Jim Murray Tosses A Toffee

I think Mr Jim Murray is being quite rude about the whiskey industry in generalising about Scotch whisky in the manner he has done in his recent whisky bible. 

Mr. Murray wants all distillers to employ a blender who can spot the problem of rotten eggs in their whisky. He goes on to say that distillers have their head in the sand; that increasingly he meets people who are being turned off by this stink bomb nose and bitter finish they cannot tolerate. In one sentence he states: 'We have got to the stage where a significant number of bottles are substandard.' He goes on to state that in the new edition of the Whisky Bible: 'we are facing crisis time. This is no longer an occasional problem, it’s rampant’.

Most distilleries I know of in Scotland employ individuals far more qualified than Mr Murray to do the distilling, blending and maturation job. Rather than seek cheap publicity by being so controversial, name and shame those distillers and give them the opportunity to defend themselves.

To be fair, Mr Murray does name one malt in the 2013 edition of his 'Whisky Bible' - Arran Malt - Devil’s Punch Bowl - the tipples tainted - 'ruinous brimstone'. Not nice sir. Many folk love Arran whiskies but at least they have the opportunity to respond. The rest of the Scotch whisky world wonder what the hell you are talking about.

Picture from the Arran Distillery website picture gallery

By the way - Arran Malt has won many International Spirit Championships including golds and double golds. In 2007 Arran distillery received the "Distiller of the Year" award. So it seems it's a case of one versus many. Or maybe there are rotten eggs somewhere? 

In closing:I purchased the online version of Mr Murray's Whisky Bible and will not do so again. Not because of this but merely because it is not worth it. Michael Jackson's whisky books are still the benchmark but he is no longer around. There are some other awesome whisky writers around that I continue to follow.

Paul Pacult (pictured left) is recognised as America's foremost spirits authority. The F. Paul Pacult's Spirit Journal is considered the premier source of review, evaluation and know how.

Charles MacLean and Dave Broom are also knowledgeable on whiskies and both have written some sterling works.

Cape Town, South Africa

As a break from whisky and in recognition of The Whiskey Notebook's international guests who may never have seen Cape Town at the Southern tip of Africa, here is a video clip that captures the city and environs spectacularly.

The video is the work of Amien Phillips who has submitted a further 38 video clips on YouTube.



I am always amazed at most people who first visit South Africa expecting anything less. Trust you visit this part of the world if you have not as yet.

Sitting next to a man on a plane

How often have you heard that saying, "I was sitting next to a man on the plane . . .". Well I was sitting next to man on a plane last week. I was on my return flight from Johannesburg after four days.

I was ispired by this man's simple take on things and will quote my man on the plane, who said "an entrepreneur just does the things everybody else does, but does it without fail, consistently, and to the best of his ability - I've done this since I was retrenched from a state job and now my construction company turns R800 million per year. It took me years to realise how simple success is to achieve if you just keep punching at it. It's not rocket science at all. It's hard work."

I like!

Life's little sentences

A friend of mine placed a small booklet in front of me, that he had received in the post, and said in a matter of fact manner that the booklet was my kind of scene, not his. I was 25 at the time. It would be many years later before I realised how little moments in life filled with little sentences influence us.

I picked up the booklet and flipped to a page and read the scripted sentence: "The best gift a father can give his children is to love their mother." There were may other sentences in the little booklet though I do not remember any other sentence. That one sentence influenced my married life so profoundly. I am still married to the mother of my out-of-home children.

The other day my nephew, Charl, invited many people to their sons christening. They wanted all the people he and his wife imagined would drift in and out of their sons life present. People who would be their sons "anchors and harbours" over the highs and lows that would face him throughout his lifetime. They wanted all invited guests, friends and family to realise how much responsibility we, and they, collectively carried in bringing up and influencing Callum. I was the first nominated to stand up and say something. I repeated the sentence I read 21 years earlier that had guided me through married life.

Today I sent and SMS to a friend I will also forward to my nephew Charl, it reads quite simply: "To a child LOVE is spelt T.I.M.E." I think I should have spent more time with my children who are now 22 and 19 respectively. I am now 47.

I know that we are born wise to good and evil and we choose a road consciously. I think there are many sentences that guide us in life - heard and read and sometimes imposed. I pray wisdom guides each of us to choose the road best suited for those we love and not for our self love. Let us not expect gratitude nor remembrance. Be grateful for those who have come into our lives. Let us not attempt to own or control another's soul. Let us love those we love unconditionally. Let us therefore understand that we must not control or limit those souls who share this world with us. Allow each soul you meet to glow gloriously.

Remain humble and refrain from arrogance. And sometimes it is good to be deep.