“At home, listening to music and drawing, while drinking whisky. I do the illustrations for Bao, so it’s pleasure as well as work.”

Erchen Chang, co-founder of Bao London, answering the question, ‘in what place are you happiest?’ in The Financial Times

This week one of my close neighbours is competing in The Horse of the Year Show.

So to spur (oh dear!) him on I’m putting up a post on Bowmore Black Rock whisky. You may think the connection seems a bit tenuous but, read on, all will become clear.

The Saucy Dressings whisky consultant has recently been to a tasting in London and reported that one particular whisky – Bowmore’s Black Rock – reminded her strongly of the stables. At the risk of sounding like a Jilly Cooper pastiche, aiming to out-ride her steamy Riders, I have to report that this whisky tasted like:

“warm leather saddles, wet hay and straw, slightly salty (horses back from a gallop?), smoky autumn bonfires in the grazing” – all very evocative so no wonder this whisky was deemed the favourite.

At any rate, searching through the internet, looking at other reviews, I see the standard comments re ‘raisins’, ‘figs’, ‘peat’, ‘smoke’, etc…. but it seems this is a first for the Ardmore Black Rock reminding anyone of a stables. This reviewer was pretty negative, but most were positive, albeit

Black Rock is an Islay malt produced by oldest island distillers, Bowmore. It’s mostly matured in first-fill, Spanish oak, oloroso-soaked barrels (some Kentucky-sourced bourbon-soaked oak is also used). The makers don’t publish the number of years spent maturing so it’s most likely under 12 years old, and, being a youngster, maybe lacking a little sophistication and depth..

The whisky is poetically named after the Black Rock of Islay which rises majestically out of Loch Indaal.

It seems to sell at just over £50 a (litre) bottle and it has an ABV of 40%.

For more on whisky follow this link.

^{This post wishes good luck to Julian!}