New Years Resolutions...

100% of this blog's readership (yes, all four of you) have complained that I do not post enough.

I know.

The reality is that I am lazy. Additionally, I have the luxury of getting whatever thoughts I have off my chest to my lovely girlfriend, whisky related employers, or whiskynerds at large, so before I bother to make the effort of typing stuff out the desire gets satiated. (Thanks you people!)
SO...
starting in January 2007, I will begin a tasting diary starting with the open bottles on our shelf here at our flat. Now, some of you may think that will be a short-lived exercise. Well, if you have been here (or know us at all), you should know better. By my math, by the month of January already has every day spoken for just from the open bottles on our shelf.

Every morning (when I put on socks) I will nose and taste a malt. I will take notes and then repeat the process at the end of the day before dinner. I will finalise the notes and post a review. Hopefully this will nurture a healthy relationship between me and the blogging life while also potentially nurturing a very unhealthy one between me and the water of life. So begins my Malt Mission.

So Happy New Year!!!

Searching for a particular malt? Try using the search box in the top left corner of this page OR the links under DR.WHISKY's MEDICINE CABINET to the left.

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Dr. Whisky Wins Drammie!!!
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Searching for a particular malt? Try using the search box in the top left corner of this page OR the links under
DR.WHISKY's MEDICINE CABINET to the left.

Is there any Good, Cheap Whisky?

The simple answer is YES, of course. The problem is, as we taste more and become priviledged enough to try some really dynamite drams from beyond our comfortable price bracket, we begin to develop a taste for the finer things. But are there good whiskies (excluding supermarket brands, etc.) that dont break the bank?
Five Cheap and Tasty Whiskies
that come to mind right now (ie. in no particular order and may change my mind tomorrow):
Jon, Mark, and Robbo - I say Smooth Sweeter One, Kristin says Rich Spicy One, Inder says Smokey Peaty One. The point is just get one. Sublte but dense. Multidimensional in each category. One of the best cork-pop sounds out there. Cheap, (£15-ish) and with the departure of Robbo, one cannot be sure that the stuff will be the same, or even around (!) in 2007.
Old Pultney 12 - on offer often and always worth the full price(£24-ish). Bourbony vanilla nose, creamy and inviting. Soft on the tongue, so whisky virgin safe. Sweet and Salty taste, like licorice, with a buttery toast taste throughout.
Balblair 16 - Taste it and try to guess the price. Seriously. It has coastal rubbery notes, slight salt, oily tones on the nose(chinese cooking?) and vibrantly viscous in the mouth, sweet dried fruits, raisins and spice. Seriously hefty on the bang-for-buck scale.
Compass Box Eleuthera- More expensive(£30), but totally worth it when you learn what is inside. Rich wood spices and buttery vanillas all in the key of smoke. Frickin gorgeous.
Black Bottle - At around £14, you cant do much better to satisfy the peat freak in you. But is does not cover you in smoke, in fact the balance between sweet ice creamy grain and salty, briny, smoked kippers tastes is its real accomplishment. The first time whisky drinker might shiver, but that only means more for you!
and a Cask Strength bonus
Glenfarclas 105- Around £30, but at cask strength worth every pound. Massive but balanced, lots of wood, chocolate, and all things that drive sherry freaks wild.

FOR MORE RECENT CHEAP WHISKY RECOMMENDATIONS SEE "Top Picks" HERE and HERE
ALSO SEE CHRISTMAS PICKS 2008 HERE

Why(te) fix it if it ain't broke?

Whyte&Mackay.
At the pub, it can go down beautifully as a part of a nip and a half, but late in the night I have heard it accused of smelling like sour grain whisky, baby sick, and even cheap tequila.
I, nonetheless, hold it in my top 5 standard blends.

The company itself, which owns The Dalmore, Isle of Jura, and Fettercairn Single Malts has had the benefit of Richard Paterson's blending skill and passionate charm for 30 years.
About a year ago it was announced that W&M intended to invest over 100million pounds into relaunching their range, and now a year later, having tasted what i could afford in this new range, i have to ask "why?"

W&M answers:
"To capture the original brand essence whilst incorporating the traditional and stylish aspects that Glasgow has become renowned for."
So why rebrand? Well, the company has shifted hands several times in the 21st century, from Fortune Brands to 'Kyndal' to German investment bank, WestLB, to Vivien Immerman who have "embarked on a long term investment programme to ensure the continued international success of Whyte & Mackay."
Who wouldn't want to continue the success? They have made huge gains in India and the UK, have seen stability in North America, and have been awarded some of the industry's top nods for a few of their products over the past 5 years.
Of note to this drinker is that "Whyte & Mackay 12 years old has won Gold in the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) twice, once in 2002 and the other in 2004." And for around £16, there was no tastier blend available than the Whyte & Mackay 12 year Old Premium Reserve. I have been an advocate of it for over a year and shared it with friends, colleagues, and tasting guests on countless occasions.
I felt duped when I saw the W&M12yr at a supermarket in Fort William and upon drinking it and nearly choking on the oral dissonance noticed it was labeled Whyte & Mackay 12yr Old Masters Reserve. Not the same at all and clearly no winner of awards. Just out to confuse the drinker(The tasty and award winning 21 year old is called the Master's Reserve). That is no way to earn consumer trust.
Well, Whyte & Mackay 'The Thirteen' is even worse than the offensive 12yr Master's Reserve with notes of sulphur and fresh wood in a completely uncharacterful and disharmonious blend.

And beyond being offended as a drinker and loyal W&M customer, I find it painfully small minded to push a product into the 20th century with lines like, "Whyte & Mackay went 'back to the future' to rediscover its proud Glasgow roots in stylish, masculine packaging" and "when the traditional masculine values of pride, integrity and style are often forfeited in favour of profit, expediency and celebrity, Whyte & Mackay Blended Scotch Whisky remains the No.1 choice of Scots, who appreciate its rich, smooth flavour, achieved by maintaining the time-honoured Double Marriage Blending process, something that all Scotch whisky distillers did before accountants took over the world." Accountants, and apparently women. Masculine? What they hell does this all mean? I cannot bring myself to comment right now... leave it to you.

"During 2006, in a dramatic display of confidence, Whyte & Mackay was relaunched with a new look inspired by its proud Glasgow heritage." Confidence? This type of re-branding usually coincides with attempts to reassure investors and an introduction of a cheaper product to justify the marketing costs and this has certainly been the case in the demise of the Whyte & Mackay 12 year old Premium Reserve.

CONCLUSION- An award winning whisky of great value and rich flavour to a stylish package that fails to keep the W&M customer of yesterday loyal and fails to deliver animpressivee drink to new ones. Send me a case of the 12yr Premium Reserve before they vanish into a Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed chasm.

It's About Dram Time

I welcome myself... and you... to this new forum.

Initially, I thought this would be a good idea as I noticed my inbox becoming filled with volleys of emails: whisky questions and answers with people in the industry, debates and discussions about whisky issues with friends, whisky news updates, etc...

I have heard it said about serious wine drinkers that if they drank wine as often as they talked about the stuff, they would seldom live a sober minute.
Well, we whisky folk try very hard to do an equal amount of both.
This blog will hopefully bring about a reasonable (and a due) balance.

So here is Dr. Whisky, a prescription (hopefully) not just for me.
I hope it will be a focal point for whisky beginners, legendary professionals, like-minded barley spirit anoraks, malt maniacs, peat-freaks, whiskycasters, scotch bloggers, and 'viscimetrists' alike, while acting as a place to focus the whisky nerd tendencies of friends far and wide.

Dear Lord(of the Isles), bless this space, make it a place to fill with random crap about Blended, Single Malt, vatted malt and/or blended malt and/or whatever the SWA has decided to call the mixed product of more than one single malt without grain whisky by the time you read this.

Amen... and Slainthe!