You have to feel some pity for Kavalan’s master distiller in Taiwan. The island, off mainland China, is subtropical with high temperatures and humidity, occasional typhoons and a cold winter that lasts about four weeks at best. If ever a whisky environment can be far from Scotland, this is it. Angels just don’t want a…
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It’s been a long time coming thanks to Covid and local opposition, but English Spirit’s new distillery in Cornwall is about to open. This isn’t just a case of increasing quantity, but in taking English rum to places it has never gone before. Like a kid let loose with a Christmas chemistry set, master distiller…
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What’s it like being the hottest ticket in town? Just ask London’s Bimber Distillery. They laid their first casks down on the 26th May 2016 and went on to release their inaugural single malt whisky three years later in September of 2019. The limited release of 1,000 hand numbered bottles sold out in 3 hours, and…
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From the big players such as Diageo to the small independents, spirit manufacturers are seeing low-to-no alcoholic spirits as being here for the long haul. But there is a major problem with all of them – it’s not like drinking the real thing. People have been enjoying purposely fermented drinks for at least 9,000 years….
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Matt Hunt was a pilot for Flybe; being a commercial pilot was all that he ever wanted to be. For wife Rebecca, along with caring for two small children, Matt’s varying hours made it impossible for her to find work. But she knew how much Matt loved to fly, what pinning on those gold wings…
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Pity those who toil in producing a low-to-no alcohol spirit. Shunned by guilds, ignored by pub buyers and placed higgledy-piggledy by supermarket shelf stackers, there’s no wonder consumers are confused by what low-to-no is all about. Part of the problem, however, has been that the makers of low-to-no seem to have forgotten in their quest…
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We have all seen lists of brand ratings and worth. The top 15 spirit companies, worlds most valuable drink companies and so on. The thought must cross your mind, no matter if you are the largest distiller or the smallest – what is the value of my brand? Does it matter? In one word –…
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Jake Sharpe is not who you’re expecting when you meet the Whisky Baron. To be fair, that’s not what he calls himself, it’s the name of his whisky bottling company. But when you look at The Whisky Baron’s label, back at Sharpe, then back at the bottle and it is hard not to think there…
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Once the only thing that mattered was the liquid inside the bottle – not the bottle itself. While some of the big players had distinct bottles, nothing stood out unless you consider that tall, now dust-covered bottle of Galliano on the back of the pub shelf, once used for making 1970s classic Harvey Wallbangers. But…
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While you would think that the real money in crime is found in illegal drugs, criminals make more money through fraudulent food. And, part of food fraud involves spirits, wine and even beer. When most of us think of illegal spirits, what springs to mind are stories we see in the tabloids, such as a…
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