Review - Talisker Neist Point

The Neist Point is a new single malt from the famous Talisker distillery on the isle of Skye and is exclusive to the travel retail sector.  It joins the fellow travel retail exclusive Dark Storm expression. Talisker is located on the isle of Skye, the largest and most northerly island of the Inner Hebrides. It is the only distillery on the island and is found close to the village of Carbost, in the shadow of the imposing Cuillin hills.  This new permanent release is made from a selection of rare casks of different ages - all are made from American oak and most are refill casks.  It is named after the most westerly point of Skye, which is home to the Neist Point lighthouse. 

Whisky For Everyone on The Huffington Post UK

Matt C, one of the founders of Whisky For Everyone, is a regular contributor on The Huffington Post UK.  He has been writing about whisky and whisky related topics within the LifeStyle section of the popular blogging website since being invited to be a contributor in 2012.

His latest article is now live on the site.  Within the article he looks at influences behind the reported demise of Scotch whisky in the media and awards being given to other sectors, plus asks whether the situation is really as bad as we are led to believe.  To read the article, please click the link below.  We hope that you enjoy ....

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/matt-chambers/is-scotch-whisky-dead_b_8960890.html

The UK Blog Awards 2016 - Vote for us now!

We have great news to begin the New Year - Whisky For Everyone has been entered in to the UK Blog Awards 2016.  We are up for the award of Best Blog in the Food & Drink category.  This is the UK's biggest competition for blogs.  Most of the blogs in our category are food-based so it would be great for a drinks blog to win.  And for that to be us of course.

The award is decided by public vote and the blog with the most votes wins.  Anyone can vote for us and you can vote as many times as you would like to right up to the deadline, although only once a day from the same email address and device.  So, tell all of your friends ... The deadline for voting is 9pm (UK time) on Monday 25 January.  We invite you to look through the nominations on the UKBA Food & Drink page and hope that you would like to vote for us.

How to vote for us
Simply click on the link below and this will take you straight to our homepage on the UKBA site.  Click on the 'Vote Now' icon and fill in your details.  It takes about 10 seconds.  You will then get an email to say that your vote has been accepted.  Don't forget that you can vote for us more than once.  

www.blogawardsuk.co.uk/ukba2016/my-entry/whisky-everyone


Thank you - Karen & Matt.

Review - Benriach 10 years old

This whisky was launched in April 2015 and formed the new cornerstone of the award winning Speyside distillery's core range of single malts.  It was a landmark release for the independent ownership, which took over Benriach in 2004.  Previous to this, all Benriach bottlings released by them had been from or included matured stock inherited from the previous owners.  This 10 years old represents the first whisky that was fully produced, matured and bottled by the new owners.  It has been matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and is bottled at 43% ABV.  The recommended retail price is £35.

Review - Aberfeldy 16 years old

John Dewar & Sons, the owners of the Highland distillery of Aberfeldy, have released a new expression in to their core single malt range. The Aberfeldy 16 years old has been matured entirely in ex-Oloroso sherry casks and will sit between the current 12 and 21 years old expressions in the range, which forms part of the owners wider Last Great Malts portfolio. There is also an 18 years old, which is exclusive to the travel retail sector. This new release was launched back in November and will be available in eleven selected world markets - Belgium, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Lebanon, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan and the UK.

Review - Ardmore Port Wood Finish

The Port Wood Finish is the latest addition to the core single malt range from the east Highland distillery of Ardmore. It was released back in October of this year.  The whisky is made in the distillery's traditional mid-peated style, which has been produced there since the early 1900s.  It is currently the only Highland distillery to produce the majority of its whisky in the smoky style.  This whisky has been aged in ex-bourbon casks for 12 years before being finished in ex-Port half pipes. The Port Wood Finish comes in the new brand packaging, featuring map-style graphics of the local area and Ardmore's eagle logo.

Review - Kininvie Special Release #1 'The First Drops'

The First Drops is the oldest ever expression from the Speyside distillery of Kininvie to be released. It is also the first bottling in the new Special Release series and was launched at a low key event in London back in October.  The whisky is constructed of just three casks from Kininvie's first ever day of production on June 25 1990.  These have been selected by Brian Kinsman, the Malt Master at William Grant & Sons (the owners of Kininvie), and each cask has been bottled at 25 years of age for one of three markets - Europe, Taiwan and the UK. They will all be available through specialist retailers, with the UK bottling the first to market.

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.

Review - Big Peat Christmas Edition 2015

Big Peat is a blended malt that is produced by the independent bottling company of Douglas Laing.  The brand is made exclusively from Islay malts and is known for its punchy, smoky character. It forms part of a wider range of blended malts from Douglas Laing, which celebrate each of the major whisky regions in Scotland.  These are named Rock Oyster (Islands), Scallywag (Speyside) and Timorous Beastie (Highlands).  The Big Peat Christmas Edition was first released in 2011 and is essentially a cask strength version of the regular Big Peat.  The bottling is released annually and has built up a cult following.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (December 4, 2015)

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, 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.