2010 FNB Whiskey Live Festival

Went to my second Whiskey Live Festival last night in Sandton at the Sandton Convention Center.

Firstly I would like to thank Ilse for thinking of me when she was given some extra tickets to the event, and to do that a second year in a row is just great.

Of course there was absolutely no choice as to who I would be taking along with me to this one, it just had to be the man that introduced me to two of the more acquired tastes in life, cigars and of course - whiskey, that as chance would have it make a very handsome pair, Mr Ryan Barrett.

On arrival we did not realise just how long the line would be to get into the tasting hall, as last year we arrived at the event alot later. We were entertained, albeit briefly, by a proper Scottish pipe band that had been quietly waiting outside of the center on the pavement before hand, dressed in full Scottish traditional dress - kilts and all. On entrance they were anything but quite - 6 bagpipes, 2 drums, and a base drum. They did play sporadically during the evening inside the hall and added a really nice ambiance to the event.

We were very lucky this year to also be given a pair of tickets to a whiskey workshop, this one been held by Glen Grants part owner Dennis Malcolm entitled '170yrs of Tradition and Innovation'.

Dennis is a thin tall man with really curly grey hair and a seriously thick Scottish accent, and he too was dressed in traditional Scottish dress. The room was filled with about 30 - 40 people most of which looked alot like my father, grey balding and bearded. I must admit I would have really felt out of place if it weren't for the few younger guys (if you consider being in your 30's young) sitting nearer the back of the room.

We were all seated in front of long tables that crossed the room from left to right and neatly placed in front of each seat was a plate of crackers, obviously for cleansing the palate, a bottle of water and of course four glasses containing four different drams of Glen Grants finest whiskey.

Home after a very nervous start where Dennis gave some background to the history of Glen Grant, the brothers John and James who started the distillery in 18foot sack to the Major ,their grandson, who eventually took over from them and made one of the boldest moves, that later proved to be the real making of the brand. That was the Major, added a purifier to the plant that would be cooled by water, that would prevent the heavier particles from escaping ensuring the distilling process and would force them to condense early and only the lighter particles would be allowed through the process, and the heavier particles sent back to the front of the line.

This radically changed the taste of the whiskey for the better. But enough of that. To the tasting.

We first tasted the majors reserve which is a single malt - as are all the glen grants - that has been left to mature for 7 years. Its amazing just how much more you can taste in a whiskey when someone else who has drunk it - and been involved in the manufacture - for years starts to tell you what you could be tasting.

What I really liked about this whiskey and the 3 to follow was the fruitiness of the initial taste and the texture being rather creamy on the tongue. Some of the other whiskeys we tried later in the evening had a oily after-texture that I cant say I would have noted if I had not gone to the workshop, and make me really appreciate the quality of Glen Grants product.

The second was the 10yr old that ended up being not only ended up being my favorite but Ryan's as well. This one really set the bar high and in our humble opinion only a few whiskeys came close to making as much of an impression - and they were blended whiskeys, not single malts. The 10 year old was alot like the 7 but the flavours where just so much more intense and the initial taste was alot smoother and less acidic.

We also then tasted the 16 year old and the 170 year commemorative whisky, both being very nice, but also not making as much of an impact as the 10 year old. the 170 is a blend of Glen Grant single malts ranging from 7 - 25 years in age.

Another thing that was very evident in the workshop was the great lengths Glen Grant had gone to in keeping the quality of their whiskey at high, even though it meant that the cost to make the product remained higher than other whiskeys. This is significant because back in the day the when the blends where becoming very popular Glen Grants single malt still managed to keep its own.

I dont want to waffle on about all ths whiskeys we tasted last night in as much detail, but some fo the other whiskeys that we had the honour of tasting were:

Bushmills 10 and 12 yr, Jameson Irish (Reserve), Johnny Walker Black, Red, Green, Gold and Blue, Chivas Reagle 12yr old amoungst others.

I think it is worth mentioning here that I would never have expected whiskey to have as many undertones as it does, and I hesitate to say that after last night, I may now be converted from a wine drinker - to a whiskey one.

Slawncha! (Cheers in Gaelic)