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.
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.
I was recently among a small group invited to the hallowed rooms of Bonhams in London to taste the new Eagle Rare 30 Year Old. This represents the oldest age stated bourbon ever released by the Buffalo Trace Distillery. More significantly, it is a release that challenges the long held perception of exactly how long a Kentucky bourbon can remain in barrel before it loses its soul.
At Bertie’s Whisky Bar within The Fife Arms, guests can now taste the oldest and most significant collection of House of Hazelwood Scotch whisky ever made available in a single venue. Spanning more than four centuries of Scotch whisky heritage, and comprising nine exceptionally rare expressions aged between 33 and 57 years, this is the most ambitious whisky programme Bertie’s has ever presented and the most comprehensive House of Hazelwood offering available anywhere in the world.
The Glenlivet has unveiled the Second Edition in its Eternal Collection, a 56 Year Old single malt, accompanied by a bespoke artwork from the acclaimed design studio Fredrikson Stallard. Only sixty bottles have been released worldwide. I had an opportunity to taste it at an exceptional dinner at Somerset House.
As a whisky writer, I’m acutely aware of how fortunate I am. Bottles arrive at my door with frequency. Invitations to distilleries and dinners appear often. Some I politely decline, others I gratefully accept. But once or twice a year, an invitation lands that changes everything. It gives the feeling I must imagine those that receive notification of being given a MBE feel. A date that you might move existing commitments for, such is the rarity and importance.
I was in Edinburgh earlier this week to taste Glen Scotia’s Four Quarters set that is heading to the Distillers One of One charity auction. It is rare that a single tasting manages to cover history, technique, design and philanthropy with the same clarity. This did. Four single malts from the same month in 1999, each a quarter of a century old, and each showing a different facet of Campbeltown’s character through its choice of cask.
It’s not often that a whisky takes you from the Highlands of Scotland to the forests of northern Japan, all while sitting in Leicester Square. Yet that was the atmosphere at 8 at The Londoner Hotel, where Glengoyne unveiled its latest limited edition: the Mizunara Oak 16 Year Old. I love these tastings, as I got to see my friends, enjoy plates of Japanese inspired finger food, and have wonderful whisky and cocktails. I have been so busy recently that I almost pulled out, but am very pleased that I didn’t.
Tamdhu’s latest release, a limited 21-Year-Old single malt, extends the Speyside distillery’s commitment to sherry-cask maturation with a decisive turn toward European oak. Bottled at 47.5 % ABV, unchill-filtered and with no added colour, this coming-of-age expression stands as a flagship for the brand’s evolving style: bold, structured and unmistakably Tamdhu.
Glen Scotia: The Quiet Force Behind Campbeltown’s Whisky Revival
