Our Top 10 whiskies of 2013

2013 has been a productive year for new whisky releases. Many companies are developing and releasing more products to meet or drive consumer demand, as the category continues to grow in both sales and consumption across the globe. We have reviewed over 100 whiskies this year, with many being new releases. It is impossible to sample every new release, but we have been lucky to try some of them through this blog.  A huge thank you to all of the brands and PR agencies that continue to send us samples and invite us to events.

Our Top 10 - Independent Bottling Companies

The world of the independent whisky bottling companies can seem confusing, especially when in your whisky journey.  However a few pieces of basic information can help - this opens up a huge new corner of the industry and offers many more products to choose from and taste. Essentially, these companies buy casks from the distilleries, or send them empty casks to be filled and stored, and then carefully choose when to bottle and release them.

New release - Ardbeg 19 years old from Cadenhead's

It’s very unusual for a new Ardbeg to come onto the market without the whole whisky world knowing about it, but here’s one recent release that’s slipped under the radar. No big fanfare for this new Ardbeg, no ruminant based activities were involved in the launching of this bottling from independent bottlers and retailers Cadenhead's. Having just stumbled upon this bottling online I decided to hop over to the Cadenhead's London store and buy a bottle.

Cadenhead's are Scotland’s oldest independent bottler having been established in Aberdeen in 1842 by George Duncan. Now run by J&A Mitchell company, owners of Springbank, Cadenheads have several shops dotted all around Scotland and Europe selling single cask, cask strength bottlings alongside Rums, Cognacs and Gins.