Whisky Nosing and Tasting 2006 |
William Grants Whiskies
The first Nosing and Tasting Evening started on the 20th June when Gordon Haughton of Dufftown 2000 gave an amusing and interesting talk on a range of William Grants whiskies. The lucky winner of the nosing competition, Dirk Todd, is seen here being presented with a bottle of 12year old Glenfiddich by Gordon.
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Nosing Winner - Dirk Todd |
Nosing Winner - Jørn Pedersen |
Glenfiddich Tasting
A great second Nosing and Tasting took place on the 27th June when Dufftown 2000 welcomed the new manager of Glenfiddich, Richard Cotton, and Ludo Ducroix, who talked the group through a selection of William Grants whiskies. The winner, Jørn Pedersen from Denmark, was presented with a bottle of 12 year old by Richard Cotton.
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Dufftown Tasting
The first Nosing in July took place on the 4th when Georgie Crawford, manager of the Whisky Shop guided the audience through a selection of Dufftown Whiskies. The winner of the Nosing Competition was Monique Blockx from Belgium, seen below receiving a bottle of Mortlach from Georgie.
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Nosing Winner - Monique Blockx |
Nosing Winner - Ulrich Berger |
Duncan Taylor Tasting
A very entertaining evening was had when Mark Watt of Duncan Taylor ~ Independent Bottlers of Huntly brought along a selection of their whiskies through the regions of Scotland. They included Auchentoshan 6yo, Mortlach cask strength 16yo, Auld Reekie pure malt 12yo, Carsebridge single grain malt 26yo and Caperdonich single malt 37yo, which was the favourite of the night.
Winner of the Nosing Competition was Ulrich Berger from Germany who is seen here being presented with a bottle of Whisky Galore Mortlach 12yo. There were also other prizes for six runner-ups and spot prizes for quick questions which everyone enjoyed.
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Glenfarclas Tasting
The Glenfarclas Nosing & Tasting Evening saw a capacity crowd when Robert Ranson gave a brief talk on the J & G Grant family who still own Glenfarclas Distillery. He then explained the unique methods used by the distillery before guiding the visitors through some of their single malt whiskies. The lucky winner of the nosing competition was Malene Iversen from Denmark who was presented with a bottle of Glenfarclas 105 and water jug by Robert.
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Nosing Winner - Malene Iversen |
Nosing Winner - Hiroki Sato |
Around Scotland Tasting
Our sixth nosing was entitled Around Scotland when Georgie Crawford from the Whisky Shop introduced Lowlanders, Highlanders, Speysiders and Islanders including an Islay single malt. It was a great nosing, giving overseas visitors a broad spectrum of the diversity of single malts and it was enjoyed by all. After a 'nose-off' the winner this week was Hiroki Sato from Japan, who won a bottle of Highland Park 12yo, with runners-up prizes for the other two finalists, who each received a festival miniature, a baseball cap and key-ring.
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Douglas Laing Tasting
Local girl Susan Webster, malt manager of Douglas Laing & Co. Ltd., Scotch Whisky Blenders and Bottlers, hosted our first Nosing & Tasting Evening in August with a full compliment of whisky enthusiasts. Her selection of Providence and Old Malt Cask whiskies, from an 8yo Braeval to a 25yo Caol Ila was enjoyed by all, and the lucky winner of the nosing competition who received a bottle of 13yo Mortlach was Rosemary Sutherland.
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Nosing Winner - Rosemary Sutherland |
Nosing Winner - Stephen Daniels |
Adelphi Tasting
Another wonderful evening was enjoyed by a capacity crowd as Gordon introduced Alex Bruce from Adelphi Distillers, who gave an informative talk about his company. Alex explained where they got their barrels from and why they supply them at cask strength to the public. He then went on to guide us through the selection he had brought along that evening, which included Breath of Speyside, Breath of the Highlands, a 15yo Tamdhu and 13yo Caol Ila. We finished with a 34yo Ben Nevis blend which everyone thought was superb! Winners of the nosing competition were Stephen Daniels (from Scotland) who shared first place with his wife Elizabeth. Stephen is seen here receiving a bottle of Glen Scotia from Alex Bruce.
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Whisky Shop Tasting
Our Nosing & Tasting Evening on 15th August was a last minute change as, unfortunately, Mike Patterson of Gordon & MacPhail, who was scheduled to do the Benromach Distillery Evening, was unwell. However, Mark Watt (from Duncan & Taylor) and Georgie Crawford (from The Whisky Shop) stepped into the breach and did a whisky version of Call My Bluff (a popular TV programme in the UK). The idea was that both Georgie and Mark would give a description of one whisky, naming it as two different whiskies and the audience had to guess who was telling the truth and choose the correct whisky that was being nosed. This proved to be great fun and the audience was captivated by their friendly banter. After a 'nose-off' between three people, who had four out of the five whiskies correct, the winner was Gunter Born from Germany, who has been coming to Dufftown since the early seventies!
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Nosing Winner - Gunter Born |
Nosing Winner - Roland Schaper |
Chivas Tasting
Another enjoyable evening was had when Darren Hosie, International Brand Ambassador for Chivas Bros. Ltd. delighted the audience with a range of whiskies. There were six cask strength edition malts including Strathisla, Glenlivet, Longmorn, Caperdonich, Scapa and Glenallachie, which are normally just available at their Chivas distilleries. Winner of the nosing competition was Roland Schaper from Germany who is seen here being presented with his prize by Darren Hosie.
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Glenfarclas Tasting
Our last Nosing & Tasting Evening for August was yet another memorable evening when George Grant, Global Ambassador, and sixth generation of the Grants, who own Glenfarclas Distillery joined us with a selection of their whiskies. They were Glenfarclas 105°, 1, 25 & 30 year old single malts. We had two joint winners for the nosing competition, Gabi Osterberger from U.S.A. and Mirko Kretchmmer from Germany, and a runner up, Jo Luczycki from Australia, who would have been a winner but for the fact that he put down the wrong year for one of them... too much tasting and not enough nosing maybe!
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Joint Nosing Winners
Gabi Osterberger & Mirko Kretchmmer |
Nosing Winner - Michael Eccleson |
Duncan Taylor Tasting
Tuesday evening saw the penultimate Nosing & Tasting Evening when Mark Watt from Duncan Taylor, Independent Bottlers, brought along a selection of their whiskies, including Rare of the Rare, Glenlochy, 16yo Mortlach, 34yo Ben Nevis, 35yo Glen Grant and 13yo Caol Ila Cask Strength.The winner of the Nosing Competition, again after a "nose-off", was Michael Eccleson from London who is seen here being presented with a bottle of Whisky Galore Single Malt by Mark. There were also other prizes for 2 runner-ups.
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Inver House Tasting
It may have been our last Nosing & Tasting for this season, but it was by no means the least. There was a good attendance when Bobby Anderson, manager of Speyburn Distillery introduced a selection of Inver House Distillers whiskies. We were treated to anCnoc 12yo, Old Pulteney 12yo, Balblair 10yo and Speyburn 10yo. The lucky winner of the nosing competitions who received a bottle of Speyburn was Alan Leveille from the U.S.A., seen here being congratulated by Bobby Anderson.
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Nosing Winner - Alan Leveille |
