 The Wee Dram 
Have A Wee Dram To Toast 2007
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Recommendation added: 31/12/2006 03:30
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +817)dewberry has been thanked 3 times for this contribution
"I'd given up on finding a decent Christmas present for my fellas uncle (aka �The Bloke Who Has It All�) when I spotted The Wee Dram this morning on a flying visit through Bakewell.
As you can probably guess from the name of the place, this shop sells whiskey - no, that's much too bland a description for this wonderful little whiskey specialist. The Wee Dram sells nothing but the best whiskies from Scotland and Ireland, as well as a few choice bottles from such places as Japan and Russia. Now, The Bloke Who Has It All is 90% tee-total but has a beautifully stocked drinks cabinet of all the top makes of different spirits. He prides himself on the good looking collection of bottles he's acquired more than the value of his impressive selection.
Walking into The Wee Dram, the first thing I noticed was how the temperature dropped as I came through the door. The large room is kept at a constant cool temperature as this is the best environment in which to keep whiskey at its best. Everything in here is designed to show off the huge stock of whiskies; from the beautiful wooden shelving to the clever use of lighting to draw your attention to certain points of the display. It�s definitely a place a whiskey connoisseur would want to visit.
I�ve never seen so much whiskey in one place. I was actually thankful that my task involved only picking an unusual enough label, because if I�d had to consider all the whiskies on flavor and tasting notes then I�d have been there all night! The shop itself is nicely laid out; the bottles are displayed along the walls with just a couple of specially build shelving units in the middle of the wide aisle. Very easy to navigate and browse the shelves without missing anything - also plenty of room to compare bottles while standing back looking like you know what you�re doing�!
The whiskies are laid out by country of origin and then by region within the country; in the instances of just one or two varieties being available from a country, a nice display is made of the available bottles. All in all, The Wee Dram is a wonderfully ordered yet pleasant looking shop.
The choice is vast; popular brands such as Glenfiddich, Jameson and Balblair are there along with your lesser heard of whiskys like Kilbeggan or the aptly named Midleton Very Rare which costs a whopping £112 a bottle! All varieties are labeled with basic tasting notes, as well as their name and cost per bottle and you�re welcome to pick up a bottle (carefully!) to read more about this particular whisky blend. It�s easy to find a certain bottle, and just as easy to simply browse around for a while looking for that special �something� to jump out at you.
Prices are erm� well� as you�d expect in a place like this. Because you�re buying specialty goods there is somewhat of a specialty price tag on many of the whiskey varieties. The �big brand� whiskies are pretty much on a par price-wise with Threshers and other off licenses, although marginally more expensive than picking your bottle of Jack Daniels up in the supermarket. It's one of those kinds of shops where you don't really mind paying a bit more than you would usually on a bottle of whiskey as it's just such a nice experience shopping here. There�s a good atmosphere and plenty of different bottles of whiskey to look at, The Wee Dram is actually a lovely place in which to spend an hour just mooching around.
Most bottles range between the £20 - £30 mark, although many more cost upwards of �60 with a select few with a price tag of over £100. This kind of pricey exclusivity makes The Wee Dram the perfect shop for whisky collectors and connoisseurs, as well as anyone looking for an unfamiliar tipple or gift.
The two members of staff present during my visit to The Wee Dram were both helpful and ultra knowledgeable about whiskey in general. I could tell they�d worked there for years, if not the owners of the shop, as they knew practically every variety of whiskey on the premises and where it was! Amazing. They were full of excellent advice and once I told them of my mission to find an unusual bottle for display purposes more than quality of flavors I was steered in the direction of the International Whiskey displays, which feature infinitely more interesting bottles than most of the Celtic varieties.
The Wee Dram is very easily accessible to disabled visitors, the high shelves may look daunting to shoppers in wheelchairs but the staff will be happy to help you look at anything you can�t reach comfortably. And this worked nicely for me too as at just over 5ft I felt nervous trying to pull bottles down from above my head (especially expensive ones) so asked for help on a couple of occasions! I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable bringing a small child, any child really, in here as all that glass combined with excited children can only bring trouble�
I eventually chose a bottle of Fighting Cock, a highly recommended bourbon from the US featuring a scary looking fighting cock (of course!) on the label. This cost around �25 and was very gratefully received by �The Bloke Who Has It All� who had never seen this variety of whiskey before.
To find this gorgeous little shop you first need to get yourself into the pretty village of Bakewell in Derbyshire, then drive or walk to the central Portland Square and you can't miss the old fashioned green exterior of The Wee Dram. It looks inviting from the outside, and it�s definitely worth a visit.
The Wee Dram
5 Portland Square
Bakewell
Derbyshire
DE45 1HA
Tel: 01629 812235"
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