Browsing Posts by Author: Stuart

Ever wondered why distillers can’t agree on one basic thing: how to spell the liquid they make? Take a look at your drinks cupboard now, and it’s likely there’ll be at least one bottle with…

Japanese whisky has never been more popular, winning awards left, right and centre as well as offering Scotch drinkers an alternative – but not radical departure – in flavour. Recently I met Nikka’s Didier Ghorbanzadeh…

When I told Diageo’s Nick Morgan that I’d like to discuss the subject of No Age Statement (NAS) whisky, there was a roll of the eyes and a rather weary sigh. This reaction is explained…

‘The public gets what the public wants’ sang Paul Weller in 1980’s Going Underground. We agree, so at our latest tasting at Vinopolis we gave our customers a chance to choose a special Irish whiskey…

Alan Winchester is one of most respected names in Scotch whisky. He has worked in a multitude of roles in the business, and was appointed master distiller of The Glenlivet in 2009. With the arrival…

The final addition to Highland Park’s Valhalla Collection – Odin – is here, following in the footsteps of Thor, Loki and Freya . Also known as ‘The Furious One’, Odin, we are told, is the…

Life is tough for Bill Lumsden. Every year, it’s his job to dream up new expressions of whisky. New Ardbegs, to keep the peat heads happy, and new Glenmorangies, which have featured a bewildering array…

They’re big whisky drinkers in Spain, and while blends such as Ballantine’s and Johnnie Walker are the top sellers, one single malt has a huge following, too: Cardhu. Head into any half-decent bar, and it’s…

After wowing the Edinburgh bar scene with her mixology skills, then educating whisky fans at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Georgie Bell is now on a mission to get people drinking Mortlach single malt. We…

We caught up with Newsnight presenter and author Kirsty Wark to discuss her love of Scotch whisky, what she likes to drink, and how she drinks it.

After 14 years in Australia, new Balvenie brand ambassador James Buntin is back in the UK, on a mission to spread the word about this highly regarded distillery and its whiskies. We met up with…

After 12 months of sensible, serious whisky chat, we thought it was time for the TWE blog team to let our hair down – although, judging by the pic, we might struggle with that one….

If you’re a whisky fan, it’s highly likely you jot down the occasional tasting note or two. Tasting notes are the perfect way to keep track of the whiskies you’ve tasted and when. And keeping…

‘I think,’ he said quietly, ‘I think … I’ll have just one more of those chocolate bars. The same kind as before, please.’ ‘Why not?’ the fat shopkeeper said, reaching behind him again and taking…

Bruichladdich may have reduced their myriad number of bottlings in recent years, but they still know how to grab a headline or two. The progressive Hebridean distillers have just unveiled two latest additions to the…

The Cognac world is dominated by four houses – Courvoisier, Hennessy, Martell and Rémy Martin, who control 85% of the industry between them – but for the latest Whisky Exchange tasting at Vinopolis, the focus…

While there are hundreds of delicious drams to be had at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show, our excellent Masterclasses raise the bar a notch higher, offering a taste of some of the rarest malts in…

Dewar’s is one of the best-known names in whisky, but if I asked you to name all the single-malt distilleries they own (without Googling), could you do it? Well, if you said Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie,…