© The Islay Festival of Music and Malt

Yeah, Welcome the annual Feis Ile bottlings 2019 edition. I didn’t expect to work on this list so early (we’re still in 2018!) But information has already started to trickle out so that left me no option but to fire up this post In 2019, the festival will run from late maj into juni 2019 (24th maj to 1nd juni 2018). This post will detail all the available information on the festival bottles and I’ll update it each time more details will be revealed. If you look for the full festival information,...

We’re in the midst of this Black Friday/Cyber Monday thing (No, I didn’t buy anything and don’t plan to buy anything. Unless you consider a holiday tickets as part of this shopping craziness), So I thought it would be great to try and inject some sanity into this time period (at least for me) in the form of a new review – habits helps stabilize the mind I hear…

But it’s a Sunday and since It’s been half a year since my last non-whisky review (I should be ashamed, I know) it makes sense to go and review a non-whisky...

Learn how to make a Sour, and you open yourself to a world of cocktails. The simple combination of spirit, sugar, water, and citrus can be mixed in almost endless ways. But the best base is, of course, whiskey.

The practice of adding citrus juice to spirits maj have started in the 1700s when British sailors began consuming lemons and limes to prevent scurvy. Rum was part of their rations, and made a natural companion to the tart citrus, sometimes with water or sugar added. The concoction eventually made its way to shore, where drinkers weren’t limited to a single...

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When it came to naming the Whisky of the Year in the 2018 Top 20, one contender stood out for its balance, complexity, and elegance—hallmarks of the best Japanese whiskies. A blend of over 100 different malt and grain whiskies, Nikka From The Barrel showcases the blender’s skill at its peak. Widely available and priced at $65 on the shelf, this whisky proved itself worthy of our number-one spot. For more details about Nikka From The Barrel and the other 2018 winners, check out the full Top 20 list .

The post Nikka From The Barrel Showcases the Best...

A snifter of whisky by the fireside is a wintertime cliché for all the right reasons. Nothing quite enhances the smoke of a single malt scotch or the warming jolt of a barrel strength bourbon like a flickering flame. Not fortunate to have a real fireplace in your home? Before you resort to the looping Yule log on your television, consider one of these bars. With stand-out fireplaces and fire pits, and great whisky selections, they are well equipped to warm you—both inside and out.

Bull & Bush —Denver, Colo. Built in 1971 by twin brothers, this welcoming, British-style brewpub...

Some familiar names pop up in our Winter 2018 Best Values, with a little of both fire and ice. Tullamore D.E.W. has impressed us with their aged whiskies and cask finishes, but sometimes, you just want the original, and at 88 points, it registers on par with the brand’s 15 and 18 year old expressions. Johnnie Walker, meanwhile, would like to reserve a spot in your freezer for White Walker, which indicates its prime serving temperature by changing the appearance of the striding man on the label. But if it’s heat and peat you seek, Glenfiddich Fire and Cane combines...

There are whisky trends, and then there are staples we hope never go away—like cask-strength whiskies, or 16 year olds that cost just $100, or blended malts whose quality and flavor blow the single malt competition out of the water. If you can’t find us this winter, odds are good we’re laying low with one of these excellent drams. These are the issue’s most impressive whiskies considering score, price, and availability. For all whiskies reviewed in the Winter 2018 issue, visit our Buying Guide .

Redbreast Cask Strength 12 year old (Batch B1/17) Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey 95 points...

Get to the chopper! The same bottling company that brought us Star Trek-themed James T. Kirk bourbon and Montgomery Scott scotch is now offering Dutch bourbon, named for the tough soldier played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 action movie Predator. The bourbon is sourced from South Carolina-based Terressentia Corp., which uses its patented TerrePURE process to filter and smooth out harsh alcohols using ultrasonic waves. (I reported on Terressentia and other companies maturing whisky through alternative means in the Spring 2017 issue.) Available for pre-order now at $35 a bottle, the whiskey will begin shipping in april.

One of...

Troy Gregory is an English professor at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. But when the school day is done, he puts on the hat of a whisky short story writer, crafting what he calls “interconnected original stories featuring the culture and lore of the brown spirit.” No, his students don’t know.

Gregory’s interest in alcohol-laced fiction began as a doctoral student when reading Dickens. “I noticed there that alcohol exerted not merely an influence on character, but a considerable influence on plot,” he explains. “I was curious how and why that happened.”

Although he couldn’t convince his advisor to...

Jewish Whisky Company Announces Significant Changes in 2019 for Single Cask Nation and Whisky Jewbilee

Building off 2017’s successful expansion of Single Cask Nation from a membership-only model to offering additional single cask bottlings of Maltwhisky, grain whisky via retail stores, Jewish Whisky Company plans a further expansion of their Single Cask Nation line of independently bottled whiskies into UK, European and Canadian markets in 2019.

“We constantly see great demand for our whiskies from many non-US markets,” said Jason Johnstone-Yellin, the company’s COO, “and as a result, we are keen to break into these markets while mirroring how...

At the end of the month is one of the biggest dates in the Scottish calendar. When it comes to excuses for a party, at least. Less than a month after Hogmanay and it’s time for another night of celebration – 25 januari is Burns Night .

Who was Robert Burns?

For those who don’t know the work of Robert Burns, he was a Scottish writer, who was born on 25 januari 1759 – hence the date of Burns Night – and died in 1796. In his time he was a not only a writer and poet, but also a...

Happy new year everyone. With a simple transition from Monday to Tuesday, the falling ball of fate has been triggered and it’s time for the yearly TWE Blog round-up of the year.

A Good Year for the Roses

While 2018 has been “interesting” for many reasons, in the whisky world things have rolled on as usual. Macallan opened its shiny new distillery, Jura , Glenrothes and Old Pulteney relaunched their entire ranges, our friends at Elixir Distillers announced their plans to build a distillery and Daftmill *finally* released a whisky.

Expect the next releases from Daftmill very soon…

Here at...

It’s 2019, day 4. Realisation has hit that the past couple of weeks have seen some indulgence. The temptation to succumb to dry januari is strong, but we have another suggestion: Tryanuary .

When it comes horrible portmanteaus, Tryanuary is up there with Brangelina, jazzercise, chillax and advertorial, but I thoroughly support the idea behind the word. januari as a time of calm and lack of excess is an excellent idea: it’s time to drink sensibly and try new things. After a month of festive fun and familiarity, it’s time to head out into the new.

Each year, I try...

Ahhh, Christmas : a time for family, food, good cheer and annoying singing Santa… ornaments? Are they ornamental? Are they toys? Singing Santas, anyway. And somehow all the silliness only contributes to the overall atmosphere of loveliness. It’s like being hugged (hygged?) by the world.

Christmas is also a time for great drinks. We gift them to each other, we get them in specially and we drink them together. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of the silliest and festive-est bottles we could find to help you get the absolute most out of your Christmas drinking. Brace yourselves…...