Google News（Scotch/Distillery）｜原題：Scotland's First Community Whisky Distillery Enters Administration With Loss of All Jobs - https://streamlinefeed.co.ke/
Scotland's First Community Whisky Distillery Enters Administration With Loss of All Jobs
Scotland's first fully community-owned whisky distillery, GlenWyvis, has entered administration with the loss of all jobs following a failure to secure funding.
Scotland’s first fully community-owned whisky distillery, GlenWyvis, has officially collapsed into administration, resulting in the loss of all remaining jobs and casting a deep shadow over the viability of the community benefit model in the highly competitive spirits sector. Following a prolonged period of severe financial pressure and an inability to secure vital rescue funding, the Dingwall-based enterprise has ceased all distilling operations.
The End of a Community Dream
The appointment of Alistair McAlinden and Geoff Jacobs of Interpath Advisory as joint administrators on Tuesday marks a devastating conclusion for a project that began with soaring local optimism. Founded in 2013 and officially distilling by 2018, GlenWyvis was established as a Community Benefit Society (CBS). It raised an initial £2.6 million through a pioneering community share offer, ultimately attracting nearly 4,000 members globally—making it the largest CBS by membership in the United Kingdom.
Despite producing award-winning whisky and gin over its brief operational history, the distillery has been crippled by a combination of macroeconomic headwinds and protracted internal disputes. Administrators confirmed that the business entered administration with estimated debts of £6 million. The three remaining staff members have been made redundant with immediate effect, while the joint administrators explore options to maximise returns from the society’s remaining physical assets and maturing whisky stocks.
"These are challenging times for Scotland's whisky industry," said joint administrator Alistair McAlinden. "We are aware of many independent producers up and down the country who are battling hard to keep their head above water in the face of rising costs, as well as oversupply and working capital strain from long maturation cycles which have coincided with a global cost of living crisis and changing drinking trends among younger generations."
Financial Strain and Legal Battles
The collapse of GlenWyvis was not entirely unexpected. On September 23, the distillery’s management committee filed a Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators (NOIA) at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, buying a 10-day protective window to desperately search for a final capital injection. An external fundraising process led by Interpath Advisory engaged with potential investors, but ultimately failed to secure the funds necessary to continue trading as a going concern.
Beyond the broader industry challenges, GlenWyvis has been uniquely hampered by a bitter and highly publicised legal conflict with its own founder and landlord, helicopter pilot John McKenzie. McKenzie originally granted the distillery a 175-year lease on his farm at Upper Docharty for a nominal rent of £1 per year. However, relations deteriorated rapidly over the years, leading to a complex and long-running dispute over electricity costs and site access, which is still subject to court arbitration.
The financial strain was further exacerbated by infrastructural ambitions that outstripped the society's capital reserves. In February 2021, the distillery secured planning permission to construct a bonded warehouse at a nearby farm steading, agreeing to a £25,000 annual lease. By 2024, management admitted the society lacked the funds to carry out the necessary conversion work, leaving them burdened with a costly and unusable asset.
GlenWyvis Distillery: Timeline to Administration
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| 2013 – 2016 | Project founded; £2.6 million raised via a community share offer. |
| 2018 | Distilling operations officially commence in Dingwall. |
| February 2021 | Planning permission granted for a bonded warehouse, increasing lease liabilities. |
| February 2026 | £500,000 loan secured from Firstport to support struggling operations. |
| September 2026 | Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators filed at the Court of Session. |
| October 2026 | Interpath Advisory officially appointed; all staff made redundant. |
The Impact on Investors
A brief lifeline appeared in February 2026 when GlenWyvis secured a £500,000 loan from the social investment charity Firstport, intended to support production and preserve jobs. However, as an unsecured creditor, the charity is now likely to face significant losses alongside the nearly 4,000 community shareholders who believed in the project's communal vision.
Shareholders had already been warned of the impending crisis. Over the summer of 2025, the management committee halted all share withdrawal requests, citing a severe lack of available funds. Following the administration appointment, all interest payments to bondholders have ceased, and share capital cannot be legally withdrawn. The eventual financial outcome for the millions of pounds invested by the community remains highly uncertain.
Dr Jock Ramsay, chairman of GlenWyvis Distillery, described the administration as a "very sad day" for the town of Dingwall and the wider membership. "For ten years this distillery has been owned by its community and sustained by the extraordinary support of its members, volunteers and staff," he said prior to the official appointment. "The team explored every available option to secure its future. Our focus now is on working with the proposed joint administrators to achieve the best possible outcome for our members, creditors and the wider community."
The administrators have confirmed that they will separately contact private individuals who have purchased their own casks, which remain maturing in bonded storage. For now, the copper stills in Dingwall remain cold, serving as a stark cautionary tale of the severe financial pressures facing independent distillers, even those backed by the passionate financial support of thousands of local stakeholders.
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- 01HeraldScotlandAll jobs lost as Scotland's first community whisky distillery enters administrationNews reportPublished 6 Oct 2026Accessed 6 Oct 2026Evidence used - • GlenWyvis distillery has entered administration, resulting in the redundancy of all remaining staff and halting distilling operations.
- 02The Spirits BusinessGlenWyvis Distillery appoints joint administratorsNews reportPublished 6 Oct 2026Accessed 6 Oct 2026Evidence used - • Alistair McAlinden and Geoff Jacobs of Interpath Advisory were officially appointed as joint administrators for the distillery, which faces 6 million pounds in debt.
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For Charles Leclerc, 16 has always been more than just a number. Now, the number that has followed him throughout his career has inspired his latest collaboration with Chivas Regal.
The Formula 1 driver and Chivas Regal Global Brand Ambassador has teamed up with the luxury Scotch whisky brand to create Chivas Regal 16 Limited-Edition, the first 16-year-old expression in Chivas Regal’s history and Leclerc’s debut signature blend.
Made from 16 whiskies, each aged for at least 16 years, the new release brings Leclerc’s personal story together with Chivas Regal’s whisky-making craft.
From A Challenge To A Signature Blend
The idea began when Leclerc challenged Chivas Regal Master Blender Sandy Hyslop to create something new based on his own vision.
Instead of simply putting his name on the bottle, Leclerc was involved in the creative process. He explored several whiskies and was particularly drawn to the rich character of sherry cask-matured Longmorn single malt.
He later travelled to Scotland to experience the whisky-making process first-hand, visit the distilleries and understand the work that goes into each cask. After choosing his preferred blend, Leclerc had one final request: make it a 16-year-old whisky.
“16 has always been more than a number to me, it’s something I’ve carried my whole career,” Leclerc shared.
For both Leclerc and Chivas Regal, the collaboration is built around a similar mindset: setting high standards, challenging yourself and always looking for ways to improve.
Hyslop also explained that Leclerc was actively involved throughout the process, making decisions and challenging ideas until they created a blend that represented both of them.
So, What Does Chivas Regal 16 Taste Like?
The new whisky brings together sweet, fruity and warm flavours.
On the nose, sweet mandarin, raisins, and manuka honey are followed by hints of warm cinnamon and sticky toffee.
The palate moves from orange marmalade and apple cake into toasted oak, and ginger spice, before ending with a finish described as rich, velvety and long.
The final blend reflects the rich and layered characters Leclerc was drawn to during the creation process while staying true to the style of Chivas Regal.
Leclerc And Hyslop Celebrate Their Creation In Miami
Ahead of the Grand Prix in Miami, Leclerc and Hyslop came together to showcase Chivas Regal 16 for the first time.
During an intimate conversation, the pair looked back at how the whisky was created, from the challenges they gave each other to the decisions that eventually shaped the final bottle.
The moment celebrated more than the finished blend. It also highlighted the shared idea behind the collaboration: there is always another level to reach.
Chivas Regal 16 Is Coming To Malaysia
Malaysian fans will not have to wait long to try Leclerc’s first signature blend.
Chivas Regal 16-year-old will be available in Malaysia from 1st October with a recommended retail price of RM425. It can be purchased through the official Pernod Ricard Malaysia Shopee store.
For the latest updates, consumers can also follow Chivas Malaysia on Facebook or visit the Chivas Regal Malaysia website.
The world of whisky investing largely runs on trust, especially when hefty sums change hands for exclusive bottles and entire casks. But that very trust appears to have cost an international group of whisky traders dearly. Scottish police are searching for a whisky fraudster who is believed to have made off with more than 900,000 euros and even claimed a Dutch victim.
One of the victims is Pierre Sauren (43), a Dutch whisky collector and dealer, and owner of Whisky Exclusive. His case against the
fraudster ultimately exposed a far bigger swindle.
A whisky investment that seemed especially lucrative
The story of this scam begins about three years ago. Through a French colleague, Sauren was introduced to Isaias C., a Spaniard living on the Scottish whisky island of Islay who had previously worked as a bar manager.
He said he needed money to finance a sale of whisky casks to China, 50,000 pounds in total. Sauren decided to lend him the amount.
The proposed return was highly attractive. Within just one month, Sauren would not only get his investment back, but also pocket an additional 26,400 pounds in profit.
As you might guess, that never happened. Sauren never saw his 50,000 pounds again, nor the promised profit. Despite his years of experience in the whisky trade, he had never encountered anything like it.
| New whiskies at Whisky Exchange | |
| Highland Park 17 Year Old Between You and I | 116 pounds |
| The Glenturret Remanence | 88,95 pounds |
| Compass Box This is a 20-year old whisky | 63,95 pounds |
Taking the legal fight into his own hands
Sauren tried to file a report, but initially couldn’t get Scottish police to act. So he decided to pursue legal action himself.
First, he hired a Scottish lawyer. When that yielded nothing, he took an unusual tack: he chose to represent himself and used Google to research the legal issues.
That approach ultimately worked. A sheriff in Campbeltown ruled in his favor. By then, it also turned out Sauren was far from the only victim. Dozens of other affected parties had reportedly come forward.
More than 900,000 euros in whisky fraud
What began as a dispute over 50,000 pounds grew into a much larger fraud case. Total losses are now said to exceed 900,000 euros.
Scottish police are now searching for the 41-year-old fraudster, who is reportedly on the run and has since been declared bankrupt. According to Sauren, more than 40 officers are working the case. The suspect’s wife may also have been involved in the scheme.
It’s no surprise the case is being taken seriously. Whisky is of enormous economic importance to Scotland, and fraud in international trade can severely damage trust in the sector. The case has already drawn significant attention in the British media.
The case isn’t over for Sauren
Although Sauren won his civil case, his legal journey appears far from over. The Limburg dealer is considering action against the Scottish state over the way his initial report was handled.
He also plans to take action against the law firm that previously represented him. According to Sauren, it achieved little, while leaving him with a hefty bill.
Strikingly, it no longer seems to be primarily about the lost money. For Sauren, it’s mostly about justice—and so a seemingly lucrative cask deal has grown into an international fraud case now involving dozens of victims and the Scottish police.
The industry has urged UK prime minister Andy Burnham to use his first Budget to bring transparency and proportionate regulation to the cask whisky market.
Last year saw investigations into cask investment companies over fraud allegations valued into the millions of pounds.
Victims were defrauded into investing into Scotch whisky casks that were overpriced, did not exist, or were sold multiple times to separate investors.
Cask sellers do not require authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and buyers are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service if a company collapses or acts fraudulently.
Alphie Valentine, co-founder of whisky investment specialist Hackstons, has called on Burnham to address what he says is a lack of regulatory oversight in the market.
“Most people in my position lobby the government for less regulation – I’m asking for more,” said Valentine. “The firms doing this properly have nothing to fear from transparency and everything to gain from it. Right now it is difficult for a consumer to tell the difference between a serious operator and a confident salesperson with a website.”
Valentine has set out four measures he would like the government to consider in the Budget: proportionate oversight, bringing cask investment within a sensible regulatory perimeter; mandatory transparency, including verifiable proof of ownership in the buyer’s name, independent warehouse confirmation, plain-English disclosure of all fees and exit costs, and an end to unsubstantiated return projections; an accredited register, such as a public list or recognised kitemark, so first-time buyers can quickly identify legitimate operators; and backing for the sector as part of an industrial strategy, recognising cask whisky as a high-value British export that supports skilled jobs in Scotland and across the regions.
“Transparency is the one thing that separates a genuine cask business from a scam – proof the cask exists, that it’s held in your name, a clear picture of every fee and advice on the risks you must consider and length of hold required to make profit. The law requires none of that today. It should. I know firsthand what it is like to work for a company that is unregulated and through no fault of your own, when appropriate measures aren’t in place, multiple people are affected,” Valentine added.
“The prime minister has pledged to move power and money out of Westminster and into every part of the country. Cask whisky is exactly that – value created in Scotland and the regions, owned by people the length and breadth of Britain. In his first Budget, I’d urge the prime minister to back the people who love whisky and the industry that makes it,” Valentine continued.
Anfang Juni wurde die Serie erstmals angekündigt (wir berichteten hier), seit heute ist sie erhältlich: Sir Kenny Dalglishs Vintage Moments von Gordon & MacPhail Whiskies ist ein Box-Set von fünf mehr als außergewönlichen Jahrgangswhiskys (beginnend mit einem Glen Grant 1951 zu vier weiteren Speysidern von 1967 bis 1995). Die Flaschen markieren wichtige Jahre in der Karriere von Fußballlegende Sir Kenny Dalglish.
Legendär sind nicht nur der Kurator, der Sammlerstatus des Sets und die Bottlings an sich, sondern (natürlich) auch der Preis: Jede der 15 limitierten Boxen mit 5x 70cl-Flaschen kostet 100.000 Pfund.
Hier alle Infos, die wir von Gordon & MacPhail für unsere Leser erhalten haben:
| Externer Text | Inhalt verantwortet das Unternehmen |
SIR KENNY DALGLISH’S VINTAGE MOMENTS BY GORDON & MACPHAIL WHISKIES
GORDON & MACPHAIL REVEALS FOOTBALL LEGEND SIR KENNY’S CHOSEN VINTAGE MOMENTS CELEBRATED IN ULTRA RARE SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKIES
On Tuesday 6 October 2026, whisky specialist Gordon & MacPhail is to reveal the inaugural release of its unique series ‘Vintage Moments’, celebrating five personal landmark moments selected by Scottish football legend, Sir Kenny Dalglish.
Sir Kenny Dalglish’s Vintage Moments by Gordon & MacPhail Whiskies offers 15 unique box sets of five ultra-rare single malt Scotch whiskies distilled in years that correspond to Sir Kenny’s key life and remarkable career milestones. Born in 1951 and regarded as one of the greatest strikers in post-war British football, Sir Kenny is one of Celtic, Liverpool and Scotland’s most admired figures, with a huge number of fans all around the world.
As curators & custodians of the oldest and rarest single malt Scotch whiskies, Gordon & MacPhail’s unique and irreplaceable stocks feature single malts from over 100 Scottish Distilleries matured in their own casks.
They are the only company in the world to possess single malts from every vintage from 1948 to the present day. These whiskies are time capsules; liquid treasures of profound rarity, each shaped by decades of quiet maturation and the unwavering dedication of the family-owned business over four generations.
Sir Kenny was invited to choose five years over his lifetime that he wished to single out as landmark moments to be celebrated alongside the values that have shaped his life and career. Each of these has been brought to life with a Gordon & MacPhail single malt distilled in the same year.
“Selecting these single malts was a real privilege. I’ve been fortunate to experience some wonderful moments throughout my life and choosing just five years that meant the most wasn’t easy. I’m looking forward to sharing the stories behind those choices and hope people enjoy discovering them as much as I enjoyed making the selection,”
comments Sir Kenny.
His final selection included the following moments:
1951
Everything starts with Dalmarnock and his parents.
“Everything has to start somewhere, and for me it started in Dalmarnock on 4 March 1951. I was lucky to grow up in a close family with parents who worked hard and gave us every opportunity. Looking back now, those early years shaped the values that stayed with me throughout my life, both in football and away from it.”
1967
The Lisbon Lions showed a young player what was possible.
“Watching Celtic win the European Cup made every young player at the club believe anything was possible. I was fortunate enough to begin pre season with the first team that summer, and before long I had signed professionally. It felt like the beginning of a journey, although at the time I couldn’t have imagined where football would eventually take me.!”
1974
Marina and the most important decision of his life.
“I was lucky enough to win a few doubles during my football career, but the best double of all was marrying Marina on her birthday. It certainly made remembering our anniversary a bit easier. People often say that behind every successful man there’s a good woman. I don’t think that’s right. Marina has never been behind me. She’s always been beside me. Whatever football brought our way, we faced it together, and I couldn’t have asked for a better teammate.”
1977
Leaving the comfort of Celtic to challenge himself.
“Leaving Celtic was one of the hardest decisions I ever made. The club had given me everything and I owed so much to Jock Stein, my teammates and the supporters. But football doesn’t wait for anyone and I felt it was the right time to challenge myself. Looking back now, joining Liverpool changed my life in ways I could never have imagined.”
1995
Jack Walker’s belief in people and what a united group could achieve together.
“Winning the Premier League with Blackburn will always be a special memory. Jack Walker believed in the club, believed in the people around him and gave us every opportunity to succeed. We had a fantastic group of players and staff who worked tirelessly for one another. To win the title was an incredible achievement, and doing it at Anfield made for one of football’s more unusual stories.”
Sir Kenny visited Elgin in May 2026 for a personal tasting of various vintage single malt Scotch whiskies associated with his chosen years, selected and hand-drawn from Gordon & MacPhail’s cask library. Each of Sir Kenny’s Vintage Moments single malts were bottled at cask strength and will only ever be tasted by a very small number of people in the world. Those who secure one of the 15 sets for sale will also have an opportunity to meet Sir Kenny at a Vintage Moments event in November 2026.
“It was fascinating to learn that spirit made at the same distillery during the same year, but put into two different types of casks, creates whiskies that can taste completely different,”
commented Sir Kenny Dalglish.
Following this tasting of Sir Kenny’s choice of favoured vintages resulted in the following selection:
- Gordon & MacPhail 1951 from Glen Grant Distillery
- Gordon & MacPhail 1967 from Longmorn Distillery
- Gordon & MacPhail 1974 from Strathisla Distillery
- Gordon & MacPhail 1977 from Benromach Distillery
- Gordon & MacPhail 1995 from Glentauchers Distillery
“It is a source of immense pride to be the only Scotch whisky company in the world to have stocks from every vintage going back as far as 1948. Many of these whiskies were laid down by grandfather, George Urquhart, who has been called ‘the father of single malt’,”
explains Stephen Rankin, Gordon & MacPhail Director of Prestige and fourth generation family member.
Sir Kenny Dalglish’s Vintage Moments by Gordon & MacPhail Whiskies box sets, each featuring five 70cl bottles of ultra-rare vintage single malts of exceptional quality brought to life from Gordon & MacPhail’s portfolio, will be available for sale from Tuesday 6 October 2026. Housed in a beautifully produced wooden box, these special releases come with a special book signed by Sir Kenny sharing his stories behind each personal Vintage Moment chosen. Each of the 15 box sets will be numbered 1-15 and will have a unique fact about Sir Kenny making each box different.
Each of the bottles will be age statemented and individually named as follows:
1951: Debut Appearance
1967: Into The Lion’s Den
1974: Teammates for Life
1977: It’s Not a Rehearsal
1995: The Fairytale
For whisky aficionados and admirers of Sir Kenny Dalglish, a Gordon & MacPhail Vintage Moments by Sir Kenny Dalglish Box Set provides an exceptional opportunity.
SIR KENNY DALGLISH’S VINTAGE MOMENTS BY GORDON & MACPHAIL WHISKIES
15 x Limited edition numbered box sets including 1951 Glen Grant (70cl), 1967 Longmorn (70cl), 1974 Strathisla (70cl), 1977 Benromach (70cl) and 1995 Glentauchers (70cl)
Priced at £100,000 available via gordonandmacphail.com from Tuesday 6 October 2026
VINTAGE MOMENTS FROM GORDON & MACPHAIL PRIVATE CLIENT RESERVE
In addition to the limited-edition box sets commemorating Sir Kenny Dalglish’s vintage moments, Gordon & MacPhail offers an exclusive ‘Vintage Moments from Gordon & MacPhail Private Client Res
The Macallan Debuts Exclusive ‘TIME:SPACE’ Sherry Cask-Finished Whisky
The whisky is the first of its kind matured in casks seasoned with Macallan-owned Valdespino sherry wine.
For as much innovation as The Macallan has driven in the world of carefully finished Scotch, the luxury distiller just broke new ground with a whisky featuring liquid from its very own sherry casks for the first time.
The newest and unquestionably lavish “TIME:SPACE” release brings together a symphony of sherry cask finishing and blending techniques heavily influenced by oak casks from The Macallan’s own Valdespino bodega, as Maxim found out during an exclusive upstate New York debut at The Inness Estate. This new effort means that The Macallan now keeps a watchful eye over sherry-seasoned casks every step of the way, following the March 2023 acquisition of Valdespino by parent company Edrington.
The new partnership builds on a longstanding sense of mutual trust, said Jane Graham, The Macallan’s Managing Director of Cask Operations. “I was very aware that we were already starting with a relationship because we’d spent years working with them as suppliers,” she told Maxim at The Inness Estate. “You do it to protect and preserve what you already have, but you also open things up to massive innovation, which is fantastic.” Other recent releases by The Macallan have toasted the city of Paris while using European and American oak casks, and the elegant TIME:SPACE lineup also featured a six-figure limited-release Scotch, with sherry taking centerstage in this season’s debut.
In matters of innovation, The Macallan selected European sherry oak casks and a delicate amount of distillate from American oak casks. The two were then married in a carefully curated assortment of the first 200 Valdespino sherry casks seasoned under the watchful eye of the Speyside distillery. The Macallan Brand Ambasador Molly Melville notes the acclaimed distillery is keenly aware of its heritage and its future. “We have such a long history, and legacy is such an important thing,” she said over lunch at The Inness Estate last month. “We do have an identifying DNA.”
That DNA certainly leans heavily on innovation in sherry cask finishing and now, sherry cask seasoning is undoubtedly an even more critical part of the equation. The selection of 200 Valdespino sherry seasoned-casks also holds historic meaning, as the casks were filled during the company’s 200th anniversary in 2024. The distillery notes that “these exceptional casks represent a milestone in The Macallan’s history,” with a chosen few now part of the resulting 20-year-old Scotch, which arrives at an SRP of $1,400 and is bottled at a pleasing 44.8 percent ABV.
Working with certain casks always involves a push-and-pull, a blend of patience and mastery, said The Macallan Global Creative Director Jaume Ferras. “It’s a wonderful story, and all about craftsmanship,” he said over dinner at The Inness Estate. “It’s hard, what we do, but each problem you work through, and at the end, you create quality Scotch.” That quality shines through when this new Scotch is sipped neat, including the rich depth of dark cherry, dates and even roasted coffee and sweet toffee working harmoniously on the palate. The nose displays a remarkable depth with a burst of dark red fruit, and the finish evokes well-balanced oak and dark chocolate.
In keeping with other luxurious TIME:SPACE whisky releases, the Scotch arrives in a refined circular decanter, as collectible itself as the liquid inside is delectable. Future collaboration is inevitable and indeed, welcomed by both teams at Valdespino and The Macallan. “We’ve been able to introduce our whisky-making team to their winemaking team, and the collaboration between them is just fantastic,” Graham added over cocktails at the sprawling Inness countryside estate. “They’re having such a good time learning from each other, and so we’re trying some experimental things.”
The omnipresent past and the future of Scotch propel The Macallan each day, its team adds. “It’s a nice combination of preserving the past, and then looking forward with some innovation,” Graham said of the latest TIME:SPACE debut. “I don’t think we changed the category overnight, but we’ll do our best,” she added with a laugh. For The Macallan, the best is perhaps even yet to arrive, patiently aging currently in sherry casks. Join The Macallan Society to learn more about exclusive Scotch releases.
Engineers from Japan and Scotland are gearing up to put Scotch whisky on a rocket and send it to space to try a new method to age the alcohol. For the first time, the drink will be matured in orbit, as engineers hope that this could speed up the process. It is part of an experiment which will analyse how Scotch responds to the harsh environment of space.
Nicknamed "Space Puffin", the experiment will see several samples of whisky placed in a satellite which will be launched in 2028 as part of a SpaceX supply mission to the International Space Station. It would then be deployed into orbit from the Japanese module of the space station.
The satellite, known as a CubeSat, will spend five years circling Earth. Engineers believe that as the satellite goes around the planet every 90 minutes, entering phases of extreme heat and cold, the maturation process will speed up. The journey to space and back could also add "very bold" flavours to the whiskey.
Space whisky could become the next big thing
If the experiment succeeds, space-aged whiskey might become the hottest new drink. However, considering the costs involved in not only making the whiskey, but launching it to space in a satellite, the Scotch is bound to be extremely costly. But that might not be a problem for connoisseurs who already pay hefty amounts to get their hands on rare bottles.
The whiskey samples will be placed on a CubeSat, the satellite being designed by students from Scotland and Japan. Dr Gilles Bailet, from the University of Glasgow, said several Scottish students are in Japan to co-design the satellite. He said that the aim is to see the effect of a space environment on the ageing of the whisky. He said they are ready to "bring this whisky experience into space" with the help of the best people here in Scotland.
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Whisky could mature quicker in space
Dr Bailet said the cycles of whisky "breathing" could happen much faster in space where temperatures vary between minus 150C and plus 200C in quick succession. "We build our spacecraft to be able to get an environment which is better for the whisky, but this wood will breathe faster than on Earth," he said.
For five years, scientists will monitor the whisky in space, checking its colour and chemical composition. However, cubesat won't be retrieved. Dr Bailet said he wants to scale up whisky maturation in space and "fly a full whisky-making system, with a full cask, if we’re able to collaborate with investors or other people interested about it."
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Google News（Whisky 綜合）｜原題：Ghostwood Whiskey Introduces 3 Brothers Bourbon, a Six-Year, High-Rye, Three-Grain Bourbon Inspired by Family Traditions - Wine Industry Advisor
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This year, Salt Lake City natives Steven and Stephanie managed to snag tickets to the sold-out A Midwinter Night’s Dram release party at High West Distillery.
They’re big fans of the limited-release whiskey — High West’s Rendezvous Rye finished in a combination of port barrels — and buy a bottle every year. So they were excited to finally attend the party on Saturday, adorned in elaborate masks: one a gold Medusa, the other a horned woodland bird.
Every October, High West turns its distillery into an enchanted faerie forest, a nod to the whiskey’s namesake, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare.
Women in elaborate flower costumes wandered the area on stilts, an acrobat with long, orange locks towered on a swaying pillar and glittering fairies kept bubbles blowing in the night air.
The entrance to the distillery’s dining room — referred to as The Portal on the provided maps — was decorated with hanging, overgrown foliage. Stationed around the decks were party favors such as hand-painted portraits or lipstick readings, plus plenty of bars where attendees could taste the newly released dram.
A Midwinter Night’s Dram is made “to evoke the warmth and comfort of winter,” according to the distiller’s website, at 98.6 Proof to match the average human body temperature.
Act 14 is the latest release, finished in a combination of ruby port, tawny port and, new this year, Amontillado, Oloroso and PX Sherry barrels. The distillery described a base of vanilla, caramel and cinnamon with the rye whiskey, with plum and dried fruit from the port barrels and a little spice from the French oak barrels, all combined for the taste of “a proper Christmas plum pudding.”
Partygoers also got another surprise, teased by a riddle in the event invite.
“Shakespeare used me to let
thoughts run free,
Speaking alone for all to see.
Not a dialogue, not a plea,
What kind of speech could I be?”
The answer? Soliloquy, which was the name of an extra whiskey release at the event.
There were two types of Soliloquy bottles. Part 1 was finished in a ruby port barrel, and Part 2 in a tawny port barrel, which reflected the two finishing barrels used for A Midwinter Night’s Dram.
Only 150 bottles of each type of Soliloquy were produced, and attendees got to have the first purchase at the store, one per person.
Later in the evening, the party moved from the building out to “the nol” for “The Forest Festival,” led by a DJ with a soundtrack of the 2010s top hits.
Limited bottles of Act 14 are available to purchase for $124.99 online or at the High West Distillery while supplies last.
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Rich red-fruit notes and gentle smoke give blended Scotch a more contemporary character
Luxury in whisky does not always arrive in a heavy crystal tumbler or behind a velvet rope. Sometimes, it comes in the form of a deep ruby pour, with aromas of ripe berries, dark fruit and gentle smoke.
Johnnie Walker Black Ruby is a new permanent expression that takes blended Scotch in a richer, fruit-led direction. Built around red wine, Pedro Ximenez and oloroso sherry casks, alongside bourbon casks, it brings together layers of ripe fruit, spice and soft smoke.
The result is a whisky that feels indulgent without being overly formal, making it an interesting option for traditional whisky drinkers and those looking for something slightly different.
A more opulent profile
Black Ruby opens with raspberry preserve, black cherry, plum and honeyed vanilla. There are also notes of caramel, raisin, baking spice and dark chocolate, giving it a dessert-like quality without becoming overly sweet.
On the palate, raspberry, blackberry and cherry remain prominent, followed by fig, dried fruit and gentle spice. A subtle thread of smoke adds structure, while the finish brings together caramel, oak, pepper and lingering smokiness.
The fruit is generous but it does not overwhelm the whisky. Oak, spice and smoke provide enough contrast to keep the profile balanced and give the sweeter notes some depth.
Designed for modern sipping
Black Ruby can be enjoyed neat, particularly by drinkers who prefer softer, fruit-led spirits. A few drops of water open up the jammy fruit notes while bringing out more dried fruit, vanilla and gentle smoke.
Served over one large ice cube, the whisky takes on a more relaxed character while retaining its richness. It works as an after-dinner pour, an evening drink with friends or as part of a casual tasting.
Its profile also lends itself to cocktails. Black Ruby can add depth to a whisky sour, bring berry notes to an Old Fashioned or offer a fruitier base for a Negroni-style serve.
Jennifer English, Johnnie Walker’s global brand director, describes Black Ruby as a new direction for the brand’s Black Collection. The expression retains elements associated with Black Label while introducing a richer fruit profile designed with contemporary drinking occasions in mind.
A contemporary take on scotch
What makes Black Ruby interesting is the way it approaches Scotch without moving too far from its foundations.
It is not intended to replace a smoky or heavily peated whisky. Instead, it offers another route into the category, particularly for drinkers drawn to red fruit, spice and softer layers of smoke.
The expression also reflects the way whisky is increasingly being enjoyed beyond the traditional neat pour. Its fruit-led character gives bartenders more room to experiment, while its depth means it can still be appreciated on its own.
As part of the Malaysian launch, Johnnie Walker is working with bartenders and mixologists to explore Black Ruby through new serves and combinations. Signature cocktails, bar takeovers and curated experiences are planned at selected venues in the coming months, with further details to be shared through Johnnie Walker Malaysia’s official Instagram page.
For those who enjoy whisky with plenty of fruit and spice alongside its oak and smoke, Black Ruby offers a different way to approach blended Scotch. It is expressive without being overly heavy, with enough complexity to make a slower sip worthwhile.
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Tomatin whisky and Pedro Ximénez sherry: A match made in heaven for more than 100 years
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Tomatin and sherry have been intertwined for more than a century and that connection continues with the distillery's latest announcement. Cask No.37316 presents a 15-year-old whisky which has gently matured in a first-fill Pedro Ximénez sherry butt to develop a complex flavour profile.
The brand’s quintessential soft, fruit-led spirit deepens with layers of dark chocolate and warm spice, creating an elegant balance of distillery character and rich sherried style. Sherry has played a key part in Tomatin whisky for over 100 years with the distillery maturing its spirit in casks sourced from Jerez throughout its history. This 2011 single cask expression offers a unique chance to discover decades of experience in sherry maturation.
Expect notes of candied orange peel, berry compote and honey and vanilla sweetness on the nose, while the fruity spirit develops on the palate with flavours of rich dark chocolate, sultanas and tarte tatin with a long, lingering finish of baking spices.
Jamie Muir, distillery manager at Tomatin, said: "Sherry casks are woven into the Tomatin story and the flavours created in this whisky show exactly why we return to them time and time again. A first-fill Pedro Ximénez sherry butt is a bold cask to work with and the lengthy maturation has drawn out real richness and depth in our spirit without masking the soft, fruit-led Highland character Tomatin is known for. Our first-class wood policy means every cask is looked after with genuine care, and having our own cooperage on site lis a big part of that."
Gordon Hynd, UK sales director at Tomatin, added: "Specialist whisky retailers are where enthusiasts go to find something they won’t see anywhere else, and we wanted to give them a release that lives up to that. This single cask whisky has been created with their customers in mind, offering a limited Tomatin expression unlike anything else in our range.
The Tomatin 2011 single cask release which is limited to just 608 bottles has a RRP of £105 and an ABV of 58.8%
Island-grown barley brings something new
Two new offerings are now available from the Isle of Arran Distillers: the 10 Year Old Arran Barley Batch 002 and the fourth and final chapter of the limited-edition Signature Series, the Arran Single Malt Sherry Serenade.
The Arran Barley series has been born from the distillery’s partnership with Bellevue Farm, run by the Currie family for six generations. The 2026 Batch 002 release is the second in the Arran Barley range.
The use of island-grown barley adds an extra dimension. It has been produced using Concerto Barley and fully matured in first-fill Bourbon Barrels. Each edition is unique, with differences in barley varieties, harvest conditions, cask selection and available volumes, ensuring every release offers something new while remaining true to the signature style of Arran Single Malt.
Arran Barley Batch 002 is said to offer on the nose fresh herbs and bright citrus, balanced by soft vanilla sweetness and a hint of aniseed. The palate brings ginger biscuits and vanilla alongside citrus notes and a complex oily texture that adds depth and complexity to the creamy, fruity character, leading to a rich and warming finish with gentle aniseed and sweet spice.
Produced in limited quantities, it is uncoloured, non-chill-filtered and has an RRP of £62.99 and an ABV of 50%. The Arran Single Malt Sherry Serenade is a nine-year-old unpeated expression matured entirely in first-fill Oloroso, Pedro Ximénez and Amon-tillado sherry casks.
This is the fourth and final edition of Arran’s Signature Series and is described as a “full, intense, rich dram that offers layers of complex yet balanced sherry cask influence”. On the nose, it presents dried figs and dark raisins layered with nuts, polished oak and a touch of leather. The palate is full-bodied and velvety with treacle, toffee and chocolate-coated cherries. Arran Single Malt Sherry Serenade has an RRP of £84.99 and ABV of 50%.
Arran Single Malt Sherry Serenade has a RRP of £84.99 and an ABV of 50% ABV
Glenfiddich reimagines the concept of time
A stunningly-presented, three-piece collection from Glenfiddich is sure to catch the eye whisky lovers around the world. The "Time Reimagined Series" is said to explore time not as something measured but as something shaped. Each expression aims to redefines how time can be experienced, transforming years of quiet maturation into moments of remarkable depth, meaning, and presence.
Thirty years ago, Glenfiddich's Malt Master, Brian Kinsman, laid down the spirit with a clear vision for what it might become. Three decades of patient maturation later the result of his labours have been revealed. Reflecting on the release, Mr Kinsman explained the background to Glenfiddich 30 - Suspended Time. He said: "In whisky production, we often talk about the role of malt masters and it is our responsibility to find the delicate balance between the taste of the whisky and the intensity of the oak cask,
"But we do not always acknowledge how each cask, each bottle, is absolutely unique because of the time it has spent maturing. Both nature and time play huge roles in making whisky taste like it does and Glenfiddich’s Time Reimagined pays homage to this process and the exquisite liquid it helps to create."
Glenfiddich 30 is said to offer a nose of hearty oak married with sweet, subtle sherry notes. Meanwhile, the taste is of woody flavours interlaced with delicate floral accents, in a complex combination with a finish of warm, honeyed and exceptionally long-lasting.
The second part of the collection is the Glenfiddich 40 - Cumulative Time. This has been created through "remnant vatting". This a pioneering technique in which the Malt Master carries one batch forward and marries it with the casks chosen for every subsequent release. Only when the whisky reaches twenty‑one years is it considered worthy of further ageing.
Finally, completing the trio is Glendfiddich 50 - Simultaneous Time. This has been made using three different American Oak refill casks, all matured in the same warehouse, this expression sees them married together and finished in an American oak refill cask for two years.
Glenfiddich 30 Suspended Time has a RRP of @£875 and an ABV: 43%. Glenfiddich 40 - Cumulative Time has a RRP of @£3,400 and an ABV of 44.6%. Glenfiddich 50 Simultaneous Time has a RRP of £35,028.50 and an ABV of 43.8%
Google News（Scotch/Distillery）｜原題：The oldest Lagavulin cask ever headlines ‘The Twelve’ by Casks of Distinction - Robb Report Singapore
Diageo旗下Casks of Distinction每年推薦12個稀有原桶的「The Twelve」活動，今年的年度之作是Lagavulin 1991 Cask #1069，這是Lagavulin有史以來最老的原桶商品。該桶於1991年底裝桶，2007年轉移至Pedro Ximénez雪莉桶陳年，已超過35年，結合該酒廠標誌性的煙燻特色與乾果、甘草、焦橡木層次。買家可選擇在Royal Lochnagar再陳年最多5年，並獲邀到Islay Lagavulin酒廠體驗。
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The Lagavulin 1991 Cask #1069’s future owner may also choose to continue maturing the cask for up to five additional years at Royal Lochnagar
Earlier this month, some of the world’s most discerning whisky collectors gathered at Royal Lochnagar Distillery for the unveiling of ‘The Twelve’ by Casks of Distinction, Diageo’s annual presentation of 12 of its rarest and most exceptional casks. Since its creation in 2023, the programme allows clients to purchase whole casks of Scotch whisky from its portfolio of distilleries.
This year’s ‘Twelfth Cask’, the one whisky chosen each year to represent the pinnacle of rarity, craftsmanship and distillery character, is the Lagavulin 1991 Cask #1069, the oldest Lagavulin cask ever to be offered. Starting off as a spirit in both European and American oak refill casks in late 1991, it was transferred to a Pedro Ximénez-seasoned hogshead in 2007, resulting in a whisky of remarkable richness, balancing Lagavulin’s signature maritime smoke with layers of dried fruit, liquorice and charred oak.
“This is certainly one of the most special Lagavulin casks I have ever experienced,” said Stuart Morrison, the master blender. “After more than 35 years, it still has remarkable vitality. The PX maturation has added incredible depth without ever overshadowing the distillery’s character. It’s a whisky that reflects decades of patience, careful stewardship and the confidence to let time do what it does best.”
Currently under the watchful eye of Diageo’s whisky makers, Cask #1069’s future owner may choose to continue maturing the cask for up to five additional years at Royal Lochnagar. They will also be invited to Lagavulin Distillery on Islay for a bespoke experience, forging a lasting and meaningful connection with both the whisky’s origin story.
Featured photo by Laurence Howe
Google News（Scotch/Distillery）｜原題：Football legend Sir Kenny Dalglish celebrates his key life moments with release of rare Scotch whiskies - Northern Scot
Sir Kenny Dalglish celebrates his key life moments with release of rare Gordon & MacPhail Scotch whiskies
Whisky specialist Gordon & MacPhail has revealed the inaugural release of its unique series ‘Vintage Moments’ - celebrating five personal landmark moments selected by Scottish football legend Sir Kenny Dalglish.
It offers 15 box sets of five ultra-rare single malt Scotch whiskies distilled in years that correspond to Sir Kenny’s key life and remarkable career milestones.
Born in 1951 and regarded as one of the greatest strikers in post-war British football, Sir Kenny is one of Celtic, Liverpool and Scotland’s most admired figures, with a huge number of fans all around the world.
As curators and custodians of the oldest and rarest single malt Scotch whiskies, Gordon & MacPhail’s unique and irreplaceable stocks feature single malts from more than 100 Scottish distilleries matured in their own casks.
It is the only company in the world to possess single malts from every vintage from 1948 to the present day.
These whiskies are time capsules; liquid treasures of profound rarity, each shaped by decades of quiet maturation and the unwavering dedication of the family-owned business over four generations.
Sir Kenny was invited to choose five years over his lifetime that he wished to single out as landmark moments to be celebrated alongside the values that have shaped his life and career.
Each of these has been brought to life with a Gordon & MacPhail single malt distilled in the same year.
He said: “Selecting these single malts was a real privilege. I've been fortunate to experience some wonderful moments throughout my life and choosing just five years that meant the most wasn't easy.
“I'm looking forward to sharing the stories behind those choices and hope people enjoy discovering them as much as I enjoyed making the selection.”
His final selection included the following moments:
1951 - Everything starts with Dalmarnock and his parents. He said: “Everything has to start somewhere, and for me it started in Dalmarnock on March 4, 1951. I was lucky to grow up in a close family with parents who worked hard and gave us every opportunity. Looking back now, those early years shaped the values that stayed with me throughout my life, both in football and away from it.”
1967 - The Lisbon Lions showed a young player what was possible. Sir Kenny said: “Watching Celtic win the European Cup made every young player at the club believe anything was possible. I was fortunate enough to begin pre season with the first team that summer, and before long I had signed professionally. It felt like the beginning of a journey, although at the time I couldn’t have imagined where football would eventually take me.”
1974 - Marina and the most important decision of his life. He said: “I was lucky enough to win a few doubles during my football career, but the best double of all was marrying Marina on her birthday. It certainly made remembering our anniversary a bit easier. People often say that behind every successful man there’s a good woman. I don’t think that’s right. Marina has never been behind me. She’s always been beside me. Whatever football brought our way, we faced it together, and I couldn’t have asked for a better teammate.”
1977 - Leaving the comfort of Celtic to challenge himself. He said: “Leaving Celtic was one of the hardest decisions I ever made. The club had given me everything and I owed so much to Jock Stein, my teammates and the supporters. But football doesn’t wait for anyone and I felt it was the right time to challenge myself. Looking back now, joining Liverpool changed my life in ways I could never have imagined.”
1995 - Jack Walker’s belief in people and what a united group could achieve together. Sir Kenny said: “Winning the Premier League with Blackburn will always be a special memory. Jack Walker believed in the club, believed in the people around him and gave us every opportunity to succeed. We had a fantastic group of players and staff who worked tirelessly for one another. To win the title was an incredible achievement, and doing it at Anfield made for one of football’s more unusual stories.”
Sir Kenny visited Elgin in May 2026 for a personal tasting of various vintage single malt Scotch whiskies associated with his chosen years, selected and hand-drawn from Gordon & MacPhail’s cask library.
Each of Sir Kenny’s Vintage Moments single malts were bottled at cask strength and will only ever be tasted by a very small number of people in the world.
Those who secure one of the 15 sets for sale will also have an opportunity to meet Sir Kenny at a Vintage Moments event in November 2026.
Sir Kenny added: “It was fascinating to learn that spirit made at the same distillery during the same year, but put into two different types of casks, creates whiskies that can taste completely different.”
Following this tasting of his choice of favoured vintages resulted in the following selection: Gordon & MacPhail 1951 from Glen Grant Distillery; Gordon & MacPhail 1967 from Longmorn Distillery; Gordon & MacPhail 1974 from Strathisla Distillery; Gordon & MacPhail 1977 from Benromach Distillery and Gordon & MacPhail 1995 from Glentauchers Distillery
Stephen Rankin, Gordon & MacPhail director of prestige and fourth generation family member said: “It is a source of immense pride to be the only Scotch whisky company in the world to have stocks from every vintage going back as far as 1948.
“Many of these whiskies were laid down by grandfather, George Urquhart, who has been called ‘the father of single malt’.”
Sir Kenny Dalglish’s Vintage Moments by Gordon & MacPhail Whiskies box sets, each featuring five 70cl bottles of ultra-rare vintage single malts of exceptional quality brought to life from Gordon & MacPhail’s portfolio, are available for sale now.
Housed in a specially produced wooden box, these releases come with a book signed by Sir Kenny sharing his stories behind each personal Vintage Moment chosen.
Each of the 15 box sets will be numbered 1-15 and will have a unique fact about Sir Kenny making each box different.
Each of the bottles will be age statemented and individually named as follows: 1951: Debut Appearance; 1967: Into The Lion's Den; 1974: Teammates for Life; 1977: It's Not a Rehearsal and 1995: The Fairytale.
Google News（Scotch/Distillery）｜原題：Clydebuilt Unveils New Look and Three Single Malt Whiskies - The Whiskey Wash
獨立蘇格蘭威士忌裝瓶商 Clydebuilt 推出品牌新形象與更新產品線，推出三款新酒：Clydebuilt 10 Years Old Sherry Cask Matured（46% ABV，£45.99）、100 Proof 版本（57.1% ABV，£63.99）與限量款 Candlebrae Highland Single Malt（48% ABV，£55）。新包裝融入克萊德河地圖設計，採用輕量級瓶身與永續認證材料。母公司 Ardgowan Distillery 自 2025 年 6 月起開始自行蒸餾，並投資 £900 萬於威士忌原酒庫存。
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Independent Scotch whisky bottler Clydebuilt has today unveiled a new visual identity, refreshed packaging and an updated range of single malts. The launch introduces a two-strong core range of heavily sherried whiskies alongside one limited American oak-matured bottling, rolling out through specialist retail from today with prices starting at £45.99 ($60.79, ₹5,854).
The redesigned bottle is etched with a map of the River Clyde and its surrounding area. It is paired with foiled and embossed labelling, while the giftbox carries the same map alongside a range of premium finishes.
Sustainability shaped the project throughout, from a lightweight bottle to FSC-certified materials. The giftboxes were produced by McLaren Packaging, a local firm based in Inverclyde, and all labels were printed in Scotland’s central belt.
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Ardgowan Distillery, the brand home of Clydebuilt, has been distilling its own spirit since June 2025.
The company first launched the Clydebuilt range in 2019, bottling hand selected spirit distilled across Scotland. The brand was named in honour of the River Clyde’s famous shipbuilding heritage, where the ‘Clydebuilt’ classification once marked a vessel as a benchmark of quality and craftsmanship.
Whisky Maker Laura Davies, whose industry experience spans more than 14 years, oversaw the selection of every cask and developed all three expressions. Each whisky is bottled without chill filtration or added coloring.
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READ THE STORY“Clydebuilt gives me the freedom to select casks from across Scotland with real character and individuality,” Davies said. “We have more exciting plans already underway, but for now, we’re very proud of these three whiskies and the direction in which we’re taking Clydebuilt.”
The core range comprises the Clydebuilt 10 Years Old Sherry Cask Matured Single Malt (46% ABV; £45.99 / $62) and the Clydebuilt 10 Years Old 100 Proof Sherry Cask Matured Single Malt (57.1% ABV; £63.99 / $86). A limited release, the Clydebuilt 10 Years Old Candlebrae Single Malt (48% ABV; £55 / $74), completes the line-up.
The Sherry Cask Matured expression is a Speyside Single Malt, aged in a combination of traditional Sherry butts and European oak Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso hogsheads from the José y Miguel Martín bodega.
Its bolder counterpart, the 100 Proof, was laid down in the same combination of casks. It was bottled at 57.1% ABV in line with the historic British definition of 100 proof: the minimum strength at which gunpowder would still ignite.
Candlebrae is a Highland Single Malt matured for a decade in American oak casks. The name was created to signify its waxy qualities.
Ardgowan’s sales and marketing director David Keir added: “The refreshed branding gives Clydebuilt the premium presentation its whisky has long deserved. It’s a brand we’re proud to be building, and one we see growing further internationally in the years ahead.”
Ardgowan has continued to back the brand through a challenging period for the wider industry, investing £5m in mature malt whisky stocks in 2025 and committing a further £4m this year.
Bar Prince at The Balmoral in Edinburgh is launching a new cocktail menu this autumn, with ‘Mythical Legends’ taking inspiration from Scotland’s folklore and legendary creatures.
Overseen by Head Bartender Mattia Rovaris, the menu features cocktails created by the bar team and inspired by stories including unicorns, selkies, witches, dragons and the Loch Ness Monster.
Each cocktail has been developed by a different member of the Bar Prince mixology team, with highlights including ‘The Untamed One’, a tribute to the unicorn, made with Scottish vodka, coconut water, white chocolate, banana and lime leaf, and ‘Double Identity’, which explores the selkie’s connection to land and sea through coastal Scotch whisky, honey, citrus and warming spice.
Other serves include ‘Messy-Nessie’, a whisky highball drawing on the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, and ‘Fairy Queen’, a take on the Mai Tai featuring aged rum, roasted Brazil nuts and dark cacao.
The folklore theme continues through the menu itself, with bespoke illustrations bringing the characters behind the cocktails to life. Each menu has been handcrafted by Edinburgh-based Crawford Bookbinders using traditional bookbinding techniques.
A bespoke ‘Mythical Legends Scent Mist’ has also been created for the experience, combining notes of cedarwood, chamomile, sandalwood, Scots pine, citrus and warming spice.
Mattia Rovaris, Head Bartender at Bar Prince, said, “Building on the success of Connected Icons, Mythical Legends gave our team the opportunity to tell a new chapter of Scotland’s story through the lens of folklore. Each cocktail has been created by a different member of the bar team, making the menu a true collective of ideas, creativity and personal interpretation. Paired with bespoke illustrations and scent, we’ve created an experience that invites guests to discover something new with every serve.”
Google News（Scotch/Distillery）｜原題：Birmingham distiller fears for future after English whisky status - BBC
英國政府為英格蘭威士忌設立受保護地理標示（GI），規定必須使用100%麥芽大麥、銅製蒸餾器等條件。伯明翰首間持證威士忌蒸餾廠 Spirit of Birmingham 創辦人Anthony Dillon因採用不銹鋼蒸餾器，將無法使用「英格蘭單一麥芽威士忌」名稱，只能標示「英格蘭威士忌」或「單一麥芽威士忌」。Dillon認為規定過於嚴苛、不符威士忌多元製程，並指其無銅設計是永續作法，該廠計畫提出上訴。英格蘭威士忌公會則辯稱規格經5年、與26家蒸餾廠協商制定，銅接觸對風味至關重要。
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City whisky business under threat by rule change
- Published
The co-founder of Birmingham's first licensed whisky distillery says he fears for the future of his business after English whisky gained protected status.
Anthony Dillon, who runs Spirit of Birmingham in South Yardley with his sister, Joanie, said the new Geographical Indications (GIs) for English whisky could stop some producers describing their products as English single malt.
Protected status already applies to products including Cornish pasties, while campaigners are seeking similar protections for the Birmingham balti.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the status protects the reputation of English single malt whisky.
Under the UK government's GI classification confirmed last month, external, Malt English Whisky must be made using 100% malted barley, and the spirit must be batch distilled in a pot still, with sufficient copper contact in the vapour path.
Defra say it was developed by the industry and amended following consultations with objectors.
The department rejected claims the decision had been rushed.
"A public consultation gave anyone with an interest the chance to raise objections, and all were considered," a spokesperson said.
Spirit of Birmingham uses a stainless-steel still and Dillon said the rules mean the company will not be able to describe its product as single malt English whisky.
He told BBC Radio WM that every bottle produced by the distillery had been made without copper and described any move to retrofit copper equipment as "a backwards step".
He added: "We chose the sustainable approach, and by not using copper we eliminate toxic copper compounds in our waste products".
Protected whisky status would 'bring jobs'
Dillon was among seven objectors to the GI application and argued the rules were too restrictive and failed to reflect the diversity of English whisky-making.
In response, Defra said they could call their product 'English Whisky' or 'Single Malt Whisky', just not 'Single Malt English Whisky.'
The applicant, the English Whisky Guild said the GI had been developed over five years in consultation with 26 distilleries and Defra.
"We recognise not every producer will agree with every aspect of a GI specification," a spokesperson said.
The Guild said the requirement for copper contact was based on "well-established scientific evidence and industry understanding that copper plays an important role in shaping spirit character and flavour during distillation".
It added that the final specification was assessed and approved by Defra following consultation and consideration of the evidence received.
Defra said the protected status would bring "jobs, investment and pride to communities across the country".
On the announcement, Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said: "The UK is home to world-class whisky production, from grain to glass.
"Standing proudly alongside Scotch, Welsh and Irish whiskies, this new protected status is recognition of English Whisky's distinctive character alongside the expert craftsmanship that goes into its production."
Dillon said the company would appeal against the decision while it considers its future options.
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Whisky in Space to Study Microgravity Chemistry
Researchers from the University of Glasgow and Japan’s Kyushu Institute of Technology are preparing to send 10ml of whisky and a fragment of a cask into orbit aboard a small CubeSat satellite.
The project is scheduled to launch in 2028, with both samples expected to spend up to five years exposed to microgravity and rapidly changing temperatures in space.
An artificial “tongue” will be used to analyse the samples and track changes in their chemical composition throughout the experiment.
The researchers hope the study will provide insights into how ethanol can be extracted and produced in orbit, potentially contributing to future space-based chemical and biological manufacturing.
Whisky Could Unlock Space-Based Chemistry
Project lead Dr Gilles Bailet of the University of Glasgow said previous research had suggested that microgravity could allow larger and purer chemical crystals to be produced and proteins to fold in new ways.
However, questions remain about how chemistry can actually be carried out in space.
The researchers see whisky as a recognisable and well-understood model for examining biological and chemical processes under microgravity. The project will investigate how fermentation and chemical changes can be monitored and controlled, while also examining how ethanol could be produced in orbit.
The longer-term goal is to help scale up chemistry and biomanufacturing in space, potentially supporting the production of high-value pharmaceuticals and next-generation cancer treatments.
Students Help Build the Space Experiment
Seven final-year mechanical engineering students from the University of Glasgow are currently working in Japan to co-design the CubeSat system.
Their work includes developing elements such as the battery, radio and onboard computers. Their trip is supported by a grant from Stirling-based distillery design consultancy Allen Associates, along with support from University of Glasgow societies including GU Orbit.
The project also has a historical connection between Scotland and Japan. University of Glasgow student Micah Chapman highlighted the story of Masataka Taketsuru, a Japanese student who studied chemistry in Glasgow, visited Scottish distilleries and later became known as the father of Japanese whisky.
Whisky Has Been to Space Before
The upcoming experiment will not be the first time whisky has travelled into orbit.
In 2011, Islay-based Ardbeg Distillery sent samples of its single malt to the International Space Station to study how whisky matured in microgravity. The samples returned to Earth in 2015 and were reported to have a markedly different profile from whisky kept on Earth.
The new project will take a different approach by studying whisky and wood under microgravity and changing temperatures for an extended period.
The team has yet to confirm whether the whisky selected for the 2028 mission will be Japanese or Scotch whisky.
Google News（Scotch/Distillery）｜原題：India Halved Its Scotch Tariff, So Why Are Shelf Prices Falling by Less Than 10%? - The Whiskey Wash
英印貿易協議在7月將蘇格蘭威士忌進口關稅從150%降至75%，但印度各邦重新定價後，Johnnie Walker Black Label等商品的實際零售價只下跌6-15%。原因是關稅只是最終售價的三分之一，州政府的消費稅、增值稅與流通利潤佔大頭。以北方邦為例，Black Label從₹2,830下降至₹2,830（約台幣870元），僅8%的降幅。即使關稅減半，進口成本也只降30%，對終端消費者的實惠有限。
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From Saturday, a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label in Uttar Pradesh will cost ₹2,830 ($29/£22), about ₹250 less than it does today. The tariff on the Scotch inside it has been cut in half, but the price on the shelf will fall by about 8%.
The same gap is opening across India, where states repricing Scotch since the UK-India trade deal cut the duty from 150% to 75% in July have mostly taken between 6% and 15% off a bottle. A halved tariff was never going to mean half-price Scotch, because the duty is only one slice of what a bottle costs in India and the states control most of the rest. Even Diageo, which owns Johnnie Walker, forecast falls of only 7% to 9% across its imported Scotch before any bottle was repriced, according to Ambrosia India.
The saving starts shrinking at the border, before a bottle reaches any state’s tax collector.
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Halving the Scotch Tariff Cuts Import Costs by Less Than a Third
Customs duty is charged as a percentage of an import’s assessed value, so a bottle valued at ₹100 at the border used to carry ₹150 in duty, for a total of ₹250. At 75%, the same bottle costs ₹175 once duty is paid. The rate has been halved, but the duty-paid cost has fallen by 30%, not 50%.
The 50% figure describes the cut in the duty rate, not in the cost of a bottle or its shelf price.
State Taxes and Margins Make Up Most of the Price of Scotch in India
Alcohol in India is taxed by the states rather than the central government, and each state stacks its own excise duty, VAT and trade margins on top of the duty-paid cost. Delhi’s licensing terms for L-1F wholesalers have long required a cost card that separates the import value, customs duty, excise duty, VAT and the margins taken along the chain.
Every Kirkland Bourbon Ranked, From Worst to Best
READ THE STORYOn October 5, Delhi’s excise department told those wholesalers to apply for lower prices on qualifying UK-origin spirits, according to the Hindustan Times. The department says customs duty is a direct component of the formula it uses to set a maximum retail price, so each application must include a revised cost card, a recent Bill of Entry and the reference number of a certified Origin Declaration.
Working backwards from the Uttar Pradesh prices, the customs-inclusive cost of a bottle was probably close to a third of its shelf price before the deal. On that weighting, a 30% cut in import costs was only ever going to take about a tenth off the price a drinker pays, which is in line with Diageo’s forecast.
Why Scotch Prices Vary Across India
The rest of the Johnnie Walker range in Uttar Pradesh is being repriced on the same day as Black Label, according to the Times of India. Red Label drops from ₹1,910 ($20/£15) to ₹1,740 ($18/£14), roughly 9%, while Blue Label moves from ₹15,400 ($160/£121) to ₹14,460 ($150/£114), a reduction of just over 6%.
Because each state sets its own taxes and margins, the same tariff cut produces different results from one state to the next. In the states that have already repriced, which include Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Goa and Uttar Pradesh, J&B has reportedly dropped from about ₹2,300 ($24/£18) to ₹1,700 ($18/£13), a cut of roughly 26%. Any cut that large has to be paid for beyond the tariff, either by a state lowering its own taxes or by a brand or distributor accepting a thinner margin.
Bottles already in Indian warehouses and shops were cleared under the old 150% duty, and Delhi officials have said lower prices may have to wait until that stock sells through or be handled separately. The capital’s wider excise policy is also under review, and Indian business press reports have noted that any rise in state duty or retail margins could absorb part of the federal saving.
What a 10% Cut Means for Scotch in India
India already took the equivalent of 220 million 70cl bottles of Scotch in 2025, up 15% on the year, making it the category’s largest export market by volume, according to the Scotch Whisky Association’s 2025 export figures. Yet the association estimates that Scotch holds only about 3% of India’s whisky market, and much of the whisky it ships there travels in bulk to be blended into Indian-made brands. Officials quoted by the Press Trust of India suggested that brands bottled in India, including Black Dog, 100 Pipers and Vat 69, could fall by ₹100 to ₹150 ($1 to $1.50/£0.80 to £1.20) a bottle in Delhi.
Imported Scotch is also competing with a domestic single malt industry that is still adding capacity. The Malt Whisky Yearbook 2026 describes the Indian whisky market as “thriving” and records Piccadily, the producer of Indri, raising capacity from 4 million to 5.1 million liters of alcohol, while John Distilleries, maker of Paul John, has taken its malt capacity to 3 million liters. Amrut, which the yearbook credits with starting Indian single malt, launched its first bottling in 2004.
What the Scotch Tariff Cut Means for Drinkers and Distillers
For Indian drinkers, the trade deal has made Scotch cheaper without making it cheap. A bottle of Black Label will still cost more than ₹2,800 ($29/£22) in Uttar Pradesh, and the next scheduled cut, to 40% in the agreement’s tenth year, would take only about another 5% off the shelf price on the same rough arithmetic.
That leaves the real lever with India’s states rather than with trade negotiators. A state that trims its own excise or accepts lower margins can deliver the kind of cut J&B has seen, while a state that raises its duty, as Delhi’s policy review could, can quietly absorb the saving altogether.
For Scotch producers, the bigger prize may lie away from the premium shelf. If the lower duty also reaches the bulk whisky shipped for Indian-made blends, it could touch far more drinkers than a few hundred rupees off a bottle of Blue Label.
The tariff was halved by negotiators in London and New Delhi, but the price of a bottle of Scotch in India will be settled state by state, by excise officials.
Currency conversions use mid-market rates on October 6, 2026, and the figures have been rounded.
Google News（Scotch/Distillery）｜原題：Whisky to be distilled in space, Scottish school appoints AI literacy teacher - Tech Digest
蘇格蘭和日本的工程師計劃在 2028 年發射火箭，將威士忌樣本和基底成分送上太空進行為期五年的軌道任務。這項實驗首次在太空中蒸餾威士忌，希望透過每 90 分鐘繞地球一圈時經歷的極端溫度變化（酷熱與極凍交替），加速威士忌的熟成過程。同時，蘇格蘭東倫弗魯郡的 Mearns Castle High School 成為英國首間任命專職 AI 素養教師的學校，專責幫助師生理解這項新科技的風險與好處。
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Whisky to be distilled in space, Scottish school appoints AI literacy teacher
Whisky is to be distilled in space for the first time as part of an experiment which will also measure how the spirit ages in the environment beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Engineers in Scotland and Japan plan to launch a rocket in 2028, sending a satellite containing samples of the alcohol and its base ingredients on a five-year mission to orbit Earth. It is hoped the frequent changes between extreme heat and freezing cold experienced by the whisky as it rotates the planet every 90 minutes could speed up the maturation process. Sky News
Britain has launched a security review after the developer of ChatGPT warned that one of its AI bots had gone rogue and made an “unsanctioned” attempt to access official UK data. OpenAI confirmed to Whitehall officials that one of its out-of-control bots swooped on publicly available government data in an incident this year. A government spokesman insisted that the UK’s cyber defences were not breached and that no personal data was accessed. Telegraph
Some teenagers are already using artificial intelligence to tackle homework, revise for exams and sharpen coursework. Others are steering clear of it completely. At one Scottish school, staff have decided that pretending AI doesn’t exist is not an option. Mearns Castle High School in East Renfrewshire is believed to be the first school in the UK to appoint a dedicated principal teacher of AI literacy, creating a role focused entirely on helping pupils and staff understand the risks and benefits of the powerful new technology. BBC
Nvidia’s $20bn licensing deal with Groq fleeced employees who were left out of the transaction, according to a lawsuit filed by two engineers who owned shares in the start-up. The legal complaint filed on Friday in a Delaware corporate law court alleges that Groq’s board improperly sold the company’s core assets and top employees to the $5tn tech titan in 2025, consigning those left behind to a hollowed-out shell. FT.com
Back in August, Google Australia accidentally revealed an upcoming Fitbit device in official promo images during the Pixel 11 series launch. Now, a new report has revealed the design and key features of the product, which is said to be called the Fitbit Edge. The report claims that Google will unveil the Fitbit Edge later this month, positioning it between the Fitbit Air and Pixel Watch 5.
According to the report, the Fitbit Edge will succeed the Fitbit Charge and feature an oval touchscreen, GPS, and up to 7 days of battery life. GSM Arena
The preprint database arXiv has been forced to limit paper submissions to stem a vast and quickening flood of AI-generated papers. Academics tell New Scientist that the massive influx of AI-generated papers is threatening to overwhelm the database and render it useless. ArXiv offers a place for academics to host papers that haven’t yet been peer-reviewed or published in reputable journals. This gives colleagues a chance to keep up to date with what’s ahead in fields as diverse as physics, astronomy and economics. New Scientist
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Whisky hinders control state spirits sales
By Nicola CarruthersSales of spirits in control states continued to decline in August with double-digit drops for Canadian whisky, Scotch and brandy.
Total spirits sales across all 18 control states in the US were down by 3% in volume according to the latest monthly data from National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA).
Value-wise, spirits sales decreased by 5.5%.
The biggest volume decreases in August came from brandy/Cognac (down by 11.4%), Canadian whisky (down by 12.7%), other imported spirits (down by 10.5%) and Scotch (down by 9.9%).
In terms of value, other imported spirits saw the biggest fall, down by 21.4%. It was followed by Canadian whisky (down by 14.6%), Scotch (down by 9.7%) and brandy/Cognac (down by 9.6%).
Cachaça (from a small base) and ‘cocktails’, which includes ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, were the only segments in growth. Cachaça grew by 15.3% in volume and by 12.6% in value.
Meanwhile, the cocktails segment was up by 12.4% in volume and by 8.4% in value.
Irish whiskey was stagnant at 0.2% volume growth in August, but value dipped by 1.7%.
Tequila also reported flat volume (down 0.3%) and value decreased by 4.2%.
American whiskey also struggled in August, falling by 7.3% in volume terms and by 6.8% in value. Vodka saw a 3% volume decline and a value drop of 4.6%.
In the on-premise, total spirits sales across control states fell by 1.6% in volume and by 4.4% in value.
In the 12 months to August 2026, on-premise spirits sales saw a slight uptick of 0.5% on volume but fell by 1.8%.
Over the same year-long period, total spirits sales across all 18 control states were down by 0.8% in volume and by 2.8% in value.
The NABCA noted that August sales in West Virginia (up 11.1% in volume) were supported by the start of the college football season.
New Hampshire (up 10.3%) saw a boost from continued promotional activity.
While Michigan benefitted from three additional selling days, total spirits sales in August were down by 2.4% in volume and 3.8% in value.
In July, Scotch and Tequila sales increased across control states, the NABCA revealed.
Related news
Canadian whisky slumps in US control states
SCOTCH whisky bottler Clydebuilt has unveiled its new visual identity, refreshed packaging and updated range of single malts.
The new design features a bottle etched with a map of the River Clyde and its surrounding area, paired with foiled and embossed labelling, and a gift box carrying the same map alongside a range of ‘premium’ finishes.
Sustainability is said to have shaped the project throughout, from a lightweight bottle to FSC-certified materials. The gift boxes were produced by local business McLaren Packaging, and all labels printed in Scotland’s central belt.
Ardgowan Distillery, the brand home of Clydebuilt, has been distilling its own spirit since June 2025, six years after the company first launched the Clydebuilt range in 2019. The brand was named in honour of the River Clyde’s shipbuilding heritage, where the ‘Clydebuilt’ classification once marked a vessel as a benchmark of quality and craftsmanship.
The Clydebuilt range launches with an ongoing core range of two heavily sherried single malt Scotch whiskies, plus one limited release American oak matured bottling:
- Clydebuilt 10 Years Old Sherry Cask Matured Single Malt
- Clydebuilt 10 Years Old 100 Proof Sherry Cask Matured Single Malt
- Clydebuilt 10 Years Old Candlebrae Single Malt
Whisky maker Laura Davies oversaw the selection of every cask used and developed all three expressions. She said, “Clydebuilt gives me the freedom to select casks from across Scotland with real character and individuality. These three expressions each offer something unique, from the depth of the sherry maturation and the elevated strength of 100 proof whisky to the softer, waxy sweetness of Candlebrae.
“Bottling them without colour or chill filtration lets that character come through honestly. We have more exciting plans already underway, but for now, we’re very proud of these three whiskies and the direction in which we’re taking Clydebuilt.”
Adgowan’s sales & marketing director, David Keir, added, “The refreshed branding gives Clydebuilt the premium presentation its whisky has long deserved. The eye catching design brings greater clarity and confidence to the range, while the map of the Clyde links every bottle to the place it was created. We believe this refined offering will resonate with drinkers well beyond Scotland and the wider UK. It’s a brand we’re proud to be building, and one we see growing further internationally in the years ahead.”
Google News（Scotch/Distillery）｜原題：A Dram with Paddy Fletcher - City AM
Port of Leith Distillery創辦人Paddy Fletcher與Ian Stirling於2023年打造蘇格蘭首座九層垂直蒸餾廠，投資£15m，位於愛丁堡市中心東北方2英里。與傳統高地酒廠不同，該廠去年已吸引10萬訪客。公司旗下推出Table Whisky單一穀物威士忌（2023年上市，現有罐裝版），並於8月開設Whisky Quay酒吧。單一麥芽威士忌預計2027年10月上市。Paddy認為蘇格蘭威士忌擁有300年工業遺產與完美供應鏈，將在非洲等成長市場迎來機會。
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A Dram with Paddy Fletcher
Instead of erecting yet another Highland whisky ’shed’, Paddy Fletcher and Ian Stirling hit the scene with their dramatic, vertical Port of Leith distillery in 2023. This restless pair have also embraced gin, Scotch RTDs and launched a new whisky bar as Ian Fraser discovers …
Despite developing an early taste for Tè Bheag, the blended Scotch bottled by the late Sir Ian Noble on Skye, Paddy Fletcher spent the first 15 years of his career in journalism, accountancy, housebuilding and technology startups. It wasn’t until his mid-thirties that he ventured North to co-found Port of Leith Distillery with school friend Ian Stirling.
On leaving Durham University with an economics degree, Paddy became a reporter at Risk Magazine, where he wrote about the alphabet soup of financial instruments – RMBS, CDO, CDO2, CDS – which three years later triggered the 2008 financial crash. He quit journalism and, following an MSc in economic history at the London School of Economics, joined the accountancy firm BDO. “That was a bit like doing an MBA, but being paid to do it,” says Paddy.
When he and Ian were sharing a flat in London, they began getting seriously into Scotch, initially as hobbyists. They attended tastings and even built a whisky still in their back garden.
“What frustrated us at the time was all the interesting and innovative things in whisky seemed to be happening in Tasmania, Sweden, and Brooklyn – not in Scotland”. Even as they vowed to do something to address this, Paddy’s next career move was to ride-hailing app Hailo. Having raised £120m from investors, the app was being rolled out internationally. “Everything was on fire… My main job was to work out when we were going to run out of cash”.
The pair were hatching a plan to build a Scotch whisky distillery as Paddy moved between London-based finance roles with startups including YPlan and WeWork, while Ian was working in retail and international sales at Kensington-based wine merchants Robeson Wine.
They revisited their maths and double-checked their sums after a meeting with Mark Reynier, fresh from the £58m sale of Bruichladdich, who somewhat brutally told them: “Everything you know about whisky is wrong, you’ve got no idea what you’re doing and this business plan’s a joke.”
The whisky business
Paddy has been able to apply some of the lessons he had learned in tech startups to the whisky business. “Seeing startups from the inside meant I could watch where the mistakes were being made – and work out how to avoid them.”
Soon afterwards they set up Muckle Brig Ltd to launch their distillery, and signed a lease on a one-third-of-an-acre site overlooking Leith Docks’ Western Harbour and the Royal Yacht Britannia. But they soon realised they’d have to buy the plot to have credibility with investors.
So why did they choose such a restricted site, where building a distillery was almost certain to be difficult and expensive?
“The whole point was that everyone was building sheds in the Highlands [as whisky distilleries] but that’s a me-too product. If you’re playing in the Scotch whisky game, you’re playing against 800lb gorilla organisations with legacy, heritage, tradition, stock, consumers – none of which you can chip away at.”
They decided that having a ‘vertical’ distillery, just two-miles north-east of Edinburgh’s city centre, would give them sufficient ‘Wow!’ factor to stand out from the crowd. They were also attracted by Leith’s historical role as a whisky-industry hub and growing reputation as a cool and edgy neighbourhood.
Buying the land, constructing the nine-storey tower, and purchasing the distilling equipment came to £15m – more than envisaged. However, it seems to be working. Even though it still lacks a single malt, the Port of Leith Distillery had 100,000 visitors through the door last year.
Paddy Fletcher explains that the Port of Leith Distillery brand has been reserved for their single malt (due to launch in October 2027), while other products come under Muckle Brig subsidiaries Leith Bond (independent bottlers) and Lind & Lime (a gin brand launched in 2018).
He says Fraser Thornton, the former Burn Stewart MD who joined Muckle Brig as a non-exec in 2022, and became its chairman in 2025, has been an invaluable sounding board. “He latched onto the enthusiasm that Ian and I had for the category, and for what we were trying to do, and helped ensure we don’t do dumb things.”
Table Whisky
To generate revenue before the single malt hits the shelves, Muckle Brig has launched Table Whisky, an innovative single-grain whisky. “Ian and I were always joking that we stole lots of things from the wine industry. And we thought there’s ‘table wine’ – why isn’t there ‘table whisky’ – something you can drop on the table and share?”
He credits ex-colleague Sam Travers, now at Compass Box, with making it happen. “Sam found that putting single grain whisky from the North British distillery into new American oak and sherry casks, creates something which is quite smooth with a hint of prickliness. It was a genuine Eureka moment for us.”
Paddy says the product’s joys, available since 2023 in wine-like bottles and since July in 100ml cans, include its broad appeal and ability to draw in those who claim to eschew whisky. In August, Muckle Brig cemented its reputation for innovation by launching a whisky bar in Edinburgh’s old town – Whisky Quay.
As we savour our table whiskies and admire the panoramic views of the Firth of Forth, Paddy reflects on the challenges facing the sector, which has lately been buffeted by overstocking, reduced production, and geopolitical and energy-price shocks such as Donald Trump’s war on Iran.
Even so, in the long-term, he sees a rosy future for the sector. “I believe that Scotch whisky is the best industry in the world. First, you’ve got barley, which has the perfect chemical structure to create flavour. Then you’ve got 300 years of industrial heritage, which means you can launch a whisky distillery and have immediate access to all parts of the supply chain and associated expertise. Then there’s the Scottish climate, which is really conducive to the production of Scotch whisky.”
On the demand side, he strongly believes that parts of the world with large and growing populations of people aged under 30, and which lack locally-produced alternatives to Scotch – including sub-Saharan Africa – are going to offer fantastic opportunities for growth.
Ian Fraser is a financial journalist, a former business editor of Sunday Times Scotland, and author of Shredded: Inside RBS The Bank That Broke Britain. This content has been produced in collaboration with WhiskyInvestDirect, the Scotch whisky trading platform for distillers, independent bottlers, and private investors.
Ardgowan Distillery Co has rebranded and updated the namesake scotch whisky portfolio of its bottling business, Clydebuilt.
As part of the refresh, unveiled this week, an etched map of the distillery’s location has been added to each bottle, alongside new labels and giftboxes (above). The new packs will begin rolling out through the ‘specialist retail channel’ from today (6 October), Ardgowan said.
Alongside new packaging, Ardgowan has slimmed the Clydebuilt range down to two core SKUs – Sherry Cask Matured Single Malt and 100 Proof Sherry Cask Matured Single Malt, both of which are ten years old – and a limited-edition release, ten-year-old Candlebrae Single Malt. The trio carry SRPs of GBP45.99 (US$60.79), GBP63.99 and GBP55, respectively.
Founded in 2017, Ardgowan launched Clydebuilt in 2019 to produce single cask bottlings from other distilleries while the company waits for its own, namesake single malt to mature. The company said it invested GBP5m in mature malt whisky stocks in 2025 and projects it will spend an additional GBP4m this year.
“The refreshed branding gives Clydebuilt the premium presentation its whisky has long deserved,” said Ardgowan’s sales & marketing director, David Keir. “The eye-catching design brings greater clarity and confidence to the range, while the map of the Clyde links every bottle to the place it was created.
“It’s a brand we’re proud to be building, and one we see growing further internationally in the years ahead.”
Earlier this year, Ardgowan revealed it had converted some of its loan notes into cash and secured “substantial new funding” to allow “ongoing operations” to be supported.
Google News（Whisky 綜合）｜原題：Downtown Yakima drink stops range from whiskey to boba - Yakima Herald-Republic
美國華盛頓州雅基馬市中心新開設飲品酒吧。Once or Twice Bar 位於具有百年歷史的老北雅基馬區，原址為 1909 年的悉尼飯店，現以威士忌、龍舌蘭酒和手工調酒為主打，保留歷史建築風格。另外還有 & Tea. 珍奶店提供黑糖珍奶、水果茶等飲品。兩間酒吧反映當地復興歷史街區的努力。
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Downtown Yakima offers plenty of places to stop for a drink, whether that means a carefully made cocktail in a historic Front Street building or a colorful boba tea along Yakima Avenue.
Once or Twice Bar
Once or Twice Bar brings cocktails, whiskey and a little bit of old Yakima atmosphere to one of downtown’s most historic streets.
Located at 31 N. Front St. in the Old North Yakima Historic District, the bar occupies a building with roots stretching back more than a century.
Owners Will Kostas, Lauren Bailey, Nathaniel Seeger and Garrett Remy bring more than 40 years of combined hospitality experience to the business. The group was drawn to Front Street in part because of its history.
“We fell in love with the space as soon as we saw it,” Bailey said. “We’ve had such nostalgic and warm responses to opening a bar on this street. Many locals who grew up here have shared their stories of great establishments that were once here on Front Street. We want to bring that energy back.”
The building originally housed the Sydney Hotel, built in 1909 for Julia Hess Miller, a hotel and saloon proprietor. The surrounding neighborhood once included hotels, saloons and gambling halls, with the Northern Pacific Railway depot across the street.
That history helped shape the bar’s design. A custom walnut bar top and 10-foot arched back bar, made with help from local fabricator Nate Monick of Atlas and Cedar, anchor the space.
The menu includes house and classic cocktails, draft and packaged beer, wine and nonalcoholic drinks, along with an extensive selection of whiskey and mezcal. A limited food menu is also available.
Once or Twice Bar is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. The bar is open to guests 21 and older. Follow @onceortwicebar on Instagram for more information.
& Tea.
Open since April 2022, & Tea. at 123 E. Yakima Ave. in downtown Yakima is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Large front windows give passersby a view inside and showcase colorful displays of the shop’s boba tea drinks, including options such as mixed berry and cheese tea with coconut jelly.
Brown sugar boba milk tea is among the shop’s popular choices. The boba is marinated in brown sugar for at least two hours, giving the drink a sweeter flavor.
Fruit teas with jellies are another popular option. The classic fruit tea includes freshly cut apple and lime slices.
Find & Tea. on Instagram at @teayakima.
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