Review / The Brora Triptych

This collection of three rare single malt whiskies are from the north Highland distillery of Brora, which has reopened today (May 19, 2021). The Brora Triptych is designed to celebrate the rebirth and renovation by looking back to the distillery's pre-closure days of the 1970s and early 1980s. The collection has been collated by Stewart Bowman, the Master Distiller for Brora, and Dr. Jim Beveridge, the Senior Blender for owners Diageo. They will only be sold as complete sets. 

The Brora Triptych is formed of the Timeless Original 38 years old, the Age of Peat 43 years old and the Elusive Legacy 48 years old - the oldest ever official release of Brora by Diageo. 

Fèis Ìle 2018 - The Anticipation

Watch out Islay, here we come ...

The annual Fèis Ìle is upon us again. The world descends on the famous whisky producing Hebredian island of Islay for a week of events, whisky and music. Matt is amongst them and will be reporting back at various points during the week.

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This will be my fourth visit to Islay and my second to the Fèis Ìle. I am lucky in that the world of whisky takes me on numerous trips to numerous distilleries, but few compare to Islay. The island is a true Mecca for whisky lovers and they visit in their thousands for this one week of malt and music.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (March 2, 2018)

Welcome to Inbox.  For those new to WFE, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Whisky - A Recycling Nightmare?

* This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post UK on 19/5/17.

Whisky packaging has been named and shamed as one of the top villains for recycling in a new report from The Recycling Association, the UK’s largest network of independent waste and recycling operators.

The report lists the worst offenders that present the biggest challenges at recycling plants around the UK and whisky packaging makes the top five. It sits alongside Pringles tubes, Lucozade Sport bottles, black plastic meat trays and cleaning product cans on the list of shame.

Review - Highland Park Valkyrie

Valkyrie is the first in a new trilogy of single malts from Highland Park. Named as the Viking Legend series, the packaging has been created by renowned Danish designer Jim Lyngvild. He is a 21st century Viking and lives in a traditional wooden Viking house that he constructed himself near Faaborg in Denmark. He also lives as an ancient Viking for two months of each year and his designs pull on the brand’s Viking routes. Valkyrie was created by Gordon Motion, the Master Blender of Highland Park, and will be followed by two further editions, named Valknut and Valhalla, in 2018 and 2019.

How Did You Get In To Whisky?

* This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post UK on 19/4/17.

What turned you on to whisky? Was there one experience or a particular whisky you tried that got you hooked? What made the biggest first impression on you? How did you get in to whisky? These are questions that I get asked on a regular basis.

Getting started in the whisky world can be a daunting experience. I found it that way to begin with. There are lots of things that you hear or read that could be true, but you just do not know. These include numerous well-known stereotypes and opinions – Should I add water to my whisky? How about ice? Is single malt better than blended whisky? And so on.

Playing To Your Strengths

* This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post UK on 5/1/17.

The current buzzword in the Scotch whisky industry seems to be experimentation. This year we have seen major brands releasing whiskies that have been matured in funky wine casks, creating new recipes and collaborating with craft beer brewers.

Experimentation has generally been seen as the realm of the craft or artisan distiller, especially those new to the scene. The major players argue that they have always been experimenting throughout their history and that this is simply taking it to the next level.

So what are the big whisky brands trying to achieve from this experimentation? Is it to simply diversify their range? Is it to make their product more attractive to a wider audience or new drinkers? Or is it to be seen as a ‘craft’ product themselves?

Is Rum The New Whisky?

* This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post UK on 10/11/16.

A few weeks ago, someone asked me about which spirit would be the ‘next whisky’. By that they meant, which spirit would come out of the shadows in a similar way that whisky started to do about ten years ago? Whisky has become the ‘new Cognac’. My prediction skills have never been good, but after some discussion we came to our conclusion – rum.