Browsing Posts in: Whisky Tasting Notes

When it comes to tasting whiskies, there is a huge range of things to distract you. The room you’re in, other people around you, rogue pets, your roommate’s bad taste in music, next door’s obsession…

Autumn is almost here and the Diageo Special Releases 2017 are here. It’s an exciting group of whiskies this year: along with the regular Port Ellen, Brora, Caol Ila and Lagavulin, there’s also the oldest…

Speyside distillery Glenrothes bucks the trend by releasing its whiskies by vintage rather than with an age statement. Since 2010 it has been under the sole ownership of wine merchant (and independent bottler) Berry Brothers & Rudd. We welcomed…

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…

Scotch whisky is very different to a few decades ago. Demand is up and as drinkers’ tastes change, distilleries tweak their recipes. The spirit, the casks and the resulting whiskies are all different to how…

We like the folks at Signatory. Andrew and his team know good whisky and we’re very pleased they sometimes let us into their warehouses to choose some casks. Our latest four TWE-exclusive drams have just landed…

The Islay Festival is drawing to close. Tomorrow is the last day, and in usual fashion, things are ending with a bang: it’s Ardbeg Day – or, as they are calling it this year, Ardbeg Night. Unlike…

When Jim Murray named Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 his 2015 World Whisky of the Year, no-one could have foreseen the unprecedented demand Japanese whisky would experience over the following years. It’s been almost a year since Nikka’s announcement…

We’ve been big fans of Kavalan since it first made an appearance on our shores in 2011, so much so that we spent a year to be the first to stock its whiskies in the UK, and it has been…

Last week saw the end of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival – five days of events across Scotland’s most densely packed whisky-producing region. We watched enviously as tweets, Facebook posts and the occasional bragging text message told tales…

A new month means our latest trio of offers, and with the weather beginning to warm up, there’s a summery feel to our choices for May. Malt of the Month The Malt of the Month…

Happy Glenfarclas 105 Day everyone! Now, while this may not be the most well-known of whisky-related holidays – those honours go to World Whisky Day and International Whisk(e)y Day – the 105th day of the…

Finding good whisky is difficult. I don’t mean on the shelves – despite loud online debates to the contrary, there has never been such a range of different, great-tasting drams available – but finding a…

Our fortnightly London tastings follow a theme, often a single type of spirit or a range of products from one brand. Sometimes it coincides with the launch of a new product, as was the case…

I’ve been intrigued by Glen Ord for years. Back in the dim and distant past, I became aware of the distillery when I was asked to write about them in 1001 Whiskies to Try Before…

Selecting and bottling casks of whisky takes a lot longer than people think. This time last year – well, 11-and-a-bit months ago – Billy Leighton, master blender at Midleton distillery in Ireland, stopped by with some whiskey…

Behind the scenes, The Whisky Exchange is a very international company. We have people from all over the world throughout the business, from Spanish web developers to Romanian photographers, Portuguese designers, Finnish spirits advisers and even…

Our yearly tasting calendar is a varied list of events, taking in everything from whisky to spirits and liqueurs, with even an occasional foray into the world of fizzy wine – tickets to our next tasting, Growers’…