Vodka and Grain Whisky: Continuous Distillation
A week or two ago I was writing the text for our shiny (and, of course, fascinating) new TWE Guide to Vodka, and while trying to explain the process of continuous distillation I went into too much detail and wrote far too … Continue reading
Classic Book Reviews: Whisky Tales by Charles MacLean
First published in 2006, Charles MacLean’s Whisky Tales is an expanded version of his hugely popular MacLean’s Miscellany of Whisky, which had first appeared two years earlier and is today more widely disseminated and easier to obtain than the tome … Continue reading
Tasting Notes: Glen Garioch Virgin Oak
While Bowmore and Auchentoshan have had some attention from the new (well, newish – she joined them towards the end of 2011) Morrison Bowmore Master Blender, Rachel Barrie, the folks at Glen Garioch have been a little left out. Bowmore has a … Continue reading
Laphroaig: A Love Letter
Ode on a Laphroaig Thou still unravish’d cask of quietness, Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time, Wooden historian, who canst thus express A barley tale more sweetly than our rhyme: What smoke-tinged legend hangs above thy glass Of tarry … Continue reading
Classic Book Reviews: Scotch Whisky by David Daiches
David Daiches’s book Scotch Whisky: Its Past and Present, first appeared in 1969, and was popular enough that a revised edition appeared in 1976, of which my copy is the paperback. I am not sure where I picked it up – … Continue reading
What’s in a Nose? An Exploration of the Olfactory Epithelium
At the excellent Auchentoshan Taste Experiments show I went to a week or two ago, I had a minor revelation during Rachel Barrie’s chat about how chemistry affects the DNA of whisky. It occurred when I thought I overheard someone … Continue reading
Isle of Arran 18th Birthday Tasting
[This time we hand you over to Enrico, our shop's Japanese whisky expert and resident Italian. He really likes whisky from Arran...] We decided to host this tasting to celebrate the 18th Anniversary of the Isle of Arran distillery, a … Continue reading
Auchentoshan Taste Experiments
One of 2013′s more interesting press events took place last Tuesday, with the launch of Auchentoshan’s Taste Experiments Masterclasses. Consumer tickets for these events sold out in a flash, with fans of the Glasgow malt jumping at the opportunity to … Continue reading
Tasting Notes: Tamdhu 10 Year Old
We’ve had a number of relaunches over the last year, with reactions to the new whiskies being rather mixed. There’s been unfairly maligned releases like the Macallan 1824 Series and slightly confusing launches like the new Glen Scotias, but one from … Continue reading
Mackmyra Swedish Single Malt Whisky
The story of Mackmyra, Sweden’s first whisky distillery, famously began with a ski trip in 1998, when eight friends from Stockholm’s Royal Institute of Technology went on holiday together and all brought bottles of whisky to share. In conversation during … Continue reading
Ardbeg Masterclass at TWE Whisky Show
If there’s one thing The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show is famous for it’s the standard of our incredible Masterclasses. We’ve already announced three brilliant classes for this year’s show and our final tasting puts the tin lid on it: yes, … Continue reading
John Walker & Sons Voyager – The Competition
I like boats. From dinghies up to ferries I, for some reason, feel more at ease when surrounded by water. Having grown up inland it’s a bit of a mystery how this obsession developed, and now living in one of … Continue reading
You have rocked my world. I'll be out back planti...