When did you open The Island Spirit Whisky Shop and what was your inspiration for that? We opened the shop on July 18th 2020, a year ago next week. My inspiration for doing this came from my interest in collecting whisky and visiting distilleries. I had developed a passion for Scotch whisky over the last few years and enjoyed reading about everything to do with the industry.
Can you tell us about the range of whiskies you have in the shop? We stock an extensive range of Scotch single malts and blends, rare and old collectable bottles and small batch releases and limited editions. We also sell some Japanese, Indian and Irish whiskies too. We sell miniatures, gift sets, glassware and other whisky related gifts. We also stock a large range of mainly Scottish gins, rums, cognac, tequila, some wine, Scottish cider and locally brewed craft beer.
What can people expect from the whisky tasting events at the Survival Sessions? People can expect to be enjoying some very special whiskies which they may not normally have the opportunity to try. Without giving away too much, we have included in the line-up, a few limited editions, a distillery exclusive (no distillery visitors due to COVID, so no one has tried!) and a local single cask bottling, also not available in many shops. These special whiskies will be presented by their brand ambassadors who will give us the benefit of their knowledge and expertise. There will also be the chance to win a bottle of award winning Benromach 10 year old whisky, donated by Gordon & Macphail and will be given away to the lucky winner, by one of their sales representatives, Anne Duguid.
They are sold out online, but are there any opportunities for other whisky tasting sessions? We have been organising virtual tasting events with various leading whisky brands, which have been a huge success, throughout lockdown and we plan to keep this going in future. However, after this event, we will be taking a break until the autumn. Keep an eye on our social media pages for news of future tasting events.
You’re marooned on a desert island, which three whiskies would you want with you? Tomatin Cask Strength, Glendronach 15 Revival, Glenallachie 10 Cask strength….I’m sorry, I need to take more than three!! There are too many favourites to choose from !! ?
The age old debate – should you add anything to a malt whisky, and if so, what? If you have to add anything, a couple of drops of water should be enough. However, there are no rules and it is up to the individual whisky drinker what he or she should do. Personally, I prefer my whisky without water unless it is a stronger whisky which benefits from the addition of a few drops of water to reduce the alcohol strength and allow me to taste it easier.
Where can people find out more about The Island Spirit Whisky Shop and future events? At the moment, the best way to keep informed about what we are organising and to read more about us is, to follow us on Social media. We are very active on Facebook, Instagram and recently started using Twitter. We have had our website built but we haven’t launched it yet. We are hoping to do so early 2022 and also start sending out news letters to keep everyone informed of new products, promotions and events.