This year I really felt like I truly experienced winter! I spent late October to early November in my hometown of Winnipeg, Canada – which greeted me from the air with snowy whiteness! Plus remained in Nurnberg, Germany all the way til the last week of December – til I finally flew home to Mumbai, India.

It was a good quarter whisky-wise! This year I didn’t make it to that many whisky shows, however, I was NOT going to miss London’s Whisky Show 2023!! It was followed by a very special evening with the founder both of the show and The Whisky Exchange – Sukhinder Singh – always such a pleasure. Here are a few highlights:

• Our Dream Drams: Adelphi – Miltonduff 40 year 50.4% & The Macbeth Collection – Linkwood 31 year 48.2%, BenRiach 31 year 53.1% 
• From the 1st floor:
  • Decadent Drinks, BenRiach, Diageo, Hunter Laing, Aberlour, Indri 
• Then from the 2nd floor:
  • The Whisky Show Bottlings, That Boutique-y Whisky Co (TBWC) – New Core Range, “Return to Oz” + “Cinema”, The Whisky Exchange Exclusives, Lochlea, Single & Single, Woven
• Plus a respite at the Adray Lounge and a pitstop at the Mainstage for an amusing panel discussion about the life of a brand ambassador!

Wow! We are already contemplating whether to come back in 2024 for just 1 day or attempt the weekend.

Then later in October, I made it to my 1st Schottland weekend – a remarkable weekend gathering of whisky friends in Franconia. A few highlights included:

• A mix of malts – HIghland explorations
• Glen Grant 5 year (1975) old young dram
• Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS)  
• A Bunnahabhain trio
• A peat progression – Aisla Bay, Ardbeg, Bruichladdich Octomore

This was followed by a trip to Winnipeg, Canada where I joined The Cabinet meeting in November. Our theme was “Alt Islay” to which I brought two Chorltons: An Ardmore and Staoisha plus a North Star Caol Ila. Our lads anchored our alternative Islay expressions with a Bruichladdich The Organic 2010 and Ardbeg’s Ardcore.

Curious about Finch‘s Schwabian distillery, I picked up an Octet sample pack and shared it one wintery November evening with friends. Our favorites were the Emmer Edition, Spelt Port, and Sherry.

Back in Nurnberg, I had not one but three whisky-tasting sessions. The first was dedicated to India as part of a Diwali celebration featuring:

• Indri Trini 46% – India’s newer foray into Single Malts with ‘three wood’ whisky
• Kamet 42.8% – An earlier entry from the same folks behind Indri
• Paul John Christmas 2021 46% – Trio of ex-bourbon, Port wine and Madeira barrels
• Amrut Port Pipe Peated 2019 48% – Just as the name says, finished in Port Pipe and peated! Exclusive for The Vault Biennale Festival Release

PS – I later followed this experience with a special Paul John Christmas Eggnog indulgence – what a treat!

The second was a more sociable evening with a group of gals keen to learn more about whiskies. For this evening, I brought out bottles previously tasted:

• That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s World Whisky Blend – this is from my 2nd bottle picked up to have as a calibration dram. It is so popular, that I now regret missing picking up another bottle in a recent online sale!
• Gordon & MacPhail’s Discovery Quartet: Aultmore, Miltonduff, Glenrothes, Caol Ila

The third was another session with our International Nurnberg whisky-tasting group which focused on exploring closer to our European home. We explored:

• As an appetizer/palate calibrator, I offered the last drops from a trio from France: Bellevoye’s Blue (French Oak) 40%, White (Sauternes) 40%, Red (Grand Cru) 43% 
• Switzerland’s Säntis 6 year Snow White No. 8 Pineau 48%
• Denmark’s Fary Lochan 6-year (2016/2022) Moscatel Finish, Batch 5, 62.1% 
• Nurnberg’s own whisky – Ayer’s Alligator 57.7%
• Bonuses from France with Arc Royal VS Cognac 40%, Portugal’s Marques Campoalto Madeira, and Germany’s Beerwenweine honey whisky spirit 38%

My 2023 ended with a trip home to India with tasting sessions planned for early in the new year! I can’t wait!

Here is wishing you and your loved ones a fabulous new year!

Curious to know more? Check out a few more summaries:

• Whisky Live – July to September 2023
• Whisky Lady – April to June 2023
• Whisky Lady – January to March 2023
• Whisky Lady – October to December 2022
• Whisky Lady – July to September 2022

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