Ian Buxton finds out more about this tiny yet hugely significant part of whisky packaging.
The cork and elaborately engraved stopper on some luxury whiskies can end up costing you £3 or more, the cork itself has come on a fascinating journey and deserves your attention.
After all, it does an important job, quietly and well, and actually plays quite a role in keeping your whisky in peak ...
By Ian Buxton
from Issue 75 published on 31/10/2008
Gavin D Smith discovers Glentauchers unplugged.
The expression ‘unplugged’ in musical circles has come to denote an acoustic set performed by an artist or group.
The implication is that there is no electronic wizardry to distract audience attention from technical virtuosity or to act as a ‘safety net.’ It is stripped down to basics, with...
By Gavin D. Smith
from Issue 74 published on 08/09/2008
Packaging can convey various messages about a whisky, but how we respond to a particular design also says something about us, and the way we see ourselves, write Ian Wisniewski.
Whether a bottle of whisky is perceived as appealing and interesting, or not, reflects our own personal sense of aesthetics. For some of us less can be more. But less can also be less, while more can certainly be more. So, while there aren’t any rules or guarantees, packaging plays a strategic rol...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 72 published on 19/06/2008
Charles K.Cowdery looks at what the US distilling community is doing to
meet the growing demand for their products
It’s been 40 years. Right after the Second World War, American whiskey sales boomed. Existing distilleries expanded and many new distilleries were built, as the industry rushed to regain production capacity lost during Prohibition and postponed by the war.
The boom was a long one. It continued th...
By Charles K. Cowdery
from Issue 72 published on 19/06/2008
Charles K. Cowdery looks at the best ages for whisky and bourbon.
I blame the English. For hundreds of years, the Scots and Irish made whiskey, and only they drank it. They didn’t market it to themselves, they didn’t have to, they were born drinking it.
Then,in about the middle of the 19th century, London merchants decided the stuff might sell if they softene...
By Charles K. Cowdery
from Issue 71 published on 17/04/2008
So you'd like to invest in Whisky? Ian Buxton reports
It’s a good plan. After all, you know something of the subject, you enjoy the product and whisky’s prospects look exceptionally good. So what do you do?
There are three routes with, as you might expect, some highways and byways to add interest and excitement.
You could buy some shares in a dis...
By Ian Buxton
from Issue 70 published on
Whisky writer John Lamond delves into the issue of corks.
I must confess from the start: I am a dinosaur. A hopeless traditionalist. I like corks. I know all about the problem of whiskies – and wines – ruined, utterly destroyed by cork taint. I know that the theory is that a screwcap or synthetic cork should eliminate the problem, but I like to see a b...
By John Lamond
from Issue 68 published on 07/12/2007
For most of us, so-called premium whiskies remain firmly in the realms of fantasy, whisky jewels to be enjoyed vicariously through shop brochures, product images and tasting notes. But who buys these bottles, and who, if anyone, actually drinks them? Richard Jones finds out more.
It was perhaps an apocryphal tale, a mythical story handed down between generations of Oddbins store staff. The kind of thing that would happily wile away a quiet Monday morning or, on occasion, provide a source of comfort in the face of dreary wages and the daily working hours.
Around the turn of ...
By Richard Jones
from Issue 68 published on 07/12/2007
Can the shape and quality of the glass really make a difference to the enjoyment of whisky? And will whisky
follow the example of the wine industry with increasing numbers of glasses designed to complement different
styles of dram? Richard Jones reports.
If you accosted a number of random strangers in the street and asked them to describe a whisky glass the chances are, after making sure you weren’t after their mobile phone, that they would come up with something that broadly resembles the traditional whisky tumbler. With its straight sides, wide ...
By Richard Jones
from Issue 66 published on 25/09/2007
Is a passion for blends on the rise? Ian Wisniewski looks at what is being done to promote blended Scotch.
It’s a strange position to be in. While blended Scotch accounts for around 90 per cent of the sales volume of Scotch whisky, malts have been far more dynamic, attaining a cult status with a devoted and incredibly knowledgeable following.
So, what’s happening to promote interest in blends, and d...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 59 published on 11/10/2006
Johnnie Walker Blue Label is a thoroughbred whisky but does it live up to the hype? Ian Buxton got close and personal
When you think about it, Johnnie Walker Blue Label is a little like the impressively large marine mammal that shares its colour.
Like the blue whale, it’s rare, rather precious and, even if you don’t see one every day, it’s good to know it’s there.
At around £150 a bottle Blue Label is al...
By Ian Buxton
from Issue 57 published on 21/07/2006
