Whisky Weekly Digest — Week 36, 2026
Whisky books, memorable drams, community pours and another exciting South African release — plus the latest whisky news, international releases and new arrivals.
Fellowship Conversations: Murdo Mackenzie
Murdo Mackenzie has been distilling at Benromach since 2016, and in 2025 he took over as Distillery Manager from Keith Cruikshank, who ran the place from 1998. It’s a role that comes with an unusual kind of weight: almost everything he decides today — how the mash is handled, the exact point the stills are … Read more
Whisky Weekly Digest — Week 35, 2026
Four new South African whiskies caught my eye this month — from Metanoia’s experimental single cask to two 23-year-old Bain’s finishes and Boplaas’s oldest release yet. Plus: five questions on silent distilleries, new releases, industry news, reviews, bourbon and what’s worth buying in SA right now.
Whisky Weekly Digest — Week 34, 2026
I’m away on holiday with my family this week, so the digest might be a bit smaller than usual. I’ll leave you with my thoughts and impressions from my Thursday attendance of The Only Whisky Show last week. I’ve been to every TOWS since it launched, and it never disappoints. The selection of whiskies is … Read more
Whisky Weekly Digest — Week 33, 2026
“Nae coopers, nae whisky — that’s what we always say. Without these skills there wouldn’t be a whisky industry.” — Kyle Cooper, Speyside Cooperage [1] Fair point, and one we don’t make often enough. We talk endlessly about distillers, blenders and the mysterious alchemy of oak, but rarely about the people who make sure the … Read more
Fellowship Conversations: Olaf Meier
Olaf Meier has one of the coolest jobs in the whisky world: deciding, glass by glass, what an entire global membership gets to drink next. As Chairman of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Tasting Panel, the German-born storyteller has tasted many thousands of casks and written thousands of tasting notes over more than two decades … Read more