The Whisky Exchange BLOG

Burns Night with TWE & Vinopolis

Billy — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:59:00 +0000

For the Scotch whisky lover there’s one event that pops up early in the calendar that gives the perfect excuse for a bit of a special dram or three – Burns Night. On and around the birthday of Robert Burns … Continue reading >>

Balvenie’s Craftsman’s Reserve #1 – The Cooper

Billy — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:13:53 +0000

We look forward to new releases at TWE Towers just like everyone else and when Balvenie announced an online unveiling of their newest dram, along with tasting packs for us to follow on at home, me and Tim of this … Continue reading >>

Midleton Distillery Trip: Single Pot Still Irish Whiskeys Pt.2

Tim F — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:32:37 +0000

[Following on the first part of Tim's write-up of his trip to Midleton, we jump straight back in with talk of the new expressions from Irish Distillers.] We’re back in the Distillers Cottage at the Old Midleton distillery, where Irish Distillers’ … Continue reading >>

TWE Blog’s Christmas Whisky: Bowmore Tempest 3

Tim F — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:05:54 +0000

There’s been a few great whiskies this year, many of them Irish and some classics from independent bottlers (including a few zingers from our good selves, I must add immodestly). So this is not my Whisky of the Year – there’s just too … Continue reading >>

Midleton Distillery Trip: Single Pot Still Irish Whiskeys Pt.1

Tim F — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:13:14 +0000

In early May, TWE Blog was one of a small group of highly-privileged whisky folk invited to attend a special event at the Midleton distillery in Cork. Although the invite mentioned the launch of the Midleton Single Pot Still releases, … Continue reading >>

Cocchi?

Billy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:15:43 +0000

Despite our name we’re not all about whisky here at TWE. I’ll admit that we all rather like the odd dram, but we’re nothing if not versatile drinkers. I’m a big fan of gin in all its various forms, Tim … Continue reading >>

Compass Box’s Last Vatted Grain

Billy — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:57:48 +0000

We’re rather fond of Compass Box’s Last Vatted Malt, having received a bottle a few days for approval, but I’ve been waiting for something else – The Last Vatted Grain. I’m a big grain whisky fan, ever since I did … Continue reading >>

Last Vatted Malt: Compass Box Get Reactionary

Tim F — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:20:10 +0000

Dateline: 22nd November 2011. Time: 11.59pm. Venue: A secret location in London. There’s going to be a raucous party this evening – a sort of ‘pre-wake’, if you will (don’t worry, all will become clear). A fancy Soho joint will be flashmobbed by a … Continue reading >>

Balvenie’s Batch 2s – Tun 1401 and 40 year old

Billy — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:32:57 +0000

The folks at Balvenie like keeping busy. After a summer of random events they’ve hunkered down as we approach the end of the year and have done that which we know them for most – made some excellent whisky. Not … Continue reading >>

Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible Awards 2012

Billy — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:22:52 +0000

Close on the heels of the Diageo Special Releases (no, we don’t have any Port Ellen left) came the surprise announcement of the winners of this years awards in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible. The big one that everyone always wants to … Continue reading >>

Diageo Special Releases 2011

Billy — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:30:34 +0000

There are some things that are constant in this world – death, taxes, the revival of Big Brother for yet another year despite no-one admitting to watching it, my inability to write one word where I can shoe-horn in five … Continue reading >>

Tasting some Glendronach at TWE Vinopolis

Billy — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:22:15 +0000

Despite the Whisky Show taking up much of our time at TWE over the last few months, we still found time to organise our regular tastings down at our Vinopolis shop. One of the perks of my position is blagging … Continue reading >>

London Cocktail Week and Rumfest 2011

Billy — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:53:32 +0000

The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show may be over for another year, but this week is far from done. We were honoured to be the opening event of this year’s London Cocktail Week, running through this week and building on the … Continue reading >>

Tasting Notes: Redbreast 12yo Cask Strength

Tim F — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:36:41 +0000

A ripple of excitement went through the whiskey world last week when it was revealed that Pernod Ricard’s Irish Distillers Ltd, owners of the Midleton complex, were launching a cask strength version of arguably the distillery’s greatest brand: Redbreast 12 … Continue reading >>

Pure Festival

Billy — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 09:35:56 +0000

There’s a new entry to the whisky festival calendar this year, courtesy of the chaps at Connosr and some of their musical chums – The Pure Festival. It’s a twist on the regular whisky festival format, mixing drams with music … Continue reading >>

Tasting the Tomatin range with Douglas Campbell

Duncan — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:40:31 +0000

This week we welcome back TWE Vinopolis’s Duncan Ross to tell us about one of our recent tasting events. Take it away Duncan… As you travel north from Perth on the winding A9 you will pass through some of the … Continue reading >>

TWE Whisky Show News – Shackleton Tasting and Show Bottlings

Billy — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:19:15 +0000

Another week and some more news from The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show… First up is that our last masterclass is now on sale. Whyte & Mackay master blender Richard ‘The Nose’ Paterson will stop throwing whisky at people at their … Continue reading >>

An Autumn of Bourbon…

Billy — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:48:58 +0000

Autumn is a special time of year in the world of American whiskey. With the hot summer done, the distilleries knuckle down and push their various special releases for the year out of the door. Despite there being shortages in … Continue reading >>

Cocktails at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show

Billy — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:57:35 +0000

As we get closer to our marvellous TWE Whisky Show (which is scarily only five weeks away) there will be a lot more information appearing about the things that we’re going to be doing, as they all click into place. … Continue reading >>

Port Askaig Harbour 19 Year Old

Tim F — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:11:37 +0000

It’s with great regret that we must announce that the Port Askaig 17 year-old – Speciality Drinks’ superb mystery single Islay malt which became the whisky version of a soundtrack [a tastetrack? - Ed.] to TWEBlog & Caskstrength/ManDate’s momentous 2009 trip to Feis … Continue reading >>

A trip to Knockdhu

Billy — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:03:53 +0000

[This is Part 4 of Billy's trip around the Inver House distilleries. If you haven't already, you should check out his scribblings from Balblair, Pulteney and Speyburn] After leaving Speyburn we hacked back over to Elgin to find our hotel, … Continue reading >>

A trip to Speyburn

Billy — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:49:10 +0000

[This is the third instalment of Billy's trip around the Inver House distilleries. If you haven't already, check out his visits to Balblair and Pulteney] The next stop on our tour of the Inver House distilleries was Speyburn, which someone had … Continue reading >>

Music at the TWE Whisky Show – Tim Hain

Billy — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:55:04 +0000

We’re happy to announce that we not only have fantastic drinks and food lined up for the TWE Whisky Show but we now also have musical accompaniment thanks to the excellent Tim Hain. You can find more information, as we … Continue reading >>

Penderyn

Toby — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:01:23 +0000

Please welcome mouthy young upstart Toby Quirk to the blog. Toby is a Spiritual Advisor to our Vinopolis shop and most recent member of staff to discover that going on a trip to a distillery comes with certain blog related requirements… About … Continue reading >>

Balvenie Tasting at TWE Vinopolis with Drs Forrester & Whisky

Chris — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:25:21 +0000

[This week we are joined by the TWE Vinopolis shop assistant manager and tastings organiser Chris Bolton, to talk us through our recent event at the hands of Balvenie's whisky doctors - Forrester and Whisky] Throughout the years that TWE has … Continue reading >>