Like the legend of the Phoenix… ooh ooh – Diageo recently (well, not that recently anymore… ) announced they were to re-open their sleeping beauties Port Ellen and Brora by 2020, quickly followed by a second breaking news in the whisky world: Rosebank was to distill again as well! And those 2 announcements instantly gave birth to a whole online war between the usual dark …
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Flavour doesn’t depend upon age. Just back from one of those phone calls that really resonate with me and ring a bell in my head “Are we still discussing this??” – one cannot but notice that YES, we are, NAS and clichés about young whiskies are still a thorny issue within the industry. What was this phone call about? Em… Please excuse my lack of …
Continue readingIt’s this time of the year again when the whole whisky world is getting excited or deeply annoyed by one man proclaiming this or that whisky is supposedly the “best in the world” in a so-called “bible”. You know what ? I’ve never been into religion. No worries guys if you can’t put your hands on this new must-have whisk(e)y, new awards and titles of …
Continue readingYou know what really grinds my gears? Whisky clickbaits. I can’t remember who posted it (if you see this article, please make yourself known so that I can give you inspiration credits ;)) a few weeks ago on Facebook, but I recently came accross this status highlighting a few of those whisky-related “news” that journos seem to particularly like and that got me thinking… As …
Continue readingYou know what really grinds my gears? a world where every next-door-pub bartender pouring some not-that-mainstream whisky is regarded as a whisky expert. Disclaimer: This isn’t about pointing out anyone. To make things clear, I know it’s not necessarily your fault if you gave an interview to a publication and they decide to call you the “world’s leading whisky expert” or any other shiny title …
Continue readingI tend to tell you a lot about those things that “really grinds my gears” around here, so let’s also focus on those things that make me appreciate whisky and encouraged me to grow a passion for the spirit. One of them is slowness. Whisky is not something you can rush: from the raw ingredients it is made from, to the production process it goes …
Continue readingYou know what really grinds my gears? People telling other people they’re enjoying their whisky wrong. You don’t need to go far to find them, the loyal lieutenants of the whisky police, they are everywhere, like the grown-up version of your high school bullies. But where they tend to annoy me the most is online (because maybe I’m spending too much time on Facebook rage …
Continue readingI’ve been writing on this blog since a few years now, trying to share my views and bring a lighter, more approachable tone about whisky (English isn’t even my mother tongue, so it’s not like I could pretend to write like Dave Broom or Charles McLean… Oh, and I’m fine it.) but when I started this blog, I didn’t imagine for a second it would …
Continue readingHere it is: during my latest Scottish visit, I realised – once again – that there’s still a very long way to go before visitors can get the most out of their distillery tours. I’m not going into some name-dropping/public shaming here (and anyway, if you follow me on social media, you’ll probably figure out which distillery made me go :/), that’s really not the point …
Continue readingSo you’ve probably read many articles championing a lighter, less elitist and overall more ‘let’s not give a shit about rules” approach to whisky those past few years. Yes, I’m one of those people believing whisky should be for everyone and can be enjoyed however the hell you want to and shouldn’t come with all the boring and out-of-date rules attached to it. Want to …
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