The buzz around Highland Park’s latest whisky, Thor, has been sensational. For all intents and purposes it sounds to be a fantastic whisky – a 16 year old, cask-strength Highland Park packaged in a handsome Viking long ship-inspired case. This morning, however, it all became a lot more mysterious…

We received a little box with a bow on top (see below): (nice to have a bow) More...

Well, it’s been an interesting week of nervously checking the comments to make sure none of them were *too* near the mark, but we’ve made it, and no one’s lodged any formal complaints. By all accounts it was a rip-roaring success. Huzzah.

I think Christian Bale’s pretty face may have had something to do with the great reponse, but regardless there were some very witty suggestions, and so we’ve picked not only three winners (we’ve been feeling extra beneficent recently) – but 5, More...

We’re going to introduce you to our latest product, but you’ll probably wish we hadn’t. You’ll wish we never even made it. You’ll wish I tried my best to detain Ben with duct tape and string when he first told me how he was making this vodka, rather than just saying “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea…”

You see, folks, we’ve created the world’s hottest chilli vodka, the aptly named: 100,000 Scovilles – Naga Chilli Vodka

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Good morning folks, it’s announcement time! If you can cast your minds back through the booze and turkey-induced haze of Christmas you may remember we ran a little competition on our site.

To enter all you had to do was purchase any bottle of Heaven Hill whiskey from us before Christmas day, and the prize was pretty staggering: three incredible “ultra-premium” American whiskeys including Rittenhouse 25, Evan Williams 23 and Elijah Craig 18, all signed by the bourbon legends Craig and Parker Beam! More...

Ahh yes, it’s time to announce the winner of our little caption contest! We’ve had loads of brilliant suggestions, and many, many captions which began “say hello to my little…”.

Before we announce the winner, here’s another crudely doctored image of Tony Montana, chilling out in his study with a fine bottle of Bathtub Gin. More...

Created by the “madcap” Professor Cornelius Ampleforth, the romantically- and SWA-appeasingly-named Proprietary Barley Spirit Drink combines the Professor’s signature love for infusin’ and mixin’ with his passion for whisky and the ways and techniques of yore. Yes, yore.

For this thrilling instalment, Ampleforth turned to Spain, and to the mountainous countryside that surrounds Pajarate. It was here that Paxarette was born; a dark, syrupy liquid made by boiling down grape juice and fortified wine. In the past, the Scotch whisky industry made use of Paxarette to season casks, simply by pouring this rich flavouring into the wood, to help impart a fuller, richer sherry character into the whisky that was aged in them.More...

New product day is always a good day, and today is no exception as we announce the release of Professor Cornelius Ampleforth's Bathtub Gin. Like anyone named Cornelius, Professor Ampleforth would never put his fine name to a gin unless it was really very good. So, as could be expected, Bathtub Gin is a truly marvellous recreation of the gins of yore, produced in a very traditional, entirely small-batch and, dare I say it, artisan manner. Every little detail, from the beautiful packaging, to the superb liquid inside the bottle has had as much attention paid to it as you’d give to a talking dog wearing a top hat and monocle, or as you’d give Morgan Freeman if he gave you advice on anything. More...

We’ve been sitting on this one for a few days now, ever since the email from Diageo arrived. In fact, this has been under strict embargo until today! You guessed it folks, Diageo’s 2011 Special Releases!

Every year, the Special Releases mark a particular highlight for us, as the global drinks giant showcases the very crème de la crème of its extensive inventory. This year sees some sure-to-be-stunners, including a 21 year old Rosebank, a 20 year old Port Dundas, and a 40 year old Glenury Royal, not to mention crowd pleasers like the Caol Ila Unpeated, Port Ellen, Brora, and cask strength Lagavulin. Here’s a brief synopsis of what’s to come, starting with our favourite from last year, the Brora… More...

We recently got the full range of Mezan rums in, and we’re very excited about them. You see, it’s rum as it should be, rum approached in much the same way a malt lover looks at whisky; vintages, distilleries, and all non-chillfiltered and unadulterated.

Let’s start out with the Grenada Westerhall 1998. It’s much like a Lowland whisky, in that it offers up that light, delicate and elegant flavour profile we’ve come to love from distilleries like Rosebank and Glenkinchie... It’s utterly beguiling. The distillery itself is based on a sugar estate which has been family-owned for three centuries, and during that time it produced both sugar and rum, though it didn’t bottle its own product until 1978. The rum, made in a column still, is known for its light character, and is much less smoky than its counterparts in Jamaica or Guyana (which we’ll discuss shortly). More...