Whisky news round-up: Talisker, Glenlivet, and more

Peter Ranscombe rounds-up the latest whisky news from Scotland’s distilleries. TALISKER ambassador Ross Edgley is attempting to break a swimming world record to promote the distillery’s partnership with conservation charity Parley for the Oceans. The long-distance swimmer aims to break the world record for the longest tideless open water swim. Edgley wants to swim for…

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WHISKY NEWS ROUND-UP: Finn Thomson, Ardbeg, and more

Peter Ranscombe takes a light-hearted look through the latest whisky news. THE Thomson family is marking its 300-year connection with the whisky industry by launching one of Scotland’s rarest private cask collections. Finn Thomson Whisky has signed up a slate of independent bottle shops to sell the whiskies in the UK, along with distributors in…

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Whisky new releases: Glenturret, Tullibardine, and more

Peter Ranscombe rounds up the latest whisky releases from Scotland’s distilleries and bottlers. GLENTURRET has added whiskies at either end of the age spectrum to this year’s core range. A seven-year-old single malt is joined by a 25 year old and a 30 year old. It’s seven-year-old peat smoke is aged in American oak casks…

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Whisky festivals prepare for busy September

SCOTLAND’S whisky festivals are preparing for a busy September, with Distilled taking place in Elgin, and the National Whisky Festival of Scotland rolling into Aberdeen. Tickets have gone on sale for Distilled, which takes place at Elgin town hall om 2-4 September. It marks the first time in three years that the Speyside festival will…

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Review: House of Hazelwood releases

Drinks blogger James Robertson reviews the first releases from new whisky firm House of Hazelwood. RECENTLY, a new business arm of the renowned distilling family the Gordons launched its first collection of rare and aged whiskies. Named after the family’s home in Dufftown, Speyside, House of Hazelwood will provide whisky enthusiasts and collectors with a…

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World’s smallest whisky bar opens for Fringe

THE world’s smallest whisky bar has opened in the Scottish capital ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A former police telephone box on the corner of Hope Street and Shandwick Place has been turned into a tiny bar by whisky bottler Cask 88. There’s only enough room inside for one bartender and one guest. The…

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The Islay Boys toast island’s 12th distillery

ARGYLL & Bute Council has granted The Islay Boys planning permission to build the island’s 12 distillery. Mackay Smith and Donald MacKenzie both hail from the Rhinns peninsula on Islay’s west coast and launched their whisky bottling company, The Islay Boys, in 2016. Now, the pair has teamed up with Ian Macleod Distillers to build…

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Gin, rum, and whisky brands unveil new looks

THREE of Scotland’s gin, rum, and whisky labels have revealed fresh designs for their bottles. Isle of Raasay Distillery took inspiration from its island’s geology for its new bottle. The shape of its glass is moulded from real rocks, fossils, and Raasay juniper. Local botanist Stephen Bungard helped the distillery hand-pick juniper on the island,…

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Whisky Round-up: National Festival, Inverness, and more

Peter Ranscombe takes another light-hearted look at what’s happening in the world of whisky. THE National Whisky Festival returns to Summerhall in Edinburgh in December, following on from its events in Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Inverness. Tickets have gone on sale for the Edinburgh leg, which will feature distillers and bottlers, along with musicians and disc…

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Meet the Ardbeg whisky cask that sold for £16m

ARDBEG is donating £1 million to charities on Islay after selling one of its casks for a record £16 million. The sale price, which eclipses all previous cask records, was more than double the £7m that French luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) paid in 1997 when it bought the distillery. The whisky…

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