When it comes to sparkling wine , there’s one name that stands head and shoulders above all of the rest: Champagne . But why does it earn such praise? I asked our resident Master of Wine, Dawn Davies, what she thought.

What sets Champagne apart?

Refermented in bottle

Rather than pumping it full of gas like a SodaStream or letting it ferment in large closed tanks, the fizziness is created in each bottle. The still base wine is filled into bottles, some sugar and yeast are added and the bottle is sealed. The yeast eats the sugar, producing alcohol and carbon...

At The Whisky Exchange, we are always looking at what’s hot and what’s not. Last september we presented our ideas on upcoming drinks for 2017 at an exclusive event at our London shop, and we are now proud to show that we are following our own advice. Introducing Clean Spirits: a range of great-tasting alcohol-free spirits from The Whisky Exchange. Forget clean eating, this is clean drinking…

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

With increasing focus on healthy living across the world, it was only a matter of time before the spotlight fell on the world of spirits. While beer and...

It’s agreed that whisky gets much of its flavour from the wood it’s aged in. Many different types are used, but what do they add? This was the subject of a recent shop tasting hosted by senior assistant manager Chris Bolton. Here the key points about whisky maturation:

• the number of times the cask has been used – the more times, the less flavour will be imparted,
• the size of the cask – the greater the surface-area-to-volume ratio, the more flavour the whisky will get,
• the length of time in the cask – more time means more flavour extraction,
• the intensity...

Cognac expert Michelle Brachet came to our London shop on a mission to convert people to the wonders of this classy spirit. After wowing guests with her choices, it appears she succeeded. And if you think that Cognac should be served warm in a big balloon glass, she has some advice for you…

Cognac expert Michelle Brachet

1. Cognac is for everyone

‘Cognac is the most neglected spirit in this country. People are scared by it; they think it’s too expensive; they think you have to be a millionaire to drink it – I’m here to dispel these myths.’

2....

Cheese is an incredibly varied thing. From runny blues to rock-hard Pecorino, from smoky Oscypek to stinky Epoisses, the range of flavour is wide. Fortunately, whisky is up to the task of pairing with it.

Here are a few styles of cheese and some ideas of which whiskies to drink with them. These have been road-tested during a long afternoon’s work with Paxton & Whitfield , cheesemonger to Her Majesty The Queen, but if you have any suggestions, please let us know in the comments below.

Cheddar – semi-hard cows’ milk cheese

We start with the UK’s favourite cheese. Despite the name,...

Many people believe that whisky is all about Scotch . Even though whiskies from other countries such as Japan , Taiwan and Ireland are pretty good, why bother when you have such an array of styles from Scotland?

The truth is that what I find in Irish whiskey, I cannot find in any other whisky. There is an elegance and fruitiness that is unique to these style of whiskies, the older whiskies even have a tropical-fruit character that is a personal favourite.

The water wheel at the Old Midleton Distillery

Irish whiskey styles

What makes these whiskeys different? Firstly, they...

To celebrate the launch of London Beer Week 2017 , Jane takes a look at the boilermaker, a classic pairing that is now a sophisticated serve in the capital’s best bars.

Existing in dive bars as a shot and a beer for generations, a boilermaker used to be the all-American male choice of beverage, gaining its name from industrial metalworkers who were quite possibly in need of a boilermaker after a hard day’s work.

The boilermaker – the perfect serve of whiskey and beer

Today, the boilermaker has evolved beyond its typical confines to become a drink that encompasses craft...

St Patrick’s Day is the day when Ireland celebrates its patron saint, both a religious and cultural festival. As it approaches, how should you mark the occasion and more importantly, what should you drink? There’s lots to choose from – if you’re after some quick ideas, we’ve created a list of our recommendations – just click the banner below.

A wide range of drinks is made on the island, including beer, spirits and liqueurs – here’s the lowdown:

Whiskey

Debate will long rage about whether Ireland was making whisky before the Scots, but one thing’s for sure: the Irish whiskey...

Today is International Women’s Day, so what better way to show our support than by looking at the way women have shaped our industry over the years. I started out in the industry more than 15 years ago; at the time, there were just five female sommeliers in London and it was very much an industry dominated by men. I am glad to say that today things have changed, but I am still frustrated when I walk into a tasting and am confronted by a sea of male faces.

Women have always played a part in the drinks industry, from...

When it emerged that we would be selling a special charity bottling of Lagavulin we were very excited, not only because it’s great to be involved with such a distinguished distillery, but also because all proceeds received by Diageo would be split among seven Islay charities.

Firstly, some context. We had 522 bottles of the 1991 Lagavulin, so we held three ballots in which we drew customer email addresses at random then contacted them to find out if they wished to buy a bottle. After three ballots, we still had 109 bottles remaining, so we contacted all remaining customers who...

We’re very fortunate at The Whisky Exchange not only to stock a huge range of whiskies from independent bottlers, but also to work closely with our sister company, Speciality Drinks Ltd , which is an independent bottler itself. This lets us see the world of indies from a different perspective to most whisky shops.

The indies work in a very different way to the distilleries themselves, having the flexibility to bottle what they want, without being restrained by house style or tradition. If you want to explore the full range of whisky flavours, then you need to investigate independent bottlings.

Oliver Chilton, hard at...

We often get asked which whisky is a good investment – and it is always a difficult question to answer. There are many ways to look at what has proven to be a good investment, but I have always believed the most important element is that the whisky is superb: a whisky you enjoy so much that you could drink it every day, and a whisky that you would choose as a desert-island dram. These amazing drams do not have to be the most expensive, the most beautifully packaged or the most limited of releases, just great drinking whiskies that...

Iceland has become the place to visit in the past few years. With miles of mountains, lagoons, glaciers and geothermal springs and a high chance of seeing the Northern Lights, it’s become well known as a haven for explorers and spa-goers alike, as well as attracting foodies for its burgeoning restaurant and bar scene.

Three examples of Icelandic landscapes (Fran Cano Cabal – own work , CC BY-SA 3.0 )

One of the most surprising things about Iceland is that fruit is able to grow less than 200 miles from the Arctic Circle. In fact the North Atlantic Current helps to keep...

South African wine has always held a place in my heart – while on holiday there, I had my first-ever tasting. Those were the days of swallow not spit…there was no assessment of the wines and I am not sure if I remember the whole tour, but they charmed me and still do to this day.

The Whisky Exchange’s head buyer, Dawn Davies MW

It was the Dutch who brought wine to South Africa back in 1659 when the first recorded bottles were produced. In the beginning, it was largely badly made and rustic, providing much-needed refreshment to the European...

The nights are cold and spring is still far away, but fear not as we visit the warm tropics of Asia in our second instalment of Ladies Night! This session was hosted by the wonderful whisky ambassador Stefanie Holt. Full of passion and limitless knowledge, Stef guided us around three key Asian whisky-producing countries; India, Taiwan and, of course, Japan. We tasted six whiskies – two from each country – I learned so much in just one evening!

Whisky ambassador Stefanie Holt

Taiwan Taiwan sits on the Tropic of Cancer and the climate ages whisky three to four times faster...

Not everyone likes sweet, pink and fizzy. Hallmark certainly isn’t my idea of a romantic sentiment, and it’s OK if it’s not yours, either. But it does make Valentine’s Day a tricky one to celebrate if you have someone in your life who genuinely prefers you to all other human beings they’ve met and yet you don’t want to drink Strawberry Bellinis or sit in a bar draped in love hearts. I will be especially avoiding waiters with cupid wings this year as well.

So, whether you’re staying at home and fancy yourself as a bit of a bartender or...

Whisky and food are a great match. I’m not talking about drinking shots with dinner, but instead am looking to the drinkers and eaters of Russia and the Iberian peninsula. Vodka and Zakuski (Russian starters), sherry and tapas, port and cheese – for me, the secret to pairing higher-strength drinks with food is to go for nibbles.

For our first dive into whisky and food pairing, we’ve taken inspiration from Spain and have munched our way through a plate of cured meat. There are hundreds of styles of charcuterie and everyone’s recipes are different, but here are a few broad...

Of all the things that have crossed my path since starting to work in the drinks world, judging whisky competitions is one of the most enjoyable. However, many people don’t know what’s involved. The final round of judging for the World Whiskies Awards was earlier this week, so here’s what went on…

Get to the venue

The judges and our home for the day – the Honourable Artillery Company

It sounds obvious, but not everyone who judged the award lives in London. On my table alone there were folks from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Ireland, India, Scotland and Canada, as well as a...

I’ve been lucky to attend plenty of whisky tastings. The latest was a tour through the new batch of Diageo’s Special Releases hosted by whisky educator Colin Dunn – and it was superb. But as it came to an end, it got me thinking: what are the key elements for a great whisky tasting?

Diageo whisky ambassador Colin Dunn (‘Everywhere you look, whisky is coming at you’)

1. Get the audience involved

The best tastings go beyond the standard teacher-pupil set-up, because the audience aren’t sat in a classroom waiting to be lectured to. They are as much a part...

Gin is in a fantastic place. It’s booming in the UK, with new distilleries popping up on a weekly basis and established distilleries producing increasingly wild and wacky recipes. However, along with the explosion of gins comes a problem for those making the stuff – how do you stand out in a crowded market? The Botanist has gone against the grain by keeping things traditional…up to a point.

A quick look through the 400 gins on the Whisky Exchange website shows one way of making yourself known – create a niche. It’s a high-risk move, but comparatively easy: find a...