The second World Whisky Day^™, organised by Aberdeen University student Blair Bowman, is just around the corner. A new date of Saturday 18th May has been chosen for this year’s celebrations, a date that Blair hopes one day could even become a national holiday in Scotland.

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Ben:

We make a lot of cool stuff. This has been proven. As of a couple of weeks ago, we’ve got someone who’s going to be responsible for getting all this cool stuff into bars, retailers and your house (specifically you) throughout the UK, and worldwide.

We also really like exciting, cool whiskies and spirits distilled all over the world. Given that we’re reasonably decent-sized now, it sort of makes sense for us to start importing some of the cooler brands out there. We’ve also got someone who’s going to be responsible for bringing all those awesome products into the UK and getting them into the self-same bars, retailers and also into your house.

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And…we’re back! That’s right folks, we’re now shipping to the USA again! It was scary there for a moment, but this brave little eagle has personally agreed to fly all of your packages across the Atlantic ocean for just a few kippers a day!

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I like the Langham Hotel.

I like the Landau restaurant within the Langham Hotel, recently taken over by Albert and Michel Roux Jr. especially as there's a lunch menu which will allow you change from £80 for two people… We'll get onto the whisky in a bit. Patience.

I *really* like the hotel's bar – Artesian, the meeting place for the launch of Glenmorangie's newest addition to their Private Collection. Ealanta. In the last couple of years Artesian has come on leaps and bounds under the supremely competent stewardship of Head Bartender Alex Kratena.

It's possible to get one of the best Martinis in London at the bar in Artesian—The Langham Martini (and for almost £20 including service, it wants to be) and on Wednesday evening I did just that.

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It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that as of 14 January 2013, new aviation transport regulations have gone into effect that will make it *very* difficult for us to ship to the US. You may find that shipping to the States is unavailable intermittently over the next few weeks as we test alternative shipping routes. Boo.

This doesn’t mean that we will *NOT* ever again ship to the US, it simply means that right now, it’s very difficult to send you any gin, whisky, tequila, rum, cognac, vodka—basically, anything with a high abv. Double boo.

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Prepare your faces for glee and/or delight, for we bring glad tidings all the way from Caithness (the north-eastern tip of the Scottish mainland – presumably very wet and cold). We’ve had word from the Old Pulteney distillery that today (well, 11pm last night, to be precise, but today for most of us) we can, at last, announce the launch of the oldest official single malt the distillery has ever produced…

Earlier in the year, Pulteney 21 year old was named World Whisky of the Year in Jim Murray’s 2012 Whisky Bible. It’s a pretty astonishing single malt, all things considered, but what else would you expect from the northernmost distillery on the Scottish mainland. That far north, the weather and the terroir play a huge part in the flavour of maturing spirit; a windswept seafront seasons the whisky and gives it real provenance. There’s also the effect of the unusually shaped spirit still, the U-shape and bulbous neck of which account for a particularly oily spirit. Dave Broom calls Old Pulteney “eccentric”, and I think we’re inclined to agree...

Those of you who’ve been paying attention may remember that back in February of this year, we ran a little competition – the purpose of which was to get you lot to guess the ingredients in a yummy new cocktail we’d invented. The winner of this competition then went on to name the cocktail  (I won’t reveal it, as it’s going to be launched in full 70cl glory at some time in the next month or so).

In order to facilitate this competition, we made samples of the cocktail available in cute little 20cl versions of the standard bottle used for The Handmade Cocktail Company’s wares.

The more observant amongst you may remember that the little 20cl bottle was labelled as part of the ‘experimental series’? Well – today we’re revealing the purpose behind that ‘experimental’ moniker.

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Today Bowmore made a monumental announcement that they are releasing the oldest Islay Single Malt ever produced, ever… 

Bowmore is the oldest distillery on Islay and is famous for producing extraordinary bottlings such as the Black Bowmore and the White Bowmore, as well as their better known (and more affordable) Bowmore 12 Year Old and Bowmore 18 Year Old. In addition to these they have also produced the tasty sherry cask Bowmore Darkest and the stormy cask strength bottling of the Bowmore Tempest.

This, however, is the Bowmore 1957, which was bottled in 2011 after 54 years of cask ageing. In 1995 a number of casks of Bowmore were bottled, but one cask was kept in the legendary Bowmore  No. 1 Vaults, the oldest maturation warehouse on the island. This cask has been monitored every six months until it was deemed to have reached perfection.

The bottles have been beautifully hand-blown and sculpted into the shape of the waves that pound the walls of No. 1 Vault by renowned glass artists Brodie Nairn and Nichola Burns. The glass has also been flecked with platinum to create a shimmering sea-like effect.

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Maple Syrup? Gooood.

Rye-Heavy, 9yo Bourbon? Goooooooood.

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Maths, hepatitis, civil aviation… what do they have in common? Obviously they should all be avoided wherever possible but there is one more thing – all have their own day.

In fact, through detailed research conducted over the course of two entire minutes I've found the list of things that have their own day is longer than the queue at a Greek job centre.

So it was a travesty, nay an outrage, that whisky did not have its own day… until now. Yes, at last whisky has joined the exalted ranks of things that have their own day – left handed people, pirates, children, left handed pirate children… the list goes on. More...