The Malt Murray - An Introduction

Hello and welcome to The Malt Murray.

This blog will be one man's thoughts on the whisky he loves and the information that I wish I'd had access to myself when starting up exploring the whisky world. I'll be talking about drams I'd love to get my hands on, the sometimes eye-watering costs of the secondary whisky market and how to get around them and we'll meet some of the people who have converted to the whisky world or from people who work direct in the industry. It helps if you already like your whisky but I genuinely subscribe to the fact that theres a whisky out there for everyone whatever you enjoy and thats my mission: To get you popping bottles and enjoying the dram!

At the Auchentoshan Distillery in Glasgow drawing my own whisky direct from a
First Fill Oloroso Sherry cask that has been sitting for 9 years. 

So who am I?

Not wanting the blog to be about the author but it makes sense to let you know who's scribbling away here. My name is Anthony Murray and at time of writing I'm 29 years old. Living with my lovely wife Stacey and my stepdaughter Olivia in the ex-shipbuilding/coal mining town come city called Sunderland in North East England. I'd describe myself as an enthusiastic drinker rather than a collector.

Time to come clean, my love of whisky is a relatively new one. It wasn't till 2013 when I tried whisky properly (some people will argue the definition of "properly" is used very loosely here). It wasn't household names like Glenfiddich and Glenlivet, it wasn't any of the whole host of entry level whiskies that you see lining shelves in our supermarkets. Remarkably, it was a blended Scotch whisky called Black Dog, distilled and bottled in Scotland and shipped out to the Indian market. I was away working in Calcutta, India for 6 months and got used to this as my staple drink of choice, back then I hadn't heard of Paul John's. Whisky choices were... limited at best, yes thats the politest way to put it! Needless to say, when I returned home, I had developed an interest in expanding my understanding of what whisky was out there. From that point onwards, initially using Instagram as my base for finding new things to try, I discovered Single Malt Scotch and the rest is history. 

So what's first?

Casks at the visitor centre
at the Glen Grant Distillery.
A great starter whisky!

I recently completed a single malt distillery tour of Scotland with my fellow whisky wingman Michael and we took in a number of Highland, Lowland and Speyside distilleries (I'll be posting on these in the next week or so). When I got back, I was thinking of starting the blog and I had in mind what I would have liked to have had available to me when I first started out. Taking in the information from the guides, the many whiskies tried and the experiences at these distilleries, it felt like I was ready to be able to give people an idea on where to start out without putting themselves off of whisky before they even got started! 

I'll always remember once speaking to someone who "couldn't stand whisky" but on questioning further what they had actually tried, found that they had been given a glass of Laphroaig. For anyone who doesn't already know (and the point of this blog is to educate), Laphroaig is a Scottish Single Malt from the islands off of the West Coast of Scotland whose main flavour profile is a strong dominant salty smoked peat so think how a tyre fire might taste.  They predominantly take this character from the way their barley is peat smoked before it is used in the distilling process. I'm not being critical of peat, one of my favourites is a bottle by Ardbeg called Uigeadail however, for someone entering into the world of Scotch whisky for the first time it is more likely to kill your interest that have you reaching for another glass. There are some seasoned whisky drinkers who still have no taste for the peat smoked heavies of Islay (Michael for example) so a beginner doesn't stand much of a chance. My advice, start with either the Lowlands, Highlands or Speyside distilleries (you can identify these usually quite clearly on the bottle). I'll suggest some below that could help you start out.

On the trip this week I tried the Major's Reserve from Glen Grant for the first time and its now my number one recommendation for a beginner. It is a really light and accessible whisky with a taste of vanilla and apples, it doesn't have any "burn" that people new to whisky might be trying to avoid. It has no smoke on the taste at all and will be pleasant for someone new to exploring their whisky palate. It is also really good value at around £20 - £25 for a 70cl bottle available in most major supermarkets and also online at Amazon. You can find out more about Glen Grant and their malts at http://www.glengrant.com/gb/en/.

Glen Grant Major's Reserve
Photo: www.thewhiskyexchange.com

There is then the Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old. It is distilled and casked at the highest working distillery in the Scottish Highlands just off the A9. Again not even a whiff of smoke on the palate and instead, honey, toffee and pear notes which is really pleasant. Its quite smooth, sweet and rich but medium in its strength so really open to beginners. This one is higher on the price point between £35-£40 and isn't as widely available in supermarkets but there are again various places to pick it up easily online. Dalwhinnie belong to Diageo these days and more can be found out about this distillery and some of its sister whiskies at https://www.malts.com/en-row/our-whisky-collection/dalwhinnie/.

Glenfiddich 12 Year Old
Photo: www.glenfiddich.com/uk/

One of the most well recognised brands in the single malt whisky world is undeniably Glenfiddich. All of their whisky spends at least 12 years in the cask before being bottled with most of the millions of litres they craft each year making its way into their hugely popular 12 Year Old expression. This is an absolutely perfect whisky to start to get to know your palate and what you like. It is light grassy, apples and pears to the nose with a character to taste sweet creamy malt and a slight oaky backbone. A very smooth malt and one always available in supermarkets and online for under £40 but usually as part of special offers particularly at Christmas. I really do recommend this Glenfiddich, its one of the malts I started to get into on my return from India and it really taught me to appreciate the flavours properly. You can find out more about Glenfiddich and their other expressions at https://www.glenfiddich.com/uk/.

Benromach 10 Year Old
Photo: www.masterofmalt.com

Finally, my fourth recommendation may surprise some familiar with established whisky brands but it is the Benromach 10 Year Old. Gordon and Macphail currently own Benromach purchasing the distillery after it had closed in 1983, reopening again in 1998. This for me is a perfect balance between classic Speyside style yet with a very light touch of smoke, no tyre fires like the Laphroaig mentioned earlier! This whisky is a combination of 9 Year Old sherry casks and 9 Year Old bourbon casks spending their final year in just a sherry cask. It is big on barley and is light, fruity and grassy to taste but with some spice fruit coming through on the finish, thats the sherry kicking in. Despite being 10 Years Old I always feel this whisky is bigger than the sum of its parts and I love it, still have a bottle on the shelf right now (well a quarter of a bottle). I'd definitely recommend going with the three above first before sampling the Benromach however, you won't be disappointed when you pop the cork on this one. Available for around £25-£35 online and in some supermarkets but more likely to be found in whisky retailers or department stores with a specific whisky section. My advice, keep your eyes on Amazon as can be purchased including delivery for about £30 quite regularly which for the whisky you're getting, is an absolute steal. For more information on Benromach visit https://www.benromach.com/whiskies.

So there you go then, my four starter malts. There are of course many different malts available out there with similar tastes, flavour profiles which would be good for beginners (Auchentoshan Three Wood for example) however, these are my recommendations based on how I feel they would help you get settled and whet the appetite to explore more whiskies, particularly the Benromach. I remember wasting money on bottles I didn't really get on with or flavours I just couldn't recognise in a dram and I want to help you avoid that, I will say though that making mistakes is actually part of the fun. It can just be a bit expensive! You can't underestimate grabbing drams from your local bars and restaurants which really opens up what you have access to and makes it a lot cheaper to order something you then find you don't like, no 70cl bottle to then have to get rid of! 

Tasting a 43 year old 1974 Balvenie at the distillery this
week on my whisky tour of Scotland. Epic is the word! 

As I post my content I hope you find the information helpful or even just enjoy hearing another guys take on the whiskies he's drammed over the least 4 years. If I can help anyone get into whisky and find their favourites then I'd be happy with that, its there to be enjoyed and we're often spoilt for choice so get out there and get exploring. 

As this blog develops I'll be experimenting with different content to coincide with my whisky postings including cigar pairings, distillery overviews and interviews with people working in the industry. 

I hope you enjoy reading it.

Slainte! 

Anth