I had a lovely experience last night. I sat on a gorgeous velvet bar stool and sipped Glenglassaugh whisky while watching Brown-Forman Single Malts Master Blender Rachel Barrie rave about the spirit as she stood on a beach in Scotland.
She’d spontaneously decided to do her first ever video call from the beach to enhance our experience of her new whiskies.
It was 9am in her part of the world, but that didn’t stop her having a sip too. Scotland was looking glorious, with beautiful blue sky and sand that wouldn’t be out of place in Sydney.
The intimate event was to celebrate the distillery launching a new portfolio and design direction for its whiskies. The overall artistic direction takes inspiration from rippling sand tide at Sandend Bay where the whiskies are produced, with touches of colour inspired by sea glass.
The new whiskies been matured in the distillery’s coastal warehouses overlooking the rolling surf of Sandend Bay.
According to Rachel they are designed to transport us to a place where the spirit is awakened and soul invigorated, inviting us to stop, take a breath and appreciate our surroundings.
She had me at stopping and taking a breath. I’m long overdue to do that.
My favourite dram was the Sandend whisky. It is matured in bourbon, sherry and manzanilla casks that Rachel says bring luscious waves of tropical sweetness with a touch of sea-salt.
The team at Brown-Forman brought around plates of salted caramel chocolates and fresh pineapple chunks to eat while trying it and while it may sound like an odd combination, the pineapple made the whisky taste heavenly.
It also tasted great in a Whisky Sour.
The three new expressions will be available next month at specialist whisky stockists.
The evening had me Googling Scottish cruises on my way home.
I know, I know, me and cruising …
But DD and I reckon sailing around Scotland on a small ship, then making our way to Norway via the Shetland and Orkney Islands would be pretty magical.
And if our trip happens to pass any Brown-Forman distilleries, the team have offered to organise a special tasting for us while we’re there!
Awesome!
I was also chatting to one of the team about travelling, who summed up my current mood when he said his girlfriend has been talking about wanting a “proper” holiday … one that’s more than just a few days somewhere. I am so ready for a proper holiday … I just have to hold on until after the HSC.
We have something booked. It’s not Scotland, but it will be equally awesome.
Stay tuned …
Oh and I’ve also decided that if I renovate my kitchen, I want it to look like the bar in the Brown-Forman office. So gorgeous!
Song of the day: Wings “Mull of Kintyre” (not Sandend, but Scottish!)
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