Browsing Posts by Author: Stuart

‘Hello. How are you? Quite well. Thank you very much.’ If you’ve seen Whyte & Mackay’s Richard Paterson host a tasting before, you’ll be familiar with his repertoire of catchphrases, his penchant for throwing whisky…

The luxurious world of Cognac was centre stage at TWE Vinopolis this week, with Martell pouring five of their best bottles. The youngest we tried was aged for between 10 and 25 years (Cordon Bleu),…

Frapin is one of the most highly rated houses in the Cognac region, with a range of elegant, classy bottlings that reflect the Grande Champagne terroir where its vineyards are based. I met up with…

Excitement builds every year about the big winners in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible. Last year, Jim chose Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 as his 2015 World Whisky of the Year, which had an astonishing effect on demand for…

At The Whisky Exchange, we don’t like to blow our own trumpet, but now and again it’s nice to share a little good news. Last week, we were delighted to be named E-commerce Business of…

We conclude our round-up of this year’s Whisky Show masterclasses with Gone But Never Forgotten, a tasting of six whiskies from closed distilleries. Such tastings always attract a lot of interest, for the simple reason…

Islay distillery Ardbeg is one of the most popular distilleries on the island, thanks to its rich, peaty drams. It’s also gained acclaim for its cask-maturation experiments, which are always popular and have gained cult…

Gordon & MacPhail (G&M) have hit the headlines by releasing two exceptionally old and rare whiskies from Mortlach – a 70 Year Old launched at Edinburgh Castle in 2010, and a 75 Year Old that…

It was billed as the most expensive whisky tasting ever staged, and there was an appropriately reverent, almost nervous air as people took their seats for this one-off tasting of five extremely rare Karuizawa whiskies…

Each year, Diageo launches a small number of limited-edition whiskies from its distilleries under the Special Releases banner. None have ever been seen before, so unsurprisingly, interest (and demand) is high when they hit the…

‘This is a moment in history. This will never be repeated.’ A dramatic introduction from our host Dave Broom, but fully warranted. The final Masterclass of the 2015 Whisky Exchange Whisky Show featured more than…

I’m a huge James Bond fan. Ever since my mum took me to see Moonraker at the Chelmsford Odeon, I was hooked. If I’m channel-hopping at home and find a Bond film on (which is…

Something a little different for our latest TWE Vinopolis tasting – Indian single malt. It has taken time for Indian whiskies to be taken seriously by traditional whisky drinkers, but the best now stand toe-to-toe with their Scotch…

Back in April, I wrote about Midleton Dair Ghaelach, a new Irish pot still whiskey finished in Irish virgin oak. That post concentrated more on the sourcing and treatment of the wood; this post is…

Each month, we choose a whisky and a spirit that we particularly like and knock a chunk off the price. Now and again, we do the same thing with Champagne. We’re nice like that. October is no exception, and…

Hot on the heels of The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show comes London Cocktail Week (LCW), a celebration of London’s best mixology and cool cocktails. LCW is run by our sister company, DrinkUp.London, who also organise…

Associate distiller Eddie Russell led a tasting of his Wild Turkey range at our Vinopolis shop earlier this month. As well as taking us through his excellent range of whiskeys, Eddie talked about how his father…

Special-edition bottlings are common among spirits producers, but award-winning Belgian sommelier Jurgen Lijcops has gone a stage further by launching Forest Dry Gin, a range of four gins that change with the seasons. We spoke…