By Richard Thomas Rating:  A- Isle of Skye Blended Whisky has an eye-catching title, conjuring as it does the awe-inspiring landscapes of its namesake tourist magnet of an island. However, the brand isn’t a new one, nor is the association of the Isle of Skye with tourism. Ian Macleod created the original Isle of Skye blend when he created his ...

By Andrew Graham Rating: A A joke that whisky nerds often make is that we should all band together and drink more sherry to support the Scotch industrial complex, the joke being that many popular Scotch whiskies spend time in the Sherry butts, which are quite expensive and hard to come by lately. More Sherry consumption equals more spent Sherry ...

By Randall H. Borkus Rating: B Playboy Spirits’ brand launched its luxury Rare Hare collection in 2022, which included previous releases of a 17-year-old bourbon and 1961 vintage cognac. This latest release is Lucky Bastard 30 Year Old Canadian whisky, a single barrel finished in Pineau Des Charentes casks for 120 days. Pineau Des Charentes is a fortified wine-mistelle or ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B I remember thinking in 2014 that Mark Reynier scored a helluva deal. That was when Diageo, in one of the moves rendered utterly inexplicable by their byzantine corporate veil, sold the Guinness brewery they had spent €40 million upgrading over the course of a decade to him for just a little over €7 million. The ...

By Alex Southgate Rating: B+ It’s always nice to go back and visit old friends and this is absolutely no different when it comes to the distilleries that we know well and love. This being said, I’ve been back to the Fettercairn Distillery on a couple of occasions now, and had a really enjoyable experience on both. We’ll be circling ...