News
The First Rye Whisky of Islay
Published 03/11/2025
On the far-flung Scottish island of Islay-famous for whisky, rain, sheep, more rain, and whisky made to taste like someone set fire to a bog for tax purposes-there stands a distillery called Bruichladdich. The name is pronounced broo-ick-ladd-ick, unless you’re a visitor, in which case the locals will wait patiently while you attempt a Gaelic throat-exercise that ends in embarrassment and possibly medical attention. Locals pronounce it in a way that instantly identifies outsiders, usually by how much they cough in the attempt.
The First Rye Whisky of Islay
Irish Whiskey Gets a Hangover
Published 03/11/2025
For a long while, Irish whiskey was the sort of tale people told in pubs when they needed cheering up. It was the plucky young underdog that got up off the mat, dusted itself off, found a barrel, and said “Right, let’s try that again, only this time with better marketing.” The Americans loved it, of course. Americans like a good comeback story, preferably bottled at 40 percent and shipped by the crate.
Irish Whiskey Gets a Hangover
Women Sometimes Drink Whisky Too
Published 01/11/2025
Whisky has always been treated like a badge of masculinity. The drink of men who believed emotions should be drowned in alcohol and then apologised for the next morning. The assumption was that a glass of it should come with a reminder of the Empire, a hint of pipe smoke, and possibly a moustache. Marketing has historically, up until last tuesday, treated it as the liquid equivalent of a handshake so firm it qualified as a small assault.
Women Sometimes Drink Whisky Too