An appreciation of prose is learned, not instinctive. It is an acquired taste, like Scotch whisky.
Abigail Padgett (American writer, 1942- )

There's reviews and tasting notes, there's scores and classifications. And we're happy, of course, to receive good points for our whiskies! But whatever sincerity and expertise are put in these reports, you still need to taste the whisky yourself to make up your mind whether you like it or not.

This just to make the point that most everybody has got his or her philosophy about whisky and what makes it worthwile. So have we, at Brachadair, and we invite you to read on about our philosophy.

Logic, like whiskey, loses its beneficial effect when taken in too large quantities.
Lord Dunsany (Irish fantasy writer, 1878-1957)

In my humble opinion there are two kinds of whisky philosophy (or any other alcoholic drink or mind expanding substance, for that matter) : philosophy about whisky and philosophy because of whisky. For practical reasons I will limit myself to the first kind, and keep the latter for occasions where we can have a dram together.

I'll share with you our views on drinking strength, whether or not to add something to your whisky, age requirements, drinking or collecting ... always keeping in mind that what works best for you doesn't necessarily work for someone else.

Love makes the world go round? Not at all. Whisky makes it go round twice as fast.
Compton McKenzie (Scottish author and nationalist, 1883-1972)

Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake.
W.C. Fields (American Comic and Actor, 1880-1946)

From the start we decided to bottle all of our malts unchillfiltered, at cask strength, so that a maximum of flavours and aromas remain in the bottled whiskies. This way anyone who buys a bottle of Brachadair can decide for himself, or herself, what the ideal drinking strength is, for this particular whisky.

It is true that whisky improves with age. The older I get, the more I like it.
Ronnie Corbett (Scottish actor and comedian, 1930- )

The consensus seems to be that whisky improves with age. I don't accept this as a general rule. On the one hand there's already a difference in quality in new spirit, resulting in one young whisky being 'tastier' than the next. On the other hand some cask are just 'tired', 'over the edge' after 25, 30 years and give of flavours that aren't favourable to the whisky.

In my modest opinion, and recognizing the professional knowledge of whisky makers in general, you need more expertise to make a whisky that's drinkable at a young age. So whisky does not necessarily improve with age, and we at Brachadair consider age as one of the less important factors determining our cask selection.

There are two things a Highlander likes naked, and the other one is Malt Whisky.
Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart (British journalist, actor, secret agent, diplomat, 1887-1970)

The water was not fit to drink. To make it palatable, we had to add whisky. By diligent effort, I learnt to like it.
Sir Winston Churchill (British politician, statesman, historian, writer and artist, 1874-1965)

On the subject of adding water and/or ice to whisky, a lot has been said and written. Water, in modest quantities, has the property of opening up aromas, allowing for a broader experience. And since our whiskies are bottled at cask strength, adding a little water can bring the alcohol level down to what for you might be the ideal drinking strength.

Whenever someone asks me if I want water with my Scotch, I say I'm thirsty, not dirty.
Joe E. Lewis (American Comedian and Singer, 1902-1971)

I'm on a whisky diet. I've lost three days already.
Tommy Cooper (British prop comedian and magician, 1921-1984)

Ice, objectively, has two properties you might not like when you're trying to discover new flavours and aromas : it numbs the palate thus toning down flavours, and when it melts, it starts adding water to your whisky, probably more than you would like.

This being said, who am I to tell you how to drink and appreciate your whisky. Just as long as you don't mix your Brachadair with cola ...

I love to sing, and I love to drink scotch. Most people would rather hear me drink scotch.
George Burns (American comedian, actor and writer, 1896-1996)

A good gulp of hot whisky at bedtime - it's not very scientific, but it helps.
Sir Alexander Fleming (Biologist and pharmacologist, discoverer of penicillin, 1881-1955)

I've often wondered why I never open any of the bottles of my (modest) whisky collection. I hadn't set out to collect whisky with te intention of selling the bottles later on. But on the other hand, over the years some of the older bottles have increased in value significantly and opening them ... well let's just say it would make me feel uneasy. I've always said I would start opening bottles once I reach a certain age ... and I guess that day hasn't come yet.

Happiness is having a rare steak, a bottle of whisky, and a dog to eat the steak.
Johnny Carson (American television host and comedian, 1925-2005)

I always take Scotch whiskey at night as a preventive of toothache. I have never had the toothache; and what is more, I never intend to have it.
Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer, 1835-1910)

I can best make my point by quoting a popular wisdom my mother likes to use (but then in Flemish) : "It wasn't made for the pigs." If this is true for anything than certainly it's true for whisky. Open up those bottles, enjoy your whisky, preferably with friends or kindred spirits (nice choice of words, even if I say so myself). A lot of people put a lot of effort in making something that is just too good to be left standing on a shelf for years, until someone pays a lot of money for it, just to put it on a shelf again.

There is no such thing as bad whiskey. Some whiskeys just happen to be better than others.
William Faulkner (American short-story Writer and Novelist, 1897-1962)

Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough.
Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer, 1835-1910)

There is no such thing as bad whisky. There's only whisky that you like, or that you don't like, at a certain point in time. We at Brachadair, have the utmost respect (and some jealousy, I must admit) for all those people who have made it their life's work to make a quality product they believe in, and loved by so many. Professionals in the whisky industry put a lot of expertise, and love, in the creation of their version of uisge beatha, the water of life. Never bad, just to your taste or not.

Whisky is liquid sunshine.
George Bernard Shaw (Irish playwright and co-founder of The London School of Economics, 1856-1950)

I'm no Descartes or Kierkegaard, I don't have the vision of Confusius or Plato. That's why I want to quote Friedrich Nietsche : 'The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.' Making whisky is art. We should be grateful for all expressions, and don't behave as spoiled brats who only want the oldest and most expensive bottles.

If you made it this far and read all of my scribblings, you must be in desperate need of a dram.

Enjoy your whisky ... enjoy Brachadair!!