When Welsh distiller Gillian Howell got married recently, she faced a dilemma over whether to change her name to that of her partner.
“It does create a problem for us,” smiles Penderyn’s managing director Stephen Davies. “His name’s Macdonald, you see. Howell is a good Welsh name but we can’t have people thinking we’ve got another Scot making our whisky.”
Clear water between what happens in Wales and what happens in Scotland has always been a key part of the Penderyn mission statement, as has the desire to avoid being tagged as a Welsh novelty act.
“The last time someone did a Welsh whisky they bought a load of Scottish malt, added a few ingredients from Tesco and called it Welsh whisky,” says Davies. “We want to be taken seriously. But if you want to buy 3000 rugby balls filled with Scotch I can give you a very good price.”
Transparency and authenticity really matter here, and you only need to glance around the distillery and its new visitor centre to know that at every stage, from the distilling and maturation process through to the bottle design, to understand how hard the distillery has worked to be different, and how proud its staff are of the result.

Penderyn is the result of a pub conversation between the landlord of the Glancynnon Inn Alun Evans and two friends, who, over a drink or two, bemoaned the fact that there wasn’t a Welsh whisky. The conversation led to some research and then a costing exercise. Before they knew it, the idea had become a reality.
“It was important to them to find out that there had been a tradition of making whisky in Wales because they didn’t want to be seen to just be making whisky like Scotland and Ireland because we are a Celtic country,” says Gillian Howell, who joined the company some five years ago, before bottling had started. She’s unusual in the world of whisky not just because she is a female distiller but because she’s so young.
“We don’t know how many distilleries Wales once had but they discovered there had been a whisky making tradition. The Welsh Whisky Distillery Company had a distillery at Frongoch in the North which operated between 1890 and 1903 but it was frowned upon by a strong Temperance movement. The people who worked there would go and receive deliveries at night to avoid being ostracised by their neighbours. It was probably because of the Temperance movement that it was forced to close down.”

In actual fact the Welsh link to distilling whisky goes back much further. The bourbon pioneer Evan Williams was from a distilling family in Wales, and some believe that Jack Daniel might have been of Welsh descent, though this is the subject of some debate.
With a suitable pedigree established the pioneers set about researching the practicality of making whisky on the edge of the Brecon Beacons, turning convention on its head in the process.
“There are a lot of underground caves in the area and Alun knew cavers who told him there was a large quantity of water under us,” says Gillian. “So they got a diviner in to decide where to dig a bore hole. The result is our water source which passes through limestone and is then purified again. They also decided they couldn’t afford to brew a distiller’s beer so they approached Brains in Cardiff to make the wash for them. We call it barley wash and it is delivered to us in tankers from Cardiff about 35 miles away. It is very fruity and this affects the final taste of our whisky.”
Because the barley wash is made under sterilised brewery conditions it has to be treated at the distillery to reintroduce bacteria to ensure sympathetic distillation. It’s altogether an unusual of doing things but perfectly natural to Penderyn. Indeed they seem surprised that no-one else does it this way.
Penderyn’s real stroke of genius, however, was to create a unique and distinctive Welsh whisky by calling on the services of two non-Welshmen: Doctor Jim Swan and David Faraday.

Dr Swan is one of the world’s leading authorities on whisky making and he has acted as master distiller for Penderyn from the outset. He has trained and mentored Gillian, who has daily hands-on responsibility for production. But he travels down to Wales each month to go through cask samples and he has been involved with the creation and development of the spirit from birth to bottle. Arguably the most radical aspect of his involvement, however, was the dispensation of a standard double pot still system and the employment of a never-used distillation system invented by David Faraday, a relative of Michael Faraday.
“The still had already been designed but had never been commissioned when we took it on,” says Stephen Davies. “People have given it various names but it is not a continuous still. It is a batch system with a single pot still but with a unique way of distilling the spirit. We charge it nine times a week.
“There are various plates in it from which the spirit can be drawn off and Jim Swan tested every one before deciding on the best one to make the spirit for Penderyn. When he decided on the seventh one and said that this would be best we had to take his word on trust. We had no idea what was going to come out of the end. But the spirit produced has a very high alcoholic strength and the energy we use is fraction of what a traditional two pot still operation uses.”
Each run produces just 220 to 250 litres of spirit, enough for just one barrel even after water is added..
The maturation process is unusual too. Spirit is put in to four types of cask – first fill bourbon casks, second fill bourbon casks that had previously contained Penderyn, second fill bourbon casks that had contained non-peated Scotch, and Madeira casks.
There is no age statement on the whisky and how long it stays in the cask depends on the judgment of Howell and Swan. But it’s considerably less time than a premium Scottish single malt would have. Finally the whisky is finished in Madeira casks for a period of about six months.
Each month a selection of casks covering the four maturation styles are selected for bottling.
“We select 22 casks each month and that gives us about 7000 to 8000 bottles,” says Gillian. “Although we aim for consistency with such small quantities each batch is slightly different to the next so you’re never quite sure exactly what you’re going to get. But the general characteristics are there. We bottle at 46% ABV and we produce a light, vibrant young and fruity whisky.”

As a result of this process each monthly batch of Penderyn is date-stamped, bringing a provenance to the whisky. It’s a nice touch.
Two other expressions of Penderyn have also been introduced, a sherry version, which will account for about 10 per cent of production and an intriguing peated one, accounting for five per cent.
“The peated one came about by as an accident really.” says Gillian. We deliberately stayed away from peat because it is a style so closely associated with Scotland. But once in a blue moon we’d accidentally get sent a cask that had contained peated whisky and so we kept the resulting whisky. It only comes from the cask so it’s lightly peated and it’s not right to compare it to a big Islay malt. That’s not what it’s intended to be.”
The efforts to draw a marked distinction between Scottish single malt and Welsh are paying off in spades, and the Penderyn story could easily act as a blueprint for any aspiring distiller set on carving out a niche in the market. The whisky here is unlike anything from Scotland at all, and should be judged in that context.
And while many will argue that the distillery has benefited from its Welshness and appealed to the national pride of Wales, the malt’s been around long enough now to have out-worn its Welsh novelty value.
“Of course we have benefited from tourists visiting and wanting to take away something unique to the region,” says Davies. “And of course we have had many Welsh people buying it because it’s Welsh. But that can only work for so long. Eventually it has to come down to the standard of what’s in the bottle, and what’s in the bottle is very good indeed.”

The current trend towards premium whisky hasn’t hurt the company, either. With relatively small levels of output from the off the decision was made to package the whisky well, highlight the cottage-craft nature of the operation, and price it accordingly. But the price tag – around £35 – no longer looks out of place as Scotch whisky prices have gone up. The bottle, sleek and stylish with a flash of Welsh gold, adds to the quality appeal.
With a smart new visitor and demand outstripping the distillery’s capacity to produce, these are heady times for Penderyn, and even a shortest amount of time with Howell and Davies or in the company of the distillery’s enthusiastic staff, and the pride is plain to see.
Howell sums it up perfectly: “When we started we had to explain what we were doing to everyone and no-one took us seriously. Now we export to 35 countries including 23 states in America. It’s been amazing.”
Indeed it has. A Welsh success story coinciding with a resurgent Wales.
How could she even think of calling herself Macdonald?

www.welsh-whisky.co.uk

Peter Donnelly from Pol Roger, the distributors for Glenfarclas in the UK, effortlessly took the crowd through a selection of their extensive single malt range and gave plenty of history and insight in to what is one of the last remaining family owned distilleries in Scotland.  He was excellent, informative and engaging and covered a vast array of subjects.

The whiskies selected from their range were the classic 10 years old, 21 years old, 2003 vintage (this is an exclusive bottled to celebrate the launch of the W Club), the cask strength 105 and the limited edition 105 20 years old.  The crowd favourites were the W club exclusive and 21 years old.

Peter stayed on to speak at length with everyone and answer further questions.  Cathy Cooper, the lady for whom it was her first ever whisky tasting, told store manager Matt Chambers,

“I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was much better and more informative than expected.  It was interesting to taste the whiskies side by side and compare them.  My favourite was the third one (the W Club 2003 vintage) – can I have another taste of it please? …”

The next tasting in the store is on May 21 when they welcome Colin Dunn from Diageo to sample the Talisker single malt range, including the new expressions of Storm and Port Ruigh

Having looked at the components of whisky over recent weeks, Dominic turns to the production process. And because wood has been featured recently, he starts at the end of the process – with maturation

A few years back I attended a tasting of three single cask Bowmores from the ’60s. Each had been filled in the same week some 40 years previously, two on the same day. But each was from a different cask type: one Oloroso sherry, one Pedro Ximenez, one bourbon. and although the Bowmore DNA was in each, they varied dramatically, demonstrating just how important the cask is in the making of whisky.

Some claim that up to three quarters of the flavour of malt comes from the maturation process, and unless caramel is added, so does all of the colour.

But what’s even more remarkable is the fact that if all three had been bourbon barrels and had been filled with the same spirit batch on the same day and matured next to each other for 40 years, they would still have been different to each other. They would have had different flavours and marginally different alcoholic strengths, and they would have matured at different rates.

What’s more, while much these days is known about the maturation process, a great deal isn’t. This is the magic – or miracle – of malt. Science is doing its best but it hasn’t got there yet. Let’s hope it never does.

So what do we know?

First, that malt spirit needs to be matured for no less than three years in a cask, and in Scotland that cask has to be made of oak. And because the spirit is delicate it cannot hold of the spicy tannins of new oak for three years, so it needs to be put in as cask seasoned with something else – normally sherry or bourbon.

In the cask the spirit circulates and expands and contrasts slightly with the changing of seasons and temperatures. And in the cask the liquid undergoes four processes:

Firstly, the spirit is forced in to the wood, picking up flavour and colour. Secondly, during this process the wood also moves some flavours, and in particular some negative ones such as sulphur. Thirdly compounds in the wood react chemically with the spirit to produce the array of flavours we associate with malt whisky.

And finally, we know that spirit escapes faster than water in maturation – at least it does in Scotland – because over the course of several years the strength of the spirit is reduced. But the cask does not collapse, indicating that oxygen enters the cask – and thus oxidisation takes place.

Once whisky has been made after three years, it’s up to the distiller to decide how long he wants to keep the whisky maturing, but he has two constraints: one, the strength of the liquid cannot be allowed to fall below 40% ABV; and two, the tannins and spices of there wood contribute to flavour but there will come a time when it will become noticeable, then dominant and finally overwhelming. The positive flavours imparted from the cask will peak, too, so the distiller must choose carefully when the optimum flavours and the oak are best serving the final flavour. And with every cask that decision is different.

That’s a tough ask with just one cask, but what if you are storing 100,000 or even a million?

* Next week we’ll look at maturation lengths and what effects them

To be in with a chance of winning this unique single malt simply visit our Facebook page and follow the instructions on our Scottish Leader post. Winner to be announced this Friday! Good Luck!

Andy Simpson

14.05.2013

As the appeal of rare and old whisky steadily increases, it’s almost natural that we start to see other impressive whisky sales at auctioneers throughout the UK.

Last week Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions held their first major rare whisky sale.

It’s not unusual to see hammer prices towards the lower side of expectations for an ‘inaugural’ whisky auction such as this; however, that was clearly not the case here. Many bottles achieved new record prices in what was a very keenly fought sale.

The auction included a good spread of modern day icons such as the Macallan Royal Marriage and Official Port Ellen releases. These, combined with some stunning 1970’s independent bottles were enough to keep virtually every whisky fan drooling with anticipation.

Before I get onto the more traditional bottles of Scotch; worthy of separate note was a small selection of 1980’s vintage Karuizawa. As the number of maturing casks rapidly dwindles from this closed Japanese distillery, some solid increases are being observed for existing bottled stock. Roughly two years’ worth of releases from Karuizawa remains maturing in cask…. Then it’s gone. Karuizawa definitely carries a ‘buy’ rating in my book.

Included in the sale were many long discontinued Cadenheads ‘dumpies’ (referring to the dumpy shape of the bottle). These old bottles are among the best recent performers at auction from independent bottlers.

A 1966 vintage Littlemill and a 1962 vintage Dallas Dhu both sold for new records of £350. These, coupled with other bottles from Ladyburn, Glenury Royal, North Port and St Magdalene made for an exceptional selection of Cadenheads ‘dumpy’ lots.

Older style Gordon and MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice bottles also reached new highs. A bottle of St Magdalene 1963 sold for £450 (first release style black and red label). That equates to a 125% increase in value over 2008 prices.

Certain old vintages performed to new record highs when two Gordon & MacPhail Glenlivet bottles, on a 1938 and a 1940 vintage, sold for £650 and £500 respectively. It’s incredible to think that these ‘golden oldies’ (among many others from Linkwood, Glen Grant etc) from Gordon and MacPhail were selling for less than £200 just four years ago.

Any whisky auction worth its weight wouldn’t be complete without a liberal smattering of rare Macallan bottles. A Macallan 1964/1981 sold unboxed for an all-time high of £600. One of the very early 18 year olds, vintaged 1966, also sold unboxed for a new record of £480. £200 would have bought one of these in 2008.

Auchentoshan is all too infrequently mentioned in these pages so it was great to see a bottle of 1965 vintage ‘Distillery Archive’ selling for £300. A scant two years ago this bottle was trading at £170.

There were also some good deals for buyers as certain limited release Ardbegs sold for well under current market value. Both ‘Ardbeg Day’ and ‘Rollercoaster’ sold for £110 each. Those prices were a good step back from recent sales and more representative of quarter three 2012.

The highlights of the auction were the older independent bottles. From my perspective, these wonderful old pieces of liquid history are rightfully now gathering pace as collectibles.

Overall, the market still remains positive with broad based increases in value continuing. In my opinion, the outlook still remains buoyant for the right bottles from the right distilleries.

Until next week.

Slainte,

Andy.

For those of us that are not fortunate enough to be able to make it up to Islay for the festival we’re having our own ‘taste of Islay’ in the Nottingham shop.

We’re going to be trying whisky from each of the distilleries on Islay for a whistle-stop tour without having to leave the building!

The tasting will be £10 for non-members with the usual £5 off for members and will run from 7pm-9pm on the 24^th of May.

Hope to see you there. As usual tickets are first come, first served.

The Whisky Shop Nottingham

3 Cheapside

Nottingham

NG1 2HU

Nottingham@whiskyshop.com

We asked some for some volunteers to come forward and taste the best whisky as soon as it comes onto the market. Please enter the Talisker Port Ruighe!

Some more whisky will be sent in the post shortly… Thanks to everyone who has given their thoughts!

Edward Imperatori

Colour:  Rich dark honey, almost amber

Nose: light peat on the nose, salty marine qualities typical of a Talisker with a touch of honey and then a floral hint of lavender. Later lingering bbq spare-ribs and a touch of lemon on the nose

Taste: again  lightly smokey on the palate, a clearly malty whisky. A touch of water brings out notes of fresh orchard apples. On 2nd taste neat also some ripe banana.

Mouthfeel: medium mouth-coating not too oily but a lingering mouthfeel

Comments: complex enjoyable full-bodied whisky which does not require water, it is less intense than Talisker Storm but not as complex as Talisker 30 year. I prefer it to Storm but not to the 30 year.

View: very good complex

Score : 4.5 / 5

David Keddie

Colour: Rich Golden Amber.

Nose: A bold smoke with  fresh sea salt breeze. Followed by coal tars .

Taste: Coal Fire Smoke  of the 70′s that very quickly turns  very sweet , with marmalade on burnt toast undertones.

Finish: Quite a long smooth finish,  a bit of fruit, sweet burnt orange on application of water.

Comment:  A whisky for smoke lovers  who love a sweet fruit after taste.

Mr Aumakua

Colour: A nice light tan in colour, almost an amber.

Aroma: Warm spices with a hint of peat.

Taste (straight): Hmmm! Warming but sort of leaves your mouth feeling dry like too much pepper.

Taste (with water added):  Whoops, Just need to top my glass up first!

Arrh! It’s the maple syrup that gives it colour and sweetness. Just the kind of drink to follow Christmas pud.

Taste (with Ginger Wine): Taste test abandoned , too nice to mix

Verdict: Would definitely look for the bottle on the shelf in the pub but could work out a dear round with friends.

Andrew Wintle

What an absolute pleasure is was to sample the Talisker Port Ruighe – thanks for including me in the tasting panel

The depth of the colour is the first thing that strikes you – a lovely deep golden caramel

The smell is unmistakably Talisker – really bold and peaty with plenty of pepper and wood smoke but with extra sweetness from the port

I found it very smooth, almost creamy with a rich sweet and spicy taste – like other Taliskers it’s quite fiery to begin with then moves to a more dry/complex combination of deep wood smoke, pepper then almost honey sweetness

It leaves the usual lovely lingering smokey/peppery taste – I tried it with and without water; this really benefits from adding water as it elongates the smokiness

Nik Suddards

“A long legged, slightly peaty, rather smoky whisky with great depth of flavour that leaves a wonderful, long lingering smoky taste on the roof of the mouth. The further down the glass, the more I enjoyed the whisky and appreciated the subtlety of the flavours!”

Kevin Pollock

Visibly, the colour is similar to the 10 year old but on the nose, the robust smokiness of the standard is not as intense with the Port Ruighe. This is a much more mellow whisky with regards to the aroma. There the mellowness stops as the first taste of the malt delivers a smooth, powerful blast of the Carbost coast. There is quite a pungency with this malt, more so than with the 10-year old. However, after several sips, oddly I find this a more palatable malt than the 10-year old. At 45.8%, it is a little bit more volatile in that the taste does tend to nip upstairs and explore the olfactory department.

Iain Grainger

I really enjoyed the Talisker port Ruighe ,with its strong oaky aroma, fruity taste and the lingering spiced after taste, would recommended this whisky. very nice!

Lionel Green

Initially the nose is of rubber and smoke, a little water opens the whisky and spice comes through. A lovely warming dram to enjoy on a cold night by the fire.

We’ve been looking at the components of whisky in recent weeks. This week we conclude with a ten point guide to being a whisky wood geek.

This week we were due to look at finishes and flavour manipulation as part of our series featuring the ingredients that contribute to the finished whisky. But on reflection I’ve decided that’s better suited for inclusion in the maturation part of my guide to the whisky making process.

So next week I’m going to turn to production – but to amuse myself I’m going to do the process in reverse. so next week it’ll be the said maturation feature and a close look at what happens inside the cask and how different woods make a difference.

For now though, let’s wrap up with:

Dominic’s would-be geek’s, geeky wood guide

1. Most malt whisky is matured in casks that have formerly contained sherry from Spain or whiskey from America.

2. We refer to bourbon casks but a high proportion of them are from the world’s biggest whisky distillery, Jack Daniel’s. And Jack Daniel’s isn’t a bourbon.

3. Bourbon can be made anywhere in America so Tennessee whiskey could be bourbon but the State’s two distilleries both employ the Lincoln Process – letting the ‘white dog’ or ‘new make’ drip down through a charcoal wall. They say it makes it taste smoother and better. Kentuckians don’t.

4. You can find bourbons which have been dripped through charcoal -but it happens after maturation, not before, as in Tennessee.

5. We talk of casks in terms of European oak, American oak, sherry and bourbon. But it  doesn’t follow that a sherried will have been in European oak, as some sherries are matured in American oak.

6. Different oaks have different properties. European oak tends to be tighter and spicier than American. Hungarian oak reacts with the spirit faster than most European oaks. And…

7. …you can’t use Australian oak for malt maturation because it leaks.

8. The smaller the cask, the bigger effect of the wood on the spirit.

9. Bourbon is made in virgin white oak but it doesn’t have to be American, despite what many books say (including my first one – sorry!). You can call a whiskey bourbon after it’s been in the cask for a few hours. To be called a straight bourbon it must be matured for two years. I know at least two Kentucky bourbon chief executives who don’t seem to know that.

10. Oak has to be used in Scotland, but not elsewhere. Maplewood, cherrywood, walnut and hickory have all been used elsewhere and even in Scotland it’s possible to find a cask or two made with cherrywood. Shhh!!

By making this three parts I’ve dragged it out a bit haven’t I? But I keep getting told by people who know about these things that the average person reading on line has the attention span of a gnat and if I waffle on and on, they’re gone. And even in newspapers I’m told that only 63 per cent of people who read a headline bother with the first paragraph, and less than 40 per cent get to paragraph two. Though to be fair, the survey was talking about Sun readers.

Are you still there?

There was a great sketch in the spoof news programme The Day Today when the Paxman-like Chris Morris berates a reporter: “Go after him, you’re letting the story get away.” Well The Spirit of Speyside 2013 in my mind will always be the Festival that got away. I missed it. Nearly.

I turned up at the wrong bridge (though I wasn’t the only one) for canoeing and missed it. I turned up at the Saturday fete for a hogs roast – and it had finished. I missed the big Saturday night hoolie in a bout of being sensible, and as a result of being sensible I set out on ambitious walk on the Sunday morning and missed the Speyside whisky awards lunch. In fact I missed lunch three days in a row.

Which begs the question, what did I actually do?

Well I spent time at three distilleries, one of which will be featured in the next issue of Whiskeria. And the festival organisers – clever people – kept the best to last: a visit to Mortlach.

I’m going to be honest here, my two most disappointing distillery tours were at Diageo venues, and over the years I’ve tended to drift away from its distilleries, so that there are a number of them I have never been to. Mortlach is in that category. This, though, was not only the best Diageo tour I’ve done by some margin, but was way up the list for Scottish distilleries in general.It’s a geeky anorak’s delight, the whisky world’s equivalent to the haunted house at the end of the street – broody,mysterious, enigmatic, a bit intimidating and the subject of rumours of ghouls, giant worms, and little witches.

The spirit, rich, full and oily, enjoys a cult following. And if you know it you’ll be aware that this is a rich sherried whisky, from a distillery where sulphur isn’t a dirty word and indeed, is a vital contributor to this complex and intriguing malt.

The distillery itself is a short hop from the centre of Dufftown, and in some respects is the antithesis of Glenfiddich and Balvenie at the other end of the town.

It’s a malt whisky distillery so let’s not bother going on the tour and let’s cut straight to the chase and focus on the three parts of the experience which elevate it above the competition.

1. The Wee Wichtie

As you probably know, normally the spirit for malt whisky is the result of two distillations. in the first everything distilled is moved in to the spirit still. Here the very strong alcohols that come off first are dangerous and taste horrid, so they are not saved and are recycled back for the next run. The final part of the run is too weak and that is not wanted. So just the middle is kept.

At Mortlach the first pair of stills operate in the conventional way. But the third pair operate differently and the heads and tails are distilled in The Wee Wichtie along with the heads and tails from spirit stills one or two. This makes for a final unique news make spirit that is regarded as one of the best in the world.

2. The worms.

It’s an old whisky joke – has your distillery got worms? Few do, but you haven’t qualified as a whisky geek until you’ve seen some, and indeed, made that joke.

Worms are coiled piping normally lying flat or curling down like a corkscrew on the roof of the distillery through which the spirit passes. Flowing water immerses the pipes to cause the re-condensation of the spirit, and the nature of the re-condensing – it’s slower – produces a heavier, more sulphury spirit. This combined with the distillation process – which is described as part triple distilled – keep up, there’s a test coming -  makes the resulting spirit unique.

3. The tasting

So lots of rich, oily and sulphured spirit then?

Eh, no, actually. And this was the surprise of the year for me.

While sulphur is deliberately included in the new make and is integral to the taste of Mortlach, it is effectively the first and second layers of paint, and not the top coat. You don’t taste it – you taste what its platform has allowed to develop;. And Mortlach is creamy, sweet, and vanillery, with distinctive tropical and yellow fruit notes. If you just know the 16 year old, which is from sherry casks, this is a revelation.

It was for me anyway.

So that was The Spirit of Speyside – and this oddball trip has without doubt reignited my passion for the region, the whiskies from it, and the people who make them. I have committed myself to a new series on the great characters in the region, and to visit the other distilleries here that I have yet to go to.

Brilliant whisky comedians, ace music, wonderful river walks, the finest scenery, the world’s greatest whiskies – and most of all, great great people. How can there not be a God, and how can this not be his zone?

I was going to do this in two parts but it warrants a third. So today let’s look at Thursday and Friday nights…

Once upon a time The Speyside Festival was like a big thick bowl of porridge – Scottish, traditional, consistent, reliable, unchanging, a bit grey and certainly not for everyone. Any attempt to take it out of the bowl invariably ended up in a splurgy sticky mess.

The new version – rebranded The Spirit of Speyside Festival – is a whisky fun fair with a ride for everyone. And never was this more clear than the contrast between the opening dinner and the entertainment I attended on Friday night.

The dinner is at the beginning of the festival, unlike the Kentucky Gala, which brings the Bourbon Festival to a close – and I prefer the former option – people are fresh and excited, it provides a chance to catch up sand co-ordinate plans for the days ahead, and it is Speyside ‘happy hour’- the time when you leave your bigger world behind, and settle in to the bens and glens of the region. I met Alex Salmond at this event once, and i think he thought I was leader of the Cornish National Party – and I oversaw a disaster that my magazine at the time was partly responsible for – when the whole room got hammered due to a quick fire judging of six strong whisky samples for the festival on the way in, and a VERY long wait for the meal.

That wouldn’t happen now. This is a professional and considered event. The current dinner sold out in seconds, and is an elegant and ordered dinner in as salubrious surroundings as you can create in the grounds of a distillery (on this occasion, Glenlivet).If you hadn’t been to the event for a few years, as is the case with me, it would have come as a shock – it’s more diverse, more cosmopolitan, and more stimulating – as good a representation of the festival it opened as you can get.

I’m told there were gremlins – the wi-fi gave up, a speech was lost – but only the organisers could have given a monkeys . Oh and maybe one or two more anal bloggers – but when you’re in Godzone God can demand your entire attention. Screwing up the wi-fi was His way of saying wake up and smell the new make -  switch off, tune out and immerse yourself,  brothers and sisters – you’re in malt whisky company now.

I’m not sure if the organisers were mad, genius or just couldn’t care less, but after the splendour of the opening night, Friday was Cinderella returning back from the Ball and heading off to the pantry.

Taking a national whisky writer to see a blue comedian in a traditional working men’s club telling you whisky is all about getting pisshed could have been the equivalent of taking a born again  fundamentalist Christian to a male only Brighton sauna.

It wasn’t – because the journalist was me. Middle class I may be, but I was brought up watching acts in places like The Glenrothes Working Men’s Club, I edited Club Mirror, I support Leicester and love Iron Maiden. I drink cider for heaven’s sake. This was no sweat.

As it turned out, sitting on the floor at the front was.

The evening’s act was The Whisky Comedian, a true blue , adults only,old school club comedian, only with whisky. The evening, called Whisky for Dafties, was side splittingly hilarious. Or would have been if the guy who was meant to be entertaining me, hadn’t decided to make me part of his act. No matter. This is as good a way of dragging in the folk who think whisky is for wine buffs and worse.

It wasn’t perfect. His whisky knowledge had some holes in it, and when he suggested that anyone who thought that whisky tasted of fruit, spices, nuts or flowers should leave (not actually his words), he did give me an escape route, though I was too terrified at the humiliation that would follow me all the way to the back door entrance.

My contribution was to do a blind tasting of three whiskies. And I delighted the partisan crowd by putting the English whisky last and a blend above the 21 year old single malt.

Note to comedian: that blend was Johnnie Walker 12 year old, and I stand by my choice.  After all, I’m the guy who carried three expensive bottles of whisky home and when I collected my bag something was leaking. Which of the three would it be?

It wasn’t any of them – it was a can of Strongbow.

When I tweeted this story someone asked why I was carrying a can of Strongbow back from Scotland? Good question.

The answer?

Well you can take the boy out of Glenrothes Working Men’s Club, but….

Tomorrow: some proper whisky words! Join me at Mortlach.