Tom’s “Officially Unofficial” Bruichladdich Blog
A Whisky2.0© BlogArchive for Whisky2.0
Another Milestone
You guys rock! So far, this blog has had well over 3200 visitors, including over 1000 this month alone!
Wow...1006 visitors in one month!
Thanks to all of you (and Happy New Year!) and please be assured that there is a LOT more whisky goodness coming in 2009, both here and on the Whisky2.0© blog.
What’s “Whisky2.0″ All About?
From the “About” page on the Whisky2.0 blog:
The Whisky2.0 blog is about taking what I started here on bruichladdichblog.wordpress.com and making it bigger. This means:
- Industry-wide scope
- More content
- Guest bloggers
- Interviews with industry leaders
- Organized tastings and meetups, etc.
- More technology
- Social networks
- Collaboration tools
We’re aiming to build a community to share and disseminate information about whisk(e)y. As a relative whisk(e)y neophyte, this is the content I wanted when I was learning about whisk(e)y. I don’t know everything — not even close! — but I like sharing what I know and learn.
This blog is about more than just the facts: It’s about building an enduring self-sustaining community of whisk(e)y enthusiasts. Whisky2.0 was born 25-November-2008. As of 27-December-2008, Whisky2.0 has a presence on Facebook, too. Slainte!
p.s. Slainte is how they say “cheers” in Gaelic. Slainte is pronounced “slahn-cha” (or something very close to that). BTW, please patronize the very cool San Francisco business of the same name.
And from the “How Do I Use This Blog?” page…
I have a blog masquerading as a whisk(e)y database. Or maybe vice-versa. 
Whisky2.0 is a community project and you’re more than welcome to join. WordPress accounts are free.
Again: THIS SITE IS FOR YOU! I built the skeleton, but the community will contribute most of the content.
Here’s the idea: The category cloud contains the names of every currently operational Scotch whisky distillery (and many that are no longer with us). I even listed one in Sweden! Ultimately, I’ll add Irish, American, Japanese, Indian, etc. whiskeys. And if you know of a distillery that I omitted, by all means let me know! Plus each distillery is tagged with the region, e.g., Speyside, Islay, etc. And the country is a tag, too, so the biggest tag (since it’s most frequently used) is Scotland. I tagged non-functional distilleries as “Closed” just to be clear.
I figured I’d start with the most difficult, as ranked by the sheer number of distilleries in a single country. You, the reader, are meant to add comments to each. There is going to be a standard template that will allow you to add info (as much as you know) on any given expression produced by that distillery. Expect that template before the start of 2009, perhaps as soon as 30-Dec-2008.
Finally, please feel free to contact me with content suggestions. If you know a lot about a certain distillery or any whisk(e)y-related subjetc and want to post a story, let me know: I will make that happen. This is a platform for the community, not for me. Ultimately, my goal is for this site to capture the wisdom of the masses and become the reference for all things whisk(e)y.
Also, Whisky2.0 is on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whisky20/41738507415 and if you feel like it, become a fan. I’m going to try to find a way to point to all the many groups on Facebook that have to do with whisk(e)y.
Coming Attractions
I’ve been really busy over at the Whisky2.0 blog, entering basic data on over 80 distilleries. So far it’s limited to Scotland, and it’s mostly single-malt distilleries. I think I have about 20 distilleries to go. I should be done with Scotland this week.
Every entry is categorized by who owns it, what region it’s in, and there is basic data on the location and in-service date for each distillery. For larger conglomerates that own 2 or 3 or more distilleries, I also created a separate entry for them, tagged with the properties that they own. The interface is a “category cloud” where you can click on distillery names, owner names, region names, etc. and jump to a list of matching entries.
I am opening it up for comments so people can add info on expressions that they know were produced by a given distillery. My first such comment is for Highland Park 18. This is really a community project, since there are probably on the order of 10,000 expressions (there are on the order of 100 distilleries, even when you factor in defunct distilleries, you wouldn’t have more than on the order of 1000 distilleries). There are far too many expressions for me to enter all that data myself, and there are lots of expressions for which there might be minimal on-line evidence, but for which many folks may still have a bottle in their possession.
As to the coming attractions here: I will be writing a sequel to my distilling article either tonight or tomorrow night that will show how that distilling information is applied to making whisky.
Happy Thanksgiving!
To all my visitors, to my family and friends, and to anyone else, I wish you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for, that’s for sure.
Please check out my new blog –> Whisky2.0. In December, we’ll be getting going with guest bloggers, interviews with industry luminaries, and other surprises. Where appropriate, information will be cross-posted here. Follow @whisky2dot0 on twitter and subscribe to our RSS feed.
Again, a very Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
