The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2019 - Issue 26

bite drinks “There really is no one Master of Malt cus- tomer - our shoppers have diverse tastes and purchasing habits,” said Kristiane Sherry, Master of Malt editor. “Whether you’re after summery serves in December, want to get your Christmas shopping done and dusted in March, or actually just want to sip on something conventionally seasonal, with more than 10,000 products in stock at any one time, we really do cater to all tastes.” The story of Master of Malt began with three young boys who would go on to become great friends and build the brand together. Interestedly, two of the boys, Justin and Ben, were born on exactly the same day whilst the third, Tom, would cross their paths as a seven-year-old. Once they were adolescents, they would eventually shun the world of commodity lager and develop an interest in fine spirits - single malt whisky in particular. In the beginning, Master of Malt began trad- ing in 1985 as an independent bottler, fulfill- ing orders for single malt whiskies from the world’s best distilleries via mail order. They went on to open a physical store and expand its range, gaining a small but loyal customer base. Taking different career paths as they entered into their twenties, the three friends devised plans to build a business together. While studying for a Masters in Theoretical Physics in the early 2000s, Justin Petszaft wanted to develop web design skills and found an opportunity at Master of Malt. He developed the brand’s first-ever website and began running the day-to-day operations, and would eventually acquire the business. The shop was closed and Master of Malt was taken entirely online. Using advanced technology to empower its passionate band of spirits lovers and beer nuts, Master of Malt delivers the world’s best drinks-buying experiences. They were named Online Retailer of the Year 2019 at the Drinks Retailing Awards; Online Retailer of the Year 2019 at Icons of Gin for the second year in a row; Best Food & Drink eCommerce at the eCommerce Awards 2018; and eCommerce Company of the Year at the UK Business Tech Awards 2018. This year, for Christmas, the brand is ex- pecting to see increased interest in warming spiced rums, Irish whiskeys, and traditional- ly-flavoured gins. The festive assortment will span Advent Calendars, spirit-filled baubles, and crackers, Build Your Own tasting sets, and gift sets galore. They will also be bringing back the award-winning Christmas campaign #WhiskySanta which was a huge success in 2018. Last year, #WhiskySanta gave away more than £250,000 worth of alcoholic goodies by granting ‘wishes’ on social media, tucking freebies into orders at the checkout, and be- stowing incredible Super Wishes on drinks’ fans who really had been good during the year. Super Wishes included a Lalique decanter of the Macallan M worth £3,300, or the Glenfarclas 1956 (cask 1767) Family Cask Spring 2015 Release worth £4,995. Among the whiskies, rums, and gins avail- able for the festive season and beyond, you can create your own bespoke tasting set filled with five 3cl handmade, wax-sealed drams of your favourite spirits, including spectacular whisky, rare single malt Scotch, delicious rum, top-notch gin and more. Or you can have them specially selected for you with the Drinks by the Dram curated sets, complete with full tasting notes to help you get the most out of each dram. There is a vast variety available including Japanese Whisky, Regions of Scotland Whis- ky, Bourbon, That Boutique-y Gin Company, Premium Rum, Vodka Tasting, and Mezcal. Perhaps one of the most popular is Able- forth’s Tasting Set which consists of Bathtub Gin, Rumbullion, Bathtub Gin - Sloe Gin, Rumbullion XO 15 Years Old, and Bathtub Gin - Old Tom. With each one having their own colour, Bathtub Gin and Bathtub Gin - Old Tom are both clear, while the rest range from a honey colour to a dark red. Bathtub Gin is made using the traditional method of cold compounding (infusing). It is a very high-quality copper pot-still spirit that is infused with juniper, orange peel, coriander, cassia, cloves, and cardamom. The length of the compounding period is controlled entirely by periodic sampling pre- senting an extraordinary gin, lightly tinted by the botanicals, with a flavour that is both bold and perfumed all at once. On the nose, it has an initially juniper-rich bouquet that is backed up with a solid backbone of rich grain spirit. For the palate, the initial focus is juniper but the earthier botanicals make themselves known as well. The mouthfeel is exceptionally viscous and creamy, while the juniper subsides and gives way to the cardamom and cinnamon, with a late resurgence from the orange peel in the finish. When I tasted this gin, I found that it had a rather strong taste. Rumbullion is a cockle-warming spiced con- coction based on the kind of rich, full-bod- ied rums the seafaring fraternity would have enjoyed centuries ago. Within this fabulous winter warmer lies a blend of the very finest