It’s hot today in Tunbridge Wells. Really hot.

Whilst it’s never too hot for whisky (by Jingo I could go for a Great King Street Highball right about now), the palate does tend to crave something a bit more refreshing and crisp on occasion. If the last few days’ sales of our new Bathtub Gin are anything to go by, it’s Gin that the nation turns to when things start to hot up.

If I’m honest, I thought I’d stowed the trusty flip-flops away for good, but they’ve made a re-appearance. Here they are next to the Christmas bitters: More...

‘twas some nights before Christmas (alright, three months before)

And Ben was a-mixing some bitters for all

He flavoured them richly, with many a plant

And left them to marry in a cask from Glen Grant

He then added frankincense with a satisfied purr

And threw in a handful of the very best myrrh

Next up was some gold, for sparkle and glitter

then he spread the good word with a message on Twitter.

He called to us gaily, with all of his might:

“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night”

That took me over 10 minutes to write so I really find it hard to believe you’ll need any more information than that. More...

We get a lot of crap through the post here at MoM towers, being the industrial superpower that we now are.

This one however, took us somewhat by surprise.

Our address, for the purposes of this joke is 8a, London Road, Tunbridge Wells. The postcode’s actually wrong, but nevertheless… More...

It’s official – Maltstock is Awesome.

I mean, last year’s event was really, really good, but this year it kicked up a gear in every conceivable way. Having sung the praises of the event to Neil from Caskstrength, we decided to go to the event together, and resolved to deliver a masterclass on some of our favourite whiskies from closed distilleries.

Having set off for the drive from Tunbridge Wells to Dover in ‘plenty of time’, we managed to miss the ferry like a complete pair of rejects (well, one reject, and an immaculately dressed man in Crepe Soled Shoes at any rate). Having secured passage on the next available ferry, we settled in at Dover for the wait. After what seemed like an eternity, our Ferry arrived, and we boarded. After ascertaining that there was nothing of interest in the Duty Free Shop, we repaired to shoot Zombies (we couldn’t find a ‘boy in care’ to help us out, and were consequently killed reasonably soon). 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...

Balblair have teamed up with WIRED Magazine to come up with a very cool competition with some equally cool prizes. The distillery is encouraging amateur photographers, and the competition will run from September to October.

To enter, photographers have to submit shots which encapsulate Balblair’s motto: “timed to perfection”. It’s that simple, and we reckon there are going to be some brilliant submissions. More...

As many of you will remember, a Master of Malt contingent attended last year’s Maltstock event, and had an absolute whale of a time – read all about it here...

The Maltstock Sharing Table

Maltstock is coming again, and in under 2 weeks’ time, I’ll be making my way over there with the irrepressible Neil Ridley (from off of that there www.caskstrength.net), a car full of Master of Malt goodies, my responsible drinking boots, and my iPhone charger. Must take the iPhone charger (I figure if I keep writing it, there’s at least a 50% chance I’ll actually remember this time). More...

New product announcements! Hurrah!

Yes, today we are announcing a terrific addition to the Handmade Cocktail Company’s sterling range of ready-made bottled cocktails. Many of you cocktail enthusiasts have already been asking us for one particular cocktail - a classic that was left out of the original range. It’s the ultimate zesty, spicy bourbon cocktail, and the favourite tipple of none other than Don Draper, Harry S Truman and Cole Porter. That’s right… The Old Fashioned. More...