Every year, Ardbeg releases a special bottling for its Committee members — the global community of dedicated fans who sign up for early access to limited releases. Smokiverse is one of those releases: an exploration not just of Ardbeg’s peat,…
The world of aged rum has, in recent years, developed a fascination with unusual cask finishing — and one of the most striking crossover experiments involves Islay whisky casks. A Caribbean rum aged in ex-Islay malt casks picks up something…
Caol Ila is Islay’s largest distillery by production volume — quietly responsible for a substantial share of the malt whisky that flows into many of Scotland’s best-known blends. Its present incarnation is modern, efficient, and spotlessly clean. But its history…
Captain Morgan is one of the most recognised rum brands in the world — but Private Stock is a different proposition from the standard spiced offering. Richer, more complex, aged longer, with a depth that rewards attention rather than dismissal.…
Japan’s craft rum scene is small, rapidly growing, and increasingly original. Ron Seto — a Japanese rum producer working with Japanese ingredients and sensibilities — represents exactly the kind of spirit that makes this category worth watching. Their white rum…
In 2013, I visited Hakushu Distillery — Suntory’s mountain whisky distillery in the Southern Japanese Alps, Yamanashi Prefecture. The visit left an impression that hasn’t faded. A Distillery Inside a Forest Hakushu was established in 1973 on the slopes of…
There are bottles that stop a conversation. A Glenlivet distilled in 1976 — now a half-century old — is one of those bottles. The spirit inside was made before many of the people who might drink it tonight were born.…
Mars Whisky — produced by Hombo Shuzo, operating distilleries in both Kagoshima and Shinshu, Nagano — runs one of the most unusual limited-edition series in Japanese whisky: The Lucky Cat. Each release is named after a real cat owned by…
If you’ve spent time reading whisky labels, you’ve encountered the words: Palo Cortado cask finish. The name sounds elegant. The whisky inside usually is. But what exactly is Palo Cortado — and why is it so rare? It All Starts…
The elder brother inherited the family business. The younger brother came in from an entirely different world — and designed the whisky-making operation from scratch. He is a scientist, trained at Kyoto University in medical imaging (MRI) research. The reason…