I don’t think that much more can be said about what a weird year 2020 was. I am forever an optimist though, and whilst I can’t deny the horrible times that we’ve had, I still think it important to look back and take stock: as I write this, I can say that I’ve made it … Continue reading 2020 Unplugged: Our Top Ten Whiskies Of The Year
If you’re a peat-head then you know Ardbeg. If you’re an Ardbeg fan (Ardbeggian?) then you know Ardbeg Day. Since 2001, the Ileachs have celebrated their wares as part of the Islay festival, and since 2011 a special release has been made to mark that day. At first it was the infamous Alligator release, which … Continue reading Tasting Notes: Ardbeg – Blaaack
This is the fourth and final instalment in a series of posts about the influence of whisky barrels on a beer. Once a cask’s life of housing whisky is over, it’s still not curtains for that barrel and we have looked at how they have then gone on to influence different styles of beers, courtesy … Continue reading Beyond The Dram With Glen Affric: Barrel-Aged Beers (Part 4: IPA)
You would imagine that the circles in a Venn diagram of whisky enthusiasts and Game of Thrones fans would be pretty close to overlapping! [ed: He says writing as a big fan of the TV series, half-committed reader of the books, and whisky blogger]. It came as no surprise therefore that when Diageo announced a … Continue reading Tasting Notes: Lagavulin – 9 Years Old (Game Of Thrones – House Lannister)
Here we have the first whisky to be released by Colonsay Beverages. As the name suggests, the company is based on the Scottish Isle of Colonsay within the Inner Hebrides and indeed the whisky brand gets its name from the port and village that the company are based in. Colonsay Beverages operates a microbrewery and … Continue reading Tasting Notes: The Scalasaig – Island Hopper (Maiden Voyage)
Founded in 1933, Ian MacLeod Distillers is now into its third generation of family ownership and have continued to go from strength to strength. The business now owns two of Scotland’s most loved distilleries, Glengoyne and Tamdhu, with a series of other revered drinks brands to their name (including the very successful Edinburgh Gin). Amongst … Continue reading Tasting Notes: Smokehead – Extra Rare
Despite the name’s Scottish roots, for me, this story starts not in the Highlands, but on the Wirral. That is the location of the Glen Affric brewery and taproom. In the last couple of years, I have spotted the brewery’s distinctive antlers logo appearing more and more frequently in pubs and off licences throughout the … Continue reading Beyond The Dram with Glen Affric: Barrel-Aged Beers (Part 1: Porter)
whisky unplugged 