Why not - there wasn’t a Campbeltown on the table either, and if we’re going into that region we should start with the elusive yet lauded 10 year old, right? Right. Oh and while I’m at it, I’ll bring this Springbank with me too. “Well, let’s get that cracked open”, for there’s not a world whisky on the table just yet. Then I remembered there was a bottle of Nikka, a world whisky no less, sitting unopened in the cupboard from Christmas - a gift from my girls. “Got to stay hydrated - rule number one”, auld Doog said. Flagons of water were delivered between each glass and we were gulping it down at a rate of 10 parts to 1.

Oh, the fun we had and the newbies were really enjoying the process, moving from glass to glass and discovering whisky with wide eyes and affirmative noises. Then on to some smokers: Ardbeg 10 and the Wee Beastie. I said it quite a lot this fateful evening, moving from those 46% malts into some of Alistair Walker’s Infrequent Flyers range, which are all very high ABV whiskies. Unfortunately for me there’s a saying in whisky I’ve learned during my short time as a whisky exciter, and it’s: “Well, if you liked that, then…” and is usually accompanied with a quick walk over to the whisky collection to grab another bottle. I kicked off my “educational tour” with some integrity malts: Arran 10, Lindores MCDXCIV and Lochlea First Edition, all great whiskies to show very efficiently what whisky can offer to those unfamiliar with its greatness. Even though it started great, it certainly didn’t end well, but the audience for the evening did become newly cast whisky exciters so for that I can be proud. We started with a bottle of wine with our meal (between three of us), and then quickly lurched over to whisky. Don’t ask me why - maybe Tyree has some scientific insight he can bestow upon us. For some unknown reason drinking beer/grain spirits before wine, well, that’s fine. There’s an old adage that goes something like: “Wine before beer means ‘oh dear`”, and despite not adhering to this principle for the simple reason I don’t drink beer, the saying extends to grape and grain too.

Nikka whiskey review