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 [...]
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 [...]
Sensorial appreciation is key to Glenmorangie global ambassador Karen Fullerton’s job – and she admits her senses are overwhelmed by the beauty of Scotland when viewed from the crest of Munro. She spoke to Fiona McDonald in the shadow of Table Mountain recently. Just before the turn of the 20th century no-one was quite certain [...]
What a great day out with Bushmills on the 8th of December 2011. The two SA legends that won the Bushmills Challenge in Ireland brought some of the fun home for us. Colum Egan, Master Distiller was on standby as all-round judge and host. I thought I’d share a video with you from the event. [...]
John Glaser from Compass Box whiskies – a true maverick and gentlemen of the industry had a chat with Marsh. He’s an elusive genius in our opinion, so it is quite exclusive to have such a long discussion about his life, challenges, whiskies and thoughts about SA. We thought it would be good to post [...]
If you’re looking to meet the international rock stars of whisky, now’s the time to do it. Clifford Roberts gives the heads up on Whisky Live 2011 Tasting whisky is what a trip to Whisky Live is all about. But what sets this event apart is the rare opportunity for visitors to meet and talk to [...]
We’ve just got back from…“The James Sedgwick distillery in Wellington, the only dedicated whisky distillery in all of Africa and one which is on a par with the most modern in the world, celebrates its 125 anniversary this month.” What a great day! We’ll be posting a video of the occasion soon. Good to see [...]
Ray had a 4 week retirement. We just had to find out what happened! Marsh chatted to Ray and got some insights into who Ray Edwards really is. From 1979 to 2011 – what a journey. From building Tops at Spar to bringing some of the most sought after whiskies into SA, Ray has had [...]
After racking up hectic amounts of frequent flyer miles overseeing Spar’s liquor interests nationally, Group Liquor Manager Ray Edwards called time on his career, retiring after nearly three decades with the retailer. Fiona McDonald reports. Sylvia Plath wrote the poem Mushrooms. As full of symbolism as the suicidal poet’s words were (and thousands of literature [...]
Sir Ernest Shackleton was for many years the forgotten Antarctic explorer, his exploits relegated to a distant third place behind Sir Robert Falcon Scott and Norwegian Roald Amundsen, both of whom were engaged in a race to plant their nation’s respective flags on the geographic South Pole. Yet towards the end of the 20th century [...]
