Edinburgh - BourbonSphere

Shining a Light on Lost Lantern

Lost Lantern Whiskey took the Scotch Whiskey tradition of independent bottlers and applied it to American craft whiskies. Founders Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski weren’t… Read More

Lost Lantern Whiskey took the Scotch Whiskey tradition of independent bottlers and applied it to American craft whiskies. Founders Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski weren’t the first independent bottlers of American whiskies, but their selections over the last four years represent an eclectic variety of whiskies from around the country. They’re about to release their Fall 2024 tranche of whiskies, all at or close to ten years old, and we’ll catch up with Nora and Adam on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, it’s budget week in the U-K, and Scotch Whisky makers will be watching closely for news of an excise tax cut. We’ll have the rest of the week’s whisky news as well, along with this week’s tasting notes and a look at so-called “vatted malts.”

Episode 1080: October 27, 2024

Image courtesy Lost Lantern Whiskey.

Whisky Passion on Display at The Heart Cut

The wife and husband team of Georgie Bell and Fabrizio Leoni gave up their day jobs last year to launch The Heart Cut, an independent… Read More

The wife and husband team of Georgie Bell and Fabrizio Leoni gave up their day jobs last year to launch The Heart Cut, an independent bottler dedicated to finding great drams from all over the world. They’ve released seven single casks so far from distilleries in Israel, Finland, Denmark, and the U.S., and did it all while Georgie was pregnant with twins. We’ll talk with Georgie Bell about The Heart Cut and work-life balance this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Irish Whiskey tourism is up from a year ago, but still below pre-pandemic levels, while sales are lagging at Möet Hennessy and Rémy Cointreau.

Episode 1067: July 28, 2024

Photo courtesy The Heart Cut.

Angel’s Envy Makes People Envious In Edinburgh And London

Angel’s Envy is making people envious in Edinburgh and London as they collaborate with bars in those two cities to celebrate the Manhattan cocktail until Wednesday, February 21, 2024. More than 21 bars in the two cities will be making their versions on the cocktail [typically consisting of bourbon, sweet vermouth and bitters] while using […]

The post Angel’s Envy Makes People Envious In Edinburgh And London first appeared on Whisky Critic – Whisky Reviews & Articles – Style. Attitude. Whisky..

Angel’s Envy is making people envious in Edinburgh and London as they collaborate with bars in those two cities to celebrate the Manhattan cocktail until Wednesday, February 21, 2024.

More than 21 bars in the two cities will be making their versions on the cocktail [typically consisting of bourbon, sweet vermouth and bitters] while using Angel’s Envy Bourbon – with each drink claimed to be priced from $13.

The participating bars in London are:

Silverleaf
SOMA
A Blue Whale in The Bar
Cocktail Trading Co
Discount Suit Co
Equal Parts
Low Country Bar
Raffles London at The OWO
Royal Automobile Club
The Donovan Bar
Brown’s Hotel
TT Liquor
Shoreditch Arts Club
Funkidory
The Hoxton, Holborn
K Bar, The Kensington Hotel

In the Edinburgh, bars include:

Bon Vivant Restaurant
Commons Club
Duck & Waffle
Hey Palu
Lady Libertine
Lucky Liquor Co
Panda & Sons
The Devil’s Advocate
Wildcat

The post Angel’s Envy Makes People Envious In Edinburgh And London first appeared on Whisky Critic - Whisky Reviews & Articles - Style. Attitude. Whisky..

Bonnington Unveils Inaugural Single Malt

Lowland Edinburgh-based Bonnington Distillery has released their first single malt whisky – Bonnington Inaugural Release Single Malt – since the discovery of the ruins of Bonnington House and reviving the distillery in 2018. Bonnington Inaugural Release Single Malt is a single cask whisky matured in ruby Port casks, bottled at 52.3% alcohol by volume [104.6 […]

The post Bonnington Unveils Inaugural Single Malt first appeared on Whisky Critic – Whisky Reviews & Articles – Style. Attitude. Whisky..

Bonnington Inaugural Release Single Malt is a single cask whisky matured in ruby Port casks, bottled at 52.3% alcohol by volume [104.6 proof] and is said to offer notes of caramel, citrus, ginger and pear.

Only 500 bottles of Bonnington Inaugural Release Single Malt are being made available for $95 per 700ml bottle.

The post Bonnington Unveils Inaugural Single Malt first appeared on Whisky Critic - Whisky Reviews & Articles - Style. Attitude. Whisky..

Holyrood Rolls Out First Single Malt

Edinburgh’s Holyrood Distillery has released their very first single malt Scotch whisky – dubbed, appropriately enough, Arrival. Holyrood Distillery, founded in 2019, is located in Edinburgh’s Old Town district and has also produced gin and rum spirits. Holyrood Arrival was matured in a collection of Oloroso sherry butts, Pedro Ximénez hogsheads, bourbon barrels and rum […]

The post Holyrood Rolls Out First Single Malt first appeared on Whisky Critic – Whisky Reviews & Articles – Style. Attitude. Whisky..

Holyrood Arrival was matured in a collection of Oloroso sherry butts, Pedro Ximénez hogsheads, bourbon barrels and rum barriques, bottled at 46.1% alcohol by volume [92.2 proof] and is said to offer notes of butterscotch, caramel, ginger, toffee and vanilla.

Only 8,188 bottles of Holyrood Arrival are being made available for $80 per bottle at the Holyrood Distillery shop and official website.

The post Holyrood Rolls Out First Single Malt first appeared on Whisky Critic - Whisky Reviews & Articles - Style. Attitude. Whisky..

Reviving Rosebank Distillery After 30 Silent Years

When Rosebank Distillery’s stills went silent in 1993, many whisky lovers assumed the Falkirk distillery was gone forever – especially after thieves stole the copper… Read More

When Rosebank Distillery’s stills went silent in 1993, many whisky lovers assumed the Falkirk distillery was gone forever – especially after thieves stole the copper stills for scrap a couple of years later. Now, after 5 and a half years of work, Rosebank has come back to life, and the team at Ian Macleod Distillers filled the first casks of Rosebank since 1993 this week. We’ll talk with Ian Macleod’s Gordon Dundas about the revival of Rosebank on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth.

In the news, the whisky world pays tribute to the Bon Accord’s Paul McDonagh after the legendary Glasgow whisky bar’s owner passed away this week. Speyburn Distillery in Scotland is opening its doors to visitors for the first time starting next week, and we’ll have the details. We’ll take a look at sweet mash and sour mash distilling on Behind the Label, and our tasting notes this week include whiskies from Amrut and Arran distilleries.

Episode 1014: July 23, 2023

Photo courtesy Ian Macleod Distillers

A New Experience at The Scotch Whisky Experience

The Scotch Whisky Experience on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, and this week launches an all-new multimedia tour highlighting the production… Read More

The Scotch Whisky Experience on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, and this week launches an all-new multimedia tour highlighting the production of Scotch Whisky. We’ll talk with CEO Susan Morrison on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, unique one of a kind whiskies are going on the auction block for charity this October, Bruichladdich cuts its carbon footprint with a new recycled glass bottle for the Classic Laddie, and The Dead Rabbit’s expansion plans took two big steps this week. We’ll have the rest of the week’s whisky news, tasting notes, and more!

Episode 1013: July 16, 2023

Photo courtesy of The Scotch Whisky Experience.

Four Roses Bourbon Celebrates 135 Years

Back in 1888, Paul Jones Jr. started selling Bourbon under the Four Roses brand. 135 years later, the brand is stronger than ever, and to… Read More

Back in 1888, Paul Jones Jr. started selling Bourbon under the Four Roses brand. 135 years later, the brand is stronger than ever, and to mark the anniversary, Four Roses is releasing a first-ever tasting kit with all 10 of the distillery’s unique recipes. We’ll talk with Master Distiller Brent Elliott about the anniversary, and what makes each of those 10 recipes different, on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth.

In the news, new distilleries are opening up in Japan, Wales, and Pennsylvania this week, while Sazerac has won a counterfeiting lawsuit against a company that was selling miniature bottles of its W.L. Weller Bourbon online.

Episode 1012: July 9, 2023

Johnnie Walker Issues Cocktail Contest Challenge To The World

Diageo-owned Johnnie Walker has issued a cocktail contest challenge to bartenders worldwide – provide the best recipe for a cocktail using Johnnie Walker Black Label – those selected as the best recipes will get the chance to win an exclusive three-night immersive Black Label experience in Scotland at Diageo’s Johnnie Walker headquarters in Edinburgh. To […]

To enter, participants must publish a public Instagram post of their signature cocktail, including the recipe and reason why Johnnie Walker Black Label works perfectly in the serve. Each post must tag @johnniewalker and use the campaign hashtags #KeepWalking and #JWBlackLabel. Entries must be made prior to 11:59pm GMT on March 6, 2023, with the winner being announced on March 17, 2023 [aka St. Patrick’s Day].

Four winners will be selected by a judging panel [which includes Norway’s Adrián Michalčík, the World Class Global Bartender of the Year 2022, and Australia’s Nick Tesar, the 2022 Australia World Class winner and winner of the World Class Johnnie Walker challenge].

Entries will be judged by aesthetics as well as recipe balance, creativity and flare, with one winner chosen from each of the participating regions: South and Central America; Asia and Australia; Africa; and Europe.

The winners’ trip will take place in May 2023 and include a behind-the-scenes distillery tour; a visit to the Diageo Archives; a deconstructed tasting of Black Label with Johnnie Walker master blender, Dr Emma Walker.

Exploring the Luxury Whisky Market (Episode 986: January 8, 2023)

Whiskies are being released at staggering prices with an eye to investors as well as collectors, but what is the market for these rare whiskies? Duncan Taylor & Co. has just released a £75,000 1969 Macallan, and we’ll talk with Peter Currie of Shand Imports about this whisky and its intended market on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. Links: Duncan Taylor & Co. | Hood River Distillers | Buxrud.se | Gordon & MacPhail | The Independent | The Lakes Distillery | Westland Distillery | Indri | Larceny Bourbon

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