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<figure class="wp-block-video"><video autoplay controls src="https://www.igafencu.com/video/2307/2307_GMHK_Interview_Iancarroll.mp4"></video></figure>



<p>Ian Carroll laughs when asked about the similarities between his two seemingly unrelated but highly successful enterprises – Carroll&amp;Chan, a purveyor of candles, and Soho Wines &amp; Spirits. After some reflection, he says: “Candles and wine – romance, what else?”</p>



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<p>In reality, there were different reasons for the inception of these companies. Having arrived in Hong Kong in 1999 with his wife, Liana, who was posted to the territory with the European Union diplomatic mission, Carroll needed a visa to extend his stay and so decided to set up a business. His wife had noticed there were few places to buy candles and suggested opening a candle shop. The Candle Company was launched in Central in 2002.</p>



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<p>Carroll had already succeeded in various entrepreneurial ventures. Born in Dublin, the amiable Irishman’s early business activities involved buying and selling various goods. During a buying trip to Hong Kong in the mid-’80s, he was blown away by the dizzying spectacle of traders and hawkers in Nathan Road selling watches and myriad electronic products and knew one day he would return.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Booking ahead</h3>



<p>His first major business success came during his time in Brussels, where Liana worked at the European Commission. Establishing one of the first online hotel reservation websites, he benefitted immensely from first-mover advantage and an element of good fortune.</p>



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<p>Speaking from the Carroll&amp;Chan candle store in Lyndhurst Terrace, he says, “I was lucky because I got an agreement with a couple of people in big hotel groups, and one of them had a hotel in Havana. Americans could not book Cuban hotels in America at the time, and because my website was European, I used to get Americans booking trips to Havana regularly.”</p>



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<p>He also struck gold with a hotel on the top of Machu Picchu.</p>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="768" height="512" src="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-76416" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2.jpg 768w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2-420x280.jpg 420w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /></figure></div>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Perseverance pays</h3>



<p>He sold this business after moving to Hong Kong. The candle shop also proved a huge success almost from the outset, though it was not without its early teething problem. Initially, it was challenging to get anyone to supply to his embryonic enterprise.</p>



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<p>Using a phone book, he literally turned up at companies in Kowloon and the New Territories that claimed to be candle manufacturers. No one wanted to know when they discovered he was selling the candles for the Hong Kong market. Then, finally, one supplier asked him if he was selling to the US market. “I said yes. They said – come in!” he recounts.</p>



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<p>Carroll later owned up to the lie, but the supplier still agreed to honour the deal and a 20-foot container lorry soon arrived outside the store’s original Lyndhurst Terrace address. Having no staff at the time, he started unloading the 100 boxes from the container himself whereupon the police showed up and told him to remove the vehicle as it was obstructing the street. The lorry driver drove off and they ended up unloading the candles at a factory in the New Territories – not exactly the most convenient location for his fledgling shop.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Hive of activity</h3>



<p>Business boomed during the store’s first Christmas and as the years passed, he noticed customers were increasingly asking about the adverse effects of burning paraffin. In 2017, he decided to create his own candle brand, Carroll&amp;Chan, with a focus on natural and environmentally friendly products.</p>



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<p>Now all his candles are made from beeswax. “Beeswax is the only wax that is not actually made in a factory,” he says. “It is not processed; it is made by bees in the beehive. The beeswax is melted and made into a candle.</p>



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<p>“It is a natural product; it does not create soot when it burns. It burns brighter because it has a higher melting point, and because of the structure of the wax it burns longer, too.”</p>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="500" height="750" src="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-76418" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/4.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/4-200x300.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/4-187x280.jpg 187w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></figure></div>


<p>Carroll enjoys educating people about environmental matters and highlights the fact that his fragrances are approved by the International Fragrance Association.</p>



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<p>He stresses how harmful other candles made in factories are to the environment: “The forests of Malaysia or the jungles of South America are burned down to grow oil palm trees or grow soy beans. For soy wax candles, the beans are taken to factories and mixed with chemicals and made into wax.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Asia affinity</h3>



<p>All of Carroll’s candles and most of his other products are made in a small workshop in Kwai Fong, though some are produced in the Netherlands for the European market.</p>



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<p>Carroll&amp;Chan has a shop in Amsterdam and there are plans to expand to the China and US markets. Carroll&amp;Chan fragrances and reed diffusers are inspired by the scents of Asia. The reeds are made from rattan, a natural product, and the oil flows up via the reeds and diffuses into the air. “They offer a flame-free experience of lemon grass or lavender or whatever scent you want,” he says.</p>



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<p>“Another important thing about the brand is that it is an Asian brand and inspired by Asia. Asia is home to so many beautifully fragrant flowers and spices.”</p>



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<p>The ‘Chan’ part of the brand name comes from the birth surnames of the Carrolls’ two children, who were adopted in Hong Kong.</p>



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<p>He is particularly fond of the scent of sampaguita, the national flower of the Philippines. “It is a form of jasmine and produces an amazing smell,” he notes.</p>



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<p>Another favourite flower is white michelia, a type of magnolia cultivated in Southeast Asia. “I thought that would be a fantastic scent and we should start it, so I got a French perfume company to take that flower and develop a fragrance. It is very popular.”</p>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="768" height="512" src="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/3.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-76417" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/3.jpg 768w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/3-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/3-420x280.jpg 420w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /></figure></div>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Wine growth</h3>



<p>Carroll’s wine business, which also dates back to 2002, grew out of a grocery store that had formed part of a deal to buy out a candle company in Staunton Street. Initially, he wanted to dispense with the grocery store but saw the opportunity to develop a wine business when he noticed customers were coming in for the wine.</p>



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<p>At the time there were few wine merchants in Hong Kong and it was not considered an attractive business. “It wasn’t difficult, but there was licensing and all sorts of paperwork required,” he says.</p>



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<p>In 2008, the government abolished the duty on imported liquor with an alcohol content under 30%. “So suddenly you could import wine, Martini [Bianco and Rosso], Baileys [Irish Cream]and beer without any paperwork. All you needed was an invoice. Everybody, I think, in Hong Kong who went to Spain, Italy or Portugal became a wine importer,” he recalls.</p>



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<p>Running two successful enterprises is time-consuming, so Carroll recently brought in a local business partner, who mostly handles the wine store. Soho Wines &amp; Spirits is handily located near the Central-Mid-levels escalator and stocks a carefully curated selection of wine. He does not claim to be a wine expert – at first he imported wines that were inappropriate for the Hong Kong market. Now he has the good judgment to let others make the decisions.</p>



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<p><em>Photographer: Jack Law Art Direction: Joseff Musa Fashion Stylist: Jhoshwa Ledesma Videographer: Jack Fontanilla Hair &amp; Make Up: Heti Tsang Venue: <a href="https://carrollandchan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Carroll&amp;Chan</a></em></p>


A Fine Romance: Candles and wine come hand in hand for Ian Carroll through his two successful shops in Central


<p>Cabernet is the variety that put California on the international wine map. It is also the single most widely planted wine grape in Napa Valley and, indeed, around the world. There are more than 450 wineries in Napa, a valley that is 30 miles (48km) long and five miles (8km) across at its widest point.</p>



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<p>But Cab is also a team player. It is the lead grape in nearly all Bordeaux-style blends from Napa. And as long as 75% of the grapes in the bottle are Cabernet Sauvignon the wine label may read Cabernet, although many Napa vintners prefer to label a Bordeaux blend as a ‘Meritage’ or a red blend. At last month’s Collective Napa Valley Together Again Weekend, an auction that raised US$3.8 million (HK$29.8 million) for local charities, I visited one of Napa’s noted wineries, Alpha Omega, for an al-fresco lunch hosted by owners Robin and Michelle Baggett.</p>


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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Alpha Omega appetite</h3>



<p>The scenic winery is located in the prime Rutherford sub-appellation of the larger Napa AVA (American Viticultural Area) and was founded by the Baggetts in 2006.</p>



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<p>Highlighting Alpha Omega’s barrel during fermentation program, winemaker Matt Brain during lunch uncorked the 2018 ERA Barrel Select Reserve, a limited production of 900 cases. We also savoured the 2012 AOX Barrel Select, another limited-production wine available through the winery’s allocation list. “These are barrels that speak to me,” notes Brain. Expressing remarkable texture and density, the AOX was a delicious pairing with the dessert of rich, dense chocolate block cake.Alpha Omega has made its mark with Cabernets that reflect Napa’s powerful, full-fruit style. Brain is bringing his own touch, though. “Definitely I want to continue the fantastic wines that put us on the map, but the difference is to subtly start to layer in my own personal beliefs, to bring in a little bit more balance, more complexity of the vineyard,” he says.</p>



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<p>To that extent, he brings what he calls multiple picks and intentionally assigned cooperage. “I’ve actually been going to vineyards and doing two picks [of grapes] – one smaller, just a little bit earlier in season, and blending it back for a little bit of herb, spices and terroir expression to the wine.” He works closely with individual coopers for custom-made French oak barrels to help enhance the wine’s flavour profile. “If you play in the playground of ripe Napa Cabs, you run the risk of losing individuality,” he opines.</p>



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<p>Brain is a big proponent of barrel fermentation in a warm room. “It speeds up the fermentation process and we get really good concentration,” he says.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="768" height="686" src="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Alpha-Omega-Proprietary-Red-2018_Courtesy-Alpha-Omega_p.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-76360" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Alpha-Omega-Proprietary-Red-2018_Courtesy-Alpha-Omega_p.jpg 768w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Alpha-Omega-Proprietary-Red-2018_Courtesy-Alpha-Omega_p-200x179.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Alpha-Omega-Proprietary-Red-2018_Courtesy-Alpha-Omega_p-313x280.jpg 313w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /></figure></div>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Winemakers for a day</h3>



<p>Before lunch, Brain led a blending session in the winery for a small group, offering the barrel samples of 2022 Cabernets from four different vineyards: two wines with tension and complexity, and two that were hedonistic and rich. While a few of the novice winemakers gravitated towards the leaner wines, most went for the riper, richer rewards reaped from Tench vineyard on Atlas Peak. Brain also offered Malbec and Petit Verdot for blending “to see how blenders shaped the Cabernet”.</p>



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<p>As for the Omega Alpha 2022 Cabernet, which made the top 10 list of lots at the weekend’s barrel auction, Brain states: “It’s a great vintage – approachable and lighter in tannins.”</p>


Hailing The Cab: The big, bold style of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has gripped the wine world

<p>While the 16th-century annexation of Chile by the Spanish Conquistadors was a period characterised by savage brutality and germ-born genocide, it was rather a good time to be an aspirant winemaker. After all, it was these sundry cutthroats and the barely better-behaved missionaries who established the country’s first vineyards in the mid-1500s, laying the foundation for today’s many high-end Chilean wines.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-48507" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-2.jpg" alt="Chilean wines (2)" width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-2.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-2-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-2-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-2-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-2-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-2-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-2-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<p>Any cursory topographical travail of the Andean landscape – the mountainous region that extends across much of western Latin America – will show, however, that the local terroir seems all but inimical to viticulture. Appearances, of course, can be deceptive, and the region’s unique geography actually featured a combination of soil, sunlight, temperature and humidity that allowed grapes to be nurtured to a world-class standard. On top of that, it actually transpired, several centuries later, that the area’s geographic advantages saw it immune to phylloxera, the vineyard blight that brought the global wine industry to its knees at the close of the 19th century.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-48506" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-vineyard.jpg" alt="Chilean vineyard" width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-vineyard.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-vineyard-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-vineyard-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-vineyard-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-vineyard-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-vineyard-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-vineyard-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<p>It is this pestilential insect, though, that the Chilean wine industry owes a huge debt to. Had it not wreaked havoc across the vineyards of Europe, the resultantly unemployed winemakers would never have brought their knowledge, techniques and varietals to transform Chile’s fledgling winemaking industry.</p>
<p>Despite being gifted such talents, political instability and a lack of domestic demand meant it was another 100 years before the industry started to fulfil its potential. From the ’80s on, though, buoyed by robust overseas investment and led by an innovative new generation of wine producers, Chile has inexorably risen to become the world’s sixth-largest wine-producing nation. In 2018, its output topped 12.9 million hectolitres, a massive 35.9 percent year-on-year rise.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-48508" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-and-unique-geography.jpg" alt="Chilean wines and unique geography" width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-and-unique-geography.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-and-unique-geography-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-and-unique-geography-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-and-unique-geography-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-and-unique-geography-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-and-unique-geography-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chilean-wines-and-unique-geography-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<p>The fact that there is demand for such a huge volume is testament enough to the global appetite for Chilean wines. Despite this, admission into the upper echelons of the high-end international wine market – long dominated by the likes of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Tuscany – long eluded Chilean vintners.</p>
<p>In part, this was down to the fact that, until 30 years ago, Chilean wine was a wholly domestic phenomenon, with few bottles ever leaving its shores. Arguably a bigger problem, though, was the reluctance of many of the leading experts in the field to ever visit this most remote of wine-producing nations.</p>
<p><figure id="attachment_48510" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-48510" style="width: 700px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-48510" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Eduardo-Chadwick-of-Seña.jpg" alt="Eduardo Chadwick of Seña" width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Eduardo-Chadwick-of-Seña.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Eduardo-Chadwick-of-Seña-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Eduardo-Chadwick-of-Seña-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Eduardo-Chadwick-of-Seña-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Eduardo-Chadwick-of-Seña-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Eduardo-Chadwick-of-Seña-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Eduardo-Chadwick-of-Seña-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-48510" class="wp-caption-text">Eduardo Chadwick of Seña</figcaption></figure></p>
<p>Fortunately, one particular vineyard – Seña – took it upon itself to change all that. Launched in 1995 as a partnership between Robert Mondavi, a famed Californian wine guru, and Eduardo Chadwick, a member of a well-established winery dynasty, it built its reputation on the quality of its Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignons, its Carmeneres (Chile’s most iconic grape varietal) and its Merlots.</p>
<p>In a bid to boost the profile of high-end Chilean wines in general and Seña in particular, Chadwick resolved to bring their undoubted quality to the attention of the world wine community in a way it would never forget. Accordingly, in January 2004, he staged an exclusive blind tasting event, which saw 36 of Europe’s foremost wine experts faced with samples of 16 different anonymised wines. While half of them were prime examples of such old-world favourites as Lafite, Latour and Margaux, the remainder represented the very best on offer from Chile.</p>
<p><figure id="attachment_48505" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-48505" style="width: 700px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-48505 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Berlin-blind-tasting.jpg" alt="Berlin blind tasting" width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Berlin-blind-tasting.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Berlin-blind-tasting-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Berlin-blind-tasting-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Berlin-blind-tasting-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Berlin-blind-tasting-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Berlin-blind-tasting-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Berlin-blind-tasting-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-48505" class="wp-caption-text">Berlin Blind Tasting, January 2004</figcaption></figure></p>
<p>In an outcome that surely exceeded Chadwick’s most optimistic expectations, the two highest rated wines were both from Chile, with the Viñedo Chadwick 2000 taking the number one slot and the Seña 2001 not far behind it. All told, six of the 10 top choices were Chilean.</p>
<p>This blind-tasting event was restaged in 19 different locations over the next eight years, with each iteration featuring a new selection of wines. In every instance, Chilean wines dominated the top slots. As a result, these vinicultural underdogs have been grudgingly admitted to the premier league of wine-producing nations, with their finest offerings now a staple on the carefully-curated wine lists of many Michelin-starred restaurants.</p>
<p><em>Text: Tenzing Thondup<br />
Photos: Seña</em></p>


Chile Reception: How Chilean wines finally gained worldwide recognition

<p>It’s pretty much an open secret that for the last two years, Burgundy has been on a path of steady growth in the international wine markets. Yet, not all parts of this premium winemaking region have shared the same good fortune, with some sub-regions being brought low by a series of untoward weather events – chiefly frost- and hail-related – that have cut their expected harvests by upwards of 30 percent in both 2016 and 2017.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-43455" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-after-two-years-of-weather-woes.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-after-two-years-of-weather-woes.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-after-two-years-of-weather-woes-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-after-two-years-of-weather-woes-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-after-two-years-of-weather-woes-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-after-two-years-of-weather-woes-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-after-two-years-of-weather-woes-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-after-two-years-of-weather-woes-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<p>Now, though, it seems as if the sun has broken through the clouds for at least one of Bourgogne’s sub-regions – Chablis. The northernmost territory within Burgundy’s five winemaking areas and home to the purest Chardonnay grapes, Chablis’ vineyards have an output of 40 million bottles per annum, representing 33 percent of the volume of white wines produced in the wider Burgundy region every year.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-43457" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-is-the-northern-most-Burgundy-region.jpg" alt="Chablis is the northern-most Burgundy region" width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-is-the-northern-most-Burgundy-region.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-is-the-northern-most-Burgundy-region-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-is-the-northern-most-Burgundy-region-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-is-the-northern-most-Burgundy-region-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-is-the-northern-most-Burgundy-region-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-is-the-northern-most-Burgundy-region-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Chablis-is-the-northern-most-Burgundy-region-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<p>With 2018 having proved unexpectedly clement, at least in Chablis, local winemakers are already discreetly speaking of the “best vintage in 20 years”. Less circumspect is Louis Moreau, proprietor of Domaine Louis Moreau, a 50- hectare estate in the heart of the region. Happy to put his optimism on the record, he says: “While we were a little uncertain after the drought in early summer, ultimately, the vineyard gave us a real gift after two difficult years…”</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-43460" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Burgundys-Chablis-region.jpg" alt="Burgundy's Chablis region" width="700" height="466" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Burgundys-Chablis-region.jpg 700w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Burgundys-Chablis-region-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Burgundys-Chablis-region-421x280.jpg 421w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Burgundys-Chablis-region-120x80.jpg 120w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Burgundys-Chablis-region-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Burgundys-Chablis-region-400x266.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Burgundys-Chablis-region-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<p>And, when the vineyards in this part of the world decide to give, they give very generously. Quite magnificent in its beneficence, when the unique qualities of its terroir properly align, something truly magical takes place.</p>
<p>As it’s notably cooler than other parts of Burgundy, Chablis grapes are seldom overripe. This, in harmony with the signature minerality of the region’s subsoil, has resulted in just about the ideal environment for propagating the perfect chardonnay grape, the element that makes all four Chablis appellations – Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru – so universally admired, and the perfect pairing with many of the world’s favourite foods. Stay tuned for our guide to the perfect food-wine pairings for these delicious vintages&#8230;</p>
<p><em>Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay</em></p>


After two years of weather woes, has Chablis finally regained its footing?

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<p>To celebrate the grape harvest season in France, ÉPURE has introduced a special four-course dinner menu starring the best-quality seasonal grapes and wines, available only throughout September.</p>
<p>Curated by executive chef Nicolas Boutin, the special dishes include David Hervé oysters with Muscat grape jelly and grape, blue lobster fricassee in Gewürztraminer wine butter sauce, Charolais beef tenderloin with red wine butter sauce, etc.<br />
Each dish is paired with a premium range of French wine to take the culinary experience to the next level.</p>
<p>To complete the experience, guests can choose from a wide variety of cheese or opt for a classic dessert like poached pear with creamy vanilla Arborio rice pudding and red Kampot pepper.</p>
<p>The four-course dinner set comes to HK$1,188 + 10% per person, with four-glass wine pairings being priced at HK$620 + 10% per person.</p>


Fruits of flavour: Epure brings the choicest grape-inspired dishes this September

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<div id="gallery-576" class="ngg-gallery">[{"id" : "23429","image" : "https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/gallery/27717-updated-foxglove/Josh-Takes-Photos-4.jpg","caption" : "Josh Takes Photos - 4"},{"id" : "23432","image" : "https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/gallery/27717-updated-foxglove/Josh-Takes-Photos-1.JPG","caption" : "Josh Takes Photos 1"},{"id" : "23434","image" : "https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/gallery/27717-updated-foxglove/Josh-Takes-Photos-2.JPG","caption" : "Josh Takes Photos 2"},{"id" : "23436","image" : "https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/gallery/27717-updated-foxglove/Josh-Takes-Photos-3.JPG","caption" : "Josh Takes Photos 3"}]</div></p>
<p>London-based whisky bar Black Rock has crossed the seas and carved out a temporary home in Central.</p>
<p>Located inside “Frank’s Library” at Foxglove, the pop-up bar offers single malts from Highland and Speyside whiskies, along with some extremely rare malts from the Diageo library.</p>
<p>Dubbed “London’s best whisky bar”, Black Rock is co-owned by industry veterans Tom Aske and Tristan Stephenson, who take a unique approach to storing whiskies.</p>
<p>Selections are grouped by descriptions, which include balance, fragrance, fruit, smoke, spice and sweet.</p>
<p>Drinks are served on a monumental 12-foot-long table, which is by far the most distinctive feature of the bar. It houses two rivulets of whisky – Morello cherries and spices on one side and a house-style blend on the other.</p>
<p>Items on the menu include Hong Kong-flavoured dishes made by local chefs. For every dish sold, $10 will be donated to charity.</p>
<p>Apart from The Singleton, other classics on offer include Johnnie Walker King George V, Lagavulin, Glenkinchie and Cragganmore.</p>
<p>The pop-up bar is open from 22 July to 5 August.</p>
<p>“Hong Kong has such an amazing selection of bars and it’s such a great opportunity to be part of that for a short period of time,” says Aske.</p>
<p>To book, call Foxglove at 2116 8949 or email <a href="mailto:reservation@foxglovehk.com">reservation@foxglovehk.com</a>.</p>
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<div id="gallery-576" class="ngg-gallery">[{"id" : "23429","image" : "https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/gallery/27717-updated-foxglove/Josh-Takes-Photos-4.jpg","caption" : "Josh Takes Photos - 4"},{"id" : "23432","image" : "https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/gallery/27717-updated-foxglove/Josh-Takes-Photos-1.JPG","caption" : "Josh Takes Photos 1"},{"id" : "23434","image" : "https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/gallery/27717-updated-foxglove/Josh-Takes-Photos-2.JPG","caption" : "Josh Takes Photos 2"},{"id" : "23436","image" : "https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/gallery/27717-updated-foxglove/Josh-Takes-Photos-3.JPG","caption" : "Josh Takes Photos 3"}]</div></p>


‘London’s best whisky bar’ makes its way to Hong Kong

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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An Ernest Hemingway-inspired bar, The Old Man, will open in Hong Kong later this month.<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Inspired by the American writer’s style and taste in drinks, The Old Man will be run by cocktail and bar pioneers Agung Prabowo, James Tamang and Roman Ghale.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hemingway is arguably just as famous for his ability to drink as he is for his writing. The author once said: ”Don&#8217;t bother with churches, government buildings or city squares, if you want to know about a culture, spend a night in its bars,” which is what the owners of The Old Man will be hoping people do. &nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The literature-themed bar will be primarily led by Prabowo, with Tamang and Ghale expected to manage day-to-day operations. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It will be located in Aberdeen and the drinks menu pays tribute to Hemingway’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Old Man and the Sea.</span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before founding The Old Man, Prabowo managed the Bar &amp; Beverage programme at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong and he also led Island Shangri-La’s award-winning Lobster Bar &amp; Grill.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The bar is anticipated to include a moody and charming vibe, and a heterogeneous collection of drinks inspired by the late literary genius. </span></p>


Ernest Hemingway-inspired bar to open in Hong Kong

<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-22259 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Wine-July-e1499399762171.jpg" alt="Wine July" width="600" height="900" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Wine-July-e1499399762171.jpg 600w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Wine-July-e1499399762171-200x300.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Wine-July-e1499399762171-187x280.jpg 187w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Wine-July-e1499399762171-400x600.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>
<p>Warm weather is a mixed blessing for the wine and spirits lover. Summer is a season for cold drinks, and the finer points of many favourites tend to be obscured when they are over-chilled. It is not a time for full-bodied red wines – the bigger Bordeaux and Barolos for example – or for undiluted fine cognacs, single malt whiskies or other strong brown spirits.</p>
<p>So what should we be drinking over the next couple of sweltering months? Wine drinkers traditionally gravitate to crisp white wines with relatively high acidity – sauvignon blanc from France’s Loire Valley and New Zealand in particular – or rosé, which has shed many of the negative associations it acquired during the years when pink Portuguese sugar water dominated international sales of the category.</p>
<p>There is now a wide choice of readily available rosé wines. Some of the cheaper ones are still marred by the sickly sweetness of yesteryear, but there are many more dry or off-dry options from both the Old and New Worlds to choose from.</p>
<p>It is true of wine in general that you get what you pay for, but this is particularly true of rosé. Don’t be put off by the underwhelming plonk someone poured for you from a bottle bought in a supermarket for less than HK$70. Be willing to pay just a few dollars more and you will be amazed at the difference it makes.</p>
<p>Good rosé wines at higher but perfectly reasonable price points are available from France, Spain, Italy, Australia and California in particular.</p>
<p>Provence, of course, is well established as rosé country, but red Bordeaux lovers may want to try sipping some of that region’s paler wines in the summer heat.</p>
<p>Chateau D’Esclans in Provence has a stated mission to produce the world’s greatest rosés, and it certainly makes serious wines. For casual summer drinking, Whispering Angel is a good default choice, but seek out Les Clans, or the rarer and considerably more expensive Garrus grand vin, to see what heights can be achieved in this often underrated area.</p>
<p>You don’t have to abandon red wines entirely for the summer, though. Reds that are relatively low in alcohol – generally 13 percent Alcohol by Volume (ABV) or less – can stand being slightly chilled.</p>
<p>Consider pinot noir from Burgundy or the lighter reds of the Rhone Valley as alternatives to heavier Bordeaux blends. The wines of the Beaujolais region are particularly suitable as summer reds and, considering they’re generally underestimated, are often competitively priced. Wines from Fleurie and Morgon are also worth sampling.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-22257 size-full" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Mango-Coco-e1499400059145.jpg" alt="Mango Coco" width="900" height="600" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Mango-Coco-e1499400059145.jpg 900w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Mango-Coco-e1499400059145-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Mango-Coco-e1499400059145-800x533.jpg 800w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Mango-Coco-e1499400059145-420x280.jpg 420w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Mango-Coco-e1499400059145-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Mango-Coco-e1499400059145-400x267.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Mango-Coco-e1499400059145-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /></p>
<p><strong>Tiki cocktails are usually quite potent, but if properly made with fresh fruit juices, they can slip down with deceptive ease</strong></p>
<p>Champagne – which is generally served colder than it should be, even in the depths of winter – and prosecco, which is experiencing a boom in interest worldwide, are obviously appropriate summer tipples. It’s also the season for bubbly-based cocktails, with classic favourites including the bellini, mimosa and Aperol spritz.</p>
<p>Spirits, and spirit-based cocktails which generally pack more of an alcoholic punch, are a more complicated matter.<br />
“Modern tiki” bars are now en vogue, and Hong Kong has two that were featured on the highly competitive Asia’s 50 Best Bars list: Honi Honi and Mahalo Lounge, both created by bartender/owner Max Traverse. The tiki trend has also made its presence felt in other Asian cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.</p>
<p>Because of the strong beach associations of the fruity drinks and the décor of the bars in which they’re served, many people like to unwind after work by spending an hour or two in a tiki bar. The ritual offers a little escapism and a taste of the tropical holiday they’ve been meaning to make time for.</p>
<p>Tiki cocktails, often rum-based, are usually quite potent, but if properly made with fresh fruit juices and plenty of ice, they can slip down with deceptive ease. Beware.</p>
<p>There are some excellent creative cocktails being made in some of these bars, and there’s a good chance you will find yourself at some point this summer drinking a mai tai, zombie or plantation punch. Make sure it’s a good one, and sip it slowly.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-22258 aligncenter" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Olu-Olu-Soon_path-683x1024.jpg" alt="Olu Olu Soon_path" width="683" height="1024" /><br />
Although there is growing interest in spirits which come from warm climates, such as rum, tequila and mescal, bartenders say the two that attract the most interest in this part of the world are of cool climate origin – gin and whisky.</p>
<p>Although gin was originally consumed primarily in the Netherlands and later in England, it came into its own in 19th century India with the development of the gin and tonic – a classic combination now enjoyed worldwide.</p>
<p>We have become much more adventurous in our choice of gins, which are plentiful thanks to a plethora of boutique producers as well as established brands such as Gordon’s Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire and Hendrick’s. There are now gin-themed bars that offer tens or even hundreds of them, including another Asia’s 50 Best Bars venue, Hong Kong’s Ori-gin.</p>
<p>Long gin drinks seem made for summer – not just the gin and tonics, but also fizzes, slings, the French 75, the gin rickey and many others – but brandies and whiskies are more of a seasonal challenge.</p>
<p>It is possible to serve high-quality brown spirits heavily diluted with soda and served over ice to produce a refreshing long drink. One can order a Hennessy XO with ice and Perrier in the Cognac region, but it seems a bit wasteful.</p>
<p>Most single malts drunk with less dilution, even if on the rocks, are too powerful for hot weather consumption. There are still options, though. Lowland single malts are traditionally much lighter in style – though generally not in alcohol – than their</p>
<p>Highland or Island counterparts. Glenkinchie, for example, is often designated a pre-dinner malt because of its light floral style, and it takes well to a cube or two of ice.</p>
<p>A cask-strength 24-year-old edition of Glenkinchie, bottled in 2016, has just been added to the Asian Moet Hennessy Diageo portfolio, although you may want to sip that one with a little chilled spring water instead of ice. Auchentoshan is another gentle Lowland single malt that’s suitable for summer sipping, but it’s best to leave the more intense Laphroaigs and Lagavulins for the onset of autumn.</p>
<p>Summer is also, of course, an ideal time to try a few craft beers – particularly the seasonal ones made by local microbreweries.<br />
While we’ll all be drinking differently during the muggy months of July and August, with a little bit of seasonal know-how, we’ll at least be drinking well.</p>
<p><em>Text: Robin Lynam</em></p>


Sip of summer: Beat the heat with these seasonal drinks

<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21273" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/resize-1.jpg" alt="resize" width="900" height="770" /></p>
<p>Johnnie Walker has launched the 2017 limited-edition John Walker &amp; Sons private collection, Mastery of Oak.The one-off blends were created by Master Blender Dr Jim Beveridge and fellow blender Aimée Gibson.</p>
<p>“Every whisky starts out full of the promise of its distillery character,” said Beveridge. ”Oak casks offer us an astonishing number of ways to differentiate these styles further as they mature, broadening our palette of flavours for blending.”</p>
<p>The blenders used American oak for the first vatting, selecting fine examples of ex-bourbon casks that had contributed rich, creamy, toffee and spice notes to Malt &amp; Grain Scotch Whiskies as they matured. The two men then focused their attention on finding refill casks for the second stage of vatting. And for the final stage, they returned to American oak combinations using experimental casks, particularly new oak that has created an intensity of vanilla sweetness.</p>
<p>The John Walker &amp; Sons collection comprises a limited release of 5,588 individually numbered decanters.</p>


Johnnie Walker releases limited-edition premium whisky

<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21009" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Wine-June-2-e1496915147960.jpg" alt="Wine June" width="599" height="350" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Wine-June-2-e1496915147960.jpg 599w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Wine-June-2-e1496915147960-200x117.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Wine-June-2-e1496915147960-479x280.jpg 479w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Wine-June-2-e1496915147960-400x234.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px" /></p>
<p>Winston Churchill, who was among other things a discerning drinker, was once given a glass of fortified wine from the late 18th century. He is said to have remarked, “My God, do you realise this Madeira was made when Marie Antoinette was still alive?”</p>
<p>Part of the allure of very old fine wines and spirits is that they provide a direct sensory link to history. Wines and spirits dating back to the days of Churchill are rare enough, let alone bottles from the 18th century.</p>
<p>Madeira is remarkable in that it is often still drinkable after more than a century. That is partly because a degree of oxidisation – regarded as a serious fault in most other wines – is an essential part of its character. As recently as 2015, Christie’s auctioned a bottle of Madeira thought to be the oldest still in existence, made before Marie Antoinette was born in 1715. It fetched nearly US$20,000 (HK$155,800).</p>
<p>Most other wines, however carefully stored, would be undrinkable by that age, but spirits can live much longer. However, at the prices old spirits now command, very few people can afford a taste of real spirit history. A Scottish whisky company which recently launched its range in Hong Kong and Macau, through distributor Adega Royale, has come up with the next best thing, though.</p>
<p>The Lost Distillery Company is not another broker of exorbitantly priced old liquids – there are plenty of those – but rather an independent bottler creating facsimiles of Scotch whiskies that went extinct long ago when the distilleries that made them closed. Fortunately, records of how the spirits were made survived.</p>
<p>Using that information, the company is producing whiskies it believes to be close – if not exactly – to what Scots were drinking in the 19th and early 20th centuries. At the very least, it’s close to what those distilleries would probably be making were they still in business today.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21006" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Wine-June-1-e1496914853858.jpg" alt="Wine June" width="688" height="497" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Wine-June-1-e1496914853858.jpg 688w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Wine-June-1-e1496914853858-200x144.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Wine-June-1-e1496914853858-388x280.jpg 388w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Wine-June-1-e1496914853858-400x289.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Wine-June-1-e1496914853858-600x433.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px" /></p>
<p>Inendent bottlers do a service to diversity within an industry in which individuality is prized, but is constrained by the fact that so many distilleries are owned by an ever-shrinking number of corporate behemoths. British beverage company Diageo operates 28 malt distilleries alone, accounting for around one-third of the Scotch whisky industry’s total capacity.</p>
<p>It was not always so, though. Most single malt distilleries were originally independent operators. But during the 20th century, many were bought up by larger corporations, and more than 100 others closed their doors forever.</p>
<p>Some, of course, made spirits of no special distinction and went out of business for that reason. Others, however, made noble spirits but succumbed to external economic pressures. These included the catastrophic effects of prohibition in the United States between 1920 and 1933 under the Volstead Act, two world wars and the loss of captive local markets beginning in the 1860s when railways reached the Scottish Highlands.</p>
<p>All of these pressures contributed to the consolidation of the distilling business through the acquisition – often followed by the closure – of independent distilleries by bigger businesses. That process began in earnest as long ago as the 1920s.</p>
<p>Now, some of that heritage is making a Lazarus-like comeback, according to Ewan Henderson, global brand ambassador for The Lost Distillery Company. The company was established in 2013, co-founded by two Ayrshire Scots, Brian Woods and Scott Watson, with the ambition of reviving what Watson calls “Scotland’s former whisky legends.”<br />
Henderson, an ebullient whisky enthusiast with a colourful turn of phrase, describes the company as “The Indiana Jones of whisky” and likens the research behind the recreated whiskies to “archaeology.”</p>
<p>The Lost Distillery’s archiving team is led by whisky historian Michael Moss, a professor at the University of Glasgow, and its members have compiled data on a steadily growing portfolio of extinct distilleries. Research has established the types of still that were used to make the spirits, the casks used to mature it and each distillery’s sources of peat, barley and water.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21004" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Jericho___book.jpg" alt="Jericho___book" width="900" height="660" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Jericho___book.jpg 900w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Jericho___book-200x147.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Jericho___book-800x587.jpg 800w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Jericho___book-382x280.jpg 382w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Jericho___book-768x563.jpg 768w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Jericho___book-400x293.jpg 400w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Jericho___book-600x440.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /></p>
<p>The whiskies are available in three ranges, each presented in self-consciously retro black bottles in homage to the type that Scotch whisky distillers used before the modern age of diversified packaging. The Classic, Archivist and Vintage lines include spirits from all the Scotch whisky regions – the Highands, Lowlands, islands (including Islay), Speyside and Campbeltown.</p>
<p>“We’ve created a range which goes right across the flavour profile from the lighter styles with floral cereal notes right the way through to the big smoky, peaty Islay style in Lossit,” says Henderson.<br />
The Lossit distillery on Islay closed in the 19th century. Among other spirits in the range, Auchnagie, Gerston and Jericho in the Highlands, Dalaruan in Campbeltown and Speyside’s Towiemore all disappeared during the reign of King George V, which lasted from 1911 to 1936 – although there were two Gerston distilleries, the first of which was scrapped in 1882.</p>
<p>The Lost Distilleries have some support from George V’s great-grandson. The company is based at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, a royal estate of Charles, Prince of Wales, although the Scots – the royalists anyway – prefer to call him the Duke of Rothesay. The association, according to Henderson, “opens a lot of doors.”</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21005" src="//www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/LDC-library_Path.jpg" alt="LDC library_Path" width="461" height="900" srcset="https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/LDC-library_Path.jpg 461w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/LDC-library_Path-200x390.jpg 200w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/LDC-library_Path-143x280.jpg 143w, https://www.gafencushop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/LDC-library_Path-400x781.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px" />“The Lost Distillery makes whiskies which are close to what Scots were drinking in the 19th and early 20th centuries”</strong></p>
<p>The company is not operating its own distilleries. The modus operandi is to blend different single malt whiskies, bought from across the industry to produce spirits with the flavour and aroma profiles that research has determined the “lost distilleries” would produce if they were still in business today.</p>
<p>It’s an interesting experiment. The whiskies are premium priced, but nowhere near the figures old spirits from Scotland’s better known “silent distilleries,” such as Rosebank,<br />
can command.</p>
<p>The heritage recreation theme sets The Lost Distillery Company apart from other independent bottlers such as Compass Box, which is also buying whiskies and marrying them together, but its creations tend to be more experimental and modern than its nostalgic, heritage-influenced counterpart. More traditionally minded bottlers such as Gordon &amp; Macphail and Cadenheads also produce blends, but concentrate on special expressions from single distilleries.</p>
<p>It all adds to the growing diversity of the world of whisky, and as interest spreads to the many new international producers, this initiative serves as reminder that Scotland is still a creative leader with a rich history worthy of spirited celebration.</p>
<p><em>Text: Robin Lynam</em></p>


Tag: wines