In South Africa, whisky is growing in popularity and appeal by leaps and bounds. The country already occupies the number five spot in the world in terms of both value and volume. We realise there is a need to recognise the achievements of individual whiskies and brands within the local market. To that end, Whisky [...]
Master distiller Dennis Malcolm’s life has been inextricably linked to Glen Grant – literally from the day he was born. Fiona McDonald tells his story. “I’m so delighted the Campari group spent 153 million Euro buying Glen Grant for me,” was his first quip during our interview. And the company did so 60 years after [...]
Say the words Louboutin, Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik and any woman the world over will know exactly what you’re talking about* — and probably swoon. But Bruno Magli, John Lobb and Edward Green hardly evoke the same sort of rapture and ecstasy from those who possess the X and Y chromosomes. Fiona McDonald investigates [...]
Born into a distilling dynasty, Rob Samuels is the eighth generation to work in the family firm of Maker’s Mark. By Donald Paul Rob Samuels is trail-runner thin, with prominent cheek bones and a quick smile. In typical American fashion he wore chinos and a pale blue button-down shirt, tucked in when we met during [...]
Jim Beam White Label ABV 43% Light, delicate nose with hints of rose petal, sweetcorn and gentle vanilla backing. Subtle hints of orange, almond and coconut. After the delicacy of the nose the big flow of flavour comes as quite a surprise. Vanilla and toffee suggest sweetness but it’s actually very dry. There’s a sweet/ [...]
Any South African describing what a braai is to someone who doesn’t speak the local lingo would probably automatically substitute the word “barbecue”. After all, even an Australian or an American can relate to that. To the English it would probably bring back memories of cooking pork sausages (“bangers”) while huddling under an umbrella and [...]
The production, distribution and sale of all liquor was banned in the United States of America between 1920 and 1933. With a ban on liquor advertising looming in South Africa, Clifford Roberts looks at the lessons that might be taken from the pages of history. It was 1940s Cambridge Professor of history Herbert Butterfield no [...]
For 101 of its 146 years of operation, sales of its Tennessee sour mash whiskey directly from its distillery have been banned ‒ because Lynchburg, home to Jack Daniel’s, is a dry county. Dave Hughes meanders down memory lane. It was in 1984, following the Olympics in Los Angeles that was so memorable for South [...]
There’s more to the state of Kentucky than Colonel Sanders in his white suit who gave the world the finger-licking good fried chicken, bluegrass music and superb thoroughbred horseflesh. Digital editor Marsh Middleton explores the hills and vales of this southern state. Kentucky is bordered by seven other states – a feat beaten only by [...]
Itʼs a scene almost as iconic as the mesas and buttes of Monument Valley: the saloon doors swinging open and a bottle of whiskey sliding down the counter to yet another dusty, thirsty cowboy. But the story of American whiskey goes back to before the West was settled. Fiona McDonald reports. In 2009 the stills [...]
