An artist’s impression of how the entrance to The Cabrach Distillery. Credit: Collective Architecture Speyside will soon be home to a new scotch whisky distillery, The Cabrach Distillery. Located in Cabrach, in the northeast of the region, the distillery is expected to “breathe new life into a remote area”. The build recently hit a major milestone, with the arrival of the new stills designed by coppersmiths, Forsyths.  The Cabrach Distillery will be a small operation with limited output, making the scotch whisky that will be produced there very scarce. It is expected that The Cabrach scot ..read more

Credit: Garden & Gun Magazine Starting today (April 23rd, 2024), a week-long tourism experience will be held in Kentucky named Distilled. In partnership with Garden & Gun Magazine, distillers and tourism bureaus in Kentucky to offer a week of bourbon, music, food, and culture.  Held in Kentucky’s Bourbon County, Distilled offers a host of experiences. Below are a few, selected experiences that will cater to the bourbon lovers among you.  Garden & Gun Distilled Launch Party  The Stitzel-Weller Distillery will kick off the week with a cocktail party held in the stunnin ..read more

We review The Bruichladdich Eighteen, produced partly from Islay-grown barley and representing a new, higher-end line for this brand. (image via Bruichladdich) Editor’s Note: We received a review sample of this whisky from the brand. However, in accordance with our editorial policies, this has not influenced the outcome of our review in any way. Since its reopening in 2001 following a seven-year shuttering, Scotland’s Bruichladdich distillery has carved a unique niche for itself among the Islay-based whisky makers. It’s not just the whisky that’s unique, but also the approach. Bruichladdich’s ..read more

New Japanese whisky expressions include The Kogei Collection from Suntory, a rye whisky from Hatozaki, and a Japanese cedar cask finish from Kamiki.  Let’s take a look at the new releases in the world of Japanese whisky this week.  Suntory The Kogei Collection  Credit: Beam Suntory The House of Suntory has unveiled a new global travel retail exclusive: The Kogei Collection.  The collection is comprised of two Japanese single malt whiskies from the fabled Yamazaki Distillery and the Hakushu Distillery.  These expressions were created with the Japanese concept of “Tsuku ..read more

In scotch whisky new releases this week, Ardbeg unveils its Ardbeg Day release, Dewar’s is in partnership with the U.S. Open, and Nc’nean releases “their most innovative whisky to date”. Strathearn’s inaugural single malt hits the market, and there is a new bottling in the Timorous Beastie Cheese Cellar Collection.  Let’s take a look at the latest scotch whiskies to hit the shelves.  Ardbeg Spectacular  Credit: Ardbeg Ardbeg Distillery is well-known for its fun, tongue-in-cheek marketing. This theme continues with the unveiling of the latest Ardbeg Day expression: the Ardbeg Sp ..read more

Rye can be a rather sticky subject for a lot of us, but what is the best rye whiskey for beginners? Rye can be spicy, sweet, or dry, just like bourbon. As such, the question on every rye beginner’s mind is: where do I start? I am pretty sure that we’ve all been given the wrong advice in the past about spirits. The classic example that springs to mind is when people advise: “Try Laphroaig as your first whisky, I like it”. Laphroaig is a fantastic whisky, but is very much an acquired taste and is not something I would recommend to a whisky-drinking novice. When trying a particular type of whisk ..read more

Laphroaig Distillery, Islay. Renowned across the world for its signature flavours of iodine and smoke, Laphroaig embodies what we think of when it comes to Islay scotch whisky. Vintage expressions of the distillery’s long-lived core 10-Year-Old single malt, including the 1950-60s R. H. Elsbach & Co US Import bottlings, have inspired excitement amongst collectors and enthusiasts for decades. This article explores Laphroaig’s long history including the period when it was under the management of Ian Hunter and, later, Bessie Williamson, the only woman to manage a whisky distillery in the 20th ..read more

This Rosebank 17 Year Old was bottled by Cadenhead at 46% ABV. It seems only a miniature was released. The Rosebank Distillery, often described as the ‘King of the Lowlands,’ has a rich history that dates back to 1798 when distilling in the area first commenced. The distillery was officially named Rosebank and became operational in 1817, likely owing its origin to the opening of the Forth and Clyde Canal in 1790. However, the story of Rosebank Distillery on its present site in Falkirk began in 1840, when James Rankine acquired the maltings of the Camelon distillery. He established the distille ..read more

The International Spirits Challenge (ISC) will be back in July 2024.  In 2023, the ISC completed over twenty days of blind tastings, with thousands of beverages in various categories being judged by a group of 75 industry experts. One such category was single-barrel bourbons.  Single-barrel bourbon has grown in popularity since its introduction to the market in the 1980s. Blanton’s Bourbon, the brainchild of Elmer T. Lee, was the first single-barrel bourbon to be marketed in the USA in 1984. Since then, numerous distilleries across the country have tried their hands and bottling fro ..read more

We review Fierce & Kind Bourbon, an over two-year-old whiskey made by a California-based, socially conscious driven spirits brand. (image via Fierce & Kind) Editor’s Note: We received a review sample of this whiskey from the brand. However, in accordance with our editorial policies, this has not influenced the outcome of our review in any way. Fierce & Kind is a socially conscious driven spirits brand that emerged in California in 2022. Co-founded by Cyndi Smith and Basem Harb, the company prides itself on being woman and minority-owned, offering up through an internal stock o ..read more