2014 FNB Whisky Live SA Preview

It’s that time of year again folks! Yup, the 12th FNB Whisky Live Festival is about to roll into Johannesburg and take up residence at the Sandton Convention Centre for another 3 days from 12-14 November.

What can you expect at Whisky Live this year?

As usual, there is plenty on the go from workshops to private tastings and more. Some things to watch out for include:

• The 2014 edition of John Walker & Sons Private Collection will be showcased at the festival
• Ian MacMillan and Pierre Meintjes will be on hand to walk you through the Bunnahabhain range and their new release, Eirigh na Greine (pronounced Ae-ree ne gray-nyuh) which is Gaelic for “Morning Sky”, matured in red wine casks
• Dominic Walsh, Monkey Shoulder’s ambassador, will show off the versatility of Monkey Shoulder with the option of trying it neat or in an impressive whisky cocktail. To make good cocktails you need a good whisky and Monkey Shoulder certainly fits the bill
• Wild About Whisky legend Steve Adams will be pouring some new-to-SA whiskies in the form of Tullibardine, Tamdhu, Tomatin and Smokehead.
• Some great expressions from Balblair’s Vintage single malt whiskies will be explored with Stuart Harvey, Master Blender for Inver House Distillers (Balblair, AnCnoc, Old Pulteney and others).
• And a SA whisky show would not be complete without our very own Andy Watts – master distiller at the James Sedgwick Distillery (home of Three Ships and Bain’s) – who will share the soon-to-be-released 2015 Three Ships 10yo single malt and some divine work-in-progress samples straight from the distillery

For more details, head on over to the FNB Whisky Live website.

A WHISKY TASTING FELLOWSHIP SCOOP!

Having tasted pretty much every whisky on offer at the festival this year I am always looking for the under-the-counter bottles the distillers and brand ambassadors have with them. Something new. And I always head on over to the World Whisky Awards and Independent Bottlers’ Challenge stands as you are pretty much guaranteed that you won’t see any of their whiskies on local shelves any time soon. And this year is going to be a cracker!

I’ve got my hands on the full listing from the folks at Whisky Live after hacking into their mail server and pulling down all the top secret whisky files. Ok, not true. All I had to do was ask and they kindly sent it to me and now I get to share it with you – the whisky lover.

Your Complete Whisky Live SA WWA & IBC Whisky List

Once you’ve gone through the list, go through it again… and again. Did you see the Speyside 50yo from Master of Malt? How about the Malts of Scotland North British grain whisky? And the Wemyss Malts Peat Chimney (sounds like my kind of whisky!!)? Or maybe the SLYRS Sherry Edition from Germany tickles your fancy? You see what I mean? PLENTY of cool whiskies to try if you’ve already tasted all the standard ranges available in SA.

Let’s dive right in…

Please note: These whiskies were correct – as provided – at time of publishing, they may have changed since or may not be available at the festival. Some of the names are incomplete, but that just serves to arouse more curiosity don’t you think? Here’s hoping you get to try a few of them.

So many whiskies and such little time…

Be sure to drop a comment below and let me know which of the whiskies above you have set your sights on. I’m always interested in finding out what my readers like in their glass, and why.

Please be aware: there is literally one bottle of each of the whiskies listed above, and I can’t tell you which whiskies will be available on any given night. The organizers have got to stretch the supply out across all three nights, so don’t take too long to get over to the WWA and IBC stands for a tasting. You have been warned!

I look forward to seeing you all there. I’ll be wandering the floors – just look for the tall handsome chap with a big grin on his face and a dram in his hand.

Sláinte!