Whisky With GreatDrams: Recent Episodes
Greg & Kirsty Dillon
Hosted by Greg & Kirsty Dillon, we invite you to have a Whisky with GreatDrams as we talk about what its like to be an independent bottler, answer your burning whisky questions, chat with industry guests and take a look at what's happening within the world of whisky in each episode.
The Season One Finale... we talk to Calum Fraser, the Master Blender for The Famous Grouse and answer your questions as well as picking our whiskies of the week...
We will be back after the summer !
Follow the latest from GreatDrams across these social platforms:
https://www.instagram.com/GreatDramsGreg
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This week we talk all things Dewar's, Craigellachie, Royal Brackla, hear the passion behind the team doing truly innovative things within their team, discuss the cocktail that Greg keeps posting on social that he has fallen in love with and delve into the news and Whisky of the Week.
Whiskies featured this week:
Dewar's Caribbean Smooth - https://shop.dewars.com/collections/blends/products/dewars-caribbean-smooth-whisky
Dewar's Portugese Smooth - https://shop.dewars.com/collections/blends/products/dewars-portuguese-smooth-whisky
Royal Brackla 12 Year Old - https://shop.dewars.com/collections/royal-brackla/products/royal-brackla-12-year-old
Royal Brackla 18 Year Old - https://shop.dewars.com/collections/royal-brackla/products/royal-brackla-18-year-old
Craigellachie 23 Year Old - https://shop.dewars.com/collections/craigellachie/products/craigellachie-23-exceptional-cask-cr0995
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This week we talk all things Father's Day, hear the passion behind the reawakening of the Brora Distillery, get our geek on about cask imparting flavour and delve into the new and Whisky of the Week.
Whiskies featured this week:
Brora Tryptic - https://www.brora-restored.com
Redbreast Dreamcask - https://www.redbreastwhiskey.com/en-EN/
Lakes Distillery Orange Wine Cask - https://www.lakesdistillery.com
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This week we talk all things Tequila... matured in ex-Scotch whisky casks... a Tequila for Scotch drinkers with Storywood founder Michael Ballantyne including a history of the brand and an in depth tasting of the entire range.
More information on Storywood available here: https://storywoodtequila.com
This week we speak to the awesome Sandy Hyslop, Director of Blenders for Chivas Brothers, about the new Royal Salute 21 Year Old Polo Estancia Edition product and how he goes about creating these wonderful blends he presides over.
We also answer your questions and go through our whisky of the week.
Whiskies featured in this week's show:
Royal Salute 21 Year Old Polo Estancia Edition
Aberlour 20 Year Old Single Cask - https://www.aberlour.com/en/distillery-reserve-collection/
Ardbeg Scorch - https://shop.ardbeg.com/en-gb/ardbeg-scorch-committee-release-p-101461
In this episode we go into a lot more detail about our DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL win at the San Fran Spirits Competition, and talk about the behind the scenes story of this whisky's creation.
BENRINNES RARE CASK SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Available here: https://greatdrams.com/product/benrinnes-rare-cask-single-malt-scotch-whisky/
A rather meaty whisky this one, with a thick, creamy mouthfeel owing to the wormtubs used in the process decreasing the copper contact with the spirit. This was matured initially in a second fill Oloroso sherry cask for over eight years then finished for nine months in a first fill Pedro Ximénez cask to amp up the spiciness and the deep, dark winter fruity notes too.
Distillery: Benrinnes
Region: Speyside
Age: 9 Years Old
Distilled: January 2012
Bottled: February 2021
Cask type: 8 years in a second fill ex-Oloroso cask, 9 months finishing in a first fill ex-PX Sherry cask
ABV: 48.2%
Limited: 333 bottles globally
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In this episode we tell you about the awesome DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL our Benrinnes was awarded in the San Fran Spirits Competition, we also answer two of your questions in depth about the styles of Scotch whisky and talk about how we factor whisky into our holiday packing...
So... Kirsty and I have sat on this news for a few days as we are totally blown away by it... our first time entering the San Fran Spirits Competition and our delightful took away DOUBLE GOLD ! HOLY WOW !
This is pretty much the highest award a whisky can get in global competitions...
To quantify that, in the competition's words that means the Double Gold our Benrinnes 9 Year Old PX Cask Finish has been “awarded to the entries that receive a Gold medal rating by all members of the judging panel; these are among the finest products in the world”.
Incredible. Could not be prouder, especially as we did the whole production of this one from personally selected the cask, having the PX cask made specifically for this whisky and sampling nervously throughout the finishing process until we felt it was perfect for bottling... and clearly the SFSC agreed !
Blown away.
Whiskies talked about include:
BENRINNES RARE CASK SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Available here: https://greatdrams.com/product/benrinnes-rare-cask-single-malt-scotch-whisky/
A rather meaty whisky this one, with a thick, creamy mouthfeel owing to the wormtubs used in the process decreasing the copper contact with the spirit. This was matured initially in a second fill Oloroso sherry cask for over eight years then finished for nine months in a first fill Pedro Ximénez cask to amp up the spiciness and the deep, dark winter fruity notes too.
Distillery: Benrinnes
Region: Speyside
Age: 9 Years Old
Distilled: January 2012
Bottled: February 2021
Cask type: 8 years in a second fill ex-Oloroso cask, 9 months finishing in a first fill ex-PX Sherry cask
ABV: 48.2%
Limited: 333 bottles globally
Bimber Oloroso Cask Batch 4 - https://www.bimberdistillery.co.uk/w
Hibiki Harmony - https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/hibiki/hibiki-japanese-harmony-whisky/
Follow the latest from GreatDrams across these social platforms:
https://www.instagram.com/GreatDramsGreg
https://www.facebook.com/GreatDrams
https://twitter.com/@GreatDrams
In this week's episode we talk to some whisky illuminati about that they are missing from pre-lockdowns and what they are looking forward to when we are all released.
We also introduce the new news section and the new whisky of the week section as well as answering a couple of BIG whisky questions around adding water, ice and more...
Make sure you follow our friends featured in this episode:
Bushmills https://www.instagram.com/bushmillsuk/
IDL Master Distiller Kevin O'Gorman - https://www.instagram.com/kevin.ogorman/
IDL Master Blender Billy Leighton - https://www.instagram.com/leightonbilly/
IDL Blender Dave McCabe - tho he does not appear to have much social action...
SMWS Ambassador John McCheyne - https://www.instagram.com/johnmccheyne/
Glenfiddich Brand Ambassador Mark Thomson - https://www.instagram.com/singlemaltmark/
Dewar's Brand Ambassador Fraser Campbell - https://www.instagram.com/dramble_on/
and our whiskies of the week which you must try were:
Dewar's Double Double 32 Year Old - https://shop.dewars.com/collections/blends/products/dewars-double-double-32-year-old-whisky
Teeling Margaux Cask Finish (good luck finding that!)
In this episode Kirsty and I spend some good time with Scott from Glencairn Crystal to talk all things glassware, crystal, the history of the business and what's to come...
Check out their latest products including the new coloured Glencairn glasses here - https://glencairn.co.uk
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https://www.instagram.com/GreatDramsGreg/
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUCDzCxNWpEHCVQzGAbtYbw
In this episode we introduce you to the founder of Jackson Jones, a brand new blended Scotch whisky brand that Greg of GreatDrams has helped create the whisky for as well as talking through how excited we are to be finally out again at events from Saturday 17th April!
Whiskies talked about include:
Jackson Jones - in founder Racheal's words...
I should probably introduce myself. I’m Racheal, the ‘Jones’ part of Jackson Jones. I’ve loved whisky all my (legal) life. Chris is the ‘Jackson’ part, and he really loves whisky too. Ever since we first met, we dreamed of tearing up the rule book and creating small batch whiskies that were all about one thing – flavour. We wondered what would happen if we stopped obsessing over the pedigree of a particular distillery and chose liquids based exclusively on how they taste.
This is the story of why we decided to create Jackson Jones.
I spent several years in the Scotch business, working on the premium range of one of the world’s leading blends. This took me to places all over the world that I never dreamt I’d get the chance to visit – Taipei being one place in particular that lodged itself firmly into my heart, but tales from Taiwan I will save for another day. I got to try whiskies older than I was and meet whisky lovers from all corners of the globe.
One thing that stood out to me though, was that despite being a tradition that is over 1000 years old, so many people still find whisky unapproachable. I grew tired of ‘experts’ who said you shouldn’t add water to your whisky (even though the best Distillers and Blenders in the world all add water to their whisky to get the best flavour), tired of those that looked down their noses at grain whisky (even though grain whiskies can often be much more versatile than their malt cousins) and tired of the same old expected cues of tartan, bagpipes and haggis. Make no mistake, I love everything about traditional Scotland and some of my favourite times were spent wearing a tartan sash, dancing until the early hours on Speyside to the sound of the Fochaber Fiddlers. I just don’t think all whisky needs to relate back to that.
https://jacksonjoneswhisky.com/pages/about-us/
https://www.instagram.com/jacksonjoneswhisky/
We also talk about the latest events we are attending including...
Wilmslow – Sat 17th April
Chorlton – Sat 17th April
Sale – Sun 18th April
Haigh – Sun 18th April
Lowry – Sat 24th & Sun 25th April
Ashton-under-Lyme – Sat 24th April
West Didsbury – Sun 25th April
Urmston – Sat 1st May
Cheadle – Sat 1st May
Stockport – Sat 8th May
Northwich – Sat 8th May
Follow the latest from GreatDrams across these social platforms:
https://www.instagram.com/GreatDramsGreg/
https://www.facebook.com/GreatDrams
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUCDzCxNWpEHCVQzGAbtYbw
In this episode we introduce you to the two people behind GreatDrams - Greg & Kirsty Dillon - talk about what we have been up to through lockdown, how our world of being an independent bottler has changed and also talk through our brand new range of limited edition Single Cask Single Malt whiskies.
Whiskies talked about include:
TAMDHU SINGLE CASK SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Available here: https://greatdrams.com/product/tamdhu-single-cask-single-malt-scotch-whisky/
Tamdhu now one of the industry’s gems, has had a tumultuous past having been shut for 20 years between 1927 and 1947 as well as being earmarked for decommissioning in 2010 before being sold to its current owners who have built it up again to be an unsung hero of the whisky industry. This release has been matured in a single sherry cask, giving it those lovely winter fruit and spice notes along with notes of apple and honey from the distillery character too.
Distillery: Tamdhu
Region: Speyside
Age: 8 Years Old
Distilled: March 2012
Bottled: February 2021
Cask type: Ex-Sherry cask
ABV: 48.2%
Limited: 200 bottles globally
BENRINNES RARE CASK SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Available here: https://greatdrams.com/product/benrinnes-rare-cask-single-malt-scotch-whisky/
A rather meaty whisky this one, with a thick, creamy mouthfeel owing to the wormtubs used in the process decreasing the copper contact with the spirit. This was matured initially in a second fill Oloroso sherry cask for over eight years then finished for nine months in a first fill Pedro Ximénez cask to amp up the spiciness and the deep, dark winter fruity notes too.
Distillery: Benrinnes
Region: Speyside
Age: 9 Years Old
Distilled: January 2012
Bottled: February 2021
Cask type: 8 years in a second fill ex-Oloroso cask, 9 months finishing in a first fill ex-PX Sherry cask
ABV: 48.2%
Limited: 333 bottles globally
ISLAY SINGLE CASK SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Available here: https://greatdrams.com/product/islay-single-cask-single-malt-scotch-whisky/
We have always wanted to bottle an Islay whisky, and our awesome customers have been pestering us to do so for a long time… finally it is here! A heavily peated whisky from the mystical island of Islay, matured in First Fill Bourbon Barrel and laden with beautifully balanced, classic Islay peated whisky notes as well as lovely soothing vanilla and citrus fruit notes along with cinnamon and warming spice notes too.
Distillery: Secret Islay Distillery
Region: Islay
Age: 7 Years Old
Distilled: 28th October 2013
Bottled: January 2021
Cask type: Ex-Bourbon cask
ABV: 48.2%
Limited: 243 bottles globally
Follow the latest from GreatDrams across these social platforms:
https://www.instagram.com/GreatDramsGreg/
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUCDzCxNWpEHCVQzGAbtYbw