What I liked this week

Dom’s weekly round up of the highlights from the world of whisky

Top drawer

The Whisky Shop has had an excellent working relationship with The Dalmore in the last two years, and the Highland whisky has risen from nowhere to a top selling whisky across the whole Whisky Shop estate.

Brand owner Whyte & Mackay’s other main malt, Isle of Jura, is also a a popular choice among Whisky Shop customers. So it comes as no real surprise to hear how well both malts are doing.  So well in fact that the Dalmore is now officially the world’s fastest growing single malt, according to new figures from leading research analysts IWSR.

The data reveals that the Dalmore is currently the fasting growing malt year on year with value growth of 69 per cent, taking over from Whyte & Mackay’s other single malt brand Jura which is now the second fastest growing malt in the world with value growth of 56 per cent. The phenomenal performance of the two brands compares with average growth of only 12 per cent across the top 25 malt brands globally – which in itself is pretty impressive.

Commenting on the figures, John Beard, Chief Executive of Whyte and Mackay said: “The global whisky market is continuing to experience a significant boom in sales and, within the malt category, competition is fierce to capitalise on this growth. So it’s testament to the hard work of our staff and the consistent quality of product that both of our malt brands are growing faster than any others out there. The Dalmore, in particular, is performing extremely well in this market and we are experiencing a growing demand from the world’s top retailers.”

Great news for a great whisky.

Denny does it every time

If you haven’t tried Clan Denny, then you should. Clan Denny Speyside and Islay are blended malts – a mixture of malts from different distilleries – and they do exactly what they say on the tin, offering the drinker the definitive experience for each regain. I don’t know who’s putting these whiskies together but they have always been good and the latest sample of Clan Denny Islay is the best yet – rich, smoky, peaty, sweet and full bodied.

I’ve been drinking a lot of classic Laphroaig and Ardbeg recently – never a struggle, certainly not a chore for me – and Clan Denny Islay matches up favourably even in this superlative company.

Congratulations Spain and Italy

There are many people who feel that the last two weeks of European football have been a disappointment  but I’m not among them. I’ve loved every moment of the tournament – well most: I’m English – and I’ll miss the nightly pre match ritual of loud rock music and a good whisky before sitting down to invariably choose to support the team which goes on to lose.

I’ve had some great whisky moments over the last two weeks – Redbreast 12 year old before the Ireland games (in one of which a player from my team Leicester City scored a goal), Glen Garioch before German games (don’t ask me why), Glenfarclas before Spain matches (sherry casks, you see), Glenlivet 15 year old before any of the Eastern European countries played and Laphroaig before England’s matches.

I had to listen to the England v Sweden game in the back of a car with John Glaser so rather than drink Mackmyra that win will be associated with Compass Box Spice Tree, though that whisky was my regular choice for Italy matches. Happy days…

But congratulations to Spain and Italy, who reached the final on merit. I love both countries – we have holidayed in either one of them practically every year since we had children 14 years ago – so my loyalties are split.

I’ll make a decision after a Glenfarclas and Spice Tree on Sunday evening. God help whoever I decide to root for.