The Telegraph Whisky Experience

Another Whisky Show, but one we haven’t been to before. At 5.30 pm we arrived at The Telegraph Whisky Experience where we were greeted with a goody bag, and by the host, drinks author Charles MacLean. He gave a talk to a crowd of mainly newcomers to whisky, explaining how to maximise their tasting experience. Discussing how you should take your time to nose a dram, sipping the spirit, and importantly enjoying it how you like – straight, mixed, in cocktails, and adding water. Charles made it clear he doesn't agree with adding ice to neat drams because it kills the aromas.

To begin the experience, Charles took us through a mini tasting – a comparison of Wemyss Malts’ latest release of The Hive and Craigellachie 13 Year Old. We decided that both were equally as good as each other, a view that most would agree on if judging by the empty glasses (which were perfectly pocket sized mini Glencairns).

The 'goodie bag' contained a miniature of The Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old

The atmosphere was alive with many discussions and questions from an enthusiastic crowd. All of the exhibitors remarked at how refreshingly it was to be able to talk to so many people at the start of their whisky journeys. Other shows usually lean more towards a larger percentage of experienced drinkers; here many tasted core ranges for the first time.

Due to the show being held over a Monday and Tuesday, the feel was less about a going-out-drinking-party vibe, really setting the tone for drinkers wanting to be educated instead of being full of alcohol. Many purchased bottles of drams they really enjoyed, The Whisky Shop stand was certainly busy, running out of stock of certain bottles due to sales were being higher than they had anticipated. 

Dave about to get his nose into something!

One thing I did notice that left me feeling a little disappointed is the crowd was still made up of older men with just a few ladies peppering the room. A clear lack of under 35s too I'm not sure if this was any different on the other day but I was expecting a more mixed crowd. 

We found ourselves revisiting many drams we had previously tasted, for example the Highland Park 18 year old, Talisker Skye and Mortlach Rare Old. There were only a handful of drams that were new discoveries. Most of the non-standard drams where being poured in the master classes which we did not attend, so can’t comment. 

The full dram list enjoyed as follows, with only two Whisky Discoveries to add to Dave's 'Liquid Log'

• WD #1219 Wemyss Malts 'The Hive'
• WD #1149 Craigellachie 13 Year old
• WD #1030 Mortlach 'Old and Rare'
• WD #395   Highland Park 21 Year Old
• WD #1274 SMWS G7.8 'Sweet Seduction in a Car Wash'
• WD #951   Wemyss Malts Glenrothes 1988 'Aromatic Orange Tobacco'
• WD #1218 Wemyss Malts Bowmore 1987 'Sweet Peat Posy'
• WD #1301 The Arran Malt Sauternes Cask Finished
• WD #533   The Arran Malt Amarone Cask Finished
• WD #1302 The Arran Malt Port Cask Finished

Just two new Whisky Discoveries to add to the Liquid Log this time

There were two masterclasses to choose from, one a tasting of The Macallan 1824 Series consisting of Gold, Amber, Sienna and Ruby with an added special dram of The Macallan Rare Cask. The second masterclass was led by Charles with a selection of drams chosen by him under the title of Charles MacLean’s Taste of Scotland.

Lastly the food at the show was the best that we have tasted out of all the shows we have been to – a two course meal was included in the ticket price. It’s a great intimate show, not too crowded giving more opportunities for people to have one-to-one chats with the brands, all set in a beautiful and historic surroundings. 

You can find more about the Telegraph Whisky Experience and their next event in December here: http://telegraphevents.co.uk/the-telegraph-whisky-experience/.

We would like to say thank you to Wemyss Malts for inviting us as their guest. You can find out more about Wemyss Malts here: http://www.wemyssmalts.com/. 

Slàinte! Kat

Midlands Whisky VIII

We've been to all but the very first Midlands Whisky Show, and it's getting close to our next hop up to Stourbridge for Nickolls and Perks' eighth event held at Stourbridge Town Hall

You can read how our day went at each of the previous events here!

• Midlands Whisky Festival II - September 2012
• Midlands Whisky Festival III - April 2013
• Midlands Whisky Festival IV - September 2013
• Midlands Whisky Festival V - March 2014
• Midlands Whisky Festival VI - September 2014
• Midlands Whisky Festival VII - March 2015

Each event has been getting bigger and better and we're looking forward to seeing what the line up will be this September.

Once again there is a Friday evening show, tickets are £30.00
Entrance at 6:00pm, all drams on taste free inside venue, souvenir tasting glass, show programme

The Saturday event has a number of ticket choices:

• Standard Ticket £40:00
  entrance at 12:00pm, all drams on taste free inside venue, souvenir tasting glass, show programme 
• Premium Ticket £75:00
  All standard features, early entrance 10.45am, free masterclass, 2 x dream dram tokens, complimentary canapés 
• Devotee Ticket £150:00
  All standard features, all premium features, selection of dream drams to take home, £10 food voucher

Tickets are now on sale for their September Show now - so don't delay, get yours now by clicking through the links below:

Midlands Whisky VI

We're counting down the sleeps until this show!

You may have realised by now that we love Whisky Shows. We tend to visit between six and eight a year, and if we could afford the time and cost we would visit a lot more! In fact spending our time travelling the World's Whisky Shows would be an ideal past time, however we both have bills to pay!

The Midlands Whisky Festival run by Nickolls and Perks has become one of our firm favourites. The people of Stourbridge love their whisky, mind you it's not just locals that fill Stourbridge's Victorian Town Hall at each Whisky Festival, we've met whisky enthusiasts from all over the country at their festivals.

Nickolls and Perks Stourbridge corner shop

Nickolls and Perks are the UK's oldest provincial wine and spirits merchant and they've been proudly independent since 1797. They held their first Midlands Whisky Festival back in 2010, initially an annual event held on the last Saturday of September, they introduced a Spring Festival three years ago and their next event will be held on the last weekend of March, that's Friday 27th and Saturday 28th March! You can book your tickets here: Tickets

Whilst the Saturday show ordinarily opens at midday for ticket holders the are a limited number of 'VIP' tickets which allow access from 1045 which not only gives you an extra 'Dream Dram' token, but more importantly to the serious whisky fan, unrivalled access to the Brand Ambassadors and shop for a full hour and a quarter in a relaxed unhurried atmosphere whilst canapés are served. Once again in addition to the VIP ticket, a 'Devotee' ticket was available which not only gave all the VIP advantages but a selection of Dream Drams samples to take home too! 

We've attended all but the very first show and this will be their seventh event. Each time they are getting bigger and better, and this time they have announced a special Friday evening session alongside the usual Saturday show. Tickets are available for each session individually, and there are special deals for the full weekend. 

We often hear complaints that there simply isn't enough time to visit every stand. Nickolls and Perks have listened and have introduced this new format and we're told that the Friday session, running from 6:00pm until 9:00pm, will have a slightly different feel too it with some added attractions

If you've read any of our previous show reports (and each of the other four show reports can be found on this blog) you'll know that it involves a bit of a train trek from Whisky Discovery HQ to Stourbridge. It's not really difficult, but it is a full day out! 

You can see our previous Show reports here:

• Midlands Whisky II 
• Midlands Whisky III 
• Midlands Whisky IV 
• Midlands Whisky V

You can find out further information from their website here: Midlands Whisky Festival and while your booking your tickets let me tell you about our trip to Midlands Whisky VI last September.

Midlands Whisky Festival VI

Whilst we love visiting Whisky Festivals to discover new whiskies, meeting friends who share our passion is the icing on the whisky cake. Whisky has always been about the people, from those with the skills and passion to make the spirit to those that you look forward to sharing a dram or three with, and with each show we visit, we come away with new friends added to the list. We've been writing our Whisky Discovery blog for a little over three years now, attending our first ever event in April 2012 and it's immensely satisfying meeting people who read our posts and look out for us at these shows, just to say hello, and sometimes to tell us they love what we do!

We arrived in Stourbridge early which not only allowed us to take full advantage of our premium ticket, but also to grab breakfast and visit the Nickolls and Perks Whisky Emporium before heading over to the Town Hall for the start of the show. As soon as we arrived we headed straight over to catch up with Director of Sales and key organiser David Gardner to find out what was new this time. There were more Premium and Devotee tickets available this time and so to appease all, two Masterclasses were available, but you could only attend one of them. David had organised it so that we'd be able to cover both with a seat in each. 

Our first dram of the day was from The Balvenie where The Miss Whisky was in-charge, we chose their First Fill Single Cask 12 year Old, a perfect ‘breakfast dram’ and great way to start the day! As it was a new cask, it was a new Whisky Discovery to record. In addition to the 12 Year Old Single Barrel Alwynne also had the 17 Year Old Double Wood and the 14 Year Old Caribbean Cask on offer.

Kat with Scott and Alwynne

We also caught up with Scott Thompson at the Balvenie stand. It was his first trip to The Midlands Whisky Festival and he was very pleased with his Devotee pack although a little disappointed that he wasn't on the Diageo Special Release Masterclass with Colin Dunn. We've been on many a Colin Dunn Masterclass, and as it was Scott's first show we thought that he really must see him in action so we swapped our ticket (so Kat and I would go to the Macallan class together) To say he was pleased with this arrangement would be an understatement!

I left Kat upstairs while I dashed downstairs and my second stop was to say good morning to The Macallan Brand Ambassador Joy Elliot, where my second Whisky Discovery was made with The Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak. It was at The Macallan stand that I met Mark from The Malt Review for the first time, it was his first trip to The Midlands Whisky Festival too

Mark from The Malt Review and Joy Elliot from The Macallan

With two ‘Dream Dram’ tokens in my pocket I decided that one of them should be used to sample the Springbank 21 Year Old. I’d heard great things about the Springbank 21 Year Old and it didn't disappoint! It was my third of the morning and another new Whisky Discovery. 

I went for a ‘wander’ while sipping my Springbank 21 year Old and ended up at the Morrison Bowmore stand where I spotted the Auchentoshan American Oak. I remember seeing this during my trip to Auchentoshan in July and seeing as I was coming to the end of my Springbank it would have been rude not to.

After having had a quick look around the stands I decided my attention should be spent at the Springbank Stand and decided to run through the range starting with their 10 Year Old to refresh my palate as it was a recent Whisky Discovery, The 10 was followed my the excellent 12 year Old Cask Strength where I decided that this alongside their 15 Year Old are 'must haves' for my shelf. The 12 CS was followed by the 18 Year Old which too is another fine dram.

A belly full of Springbank

With a belly full of Springbank I headed back upstairs to find Kat who was with Glen Grant/Wild Turkey. I've had very little exposure to the Glen Grant range of single malts so took the opportunity to try the two that were on offer, the no-age statement ‘Major’s Reserve’ and their 10 Year Old. I wasn't ready for a Bourbon quite yet, but wanted to spend my second ‘Dream Dram’ token.

We decided that we should try the Glenmorangie Signet, a new Whisky Discovery for the both of us, but I wanted Kat to also try their fabulous 25 Year Old. I first tried this at the London International Wine Fair with Dave Broome (name dropper!) and I insisted that Kat should try it – she agreed with me – it’s fabulous! 

A brace of 'Dream Drams' from Glenmorangie

Our Macallan Masterclass with Joy Elliot was due to start at 1330 but was running a tad late, however it was all worth waiting for! Six Macallan expressions with four new Whisky Discoveries. 

We started our Masterclass with the Fine Oak 15 Year Old – sadly no longer available in the UK but can be found on the continent. The 15 Year Old Fine Oak was followed by one of my favourites from the 1824 Series, Sienna. The 1824 Range was launched at Midlands Whisky III back in April 2013! 

After reacquainting ourselves with Sienna, the Fine Oak 18 Year Old was next in the line-up, and another from the 1824 Series, Ruby followed. Next came the Estate Reserve, a Travel Retail Exclusive, again from the 1824 Series, and another memorable dram. The final dram from our Macallan Masterclass was their 25 Year Old which was simply stunning! 

The Macallan Masterclass Line up

After the Masterclass and some lunch I wanted to head back to the Springbank Stand and try their Longrow’s I started with their 11 Year Old ‘Red’. I was fairly certain I’d tried this before and on checking the Liquid Log found that I had indeed, way back in the Springbank Masterclass of Midlands Whisky II!  The Longrow was a new Whisky Discovery though, this NAS whisky replaced the Longrow CV. 

With the afternoon zipping along nicely I thought it was time to check out the Bourbons I saw earlier (and Kat had already told me about) and my palate needed a change so I headed back upstairs to find Wild Turkey and took the last dram out of this bottle of their 101, following that up with the 81. Both were a welcome break from the malts, but I preferred the 101 for sipping.

A brace of Wild Turkeys

The over-running Macallan Masterclass meant we missed the Mortlach mini-masterclass with Colin Dunn - he was presenting the 'Old and Rare', which by all accounts is neither, however I needed to have some Mortlach in my life that afternoon. I had spotted this 13 Year Old from the Hunter Laing’s ‘Old Malt Cask’ range and made this my next dram.

Last pours were announced at 1630 and the hard-working stallholders started packing their wares up and emptying their bottles. My last ‘real’ dram was a Johnnie Walker ‘Odyssey’, but the final drink of the show was this ‘Smoky Cokey’ from Colin Dunn – Lagavulin 16 Year Old and coke. I know it sounds so wrong, but was a refreshing end to a fabulous show, we even caught Jon from Living Room Whisky nosing his Smoky Cokey!

And so another great Whisky Show was over and it was time to make our way home, and following our footsteps from the last Midlands Whisky Festival, we stopped of in the City Centre to grab some dinner before heading to the station and arrived safely home after around 14 hours from when we left that morning!

The next Midlands Whisky Festival is on Friday 27th/Saturday 28th March and tickets are selling fast! You can find out more information here: Midland Whisky Festival

Get your tickets early!

We met a great number of people at the show and they're all definitely worth following if your on Twitter: @Ardbaggie @Nickolls_Perks @midlandswhisky @LRWhisky @themisswhisky @ColinDunnWhisky @thejoyofwhisky @MyWhiskyGuide @MaltReview @SCOTTDOGG11

If we met and I've missed you off of this list please let me know and I'll update the list!

The full dram list included 17 new Whisky Discoveries, 6 revisits and one Smoky Cokey, and you can see all of the photos in our Facebook Album here

• WD#1003 The Balvenie 12 Year Old Single Cask
• WD#1004 The Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Cask
• WD#1005 Springbank 21 Year Old
• WD#1006 Auchentoshan American Oak NAS
• WD#963 Springbank 10 Year Old
• WD#1007 Springbank 12 Year Old Cask Strength
• WD#1008 Springbank 18 Year Old
• WD#1009 Glen Grant Majors Reserve
• WD#1010 Glen Grant 10 Year Old
• WD#1011 Glenmorangie Signet
• WD#438 Glenmorangie 25 Year Old

The Macallan Materclass with Joy Elliot

• WD#1012 The Macallan 15 Year Old Fine Oak
• WD#393 The Macallan 1824 Series Sienna
• WD#1013 The Macallan 18 Year Old Fine Oak
• WD#393 The Macallan 1824 Series Ruby
• WD#1014 The Macallan Estate Reserve
• WD#1015 The Macallan 25 Year Old Sherry Oak

back to the Show

• WD#173 Longrow Red 11 Year Old
• WD#1016 Longrow NAS
• WD#1017 Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon
• WD#1018 Wild Turkey 81 Bourbon
• WD#1019 Mortlach Old Malt Cask
• WD#563 Johnnie Walker Odyssey, and it was all washed down with a Smoky Cokey!

A Smoky Cokey!

Sláinte! Dave

Whisky Birmingham 2014

With 2015 firmly established now it's time to start planning the Whisky Shows we'll be attending this year. The first one we're planning on attending is The Birmingham Whisky Club's show 'Whisky Birmingham' on Saturday 7th of March. This will be their third full show, which once again will be held at The Bond, Digbeth, a unique group of Victorian buildings fronting onto the Grand Union Canal in the Warwick Bar Conservation Area, just a short walk away from the city centres main railway stations. The centrepiece of the complex is The Icehouse, an outstanding 19th century warehouse. This local landmark dominates the area with its majestic front and fine cobbled entrance courtyard surrounded by the original buildings.

The venue is perfect which a large exhibition hall for the main show, on site catering with the centre's cafe as well as street food under the canopied area alongside the canal. The line-up is coming together and this show is the only one we have come across that holds a cigar and Whisky Masterclass - the location is simply perfect!

Tickets are on sale now, and this year the standard ticket price includes a Festival glass (previous years they were loan glasses) and there is a VIP ticket available this year which allows early entry at 11:00am. Organiser Amy Seton tells us that the show has expanded further this year with two exhibition rooms and additional Materclasses.

For all the information and tickets I'd suggest you take a look at website as tickets sell quickly and it's bound to be another sell out! Click here for more details:

It was our first Whisky Show of 2014 and we thought to set the scene we'd tell you all about our day out last year:

Whisky Discovery HQ is just a stones throw from MK (we have a large trebuchet) which is dead handy for trains into Birmingham. The Bond is a fifteen minute walk from the City centre so getting to and from the show is really no more difficult than the London shows. We arrived early bumping into a number of our Whisky pals who tweet and blog, hailing from all points north and south.

There was a very impressive line up of exhibitors with well known names like BenRiach, Glenglassaugh, Bruichladdich, Glenfarclas, Gordon & McPhail, Isle of Arran, Kilchoman, Glen Garioch, Auchentoshan Bowmore, Penderyn, Suntory and many more! There was also an onsite shop from Hard to Find Whisky.

Along with the Whisky and Cigars Masterclass with Hunters and Frankau there were Beginners Guide to Whisky, Whisky and Chocolate matching and Whisky and Cheese matching Masterclasses on offer during the afternoon.

Our great pals from Living Room Whisky were our first port of call. Mike and Jon have run a 'Bloggers Choice Stand' for the last two shows and they had an impressive line op of whiskies for pouring, and we enjoyed three drams with them while catching up, starting with Dominic Roskrow's Discovery Road 'Smile'. It wasn't a new Whisky Discovery, but it is a Whisky I really enjoyed and was a nice way to start the day. Two new Whisky Discoveries followed with a 16 Year Old Ledaig from Douglas Laing's Old Particular range and a Caol Ila from That Boutique-y Whisky Club

John and Mike from Living Room Whisky and some of the drams they had on their Blogger's Choice Stand

Hearing that there was an Glenglassaugh 30 Year Old on the dream dram list I went to spend my token before heading over to the Morrison Bowmore stand to catch up with Brand Ambassador Ally Dickinson. Whilst there was nothing 'new' for the liquid log I'd never turn down the opportunity to revisit their Glen Garioch 1995 and 1986 vintages.

A fine brace of Glen Gariochs

Food was our next port of call. Food is listed as another of our passions (although we don't write about it!) but eating is definitely one of our favourite pastimes. Whisky Birmingham is well catered for as alongside the venue's Cafe Bond, street food vendors Soul Food Project and Pop Up Dosa were on hand to rustle something up right in front of your eyes (and yes, before the day was out we had eaten at both!). The Bond has a great covered area outside the main hall aptly name The Canopy

Organiser Amy Seton had arranged a special Whisky tasting with Hard to find Whisky for bloggers, where Sales Director, Jason Bourne opened a bottle of 1960 Glen Moray for us to taste, a real treat! This rare bottle of 1960 vintage Glen Moray was bottled in 1987 making it a 26 Year Old. It was was bottled at 43% abv and it appears that it was bottled from a single sherry cask (the bottle opened was No.534). It was in remarkable condition and was fresh and lively seeing as it had been in a bottle for the best part of 27 years! They still have a bottle available on their site if you're interested. Click here for more details 

Jason Bourne from Hard to Find Whisky presents the 1960 Glen Moray

After eating we went back into the show and seeing that Mike and Jon could do with a break decided to pitch in and take over their Bloggers Choice stand for the rest of the show. Whilst I love attending Whisky Shows and finding new Whisky Discoveries to add to The Liquid Log, we have found standing the other side of the table immensely satisfying, talking Whisky and getting across our passion for the spirit to new Whisky drinkers. My final drams were both peat monsters, the penultimate dram being one of my all time favourites, Compass Box Peat Monster, I seem to always gravitate to finding a dram or two of this before the day is out!

With last pours called and the show starting to pack up Whisky Birmingham has an additional treat for you in their after show 'Speakeasy' held on site in The Waterside where cocktails featuring anCnoc 12 Year Old were enjoyed alongside the nibbles and live music.

Lots of fun people at Whisky Birmingham 2014

This really is a show worth visiting, superbly organised with an impressive venue, don't miss it!

Make sure you're following the following accounts on Twitter too, there will be more information in the lead up to the show and news of competitions and offers: Amy Seton aka @TheWhiskyMiss  @WhiskyBrum and @LRWhisky

You can read our previous show reports here:

Whisky Birmingham 2012

Whisky Birmingham 2013

The full dram list is as follows:

• Whisky Discovery #669 Discovery Road Smile
• Whisky Discovery #709 Douglas Laing's 'Old Particular' Ledaig 16 Year Old
• Whisky Discovery #710 That Boutique-y Whisky Company Caol Ila
• Whisky Discovery #711 Glenglassaugh 30 Year Old
• Whisky Discovery #455 Glen Garioch 1986 Vintage
• Whisky Discovery #454 Glen Garioch 1995 Vintage
• Whisky Discovery #712 That Boutique-y Whisky Company Kilchoman
• Whisky Discovery #713 Glen Moray 1960
• Whisky Discovery #714 Wemyss Malts Peat Chimney 8 Year Old
• Whisky Discovery #324 Ichiro's Floor Malt 
• Whisky Discovery #715 That Boutique-y Whisky Company Aberlour
• Whisky Discovery #716 The One British ( Lakes Distillery)
• Whisky Discovery #94 Compass Box Peat Monster
• Whisky Discovery #147 Ardbeg Uigeadail 

Slàinte! Dave

Midlands Whisky Festival V

One of our favourite Whisky shows run by independent Wine Merchants Nickolls & Perks takes place in Stourbridge Town Hall in September and The next Midlands Whisky Festival is on Saturday 27th September 2014

Originally planned as an annual show held on the last Saturday in September, an additional show was added in April 2013 due to demand. Dave has been to every Midlands Whisky Festival apart from the very first, which took place during the very first year of his Whisky Discovery journey and before he'd even realised such Whisky show existed! You can see our previous Show reports here:

• Midlands Whisky II 
• Midlands Whisky III 
• Midlands Whisky IV 

Midlands Whisky V

Whilst Kat hasn't always managed to make it to the Midlands Whisky Festival with Dave, she was able to accompany him on their most recent trip at the end of March. It is a bit of a trek from Bedford involving two taxi rides, eight trains and two short walks for the return journey, but certainly possible to do within a day trip even if a little exhausting!

The show has evolved bigger and better each year, and it got off to a great start. Recent improvements to the Town Hall over the winter months since the September 2013 Show meant finding the new entrance to the town hall, which now encompasses the new shopping centre and library, and is completely covered meaning if the weather is a little unsettled, queuing to get in under cover is another added bonus. Fortunately the weather on this Saturday in March was glorious

Whilst the show ordinarily opens at midday for ticket holders the are a limited number of VIP tickets which allow access from 1045 which not only gives you an extra 'Dream Dram' token, but more importantly to serious whisky fan, unrivalled access to the Brand Ambassadors and shop for a full hour and a quarter, in a relaxed unhurried atmosphere whilst canapés are served. This year in addition to the VIP ticket, a 'Devotee' ticket was available which not only gave all the VIP advantages but a sample of every Dream Dram to take home too! Both VIP and Devotee ticket holders are also treated to an exclusive Masterclass which starts at midday when the show doors open to the remaining ticket holders

Our first stop in Stourbridge was to go straight to the Nickolls and Perks Shop as it's always worth a browse when you're up that way, and because we had a very early start we had a good forty five minutes to peruse the shelves to see what might tempt us. We also bumped into a few of the #whiskyfabric from Twitter, some we'd met before like good friends Jon and Mike from Living Room Whisky, but also great to meet new faces @MikeJack1976 and @NickDaBird

Having spent the previous weekend at London's Whisky Live, it was impressive to note the number of exhibitors at the Midlands Whisky Festival V, with an additional room opened upstairs. Notable absentees from Whisky Live London were definitely in attendance at The Midlands Whisky Festival; Talisker, Highland Park, Jameson, Glenfiddich, Laphroaig, Glenmorangie, The Glenlivet, Arberlour Bowmore and Jura to name just a few!

An impressive Exhibitor List

With our VIP tickets in hand we headed for the new entrance for the 1045 start and made our way upstairs to say hello to the man who holds the key to all of the Masterclasses, @Ardbaggie, half Ardbeg and half West Bromwich Albion FC, it is @Ardbaggie who determines if you may enter the Masterclass room! With pleasantries exchanged we headed off to the new upstairs room and spotted Colin Dunn of Diageo who had a couple of great Dream Drams on offer.

I've found it's always best to study the Dream Dram list as soon as you can, and then make sure these are the first drams you try, or certainly very early on in the show. Leave it too late and your plate will probably be well past its best to take any real notice of what you've just enjoyed, or worse still the Dream Dram is nothing but an empty bottle.

We started with the Johnnie Walker King George V release, one that eluded me at the last Midlands Whisky Festival (did not heed the advice I'd just written above) which was followed by a Brora 35 Year Old - both of these whiskies needed time to sit down to ponder over, and fortunately there were indeed leather armchairs in this hall to do just that. Colin also had a couple of 'extras' under that table and I followed those two Dream Drams with a drop of the Talisker 1985 vintage which was just wonderful.

Our second Dream Dram of the day - just fabulous!

Scott Laing from Hunter Laing whiskies was our next port of call where we stopped for a quick catch up having last met at The Whisky Exchange Show back in October 2013. I went for a single grain and chose the 36 Year Old Strathclyde from their Sovereign release.

The first Masterclass was for the VIP ticket holders and was hosted by Duncan Ralph of Duncan Taylor Whiskies and we were treated to a five dram line up, starting with their Black Bull 12 Year Old Blended Scotch, a 50/50 malt to grain ratio bottled at 50% abv. It was a new Whisky Discovery for Kat but Dave had tried this before at a blind Whisky tasting. You can read what he thought about that here. We then went on to taste four of the Duncan Taylor single cask releases, three from their 'Dimensions Series' Dailuaine, Glen Grant and Bruichladdich and an 18 Year Old Mortlach from their Octave Series. Our favourite from the five was the Glen Grant 18 Year Old.

The exclusive Duncan Taylor Single Cask Masterclass

After the Masterclass I rushed back to see Colin Dunn to see if he had any more of the Talisker 1985, firstly because Kat didn't manage to try this and secondly a good friend had replied to my tweet posted and was desperate to try this! I was just too late, it had all gone, but Colin did have a drop of the Oban 21 to pour me in consolation!

We also bumped into Kirsty and Stewart from @Whiskycorner who had travelled all the way from Edinburgh to visit this show and must have been the furthest travelled guest that day! We'd met Kirsty and Stewart at the previous weekend'd Whisky Live London for the first time.

We headed downstairs after the class and caught up with Lukasz Dynowiak from The Edinburgh Whisky Blog who was busy talking all things Balbalir, Old Pulteney and anCnoc we quenched our malt thirst with a drop of the magnificent anCnoc 22 Year Old. We also bumped into another new face with a first meeting of @MyWhiskyGuide

Dave headed off to the Douglas Laing stand afterwards hoping to find the Clan Denny Port Dundas he found at the last Midlands Whisky Show. Unfortunately there was no Port Dundas on hand, but he did stop to sample another old single grain by way of a 21 Year Old Cameronbridge from 1990

We also caught up with Phil Huckle at the Pernod Ricard stand where there was a line up from Aberlour and The Glenlivet on offer before heading off to find some lunch. It was during our chatting and lunching that we missed one of the Masterclasses that we really wanted to attend, The Miss Whisky's Chocolate and Whisky one. It was a full house and by all accounts was a great session too. while we have known Alwynne from almost the very start of our journey, well certainly since we were allowed out in public, Dave has never seen her in action. (and I'll have no smutty remarks here please!)

We did make it to Lukasz's Balblair Masterclass though. Four Balblair vintages were in the line up alongside two Old Pulteney releases. although there were no new Whisky Discoveries to be had, it's always interesting to watch friends hosting a Masterclass as we're always looking to learn.

The Balblair/Old Pulteney Masterclass Line up

We started with the recent 2003 Vintage, one that featured in our Whisky Tasting we held in March, before moving onto the 1997, 1990 and 1983 Vintages, the latter of the two being new Whisky Discoveries at the previous weekends Whisky Live London Show. We then moved onto the Old Pulteney 21 Year Old finishing off with their fabulous 1990 Vintage.

Time was once again moving faster than we were anticipating and with last pours at 1630 looming we rushed off to speak to people we'd missed previously and stopped off to say our farewells to Scott Laing while sipping their delightful 26 Year Old Glenturret. Dave had tasted this previously, but wanted Kat to experience it. Then as last pours were announced managed to squeeze in a good measure of Glengoyne 21 Year Old to wrap up the show and say our goodbyes.

And so another great Whisky Show was over and it was time to make our way home, however the journey home was brightened up with the company of The Miss Whisky who coincidentally was not only booked on the same train as us from Birmingham, but also in the same carriage - how spooky was that! We stopped of in the City Centre to grab some dinner before heading to the station and arrived safely home after around 14 hours from when we left that morning!

The next Midlands Whisky Festival is on Saturday 27th September and tickets are selling fast! You can find out more information here: Midland Whisky Festival September 2014 

We met a great number of people at the show and they're all definitely worth following if your on Twitter: @Ardbaggie @Nickolls_Perks @Midlandswhisky @LRWhisky @themisswhisky @NickDaBird @MikeJack1976 @Whiskycorner @KirstyClarke29 @ StewartCraigon @MyWhiskyGuide @ChrisWebb1984 @Double_Clicks @PTwhiskypenguin

If we met and I've missed you off of this list please let me know and I'll update it!

Kat and me with @Double_Clicks and @ChrisWebb1984 #Whiskyfabric

For more photos check out our Facebook page!

The full dram list as follows:

Whisky Discovery #754 Johnnie Walker King George V

Whisky Discovery #755 Brora 35 Year Old (2013 Release)

Whisky Discovery #756 Talsiker 1985

Whisky Discovery #757 Strathclyde 1977 a Hunter Laing 'Sovereign' release 36 Year Old

Duncan Taylor Masterclass with Duncan Ralph

Whisky Discovery #227 Black Bull 12 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky

Whisky Discovery #758 Dailuaine 1998 15 Year Old Dimensions Series

Whisky Discovery #759 Glen Grant 18 Year Old Dimensions Series

Whisky Discovery #760 Motlach 18 Year Old Dimensions Series

Whisky Discovery #761 Bruichladdich 20 Year Old Octave Series

back into the show

Whisky Discovery #762 Oban 21 Year Old

Whisky Discovery #383 AnCnoc 22 Year Old

Whisky Discovery #762 Cameronbridge 1990 a Douglas Laing 'Clan Denny' release 21 Year Old

Balbalir Masterclass with Lukasz Dynowiak

Whisky Discovery #747 Balblair 2003 Vintage

Whisky Discovery #272 Blablair 1997 Vintage

Whisky Discovery #748 Balblair 1990 Vintage

Whisky Discovery #751 Balblair 1983 Vintage

Whisky Discovery #58 Old Pulteny 21 Year Old

Whisky Discovery #638 Old Pulteney 1990 Vintage

back into the show

Whisky Discovery #690 Glenturret 26 Year Old from Hunter Laing

Whisky Discovery #388 Glengoyne 21 Year Old

Midlands Whisky Show IV

The last Saturday in September has been the date for The Midlands Whisky Festival for the last three years running. Although we missed the very first one, we did attend our first Stourbridge show in September last year (Midlands Whisky II), and so I made the pilgrimage up to Stourbridge for Nickolls & Perks' excellent Whisky show, Midlands Whisky IV.  This year they added an additional date back in April, which I also visited and you can read about that here: Midlands Whisky III

Plans are already in place for Midlands Whisky V which falls a little earlier this year, Saturday 29th March. See the bottom of this post for contact details

I won't bore you with the journey details, nothing has changed, there is no direct route meaning taking a multitude of different trains to reach my destination, and having done it twice before now, is 'old hat' and in a strange sort of way almost pleasurable. I travelled alone again as Kat had a function to be at in the evening and wanted to be able to at least start the evening off sober. Unfortunately Kat also missed the last show too, so hopefully she will be able to travel up with me in April. The show has definitely improved in leaps and bounds and the quality of the Masterclasses are just superb.

I knew that whisky and twitter pal Adrian Barnett @mynameisgone had also travelled up for the show and arranged to meet him there and literally bumped into him as soon as I had walked into Stourbridge High Street after stepping off the train.

Both Adrian and I had VIP tickets which allowed us to enter the show at 10:45am, a full hour and a quarter earlier than the standard price tickets. The VIP tickets are limited to just 75 tickets and allows plenty of time to meet the brand ambassadors and talk whisky, one to one while sampling their wares.

Arran Amarone Cask Finish

Our first stop was to Bruichladdich where we tried a couple of their lighter flavoured drams starting with their Scottish Barley Classic Laddie which was followed by Islay Barley 2007, both bottled at 50% abv. While their peated drams were available, we decided to pass on these so early in the day, wanting to retain our palates for a little bit longer!

Arran Distillers were alongside Bruichladdich and whilst I had tasted their 10, 14 and 16 Year Old expressions I wanted to try their Amarone Cask Finish which was next on our agenda. I'd heard only good things about this expression from Arran and wasn't disappointed.

Wandering around the hall looking for something 'new' we spotted Teeling Irish Whiskey and stopped of to try both their small batch Rum Cask matured small batch Irish Whisky and their Poitin, made from malted barely and so effectively 'new make' spirit or moonshine. One of the other perks of having VIP tickets is that canapés are served during the first hour of the show.

Spotting Alistair Mutch we stopped to catch up and to sample some Tomatin starting with The Antiquary 12 Year Old Blended Scotch, having tried their 21 Year Old at the 12 Blends event in April. This was followed with a large dram of the Tomatin 18 Year Old which never fails to please.

Alistair Mutch - always a pleasure to catch up with as well as tasty Tomatin Whisky to enjoy

Dalmore Masterclass

The VIP tickets include entrance to the first Masterclass which starts at midday, the same time the hall is opened up to the standard ticket holders. This years VIP Masterclass was a real coup with Dalmore brand ambassador David Robertson who had brought along four vintages from the prohibitively expensive Constellation Range.

The Dalmore Masterclass Drams, the Constellation Drams are across the back

We started with The Dalmore 18 Year Old which spends 14 years of its maturation in American oak ex-bourbon casks before being transferred to 30 year old Matusalem Sherry Casks from Gonzalez Byass.

The second of our 'warm up' drams was The Dalmore King Alexander III which is matured in a staggering six different types of wood in its make-up; ex-bourbon casks, Matusalem oloroso sherry wood, Madeira barrels, Marsala casks, port pipes and Cabernet Sauvignon wine barriques. Both of these Dalmores had been tasted previously at other whisky shows and both had featured in The Dalmore Tweet Tasting.

With these two drams 'under our belt' we were introduced to the Constellation Collection. The Dalmore Constellation Collection is a collection of twenty one single cask vintages from between 1964 and 1992

We started our journey with the 1978 Vintage cask No.1. A thirty three year old, distilled on the 6th November 1978. This spent the first 29 years of it's maturation in American white oak (ex-bourbon casks) and then in 2007 transferred to a Matusalem Sherry butt for a further four years. Bottled at 47.1% abv 778 bottles have been released at a incredible £6400 list price.

Second on the list was one of the the two 1981 Vintages released. Cask No.3, a thirty year old, distilled on 24th November 1981 spending the first 25 years of it's maturation in American white oak (ex-bourbon casks) and then in 2006 transferred to a Matusalem Oloroso Sherry butt for a further five years. Bottled at 54% abv 669 bottles have been released at a staggering £3950 list price.

Next up was the 1990 Vintage. Cask 18, a twenty one year old distilled on the 17th December 1990, spending the first 19 years of it's maturation in American white oak (ex-bourbon casks) and then in 2009 transferred to a Matusalem Oloroso Sherry butt for a further two years. Bottled at 56.5 % abv 777 bottles have been released at a amazing £2650 list price.

Our final vintage from the Constellation Series was the youngest on the range, a nineteen year old from a 1992 Vintage. Cask 18 (yep, me too?) was distilled on the 17th December 1992 spending the first ten years of it's maturation on first-fill American white oak (ex-bourbon casks) and then in 2002 transferred to a Port pipe for a further nine years. Bottled at 53.8 % abv 737 bottles have been released at a unbelievable £2500 list price.

Adrian and I totalled up the 'value' of the Whisky on the table for the VIP ticket holders, a staggering £15,705 from the six bottles of Whisky we had just tasted. While I feel incredibly privileged to have tasted these whiskies, as there surely can't be many that will get to taste them at these prices, I just can't get my head around spending £2,500 for a 19 year old single cask whisky. 

Lagavulin Masterclass

The second Masterclass of the Show was with Diageo supreme Colin Dunn who had brought along some Lagavulin for attendees to enjoy. This Masterclass was open to everyone and it looked as it was going to be a packed house as we helped set out the room following the Dalmore Masterclass.

Lots of lovely lush Lagavulin

Colin had brought along five different Lagavulin expressions along with the new make spirit. Whilst I had tasted most of the expressions before, two of them residing on my Whisky shelf at home, it is one of my favourite distilleries and it's always good to revisit them. I'd not tasted the new make spirit before, which is always an interesting part of the experience.

Starting with the core expression, 16 Year Old we moved onto the 12 Year Old cask strength which has many of the new make spirit characteristics still. Our third Lagavulin was the 1995 Distillers Edition which is a 16 Year Old that has had a second short spell of maturation in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.

Our fourth expression was the 21 Year Old, a limited release of just 2800 bottles that has spent all of its maturation in sherry casks. I tasted this at last years TWE Whisky Show and it was one of my highlight drams of that show. The final expression was a real treat, just 580 bottles were ever released to the attendees of the Lagavulin Feis Ile in 2008, and we were treated to one of them at this tasting, a 'money can't buy' dram.

We returned to the main show after the Masterclass and it was really buzzing by that time. I first went to see the Douglas Laing stand and picked a 34 Year Old Port Dundas from their Clan Denny series, before going back to talk to Colin Dunn for a while and taste Johnnie Walker Blue Label, something that had been on my list for a while.

Catching up with Twitter friends is always one of the highlights of visiting Whisky Shows and it was great to spend the afternoon with @mynameisgone and catch up with @Ardbaggie @LRWhisky @chriswebb1984 @Double_Clicks. All top gents and well worth following on twitter if you're not already.

With time rapidly running out I returned to the Douglas Laing stand to recharge my glass with the 34 Year Old Port Dundas which was my highlight dram of the afternoon. I wish I could have gotten a bottle, but it seemed as if I wasn't the only one who thought so.

Nickolls and Perks always have an in-show shop giving you the opportunity to purchase most of the drams that have been exhibited, and a healthy discount off of their already competitive prices is offered to all show goers. My second placed dram of the day was the Teeling Small Batch Reserve Irish Whiskey so I settled for a bottle of that to take home, I wish I'd picked up a bottle of their Poitin too!

Midlands Whisky V  is on Saturday 29th March 2014

New for Midlands Whisky V is the 'Devotee Ticket' In addition to the VIP package each ticket holder will also be able to taste all Dream Drams at the show and then take away samples of each of the Dream Drams as well

EARLY BIRD TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE - CLICK HERE

A huge thanks to David Gardner of Nickolls and Perks for inviting me, to David Robertson and Colin Dunn for two great Masterclasses and for all the staff and volunteers who put on another dram fine day. Once again I met some great people in the Midlands and look forward to seeing you all again soon

For more information and updates visit: www.nickollsandperks.co.uk and check out their blog too at: blog.nickollsandperks.co.uk/ as well as The Midland Whisky Festival website www.whiskyfest.co.uk

Slàinte! Dave

The full dram list with links as and when they are completed!

• Whisky Discovery #531 Bruichladdich Classic Laddie Scottish Barley (50% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #532 Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 (50% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #533 Arran Amerone Cask Finish (50% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #534 Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey (46% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #535 Teeling Poitin (61.5% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #536 The Antiquary 12 Year Old (40% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #246 Tomatin 18 Year Old (46% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #278 Dalmore 18 Year Old (43% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #279 Dalmore King Alexander III (40% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #537 Dalmore Constellation 1978 (47.1% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #538 Dalmore Constellation 1981 (54% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #539 Dalmore Constellation 1990 (56.5% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #540 Dalmore Constellation 1992 (53.8% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #541 Lagavulin New Make Spirit (64% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #13 Lagavulin 16 Year Old (43% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #118 Lagavulin 12 Year Old (56.1% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #45 Lagavulin Distillers Edition 1995 (43% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #206 Lagavulin 21 Year Old (52% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #542 Lagavulin 2008 Feis Ile (52.9% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #543 Douglas Laing Clan Denny Port Dundas 34 Year Old (52.2% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #544 Johnnie Walker Blue Label (40% abv)