I’ve not done a news round-up for a little while, but that doesn’t mean lots hasn’t been going on in the world of whisky. First up, the BBC reports on an experiment in association with Oxford University and The Singleton to investigate whether or not whisky tastes differently in different surroundings:
“[Professor Charles Spence] has been carrying out a multi-sensory science experiment, exploring the senses and the taste of whisky in a bar known as The Singleton Sensorium.”
Next up, there’s investing in whisky, and there’s this:
“Former master distiller is encouraging investors to turn to drink. David Robertson, who now runs the world’s first whisky investment fund, is looking to raise £4 million by the end of next month. Robertson, co-founder of the Whisky Trading Company, is appealing to “sophisticated” private investors with a taste for Scotland’s national drink. The cash raised will be used to buy thousands of bottles of rare and collectable whisky to be sold in the future at a profit.”
Ain’t for the likes of you and me, that stuff. A good job there’s no general shortage of whisky. Speaking of unaffordable drams, the James Bond whisky – aka the Macallan 1962 that was featured in Skyfall, and which is signed by Sir Daniel Craig – is being auctioned for charity:
“The rare bottle of Scotch will be auctioned to raise money for the Government Communications Fund, which supports serving and former members of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).”
Money for old spies? A spot of sensible industry news now. Glenglassaugh whisky distillers has been bought by BenRiach for an undisclosed sum:
“The historic distillery, which dates back to 1875, re-opened in 2009 after being mothballed for 22 years and was owned by Amsterdam-based Lumiere Holdings. The distillery produces a range of single malt whiskies and currently has the capacity to produce 1.1 million litres of whisky a year. Edinburgh-headquartered BenRiach is led by master blender Billy Walker and his partners, South African whisky entrepreneurs Geoff Bell and Wayne Kieswetter.”
BenRiach are fantastic, and make superb whisky, so this can only be a good thing as far as I’m concerned. Finally, a whisky advertising campaign I don’t hate!
“Developed by Story, the ‘An ever changing sensory adventure….’ campaign will run from this month, initially across the UK before rolling out internationally with a focus on flavour, communicated through four illustrations inspired by tasting notes from the Society’s key flavours.“
You’d struggle to find an environment where the Singleton was tasty. Not a great malt on current form, more for foreign markets these days.
Ha – that made me chuckle. Very true.