The Reinvention of Scotch in the 20th Century

Was the post-war period really a “golden age” for Scotch whisky, or something more complicated? In this discussion, Dave Broom and Iain Russell explore how Scotch emerged from the Second World War into a rapidly changing world of shifting tastes, new consumer expectations and fresh pressures on the industry.

From the rise of lighter spirits and the dominance of blended Scotch, through to the Whisky Loch of the early 1980s and the unexpected rise of single malt, it’s a story of constant adaptation rather than straightforward progress.

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Study whisky: explore your passion, kickstart your career. We are the leading provider of certified Scotch whisky education. 14,000+ candidates globally enjoy our QS-Approved courses. Learn directly from the experts when you study online or in-person

Sunfest is just around the corner, and we’re looking for a few amazing people to join the Stillhead Distillery crew from July 31–August 2! As a part of the Stillhead community, you know we’re all about good people, great cocktails and having fun. Sunfest is our favourite event of the summer, and we’d love to share it with you.

We’re looking for friendly, enthusiastic volunteers to help us pour cocktails and chat with festivalgoers throughout the weekend. Whether you’ve volunteered with us before or this would be your first time, we’d love to have you on the team. In return you’ll get admission to the festival and camping if needed. We’ll supply food, drinks, t-shirt, and the most fun you could possibly have on BC day weekend! We’ve been told by the festival organizers this is going to be the biggest Sunfest weekend yet, with many ticket classes already or almost sold out!

It’s a fun, fast-paced environment where you’ll get to work alongside our crew, meet lots of great people, and be part of an incredible weekend of music, laughter, and community. We promise plenty of good vibes, lots of support, and a few stories to tell afterward!

If you can help with one or more shifts between July 31 and August 2, we’d be so grateful. The sign-up link is below. If you don’t have your Serving it Right, but would like to attend, we can arrange for you to take the course at our cost.

Sunfest Signup Form

Thank you for supporting our distillery. We truly couldn’t do events like this without the incredible people who step up to help, and we’d love to have you with us at Sunfest.

Cheers,

Brennan Colebank

Stillhead Distillery

5301 Chaster Road
Unit 105
Duncan, BC, V9L 0G4
Canada

It is that time of year when we start announcing our Drinks with… sessions. Not all at once, to keep a bit of suspense, but a few at a time to give you a bit of a teaser of what is to come!! We will have a great selection of Drinks with… sessions this year! So many relaxed producers want to showcase their great spirits with us! Want to know more about it? Read more below!

Annette, Bob, Klaas, Stan, Teun

Drinks with…

On our relaxed Saturday we will be featuring 20 minutes sessions, starting every 20 minutes, throughout the afternoon, in 3 different locations. Our aim is to have small groups of you, our guests, in a more or less intimate, interactive and relaxed setting with the producers and/ or ambassadors to try their products, highlight tidbits, answer questions etc. These sessions are called “Drinks with…” …and of course these sessions are included in your ticket. No need to reserve or buy a an extra ticket, just turn up at the door well in time and enjoy the sessions!

Saburomaru @ Maltstock

Last year the theme for Maltstock arguably was ‘Japan’. And, although the emphasis this year is not that country and its great distilleries, a couple of them will be there featuring their great whiskies! One of these is Saburomaru. Last year they were at Maltstock for the first time and you were amazed at the quality and flavour of the whiskies they brought in! Not everyone present had the opportunity to attend their masterclass and Drinks with… sessions, so the more reason for them to be with us again! Saburomaru will present two sessions this year! A real relaxed treat you really want to enjoy!

Tickets for Maltstock 2026 

Get relaxed now and get your Maltstock tickets here:

https://www.maltstock.com/shop  

Talnua Distillery Earns ASCOT Award “Craft Whiskey of the Year” Following Last Year’s “America’s Greatest Whiskey” Win

Colorado distillery continues its award-winning streak with back-to-back top honors for its Bottled-in-Bond American Single Pot Still Whiskeys.

Arvada, Colo. — Talnua Distillery is proud to announce that its Bottled-in-Bond American White Oak Cask Whiskey has been named Craft Whiskey of the Year at the 2026 ASCOT Awards, one of the whiskey industry’s most respected blind tasting competitions.

The recognition comes just one year after Talnua’s Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon Cask & Stave Series Whiskey was awarded America’s Greatest Whiskey at the 2025 American Distilling Institute (ADI) International Spirits Competition, marking two consecutive years that Talnua’s Bottled-in-Bond portfolio has received top accolades.

In addition to being named Craft Whiskey of the Year, Talnua earned Platinum, Double Platinum, and Gold medals across its whiskey portfolio, further recognizing the quality and consistency of its American Single Pot Still Whiskeys.

“Winning Craft Whiskey of the Year on the heels of last year’s America’s Greatest Whiskey award is an incredible honor,” said Patrick Miller, Co-founder and Master Distiller of Talnua Distillery. “For a small, independent distillery focused exclusively on American Single Pot Still Whiskey, this recognition validates not only the work our team pours into every bottle but also the potential of this emerging American whiskey category.”

2026 ASCOT Awards
Craft Whiskey of the Year & Double Platinum – BiB American White Oak Cask Whiskey
Platinum – BiB Bourbon Cask & Stave Series Whiskey
Gold – BiB Sherry Cask Finished Whiskey

Bottled-in-Bond
American White Oak Cask Whiskey

Base Whiskey: Talnua Single Pot Still Whiskey (50% Malted Barley, 50% Raw Barley) triple distilled in copper pot stills

Maturation: Char 2 new American white oak barrels aged for 4 years

ABV: 50%
Proof: 100
MSRP: $75

For more information about Talnua Distillery, upcoming releases, and tasting experiences, visit Talnua.com

Dan Crowell on the EWA Diploma

After more than 20 years in the whisky industry and a long list of respected qualifications to his name, Dan Crowell could be forgiven for thinking he’d seen it all. As Glenmorangie Ambassador – US, Dan has spent decades helping others understand whisky. In this blog, he shares his view on our flagship course: “On the journey of discovery of single malt whisky, EWA Diploma represents a quantum leap.”

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DISTILLERY SPOTLIGHT

SPIRIT OF YORKSHIRE

Few distilleries have been part of The Whisky Lounge journey quite like the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery.

We’ve been lucky enough to work with David, Joe and the team since the early days of Filey Bay, watching them grow from one of England’s newest distilleries into one of its most respected. Their commitment to producing ‘proper’ local, field-to-bottle whisky using 100% home-grown Yorkshire barley has earned them a place on the shelves of whisky-lovers across the UK and beyond.

The distillery and team are celebrating a full decade of spirit creation this year and we hear are producing a special bottle to commemorate…we’re hoping to get a taste soon!

If you happen to be in Yorkshire (and not Northumberland!) on 1st August, why not head to the distillery for their Yorkshire Day & Decade of Distilling Open Weekend? Expect tours, masterclasses, live music, local food and, naturally, plenty of exceptional whisky as they celebrate both Yorkshire Day and ten years of distilling.

Winner and runner-up announced in this year’s

Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition

The Glencairn Glass, the official glass for whisky, has announced the winner and runner-up of its annual Crime Short Story Competition, held in partnership with the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival.

Following another year of outstanding entries from aspiring and established crime writers around the world, Kathy Schilbach – also writing under the name Kate Finnemore – has been named the overall winner for her dark and disturbing story, Making Friends. Ross Alexander was selected as runner-up for his compelling story, Life Wasted.

Kathy receives the £1,000 first prize and a guest appearance at the Bloody Scotland Festival in September. Ross receives £500, and both winning stories will be published on the Bloody Scotland and Glencairn Glass (whiskyglass.com) websites.

Produced by the award-winning Scottish family glassware company Glencairn Crystal, the Glencairn Glass has celebrated and supported the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival since 2020 with its Glencairn Glass sponsorship of both the McIlvanney Prize for the Scottish Crime Book of the Year and the Bloody Scotland Debut Crime Novel of the Year awards. 

Winner: Making Friends by Kathy Schilbach

A disturbing tale about a mysterious and anxious woman who has a dark secret to keep.

Kathy Schilbach lived in France for over 30 years, where she taught English in a lycée in the small historic town of Chinon. She loves to read crime and historical novels and had always wanted to write. Retirement from teaching gave her the time and opportunity she needed – she now lives in West Sussex and under her pen name, Kate Finnemore, has had short stories and pocket novels published as well as achieving success in several writing competitions.

Kathy said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that my story has been chosen as the winner of the Glencairn Glass Crime Story Competition. Winning this prize in what is nowadays a difficult, crowded market has given me an amazing feeling of achievement. Thank you to everyone at Glencairn for running such a great competition. I had a certain real-life murderer in mind when I started to write. She was just a name from history though, a starting point in the process of writing.”

Runner-up:  Life Wasted by Ross Alexander

A gripping confession from an unlikely vigilante who took justice into his own hands to free a woman from her abusive, alcoholic husband. 

Ross Alexander is a Scottish author based in East Lothian who writes crime thriller novels and short stories. He has had several short stories published by Darkstroke Books and his short story ‘Deadly Night Shades’ featured in the first edition of the Tangled Web/Aspiring Fiction magazine, a publication specialising in Tartan Noir. He has also written a number of novels, including five in his DI Joanne Christie series, set in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Ross said: “I was thrilled to hear that I had been selected as the runner up in this year’s Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition. To be recognised by a panel of judges made up of crime fiction enthusiasts is very humbling. The Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival is close to my heart, which makes this award so very special.”

Since its launch in 2021, the Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition has attracted hundreds of entries from around the globe and has helped launch the careers of several emerging writers.

Among its success stories are Frances Crawford, winner in 2022/23, who has since signed a two-book deal with Penguin – her first novel was published earlier this year. Allan Gaw, runner-up in 2022/23, went on to win the 2024 Bloody Scotland Debut Novel Prize and secure a four-book publishing deal with Polygon.

For the first time, this year’s entries were judged by a panel comprising six of the UK’s leading crime book influencers alongside Kirsty Nicholson, Marketing Director at Glencairn Crystal. The criteria was that the protagonist must be from Scotland.

Kirsty Nicholson said: “Each year we are amazed by the quality and originality of the entries we receive, and 2026 was no exception. Kathy’s story stood out for its atmospheric storytelling and psychological tension, while Ross’s entry impressed the judges with its strong narrative voice and engaging execution. We are delighted to celebrate both writers and continue supporting emerging talent within the crime-writing community.”

Bloody Scotland Festival Director Bob McDevitt said: The standard of entries this year was exceptionally high, making the judging process both challenging and rewarding. Congratulations to Kathy and Ross on their well-deserved success, and thank you to everyone who entered and helped make this another fantastic year for the competition.”

The winning stories can be read online at whiskyglass.com and the Bloody Scotland website.

For further information about Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival please contact fiona@brownleedonald.com

*2026 Judges:

Kevin Woolard: Book blogger and owner of The First Eleven Minutes, an award-winning Bookstagram account.

Mary Picken: Book blogger and crime fiction critic at Live and Deadly.

Noelle Holten:  Award-winning blogger at Crime Book Junkie and crime-writer.

Sharon Bairden:  Scottish author and book blogger at Chapter In My Life with a focus on Scottish crime fiction.

Lynsey Adams: Crime noir fiction blogger at There’s Been a Murder, as well as Reading Between the Lines Book PR.

Suze Clarke-Morris: Book blogger at Suze Reviews with a focus on crime fiction.

About the Glencairn Glass:

The Glencairn Glass, produced by the Scottish family company Glencairn Crystal, is recognised as the world’s official whisky glass. This year the glass celebrates its 25^th birthday and the company now sell over 5 million glasses across international markets each year, with over 50 million glasses sold in total to date. The competition winner and runner up will also receive a set of six bespoke engraved Glencairn Glasses.

About Bloody Scotland:

Bloody Scotland is Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival, providing a showcase for the best crime writing from Scotland and the world, unique in that it was set up by a group of Scottish crime writers – Lin Anderson, Alex Gray, Craig Robertson and Gordon Brown – in 2012. Full information at bloodyscotland.com

The Bloody Scotland Prize for Scottish Crime Writing first awarded in 2012 was renamed The McIlvanney Prize in 2016. The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize was launched in 2019.

Five Years in Scotch Whisky

One year later, this article feels just as relevant. Originally published in June 2025, Richard Woodard’s deep dive into the last five years of change in Scotch whisky explored everything from COVID disruption and trade tensions to new distilleries and emerging global markets. Now, with another year behind us, it’s worth asking: what’s changed?

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Exceptional, rare, limited. And it could be yours  

One of the rarest Brora’s out there, this 30 year old whisky, with only 3000 bottles in existence, is something of a cult favourite among fans of delicious whisky, and part of the initial release of this expression! You can’t get more exclusive than that!

We at The Whisky Shop, thought this bottle would be a great shout for our latest you have to be in it to win it competition, The Golden Draw 🏆

Have you dreamt of owning a legendary bottle without breaking the bank? Well, that dream just might come true. This is your chance to win rare, high-value whiskies for the cost of a couple of coffees; in this case a Brora 30 Year Old part of a limited 3000 bottle release.  Keen? Thought so! Tickets are £10 and there’s only 429 spots, giving you a big chance to win a bottle worth well over £4000. Be quick, the draw closes at noon on the 21st of July 2026.

ENTER HERE 🎟️

Worth £4,290, A burst of fresh fruit on the nose, mingled with a light peatiness. Cascades into a hint of tobacco and salty minerals, adding complexity. The finish is long with a finely balanced sweetness like fruit cake, paired with a lasting smoky saltiness.

There are plenty of ways to enjoy the spirit of summer at our Members’ Rooms. Sign up for one of our Caskmaster heats, join us for a tasting at the Fringe or head to one of our On the Road tastings in the UK.

BOOK AN EVENT

SMWS ON THE ROAD

SMWS AT THE FRINGE

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