Nearly two years ago, Jason Johnstone-Yellin of guidscotchdrink.com had a great idea: bring together 12 prominent whisky bloggers and hold a monthly conversation regarding whisky; the ins, the outs… everything and anything whisky-related.

In case you’ve missed the previous year’s Whisky Round Table Discussions: click here to catch up.

This month, rather than ask a question of us, Whisky Round Table Knightess and Knight from Whisky For Everyone (Karen and Matt) challenged us to a task.  Being the type of person that always picked “DARE” in the game of Truth or Dare, I said GAME ON!  Cha-longe!!

Here is what we knights were asked to do:

Pick two or three members of your family and select a whisky drink (this can be straight dram, with a mixer or elaborate cocktail) or whisky & food pairing that you think they will like. Try to mix it up – pick an auntie who ‘hates whisky following a bad experience’, your brother who always asks “what’s the best thing you’ve tried this week?” or your dad who you are just trying to impress. You get the idea … hopefully! Make them begin to understand about the fantastic spirit that is whisky and why we all love it so much.

You can read all of our answers here.  Thanks to Karen and Matt for coming up with this great challenge!

Not all of the members were able to partake in this month’s WRT question/challenge.  Notably, Keith Wood of Whisky Emporium could not partake due to a death in the family – Keith my sincere condolences go out to you and your family.  May the memory of your loved one always be for a blessing.

As a reminder, the valiant Knights (and links to their blogs) of this round table are:

Chris – Nonjatta
Keith – Whisky Emporium
Karen & Matt – Whisky For Everyone
Ruben – Whisky Notes
Mark – Glasgow’s Whisky (And Ale)
Neil & Joel – Caskstrength.net
Lucas & Chris – Edinburgh Whisky Blog
Jason – Guid Scotch Drink
Gal – Whisky Israel
Mike – Whisky Party
Peter – The Casks
Joshua (hey, that’s me!)– The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society

Again, for all of the Whisky Round Table discussions, click here.

Whisky Round Table, meeting number fifteen…

Just over a year ago, Jason Johnstone-Yellin of guidscotchdrink.com had a great idea: bring together 12 prominent whisky bloggers and hold a monthly conversation regarding whisky; the ins, the outs… everything and anything whisky-related.

In case you’ve missed the previous year’s Whisky Round Table Discussions: click here to catch up.

Here we are at the fifteenth month/fifteenth meeting of the Knights of the Whisky Round Table and we are presented with a question from Peter Lemon of The Casks:

Whisky cocktails…love ‘em or hate ‘em? We’re not talking Jack & Coke, 7&7′s, or Rusty Nails from the rail here, we’re talking top shelf single malts, single barrel bourbons, and craft distillery ryes, shaken or stirred into a classic pre-Prohibition cocktail or a new, creative libation. What do you think, is it an affront to the whisky gods to use the good stuff in a cocktail, an abomination nonpareil? Or is it a terrifically delicious, if not spendy, use of our favorite spirit? Feel free to share your favorites and where you had them as well…or, as it may turn out, your least favorites and where you wasted your hard-earned money…

So, who’s for whisky cocktails and who’s against them.

Click here to find out our very varied answers.

As a reminder, the valiant Knights (and links to their blogs) of this round table are:

Chris – Nonjatta
Keith – Whisky Emporium
Karen & Matt – Whisky For Everyone
Ruben – Whisky Notes
Mark – Glasgow’s Whisky (And Ale)
Neil & Joel – Caskstrength.net
Lucas & Chris – Edinburgh Whisky Blog
Jason – Guid Scotch Drink
Gal – Whisky Israel
Mike – Whisky Party
Peter – The Casks
Joshua (hey, that’s me!)– The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society

Again, for all of the Whisky Round Table discussions, click here.

Well, well, well… has it been a year already?

Just over a year ago, Jason Johnstone-Yellin of guidscotchdrink.com had a great idea: bring together 12 prominent whisky blogger and hold a monthly conversation regarding whisky; the ins, the outs… everything and anything whisky-related.

In case you’ve missed the previous year’s Whisky Round Table Discussions: click here to catch up.

So, Jason has posed a new question to we Knights of the Whisky Round Table:

In February of 2010 John Hansell, Malt Advocate Magazine, named whisky bloggers his Whisky Pioneers of the Year.  At that time we were witnessing a gradual rise in the number of whisky bloggers online but since then there has been an explosion.  Now there are questions surrounding the motives of whisky bloggers (“they’ll say anything for the free whisky and free trips”) and questions surrounding whether or not bloggers are even a worthwhile source for whisky information anymore (“how can I trust these guys when everything they taste is the best thing ever” and “will they tell the truth about a poor quality whisky if it means they might lose their connection to free whisky”).  What role do you see whisky bloggers playing over the next couple of years and how much of the scene is really a whisky grab?  Is the whisky blogosphere still a meritocracy where the best get better or is it a race to the bottom where simply tasting a lot makes one seem more important than one really is?

As you can imagine, the answers to the above question would be not just varied but lengthy (yeah, we tend to go on and on…) so Jason decided to post the answer in two parts.

Click here for part one.

Click here for part two.

As a reminder, the valiant Knights (and links to their blogs) of this round table are:

Chris – Nonjatta
Keith – Whisky Emporium
Karen & Matt – Whisky For Everyone
Ruben – Whisky Notes
Mark – Glasgow’s Whisky (And Ale)
Neil & Joel – Caskstrength.net
Lucas & Chris – Edinburgh Whisky Blog
Jason – Guid Scotch Drink
Gal – Whisky Israel
Mike – Whisky Party
Peter – The Casks
Joshua (hey, that’s me!)– The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society

Again, for all of the Whisky Round Table discussions, click here.

The Whisky Round Table is comprised of 12 whisky bloggers (listed below) that gather together every month to discuss a single question/topic that is whisky related.  The Round Table is hosted on a different blog every month (12 months, 12 bloggers) and the host gets to choose the question/topic of the month for us all to discuss – and we urge you to join in on the conversation using the comments section of our blogs!

The Whisky Round Table, by the way, is the brainchild of Jason Johnstone-Yellin (Guid Scotch Drink).

This particular meeting of the whisky samurais happens to be the twelfth in the series.  So, come June 1st, we will start anew.

A big thank you goes out to the Nonjatta ‘Japanese whiskies’ blog for hosting the Whisky Round Table this month.  Chris Bunting, author of both the Nonjatta blog and a new book entitled “Drinking Japan: A Guide to Japan’s Best Drinks and Drinking Establishments“, posed the following question(s) to us:

“The socialite and art collector Peggy Guggenheim used to pour bottles of cheap blended whisky into premium bottles and, presumably, laugh down her sleeve at those sniffing and simpering over her drams.

How confident are you of your whisky tasting skills?

Is there any purpose to the pursuit of objectivity in whisky tasting (unless you work in the industry) or does it suck the joy out of a essentially subjective experience?

Is it possible to categorise a sip in words and is something lost or gained in that process?”

Follow this link for the answers to this great question.

As a reminder, the valiant samurais (and links to their blogs) of this round table are:

Chris – Nonjatta
Keith – Whisky Emporium
Karen & Matt – Whisky For Everyone
Ruben – Whisky Notes
Mark – Glasgow’s Whisky (And Ale)
Neil & Joel – Caskstrength.net
Lucas & Chris – Edinburgh Whisky Blog
Jason – Guid Scotch Drink
Gal – Whisky Israel
Mike – Whisky Party
Peter – The Casks
Joshua (hey, that’s me!)– The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society

For all of the Whisky Round Table discussions, click here.

The Whisky Round Table is comprised of 12 whisky bloggers (listed below) that gather together every month to discuss a single question/topic that is whisky related.  The Round Table is hosted on a different blog every month (12 months, 12 bloggers) and the host gets to choose the question/topic of the month for us all to discuss – and we urge you to join in on the conversation using the comments section of our blogs!

The Whisky Round Table, by the way, is the brainchild of Jason Johnstone-Yellin (Guid Scotch Drink).

Today’s great question is brought to you by Lucas and Chris of Edinburgh Whisky Blog.  And the question is:

“This month we would like to ask you about something which is not often discussed by geeks like us – packaging! We all know how important it is for whiky brands to have that extra pull factor on the shelf. But are you personally suckers for a pretty bottle or could you not care less? Are you all for traditional or do you like to see modern designs creeping into this conservative industry? And finally, since it’s awards season, let us know what was in your opinion the sexiest and the ugliest packaging of 2010! ”

Follow this link for the answers to this great question.

As a reminder, the valiant knights (and links to their blogs) of this round table are:

Chris – Nonjatta
Keith – Whisky Emporium
Karen & Matt – Whisky For Everyone
Ruben – Whisky Notes
Mark – Glasgow’s Whisky (And Ale)
Neil & Joel – Caskstrength.net
Lucas & Chris – Edinburgh Whisky Blog
Jason – Guid Scotch Drink
Gal – Whisky Israel
Mike – Whisky Party
Peter – The Casks
Joshua (hey, that’s me!)– The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society

For all of the Whisky Round Table discussions, click here.