San Francisco has always been a great place to enjoy whisky and has the history to prove it. While the inferno of the 1906 earthquake incinerated most of the city, firefighters worked overtime to save the vast whiskey warehouse of a local merchant named A.P. Hotaling. The building still stands on Jackson St., and the plaque outside displays a cheeky tribute to their effort:

If, as they say, God spanked the town For being over-frisky, Why did He burn His churches down And spare Hotaling’s whiskey?

The rest of the poetry on this tour will come in a glass. No...

Dan Szor is the founder of Cotswolds Distillery. He left behind a career in finance to follow his love of whisky and build the first distillery in the area. After years of development and hard work, he and his team released their first whisky in oktober 2017.

‘It was juni 2012. I was looking out of my bedroom window in my house in the Cotswolds. It was beautiful day, the wind was rippling through the barley and I had a thought: “why hasn’t anyone made whisky out of this barley?”‘

‘[Building a distillery] was just a passing idea and I...

The Book of Kells label should ring a bell if you’re serious about whisky. This beautifully illustrated label is used by Gordon & MacPhail for some its best bottlings, including one of my all-time favourites, the Longmorn 1969 for Japan Import System .

Now there’s a new exclusive bottling for The Whisky Exchange , although apparently Sukhinder had to fight to be able to use it – Gordon & MacPhail only use it for their absolute best.

We’re trying a Strathisla 1977 which has been maturing for over 40 years in a refill American oak hogshead. Bourbon maturation is rare...

What is a sherry cask?

About two weeks ago I was in the sherry triangle to host a sherry tasting but also to further investigate the relationship between the sherry industry and the whisky industry, more specifically the definition of a sherry cask as used in both industries. I am regularly hosting tastings with a line-up of sherry and whisky, and there is still a lot of confusion among whisky lovers when it comes to sherry and sherry casks.

I’ve already written an article Sherry and oak on my sherry blog but I thought a new one was necessary, this...

A quick review for Sunday as you’re either slumbering as part of your weekend rituals or you’re swamped with work after getting back to work. Either way, here’s something real nice to end/start the week – a review of Rock Oyster 18 Year Old.

Rock Oyster 18 is a limited edition in the Islands blended malts series from Douglas Laing. It was released along with Timorous Beastie 18 (reviewed here ) and it contains whiskies from Arran, Orkney, Jura and Islay. As usual it’s non chill-filtered and without colouring.

Rock Oyster 18 Year Old (46.8%, £72.50 / €76,99 )

Nose :...

When Struan Grant Ralph, Global Brand Ambassador for Glenfiddich, visited Israel last month, I had a rare glimpse into the Glenfiddich 21 Reserve Rum Cask making process. This expression is made from whisky that is matured in ex-bourbon casks for 21 years and then is finished in Rum casks for additional four months before being bottled to create the final result.

Struan brought with him a 21 year old whisky distilled back in 1996 and then matured in ex-bourbon cask (#201). This is one of the casks that is destined to get finished in Rum casks for the Reserva Rum...

In the wake of the news that Glendronach Distillery are releasing a second peated whisky, finished in Port casks, I think it’s a good opportunity to review the first one, the Glendronach Peated.

A lot of eyebrows were raised when this one was released. Glendronach are known for something completely different – Sherried whisky and to lesser degree the whiskies finished in other type of casks (like Port, Madeira, etc). But jumping on the peated bandwagon somewhat seems contradicting to the Glendronach we know. Will it work for them?

Glendronach Peated (46%, £35.98 / €36,49 )

Nose : Nice maltiness...

The Single Cask Limited American Sour Mash Whiskey 5 year old 59.7%

George Dickle Cask P311/ Dist: 2012? Btl: 2017/ Tasted: juli 2017

Intense, earthy aromas of cereal, herbal rye with grippy oak, treacle and balancing notes of fat corn. The corn feels like it could be quite sweet but the alcohol is doing a good job of keeping a lid on it. Quite dark and woody with time, with hints of sour fruit and cocoa powder.

The palate has a good, youthful intensity of herbal rye, wheat flakes and bitter chocolaty spices. Grippy oak and cereal come through on...

While the biggest whisky news this week was the announcement of our 2017 Whisky of the Year , there are lots of other great whiskies to celebrate. If you haven’t checked out the most exciting whiskies of 2017, head over to the Top 20 page to see 1 through 10, and check back on Monday, 11/20, for 11 through 20.

Meanwhile, take a look at the newest whisky releases, coming out now. Jim Beam has launched a non-chill filtered bourbon aged 5 to 6 years and bottled at 50% ABV. Priced at $23, it is definitely worth trying to see...

Thanksgiving is a time to drink and eat with your family, to share memories and joys and field goals. It’s also a great time to help spread your love of whisky and potentially create new fans. After all, some friends and family members maj never have tried really good whisky or given it much of a chance. As a passionate whisky lover, you can show them what makes whisky so exciting.

If you really wanted, you could probably come up with a pretty good whisky pairing to go with turkey, stuffing, or cranberry sauce, and convince the host to put...

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Whether you’re a whisky collector or a drinker, a whisky’s looks are important. Beyond its colour and how it looks in the glass, there’s the packaging. While we are focused on finding whiskies that taste great, we also like it if they look great, too.

We’ve been thinking a lot about labels recently thanks to the launch of our Johnnie Walker personalised label service . But what makes a great label? We decided to ask an expert.

Raj Chavda is The Whisky Exchange’s creative director and designer of some of the most striking whisky labels of recent times. We sat...

As usual this is the most accessible releases from Diageo’s Special Releases 2017. As often it is also one of the most reliable releases. Lagavulin 12 Year Old , the cask strength expression.

Lagavulin 12 yo (56,5%, OB 2017, 17th release)

Nose: sweet, deeply sooty, with lots of medicinal notes, coastal notes, shells on a beach, putty and earthy notes. As expected. Some gherkins, but there’s a gentler side too, something of butter pastry, almond cream and lemon oil. Sharp and powerful, but somehow very balanced. Mouth: same intensity. Big peat with pepper and lemon. Smoked fish, leathery...

Compass Hedonism The Muse

Compass Box Hedonism The Muse is an upcoming blended grain Scotch whisky from this independent whiskymaker. They say on the back label Sometimes the character of a single cask of whisky will stir our minds and inspire us to create something even more compelling.

It is a vatting of very old grain whiskies from different distilleries, combined many years ago and left to marry in American oak. The sellers of the casks didn’t know the provenance. It is a limited release of 3115 bottles, bottled at 46% ABV.

Teeling The Revival 15 Years Muscat...

A 22 year old single malt Scotch whisky from the Mortlach distillery, bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company . I was pleasantly surprised by Batch #3 which was 18 years old – this is the new Batch #4 .

Mortlach 22 yo (52,6%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2017, Batch #4, 200 btl.)

Nose: similar freshness as Batch #3. Pine needles, green bananas and green apples. Some wet limestone and mineral notes in the distance. Unripe peaches. Almonds. A little varnished oak and a subtle metallic edge. The Beast of Dufftown, they say? Mouth: creamy and fruity, with (pine)apple,...

Forget NAS, the new thing is NIS (no info statement). With their latest limited edition  Phenomenology   Compass Box are doing the exact opposite of what they have been fighting for:  not giving any information at all, not even tasting notes. Encouraging people to experience this whisky without preconceptions is a good thing, but I’m not sure this concept is all that different from other blend(ed malt)s on the market?

Apparently it is made with 5 components, one of which accounts for 72% of the total liquid. Another one brings in 24.5% so it’s basically a recipe that revolves around...

Bladnoch distillery was liquidated in 2014 after being revived by Raymond Armstrong in 2000. It was then bought by Australian entrepreneur David Prior who had been running a yoghurt business. Production is now overseen by Ian MacMillan and should be restarted this year.

In late 2016 Bladnoch launched a new core range with three expressions:

• Bladnoch Samsara (no age statement)
• Bladnoch Adela , 15 years old
• Bladnoch Talia , 25 years old

The range was first launched in Australia and has recently arrived in Europe. The packaging already makes clear that Prior has a more professional take on things than...

A trio of Port Charlotte bottlings, two from the very early years of production and another one that was produced much later. Two of them are from red  wine casks .

Port Charlotte 16 yo 2001 (59,7%, Archives 2017, bourbon barrel #278, 218 btl.)

Nose: beautiful nose. There are some farmy notes (wet sheep) and wet ashes, but also lots of fruits. Mango, melons, bananas. Fatty, greasy peat. Tarry ropes. Hints of pipe tobacco, including a hint of vanilla and white chocolate. The fruitiness and richness are great. Mouth: sweet onset but less fruity than expected from the...