Just a couple of months ago, the Lakes Distillery launched their first general release – Whiskymaker’s Reserve No. 1. It was snapped up super quick, and so your only chance of getting your hands on it now is to find it at auction. This expression is the first expression in what will become a wider [...]...

As you might’ve gathered from my social media feeds, I frequently host tastings (alongside The Drinks Lady) for all sorts of groups – private, corporate, charity, student society, wedding, conference etc – and one of my favourite themes to discuss with smaller groups is ‘Time Travel’. This tasting essentially involves sourcing five bottles of whisky, [...]...

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last few months, you’ll know that Dave Broom has released a fantastic documentary, The Amber Light, which looks at the culture surrounding Scotch whisky, from music and poetry, to food and art, to literature and the liquid itself. It premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival [...]...

I might just be getting old and becoming more sensitive to the cold, but the weather has taken a definite turn for the worse in Edinburgh. Early mornings now come with a dusting of light frost, my ‘big coat’ has been looked out to combat the chilly, biting, wind, and car headlights and lampposts now [...]...

Swedish distillery Mackmyra have collaborated with port brand, Quinta Do Valado, one of the oldest producers in the Duoro Valley in Portugal, to create Mackmyra Vintersol. This expression, which translates as ‘winter sun’, is initially matured in a combination of bourbon barrels, Swedish oak casks and oloroso sherry casks before being finished in Port casks. [...]...

This is the first of two new Kilchoman releases I’ll be featuring on the blog over the next week or so, the other being their brand new 2010 Vintage. Today we have the 9th Edition of their 100% Islay expression, a whisky which they proudly proclaim to be made from ‘an unbroken chain of creation, [...]...

To celebrate the birthday of The Whisky Shop’s W Club this autumn, they’ve released a 2006 single cask Old Pulteney. That’s a pretty handy birthday present by anyone’s standards. There’s been a few of these mid-noughties single casks floating about over the last 12 months. You’ll likely be familiar with the 2006 official bottling in [...]...

Following on from the release of their inaugural London Rye Whisky which launched last november, the East London Liquor Company have now launched three brand new products. These three whiskies include the second edition of their rye whisky, as well as a single Maltwhisky, and a collaborative blended whisky in partnership with the folks [...]...

As mentioned last week when I reviewed Kilchoman’s 100% Islay 9th Edition, today sees me sample the other brand new release from this Islay-based farm distillery; the 2010 Vintage. These vintage releases do exactly what they say on the tin, they’re a vatting of several casks which were all filled in the same year. Following [...]...

Autumn brings with it several whisky festivals; the usual suspects in London and Glasgow, as well as newer, independent ones in Stirling, Dundee and Aberdeen. I’ve often thought that the number of whisky festivals in the central belt is more than a tad disproportionate (Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival and Feis Ile notwithstanding), given that [...]...

It’s around this time of year, when autumn starts to hover on the horizon, that Glendronach releases its annual cask strength offering. This year is no different, and this staple of the range is now on its 8th batch. Matured for ten years in a combination of PX and oloroso puncheons, butts and quarter casks, [...]...

After launching their inaugural range, the Candlelight Series, last year, Whisky Illuminati have now launched their second range, the Solaris Series. This range comprises five single cask whiskies, but only part of the liquid has been bottled this year. A further portion of each cask will be bottled in 2021, and the remainder bottled in [...]...

This year marks 125 years since the Knockdhu distillery was established, nestled in the Black Hills in the Eastern Highlands. Since its inception in 1894, not too much has changed at the distillery – there’s very little automation and production is still very much “hands-on”, which means the strapline for the brand, ‘Modern Tradition’, is [...]...

Some very exciting news came out of Ardbeg a couple of weeks ago when they announced that, for the first time in 20 years, a new age statement expression will be joining the distillery’s core range. Ardbeg Traigh Bhan (pronounced Tri-Van) has been inspired by the heavenly vista of Islay’s Traigh Bhan – known locally [...]...

Glenfiddich has launched the first expression in what will become its ‘Grand’ Series, with the release of Grand Cru; a 23 year old whisky matured primarily in American Oak and finished in French Cuvée wine casks. I was fortunate enough to attend the launch of the expression earlier today at the Register Club within the [...]...

Chivas have released their most extensive collection to date – a 15 bottle extravaganza collectively known as the Secret Speyside Collection. The aim, according to the press release, is to showcase “four of Speyside’s most elusive distilleries” (doesn’t Longmorn already have a whole single malt range on the market…?). Regardless, the series features a trio [...]...

The final article in my mini New-Releases-At-Whisky-Fringe series (following on from my Glen Moray 21yo Portwood Finish review and my AnCnoc 16yo Cask Strength and Peat review) takes me to Cù Bòcan, the name of the peated spirit produced during the winter months at Tomatin distillery. The brand has completely revamped their range, and they’ve not [...]...

Remarkably, we’re somehow now flying through september; students are returning to university, the weather is cooling, the nights are ‘drawing in’, and some people start turning their attention to Hallowe’en (idiots). For Edinburgh residents, the start of september marks another annual milestone – a return to normality after the chaos of the festival season. Don’t [...]...

For those of you not familiar with Method & Madness, it is a brand which has resulted from the coming together of Irish Distillers’ (think Jameson and Redbreast) most experienced blenders, and their upstart apprentices. The word ‘upstart’ is probably a bit unfair, but you get my drift. Tried and tested methods from the old [...]...

Today is the first of a trio of articles where I’ll sample some new releases which were launched at Royal Mile Whiskies’ Whisky Fringe last month. Over the next few days, we’ll have a look at the new Cù Bòcan range from Tomatin as well as a couple of brand new whiskies from AnCnoc (including [...]...