Browsing Posts in: WHISKY & WHISKEY

John Glaser, founder and whiskymaker at Compass Box, makes his case for why blending is essential in the world of Scotch whisky. Everyone blends. This is not well known nor well understood, but in Scotland…

Earth Day takes place on Saturday 22 April, with the purpose of raising awareness about current threats to the earth and its natural resources. Such a day is an opportune time to ask ourselves how…

Many people dream of starting their own whisky distillery, but the Wills family went ahead and did it, founding Kilchoman on Islay back in 2005. George Wills was our host for a tasting of the…

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…

The Irish whiskey industry is in fine fettle. Many new distilleries are planned across the country, and there’s an exciting new project from the biggest name in the business: Irish Distillers. I visited Ireland to…

At The Whisky Exchange, we are always looking at what’s hot and what’s not. Last September we presented our ideas on upcoming drinks for 2017 at an exclusive event at our London shop, and we…

It’s agreed that whisky gets much of its flavour from the wood it’s aged in. Many different types are used, but what do they add? This was the subject of a recent shop tasting hosted by…

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…

Many people believe that whisky is all about Scotch. Even though whiskies from other countries such as Japan, Taiwan and Ireland are pretty good, why bother when you have such an array of styles from…

To celebrate the launch of London Beer Week 2017, Jane takes a look at the boilermaker, a classic pairing that is now a sophisticated serve in the capital’s best bars. Existing in dive bars as…

St Patrick’s Day is the day when Ireland celebrates its patron saint, both a religious and cultural festival. As it approaches, how should you mark the occasion and more importantly, what should you drink? There’s…

Today is International Women’s Day, so what better way to show our support than by looking at the way women have shaped our industry over the years. I started out in the industry more than…

When it emerged that we would be selling a special charity bottling of Lagavulin we were very excited, not only because it’s great to be involved with such a distinguished distillery, but also because all…

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…

We often get asked which whisky is a good investment – and it is always a difficult question to answer. There are many ways to look at what has proven to be a good investment,…

The nights are cold and spring is still far away, but fear not as we visit the warm tropics of Asia in our second instalment of Ladies Night! This session was hosted by the wonderful…

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),…

Not everyone likes sweet, pink and fizzy. Hallmark certainly isn’t my idea of a romantic sentiment, and it’s OK if it’s not yours, either. But it does make Valentine’s Day a tricky one to celebrate…