Independent bottlings themed around the cosmos can easily risk leaning into gimmickry, yet the ambition behind The Whisky Exchange Zodiac Series has always been rooted in cask curation rather than mere novelty. Rolled out across three four bottle instalments, the twelve bottle project sets out to match the traditional archetypes of astrological signs with distinct flavour profiles from across Scotland.
During a recent visit to Witchmark Distillery in Wiltshire, the team made no secret of their ambition: when their inaugural spirit emerges from cask, it is intended to compete squarely as a super premium single malt.
Yet in spirits marketing, "super premium" is a term thrown around with easy confidence. What does it actually mean in practice?
One of the things I enjoy most about writing Drinks Diaries is that there really are no boundaries to what might end up in my glass. This time we travel from the vineyards of West Sussex to the shores of Lake Geneva, through Tuscany, Austria, Portugal, and the far south of Italy, before heading north to Islay and Skye. There are familiar grapes in unfamiliar places, including a Tuscan white from a region better known for Sangiovese, alongside Chasselas from Switzerland, a country whose wines we rarely get the opportunity to drink in the UK.
In this issue, I explore a collection of drinks that celebrates both deep rooted tradition and innovation. We begin in Bordeaux and Rioja, where regional classics are being thoughtfully reimagined for contemporary palates, before traveling to the storm swept coast of Galicia for an early harvest Albariño that captures the very essence of the region. For the spirits lover, I look at Japanese blending philosophy and a bold Scottish malt.
Whisky is an industry often defined by its reverence for tradition. Yet true innovation frequently occurs when someone looks at an established practice from an entirely different angle. For independent bottler Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky, that angle is approximately one eighth the size of a standard sherry butt.
Located in the Monadhliath Mountains just south of Inverness, Tomatin Distillery was once a quiet giant of the Highlands, famed for its massive production capacity geared towards the blending industry. The distillery has spent the last 25 years though elegantly redefining itself. Today, Tomatin is celebrated for a lighter, fruit-forward, and sophisticated portfolio of single malts.
There is a powerful, almost tangible energy when two distinct worlds collide under a single, unified philosophy. In the world of luxury craft, heritage is often treated as a museum piece, something to be preserved exactly as it was. Yet, a recent and pioneering collaboration between independent cask broker Cask Trade, contemporary fashion designer Siobhan Mackenzie, and the forward thinking Nc’nean Distillery has turned this notion entirely on its head.
Last week, I attended a press lunch at Carousel in London alongside fellow whisky writers for the relaunch of Tormore, one of Speyside's most distinctive distilleries. The event was far more than the simple unveiling of a new range of single malts. It represented the fulfilment of a long held ambition for brothers Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh, whose profound influence on modern whisky appreciation through The Whisky Exchange remains difficult to exaggerate.
There is something wonderfully liberating about drinking pink wine without pretending it has to justify itself. Rosé has spent decades being underestimated, lightly dismissed as a sugary summer seasonal or a simple patio sipper. Yet, away from the clichés, the category has quietly become one of the most dynamic corners of modern viticulture.
Regular readers will know that I have a particular affinity for House of Hazelwood and tend to anticipate each annual release with genuine interest. The 2026 Charles Gordon Collection continues a philosophy shaped by Charles Gordon, one that places patience at the centre of whisky making and recognises that time, when handled with restraint, remains the most valuable asset at a producer’s disposal.
