Yacht to see where Sara's going

Glengoyne marketing manager, Sarah Bottomley is spirited off to New York next week to host a whisky blending at the prestigious New York Yacht Club.

The event, which has been organised by the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, is part of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and is helping to promote Glasgow: Scotland with Style campaign. More than 150 guests are expected to attend.

The New York Yacht Club, whose members include the “movers and shakers” of Manhattan Society, are likely to get a pleasant surprise when they meet 26-year-old Sarah, as typically most whisky experts are middle-aged men!

She will talk the guests through the nosing of a range of different whiskies and will then help them to make up their own blend.

Every guest will have their masterpiece bottled in a 100ml personalised sample bottle for them to take home. A winning blend will be selected on the night with the winner receiving a Glengoyne Master Blender certificate and bottle of 29-Year -Old Glengoyne family reserve Single Highland Malt whisky.

Sarah said: “I am so excited that Glengoyne has been invited to take part in this event. Having worked for Glengoyne for the last eight years, I think I know all there is to know about the dram and can’t wait to share some of this knowledge with the residents of New York.”

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race takes 10 identical 68ft racing yachts, all backed by international cities, islands and countries, on the world's longest circumnavigation race. The Yachts will visit 12 international ports along the way including Singapore, Qingdao in China, Victoria in Canada as well as New York.

The Glasgow:Scotland with Style Clipper set off in September from Albert Dock in Liverpool and is due to return in July 2006 after sailing over 35,000 miles.

For further information on Glengoyne visit www.glengoyne.com

For further information on the Clipper yacht race visit www.clipper-ventures.co.uk

IT'LL BE ALL WHYTE ON THE NIGHT

It’s £32,000 a bottle, there were only 12 made, and Toshie has tasted it. The Dalmore 62 year old, the most expensive dram in the world, was the jewel in the crown when Glasgow’s Whisky Club organised a tasting night for Holyrood Magazine, the influential political publication that circulates among the good and the great in Scotland’s political village.

Richard Paterson, whisky legend and master blender for Whyte and Mackay, kindly agreed to host it at his brand new sample room in Glasgow. Apart from Glasgow’s Whisky Club members Alex, Toshie Andy and Ken, there were journalists from the magazine, other media representatives, local council politicians, press officers and public relations exectuives and even a Professor of Economics.

After a comprehensive history lesson, Richard showed us into his new sample room where the alchemy that is whisky blending is carried out.

On offer for tasting was the new range of Whyte and Mackay in its new packaging for a major brand re-launch. In addition to the well-respected standard bottling, now renamed Special, there were bottles of 13, 19 and 22. The magnificent 30YO capped the line up. The distillers’ single malts were also on show, including the Tamnavulin, Dalmore and Jura, which club members have already enjoyed under the expert tutelage of Willie Tait.

Richard’s talk was both all-encompassing and illuminating, but his fun side came to the fore when he invited Toshie to sample an unknown malt. This turned out to be the 62YO derived from 1868, 1878, 1926 and 1939 casks. Over the years it has been racked several times and finally finished in an Oloroso "Mathusalem" Sherry butt from Gonzalez Byass, Spain. Distilled and matured by The Dalmore Distillery, at Alness. It is bottled at natural cask strength of 40.5% volume.

It was a deep, deep colour, with a rich honey nose and Terry’s chocolate orange in the centre. The taste was sensational. Held in the mouth, it laid an oily coat over the tongue and when swallowed there was more chocolate orange with spices and a warm nutty aftertaste. Accompanied by a giant party popper, it ensured the night went with a bang

Sadly Toshie’s palate may never recover, rendering as mortal every other dram he ever sips. He’s prepared to battle through this disappointment, however.

Simply stunning.