The Great Whisk(e)y Rumble (Sydney)

There's something to be said for an event involving four great whisk(e)y legends from around the world... 

Not many details were revealed by Beam Suntory prior to the event, held in early September, dubbed 'The Great Whisky Rumble' - other than that it was to be 'the bout of the year, a whisky bout that is'. Having attended other Beam Suntory events recently, we knew we could expect great things from Suntory's wide-ranging portfolio of brands; Hibiki, Laphroaig, Canadian Club and Jim Beam.

Joined by Suntory staff, fellow whisky lovers, whisky bloggers, media reps and others from the industry, we all converged at the Australian Technology Park ahead of the bout. Walking through the locomotive workshop was reminiscent of the time I spent at last year's Jack Daniel's celebration when the whole site was transformed into a spectacular bar - this "rumble" being hosted at the back of the Australian Technology Park. As we entered, we were graced by a spectacularly transformed space - lined with large feature windows, stacked bourbon barrels, old wooden artefacts and old Chev ute, the vintage decorated grand hall instantly transported us back to the early 1900s.

The four brands; Hibiki, Laphroaig, Canadian Club and Jim Beam were each represented across the four corners of the hall, with each corner showcasing a good range from each brand including Jim Beam's Knob Creek, Booker's, Basil Hayden's; Laphroaig's classic 10yo, 15yo, Quarter Cask; Suntory Kakubin; and Canadian Club 12yo. The whisky legends behind these four brands stood by their corner, surrounded by their fans. One might have drawn a parallel between these scenes and those moments prior to a big boxing match, where legends are surrounded, supported and hyped by their fans... 

The four whisky legends that stood by their brands were:

• Fred Noe, the seventh generation Master Distiller of Jim Beam
• John Campbell, Distillery Manager of Laphroaig
• Dan Tullio, Canadian Club  Whisky Master
• Mike Miyamoto, Suntory Whisky Global Brand Ambassador

What was great about the night was that it was the first time that these four whisky legends were together in one place, to debate and battle it out in the 'Great Whisky Rumble.'

 

As guests awaited the commencement of the rumble, a range of cocktails were served. I took the opportunity to spend some time talking with Mike Miyamoto and John Campbell in their corners, whilst taking the opportunity to try the whiskies on offer

 

 

Opening up the rumble was John Rosair, Managing Director of Beam Suntory Oceania who introduced Dylan Howarth of The Drink Cabinet as MC for the night.

The charismatic Dylan explained how the rumble was to see the four great whisky legends go all out to present their brands, their stories and their whiskies - all set to take place on the main stage for the event - a real-life boxing ring.

As the curtains were pulled back, a boxing ring was unveiled - inside, contenders already going at it (although simply for show). Seated around the ring, we were all given a tub of popcorn to munch on whilst we waited for the main event.

It wasn't long until Dylan opened the main event, introducing the order for the night which saw Dan Tullio first up in the ring, followed by Mike Miyamoto, Fred Noe and finally John Campbell.

The rule of the rumble, MC Dylan Howarth explained, was that he would present a series of questions to the four whisky figures, who would be given an opportunity to present their stories and their whiskies. At the end of the night, the crowds were to nominate their favourite as the winner.

First contender of the night - Dan Tullio, Canadian Club Whisky Master:

Dan highlighted the history of Canadian Club, dating back to 1858 and began with the founding father Hiram Walker who at the age of 40, decided to make whisky in Canada. Roll forward to 2015 and Dan explained how over the years, Australia, as a market, had climbed up to the number three spot for Canadian Club in the world. The Canadian Club Classic 12 year old was presented by Dan for tasting.

On stage, Dan was highly engaging and it was entertaining to see the odd bit of banter being thrown around between Dan and Noe regarding Canada and America.

Mike Miyamoto led Round 2 - sharing similarities with the numerous whisky expressions he oversees; balanced and composed, Miyamoto spoke to the recently launched Hibiki Japanese Harmony. Miyamoto described the driver behind the Japanese Harmony expression and how the expression was inspired from the original Hibiki which was created in 1989 to commemorate the 90 year anniversary of Suntory.

As noted during the launch back in August, I found the Japanese Harmony to be a clean, simple blend that may not be as bold-bodied as the aged Hibikis, though able to stand up as your daily dram or as Miyamoto puts it, a versatile expression that you can introduce to those who have not tasted whisky before or are interested in Japanese whisky.

Fred Noe took the stage for round 3.

“The Rumble is the perfect setting to really hash out who has the best whiskey" noted Noe who then proceeded to laude the greatness of Kentucky bourbon whiskey in front of his global counterparts. 

Noe certainly took the stage well, presenting Jim Beam's small batch bourbon Knob Creek to rally the crowds. It was my first time sampling the Knob Creek and I loved it. I found it to be a big, rich, pleasant, palate engaging bourbon. The intense, rich and oaky characters of the Knob Creek showed some resemblance to the characters of Booker's, another small batch in Jim Beam's small batch range.

On stage, Noe was clearly proud of Jim Beam and its leading position in the global market. As Noe concluded "The future looks great for bourbon!" - and he is most likely right with all the exciting developments in the bourbon scene.

The final contender of the night was Laphroaig's John Campbell. Presenting the Laphroaig 10yo to the crowds; the epitome of the Laphroaig range, the 10yo carried the classic Islay traits, being heavily peated, buttery and layered with smoke and more smoke - the 10 yo, in my opinion packed a good punch to round up the four whisk(e)y variants and helped to seal the night.

John spoke to the newly released limited Laphroaig 15yo, noting the story of why the 15yo was resurrected following its discontinuation a few years ago (having been replaced by the Laphroaig 18yo).

John explained how Laphroaig fans have lauded the 15yo over the years, and especially once it got discontinued and how it became quite special to Laphroaig backers. This was certainly true, having spoken to few drammers that have confessed their love for the 15yo and even seeing a few old 15yo bottles for signing at the Laphroaig Masterclass (post coming up) - one such old bottle belonging to Martin.

Given the special status it held in the hearts of Laphroaig fans, the 15yo was unsurprisingly chosen as the expression that would be released to commemorate the 200 year anniversary of Laphroaig. One main difference with the newly released 15yo is that the new 15yo is made in smaller batches.

As the rumble wrapped up, the crowds were engaged to select a winner though from memory I recalled all the Whisky greats won the people's choice. Personally, I enjoyed the Knob Creek, it was a big, rich, intriguing bourbon. 

The dust may have settled, the crowd subsided but the legends lived on. The wisdom of the four whisky greats from the night will forever be ingrained with those that witnessed the rumble. For that this event will go down as one of the greatest whisky events this year. 

Overall, the Whisky rumble was loads of fun, entertaining, enlightening and insightful. Well done to the Beam Suntory team and Liquid Ideas for pulling this momentous event together and especially for Dan, Mike, Fred and John for banding together on the night to share their special stories.

TimeforWhisky.com would like to thank Liquid Ideas and Beam Suntory for the invite to The Great Whisk(e)y Rumble.

Cheers,
Hendy.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label - "The Gentleman's Wager II" film premiere in Hong Kong

Back in August last year, we linked to the new Johnnie Walker Blue Label short film, "The Gentleman's Wager" - the story of two men (Jude Law and Giancarlo Giannini), a wager, and the finer things in life. Worth watching simply for the scenery and the toys, and far more than just a 6 minute advertisement for Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

Now just over a year later Jude Law and Giancarlo Giannini are back in "The Gentleman's Wager II" - the story of a priceless 1930s Delahaye racer (actually owned by the Walker family), and another wager.

The movie was launched in Hong Kong last week, with MHDHK flying in global Johnnie Walker brand ambassador Tom Jones for the event.

Held at Loft22 in California Tower (LKF), the event (held in partnership with Mr Porter) saw guests enjoy a range of Johnnie Walker cocktails (made with Red, Black, Gold and Blue), as well as some fantastic cocktails (honestly, MHDHK know how to arrange some fantastic catering).

After sampling the cocktails (The "Black Old Fashioned" and "The Delahaye" being the favourites), it was time for Tom to take the stage and introduce the film, which was launched that day and played on the big screen for all attendees. It certainly felt fitting to enjoy it with a glass of JW Blue (neat) in hand.

At 11 minutes, the movie felt more of a "short film" than the first, and thankfully, didn't feel like one big JW Blue advertisement. There were subtle placements, as you'd expect (typically centred around the theme of gift-giving - timely given the holiday season and Johnnie Walker's promotions with Sogo here in HK) but they tied in well with the story and never felt forced. The soundtrack, visuals, scenery (and the car) all came together to produce an enjoyable video, and the Formula1 cameos made it even more fun to watch.

After the screening, the charismatic Tom Jones walked us through a JW Blue tasting, outlining some of the key characteristics that have made JW Blue so popular, especially in Asia. See here for our notes last year.

Tom stuck around to chat with guests (a great, genuine bloke) and the JW Blue flowed well past the expected closing time - proving once again MHDHK know how to put on a great party.

The full film can be seen on YouTube via the link below:

Cheers,

Martin.

Chivas Regal cocktails with the "Chivas Global Master" at Aberdeen St Social

We've attended more than our fair share of Pernod Ricard and Chivas events over the years and they've always been enjoyable and held in well-suited venues. Tonight was no different, as Pernod Ricard HK (with their very new PR Partner Stir Public Relations) launched a range of new Chivas cocktails at Aberdeen St Social, in PMQ.

Pernod had brought in Josh Reynolds of London's Hawskmoor Spitalfields bar, who earlier this year was crowned Chivas' "Global Master" in the cocktail competition final held at Tales of the Cocktail. The event was to introduce us to the range of new Chivas cocktails which were designed to reflect the "flavours of Hong Kong".

After a brief chat with Josh, Chivas' global brand ambassador Max Warner introduced the night before both Josh and local bartender Tunny Alexander Grattidge briefly talked us through their cocktails.

Josh explained that his two cocktails (which he came up with in 3 hours) reflected his views of Hong Kong, but in very different ways. The first - Live Longan Prosper, a mix of Chivas 12, Longan Nam and Chocolate bitters, was based around the flavours of Hong Kong. The latter, #IKnowThatFace (also Chivas 12 based) was a tribute to an earlier mentor, who lived a frenetic/crazy life, much like how Josh sees Hong Kong life. 

Both were very enjoyable cocktails - with the Live Longan Prosper not dissimilar to a richer Old Fashioned, and the #IKnowThatFace being a rich, slightly bitter short cocktail with a lot of berry notes (my favourite of the night).

Tunny was up next, presenting his two cocktails - the Papaya Don't Preach (we love these names!), a mix of Chivas 12, Aperol, Fresh Papaya and Chilli Purée, Jasmine Tea and Orange Bitters and the Mile High Tea, combining Chivas, Chamomile Tea, Homemade Almond and Manuka Honey Orgeat, Fresh Lemon and Abelha Organic Cachaça.

The former was a tall, fresh take on a whisky cocktail (great for HK's climate), with a nice little chilli kick (also great for the cooler months), and the latter was like enjoying a strong boozy HK milk tea. Both delicious. We were also excited to learn that Tunny plans to open an Australian-style café/bar in a few weeks in Sai Ying Pun, just a few blocks from where we live!

The cocktails (along with two more Chivas creations by new bar manager Audrey) were all unique, individual and of a very high quality, and are all currently available for $100HKD at the bar. We're told that Josh's cocktails are also available Hawskmoor Spitalfields in London, should you be one of our UK-based readers feeling thirsty after this write-up!

Cheers,
Steph & Martin.

TimeforWhisky gets hands-on experience at the Archie Rose Distilling Co, ahead of the new "Tailored Spirits" program

Today is a pioneering day for the Australian spirits world - the first time (as far as we're aware) that an Australian Distillery has made personalised Gin, Vodka and (of course) Whisky so accessible, affordable and easy. To celebrate, and to find out just what this was all about, I recently rolled up my sleeves and tried my hand at a few of the stages of whisky production at Sydney's Archie Rose Distilling Co.

The program I'm talking about is Archie Rose's tailored spirits program, which launches today (Archie Rose, of course, being the Sydney-based distillery we also visited back in April). The full press-release has been included at the bottom of this article, but the key details are these:

• On the Archie Rose website, you'll be able to select Gin, Vodka or Whisky, and "tailor" the elements to suit your needs. We've seen a sneak preview of the interface, and it is slick.
• For example, with the tailored gin, you'll be able to select up to 5 botanicals (and the intensity of each) for a unique, personalised gin. Blood lime, orange, mint, fresh apples? You name it.
• For the whisky, you'll be able to choose your cask type, base grain (rye or malt), level of peat or wood smoke and ABV (46%, 60% or custom).
• Those choosing the whisky option will be able to spend up to 2 and a half days getting hands-on experience actually making their whisky - mashing in, pitching yeast, distillation etc... (a $500AUD option).

That all sounds great, but the part we find incredible is the pricing:

• Tailored Vodka: $84AUD
• Tailored Gin: $89AUD
• Tailored Whisky: From $4,000AUD for a 20L Cask

A bottle of your own, tailored gin/vodka for under $90AUD? We can see bars and consumers alike lapping this up, and no doubt more than a few groups of friends will get together to take up the whisky cask offer too...

To understand a little more about how the program will work, I recently spent a morning at Archie Rose, getting some hands-on experience with the mashing and spirit cuts.

First some background - it was my birthday recently, and Steph bought me a small 2L charred American Oak cask (from Barrel Barn), to help me tick off #9 on my #101drams charitable challenge. A cask is all well and good, but it's nothing without some new make spirit, and so I weighed up the options - lay my hands on some Scottish new make single malt, buy a few bottles of Buffalo Trace White Dog, buy a few bottles of Archie Rose White Rye etc... when I figured I'd drop the folks at Archie Rose an e-mail and see if they'd be willing to sell me 4L of proper new make.

Not only were they, they also helped me figure out what type of spirit would suit my situation best. As the cask was to be matured in Hong Kong, with its hot and humid climate (humidity often meaning the angels take more alcohol and less water), it was suggested I go for a slightly higher ABV (but keeping it under 70% as I had to transport the new make back on the plane with me), so we settled on 67% ABV. As I wanted to mature two batches of spirit (one in HK's winter, one in HK's summer) I decided to go for 2L of "speyside spec" single malt new make, and 2L of "heavily peated" single malt new make.

With the spirit agreed upon, I was asked if I'd like to spend a morning at the distillery, to get some hands-on experience actually making some new make spirit?

Errm, not really something you say no to is it!?

Arriving at Archie Rose early one morning, I met Head Distiller Joe Dinsmoor (formerly of Lark Distillery) and Assistant Distiller Shane Casey who had just started the mashing in of a new batch of single malt. Having been on more distillery tours than I can remember, I knew how this process worked, but seeing it up close, and actually getting involved, just made it that much more real. Unlike most Scottish distilleries, Archie Rose mashing is done manually by hand (at least until a new mash tun arrives in 2016), 4 days a week, with 600kg of barley. Luckily for my arms, they were mashing the malted barley that day, and not the "cement-like" rye...

The regular single malt includes 100kg (1/6) of peated malt, described by Joe as the "pepper on the steak". Having tried their single malt new make, I can assure you they've made the right choice - it's smooth, flavoursome and should age incredibly well. The "heavily peated" new make includes 300kg (half) of peat-smoked malted barley.

Speaking of malted barley, part of my morning included loading the hopper with fresh malt, ready for the next session of mashing. Slightly tiring work loading up those 25kg bags, but it did give me an opportunity to try each type. The peated barley had an incredible woodsmoke, BBQ note which I'd happily munch on as a snack.

With that done, it was over to the stills to see the low wines coming off the wash still (described as having a "rollercoaster of flavour", although obviously a little rough) and the foreshots coming off the spirit still. There's no automation or computerisation when it comes to making the spirit cuts at Archie Rose - Joe and team make the decision based on nosing and tasting the spirit multiple times as it comes off the still (Joe did explain that the results are fairly consistent, and so they generally know at what time/volume the foreshots start to end and the heart run begins). I had a little nose at a few stages (nearing the end of the foreshots), and it was fascinating to see how quickly it could change, and how new flavours/notes were introduced as it progressed.

For anyone visiting, don't expect a spirit safe like you'll find (mandated by law) in the UK. "Cutting the spirit" here involves wheeling in a new receptacle and moving the hose into it!

With the cuts done, there was time to sample the two new make spirits I was taking home:

• Archie Rose Single Malt New Make Spirit (67% ABV): A smooth, banana/bubblegum nose leading to a rich, thick oily palate of asparagus and strawberry bubblegum, with a long, smooth finish with hints of lamb fat. Complex and delicious.
• Archie Rose "Heavily Peated" Single Malt New Make Spirit (67% ABV): A campfire BBQ nose with hints of pork, more pork on the palate (with some confectionary sweetness) and a long, sweet and sherberty finish. Also delicious.

Can't wait to see how they go in our little 2L cask, which is currently being seasoned with a mix of sherry and port (more on that in the coming months).

One thing I found interesting, which I'd never had a sense of from previous distillery tours, was how a distiller actually spends their day. While there wasn't really any "down time", there were brief (and we mean brief) periods of waiting for certain stages, but there was also a tendency for things to happen all at once too. For example, at undoubtedly the most time critical point - the spirit cutting, there were multiple delivery men arriving, phone calls, and even a truck delivering a load of 200L ex-sherry casks (which smelled amazing, by the way). The life of a distiller can be a frantic one at times, but Joe and Shane kept their cool like pros.

With the heart run well underway, and my new make all bottled up, it was time for me to get out of the way and let the blokes get back to work. As I sat down to a delicious chicken sando at Black Star Pastry just next door (please come to Hong Kong!), I reflected back on what I'd seen, and how while we whisky enthusiasts might think it's all fun and games making whisky, it's actually bloody hard, skilful work. A big cheers to the men and women around the world who make the whisky we know and love, day-in, day-out.

TimeforWhisky would like to say a huge thanks to Will, Dave, Joe and the team at Archie Rose for having us along and for producing us a fantastic new make spirit which is sure to work a treat in our little mini cask.

Cheers,
Martin.

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Full press release:

"Archie Rose Distilling Co. is enabling you to create your own tailored spirits, giving you a truly unique experience in designing your own personal gin, vodka or whisky, right down to your name on the label.

The award-winning distillery and bar prides itself on its opening up the distilling experience to the public and invites you to try your hand at spirits design via the Archie Rose website, where a custom application has been developed to guide you through the process.

“This is something we’ve been working on for some time,” says founder and owner, Will Edwards. “Every day we are lucky enough to able to play with pure botanical distillates, unique malts and rare casks to create our spirits’ flavour profiles, and thought why should we be the ones having all the fun designing spirits? It was a natural progression to go down this route and give people the opportunity to get really involved in the distilling process, which we are so passionate about.” 

Designing your Tailored Vodka or gin begins at https://archierose.com.au/tailored-spirits/ where you have the option to select up to five of the distillery’s unique botanical distillates to add to your bottle of Original Vodka or Signature Dry Gin. The intensity for each botanical is then chosen to give your spirit its unique flavour profile. The final step is personalising the bottle, by adding your name or the person lucky enough to be receiving it as a gift, and the custom made label is created – your Tailored Spirit forever marked as your own and delivered to your door. 

For those wanting to up the ante, Tailored Whisky is an incredibly unique offering allowing you to personalise almost every aspect of your whisky including the option for you and four friends to assist in the actual making of your whisky on site.

To ensure your Tailored Whisky is precisely to your specifications, options include a choice of Single Malt Whisky or Rye Whisky; a custom made 20L, 50L or 100L cask of any wood type the Archie Rose cooper has available including New American Oak, French Oak, Ex-Bourbon, Ex-Port and Ex-Sherry and setting your desired level of smoke influence from a choice of peated or wood smoked malts, among others.

Your name is stencilled on to your cask prior to it being stored and displayed in the bar rack until mature with the Archie Rose Production Manager and Head Distiller managing the maturation process. You will receive a 200ml sample annually to create a library of your whisky’s maturation however your cask can be sampled at any time by appointment. 

Bottling the Tailored Whisky at your desired ABV on maturation includes batch details and your name on the label. Six bottles of the final product will be presented in a handmade wooden Archie Rose crate with full brewing and distillation notes, one bottle of filtered water used in the production of the whisky and two Glencairn glasses. The remaining bottles will be packed in Archie Rose cases with an option to keep your empty cask.

Tailored Vodka: $84
Tailored Gin: $89
Tailored Whisky: From $4,000 for a 20L Cask

Available from Monday 2 November at: https://archierose.com.au/tailored-spirits/"

Kininvie 23 year old Australian Launch party (Tasted #221 - 224) (#101drams)

We have a soft spot for William Grant & Sons here at TimeforWhisky - not only for the great range of whiskies they put out, nor because of the fantastic events they run, but because of the truly awesome people who make up the brand. So it goes without saying that when an invite arrived for the launch of the 23 year old in Sydney, at a time I was actually going to be in Sydney, I was going to be there without hesitation. The fact that it would be the first whisky event that both Hendy and I would cover jointly just made it even better.

Kininvie has been a distillery of personal interest to me for years. Back in 2009 when I was starting my whisky adventures, dad and I toured Glenfiddich, and learnt about Kininvie, which began distilling in 1990 and, at the time of our tour, was only available as a single malt to a select few (distillery workers, or those who paid a pretty penny for a bottle on the secondhand market). When I started my #101drams charitable challenge, a Kininvie had to feature.

Fast forward a few years to 2013, and Kininvie was released as a commercial (albeit still reclusive) single malt. Available as a 17 year old in the travel retail market, and a 23yo (in very limited quantities) in Taiwan, word quietly spread that Glenfiddich and Balvenie had a sibling, which neatly nestled in between the two both physically and in terms of flavour profile.

(I have to be honest here - despite being on my #101drams list, I actually tried Kininvie 23 year old Batch 001 exactly 12 months ago, thanks to the very generous folks at Whisky+Alement in Melbourne, but hadn't yet added the tasting notes to the blog. I've included them at the bottom of this post, along with the Batch #003, which is the release recently launched in Australia.)

The theme of "reclusiveness" was to feature heavily throughout the night, starting with the choice of venue - Magazin. The brainchild of the team behind Grasshopper (Sydney's first Small Bar), the underground private members' bar, located on Darlinghurst's William St, is known (or rather not known) as one of Sydney's most reclusive and exclusive bars. Just don't call it a speakeasy (truly, think classy, futuristic underground cocktail den with a smart layout and quality, modern finishings).

Upon entering the bar, we were handed a delicious Old Fashioned (made with Monkey Shoulder and chocolate bitters), and were warmly greeted by Laura and Mark of William Grant & Sons, who were hosting the night. A brief glance at the menu revealed a few goodies in store - including two single cask Kininvies.

After greetings and our fantastically-chocolatey cocktails, it was time for Laura to introduce the crowd to Kininvie, which William Grant & Sons designed to give grassy and floral notes, to provide a malt whose profile nestled neatly between the fruitier Glenfiddich, and the richer, more honied Balvenie. Laura also explained that Kinivie (whose stillhouse is also physically nestled in between Glenfiddich and Balvenie) means "end of the field", and was a personal favourite of Janet Sheed Roberts, granddaughter of William Grant, and who lived to the ripe old age of 110.

The Kininvie stillhouse - taken during Steph's and my visit to Balvenie in July this year.

Before long, drams were handed out (along with matched canapés) and it was time to start tasting...

Kininvie 1999 single cask American Oak (55.7% ABV, 15 to 16yo, Speyside, Scotland, not commercially available)
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Nose: Light and floral, with a slight earthiness.
Palate: Citrusy-zing initially, with some contrasting meaty BBQ notes. Sweet. A drop of water toned down the sweetness and amped up the earthy notes.
Finish: Long, meaty and earthy
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. It's pretty special to be able to try a Kininvie, let alone a single cask Kininvie. Off to a good start!


Kininvie 1990 single cask European Oak ex-sherry cask (59% ABV, 24 to 25yo, Speyside, Scotland, not commercially available)
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Nose: A lovely sherry bomb. Rich red berries and Christmas cake, with some hints of furniture polish and the same earthiness from the 1999.
Palate: Citrusy still, but more oranges and tangerines this time. Still very earthy. Cherries and some cocoa. Coffee and more Christmas cake.
Finish: Medium to long with Brazil nuts and cocoa.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Interestingly, this reminded me a LOT of a very heavily sherried cask-strength 11yo Yamazaki single cask I tried recently.

After a short break and a dram of the 17yo Kininvie, it was time to try the whisky we were all at Magazin to celebrate - the Kininvie 23 year old Batch #003.

Kininvie 23 Batch #003 1991 (42.6% ABV, 23yo, Speyside, Scotland, $210AUD / £120)
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Nose: Sweet toffee apples and some vanilla. This has definitely had a fair bit of American Oak maturation.
Palate: Smooth. Sweet toffee apples dipped in rich caramel. A hint of oak.
Finish: Short to medium, with notes of toffee apples to the end.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. A lovely dessert whisky.

So how did the Batch #001, tasted 12 months ago to the day, compare?

Kininvie 23 Batch #001 1990 (42.6% ABV, 23yo, Cask #4107, Speyside, Scotland, no longer available) - tasted in October 2014.
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Colour: Orange gold
Nose: Slightly more Glenfiddich than Balvenie, with citrus, pears, orange peels, boiled lollies, and after time, stronger apples and pears.
Palate: Orange marmalade on burnt toast. Spicy (paprika). Nutty.
Finish: Long, drying and tannic. Spice, pepper and tabasco.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.

With the tasting officially over, it was time to catch up with the many Sydney whisky folk I used to see regularly, but now hadn't seen in over a year. A really great night spent enjoying a rare and little-known whisky in the perfect setting.

Kininvie 23 Batch #003 is available in Australia at specialist bottle shops, priced at $210AUD (350mL bottle). If you miss out on getting a bottle in Australia, we notice Master of Malt still have both Batch #002 and #003 releases available (the latter by the dram too), as well as the older Hazelwood 105.

Cheers,

Martin (words) & Hendy (photos).

Happy (3rd) Birthday to us!

It's somewhat hard for me to believe, but it was 3 years ago to the day that the first TimeforWhisky post was made. I won't say it seems like yesterday, but it certainly seems like less than 3 years ago...

In those three years we've:

• Posted over 280 articles
• Expanded into Asia (and seen our Australian content continue in the very capable hands of Hendy)
• Taken detailed notes on over 220 whiskies (and informally tasted many hundreds more)
• Reached 66 whiskies in our #101 drams challenge (though in reality closer to 80 - there are a lot of notes still to post up!)
• Reviewed whisky bars in Tokyo, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Melbourne and Brisbane (with pending reviews from Kyoto, Osaka, Niseko, Sapporo, Taiwan, Macau, London and Edinburgh)
• Reviewed Whisky Live in three countries
• Tasted many 40 year old whiskies, a 50 year old whisky, a 58 year old whisky and even a 60 year old whisky (not to mention a 100 year old port!)
• Met more industry legends than we can remember; and
• Toured distilleries in Scotland, Australia, India, Ireland, Japan and Taiwan.

Most importantly though, we've made some incredible friends across the world and shared some amazing drams, and, hopefully, brought you some enjoyable, light-hearted posts along the way.

So, a huge thanks to you all for reading this site, posting comments, engaging with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and giving us the motivation to keep going over the past 3 years, and no doubt for many more to come!

Sláinte,

Steph, Hendy & Martin.

This week in whisk(e)y #24 - Laphroaig 32yo launches, Suntory "Ice Sculptures by the Sea", Glenfiddich Future Pioneer competition 2015 winner

As you might know if you read this blog regularly, we get a fair few interesting press releases and news articles here at TimeforWhisky, and usually try to feature them with our own spin, experiences or comments. Sometimes though, they come thick and fast, and we just don't have time to do them all justice.

So we've decided to take a leaf out of some other excellent whisky blogs, and feature a "PR roundup" every now and then - basically a wrap-up of relevant press releases we've received in the previous week or so (including other interesting whisk(e)y news Steph, Hendy & or I think you might enjoy). So on with it then...

Laphroaig releases a 32 year old Original Bottling
With a few exceptions, you don't see a whole lot of seriously-aged Islay whiskies around these days, at least not compared to the likes of some Speyside distilleries where 40+, even 50 year old whiskies are released every few years, if not more often. Which makes this new Laphroaig 32 year old bottling all the more special...

"Only 100 cases will be available in Australia from 28th October 2015, with the deep mahogany whisky, reminiscent of Christmas fruitcake, coming just in time for the festivities. Retailing at AU$1500 a bottle, the 32 Year Old is for whisky lovers who want to savour a once in a lifetime moment.

The rare bottle of Laphroaig has acquired a rounded character and exceptional smoothness after lying in the finest ex-Oloroso casks for 32 long years.

The celebrations continue, with the November release of the annual Cairdeas. Each year Master Distiller, John Campbell, handcrafts a limited edition malt to celebrate friendship (“Cairdeas“ in Gaelic). At 51.5% ALC., the Cairdeas is produced from Laphroaig’s finest floor malting’s malt, distilled using only the smaller stills and fully matured in the famous No 1 warehouse, right by the sea. Cairdeas 2015 is John Campbell’s interpretation of how Laphroaig would have been produced at the distillery 200 years ago.

Available from 28th October in selected Dan Murphy’s and independent retailers."

Given the limited nature of this release, and the fact that it has already sold out at Master of Malt in the UK, it's fair to say this one probably won't last long.


Ice Sculptures by the Sea with Suntory Whisky
As Sydney heats up the Suntory events continue - this time at Bondi's Neighbourhood bar, tied in with "Sculptures by the Sea":

"The Japanese are known for their love of beauty, and Suntory Whisky is no different. Suntory Whisky embodies the Art of Japanese Whisky, going so far as to create laser cut ice sculptures for their whisky.

In celebration of art, and the Sculptures by the Sea Exhibition, Suntory Whisky are teaming up with Neighbourhood Bondi to offer art and whisky enthusiasts an opportunity to learn to hand carve their very own whisky ice sphere.

Running on Thursday evenings at 6.30pm and 7.30pm during the exhibition, guests will learn the art of ice carving with Suntory Whisky Ambassadors, before enjoying Suntory Whisky Japanese Harmony over their creation along with canapés and Kakubin Highballs.

Dates: Thursdays 22nd & 27th October and 5th November.

$25 ticket includes hands on lesson in ice carving, Japanese Harmony nip, canapés and a Suntory Kakubin Highball.

Tickets strictly limited. Book through bookings@neighbourhoodbondi.com.au"

Black Pearl's Luke Sanderson crowned the 2015 Glenfiddich Future Pioneer
A few years ago we attended the first Glenfiddich Pioneer's cocktail competition. 2015's winner has just been announced, and as in previous years, a cocktail recipe book will follow.

"Glenfiddich is proud to announce Luke Sanderson from the Black Pearl in Melbourne with his mentor Orlando Marzo from Dinner by Heston Blumenthal as the winners of the 2015 Glenfiddich Future Pioneers Competition.

The National final took place on Monday October 12, where the five finalists were bought to Sydney and caught seaplanes to one of the city’s hidden gems – Peat’s Bite on the Hawkesbury River to battle it out for the coveted prize.

Launched in 2013, the Glenfiddich Future Pioneers Cocktail Competition is a nationwide search for the best of Australia’s up and coming bartenders who hadn’t previously placed in a national competition.

Each team was charged with creating cocktails for the judging panel made up of their fellow competitors, they were then flown back to Sydney where the winners were announced at a private dinner at Sydney’s iconic Quay restaurant.

As Glenfiddich is a family owned and run business, in the state finals mixologists from around the country were asked to create a Glenfiddich cocktail inspired by a family member. The cocktails had to be one that is an easy to prepare using Glenfiddich 12 Year Old cocktail using no more than four commonly found ingredients, and was prepared for a panel of mentors which included some of Australia’s most respected bar tending talent.

Luke Sanderson and Orlando Marzo’s prize includes a trip to the Glenfiddich distillery in Scotland. Hugh Taylor and Martin Lange who finished in second place, will join the Glenfiddich team on a pioneering airboat in Kakadu in early 2016.

All [finalist] cocktails will be put into a recipe book that will be released into the off trade during the New Year."

Thats all for this week. Until next time...

Cheers, 
Martin.

Glenfiddich Artists in Residence and interview with Lead Curator, Andy Fairgrieve

Last month, the 2015 Sydney Contemporary International Art Fair was held over five days at Carriageworks, south east of the CBD. The fair presented curated arts and collections from various local and international galleries, showcasing contemporary artefacts from photographs, sculptures, paintings, prints to modern, dynamic audio-visual animations and installations.

 

There were many artefacts being exhibited - in fact, over 30,000 artefacts were being exhibited at the fair, also available for sale (for the right price). Personally, two striking highlights for me were the Golden Teardrop (Pyramid) by Arin Rungjang (above) and the MDF and LED installations by Jason Sims of Mars Galleries (below).

 

"...so what does this have to do with Whisky?" we hear you ask. Well, Glenfiddich was also present at the 'Fair' to host both a swanky bar, and also the Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Competition. 

The Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Competition first began in Scotland in 2002 and opened to Australian residents for the first time this year. The competition provides the winning artist with the opportunity to reside at the Glenfiddich distillery for 3 months, to be inspired and to be mentored by the Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Curator, Andy Fairgrieve.

A panel of judges led by Andy that included representations from the Sydney Contemporary International Art Fair Advisory Council was tasked with selecting the winner of the competition. As we highlighted in our recent This Week in Whisky post, dual Blackheath and Bondi resident Joan Ross was selected by the panel as the winner of the competition for her work titled 'I Have Your Cake and I'm Eating it too' (pictured below).

We spoke to Andy Fairgrieve about the competition, and the development of the Artists in Residence program by Glenfiddich.

Can you please briefly describe how you fell in love or how you managed to get involved with contemporary art?

My arts background is not exactly orthodox, I did spend a good few years after school working as a layout artist on magazines for a large publishing company in Dundee, but I have spent as many years working on farms and as a self employed building contractor. My last job before joining Glenfiddich was working at a historical interpretation centre covering the pre history of North east Scotland from late Mesolithic to early Roman period. I have a Masters degree in cultural history and I play drums in a punk band, I like things that make me think.

My road into the world of whisky and contemporary art might have been pretty random but then it is a very unique role overseeing the creation of new art at a working distillery so understanding of the creative process as well as the practical skill to make it happen are important factors.

How did you get involved with the Glenfiddich Artist in Residence program? Looking back, is the program anything like what you had expected at the start?

While I was studying at Aberdeen University I took a summer job at Duff House in the coastal town of Banff, which is home to a large historical collection of art and serves as a northern outpost of the Scottish National Galleries in Edinburgh. It also has a wing dedicated to touring exhibitions of contemporary art. This led to further part time work with a local art organisation called Deveron Arts based in Huntly, who in turn were given the consultancy to run the Glenfiddich programme when it was being set up in 2002. Given the programme was initially only to run as a pilot for the first year, the fact that it is still going strong and entering its 15th year is almost beyond any expectation!

What inspired the development of the Artist in Residence program by Glenfiddich?

The inspiration and indeed continued appetite for the residency programme is rooted in the fact that Glenfiddich is a family owned and run company. It was our late chairman Charles Gordon who first suggested that William Grant and Sons should look to build a collection of art and it was his nephew Peter Gordon who refined the idea of the residency programme.

They chose to take on all the built in challenges of engaging with artists directly by inviting them to live and work at The Glenfiddich Distillery. These artists would be not be producing the type of art that might be expected for a Single Malt Whisky Brand - i.e. traditional heather and weather, were both incredibly bold choices and are what makes this programme so exciting and dynamic. This confidence is continued through in that the programme is non prescriptive in what should be produced. At Glenfiddich we aim not just to provide time and space to artists but freedom as well.

From your experience in mentoring many artists through the Dufftown Distillery doors since the Residence began, what messages can you share with potential artists out there or those that simply love contemporary art?

Embrace experience and embrace it often.

What can we expect from the upcoming Glenfiddich Artist in Residence exhibitions across Scotland, India, China Taiwan, Canada and Korea?

The weekend will see the final exhibition of the summer at Glenfiddich; one of the two artists exhibiting is Krupa Makhija who has been collecting what she terms as architectural trash from Balvenie House, which at one time was home to William Grant and his family. It is now a derelict shell but will remain so for not much longer as a major renovation project has just begun to restore it to its former glory.

Krupa has managed to salvage some artefacts such as light fittings and bell pulls which will be worked into an installation alongside fragments of old photographs showing the house and its inhabitants reproduced on chunks of plaster from the wall of the house itself. Krupa shall also be showing works in her first solo show at Art District 13 in Delhi next summer as the follow up to her time at Glenfiddich. 

In early November Su Chang shall be exhibiting works inspired and informed from his summer here at Glenfiddich at the Don Gallery in Shanghai, and the following weekend in Taipei Chang Huei-ming opens his post residency exhibition at IT Park.

Finally, with all the lovely Glenfiddich expressions that you have sampled, any expression you prefer, and why?

For me it has to be the Glenfiddich 15 year old, the rich fruit and honey notes from the sherry butts it is matured in is enriched through our solar process which just finishes all the warm flavours off perfectly.

Thanks to Andy for taking the time to talk to us. As Andy noted, "embrace experience and embrace it often".

Cheers,
Hendy

TimeforWhisky.com would like to thank Teresa of Agent 99 for arranging this Q&A with Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Curator, Andy Fairgrieve.