Thirsting for extra spirits awesomeness? Hold on to your hats – the Master of Malt blog is getting set to pack a cask strength punch, writes Kristiane Sherry as she joins the editorial team.
Do you remember your first dram? Mine was on board a cruise ship somewhere across the Baltic Sea. I had been sent to report on the notoriously raucous Cinderella Viking Line Whisky Fair – if you’ve not heard of it, picture hundreds of whisky enthusiasts setting sail from Stockholm on board a giant ferry for 24 hours. Now throw in some of the world’s most mouth-watering drams, near-unlimited sampling and the most rambunctious disco to ever hit the northern hemisphere. It’s chaos – and the best kind of fun. But it’s also not the most formal setting in which to sample whisky for the first. time. ever.
In at the deep end I might have been, but it made quite the impact. Five years later, after catching the whisky bug on that voyage, and subsequently exploring goodness knows how many drams – and even branching out into (gasp!) other spirits* – I am thrilled to now find myself coming up for air at Master of Malt.
As a zealous follower of all things whisky and spirits related, Master of Malt became an essential resource in my liquid education. Being able to order the most intriguing things by the dram saw my whisky ‘library’ expand at speed, and tastings and at-home blendings became a regular fixture on the social agenda – much to the bemusement of ‘non-whisky’ friends.
One of my geekier/more magnificent whisky moments – climbing inside the kiln at the Laphroaig distillery
And I became ceaselessly thirsty for every last drop of detail about a specific release and desperate for distillery trivia. As many a whisky fan will know, the internet is a haven for obscure spirits information. The world wide interweb is indispensable – and an immense time sap as one gets caught up in ‘debates’ over the benefits (or otherwise) of niche wine cask maturation, peculiar yeast strains, no-age-statements, and other such topics of conversation. (This happens a lot. The best thing to do is to just let go and join in. That super-important task you were doing before clicking on that blog post? It really can wait.)
Master of Malt has always brought these two elements together – the sourcing of whisky, and the information and interaction around it. Marrying those two even more thoroughly – like an exceedingly good blended malt in a solera vat – is top of the agenda. So over the coming weeks and months expect to be able to get your teeth (taste buds?) into more and better content on the blog. News and views and the people behind them are at the heart of all things spirits – and collectively we are never shy in sharing opinions. Which we love! We want to make Master of Malt an essential hub for information and conversation. This is our mission statement – and I can’t wait to see it all come into fruition.
Whisky moves fast. Remember your first dram? Whether it was five hours or fifty years ago, just consider the wealth of new whiskies, the number of distillery openings, and the growing plethora of cocktail menus showcasing the water of life that have sprung up since. (And if your first dram really was five hours ago – WELCOME! Whisky is a vast world, we’re delighted you’re now part of it.)
So while you’re browsing for your latest treat, do keep an eye on what’s going on over on the blog. We hope you’ll also notice a revamp of all kinds of other content across the site too – if obscure distillery histories are your thing, we hope to cater to that, as well as sharing with you the latest developments and general whisky happenings. And most importantly – get involved. Leaving comments and striking up spirited conversations are all part of the fun.
Enjoy!
Kristiane
*We really do love other spirits too. So alongside Scotch, Bourbon, Japanese, European and a whole host of other whiskies, you’ll find posts on gin, rum, Tequila and other spirited lovelies. Even if you’re not one for branching out, trust us on this. You’ll like them.
