Auchentoshan, started in the 1820′s, have for a few years tried to break the mould when it comes to whisky marketing. Cocktails, appearances at beer festivals, and now beer and whisky mixed together. It kind of makes sense for Auchentoshan though. Right on the edge of Glasgow, unpeated, triple distilled, slightly unusual. It doesn’t fit [...]...

It’s time for another quick dram from the treasures I managed to unearth at the Green Welly Stop a few weeks ago, following on from the incredible Longrow 1974 16yo. This time it’s from Mortlach, the ‘Beast of Dufftown’. I’ve long been a fan of Mortlach whisky, despite owners Diageo really pissing me off a [...]...

Ever since that fateful night out in 2013 with the chaps from Master of Malt, we have been lucky enough to release several batches of our That Boutique-y Whisky Company bottling. We chose Glen Keith, due to the highly experimental nature of the distillery, and the fact Chivas Bros have breathed new life into it [...]...

Following on from a couple of rather hectic, but extremely fun, days at Bruichladdich distillery (you can see what I got up to here), myself and The Drinks Lady managed to squeeze in a visit to Ardbeg before (almost) missing our ferry back to the mainland. Ardbeg has long been a favourite of mine, with [...]...

If you’re ever around Loch Lomond I implore you to pop in to the Green Welly Stop at Tyndrum. It is an absolute treasure trove of whisky, and in particular, weird and wonderful miniatures. I was up north a few weeks ago and passed through Tyndrum on my way home. Needless to say I stopped [...]...

Ever had dinner in a jeweller’s shop? Nope, me either, until a couple of weeks ago. A unique location such as Hamilton & Inches in Edinburgh meant the dinner must be for quite a unique event, and boy, it didn’t disappoint. The dinner was to celebrate the launch of Tamdhu 50yo, a single cask release [...]...

Tales of the Cocktail, one of the world’s most well-known cocktail festivals, comes to Edinburgh over the next 6 days in the form of Tales on Tour. Naturally, myself and the EWB team will be attending some of the different seminars and drinks events. Check out the full schedule here: https://talesofthecocktail.com/events/tales-on-tour/. If you have a ticket, [...]...

As mentioned in my last post, I spent a couple of days in Campbeltown visiting Springbank Distillery with The Drinks Lady before heading over to Islay for a little get-to-know-you session with Bruichladdich. Actually, it was a bit more than that. As soon as we arrived on the island, we were greeted by Christy McFarlane [...]...

A couple of weeks ago, myself and The Drinks Lady headed over to Campbeltown for a couple of days to visit Springbank distillery, before heading to Islay (more on that soon). A lot has been written about Springbank, about the variety of the three styles of whisky it produces, about its continued use of ‘old [...]...

Another year, another Glenmorangie Private Edition. This year’s release has seen a reincarnation, of sorts, of the now-discontinued Madeira Finish which was around in the late 90’s and early noughties. Named ‘Bacalta’ (Gaelic for ‘baked’), this expression takes its name from the Malmsey wine casks used on the island of Madeira. These casks are stored [...]...

What a wild past few weeks it’s been – trips to Auchentoshan, Springbank, Glengyle, Bruichladdich, Ardbeg and Kilchoman distilleries, as well as visiting the Diageo Archives on International Scotch Day. More about all of those in future blog posts, but safe to say it’s nice to have a quiet few minutes to sit down with [...]...

Do you know someone that just can’t help getting into trouble? I know I do, and the chances are that if you don’t it’s probably you. It’s not a bad thing though. You do want to have at least one of these people in your life. They are the people who can take a night [...]...

In the build up to The Whisky Show Old and Rare (18th-19th februari), Angus and Jonny kindly let me sample some examples of the kind of whisky on offer at the show (Tickets for Saturday sold out-Sunday tickets available here). Both the Ardbeg and Highland Park had interesting notes that took time to come forward, [...]...

Teeling Whiskey Company, established in Dublin in 2012, has just released a brand new 24yo whiskey. Hang on… that doesn’t add up… a 5 year old company can’t release a 24yo whiskey can it? It can, actually, and here’s how. The Teeling family have long had an association with the Irish whiskey industry, what with [...]...

The Old & Rare Whisky Show Glasgow is a festival showing an older style of whisky. Modern day whisky tends to be made with distillers yeast, powerful fresh casks, wood finishes and condensers. At the Old and Rare festival, you’ll be able to try longer fermented whiskies, made using different yeasts, direct fired pot stills, older [...]...

To begin 2017, Tiger, Graeme, Jason & I have vowed to blog more, and get Edinburgh Whisky Blog back to being a busy website again. Tiger has been doing well to keep it going, but we 3 will be chipping in more this year. Lucas is taking a step back, and we wish him well. [...]...

I’ve had a bit of a love/hate relationship with The Macallan over the years. A decade or more ago, the 18yo was one of the first examples of sherry matured whisky which I properly loved. The 12yo Sherry Oak was a benchmark against which I held all other sherried whiskies. More recently, their 1824 Series [...]...

Turning 21 years old is a big deal. The awkward teenage years are behind you, you’ve survived the transition into young adulthood and are finding your feet at university. In the US this age is of utmost importance, as you can legally go out for a drink in a bar. Over here… well… erm… you [...]...

*Phone rings* Hello? Hi mate, you up to much tomorrow? Got a few things planned, how come? Oh, I just wanted to invite you to The Bon Vivant for a Compass Box whisky dinner with John Glaser. *Instantly clears diary* That’s pretty much what happened last Tuesday afternoon. Just over 24 hours later, I threw [...]...

Following on from a £300,000 refurbishment of its Queen Street venue, The Scotch Maltwhisky Society has now launched a rather special whisky selection in its new Kaleidoscope Bar. This is the first time non-SMWS whiskies have been available in any society venue, and who else would one ask to curate such a selection, than [...]...