Browsing Posts in: Whisky Tasting Notes

If you’ve met Bruichladdich’s Jim McEwan, or even heard tales of him, then you’ll know that he’s not a man to do things by halves. His final Islay Festival tasting at the end of last…

Whisky has long been a favourite drink in Germany, but it took until 2002 for the first native single malt to be released. At that point there were only three distilleries producing whisky (today there…

Knockdhu is a strangely anachronistic distillery. Founded in 1894, at the time it was a thoroughly modern facility, with a steam engine, railway sidings, and all mod cons. However, not much has changed since then,…

The Whisky Exchange’s Malt of the Month for June is Bruichladdich Scottish Barley (also known as The Classic Laddie but different to Laddie Classic) – we’re offering £4 off for the whole of the month. Sitting on…

To conclude our Islay-themed week, we’re delighted to announce that the next batch of bottlings from Speciality Drinks Ltd’s Elements of Islay series will be available next month. The spring 2015 releases number five, including a…

This year’s Islay Festival is one of anniversaries and milestones. Along with Kilchoman’s 10th birthday and Jim McEwan’s retirement there are a pair of big-number celebrations: the 200th anniversaries of the founding of both Ardbeg…

Last year, I received half-a-dozen samples of Dutch rye whisky. They varied considerably, in terms of cask type, age and number of distillations, but what they all had in common was the amazing amount of…

Such has been the success of their A’Bunadh bottlings, you could be forgiven for thinking that all Aberlour whiskies are big and sherried. While the distillery’s spirit is on the heavier side for Speyside, there are bottlings…

There are few people who have been more influential in modern whisky than Jim McEwan. From managing Bowmore to restarting Bruichladdich, he has helped build a legion of dedicated fans. But, after more than five decades…

One of the favourite jobs at Whisky Exchange HQ is choosing whisky to become a TWE exclusive. Whether it’s from our own stocks of maturing casks or someone else’s stash, the opportunity to decide that a…

If you’ve looked at a bottle of Laphroaig over the past few years, then you probably know why 2015 is a big year for the distillery – founded in 1815, as they proudly state on their labels,…

The Whisky Exchange and boutique whisky blender Compass Box have a few things in common: we started out from one person’s idea, we’re based in west London and we have fewer employees than most people assume….

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…

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…

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…

Ever since we previewed it at The Whisky Show in October, we’ve been receiving questions about the Karuizawa that was on our Japanese whisky stand. The wait is now over and we can announce both…