Organic Whisky??

In the current times of "genetically modified this" and "intensely farmed that" it is nice to see that there are many products which are selling themselves on authenticity and high standard production. You might be thinking that surely whisky production is going to be one area which has been left the way it was always done. This however is not the case.

One distillery which seems to appreciate customers interest in organic production is Benromach. Benromach organic whisky has been available for the last couple of years. Hand produced by just two men at speyside's smallest working distillery, it is Scotland's only organic whisky and is fully certified by the soil association. This means the whole process – raw ingredients, distillation, maturation and bottling – is certified organic to the rigorous standards set by the Soil Association.


Using pure spring water from the nearby Romach Hills and the finest Scottish organic barley and organic yeast, Benromach Organic is made by experienced distillers, personally ensuring only the highest quality spirit is filled into hand selected virgin American oak casks.The virgin American oak casks are made of wood from environmentally managed forests. Only when the spirit has matured to the highest quality standard is it bottled as Benromach Organic Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky



This whisky will be featured in March 2008 at the Grog n Gruel for the amazing price of £1.99 per 25ml. A great opportunity to taste this unique dram

Humpff at the Grog !!

It was about ten years ago at the tented music festival at the BA club when I first met John Coletta. At that time he was playing as part of the "Humpff Family" performing a great selection of his own unique songs with a great musical line up. Since then we kept in touch and about five years ago we were able to bring a touch of "humpff" back to the Fort.

In between writing new material, teaching and his many other commitments John Coletta will be performing at the Grog on a monthly basis starting on March the 6th. With his own brand of thigh slapping bluegrass mandolin, skilfully crafted songs and his own version of some of todays chart toppers, this is an act not to be missed.

If you have not had a chance to hear any of the material by John then click this link to browse his myspace site for streaming audio and CD details or much better pop into the Grog on March 6th for our great selection of cask ale and The best selection of malt whisky for miles around accompanied by one of Scotlands best kept musical secrets.

Open Mike Night

Karaoke? At The Grog & Gruel? Surely not!

As with all things Grog & Gruel, we do it all a bit differently. Tuesday 19th February sees the return of Iain 'Stretch' MacFadyen and his open mike (should that be 'mic'?) night. Its a bit more tasteful than a karaoke night. If you're a closet folkie and fancy entertaining the masses, simply join Stretch 'on stage' and get on with it. If music isn't your thing then perhaps a bit of comedy, or poetry, in a So I Married an Axe Murderer stylee might be in order.

And in the event that you're all a bit bashful and shy, Stretch will be filling in with some western swing and traditional country classics for your listening pleasure.