 Learned men: Monks making and sampling wines, spirits and medicines (Photo: Wellcome Collection) Search ‘whisky’ and ‘health benefits’ online, and pages of results appear extolling the water of life as a miracle cure for ageing, dementia, weight loss – even cancer. But the roots of whisky’s purported medicinal benefits stretch back to the murky origins of the spirit in post-medieval Scotland. Kirsten Amor investigates.
Read more: https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/features/26449/whisky-s-curious-medicinal-history/  It’s been a busy year for Rosey Mitchell. Having won Compass Box’s global bartender competition The Circle, the London-based bartender created a blended malt alongside whisky makers John Glaser and Jill Boyd. She tells Kirsten Amor the process of blending a new whisky, why low-abv drinks are here to stay and why Glasgow’s bars are underrated.
Read more: https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/interviews/five-minutes-with/26714/rosey-mitchell-three-sheets/  After three years as European brand ambassador for Suntory, Japanese-born Tatsuya Minagawa bought The Highlander Inn in Speyside’s Craigellachie village. He tells Kirsten Amor how he came to love ‘Scotch country’, and why high demand for whisky won’t last.
Read more: https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/interviews/five-minutes-with/25813/tatsuya-minagawa-the-highlander-inn/  Swedish-born Mia Johansson spent years travelling the globe and honing her cocktail craft, before becoming a managing partner at London whisky bar Swift. Here she tells Kirsten Amor about breaking barriers in Scotch cocktails, and her 1,300 ‘dream’ whiskies.
Read more: https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/interviews/five-minutes-with/25197/mia-johansson-swift/  Whether your ideal whisky journey involves adventure, gourmet cuisine or beautiful scenery, Kirsten Amor has compiled a list of whisky travel books sure to offer some itinerary inspiration – whether you leave the comfort of your home or not.
Read more: https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/culture/22656/whisky-books-for-armchair-travellers/  Daisy-Wheels inscribed with a pair of compasses or dividers found in Saxon Tithe barn, Bradford-on-Avon © Historic England Apotropaic marks were simple patterns with a serious purpose: to keep evil and mischief out, as Kirsten Amor discovers.
Read More: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/apotropaic-witches-marks-carvings  Qatar formed part of the ‘southern route’ out of Africa across the Arabian Peninsula when, at the height of the last Ice Age, much of the Arabian Gulf was open landscape. Now, pioneering research is looking for traces of those earliest migrations, as Kirsten Amor reports.
Read more: https://www.world-archaeology.com/features/qatar-bridging-the-gulf/ |
Kirsten x CultureI use my archaeological background and skills to discuss technology in heritage, and stories of everyday folk in history. Atlas Obscura, Minerva magazine, and Current World Archaeology magazine have all featured my work. |
