12 Wines of Christmas: Spain

Day eight of his “12 Wines of Christmas” series sees Peter Ranscombe exploring Spanish food and wine pairings. THINK Spain, think sunshine. Long lazy days spent soaking up rays on the beach, simmering summer evenings spent devouring plates of tapas, and cringe worthy late nights spent crooning to questionable karioke in “Irish” pubs. Yet master…

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Whisky film launches with Burns celebration

A DOCUMENTARY telling the story of Scotland’s national drink is being launched online in the run-up to Burns Night. The Water of Life, produced by Los Angeles-based Blacksmith & Jones, will be screened each night between 22 January and 27 January. Each showing will be followed by an hour-long session featuring the stars of the…

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12 Wines of Christmas: Argentina

Peter Ranscombe continues his journey through the 12 wines of Christmas with top-end bottles from Argentina. TAKE a walk along a supermarket wine aisle and it’s easy to dismiss Argentina as a land full of simple malbec. Row after row of cheap and usually very cheerful red wines demonstrate how the country and the grape…

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Highlands and islands gift boxes launch

A GIFT box service dedicated to showcasing products from the Highlands and islands has been launched. A Whale of a Time brings together products from independent businesses spread across Inverness, Lochaber, Moray, Wester Ross, and Wick, as well as islands including Harris, Islay, Lewis, Orkney, and Skye. Its range of eight gift boxes stretches from…

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Doddie toasts whisky auction success

RUGBY legend Doddie Weir has toasted the results of a whisky auction, which raised more than £50,000 for his My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. The Whisky Shop’s online auction was one of the foundation’s biggest fundraising events this year. The charity supports people with motor neuron disease (MND) and funds research. Foundation chief executive Jill Douglas…

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Wee Smoky – a whisky for people who don’t like whisky

WHISKY industry veteran Rory Gammell has launched a bottle of Scotch – for people who don’t like whisky. Wee Smoky is made by ageing single grain whisky in a cask that used to hold peated single malt. Gammell describes the result as “smooth, fruity, and lightly smoky”. His initial run of 400 bottles went on…

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A Week in Whisky: Thinking outside the box

EVENTS operator The Whisky Lounge has unveiled its first online festival. Its “Whisky Festival in a Box” will be broadcast live from the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery on 16-18 October. The festival consists of seven themed tasting sessions – “Scotch #1, Scotch #2, World, Asian, English, Indie and Peated” – with each session accompanied by…

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Blue Skye Thinking: Now is the time to visit The Misty Isle

I’m calling it 20/20 vision. As we clamber into autumn after six surreal months, I realise that seeing Scotland through fresh eyes has been 2020’s almighty silver lining. For many Scots, acquainting themselves more fully with all that this country has to offer has proved unexpectedly enlightening. Entranced by the wildly romantic coasts, crystal-clear waters…

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A Week in Whisky: Colourful capers

GLENKINCHIE Distillery in East Lothian has been presented with a gold certificate by the Green Tourism scheme. The site is only the third distillery in Scotland to receive the accreditation. It is also the first premises owned by Diageo, Scotland’s largest distillery, to achieve the standard. The distillery has installed beehives, bat houses and bug…

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