Whisky News

The Whisky Net internet newsletter No: 39

July 2010

Contents:

1. Whisky Schools

2. Bruichladdich offers

3. New Products

1.      Whisky schools

“A good priest learns until death” so the well-known saying goes. Of course it’s true for the world of whiskies as well, the growing number of more and more interested whiskey schools shows that.

One of the oldest whisky schools, that offer probably the widest range of knowledge, is the Academy of Bruichladdich. Between April and November, during term times, there are 5day/4night events, where the students can take part from the grinding of the barley, the fermentation, the distillation, tasting, till the bottling and all production phases, working together with local experts from 5am, till late night. The accommodation is in the guesthouse within the area of the distillery. For those who do not regret giving money for the course, can take part in the show with a maximum 5 colleges, together for 800 GBP (approx. 400 000 HUF) (If you really are interested, you can apply for the next course through us. By clicking here, you can read an English report.)

Also on the island of Isley, is another highly recommended working distillery that offers a similar experience, the Kilchoman. The so-called Farm distillery (because of it’s size and producing methods) was opened in 2005, and it gives an insight to the depths of the whole process of the whisky production, from the nursing of the locally grown barley, to the malting and bottling. During the similar 5-day course, the small group follows Malcom Rennie, the master distiller, shadowing him throughout, in order to be able to go home happily with their new knowledge gained, a certificate and a sample from the self-made New Spirit by the end of the week. The costs of the seminars in the early spring and autumn (from 4^th October to 29^th November, starts every second week) are 500 GBP without accommodation.

If somebody doesn’t prefer the slightly cool and very windy climate, we can offer Scotland’s southernmost, picturesque little distillery, the Bladnoch. In this way, you can get in touch with the less known and rarely represented whisky region for a long weekend. The Whisky School of Bladnoch starts on Friday evening with an informal exposition, and continues with the mashing, and after all, it finishes with the filling of the barrels on Sunday, after lunch. As the distillery managed to keep it’s traditional, farm character, almost every work phase is hand done, by totally avoiding every automatism. It’s even true for the cleaning of the huge mashing and fermentation tanks... The newly opened Highlander Ladyburn distillery offers another 3-day experience. (Caution! Don’t confuse this with the defunct Lowlander that has a similar name.)

A particular curious fact is that normally this distillery doesn’t take visitors, so we may have a more intimate experience, moreover the 400 GBP includes not only the education and the accommodation, but 9 litres of our self produced whisky that is of course matured for the appropriate quality by the distillery. If anyone is interested in details of any Whisky School above, or one concrete distillery, contact us, and we can help with the organisation, and the bookings.