The OCUK Whisky (and Whiskey) review thread

Did a tour of Glengoyne yesterday and loved it. Blended our own bottle each which was fun, overall a great tour. I've done a fair few, but this stood out.

The display showing cask influences on colour as well as angels share was amazing

https://i.~ibb.co~/35ngZm0Z/IMG20250206155847.jpg
https://i.~ibb.co~/7dVJ3pg5/IMG20250206145433.jpg
https://i.~ibb.co~/NgPkgV9R/IMG20250206145110.jpg
 
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Bagged a second BNJ, been after one for a while but managed to source 2 in the end. Ill drink one and keep one I think

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Proposals being looked at allow the use of the term "English Single Malt Whisky".... Not going down well with the Scottish Whisky groups - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80yr1e4328o

To be fair, allowing the use of the term for places that are only doing the distilling part of the process and not the full production process is a little off (currently "Single Malt" is used whereby the full process of Mashing, Fermentation and Distilling is done at the same site).
 
Richie said:
Proposals being looked at allow the use of the term "English Single Malt Whisky".... Not going down well with the Scottish Whisky groups - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80yr1e4328o

To be fair, allowing the use of the term for places that are only doing the distilling part of the process and not the full production process is a little off (currently "Single Malt" is used whereby the full process of Mashing, Fermentation and Distilling is done at the same site).
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……but they don’t mind using barley that is grown and malted in England.
 
Axeboy said:
Bagged a second BNJ, been after one for a while but managed to source 2 in the end. Ill drink one and keep one I think
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Nice! I keep looking to see if I see if I can get one at a reasonable price. I can't/won't stretch to over £50.
 
Thought this might be a bit of interest to some. As I'm not a regular in this thread (not a whisky drinker) I have seen that one or two folk have had Glencadam Whisky before (to mixed reviews) but they've got a new visitor centre that's in the process of being built. I checked their instagram and they're aiming for a summer opening this year. Not sure how their schedule is and if it's slipped at all but may be worth dropping by later on this year?

Glencadam Distillery Visitor Centre Receives Planning Permission!

Glencadam Distillery opened in 1825. Since then, little has changed and our award-winning Single Malt Scotch Whisky is still produced using the same traditional and handcrafted production methods as it has done for almost 200 years.
www.glencadamwhisky.com www.glencadamwhisky.com

I'll see if i can pop by tomorrow and take some photos on the progress they're making.
 
Barry Smalley said:
……but they don’t mind using barley that is grown and malted in England.
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Its got nothing to do that nationalism and, if you read the article, you should realise that.

The issue is the watering down of the requirements for whisky to be called "single malt whisky", not because it's produced in England.

But sure, you make it about nationalism :cry:
 
Richie said:
Its got nothing to do that nationalism and, if you read the article, you should realise that.

The issue is the watering down of the requirements for whisky to be called "single malt whisky", not because it's produced in England.

But sure, you make it about nationalism :cry:
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The whole thing is a bit of a con already anyway for lots of the brands. When people learn that the big distilleries like Lagavulin pump the distilled spirit into tanker lorries, for it to be driven to mainland Scotland to be put into barrels, and then those barrels are put in big warehouses on the mainland (I think Inverness for Lagavulin, so presumably lots of the other Diageo whiskies are too), you're really not getting much of the place where they're sold as coming from. The guff about the spirit taking on the essence of Islay...what, when it spends 99% of its pre-bottled life in Inverness?

Oh and let's throw some caramel E150a colouring in it so it looks more appealing.

This is coming from me as a big lover of Lagavulin's stuff. I'm in it for the taste, the story is mostly a load of utter balls.
 
hughtrimble said:
The whole thing is a bit of a con already anyway for lots of the brands. When people learn that the big distilleries like Lagavulin pump the distilled spirit into tanker lorries, for it to be driven to mainland Scotland to be put into barrels, and then those barrels are put in big warehouses on the mainland (I think Inverness for Lagavulin,
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The cask filling and storage is not one of the components in the process that makes it a"single malt" though... It's Mashing, fermentation and distilling that are the 3 processes so, again, the point stands.

To further put to rest the attempts to make this argument as nationalism, there are some English distilleries that DO carry out all 3 processes at their distilleries and people's like the SWA, have no issues with these being called "single malt"

If people are happy with the watering down of things like this, I'm sure everyone will be happy with the same to happen to other things like Cornish pasties or Meltdown Mowbray Pork Pies or a whole host of others.

Essentially - if you want the "prestige" associated with a certain food/drink product then you should be prepared to follow the rules that make it one of those products or just don't use it
 
I think @Richie and @hughtrimble both have fair points. It's not mutually exclusive that it's important for the creation of the malt as location specific to be kept somewhat sacrosanct, but also that producers are certainly guilty of overplaying the role of location in some ways.

If you want some whisky of true provenance get yourself some Port Charlotte.

https://i.~ibb.co~/MTGR2yq/islay.jpg

Also check out this place, a distillery in Frome, Somerset. He mashes, ferments and distills on site, and also is experimenting with malting on site, particularly interesting was a video where he was producing a peated malt using a BBQ smoker in a sealed shed. All maturation on site also. 'Proper' English single malt by all means.

Our Process — Retribution Distilling Co.

www.retributiondistilling.co.uk www.retributiondistilling.co.uk
 
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dl8860 said:
I think @Richie and @hughtrimble both have fair points. It's not mutually exclusive that it's important for the creation of the malt as location specific to be kept somewhat sacrosanct, but also that producers are certainly guilty of overplaying the role of location in some ways.

If you want some whisky of true provenance get yourself some Port Charlotte.

https://i.~ibb.co~/MTGR2yq/islay.jpg

Also check out this place, a distillery in Frome, Somerset. He mashes, ferments and distills on site, and also is experimenting with malting on site, particularly interesting was a video where he was producing a peated malt using a BBQ smoker in a sealed shed. All maturation on site also. 'Proper' English single malt by all means.

Our Process — Retribution Distilling Co.

www.retributiondistilling.co.uk www.retributiondistilling.co.uk
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Yes, love Bruichladdich's stuff, and have a few bottles of Octomore too, though their RRPs have been climbing a bit steeply in recent releases.
 
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