Our popular store in Guildford sold out this week when it hosted a whisky tasting presented by the brilliant Stewart Buchanan.

35 happy whisky drinkers crammed the shop. (I didn’t think that was possible) and were treated to some wonderful drams from Glendronach and BenRiach.

The whiskies enjoyed on the night can be seen below

• BenRiach 12yo
• BenRiach 20yo
• BenRiach 17yo TWS exclusive
• BenRiach 10yo Curiositas
• GlenDronach 15yo
• GlenDronach 18yo
• GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 1

If this sounds like your cup of tea or your dram of whisky why not contact your local whisky shop. We would love to have you at our next event!

Weekly Whisky Auction Watch

Andy Simpson

09.04.2013

Taylors of Montrose hold a quarterly whisky auction at their premises just south of Aberdeen. That was where I found myself last Saturday after braving the impressive snow drifts still looming ominously over the tarmac on the A939, Lecht Road.

Previous Taylors auctions have yielded the odd bottle under market value, but as the ever growing popularity of whisky reaches further afield, the days of the sneaky bargain seem to have vanished.

The general bottle mix at Taylors tends to involve plenty of drinking whisky with a smattering of sought after rarities thrown into the mix. There are fewer ‘big’ bottles than at other auctions but in no way does that detract from proceedings at this surprisingly large auction house. A packed saleroom yielded some good prices –

A Bruichladdich 1984 vintage (one of the original post 2001 vintage releases) sold for £150. This bottle has been realising just £55 – £75 recently.

There were plenty of Macallan 18 year olds on a 1988 vintage for sale. Every one of them exceeded the previous record of £140 when they sold for between £160 – £190. Even the more recent vintage Macallans seem all but unstoppable in the current market.

The Syndicate bottlings from both Lagavulin and Caol Ila had good presence at the auction. The Lagavulin bottles fared particularly well with the 20 year old equalling its best sale of £140.

I found the next bottle(s) rather odd. The individual Highland Park ‘Earl Magnus’ bottles sold as separate lots for £480 (Earl Magnus £180, Earl Haakon £220 and St Magnus £80) which seemed about right in current trading conditions. Later in the auction, the full set came up again as one lot and sold for a staggering £980. The estimates were particularly high at £1,200 – £1,500 but none the less the collective set sold for twice as much as the individual component parts…. Strange days indeed!

Personally, I didn’t walk away with any bargains but I did come away with a good mix of drinkers and some for the shelf.

Next week will be a full update on the recent Scotch Whisky Auction sale, their biggest to date with some amazing prices.

Until next week.

Slainte,

Andy.

Golden Shots

If you’re a fan of whisky you’ll know that there are all sorts of writers and bloggers getting excited about new, rare and incredibly expensive releases, most of which we can’t afford and will never taste. It’s one of whiskies greatest ironies that a product which takes so long to make and which should be savoured slowly has become such a  disposable commodity for whisky writers and bloggers.

So Golden Shots is all about going back to some of the whiskies which first got us excited about whisky, and which we may have forgotten about. Whiskies which warrant rediscovery and don’t require a mortgage to buy.

This week we head to Islay and look at Bowmore Tempest IV which is coming to The Whisky shop shortly.

The success of whisky worldwide and particularly from Scotland of late has ensured that we live in fascinating, potentially turbulent and definitely fast moving times – and I’m not sure how often we’ve been able to use that grouping of words in the same sentence as the word ‘whisky’.

Whisky is by its very nature traditional and slow to embrace change, beyond the technology which makes it cost efficient – and even then that’s eschewed by many in the industry.

We all know you don’t fix what’s not broken, and single malt isn’t broken. Oh, but were it that simple!

The truth is that even Scotch must adapt or die, submerged in tidal wave of alternative consumer offerings designed to catch the eye of the next generation and take them elsewhere. You can stay true to your uncompromising beliefs up to a point, but what do you do when whisky is in such great demand that you simply can’t meet the demands of your ageing stock, and your 12 year old is becoming a rickety wooden fence and pitched against a tidal wave?  And you can talk all you like about the traditional whisky regions of Scotland, but aren’t they becoming an all but redundant two dimensional explanation of what is now a 3D subject? Few distillers confine themselves just to the malt flavours associated with their region, diversifying as all good retailers should to meet the varied demands of their customers.

Scotch whisky has a job to do in the future, and it’s not an easy one. It must stay true to its core values and ensure that when any new product is released it maintains the quality expected of it. At the same time, though, it must encourage innovation where appropriate.

That hasn’t always been the case of late, and there are mumblings of discontent.

But let’s get this in to perspective – we’re talking a tiny number of whiskies – and when Scotch single malt gets it right in the new playing arena, it is still untouchable as the world’s finest spirit.

Which brings us to Bowmore Tempest. The new one is the fourth in the series, which is going some, particularly if its Bowmore. Just over a year ago I was discussing the third version of Tempest with the distillery’s brand ambassador and he said “Bowmore tend to do things in threes, so expect this to be the last one.”

And a year on, here’s number IV, and it is every bit the loud, strutting confrontational whisky its predecessors were. It is the Liam Gallagher of malt, announcing it has arrived with loud and laddish ‘who gives a damn’ cockiness, walking with a swagger and an offer ‘to have it large.”

Why, thank you, Liam, don’t mind if I do.

And did I mention it’s smoking, too, and hasn’t asked permission to do so, just like Gallagher Junior. Only in the case of Bowmore Tempest, it’s peaty tarry industrial smoke and it’s not the product of a cigarette

The Tempest series has been consistently excellent – strike that; three were excellent, one only very good – and it has demonstrated excellence, consistency and ambition. Bowmore has often been regarded as a little bit polite for Islay, an island malt in touch with its feminine side and far too perfumed and fruity for rowing round the island, swimming across Loch Indaal in winter and whatever else real men do in these parts to while away the time.

But this Bowmore all beefed up. Bowmore Tempest IV gives the impression that it could not only swim across Loch Indaal but it would post an Olympic time in the process, and is quite prepared to do it naked if necessary.

It’s bottled at cask strength, and it wears all that is good about Islay proudly on its sleeve.

Here’s a challenge. Write down five characteristics you might associate with an Islay malt. Or even 10 if you can manage it.

Then get to taste this and see if you find any of them missing.

I doubt you’ll manage to find any. If you do, careful who you tell. This whisky’s a Gallagher and it’ll fight you.

Nottingham Whisky Tasting on  Thursday May 30^th.

This tasting will be held in-store as usual and hosted by Peter Powell from Inverhouse.The event will be a chance to showcase the finest whiskies on offer from Inverhouse, including distilleries such as Old Pulteney, Balblair and Ancnoc(Knockdu).

The evening will run from 7pm to 9pm approximately and will be just £10 for our members + £15 for any subsequent non-members.

As always this is on a first come, first serve basis and will again sell out very quickly. Tickets are available in advance in-store or an RSVP via email or over the phone is acceptable.

The Whisky Shop 3 Cheapside Nottingham NG1 2HU

Phone No: 0115 9587080 Email: nottingham@whiskyshop.com

We sent our team in Edinburgh in search of the perfect dram to represent the whisky shop as a world exclusive! Lynsey Currie our Princess Mall manager was on hand to report the details!

Late March this year has been sadly lacking in the usual springtime promise of warmer climes to come, that the sight of gambolling lambs and cheerful daffodils always bring us. We have seen how our friends on the Isle of Arran have suffered from the harsh weather at a time when we should be considering shedding some of our winter layers and hunting out our sunglasses.

So it was apprehensively, and forewarned to pack our thermals, that we headed northwards on a particularly snowy morning in Easter week. Thankfully, however, we had the promise of a warming dram at the other end of our journey.

Our destination was Aberfeldy, and Dewar’s World of Whisky and our mission was to select a single cask to sell as a Whisky Shop exclusive bottling. My fellow Edinburgh store managers and I were accompanied for the day by our W Club friend Alan. As the train left the grimy, grey slush of Edinburgh behind and headed north, the skies turned blue and the snow disappeared – surely an encouraging sign of the day to come.

Arriving at Aberfeldy we were given a tour of the museum and distillery by Dewars Global Amabassador, Andy Gemmell. Dewar’s is in the unusual position of being a whisky which is more famous outside of its homeland than within. However that is all about to change, with more of a focus to be put on the promotion of Dewar’s and Aberfeldy single malt in the UK in the coming year. The blend is the best selling Scotch whisky in the United States and they are very proud of their position as the world’s most awarded Scotch. The newly refurbished visitor’s centre and blending room are definitely worth a visit, as is the cafe which provided an essential (and delicious lunch) to prepare us for the sampling ahead.

Then time for the cask selection.  We were guided into the chilly warehouse and the small room occupied by the Master Blender, Stephanie Macleod, and given blankets and heated seats in order to make us comfortable and create optimum conditions for tasting. Giving us three drams to try, Stephanie explained the main characteristics of each cask and encouraged us to discuss our thoughts and opinions. Suddenly the expectation of the 6000 plus W Club members weighed heavily upon us! It was a moment both of great pride and great pressure that we were being asked to choose a cask to present to our customers. What with whisky being such a subjective product, could we even agree amongst ourselves?

As a group we were completely split, two of us favouring the first, the other two preferring the latter. The only point we could agree upon is that they were all too good, hence the difficulty in choosing! We tried them with and without water, discussing the finer details of each one and thinking about the commercial implications to attempt an agreement but ultimately decided to go with our hearts, which had warmed considerably with the consumption of such fine whiskies.

It took us three (most enjoyable) attempts at sampling the casks, in warmer conditions, throughout the rest of the day for us to reach a consensus. The dram which we knew throughout the day as ‘Number 3’ will soon be available to purchase as a single cask 1997 vintage Aberfeldy from a refill hogshead, and we hope that you love it as much as we do.

Many thanks to all at Aberfeldy distillery for providing us with such great drams, and to Alan for his help on the day. It is an honour for us to select the very best whiskies to present as Whisky Shop exclusives and we hope that you enjoy the product of our Aberfeldy adventure.

Click to see more of the great Maximo Park

Whisky and music combine in The Whisky Shop @ the Metro Centre

The Whisky Shop are teaming up with Jack Daniel’s and offering two Whisky Shop customers the chance to watch the brilliant Maximo Park live at the Cluny in Newcastle. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to fill out a keep in touch card in our Whisky Shop in the Metro Centre in Gateshead. The winners will then be picked at random and selected on Friday the 26th of April. The event will take place on the 2nd of May and is sure to be a complete sell out.

If you haven’t been to our shop in the Metro Centre we would love to see you. You can find us at:

The Whisky Shop Unit

1.09 Metro Centre

Gateshead

NE11 9YG

Click Here

The Tasting Panel are back with a bang and this time they were tasting two old vintages from Jura! A 1976 and a 30 year old yet to hit the open market. We wanted you to taste it first and you did. Find out what the first batch of our tasting panel thought of these high end whiskies! Coming to The Whisky Shop soon…

Jon Bryant

Jura 30

Luscious. Very gentle for its age but full of graceful classic Jura notes

Nose: Rich and deep. Massive amounts of flambéed banana and coffee grounds with a suble intrusion from mint imperials

Palate: Toffee and fudge mixed in with some orange. Very luxurious and well balanced. Definite underlying spice and some peppery heat

Finish: Long and gentle

Jura 1977

Fabulous. Love the simplicity and naturalness of the whisky – my new favourite Jura

Nose: Zingy and lively. Full of fresh citrus notes.

Palate: Dry and bitter to begin. Becomes very hot and full of fudge in the mouth. This spirit has a real ‘hoppiness’ to it. Buttery

Finish: Dry and long

Steve Prentice

Jura 30yo:

Dark gold in colour, is there any caramel colour added? I seriously hope not for a £350 bottle… Therefore I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and say that the rich dark golden colour mostly comes from a three year finish in Oloroso Sherry butts from Gonzalez Byass.

The nose is exciting, there’s good hints of Jura distillery character but beefed up with spiced apple and pair tones along with the mixed autumn fruits of the sherry finish along with  melon and figs.

Slightly spicy on the palate, especially when held on the tongue for a long while where stronger wood notes come through backed up by sherry fruity tones. It’s thick, full and mouth coating.

The finish is slightly subtle at first (which you’d want from an old whisky), but it’s long with the sweet sherry fruits sticking around, raisins, figs and subtle hints of smoke.

A classy and enjoyable whisky that I’m chuffed to try, but I wouldn’t pay £350 for it, it’s more like a £120 bottle in my mind and even at that I’d buy something else.

For me the great older Jura spirit has been slightly spoiled by too much sherry stamping on it, and that’s coming from a man who loves sherried drams, but in this case I think it’s mismatched, 2 years rather than 3 on the finish may have worked better for me, but I can see that some people would totally love this.

Jura 1977:

Light golden orange in colour. This was originally matured in three first fill bourbon casks before being finished in a ruby port pipe for 12 months.

The initial smell is not quite so in your face Jura as younger house expressions can be, which is a nice start to this old man of a whisky. There are plenty of good oak notes here backed up by sweet vanillary back notes.

On the palate the Jura character shows its head more, and the woody notes, although present, don’t appear as strongly as the nose may suggest, in fact they’re perfectly balanced. The mouth feel is full and oily, and the palate is extremely smooth.

There’s a rich fruity long finish that hugs your chest with the subtle warmth of a dying sun on a summers eve and leaves those beautiful wood notes lingering for a long while. Left in the glass is a definite whiff of smoke.

I’ve always heard that Jura is best when well aged, and this is a perfect example of just that, it’s a magnificent dram that I’m most honoured to try.

It’s £600 a bottle. Is it worth that? Well, if you have a spare £600, have nothing to do with it and you’re a Jura fan then this may well be for you. Otherwise (in my opinion) it’s not worth the money, I’m not sure how good something would have to be to get me to part with that kind of money. If I had £600 I’d buy something else. If I still had a spare £600 when other things were obtained (Port Ellen or Brora), then I’d jump at a bottle of this, because it really is awesome stuff, it’s just a shame some of their younger stuff doesn’t quite show the intrinsic quality that is so obvious here.

If money is no object then this dram is well into the 90′s in score.

Matthew Ellis

Wow

It just keeps getting better and better its well worth waiting 30 years for and it has the notes you would expect from jura but there is no peat which is a big plus and out of a sherry cask just what i like, can not wait for its release but it will most probably be out of my price range hope its not would love a bottle or two.

Nose 

Straight away the sherry cask comes through with a touch of orange in the back ground

Taste

The orange is there with liquorice and toffee and some sweet notes from the sherry cask

Finish

Very warm and smooth and it is very smooth  I have to say if you get chance to get a bottle you will be more then happy with it its one of the best i have ever had

Kevin Tapp

Jura 1977

Colour: Pale Gold

Nose: A light yet forward sweetness with grape and stone fruits.

Taste:Bittersweet. Delicate pastry. Winey. Cucumber.

Palate: A rigid tannin subsides to a long creaminess.

With water: Nose becomes very pleasant with orange & lemon continues into the taste along with milky custard.

Jura 30 year old

Colour: Deep burnished gold.

Nose: Sweet, chocolate and nougat, salt, caramel and smoke.

Taste: Starting grapefruity herbal cigarettes (ahem!) / cat pee and ending with a farmyard note and digestive biscuit, salt and caramel. There is a hard to define but forward rich fruitiness and banana. Finishing with demerera sugar.

Palate: Very long and soft.

With water: Nose is lighter and more lemon/lime, as is the taste. A slight bitterness is introduced and the palate is much lighter in the finish.

Barry Morrison

Jura 1977 -

Nose ; Vanilla with overtones of dried fruit.

Palate ; Slight rich coffee hints , but surprisingly not too sweet.

Finish ; Smooth , but surprisingly for the age of the whisky not lingering.

Overall ; Not overly impressed considering the age and price point , but the dram improved with a dash of water.

Jura 30 Year Old -

Nose ; Immediate sweetness with tropical fruit overtones.

Palate ; Rich honey , toffee apples , fruit cake etc.

Finish ; A richly coloured dram with a long, smooth lingering warmness – very moreish.

Overall ; Beautiful balanced dram , best drunk neat.

James Otter

Colour

A blush of pink. Think rose gold.

Nose This was laid down in the same year as we saw the destruction of the first Death Star and this nose is also from a galaxy far away. Peppermint lightness gives way to toffee ice cream and maple syrup. You can tell it has been in the cask for just the right time, the edges are taken off but it is far from dull. Leather and a tiny hint of smoke.

Palate Tropical fruits from the offset with passion fruit coming to the front. This mellows to the softest creamiest fudge. It coats the mouth and sets the taste buds  This is a really classy malt.

Finish Slightly astringent with a strong aniseed flavour and smoke appears from out of nowhere.

Overall this is right up there with the greats. In today’s market £600 doesn’t seem so crazy for a whisky that could be seen as a game changer for Jura

Thanks for letting me try the 77 it was a treat. It gave my all time favourite the bunny 34 a real run for its money. I’ll certainly be taking the ferry across next time we go to Islay.

Golden Shots

If you’re a fan of whisky you’ll know that there are all sorts of writers and bloggers getting excited about new, rare and incredibly expensive releases, most of which we can’t afford and will never taste. It’s one of whiskies greatest ironies that a product which takes so long to make and which should be savoured slowly has become such a  disposable commodity for whisky writers and bloggers.

So Golden Shots is all about going back to some of the whiskies which first got us excited about whisky, and which we may have forgotten about. Whiskies which warrant rediscovery and don’t require a mortgage to buy.

This week we’re heading off in to a much maligned area – that of blends. Many dismiss them as unexciting and not in the same class as single malts, but that isn’t necessarily the case. the likes of Johnnie Walker, Dewar’s, Whyte & Mackay, Grants, Ballantine’s, and Famous Grouse can all be fabulous. Today, though, i’m going to take a closer look at one of the best blends even at younger ages – Chivas Regal 12 Year Old.

Conventional thinking goes that emerging whisky markets will replace home-produced spirits first with cheap imported whiskies, then with Scotch blended whisky and eventually with single malts. But that logic is now starting to be turned on its head in emerging markets such as those in South America.

It suits the industry because single malts are finite and once The annual output of Glenlivet is gone, it’s gone. But blends are something else again.

And in many of the emerging markets the next step isn’t necessarily from a Chivas Regal 12 year old blended whisky to Strathisla 12 year old or The Glenlivet 12 year old, but from a Chivas Real 12 year to a Chivas 18 and then a Chivas 25 year old.

That’s right. It’s possible to buy old blended whisky and you can pay some pretty hefty prices for the oldest and rarest. But that’s inevitable – remember the age on a whisky means that nothing in the bottle can be less than the age stated, and that’s as true of the grain whisky in the blend as it is of the single malts.

Thing is, you don’t need to pay through the nose. Chivas Regal wears an age statement with pride because its producers believe they have a spirit with just as much right to wear a badge as many single malts. And they’re right. You expect something special when the mix includes whiskies of 18 and 25 years old, but even at 12 years Chivas Regal exudes quality.

It should do. Owners Pernod Ricard includes The Glenlivet, Strathisla and Aberloiur in its stable and with raw materials in that league you’d expect the company’s blends to make the grade.

And this does. It is rich, sweet, and bursting with fruits. It’s the Biffy Clyro of whisky (guess who I saw in concert this week!) a three pronged attack that melds in to a delightful poppy, palatable whole – chewy grain, meet fruity malts with an outer coating of toasted oak.

It’s a total treat and passes the Roskrow taste test – it can be sipped and enjoyed on its own and without mixers. Fine blended whisky.

03/13

Andy Simpson

No Age Statement Needed?

Whisky bearing an age statement versus ‘no age statement’ (NAS) whisky? It’s a hot topic of conversation right now with pros and cons for both sides of the argument, and, to be fair, there really isn’t an argument as there will be an increasing volume of NAS bottles; end of story.

Global demand for Scotlands second most lucrative liquid (oil’s number one) seems to know no limits. This rapid consumption of aged whisky has posed challenges to many distilleries about stocks available for release: The solution, very simply? Blend some young whisky with some older stuff rather than just release the older stuff and you have a NAS whisky.

If you take a look at some of the current whiskies which bear an age statement, I’d almost be so bold as to say some of them must be becoming a bit of a nuisance. Ardbeg release their core 10 year old for a fraction of what they can sell NAS bottles for (Corryvreckan, Alligator, supernova, Adrbeg Day etc) and when those NAS bottles are limited editions, the price of the standard 10 year old can be doubled or even trebled.

Commercially, for the consumer the NAS bottle is equally a conundrum. Many consumers like to know the details of what they are drinking no matter how good it tastes and there’s still a perception that older is better no matter what is said to the contrary. The whisky industry itself has spent many years telling consumers that age does matter. But with the recent decline in older stocks, without the NAS bottle surely prices would have to increase for older aged whisky? Older releases would also be far more scarce meaning fewer whisky fans would be able to get hold of their favourite dram.

So whether you agree with the current move towards NAS bottles or not, it looks like the trend is set to continue (remember we’ve pretty much always had NAS bottles too)….. In fact the trend HAS to continue if we’re still to get a good supply of reasonably priced whisky. That leads me onto what it means from a collectors/investors perspective?

Are NAS bottlings worth going for as part of a collection? The collectable/investment market is generally driven by age, vintage, rarity and distillery. Older vintages (distilled in the 1920’s, 1930’s etc) are always going to be incredibly sought after as are older age statements, just simply because these bottles are so rare. Can something without an old vintage or a huge age statement be increasingly viable?

There have been some NAS releases which are both heavily collected and also very valuable. Some good examples are The Macallan Special Reserve (both bottlings), early batches of Aberlour A’Bunadh and the Balvenie Tun1401 series.

Looking at some of the data, I’ve compared all recorded UK auction sales for NAS bottles (non-vintage) with all 10 year old (non-vintage) bottles and taken a look at the results. As with most collectable whisky, the bottles are all older releases and long discontinued, however, had I been a betting man I’d have thought the 10 year olds would have outperformed the NAS bottles. Quite the opposite has happened: Between 2008 and quarter one 2013 all recorded bottles of 10 year old whisky have increased by 15.25%. The NAS bottles have increased by 25.77%.

If we then take a look at the top and bottom 20 performers for both 10 year olds and NAS bottles, the results equally conclusively point towards rarer bottles bearing no age statement as the best performers.

The Top 20 NAS Bottles = +343.32%

The Top 20 10 Year Old Bottles = +158.06%

The Bottom 20 NAS Bottles = -49.31%

The Bottom 20 10 Year Old Bottles – -47.37%

While the bottom performers are virtually on par, the NAS bottles come out on top again but like I’ve already said, the bottles which win the day are those very rare, golden oldies and can’t really be compared to the volume produced NAS bottles of today.

So what’s feeding the current market? What are the new releases today which will be the collectors pieces of tomorrow? I had this conversation with a friend just last week. The proliferation of un-aged whisky in significant volumes is surely set to increase. I just don’t see many of these current releases bearing any resemblance to previous releases (like The Macallan Special Reserve) in terms of their potential as an investment or a collectable. Great drinks, yes, but not something which should be expected to increase in value over the years. Whisky destined to be drunk you say! Destined for the very purpose it has been created and not to sit on the shelves of collectors.

That very driver brings with it an interesting dynamic. If most of the whisky produced is drunk then there will be very little left when that particular bottle is discontinued/re-packaged. Therefore, the few remaining bottles will be rare…. with that rarity will come an additional premium in order to acquire one of the remaining examples. An interesting circle is completed and we’re back to square one!

While we’re all getting used to a new ‘age of no age’, the one thing of which I’m absolutely certain is should The Macallan or The Dalmore or Ardbeg or Lagavulin release a no age statement whisky where there are only a few hundred bottles, demand will still outstrip supply and prices will rapidly spiral upwards.

That brings me right back to the start – Does having an age statement matter (I have a very definite personal view which I’ve left out here)? If it’s great whisky, surely it’s great whisky? Collectable or otherwise.

Until next time,

Slainte.

Andy

We asked our whisky expert Dominic Roskrow what are the most important ingredients in making Whisky

This week, he looks at water.

If you’ve ever been to a distillery which starts its tour with a short video, you’ll no doubt have been shown water cascading down The Cairngorms and been told that the soft and pure mountain lochs, rivers and streams hold the secret to making great Scottish single malt whisky.

Well whisper it quietly, but that isn’t entirely true. At the risk of bursting a romantic whisky bubble, the water of The Highlands is obviously of vital importance to the whisky making process; but not because it’s soft and pure, but because it’s normally in plentiful supply and is sufficiently cold to condense malt spirit back in to liquid. Indeed one of the issues Scotland is going to have to contend with is the problem caused by global warming of a shortage of water itself and water sufficiently chilled over the summer months.

So if I’m right, why are up to two thirds of Scotland’s distilleries based around the River Spey and its tributaries, where the water is soft and regarded as perfect for distilling?

The reason is historical – soft water does indeed aid the distillation process, and Scottish distillers were drawn to an area perfect for making the sweet fruity whiskies that the new breed of blenders were after.

But to over-emphasise the importance of water is to do a great disservice to the distillers themselves, and if it was that straightforward, why aren’t there great distilleries in other parts of the world where the water is naturally soft?

And if it was that clear cut, how do you explain Highland Park and Glenmorangie, both world class distilleries and both made using hard mineral rich water, as indeed are many other whiskies from across the world?

It’s not romantic to say it, but water can be treated these days so in theory a distillery can be built successfully wherever there is a plentiful water supply.

And there’s something else, too. Scottish distillers are putting a greater emphasis on the fermentation part of the whisky making process – and here harder mineral rich water is an advantage. Indeed in England much of the best beer making was historically around the Burton-On-Trent region, where the water is hard. And many brewers ‘Burtonised’ their water by adding calcium to it. We’ll talk more about bourbon in the future but calcium is the reason for strong boned races horses in Kentucky and for the hard water that makes top drawer whiskey.

That isn’t to say Scottish water isn’t special – it most certainly is. And more than that, a considerable amount of work is currently going on looking at how adding water too your whisky in different parts of the world impacts on taste.

But it’s a complex issue no matter what you might be told. And all this information is adding even more mystique to the wonderful world of single malt whisky.

Next week we’ll look at the third and final principal ingredient in whisky – the enigma that is yeast.