R&B Distillers set to open distillery on the Isle of Raasay

On Saturday 16 September, whisky makers R&B Distillers will officially open the Isle of Raasay Distillery, the first (legal) whisky distillery on this small Hebridean island. R&B Distillers are bringing this traditional Scottish craft to an unchartered whisky region, harnessing the raw elements of the unique terroir to create the first Raasay Scotch, which will be ready to drink from 2020.   Co-founders Alasdair Day…

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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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Never judge a whisky by its label

Peter Ranscombe samples Loch Lomond distillery’s range of single malts at the Edinburgh International Festival. Trying something new is the best part of the Fringe. Going to see a show that you would never normally watch is half the fun of the world’s largest arts festival. And so it should be for Scotch too. I’ve…

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Kingsbarns goes five star

Kingsbarns Distillery has announced that its visitor centre has recently received a five-star rating from VisitScotland. The visitor centre opened on 30th November 2014 and was initially graded at four stars in 2015. The facility includes a whisky tour complete with exhibition and tasting, a shop and cafe. Scott Robertson, Visitor Centre Development Manager, commented:…

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Natural Selection prepares to launch 2017 beer

Peter Ranscombe finds out more about Natural Selection, a partnership between Stewart Brewing in Loanhead and Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh to train the next wave of brewers. SCOTLAND’S craft brewing scene is thriving – there are more than 115 breweries dotted throughout the country, the highest number for more than a century. Gordon Brown’s introduction…

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Searching for regionality in English sparkling wine

To mark the start of English wine week tomorrow, Peter Ranscombe ponders whether it’s possible to spot regional identity in the country’s sparkling wines ASK a connoisseur of Champagne about their favourite bottles and more likely than not they’ll start waxing lyrical about the different areas that make up the famous French sparkling wine region.…

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Pioneering partnership honoured as Fusion Whisky unveils plan for future international releases

The team behind the first blend of Scotch and Japanese whisky have spoken of their plans for future collaborations after winning a national excellence award that honoured their partnership with a renowned independent distillery. Fusion Whisky last night received the Success through Partnership prize at the Scottish Food and Drink Excellence Awards in recognition of…

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Edinburgh smokehouse is dedicated to reduce food waste

A specialist smokehouse restaurant has become the first in Edinburgh to embrace an eco-friendly initiative which offers fantastic bargains to hungry customers – while reducing food waste. Reekie’s Smokehouse, on Holyrood Road, is an independent, husband-and-wife run restaurant that uses classic American BBQ techniques to smoke top quality local meats with a Scottish twist.    …

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