Fancy a Whisky Tasting ?
Running all week by our Whisky experts :
– Introduction to Whisky Tasting
– Whisky & Cheese Tasting
– Whisky & Chocolate Tasting
Taste your way through four delicious drams and have fun at the same time – no experience needed.
Spaces are limited, so be sure to book your place soon!
New festival from Summerton Whisky Club will bring independent bottlers, distillers and importers together in East Sussex
A new whisky festival is set to launch in Lewes, East Sussex, in February 2027, bringing more than 100 whiskies from independent bottlers, distillers and importers together for a one-day event at the Corn Exchange, Lewes Town Hall.
Lewes Whisky Festival, created by the team behind UK whisky subscription Summerton Whisky Club, will take place on Saturday 13 February 2027, with two tasting sessions running from 12pm to 3.30pm and 4.30pm to 8pm. The festival will feature whisky from Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, the US, India and beyond, reflecting the increasingly international nature of the whisky category.
Confirmed exhibitors include independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail, alongside Old Pulteney, WhistlePig, Heaven Hill, Boann, Isle of Raasay, The English Distillery and In the Welsh Wind. Kakira Distillery, from Uganda, will also participate with a rum pour.
The festival has been designed around an open tasting format, with visitors able to sample whisky from every participating exhibitor without purchasing additional tasting tokens.
A £49.95 ticket includes a festival glass, programme and unlimited tastings throughout the session. The organisers are deliberately positioning the event as accessible to both experienced whisky enthusiasts and consumers who are newer to the category.
Dan Humphrey, founder of Lewes Whisky Festival and Summerton Whisky Club, said:
“I wanted to create a festival where the focus is on discovering whisky and talking to the people behind it.
“There are plenty of very good whisky events aimed at the serious enthusiast. We wanted to create something that retains the quality and depth of whisky but feels much less intimidating to someone who might be coming to their first festival. You don’t need to know your single malt from your blended malt before you arrive. You just need to enjoy whisky and be curious.”
There will be no additional charges for tastings once visitors are inside the festival, with exhibitors able to engage directly with consumers throughout each session.
The initial exhibitor line-up brings together established whisky brands, independent bottlers and producers from a range of whisky-producing countries. The inclusion of English and Welsh whisky alongside Scotch, Irish, American and international producers is intended to reflect the increasingly diverse whisky category and give consumers the opportunity to explore different production traditions and styles in a single event.
Further exhibitors are expected to be announced during the autumn.
Lewes Whisky Festival is the latest development from Summerton Whisky Club, the UK whisky subscription and community founded by Dan Humphrey. Summerton sends Members a full bottle of whisky every two months, combining whisky discovery with editorial content and community.
Summerton began when Dan wanted to buy his Dad a whisky subscription as a Christmas present and subsequently developed the concept into a national whisky subscription business.
The festival represents a further expansion into live events, in addition to the Summerton Whisky Festival held annually in St Albans, bringing the company’s focus on whisky discovery and accessibility into a physical setting.
Dan said:
“Summerton has always been about getting people to discover whiskies they might not otherwise have tried. A festival is a natural extension of that. I wanted to create an event where people can spend several hours exploring whisky, talking to producers and bottlers, and finding something they genuinely enjoy.”
The festival will take place at the Corn Exchange at Lewes Town Hall, an established events venue in the East Sussex town.
Lewes was selected partly for its accessibility to a wider regional audience, with direct rail connections from Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Haywards Heath and London Victoria. The organisers are targeting whisky drinkers across Sussex and the wider South East, rather than solely the local Lewes market.
Dan shared:
“Lewes gives us an opportunity to create a genuinely regional whisky event. It’s an independent town with a strong food and drink culture, but it’s also remarkably accessible by rail from across Sussex and London. That gives us the opportunity to build an audience well beyond Lewes itself.”
The festival’s identity draws on its Sussex setting. Its emblem references the martlet, the footless swift depicted on the Sussex county arms, while the festival’s tagline — “A Richness of Whisky” — takes inspiration from the collective noun for a group of swifts.
The festival will have capacity for 480 visitors across the two sessions, with tickets priced at £49.95.
More information and tickets are available at leweswhiskyfestival.co.uk.
Event: Lewes Whisky Festival
Date: Saturday 13 February 2027
Venue: The Corn Exchange, Lewes Town Hall, Fisher Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2QS
Sessions: 12.00–15.30 and 16.30–20.00
Ticket price: £49.95 per session
Capacity: 480 visitors across the day
What is included: Festival glass, programme and unlimited tastings from participating exhibitors
Confirmed exhibitors include: Gordon & MacPhail, Old Pulteney, WhistlePig, Heaven Hill, Boann, The Whistler, Isle of Raasay, The English Distillery, Henstone, In the Welsh Wind and Kakira Distillery.
Organiser: Summerton Whisky Club
Website: leweswhiskyfestival.co.uk
The world’s official whisky glass celebrates the double winner of this year’s Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Awards
Frances Crawford, the winner of both the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and McIlvanney Prize, was presented with a giant Glencairn Glass trophy.
It has been a year of firsts for this year’s Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival which has been sponsored by the world’s official whisky glass, the Glencairn Glass, for the last seven years. It’s the first year Bloody Scotland had an all-woman shortlist for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. The first year four of those women made it onto the longlist for the McIlvanney Prize and now – for the first time ever – the same author has won both The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and the McIlvanney Prize.
Congratulations to Frances Crawford whose novel A Bad, Bad Place (Transworld) has swept the board this year, only two months after picking up the McDermid debut prize at Harrogate. Frances was presented with a giant Glencairn Glass trophy at the Bloody Scotland Festival in Stirling over the weekend (18th – 20th September).
Kirsty Nicholson, Marketing Director at Glencairn – sponsors of The Bloody Scotland literary prizes with The Glencairn Glass, said:
‘This has been a truly remarkable year of firsts for Bloody Scotland and we are delighted to celebrate Frances Crawford’s extraordinary achievement. Winning both the Debut and McIlvanney Prizes is an incredible accomplishment and a testament to her exceptional storytelling talent. It is particularly wonderful to see Frances’ journey come full circle, having won our Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition in 2023. A huge congratulations on this well-deserved success – we cannot wait to see what comes next!’
Frances Crawford started writing late in life. She secured a scholarship to study Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow and credits her tutor, Louise Welsh, with encouraging her to take her short story and develop it into a novel. She graduated aged 60 with MLitt (Distinction). The short story won the Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story competition in 2023. A Bad, Bad Place was published to great acclaim in February 2026 and will be published in paperback on 31 December.
Both of the prestigious literary prizes are awarded as part of the annual Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival which takes place every September. Based in Stirling, Bloody Scotland has brought hundreds of crime writers – new and established – to the stage along with enthusiastic festival attendees since 2012, with exciting events covering a range of criminal subjects from fictional forensics and psychological thrillers to tartan noir and cosy crime.
For further details visit: www.bloodyscotland.com and www.whiskyglass.com
About Glencairn Crystal:
The award-winning Glencairn Crystal Studio has been at the cutting edge of high-quality decanter and glassware design, innovation, and creativity for over four decades. Regarded internationally as one of the finest crystal decanter and glassware specialists, the family run Scottish company has hand crafted prestigious decanters often for the rarest and most luxurious spirits ever released.
Glencairn Crystal also produces the Glencairn Glass which is recognised as the world’s official whisky glass. The glass recently celebrated its 25th birthday and the company now sell over 5 million glasses across the globe each year.
Last year, Glencairn Crystal was honoured with the Kings Award for Enterprise – the fourth time in the company’s history it has been awarded this prestigious accolade. The business was recognised for its excellence in the category of Innovation.
Introducing The Oak & Maple Whisky Pub
Whisky Folk in Victoria have a brand new place to share drams.
Glen Scotia brings Campbeltown folklore to Luss Distillery this Halloween
Multi-award-winning Campbeltown distillery Glen Scotia is bringing the spooky folklore of Scotland’s smallest whisky-making region to Luss Distillery for an exclusive Halloween takeover.
Running on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November, the event features two tastings – a journey through Glen Scotia’s limited-edition Icons of Campbeltown series, and a whisky experience exploring its core range.
Attendees at the Glen Scotia Icons of Campbeltown tasting will experience a line-up of single malts from the series and discover the inspiration behind each expression from the legendary folklore stories surrounding Campbeltown’s medieval market cross.
Located in the centre of Campbeltown, and long shrouded in myth and lore, the carvings on the 14th century stone have inspired each annual ‘Icon’. Among them are the Dragon, the Wulver and, most recently, the Griffin for Release No.4 in the series – all mythical creatures who are said to have played a key role in Campbeltown’s legendary history.
For newcomers to the brand, or those looking to experience Glen Scotia’s true character, the core range tasting offers the chance to explore a quintessential Glen Scotia trio. From Glen Scotia Double Cask Sherry Finish, a classic Campbeltown malt which serves as a superb introduction to Glen Scotia, to the hero expression, Glen Scotia 12 Year Old, which showcases the distillery’s signature style, and Glen Scotia Victoriana, a modern take on a classic Victorian style single malt and a nod to Campbeltown’s history as the Victorian whisky capital of the world.
Ashley Smith, master blender at Glen Scotia said: “Campbeltown has a wealth of folklore and a rich history to draw on, which inspired the creative concept for the Icons of Campbeltown series. These tales give us a platform to tell the distillery’s story through this limited-edition collection, which are paired with our world-class whiskies for each release. Halloween weekend is the perfect time of year to experience the Icons of Campbeltown series and delve into the legends and bold character of Campbeltown.”
Tony MacLean, brand home manager of Luss Distillery said: “After the success of the Glen Scotia Mini Campbeltown Malts Festival earlier this year, we couldn’t wait to welcome Glen Scotia back for Halloween weekend. Our expert team knows Glen Scotia inside out, so whether you’re a devoted fan of its limited editions or are trying the renowned Campbeltown distillery’s whiskies for the first time, both experiences offer a chance to learn about Glen Scotia’s incredible, award-winning drams.”
Taking place at Luss Distillery – the state-of-the-art spirits destination by Loch Lomond Group (owner of Glen Scotia, Loch Lomond Whiskies and Ben Lomond Gin) – the tastings offer a unique Halloween weekend activity for whisky fans looking to experience the spirit of Campbeltown, just an hour from Glasgow.
The Glen Scotia Icons of Campbeltown tasting (£19) is a 45-minute tasting including four drams and will run at 11.15am, 2.15pm and 4pm across the two-day takeover.
The core range tasting (£15) is a 30-minute tasting featuring three drams and will run at 10.30am on 31 October and 10.30am and 3.15pm on 1 November.
To find out more, or to book a Glen Scotia tasting at Luss Distillery during the Halloween takeover, visit: www.lussdistillery.com
About Glen Scotia
Glen Scotia has been crafting single malt whisky in Campbeltown since 1832. The town is the smallest of Scotland’s five whisky-producing regions with a big reputation for once being the Victorian whisky capital of the world when it was home to over 30 distilleries.
Today, Glen Scotia is one of only three surviving distilleries in the coastal town, which has seen a resurgence in recent years. Producing peated and non-peated whiskies, the distillery still maintains much of its original design, including the stillroom and the dunnage warehouse dating from the 1830s. The distillery’s small team is on a mission to put Campbeltown back on the map for its distinctive character, found not only in its fruity, maritime and oily-textured single malts, but also in its traditional whisky-making methods using small stills to create big Campbeltown flavours.
Recognition of Glen Scotia’s style and craftsmanship continues to be acknowledged globally.
Our festive diary is now open for gatherings of all shapes and sizes.
Expect exceptional food and whisky across our Edinburgh city centre, Leith, Glasgow and London Members’ Rooms. And if you can’t come to us, we can bring the Society to you with a whisky tasting experience wherever you are. No membership required.
You bring the people, we’ll bring the good stuff.
EARLY BOOKING OFFER
Book by 31st October and enjoy a Premium Malt of the Moment for all guests
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ
Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information
This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!
Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video
Weekend Packages Announced for 2027 at Luxury Castle
Rothes Glen, the luxurious exclusive-use castle in the heart of Speyside, Scotland has announced its highly anticipated programme of Ultimate Weekends for 2027 – a collection of all-inclusive luxury escapes celebrating the very best of Scotland’s heritage, whisky, food and culture.
Experiences include private distillery tours, unforgettable falconry displays, guided foraging, and a range of bespoke experiences that showcase Scotland’s rich traditions and breathtaking landscapes. New for 2027 is the Ultimate Castle Conspiracy, where guests will spend a thrilling Traitors-inspired murder mystery weekend at Rothes Glen.
The Ultimate Weekend Collection 2027
Ultimate Burns Weekend with ‘Andy the Highlander’ | 22–24 January 2027
Ultimate Scottish Weekend with ‘Andy the Highlander’ | 13–20 June 2027
NEW FOR 2027 – Ultimate Castle Conspiracy | 26–29 August 2027
Ultimate Whisky Weekend | 12–14 November 2027
Ultimate Christmas Weekend | 3–5 December 2027
In addition to the themed Ultimate Weekends, Rothes Glen offer the following individual room packages:
Speyside Whisky Festival | 28 April – 3 May 2027
Easter at Rothes Glen | 26–30 March 2027
Hogmanay at Rothes Glen | 29 December 2027 – 2 January 2028
Whether celebrating Scotland’s national poet, immersing themselves in the country’s renowned whisky heritage, enjoying festive traditions or simply escaping to one of Scotland’s most spectacular private castles, Rothes Glen’s guests can expect an unforgettable luxury experience.
“Our Ultimate Weekends have been carefully created to offer guests far more than a luxury stay,” said Damian Riley-Smith, owner of Rothes Glen. “They’re an opportunity to experience Scotland at its most authentic and memorable, with exceptional hospitality, remarkable food and drink, exclusive access to Speyside’s finest attractions and experiences that simply can’t be replicated elsewhere.”
The Victoria Whisky Festival will run through Thursday the 14th, Friday the 15th, Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th of January 2027 at the 5-star Hotel Grand Pacific located on Victoria’s beautiful Inner Harbour.
The 2027 Program can be viewed HERE
SAVE THE DATE.
Something new is taking shape at Benromach.
It’s been a long time in the making, but it’s definitely worth the wait.
On the 22nd October something exceptional will be released. As always, Friends of Benromach will receive priority access on the 20th, so stay tuned.
BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY’S NIGHT AT THE DISTILLERY RETURNS WITH MORE DATES, NEW STORIES AND EXPANDED AFTER-DARK EXPERIENCES
The Halloween experience invites guests to explore new locations, discover stories rooted in Distillery history and folklore, and enjoy bourbon and seasonal cocktail tastings
FRANKFORT, KY (October 8, 2026) – Buffalo Trace Distillery invites guests back after dark for the second annual Night at the Distillery, an immersive Halloween experience that brings more than two centuries of history, folklore and mystery to life across the historic grounds. Expanded for 2026 with additional dates, new stories and new locations, guests will wander through the nighttime glow past illuminated warehouses, trees, pumpkins and barrels as seasonal soundscapes set the scene. Along the way, storytellers will share tales inspired by documented Buffalo Trace Distillery history, local folklore and stories passed down through generations.
From the unexplained voices said to echo through Warehouse C and the story behind the Buffalo Trace name to hidden love letters discovered beneath floorboards of the Blanton family home, each stop reveals another layer of the Distillery’s past and invites guests to decide for themselves where history ends, folklore begins and mystery remains.
“Seeing how guests embraced Night at the Distillery last year was incredibly special, and we knew right away we wanted to make the experience even bigger and better for its second year,” said Tyler Adams, General Manager, Buffalo Trace Distillery. “Buffalo Trace Distillery has more than 200 years of incredible stories, traditions and memories within these grounds, and there’s something truly special about watching them come to life after dark. This year, we’re giving guests even more to discover with new stories, new locations and more opportunities to enjoy our award-winning whiskeys along the way. We’re excited to open our doors after dark once again and share a side of Buffalo Trace that guests don’t get to experience every day.”
Guests 21+ attending Night at the Distillery will enjoy a neat pour of Eagle Rare 12 Year Bourbon, along with seasonal cocktail tastings featuring Buffalo Trace Bourbon, E.H. Taylor Small Batch Bourbon, Blanton’s Single Barrel and Wheatley Vodka. The experience also includes a seasonal treat from the John G. Carlisle Cafe and a commemorative Night at the Distillery tote bag.
This year’s cocktail menu draws inspiration from the Distillery’s stories and the flavors of fall together, with guests able to choose a tasting of three specialty bourbon or vodka inspired cocktails including:
Night at the Distillery runs Thursdays through Saturdays, October 8-10, 15-17, 22-24 and 29-31. Reservations are on sale now for $25 per person. To purchase tickets and learn more, please visit HERE
For the latest from Buffalo Trace Distillery, follow @buffalotracedistillery on Instagram and Buffalo Trace Distillery on Facebook.
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.
