vaguehowie:

Deteriorating defensive fortifications in England, Scotland and France 

Some excellent photo’s here.

So happy to be back walking again. Desperately needing to lose some weight and get fit. It’s always an added bonus when it’s snowy. John and I made snow angels.

whiskyblender:

It’s just a wee bit of fun from Scotland.

You know it’s happened before. You’ve been at the bar spending way too much money on a pint of craft beer, drinking a bottle of a wine at a restaurant that’s 300% marked up and tastes like you could have made it in your basement—and suddenly you think, ‘Hey, I could have made this myself!’. And so was born the hop growing beer brewing wine kits for Christmas era. But what about the hard stuff? No room for a distillery in the garage. That’s where a company like Whisky Blender comes in.

Whisky Blender is run by a team of highly enthusiastic whisky experts who love whisky and love experimenting even more. It’s all about putting the power in your hands—start with a few solid ‘bases’ for the blend and go from there. A hint of Burnt Puddin? Yes please. A helping of Taste of the Sea? Why not. The boys running the show here know that it might not compare to the world class work from professional master blenders…it’s a wee bit of fun. Perfect for a personalized holiday gift… or just a treat for yourself.

Distilling is a science & blending is an art. – Samuel Bronfman

This is a whole new way to explore whisky. Usually, you’re handed a sniffer and told what to smell, what to taste, how to feel. You control the ingredients and the end result here. There’s a certain sense of adventure with Whisky Blender. The chance that the whiskies you decide to include – and how much of each one you choose – may just end up creating a truly delicious new whisky of which the world has never known is exciting. The possibilities are endless!

There’s more than just blending whisky blindly, there’s a whole school of video clips explaining some of the basic fundamentals in whisky and the importance behind each blend. You can find wise words from the Whisky Blender in-house expert, the Master of Malt, Mr. John Lamond. It is easy to get carried away with all seven mixing options—have a word with Mr. Lamond and he might lead you to smarter choices, say, two or three ingredients instead of the whole kitchen sink type of recipe. It’s fun, but there’s still a price tag…and the ultimate goal is to make a delicious drink! You want to take a slightly analytic approach to this.

Don’t use this company to try and replicate Johnny Walker Blue Label. It’s about putting your stamp, your mark, your blend on the bottle. Break open a bottle of your favorite stuff while you blend—it might inspire some genius! It will also help when it comes time to choose a name for your blend. We created a few different concoctions—‘A Man’s World’ (James Brown inspired), ‘Sea Sweet’ (for our C-Suite Column) and ‘The Painful Alister’ (well…just because). We seemed to have come across a Goldilocks result with our experimentation—A Man’s World was too harsh, The Painful Alister too mild, and Sea Sweet just right. Isn’t that the way though?

We partnered with the Whisky Blender lads for a #GlobalTasting to celebrate their first birthday a few weeks ago…what a tasting! Whisky lovers everywhere came together to smoke pipes and drink drams. Now that’s how you celebrate a birthday…

Make a blend, grab a sniffer and join the Whisky Blender adventure. It’s a whole new way to love Whisky. Sláinte!

http://alisterpaine.com/2012/12/12/make-your-own-whisky-blend/

whiskyblender:

Glasgow’s Whisky Festival… 3 questions

We attended Glasgow’s Whisky Festival last month for the third year running and decided to ask some people three very simple questions:

1. What’s your favourite flavour?
2. What would you call your own whisky?
3. Who do you love drinking whisky with?

Check out what they had to say.

You can buy tickets to Glasgow’s Whisky Festival from the Arches in Glasgow:
http://www.thearches.co.uk/events/other/glasgows-whisky-festival-2

You can also blend your own Scotch whisky and personalise it on Whisky Blender:
http://www.whiskyblender.com

Special thanks to Ralfy, Glasgow’s Whisky Festival, Glasgow’s Whisky Club, Fiddler’s, Yelp and everyone who took part in our wee survey.

whiskyblender:

Whisky Blender - the perfect gift for Scotch lovers

You might be a big whisky fan and want to explore it in a new way. Perhaps you know someone who loves whisky and are looking to get them the perfect personalised gift. Whatever the reason we think you should check out http://www.whiskyblender.com

Based in bonny Scotland, with a team of whisky enthusiasts, we provide people with a simple way to own a unique bottle of blended Scotch whisky (or blended malt Scotch whisky). One which they’ve not only had a say into how it tastes and what it’s called but also to have a little bit of fun in the process.

Check it out: http://www.whiskyblender.com

Whisky whisky whisky whisky whisky!!!!!!!!!!!

whiskyblender:

Global Whisky Tasting - JOIN US

On November 24th this year we turn 1 year old… we invite you to join us in raising a dram or two (or three) to celebrate this momentous occasion. Using the tag #GlobalTasting we’d love you to share with us what you’re tasting. Go on… it’ll be fun! RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/events/321168937990191

Visit Whisky Blender and blend your own bottle of Scotch whisky.

Canny wait!

whiskyblender:

Had an amazing time visiting the @DeanstonMalt Distillery last night with John Lamond’s Whisky Trail Certificate course.

Damn straight!