You may have noticed when visiting a trendy bar that they have a small barrel sitting on the counter top. This might just be for show or it might contain…
master of malt BLOG
Category: Features
Featured news, interviews and articles covering whisky, rum, gin, tequila and mezcal and other drinks and spirits, as well as the drinks industry.
A short and sweet blog today answering a question we’ve been asked a couple of times recently: Can Scotch whisky be bottled outside Scotland? No. Very short and sweet. Goodnight…
You really don’t need a lot of money to start a micro distillery. Go on Ebay and you can find little Portuguese pot stills for around £500. Then all you…
Understanding Irish whiskey and Scotch whisky and what distinguishes them from each other is not as simple as you might think. Mostly because there’s a lot of misinformation, myths, and…
Whether Cuban rum is considered the best rum in the world is subjective and depends on personal preferences. There is no “best rum”. Only your favourite. As is the case…
If your dad is a whisky lover, then you’ll want something impressive to present on Father’s Day, which is coming soon don’t you know? There are tonnes of excellent ideas…
Rum – liquid gold made all around the world. Speaking of gold rum, also known as amber rum, that’s a favourite for us and many of you. Lovely in a…
Happy Fèis Ìle! It’s the week of the Islay Festival and there is so much to enjoy about Islay whisky at the moment. Just take a look at all our…
Today, we’re going sherry mad with a close look at whisky aged in oloroso casks. Think of all those wonderful flavours of molasses, Brazil nuts, and chocolate – they come…
I was lucky enough to spend four glorious weeks exploring Japan – my dream travel destination – a while back. It’s a place that’s long fascinated Europeans, dating back to…
Think of the Prohibition and you’ll probably think of jazz music, speakeasies, gangsters, and Tommy guns. It’s a world immortalised in films like The Roaring Twenties and a novels like…
It’s a Japanese whisky showdown today as we look at the two giants of Japanese whisky Nikka and Suntory and try to decide which is best. We’ll be looking at…
Exciting Scotch whisky news! The first single malt from one of Islay’s newest distilleries Ardnahoe is here. This is the first new Islay whisky since Kilchoman released its first single…
Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest- Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest- Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! You surely…
Now that summer is here, or putting in an occasional appearance, the team at Master of Malt has been thinking about how to make the perfect Gin and Tonic. It…
With the news of Balblair’s longstanding distillery manager John MacDonald’s retirement, we thought we’d pay him a visit at the historic Highland Scotch whisky distillery and have taste of some…
I’m not sure when my seemingly endless love affair with Japan first started, but I have managed to pinpoint it to three likely candidates; the Mitsubishi Starion from Cannonball Run…
Today, we’re looking at the drinks most associated with ten of our favourite films and television programmes. Whether it’s Bond with his Vodka Martini, shaken, not stirred or the Dude…
My love affair with Spain began on a language exchange to Madrid. From a boring suburban town near Watford, suddenly I was in the middle of one of the most…
Today, we’re taking a look at the often violent and cruel but never boring history and culture of rum. Rum came about when European colonists brought sugar cane which is…