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What’s happened on Planet MoM this month? Read the Master of Malt Newsletter October 2026 to find out.
Welcome to the Master of Malt Newsletter.
You might have seen our monthly round-up of new bottles, good reads and whatever else we’ve been getting up to if you’re subscribed to our emails.
We thought our blog readers might also appreciate the update. Just in case you’ve missed something, you’ll find the highlights here. If you haven’t, enjoy the comforting sensation of being extremely well informed about booze.
Master of Malt Newsletter October 2026
Christmas. It cometh.
Halloween is dead. It’s probably thrilled about that, to be honest, given its general vibe. But its timely demise (very much an annual thing) now heralds the official arrival of The Season To Be Jolly™. Christmas. It’s coming. You aren’t prepared, are you? Nobody is. But we’ll do our best to help. There are some very cool whiskies in this newsletter. Ideal for presents, even. You know what would be a jaw-dropping gift? The showstopper from the upcoming Mystery Drop…
Yep, hot on the heels of Mystery Drop 4.0 comes 5.0: A Good Day to Drop Hard. Coming 10 November. Speaking of bagging goodies, we also gave you the chance to win an apple-tastic Normandy trip, snag a Ledaig-branded fire pit (and more!), and win bottles of Ardbeg 25 Year Old AND 24 Year Old Vintage Y2K. Mighty generous of us. That’s just the kind of folk we are. We even gave Glenmo a hand with branding its big-arse stills.
But we’re bush league compared to the king of kindness, the sultan of sharing, the god of giving… He sees you when you’re drinking, he knows when to stir or shake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good, and he’s back once again!
#WhiskySanta Returns.
Yes, everyone’s favourite supernatural, festive, heavily bearded being is back. No matter how many times we change the locks or cast protective spells, this menace, armed with omniscience, ‘the magic of Christmas’ and a dimensionally transcendental sack, simply becomes too powerful around 2 November.
Good news for you, I guess, as his sole raison d’être appears to be getting hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of free vouchers, drams, bottles and more into your hands!
The New Arrivals You Need To Know
October brought a raft of shiny new things. Like the 2026 edition of Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old Cask Strength. Or the 2026 Lindores Abbey Friar John bottling. Then there’s the 2026 Ardnamurchan 10 Year Old and the 2026 release of Deanston Virgin Oak Cask Strength… We’re sensing a theme. People love releasing good stuff in October.
We certainly do. We brought you new independent bottlings, flavoured whiskies and exclusive GlenAllachies. The Malt Whisky Yearbook is back, too. Add a rummy first from Manchester, JD going vrooom and more Nordic whisky than you can shake a puffin at, and there are plenty of presents to pick from.
The Headliners
Strathmill 40 Year Old 70cl Whisky
The Ones That’ll Make You Go “Oooh”.
Bivrost Seidr 2026 50cl Whisky
Kyrö Sauna Stories No.3 70cl Whisky
Not Just Whisky!
Manchester Rum First Edition 70cl
The new Midleton Very Rare Chestnut Edition
Extra, Extra! Read all about it…
Then there’s the blog. The blog! We love doing that-there writing thing. Have a read of some of October’s highlights below. Please and thank you.
Midleton Very Rare Chestnut Edition: Seeing the Wood For the Trees
The first whiskey aged in casks made from Irish-grown sweet chestnut, this edition of Midleton Very Rare got us embracing our inner wood nerd. Yes, that’s a thing.
Spooky Whisky Ghost Stories To Tell This Halloween
Halloween might be over, but ghost stories are 4 lyfe. These ones are even better because they’re whisky-themed. Point a torch at your face and get retelling!
Arbikie The Signature Review: Was It Worth the Wait?
Arbikie Single Malt Whisky – The Signature (First Release) was a very interesting release for a number of reasons. Naturally, we explored all of them while having a nice little dram.
Does Calvados Have An Image Problem?
Not enough people drink Calvados. But they should. We make the case with help from the organisers of National Calvados Week.
