Kandoblanc - BourbonSphere

The Outlander and the Distiller

Actor Sam Heughan is best known for his starring role on TV’s “Outlander,” but he’s a whisky lover, too. Sam started his own whisky brand,… Read More

Actor Sam Heughan is best known for his starring role on TV’s “Outlander,” but he’s a whisky lover, too. Sam started his own whisky brand, The Sassenach, and he’ll join us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth to talk about his love for whisky. We’ll also hear from the new master distiller at Angel’s Envy, Owen Martin. He’s just unveiled this year’s Angel’s Envy Cask Strength releases, a Bourbon, and for the first time, a Rye. In the news, Pernod Ricard is planning a new distillery on Islay, while Compass Box wants to build one in the Highlands.

Distillers’ One of One Whisky Auction Raises £2.2 Million for Charity

The biennial Distillers’ One of One auction held Thursday at Hopetoun House near Edinburgh shattered pre-auction estimates, with bids totaling £2,248,750 ($2,715,815 USD), more than… Read More

The biennial Distillers’ One of One auction held Thursday at Hopetoun House near Edinburgh shattered pre-auction estimates, with bids totaling £2,248,750 ($2,715,815 USD), more than double the pre-auction estimate. Distillers and bottlers contributed 39 one-of-a-kind items for the auction, which benefits The Distillers’ Charity Youth Action Fund and was managed by Sotheby’s.

The high bid came for the Bowmore STAC 55 Years Old, the oldest Bowmore ever released by the distillery. The bidding ended at £562,500, beating the pre-auction estimates of £300-500,000. The Brora Iris 50 Years Old 1972 set an auction record for Broras with a high bid of £400,000. In all, 19 separate records for various distilleries were set during the day’s bidding.

Several whiskies made their debut during the auction, including Dhavall Gandhi’s initial release of Kandoblanc AGA, which sold for £45,000. In addition, The Last Drop contributed a blending session allowing the winning bidder to create their own Scotch Whisky, bringing a winning bid of £60,000.

The biennial auctions have raised £4.2 million for the Youth Action Fund, which supports disadvantaged young people in Scotland. In a statement, Jonathan Driver of The Distillers One of One called the auction a resounding success.

Image courtesy The Distillers One of One.

Whisky Number One…of One

Distillers around Scotland are teaming up to help the country’s youth through the Distillers’ Charity One of One Auction on October 5. 39 one-of-a-kind bottles… Read More

Distillers around Scotland are teaming up to help the country’s youth through the Distillers’ Charity One of One Auction on October 5. 39 one-of-a-kind bottles will go on the auction block to raise money for the Charity’s Youth Action Fund, including the debut bottling of Kandoblanc from Studio Dhavall Gandhi. We’ll talk with Dhavall and the charity’s managing director, Beanie Geraedts-Espey on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, we’ll have details on new releases from Bruichladdich, Jack Daniel’s, and Tomatin, just to name a few.

Episode 1021: September 11, 2023

Image courtesy Studio Dhavall Gandhi.