Best in Blog #6: Tasting Notes and Whisky News on the Web
The Bender continues. Scotch Bloggers are still on a roll with their tasting notes this week, and the news is piling up as well. I think it is safe to say that the Best in Blog roundup is officially a bi-weekly posting. Maybe every Monday and Thursday . . . ?
Tasting Notes from Bloggers We Trust:
- Cask Strength reports from Day Eight of Feis Ile (is that really still going on?) with tasting notes of Kilchoman 3 year, Octomore Sherry Cask, and a rare Bunnahabhain 31 distilled in 1976.
- Dubber and Clutch have video of a direct-from-the-cask tasting they did of a 1973 Jura Sherry Cask. Also check out their video of a sampling of “SSS” – that is, Super-Strength Superstition.
- Scotch Hobbyist does a direct comparison of Caol Ila 12 and Caol Ila 18 year.
- John Hansell reviews three expressions of Amrut Indian Whisky.
- Lessons abound at Whisky For Everyone this week, where they review and explain the history of White Horse Blend, Arran’s Sassacaia matured expression, and the Lagavulin 16 year.
- Whisky Fun has a rather cryptic post reviewing four very interesting independent Islay bottlings.
- Finally, Whisky Notes turns in three excellent reviews of Ardbeg Supernova, Bruichladdich’s 2001 “Resurrection,” and a Linkwood 18 Year from Gordon & MacPhail.
The Latest News from the World of Whisk(e)y:
- Scotch Chix give a thumbs-up to a new travelogue about whisky: 99 Drams of Whisky. The New York Times Book Review is less kind in their assessment.
- The scotch whisky industry is working to become greener, but it’s not enough for critics in the Scottish Green Party.
- Whyte and MacKay now owns 13% of the whisky industry in India. More information available here for all you business types.
Related posts:
Take the NYT Book Review with a grain of salt.
Speaking as a person with a review copy and a quote on the back of the book:
(“99 Drams of Whiskey is part travelogue, part distillery guide, and part history book. It is deeply personal, and told in Kate Hopkins’s humorous, engaging, and inimitable style. Through Kate’s eyes, I found myself looking at whiskey anew.”–Kevin Erskine, author of The Instant Expert’s Guide to Single Malt Scotch)
I can say that the book is entertaining and probably more for someone who likes Whisk(e)Y than some failed novelist currently writing book reviews instead of books.
Is it great lit? Nope. But it’s fun.
Good to know, thanks.
By the way, I just ordered a copy of your book on Amazon yesterday. Looking forward to it and thinking of perhaps doing a review here on the blog once it arrives.