Koval Barrel Aged Gin 47%...

Dry Gin Barrel Aged Batch 2...

By Susannah Skiver Barton

The popular Blade and Bow 22 year old bourbon is returning in time for Derby Day, while Lord Calvert has a new Canadian blended whisky and Rabbit Hole Distilling , a new Kentucky whiskey brand, has rolled out two bourbons and a rye.

Blade and Bow 22 year old

Style: Straight bourbon Origin: Kentucky Proof: 46% ABV Price: $200 Release: april 2017 Availability: Highly limited

Need to know: Originally launched on Derby Day two years ago, this is a re-release. The first bottling scored a 91 in our Buying Guide.

Whisky Advocate says: Though the brand talks a...

Master distiller Darryl McNally and marketing director Sinead O’Frighil next to the natural water source at the site of The Dublin Liberties Distillery

Just a few years after Dublin’s first distillery in over a century opened, the city will soon have another. The Dublin Liberties Distillery has started construction work on its facility located at Old Mill Street in the city’s Liberties neighborhood. The €15 million project involves renovating a 300-year-old former mill and tannery building to encompass both the distillery space and a visitors center. The site includes a natural water source that will provide water for the mashing and...

Tuthilltown Spirits cofounder Ralph Erenzo (Photo by Ben Stechschulte)

By Susannah Skiver Barton

Seven years after it acquired the Hudson whiskey brand—though not the distillery—from Tuthilltown Spirits , William Grant & Sons has bought the whole facility. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed, but it includes 36 acres, a restaurant and visitors center, a distillery with a capacity of 110,000 gallons, and several additional spirits brands, including Half Moon gin and Indigenous vodka.

William Grant & Sons is best known as the parent company of the Balvenie and Glenfiddich scotch brands, though it also owns Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey , Drambuie...

By Susannah Skiver Barton

As part of its partnership with the Chicago Cubs , announced earlier this year , Jim Beam is rolling out a limited-edition bottle of its trademark bourbon that celebrates the team’s World Series win last fall. The “Game 7 Batch” purportedly reached maturity—a full four years of age—the very night of the final championship game, november 2, 2016.

Jim Beam spokeswoman Mila Kunis revealed the new bottle this past weekend after throwing the first pitch at Wrigley field before the Cubs’ game versus the Milwaukee Brewers. (The Cubs won, 11 to 6.) The bottle’s label features...

By Susannah Skiver Barton

The Macallan has unveiled part 6 of its Masters of Photography series, a partnership between the scotch brand and celebrated photographers that has included projects with Annie Liebowitz and Mario Testino, among others. This year’s release features the work of Steven Klein, a frequent collaborator with Madonna, Lady Gaga, and other musicians.

Klein explored the influence of time on Macallan through 10 still images and a short interactive film, which you can experience here . The 53.5% ABV whisky, created by Macallan’s master whisky maker Bob Dalgarno, includes some influence from Rioja wine casks, as well...

Many people dream of starting their own whisky distillery, but the Wills family went ahead and did it, founding Kilchoman on Islay back in 2005. George Wills was our host for a tasting of the entire Kilchoman range. He told us the five key stages that sum up the distillery’s 12-year-history…

Kilchoman Distillery, located at Rockside Farm in north-west Islay

1. Ambition

George explained the reason Kilchoman exists is because the family wanted to ‘take whisky back to its traditional roots’, and that the distillery started like so many others on Islay: small farms, growing a little bit of barley....

Earth Day takes place on Saturday 22 april, with the purpose of raising awareness about current threats to the earth and its natural resources. Such a day is an opportune time to ask ourselves how climate change impacts whisky . I’ve looked at the three core natural ingredients that contribute to your favourite dram, and some of the famous names already taking steps to ensure we still have them in years to come.

1. Water

Water is the lifeblood of any distillery, the component that mixes with yeast and crushed barley in the fermented liquid – the wash – which...

We’re still going through new releases from That Boutique-y Whisky Company . Today, Glenrothes 25 Year Old which had a lot of fans after people tried it during the Twitter tasting.

Glenrothes 25 yo (49,7%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2016, Batch #3, 50 cl, 139 btl.)

Nose: ground coconut and oranges. Ginger. Hints of mocha and toffee. It’s fruity but there are some savoury touches too. A little gingerbread. Almonds. Acacia honey. Nice. Mouth: quite a spectacular evolution from the expected honey, peaches, candied ginger and pear drops towards total chocolate ice cream and those coffee glazed biscuits...

Another upcoming bottling from The Whisky Agency in the Art Nouveau Ladies series that will be presented at The Whisky Fair.

Cragganmore 27 yo 1989 (52,1%, The Whisky Agency ‘Art Nouveau Ladies’ 2017, hogshead, selected by LMdW)

Nose: fresh and citrusy, with some mineral undertones. Lemon and candied lime peel, grapefruit, pears. Subtle chalk and wet stones. Paraffin. Daffodils. Hints of heather and pine needles. A soft vanilla note comes out after some time. Mouth: a wealth of fresh fruits, mostly citrus again, with a minty / grassy edge. Turns more towards biscuits but it keeps the juiciness...

It seems ages ago since I tried a Bladnoch . Wait a minute, five years indeed! Of course the distillery went through rough years and I’m not sure it will become popular if you look at the pricing standards of its new Australian owner.

Anyway, here’s a Bladnoch 1990 in a new Chinese mask series from Sansibar .

Bladnoch 1990 (47,2%, Sansibar ‘Chinese mask label’ 2016, sherry cask, 117 btl.)

Nose: great, it’s the Lowlands profile alright, but a rather rich version. Lemon wine gums, oranges, peaches, lime, papaya. A little honey and vanilla. Bright, fresh, lightly floral...