These cold dreary winter months remind us why we as a nation adopted whisky as the national drink of choice. The thought of sitting by a warm fire with a wee dram in hand to soothe and heat you inside and out is the ultimate treat. And with the festive season fast approaching, a bottle of the smooth golden liquid would be a fantastic addition for the family shelf over the holidays. Here we have lined up some of the finest examples of whisky on the market from around the country.

Keys Bar

A family pub since 1979, the Gordon family have gone from strength to strength priding themselves on outstanding service, a vast selection of products and a fantastic atmosphere, they are the only true independent family run local traditional bar in St. Andrews.

The Herald:

Claire and her amazing team at The keys Bar have just been awarded “Best Whisky Bar in Scotland 2017” recently at the Scottish Bar and Pub awards, this on the back of their “Best Pub Of The Year” in 2014.

With over 300 Malt whiskies for customers to choose from, there is a whisky for everyone, anything from malt of the moment to scarce 30 year olds whiskies, they have them all. if you’re not sure about malt whiskies or any of the products then we will give out wee samples to let you try before you buy and now have over 60 gins to give the whiskies a run for their money as well as a great selection of Scottish Beers and Spirits.

The Herald:

The Keys pride themselves in keeping their prices competitive.

Toasties, Steak and Gravy Pies, selection of Teas and coffees available 7 days a week.

Fun Dominoes competition on Tuesday Nights, Quiz nights and Darts.

The Keys love anything St. Andrews related whether it be golf, restaurants, or just places to visit we love to spread our love. Come find out for yourself why this has gained the reputation that it has #keysbarfamily.

twitter:@bar_keys

Website: keysbar.co.uk

Facebook: Claire nicoll (keys bar)

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Usquabae

Scotland is associated with many things. The most notable for many around the world is with whisky. Usquabae Whisky bar opened its doors during a time when whisky was experiencing an unprecedented in popularity unlike any other in the drinks industry. So much so that Scottish whisky has been outperforming investments such as gold and oil in recent years.

The Herald:

When you step foot into Usquabae you find a golden haven for a whisky lover, a back bar of over 450 whiskies that a panoramic selfie would struggle to cover.

A team of bartenders whose passion for the spirit welcome those who are looking to dram their way through the heritage of whisky. Whether it’s humble roots from grain to bottle or sampling vintage whisky Usquabae offers a tasting experience unlike any other. From formal tastings to a relaxed and casual evening of sipping whisky, it really is a destination bar.

The Herald:

Sitting alongside the incredulous selection, the drams are accompanied by a fine selection of beer and locally sourced and freshly prepared produce. The highlights being the hand cut selection of steaks and daily delivered fish. Rather than the usual wine accompaniment you will be asked what kind of whisky you would like to have with your food. This more unique pairing that shares locally craft whisky and local produce results in a wide range of distinctive matches. Usquabae is definitely a must visit experience for those visiting Edinburgh who are looking to sample Scotland’s finest contribution to the world.

Website:www.usquabae.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/usquabaebar

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The Islay Boys

The Islay Boys, MacKay Smith and Donald MacKenzie, hail from the Rhinns peninsula of Scotland’s most famous whisky isle, Islay. Like their Viking and Celtic forefathers, they are born adventurers and have travelled the four corners of the globe – from New York and Paris to the spice fields of Zanzibar.

They have taken their experiences and blended them with the tradition of home, creating whiskies to be enjoyed with friends and family.

The Herald:

Their Flatnöse Blended Scotch Whisky is a rich, full-flavoured blend, with hints of pepper and smoke, bottled at a higher strength of 43%, and it is un-chillfiltered, like much more expensive whiskies, for more flavour and a longer lasting finish. Its big brother, the Flatnöse Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is an all-malt, lightly peated whisky, bottled at 46% and unchill-filtered of course. The award winning Flatnöse range takes its name from Ketill Flatnose, a Viking warrior and self-styled ‘King of the Isles’ of the late 9th century. They recently launched their Bårelegs Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, from one of Islay’s most famous distilleries, with a frank peatiness and yet also a gentle sweet finish. It takes its name from Magnus Barelegs, a Viking King of Norway of the 11th century, so-called because he adopted the Highland kilt when in Scotland to oversee his domain!

The Herald:

Their whiskies are widely available on Islay, in various whisky shops and bars and also on the Master of Malt online shop, as well as via the Islay Boys website.

Visit www.islayboys.com for more.

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Gaelic Whiskies

Pràban na Linne, producers of The Gaelic Whiskies, is a small niche whisky company on the Isle of Skye. Founded in 1976, by the Scottish entrepreneur Sir Iain Noble, The Gaelic Whiskies were initially developed to provide authentic whiskies for the Gaelic speaking Islands of the Hebrides. The premium range was designed and developed with the names of the whiskies reflecting the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of Scottish Gaelic. Focusing on quality, they have gained an international recognition and are widely respected by discerning connoisseurs.

The Herald:

Tè Bheag, the original flagship whisky of the company, is the colloquial and affectionate expression used in Gaelic when requesting “a wee dram”! Poit Dhubh, named after the Gaelic term for an illicit still, celebrates the illustrious tradition of illicit whisky making and the skills of the enterprising smugglers which earned them a legendary reputation throughout the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. MacNaMara signifies in Gaelic “the Son of the Sea”, echoing the ancient maritime tradition of the Hebridean Islands of Scotland and their historic association with the Celtic Sea Kingdom.

The Herald:

In keeping with the best of whisky-making traditions, the Gaelic Whiskies are unchilfiltered. This ensures superior quality and produces a whisky of exceptionally soft and smooth character with a long and lingering finish.

The Gaelic Whiskies’ shop and headquarters are located in an historical setting at Eilean Iarmain on the idyllic Sleat peninsula of the Isle of Skye with magnificent views over the water to the far hills of mainland Knoydart.

Local legend claims that the whisky is greatly improved by having Gaelic on the label!

Slàinte mhath a h-uile latha a chì is nach fhaic!

Website – www.gaelicwhisky.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GaelicWhisky

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WVA Whisky Auctions

SELL YOUR WHISKY FREE OF CHARGE

FREE REGISTRATION

WVA is a small Independent Whisky Auction created by myself (George) whom being a keen whisky collector, wanted to expand my knowledge of whisky, the whisky business and the whisky world in general. They say a man whose work is his hobby is a happy man!

The Herald:

The aim of WVA is to provide Whisky enthusiasts with an Auction website to sell there bottles totally free of charge, and also get great prices for people wishing to sell. No catches or fuss. WVA has come a long way since it started and with all of your continued support I hope it becomes a great site to Find, Sell and Build many collections or even to quench a thirst or two!

The Herald:

WVA’s Auction is monthly, Please see dates below for future Auctions. if you wish to sell Bottles/Collections/Part Collections please pick up the phone or send me an e-mail using the Information on the “Contact Us” page. Get your bottles to us a week before Auction start date to ensure they are registered and ready for the next Auction.

If you require a Valuation or Information on your Collection/Bottles etc. please get in contact.

Good Luck!!

Future Auction Dates :-

27th November 7pm – 4th December 8pm

26th December 7pm – 2nd January 8pm 2018

24th Jan 7pm – 1st Feb 8pm 2018

26th Feb 7pm – 6th March 8pm 2018

www.wvawhiskyauctions.co.uk

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Loch Fyne Whiskies

Established in 1993 in the Royal Burgh of Inveraray, Loch Fyne Whiskies is a wee shop with a huge knowledge of whisky. It’s that knowledge, gained from talking with our customers over innumerable drams in the past 24 years, that makes us different. They’ve told us everything we need to know about what people like in a whisky and, just like whisky, the skill of listening improves with age!

The Herald:

 

Everything we’ve learned has gone into making Loch Fyne Whiskies more than just a shop. It’s a workshop where we create and bottle a range of products, from our classic blended Scotch and delicious liqueurs, to our unique Living Cask® and our botanical gin. Each expression is original, having been conceived at our loch-side home, and crafted to meet the exacting standards of our customers.

The Herald:

Website - www.lochfynewhiskies.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lochfynewhisky

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Cadenhead

Interested In Whisky?

Why not get in touch and take advantage of our expert knowledge and our 175 years experience.

The Herald:

As Scotland’s oldest independent bottle we cherry pick the best casks for bottling and offer fun and informative tastings.

The Herald:

Email us to receive out stock list: Stockists of Old Raj Scottish Gin.

172 Cannongate, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, EH8 8DF : 0131 556 5864

Website: www.wmcadenhead.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CHWSEdinburgh

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Springbank Distillery 

Springbank is a unique distillery in a unique part of Scotland; Campbeltown on the Mull of Kintyre. It is the only remaining distillery in the country to carry out 100% of the production process on site and visitors often remark that time spent touring the distillery is like taking a step back in time to the Victorian era. Springbank remains in the ownership of its founding family and employs 80 staff in order to continue practising traditional production techniques, including malting all of its own barley on concrete malt floors rather than bulk buying from larger suppliers.

The Herald:

Alongside its flagship Springbank Single Malt, the distillery also produces two other varieties - the heavily-prated, smokey Longrow and the lighter, more floral, triple-distilled Hazelburn. The company also owns and operates the neighbouring Mitchell’s Glengyle Distillery, originally operated from 1872 until 1925 before being revived in 2004 by Springbank Chairman Hedley G Wright.

Glengyle is the home of Kilkerran Single Malt, which was released as a 12yo for the first time in 2016 and continues to go from strength to strength. The best way to get to know the company is through its products: Springbank 10yo is the classic Campbeltown dram, briney-sweet with honey notes and a gentle smokey finish; Longrow Peated is much more smokey and medicinal with just a touch of vanilla; Hazelburn 10 is a light, mellow whisky full of sweetness and gentle spice; Kilkerran 12yo is subtle, fruity and extremely complex

www.springbankwhisky.com

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Ben Nevis Distillery

The distillery was established in 1825 by “Long” John MacDonald and has had many owners including Joseph Hobbs in 1955, who decided to distill both Malt and Grain Whiskies from the same distillery, being one of the first to do so. In 1981 his family sold to Whitbread and Co and the current owners, Nikka, now part of the Asahi group, purchased the distillery in 1989.

The Herald:

In 1991 the distillery opened the Visitor Centre and Cafe. Currently we employ 30 staff, which includes Seasonal Tour Guides, to cover all aspects of the business from production, warehousing, admin and the visitor centre to produce spirit on a continuous 24 hour 7 day a week operation. We have customers all over the world, the largest being our own parent company in Japan as well as France, Taiwan and Germany to name but a few. Our aim is to have Ben Nevis Single Malt Scotch Whisky become world renowned for it’s quality and taste whilst produced using traditional methods.

The Herald:

Production methods employed throughout the production process to distillation and then on to maturation are very much based on the more traditional style of distilling and whisky manufacture. We are proud of this heritage and as such have incorporated the MacDonalds name into our Malt bottled products. One of these is actually called “Traditional”. This non age statement malt was originally produced as a limited release but proved so popular it has become one of our core products. Traditional is produced using a peated malt in the distillation process to recreate the slightly smoky flavours of whisky as it would have been in the 1800’s and the label itself is recreated from a bottle produced by the distillery in this era. We are a small company but capable of producing more than 2,000,000 litres of alcohol per year.

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Scotch Whisky Auctions

Scotch Whisky Auctions was launched in 2011 as the UK’s first dedicated online whisky auction. From an initial 112 lots, the site now regularly hosts 4,000 – 6,000 lots on a monthly basis. Whether bidding for drinking drams or something special, Scotch Whisky Auctions caters for everyone! The auction is a treasure trove of rare and old whiskies with many from lost distilleries such as Port Ellen, Brora, Rosebank and even further afield Karuizawa.  

The Herald:

Scotch Whisky Auctions welcomes a global audience with bidders registered all over the world. With a dedicated team to pack and ship the whiskies all over the world, everyone is invited to take part in the auctions.  High resolution images allow bidders to inspect the lots in detail with ease no matter where they are located. 

November 2017 marked the first charity auction for the company, raising funds for Blameless charity in Hamilton. They formed to provide fun times, happy memories and a vision of hope for the future for children and families affected by alcoholism and addiction. To help them, a very special bottle of Glenfiddich has been released. This single cask Scotch malt whisky has been matured in a sherry cask before a brief finishing period in American oak. The company hopes the profits from this unique bottling will help Blameless continue their much needed work in the community.  

The Herald:

The next auction will go live on 24th November and will be one to watch for collectors and those wishing to find the perfect festive dram!

We are supporting https://blamelessuk.co.uk/ with our current auction.

www.scotchwhiskyauctions.com

www.facebook.com/scotchwhiskyauctions

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The Green Welly Stop

If you think The Green Welly Stop only sells wellies, think again.
Based in Tyndrum, Scotland; The Green Welly Stop have an extensive range of over 1200 whiskies, that other specialist whisky retailers aspire to.

The Herald:

The team can take you on a region by region journey around the shop to discover local distilleries such as Deanston and Oban, or to the far North of Scotland to Old Pulteney and Highland Park, to find the perfect dram for you. The shop isn't just confined to Scotland, you will also find the bottles from worldwide distilleries such as Yamazaki or Kavalan from Japan and Taiwan.

Online, The Green Welly Stop have a live messenger service, where you will find a member of their specialist whisky team on hand to assist, regardless of your budget or taste preferences.

You will find fantastic limited and single cask releases from companies such as Gordon & MacPhail, Douglas Laing, Morrison & Mackay and North Star.

The Herald:

Their online shop has a 'Whisky Offers' page, which is a treasure trove of discounts and great prices. You can navigate to the latest whisky additions, where you will find whisky that has just been added to the site. If you are lucky, you may get that latest whisky that you can't get anywhere else!

www.thegreenwellystop.co.uk/
www.thegreenwellystop.co.uk/whisky-offers
www.thegreenwellystop.co.uk/latest-whisky