Scottish Whisky Awards – winners in full

THE full list of winners at the Scottish Whisky Awards has been unveiled. The awards – for which Cask & Still magazine is the media partner – announced the winners during an online ceremony. Forty experts blind tasted 155 whiskies to choose the winners. The top prize in the competition, “Whisky Distillery of the Year,…

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de Burgh Wine Merchants delivers restaurant quality at home

WHEN the hospitality industry was shut down in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, de Burgh Wine Merchants was faced with losing 95% of its business overnight. Such a seismic shock provided the catalyst to accelerate the company’s plans to expand its web shop and home delivery service. “People have been drinking our wines for…

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Plans for Benbecula distillery unveiled

ISLANDERS could soon be sipping a locally-made whisky instead of collecting bottles from the beach if plans for a distillery on Benbecula are given the go-ahead. Father-and-son team Angus A MacMillan and Angus E MacMillan, who set up the Uist Distilling Company, will submit plans for a £6.5 million unit at Gramsdale. They say the…

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Whisky casks go digital

RESEARCHERS at the University of Strathclyde have developed a computer simulation to help whisky distillers fill their casks without spilling any spirit. As well as the computer program, the engineers built a cask-filling test rig and achieved 99% consistency when filling a 200-litre cask in less than one minute. Inconsistent cask filling can lead to too…

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The lockdown whisky festival

Tomatin will host its second virtual whisky festival on 9 May to raise much-needed funds for its charity partner, Maggie’s Highlands. The event, which will be live-streamed on Tomatin’s own YouTube channel, comes off the back of the success of their world-first online whisky festival earlier this month, which saw over 13,000 individuals tune in…

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A dram fine puzzle

With interest in puzzles and games at an all-time high, Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky have released a whisky-themed custom jigsaw puzzle that can be enjoyed with a dram. The limited-edition 500-piece jigsaw puzzle features artwork from renowned artist John Lowrie Morrison OBE (Jolomo) of Glengoyne Distillery in full spring bloom. The jigsaw will…

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Loch Lomond and the Water of Life

In a welcome reminder that there will be economic life after the lockdown, Glen Luss Distillery has announced an initial round of crowdfunding for the company’s new micro-distillery at Luss on Loch Lomond. When it opens in May 2021, it will be the first distillery and brewery within the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National…

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Blue bottle to raise £10,000 for NHS

Craft distillers Eden Mill have launched a limited-edition blue ceramic bottle of their award-winning Original Gin to show their support and raise valuable funds for the NHS, with the St Andrews-based distillers saying that it will raise £10,000. A total of 5,000 bottles have been created, with £2 from each £30 bottle donated to frontline…

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The Self Isolation Whisky Festival

In yet another example of how necessity is the mother of invention, Ewan McIlwraith and Sandy Fraser, the organisers of the Highland Perthshire Whisky Festival, have come up with a unique on-line way to hold the festival without the crowds – the Self Isolation Whisky Festival. This will be the first interactive festival where the…

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Whisky Unscripted

Ian Macleod Distillers are doing their best to lighten the mood during the lockdown with their new “Whisky Unscripted” podcast, which launches at 12pm UK time on Wednesday 8 April. Hosted by global brand ambassador Gordon Dundas and experiential ambassador Gordon Dallas, the idea is to offer a fun, informative guide to the whisky industry.…

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