It’s time to savour the Last Drops as we dive into blockbuster territory with our new documentary, “Scotch & Sherry: A Flavour Odyssey.” Whether you’re craving action-packed thrills, suspenseful twists or heartwarming moments, we’ve got just the whiskies to take your movie night up a notch.

WATCH SCOTCH & SHERRY

ALL THE LAST DROPS

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

BIG PEAT UNVEILS RUM CASK FINISHED ‘THE THROPAIGEACH EDITION’
TO CELEBRATE FÈIS ÌLE 2024

Award-winning Islay Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, Big Peat, today reveals his special bottling for Fèis Ìle 2024: Big Peat The Thropaigeach Edition.

Offered at an alcohol strength of 48% ABV, this Global Limited Edition has been finished in specially selected ex-Rum casks to produce a powerful tropical-themed release of our classic Big Peat.

A unique cask finish, fans of Big Peat can expect a profile that is dominated by peated malt on the nose, before offering a warming spice, leading into a viscous palate driven by flambéed banana and barbequed meats alongside a charred pineapple finish; a truly tropical release of Big Peat in celebration of the iconic Whisky Island of Islay.

This Limited Edition of Scotch Whisky has a unique, screen-printed design and has been selected as a bottle-only release. The design features Big Peat in pirate-form following the theme centred around the use of Caribbean Rum casks. Big Peat fans can expect a new style of the well-known character featured alongside all things tropical: palm trees, parrots, and swords! A distinctly different colourway leads this release, bringing a bright yellow capsule and design elements throughout.

In support of the launch, the team behind the iconic Islay Malt have partnered once again with artisan and aptly named pizza restaurant ‘Peatzeria’ in Bowmore, Islay, with Big Peat headlining a total of five tastings over the course of Fèis Ìle. Together they will host tasting sessions on Friday 24th, Saturday 25th May and Sunday 26th, where ticket holders will get the chance to taste the new festival release, alongside various Big Peat expressions and the opportunity to try truly unique Single Casks, paired with fresh local delicacies.

Details for all the events mentioned above, including information on the whisky, availability and pricing for these intimate tastings designed for the ultimate Islay Whisky fan, can be found on www.douglaslaing.com. These tastings offer the chance to try rare and exclusive editions of Bowmore, Caol Ila and even the ever-legendary Port Ellen.

Big Peat will also be joining the Islay Gaelic Centre, co-hosting a Big Peat Caribbean BBQ and Ceilidh on the evening of Sunday 26th May and a Quiz Night on Wednesday 29th, with all proceeds going to the centre.
Finally, Big Peat and his team at Douglas Laing & Co will feature at the Independent Bottler Festival on Tuesday 28th May, meaning there will be numerous opportunities to discuss all things Islay and Big Peat with the Douglas Laing & Co team.

Commenting on the special edition bottling, Chloe Wood, Big Peat’s Brand Manager, said:

“Big Peat fans have the chance to taste a new style of Big Peat in The Thropaigeach Edition. This is Big Peat but with an advanced fruity and citrus-driven tasting experience.
Finished in Caribbean Rum Casks, this additional maturation style adds an extra level of complexity to the already smoky-sweet spirit of Islay. Being a tropical-themed release of Big Peat, it feels apt to be releasing this at Fèis Ìle on the Island of Islay and the perfect time to try The Thropaigeach Edition. Ready to be released to all Fèis attendees, The Thropaigeach Edition is the perfect dram to enjoy across the festival celebrations and beyond!”.

Big Peat The Thropaigeach Edition will be available from specialist Whisky retailers in the UK, Europe and Asia, plus online retailers from May 2024. It carries a suggested retail price of £65.00/€75.00.

GreatDrams has launched the ultimate whisky to celebrate with ’The Summer of Sport’.

Why ‘The Summer of Sport’?

Inspiration has been taken from the success of other GreatDrams flavour and occasion-led releases “which is seeing our customers buying for occasions as well as great quality and taste” says Kirsty Dillon, GreatDrams co-founder.

The Summer of Sport is released to mark exactly that. Not only do we have the usual summer treats such as the Open Championship and Wimbledon, we also get to enjoy football’s Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, as well as the Olympic Games in Paris. There’s also heaps more besides!

When Greg and Kirsty, founders of GreatDrams, were looking at their release schedule “It just makes perfect sense,” said Greg Dillon, “sport is a big part of our lives, as is whisky so we put the two together.”

Kirsty continues “When selecting the casks we knew it had to be vibrant yet smooth and have the ability to stand up when made into cocktails – because who doesn’t love a summer cocktail?”

‘The Summer of Sport’ release is a 10 Year Old sherry cask matured blend with aromas of sticky dates, raisins and undertones of sweet sherry. Delve a little deeper with that first sip, and there are more sweet sherry notes, complimented beautifully by crisp orchard fruits, sweet Madagascan vanilla, and a hint of oak. The finish is smooth, mature, and full of character.

Product info 

GreatDrams
Brook House
Park Lane, Poynton
Stockport, Cheshire SK12 1RG
United Kingdom

Longmorn 32 Years Old 1992

This single cask bottling from Longmorn distillery near Elgin was distilled in 1992, and matured for 32 years in a refill Bourbon Hogshead before being bottled in 2024. Bottled at natural cask strength of 49.9% without chill filtration and with natural colouring.  Only 222 Bottles have been produced.

£640.00

Shop now

Our 10th Birthday Party

On the day of our party (30th June), we are excited to announce that we will be offering a limited amount of exclusive warehouse tasting sessions at 12:30pm, 3pm and 5pm.

We’ll take you on a journey of discovery around the distillery where you can taste whiskies from our archive and some cask samples.

In addition, you’ll experience something that has never been offered before – the opportunity to taste of whisky straight from the barrel. This is sure to be an experience that you’ll never forget.

For good measure, you’ll be given a complimentary, limited edition signed anniversary bottle of Cotswolds Signature Single Malt Whisky to take home with you and you’ll receive an exclusive 5% discount on the day off cask sales (available until 03/05/24).

Spaces to these tastings are extremely limited so don’t hang around… book yours before they’re all gone below. Tickets are £100 per person.

Please note, you must have booked a ticket to our 10th birthday party to go on one of these tastings.

On the 30th June, we will be throwing a party to celebrate a decade of the Cotswolds Distillery. Have you got your tickets? It will be an unforgettable celebration that simply should not be missed.

We have a whole host of fantastic live music performances lined up from Clare Teal Five, Oliver Darling & The Living Legends, the Distillery House Band, Savoir Faire and the Pocket Choral Society.

Enjoy our fine spirits at the bar, take your pick out of a delicious range of food stalls and much more.

Event Details: 

📅 Date: Sunday 30th June 2024.
🕛 Timings: 12-8pm.
📍 Location: Cotswolds Distillery, Stourton, CV36 5EX.
🎟️ Tickets: £25 per person. Reservations are required.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

TICKETS

Feis Ile Bottle Collection

We know many of our customers will be attending this year’s Feis Ile on Islay next week and for anyone looking to sell any of their bottles in our upcoming auction going live a week tomorrow (31st May) we are arranging a bottle collection at Kennacraig ferry port on Wednesday the 29th May between 9am and 6pm.

Getting your bottles in to the first available auction as we all know is often the best way to achieve the highest prices, and we guarantee that any bottles dropped with us on this day will make the live auction two days later.

For anyone interested please reply HERE for more details.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 529: Caol Ila 12 Year Old 2011 Warehouse 8 Claxton’s

Mark Dermul, Belgian whiskyblogger, tastes… motor oil? Mark received this bottle for his birthday from his buddy Manny and took it with him to Austria on ski holiday. He was very surprised when he opened the box. Not only is the malt packaged in something that looks like an oversized perfume bottle, but it’s also one of the darkest malts he’s ever seen. For a second there, Mark thought Manny had played a prank on him and filled the bottle with motor oil! But nae worries, this is an outstanding Caol Ila, matured on a first fill oloroso octave, that yielded only 57 bottles.

https://youtu.be/9QU957VVPMM

Barley – What You Need to Know to Make a Good Dram.

This is an insider Industry profile by Paul McLean, working closely with Crisp Maltings. With a hard look at Maris Otter malt. This could have been a really long article, as I am excited to be educating myself about Malt, Vic would be pleased. Many thanks Danni at Crisp.

A PASSION FOR FLAVOUR & SCIENCE Crisp Malt Laboratory. Crisp are unique amongst UK maltsters in that the majority of the technical sales team consists of brewing industry professionals. On the production side – no less than six master maltsters. Backed up by a central lab team and 150 years of malting know-how with a deep passion for the flavour and science of brewing, distilling and malting. Crisp has been making distilling malt in Scotland for over 40 years. They now have two maltings, one in the traditional brewing town of Alloa and the other in the heart of Speyside at Portgordon. These areas have long traditions of consistently producing high-quality malting barley in Scotland; between them, they cater for the requirements of Scotch Whisky production; plain, peated and high diastatic malt. Their peating process on Speyside ensures the fullest absorption of ‘reek’ by the grain during the peat burn. Whereas with some dry smoked peated malts the flavour and aroma quickly fades over a short time, their method produces a lasting rich peat smoke character in the malt, so it can be transported all over the world without issue. To cater to small and large distillers alike, their plain pot still and peated malts are available in bulk, one tonne or 25kg bags.

Maris Otter; Picture the summer sun shining down on fields of golden barley (start singing a Sting song!), swaying gently in the cool sea breeze. Maris Otter. A variety that, against the odds, has survived for over 55 years. A malting barley variety unique to England, that grows at its best in this northern part of East Anglia. It was cross-bred from Proctor and Pioneer in the late 1950’s by the Plant Breeding Institute in Cambridge. It malted well, as Crisp’s maltsters at the time attested. That explains its rapid growth in popularity among brewers of the time. Crisp work closely with agronomists, biologists, local farmers, brewers and distillers, and with the expertise of the malting team at Great Ryburgh, they are able to bring the finest Maris Otter malts to distilling customers all over the world.

THE LATEST NEWS (at the time of writing, March 2024) Plans have been submitted for a new state-of-the-art maltings in Moray. Portgordon Maltings, part of Crisp Malt, has lodged a planning application with Moray Council with the intent to develop a sustainable maltings on the grounds of its current site on the Moray Coast. Due to ever increasing demand from the distilling sector, there is a real need to invest in malting capacity in Scotland to support the long-term growth of Scottish distilling. The new maltings will be powered by the best available energy technologies making it one of the most efficient maltings in Scotland and the UK. Crisp Malt will be working in close consultation with Moray Council and the local community to ensure that they have an opportunity to discuss any concerns. The new maltings will house state-of-the-art technologies to achieve sustainability goals and produce high quality malt for distilling customers in Scotland whilst also increasing the annual production capacity of the entire site from 42,000 to up to 162,000 tonnes. Crisp Malt has been supplying the Scottish distilling industry since the 1960’s. The site at Portgordon opened in 1979 and produces 42,000 tonnes of malt to Scottish distilleries every year. They work directly with almost 270 individual farms in Scotland. The malt is packaged, either whole or crushed, at a state-of-the-art bagging facility in Alloa; ensuring the malt arrives in the best condition possible. To ensure low food miles and carbon impact, all Scottish Malt is 100% grown, malted and packaged in Scotland.

Farmer quote – From a farmer’s point of view, we’re pleased to work with a company like Crisp Malt which is committed to developing a lasting relationship and shortening the supply chain. It’s good to know that our barley stays in Scotland. Provenance has become so important for consumers and brands and having this focus on a local supply chain allows provenance to be tracked from the field right through to the beer.

This is a lot to take in, and I have only pulled a wee part of the process, it amazes me, hopefully it has educated you also. Many thanks Danni from Crisp, she has sent me lots of samples.

MCLEAN SCOTLAND WHISKY TOURS

Ferovinum announces £35 million funding package for The Borders Distillery Company Limited

Ferovinum and The Borders Distillery Company Limited have agreed a £35 million funding package to support the distillery for the next three years. 

The new arrangement will enable The Borders Distillery – the first to operate in the Scottish Borders since 1837 and recent winner of the World Whiskies Awards Best Scotch New Make award – to grow its business and develop its core strengths in advance of the eventual release of its Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

As a first-of-its-kind funding platform dedicated to unlocking growth for wine and spirits enterprises, Ferovinum will also provide The Borders Distillery with specialist operations and supply chain tools to support trading in the UK, Europe and the USA.

Commenting on the deal, The Borders Distillery Managing Director John Fordyce said: ‘We are delighted to have found a partner in Ferovinum and its excellent team. We share the same ambitions to grow, enthusiasm for the Scotch Whisky industry and commitment to deploy technology to facilitate growth in multiple markets.’

The Ferovinum platform delivers a more agile and efficient funding solution by holding assets during production, storage, distribution and fulfilment, giving companies end-to-end capabilities, funding the full production and distribution cycles.

Access to the platform also enables clients to benefit from seamless integration with freight, storage and fulfilment providers along with payments, licensing and commercial infrastructure to enable optimised trading and streamlined access to key export markets.

Gregor Mathieson, Director of Spirits at Ferovinum added: ‘We are very proud to be supporting The Borders Distillery during their next phase of growth. It is six years since the stills started running at their extraordinary site in Hawick, and the dedication to making great whisky as well as being a force for good in the Borders community is palpable amongst the whole team. Ferovinum was created to provide ambitious, visionary drinks businesses like this with the backing and specialist support they need to achieve their goals, and we are very excited to be partnering with John and the team for the journey ahead.’ 

The Borders Distillery was advised by Scottish corporate finance advisory boutique Noble & Co.

www.ferovinum.com

 Linkedin.com/ferovinum

www.thebordersdistillery.com

The Borders Distillery, Hawick, TD9 7AQ, Scottish Borders

About Ferovinum

Ferovinum’s technology brings together capital and distribution in a single platform built for and dedicated to the wine and spirits sector; providing capital efficient inventory management alongside trading and distribution tools that radically simplify the supply chain for brands and resellers.

The Platform allows businesses to access flexible capital when they need it, reducing their liquidity risk and reliance on payment terms, as well as protecting profitability should supply chain disruptions occur. Ferovinum clients can also take advantage of supply chain and sales inventory management tools to access automation and reduce the operational burden of getting their products into the hands of consumers.

For banks and financial institutions, Ferovinum’s technology provides a risk-managed and cost-efficient way to deploy capital into this traditionally hard-to-bank sector, where high levels of fragmentation have led to a historic lack of access to working capital. It uses structures adopted by investment banks in commodity markets to deploy a broad range of capital from credit funds, banks and other institutions.

The company was founded in 2018 by two wine and spirits enthusiasts: Mitchel Fowler, an experienced investment banker and commodity supply chain expert; and Daniel Gibney, who has years of experience in corporate finance, debt restructuring and hospitality. With bases in London, Scotland, Ireland and the USA, Ferovinum has a growing team of specialists across finance, technology, wine and spirits and law.

About The Borders Distillery

The Borders Distillery Company was founded in 2013 by George Tait, John Fordyce, Tim Carton and Tony Roberts. After raising £9.6m in equity funding a new distillery was built in an abandoned building in the centre of Hawick with the first nip distilled on 6^th March 2018.

The Borders Distillery employs and trains local people and aims to have all of its distillers fully qualified. It co- founded with Simpson Malt The Borders Growers & Distillers Group bringing together the distillery and sixteen Borders farms to source malted barley, manage co-products and actively promote the rural economy.

Today the Company employs 18 people and has recently launched its Workshop Series of Scotch Whiskies including Borders Malt & Rye, the first Scotch Whisky made in the Borders since 1837.