After coming back to Stockholm from High Coast, I took the MS Cinderella ferry over to Helsinki. Even though my visit to Helsinki Distilling Company wasn’t happening for another day yet, I got a little preview in the tax-free shop onboard…
In late June, just after Midsummer, I took the train from Lund up to Kramfors/Nyland for the High Coast distillery festival. Running for a weekend every year, the event parallels my trip last year to Kyrö Distillery in Finland for much the same thing! There were lupins blooming everywhere as I took the bus and then a taxi en route to the event. There are buses running from larger towns, for future reference, just like they were at Kyrö.
Back in June, I was lucky enough to get a day en route to a distillery - in fact, to my second distillery of the day. Having just visited Thornaes in the morning, I then got a series of trains, ferries, and even a trolleybus to Ven (‘veen’), a small island in the Øresund. This was my first time visiting a Swedish distillery - in fact, my first time visiting Sweden at all! It was encouraging to see ads for the distillery even on the ferry over from Landskrona…
Stepping off the train at Kagerup, you’d forget you just left central Copenhagen on a local train. The short walk to the distillery is bucolic, with thatched roofs, old sawmills, and horses in the fields. Honestly, I can recommend a visit to the area even if you're not here for the distillery (for some reason...).
Each International Women's Day, I highlight women who work with whiskey on social media, naming and celebrating those I've interacted with over the past year. You'll see more from me about women making whiskey in the next issue of Whiskey Magazine , but for now I'd like to add to this year's IWD by exploring something else. Most of this blog existed as a draft written in 2023 - now, with a little re-work, I'm putting it up here because I am confident that it is still relevant and could make some important points.
Like me, you may have seen a growing number of AI-generated images in the whiskey world recently. I've also noticed posters, tasting sheets, and other whisky-related info coming from sources like Chat GPT. Many people are open about using AI this way. There are even Instagram accounts just dedicated to generating whisky-related “art”.
The distillery is located in the heart of Llançà, in an unassuming building with a surprisingly interesting history. Once a dependency of the 11th century Sant Pere de Rodes monastery (located up in the nearby Serra de Rodes mountains), this house is hundreds of years old. The name 'Quevall' comes from 'stone valley' ( quer vall ), referring to the road up toward the monastery.
Czech single malt, a distillery with many strings to its bow, and a weekend of tastings. This blog is something a little different from the standard distillery visits. While we'll absolutely take you through the making of Old Well Whiskey , you'll get to see what the distillery's summer festival looks like.
On 17th August, I went to Kyrö Distillery’s annual summer festival, Kyröfest. A combined whisky event and local music festival, I quickly learned that they don’t skimp on that second part! It’s clearly a very popular event in this part of Finland (Ostrobothnia), and the buses we took from nearby Seinäjoki were plenty full.
On a sunny April day, I was lucky enough to be driven through the Tuscan countryside by Matteo of Whisky To You . Seeking out the first Tuscan whiskey makers, it turned out that we were visiting almost exactly 10 years after Winestillery was set up.
With thanks to Heather Storgaard
In the beautiful northern town of Mezzolombardo lies an Italian grappa maker, Villa de Varda . However, since 2023 the Villa has had new tricks up its sleeve: both rye and single malt whiskies! I took a trip up there in April to see how their InQuota Mountain Whiskey is made.
