The minute Strathearn Distillery started out on their own in 2013 and got acquired by Douglas Laing in 2019. Shortly after, they launched their first official release, simply titled Batch 001. To be honest, I had overlooked it at first. But then I won a 20 per cent voucher (more…)
Just because a label reads “Japanese whisky”, the spirit inside the bottle must not necessarily come from Japan – at least not entirely. Since the land of the rising sun has rather loose regulations in this regard, nothing hinders local producers to add imported malt or grain to their distillate (more…)
Grain-based spirit is awesome. And so is grape-based spirit! The Imperial XO by Carlos I Brandy falls into the latter category. It originates from Spain’s famous sherry region Jerez and is made exclusively from so-called holandas (more…)
When asked about whisky from the Orkney islands, most drammers will say “Highland Park” quick like a shot. There is, however, another production unit on the multipartite archipelago off the north coast of Scotland: Scapa, which was originally founded in 1885. (more…)
Every year, the Islay Festival of Whisky & Music finds its big finale in rollicking festivities on the premises of the easternmost of the so-called Kildalton distilleries on the island’s south shore. But it’s not only there that Ardbeggians go crazy on that day. (more…)
Not long ago, Speyside giants Glenfiddich revealed part three of their Experimental Series called Winter Storm. While I have not yet had the pleasure of trying this 21-year-old Scotch whisky finished in Canadian ice wine casks, I am lucky to call a bottle of its predecessor my own. (more…)
When they created their Remarkable Regional Malts range, the people at Douglas Laing wanted to offer their customers high-quality blended malts that embody the unique characteristics of the different whisky regions in Scotland. Rock Oyster represents the maritime island whiskies (more…)
In the 19th century, Scottish salesmen brought port wine from Portugal to Scotland. Very often, the ships that carried the port casks landed in Portree, which to this day is the largest town on the Isle of Skye. In ancient Gaelic, said town’s name is pronounced Port Ruighe. (more…)
For aeons, kelpies could only be found on the muddy shores of Scottish lochs. And even there, these deceitful water spirits that preyed upon the poor souls of unsuspecting passers-by were not seen all too often. Lately, however, we recorded a sheer flood of kelpie sightings (more…)
