It’s been a bumper year on the blog with over 500 fascinating articles appearing. Earlier this week, we wrote about our most-read ones, but we thought it would be interesting to pick our personal favourites too. So here they are!
Our most read posts tend to be whisky news because Master of Malt customers really want to know about in-coming new whiskies. But we also publish more in-depth features with producers, opinion pieces and some good silly stuff. In 2020, despite not being able to travel for most of the year, we managed to continue publishing fascinating, amusing and thought-provoking articles. And not from just in-house scribblers, this year we’ve been proud to commission some of the country’s best drinks writers on a diverse array of topics.
So, we thought we’d pick some of our highlights. It was not easy to narrow it down to just ten but we’ve got everything from articles aimed squarely at whisky geeks to important scientific research on what snacks go with which spirit. Something for everyone.
The joy of distillery pets
We love animals almost as much as we love booze here at MoM so this important article by Lucy Britner was an instant choice. That gorgeous creature above with the film star eyes is Otis from Badachro Distillery.
Why I won’t be opening my bar this December
There really was only one story this year, and bartender and MoM occasional columnist Nate Brown tackled it head on in this moving look at the difficulties of running a bar with the Covid-19 rules changing the whole time.
Jim Swan, a legacy of style
This one got a great response from the industry: our roving whisky expert Ian Buxton took a look at the man who did more than anyone to create the world whisky category.
Inside Mexico’s first whisky distillery
Some great writing here from Adam O’Connell. The article manages to do two difficult things extremely well: transport the reader to another country and describe the flavour of a highly distinctive spirit.
A Long Stride: A history of Johnnie Walker
2020 was the 200th anniversary of Johnnie Walker. Most of the promised festivities never happened, but we did get this splendid book by Dr Nick Morgan who took the time to talk to us about it.
Flor de Caña: Rum and adversity in Nicaragua
Another tremendous bit of armchair travel writing, this time from Annie Hayes. A great story, beautifully told, and it helps that the rum in question is so delicious.
Everything you wanted to know about peat but were afraid to ask
Well, the title says it all. This is a rich and rewarding journey into smoke from Annie Hayes which will appeal to those who want to take their whisky knowledge to the next level.
Lessons in sherry casks with Tamdhu
Another one for whisky nerds, those two simple words sherry and cask can have dozens of different flavour permutations as we learn from Gordon Dundas at Tamdhu.
The story behind the revival of James E. Pepper Whiskey
An epic tale spanning the centuries told in suitably epic style. This is the article that people will come to again and again when they want to know about this great whiskey brand.
The search for perfect snack & spirit pairings
And finally… Some actual science here as Sam Smith investigates which spirits go with which snack. The results might surprise you.
