The latest bottles that made it back to the U.S. from my most recent trip to Scotland (thanks in no small part to my lovely wife’s available luggage space!). And what’s special to me is that each one has a story that makes up a unique part of my adventure.
Wow!
Saying goodbye to a Speyburn Arranta this evening. (As it wasn’t one of my favorites, the goodbye wasn’t long or drawn out.) #bottlekill
Really enjoyed the Saint Andrew’s Society of San Francisco’s 163rd Annual Robert Burns Supper last night, with all of its pomp and circumstance. And haggis.
My 5-minute review of an independent bottling from the Glen Garioch Distillery in the Scottish Highlands town of Oldmeldrum that was released from The Good Spirits Company from Glasgow, Scotland. youtu.be/6_PfeX6tVGo
Hope all who are celebrating Burns’ Night are doing so with good drams and good friends!
For those hit by FB's 'We won't recommend your booze page to new people', looks like it might be just a tweak to age restriction:
business.cellarpass.com/blog/%20why-...
Brilliant. I got that same message. Thanks, Billy.
Every brain needs a Shatner’s Bassoon, Billy! 😁
I’ve never knowingly seen anyone give someone else an imprecation before!😁
The exterior of the Westland Distillery building in Seattle, Washington.
Me holding a bottle of whisky that I hand-filled and labeled myself at the Westland Distillery in Seattle, Washington.
Great visit last week at Westland Distillery in Seattle. They are doing some very interesting (and delicious) things there. Thanks to John Gibbs and BJ for making the visit special!
I had the opportunity to visit the Daftmill Distillery last month and it reinforced for me what an amazing product is coming out of such a small distillery. So I opened one of their releases from earlier this year and had a few thoughts. Good thoughts in under 5 minutes: youtu.be/6wASAM4pHUY
Only 1, did a Warehouse 9 tour at Bunnahabhain.
Best dram prices in town!
A display of various bottles of whisky, lined up on a coffee table, including a 22 year old Bowmore, an 18 year old official bottling Bunnahabhain 18 year old as well as an independent bottling of an 18 year old Bunnahabhain from The Loch Fyne.
Back from a recent trip to Scotland and glad I didn’t need to bring home all those extra socks!
A page promoting an interview that is part of The Cut Point, a series of interviews done by Rick Johnson of The Whisky Zone. This is the second interview in the series and is with David Brodie, a tour guide at the Bunnahabhain Distillery on the island of Islay in Scotland.
In this Whisky Zone Cut Point interview, I talk with David Brodie, < @davidjbrodie.bsky.social > well-known tour guide at the Bunnahabhain Distillery on Islay in Scotland. His long history with the spirits industry on Islay made it fun to get his insider’s perspectives. Enjoy! youtu.be/NjqTdevSIMI
If you haven't voted yet for the 2025 Online Scotch Whisky Awards nominees, voting is still open through Sunday. www.oswa.co.uk/publicpoll2025
I’ll be seeing you the week before…and looking forward to it!
Happy to take that GlenDronach 15 off your hands, if it’ll help with the cooking.
That was my dram of the year for 2024.
Attended an excellent tasting at The Whisky Shop in San Francisco yesterday with Kilchoman Distillery founder Anthony Wills! (although I think an apology is in order for my unusual posture in the photo with Anthony😁)
That is a wonderful bottle. Got it last year at Edinburgh Whisky Festival.
Nothing wrong with that choice. I love Bruichlddich. I’m just not as much a fan of paying what they ask each year for my favorite Octomores, the .3 line.
This is an image with the title "What's My Number One Distillery Choice?" in the foreground and behind it is an image of the outline of a whisky bottle with a question mark in it and a photo of me drinking a dram of whisky. This is part of the videos I release through The Whisky Zone, which can be found at whiskyzone.com or The Whisky Zone YouTube channel.
In a departure from my regular take on individual whisky releases, I was asked to take part in a YouTube challenge to identify my Number One distillery. If you're a whisky lover with broad whisky interests, it's an interesting question.
If you're curious, here’s the link: youtu.be/nV-P5FbuEfY
A core range expression from one of the oldest legally recognized distilleries in Scotland should be interesting. That’s why I’ve popped the cork on the Bowmore 15 year old. And with the video review lasting only 5 minutes, that turns into a win-win for everybody! www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2AU...
This is the inaugural release of The Cut Point, interviews that allow me get to...the heart of the matter! This talk is with Jason Lujick, owner and founder of The Oakland Whiskey Library in Oakland, CA, someone on the front lines of putting spirits into the hands of consumers: youtu.be/rD3t1y2kPgo
International travel these days is often full of challenges beyond our control. So if you do it, maybe the Travel Retail Exclusive Classic Laddie Sherry Cask Edition from Bruichladdich is your reward! (I think so, btw.) If you're curious, here's the full 5-minute video review: youtu.be/GkzjX6xyzO4
An empty bottle of Laphroaig Lore Scotch whisky laying on its side in front of a whisky tasting glass from the Bunnahabhain Distillery with the last pour from the Lore bottle inside the glass.
A fine send-off this weekend to a lovely bottle of Lore I picked up at the distillery a number of years back. And, yes, that is a Bunnahabhain glass. (Unfortunately, my Laphroaig glass was dirty for the bottle kill pour.)
