Ian Buxton - Page 3
Though he has neither a beard nor any visible tattoos or piercings, Ian Buxton is well-placed to write about drinks. A former marketing director of one of Scotland’s favourite single malts, his is a bitter-sweet love affair with Scotland’s national drink – not to mention gin and rum, or whatever the nearest PR is pouring. Once, apparently without noticing, he bought a derelict distillery. Follow his passionate, authentic hand-crafted artisanal journey on the Master of Malt blog. Or just buy his books. It’s what he really wants.
Comin’ thro the rye whiskeyEarlier this month, Ian Buxton looked at some of the unusual cereals that go into whisky. Today, he’s zeroing in on one particular grain that’s having its moment in the sun….
Going against the grainAs you’re reading this blog, we assume you’ve drunk whisky made from barley and corn, and probably had some things made from wheat and rye too. But these aren’t the…
How your taxes help small distillersEver fancied investing in a small distillery? Well, you might not realise it but you already have. Through various regional development funds, taxpayers’ money has been pouring into the drinks…
Jim Swan: a legacy of styleWith the arrival (and swift departure) of the much-anticipated first single malt from Nc’nean, we thought it a good idea to look at the legacy of the man who consulted…
Visitor centres without visitorsMany small distilleries have based their business models on direct to customer sales from their visitor centres. With tourism all but dead, Ian Buxton investigates what people are doing to…
How to buy (a bit of) your own drinks brandThis week Ian Buxton explores how you can own a little bit of your own booze business through the magic of crowdfunding. You might even get in on the ground…
The growing pains of Irish whiskeyIt’s an Irish whiskey double-bill today. This morning we had exciting news of developments at Sliabh Liag, and now this afternoon Ian Buxton looks at problems and disagreements behind the…
Rock of ages: can maturation be fast forwarded?This week Ian Buxton applies his boozy magnifying glass on maturation and asks if it can ever be manipulated or accelerated to produce a quality spirit. I found myself recently…
In the second part of his look at how the spirits business is coping with the Covid pandemic, Ian Buxton looks at the craft distilling sector both here and in…
And that’s a wrapThere have been some amazing whisky publicity stunts over the years but none quite as audacious as the one Ian Buxton tried to pull off with the artist Christo. Here’s…
Coping with Covid: Scotch whisky’s post-pandemic plansToday industry veteran Ian Buxton takes a look at how Scotland’s whisky business has coped with the global pandemic and what the mood is as the world begins to return…
Whisky businessOn the blog today, Ian Buxton looks at two scions of whisky families, Edwin York Bowen and Richard Seaman, who turned their backs on the booze business to become a…
Hey big spender: private cask sales part twoIn the second part of his investigation, Ian Buxton looks at well-known distilleries that have specialist sales teams selling mature casks at six figure prices and above to high rollers,…
The hidden world of private cask sales part oneEver fancied your very own cask of Springbank? Well, until quite recently, this is how much single malt whisky was sold. In the first of a two part story, Ian…
Alan Gray, Scotch whisky industry expert – obituaryToday, Ian Buxton pays tribute to one of Scotch whisky’s greats who died recently: Alan Gray, the man behind industry bible the annual Scotch Whisky Industry Review. Here at Master…
Agave cask Scotch whisky: what fresh madness is this?In June 2019, the SWA issued a statement outlining changes to the Scotch whisky rules allowing, among other things, ageing in casks that previously held agave spirits. Now the first…
