For our new Champagne of the Moment, we’ve chosen a rosé Champagne from arguably the region’s most-famous house, Moët & Chandon . The exact Moët we’ve gone for is the Rosé Impérial – not just the standard bottle, this special edition comes wrapped in its own chiller jacket. This not only looks snazzy, but has the added advantage of keeping the bottle cool once you’ve taken it out of the fridge – no ice bucket needed!

Moët & Chandon’s beautiful orangerie in Epernay

Founded by Claude Moët in 1743, the house initially sold its Champagnes solely within France. The first...

Japanese whisky has seen a huge growth in recognition over the past year, partly due to Yamazaki Sherry Cask being named as 2015 World Whisky of the Year in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible . It has taken more than 90 years to come to the attention of the masses – the first whisky distillery in the country was Yamazaki , founded in 1923. One of the founders was Masataka Taketsuru, who left to set up his own company (later to become Nikka ), establishing Yoichi distillery on Hokkaido in 1934. We were delighted to welcome Nikka’s European brand ambassador, Sayumi...

It’s that time of year again. The International Wine and Spirits Competition have run out of wine and spirits to judge and their eyes have turned to the world of drinks shops. It’s only the second year that they’ve had an award for Online Retailer of the Year, and again we are in the running for the prize.

The first step is a public vote, so if you think we deserve the award, please click on the banner below and vote for us:

The folks at the IWSC have sweetened the deal this year, and everyone who votes will be...

Joining the Spirit of the Month ranks this september is something both old and new at the same time – Tanqueray Old Tom .

Old Tom is an old style of gin, sweeter than a London dry either by virtue of the botanical recipe or by some tweaking of the flavour with sugar after distillation. Either way, Old Toms are normally heavier and richer than a classic London Dry, and until very recently almost entirely unheard of in modern times.

The style initially rose in popularity in the 18th century and hung around until the early years of the 20th – the...

Whisky bottles were standardised at 70cl across Europe back in 1990, and ever since then our North American cousins (and our chums down in South Africa) have been pointing at the extra couple of shots their 75cl bottles get them. For september, we’re firing a shot across their collective bow, with our Malt of the Month deal saving you money on litre bottles of Glenfarclas 12 Year Old – that’s a whole extra five drams than you’ll get from a 75cl bottle. Take that, America!

GLENFARCLAS 12 YEAR OLD. 1 LITRE. £37.95 throughout september

Producer’s Notes

Nose : Fresh and beautifully light,...

We spend a large amount of time at The Whisky Exchange looking for great whisky. While this sometimes appears as obscure old bottles and hard-to-find things from overseas , we also work closely with distilleries to snap up exclusive bottlings. We’ve convinced the folks at BenRiach Distillers to let us have another pair of single casks – one from BenRiach and one from Glendronach .

The BenRiach warehouses are a treasure trove of casks

BenRiach is known for its experimentation. Even before the current owners bought the distillery in 2004, BenRiach was playing with triple distillation, and since the takeover they have continued,...

Havana Club is one of the biggest-selling rums in the world, and they’ve earned their spot at the top. They can trace their rum-production pedigree back over 130 years, and in that time they’ve seen revolution, trade embargoes, trademark disputes and more, but have still continued to produce excellent spirit.

Some casks of rum, waiting…

The Havana Club name appeared in 1934, created as a new brand by the Arechabalas, a Cuban distilling family. They sold the rum both at home and abroad for a few decades, until a small political matter got in the way: the Cuban revolution. Castro’s fledgling...

A reputation is a terrible thing. You post one thing on the internet , more people than expected read it, and from that day on you are ‘that guy who likes Jack Daniel’s Honey ‘.

So, when a new JD liqueur hits our shores, who’s the person who gets presented with a bottle and told to write tasting notes? That would be me. The new release in question: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire .

Jack Daniel’s fans are an active, watchful and vocal group. Within minutes of JD producer Brown-Forman announcing a limited, experimental roll-out of a cinnamon-flavoured JD liqueur across...

The Wild Turkey distillery was opened in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, in 1869

Associate distiller Eddie Russell led a tasting of his Wild Turkey range at our Vinopolis shop earlier this month. As well as taking us through his excellent range of whiskeys, Eddie talked about how his father Jimmy still rules the roost at the age of 80, and what he likes to drink when he’s not sipping bourbon…

Eddie Russell, associate distiller at Wild Turkey

IN THEIR OWN WORDS – EDDIE RUSSELL

‘ My dad Jimmy refers to me as “the new guy ” – he’s been here more than 60...

The four Forest Dry Gin bottlings each have their own seasonal selection of botanicals

Special-edition bottlings are common among spirits producers, but award-winning Belgian sommelier Jurgen Lijcops has gone a stage further by launching Forest Dry Gin , a range of four gins that change with the seasons. We spoke to him to find out more…

How did the idea for Forest Dry Gin come about?

I had 150 gins on my restaurant menu, but I cut this back to 30 and then I thought ‘Why can’t I just make it myself?’ A friend of mine [Patrick De Keersmaeker] who...

Part of the reason I love my job is learning something new every day. There’s one drink that has fascinated me more than any other in recent years (and it’s one of the most complicated) – sake . So I was excited to attend a masterclass from Akashi-Tai Brewery to learn more.

Sake, pronounced ‘sah-keh’, is Japanese for ‘alcohol’ (the Japanese call ‘rice wine’  nihonshu ). While commonly referred to as rice wine, but is in fact a beer. However, it should be treated as you would a wine, due to the strength (15-20% abv). Once bottled, it ages in a similar...

This Sunday (16 augusti) is National Rum Day. Placed slap bang in the middle of summer, it’s the perfect time to try some rum cocktails. We’ve created a shiny page with three of our favourites:

Our three recommended cocktails: Mojito, Old Fashioned and Planter’s Punch

Mojito Cuba’s national cocktail can trace its origins to the 16th century. This is one of the simplest to make – just add, sir and top up as below.

You will need:

• 50ml Havana Club 3 Year Old
• 20ml fresh lime juice
• 15ml sugar syrup – we recommend Trois Rivières
• soda water to top up...

The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show is less than eight weeks away, which means that from here on the announcements will be coming thick and fast – there’s lots going on this year.

For those of you who don’t know about our Whisky Show, it’s a two-day whisky extravaganza taking place on the weekend of 3-4 oktober, at Old Billingsgate in London. It’s the seventh year of the show, and this time we’ve got more exhibitors and whisky than ever before – more than 550 different whiskies to taste. Along with that, there are free seminars and tastings, food pairings, a...

We’ve been good to you over the past few months. We’ve had a run of competitions and special offers throughout the summer, and are finishing things up with a month of whisky multi-buy deals. We’ve put together two extensive ranges of whiskies to choose from, and if you buy a pair of bottles we’ll knock some money off.

First up we have more than 400 (as of writing – some might go out of stock over the month) great-value single malt Scotch whiskies – buy two and save £5 . The range includes everything from must-haves like Laphroaig 10 Year Old...

Glenfarclas is a rare example of a Scottish distillery that is still in independent hands. I sat down with director of sales, George Grant, as the distillery celebrated 150 years of Grant family ownership.

George Grant in a typically shy and retiring pose for a Dutch advert

‘The big advantage to being family owned is that you have one person to ask the questions to and you can get an answer immediately. The negatives are you don’t have that team behind you, or that massive marketing budget.’

‘ Being traditional leads to more innovation , we look at things on...

OriGINario botanicals add a fresh hit of aromatics to your gin and tonic

If you’re partial to a gin and tonic, we have a new product we know you’ll love. Personalising your drinks is all the rage at the moment, so these new botanical packs from OriGINario are just the thing.

We sell the full 16-box Selection Pack here , but in addition, we’re running a special offer. Simply order any full-size bottle of gin and we’ll send you a randomly chosen sample from the OriGINario botanicals range for free!

There are four contrasting styles each one adds an intriguing...

The start of augusti means it’s time for our new Malt of the Month. This time, we’ve chosen a lighter and summery whisky: Aberfeldy 12 Year Old , and have knocked £4.50 off the usual price – it’s now just £29.95.

Historically, Aberfeldy flew under the radar. Known to whisky connoisseurs and blenders, it wasn’t easy to find. That changed when Bacardi purchased John Dewar & Sons from Diageo in 1998, with the 12 Year Old released the following year. Much of the distillery’s production is used for Dewar’s White Label , just as it was when it opened in...

We’re approaching the height of summer, so what better than a delicious Russian vodka for augusti’s Spirit of the Month. Jewel of Russia Classic is a full-bodied vodka that is rich and creamy with a spicy kick – perfect sipped solo or used as a cocktail ingredient – and best of all, we’re knocking £3.40 off the price of a 70cl bottle, down to just £16.95.

Jewel of Russia Classic is made with winter wheat and rye, then undergoes a five-step ‘slow-flow’ filtration process through special charcoal made from peach and apricot stones. The picturesque distillery is located near Chernogolovka...

We’re rather obsessed with summer at TWE at the moment. English memories are short, and each year the warm summer surprises us, with gasps all around as we realise that for a few weeks we won’t need jumpers and umbrellas. So, during this brief respite from our usual, more active weather, we’re jumping on the long-drink bandwagon, and trying as many summery beverages as we can. Today’s candidate for examination: Aperol .

When it comes to brightly coloured Italian bitters, Campari has had the market sewn up for years. However, all is not as it once was in bittersland, with...

Our Summer Party Kit contains almost everything you need to make a pair of summery long drinks

Nothing says summer quite like an al fresco drinks party. Following on from our popular Summer Gin Cocktail Kit (we only have a few left), we’ve put together a Summer Party Kit , with almost everything you need to make a brace of delicious and refreshing long drinks:

• a 70cl bottle of Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
• two 20cl bottles of Fever-Tree Tonic Water
• two 20cl bottles of Fever-Tree Ginger Ale
• a Grand Marnier pitcher
• four Grand Marnier glasses

We say almost everything – you’ll...