Scotland is undergoing a rye renaissance that has spiced up the debate about what can and cannot be produced in a Scotch whisky distillery. At least eight distilleries including Bruichladdich , InchDairnie , and Lone Wolf have been experimenting with rye, and while the spirit is aging in casks, distillers are busy scrutinizing the rules to work out how they can bottle it without falling foul of the Scotch Whisky Regulations, which dictate what can and cannot be labeled as scotch.

Single malt Scotch whisky must be produced from 100% malted barley and must be distilled on a pot still,...

You’ve amassed a collection of whiskies, properly inventoried every bottle—and if you haven’t, read this guide —and now you want to make sure that your investment is secure. It’s time to get an appraisal. Whether it’s for insurance purposes, or because you are selling at auction, an accurate valuation of your whiskies will be essential. And who knows? Your collection maj be worth much more than you think.

Why Insure Your Bottles?

“Insurance is there to put you back in the same financial position that you were in immediately prior to an insured event happening, such as a loss,” explains...

Canadian whisky is making a return to its historic roots. On februari 14th, 2018, New Orleans-based Sazerac Company announced it was distilling in the historic Montreal neighborhood of Old Montreal—the very cradle of Canadian whisky. It was in Montreal that early Canadian distillers began making spirit from grain, rather than the then-dominant molasses. And now, with the opening of Old Montreal Distillery, whisky spirit is flowing in the city once again.

The distillery was established in the 1920s as Meagher Distillery, producing liqueurs and later genever. After several decades under the majority ownership of Dutch spirits firm DeKuyper, for the...

It’s Friday the 13th, but don’t get spooked—this week’s new whiskeys are all perfectly normal. In fact, Diageo just announced news of its 2018 Special Releases —most of them, that is.

First up, Wild Turkey has announced a new, permanently available bourbon called Longbranch, which master distiller Eddie Russell made in partnership with creative director (and film actor) Matthew McConaughey. It’s 8 years old and filtered through both American white oak and mesquite charcoals, and it costs $40. Since McConaughey’s stamp of approval is on it, I’m guessing this whiskey is all right, all right, all right (or even better...

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” The same might be said of buying whisky. As barely a month passes without a whisky setting a new record auction price, it would be easy to think it’s too late to join the party. It doesn’t help that there’s always some curmudgeon around boasting of the good ol’ days, when fine bottles of whisky were affordable and could be picked up off the store shelf. Times maj have changed, but there’s no point in thinking about what could have been. With some...

WhiskyFest descends on the nation’s capital on april 17th, giving local whisky lovers the chance to taste from among hundreds of scotches , bourbons and ryes , craft whiskey, and more. One of the best reasons to attend? The opportunity to try brand-new whiskies, practically fresh from the barrel. These are seven of our top picks, but there are many, many more— check out the full pour list .

Haven’t gotten your tickets yet? Sort that out first , then read up on how t o make the most your evening . See you on the 17th!

Glenmorangie Spìos

Glenmorangie releases...

Diageo has announced nine out of its ten Special Release Collection whiskies for 2018. As it did last year, the company is keeping details of the tenth whisky under wraps until later in the year. Last year’s surprise whisky was Collectivum XXVIII, a blended malt containing whiskies from all 28 of Diageo’s malt distilleries.

Collectors and savvy drinkers maj notice a couple of gaps in this year’s list. For the first time since the Special Releases were launched in 2001, there’s no Port Ellen or Brora among them. That doesn’t mean there is no Port Ellen or Brora whisky left...

An artist’s career is not built upon a single painting, but on a body of work. These distilleries have delivered a breadth and depth of whiskies that puts them at the top of many collector wish lists . While there are individual bottlings from American and Irish distilleries that attract collectors, none have earned the dedicated following of these masters. Sadly, like many artists, some of these distilleries achieved their greatest appreciation only long after their death.

Balvenie

No longer in the shadow of Glenfiddich, the ingenuity of David Stewart’s creations in the marrying tuns over the last decade have...

The Cognac business is a strange one. It is dominated by the Big Four – Hennessy , Rémy Martin , Martell and Courvoisier – but there are hundreds of producers in the region. Cognac is built around blending, and while the Big Four maj have more bottles with their name on than anyone else, the spirit in the bottles is sourced from a host of smaller companies. Along with the growers, winemakers and distillers, there are also many smaller Cognac blenders, the houses that haven’t garnered the international fame of the Big Four.

Before you drop into the realm of...

The launch of the annual Diageo Special Releases is one of the big whisky events of the year. Whether you want to buy them or not, the discussion that’s generated online and the fight for tickets to tastings featuring the bottles shows that interest is building every year. However, we don’t normally learn about them officially until the autumn. That’s changed this year: announcing the Diageo Special Releases 2018 !

Don’t know what the Special Releases are? Learn all about them in our handy guide: Diageo Special Releases – what are they?

Years of leaks and, more recently, the labels...

Every year, there are a few drinks that bartenders and writers fall in love with. Folks like me run around telling everyone how great they are and sometimes, unfortunately, people listen – we’re still apologising for the gin boom. However, there’s one category that’s always in favour with at least the ‘professional drinkers’ (us) which everyone else (you) never seems to jump on: vermouth and the rest of the spectrum of aromatised wines.

If you’re wondering what we mean by aromatised wines and vermouth, check out our What are Aromatised Wine? and What is Vermouth? guides. In short – wine...

With The Cognac Show rapidly approaching, we’re digging further into the world of Cognac. While there are hundreds of producers in the region – we have more than 80 in our A-Z of Cognac – there are four that are huge in comparison to the rest: Hennessy , Rémy Martin , Martell and Courvoisier . With a range of styles between them, they are the perfect place to start investigating the flavours of Cognac.

Hennessy

Hennessy is the largest producer of Cognac and has been the dominant force in the region for more than 200 years – about a quarter...

Vermouth. The blog that literally tens of you have been waiting for. As we learned last time , vermouth is a type of aromatised wine – which, to be honest, doesn’t sound very sexy.

The aromatised wine family – spot the vermouth

In fact, for most people, vermouth isn’t a very sexy thing. If cocktails were boy bands, vermouth wouldn’t be the charismatic singer or the dark, moody guitarist, it’d be the odd guy on the keyboard who gets significantly less fanmail than the rest of them. Yet, much like the spotty keyboard guy, vermouth’s presence is essential, and there...

Antique Lions of Spirits: Savannah series

The new batch of ALOS bottlings will be presented at the Limburg Whisky Fair this week-end. All labels are in a savannah theme:

• Speyside Region 42 yo 1975 (49,2%, Fino sherry cask, 878 btl.)
• Ireland 28 yo 1989 (49,9%, bourbon cask, 211 btl.)
• Springbank 20 yo 1998 (48%, sherry cask, 248 btl.)
• Clynelish 20 yo 1997 (52,4%, bourbon cask, 258 btl.)
• Glen Keith 24 yo 1998 (47,3%, bourbon cask, 297 btl.)
• Bruichladdich 6 yo 2011 (51,9%, bourbon cask, heavily peated, 258 btl.)

The GlenAllachie core range

Here’s the line-up for the upcoming GlenAllachie...

This is the third release of the legendary Brora 30 Year Old . They’re all excellent but this 2004 edition is considered the best (together with the 2005 and 2007 edition). After that the profile started to change with more late 1970s casks involved, closer to Clynelish in a way with less of the farmy notes. No need for a longer introduction, I guess.

Brora 30 yo (56,6%, OB 2004, 3rd release, 3000 btl.)

Nose: goat stables and hay. This farminess is pretty unique to these first few Brora releases and so nice. Subtle peat and coastal notes....

First Lochan Sholum , now Wardhead … soon they will only be allowed to put ‘whisky’ on the label. Many well-known distilleries don’t allow independent bottlers to use their name on the label: Glenfiddich, Balvenie, Highland Park, Glenfarclas, Lagavulin…

More often than not though, we are pretty certain where the liquid comes from: Wardhead points to  teaspooned Glenfiddich , with a little Balvenie added. The opposite formula is called Burnside. In both cases technically a blended malt. Distilled in 1997 and bottled by Liquid Treasures .

Wardhead 21 yo 1997 (55,5%, Liquid Treasures ‘Entomology’ 2018, bourbon hogshead)

Nose:...

The Whisky Exchange has a new exclusive bottling: an Old Pulteney 2004 single cask, a first-fill sherry butt with a lovely deep colour and bottled at cask strength.

Old Pulteney 2004 (62,1%, OB for The Whisky Exchange 2018, first-fill sherry butt #128, 612 btl.)

Nose: slightly bulky sherry, with sticky toffee pudding, butterscotch and soaked raisins. Reminds me of GlenDronach Parliament, but coupled to a coastal side. Salted caramel. Also dark chocolate cake and hints of coffee. Liquorice and leather underneath. PX cask, I believe. Mouth: quite fierce, still this thick sherry coating with even more salty notes....

I’m not sure where the name Lochan Sholum comes from, but this should be middle-aged Lagavulin matured in a sherry cask. Bottled by Maltbarn and available to try at the upcoming Limburg Whisky festival, no doubt.

Lochan Sholum 14 yo 2003 (52,3%, Maltbarn 2017, sherry cask, 147 btl.)

Nose: clean, nicely leafy, with hints of wet wool and a little chalk. Dried kelp, soft Vicks and ginger in the background. Ink. There’s a cake-ish sweetness in the background, as well as a creamy almond note, but the sherry influence is not as big as, say, a Distiller’s Edition....

This Springbank 2000 was bottled by Whiskybroker for Port of Holmsund in Sweden. It is related to Kjell Öberg and his friends (remember his Port Charlotte 2002 ‘Double Wood’ ).

This was bottled from a Demerara rum cask at cask strength, really.

Springbank 17 yo 2000 (41,6%, Whiskybroker for Port of Holmsund, refill Demerara rum cask #630, 196 btl.)

Nose: clean, slightly austere, with a chalky base, lots of coastal saltiness and a hint of diesel. Candle wax, green apples, a little lemongrass. Old-school hints of fresh newspaper. Whiffs of smoke. Fairly mineral, but with some sweet touches....