Indholdsfortegnelse for August/September 2025 i Whisky Magazine

It’s time to celebrate all things Kentucky bourbon! The Kentucky Bourbon Festival (KBF) is in its 33rd year and continues to grow and break records. This year tickets sold out in a matter of minutes rather than the weeks it took to sell out last year — proof that this festival is the one that bourbon lovers want to attend more than anything. “The 2025 Kentucky Bourbon Festival marks the fifth year since the complete revisioning of the event,” says Randy Prasse, Kentucky Bourbon Festival president and COO. “We are now considered a world-class sampling and buying experience with bourbon enthusiasts making an annual pilgrimage to the bourbon capital of the world. Today, 85 per cent of ticketed guests visit are from outside Kentucky and the event continues to serve…

Drive south from Elgin on the main A941 road and soon the names of Speyside’s most famous distilleries start appearing on signposts: from the Macallan and Glen Grant to Benriach and Longmorn, the never-ending list reads like a Who’s Who of Scotch whisky. Then, just south of Rothes, at the turnoff for Craigellachie, another name joins the roster: the Cabrach. It’s a moniker that’s whispered in whisky circles, triggering a knowing nod from those born and bred in the north of Scotland or those getting longer in the tooth. Soon, the name will be recognised by a much wider audience. In the days before the 1823 Excise Act cut taxes on Highland whiskies, the Cabrach was renowned for the quality of its illicit Scotch, with historians estimating more than 100…

The Distillers One of One® Auction will return for a third edition on Friday 10 October 2025. Hosted once again at the astonishing Hopetoun House, widely considered as one of Scotland’s finest stately homes, this is a showcase of rare and remarkable Scotch Whisky like no other. In partnership with Sotheby’s, The Distillers One of One is a biennial auction which brings together an unparalleled collection of one-off, never-to-be-repeated Scotch whiskies from distilleries across the length and breadth of Scotland, each Lot showcasing the excellence and individuality of craftsmanship of Scotland’s most stellar distilleries. Uniquely, 100 per cent of the Hammer Price is donated to charitable purposes. Past auctions have featured an incredible range of some of the most collectable, one-of-a-kind Scotch whiskies in the world. In 2021, at the…

Standing on the hillside at Mulchaich Farm, with skylarks and yellowhammers singing in the spring breeze and a red kite circling overhead, it’s hard to imagine that this rural corner of the Black Isle — the peninsula lying to the north of Inverness, the Highland capital — was once home to the most famous whisky brand on the planet. Yet, take a look at the ruins further along the ridge, and the picture starts to take shape. Poking up through the earth, large stones mark the perimeter of where walls once stood, with a pile of rubble near a well or natural spring marking a small reservoir that perhaps held water. The most striking feature is the base of an old kiln, painstakingly excavated by the North of Scotland Archaeological…

Laws Whiskey House sits on an industrial strip of Denver, across the street from some none-too-exotic houses and a storage centre. The train tracks are across the street in the other direction. Once you’ve entered the concrete building, however, you’d be forgiven if you thought you were in a boutique hotel in the city’s hyper-cool River North Art District, or RiNo. The first thing you see is the arc of iron poles, which hugs a curved couch in the lobby area and runs against the rail of the spiral staircase. Sit on the couch and look up into the wide cylindrical structure and you have a good idea of what it feels like to be shrunk into a tiny human and deposited into a barrel. But before you head up…

Whisky and food as a combination has been popular for decades, but sometimes it can be difficult to know what to make, and what style of whisky to pair it with. From this issue and beyond, Whisky Magazine has all of your food pairing needs covered, with thanks to Rothes Glen’s incredibly talented chef Alan Robertson. Alan has provided two mouth-watering desserts to pair your whiskies with. For these particular recipes, their fruity sweetness will pair beautifully with any selection of Speyside single malts that you have at home. If you’re looking for suggestions, why not look through the tastings section of this issue, or any on our website at www.whiskymag.com, to find a Speyside single malt that has a fruity profile suited to your preference. Don’t feel confident enough…

Back in the heady days of the 1970s, Tomatin boasted the largest capacity of any Scottish malt distillery, with no fewer than 23 stills capable of turning out a theoretical 12.5m litres of spirit per year. Since then, times have changed dramatically for the Highland distillery, located 15 miles south of Inverness, and many of those changes have come during Graham Eunson’s spell at the helm. The focus has shifted from selling large quantities of spirit to third parties to developing an awardwinning range of highly respected single malts. During the past decade alone, sales of Tomatin have grown by 170 per cent. Eunson joined Tomatin in 2011 as distillery general manager, and eight years later was appointed distillery operations director. Now, after a total of 34 years in the…

In a whisky world increasingly driven by speed, visibility, and instant gratification, there is one wood that quietly resists it all. Mizunara oak — ancient, unpredictable, and astonishingly demanding — has become one of the most talked-about materials in modern whisky. It is praised for its haunting incense character, its spiritual aura, and its ties to Japanese tradition. And yet, much of what is said about mizunara is misunderstood, overhyped, or simply incorrect. This is the story of how mizunara became one of the most coveted and abused oaks in whisky — and why its real power lies not in mystique, but in restraint. Mizunara, or Quercus crispula, is native to Japan and other parts of Northeast Asia. The name translates roughly to “water oak,” a nod to its high…

While many of us are hunting for and excited by the thrill of new releases, new distilleries, the latest greatest innovations, it’s easy for us to not pause, take a breath, look back, and understand the incredible history of the fine whisky products we enjoy, and the people and brands that made this spirit category so great. Here we speak to whisky archivists about their roles, their finds, and their quest to catalogue and keep the stories and artefacts of yesterday safe for whisky lovers today and in the future. Jacqui Seargeant GLOBAL HERITAGE MANAGER, BACARDI How would you describe your role? “I oversee the collections of more than 14 heritage brands in five countries, including Bacardi Rum, Dewar’s Blended Scotch, Martini, Aberfeldy Highland Single Malt, and Benedictine Liqueur, with…

Nick Bullard approaches an unpromising looking steel structure — the sort of place workmen might use to keep their tools secure on a building site. He opens the door to reveal not the anticipated angle-grinders and mini cement mixer, but a pair of small copper stills, one of which is making whisky courtesy of a live fire being fed with logs. This is direct-firing at its purest, and it is taking place just outside the historic spa town of Moffat in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, some 60 miles south of Glasgow. “Forged by fire” is the motto of Moffat distillery, and this unusual method of wash still heating marks out this young distillery from all its contemporaries. Indeed, it is though to be only the second wood-fired whisky distillery…

India is fast cementing its position as one of the world’s busiest outbound international travel markets. At a time when other major traveller groups are mostly staying home, India’s strong economy, expanding middle class, and better flight options are helping drive a major surge in international travel this year—offering whisky makers the perfect reason to raise their game at key Indian hub airports. Earlier this year, for instance, Moët Hennessy opened a new House of Glenmorangie boutique in the arrivals terminal of Mumbai Airport, in partnership with retail operator Ospree Duty Free. It’s only the second airport outlet for the Speyside distillery, the first having opened at London Heathrow Terminal 2 back in 2023. Inside, the focus is on Glenmorangie’s growing collection of travel-exclusive releases. These include the gorgeous Quinta…