This was the first event I attended..I think it was the second one they held..so it was probably 2001. I remember being very excited at a trip down to London. It was amazing, held in the Royal Horticultural Halls, I felt like a kid in a sweetie shop. I can't remember much as I was just there to taste and enjoy...and I did!
The second time I went I can remember meeting up for the first time with friends from the Wednesday night chat on The Spirit of Islay This was the first time I would meet Gordon Homer..the first of many. The big Geordie and his wife Mel are now two of my best friends from the world of whisky. I also met Keith and Ali Holden and was meant to meet Francis and Hazel Cuthbert. At this time Francis used to use the moniker 'Beefy' on the chat....so I was scouring the venue for a bloke of rather larger proportions. I know now that Beefy pertains to the cattle he keeps on his farm....a farm that has since evolved into the very fine Daftmill distillery That meeting would be preserved for another time and place.
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| Sample bottles indeed!! |
At this stage I was not a note taker...I never wrote down or ticked off the drams that I sampled..but two stands that stick in my mind were Compass Box and Douglas Laing This was the first time I would sample the wares of John Glaser and discover the delights of 'under the table' drams. I can recall being at the stand when a gentleman was given one of these special drams and John being the gentleman he is offered me one too. A whisky infusion but not with oranges, this one had lemons and it was lovely..I still badger him to this day to do it again. He also gave me a wee bag with samples of Eleuthera, Asyla and Hedonism to take away and I can safely say that at this point I became a CB addict. At the Douglas Laing stand I can recall having my first taste of Port Ellen...gorgeous luscious stuff. But it was meeting Andrew Laing that gave me a lucky break. We got talking and when I mentioned that I came from St Andrews he told me that he was studying there and that I should join their Quaich Society and oh boy have I had some fun at the Quaich in the past 7 years :-) Anyway...back to London and it is time to attend my first masterclass. Signatory with Iain Henderson and Andrew Symington. Iain was one of the people in whisky that I had read about in Whisky Mag. I liked his story, you could tell he had a passion for his job and that struck a chord...that and he had also worked on the railway in my hometown of Burntisland and lived in the town next door, Aberdour. I got the impression that Iain was a man who loved talking to people one to one rather than adressing the assembled crowd. At this point I was feeling the effects of the days drams so I poured the remainders into some sample bottles supplied by Keith. I gave Iain a book of pictures of old time Burntisland that I had picked up from the paper shop that I delivered papers for as a kid. This is when I found out that it was actually Aberdour he had lived in..but the thought was appreciated and there were plenty of photos of old trains.
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