Whisky Lassie chases the January blues away - Competition time!

Ministry of Silly Walks - Monty Python

Yes...  I can be very silly sometimes.  I tend to roll with the punches so when Ansgar emailed me a "cartoon" image of myself that her husband's coworker drew of me I chuckled and felt really good for most of the day. The fact that someone took time out from their day to create something quite unique and then gave it to me shows there are wonderful people out there everywhere.

So to reciprocate, I in turn will share my cartoon with all of you and ask you to enter this silly but fun little contest.

Break out your coloring pencils, your crayola crayons or your markers and show me what Lassie - Whisky Ninja Fairy can look like!


I will pick 5 that I absolutely love, place those names in a hat and provide the winner with a 60ml sample of Alberta Premium 30 Year Old, 100% rye whisky made in Canada.  This is a rare bottling that I very much look forward to sharing with the winner!

Contest closes February 15th at midnight PST. Winner's rendition will be my avatar for a little while, so hope you don't mind me posting your lovely work on the twitter "fridge"....  

Thanks all, have fun and get coloring!

Lassie

Quick fire heel review - Glendronach 21

Last year we decided that we would take the better part of the month of January and we would try to finish as many dregs or "heels" as I call them. We managed to get 17 out of the way by the end of January. It only made sense to do it again this year but with a twist this time = Whisky & heels party. We asked that participants wear heels (male and female) OR pay $10.00 and they would have the opportunity to try 85 of our open bottles. All the money we raised would go to the local foodbank. 

40 people showed up and we did indeed have a great night. 7 bottles were drained, we said our sad goodbyes but all for a very good cause. Since the party, Graham and I have continued emptying some of those heels. We finished a lovely bottle of Glendronach Parliament 21 year old last night. I was truly heartbroken to see that one go, as Glendronach offerings were a lovely find for 2013 and I have several in my personal collection to get through. 

This was heel #13 and as I sat with my glass I realized I had never reviewed this one. We opened it for the sheer pleasure in February. So last night I took a few moments to put to paper what I thought, after all I am keeping a record again this year of all the lovely drams I will be trying. 

One of the best things about most of the Glendronach's is that they spend their entire existence in a sherry cask. That's correct, the maturation takes place in the finest sherry butts.

If you've ever had one the color is totally natural. They are the epitome of what I define as a sherry bomb! If you want to learn a little more about them, please click here:     http://glendronachdistillery.com/


Glendronach Parliament 21 year old

Color: Dark mahogany wood. Legs are long, thick and quite slow. 

Nose: Dark rich red plums followed by date squares. Chocolate covered coffee beans.

Palate: Rum soaked golden sultanas, rich and full bodied. Then the spices hit: Steamed Christmas pudding, oh droool!!!

Finish: Quite drying in nature and very tannic. Still quite fruity with lots of spice though. Delish.

Empty glass: Cloves, cloves and more cloves. 


Truly an enjoyable dram and for a 21 year old quite affordable. Next to the 15 which is one of my absolute favorite sherry bombs, I would highly recommend this bottling for anyone looking to further their discoveries into the world of sherry matured whiskies!  Really sad to see it go and will likely buy it again sometime in 2014. Available in Alberta, Ontario, BC and Quebec at this time and varies from $120 - $177 per bottle.

Cheers!

Lassie

Real Whisky Woman Project - Video #1, The lovely grand Dames of New Hampshire ride again!

So... a few weeks ago "we" had this crazy idea!? It was a result of what many of us feel is a complete misconception of what a real whisky woman looks like thanks to bad marketing practices mostly.   :/ 

We all joked about it on twitter and facebook but then a few people, Bob Caron included, really started to talk about it and that's when it was born. A video, a message from women from around the world showing everyone who we really are. Will it make a difference? Maybe? Maybe not? But at this point what I do know is that part of the journey is simply "being" and letting this amazing thing I call whisky take me wherever it's suppose to. I am proud to be a whisky woman. The challenge is being thrown out there to the four corners of the #whiskyfabric, and every single weaver! Let's make something very cool, shall we? My idea is to post as many videos as I receive so don't leave me hanging? 

Do you know a real whisky woman? If you do, share this post. If you are a real whisky woman yourself, then get your creative hat on and contact me via twitter @whiskylassie or via email whiskylassie@gmail.com. Either way I'd be very happy to hear from any whisky women. 

Nervous? Don't be because if these two wonderful real whisky women can make a video, then so can you.

Ladies & gentlemen, I proudly present: The Grand Dames of New Hampshire. My first lovely and very real whisky women!  HUZZAH!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9crf9kj-HCc

PSSST... there were out takes too, but we only have the still photos if you want to see those, quite cute actually. 

https://www.facebook.com/robert.caron/media_set?set=a.10152557242389616.1073741828.647514615&type=1


Looking forward to seeing your email, tweet and/or videos soon!


Lassie

My first encounter with Dutch whisky...

This was originally written in Perfect Whisky Match in July 2012. My intent is to repost all those entries in Whisky Lassie....   

Femke was one of the first whisky people I got to know on twitter and facebook. She and I plan on meeting in June 2014, very excited!!!!

From my mother's generation and grade 11 world history I know that the Dutch love Canadians. In 1942, during the second world war, Canada sheltered Princess Julianna and her daughters for three years during the occupation of the Netherlands. One of her daughters was born in Ottawa. The Canadian government had the maternity ward of the hospital officially declared international territory so that she could be born in "no country" and retain her Dutch citizenship from her mother. Every year since, The Netherlands sends over 10,000 tulip bulbs as their eternal thank you for that gesture and of course, we have a tulip festival. How Canadian?! hehehe. Fast forward to 2012. My goodness, what a time to be living in, don't you agree? After all, as I sit here in my little office area typing away on my laptop listening to tunes on my cellphone, I am reminded yet again of how small and geographically close the #whiskyfabric has become for me. I only started blogging about 3 months ago but quickly made wonderful connections with other bloggers from around the world. After getting to know a  few a bit better, we began ascertaining the idea of trading samples from each's personal collection. So let me back up the blog for a second here. One of the first people who welcomed me with open arms on the "twitter sphere" was Femke. A lovely whisky imbiber who lives in the Netherlands and has been blogging for about as long as I have. We have alot in common. Our "twitter" friends tell us we are both saucy, we have a great sense of humor AND both seem fearless in our new whisky adventures. I, for those of you that don't know, am also a female whisky blogger (no surprise...) who lives in eastern Canada (no, not Toronto) and although I've been drinking whisky for a while, have only recently started to take it very seriously as a hobby, ok...  obsession. I'll be honest.

The cool part of this story (yes, I'm going somewhere...) is that at some point, her and I decided to send each other a whisky sample from our respective countries. I sent her a "mystery" Canadian sample, with an envelope containing all the information she needed, only to be opened after she imbibed.  She in turn, was lovely enough to send me a Dutch whisky!  A what??  Yes, a Dutch rye whisky?! SO FREAKING COOL... I sent her Forty Creek Confederation Oak, one of my favorite Canadian whiskies and I love to share it with anyone who would like to try it (just saying...) So, I'll go back to my first paragraph of this blog and will state again: As I sit here in my little office area typing out my blog in Canada about a Dutch Whisky I just nosed/tasted, Femke is getting ready for bed or is fast asleep in the Netherlands on the other side of the world. How can you not smile at that fact? I certainly do. I am in awe of this wonderful whiskyfabric and all the doors it continues to open before me. I would have never thought even at the beginning of my own whisky adventure that this type of opportunity would/could have taken place. Ok, maybe somewhere down the road in about 5-10 years from now I might have been able to get a Dutch whisky here in Canada... Oh hell, who am I kidding!?  The technology for men to have babies will happen before that??  Sigh...

Here's to you Femke! I can't thank you enough for my 1st Dutch Whisky. I dedicate this blog to you, my 1st international whisky trade. Hope our whisky adventures cross paths at some point down the road. I certainly can't wait to walk beside you.

Check out her blog please, it's different: http://whiskygirl.nl/  Her style of writing alone will draw you in and make you smile. She's on a whisky journey and I am just as excited to follow hers as I am to be on my own.

Zuidam Distillers was started in 1975 by Fred van Zuidam. His dream was to start a small exclusive products distillery. After 10 years and some help from his wife with packaging, his products really took off and his reputation for being the finest Dutch distillery soared. Although Fred and his wife still keep a watchful eye over the distiller, their two sons Patrick and Gilbert run the distillery today. They make a few different whisky products: The rye, a single malt as well as a peated single malt. Their Rye Whisky is from a pure pot still made in small batches and aged five years. Interesting fact: Zuidam uses traditional windmills to mill the grains it uses to make their products. The traditional way causes almost no increase in temperature which means the grain retains more aroma and flavor. It's a great example of how Dutch heritage is preserved.

Zuidam Dutch Rye Whisky, 5 years old, 40% AVB

Color:  Deep golden yellow. Legs are plentiful but not very viscous.  

Nose:  I had no idea what to expect when I poured the whisky into my glass.  I was perplexed because I felt like I had smelled this before somewhere?  I started comparing it to other ryes I have in my collection and never did put my finger on it?  However, I really liked the nose on this.  Rich, fruity and fresh in nature. Alot of spice - hints of cardomom and cloves. This may sound odd but a really ripe banana!? Nice and oaky on the hands.

Palate:  Mouthwatering feel, a bit of burn and bitter but followed by sweet.  Like when you bite into a juicy grape, astringent then sweet. A bit of spice again, reminds me of cinnamon bark. 

Finish: Very short finish, and like most ryes for me (strangely enough) a bit of heartburn type sensation. Still a bit spicy, but not peppery.

Empty glass:  Couldn't find it at all last night, but big VANILLA in the morning. (Oh and a fruit fly enjoyed it's last meal in there as well, who knew they liked rye? hehe)    

I really enjoyed this great little rye and put it above some of the Canadian ones on the market. If you can get a bottle for your collection, if only as something completely different to have, I would recommend it!

A Dutch - Canadian project well done! Here's to the whisky trail and wherever you are on yours!

Johanne

First whisky reviews of 2014 - BLIND!

I decided to start off 2014 rather quietly, which was really nice. Here is it January 9th and already so many wonderful things have come my way. I also made a promise to a friend that his samples would be the first whiskies I reviewed for the year and so here are the first two. 

I have spoken before about the importance of doing blind tastings. For me it is a very good way to test your ability to trust your nose and palate. It's a great workout, you should try it! Don't worry about it, don't think you'll be embarassed, just do it!

So, my friend Dan D. (@Whisky_Yak) came to New Brunswick in 2013 so we made sure we would meet up. We had a great night at a local bar, just talked and shared a few whiskies. It truly is a fantastic thing to meet the people of the #whiskyfabric. Before he went on his way, we gave him a few special drams which he really enjoyed. I was surprised and excited when we received a little package from him of 4 whiskies, blind later on that summer. I placed them on the sample shelf for later... Well the next thing I knew it was December and those poor little samples were still sitting there. Ooopsy... Here we go! Although Dan sent me four very nice samples, I only reviewed two for now. Call me greedy, but I'll save the last two for some other time.  

Sample A. I knew nothing about it other than it was put in the bottle May 28, 2013. 

Color: Golden hay. Long skinny legs, very oily.

Nose: Harsh, industrial and smells like a new band-aid. Very spirited with not much of a personality, young, peated.

Palate: Even more harsh, lots of mouth burn, super bitter after taste. Hot, sour and compost!? Not enjoyable at all.

Finish: What finish? As my friend Stephanie would say it's "burny". That's about it, really has no distinct flavor profile.

I have a sneaking suspicion this is an Islay blend and a bad one in my personal opinion. It doesn't have much to offer on the nose and even less on the palate or finish other that hot young peat/organic. I guessed it's about 43% ABV. Also wrote down: I don't think I've ever had this before.

Sample B, Color: Very light, almost no color at all. It's almost a pale stream of yellow. Legs are long, skinny, fast running and plentiful. 

Nose: Golden Sultanas, very honeyed, a bit organic in nature (like a walk in the woods after a rain storm), dried hay, green apples (with a bit of water)

Palate: Sweet but quick to go to bitter grapefruit pith. A bit drying and tannic in nature. Long mouth burn on this one - Reminds me of when I was a child and I would put a handful of snow in my mouth. 

Finish: Not very long, a bit sweet with a peppery kick. I detect peat I think, but it's much more floral like heathered perhaps? I'm guessing 40-43% ABV and an NAS type whisky. 

I also wrote that I had tried this before or something similar from the distillery. I guessed Bruichladdich but not necessarily anything peated.


The reveals:

Sample A: Dun Bheagan 2002/2010, 43% ABV. 

Sample B: Robert Burns Single Malt, NAS, 40% ABV.

Well... I would say I was pretty accurate with the nose/tasting.  Nice to see the sniffer is still working. Going in blind is always an adventure in itself. I really enjoyed sample B and I'd probably buy it for my personal collection. Sample A, errrr... I will leave that one for the peat heads that like drinking the smoke & coke as I really was not a fan. 

Thanks Dan very much for the samples. I am super happy that they were my first whisky reviews for 2014.

Cheers all!

Johanne


   

To add water or not add water? There is no question...

Nosing, tasting, drinking... is there truly a right or wrong way with regards to whisky? Well, some would take my vintage tea cup filled with Macallan 30 year old right out of my hand and slap me! 

What? It's true and you all know it. The whisky "snob"...  How I struggle with these people. They are more than happy to tell everyone there is only one way to enjoy whisky: theirs of course and if they don't like a whisky, well you shouldn't either!! Seriously? Tsk... tsk... tsk... 

An acquaintance recently posted on a Malt Maniac & Friends Facebook page that he (gasp...) was cooking a steak and (gafaw...) was apologizing to the the MM members that he dared (exhales and covers her mouth is shock...) to drink... Johnnie Walker Black...  OH MY GAWD, cue the horror movie music... wait, he said what? Drinking a whisky that he really likes. Apologized, what the hell for?? 

In my opinion, possibly to not face judgment from the many "snobs" who belong to that FB page and YES, good grief there are so many it's become a constant parade of ad nauseam comments about the latest Brora 35, Port Ellen 1982 or rarest of whiskies added to the collection with accompanying photos of a room filled with 100's of unopened "expensive" bottles. Fuck!? Really... is that what you think being a Malt Maniac is about - Bragging rights... 

I digress, like I tend to and it got me thinking, like some things often do. Where do some people get off "thinking" like that? "Oh Gawwd! You can't possibly enjoy Johnnie Walker Black, that is just the most vile disgusting whisky that I wouldn't even dare to clean my Home Depot toilet with!!!??? 

My nose is not symmetrical, nobody's is and mine has been super sensitive as far back as I can remember. My 2nd grade teacher used to make me tattle on who was chewing gum and I can smell something burning in the stove at least 15 minutes before anyone elso notices. Just call me "Radar O'Reilly" ... Does that make me special or an authority on how to sniff whisky, no...

So WHY do some of these people try to tell others how it's "done". Do you need to be told how to read a book or how to listen to music? Are you a master blender or whisky bible writer? No... so if you are not judging/rating whiskies and simply want to enjoy what is in your glass, why the pomp and circumstance? Rough guidelines if you are looking for aromas/flavors, sure why not? Do you need the Kentucky chew or the Jim Murray warm and spit? Absolutely not!!! 

My two hard & fast rules: This isn't wine so don't start by sticking your nose right down in the glass and don't gulp it when you take that first initial mouthful. When I introduce friends to whisky or if I'm hosting a class of some sort I make it a point to make fun of some of the "whisky Gods" who believe you should spend as much time with your first whisky as you did you first date or that you need to hold it in your mouth for at least 30 seconds before you even consider swallowing - You know sing Happy Birthday a few times in your head. Again, really?!

So to the many people who ask or want to know here is how I nose/taste a whisky if I'm judging or rating it, otherwise I sip it whatever way I want and you really should too.

For me it’s about using as many of my senses as possible: 

My first attempt is always nosing/tasting the whisky neat, which means no water or ice. I love using a Glencairn glass.  It is my nosing/tasting glass of choice.

I start with what I see:  Pretty simple.  Although I know some of these bottles may contain E150A (caramel), I still think it’s important to describe the color. I also swirl the glass and see what it has for legs (viscosity), which can help give an indication of age or ABV. In general if the legs are skinny, close and run fast – young whisky, if they are thick, far apart and run slow – older whisky.  If the ABV is higher than 50% (again in general), you get beading. I have always called it a string of pearls, because that's what it reminds me of. 

What do I smell: I start with a very small whiff quite a distance from the glass. I then approach the rim of the glass and gently and slowly inhale, moving the glass away from me and returning to nose it two more times. I use different areas of the rim as well as one nostril at a time sometimes and usually the last with my mouth open, inhaling from there.

What do I taste:  I usually take a very small sip of the whisky and just let it invade my mouth. I do swish it around and let it hit every crevice of my mouth. Usually takes me 5 seconds. The consequent sips are usually spent looking for specific flavors I think I got the first time around.

What do I feel: I then take a bit of the whisky from the glass and rub it on the meaty section of my hand (between my thumb and index fingers).  I do this to let the heat of my hand warm up the sample quickly.  I find this to be a great way to "remove" the alcohol burn and leaves nothing but other compounds that have other beautiful smells. It's often where I find the aromas associated with oak. 

Once I’ve gone through that routine, I’ll add very little water (sometimes just a drop or two) to open the whisky. Open the whisky? Make it bloom? Simply stated: Water makes ethanol more soluble and releases tightly bound flavour molecules (I have a chemistry degree sorry!?)  So the higher the alcohol content, the more water you can afford to add. 

For example:  If I think I’m nosing a cask strength, I will add about 10 to 15 drops of water (a teaspoon) for starters. Now if I’m wrong, I’ve potentially ruined a good dram. So I always caution to add water slowly, a bit at a time.

OK, so water added.  I repeat the process of nosing and tasting almost identically to the neat sample.

Sounds simple enough doesn’t it??? It’s taken me years to get that system down and trust that I’m doing it in a way that makes sense for me.

Please feel free to share what works for you? Here is to dramming, my or your way! Then again, what do I know?  hehehe....


Johanne

Drams of the whiskyfabric - Fantastic journey in itself!

So just in case you are not sick of hearing about the wonders of the whiskyfabric, I would like to dedicate my first blog of 2014 to "it". Some trolls & curmudgeons think we are sniffing whisky fabric softener it seems, but to them I say: The best of raspberries because what I have found is one of the best networks I have ever been a part of. I can't thank every single person but many have contributed to fantastic drams for me in 2013 and already in 2014.  I'd like to take a few moments to hit the highlights:

Gal G. for my first dram of 2013: Kavalan! Richard L. for my dram of Shelter Point in BC. Michael U. for the Mortlach 21.

Angela D'O. for the fantastic Mackmyra Moment Glöd, Glow Edition. Billy A. for the lovely Bruichladdichs.

Oliver K. for everything, but especially the JW Red from the 60's. Kelly C. for 73.50 - Midnight espresso, OMG! 

Jarred L. for many but notably the Eagle Rare 17. Dave W. the list is too long but notably the Four Roses Yellow Label, Wemyss Spice King and Glenlivet Alpha!

Simon S. for the amazing Karuizawa i won in a football bet. Richard C. for too many, but especially the intro to Still Waters and the sublime: North Port 27 year old. It was a very special dram that I was very grateful to try with him.

Charles M. the Port Ellen 26 from Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask. Ralfy M. for a delish Arran 16. Johanna N. for sharing her lovely Amrut Greedy Angels. That was really a special surprise. 

Ken G. for the intro to Tweeddale, Adrian B. for the Nikka Coffey Grain, Tom T. for EVERYTHING (hehe) but specifically for the lovely Auchentoshans. Ross A. for the amazing Mortlach. 

Steven R. for the many whiskies from his personal collection, notably the Berry Bros & Rudd Invergordon - Sublime! JF P. for the great whisky discoveries he has sent me from day 1, specifically the Eddu Silver and the "Neige" cider.

Andre G. Oh mon dieu! My birthday dram at one o'clock in the morning at the kitchen table Talisker 175th anniversary, highlight of 2013 for me.  John G for the opportunity to sit in NYC and dram an Orangerie together. 

Marc L. for the surreal Macallan M in November, Balblair Distillery for their 1975, Jennifer N. for the Cu Bocan, Compass Box for Hedonism and Igor K. - amazing Dallas Dhu 1979 that I savored for an hour. 

John H for the Forty Creek Heart of Gold, Barry B. for Stalk & Barrel Cask 5, Michael T for Last Mountain Distillery, Davin D for Danfield's 21 and... two more...

Bob C. for the amazing trades of 2013, not to mention the love of two "adopted" aunts. My Christmas eve dram was his Knappogue Castle as we watched the Angel's Share. Perfect dram, thank you :)

AND... Ansgar S for many wonderful samples she sent me but the last dram of 2013 especially. It was probably one of the worst drams I tasted but at the same time best! That dram will forever in my mind represent what the #whiskyfabric is about: The coming together of all parts to make one amazing whole! So thank you madame for the thoughtful and tongue in cheek dram.  It was appreciated.

So I hope I didn't forget anyone, and if I did I apologize. It has been a fantastic year for me as far as trying so many wonderful whiskies and I have many of you to thank. Here is to 2014 and many more trades!  Slainté


Johanne








 

MOST MEMORABLE DRAM & DISTILLERY OF THE YEAR - Tomatin

And just like that 2013 is behind me... A year of surprises. Some very negative in nature that caused chaos and confusion BUT... thankfully there were so many more wonderful moments that I documented. It's easy to dwell on the negative sometimes and how we can forget the good sometimes boggles my mind. January 1, 2013 I committed to keeping a whisky journal. It turned into so much more and as I sat in late December and thumbed through the whole thing, realized it was actually a fantastic snapshot of 365 days of being Johanne. And you know what, being Johanne in 2013 was freaking amazing! 

The journey began as a trip to Victoria BC because I had been chosen to judge the Canadian Whisky Awards. It turned into so much more. It was the beginning of meeting the #whiskyfabric. The start of one of the best years I've ever seen from a whisky perspective, with almost 400 drams documented. And the most memorable you ask...  Tomatin Legacy. One of my first whiskies for 2013. 

http://www.whiskylassie.blogspot.ca/2013/04/tomatin-legacy-big-shoes-to-fill-for.html


It was the feeling of "arriving" that made me feel so good about that dram. It gave me confidence to blog, to put myself out there and step out of my comfort zone. As a result, I noticed my Tomatin collection growing exponentially: Legacy, 12, 15, 18, Cù Bòcan with a bottle of the Decades coming my way shortly. The only other distillery I had ever done that with was Talisker. 

It made perfect sense that I pick Tomatin Distillery as my choice for "new" distillery of the year for me. A distillery is a living, breathing entity with whisky coursing through its veins. There is so much that happens there that the public doesn't get to see. The tours are great, BUT what really takes place in the "day of the life of the distillery".  I posed that question to Graham Eunson. He is the very dedicated manager who oversees all aspects of Tomatin and this is what he said: 

The week begins on Sunday night when most of us are getting ready for bed. Around 10pm the distillery's engineer Charlie Morgan is ensuring the boilers are fired up and ready for production which starts at midnight.

MARTIN HENDRY - THE WHISKY EXCHANGE

The mashman is heating up all the water that will be needed to start the first of the 16 mashes. He is also pumping through 2 fermented washbacks to the stillhouse. This is called "charging up the wash stills". Meanwhile 4 spirit stills are also being charged with Low wines and feints. Once the wood pellet boiler is up to the required pressure the distillation of all the stills begins. With 10 stills running as a batch and the process being repeated 8 more times during the week. Each batch takes about 13 hours to complete. By Friday afternoon the process has been handed over to several shifts of stillmen & mashmen.  Total production - about 53,000 Litres of new make. 

While all the whisky making is taking place there is also a warehousing team that starts bright and early every morning at 8:00am. Richard Noble the head warehouseman is an early bird who likes to organize his workload for the entire day ahead. You would think that filling casks would be a pretty routine thing to accomplish but it's not because no two days are ever quite the same. Some days they fill casks with the new make. Other days involve transfering spirit from one type of cask to another - called racking operations. Other times they are emptying casks through their dumping troughs for tanker dispatches.

Tankers arriving and leaving daily with new spirit going out or coming (for blends). Meanwhile there's also the coopers:  Iain and Alan dilligently repairing and constantly inspecting the casks to ensure they are in the best possible condition. 

How much wood pellets do they need to feed the boiler for the week - 3 loads.  How many loads of malt - 4 and yeast - 1. (I'd be curious how "big" a load is??)

Oh but wait... that's the hands on stuff.  Let's take a walk over to the lab.  Ali is busy carying out all the scientific analysis for every stage of the production - can you say excellent quality assurance process! 

By Friday afternoon, production for the week as been completed but the rest of the day is spent spit spot cleaning everything that will be needed to start all over again the following Sunday night at midnight. 

And what do we get to see:  The lovely visitor center that opens every morning at 10:00am with public tours running all day and of course the ability to buy such lovely whiskies and other great Tomatin items. 

Down time is important, we all need rest after all. So at the end of June the silent season starts and runs through to the end of August. This doesn't mean they shut down, lock the doors and hang a sign on the door. Goodness no. This period of course is used to repair the equipment, carry out all the maintenance and give the employees a well deserved holiday. 

As you can see, a distillery has a life of its own.  A heart beat, fuel, arms and legs to move it where it needs to go.  Its blood runs 24-7 in one form or another.  It is protected, taken care of and the reason for the distillery's "being".... and our fascination, obsession or love of the thing we call whisky.

Thank you to Jennifer Nichol and Graham Eunson for the "week in the life of" of what has quickly become one of my favorite distilleries.

I can't wait to visit it in May 2014 and meet the lovely people of Tomatin.