You are browsing the archive for Boisdale Archives - Miss Whisky.

Burns Night: Where to celebrate

January 14, 2013 in Events

In less than two weeks, glasses will be raised, toasts made, Haggis eaten and ceilidh dances danced, all in honour of the birthday of poet Robert Burns.

Although he died nearly 217 years ago, the famous Scottish poet lives large in many people’s hearts and minds, and the annual celebration seems to grow every year, especially amongst the whisky community which will – no doubt – be celebrating with just as much gusto this year.

But, if you’ve not yet got plans yet, where should you look to go?

If you’re still at a loose end, here are a few options I’ve come across where you can recite the Scottish Bard’s poetry as loudly as you wish with few puzzled stares and drink delicious drams to warm you up this chilly January…

London:

Boisdale Canary Wharf

Boisdale: The three Boisdale restaurants in the chain (Canary Wharf, Belgravia and Bishopsgate) will each host evenings to honour Burns. Starting on the 21st January at the Belgravia branch (and continuing through the week there) along with events on the 24/25th January at the Canary Wharf and Bishopsgate locations, guests will be treated to pipers, Macsween’s haggis and Aberdeenshire Steaks and plenty of drams. For more information and to book, call the following: Boisdale of Canary Wharf, 020 7715 5818; Boisdale of Belgravia, 020 7730 6922; or Boisdale of Bishopsgate, 020 7283 1763.

The Lady Ottoline: In collaboration with Dramatic Whisky, the Lady Ottoline pub near Holborn will host a Burns Night dinner and tasting on the 24 January for £50 a head. The menu includes in-house smoked Loch Duart salmon, partridge and haggis, all paired with drams and given the Dramatic treatment. For more information and to book, email  info@theladyottoline.com, call them on 020 7831 0008 or visit, www.theladyottoline.com

The Athenaeum Hotel: The Piccadilly hotel whisky bar’s latest Whisky Social will be held in partnership with The Balvenie‘s Dr Andrew Forrester. The evening will include a Monkey Shoulder whisky cocktail on arrival, along with a four-course set menu paired with drams like The Balvenie Portwood and Caribbean Cask at a cost of £49. For more info and to book, call them on 0207 6403311 or email whisky@athenaeumhotel.com.

The Capital: If you fancy splurging on Burns Night, head over to The Capital Hotel, where Michelin-starred chef Nathan Outlaw has created an £89 four-course tasting menu paired with whiskies chosen by the youngest ever Keeper of the Quaich and the hotel’s bar manager, Cesar da Silva. The tasting menu can also be ordered without the whiskies for £60 (but where would be the fun in that?). Further details can be found at www.capitalhotel.co.uk/restaurantbar.html

Deeny’s: Regular London market stall hosts Deeny’s will serve up their own take on haggis (the haggis toastie) and other goodies at two more informal events in London. The first on the 25th takes place at The Grafton pub in Kentish Town and the second happens at St Mark’s Church Hall near Dalston Kingsland, in collaboration with the Nest Collective. For more details on the events, check out Deeny’s blog here: http://deeneys.com/blog/?p=44

Scotch Malt Whisky Society: Over in Farringdon, the SMWS will host a Burns Night tasting with ambassador John McCheyne for members and non-members. The ticket price (£47 members/£52 non) includes five drams and a traditional Scottish supper. For more info, head to: http://www.smws.co.uk/whisky-tastings

Outside of London:

Chewton Glen, Country House Hotel

Chewton Glen

Chewton Glen: If you fancy making a country break of the event, head to the stunning Chewton Glen hotel in Hampshire on the 25th, which will be hosting a tasting, dinner and ceilidh in partnership with Glenfiddich. The hotel is offering packages, including the evening’s dinner, along with hotel stay, morning breakfast and access to spa facilities for £235 per person. For further details, head to: http://www.chewtonglen.com/whats-on/burns-night-celebration.aspx

Whiski Bar: At the Whiski Bar in Edinburgh, guests can take in a traditional Scottish dinner and a Talisker dram for £30 a head on the 25th. Fiddle band Muckle Flugga will entertain and – with the bar’s huge selection of whiskies – you’ll be sure to have a jolly old time. For more information, visit: http://www.whiskibar.co.uk/Burns_Night_2013.html

Edinburgh University’s Water of Life Society: Edinburgh University’s Water of Life Society will host a tasting for under £10 (a steal if you ask me!) on Sunday, 20 January. The price will include three drams, entry and entertainment by the Cosmic Ceilidh Band. More information can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/events/393946917364924/

St Columba’s Hospice: For a night that will make a difference to your life and others, head to Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange on the 25th where a Scottish band and traditional dinner will cost you £45 and help raise funds for the St Columba’s Hospice. For full details, head here: http://tinyurl.com/aho2fhu

NSPCC: For those of you in Birmingham who want to attend a charity evening, the NSPCC will be raising funds for ChildLine at its Robert Burns celebration on the 25th. Taking place at the Holte Suite at Aston Villa, the black-tie event costs £79 a head and includes a drinks reception and dinner. For more details on the charity, the event and how to book, head to: http://tinyurl.com/b633don

The Birmingham Whisky Club: The team at the Birmingham Whisky Club will host two events for Burns on the 24th and 25th at The Old Crown pub. For more information on each and to book, head to the team’s events page here: http://tinyurl.com/a6y97yh

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

Hannah Lanfear speaks to Miss Whisky

May 14, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

 

Today on Miss Whisky, I speak to Hannah Lanfear, the bars manager at Boisdale of Canary Wharf, where she has been responsible for choosing many of the bottles which are a part of the 800 whiskies on offer at the restaurant. She speaks about getting into whisky, her love of Talisker 1981, 20-year old, and why she enjoys what she does so much. Click here to read the full interview.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

Whisky Lounge London: Here come the girls!

April 12, 2012 in Uncategorized

A couple of months ago I was approached by Eddie Ludlow of The Whisky Lounge, who wanted to know if I was keen to help out the team with its new London whisky festival. He and wife (and co-founder) Amanda, were wanting to get a set of events together that might appeal to more women – whether they like whisky already or are just whisky-curious.

Since that meeting, I’ve been busy getting a wonderful set of women together who will be doing Q&A panels at the show, discussing some of their favourite drams and experiences in the industry. I could not be more excited to be doing this. Some have been in the industry for years while others are new, but they all bring an incredible excitement to the world of whisky.

The sessions will each feature three women and be happening at 1:30pm and 6pm on Saturday, 21 April – so, if you’re coming to the Whisky Lounge’s London festival and are keen to hear from some leading whisky women, then definitely grab your tickets and come have a dram with us.

So, without further ado, the wonderful women who have agreed to join in the panels with me are:

 

Rachel Barrie, Master Blender, Morrison Bowmore:

 Rachel is a staple in the whisky industry, having worked as a master blender at Glenmorangie up until late last year where she created award-winning whiskies such as the Glenmorangie Signet and Ardbeg Corryvreckan. Previous to this, she worked at Macdonald & Muir and the Scottish Whisky Research Institute. She got into the world of whisky after following her love for it found, partly, during experiments in the lab at university. Always a proud woman in the whisky industry, Rachel will no doubt add a wealth of knowledge to the talks.

 

Cat Spencer, Head of Marketing, Master of Malt:

Cat is a great lover of whisky and a huge supporter of all women making their mark on the industry. She recently began her role at Master of Malt, having worked previously at the Albannach Bar in central London, where she helped to promote interesting happenings, such as the International Women’s Day event with Compass Box in aid of The Girl Effect in March. She is also founder of a new site called Whisky London, which will feature news about whisky tastings, events and more. Cat – a former New Yorker – is extremely serious about her whisky passions and will inspire even the most unsure whisky drinker to give a dram a go.

 

 

Dr Kirstie McCallum, Global Brands’ Ambassador, Burn Stewart:

Kirstie was Scotland’s youngest female whisky blender when she took over the role of head blender for Burn Stewart in 2007. She is now spreading the good word of the dram to whisky lovers across the globe. And it’s understandable why Kirstie, a Glaswegian, would love the idea of whisky: she gained her doctorate in chemistry before moving into the industry and, as many people know, whisky creation is like a really fun, giant chemistry experiment for adults!


Rachel MacNeill, Owner, Whisky for Girls Islay Tours:

If you’re thinking of going to Islay and you want to do something different, then Rachel is the woman to call on. Having lived in Islay her whole life, the distilleries are as much a part of her as the island. An architect by training, Rachel decided she also wanted to do something to promote the amazing whisky industry that she knows and loves, so began running interactive tours on the Islay which take in the natural landscape and whiskies. This year, she’ll be running Whisky for Girls, a new tour just for us ladies!


Helen Stewart, UK Brand Manager, Scotch Malt Whisky Society:

Helen has worked in the world of whisky for more than seven years – always at the SMWS, having moved into the company straight after graduating from Glasgow University. Like many people, she says she didn’t love whisky straight off and had many preconceived notions about the drink. However, getting to try incredible cask strength samples from SMWS soon changed that and she’s loved her drams ever since. Helen believes there is a whisky out there for everyone, and part of what she loves is finding that special dram for each individual.

 

 

Deirdra McBeth, Brand Assistant, Jameson:

Deirdra has been on the international team of Irish Distillers (the company that owns Jameson) for three years and has worked as a brand ambassador globally, from Florida to New Zealand. In September 2011, she joined the UK team as Jameson Brand Assistant, where she is helping role out the brand plan for Jameson here. While her degree is is communications, advertising and marketing, Deirdra has had extensive whisky training since joining the company and is passionate about extolling the drink’s virtues.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

The Balvenie’s New Debut

January 20, 2012 in Uncategorized

It’s always exciting to discover a new dram. But to be at the premiere of one is even more enjoyable.

A few days ago I was lucky enough to do just that. In the cozy, tartan-covered Jacobite room at the Boisdale restaurant in Belgravia, a group of whisky bloggers, reviewers and retailers gathered to watch the live streaming of a webcast put on by The Balvenie. The occasion? To debut its new whisky made in honour of the coopers that still work at one of the most traditional distilleries in Scotland and the people signed up to its members club – Warehouse 24 – who will be the only ones able to get their hands on one of these bottlings.

Unfortunately, as luck would have it, technology failed us so it was up to the formidable Dr Andrew Forrester – the UK Brand Ambassador – to lead us through the proceedings.

The new bottling from The Balvenie

The Craftsman’s Reserve No1, The Cooper will be limited to only 515 bottles – 315 to be sold in the UK and 200 overseas. It is the first in a series that Master Distiller, David Stewart, has made to celebrate the craftspeople at the distillery (and give him some free reign as he celebrates his 50th year with the company).

The new whisky is unusual not just in the number of bottles being released but in the fact it is a full-on sherry wood whisky – a step away from the norm for The Balvenie which usually focuses on oak.

“It’s a chance for David, after 50 years, to have a great deal of fun, selecting almost any casks he wants to,” Andrew told us. “There’s not a huge amount of stock sitting in sherry casks so it’s the chance to do something different with less availability.”

Andrew added that David was tipped off to one cask being a particularly good because it had far less in it, meaning some of the distillery workers may have been sneaking a wee bit out of it from time to time over the years.

So, after all the chat about the whisky, what did I think of it as a dram?

The Balvenie Craftsman's Reserve No1, The Cooper sits locked away...

Aged stamped as a 15-year old, it was a sweeter smelling whisky than a normal Balvenie, but to me, still heralded the distinct distillery characteristics. It had maple syrup, honey and sherry notes, along with a hint of what reminded me of this cinnamon and sugar spread I used to have on my toast as a child (but which I’ve never seen since…). On the first taste, there was a sweetness up front with notes of malt, coffee and leather, and was slightly astringent in the middle of my tongue. Adding water to the 59.4% dram made it really blossom, giving me hints of chocolate and lemongrass.

All in all, I was very satisfied with the whisky – it felt like a one for grown-ups though, not necessarily one for beginners. If DoubleWood were an entry level, this would be a graduate. Which, given it’s been made in honour the coopers, and especially Ian McDonald – the head cooper who has been with The Balvenie since he was 15 years old (!) – it makes sense that the first specialty release in this series would a bit more mature and distinct.

It will be made available in February only to members of Warehouse 24 – its free, online community – for an extremely reasonable price of £65.

Tags: , , , , , ,
No Comments »