TimeforWhisky.com interviews Spirit of the Craft Award winners Westward Whiskey, Launceston Distillery, Raasay Distillery & Macaloney's Distillery  of a new Spirits Awards (hear us out...), the first from Asia, focusing on smaller producers around the world. was launched in January of this year, and involves a  panel of experts from Asia's bar and drinks media community Over three months, entries from across 15 countries – Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Scotland, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, Netherlands, and the U.S. – made th ..read more

Halcyon Spirits 27yo Single Cask 1996 Burnside [Tasted #677] I wrote last year about new Scottish-based , and how their 2000-strong cask inventory probably meant we'd probably see many bottles to come. It wasn't long after their that I tasted their second release ( ) and whilst I didn't manage to try their third (a ), the team have now released (and kindly sent me a sample of) their fourth - a  (finished in an ex-sherry cask and bottled in 2024). "Burnside", some of you may ask? Basically, a  , or a blended malt which is predominantly one malt, with only a small amount of another. Th ..read more

's latest release, the Botrytis Cask, I had never heard of Botrytis wine. A conversation with Martin revealed it's a type of dessert wine, piquing my interest to learn a bit more about this wine. Some reading into Botrytis wine unveiled fascinating details about this unique wine and how it influences Starward's new project release. Botrytis is a type of fungus that shrivels and decays wine grapes (see below for an image of the fungus on a bunch of riesling grapes), yet is highly coveted in winemaking due to its ability to intensify sweetness and add flavour complexity. Known scientifically as ..read more

Cask88 x Ralph Steadman "Whisky Correspondence Course" - Bruichladdich 31yo, Arran 24yo & Glenburgie 24yo [Tasted #674 - 676] Whisky and art collaborations are nothing new - we've seen everything from Glenmorangie's more recent efforts with Azuma Makoto . My view of these has always been the same - they can be fun, sure, and when the collaboration "fits", even great, but fundamentally the underlying whisky has to be good. At the end of the day, you can't drink art! Cask88's latest collaboration with Britain's legendary illustrator Ralph Steadman  not only brings the fun & feels li ..read more

"It's an amazing thing to come across a cask and say, 'This. This one right here. That's the essence of what we're trying to achieve." quoted Will Edwards 85 Dunning Ave, Rosebery NSW 2018, Australia The Heritage Rye Malt Single Cask has been aged in a single apera cask, serving as a homage to Australia’s heritage of fortified wines and showcasing Riverina-sourced heritage rye malt. This was my favourite of the three single cask releases. : The aroma opens up nicely with the sweetness of honey and apricots, accompanied by the richness of cherries and plums. There is some rye spice and other sp ..read more

Glen Moray Masterclass with Iain Allan [Tasted #663 - #668] To kick off Sydney’s Whisky Month, we joined Iain Allan, Global Ambassador for Distillery, and Judith Zhu, bartender at Door Knock, at Grain Bar for a Glen Moray masterclass. The session featured Glen Moray whiskies from their Cask Explorer range, including the delicious Glen Moray 10yo 'Elgin,' released as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebration. Two limited-edition Glen Moray releases; Whisky List exclusive, a Glen Moray Rioja Cask Finish and a Peated Glen Moray Rioja Cask Finish, completed the tasting set. It's been a while since w ..read more

Old Master Spirits' 1960 Peyrot 63 year old Cask Strength Grande Champagne Cognac [Tasted #669] We're kicking off June with another well-aged   - this time in the form of a 63 year old Cask Strength Grande Champagne Cognac from Peyrot . The gents behind OMS have been releasing spirits at a decent cadence lately - not too often, but a handful a year to keep things interesting. This one will be launched on 20th June, bottled at 42.9% (cask strength) and selling for (You can read my thoughts on several of Old Master Spirits' previous releases  , including previous vintage and NAS B ..read more

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A while ago I suggested we were covering enough non-whisky dark spirits on the blog to have a "Monthly " post. Whilst that hasn't quite come to fruition (see last month's post on our recent blog hiccup...), I don't plan to stop enjoying great malternatives alongside my whisky, and so on that note, here's a  Arriving once again courtesy of those affable Melburnians behind , this release is a 48 year old Bas Armagnac from Chateau Garreau , distilled in 1974 and bottled at a natural cask strength of 51.2% ABV. (You can read my thoughts on several of Old Master Spirits' previous releases , in ..read more