With three new expressions recently launched in the domestic market, Tomatin have followed up with another three releases, this time for the travel retail market. Again, as with the 2007 Caribbean Rum Cask release, it’s refreshing to see them being transparent with the youngest bottling here; an 8yo. This is backed up by a 15yo [...]...

“Kininvie? Pffft, it’s just a portacabin with some stills in it.” That was the response when I told someone I was heading up to the distillery on a Monday morning with Alwynne Gwilt, Whisky Specialist at William Grant & Sons, along with Timna from Usquabae Whisky Bar and Cameron from Scotch at The Balmoral. “Not [...]...

Daily articles and rants about NAS whiskies from enthusiasts around the world are about as predictable as the annual autumnal anti-Jim Murray tirades emanating from every social media platform come mid-oktober each year. The NAS debate, I feel, has been had. Everyone who wants to throw in their tuppence has had their chance to do [...]...

Anyone ever been to Spain for a day? Seems like a bit of a waste of time. All that travelling (taxi to town – bus to airport – one hour flight – three hour flight – two hour drive) for a measly 18 hours on the ground. Well, I suppose it depends on how you [...]...

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Glenfiddich, probably the most recognisable brand of single malt Scotch whisky in the world, have unveiled two new and rather exciting expressions. The big guys tend to play it relatively safe when it comes to releasing new expressions, fearing that something a bit too ‘out [...]...

Hot on the heels on their Port Finish, Glen Moray have released another expression in their ever-expanding portfolio. The Elgin-based distillery’s “Classic Collection” already consists of the Classic, the Port Finish and the Peated expression which are all available at very, very competitive prices. Without being a particularly remarkable distillery (or majbe that’s just me), [...]...

That’s right; not one, not two, but three brand new Tomatin whiskies, with different age statements and maturation regimes. First off, I find it very refreshing that the youngest of the trio, a 2007 expression matured in Caribbean rum casks, comes with an actual age statement. It would have been really easy (and in today’s [...]...

This very special little sample landed on my desk completely out of the blue a few days ago with a note stating “Simon suggested you might enjoy this!”. And Simon was right. The folks at Gleann Mor Spirits Company have managed to get their hands on a rather special cask from the long-closed distillery of [...]...

You’ll be hard pushed to find a more traditional distillery than Springbank. Family owned and with 100% of production carried out on site, Springbank has gathered a cult following of sorts over the years. In the same love-it-or-hate-it bracket as most Islay whiskies, the distinct industrial oily smoke is lapped up by some but despised [...]...

Following on from the hugely successful launch of Exile Casks’ first expression, The Trojan, Neil and Joel have released another single cask offering. ‘The Wanderer’ is a 24yo single cask Speyside whisky, so-called because of the journey this cask has made around Scotland. When it was filled in 1992, it was initially destined for an [...]...

To Rise With The Lark Written by friend of the blog; Lara S. Williams There are few things nicer than Hobart in the sunshine. Unless, that is, you take a trip out to Lark Distillery, nestled amongst dry land vineyards and open fields dotted with occasional houses that look as though they’ve had a tipple [...]...

“The time has come”, the Walrus said, “to talk of many things: of flavours – and aromas – and ciphers. Of codes – and code-breakers – and innovation.” Erm, perhaps that’s not exactly what the Walrus wanted to talk to the oysters about in Through the Looking Glass, but if he saw what The Glenlivet [...]...

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited over to the Midleton Distillery in Ireland to attend the launch of the Jameson Family, an umbrella term covering rebranding of current expressions and the release of several new ones. With the original Jameson Irish Whiskey sitting in the middle, there are now [...]...

A couple of weeks ago I received a rather exciting invitation from Dewar’s Blended Scotch Whisky. Usually, these things take the form of a pdf attached to an email, or at best, a card in the post. Rarely do I have to scribble on a courier’s useless handheld machine in order to simply receive an [...]...

The folks at Tomatin have been rather busy recently, releasing two brand new whiskies in quick succession; a Cask Strength Edition and Cù Bòcan Vintage 1988. Matured in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, the Cask Strength Edition is limited to 15,000 bottles and will become a permanent addition to the brand’s portfolio. Sales [...]...

After bumping into Neil and Joel at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded that the result of their most recent escapades was still sitting patiently in my sample cupboard ready to be tasted (yes, I have a sample cupboard… dahling). With all the humdrum surrounding the festival [...]...

The big news in the whisky industry recently has been the sale of Billy Walker’s distilleries to Brown-Forman, the company behind Tennessee whiskey behemoth Jack Daniel’s. For an eye-watering £285 million, Brown-Forman have acquired Benriach, Glendronach and Glenglassaugh. Not a bad return on investment for the Walker family. It remains to be seen what path [...]...

It’s been a couple of years since I was last at this wonderful celebration of whisky in Speyside (see here) and what a pleasure it was to go back. After being part of the judging panel for the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Awards back in januari (huge congrats to all at Glenfiddich for sweeping [...]...

Strong notes of ‘pleasantly surprised’, with a hint of ‘incredulity’ and undertones of ‘faith restored’. It maj sound like one of the more abstract tasting notes you’ve read, but it’s actually a description of my initial feelings when I found out about Lagavulin’s limited edition 8yo, released as part of their 200th anniversary celebrations. Many [...]...

After decades of closures, including Ladyburn, St Magdalene, Rosebank, Littlemill, Kinclaith, Inverleven… the Lowland region finally has something very special to celebrate. Not long after Bladnoch was given a new lease of life, the first release from Ailsa Bay has now hit the UK market. Before I get to the whisky, let’s look at this [...]...