Master of Malt Blog

On the blog this week we showcase a grape-based drink that isn’t wine, brandy or even those purple cans of fizzy drink that used to be a fixture at school…

Features

Are these Britain's smallest gin distilleries?

Annie Hayes

March 25, 2019 8:53 am

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Some people build a garden shed and store a lawnmower in it. Others think, ‘I could make gin in that’. We like those people. Here, we celebrate five of Britain’s…

News

The Nightcap: 22 March

Master of Malt

March 22, 2019 4:00 pm

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Looking for bite-sized bits of booze news? That’s exactly what The Nightcap is all about! This week we’ve got stories about distillery facelifts, trees and 47 year old whisky… It’s…

We're drinking...

Say hello to some spring spirits!

Adam O'Connell

March 6, 2019 10:27 am

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Spring has finally arrived and there’s no better way to ring in the warmer months than with a seasonal spirit in hand. Shed your layers and rejoice: spring is here!…

News Whisky

Ballantine’s Want To Make #WhiskyEmoji Happen

Sam Smith

August 6, 2014 3:27 pm

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They say a picture speaks a thousand words. If this is true, then emoji means you could write a novel in no time at all. If you’ve not got a…

whisky emoji ballantines

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. If this is true, then emoji means you could write a novel in no time at all. If you’ve not got a clue what emoji are, they’re a selection of tiny little cartoons used mostly on mobile phones in texts, which range from the normal (dog, cat, car, etc…) to the frankly ridiculous (man in a bathtub, an aubergine, dollar bill with wings, etc…). Just looking at the assortment of little emoji on my phone now, I see a best-selling novel starting to appear…

Santa and one of the Queen’s Guards found a turtle near a volcano. They were happy and drove a tractor to a castle where they saw the head of the Statue of Liberty and a ghost. To celebrate they rode a horse into the city to enjoy a… whisky? But, but, but, but… There’s no whisky emoji!

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Cocktails Gin

Master of Cocktails – A basic gin punch recipe

Ben Ellefsen

August 4, 2014 10:47 am

5 Comments

Hopefully you were all paying attention during the last #MasterofCocktails, as we made the most important part of this week’s drink(s) a week in advance – the Oleo-Saccharum (a fancy…

Master of Cocktails Gin Punch

Hopefully you were all paying attention during the last #MasterofCocktails, as we made the most important part of this week’s drink(s) a week in advance – the Oleo-Saccharum (a fancy term for sugared peel).

There’s nowt better than being able to have your guests serve themselves amazing punch, and sorting the Oleo-Saccharum ahead of time will save you a load of effort. You also won’t have to ‘work’ the sugar into the peel, and will also ultimately yield better results.

In case you did miss it, let’s have a look at how you should make your own Oleo-Saccharum a week in advance in preparation for making your Gin Punch…

5 Comments

Whisky

The Importance of Cats in the Workplace (Specifically in Distilleries)

Sam Smith

July 31, 2014 12:40 pm

2 Comments

Earlier this week, Amy Hopkins over at the Spirits Business posted a fantastic article that really spoke to us here at Master of Malt, all about the most famous mousers…

Whiskeh Kitteh Whisky Cat

Earlier this week, Amy Hopkins over at the Spirits Business posted a fantastic article that really spoke to us here at Master of Malt, all about the most famous mousers at distilleries around the world. If you had any doubts about cats being the best animal ever, then these brave feline warriors ought to cement their place at the top of the “Best Animal Podium”. (If you were wondering, pugs are a close second, followed by bumblebees.)

But why does a distillery need a cat? You can understand other job roles like Master Blender, Maltster and Warehouse Manager being vital for the day to day tasks, but a cat?

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News Whisky

Michael Owen Signs for SPEY Whisky

Jake Mountain

July 29, 2014 1:19 pm

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We’re a little late to this one (busy ‘n’ that), but yet another footballm’n has in fact entered the whisky world. Following Haig Club’s signing of ‘Sir’ David Beckham, SPEY…

SPEY Whisky Michael Owen

We’re a little late to this one (busy ‘n’ that), but yet another footballm’n has in fact entered the whisky world. Following Haig Club’s signing of ‘Sir’ David Beckham, SPEY have now snapped up his old England team-mate Michael Owen! (Meanwhile, Sven has wine covered – surely it’s only a matter of time before we’re hit with a Rio Ferdinand Cognac…)

I’ll cover the interesting history of SPEY whisky below, but first allow this to sink in for a second: Michael Owen is the Global Brand Ambassador for a single malt Scotch whisky.

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Cocktails Cognac

Master of Cocktails – The Japanese Cocktail

Ben Ellefsen

July 28, 2014 11:40 am

1 Comment

Right then ladies and gentlemen – for this week’s #MasterofCocktails we made a Japanese Cocktail. It’s one of those oft-forgotten classics that really does work very well indeed if made…

Master of Cocktails The Japanese Cocktail

Right then ladies and gentlemen – for this week’s #MasterofCocktails we made a Japanese Cocktail. It’s one of those oft-forgotten classics that really does work very well indeed if made with decent ingredients.

Before we get onto that though, we need to do some prep for next week’s drink. Or rather ‘drinks’. See, with all this amazing weather we’ve been having, I’m going to show you how to make an amazing bowl of Punch.

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Cocktails Competitions Gin News Rum Tasting Notes Whisky

Our International Wine & Spirit Competition 2014 Winnings

Sam Smith

July 23, 2014 10:20 am

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The folks here at MoM Towers aren’t going to win the World Cup anytime soon. Our team, Bitter Bastards FC, are just a few players short of a full squad…

International Wine & Spirit Competition 2014

The folks here at MoM Towers aren’t going to win the World Cup anytime soon. Our team, Bitter Bastards FC, are just a few players short of a full squad and therefore wouldn’t qualify, so the German team has nothing to be worried about… Yet. We’re also not going to win Wimbledon, despite a small subset of us being pretty gosh-darn good at squash (they’re basically the same sport, one just has more passive aggressive connotations and a wall). Oscars? Probably not. Grammys? Unlikely. Nobel Peace Prize? Doubtful at best. Medals for making stunning drinks? Now you’re talking!

That’s right, that little preamble is leading up to us proudly showing off the medals our products scooped up at the prestigious International Wine & Spirits Competition 2014. We’re always immensely excited and grateful when the products we make are commended by the highly knowledgeable tasters behind these awarding bodies – it really does mean the world to us.

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Absinthe Cocktails Whisky

Master of Cocktails – The Sazerac

Ben Ellefsen

July 21, 2014 12:41 pm

6 Comments

Another classic for this week’s #MasterofCocktails, the Sazerac. Now this really is a very, very simple drink, but, like the Mojito from a few weeks ago, one that people love…

Master of Cocktails The Sazerac

Another classic for this week’s #MasterofCocktails, the Sazerac.

Now this really is a very, very simple drink, but, like the Mojito from a few weeks ago, one that people love to overcomplicate. The most common over-complication is the belief that you need to stir a sugar cube with the whiskey forever and a day…

Luckily enough though, some bright spark has invented this stuff. It’s called Sugar Syrup. You may have heard of it.

6 Comments

Cocktails Competitions News Whisky

WIN a Chivas Regal Cocktail Set as The Chivas Master is announced!

Jake Mountain

July 17, 2014 11:00 am

8 Comments

Tuesday night saw the first ever Chivas Master announced in New York following the conclusion of The Chivas Masters global final. You can read all about the UK leg of…

Chivas Cocktail Masters

Tuesday night saw the first ever Chivas Master announced in New York following the conclusion of The Chivas Masters global final. You can read all about the UK leg of the competition here, with Hawksmoor’s Ali Reynolds coming through the heats and a fantastic UK final to take his place in the international showdown of Chivas Regal‘s first ever global cocktail competition!

Before we tell you who won the big prize though, here’s your chance for your very own whisky cocktail win: We’re giving away this rather handsome Chivas Masters Cocktail Set to one of you lovely folk. Keep reading to find out how you could get your hands on this cheeky little prize, including a full 70cl bottle of Chivas Regal 12 Year Old, a stylish Cocktail Shaker and Bar Spoon, plus Recipes for 4 classic cocktails (one from each ‘age’)!

8 Comments

Absinthe Cocktails Rum

Master of Cocktails – The Hemingway Daiquiri

Ben Ellefsen

July 14, 2014 1:53 pm

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After a break from Daiquiris on #MasterofCocktails last week, they’re back in force with probably the finest evolution of the drink – maybe with the exception of Artesian’s Frozen Banana…

Master of Cocktails Hemingway Daiquiri

After a break from Daiquiris on #MasterofCocktails last week, they’re back in force with probably the finest evolution of the drink – maybe with the exception of Artesian’s Frozen Banana with Caviar… and I’ll be having a crack at recreating that one in a few weeks’ time incidentally… but this week we’re going with The Hemingway Daiquiri.

He liked a drink or two did old Ernie, and this recipe is a fine legacy indeed. The theory here is essentially unchanged from the standard, only we’re going to be replacing boring old sugar syrup with Maraschino. The original recipe also calls for a splidge of Grapefruit Juice. Not convinced it needs it myself but we’ll stick it in anyway and you can easily omit it if you’ve not got grapefruits in (who does, usually?).

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Cocktails

Can’t Stomach The Football? It’s the World Cup Final of Digestifs!

Jake Mountain

July 11, 2014 4:25 pm

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I’ve done quite well at not boring “the crap out of you” about this “kickball tourney” as Ben suggested I would, haven’t I? I’ve not done quite so well at…

World Cup Fional Germany Argentina Digestifs

I’ve done quite well at not boring “the crap out of you” about this “kickball tourney” as Ben suggested I would, haven’t I? I’ve not done quite so well at keeping those who do have some interest “entertained” though. So, without going too far off the topic of drinks (I don’t think…) I bring to you: The World Cup Final of Digestifs!!!

There is some logic to this, I promise.

Argentina, you see, have reached the World Cup final for the first time since Italia ’90 (which is quite apt, as you’ll see in a sec) so Sunday’s match is going to be quite the event for La Albiceleste. And no Argentinian event is complete without fernet!

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Master of Malt Blog