Did I mention that I’m going to be reviewing for Britain’s leading whisky publication, Whisky Magazine, next year? That means I’ll be paid to drink. Imagine that! It’s tougher than you think though… Anyway, given that many of you might not even know about my whisky website, that’s the route I took to get there. Building on my novel writing, blogging assiduously for five years, which then led to writing articles for the magazine. And hey presto! A great gig. I think that’s the thing with writing, no matter which direction you take: always build on what you’ve done before.

Anyway, in the meantime here are some things I’ve been up and tasting to in the world of whisky, if you’ve not been following the blog.

1) I went to the Diageo Special Releases event, which was an incredible opportunity to taste some rare whiskies.

2) My favourite whisky of the year, when value was taken into consideration, was The Macallan Edition No. 2, with second place going to the Kilkerran 12 Year Old.

3) Other good ones include this anCnoc 35 Years Old, a brilliant Bunnahabhain Moine Rum Cask, Glenfiddich Project XX, and the new Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1990. Oh, and the Ardbeg Twenty One was also very good – a new and rare Ardbeg from a time of limited production.

You know the score. I’m blogging mostly about whisky these days. The site is doing very well, too, with over 50,000 page views for the last 30 days. As well as the novel writing and blogging, I’m also writing about whisky for magazines, such as this piece for Scottish Sporting Gazette on pairing pheasant food with whiskies. There seems to be a good connection between people who like wild food and whisky, so hopefully there’ll be more on that front.

I was lucky enough to be part of another Bruichladdich online tasting, featuring three mind-boggling single cask whiskies.

The GlenDronach Peated is very decent for only £35 a bottle. This Benrinnes single cask is pretty tasty too. And this Glencadam vertical tasting highlights a very good distillery.

Finally, I tried two new whiskies from The Deveron range, and they were… okay. Nothing special, but solid whiskies.

My whisky site is still where I do most of my blogging now, and I spend a lot of time in that online community. I get samples sent quite frequently, and I find that world still very interesting to explore. Recently I’ve tried some very good things. First up is a 24 year old Dalmore from an independent bottler. This Macallan travel retail release is nice too, and worth picking up.

The Glenrothes Vintage Reserve isn’t that good, but this new blend from Suntory is really tasty and at the cheaper end of modern whisky releases.

Over at my whisky site, I have been talking about many things. I recently wrote an article on the influence and importance of sherry (and sherry casks) on whisky. I also wrote a piece on essential whisky books (going beyond mere guidebooks). I can assure you, trying to get a gender balance for these books was almost impossible, given about 99% of whisky writers are male – hopefully that’s something that will change over time as the drink continues to evolve its image.

As for reviews: I tried the Glenfarclas Family Casks 2003, which was very good. Tried the new Ardbeg Perpetuum, which was a disappointment. And I tried a whisky from Belgium, which was better than this organic whisky.

As many of you will know, most of my blogging energies go into my whisky website these days, which is going really well. Google Analytics tells me there are anywhere between 18,000 and 20,000 page views a month, and I’ve now reached over a hundred regular subscribers by RSS.

I recently interviewed the guys behind a whisky auction website, Just Whisky. Auctions are booming at the moment as more and more people get into collecting whisky. I reviewed two heavily peated Bruichladdich whiskies, which were sent as hefty samples (always nice).

This Kilchoman travel retail whisky is recommended if you’re passing through an airport. This Mortlach whisky is really for rich people looking to waste money. And here’s a bonus Bourbon from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

I’m also using Instagram a lot for whisky nonsense as well.

You know the score by now. One of the reasons I’m blogging less here is to build up my whisky site, which is going pretty well now. Well over 20,000 page views last month, so there’s plenty of interest. Plus I’m getting samples as well as invites to stuff. I’m also spending a lot of my Twitter time there too, which is a bit more liberating.

Anyway, some recent reviews.

Before Christmas I enjoyed a 43 Year Old whisky from Glenglassaugh. I didn’t enjoy a whisky that had been distilled behind the Iron Curtain. I did enjoy a very nice Bruichladdich, which is the whisky equivalent of a limited edition signed by the author. I enjoyed this single grain whisky from Japan, and reviewed three new Aultmore single malt whiskies (highly recommended). Bonus whisky book review.

For those of you concerned about my drinking habits, when I’m tasting a lot of the time I don’t actually ‘drink’ the whisky – just swirl it around the mouth and then use a spittoon as if sampling wines.