Grain Whisky Night

 

Six grain whiskies for us to try

Grain whisky is sometimes seen as a bit of a poor relation in the whisky world. But there's no real reason why that should be so. The label 'grain whisky' simply means using some grains other than malted barley as part of the whisky making process, and far from just padding out the good stuff with some inferior product, it can lead to some quality bottlings and great value drams.

Fercullen 10yo

And so for our April tasting, we had six grain whiskies to get stuck into courtesy of Martin. We started with a whiskey rather than a whisky, and something from Fercullen. It has been making whiskey at its Powerscourt distillery in Wicklow since 2018, but given we had a 10-year-old in our hands we think this must have come from the ubiquitous Cooley's.

This was floral on the nose and we got a lot of peach. "Very peachy all round". In fact, the finish more or less went away except for the peach. So it's certainly one to try if you like peaches. Further comments suggested this was a perfect breakfast whiskey and was in fact "the best first dram in ages." The bottling was white oak aged then finished in bourbon. It was 40% and we paid £60.

Bernheim 7yo

Dram two was another whiskey, albeit from a bit further west. This was a wheat whiskey from the Heaven Hill distillery, bottled under the Bernheim Original brand. It was a seven-year-old, and it had a little bit of corn and barley in there along with the wheat.

Initial tasting notes here were liquorice, herbs and spices. Aniseed and cola cubes came next. This was not universally popular, and some drinkers felt it was a bit on the sweet side for their taste. Others thought it was not bad but just suffered in comparison with the opener. Nice to try a wheat whiskey all the same. This was 45% and cost £78.

Circumstance 3yo

To England for the third whisky and our old friends from Circumstance, who did a remote tasting with us during Covid. They've set out their point of difference in the spirits market by using unusual yeasts, including a saison wheat beer yeast. We were trying a three-year-old, which had been matured in ex-bourbon casks.

This was sweet upfront with pear drops and banana sweets. A bit like those little fruit salad chews. Felt a bit rum like for some, and others thought it had a bit of a non-whisky or even slightly synthetic vibe about it. The yeast was certainly there in the beer-like mouthfeel. A bit light perhaps, and also trying to do a lot in a single drink. Lively and interesting and unlike other whiskies most of us have tried before. It was 46% and we paid £60.

Master of Malt's own

After a half-time break and a chance to refill our beer glasses downstairs at the Britons Protection, we were into something far older for the fourth whisky. From the Atom Labs offshoot of leading online booze retailer Master of Malt, this was Butterscotch & Vanilla & Toast & a Generation, part of their series of similarly-named whiskies with cool minimalist labels. This particular bottling was a 30yo blend of grains, probably from the North British and Invergordon distilleries.

It certainly tasted mature. Not light at all, and there was plenty to go at. Barbecue was one tasting note, creme brulee another. Waxy on the nose and we definitely did get the butterscotch. At £65, this was very good value for a 30yo whisky. But on the other hand, at just 40% some drinkers felt it was a little under-powered, and resolved to try the higher ABV cask strength version which retails for a bit more.

Electric Coo 26yo

More North British in dram number five, which was something of a curiosity. Electric Coo was the brand name, and it ended up with us as part of a crowdfunder for David Stirk, a whisky expert who was writing a book about independent distilleries. If you contributed you got a bottle, and so here it was, a 26-year-old.

This had a bit of an acidic tang to it. In fact it was "brutal" suggested someone, in the sense it was very strong and big tasting, and felt stronger than the 50% on the label. Still some sweetness in there, but also a tannin mouthfeel thought some in the room. A bit of a split room in the end, but more than one person was desperate for another drop having finished theirs. The indicative value on it was £95.

Loch Lomond

For our last whisky of the evening, we went to Loch Lomond via the Southport Whisky Club, which bottled this particular expression. Rather than a grain whisky, this was really a single malt in all but name, but because it was distilled using Coffey stills it can't technically be called a malt. This was a chunky old peated cask strength dram, at 61.3%.

And didn't it taste like it. "My word this is strong" I've written down in my notes, and that sums it up pretty well. Very fruit too, with grapefruit prominent on the palate. There were mixed views in the room on whether it improved with water. Some found it a bit much all round. But, as ever for a big peat monster, it had its supporters in the club too!

We ran dram of the night a bit differently, giving everyone two votes instead of one. And would you believe it, we ended up with a very rare win for the opening dram of the night. The Fercullen picked up 17 votes, with the Loch Lomond second and the Electric Coo third. But all the whiskies got some votes, again emphasising what a good selection we had. Thanks to Martin for providing it, for all club members and guests for getting stuck in and drinking them, and to all at the Britons for hosting us yet again.

Battle of the Blends

The line-up of seven blends 

For June's tasting we did something we do all-to-rarely at whisky club, and took a proper dip into the market of blends. Club chairman Adam took everyone through the most expensive core range blend from the owners of each of Scotland's seven grain distilleries, Girvan, Loch Lomond, Strathclyde, Starlaw, North British, Cameronbridge and Invergordon.

In the almost decade-long history of the club, only five percent of the whiskies we had ever tried as tastings have been blends, so it seemed like a good opportunity to redress that a little and see what was on offer. Adam asked everyone to try these blind and see if we felt what was in the glasses offered decent value.

We began with Girvan, and the Grants Triple Wood. Buttery with biscuits on the nose, more butter on the palate along with a sweetness and a certain prickly quality as well. It's 40% and is usually available for about £17.

Next it was on to the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, and a taste of High Commissioner, a brand that sells well overseas in addition to domestically (it remains the fifth biggest blend in the UK market, although that's down a bit from where it once was). It's unremarkable on the nose, a bit of pear drops perhaps, but overall a little bit thin and watery - we weren't especially impressed. It's 40% and £15.

Strathclyde next, owned by Pernod Ricard, and the 21yo Signature Blend from the Royal Salute brand. Musty with parma violets on the nose. Taste dominated rather by wood. Although it was certainly smooth, much smoother than the previous two drams. As well it might be though, it's a whopping £125 (we thought 20 quid tops). It's 40% again.

French drinks group Martiniquaise owns Starlaw, and we had a bottle of Label 5 Classic Black. A new name on many of us but it's the eighth biggest selling Scotch globally. For the nose we got Scampi Fries and prawn cocktail crisps sort of smushed together with fondant icing. Then on the palate, buttercream and parma violets again. It's 40% and £21.

We were on familiar territory with dram number five, from Edrington Group, owners of the North British distillery, it was a bottle of Famous Grouse. Bit oily and biscuity on the nose, this. Buttery toffee taste and very smooth again, with a hint of Rich Tea biscuits. It's £16 and 40%.

Cameronbridge is owned by Diageo, and one of their best known brands is Johnnie Walker. So we had a bottle of JW Blue. Slightly smoky, a bit sickly. As someone suggested, "the market for this is people who buy solid gold bath taps". It's £155 and 40% - again, not great value by any stretch.

Which brought us to the final dram of the night, Invergordon's Filipino owner Emperador and their Whyte and Mackay brand. We had a bottle of the Triple Matured. Cupcake, sponge and buttercream, we thought. It's £19 and, as is standard for blends, was 40%.

For dram of the night, everyone was asked to score out of ten as they went along, and the Johnnie Walker just edged ahead of the Whyte and Mackay and Royal Salute - although the Royal Salute had most 'top' votes overall.

Thanks to Adam for putting on the tasting and especially David for his extensive notes (I wasn't there so am relying on these for this blogpost!).

Against The Grain: A Grain Whisky Special

The grain whisky line up

For our tasting in August, we looked at one of the more forgotten areas of Scottish whisky: grain whisky. Simply put, grain whisky refers to any whisky made in part from grains which aren't malted barley, and can include grains such as corn, wheat, maize and rye.

Holyrood

We started off with something from the new Holyrood distillery in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital's first new opening in a century. In fact, what we were drinking was not actually produced there, as it's only been up and running since 2019, but was instead called Sweet Single Grain, bottled under licence using the name 'Holyrood Spirits Merchants' although we don't know where the spirit itself was produced.

It smelt nice, with a good nose all round. Something distinctive in the aftertaste, but we couldn't quite place it at first, although there was a shout for butterscotch. Coats your mouth nicely. As someone said: "not all that much to say about it, but it's lovely." From an AHC - alligator heavy char - cask, a fact which might explain the sweetness we all got. This was 46% and was a very reasonable £39.50.

Bramble Whisky Co

Onto dram number two and one of the biggest grain distilleries in Scotland, the North British. Jointly owned by Diageo and Edrington Group, it has an annual output of about 12 million litres, most of which ends up in a variety of well-known blends.

This particular bottle was from a small indie, the Bramble Whisky Company, associated with a local bar. It was four-and-a-half years old, a virgin oak single cask and, like the first bottle, we got ours online from Royal Mile Whiskies. It had plenty going on. We got fruitcake, root liqourice, and a generally quite earthy flavour. Interesting, different, enjoyable, and certainly unusual. One drinker asked whether it was aged in Listerine barrels, although others felt it was a bit on the sickly side. It's £57 and 46%.

Invergordon

We were off next to another big old grain distillery. This time it was Invergordon, today part of Whyte and Mackay. And in a bit of a surprise, we soon learned that we had in our hands the oldest whisky ever tasted as part of a club event. It was a bottling of a whisky distilled back in 1972, making it a 48-year-old when it finally went into the bottle: a rarity for many of us members to have a dram older than them! It was the work of another independent bottler, this time Thompson Brothers.

Pear drops on the nose here. Vanilla, caramel and then a bit of fruit. Tropical fruit in fact, like pineapple or even peaches. Some thought it had a bit of a 'meh' finish to it, but others felt it improved after a few sips. A touch spicy maybe, thought someone. Although a good dram, we probably wouldn't pay the £270 price tag again! It was 42%.

Port Dundas

Port Dundas in Glasgow used to be another big name in grain distilling, until the distillery was closed and demolished a decade ago, as owner Diageo looked to consolidate its grain output at Cameronbridge (more of which in a moment). Adam had chosen for us one of the later bottlings from the distillery, a 2009 10-year-old under the Cooper's Choice name, a mixture of American oak and Martinique rum casks.

And very nice it was too.  Very pleasant and memorable was the consensus, along with "grassy" and "earthy". With water in it became really good, perhaps indicating it was bottled a little too strong. And by too strong, we mean a very chunky 60.5%. At £57 though, we felt this was a bit of a bargain, a more than reasonable price for something like this.

Cameronbridge

Port Dundas may have gone but Cameronbridge endures. Located in East Fife, it's the largest grain distillery in Europe, producing 200 litres of the good stuff every minute. And we had another older whisky to try, this time a 36-year-old bottled by Bartels Whisky under the name His Excellency. Indeed, it was a cask strength version of a bottle we'd had before.

This had the nicest nose so far. Caramel, chewy, toffee apple, even fizzy cider. A bit rummy on the nose, we got some sweetness and molasses. Chewy - that word again - when tasted, a bit of water brought out more of the flavour. The finish was perhaps a little harsh, but was also thick and oily. For plenty of members, the clear favourite so far. It was 57.9% and cost us £78.

Loch Lomond

To finish, we took the high road, or perhaps by this time of the night it was more like the low road, to Loch Lomond. The distillery is known for being self-sufficient, in so far as it has its own malt and grain distillery. And we were trying a peated version of the Loch Lomond Single Grain.

This had an interesting nose. Irn Bru, fruits and spices, and just a bit peaty or smoky. A rabbit out of the hat suggested someone, and quite a few really enjoyed this. It's unusual to have a peaty grain, and on this occasion we were drinking what was effectively a single malt, but which was not distilled in the batch process but was instead made using the continuous Coffey still method so technically doesn't count as a single malt under Scottish rules. More's the pity, as not only was this a very good whisky, it was a total bargain at just £26. It's 46%.

And so we came to the dram of the night voting. And in an unprecedented development, we had a five-way tie! All the drams from two to six got the same number of votes, so we left it at that rather than trying to force a winner.

Thanks to all members for taking part via Zoom once again, and to Adam for selecting and running us through another great selection of drams!

The Art of Maturation

 

My view of this tasting also featured Scotland v Austria:
one of these events was more stressful than the other

Our March Zoom tasting was led by Anna, who took us through a series of five drams on the theme of 'The Art of Maturation' - with whiskies matured in casks of different kinds. We tried them blind to see if we could guess what the barrels had previously held: perhaps unsurprisingly, this proved rather tricky!

Benrinnes 11yo

We started off with something that was both peppery and yet also sweet, a bit like Coke. Not that it would have been finished in a Coke can, and suggestions of what had it actually spent time in ranged from red wine to Cognac and sherry. It was dark and certainly looked like a sherry finish, although it didn't particularly smell like it. Very pleasant all round, and a nice way to start the evening. We got a bit of dryness and wood polish along with everything else.

This was an 11yo Benrinnes, from independent bottler Cadenheads. It was a vatted malt, with two casks of sherry-finished whisky, two of bourbon and one of rum. So some of us, almost inevitably, were miles out. This got a general thumbs up. And at £49, this was good value too. The ABV was 46% although it tasted stronger.

English Whisky 12yo

Next up was something chocolately. Dark chocolate possibly, so I thought perhaps it had been finished in Nesquik casks. It was dark in colour and we definitely got plenty of, well, chocolate. In our little breakout group we liked it and thought we could easily buy it, although we weren't so keen after a drop of water. Some others thought it was a bit woody and unbalanced.

As it transpired, we were drinking something from the English Whisky Company. It was a 12-year-old, making it just about as old as you can get from that distillery. This particular bottling was finished in red wine (totally wrong, as ever), and it was a release for The Whisky Circus. It was a small cask maturation, just a 50 litre cask, which probably helped explain the unusual flavours going on. It was £65 and came in at 57.1%.

Wardhead 23yo

Whisky number three was very nice on the nose. Very sweet, with maybe even a bit of maple syrup on there. What it had spent time in was the subject of a bit of a discussion, some thought sauternes, others went for ice wine, I chipped in calvados and, as luck would have it, turned out to be right (stopped clock, etc, etc). It was certainly different and fruity, although it also split the room a bit, some didn't like it, others added water and thought that brought out the fruitiness even more.

We were drinking not a Glenfiddich as such, but a 'teaspooned' Glenfiddich under the Wardhead brand. A 23-year-old from 1997, this was 51.1% and cost us £122.

Penderyn 6yo

Dram four was dark again. A "super toffee" look and feel, thick and tarry like a wall of sugar and spice. The nose was so good in fact, some of us didn't even want to taste it. As it happened it lived up to expectations on the palate, very distinctive with Bonfire Night sweets, a real chewiness with marshmallows, toffee apple and candyfloss. However, again there were some mixed views, with others saying they found it a bit refluxy, and one or two didn't want to finish theirs.

It was even a little bit pink, which hinted at what it had been finished in: a tawny port pipe. The distillery was Penderyn of Wales, and this was a 6yo single cask from Berry, Brothers and Rudd. At £150 and 60.5% this was either one to avoid or one not to forget in a hurry: the 'Penderyn marmite cask' as someone described it.

Loch Lomond 14yo

To finish the night we were "straight onto the phenols". A bit off putting for the non-peat fans, perhaps. This one tasted a bit better than the smell, which came over as even a bit sulphury to me. This was a bit too peaty all round for some club members, but was absolutely ideal for others who loved it. Certainly the end of an extremely varied evening of drinks.

It was from the Loch Lomond distillery, and was a 14yo bottled for golf's European Tour Welsh Open. Matured in a first fill oloroso, it was 52.3% and cost £85. "Like hot tarmac!" says the last line of my notes, whatever that means.

And so it was time for the dram of the night voting. All five attracted some votes, but the winner was - unusually - dram number one, the Benrinnes, with the club's peat fans putting the Loch Lomond second.

Thanks again to all members for joining us on Zoom, it's now more than a year since we last met in person but hopefully we're much nearer the end than the start of the pandemic now. And particular thanks to Anna for taking us through a great selection!

Whisky In My Water

Another whisky club line-up.

The March meeting of the Manchester Whisky Club took place on the Thursday immediately before Good Friday, which is of course (for most people at least) a four-day weekend. This sort of thing is either a brilliant or a terrible idea, and if you can work out exactly which it is, feel free to let us know.

Carn Mor Ben Rinnes 8yo.

Stina had assembled a line-up of six whiskies for the tasting, with a watery theme. That is, whiskies which perhaps come from a particularly noteworthy water source, might benefit from a drop or two in a dram, or have some other water connection. Hence the name of the tasting, Whisky In My Water.

We got started with an 8yo Ben Rinnes from independent bottler Carn Mor (we had a Laphroaig of theirs quite recently, back at Anna's November tasting). This was amazing for a whisky of just eight years. Sweet, with sherbet, vanilla and a hint of burnt orange about it, a few of us were reluctant to try it with any water at all: "It would be a crime to add water to this, surely!" as someone said.

Inchmurrin 17yo.

At 46% and just £40, it also represents great value. Unfortunately, we may have got the last one from Master of Malt, but if you can find one anywhere, it's well worth it.

Buoyed by this great start to the evening, and perhaps by the renewed realisation we were on the verge of a four-day weekend, it was on to dram number two. This involved a trip to Loch Lomond - hence the water - for a 17yo Inchmurrin, which is produced at the same distillery on the bonnie banks (we say that, but in reality it's just a little to the south of the Loch itself).

This was another good one. A bit of honey, an oily nose, and maybe a touch of molasses in there, or at least something along those lines. Certainly pleasant, but not for all of us at £90. It's 46%.

The mysterious Kirin.

Stina didn't know much about the third whisky, as it was something she picked up on a visit to Japan last year. Unfortunately for us, we knew even less about it, other than it was from Kirin, a company probably better known for its production of beer and soft drinks. More or less all we could decipher from the label, with the help of a translation app, was that it was a blend. So there we go.

It was nice, and quite malty, although as someone commented: "I'm not getting much more than PVA glue" (if you have children obsessed with creating slime, this is an occupational hazard, though). It had a short, but sweet finish, and we think it was probably a 3yo or thereabouts. It was £35 for a 50cl bottle, although goodness knows how much it would cost if you weren't picking it up straight from the distillery. Stina summed it up: "I'm so glad it's not disgusting."

SMWS Quince Jelly Baby

After the half-time break and a refresh of our pint glasses from downstairs at the Britons' Protection, it was back to the fourth drink of the evening and a drop from one of our favourites, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. This was the 'Quince Jelly Baby', in reality a 12yo Glenlivet.

And what a belter it was. A bit of apple tart, a bit of crystallised ginger. Absolutely lovely all round, and a surprisingly easy drinker for an imposing 58.8%. This went down so well it got an almost unprecedented round of applause after we'd finished. We got our bottle for just £60 as members, but wherever you can find one, it would be well worth a good bit more than that.

We were in Islay for the last two whiskies of the night.

Bhunnahabhain Cruach Mhona

First, to Bunnahabhain for a bottle of their Cruach Mhona, a no age statement whisky that started life aimed at the travel retail market, but is now available more widely. Cruach Mhona translates as 'peat stack' and we can confirm that yes, it does indeed smell like a pile of peated bricks. As if they've just put some peat in a barrel, perhaps.

It's recommended with a drop of water and it's not too difficult to see why once you've spent a little bit of time with it. At 50% and £85 for a 1 litre bottle, this was another good value bottle, we thought.

Laphroaig Brodir.

Onto the last drink and to Laphroaig, for another no age statement whisky, this time the Brodir which has a port wood finish. As such it has a distinctive reddish sort of colour about it, and is much more subtle on both the nose and the palate than a typical Laphroaig.

Given that subtlety, this makes the Brodir either an ideal candidate for someone who finds the standard bottling a bit, well, much - or is a bit of an expensive disappointment for those who go to Laphroaig for exactly that. It's 48% and £90, and was enjoyed by some, but most of the members preferred the Bunna.

And so that was it. Another great selection of whiskies and another tough choice in the dram of the night voting, with all of the drams getting at least one vote. But in the end it was the SMWS bottling, number four, which picked up ten votes and took the honours.

Thanks to Stina for putting together such a great selection, to the Britons for hosting us once again, and particular thanks to all of the members who came along.

Here they are.

Independent Bottlings Night

The line-up.

At our June tasting we were delighted to welcome several new paid-up members to the club, and they had five whiskies from a variety of independent bottlers to enjoy, as yet more summer rain lashed down outside the Britons Protection.

The Inchmurrin 19yo.

Tom acted as whisky master for the evening, and he started us off with a 19yo Inchmurrin, bottled by Signatory. As Tom revealed, Inchmurrin is made at the Loch Lomond distillery and is named for the island in the middle of the loch, which is possibly best known for being the home of a naturist colony.

Not that the dram itself was naked. It's finished in sherry casks, something clearly in evidence just from the nose. That sherried sweetness won quite a few approving nods on first taste, but if anything this whisky disappointed a little thereafter, just sort of fading away after a strong start. However, at £40, it's not bad value.

That TBWC label.

Up next was a no-age statement dram from That Boutique-y Whisky Company from the Allt-á-Bhainne distillery near Dufftown. Somewhat tenuously, because Allt-á-Bhainne sounds a bit like House of Pain, the label features cows listening to old school classic Jump Around, while standing next to a river of milk (which is what Allt-á-Bhainne actually means).

But enough about the packaging, and on to the whisky. This one's herby on the nose, vaguely reminiscent of dandelion and burdock. And we got a range of opinions from the membership, although most could at least agree that this was an "interesting" drop. It retails at a shade under £50, which would be fine if it was in a proper 70cl bottle!

The Glenburgie 19yo.

The most expensive whisky of the night was next and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it turned out to be our favourite. It was a Glenburgie 19yo, not just sold by Master of Malt but also bottled by them.

Appropriately enough for Wimbledon fortnight, this one had strawberries if not cream, along with distinct notes of butterscotch and a bit of citrus later on in the finish. Despite general warm approval, this wasn't a bottle that got the membership reaching for their phones and credit cards - purely because of the price at more than £90.

This led to the quote of the evening from Nic: "I'd buy it, but I wouldn't share it!"

Douglas Laing's Double Barrel.

After a mid-tasting break, we were back with bottle four and a mash-up of Ardbeg and Inchgower in the form of Douglas Laing's Double Barrel. If this was a marriage of Islay and Speyside, it was clear on both the nose and the palate that Islay was the dominant partner, with a peatiness and saltiness that really took over the drink.

It was felt that the Inchgower got a little lost up against its distinctive bottle-mate. While decent value at £45, some of Douglas Laing's offerings which we've had at the club in the past - Scallywag in particular - are probably a better bet for a slightly lower price.

The Paul John 6yo.

We finished with a passage to India and the 6yo Paul John, another bottling by Master of Malt. A young whisky, but not by Indian standards where, it's said, the heat makes six years equivalent to three times as long in rainy old Scotland.

Reactions to this one can be divided into those who drank it before and after adding water. Initially, it tasted very strong, as well it might at 59.7%. In the words of one member, it tasted "like cardboard". But when we started to put a few drops of water in there, things opened up considerably and it became much more palatable. That dreaded word again - "interesting" - but probably not worth splashing out the £78 retail price for.

The vote at the end of the night when decisively in favour of the Glenburgie. No chance of a 52/48 split here! Thanks to Tom for leading another great tasting, and to the faces old and new who came down.

The vote. No secret ballots here.

Adventures in Loch Lomond - The Great Dramboree 2014

Take one stunning 19th century Lochside hostel in the shadow of Ben Lomond. Add a sprinkling of Whisky bloggerati, a smattering of spirit-industry leaders, a handful of society and event organisers and a generous number of all-round whisky lovers. Leave for one weekend to merrily bubble away. Add whisky to taste.

The Dramboree, a social event for whisky lovers, started last year - a bright idea from Jason B Standing of the Whisky Squad and Jonny McMillan of the Great Whisky company. The idea, loosely, is to assemble a group of whisky geeks together in Scotland and indulge in a weekend of whisky-tastings, a distillery visit, and general fun and shenanigans inbetween.

Hurtling up the M6, Señor Duckworth and myself excitedly speculated on what the weekend would have in store for us...

Andy dazzles with his pointing skills.

After a quick drop in to Bruichladdich HQ at Glasgow to say hello, we boarded our coach and headed towards Lomond amidst a flurry of sample swapping and tasty across the aisle and back and forth between seats. Andy's dram selection box went down an absolute treat.

Under a grey sky and in a fine drizzle we left the coach to board the ferry that would take us to the jetty of the Rowardennan lodge where we'd be staying on the north-east bank of the loch.

Gorgeous view across Loch Lomond.

The Dramboree guys had a great line up for us for the weekend. We enjoyed:

• An exclusive tasting of work-in-progress whiskies from Dewars
• Select antique bottlings from bygone eras in a tasting of 9 drams dating back to the 1940s
• An exploration of the language of the senses from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society
• Highland Park's latest NAS whisky, Dark Origins, plus some choice bottles from the rest of their line up.
• Some of Dufftown Whisky Shop's more interesting offerings
• A grand day out to the Glengoyne distillery
• Epic meat barbecue from the lovely folks at Master of Malt
• A shared drams table with around 130 different bottles of whisky to try at our leisure
• A special commemorative bottling of Ledaig to remember the weekend.

There were far too many amazing drams to recount, but highlights for me were the 1970s ceramic decanter Bruichladdich 15, the 1980s Bowmore 12, 1950s Teachers (unbelievably tasty!) and an absolutely corking 30 year old Linkwood from Diageo's Rare Malts series.

The Drams Table - West Side

Such whisky. Much antique. Wow.

The Drams Table - East Side

The famously fickle Scottish sunshine even put in an appearance. Feeling warm and merry, we made it out for dips in the loch, leisurely cigars, and a pan-European kick-about out on the lawn.

And a glorious weekend it was. Thanks everyone - we'll see you in 2015!

You can find more out about Dramboree over at http://www.dramboree.co.uk/

- Sean