Forming a Tasting Panel
After a recent Woodrow’s Tasting, we headed to the Vaults for a couple, and were eventually joined by one of the SMWS Tasting Panel (NB I don’t quite know how this came about, but it
whisky
Woodrow’s Whisky – Woah!
OK, you might be thinking that this location doesn’t line up with your idea of a perfect whisky tasting… …but that’s where you’d be wrong! What it misses out on in romance, it gains in
Springbank Society Tasting @ SWMS Vaults
Springbank has rapidly become a more and more exclusive distillery – they only produce up to 260,000 litres a year (compare to Caol Ila ~7m, Macallan ~15m and Glenfiddich ~20m) and their ethos and quality
Buckcask! Tonic Wine Whisky
I was at a tasting recently and we got discussing different cask finishes. Maybe a couple of drams had been had at this point, but it was jokingly considered if anyone had ever finished a
Cadenhead Club Tasting – Edinburgh
Quick review of an excellent tasting for Cadenhead Club’s (10th?) anniversary. It was an excellent night, with some amazing drams and held in a great space (the downstairs room at the Canon’s Gait). Some very
Daftmill 15yo Fife Strength (+ Unofficial Fans)
I love the concept of Daftmill. A small, independent farm distillery that produces little and focuses on outputting only quality bottles. As such, it’s not cheap and there are just a few, limited releases each
Hazelburn 16yo Port Cask (Springbank Society)
After a recent review of a Springbank 26yo from Cadenhead’s Club, I thought it was time to review the new offering from Springbank Society. Thanks to success in a ballot, it was time to taste
Springbank 26yo (Cadenhead’s)
It’s not often these days that I get to try an old new (new old?) release, as prices have gone so crazy that anything over the 20 year mark is generally unobtainable, other than part
(My) 10 Years of Whisky Fringe
Just before the 2023 edition of Whisky Fringe kicks off, I realised I’d attended 10 previous editions of this excellent event, and this post is just a celebration of that fact. My first appearance (2011)
‘Secrets from the Lagg Vault’
My second trip to Arran, but the first one was somewhat curtailed by train delays, giving me 5 minutes on the island. So, in essence, my first trip to Arran and I had a few
Deanston Warehouse 4 Tasting
Before going on this tasting I noticed there weren’t a lot of reviews online (see TripAdvisor), so just thought I’d collate a few thoughts and some photos in case anyone else it wondering what the
A Deluge of Gems @ Glasgow Old & Rare
I was hesitant about whether to go to the Whisky Show: Old & Rare in Glasgow as a ticket was £100 for the day. And although £50 of that price was in spendable vouchers, every
Edinburgh’s Lost Distilleries: Newington
There used to be so much more distilling happening in Edinburgh. Aside from the big North British grain distillery and a couple of ‘craft’ upstarts potentially about to appear, almost all of that heritage has
Kilchoman – Behind the Scenes
During a visit to Kilchoman Distillery in late October 2015, we got to see some of the hidden-away parts of proceedings, including a great chat with Russell the (Zimbabwean) Stillman – with a farewell taste
Islay Homecoming
On a recent trip to Islay, we made it our mission to not only visit every distillery, but also take a dram from each distillery back ‘home’. The initial plan was to do this for
Silent Stills at Seamus’s – Sligachan, Skye.
Sssssssssss. There were a whole load of Ss on show after a long weekend fishing at Neist Point, Skye. As we headed back to civilisation, we stumbled upon the whisky selection at Seamus’s Bar at
Whisky Solstice & Fèis Ìle 2015 Bottlings
A few of us headed to the Whisky Solstice event in Edinburgh (which was excellent) and also went along to the Feis Ile masterclass tasting. I’ve only had one Feis Ile bottling in the past (the
How To Blend Whisky: Part One
Introduction Gameplan The whiskies Results Awards What we learned I’d like to imagine that the best way to learn how to blend whisky is through practice, because that’s going to be a fun journey of
My Worst Whisky? The Stramash creates a new low.
What’s the longest sentence you know? It seemed like the guy behind the Old Malt Cask stand was being asked this constantly, such was the delay he tried to create before pouring anyone a dram.
Twin Peaks, Two Islands
I paid a wee visit to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s venue on Queen Street in Edinburgh a few months back, and had probably the best pair of drams I’ve ever had. It wasn’t just
Collections: a simple, online whisky cupboard
With an increasing list of whiskies having been sampled at the Southside Whisky Club as well as a growing personal sample collection, keeping a record of whiskies becomes more useful – mostly just as a