TM TM EDITION 20 AUTUMN 2003 YOU SAY POTATO photo—George Jackson Here’s an email from Dave Broom, the only opinionated writer worth reading (come to think of it, the only opinionated whisky writer...) I see Bell's new incarnation is "a rich blend of pure malts" Can they make things any more confusing?? Discuss - d I wasn’t going to, but in discussion this morning (while asking if he knew any- thing about ‘Crocodile’ Dundee plc—he didn’t) Dave goaded me further. He was working on a piece about the categories of Scotch and would be arguing for the elimination of ‘pure’, leaving ‘single’, ‘vatted’ and ‘blended’ as the primary defi- nitions—with a further set of regula- tions, clauses & sub-definers clearly iden- tifying authentic ‘singles’ (those named from the distillery of origin) or those bo- gus, non-attributable singles with non- attributable names. Bogus ‘singles’ AMERICAN SPIES GO UNDERCOVER should not be allowed to be called ‘sin- After being rumbled by the world’s press, inspectors for the United States Defence gles’ but ‘pure’... and so on. Amongst other Threat Reduction Agency have taken to less obvious methods to monitor Scot- things, he proposes a quality ‘kite-mark’ land’s illicit production of Weapons of Mass Destruction [as, we might add, was that only the ‘pure’est ‘single’-‘singles’ first revealed on the cover of SWR19]. could carry. All with the aim of simplifying things for you lot, the punters. GLENCADAM THAT STORY Feeling mischievous I argued that, in the Privately owned whisky company Angus The WMD story made it into almost lay dictionary, there was nothing better Dundee has acquired the little known every national paper in the world includ- than ‘pure’, and so more attractive than east coast which ing an editorial in the Independent and ‘single’ which is meaningless (and anyway was closed in 2000 as a result of Allied’s the whole of the (remaining) cover of the only half as good as a ‘double’). I coun- surplus capacity in distilling. Express. France’s Figaro also reported tered that ‘single’ should be phased out, Glencadam, which has already re- the story on its front page (with a tell- but not before ‘vatted’ (which half the started distilling, is the company’s sec- ing nationalistic glee). Bruichladdich’s whisky drinking world pronounces ond distillery joining Tomintoul which press cutting service reported an unprec- ‘watted’); though ‘vatted’ could be permis- they acquired in 2000. Angus Dundee edented degree of coverage. sible when describing the vatting of vari- are low profile players in the industry; The official response from ous casks (or ‘singles’?) from a ‘single’ dis- they trade in own label and bulk whisky the DTRA spies is that tillery prior to bottling (as a ‘pure’ or ‘sin- and are headed by Terrance Hillman, they have ‘no official in- gle’ but not as a ‘single-single’). formerly of Burn Stewart (see this edi- terest in Bruichladdich I have no problem with ‘a blend of pure tion’s interview feature). Distillery’ (well which malts’; it’s a blend of pure malts—but it one then?). When is time to work the whole thing out. TULLIBARDINE quizzed by public rela- Bad Boys this edition? The usual sus- Edinburgh property developers have tions agents eager to pects: Allied, Bacardi & Pernod—no malt bought , closed learn the trick, MD activity; and the numpties at Macallan— since 1994, to develop an up-market re- Mark Reynier said, too much too fast—again. They won’t give tail park headed by Baxter’s Foods. The “It’s just an us (the UK) the latest replica—sorry, you new owners say they will finance whisky thing, a Bruich- can be justifiably pissed-off. production from the sale of land... laddich thing.”

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne , Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 1 now inside the gates; a nice description. years after listing, when things were CL Financial have a lot of assets with ex- beginning to get sticky. My background THE PHOENIX posure to the Caribbean and they wanted is finance and law—and boy! Here I had to get a global rating. Beverages are a to shoot some trouble! The Scotch pri- way to get exposure to a number of mar- vate label market was going seriously kets around the world with a relatively negative in terms of pricing and we got low risk. I think there is going to be more to our worst position in 1997 but now consolidation in the drinks industry with have dug ourselves out of it. many other opportunities—now we have LFW: What went wrong? quite a deep pocket behind us. Pricing, pricing and pricing. Look at the CL moved into drinks in 1998 with the airline industry today—never been acquisition of Angostura who, in addi- fuller but making less and less money. tion to the famous bitters brand have a Why do people do that? In the nineties substantial rum distillery in Trinidad. the Scotch industry got into the same They are a very significant supplier to pickle (still is) by cutting prices. When Bacardi (who don’t actually produce any we started there were margins of up to rum themselves). 45%, now we’re down to almost nothing We also have a stake in Belvedere S.A. and still going down. who own three Polish vodka distilleries Private label supermarket supply be- and enjoy a big part of the domestic came an interesting sector in the late Polish vodka market. eighties. Supermarkets led by Marks & Ian Bankier has tired of being in the LFW: What are Angostura bitters? Spencer got the notion that a non- spotlight recently but fortunately They won’t give me the recipe! It’s a mix- branded value-for-money offering was had just one interview left in him ture of spices, herbs, and botanicals on what the consumer wanted. This busi- for the SWR. an alcohol base. It started as a medici- ness made Invergordon in particular lots LFW: What is your job? nal compound by a German, Doctor of money and Burn Stewart was a player I am chief executive of CL World Brands, Siegert, and by the turn of the century as well. But it became too interesting a new company created at the beginning it became a part of cocktails. Soon the and other significant players moved in, of 2003 to hold all of the drinks indus- British aristocracy took it for their pink creating turf wars while buying busi- try investments of CL Financial of Trini- gins and so it travelled around the world. ness; you can’t get into that sort of low dad. This includes the best part of An- The UK is the third biggest market, cost trade except on cut-throat pricing. gostura, a majority stake in Todhunter mainly in cocktail bars. One of our tasks They brought the price down and that’s of Florida—a major producer of rum and is to find new uses: cooking, coffee, ice the way it’s been going ever since. other alcoholics, cooking wines and vin- cream, fruit, water… an ‘Angostura Similarly with bulk whisky. In the good egars—the whole of Hine, two French Spring’—water with a couple of dashes old days bulk to Japan made millionaires distribution companies and Burn in it—is very nice! of some people. Today bulk is cut-throat, Stewart. There are four operating bases: Angostura is a high profile company and penny sensitive and not sustainable if you France, the Caribbean, United States one of the jewels in the Trinidad crown, want to create equity in your business. and . Each is a fully-fledged it’s very prestigious. At present I go to Our response has been to get out of it. company with its own managing and Trinidad every second month. Burn Stewart made spectacular losses sales directors and interfaces with a Angostoura is part of my charge. between 1997 and 2002—our margins network within CL World Brands, now LFW: Were you at the start of Burn were sliced while we were dropping busi- headquartered here in East Kilbride. We Stewart? ness. By shaking off the low-end business in turn report to CL Financial. No, I started in 1994. Originally Burn we lost 35% of volume in one year. Be- LFW: What is CL Financial? Stewart was a small whisky-broking cause of the investment process unique A conglomerate with four prime inter- company owned by the Hillman family to it took three or four ests: energy (oil & gas), financial serv- who were well known in the industry. years to change direction, but we gener- ices, real estate and now beverages. The In 1988 Bill Thornton, formerly of Hiram ated enough cash to survive that process. group has turnover of billions of dollars Walker, bought Burn Stewart as he By and large we are now out of it. These and has thousands of employees. wanted a vehicle to create a fully verti- days Invergordon are the main provid- It is basically the creation of Mr. cally integrated Scotch Whisky company ers of bulk, with Angus Dundee and Laurence Duprey, a visionary and then to buy some brands. He did Inver House heavily involved as well. Trinidadian of French extraction who very well—the only person since the war LFW: How do you get out of that sort owns most of the stock and likes to cre- to create such a whisky company—but of business? ate and build things and a better the brand-buying ambition was never You price yourself out, make a stand, and economy for Trinidad and Tobago; his fulfilled as events in the marketplace look critically at your returns on capi- enterprises represent a very substantial conspired against him. tal. The unique thing about Scotch is you part of the gross national product. CL He had narrowly missed buying Whyte & can’t make it today and sell it tomorrow, started in Life Insurance and then got Mackay from Brent Walker. As he didn’t so it doesn’t fit the text book model of into other financial services; it has a very want to be in the same position again marginal pricing, efficiencies and cost substantial part of one of the island’s whereby he was held up by speed of funds, reductions—you have an ongoing invest- biggest banks. in 1991 he listed Burn Stewart on the Lon- ment process to consider. If you go deeply It’s a family business; I think CL stands don Stock Exchange to get access to the into the private label and bulk supply for Cyril Lucian, the grandfather. Now capital market and started looking for business then you will find that you have because Laurence has no successors, another Whyte & Mackay. a very large investment in a business part of his logic in acquiring Burn At the time of the flotation Burn Stewart that is very fragile. Stewart is to find competent manage- had the Scottish Leader blend and You have got to ask yourself ‘is this a ment capable of looking after his empire; Distillery but the principal good return for the money I have in- he’s past ‘retirement’ age. product was bulk blend and ‘own label’ vested or should I have put the money The buy-out of Burn Stewart has been supermarket bottlings. He was handi- in the building society?’ If you have a described as a ‘Trojan Horse’ deal, where capped that he had no branded business. one or two million case sales volume we have sold ourselves but actually are I joined as a troubleshooter a couple of with the supermarkets you have a very PAGE 2 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk substantial cash investment in Scotch— ferent styles of distillation; about 60% brands, Tobermory and the budget- but it’s all for them! It’s a very poor in- of production is ‘Ledaig’. The peated vari- priced Scottish Leader, plus Deanston vestment for the risk involved—you take ant is very popular with the blenders as and Wallace liqueur, but it was all hard the risk, and they get the profit! an alternative to Islay. The unpeated work. The two Bs bring us several things We looked at ourselves critically and production is what goes into the including real credibility as a brand took a view that we would not be per- ‘Tobermory’ bottle. owner. Now we have brands with a his- suaded to continue, so we haven’t had LFW: How do you tell your new own- tory to them and right at the top of the the supply contracts renewed. We still ers you want £5.5m to buy a distillery? sector. It’s a great opportunity for us. maintain business with two grocers, Not just , a brand as well. LFW: Black Bottle 10yo is unusual M&S and Waitrose, but both are added- I told them it was absolutely pivotal; this and well regarded. value accounts and looking for more gives us the step up we’ve been waiting I think the 10yo should be seen as part than just a bottle with their label on it. for. Brands like this don’t come round of the single malt category. We are not There is a living to be had from that. very often and we could be waiting a long looking to sell hundreds of thousands of We are in the process of handing Asda time for the next. I think that by that cases, just to keep it growing and keep over to Glenmorangie who have an ap- time they had a lot of trust in my judge- the margins and make an acceptable petite for this sort of business. ment. They just said ‘go for it’. return on capital—end of story. Keep it LFW: Why? We had to slow down the negotiations to steady, look after it, and don’t break it. Glenmorangie regard themselves as get the sale of Burn Stewart to CL sorted Since buying the two Bs we have gone having a winning formula; they have a out first. Ian Good of Edrington was very on to buy Hine, once a great Cognac strong brand that makes a solid contri- anxious to make an announcement to the brand but neglected under ’s bution, but which does not come close distillery workers and appreciated that ownership, like Black Bottle. We plan to filling what is an enormous bottling we would be a benevolent owner. He was to nurture that too. capacity (acquired from Bell’s) so they very keen to say something to relieve their CL World brands are in a digestion marginally cost everything else with the concerns. In the end it was settled in April; phase; we have three new brands and view that if it fills surplus capacity then they were all very patient. need to get them properly organised and they can do it. It’s their choice but per- trading in a sensible way, then we’ll go sonally I don’t think it is a robust busi- and see what else there is. I don’t think ness model. ‘a troubleshooter’ we will go into wines—we’ll stick with Burn Stewart’s business is now very spirits. To have a rum brand would make substantially branded. We have one Some moaned that Edrington neglected sense. Something will come up. bulk contract remaining for a brand Bunnahabhain and to an extent that’s LFW: Any gripes? called Scotch Blue, the no. 2 brand in true—they were not on the letter paper. I have been unimpressed by the fad of Korea. We are the sole providers and it Small things like that are important to cask finishing; I think that whole thing is ‘bulk’ but not in the marginal spot people, especially if they live on an is- is worrying. It opens the door to rum pricing sense. They look after us and we land. The transfer has given them a real producers making an Islay finish. We look after them. change. Now they’re into something as could do this with Angostura rum—we LFW: And your new babies. a key and that’s given them a great buzz. could really mix it if we were feeling With our recent acquisitions Burn We’re thrilled to have ‘Bunna’—it’s a fan- mischievous. It’s a dangerous territory. Stewart has strong brands, three dis- tastic whisky. In truth I didn’t realise As an industry we ignore the blended sec- tilleries, a bottling facility in East how fantastic it was until we bought it. tor at our peril and there is a danger we Kilbride and a blending and maturation Some of the special casks they’ve bottled are ignoring it. All our attention is on warehouse complex in Airdrie. Bill are sensational. malts—they are providing big margins Thornton’s dream is reality. LFW: And Black Bottle a well re- but our bread-and-butter is the blends, Burn Stewart first bought Deanston spected blend too. don’t let’s forget that. Single malts in vol- Distillery from Invergordon with whom I looked at Black Bottle the first time it ume terms are still less than 10%—were we had a good working relationship. was up for sale, but we were not suffi- they to be 50% we couldn’t produce it! Deanston single malt is not setting the ciently developed in our thinking about A common but very real concern is the heather on fire but I like it. It’s it. At that time Highland Distillers al- turnover of people in our industry. The unchallenging and quite sweet and so legedly paid a strategic price in order to danger of a high ‘churn’ factor is that favoured as a blending Scotch; it is a protect The Famous Grouse (Black Bot- very few people act in the long-term in- permanent constituent of a number of tle might have threatened Grouse terri- terests of the industry. Where are the very high profile blends. tory). The then boss, Brian Ivory, was likes of Turnbull Hutton now? He It’s now ten years since we acquired especially fond of Bunnahabhain and thought very hard about the capacity Tobermory—hitherto not very glamor- took a personal interest in the market- and stocking of his distilleries and of the ous either but we have plans. Tobermory ing. He saw a link with Bunnahabhain industry. He knew that his decisions was closed more years than it was open and Black Bottle, as do we. would not only have an effect on United and previously the bottling was an LFW: But they did very little with it. Distillers but on the whole of the indus- unaged, vatted malt because there were They looked after the brand very well. I try for a very long time. This is not just insufficient stocks. A while ago it became have a great regard for the Edrington alarmist for old-fashioned “Scotch”; it’s 10 year old and a single and now on our Group, a real example to follow, and they not a make it today and sell it tomorrow 10th anniversary it is all our liquid; pre- lead the industry properly. product and the industry always will viously we had to scratch around, buy a The Bunnahabhain brand has been have surplus capacity. That needs to be cask wherever we could. Until now we largely untouched, that’s part of its at- managed responsibly. The legal protec- have been able to do little with it but traction. Nobody has been monkeying tion that Scotch enjoys is unparalleled now plan to focus on it. It will become around with the labelling and there are and can be damaged by short-term mar- quite glamorous because it is unique. It’s things that can be done for it, like giv- keting strategies such as the cask fin- the only malt from Mull, the flavour is ing it a nickname of “Bunna”. But speak- ishing fad. different—neither island nor mainland ing for everyone in Burn Stewart, we are LFW: Favourite dram? – somewhere in between. There are very very reluctant to do anything in a hurry. Bunnahabhain. few such malts and Tobermory has a We are watching it, getting to know it. LFW. That’s it? unique selling point. I saw the acquisition of the two Bs as Yes. At we have two dif- pivotal to Burn Stewart. We had our two LFW: Thank you.

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 3 will close and we’ll rename the company formers, it probably behoves us to put DEVIL’S ADVOCATE Whyte & Mackay. Morale is reported as down our wish list for the Industry—safe being at rock-bottom. Jobs will disap- in the knowledge that someone will pear but there will be new investment make it happen. So, in no particular or- at the remaining bottling plant where der, what is it that we need or want? it is unlikely that white spirit will be I’d like those who make public pro- bottled since there is no reason for that nouncements about the Industry to to be done in Scotland. Superb. think before they speak. I’d like our poli- Regular readers will remember also that ticians to get to grips with this industry between writing the article and going to and recognise that, as a major export press, the Scottish owned Inver House earner, we get damn-all help from Gov- “disappeared” also—new owners from ernment. Just look at the nonsense of the Orient taking over from the Airdrie duty rates, look at the grants given out Turnbull Hutton based management. Chivas had, by that to companies allegedly setting up in time, moved from Canadian ownership, Scotland—only for them to disappear as NUDGE-NUDGE! or was it American, to French. In the in- quickly when a better deal is up for grabs Two years have passed since I gave up tervening couple of years we’ve had elsewhere. Why not help the indigenous lucrative, full time work and threw in new ownership of a former Allied dis- drinks producer and export earner? I’d my lot with Inveraray’s leading pur- tillery, two Edrington distilleries, the like those individuals who are keen to veyor of quality Scotch. Generally planned re-opening of a former Whyte develop new distilleries and the like with speaking, this has been a harmonious & Mackay distillery, and the other people’s money to put some of their relationship. Despite promises of long mothballing of God knows how many own in the pot. And I’d like all those sin- lunches and huge monetary rewards— former Chivas distilleries. gle-malt snobs to stop sniping at blended neither of which ever quite material- whisky—after all, without the blenders ise—I never have to have an annual re- having carried the Industry for a cen- view, set objectives for the year or dis- ‘the power and tury or more, the “new” malt drinkers cuss my personal development plan. In would not have the opportunities they fact, apart from the odd e-mail, we can now have. And I’d really like those para- go for months without communicating. influence this sites and prostitutes that were the sub- Pretty much like the last boss I had in ject of a previous rant to think before ! waxing lyrical about traditional ways of To be fair to the Editor, he did send a publication has’ distilling, that perhaps the traditions to fine case of wine last Christmas, even which they refer have come about by a the odd bottle of locally produced beer These will be the Chivas distilleries complete lack of investment in new has been delivered. In fact he outdid which Richard Burrows categorically equipment. Clapped out is not necessar- himself a month or two back just at the stated would be remaining open at the ily good. time Edrington had offloaded height of the Pernod take-over! They are And finally, to the Brussels-based bu- Bunnahabhain. In the post came the presumably the same distilleries that reaucrats and the new environmental- naffest bottle pourer ever produced have been the subject of recent enquir- ists... get a life. We are not polluters, we anywhere, anytime in the Scotch ies as to whether they are up for sale. do not waste energy or need any more Whisky Industry. A collector’s item, he We are assured, however, that they are regulations. assured me. I was to keep it quiet, how- currently “mothballed” as it does not cost There we are then. If they all read this— ever, just in case the new owners a lot to mothball a distillery. Rubbish. I and act accordingly—we should be able wanted to claim it. know from bitter personal experience to move forward successfully. And I can So there I was sitting quietly, post-zizz, just how much it takes to get hitherto look forward, with some certainty, to contemplating whether or not to take mothballed units back into production. future remuneration from the Editor. the dog for a walk, read the papers, or So we have mothballed distilleries in And not bottle pourers either! even wash a car, when through comes traditional distilling territories. And [A bag of our new Loch Fyne fudge then.] the dreaded e-mail headed “Nudge, what did we touch on in the last SWR? nudge”, giving me his deadline and urg- New distilleries seeking investors ing me to be provocative or thought pro- money in that traditional heartland of voking or even entertaining. It’s at times malt whisky distilling... the Shetland Is- like these, when the pressure is on, that lands! Or Ladybank, Fife. We really one wonders whether or not I should need to run a reality check. Not only is retire again. Given the perks though private investors money being sought, this would be a tough call and so, I but public money also—yours and mine guess, I’ll just have to buckle down and —by way of grants from Enterprise earn the (very) odd bottle pourer. boards and the like. Do we need more I’m pretty sure the Editor has no real malt distilleries in new areas when we idea of the power and influence this can’t keep those already built sustain- publication has. It is obviously read av- ing employment in traditional distilling idly by the opinion formers in Govern- areas? Let’s get real. ment and the Industry. Two years ago I Those of you who check into the web- commented on the management buy-out site had an added bonus several editions at Whyte & Mackay—or was it Kyndal back. Another rant from The Advocate— by that time? The theme was Scottish this time on litter. It is heartening to ownership and the question was posed note that our beloved Scottish Executive as to how long this would last. Slightly has wakened up to the fact that the more than a year was the answer. The country is a midden. Would they have management team, practically to a man, noticed this themselves without prompt- have all left. The workers shares have ing from the SWR? all been bought back, a bottling plant If we are therefore leading the opinion

PAGE 4 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk history. The subject matter is largely AN APPRECIATION left up to the writer; Charles MacLean • Trade and Bottling News, where Loch These Are a Few of My Favourite Things Fyne Whiskies displays its current from the pages of stock, special offers and recommenda- THE SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW tions—it’s easy to forget otherwise that this is a commercial publication—there’s First, of course, the title. THE SCOTCH stuff to buy, (including the quite excel- WHISKY REVIEW—weighty, authori- lent Loch Fyne blend); tative, pretentious. Only those of us who • New Customer Pages—frequently receive the bulletin—this means you, asked questions with clear answers and Dear Reader—are aware of how flimsy a guide to independent bottlers, a sec- is its format, how ephemeral. An exam- tion that reveals an ongoing recognition ple of the 1990s ‘New Brutalism’ school of the need to educate customers, both of amateur desk top design. All of which novice and experienced alike, of the makes it highly collectable. Have you got fascinations of Scotch. a complete set, from Spring 1994? No? Too bad. You could—mine will be auc- RANTS tioned (complete with the envelopes the Some of the best stuff in the mag is found copies arrived in – an important consid- in the editorial first column. Known in eration for true collectors) by Bonhams, the trade as ‘Richard’s Rant’ it’s a sple- sometime in the distant future for a very netic, but also supportive, comment on large sum. current movements in the whisky trade. The Greatest Whisky Writer Humanity has And think how pleased we writers are Here are some of my favourite examples: ever produced—Charles MacLean. to be able to style ourselves as contribu- • [on the closure of Bell’s Cherrybank Who was formerly...? Compare with the tors to THE SCOTCH WHISKY RE- HQ in 1998] “…leaves only those in- picture on page 11—see what you think... VIEW; how proud I was to be described volved in production in Scotland, pre- as ‘Scotland’s foremost whisky writer’ by sumably a tiresome necessity rather akin ans! These distilleries are not just com- THE SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW— to maintaining off-shore oil platforms… ponent manufacturers for your blends! a citation I have used on several publi- It fails to recognise the importance of the They are proud, individual enterprises cations—thanks Richard!. heritage required in promoting the driven by intelligent and conscientious But while the format is flimsy, the con- world’s preferred spirit and smacks of communities born of a heritage that tents of the SWR are the very opposite: commercial arrogance that wipes out produced the world’s great doctors, sol- reliable, engaging, good humoured, carefully nurtured characters and flair diers, inventors…”. opinionated—even polemic at times. for the sake of short-term efficiencies”. Fearless. • [on industry inertia: headline—‘The THANKS Brand and The Bland’] “Let us hope that Throughout, the publication bears the LAYOUT global recession and the subsequent poor imprint of its creator, Richard Joynson The Editorial structure of the SWR has trading results are the only reasons driv- and also that of his wife, Lyndsay, who remained more or less constant: ing the whisky industry into mediocrity makes good her husband’s dyslexia and • Editorial (of which more below); rather than the new brand managers limited education—according to a recent • Interview of a leading figure in the who, from the outside, appear to have book, he was once a fish. They are to be whisky trade. The trade now regards an reached their coefficient of inefficiency”. heartily congratulated on a magazine invitation to be interviewed as the • [on brand managers, (again)] “The whose modest appearance belies its big equivalent of appearing on Desert Island smug new-breed brand manager must heart, its good humour, its well-informed Discs and interviewees are encour- learn that it is the independents who comment. aged—indeed required—to be unusually have created the highly profitable niche Keep up the good work, guys! candid in their comments. Where else market in malt whiskies – profits that have you read an industry executive he is in danger of destroying. Once the claim “We are up a tree with our bottoms profits go, so does the excitement and, showing”?; eventually, the interest: all branded toi- • Turnbull Hutton, former industry su- let paper is the same”. premo and relative newcomer to the • [on Pernod Ricard] “LFW has yet to be SWR but immediately part of the ethos impressed by Pernod (to be at least po- “Don’t say we’re not cutting edge. And lite): evidence is that of volume over style, don’t expect me to provide any answers. growth over attention, failing particu- Hell, I’m The Advocate—I just pose the larly in understanding customer expec- questions”; tations for single malts”. • Contributions from a ‘Who’s Who’ of • [on management] “Repeatedly the old whisky writers and industry profes- guard bemoan the incidence of short- sionals covering a wide range of topics: term appointments to key long-term, de- the personal—Michael Jackson on cision-making positions... many of them what he does for his holidays—Is that are moving on just as they realise that “1990s ‘New Brutalism’ school of amateur desk all you do?; technical matters—Roger the whisky industry is unlike any other: top design”? - Huh! Jones the yeast manufacturer—Speed a special, precious and delicate thing”. You don’t have to wait for Charlie to flog off his and Violence - the magic of yeast; his- • [on proprietors’ malt bottlings] “Un- sticky, crumpled pile of SWRs. A CD-ROM of torical— Robert Haydock—Argyll’s for- fortunately there remains a middle-tier the first 20 issues of the SWR should be avail- gotten Whisky Barons; whimsical— of distillery owners (Bacardi, Allied, able by the time you have finished reading this Gavin Smith considering the proper Pernod) who are under the illusion that article, if we’ve put enough coal in the old Mac. use of the apostrophe in The Angel’s they actually own their distilleries. £10 for 20 SWRs, Stock Lists since 1993 and Share; or news-related matters—Dave Eejits! This is Scotland! You don’t own a virtual visit to the shop; computer and batter- Broom on wood finishes—A chequered things here – you are merely custodi- ies not included.

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 5 X X

TROLLEY DASH TIME! TOP SHELF This year once more we offer more deals than ever. DEAL PRICE SAVING With every order of a 70cl bottle or more there is a free OB AN CNOC (Knockdhu) 12 40% £ 17.90 £ 4.00 copy of the Scottish Field Magazine with its separate OB ARDBEG — 5∆ 10 46% £ 20.50 £ 3.00 whisky feature PLUS! a bag of our new Loch Fyne G&M ARDMORE ’87/14 40% £ 23.50 £ 3.00 Fudge (see back page). OB AUCHENTOSHAN — 1 10 40% £ 17.90 £ 4.00 OB AUCHENTOSHAN — 3 Wood 43% £ 27.40 £ 5.00 There is also FREE DELIVERY!—if you buy any four (or OB-d AUCHROISK 10 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 more) malts from our Stock List and add two (or more) bot- OB BALBLAIR 16 40% £ 21.50 £ 2.00 tles of the superb, award winning Loch Fyne we’ll de- OB BALVENIE 15 50% £ 32.90 £ 5.00 liver FREE to a UK address! (That’s buy FOUR malts AND OB BALVENIE — Double Wood 12 40% £ 21.90 £ 4.00 two Loch Fyne—yes?) OB BALVENIE 10 40% £ 20.50 £ 2.00 * SMALL PRINT * OB-d BENRINNES 15 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 These deals and freebies are while stocks last, one each, and OB BENROMACH — 3∆ 18 40% £ 29.50 £ 4.00 not available in gift orders (those sent to another address). OB-d BLADNOCH 10 43% £ 29.90 £ 2.00 OVERSEAS CUSTOMERS OB-d BLAIR ATHOL 12 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 Please check lfw.co.uk for delivery deadlines if important. OB BOWMORE — Legend 40% £ 15.90 £ 4.00 Sorry, but weight may prohibit the inclusion of the free Scot- OB BOWMORE 12 40% £ 19.20 £ 4.00 tish Field Magazine and/or the LF Fudge to overseas buyers. OB BOWMORE — Mariner — 5 15 43% £ 22.90 £ 5.00 DEALS & DELIVERIES DEADLINE OB BOWMORE — ∆ 17 43% £ 28.60 £ 7.00 All deals offered at lfw.co.uk and on these pages are valid for OB BOWMORE — Darkest — ∆ 43% £ 27.90 £ 6.00 mail order customers placing orders before noon on Mon- OB BOWMORE — Dawn (Port) 52% £ 27.90 £ 6.00 day 15th December. We can take orders up to Friday 19th OB BOWMORE —Dusk (Bordeaux) 50% £ 27.90 £ 6.00 and deliver after this date—but it may be too late for us to OB BRUICHLADDICH 10 46% £ 24.90 Free glass both replenish our stocks and deliver in time; deals may or OB BRUICHLADDICH—∆ 15 46% £ 30.00 £ 2.50 may not be available. MIDDLE SHELF OB BRUICHLADDICH—20cl 10 46% £ 9.50 £ 0.40 Last year’s most popular deal is repeated: OB BRUICHLADDICH—20cl 15 46% £ 10.90 £ 1.00 Buy any two from these ‘Classic Malts’, get a free bottle of Knockando - OB BRUICHLADDICH—20cl 17 46% £ 12.90 £ 1.00 PLEASE NOTE Oban and Lagavulin are now excluded from this deal. OB BRUICHLADDICH—3 x 20cl pack 10, 15,17 £ 32.90 £ 2.00 OB CRAGGANMORE — 3∆ 12 40% £ 23.90 Buy any OB BUNNAHABHAIN — 4 12 40% £ 20.40 £ 3.50 OB DALWHINNIE — 2 15 43% £ 23.90 2 for a OB CAOL ILA 12 43% £ 23.90 £ 2.00 OB GLENKINCHIE 10 43% £ 23.90 free 70cl OB CAOL ILA 18 43% £ 33.20 £ 2.00 OB TALISKER — 5∆ 10 46% £ 25.90 Knockando! OB CAOL ILA 55% £ 29.50 £ 2.00

PAGE 6 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk CC CAOL ILA ’90/13 40% £ 23.70 £ 4.00 OB-d INCHGOWER 14 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 OB CLYNELISH 14 46% £ 24.70 £ 2.00 OB INVERARITY — Ancestral— 3 14 40% £ 23.90 £ 4.00 OB-d DAILUAINE — 3 16 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 OB INVERARITY — ISLAY — 5 10 40% £ 20.90 £ 3.00 OB DALMORE — 3 12 40% £ 20.60 £ 5.00 OB INVERARITY — 2 10 40% £ 17.90 £ 2.00 OB-d DUFFTOWN 15 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 OB ISLE OF JURA 10 40% £ 17.90 £ 4.00 OB-d GLENDULLAN 12 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 OB KNOCKANDO ’90/12 40% £ 18.60 £ 3.00 OB GLEN ELGIN 12 43% £ 22.90 £ 2.00 OB-d LINKWOOD 12 43% £ 29.90 £ 2.00 OB 18 40% £ 31.90 £ 8.00 OB LOCHNAGAR (Royal) — 3 12 40% £ 21.30 £ 3.00 OB GLENFIDDICH — 2 12 40% £ 19.90 £ 2.00 OB LONGMORN 15 45% £ 21.90 £ 4.00 OB GLENFIDDICH— Havana 21 40% £ 47.90 £ 4.00 OB MACALLAN — 3 10 40% £ 21.90 £ 3.00 OB GLENFIDDICH — Solera — 3 15 40% £ 23.90 £ 5.00 OB-d MANNOCHMORE 12 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 OB GLENFIDDICH—Caoran 12 40% £ 21.60 £ 4.00 OB-d MORTLACH 16 43% £ 29.90 £ 2.00 OB GLEN GARIOCH 15 43% £ 19.90 £ 5.00 OB OLD PULTENEY — 4 12 40% £ 18.70 £ 4.00 OB GLENGOYNE — ∆ 17 43% £ 30.30 £ 6.00 OB-d PITTYVAICH 12 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 OB GLENGOYNE — 1 10 40% £ 19.90 £ 3.00 OB-d ROSEBANK 12 43% £ 29.90 £ 2.00 OB GLENLIVET (The) — ∆ 18 43% £ 26.90 £ 3.00 G&M SCAPA — 2 ’89/12 40% £ 22.50 £ 3.00 OB GLENLIVET (The) — 3 12 40% £ 20.90 £ 3.00 OB SPEYBURN 10 40% £ 17.00 £ 3.50 OB-d GLENLOSSIE 10 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 OB SPRINGBANK 10 46% £ 22.50 £ 2.00 G&M GLEN MHOR ’79/21 40% £ 36.30 £ 5.00 OB-d 12 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 OB GLENMORANGIE — ∆ 15 43% £ 26.50 £ 4.50 OB-d TEANINICH 10 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 OB GLENMORANGIE — 2 10 40% £ 21.90 £ 2.00 OB FAMOUS GROUSE MALT 1991 40% £ 19.50 £ 4.00 OB GLENMORANGIE — Burgundy 43% £ 22.50 £ 4.00 OB TOBERMORY 10 40% £ 16.90 £ 3.00 OB GLENMORANGIE — Madeira 43% £ 22.50 £ 4.00 OB TOMATIN 12 40% £ 18.50 £ 3.00 OB GLENMORANGIE — Port — 2∆ 43% £ 22.50 £ 4.00 BLENDS AND STICKIES OB GLENMORANGIE — Sherry 43% £ 22.50 £ 4.00 OB ANTIQUARY 12 40% £ 16.90 £ 5.00 OB GLEN MORAY — Chardonnay 40% £ 14.90 £ 2.00 OB FAMOUS GROUSE — Islay Fin 40% £ 14.90 £ 1.00 OB GLEN MORAY — Wine — 2 12 40% £ 17.70 £ 3.00 OB FAMOUS GROUSE — Port Fin 40% £ 14.90 £ 1.00 OB GLEN ORD 12 43% £ 24.90 £ 3.00 OB GRANT’S — Sherry Cask Reserve 40% £ 11.40 £ 1.50 OB-d GLEN SPEY 12 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 OB GRANT’S — Ale Cask Reserve 40% £ 11.40 £ 1.50 LOWER SHELF OB — BLACK 12 40% £ 18.40 £ 1.50 OB GLENROTHES ’89/12 43% £ 30.20 £ 5.00 OB DUNKELD ATHOLL BROSE 35% £ 17.20 £ 3.00 OB GLENROTHES ’84/17 43% £ 39.90 £ 10.00 OB GLAYVA — 50cl 35% £ 11.90 £ 3.00 OB GLENTURRET 10 40% £ 23.60 £ 2.00 OB HEATHER CREAM 17% £ 8.90 £ 2.00 OB HIGHLAND PARK — 3∆ 12 40% £ 20.90 £ 4.00 OB OLD PULTENEY LIQUEUR 50cl 30% £ 11.90 £ 1.60

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 7 ANNIVERSARY OFFERINGS While me-tooism may be an option for many producers, Loch Fyne Whiskies prefers to come up with unique ideas of a quality that our customers have come to rely upon. Our two anniversary offer- ings fit this requirement perfectly.

A few cases remain of Inverarity Deca- dence!—bottled for our decade (geddit?).

SWR regulars will recall the tears that flowed when the last two cases of Inverarity Ancestral from Aultmore was piped by the Argylls down Inveraray’s For five years we have been keeping our grave in peace for I have truly tasted imaginatively named Main Street. acclaimed Living Cask following Profes- the nectar of the gods—the Anniversary However, Inverarity had a further three sor George Saintsbury’s advice from 1920 Living Cask. Magnificent!” casks. BUT! They had been reduced to to keep a cask in your cellar, topping it In contrast to our first anniversary of- 40% in 1998—they surely must be un- up, never letting it get below half empty. fering, the bottling of Inverarity Deca- der strength? True, two casks had fallen In this ‘solera’ system the whiskies old and dence! which has no packaging at all— below 40%—and have been blended into new complement each other. quite properly in environmental terms— oblivion—but one stayed above the le- Saintsbury also comments that the best we have gone a tad ballistic in the pres- gal minimum for bottling (at 40.2%) and mix is one of ‘Clyne Lish and Glenlivet’. entation of the Anniversary Offering of Inverarity have been kind enough to let Thinking of the peaty Brora (formerly the Living Cask—but it’s all reusable. us have this remarkable whisky for our called Clynelish) and a fine sherry cask The bottle is splendid, unusual, (it’s 75cl anniversary bottling. matured Glenlivet, we have long had a but don’t tell the Brussels bureaucrats! [Malt whiskies are vulnerable to shock hankering to try this. Now for our tenth And it has a big ‘punt’ in it so it seems and need time to recover between anniversary and with the assistance of particularly big). A tall, elegant flared changes. Andrew Symington told Andrew Symington of Signatory we have and rounded form, topped by Tipsy, the SWR18 that he returns malts to wood achieved our ambition. Living Cask boy. The back label quotes to settle after reduction with water. As In November 2002 a half hogshead of the recommendation from Saintsbury did Richard Patterson in SWR17—“It’s each were introduced to an ex-Rosebank and gives details of the whiskies and dates involved and confirms that each all part of the art... allowing whisky the cask and a sample of the Living Cask from the shop added. The cask yielded is ‘one of 300 bottles’. time to settle.” Check out the 300 bottles after ten months marrying The bottle is in a protective wrap of backnumber CD-ROM on page 5.] in the wood and the results are every tweed, woven on Islay. In days gone by Decadence! (£69) is a whisky that you bit as good as we had dared hope for. every Highland estate had its own pat- could not set out to produce—a happy This Anniversary Offering of the Living tern of tweed, and until this year the accident. Who would try to mature a Cask has a very bold nose but no prickle; Inveraray Tweed had not been made whisky for five years at 40%; it would there are some sherry notes with asso- since 1872. The wrap is secured by deer- go under strength—surely? The lower ciated strong ester elements, and there skin lacing. All delivered to you in a sim- strength a whisky matures at (I reckon) is a deep complexity with large elements ple cardboard tube, featuring a specially gives more maturation and Decadence! of intrigue, a whiff of peat—no more; it’s engineered cap to protect Tipsy in tran- shows maturation by the bucketload. thick, even in the aroma – there’s plenty sit, with Saintsbury’s original quote and Customer Gardner: “Nose: Eh?!!!! ripe of entertainment just sniffing it. the individual number (of your choice if figs and Aqua Libra melon juice with In the mouth she goes; she’s hot, there’s available) on the package. sweet heaven following—candyfloss, salt, sweetness and also a little bitter – It’s not difficult to sell it! Like the first rhubarb & custard sweeties, banoffee pie it’s mercury on the tongue, motile blobs hearing of the Sgt. Pepper album—we and even yoghurt covered raisins. of flavour (he-he-he!) all over the place imagine the delight of a recipient open- Taste: sweet dry sherry, Lyons syrup, and some fruit at the start of the finish. ing one for the first time on Christmas dark chocolate, dried apricots & roasted Then! There’s a blipvert of peat at the Day, unravelling its labels and explana- almonds with oak spice, leather, and a swallow, a momentary promise of pleas- tory notes, some of which have not been little butter-cream. ures to come, and halfway through the described here. For ten years we have Wonderfully balanced body, dances finish Brora’s peat erupts, forcible yet been studying whisky packaging, and around your mouth, chewy, satisfying languidly, like an undersea lava fissure. here’s our offering! and long. Score — 9.25 Brilliant whisky, just what we wanted— Anyone buying a bottle (£139) has the final comment (optional) — I pity the something different and exceptional. option of buying a 20cl sample as a fool who misses out on RJ's bottlin'!!!” Customer Mangus: “Now I can go to my taster (bottle + 20cl taster £164).

PAGE 8 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk 50% of the company, bought the other bottled some at 25yo which was very BRORA — SILENT STILLS? 50% and formed the Clynelish Distill- smoky and peaty. Unfortunately, like Robert Lennox © ery Co. Ltd. John Walker (of Johnnie Cadenhead, they mature most of their [If Saintsbury recommends ‘Clyne Lish’ Walker fame) from Kilmarnock bought whiskies themselves (at Speyside and then how come we used Brora for our An- into the distillery in 1916 only to sell this Campbeltown) and in the case of Brora niversary Living Cask? Long time LFW on to Scottish Malt Distillers in 1930. the end product is not so good as if it customer and Brora-nut Robert Lennox Due to the slump the distillery closed had been matured at the distillery. hiked to Brora and the Mitchell Library from 1931 to 1938 and again from 1941 Signatory have also brought out some to unravel the confusion.] to 1945 because of restrictions on the use very good bottlings of Brora which have of grain during the war. not had caramel added and are In 1819 the Marquis of Stafford, later In the late 1950s and ’60s expansion took unchillfiltered. the 1st Duke of Sutherland, founded the place in the whisky industry as a whole. Douglas Laing had some stoaters of at Brora in Suther- It was decided to do away with the floor casks but initially watered them down land for the princely sum of £750. malting around 1965, connect the dis- to 50% using distilled or de-ionised wa- The distillery itself is situated roughly tillery to the mains electricity and have ter which imparted a taste to these one mile from the North sea, sixty miles the stills heated by steam instead of be- bottlings. However, recently they bot- north of Inverness by road and adjacent ing direct coal fired. tled a 32yo, which was distilled in 1971, to Clynelish Farm. A new distillery was built on adjacent at cask strength which was quite sim- It was built for three main reasons: land in 1967-68 to increase production ply superb! firstly, to provide a ready market for and make it more efficient. Again, like The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has grain that farmers produced locally; sec- the original, it was the very latest de- obtained about a dozen casks since start- ondly, to give employment to some peo- sign of the time with six stills instead ing in 1984; some have been excellent ple that had been cleared from the glens of two. but some mediocre. and straths of Sutherland to make way Customs and Excise would not allow the On nosing Brora you can immediately for sheep during the Highland Clear- same name for both the old and the new smell the sea and the medicinal notes ances and lastly, to try to discourage il- plants, so the old Clynelish was renamed along with a whiff of peat smoke. The licit distilling which was rife in that area the —although the whis- taste confirms this and there can be a during the 19th century. kies were referred to as ‘Clynelish A’ touch of iodine present, like some Islays. The distillery was first leased to James (new distillery) and ‘Clynelish B’ (old) It is the most fully flavoured malt dis- Harper and with two stills managed to for quite some time in the trade. tilled on the mainland. The body and produce about 10,000 gallons of whisky From April 1969 to May 1983, when hence the quality are very smooth—pro- per annum. He was succeeded in 1827, Brora finally ceased production, its stills vided it is over 14 years old. In the af- for a year or so, by James Matheson, were leased to Ainslie and Heilbron Dis- ter-taste heather, chocolate and mustard before he again took over the lease until tillers Ltd. are all present. The whisky can also be 1834 when the lease was acquired by For much of its life Brora has been heav- slightly oily. The finish is very satisfy- Andrew Ross until 1846. Then George ily peated to suit its owner’s demand for ing and long. If you can get hold of some Lawson and his sons held the lease for Islay-style whisky for blending. The I strongly recommend you do so before the next fifty years. They made consid- peating level for most of the years 1969- it’s all gone. erable improvements to the distillery, 83 was about the same as Talisker, 40 Brora’s future? Well the owners closed building a new malt kiln and replacing ppm. The old Clynelish, now called it in 1983 along with many others and the old stills. Brora, was never intended to be mar- currently have no plans to reopen. Such was the fame of Clynelish at this keted as a single malt; it was designed The distillery itself is a listed building time that, not only was the distillery for blending only. The malt market was and is in relatively good condition. Most accepting private orders from all over to be served by the new Clynelish, of the plant remains and the stills are Britain, but also from abroad as well. It peated to standard levels. currently being cleaned. The last I had to turn orders from the whisky However, around the early nineties, heard was that visitors might be shown trade away! someone in UDV (now Diageo) decided round the old distillery at some point George Lawson and his sons seem not to release 5 butts of Brora as part of the in the future. only to have been distillers of note but Rare Malts series. These were very As of 2002, there were about 50 casks farmers of distinction as well. Their strong and heavily peated. They were left in the distillery plus some elsewhere. sheep and cattle won prizes at the not watered down to maturing strength, When Allied Distillers closed Scapa for Smithfield show—fed no doubt on some to save casks. At 22yo, distilled in 1972, a time they came to an arrangement of the by-products of the distillery. they were 57.8%, 60.02% and 61.1% abv with the owners of neighbouring High- In 1896 the blenders James Ainslie and (104—107° proof). land Park whereby their workers would Co. from Leith bought over the distill- The peat-heads loved these bottlings and run Scapa enough to meet demand. It ery and expanded both the warehous- buoyed by their success UDV released a takes only a few days a year to distil all ing and production facilities to cope 20yo in 1995 which was a vat of a large the present Clynelish to meet the mar- with the demand from trade and pri- number of hogsheads and came in at ket for bottling. Perhaps the owners vate customers. 54.9% abv. This wasn’t so heavily peated could follow the example of Scapa, pro- Unfortunately during a large part of the and allowed the true nuances of the ducing enough Brora to meet the bot- 20th century Clynelish, like the rest of the whisky to come out. tling and blending needs for what is whisky industry, suffered from the vagar- Those in the trade and connoisseurs surely one of Scotland’s great whiskies. ies of economic and world conditions. have long rated Brora (Old Clynelish) In 1912 Ainslie and Co. went down the one of the top malts. There have been [Robert’s picture shows the pipeline connecting tube and John Risk, who already owned other good bottlings. Gordon & Macphail new Clynelish to old Brora’s filling store].

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 9 draper and grocer of Thaxstead, a rural by Tommy Dewar. When Barnard con- ALFRED BARNARD village some 30 miles north-east of cen- ducted this survey there was an excit- An introduction by Richard Joynson tral London. ing Empire-wide acceptance of the more- And that’s all the truth I can tell you palatable blended whiskies with a sub- e got a little amusement out about him. Not much I’m afraid. sequent rapid expansion of production of our fellow travellers—one However, Andrew has also lent us all a and also the fortuitous devastation of the W of them a gentleman in cleri- picture of the great man. In this reprint, previous spirit of choice—brandy, which cal attire, catching some fragments of for the first time, students of Scotch (in had catastrophically suffered a fungal our conversation on spirits, evidently particular) can gaze on our first and blight, reducing production to a mini- mistook us for important officers of the most celebrated whisky-anorak, the pio- mum. Barnard reported that the major- Salvation Army. Seeing this we puzzled neer distillery-bagger, and the portrait ity of the distilleries he surveyed had him, and in answer to his enquiries, in- reveals as enigmatic a character as I had been extended and new construction was formed him that we had just started on expected. Barnard was about 50 years plentiful; the industry was expanding a long and tedious pilgrimage to the old when he undertook his journey, and the newly formed Distillers Com- spirit land, and that ours was a mission about the same age as pictured (inter- pany Limited was beginning its domi- of investigation into the creation, devel- estingly embossed by Edinburgh photog- nance of the trade in grain distilling uti- opment and perfection of crude spirits raphers). I see an eccentric or maverick lising the new and highly efficient Coffey into “spirits made perfect.” One of our personality. The hat is jaunty or it just still. An exciting time for Scotch yet, as party here produced his flask and ex- doesn’t fit—probably the latter but he Barnard records, Irish whiskey, which plained to our reverend friend what kind doesn’t care, after all his jacket doesn’t peaked at this time producing one third of missionaries we were, when, to our fit either and his beard and head is hur- of the total, had been ‘reducing consid- surprise after taking a “wee drappie,” riedly trimmed, almost certainly by him- erably over the past few seasons’. The and like Oliver Twist, asking for more, self. The moustache is paraded as an ex- optimism of Irish is evident; it’s only the pious-looking brother offered to join pression of character and the pince-nez when he gets to Ireland that there is any us in our excursions, that he might do and pocket-square reveal a gentleman reference to a bottling facility on-site. In the tasting, and we the writing. This of studies (stop me if I’m going too far). Scotland all was sold in large contain- generous offer we declined.” Most revealing from the image are the ers to blenders or merchants for tailor- ing to requirements. The Scots got lucky; The opening story of Alfred Barnard’s the Irish jumped the wrong way in re- Whisky Distilleries of The United King- fusing to blend. dom which was first published in 1887 A casual leaf-through ‘Barnard’ reveals indicates a man of humour, observation, a man with mission—and a tape meas- passionate interest and gaiety, yet still ure. His apparent obsession with the di- so little is known of the enigmatic crea- mensions of all things irrelevant is tedi- tor of this magnificent tome that when I ous in the extreme. In Edinburgh he re- was invited to write the introduction to ports accurate measurements of a bridge a new reprint I thought I would specu- en-route to a distillery! You can ignore late on Barnard; a sort of psychological these bits with a clear conscience but profile in the style of a television police strangely for today’s enthusiast, not once thriller, interpretation of the clues scat- does he describe the shape or size of a tered within. pot still. It is only in the last twenty My previous dippings into ‘Barnard’ as years that the boffins have started to un- this work is usually referred to, sug- derstand what makes malt whisky malt gested to me that he was a gentleman- whisky; now we can all understand that toff, a self-financing, fun-loving Victo- the majority of flavour comes from the rian waster, on a bit of a skive with his design of the copper still and the wood chums travelling the kingdom’s most used in maturation but never does breathtakingly dramatic regions—all in Barnard record a distiller discussing the search of a good dram. laughter lines around the eyes and his casks used for maturation. On a hand- The 1987 reprint carries an authorita- debonair refusal to face the camera, ful of occasions he describes his depart- tive introduction by the acclaimed ar- atypical of portraits at the time. Not nec- ing taster (‘to clear the dust from our chivist Michael Moss who detailed that essarily a work-shy waster but definitely throats’) declaring it to be: ‘fine’, ‘like li- by the age of thirty Barnard was mar- a fun-loving, gentleman-toff, maverick queur brandy’ or ‘fat and creamy’. On one ried and living in London, describing and bon-viveur. His writing reveals lit- occasion he gets carried away with ‘deli- himself as a ‘gentleman’ but noted his tle of himself but it is joyous to read how cate in flavour, and smooth on the pal- address also housed tradesmen and he is welcomed at each distillery and ate’. Hardly the descriptors of today’s cleaners. Moss also revealed that prior seems to ingratiate himself immediately. adjective-encumbered presentation to joining Harper’s to write this work All his intercourses are jolly—even the tubes. Perhaps it would have been Barnard’s business was an advertising most crabbit of cart-drivers fails to dent worthwhile if he had taken the pious- agency, probably aligned to the Wine & his cheery outlook. looking brother as his taster after all. Spirit Trade. Thereafter he described The Whisky Distilleries of the United Barnard’s preface explains his objectives himself as either a journalist or au- Kingdom is the foundation of today’s clearly and it is evident that his under- thor—though his subsequent books are Scotch whisky heritage. This is the first standing of the production process is lim- few, most notably a similar exercise on and most important study dedicated to ited at the beginning of his travels. By beer filling four large volumes. Records whisky, a timely publication at the turn- halfway he is beginning to report on more show he died in Croydon, South London ing point of the industry’s fortunes when relevant matters, a purifier here or an in 1918, aged 81. circumstances conspired to favour innovative flat-bottomed worm is noted; A plea for help to Charles MacLean led Scotch. This is the period when Scotch later still he’s advising all distillers to me to correspond with Barnard’s great- whisky was at the beginning of a rise install some new-fangled safety device. great nephew, Andrew Barnard. Accord- and Irish whiskey was beginning an un- By the time he gets to Irish, where he ing to Andrew’s brief family records, Al- fortunate decline in the face of the clearly has affection for that product and fred was born in 1835, the son of a blender-entrepreneurs later personified is impressed by the modernness of the

PAGE 10 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk industry, he shows a clear understand- ing of the whisky production process even dipping into the chemistry on occa- sion. His obsession of the degree of so- phistication of production reflects the excitement of a fast-moving technologi- cal age; some distilleries have electric light, a telephone to the nearby station or ‘an ingeniously contrived apparatus’. Bear in mind that by now the Victorians had picked out the world in Empire-pink, building railways, factories and invent- ing all manner of useful kit. Now it was the time of implementation of this achievement and Barnard was as excited as a writer for Boy’s Own or Look and Learn. At one stop he is clearly dismayed that they only have the one pump! It is the development of his reportage and understanding that makes this book a joy to read. Whisky enthusiast or not, there are little gems of informa- tion which create a fellowship with to- day’s lifelong student. The merry trav- elogues which introduce each visit are a delight, worth reading in themselves if you share a passion for Scotland or Ireland. Stories soused with gory mas- sacres of the past (‘drew his sword and cut off their heads. Such playful conduct would hardly be tolerated these days’), social comment (‘although the station had been open more than twenty years, we were the only persons who had ever booked first class’), companionship (‘Fortunately we were a large party and a merry one’) or high drama (‘we collided with other vehicles, almost ran over one old woman and three street urchins’), always with unassuming wry humour. Towards the end of his journey the de- scriptions of the area and history occupy more space than the distillery visit, pre- sumably at a request from his editor in London who was publishing his reports each week and realised that Harper’s readers—sissy London wine profession- als—were more enthusiastic about the by the collapse of Campbeltown as a pro- a weekend supplement. These guys have flowery reports from the bare-kneed, ducing region (he enjoyed his stay) and the potential to spoil the special nature hairy’n’scary wilds of North Britain as confused as everyone else by the new of this fascinating product and it is all than the capacity of a fire extinguisher manipulated or wood-finished whiskies. our job to educate and cajole. or wotnot. Although Queen Victoria was He would be vastly entertained by my Let me draw your attention to the clos- an advocate of Scotland, most contem- collection of ‘whiskies’ from other parts ing paragraph of the opening piece, en- porary travel-writers were very dispar- of the world and distressed to hear that titled ‘Distillation’, written by Barnard’s aging of the areas Barnard celebrated some people actually collect whiskies unnamed ‘dear friend, who will not let with obvious passion. with a view to never drinking them. One me “prent him”’. The whole article is Today’s distillery visitor is one of a mil- thing is for sure, he would light up the worthy of study but on page 12 is a com- lion every year; many producers consider shop with his presence. He’s on my ment that reflects a depth of vision that the visitor-centre-and-brand-home to be make-believe anyone for dinner list. has survived for 120 years: an essential part of the success of their I wish I could persuade him that Irish “We shall be treading on delicate grounds products. Bookshelves groan with repeti- still has potential for the future and that when we refer to the fact that there are tive guff describing the single malts the decision makers in the Scotch indus- those who hold that the future of the available while some discuss the clean- try are conscious of the past and respect- Whisky trade lies with malt whisky.” liness of the toilets and the yumminess ful of the future. I would ask him to evan- Now, with sales of malt approaching 10% of the baguettes on offer. Specialist travel gelise to today’s Irish producers the of all Scotch can the wisdom of this com- companies and a circuit of whisky hotels, method of Scotch’s success and hammer ment be appreciated. If all goes well, bars and shops service a visitor on the into the Scotch single malt people the then this is still only the beginning. whisky trail. I can imagine Barnard vis- reasons for Ireland’s near collapse. These book title & price? iting my shop, to be delighted in the first are very special products, they have sur- If you would like a signed copy (£25) instance by the range on offer, astonished vived this far but if the profit-driven lu- (signed by me—not Alf!) please advise us by the range of ages presented (he de- natics gain control of the asylum we will when you order and let us know of any scribed eight years as ‘very’ old), appalled be left with only enough heritage to fill special dedication you may require.

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 11 photo—Jon Rogers

THE MARMALADE’S BACK! It’s a long story, but after a two year search, we now have fresh stocks of our two Loch Fyne marmalades, exactly how they were before, made by Camille the same lady as before, same prices: Single—fine cut, pale £2.50 Double Scotch—dark with spices £2.90

A CURE FOR DECADENCE! It’s a myth that these sailing trips are for pleasure you know; where else can we find the correct conditions for the scientific development of a new toddy? The stores on Grampus yielded a fine new hot beverage worthy of LFW’s highest recommen- dation: 1 Oxo cube, 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar, a grind of black pepper, hot water and a measure of Decadence! The perfect mid-morning pick-me-up! Pictured are skipper and world-famous inventor Stewart Robertson, James Hardie, mixologist (well, he’s always stirring things up) and Charles MacLean who is Scot- land’s foremost whisky. [There! Got you back Charlie!] FARMER MISSING You may be amused to know of a quote from Charlie’s new book Scotch Whisky—A Liquid History published by Cassell, £25. A very authoritative book revealing a huge amount of research and perfect in every respect except one on page 270: “Loch Fyne Whiskies was founded in the picturesque and historic town of Inveraray in 1992 by Richard Joynson, who until then had been a fish. It trades mainly...”

THE LIQUEUR’S COMING! PLEASE NOTE All deals offered at lfw.co.uk and on pages 6 & 7 are valid for mail order cus- tomers placing orders before noon on THE GREAT HIGHLAND Monday 15th December. GLUG-GLUG JUG’S BACK! We can take orders up to Friday 19th and deliver after this date but it may be Make whisky drinking fun with our rec- too late for us to both replenish our reation of the GHG-GJ of old, our stocks and deliver in time; deals may or ‘Hooked on Loch Fyne’ blue jug is made may not be available. for us by Arra Fletcher on Islay and pro- duces a mirth inducing glug-glug when Ordering from lfw.co.uk poured. [Arra, you promised it would say On-line orders may not appear to include ‘drink-Loch-Fyne-drink-Loch-Fyne’]. certain deals but be assured they will THE FUDGE IS HERE! be included when serviced, if available. Every parcel going out during this Christmas deal pe- riod will include a sample of our new Loch Fyne Fudge as a wee extra thank you; but be sure to buy some when you visit— Merry Christmas and a Good New Year how else am I go- to all our friends and customers. ing to become a Once again, thank you fudge magnate? for your business.

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW is free to all bona fide mail order customers. If you have not bought by mail order from the last (Spring) catalogue and do not buy from the accompanying (Autumn) list then we will not be troubling you again. We are no longer sending out Stock Lists and SWRs to prospective customers more than once. If you or a friend would like a current stock list please ask and you will be sent one with a back-issue SWR. Your name will not be placed on our mailing list for further mailings until you have bought by mail order from us. Your name will not be passed to any other organisation. © COPYRIGHT RESERVED 2003 LOCH FYNE WHISKIES Tel. 01499 302219 e-mail [email protected]

PAGE 12 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk