ABOUT ME
A Whisky Odyssey for nerds and geeks...
The snow fell, steadily, all through the night. The glass was half full, the lights dimmed, and I brought my nose to the glass. The smell of heaven arose from it, followed by a taste so multilayered and delicious one could easily cry. The finish lingered on, only to be interrupted by the next sip, a new infusion, the next meeting with a golden nectar distilled so many years ago.
The thing is, I do not exactly remember which whisky I had in the glass when I realized it could be fun to do more with it than “just enjoy”. More than just entering some thoughts and tasting notes in the Whiskybase. I am in the lucky position to have tasted some extraordinary whisky in the past 20 years, but what could I do with these memories? I walked to the attic and dug up some old notebooks. Full with sometimes not more than a few scribbles about a legend that I tasted at this or that festival, during evenings with friends, at visits to distilleries in Scotland alongside casks maturing new legends.
The sample drawer is still full with some of those stunners, while the ship has probably sailed on some giants that have become unattainable. In any case, this is where I decided to start chronicling my “whisky odyssey”, to preserve memories, to make a journal about all the great drams that were, that are and that will be made in (predominantly) Scotland. Any excuses for emptying that full drawer, right? And in the meantime also enjoy the new stuff.
So, welcome to this brand new whisky blog!
Any whisky enthusiast I knew, at one point or another, started reading up on their beloved subject. Books and articles by nationally and internationally known authors educated me on all the ins and outs of the whisky world. I suppose I was also lucky to have my cradle stand in The Netherlands, with a long and particularly documented dedication to whisky – and more specifically single malt. With decades of experience in importing and selling whisky, Van Wees is an household name. From these roots also grew the tree of a magnificent whisky club of enthusiasts: the Usquebaugh Society. Founded over 30 years ago in 1990, it was a club that even boosted its own magazine. De Kiln might well have been the first published whisky magazine in the world. I had the distinct honor or being editor in chief of this magazine during two “reigns”. We made some great publications, just for fun, no commercial ties with anyone, just whisky geeking and nerding going on. Some of guys I worked regularly with on that magazine, are my inspirations online as well, Thijs with his Words of Whisky blog and Sjoerd with Maltfascination, who in recent years kindly allowed me to publish some blogs on his deliciously geeky page. Kindred spirits.
I hope to entertain with my way of doing things here. I would love if you travel with me, spread the
word, meet up and share a dram, whenever, wherever. I intend to do some rhythms in my publications. Look forward to the “Something Special Saturday” on which I will (re)visit old drams and legends. And for a while (as long as samples last), I will make Wednesday my regular Campbeltown Day. When the occasion presents itself, I might venture into book reviews or visit whisky related subjects. Suggestions are very welcome!