Browsing Posts in: WHISKY & WHISKEY

During a recent trip, I was very fortunate to try a plethora of once-in-a lifetime drams from the oldest distillery on Islay: Bowmore. Outside of the big-name investment whiskies such as the Black Bowmore trilogy…

‘I got into whisky because of my family. My grandfather, who recently passed away at 106, had drunk whisky all of his life. Sherry was his other tipple, but I didn’t speak Spanish so the…

In my previous post, we looked at the history of Japanese Nikka whisky, the realisation of Masataka Taketsuru’s dream. In all, Nikka makes nearly 30 different whiskies from its two distilleries. Having tasted the entire range with brand…

The launch of the new Mortlach range has been slow-burning. The new whiskies were first announced early in 2014 and finally hit the market in the summer. Since then, they have been rolling out across…

Fans of Islay whisky should brace themselves for a stormy future. We’ve got our hands on some research that will strike terror into the hearts of peat heads: peat on Islay will run out by…

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…

March is the month when the UK whisky festival calendar starts up again. From here until October the schedule is pretty full, with shows up and down the country from Bristol to Speyside. As you might expect,…

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…

There have been a number of rare whiskies appearing from Hanyu recently, and we’ve had our eye on a very limited release bottled by TWE’s sister company Speciality Drinks Ltd. This isn’t on general release, having been exclusively…

St Patrick’s Day is upon us. I will be hiding in my flat tonight, avoiding streets thronged with green-clad drinkers throwing Guinness at each other as they swap foam shamrock hats and look for the…

‘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…

Pop-up whisky bars are all the rage in London these days. They’re a great chance for distilleries to actually speak to whisky fans and for those same fans to try some interesting drams. From today…

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 Whisky Exchange’s old and rare buyer, Michael Wilder, has a confession to make. He only has eyes for Linkwood… I’ve been with TWE for more than five years and have held a number of…

Arkansas isn’t the first state one thinks of for whisky production: half of its counties are ‘dry’, which prohibits the sale of alcohol; it’s illegal to drink in a public place or private car (even…

The expansion of whisk(e)y production continues apace. With more than 500 distilleries now operational in the US, and many Old World distillers expanding their ranges to include grain spirit, the future is awash with whisky. One…

For drinks fans, March has three big days: Mother’s Day: a time for buying your mum something tasty St Patrick’s Day: a time for focusing on tasty things from the Emerald Isle my birthday: a…