Quite a week

As a part of my voluntary work, I was promoting Zero Waste Scotland at Forth Valley College's Alloa campus last Wednesday (8th), explaining to people how they could cut down on the amount of food they send to landfill. We had quite a throughput over the course of the 3 hours I was there. I am always amazed, when talking to people about food preparation, how they do not think of saving themselves fairly large amounts of money over the course of a year by cooking from scratch, freezing in 2 or 3 serving batches and not buying over-priced ready meals.
On Thursday 9th I attended the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives launch at the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood. I was quite surprise at the VERY good attendance. The evening was spoiled by the address to the attendees by John Swinney MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth. He was poor, gave the impression that he was out of his depth and there was a definitely hostile, or at least support deficit feeling from those he was addressing.
On Saturday (11th) the meeting of the Co-op's Scotland & Northern Ireland Values & Principles committee. I'm really getting in to this which, with my political past is very surprising, but there is too much inequality nowadays not to get involved. there probably was when I was young as well, it was just that I was unaware of it.
Scotland were beaten by Wales on Sunday. Yet another Scottish try dissallowed! that's two this 6 Nations already.
Monday (13th), in my role as a Community Councillor, was handing out monies to local organisations which are doing good works in the area. Much of thsi should come from central or local government, but as Holrood has frozen council tax for the past 4 years, these organisations need funding from wherever they can get it.
Whisky course, week 5 - History from 1850 to the present. This group of students is 100% whisky drinkers for a change. In previous years, the class has consisted of up to 90% trade - either whisky shop, bar, restaurant or hotel owners and their staffs. This spring, of the 19 enrolled on the course, one is half of www.whiskyboys.com and the remaining 18 are just whisky lovers. Now tat we are into the 5th week, they have much more confidence in their own abilities and understanding relative to whisky.
It's fun.

Scotch Whisky Trail Week 4

Week 4 is History to 1850 and in previous years, I haven't had a Powerpoint preentation for this, relying only on the handout I create which has the most important relevant dates between 1494 & 1850. This year, I created a wee presentation with details of the Rev. Mr. Robert Moodie in the Statistical Account of Clackmannan, 1799. What? You don't know what he said? Well, you will just have to enrol on my course and find out, won't you?
The sharp eyed amongst you might notice my "deliberate" error in the presentation - the subject of the evening was History to 1850 and the slide on the screen says "History to 1825". I chnaged it before the class started.
Whiskies this week: Highland Park 12, Old Pulteney 12, Aberlour 10, GlenDronach 12, Bowmore 12, Bowmore 15 and Ardbeg 10. Great line up, all demonstrating varied, different and quite impressive aspects of whisky flavour.
The students are starting to get objective about the whiskies; this is the part of the course where they start to suggest flavours/aromas I have missed in my comments as their confidence builds. In future weeks, I have less work to do and they become be more than happy to put in their opinions.
Rather stupidly, I took my camera into the college to photograph the students at work - and forgot. Took the pic of the bottles, forgot to photograph the students. Will remember next week. I hope!

Highland Park Thor

HP are putting out regular limited edition bottlings and the most recent of these, the Valhalla Collection, was presaged by a week of small parcels containing runes and cryptic clues along the lines of:
"Few are chosen to drink with the gods. Open this pouch with bravery in your heart.
The secrets of the runes will be revealed as four days pass and you will be rewarded for your valour."
and
"Lightning strikes. He is amongst us. The earth trembles as it yields to his hammer. Only the brave remain."
Finally at the end of it all, a larger parcel with a sample of THOR.
To quote from their press release, "Thor represents the first coming for Highland Park's stunning Valhalla Collection; a range of unique whiskies, released annually, taking inspiration from the legendary Nordic gods of old. Not for the faint hearted, only those brave enough to accept the challenge of Thor shall be rewarded with the ultimate experience; a whisky of divine power."
The packaging is pretty impressive, echoing the "fearsome contours of a traditional Viking long ship".
It is also a pretty impressive whisky, with more obvious peat than HP's usual.
see my tasting note at http://www.johnlamond.com/HighlandParkThor.pdf.
With Scotland's recent focus on a referendum towards independence from England, is this a case of Highland Park leading the Orkney bid for independence from Scotland?

Scotch Whisky Trail

I must remember to take my camera next week. Tuesday was week 3 - Maturation - and most enjoyable from my angle as well. The class is supposed to start at 6.30 pm. and finish at 8.30 p.m. I regularly over-run and we get chucked out of the building by the janitor at 9.00 p.m. because he wants to go home.
Tuesday was am good example of this, I spoke for too long and, after pushing everyone out of the door, finally left the college at ten past nine. Must become more time focussed - and keep in the janitor's good books!
This week, the students tasted 8 whiskies demonstrating the effects of wood on the spirits: Auchentoshan Three Wood (tasted Auchie 10 in week 1), Glenmorangie Lasanta (tasted Glenmorangie Original in week 1), Glenlivet 12 and Glenlivet 15, Macallan 12 Fine Oak (Tasted Macallan 10 Sherry in week 1), Glenfarclas 10, Glenfaclas 15 and Laphroaig Quarter Cask (tasted Laphroaig 10 in week 1.

Famous Grouse 100 Best Pubs

In 2010, my publican buddy, Jim Robertson of The Kempock Bar in Gourock, was included in The Famous Grouse's 100 Best Pubs in Britain. The brand had created a Grouse statue with logos for each of the top 30 pubs - and The Kempock was amongst these 30. Jim had never seen the statue so, as he was at Gleneagles today, I suggested that we go to view said statue.
I headed north to The Glen through snow; there were three smashes northbound at Blackford this morning and there was a 45 minute hold up and queues back to Greenloaning, so I turned off on the Crieff road at Greenloaning and cut over a snow-covered, very slippery and windy back road down to The Glen. Picked him up and drove his Land Rover Discovery in 4 wheel drive through the snow to Crieff; slithered a wee bit on a couple of corners, but no problem. Saw no fewer than 3 snow ploughs out on the road.
The statue sits at Glenturret distillery, or as they like to call it nowadays, The Famous Grouse Experience, in the foyer outside the shop. See the pics. The Kempock's log is the jukebox and the musical notes on its upper right chest

Scotch Whisky Trail course

The latest running of the course started on Tuesday. Pleased to see some women back. After the past couple when it has been all male. Not quite sure of their backgrounds, the college yet again got the applications wrong. The student listed was of 16 students, the register was of 18 and the class was of 19 with one no show. Student Services?
Quite an animated bunch with more feedback than from 2010's entry level students, I'm looking forward quite excitedly to the rest of this spring's course. Trying to get a visit to Deanston, visitor centre doesn't open until after the course, but trying nonetheless as, in 14 years, the course hasn't visited Deanston. We'll see.

Happy New Year & Glenmorangie Artein

I hope that you all have had a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Christmas for me was good, Santa was very generous, but at New Year, I was hit by the winetr vomiting bug. I only had one dram at Hogmanay - it was at midnight and I only had the one, a normally very pleasant Aberlour a'Bunadh, which I didn't enjoy very much at all. Fortunately, the nausea only lasted around 24 hours, so the rest of the season was enjoyed thoroughly!
Scotland has been batterd, bruised and beaten by the wind in the past few weeks. I can never remember a succession of winds as strong or sustained as we have experienced over the past 6 weeks or so. Many trees down, 30,000 electricity customers cut off at one point, people without power for 3 days. In 2012, we are supposed to have the technology to prevent all this happening.
Glenmorangie released Artein on 4th January. Artein is the third release in its award-winning Private Edition range. Artein is the Gaelic for "stone" and the name links together the distillery's hard water supply from Tarlogie Spring with the stony soil of Sassicaia's vineyards in Tuscany's Bolgheri.
‘Artein’ is an assemblage of 15 and 21 Years Old Glenmorangie, finished by extra maturation in these Supertuscan wine casks.
I think that it is a great addition to their range (see my tasting note on my website) and, in my experience/opinion, supertuscan casks have done a fabulous job of finishing the whiskies they were involved with.
I am very humbled to have been voted "Whisky Man of the Year 2011" by whisky bloggers www.whiskyboys.com.