Earlier this year, Glaswegian indie bottler North Star celebrated its fifth anniversary. So, before I continue, here is a little insert: “Happy Birthday, Iain and team! Keep up the stellar work!” And now, on with the text … For my latest review here at BarleyMania, I have spent some quality time (more…)
In recent months, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society released a couple of bottles with the identifier 24 on the label. All of ’em got sold out within minutes, if not seconds. The reason for this: In the bottle code system of The SMWS, the number 24 stands for The Macallan (more…)
On 28 March 2017, the wonderful people at Douglas Laing invited me to join the ranks of their honorary ambassadors. Going by the amiable name of the Fellows, these good-humored whisky enthusiasts help Douglas Laing to spread the word about their products, offers (more…)
The Isle of Raasay is located in the northwest of Scotland, adjacent to the Isle of Skye. It is also from there that the only ferry to Raasay departs; it starts in Sconser and lands in Inverarish about half and hour later. Whereas the island has a long history of illicit distilling, (more…)
Lindores Abbey is a young distillery. And yet the place is rich with lore and history. After all, it is the home turf of the fabled monk John Cor, whose name is inseperably attached to the first-ever mention of whisky or uisge beatha in recorded history. (more…)
With Billy Walker at the helm, The GlenAllachie has undergone a terrific transformation! Whereas the Speyside unit was mostly a supplier for blends in the past, it has now made a name for itself as a #1 source for single malts, single casks and even premium blends (more…)
For Iain Croucher, the founder and mainman of Scottish indie bottler North Star Spirits, whisky is a pretty simple thing. At the end of the day, he claims, a good bottling must only meet four criteria: It must be honest. It must be fun. It must be tasty. And it must be opened and shared. (more…)
The recent “Whisky Discovery” tasting by Douglas Laing marked a novelty in the company’s 70-plus-year history: This was the first time that the Glasgow-based malt mavens gave their fans the chance to taste a new selection of drams exclusively before the official release. (more…)
Often when I utter the term “fruit bomb”, I use it to describe a slightly older dram that has spent – let’s say – 16 or more years in the cask. That is because it usually takes a certain amount of time before those full-on fruit notes reached the climax of their development. (more…)
