Monday, September 23, 2024
Review | Lochlea Harvest Edition (Third Crop)
This whisky is the latest small batch single malt from the Lowland distillery of Lochlea. The Lochlea Harvest Edition (Third Crop) is released as the award-winning field-to-bottle distillery celebrates its sixth birthday and has been created by John Campbell, the outgoing Director of Production at Lochlea. Harvest Edition forms part of a wider series inspired by the farming year and features Sowing, Fallow and Ploughing Editions also. The Third Crop will be the final bottling for each.
Thursday, August 29, 2024
Review | King's Inch 8 years old
This Scotch whisky bottling is the first-ever age statement single malt in the core range of King's Inch. The King's Inch 8 years old has been created by owners Courageous Spirits, who have selected a Lowland single malt that has been matured in ex-bourbon casks and ex-Oloroso sherry butts and then vatted them together. There are just 1,500 bottles available.
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Review | Glasgow 1770 Cognac Cask Finish & Tokaji Cask Finish (Batch 02)
The Glasgow distillery has announced the latest bottlings in its Small Batch Series of single malts - the Glasgow 1770 Cognac Cask Finish (pictured, above left) and Tokaji Cask Finish (pictured, above right). Both are the second batches of these whiskies to be released, but the first ever from the distillery to carry an age statement. Both are bottled at six years old, natural cask strength, non-chill filtered and of natural colour.
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Review | Kingsbarns Coaltown
Coaltown represents the third permanent whisky in the core single malt range of Kingsbarns, the Lowland craft distillery that pioneered the Fife artisan distilling revolution. It joins the ex-bourbon and ex-red wine cask Doocot and ex-Oloroso sherry cask matured Balcombe as permenant expressions. The name is inspired by Coaltown of Wemyss - a small coal mining village in Fife, located just north of Kirkcaldy, which has close links to the distillery's owners. The whisky has undergone full maturation in American oak casks that have previously held peated whisky. These have been sourced from an unnamed distillery.
Thursday, June 13, 2024
Review | Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 2
Cask Strength Batch 2 is the latest limited-edition single malt whisky from the Ayrshire field-to-cask farm distillery of Lochlea (pronounced lock-lee). This second batch is both older and features different casks to the inaugural 2023 release. The batch features a cask make up not seen before in previous bottlings from the distillery - ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry (60% of the marriage) and ex-Oloroso sherry (28%) butts, plus STR ex- red wine barriques (12%). All the whiskies were distilled in 2018 or 2019.
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Review | Lochlea Sowing Season (Third Crop)
The Sowing Edition (Third Crop) is the first release in the final set of seasonal single malts from the Ayrshire distillery of Lochlea. The seasonal range highlights key points in the farming year - Sowing Edition, Harvest Edition, Fallow Edition and Ploughing Edition - with each whisky pushing the Lochlea spirit in different directions. The four First Crop releases were bottled in 2022 and the Second Crops appeared in 2023. This new whisky kicks off the third and final round of the range.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Review | Lochlea Ploughing Edition (Second Crop)
This whisky is the second release of limited edition Ploughing Edition single malt range from the Lowland distillery of Lochlea. The Lochlea Ploughing Edition (Second Crop) is the fourth and final bottling in its Second Crop series, which celebrates the annual farm cycle. Other releases include the Sowing, Harvest and Fallow Editions. Lochlea is one of the only distilleries in Scotland to grow all of the barley used for whisky production.
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Distillery Visit | Lochlea
The rolling hills of rural Ayrshire are home to one of Scotland’s most up-and-coming new single malt distilleries – Lochlea. The distillery is one of very few in Scotland to operate a true ‘field to bottle’ policy and they are beginning to make waves in the Scotch whisky world and beyond with a series of impressive early releases. Last Autumn, Matt was invited to pay a visit.
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The journey to Lochlea was met with very poor weather, often described in Scotland as ‘driech’. A bumpy flight from London and the following drive to the distillery through torrential rain were fairly brutal. Hats off to Sarah from Lochlea’s marketing team who came to pick us up from Glasgow and got us to the distillery safely. She really pulled the short straw that day.
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Review | Lochlea 5 years old
This whisky is a special limited edition from the award-winning Lowland farm-to-bottle distillery of Lochlea. It has been released to mark their fifth birthday. The whisky is a vatting of just five casks, each showing a different side to the house spirit. Two of them included are from the very first distillation and cask filling in August 2018. It is the oldest whisky released by Lochlea to date and the first to carry an age statement.
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Review | Lochlea Fallow Season (Second Crop)
The Ayrshire farm distillery of Lochlea has revealed its latest seasonal bottling - Lochlea Fallow Edition (Second Crop). The new whisky has been matured exclusively in ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. This is in the ratio of 45% and 55% respectively. The Fallow Edition pays homage to the period of the year where farmland naturally rejuvenates itself after crops have been harvested. The whisky has been created by John Campbell, the Director of Production at Lochlea.
Thursday, July 13, 2023
Review / Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 1
This whisky is the inaugural cask strength single malt from the Lowland distillery of Lochlea (pronounced lock-lee). The Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 1 has been aged in first-fill ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks in a ratio of 70:30 respectively. These were selected by John Campbell, the Master Blender at Lochlea. All barley used to make Lochlea spirit is grown on the Ayrshire farm where the distillery is located making it a true grain-to-glass operation. The Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 1 is bottled at 60.1% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. It is available through selected specialist retailers in selected global markets. A bottle will cost £65.
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Review / Kingsbarns Doocot
This new whisky is the first permanent bottling for global release from the Lowland distillery of Kingsbarns. The Kingsbarns Doocot is a non age statement single malt has seen maturation in ex-bourbon barrels and STR (shaved, toasted and recharred) ex-Portuguese red wine casks. The whisky is named after a dovecote (which translates as 'doocot' from Gaelic) at the distillery, which offers nesting and roosting spots for doves and pigeons. It is bottled at 46% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. The spirit has been produced using barley grown within a six mile radius of the distillery. The Kingsbarns Doocot will be available in specialist retailers worldwide with a bottle costing £45.
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Review / InchDairnie Ryelaw
This whisky is the highly anticipated first release from the Fife distillery of InchDairnie. The Ryelaw was distilled from a mix of 53% malted rye and 47% malted barley in 2017. Both cereals were grown at farms in the Kingdom of Fife, including Ryelaw Farm from which the whisky takes its name. The spirit was then matured in charred virgin American oak casks for five years. It has been bottled at 46.3% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. Ryelaw is made for just one week each year at the groundbreaking distillery, which features one of only two mash filters in the Scotch whisky industry (the other is at Teaninich in the Highlands) and a bespoke Lomond still.
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Review / King's Inch Single Malt
This whisky is a new single malt whisky that is distilled and matured in Glasgow. The exact location of where it is made is not revealed but the major suspicion is that it is produced by the Glasgow distillery, especially as one of the brand's founders was formerly employed there - Dr. Jack Mayo. The brand is owned by Courageous Spirits, who also own the popular Glas We Gin, and is named after an island that was found in the River Clyde. King's Inch Island is now part of the southern bank following an extensive dredging project. A king's inch was also an ancient measurement of barley. It is designed to be an urban whisky from a city steeped in industrial and artistic history.
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Review / Bladnoch Liora
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Review / Bladnoch Alinta
The Alinta is the latest addition to the core range of the Lowland distillery of Bladnoch. It is the first known smoky expression in the distillery's history. The spirit was distilled from peated malt that is produced for just a short period each year and accounts for under 10% of all spirit made there. Alinta has been matured in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and first-fill ex-Pedro Ximenez casks. The casks were hand selected and married together by Dr. Nick Savage, the Master Distiller at Bladnoch. The word 'alinta' translates as 'fire' or 'smoke' from indigenous languages found in southeast Australia and references the heritage of David Prior, Bladnoch's Australian owner.
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Review / Lochlea First Release
This whisky is the inaugural single malt bottling from the Lowland farm distillery of Lochlea. The Lochlea Single Malt First Release was recently launched on Burns Night (January 25). This was in homage to the famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns, who lived and worked at the Ayrshire farm where the distillery is located. Lochlea only uses barley grown on the farm for production of their single malt and distillation began in August 2018.
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Review / Glasgow 1770 Cask Finishes
The Glasgow Distillery Co. have announced the release of three limited edition single malts - the 1770 Cask Finishes. The collection is designed to show off how the distillery's three spirit types mature in different casks. The classic unpeated spirit has been paired with ex-Ruby Port casks from Portugal and the peated with ex-Sauternes dessert wine barrels from France. The triple distilled has been finished in ex-Tokaji wine casks from Hungary. All are finished for a short period in each cask, are bottled at cask strength and are limited in number.
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Distillery Visit / Glenkinchie
Despite having been to Edinburgh for work and pleasure on numerous occasions, we had somehow never got around to visiting Glenkinchie. For much of its recent history this unassuming distillery was the closest to Scotland's capital and attracted many visitors because of the fact. Now it has increasing competition with the Holyrood distillery built right in the centre of Edinburgh and a couple more new ones out in Leith. So what have owners Diageo done? Given it a major revamp and made it even more important than ever.
Glenkinchie is now the official Lowland home of Johnnie Walker, the world's best selling Scotch whisky of which its single malt is an important component. The distillery is one of four dotted around Scotland that each play a similarly influential role within the famous blended range. The other three official regional homes of Johnnie Walker that form Diageo's Four Corners of Scotland are Caol Ila on Islay, Cardhu in Speyside and Clynelish in the Highlands. Each has been renovated to tell each distillery's individual story within the wider Johnnie Walker tale.
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Review / Bladnoch Vinaya
This whisky is a new addition to the core range of single malts from the revitalised Lowland distillery of Bladnoch (pronounced blad-nock). The Bladnoch Vinaya takes its name from a Sanskrit word meaning respect and gratitude, and joins the similarly named Adela, Samsara and Talia expressions (amongst others) in the ever-expanding range. The distillery, which has seen a major recent revamp of both production equipment and fortunes, is known as 'The Queen of the Lowlands'. The Vinaya has seen whisky matured in both first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and first-fill ex-sherry casks, which have been selected and married together by Master Distiller Dr. Nick Savage.

















