The Big Whisky Interview – Can It Get Any Bigger? – Scotch Whisky News
The Big Whisky Interview – can it get any bigger?
Angels whisky club INTERVIEW Charlie Maclean – Hi again Charlie, nice of you to spare me some time for this chat , I thought it well in order and about time we interviewed you, being our Patron. Are you sitting comfortably? Let’s begin…
What first got you interested in whisky? One of my best friends at school was Charlie Grant, whose father owned The Glenlivet Distillery. They were direct descendants of the founder, George Smith. I was first introduced to single malt whisky up at Glenlivet, in the late 1960s. I was brought up on the Isle of Arran, and in the pub of an evening with the locals the custom was to start with beer, then switch to Scotch. Whether you liked it or not! There was no choice. I began writing about whisky in 1981 and then more and more, including booklets for Macallan, Glenmorangie, Allied and United Distillers (as was then).
Next question comes easy (to me); what part of a distillery do you get most satisfaction from? I would say the still house and the warehouse.
Do you have any thoughts about finishing? Port, Sherry etc. More and more finishes are now on offer. In fact, do you have a favourite finish (mine is sherry)? I’m not a great fan of finishing, although it is perfectly justified and produces whiskies which are smooth and easy to drink I admit. I prefer unfinished, or Oloroso finished, if pushed.
Here’s one to test your mind; what would happen if, for example, a distillery used beech or larch in place of oak casks? I believe chestnut has been used, but oak is the best by far. Oak is watertight but not airtight, which allows the whisky to breathe, and chemicals in the oakwood leech into the liquid, adding colour and desirable flavours like vanilla, coconut, dried fruits, etc., depending on whether the oak is American or European.
What do you look for in a new whisky? Maturity, but still traces of the individual distillery character; an intriguing aroma and a taste which develops the aroma. Complexity. Fruitiness. Not too grainy or malty. And, yes peat-smoke – but not all the time!
Apart from our membership (of course) is there anyone in the whisky world you still wish to meet? Past or present. That’s a hard one! There are so many people I’d like to meet. (After a wee while…) Robert Burns!
Weird question time; if Aliens came and took ALL our whisky in the world, what would you then do with your time? Ha, ha! Never been asked that before! Commit suicide? Seriously, I would just have to start writing about something else! Or do nothing!
Weird question part 2; apart from being immersed in distilleries and the trade, what are your outside interests? I like to shoot, fish, cook (and eat), sail; I collect whisky books, and I read a lot – particularly Scottish history (same as Paul then!).
Finally; a winter night in Scotland, it’s snowing and cold enough to scare monkey’s, it’s 9pm and you are sitting in front of the fire, what dram do you have? I pour my first dram of the evening at 6.00 pm, while I’m ‘tidying up my desk’. You may be surprised to hear that what I reach for is a blend. Most of my work is with malt, so when I just want to relax, a blend’s ‘your only man’. If I could afford it, I would reach for Johnnie Walker Black Label.
Many thanks for being honest and putting up with all of this mush, do you have a parting shot? Aye, a happy Christmas and Hogmanay to all of you! Charlie
Charlie was interviewed by Paul McLean, 4pm, 6 December 2012, Edinburgh.
http://angelswhiskyclub.com/awc/charliemacleaninterview.asp
