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The Woodsman Blended Scotch Whisky, 70cl

£9.9£99Clearance
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Full disclosure: this sample was included in an advent calendar that was sent to me free of charge. As always I will strive to give an honest opinion on the quality of the dram and the value for money it represents. Thoughts: At least to begin with, the nose promises more than the palate can deliver. However, given time and a little splash of water, the dram opened up and improved. Some tinned pineapple started to come through and the mouthfeel seemed to loosen up. Where the whisky previously felt tense and restrained it now felt relaxed and flowed over the tongue. Water took it from disappointing to gently satisfying. A decent, if unspectacular, dram. We recognised this as an opportunity to tap into the continued growth in brown spirits drinkers and bring to market a blended scotch with a unique flavour profile and a rich and innovative production story. The Woodsman will add value to the category while standing out as a differentiated offering against mainstream promoted blends.” Dewar was meticulous. He spoke with many storytellers, often recording several different versions of the same story before combining them to make the most complete, definitive version. Then he would carefully write it all out in Gaelic. Through his years of travelling, he amassed an incredible wealth of material; around a million and a quarter words spread throughout ten volumes.

Smell: Smells a bit like standing between a bakery and a carpenter’s workshop. Lots of wood and baking spices. Bread baking in the oven. Scones with cream and butter. Cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Sawdust and pencil shavings. There’s also caramel and runny honey. Dried banana, coconut and hazelnut. A touch of apple and white grapes. Taste: A gentle, polite arrival with some subtle fruits. Apple, especially. Pear too. Subtle citrus. Then comes toffee before things turn oaky mid-palate. Fresh oak with gentle spice. Dried apples and cinnamon. Bran flakes with Hazelnut. Citrus oak finish. As an adult, John Dewar found employment as a Woodsman and a Sawyer. At one stage he was on the payroll of the Duke of Argyll’s Rosneath Estate, making, among other things, fence posts. His life changed drastically in 1859, when word reached him that J.F. Campbell of Islay was willing to pay money for good folk tales.The Woodsman is a real category disrupter and we’re thrilled to bring this exciting modern spirit to the market. Our research showed us there are younger consumers drinking across several categories but avoiding Scotch because they’re put off by traditional category cues. Not to worry. As a lover of Folk Tales and Celtic Mythology, I figured that their simply had to be something in the Gaelic traditions that related to a Woodsman of some sort. What I found instead was the story of a storyteller. A storyteller who was also a Woodsman. John Dewar was born in 1802 in the Gortan Estate on Loch Long, Argyll. Little is known of his upbringing or education but the Gaelic language was in common use in the area and John was a fluent speaker in both English and Gaelic. He grew up in a world where the oral tradition of storytelling was still strong. Indeed, it was one of the main forms of entertainment. The young Dewar was fascinated with such tales and thanks to an impressive memory, became a fine storyteller in his own right. John scoffed at the idea but by 1862, his health had begun to fail him. Palpitations of the heart brought his ability for manual labour to a crushing halt. In his forced retirement, he decided to heed Campbell’s advice and travelled for more than a decade, meeting people and recording as many different stories as he could.

Dewar passed away from heart failure in 1872 but his work survives. Seven volumes are kept with the Argyll archives in Inveraray whilst the remaining three are at the National Library in Edinburgh. His work amounts to the first oral history project ever conducted in Scotland. It is also, without any doubt, the largest and most significant collection of Gaelic tales ever compiled in the country.

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