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Tag: 1902

Posted on 15 July 201814 October 2019

Bass King’s Ale 1902

Bass King's Ale

My obsession with old beer continues. At Dramboree this year I had the chance of trying a pair of bottles that I’m honoured to have tasted. First up: Bass King’s Ale from 1902.

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More tasting notes
Trip to the north stop 4: @scapa.distillery for so Trip to the north stop 4: @scapa.distillery for some @scapawhisky. . Thanks to bad weather and a cancelled ferry, we missed our morning tour, but excellent tour guide Andy managed to get us rebooked on another that afternoon. Great tour, complete with Lomond still and a windswept walk to the tasting room. That room - The Noust - is excellent: a rather impressive way to finish a wander around the distillery. Also: grist. . #whisky #scapadistillery #grist
Stop three of the trip to north: @8doorsdistillery Stop three of the trip to north: @8doorsdistillery and John o’Groats. . It was nice to see evidence of high winds, as our ferry was cancelled due to them. Anyways, we got to John o’Groats a bit late due to hotel booking and ferry reorganising, but excellent distiller @_ryansuth and co-founder Kerry showed us around 8 Doors distillery. It’s a rather compact one-room set up, but that gave us a load of time to talk experiments, fun yeast, cooling regimes, copper contact during wash distillation, potential inaugural releases, and a cask filled by the king. I’m rather looking forward to trying their whisky. . #8doors #johnogroats #windy
Trip to the north stop 2: Brora, shown around by t Trip to the north stop 2: Brora, shown around by the excellent Andrew Flatt. . I was last up here 15 years ago, and things are rather a lot more shiny and functional this time. I look forward to trying the whisky when it finally emerges… . #whisky #brora #clynelish
First stop of a trip: Dornoch Distillery. . I am i First stop of a trip: Dornoch Distillery. . I am in the northlands, trekking towards Orkney with chauffeur and birthday boy @jasonbstanding after a weekend of celebrating his birthday with many whisky-loving chums. The photos from that time are hidden for use as blackmail material. . After an excellent night at @dornochcastlehotel drinking the tasty wares of @dornoch_whisky_bar, we were shown around @dornochdistillery and its associated premises by @phildornochdistillery, including the field that will one day become @struiedistillery. . Then on the road ready for our next stop: Brora… . #whisky #dornoch #extremeforsyth
Well. That was @whiskyshow 2026. In usual fashion, Well. That was @whiskyshow 2026. In usual fashion, I didn’t take many pictures and, as is increasingly my way, they are mostly terrible selfies. I am sorry to the victims in these photos… . @angusmacraildwhisky signing @dawndaviesmw’s shirt; The Art of the Blend; 40 Years of Whisky History; Umami and Texture; Japanese showcase; tasty port cask whisky (which yet again annoys me); and some birth year Glenfarclas. . #whiskyshow #whisky #sorry
A final burst of activity before @whiskyshow comes A final burst of activity before @whiskyshow comes to town: an excellent awamoro cocktail by @mitsuhiro.bartender at @parkhyattlondonriverthames after running an @iichiko.shochu training session for his team; the excellent private dining room reserved for the training session; getting to meet @debadz from @hellyersroaddistillery in person and try their 23yo whisky; a late evening writing tasting notes for the (rather good) Whisky Show whiskies; a couple of drams at @milroys3greekstreet to welcome @thescotch_guy to London; and finally, the excellent Guinness taps (producing excellent Guinness) at @the_thomas_wolsey in Ipswich, where I ran a Beginner’s Guide to Whisky session this evening. Now to do sleeping before three days of running around and telling people about booze. Well, another three days of telling people about booze, anyway. . #shochu #australianwhisky #whiskyshow
The busy-ness before @whiskyshow continues, but I The busy-ness before @whiskyshow continues, but I got to explore the world of Japanese drinks (and food) at @drinkjapan at the weekend. I was mostly there to lead some (fully booked) beginner’s guide to awamori sessions, but also managed to fit in a lot of buying of awamori, as well as gacco (smoked pickled radish. Or pickled smoked radish. I’m not sure, but it’s pretty amazing). Best thing of the weekend: Laphroaig-cask-matured awamori from a direct-fired still – thank you for sharing @shirayuri1951. Rather special. . #drinkjapan #awamori #gacco
Running around a bit last week, with a stop at @wh Running around a bit last week, with a stop at @whiskyexchange Great Portland Street to pour some whisky (including bottles with @whiskyalex72, @polli_mellow and my faces on) and a trip to Newcastle for the @whiskyindylovefestival – my first time pouring all 12 Zodiac bottlings, which I can now mostly remember the star signs and distilleries of. And along with all that, a quick stop in to see the @clearcut_drinks gang launch @elbagazo_tequila – really tasty stuff that pushes beyond the usual tequila flavour profile, along with doing cool sustainable things. . This week: glasses, podcasts, livery interviews, whisky tastings, awamori classes and maybe sheep. . #whisky #tastemyface #tequila
A fantastic long weekend at @riga.whiskyfriends an A fantastic long weekend at @riga.whiskyfriends and wandering the streets of Riga itself. I was presenting a tasting showcasing whisky around the world, and the show was full of folks from around Latvia enjoying whisky: on its own, in cocktails, and alongside food and cigars. The show was at @rigas_cirks, the former city circus (the masterclass room was where the elephants used to live) and @lauris_grass, @nordsaigars, @baibaboze and the gang put on an excellent performance. I didn’t get a chance to try much whisky, but thanks to hosting buddy @sherryhound, I did manage to get to try both @tervetedistillery’s malt and corn whisky: I have a bottle of the former for future tastings and really liked the latter (I couldn’t find a bottle and had no space in my bag – sad times). . The night before the show, Diego and I hosted the opening dinner, with a raft of great whiskies and amazing food from @b7_resto: full details of the dinner on @billysfoodpics. . …and, of course, I drank some beers: @valmiermuizas_alus, @labietis, @alus_darbnica_teika and @malduguns_alus. @kakis.maisa.bar is ace, @salons_mybeer do an excellent charcuterie plate and the best place to have a beer in Riga Airport is the bookshop… . I look forward to finding an excuse to head back and explore more of Riga. . #whisky #rigawhisky #latvianwhisky
The wonders of @whiskyshow are fast approaching an The wonders of @whiskyshow are fast approaching and @whiskyexchange have put the bottle with my face on on offer: Ben Nevis 2013 10 Year Old, filthy and sherried, now £25 off at £46.95. I am now officially cheap. Link in bio, as they say. . The piccy on the bottle is based on the second picture in this post. For the past couple of years I’ve been questioning Steve the designer’s skills due to the hair on top of my head on the label, but now I see that he was reflecting the depressing reality more than I thought… . #whisky #whiskyshow #tastemyface
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