Many happy returns as distillery marks 70th anniversary

A Scottish distillery is marking its 70th year with a special release. Family owned Scotch whisky specialist Douglas Laing has begun a year of celebrations by releasing XOP Platinum – a limited edition series within their Xtra Old Particular range as well as a commemorative Old Particular double bottle pack. The company was established by…

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The Scot taking whisky into the land of beer

Voluntary whisky ambassador Gavin Ryan Thompson, from Ayr, wants to share his passion for whisky with the world Germany is known for its beer, schnapps and wines, but the whisky market here has sky-rocketed in the last 15 years. There are an increasing number of whisky festivals and the number of enthusiasts is growing dramatically…

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Whisky honours Scotland’s islands and seas

An independent whisky distiller has unveiled its Provenance Coastal Collection, a limited edition single cask series of four bottlings honouring Scotland’s whisky islands and the seas that surround them. Douglas Laing & Co launched the collection with a Bunnahabhain 10 Years Old single cask bottling which has spent its life maturing in a refill hogshead.…

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Lizzie’s retiral is marked with a special dram

Scotland’s first female operator in malt distilling celebrated her retirement last week and Diageo marked the occasion in a rather ‘neat’ way. After 31 years’ service at Dalwhinnie Distillery, working in the warehouse, mash house and the still house Liz Stewart – or ‘Lizzie’ as she’s known – is hanging up her distillery operator’s overalls…

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Christmas comes early at Glasgow’s newest distillery

Christmas arrived early at The Clydeside Distillery this week as the first casks were filled with new-made spirit ready to be matured. The distillery chairman, Tim Morrison, supervised the process which will see the first batch of spirit rest for at least three years in American Bourbon oak casks until it can officially be called…

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The Balvenie releases its latest compendium instalment – including a 55-year-old single malt

Speyside distillery The Balvenie has launched its oldest expression to date, with a 55-year-old single malt whisky. The Secrets of the Stock Model is the third instalment from the compendium, which celebrates the industry’s longest-serving malt master, David Stewart MBE. The range comprises of five ‘extremely rare’ single cask single malt bottlings, including a 55-year-old European…

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New general manager for Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky

A whisky firm as appointed a new general manager. Huntly-based Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky has a new arrival in the form of Neil Miller, who is its new general manager. The 38-year-old has spent most of his career working in the oil and gas sector, six years of which was spent in the Middle East…

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Enjoying the character of Bolney’s pinot noir

Peter Ranscombe gets a rare chance to compare four vintages of English pinot noir from the Bolney Estate in Sussex. DRINKING the same bottle of supermarket wine week after week can sometimes make it easy to forget how much the taste of a wine can vary from year to year. Big producers will blend wine…

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BenRiach releases Batch 14 Cask Bottling

The BenRiach Distillery has today released its Batch 14 cask bottling. The seven casks of both unpeated and peated malt reflect the distillery’s experimental approach to distilling and cask maturation. Batch 14 features first fill Oloroso sherry butts, port pipes, a first fill virgin oak cask, a first fill marsala hogshead and a Pedro Ximenez…

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