Guest Blogger

Distillery Focus: Tomatin (Part 2)

Here is the promised tasting from the Tomatin Distillery Focus feature. Myself and Chris sampled three different Tomatins (continuing the EWB policy of not relying on a single nose wherever possible), and our tasting notes and thoughts are presented below.
12 Years Old
Nose: I went for violets and refresher sweets (apologies if our foreign readers haven’t [...]

Why exactly is Smokehead so dear?

As I would imagine somebody will be quick enough to point out, this isn’t really a post with a point. It’s more of a musing, maybe a push for some discussion. I was looking at the price of Smokehead 18 year old yesterday and was struck by just how expensive it really is. In case [...]

Distillery Focus

Hello, Euan here. Some readers blessed with a good memory may remember my name from a few previous posts that I’ve made here and hopefully you will be seeing a little bit more of me in the future.
Anyway, I’m here to introduce you to a new (and all things going to plan, regular) feature I’ll [...]

Chinaski’s. By Euan.

So if you have ever spent some time in Glasgow and ventured out on the town on a number of occasions then the chances are (depending on your age, taste in music and level of drunkenness) you will have come across The Garage. A multi-storied den of white spirits and dodgy dancing, it is probably [...]

Euan brings news (and whisky) from Isle of Arran!

Our dedicated co-editor and field reporter, Euan, visited Isle of Arran distillery (once again) and brought us a handful of news, tips and opinions:
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So as I found myself on the Isle of Arran once again (every year since my entrance into the world) I thought I would head on up to the distillery. Now I [...]

Joe’s Whisky Experience

A long overdue report of Joe’s visit to The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh after the massive £3m revamp… was it worth it?
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In general my whisky experience CV does not read well at all. Between pouring an entire glass full of Laphroaig when my dad invited me for a whisky at the tender age of [...]

Last Day on Islay - Boo!

My final day of what has been a revelatory trip to Islay. The day got off to a relaxed start with a full continental breakfast (thank you James) and a quick clean up. I felt like such a freeloader that the least I could do was stack the dishwasher and clean the table! I reluctantly left [...]

Paula on Islay: Day 3

A pretty good night’s sleep- got woken briefly by the malt lorries at 6am. Shot down to Port Ellen to get cash (again) and a thank-you present for the staff and returned to find I’d missed the morning tour - typical! Now, what to do first…Islay Ales beer festival or Bowmore open day? Where’s that map…?
Couldn’t [...]

Paula on Islay: Day 2

Paula’s Islay adventure travelogue continues today and makes our mouths water on this sunny afternoon.
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Last night was a bit miserable - cold & damp but a healthy dose of Black Bottle 10yr soon helped put matters right.
It’s 8am and I’m lying on my airbed (yes, I am a camping wuss) watching the rollers breaking on [...]

The Great Islay Adventure: Part One

Today we have a real treat for you. The first part of an amazing travelogue by our guest blogger, representative, ambasador and, above all, a great friend… the one an only, unstoppable, unpredictable, unbelievable - Miss Paula Arthur!
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The adventure began at 12am, Monday 25th May 2009. I’d had 3hrs sleep so it took me until [...]