SPRING 2011 / 2012 7 CIGAR & SPIRITS MAGAZINE

SPRING 2011 / 2012 7 CIGAR & SPIRITS MAGAZINE

by Nick Hammond

ACigar&SpiritsPilgrimageto Scotland

Enjoying a Tour of Scotland’sAuchentoshan Distillery

Nick is a cigar journalist from the United Kingdom. He regularly writes – sometimes as Monty Cristo - on both Cuban and non-Cubancigars for a variety of publications and websites. In the last edition of Cigars& Spirits, he travelled to Cuba to indulge in pleasures of theleaf. In this issue, the amber nectar north of the border in Scotland is in his sights.

’m sitting in a secret lo-cation in Scotland – se-cret, because if I tell youwhere it is, I will haveto...well you get the

point, it’s confidential. I’m revelling in a sweet, creamy Trinidad RobustoT by the side of a gently crackling log fire. I’m also enjoying the sweet,heather-and-bees, bog-myrtle taste of a Glen Garioch whisky.

I’m quite literally on a cigar and spirits pilgrimage to Scotland. And despitea puritanical smoking ban that makes even thinking about having a smokewith your dram an offence to the Scottish Smoke Police, I’m enjoying my-self just fine thank you very much. Let’s start at the beginning.

I love travelling by train. It’s a relief in modern day life to be able to sitback and take in the view. And when you’re travelling First Class all theway from England to Scotland, you can be sure of a view worth taking in.We’re ploughing north on a freezing winter’s day. Snow pinions the coun-tryside as far as the eye can see. We pass bleak and unforgiving coppicesand climb alongside dark-washed coastal towns. I doze in the warmth ofthe carriage, look out of the window, doze some more.

Finally, as the day ebbs, we pull to a stop amidst the bright lights of thebustling capital city. Amazingly, it’s warmer here, with no snow but athick pall of grey cloud that occasionally weeps. A local might call itDreach. I call it exciting.

Nothing makes me feel at home in a new city quicker than finding a goodplace for a cigar and a coffee and Edinburgh is no exception.The Robert Graham store I soon discover has a beautiful little walk inhumidor, well stuffed with quality Cuban merchandise and there’s a great

I coffee house a few doors up. I’m just in time to partake of astomach-rumbling Partagas D5 under cover while I contemplatethe morrow.

I believe firmly in the adage ‘When in Rome’ and, smoke finished andlodgings for the night established, I’m directed to a recommended localeatery in order to pay homage to a classic Scotch dish. Haggis is tradi-tionally served with mashed potato and turnips (neeps and tatties) anda dram on the side. It is a fine, spicy, warming end to the day and I sleepthe sleep of the righteous.

Auchentoshan DistilleryOnce you’ve smelled a whisky distillery, you won’t forget it. This morn-ing, Auchentoshan is in full production as the breeze wafts the sweet-sour malted barley in eddies around the old whitewashed building.The distillery is between Glasgow and Edinburgh and part of the Mor-rison Bowmore conglomerate. It produces the namesake titled range oflowland whiskies; sweet, vanilla and citrus whiskies in direct – but de-lightful – contrast to the windblown, seaswept Island malts.

Unusually for Scotch, Auchentoshan triple distils. It’s done regularlyfor Irish whiskey, but rarely in this part of the world. The vast, polishedcopper stills have changed little in centuries and add grandeur to thescene on this dull grey day.

I’m joined to watch over them by Ron Morrison, whisky expert extra-ordinaire, and the man behind the aforementioned Robert Grahamcompany, which sells Cuban cigars, fine chocolates, and a bewilderingarray of Scotch in its Edinburgh and Glasgow stores.

“We produce our own single casks chosen from a selection of top dis-tilleries,” he explains as we leisurely tour Auchentoshan, taking the odd

SPRING 2011 / 2012 7 CIGAR & SPIRITS MAGAZINE

dram to add keynotes to our progress. “That means I get tochoose the individual casks from each vintage, taste them, andthen decide how to treat them, where they should be stored andin which wood. We literally create our own whiskies from thepick of the distilleries in the country.”

I’m privileged to sample Auchentoshan and other MorrisonBowmore bottlings with Ron, and later we sample some extraor-dinary Robert Graham expressions. It’s a revelation to me to trybottles I’ve never heard of but that nonetheless possess identifi-able flavours from many of the famous distilleries.

While we enjoy our secret indoor moment with a cigar and malt, Rontells me, under oath, where some of his prestigious bottlings come from.Once again, if I tell you, I’d have to…well you get the line. Either way,you’ve definitely heard of them.

The winner as the night wears on is a Hoebeg, a hearty creation thickwith oils that compliments my Partagas P2 perfectly. I’m flushed with asuccessful day – and not a little whisky – and my education in Scotchhas continued apace.

With 90 or so distilleries spread across Scotland, each with its ownunique nuances, traditions, methods and flavors, Scottish whisky is a be-wildering journey to a relative newbie like me.

Robert Graham Ltd can be contacted via the web at www.whisky-cigars.co.ukTours of Auchentoshan distillery are held daily. For more details, visit http://www.auchentoshan.co.uk

SPRING 2011 / 2012 7 CIGAR & SPIRITS MAGAZINE SPRING 2011 / 2012 7 CIGAR & SPIRITS MAGAZINE

But, like cigars, it’s also a journey to be savoured, not rushed. There isa lifetime’s worth of whiskies, just waiting for you to find them, fromthe pungent seaweed smokes of Islay to the light and oaty lowlanddrams. The beauty, of course, is of educating your palate and learningwhich best pleases you.

Of course, having an expert in your corner doesn’t hurt either, partic-ularly when he keeps reaching for bottlings and cigars to try next. It’sbecome one of those nights where it’s best to forget about tomorrow.It’s a lifetime away.

Right now we’re in Scotland, drinking its lifeblood. Slainte.