If you’ve ever drunk a refreshing Caipirinha cocktail on a warm summer’s day then you’ve probably tried cachaça without even realising. This light, grassy, aromatic spirit comes from Brazil and it’s just the thing for sipping and mixing while the sun is out. With the sporting extravaganza in Rio just days away, here’s The Whisky Exchange guide to cachaça, Brazil’s national spirit.

What is cachaca?

Cachaça is a Brazilian rum, but it’s much lighter and fresher than most as it’s made with pure sugar-cane juice, as opposed to the more-common molasses. The only rum that comes close in terms of...

Being a dedicated Scotch whisky drinker, I normally don’t do that well in summer. Traditionally, Scotch whisky is associated with cooler weather, and the past month here in London has not provided me with a suitable environment to sit around in a comfortable armchair with a dram, unless I’ve had a large fan pointed at my face. However, Scotch whisky is much more versatile than it’s given credit for – here’s how I’ve been surviving the summer in three easy steps:

1) Long Drinks

It maj be blasphemy to some, but whisky is a great ingredient in long drinks. When...

As well as showing off his impressive rum range, Foursquare master distiller Richard Seale was a man on a mission at the latest tasting at The Whisky Exchange’s Covent Garden shop this week. The big issue for Seale is the way rums are classified by colour, as opposed to the way they’re made.

One of Foursquare’s stills

Seale has devised a new structure for the way rums are labelled, named after his business partner Luca Gargano of rum importer Velier . Seale said: ‘We are proposing a new rum classification. We have to get away from talking about rum in...

The Royal Navy’s not changed that much over the years…

With the Government revisiting our nuclear Trident program, should they also revisit the Royal Navy’s daily rum ration? I’ve never served in the military, and I think the last boat I was on was operated by Thames River Tours, so I’m going to have a hard time relating to the 17th-century navy guy who deemed that every sailor should be given half a pint (about 300ml) of rum at noon each day.

From 1655, sailors in the Royal Navy were entitled to a glass of rum every day they were on...

Richard Seale is one of the most respected names in the rum industry, with decades of experience, and the man behind some of the best names in the business, including Doorly’s , Foursquare and RL Seale. He’s hosting a special TWE tasting in London on Monday, so we caught up with him to find out his views on this classic spirit.

Richard Seale, Foursquare’s master distiller

How did you get involved in the rum business? It is a family business and I am the fourth generation.

What’s your approach when making rum at Foursquare? We constantly try to improve. We...

If there’s three things we’re big fans of at TWE (apart from alliteration), it’s summer, sport and special offers . Thankfully in 2016 we can combine all three – here’s my selection for the podium, based on the countries who are top in the all-time medals table.

Three great offers, one each from a top medal-winning country

1st Place – USA

Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Bourbon

The country with the most summer sporting medals of all time is home to a variety of styles of whiskey. Bourbon is the most famous, and our top offer this month is an aged example...

This summer, we’re all about bourbon. We’ve paired up bourbon with barbecue , shown you how to make a Mint Julep , tried to answer the question ‘ What is bourbon? ‘, and, to cap it all, are giving away a bottle of the excellent Michter’s 20 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon .

The folks at Michter’s are bottling some amazing whiskey, but it’s the limited-edition single-barrel bourbon that has really excited the collectors, connoisseurs and geeks. With only a tiny number of bottles released every year, and only a fraction of those making their way outside of the USA, we’re very pleased...

In the  rum  world, juli is an important month. Not only is it the beginning of summer – a time when even the rain-lashed shores of the UK can pretend that they have regular Caribbean-style sunshine – but it also ends with a solemn anniversary:  Black Tot Day .

31 juli 1970 was the last day that the Royal Navy issued sailors with a rum ration. The Navy loves an excuse for a bit of ritual, and the day was filled with mock funerals, black armbands and tots of rum issued with even more gravitas than usual. 46 years later,...

Four diverse, delicious drinks from The Whisky Exchange!

Here at The Whisky Exchange, we’re always on the lookout for something different, whether it’s a new take on an established favourite or a totally new idea that makes us sit up and take notice. Our Covent Garden shop manager Alex has years of experience in the drinks world and has chosen some bottles that you might otherwise have overlooked. Be adventurous!

Alex, our Covent Garden shop manager

TROIS RIVIERES CUVEE DU MOULIN RUM

Agricole rum is unique in that it is made purely with sugar-cane juice, as opposed to the more...

Scotch whisky is very different to a few decades ago. Demand is up and as drinkers’ tastes change, distilleries tweak their recipes. The spirit, the casks and the resulting whiskies are all different to how they used to be. Well, most of them anyway. There are a few distillers who still make old-fashioned whiskies – distillers like Benromach . We’ve got a fantastic bottle of whisky from the distillery to give away, so read on…

Rocky popped up to visit the folks at Benromach a couple of years back and you can read all about his trip here – not much...

Pollination Gin is an exciting new venture from brothers Pete and Danny Cameron. Many of the botanicals, including lemon balm, chamomile and rowan berry, are foraged locally, in the Dyfi Valley in mid-Wales, on the edge of Snowdonia National Park. The brothers are also planning a winter gin, Hibernation, which we hope to stock as the weather turns colder later in the year. We caught up with them to find out more…

Danny (left) and Pete Cameron, the brothers behind Pollination Gin

What’s the story behind Pollination Gin? Pete: ‘Danny and I were chatting over a pint two years ago and...

Our Sparkling Wine of the Month for juli is the top-notch  Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Champagne , so an ideal time to revisit the story of the first female Champagne CEO: Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin. Tilar J Mazzeo’s The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and The Woman Who Ruled It is a historical piece that unearths the origins and meteoric rise of the Veuve Clicquot brand.

Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, the woman behind the rise of Veuve Clicquot Champagne

The book traces the history of the brand from the 1800s to the modern day, examining the winemaking, marketing, production, distribution and management that...

We like the folks at Signatory . Andrew and his team know good whisky and we’re very pleased they sometimes let us into their warehouses to choose some casks. Our latest four TWE-exclusive drams have just landed – here’s what I thought:

BLAIR ATHOL 1988 27YO CASK #6545

Nose : Sharp aromatics leap out of the glass immediately after pouring – green leaves, freshly cut grass, and sweet and sappy oak – but they quickly burn off to reveal more sweetness underneath. Toffee and butter shortbread are joined by lemon drizzle cake, mixed fruit jam, apple sauce and thickly buttered fruit...

The Martini is undoubtedly the king of classic cocktails. While other drinks maj have more history – both in terms of time and colourful stories – the Martini stands out as an icon. With countless variations and cocktail names ending in -tini, it is also one of the most misunderstood, which is why we called on some experts for the latest tasting at our London shop – Rich Hamer from Sipsmith and Fliss Gransden from Belsazar Vermouth .

Rich Hamer and Fliss Gransden – Martini experts

The classic Martini contains two ingredients: gin and vermouth . Until recently, the style...

What is bourbon ? That’s Jack Daniel’s , right? Whiskey ? Something to do with rye ? Well, yes to all three, actually. Very simply, bourbon is a mixture of grains, ground up, mixed with water and heated, fermented with the help of yeast, distilled, then aged in oak barrels.

All very simple. But are bourbon and American whiskey the same thing? No. One way to remember is that all bourbons are whiskeys, but not all whiskeys are bourbons. American whiskey includes sub-categories including bourbon , straight bourbon, rye , wheat , malt, rye malt and corn , each with its...

The island distillery of Arran was the inspiration for our latest TWE tasting, hosted by sales manager Louisa Young. Although it was only founded relatively recently – in 1995 – Arran is well known among whisky drinkers, and is currently planning to build a second distillery on the island. We tried five whiskies from Arran’s core range, and the extra treat of choosing our favourite from two cask samples, the winner of which will be bottled as a TWE exclusive later in the year.

The distillery

In Their Own Words – Louisa Young

‘Our founder, Harold Currie, was a bit...

Maureen Robinson has been working in the whisky industry for nearly 40 years

Maureen Robinson is a master blender for Diageo’s whisky team, and is involved in both blended Scotch and single malts, as well as helping to choose the eagerly awaited Special Releases each year. She is also a judge at whisky competitions, and was made a Keeper of the Quaich in 2012. Here, she shares some views on her role:

‘For the first nine years at Diageo, I learned about the science of whisky , then I moved on to working with blends ’

‘Seeing something you’ve created is a...

I’ve left the world of wine marketing to dip my toes into the world of whisky and spirits at The Whisky Exchange. I was raised in America, earned my BA in History in Devon, and been captivated by all things wine in Berkshire and London. And now, with Independence Day on the horizon, I thought it would be interesting to highlight the key events that shaped the wine and spirit world in the US.

Americans have a varied and rich history with alcohol in its many forms, and to celebrate the uniquely American holiday of 4th of juli – we’ve...

It’s just a couple of weeks until 4 juli – Independence Day – and to celebrate, we’ve selected some of our favourite whiskies , all ideal if you’re planning a party, whether you’re in the US or not. We’ve chosen whiskies from across the globe – smooth bourbons, complex Scotch, whisky from the Far East and a mix of ages and prices, so you’re sure to find something good.

BOURBON

First up, two great bourbons from Blanton’s . Blanton’s Original is an award-winning textbook example – each bottle is filled from a single unblended cask. The Gold Edition is sensational,...

‘Islay is the eighth wonder of the world’

Colin Dunn knows how to open a whisky tasting. While invoking wonder-dom for Islay maj seem hyperbolic, there are some tasting line-ups that justify such comments – our Lagavulin 200th Anniversary tasting was certainly one of those.

While Lagavulin is hugely popular among whisky aficionados, there are surprisingly few expressions available on the market. The core range consist of just two whiskies – Lagavulin 16 Year Old and Lagavulin Distillers Edition . Add to that the yearly 12-year-old Special Release and you’ve still only got three whiskies. Our original plan of putting...