Today I taste one of John’s favourites, the Macallan 12 year old single malt Scotch whisky. The Macallan has managed to position their whisky in the premium whisky category. It has not been without controversy, especially around their antique collection.
Whisky from England? Today I try The English Whisky Co Chapter 6 single malt whisky made in Norfolk at the St Georges Distillery. Although whisky distilling has been widespread in Scotland, just south of the border in England, whisky production was almost non-existent.
A whisky I have written about before in a twitter tasting, but I think it deserves its own blog post. The Douglas Laing’s Rock Oyster blended malt Scotch whisky is a firm favourite. Rock Oyster was released in 2015 as a blend of single malts from Scottish islands, including Orkney, Arran, Jura and Islay.
An extraordinary tasting this week: The Paul John Mars Orbiter Indian single malt whisky! During this last year or two, this whisky brand from India has taken SA by storm. From being an unknown distillery to being stocked in all the good liquor stores, the Paul John whisky is the one people want to try.
Now and again there are twitter tastings hosted by Steve from Whisky Wire. Most of them are for releases that are not available in South Africa. However, it is a wonderful opportunity to see what interesting whisky is available and what I need to look out for when we travel.
A lot has been written about the Macallan distillery and brand. Some people love it; some people hate it. Many stories about it exist; some true, some not quite. It often makes the ‘Most Expensive whisky’ lists. It is a polarizing whisky and distillery. John loves it. I find it pretentious and old-fashioned. Regardless of my personal view, let’s try the Macallan 15 year old Fine Oak single malt Scotch whisky.