Whisky Dad #Blogifesto 2018

I started WhiskyDad.net in October 2016 as a hobby and it has proven to be an enjoyable and rewarding endeavour. I love whisky and I love writing, so creating my own whisky blog has been a great way to combine my two loves. The blog legitimises my whisky drinking and allows me to express my creative side without becoming unmanageable. It has had the added bonus of increasing my knowledge about whisky and introducing me to some wonderful people within the local industry and bloggers who share my interests from all over the world. Now in my second year, the time has come to get serious and take Whisky Dad to the next level.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me so far and make a declaration for the future, my Blogifesto.

Produce more worthwhile content

Life gets in the way sometimes and I haven’t been able to write as much as I would have liked. I have however stuck with it and I think my momentum in increasing rather than decreasing. There is plenty more to come from Whisky Dad. I promise to maintain or improve the quality of the content I produce but please keep me honest and tell me if I start sounding like a wanker.

Build on my recent rebranding by launching a new custom-designed website

I began blogging using the Blogger platform and while it provided an easy to learn interface to get me started, I quickly became frustrated by its limitations and unhappy with performance on mobile devices. Blogger will never live up to my vision for Whisky Dad so the time is right to leave it behind and free up my energy for writing rather than fighting with formatting for each and every post. Expect to see a new website soon, developed with the help of Molten Studios, the same team who produced my awesome Whisky Dad logo.

Continue to grow my social media network

I never understood social media until I began my blog. My followers have grown steadily and organically since I began blogging and I want to keep it that way. You won’t see me buying followers or likes and I would much prefer a smaller audience that contributes to conversations about whisky rather than thousands of faceless spam-account followers. I want to make finding and following Whisky Dad content easier in the future without ever becoming intrusive or annoying. Help keep me honest.

Improve my photography

I’ve gotten by with my mobile phone camera up until now, but I will be taking my photography to the next level soon with a camera upgrade and spending more time improving my core photography skills. I want my photography to enhance and showcase my written content and contribute to the professional look of the blog.

Scotland 2018

Scotland is going to be more than just a fantastic holiday, it is going to be a treasure trove of blog content and a chance for me to connect in-person with some of the great people I have met online through a mutual love of whisky. My dad has so many stories, so I hope the trip back to the UK will trigger some of those memories and I can record as much as possible. I also hope to meet many new friends and build a new network of contacts outside of Australia.

Make money from writing

I have written for free in the past, but I won’t be doing that anymore. Writers or any content producer must appreciate the value of their work. It takes time and effort to write about anything, not to mention the education and experience that has given me the ability to do so in the first place. My mid-term goal for Whisky Dad is to write a book (or books) about whisky. I don’t expect this to happen overnight and I will have to find original topics worth reading about to avoid writing just another book about whisky. My blog journey has given me a few ideas, but it has also given me an opportunity to write professionally for whisky-related businesses on a smaller scale. Expect to see my words appearing outside of whiskydad.net more frequently soon; I have to pay for my whisky habit somehow.

I hope you choose to follow me on my journey in the new year and you enjoy the content that I produce.

Sláinte.

Shane Kinloch

Whisky Dad

Longrow Red 13 Year Old Malbec Cask Impressions

What is it?

Distillery: Longrow

Name: Red, Malbec Cask Matured, Aged 13 Years

Make: Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Extra Info: Malbec (sometimes called Côt and Auxxerois) is a purple grape variety used in making red wine and is grown predominantly in Argentina. Malbec is known for its blackberry, plum and black cherry flavours and a sweet tobacco finish – a perfect match for a peated whisky perhaps?

Why did I buy it?

I have been chasing a Longrow Red for a long time and snapped up this expression when it became available locally. Longrow Red is a limited release from Longrow and each batch uses casks seasoned with different red wine varieties. For this batch the spirit was aged for 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished for 15 months in fresh Malbec casks sourced from Stellenbosch in South Africa. This particular batch is limited to 9,000 bottles worldwide and Longrow Red expressions are usually only available in very limited quantities outside of European markets.

What did I think of it?

Presentation: Keeps with the current Longrow white labelling with the use of red helping to denote this as a Longrow Red expression.

Appearance: Dark orange in the glass, amber in the bottle. Naturally coloured and turned cloudy in the glass for me; a product of being non-chill filtered, not a fault. Bottled at 51.3% ABV.

Aroma: Clear tobacco notes with a restrained, not overpowering smokiness. A little fizz in the nostrils, red orchard stone fruits and rasins soaked in alcohol. 

Flavour: A delicious full mouthfeel, sweet fruits at first with building spice as the liquid warms in the mouth. A slight bitterness like coffee beans, balancing the initial sweetness before the prickly spice takes over.

Finish: Long powerful finish, dark chocolate aftertaste, the slightest tingle left on the tongue with a mild warming in the chest and a lasting smoky kiss.

Would I buy it again?

My chances of finding this particular expression again are slim, but I would definitely buy other Longrow Red expressions when available. Use of ex-wine casks is quickly becoming a signature of the Australian whisky industry and Longrow Red is a great example of what the Scots can achieve matching ex-red wine casks with a peaty Campbeltown spirit.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to have the nose and palate of a Master Sommelier, however, I am working to train my senses to better identify whisky aromas and flavours. Consider all my whisky 'Impressions' to be a work in progress and I hope to come back to each of them in the future to see if I notice anything different. Most importantly, I'm not just throwing around random aromas, flavours and adjectives for the hell of it; I am trying really hard to critically describe each whisky I taste - WhiskyDad.

Whisky Dad (and Dad) Vist Scotland 2018 - Planning Update

It has been a little while since I shared my travel plans for the big trip to Scotland next year and I have had a chance to incorporate many of the great suggestions I received last time. So here’s where it's at, as of now.

Flights are booked

My dad and I will fly into Manchester Airport around midday on the 21st of May 2018 and depart Manchester on our way back to Australia on the evening of the 18th of June. We will be hiring a car for the whole trip to get around in.

To Scotland (21st May)

My dad and I will visit my uncle Harry briefly on our way to Scotland but our first overnight stop will be at Mossend, near Glasgow. Leaving bright and early in the morning, we will visit a few sites of significance from my Dad’s childhood and end up at Campbeltown in the afternoon.

Campbeltown Malts Festival (22-25th May)

The first firm dates of our trip are spending 22-25th of May in Campbeltown for the Malts Festival. This will include the Kintyre Gin Open Day at the Beinn an Tuirc Distillery and the Glen Scotia Dinner on day one; Glen Scotia Distillery Open Day and Springbank Dinner on day two; Springbank Distillery Open Day on day three and Kilkerran and Wm Cadenhead’s Open Day and the festival closing dinner at the Campbeltown Town Hall on the final day.

That’s quite a busy few days in Campbeltown and I’m expecting a few issues with jet lag during this period. But my time in Campbeltown doesn’t end there for me since I will be completing the Springbank Whisky School the following week.

Highland Games, Stirling Castle & Loch Lomond (26-27th May)

Most whisky loving tourists will be heading to Fes Isle on Islay from this weekend, but my dad and I will head the other way. The plan is to start early and drive to Blackford for their local Highland Games (where I hope to participate, if I can) before heading back to and overnighting at Drymen near Loch Lomond via Stirling Castle. The following day I will partake in the Glengoyne Distillery 5-hour Master Class while Dad explores Loch Lomond and then we will drop into Loch Lomond Distillery on the way back to Campbeltown.

Springbank Whisky School (28th May – 1st June)

This will be the week I’ve been waiting for. In fact, I would have waited for over two years by this stage. Springbank is both my favourite distillery and the only Scottish distillery to conduct 100% of their whisky production at one site. That makes Springbank the ideal location to undertake an intensive whisky school. Over the five days, students gain hands-on experience in every aspect of whisky making from floor malting to bottling. I cannot wait!

My dad on the other hand, will be taking the car and going to play golf for a few days…It’s his holiday too.

Islay (2-5th June)

No whisky lover’s trip to Scotland is complete without visiting Islay. My dad and I will meet back up again at the conclusion of the Springbank Whisky School and then we will be off to catch the ferry to Islay. The locals will no doubt be recovering from another successful Fes Isle which is a shame to miss, but at least we will be able to find accommodation for the next four days. We plan to take in the big eight, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain, Kilchoman, Bruichladdich, Bowmore (Craftsman Tour), Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg Distilleries with some island exploration in between. I’m planning a visit to Kildalton Cross and a short island hop to Isle of Jura.

Heading North (5-6th June)

Next, we will be leaving Islay and travelling north to Oban for the night. From Oban we will continue north for a rest at Fiddler's Loch Ness in Drumnadrochit. The next day we will continue further into the Highlands for a short but sweet detour on the way to Speyside.

The Highlands (7-8th June)

Highland distilleries to visit include Dalmore, Glenmorangie, Balblair and Clynelish. Unfortunately, we probably won’t make it any further north this time but will make it a priority to visit the Orkney Isles (and the Isles of Mull and Skye) on my next trip to Scotland whenever that may be.

Speyside (9-13th June)

The next five days will be busy indeed but luckily the amount of ground to cover is short since so many distilleries are in close proximity to each other, mostly along the Spey river. There are some hard choices to make here on where we do and don’t get to visit but my plan includes the following: 

Tomatin, Ballindalloch, Glenfarclas, Cardhu, Tamdhu, Knockando, Aberlour, The Macallan, Speyside Cooperage, Genfiddich, Glenrothes, Forsyths Stills, Glen Grant, Glen Moray, Strathisla, Knockdhu and The GlenDronach for the Connoisseurs' Experience.

Heading South (14th June)

At this stage the trip will coming to an end and I have no doubt Dad and I will be feeling tired. We plan a leisurely scenic drive south through the Cairngorms National Park along A93 from Aboyne to Pitlochry.

Edinburgh (15-16th June)

We hope make it to Edinburgh by the 15th, home to the Scotch Whisky Experience and plan to catch up with The Tasmanian Whisky Academy who will be in the area but more on that later.

Northern England (17th June)

I made a promise to visit Abbie and Chris at Cooper King Distillery in Yorkshire and say G’day to their Tasmanian-sourced copper still, so that will be a stop on the way to Corby. The last stop on our trip is Corby, Northamptonshire, (recently voted the unhappiest place to live in Britain) where my Dad spent part of his youth. We will visit a few places for some final family story moments, then prepare for our departure back home to Australia.

Back Home (18th June)

Out last drive will take us through the fabled Sherwood Forrest to check out Robin Wood Craft and hopfully pick up an authentic handmade wooden quaich on the way to Manchester. Time to return the hire car and for the terribly long plane trip home and trying to pass though Australian Customs without paying an arm and a leg for all the whisky I’ve no doubt bough over the last month. It should be a crackin’ trip.

Still a Work in Progress

So that’s the current plan, but that’s not to say that some things may change between now and then or could quite possible change while we are in Scotland. Some of the trip is locked in, like our time in Campbeltown (which is almost half the trip) but this particular visit revolves around Springbank (my favourite distillery) and the Springbank Whisky School. If I wasn’t attending the school, I would be doing things differently. I acknowledge we won’t get to see everything or visit every place, but it’s impossible to do so. I decided early on, to only visit the Scottish mainland and Islay this time. The last thing I want is for this trip to feel more like work than a holiday.

Canberra's Local Spirit Tour

I began 2017 by moving from easily the most distillery dense state in Australia, Tasmania, to easily the most public servant dense, the Australian Capital Territory. Canberra and the ACT in general is highly regarded for wine production with some of Australia’s best wineries are located nearby, but what about distilled spirits? I enlisted the help of local entrepreneur and founder of Local Spirit tours, Ben Osborne to take me and my friends on one of his Luxury Distillery Tours.

We met at Grease Monkey, not a distillery, but a great place to grab a tasty burger on the north side of Canberra. From there, bellies appropriately primed with food, we climbed into Ben’s van and travelled to Plonk, a highly regarded bottle shop at the Fyshwick Fresh Food Market.

Our tour took us here to meet Tim Reardon, owner/operator of The Canberra Distillery who just so happened to be conducting a tasting that day. On offer from The Canberra Distillery included their Classic and Winter Gins, Canberra Fog, Coffee Liquor, Blood Orange Gin, Negroni and Limoncello. The Classic Gin as the name suggests is a classic London Dry style vapour-infused gin with a commonly Australian citrus bias, whereas the Winter Gin is more of a robust local creation with a familiar juniper nose but with strong refreshing notes of basil and a spicy cinnamon finish – perfect for a cold Canberra winter.

Keeping with the cold Canberra theme was the Canberra Fog (notorious to anyone who has tried to catch an early morning flight into or out of Canberra in the winter) which is an aniseed-based liquor made from distilled Murrumbateman Shiraz. If you enjoy the flavour of the Greek classic, Ouzo, you will likely enjoy this creation which tastes like liquid black jellybeans. The Blood Orange Gin tastes as is suggested by the label, drawing on the local provenance of small growers and produces. The Negroni is a pre-mixed cocktail of gin, vermouth and bitters, barrel-aged in heavily charred ex-red wine casks from the local Canberra region. The Coffee Liqueur would be perfect for an Espresso Martini or a boozy coffee, but I found it to be very sweet for my tastes; nothing some extra vodka couldn’t fix. Finally, the Limoncello cleansed the palate with a refreshing, yet still very sweet, lemon infused spirit.

As you can see, the Canberra Distillery produce a large range of spirits and liquors that draw from or directly showcase local ingredients. I am very keen to sample some of the other products Tim has planned for the near future.

Underground Spirits Head Distiller, Ross McQuinn

Next stop was Underground Spirits in Kambah where we were greeted by Head Distiller, Ross McQuinn. Underground Spirits’ point of difference is the use of a patented sub-zero, sub-micron filtration system adapted from technology used to filter impurities from blood. When producing their products, Underground Spirits begin by filtering neutral spirit with common carbon micron filtration followed by their own patented method. When testing their sub-zero, sub-micron filtration system, they confused the Australian National University test equipment by producing a spirit of higher purity than the pure control sample! There is no doubting that Underground Spirits make their products using the purest neutral spirit available.

Underground Spirits produce a traditionally juniper-forward barrel-aged gin using a triple infusion method of maceration, vapour infusion and botanical tinctures. They also produce a range of flavoured vodka including a vanilla, caramel and hazelnut version. Now I’m not a flavoured vodka kind-of-guy, but I actually purchased a bottle of the hazelnut variety which smelt and tasted too good to pass up; I can see it making its way into a variety of boozy deserts. Underground Spirits are currently experimenting with options to produce whisky in the future and I will be following their progress closely.

Baldwin Whiskey Company's Premix Whiskey & Cola and Premium Whiskey

Last distillery visit of the day was to Baldwin Distilling Company in Mitchell, who produce a spirit with a bourbon-style 51% corn mash bill and age it in medium-toasted, heavily-charred virgin American oak barrels. Baldwin have positioned themselves to capitalise on premium whisky (or whiskey with an ‘e’ to reflect their bourbon-style) market, rather than the small batch single malt route that most Australian craft distilleries follow. This puts Baldwin in direct competition to some of the biggest names on the mass produced whisky market and as such they have produced their own premix premium whiskey & cola ustilising their own in-house cola which has approximately one-fifth the sugar as Coca-Cola.

Baldwin owner/operator Anthony Baldwin and I share the opinion that you should be free to drink your whisky however you damn please without suffering the criticism of whisky snobs. I personally do not drink whisky with sweet mixers, but I quite liked the taste of the Baldwin premixed whisky & cola and I strongly encourage you to give it a try if bourbon & cola premixes are your thing. In my opinion, it tastes infinitely better than Jim Beam & Coke premix and supports a local Australian business rather than a massive multi-national.

I had the opportunity to sample the Baldwin ‘Premium Whiskey’ on its own, which is also sold by the bottle and to be honest it was a little too rough to drink neat. It seemed to have gained little from its time in the cask and I suspect it would benefit from aging longer or even aging in a different location with more atmospheric and temperature variations to force the spirit in and out of the cask wood. To be fair, it is intended to be drunk with a mixer and I would definitely recommend this approach with the current entry-level Baldwin premium whiskey.

Next in the range is the unfortunately named ‘Caramel Whiskey’ which from the name you no doubt assumed is a flavoured whisky. This is not the case as it is made using ‘Caramalt’ malt, rather than having any flavouring added. Caramalt is a variety of malted barley with a slight toffee flavour and the resultant whisky, in Baldwin’s case, is an improvement over their base whiskey. Next in the range is a US 100 Proof (50% ABV) Rye whiskey. This was my favourite Baldwin whiskey and one that I am quite happy to drink neat. Go here, for my detailed thoughts. In addition to their whiskies, Baldwin also produce a variety of US-style Moonshine including, unflavoured, Apple Pie, Honey and Peach.

After leaving Baldwin Distilling Company, we finished the day at the White Rabbit bar in central Canberra where we eventually bid farewell to our host Ben and went on our merry ways with a new knowledge and appreciation of the local Canberra distilling scene. I really should have explored my new local distilling scene sooner, but it’s good to know that people like Ben exist who can guide you around not only the local distilleries but breweries and wineries as well.

If you live locally or are visiting the Canberra region, go to www.localspirit.com.au/ for details of what alcohol-centric tours are available.

Baldwin Premium Rye Whiskey Impressions

What is it?

Distillery: Baldwin Distilling Company
Name: Premium Rye Whiskey
Make: Australian Rye Whiskey
Extra Info: Baldwin Distilling Company is based in Mitchell, ACT and produces a range of US bourbon-style 51% corn mashbill 'premium whiskey' and moonshine including a premix whisky & cola using their own in-house cola. Baldwin spirits are produced in a single distilling run using a column still. 

Why did I buy it?

This bottle was given to me as a gift but it was my pick of the Baldwin Distilling Company range. I am quite partial to Rye whisky and while it may taste quite different to malt whisky or bourbon at first it's the differences that make it worth trying to improve your own whisky knowledge and appreciation.

What did I think of it?

Presentation: I personally love the Baldwin Distilling Company logo, it looks fantastic printed directly onto the 700ml short and stubby bottle. The Baldwin Rye is bottled at US 100 Proof or 50% ABV.

Appearance: Naturally amber gold in colour and chill filtered for clarity.

Aroma: Takes a little work to isolate the aromas in the glass but presents notes of fresh green grass, mint, vanilla and just a slight reminder of the harshness I noticed in the high alcohol (90% ABV) newmake spirit from which it began.

Flavour: Light mouthfeel with strong peppery spice popping through flavours of ginger and grapefruit with some sweeter melon flavours developing with the addition of water.

Finish: Long lingering spice on the tongue with a slight drying bitter aftertaste.

Would I buy it again?

Probably not, but there are few whiskies that I would. When there are so many whiskies out there to try, it takes something truly special to make my repeat buy list. Having only been around since 2015, it's safe to say that Baldwin Distilling Company has some room to improve and with time, I have no doubt they will. Right now Anthony Baldwin is tackling the lucrative premium spirits market head-on, which in itself is a point of difference to other Australian craft distilleries. If this approach pays off, Baldwin Distilling Company could become one of the biggest names in Australian distilling.


Disclaimer: I do not claim to have the nose and palate of a Master Sommelier, however, I am working to train my senses to better identify whisky aromas and flavours. Consider all my whisky 'Impressions' to be a work in progress and I hope to come back to each of them in the future to see if I notice anything different. Most importantly, I'm not just throwing around random aromas, flavours and adjectives for the hell of it; I am trying really hard to critically describe each whisky I taste - WhiskyDad.