The past two decades have seen a return to popularity of what was once the best-loved alcoholic drink in England – gin . But what is gin and what do you do with it? There’s years of history behind it, incredible distillers making it, and lots more to do with it than splash it in a glass with some tonic. Read on to learn more…

What is gin?

At its most general, European law defines gin as:

‘…a juniper-flavoured spirit drink produced by flavouring organoleptically suitable ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin with juniper berries.’

Or more simply: ‘a spirit that’s...

Sergio Mendoza is the man behind Don Fulano Tequila. In an exclusive blog post for The Whisky Exchange, he shares his three big trends affecting the world of Tequila and mezcal, and also tells us why we should all be drinking it.

1. The impact of Donald Trump on Tequila exports to the United States

Tequila is still one of the fastest-growing drinks categories and the US is by far the number-one market. Although Trump is now in office, this doesn’t seem to be changing – on the contrary, it seems that agave spirits have many years of expansion and...

The oldest expression in the recent batch from Single Malts of Scotland , a Bunnahabhain 1988 .

Bunnahabhain 28 yo 1988 (46,8%, Single Malts of Scotland 2016, refill bourbon cask #100229, 344 btl.)

Nose: rather delicate, with an excellent freshness. A little banana candy, juicy nectarine, sweet lemon, green apple. Big beeswax notes too. Vanilla. Honeysuckle. Some fresh oak chips, but nicely integrated. Mouth: rich and rather creamy, with light honey, waxy notes again, and a vaguely tropical fruitiness. Lime, custard, a little mango, lemon liqueur. Quite jammy, and the oak gives it a certain backbone but no...

We saw very little Littlemill after the wave of 2012-2014. If you have a look at the Whiskybase list, there were merely six releases in 2016, and just one so far in 2017: this Littlemill 1990 in the Archives series.

Littlemill 26 yo 1990 (53,8%, Archives 2017, hogshead #32, 267 btl.)

Nose: nice mix of mineral, chalky notes with excellent fruity hints. Some mango and papaya, grapefruit, more Western apple peels as well. A little menthol. Rapeseed oil. Nice waxiness too, almost the old Ben Nevis-style lipstick. Mouth: a fruit bomb now. The mineral hints are still there,...

Diageo has just announced the line-up for its Special Releases 2017 .

There will be ten bottlings and we can already reveal the first nine. One is kept in their back pocket as a surprise later on this year. Final imagery and pricing will also be available later. The bottles themselves are due early autumn.

BLAIR ATHOL 23 year old Distilled 1993 – ABV 58.4% Ex-Bodega European Oak Butts – 5514 btl.

BRORA 34 year old ’16th release’ Distilled: 1982 – ABV 51.9% Refill American Oak Hogsheads – 3000 btl.

CAOL ILA 18 year old ABV 59.8% (possibly unpeated...

This is a GlenDronach 2003 selected for The Duchess in Holland. It is not your average GlenDronach as it was matured entirely in a Virgin oak hogshead (and not finished like most other virgin oak GlenDronach).

GlenDronach 13 yo 2003 (53,9%, OB for The Duchess 2016, Virgin oak hogshead #1751, 250 btl.)

Nose: starts like a grain whisky, in the sense that it’s full of oak shavings, coconut and vanilla. Cinnamon dusting. Then some lactic notes, a little custard and juicy peaches. Strawberry jam. Syrupy tarte tatin with just a hint of mint. Mouth: there’s a fruity core (apricots,...

Dead Whisky Society was an independent bottler founded by Jim Milne, a former blender at Chivas and other companies. The concept was to bottle whisky from closed distilleries, but as far as I know, the whole project ended in 2011 after six bottlings. This Banff 1971 is probably their bottling with the best reputation.

Banff 37 yo 1971 (53,3%, Dead Whisky Society 2008, cask #633, 565 btl.)

Nose: typical Banff austerity. Mineral notes, hints of glue and silver polish. Then some grassy notes, eucalyptus and aniseed. Subtle lemon zest and smoke. Hints of farmyards. Wax candles. As it...

This was my personal favourite among the new releases from That Boutique-y Whisky Company . Irish single malt 24 Year Old: expectations are high.

Irish single malt 24 yo (46,8%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2016, Batch #1, 50 cl, 264 btl.)

Nose: vibrant, with green mango and pineapple, lime, kiwi, fresh pink grapefruit. Just a little vanilla and barley sugar. A few floral notes too (potpourri). Citrus peel. If this were a beer, my guess would be Citra hop. Very sherbety, a lot like the 1991 single casks we’ve had. Mouth: maracuya sherbet, pink grapefruit, a lot of...

it seems like the information on Diageo Special Releases 2017 has started to trickle out as four new labels from Diageo distilleries has popped up in the TTB database and they aren’t of the more familiar brands in their portfolio:

• Teaninich 17 Year Old (200th Anniversary) – 55.9%
• Port Dundas  52 Year Old – 46.6%, 752 bottles
• Glen Elgin  18 Year Old – 54.8%, 5352 bottles
• Blair Athol 23 Year Old – 58.4%, 5514 bottles

So far no mention of the annual Lagavulin 12/Caol Ila unpeated releases and we can be pretty sure more bottles will be added (Will we see Brora/Port Ellen...

Seems like Ardbeg is preparing a new release for the rich among us. A new label shows they intend to release another whisky from the stock that was distilled prior to the current owners regime (with Ardbeg 21 being the first one). The label states it was bottled in 2017 after being aged for 23 years so it’s a 1993/1994 spirit distilled when Ardbeg was part of Allied distillers.

The label hints at a series of releases as the title is Ardbeg Twenty Something  so we could (and probably will) see other future releases that carry 2x age statements.

Will...

The West Winds Gin Barrel Expedition Maidenii Voyage 45%...

GINIUS The Flemish Nr1 50%...

Ironworks Gin 41.5%...

Cirka Gin Sauvage 44%...

Turnicum No3 Gin 40%...