Great Places To Drink Whisky - The Pot Still, Glasgow

The Pot Still is a pub and whisky bar in the centre of Glasgow.  It is located on Hope Street, a steep road that climbs north and away from Central Station.  The building where The Pot Still is located was built in 1835 and was originally a wine and spirits merchant.  It transferred to become a public house in 1870 and was run by generations of the same family, the McCalls, until 1971 when it was sold to Tennent Caledonian Breweries.  In 1981, it was taken over by John Waterson, who renovated the pub and increased the range of whiskies over time.  He changed the name from McCall's Bar to The Pot Still.

Great Places To Drink Whisky - The Bon Accord, Glasgow

The Bon Accord is located in North Street on the western edge of the city centre in Glasgow.  The pub was first opened in 1971 and has grown to become a Glasgow institution and a must visit destination for beer and whisky fans.  It is owned by Paul McDonagh, who purchased it fourteen years ago and who we were lucky enough to meet briefly during our visit.  Under Paul and his family's ownership the establishment has gone from strength to strength and regularly pulls in awards.  One of the most recent was for the Best Whisky Bar in the UK in 2014.

Great places to drink whisky - New York City

New York City is rightfully famed for its night life. Any city vying for “best city in the world” status has to have some pretty cool bars to while away the small hours and get a little merry and New York’s sheer size means there’s a lot of places to choose from. So, on a recent holiday across the pond I ended up in a couple of Gotham’s excellent whisky bars in order to sample some of that famed night life and a couple of whiskies.

Great places to drink whisky - Whisky Cafe L&B

A recent weekend to Amsterdam meant I had to pop along to this well known whisky bar that had been recommended to me by several people. Located in the southern canal district between the high culture of the Rijksmuseum and the Leicester Square-esque tourist trap of boozy Leidesplein, Whisky Café L&B (no idea what the L&B is supposed to stand for) is definitely a must have for any one who enjoys a dram or two.

Great places to drink whisky - Japan

Japan is arguably the home of the whisky bar. There are huge amounts of them all over the place, particularly in Tokyo. Consequently, when my girlfriend and I decided go on holiday to Japan, I immediately began looking into what whisky bars I could drag her along to and spend stupid amounts of money in.

Inbox - October 5, 2012

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 that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.  This week's edition features news on a new single cask Indian whisky, a new whisky bar in New York and our favourite whisky book ...

Great places to drink whisky ... The Mash Tun, Aberlour

The Mash Tun is a pub and whisky bar that is located in the heart of the Speyside whisky region of Scotland. It can be found in the small town of Aberlour and sits on the banks of the fast flowing River Spey. The pub offers contemporary Scottish cuisine and the whisky bar is stocked with nearly 100 whiskies! The Mash Tun also has accommodation in the form of five luxury rooms that are named Aberlour, Glenfarclas, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet and Macallan after five famous local distilleries. It is currently owned by Mark and Karen Braidwood. For more information, take a look www.mashtun-aberlour.com.

The Mash Tun was built in 1896 by Thomas Campbell, a former Captain in the Royal Navy. He asked the architect to construct the building in the shape of a ship, hence the curved frontage. It was called The Station Bar, due to its location next to Aberlour's railway station. The name remained until the branch line that served Aberlour was closed in 1963. This is when it became The Mash Tun, in reference to the piece of equipment used during the whisky making process and the rich whisky heritage of the local area. There is a clause in the building's title deeds that states when/if the railway line ever re-opens, then the name must revert to The Station Bar.


The whisky bar of the Mash Tun is certainly well stocked. As mentioned, there are approaching 100 whiskies behind the bar with the emphasis unsurprisingly on Speyside whisky, both from famous and little known distilleries. The selection includes a complete set of the Glenfarclas Family Casks (a series where one cask from each consecutive year between 1952 and 1994 was bottled). This is one of only two complete sets in the world where they are on general sale to the public (the other is in Japan), with prices at around £250 for a dram of the 1952!

During our one night stay at The Mash Tun (in the gorgeous Glenlivet Suite), we had a hearty evening meal and then settled in to some serious dramming. We set our emphasis on the lesser known Speyside distilleries and classic Speysiders that we had never been able to try before. As a result we sampled, amongst others, whiskies from hard to find distilleries such as Craigellachie and Glentauchers alongside classic well re-knowned whiskies such as Cragganmore 12 years old and Mortlach 16 years old. Click on each name to read our detailed reviews of these whiskies.

The Mash Tun is simply a great place to drink whisky. It is vibrant and welcoming, with a great selection of single malts and blends and offers the chance to relax with a good dram with the sound of the River Spey in the background. If you are in the area, then you must make sure that this place is on your route. We would like to thank Mark and Karen and their staff for the hospitality during our stay at The Mash Tun.