Well, that was quite a fermentation period… At WhiskySpeller HQ we have been handling a pair of overflowing washbacks the last couple of weeks. Cutting the froth didn’t quite ehm… cut it, so we decided to switch to an anti-foaming agent to clear the schedule a little. Repairs have been done, both stills are undamaged,…
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A WHISKY PILGRIMAGE
Driving through the beautiful Kingdom Fife, we find ourselves nearing the town of Newburgh towards a location that should be a pilgrimage for whisky lovers. Where in the old days Grey Monks grew a diversity of fruits from their own orchards, kept bees for their honey and mead and harvested barley to brew and distill…
THE BORDERS DISTILLERY
The Scottish Borders. An area in Scotland we have mostly passed through, when driving on the coastal A1, trying to reach a more northern destination when coming off the boat at Newcastle upon Tyne. Little did we know that the A696 – the “other” road leading north from Newcastle, would merge with the A68 at…
LEG THREE OF THREE
Because three weeks of touring through Scotland is quite a bit to digest in one read, we decided to gather our notes and split the trip in three more edible parts. Mind you, the first, second and third parts are just a resume of what we have been doing and all distillery visits will be…
LEG TWO OF THREE
Because three weeks of touring through Scotland is quite a bit to digest in one read, we decided to gather our notes and split the trip in three more edible parts. Mind you, this second part is just a resume of what we have been doing and all distillery visits will be getting their own…
De Bronckhorst
The eastern parts of the Dutch province Gelderland is known as the “Achterhoek” which translates easiest as a back-corner or, as we learned from our Scottish friends in Fife, a Neuk – which means something entirely different translated back to Dutch. The Achterhoek is a rural place with patches of forests, but mostly flat open…
#EpicIslayTrip
October 2014. A group of our friends – most of which had never been to Scotland or even a distillery, had agreed to be shown a handful of distilleries and follow our lead to our beloved Scotland. Success of our trip was great, we popped some Scotland-cherries and it did not take long before the…
De keuken in met whisky
Fine dining is often paired with fine wine, where whisky is mostly overlooked or not even brought up because “the high alcohol percentage of whisky would kill the dish”. Accepting these prejudices as a challenge, the Whisky Couple – Hans and Becky Offringa, joined forces with the Gastronomic Couple – Jonnie and Thérèse Boer, to…
Dungeons & Eagles
In our search for the next passionate Dutch distiller, we travel to the picturesque municipality of Doesburg, where medieval monastery “Het Arsenaal” has been converted to house several small businesses. Where a Grand Café, small cinema, game store, wine merchant and whisky specialist already had found their home, a micro distillery has joined inside their…
Little Black Hill – Knockando Distillery
During the heydays of the Scottish Whisky industry in the end of the nineteenth century, dreamer, gambler and entrepreneur John Tytler Thompson decided to build a new distillery on the banks of the river Spey. He commissioned acclaimed architect and engineer Charles Doig to build him a modern distillery, the first Speyside distillery to be…
The Road to Craigellachie
The Road to Craigellachie starts with Hans sipping his first whisky in 1974 and falling in love with the spirit put in front of him. From this moment on, Hans’ adventures into the world of whisky starts with his first trip to the UK after his studies, not exactly knowing what to do next and…
Bourbon Curious: A Simple Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker
Wandering through the world of whisky, one can not easily avoid stumbling into the American alternative; Bourbon. After journeying back and forth between the many different brands, styles and expressions, we got interested in the drink and found the book Bourbon Curious: A Simple Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker by Fred Minnick, whetting our…
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