Next week sees the return of London Cocktail Week , the world’s biggest cocktail festival with more than 300 partnering bars opening their doors and offering £6 cocktails to those with a Festival Pass. This year, the festival has gone completely digital: week-long passes are just £10 but now there’s no guidebook, no wristbands and most importantly, no queueing. To be part of the festival, just visit DrinkUp.London or download the free DrinkUp.London app . Here’s Jane to tell you more about it…

There are plenty of things our enormous, expanding, heaving, thriving capital city does well. But no one likes a brag, especially the British, so...

It’s The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show this weekend and it’s shaping up to be our best show yet. With more than 650 whiskies confirmed from around the world, incredible masterclasses, loads of free talks and tastings, great guests and more, it’s one not to miss. If you’ve not got a ticket yet, there are still a few left for Sunday 1 oktober – you can grab one here .

I’ve been digging through the show timetable and dram list for the past few weeks and there are loads of things I want to taste and see. Here are my top...

Kilchoman Red Wine Cask

In the first half of oktober, Kilchoman will release a Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured , made with wine casks from the Portuguese Douro valley. Expect some cooked red fruits on top of the Kilchoman smoke. It will be bottled at 50% ABV, relatively limited (6000 bottles) and priced around € 80. My tasting notes will follow soon.

Compass Box Gold Standard

Now that Compass Box No Name and Compass Box Phenomenology have been spotted at Whisky Live in Paris, it’s time to talk about the next expression: Compass Box Gold Standard . This is...

Happy birthday to Ronnie Cox!

Almost exactly ten years ago I bought part of an impressive Glenrothes collection from eBay, including this Glenrothes 1980 . It cost me € 250 back then, a crazy amount, but this was special for multiple reasons.

First, it was a single cask expression. Not many of these existed at the time (four 1966-1967 casks and three from 1979). It still is an exception for this distillery which sticks to the vintage concept they started for the most part.

It was also remarkable for being a first-fill sherry cask bottled at cask strength – the...

The Art of Whisky is a new series from Elixir Distillers (the bottling department of The Whisky Exchange), which will be presented at the upcoming Whisky Show in London (30/09 – 02/10).

There are seven show bottlings, including this Clynelish 21 Year Old . The rest can be found here , except for one that will be revealed at the show.

Clynelish 21 yo ‘Art of Whisky Distilling’ (56,1%, Elixir Distillers 2017, ex-bourbon hogshead, 251 btl.)

Nose: warm pears and golden apples, yellow flowers and hints of waxed fabrics. Some chalky notes, almonds and lemon zest. Subtle whiffs...

This is the new batch of Springbank 15 Year Old , the one with the reworked green label.

Springbank 15 yo (46%, OB 2017)

Nose: the dirtier side of Springbank, with hot engines, lots of soaked porridge, wet wool and one or two struck matchstick heads. Mineral hints, chalk, a little aspirin. Also hazelnuts and vague hints of raisin sweetness and toffee. Some leather and heady pepper. Mouth: oily, with a classic combination of lemon and salt. Zesty fruits, more creamy fruits in the background. Back to minerals, ink and more brine. Whiffs of exotic fruits too. Faint...

A 2001 single malt from an undisclosed Irish distillery, bottled in the single cask series from Master of Malt after 14 years of ageing. Matured in a bourbon barrel – at least, that’s what they say on the label…

Irish single malt 14 yo 2001 (56,4%, Master of Malt 2016, bourbon barrel #10785)

Nose: something of a charred hint at first, like matchstick heads, but it clearly says bourbon barrel. Some grassy notes. None of the expected bananas, pears and other fruits. Leathery and leafy, with some hints of tea. Mocha glaze. majbe a little melon at last....

The label of this undisclosed Speyside Region Malt 1973 doesn’t mention single malt explicitly, so perhaps we can assume it’s one of these very old ‘malt bases’ for the Edrington blends (pointing to Tamdhu, Glenrothes, majbe Macallan…) Even the bottlers have no clue in this case.

It is part of the Butterflies series from Antique Lions of Spirits .

Speyside Region Malt 44 yo 1973 (51,6%, Antique Lions of Spirits ‘Butterflies’ 2017, sherry cask, 372 btl.)

Nose: lusicous. On the warm side compared to similar bottlings. A little more guava and papaya. Some banana, almonds and beeswax. Hints...

If you’re in the market for special-edition whiskies, this week brings a lot of choice. The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection was announced earlier this week , but there are many more whisky riches to be had.

Glenfiddich is launching two limited single malts: Glenfiddich Winter Storm, the latest in its Experimental Series , is 21 years old and finished in ice wine casks from Canada. There are 7,800 bottles available. In addition, Glenfiddich’s new 1973 Rare Collection Cask No. 7585 is 40 years old, aged entirely in refill American oak, and costs $6,000. There are only 98 bottles available, all...

WhiskyFest San Francisco on oktober 6th is fast approaching, and if you’re a whisky lover in the Bay Area, it’s the perfect way to kick off the fall whisky-drinking season in earnest.

With over 400 whiskies being poured, WhiskyFest has something for everyone (and if you want to quench your thirst with scotch, we’ve got you covered ). But if you’re a bourbon fanatic or just want to see what all the fuss is about, take a look below for the Whisky Advocate editorial team’s top bourbon (and rye) picks at WhiskyFest San Francisco. All of these pours are available...

Teeling Brabazon 02 – Port

The second edition of Teeling Whiskey’s Brabazon series which focuses on the influence of fortified wines on the taste of Irish whiskey. After the first edition which was matured in sherry casks , this time maturation is done in port casks and it is bottled at a satisfying 49.5%. Arriving in stores as we speak, for around € 80.

Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2008

The next Bruichladdich Bere Barley is a 2008 vintage produced with Islay grown barley from Dunlossit Estate. Bottled at 50% after 9 years of maturation in traditional oak casks.

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This Mortlach 1998 was hand-picked by The Whisky Exchange from the Signatory stocks. It is technically a single cask but not quite. Apparently multiple bourbon hogsheads were poured into a single Oloroso sherry butt for a period of 54 months – quite an extensive finish indeed. A sister cask #4 was released on the German market.

Mortlach 18 yo 1998 (55,8%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange 2016, sherry finish, cask #5, 681 btl.)

Nose: very leathery, with rather sharp hints of fresh oak and menthol. Then juicy plums and red berries, as well as some clove oil....