Lochlea unveils second Red Wine Cask Release for summer 2026

Ayrshire, Scotland – Launching 28^th May 2026

Family-owned Lochlea Distillery in Ayrshire is proud to announce the launch of its second annual Red Wine Cask release, arriving on 28^th May. Building on the success of the inaugural edition launched last year, this latest expression marks the second instalment in a vibrant and evolving wine cask series, showcasing the farm-to-cask distillery’s innovative approach to cask management. It sits alongside Lochlea’s core Single Estate range, a permanent collection of single malts launched in summer 2025.

The Red Wine Cask series is an annual limited-edition release inspired by the art of finishing mature spirit in carefully selected red wine casks from different wine-making regions. Each year introduces a distinct expression, shaped by the character of the wine casks chosen to complement Lochlea’s signature house style, with just a limited number of bottles being available.

For this second release – Red Wine Cask 2026 – Lochlea has taken whisky initially matured in first-fill Bourbon barrels and finished it in carefully chosen Sangiovese wine casks from Tuscany, Italy. The result is a rich and velvety dram, offering layers of sweetness and complexity. On the nose, expect red berries, baked apples, and notes of honey with gentle spice. The palate delivers a creamy texture with abundant red berry and nutty flavours, leading to a finish defined by soft spice and a pleasant oakiness.

Notably, Lochlea is one of only two Scotch distilleries to grow its own barley on-site. Every stage of production – from field to cask – is carried out at the distillery in Ayrshire. This end-to-end control ensures exceptional quality, provenance and a distinctive house character across all releases.

Darren McCormick, Lochlea’s distillery manager said: “Our latest Red Wine Cask expression deepens our signature style with this type of cask, building on the 2025 release that was finished in Grenache casks from the south of France. We want to set the tone for our future releases in the series, whilst reinforcing our commitment to flavour exploration and creating limited edition whiskies that perfectly complement our core range.”

Lochlea Red Wine Cask #2 Product Details:

• Matured in first-fill Bourbon barrels, finished in Sangiovese wine casks
• 46% ABV
• Natural colour
• Non-chill filtered

With its balance of sweetness, spice and fruit-forward richness, the second Red Wine Cask release is a compelling addition to Lochlea’s growing portfolio and a must-try for whisky enthusiasts seeking something both distinctive and approachable.

Lochlea Red Wine Cask 2026 will be available from specialist retailers from 28^th May onwards, RRP: £55. Visit www.lochleadistillery.com or ITG @lochleadistillery for more details.

A closer look at The Lochlea Single Estate Range core range:

RRP for each bottle: £50 per 70cl. Stockists include whisky specialists and independent retailers across the UK and in over 30 international markets. 

Orchard & Oak: A bright, fruit-driven single malt with a grassy freshness and layered sweetness.

Cask Types: matured in a combination of first-fill Bourbon, Virgin American Oak, and Calvados casks.

Tasting Notes:
Nose – Fresh green apple, cut grass, light floral notes
Palate – Apple cake, buttery caramel, grassy and oaky spice
Finish – Sweet oak, cereal, soft citrus lift

ABV: 46% and non-chill filtered 

Dark Briar: A bold and indulgent expression, matured in rich fortified wine casks for depth and complexity.

Cask Types:  matured in a combination of Pedro Ximénez, Oloroso sherry butts, and Port casks.

Tasting Notes:
Nose – Juicy red berries, vanilla caramel, baking spices
Palate – Cherries, stewed plums, ginger cake, warming tannins
Finish – Long, rich, with velvety spice and lingering red fruit

ABV: 46% and non-chill filtered 

Smoke Without Fire: A delicately peated whisky that balances subtle smoke with fruit and floral elegance.

Cask Types: matured in a combination of ex-peated refill Bourbon barrels and red wine casks.

Tasting Notes:
Nose – Red berries, cherry blossom, soft bonfire smoke
Palate – Light citrus, salted smoke, bonfire char, floral sweetness
Finish – Soft phenols, toasted oak, subtle sherbet

ABV: 46% and non-chill filtered

The range also includes the existing Our Barley single malt. 

Our Barley:

Tasting Notes:

 Nose – Pear syrup, fruit bon bons, warm cut grass, marmalade

Palate – Golden syrup, pepper, rye bread, macadamia nuts, cream soda

Finish – Long finish with a lasting orange beeswax note

ABV: 46% and non-chill filtered. 

About Lochlea: 

Lochlea was originally a 222 acre livestock farm before being purchased by Neil and Jen McGeoch in 2006. After much consideration of the future of the farm and a successful trial to grow its own barley in 2015, the couple transformed the land and existing farm buildings into a fully-operational distillery in 2017 and started distilling the following year. The farming side has remained a unique part of Lochlea, with the move into barley production – paving the way for Lochlea to be one of the very few fully grain-to-cask distilleries in Scotland. It also has a rich Scottish heritage with strong links to Robbie Burns, with the bard having worked and lived on the farm for several years.

After years of planning, dreaming, and building, the moment is nearly here. Construction at Witchburn Distillery is entering its final phase — the stills have arrived, the building work is underway, and distillation is set to begin within the next few months.

We’re proud to share that Witchburn is the first new distillery to be built in Campbeltown for many decades — a region with a whisky heritage that runs deep. Situated on the former NATO & US Navy SEALs base at RAF Machrihanish, Witchburn is designed to honour that heritage while looking firmly to the future.

One of our proudest achievements is what Witchburn won’t rely on: fossil fuels. We’ve installed an innovative electric-steam boiler that makes Witchburn one of the most sustainable distilleries in the world — and the first of its kind in the UK. With an annual production capacity of 2.7 million litres of pure alcohol, this isn’t a boutique experiment. It’s a serious, forward-thinking operation.

We’ve also designed Witchburn to give our whisky-makers real creative freedom. The distillery supports multiple distilling styles — including the recreation of traditional high-temperature distillation associated with direct-fire stills — and will produce unpeated, lightly peated, and heavily peated spirit from day one.

As we enter this final stretch before production begins, we’re inviting up to 20 individuals to join us as Founding Partners — people who don’t just want to invest in whisky, but want to be woven into the fabric of this distillery from the very start.

In return for a £300,000 commitment, each partner will receive:

• A 1% equity stake in Witchburn Distillery, officially registered in the UK
• An annual allocation of casks
• Multiple cases of exclusive Founders bottlings — available only to shareholders
• Invitations to private distillery events throughout the year
• A permanent place on the Founders’ Wall at Witchburn

The option to sell your stake back to the distillery after five years for £400,000 — or remain a partner for the long term

“This is not simply an investment opportunity. It is a unique chance to become part of a distillery at the very moment it comes to life — to help shape its future, to share in its success, and to carry a piece of Campbeltown’s legacy forward.”

 Alex Springensguth, Co-Founder, Witchburn Distillery

Interested in becoming a Founding Partner?
We’d love to have a conversation.
Get in touch with Alex directly to find out more.

Email

EDEN MILL DEBUTS NEW SINGLE CASK RANGE HAND-SELECTED BY HEAD DISTILLER

Distiller’s Cask Release #1 is an 8 year old peated Amarone single malt, bottled at batch strength 53.2% ABV and limited to just 311 bottles

Eden Mill has released Distiller’s Cask Release #1, the first in a series of single cask single malts chosen by Scott Ferguson, the head distiller who has filled and laid down every single cask at the distillery.

Release #1 is an 8 year old lightly peated single malt matured in an ex-Amarone red wine cask from Northern Italy. The spirit was made from 100% peated malted barley, with peat sourced from St Fergus in Aberdeenshire at a phenol level of 20 to 30 PPM.

Of the casks filled at the original distillery, only around 5% (roughly 40) held peated spirit. Of that, just two were filled into Amarone wine casks, making this release a truly rare and unique whisky.

The cask brings great depth, layering black cherry and dark chocolate on top of the floral peat. Full bodied and rich, the flavour keeps unravelling through a long, lingering finish. It has been bottled at batch strength of 53.1% ABV, where Ferguson feels the liquid is showing its best.

Scott Ferguson, Head Distiller at Eden Mill, said: “Peated whisky is a style close to my heart and was probably my first love when it comes to whisky. I understand it is not for everyone, which is why I have aimed to create a spirit that feels more accessible, balanced by a cask type that complements the whisky beautifully. The light smoke is reminiscent of summer evening beach bonfires in St Andrews.”

Distiller’s Cask Release #1 is available now at edenmill.com and from the distillery shop in Guardbridge, St Andrews.

Tasting notes

Velvety fig, maritime brine, leather and cigar tobacco, with black cherry and dark chocolate layered over floral peat

The detail

Cask: Single cask, ex-Amarone red wine, Northern Italy

Spirit: 100% peated malted barley, 20 to 30 PPM, peat from St Fergus, Aberdeenshire

Strength: 53.2% ABV, batch strength

Outturn: 311 bottles

Price: £115

Free Next Day Delivery for 12 Months For just £14.95 you can enjoy free next day delivery on all your orders for a whole year! Geographic restrictions apply, see full T&Cs. Find out more ❯

The Good Dram Show – Eurovision Episode 634 ‘Belgian Owl’

Welcome to this week’s Eurovisin episode of the show, in which I’ll be taking a look at a selection of bottlings from the Belgium Owl distillery. Will it be douze points or nil points from the UK jury?! The Good Dram Show with Chris Goodrum Episode 634 – Will It Be Douze Or Nil Points For Belgium?! Filmed in The Study Nottingham

Featuring

The Belgian Owl Passion 46%
The Belgian Owl Intense 73.1%
The Belgian Owl Fifty Edition 50%
The Belgian Owl 5 year old 46%
The Belgian Owl 10 year old 46%

https://belgianwhisky.com/en

BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY REINTRODUCES TWO ICONIC COLONEL E.H. TAYLOR, JR. BOURBONS

Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain and Cured Oak Make a Celebrated Return, Reintroducing Two of the Brand’s Most Sought-After Expressions

FRANKFORT, KY (May 21, 2026) – Buffalo Trace Distillery is proud to announce the return of two highly-coveted bourbons from the Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. collection: Four Grain and Cured Oak. Establishing its place as an annual limited release, Four Grain joins the Distillery’s ongoing lineup, while Cured Oak returns as a rare, limited offering. Together, these highly anticipated bourbons honor Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr.’s enduring legacy of innovation, quality and craftsmanship.

First introduced in 2017, E.H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon Whiskey is a 100-proof, small-batch bourbon crafted from a distinctive recipe featuring high-quality corn, rye, wheat and malted barley – grains that would have been accessible to Taylor in the 1800s. Distilled in 2015 and aged for ten years, this expression stands apart within the E.H. Taylor, Jr. lineup of whiskeys for its unique balance of flavors. The combination of four grains creates a layered and complex profile: corn delivers foundational sweetness, rye adds spice and structure, wheat softens the palate with subtle sweetness, and malted barley contributes depth with a gentle toasted character. The result is a bourbon that is both rich and balanced, offering notes of caramel, vanilla and chocolate with a lightly spiced, lingering finish.

“What makes Four Grain so special is how unconventional it is,” said Harlen Wheatley, Master Distiller at Buffalo Trace Distillery. “It’s also a clear example of what we call a ‘graduated experiment’ – one that began as a deliberate exploration and evolved into a release worthy of returning as a permanent expression. Rye and wheat are often used separately, but combining them creates a completely different flavor experience. Alongside corn and malted barley, we’re able to build layers of flavor that balance sweetness, spice and depth in a way you don’t typically see in bourbon.”

Originally released in 2015, E.H. Taylor, Jr. Cured Oak Bourbon Whiskey is a 100-proof, Bottled-in-Bond bourbon is aged 10 years in barrels constructed from white oak staves that were air-dried for 13 months – more than twice the standard curing time. This extended curing process allows the whiskey to extract deeper, more complex flavors from the oak during maturation. This bourbon delivers a rich and inviting profile with notes of tobacco, dried fruit, vanilla and toffee, complemented by undertones of seasoned oak and a long, dry finish. The expression highlights the profound impact that barrel craftsmanship can have on the final character of a whiskey.

“What you notice with Cured Oak is the added depth and complexity that comes from the extended curing process,” said Wheatley. “Most of our barrels are cured for six months, but with this release the extended curing brings forward richer notes that create a longer, more layered finish.”

Highly regarded as the “Father of the Modern Bourbon Industry,” Colonel Taylor purchased O.F.C. Distillery, now known as Buffalo Trace Distillery, in 1869. He is credited with implementing many of the innovative techniques still used today, including advanced grain handling, copper fermentation tanks and steam-heated warehouses. Taylor also played a pivotal role in the passage of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, which established quality standards that continue to shape the industry.

“Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. was a true pioneer whose commitment to craftsmanship helped redefine what bourbon could be,” said Charley Costa, Brand Manager, Whiskey, Buffalo Trace Distillery. “Four Grain and Cured Oak reflect that legacy in distinct ways: one through an unconventional grain composition, the other through the influence of barrel aging. Together, they demonstrate how intentional innovation and a dedication to quality can produce truly distinctive whiskeys.”

Both expressions will be available beginning in May 2026 at the suggested retail price of $79.99 per 750ml bottle (local taxes and fees apply). Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain will be available for purchase at the Buffalo Trace Distillery and Sazerac House Gift Shops, as well as select retailers in Kentucky and Louisiana. Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Cured Oak will be released via Sazerac’s distribution network to select retailers, bars, and restaurants across the United States. For more information, please visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery  

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich tradition dates back to 1775 and it is a National Historic Landmark, as well as listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its history includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee. Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site. The Distillery has won more than 40 distillery titles since 2000 and garnered more than 1,000 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. Its William Larue Weller, Stagg, Eagle Rare 10, and Thomas H. Handy received Gold Awards at the 2025 International Wine & Spirits Competition and its flagship Buffalo Trace Bourbon received a Master Medal at the 2025 Global American Whiskey Masters. Buffalo Trace Distillery has a deep commitment to supporting charitable initiatives. Nonprofit organizations interested in learning more about the Distillery’s efforts are encouraged to register their charity here. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery, visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com.

Little Book Chapter 10 “All the Wiser” – A Milestone Worth Collecting

The James B. Beam Distilling Co. unveils Little Book Chapter 10: “All the Wiser”, a milestone moment in Freddie Noe’s whiskey making legacy.

Chapter 10 doesn’t just celebrate a decade of boundary-pushing blending but captures the evolution of one of American whiskey’s most innovative makers.

Since its inception, Little Book has been Freddie’s personal playground: an annual series that honors his grandfather Booker’s fearless approach to whiskey while carving out a distinctly modern perspective. But Chapter 10 is different. It’s not just another installment; it’s the culmination of everything Freddie has learned along the way.

After years of chasing precision and “perfect” blends, Freddie shifted his philosophy for this release. “All The Wiser” reflects a more intuitive approach, one that embraces the unpredictability of blending and allows the whiskey itself to lead. The result is a whiskey that feels more discovered than past releases.

This year’s blend draws from a spectrum of aged expressions across The James B. Beam Distilling Co. portfolio, including components finished in sherry and toasted bourbon casks.

At 122.6 proof (61.3% ABV), it’s bold, layered, and unapologetically complex. “All The Wiser” is positioned to become one of the most sought-after chapters yet, a true collector’s bottle that tells a deeper story with every pour.

Little Book Chapter 10 “All the Wiser

SRP: $159.99

122.6 Proof / 61.3% ABV

Tasting Notes

Color: Deep auburn

Aroma: Layers of fig, raisin and molasses

Taste: Full bodies with velvety caramel, cinnamon and oak

Finish: A long finish with seasoned oak and raisin

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

New Breakfast at Whiski Bar

Start your day with our upgraded Full Scottish Breakfast, now featuring a delicious Cumberland sausage and grilled portobello mushroom. Join us for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or evening drinks on the Royal Mile, with live music every night from 10pm. Great food, great whisky, and great atmosphere at Whiski Bar!

BOOK NOW

Benromach High Enzyme Single Malt, 46%

THE REVIEW

Neat in the heat, that’s what they should’ve called this! An unpeated, high enzyme barley release from the ever wonderful folks at Benromach.

High enzyme barley is normally used in the production of grain whiskies to help get more alcohol out of the other grains, much like bourbon production in some ways. The result, after being distilled in pot stills is this super tropical, pineapple and coconut driven single malt that works perfectly on a 32 degree day. The office I filmed this video in felt like a level of hell that I never want to revisit again, this whisky was my saviour. Along with a litre of water.

What else did we expect from Benromach? Excellence every time, with a twist of experimentation.

Whisky Reviews every Wednesday
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