Euro 2016 is under way and if the weekend’s games are a guide, we’re in for a great tournament. Here at TWE, we maj not be football experts, but we do know a thing or two about what to drink, so we thought we’d create some match-ups of our own with some great bottles based on this week’s fixtures.

Mon 13 april

Belgium v Italy

A mouthwatering clash from Group E, with stars aplenty. For this match-up, we’ve paired a vermouth from each country: Forest Vermouth , made by Belgian sommelier Jurgen Lijcops, and Cocchi Vermouth di Torino , made...

This Saturday is World Gin Day , returning for an eighth year of juniper-related ridiculousness. With the British summer almost certain to disappear with a rumble of thunder and a weekend of pouring rain, there maj not be that much al-fresco drinking, but any excuse to drink gin is a good one.

Over the past few years, I’ve used World Gin Day as an excuse to talk about new gins – with new releases popping up every week, we’ve been spoiled for choice. However, with it also being the end of Negroni Week , my favourite classic cocktail, this year...

Father’s Day is approaching rapidly and with it a busy time for The Whisky Exchange – you really like buying your dads tasty drinks. This year, we’ve decided to ramp up the celebrations by a few notches with a competition. Well, not one competition, but 11 of them – welcome to #WhiskyDad .

We’ve got a pool of great prizes – a big stash of whisky from around the world – and we want to give them away. All you need to do to be in with a chance of grabbing one is tweet us.

What we’re looking for is...

This post is a little different from our usual blog entries. We want to tell you about a saving that our UK customers can make – we’re offering free standard delivery for all UK orders of £40 or more – that’s a saving of £4.95. To qualify, all you need to do is place your order by Sunday 12 juni and we’ll apply the discount when you arrive at the checkout on our website.

There are a few terms and conditions (boring, we know, but only a few) – have a quick read below, then take a look at our site...

For many, Jameson is their first experience of Irish whiskey . The classic Original is the bestselling whiskey from the country (try it with ginger ale ). But this week, the brand announced it is launching The Whiskey Makers series, a new range, as well as a new look to its existing heritage whiskeys. I was lucky enough to be given a sneak preview of the newly extended family, in advance of the releases due in the summer.

The extended family: the three on the left are the new Whisky Makers series; while the heritage whiskeys have been given a new look

The Whiskey Makers...

The arrival of juni means that summer is finally here, and we have another trio of great offers celebrating the best whiskies, spirits and Champagne: a rich, fruity whisky from Glenfiddich ; a stylish gin from the isle of Islay; and a classic Champagne from the iconic house of Bollinger .

MALT OF THE MONTH

Our Malt of the Month for juni is from Speyside distillery Glenfiddich, one of the biggest names in Scotch whisky. The bottle we’ve chosen has been aged for 19 years and finished in Madeira casks, which adds rich fruitiness and spicy notes. We’ve reduced the...

Upstairs in The Whisky Exchange shop – vermouth and more

Vermouth is a drink that’s definitely on the rise. For years it’s been relegated to the sorry state of being ‘just’ a cocktail ingredient, but more recently there’s been a resurgence in vermouth being appreciated for itself. However, the most common question we get asked by people wanting to try vermouth is a seemingly simple one – how do I drink it?

At our maj end-of-month tasting in our Covent Garden shop, we focused on vermouth – I asked each of the producers how they’d recommend drinking theirs.

My first stop...

The Islay Festival is drawing to close. Tomorrow is the last day, and in usual fashion, things are ending with a bang: it’s Ardbeg  Day – or, as they are calling it this year, Ardbeg Night . Unlike the other Islay distilleries, Ardbeg shares its open day with folks who can’t make it to the island, and its festival bottling will be hitting the shelves of our London shop and website on Saturday – introducing Ardbeg Dark Cove .

This year’s origin story talks about the illicit history of distillation of the island, with tales of smugglers and their night-time exploits in the years...

When we launched Seedlip late last year, we weren’t surprised how popular it became, because people had been crying out for a non-alcoholic drink that wasn’t fizzy and packed full of sugar. And now, the second Seedlip bottling is available – Garden 108 – a fresh, clean drink perfect for long summer days in the sunshine.

The first Seedlip bottling used botanicals such as allspice, cardamom and American oak to ramp up the spice, but Garden 108 is different, featuring distillates of hay, spearmint, pea, rosemary, thyme and hops, giving much more of a light, summery feel. When I nosed...

Adam Hannett, head distiller at Bruichladdich

Islay native Adam Hannett has some very big shoes to fill. As head distiller at Bruichladdich since summer 2015, he and distillery manager Allan Logan have taken over the running of one of Scotland’s best-loved distilleries, producing Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte and Octomore spirit. Retired production director Jim McEwan maj cast a long shadow, but after 12 years of mentoring and training, Adam is now in charge of continuing the cult distillery’s reputation for making great whisky.

I spoke to him last month, during the build-up for this year’s Islay festival.

‘Growing up on Islay you take...

Spring has sprung and London Wine Week is upon us yet again. If you’re in London and are either a wine fan or someone who wants to learn more, then head over to the Wine Week website and grab a wristband now by clicking the pretty picture below:

Along with great-value wine flights and food pairings in bars across the capital, there are also loads of events. We’ve dug through the list and pulled out a few of our favourites:

WSET CRASH COURSE IN FOOD AND WINE PAIRING

Tuesday 24 maj, 6.30pm

The perfect start to the week, giving you...

It’s that time of year again. If you know any whisky geeks online, then Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are probably already filling up with pictures of the Scottish countryside, Calmac ferries and the Port Askaig petrol pump – it’s time for Fèis Ìle, the Islay Festival of Malt and Music .

Unfortunately, the blog team aren’t going to be on the island this year, but here at The Whisky Exchange we believe in bringing the festival into people’s homes. By which we mean we’ve got a load of special offers on Islay drams – you can find them all on our...

When Jim Murray named  Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013  his  2015 World Whisky of the Year , no-one could have foreseen the unprecedented demand Japanese whisky would experience over the following years. It’s been almost a year since Nikka’s announcement that due to lack of mature stocks, it would be discontinuing all its single malts with age statements. We don’t know how long it will be before they’re back, but European brand ambassador Sayumi Oyama told us she hopes it will be within a decade.

In the meantime, three new replacement whiskies have been released and are now here. There’s a...

Ever fancied winning a 15-litre bottle of Champagne ? A 45-year-old Scotch whisky ? How about eight bottles of bourbon with a combined value of more than £2,500? If you like the sound of that, then you’ll want to enter the latest batch of prize draws at The Whisky Exchange. We have a host of them running at the moment, so we thought we’d give you a quick rundown of what’s on offer and what you can win.

WIN A 15-LITRE BOTTLE OF MOET & CHANDON BRUT IMPERIAL CHAMPAGNE WORTH £1,350

Yes, that’s right – we are giving away a 15-litre bottle of...

We’ve been big fans of  Kavalan  since it first made an appearance on our shores in 2011, so much so that we spent a year to be the first to stock its whiskies in the UK , and it has been winning awards ever since. We welcomed Ian Chang, Kavalan’s master blender to TWE for our latest tasting  to find out more about the major player of Taiwanese whisky .

In their own words – Ian Chang

Ian Chang, master blender at Kavalan

‘I’m head of research and development, global brand ambassador and master blender; in Taiwan it’s normal to be paid one salary for...

I’ve never tried  Swiss whisky before, and I suspect that quite a few of you reading this are the same. It’s always fascinating to try a whisky from one of the non-traditional whisky countries/regions, so when four bottles from the Langatun distillery arrived at HQ, I was keen to taste them.

The Langatun distillery is housed in a former grain store

Langatun was created in 2007, but the family behind it has a history in brewing and distilling that stretches back more than 100 years. Jakob Baumberger took over a small brewery in the 1860s, acquiring a top-quality spring-water source a...

Last week saw the end of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival – five days of events across Scotland’s most densely packed whisky-producing region. We watched enviously as tweets, Facebook posts and the occasional bragging text message told tales of great whisky, music, food and general shenanigans. So as not to feel left out, we’ve been having our own minimalistic Speyside whisky festival at TWE HQ, with one very special new bottling.

Announcing our latest exclusive:  Aberlour 16 years old, single first-fill sherry cask #4738 .

It’s a hard life as a whisky tester for Aberlour…

Sat at the southern end of the town of Charlestown of...

A new month means our latest trio of offers, and with the weather beginning to warm up, there’s a summery feel to our choices for maj.

Malt of the Month

The Malt of the Month is Lagavulin Distillers Edition 1998 . Thiss bottling was introduced in 1997 with the 1979 vintage and is the most popular entry in Diageo’s range of cask-finished whiskies. This has been bottled at around 18 years of age after a final maturation in ex-Pedro-Ximénez sherry casks, which adds richness and freshness to the classic peaty and maritime character. We’ve knocked a tenner off and it’s...

Vermouth has long been the secret weapon of a good bartender. They know that a dash can transform a cocktail, adding complexity and depth, as well as a refreshing, bittersweet character. Vermouth’s other strong suit is its versatility – as well as a blending partner in a cocktail, it can be served on the rocks or mixed into a long drink with great effect.

Five facts about vermouth

• vermouth is an aromatised fortified wine, made by adding botanicals to wine which has had spirit added to it
• it can be red, white or rosé
• it must have an ABV of...

Our latest prize draw is big in more ways than one! We’re offering one customer the chance to win a huge 15-litre bottle of Champagne. Simply buy a 75cl bottle of Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win a nebuchadnezzar worth £1,350 – equivalent to 20 bottles and containing enough fizz to fill more than 100 glasses.

First released in 1869, Moët’s Brut Impérial is the world’s bestselling non-vintage Champagne. Made with the three traditional Champagne grapes (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay), it is soft and fruity, and perfect for any...