowmore - Small Batch Reserve
The Bowmore distillery, which is the oldest on the famous whisky island of Islay, has announced a new release which has been prompted by consumer demand - the Small Batch Reserve.  This new whisky is a combination of some of Bowmore's finest first-fill and second-fill ex-bourbon casks, and is said to marry the subtle notes from these casks with the signature soft peat smoke of Bowmore.

The Small Batch Reserve is the first new whisky to be released under the stewardship of new Morrison Bowmore Master Blender Rachel Barrie, who says "The sweetest smoked barley and highest quality bourbon oak casks have created a vanilla elixir with ripe orchard fruits, honeycomb and teasing wispy smoke. Relax, take it easy and enter Islay time with the harmonious taste of Small Batch Reserve.” It is bottled at 40% ABV and will be available by the end of May in selected retailers, with a recommended price of £32.99.

Glenmorangie - The Next Generation
The iconic Highland distillery of Glenmorangie is offering a rare prize to whisky fans.  In celebration of the forthcoming Father's Day, they are offering the chance to be part of history - to part own a cask of 2012 new make spirit which will then be matured for 25 years in Glenmorangie's warehouses.  This unique opportunity is open to the first 250 people to purchase a special promotional bottle of their award winning 25 years old on or after 1 June.

The lucky 250 will qualify for a share in a commemorative cask which will not be bottled until 2037.  They will be invited annually to the distillery to sample how the cask's maturation is progressing.  Each will also have access to a members only website called Generations of Wisdom and receive a Cask Holders Pack, including a signed certificate from Bill Lumsden, the Head of Distilling & Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie.

Naked Grouse - Shake it up
The blended whisky brand of Naked Grouse has teamed up with Imbibe magazine to get the UK's top bartenders and mixologists to create a new cocktail with the brand at its centre.

They have all been sent a kit similar to the one we received (pictured, left) and tasked with constructing their new creation using just four simple ingredients - Naked Grouse, sugar syrup, bitters and water.  Regional heats are being held throughout May and will take place in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester.  Competitors will be marked on knowledge of the brand, attitude, skill and creation.  All regional winners plus the overall winner will be included in a feature in Imbibe magazine following the final in Crieff, where the Naked Grouse brand has its spiritual home.

Tomatin - All aboard!

The Highland single malt of Tomatin is undertaking a special excursion around Japan over the coming months. The Japanese distributors of the brand, Kokubu & Co Ltd, are commemorating their 300th anniversary this year and as part of the celebrations they are taking Tomatin to the people.  This is in the form of a Tomatin branded old red London RouteMaster bus.

The tour started on 9 May and will take in the major cities of Tokyo, Sapporo, Yokohama, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka and Nagoya, before ending up in Sendai on 3 July.  While in each city, the bus will host various tasting events for consumers.  For further information, visit the special tour website.

Whisky Round Table - April 2012
The latest sitting of the newly re-vamped Whisky Round Table is now available for you to read.  The May edition is hosted by one of the original members of the group - the US based Whisky Party blog.

The three guys set a question about whether old whiskies are wasted on older peoples palates or whether only they can truly appreciate whisky of this age through experience.  Read the answers and comments of the Whisky Knights by clicking here.

The Whisky Round Table > January 2011

The latest edition of The Whisky Round Table is now available for all to read. The hosts this month are our American friends over at the excellent Whisky Party blog. We are delighted to be one of the founder members of The Whisky Round Table, so hope that you will join us and our colleagues for this edition. To read the January sitting of the Whisky Round Table at Whisky Party, then click here. This month's subject is the explosion of the whisky micro distillery in the USA and the impact that they, and their products, are having on the world whisky markets.

The Whisky Round Table was the brainchild of Jason Johnston-Yellin, who is the author of another one of our 'must read' whisky blogs, Guid Scotch Drink. His idea was to gather together 12 whisky bloggers from around the world and get them to discuss a whisky topic once a month. The hosting of The Round Table is passed around the 12 members, with each host setting the question for each month. The January edition is the eighth offering of The Round Table and the subjects have been wide and varied to date. Links to the first seven Whisky Round Table articles can be found by clicking here.

We are in the host's chair for February, so watch this space at the beginning of the month for our question and the responses of our Whisky Round Table colleagues.

Our Top 10 whisky blogs

The number of whisky blogs on the internet has risen massively over the last couple of years and each contributes to a lively and vibrant whisky community online. From comments that we have received, a whisky blog seems to tap into something in people - they don't want to wade through endless pages of convoluted notes, they like up-to-date and honest reviews that are concise and describe whisky in layman's terms and they value the writer's personal opinions as these are perceived to be more genuine than manufacturer's notes or other PR material.

A couple of other blogs have stolen our thunder a bit by publishing articles about the number and quality of whisky blogs on the web, since we began writing this post. But that is the beauty of the online whisky community - there is enough room for everyone's voice and opinions. The fact that each blog is written by different people, with different writing styles and with differing opinions is what makes it so interesting.

We have decided to champion some of the best whisky blogs that we have discovered since we first joined the community less than two years ago. We have made many friends and acquaintances along the way and this Top 10 is a tribute to each one's work (well actually it's a Top 11 as we couldn't choose which one of our favourites to leave one out!). It would be unfair to rank these, as each offers something unique and which you prefer is up to you, so we have listed them in alphabetical order. A similar list of our favourite whisky websites will follow shortly.

Cask Strength
www.caskstrength.blogspot.com
This is one of our fellow London based blogs and we regularly bump in to writers Neil and Joel at various functions around the city. Cask Strength offers an eclectic mix of informative, highly descriptive tasting notes, whisky hot topics and interesting travel pieces relating to whisky (check out the reviews of their trips to Japan and Islay). This feels different from any other whisky blog, so you must pay a visit to 'Cask Strength Towers'. Look out for their ever changing 'profile pictures' also!

Dr. Whisky
www.drwhisky.blogspot.com
One of the pioneers of the online whisky blog, Sam began Dr. Whisky around three years ago. His 'Malt Missions', which are now totalling almost 400, hold legendary status and offer probably the most descriptive and thought provoking tasting notes available anywhere. He also, importantly, has some background to the whisky in question, giving it context. In addition, there are articles on hot industry topics and while he may not post as regularly as in the past, each one is of the highest quality and a 'must read'. Go check out what the Doctor has ordered!

Edinburgh Whisky
www.edinburghwhiskyblog.com
Lucas and Chris write one of our favourite blogs and cover pretty much anything whisky related. They are lucky to be situated in Edinburgh and bring their industry experience to the world from there. Edinburgh Whisky includes comprehensive tasting reviews, bar reviews, whisky news, book and website reviews, cocktail recipes and interviews with industry experts. They are also never frightened to offer a controversial viewpoint, that others may think but dare to write!

Guid Scotch Drink
www.guidscotchdrink.com
A cracking blog that is written by Jason Johnstone-Yellin. It was formerly an extension of the Whisky Host website but Jason has now decided to go solo and has transferred everything to this new site. The blog offers whisky reviews, latest news and various other snippets of information and fun video clips. Our particular favourite parts are their 'What did I learn this week?' (a section which breaks down both the serious and slightly more irreverent whisky related news/stories from around the world) and the entertaining 'Say what?' series, which explains some of the more unusual tasting notes found in some whisky reviews. Excellent thorough tasting notes also.

Master Blender
www.themasterblender.com
This is the online presence of the legendary Whyte & Mackay master blender Richard Paterson (well, in addition to his Facebook and Twitter accounts and Whyte & Mackay's website!). Richard offers a wealth of insider industry information, the workings of Whyte & Mackay and even the odd recipe/cocktail in which you can use his whiskies. Anyone that has met him will not be surprised to know that it is written in a very expressive yet informative way. There is naturally a huge Whyte & Mackay bias but Richard's experience in the industry cannot be ignored.

Nonjatta
www.nonjatta.blogspot.com
If you need to know anything about Japanese whisky, then look no further than the excellent Nonjatta. It is the most comprehensive guide to Japanese whisky and the Japanese whisky industry that is available in English. It is written by Chris Bunting, a British journalist and whisky lover, who lives in Tokyo and he has an impressive list of guest writers including Ulf Buxrud, Serge Valentin and Dr. Whisky. The back catalogue of tasting notes is extensive and very impressive.

Scotch Hobbyist
www.scotchhobbyist.com
We really enjoy reading this blog and it includes down to earth, informative tasting notes and other whisky news and views. Jeff, the writer and founder of Scotch Hobbyist, has also devised his own unique scoring system that ensures he is consistent between all of his tastings. We like the way this system is used and the part where he explains what he thinks would improve or decrease the score given and which other whisky the sample can be compared to.

What Does John Know?
www.blog.maltadvocate.com
What does John know? Pretty much everything that you need to know about whisky! The John in question is John Hansell, the publisher and editor of the esteemed whisky magazine Malt Advocate. If you want to keep up-to-date with everything to do with the world of whisky - new and forthcoming releases, distillery and industry news, tasting notes, PR/press releases - then this is the place. John has many followers and some of the comment streams at the end of posts are well worth checking out, as there are few places where you will see such whisky debate. John is a true whisky guru.

Whisky Fun
www.whiskyfun.com
Serge Valentin is the brains behind Whisky Fun and he has almost single handedly pioneered whisky online. Serge is a legend in the whisky world and started Whisky Fun seven years ago. He also part-runs the iconic Malt Maniacs website. Whisky Fun is an eclectic mix of highly detailed tasting notes, news and music/concert reviews. The back catalogue that has built up over time is massive and almost any whisky that you care to try and find will be on there - you must check it out. A unique, excellent blog that all other whisky blogs aspire to be.

Whisky Notes
www.whiskynotes.be
An excellent blog written by Ruben, who seems to share his time between living in Spain and Belgium. Whisky Notes has only been going for a year but Ruben has already built up a back catalogue of over 200 whiskies, including some that are only available in mainland Europe and not in the UK. Most of the blog posts are whisky reviews and these are concise yet descriptive with a little background information about the bottling included. Other articles includes whisky news and views.

Whisky Party
www.whiskyparty.net
Whisky Party are Mike, Mike and Dan and they have the mission to "demystify the world of scotch drinking and help folks find good whiskies at good prices". And they do it very well! The blog has a number of unique and interesting features that makes it stands out - they have a 'Whiskies under $40' series, 'Best in blog' (a regular round up of the latest interesting articles from whisky blogs around the world) and also news of tastings and bar reviews in their local New York and Chicago areas. They also include their own concise and informative tasting notes from their private whisky collections, as well as whisky news and other interesting articles. One of our Top 3 favourites.

If you regularly read these 11 fine blogs (plus Whisky For Everyone of cause!), then you have pretty much all facets of the world of whisky covered. In addition, there are many other good whisky blogs on the internet, but that we have only just discovered or know the writers less well. Check these out as again each one offers a different perspective - Dubber & Clutch, Malt Imposter, Ralfy, Scotch Blog, Scotch Chix, The Whisky Exchange Blog and Whisk(e)y Apostle. There is also the new Whisky Israel blog, where our good friend Gal battles the astronomical Israeli tax rates on alcohol to bring his expert and descriptive tasting notes. He also produces another blog in Hebrew.

Please note - all images and logos are taken from the original sites.