Contacting me

The Tastings start off with a brief explanation of how malt whisky is produced and what factors affect the finished taste of each malt. Tasters then nose each of the malts while Muir points out the difference in, say the malted barley aroma of Glenlivet compared to the sherry and sea smell of Springbank. At this stage the tasting has been underway for about half an hour and involuntary drooling tends to break out. The best way to stop this is to actually taste the nectar. The first four samples are discussed in terms of their smoothness, finish and the effect which storage in sherry or burbon casks has had on the flavour and it's all very educational. By the fifth or sixth glass, discussion bradens to include folks' favourite distillery visit, what everyone's favourite desert island malt would be in the event of a shipwreck and how a damp weekend in Oban was saved by a bottle of Macallan. Come the final couple of glasses, conversation has a tendancy to go off at a tangent, perfect strangers are grinning happily at one another and the occasional snatch of 'The Skye Boat Song' is being hummed.

Jonathan Trew, The List