Browsing Posts by Author: Billy

The past two decades have seen a return to popularity of what was once the best-loved alcoholic drink in England – gin. But what is gin and what do you do with it? There’s years…

Nuts are the quintessential snack to eat with drinks, but they’re rarely talked about as a food pairing. From salted peanuts in a dive bar to hand-selected honey-roasted cashews in a gastropub to plain almonds with…

When it comes to sparkling wine, there’s one name that stands head and shoulders above all of the rest: Champagne. But why does it earn such praise? I asked our resident Master of Wine, Dawn Davies,…

Cheese is an incredibly varied thing. From runny blues to rock-hard Pecorino, from smoky Oscypek to stinky Epoisses, the range of flavour is wide. Fortunately, whisky is up to the task of pairing with it. Here…

We’re very fortunate at The Whisky Exchange not only to stock a huge range of whiskies from independent bottlers, but also to work closely with our sister company, Speciality Drinks Ltd, which is an independent bottler itself. This…

Whisky and food are a great match. I’m not talking about drinking shots with dinner, but instead am looking to the drinkers and eaters of Russia and the Iberian peninsula. Vodka and Zakuski (Russian starters),…

Of all the things that have crossed my path since starting to work in the drinks world, judging whisky competitions is one of the most enjoyable. However, many people don’t know what’s involved. The final round…

Gin is in a fantastic place. It’s booming in the UK, with new distilleries popping up on a weekly basis and established distilleries producing increasingly wild and wacky recipes. However, along with the explosion of…

The whisky market moves quickly. In the past year, we’ve seen hundreds of new releases at The Whisky Exchange – single casks, special editions, ongoing bottlings and the occasional relaunch. However, with so many whiskies…

When it comes to drinking whisky, one of the greatest pleasures is sharing a dram. While there is joy in solitary sipping, teasing apart the flavours in a glass with others adds another level to…

Shopping online is great. I know we’re biased, but being able to choose what you want to buy from the comfort of your sofa and then having it delivered to your front door makes life…

We’re busy at Whisky Exchange HQ. Not only are we getting ready for a busy final three months of the year, but tomorrow marks our annual Whisky Show – two days with some of the best…

It’s that time of year again: the Diageo Special Releases 2016 are here. Well, almost here – they’re earlier than usual this year and should be hitting The Whisky Exchange website on the evening of…

As soon as you look beyond the whiskies released by distilleries, there’s a whole new world out there – the world of independent bottlers. Distilleries don’t own every cask of whisky hidden in the warehouses of Scotland….

Summer is finally drawing to a close. We’re about to hit September and the start of autumn, but we’ve got one final weekend of sun ahead of us, and thanks to the bank holiday, it’s…

This weekend, sitting in the sun on a pallet in a yard behind a brewery, surrounded by happy men and women, I had a sudden realisation – beer is really popular. Sure, it’s always been…

Being a dedicated Scotch whisky drinker, I normally don’t do that well in summer. Traditionally, Scotch whisky is associated with cooler weather, and the past month here in London has not provided me with a…

This summer, we’re all about bourbon. We’ve paired up bourbon with barbecue, shown you how to make a Mint Julep, tried to answer the question ‘What is bourbon?‘, and, to cap it all, are giving away…