“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 cask is fit to do its job in the first place.
Coopering is one of whisky’s great overlooked trades — part craft, part engineering, still stubbornly hands-on. Speyside Cooperage turns out or repairs up to 150,000 casks a year; a single cooper might work on 30 in a day. The scale is industrial. The skills underneath it aren’t — they’ve barely changed in generations.
Take the humble hogshead. Most Scotch matures in one, yet a hogshead rarely starts life as one — it’s usually five ex-bourbon barrels, broken down to their staves and rebuilt as four. That means new heads fitted, staves reheated and coaxed back into shape, hoops reset by hand and eye until the thing is watertight again. No two barrels come apart quite the same way, so there’s no shortcut to knowing how to put them back together.
Which is what makes a recent post from Duncan Taylor worth pausing on. Jack Dunbar has just started his coopering apprenticeship there, under Master Cooper Callum Thomson. His first step was an old one: being handed his own set of tools. Four years lie ahead — learning the trade’s history and feel before the mechanical side, working toward a trade test that proves he’s earned it.
So this week, raise a glass to the people whose names never make it onto a bottle — the coopers, the apprentices, and the masters patient enough to teach them.
Sláinte,
Mark.
[1] Quote taken from a PressAndJournal article.
What’s In Mark’s Glass This Week
Killowen 9 Year Old Rum & Raisin, Bordeaux Cab Sav Cask – This is a cracker. 9.5 years in a Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon cask, followed by a rum cask finish, and that rum cask absolutely wins the day.
The nose is instantly giving me raisins, dark rum, brown sugar and dried fruit, with some red berries and oak sitting underneath. On the palate, it really does taste like rum and raisins (the one ice cream flavour I hated almost as much as choc-mint when I was kid) – rich, sweet, dark fruit, a bit of spice and that lovely sticky rum character. The wine cask brings some structure, but it’s the rum that takes over.
I’ve had the Killowen rum from their rum cask before, and it’s bloody good stuff, so it’s no surprise that it makes such an impression here. One of those whiskies where the name on the bottle actually tells you exactly what you’re going to get. Really glad I got to try this.
Whisky Tasting Fellowship × The Only Whisky Show Tickets Giveaway – Winners Announcement
Congratulations to Scott (JHB) and Malcolm (CT), who will be attending their respective TOWS festivals, courtesy of WhiskyBrother!
One of the perks of being part of the Fellowship is that, every now and then, you get the chance to enjoy whisky on someone else’s tab. These two are doing just that.
The Fellowship Pour
Your whisky. Your glass. Your story. Send us a photo, share the moment, and add your pour to the growing Fellowship community. The submissions keep rolling in, and they’re great.
“Bought this a few weeks after my second daughter was born last September, subtle and beautiful peat, finished in one of my favourite styles of red wines.” — Gianluca T.
“A sealed bottle of whisky is just that, but an open bottle shared amongst family creates a memory, tells a story like the one on my daughter’s 18th birthday!” — Orlando E.
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 — all while keeping a healthy distance from the industry’s marketing machine.
His whisky journey began by accident. A German with no interest in whisky, he was talked into a trip to Scotland by a friend of a friend in 1983 and had his first dram, a 21-year-old Springbank, in front of a peat fire on a wild summer’s night. What he’s held onto since is curiosity: for the liquid, for the people who make it, and for the stories that turn a good whisky into an unforgettable one.
Pour yourself a dram and join the conversation.
— Read the Interview
Industry News
A fallen 1,000-year-old Irish oak becomes whiskey casks for Boann
An ancient oak toppled by Storm Elin at Swainstown Farm, Co. Meath has been coopered into three 225-litre casks for Boann Distillery — claimed to be the first complete Irish-oak whiskey casks made by Irish hands on Irish soil in over a century. They’ve been filled with a recreated 19th-century Preston’s mash bill, with bottling planned for 2027.
— The Spirits Business
Suntory’s whisky engine sputters — H1 alcohol sales flat, profit down a quarter
The House of Suntory’s alcohol division grew revenue just 0.2% to ¥653.6bn (US$4.12bn) in the first half of 2026, with operating income plunging 24.6% as US distributor destocking bit hard. The bright spots were closer to home: Hibiki, Yamazaki, Toki and the India-exclusive Oaksmith all outperformed, underlining where Japanese whisky’s growth now lives.
— The Spirits Business
Hibiki launches its first-ever global campaign, with Shogun’s Anna Sawai as ambassador
The House of Suntory has unveiled “The Masterpiece of Japanese Artistry” — Hibiki’s first global campaign in its 37-year history — naming Emmy winner Anna Sawai as first Global Ambassador, in collaboration with the 470-year-old Chiso kimono house of Kyoto. It rolls out across the US, Europe and Asia through 2026, including a kimono installation at JFK.
— WhiskyIntelligence
India’s Crazy Cock sweeps five Golds at the World Whisky Masters 2026
New Delhi-based South Seas Distilleries says it is the only Indian distiller to take five Gold medals at the competition — one for every expression entered, including all three Madhuca releases, the world’s first single malts finished in casks seasoned with mahura, India’s oldest indigenous spirit. Indian single malt’s run of form shows no sign of slowing.
— The Whiskey Wash
Johnnie Walker Blue Label signs actor Callum Turner as Global Ambassador
Diageo has announced a year-long partnership with the Neuromancer star, built around a “trip of discovery” content series through Scotland — the latest move in luxury Scotch’s chase for younger audiences.
— GreatDrams
Whisky Week returns to Scotland’s cities this September
The £5-a-dram, multi-venue festival is back — Glasgow from 27 August–6 September and Edinburgh 3–13 September — spanning more than 50 venues with exclusive drams and events. A good excuse for anyone travelling to Scotland in the coming weeks.
— The Whiskey Wash
New Releases
Bruichladdich goes barley-first: Greener Still 15 Year Old
The unpeated 15yo completes Bruichladdich’s 25th-anniversary trio (after Old Skool and Yellow Submarine III) and tips its cap to the cult Still Series — but shifts the story from cask to field: a marriage of Organic, Biodynamic and Orkney-grown Bere barley, matured full-term in first-fill bourbon on Islay, bottled at 51.6%, un-chillfiltered and natural colour, £120. “Flavour and environmental responsibility not only can go hand in hand — they must,” says global marketing director Gareth Brown.
— The Whiskey Wash
Glenfiddich & Aston Martin F1 unveil a 16 Year Old — Release No.2
Malt master Brian Kinsman worked with F1 design legend Adrian Newey on this five-cask 16-year-old — ex-bourbon, Port pipes, Oloroso, red wine and Fino sherry — bottled at 43%, priced at around £75/US$100.
— The Whiskey Wash
Douglas Laing sends peat to the tropics with the “Paradise in Smoke” collection
The Glasgow independent bottler’s new Old Particular trio pairs peated single malts with hand-selected Caribbean rum casks from Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad — campfire smoke meeting molasses, tropical fruit and island spice across three distinct releases.
— WhiskyIntelligence
Jameson confirms the US launch of Distiller’s Batch — announced today
Pernod Ricard confirmed that Jameson Distiller’s Batch — the single pot still, five-cask expression (ex-bourbon, Oloroso, and virgin Irish, European and American oak) bottled at 46% — hits American shelves in October. It’s the 2025 rebrand of Jameson Single Pot Still under Midleton master distiller Kevin O’Gorman, who Fellowship members can hear from in person at The Only Whisky Show. Kevin will be presenting master classes in Johannesburg this week.
— Forbes
Amrut launches Kranthi — a single malt named “revolution”
The Bangalore pioneer adds a NAS single malt built on a proprietary yeast strain and a four-cask recipe — new oak, ex-bourbon, Madeira and Oloroso — bottled at 40%. The catch: it’s a Karnataka-state exclusive at ?3,200 (about US$34). MD Rakshit Jagdale calls it “a revolution in mindset — the belief that when the world looks for the finest, it can look to India.”
— The Spirits Business
The Borders Distillery closes its Workshop Series with “Deep Time”
The fourth and final Workshop Series release honours the 300th birthday of geologist James Hutton — father of “deep time” — using the same 2019 spirit batch as its predecessors. Bottled at 40% ABV, just 750 bottles.
— Whisky For Everyone
Duncan Taylor bottles its first Mizunara-finished whisky — a triple-distilled Auchentoshan
A first for the Huntly independent bottler: Lowland spirit meets Japanese oak, marrying Auchentoshan’s triple-distilled delicacy with Mizunara’s sandalwood and incense.
— The Whiskey Wash
Ardnamurchan’s AD/Madeira Cask Release 2025 arrives
The west Highland distillery’s second Madeira release — distilled 2018, ex-bourbon then around two years in Madeira casks, roughly 60:40 unpeated to peated, 52% ABV and about 19,000 bottles (±£68) — has landed at Milroy’s of Soho. On this week’s Ardnamurchan form (see Reviews Roundup), worth a look.
— WhiskyIntelligence
Maker’s Mark takes an Artist Series to the world’s airports
The Loretto distillery has launched a travel-retail-exclusive Artist Series: city-themed, artist-painted label editions with hand-finished details echoing the famous red wax dip — a collectible play aimed squarely at the duty-free shelf.
— WhiskyIntelligence
Reviews Roundup
Macallan Terra, Quest Collection (43.8%) — 81/100
Ruben finds the travel-retail Macallan “very cask-forward, with bloated caramel notes and active spice that doesn’t feel entirely integrated” — a long way from the sherried elegance the name trades on.
— WhiskyNotes
Glendronach 12yo “Matured in Sherry Casks”, 1980s bottling (43%) — 92/100
A dusty-bottle time capsule and a masterclass in old-style sherry: walking-into-a-bodega aromas, tobacco, roasted chestnuts and old Sercial. Ruben’s verdict — modern seasoned Oloroso and PX casks simply can’t replicate the mixed sherry casks of that era. “High class whisky.”
— WhiskyNotes
Talisker Skye (45.8%) — 8/10
Eleven years after Serge Valentin’s infamous thumbs-down, Thijs Klaverstijn finally gives the Skye a fair hearing: “simplistic, but decent nonetheless” — though nowhere near the similarly priced Talisker 10.
— Words of Whisky
North British 32yo 1991 “Cyberpunk” (45.6%, Zn09) — 87/100
From the same grain session, a first for Serge: “a medicinal single grain… this is enormous fun. What on earth is this thing?” — 244 bottles of first-fill-barrel weirdness from Edinburgh’s workhorse.
— Whisky Fun
Loch Lomond 29yo Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection (42.1%) — 6.5/10 & Glen Spey 16yo 2009 Manzanilla (55.9%) — 6/10
The Bros find the 29-year-old “lifted by the sherry rather than smothered” — thin texture the main gripe at £200 — while the Glen Spey runs a bit hot and unbalanced for its £75.
— Two WhiskyBros
Ardnamurchan AD/10 2025 release (46.8%) — 8.7 & Whiskybase single cask 6yo (59%) — 8.6
“Absolutely excellent” — for Thijs’s money the AD/10 is one of the better 10-year-old core-range releases out there, and the first-fill bourbon Whiskybase cask pleases at under €100.
— Words of Whisky
Port Askaig Sherry Cask (50.5%) — 7/10
Elixir Distillers’ Oloroso-butt Islay bottling gets the Bros’ nod at £64.50: “We’d personally guess this was Caol Ila… a nice hit of sherry and peat. What’s not to like?”
— Two WhiskyBros
Tormore 12yo — the debut of Elixir Distillers’ new core range (46%) — 7/10
First-fill bourbon, cream sherry and virgin oak; an easy-sipping, fruity Speysider, though the virgin-oak spice slightly muscles out the fruit. Worth watching as Elixir’s stewardship of Tormore takes shape.
— The Whiskey Wash
Bruges Whisky Company ×5 — Belgian malt from charming to chaotic
Ruben surveys the Belgian distillery’s range: the dessert-sweet core bottlings charm (Core 2 at 83 points), but the red-pepper-finished Ryggia Unleashed (72) and Rogia Malbec (67) get filed under “more wine than whisky”.
— WhiskyNotes
Loch Lomond Inchmoan 12 (46%) — B
A gentle gateway to peat: “the peat feels softer and more integrated with the fruit and spice… for drinkers looking to explore peated whisky without diving straight into the deep end” — around $44.
— The Whiskey Reviewer
Ardnamurchan Paul Launois 2026 — four Dramface writers, three 8s and a 7
The Champagne-barrique-finished 8-year-old (57.4%, 5,726 bottles) convenes four of the team around “one of the coolest annual releases in whisky” — and they mostly land on 8/10.
— Dramface
Gordon & MacPhail MacPhail’s 21yo (40%) — 7/10
Expected: a generic 40% undisclosed Speysider. Got: stroopwafel, Caramac and a remarkable mouthfeel for the strength — “you’ll struggle to find a 21-year-old malt for less” at £100.
— Two WhiskyBros
Good Spirits Co. 8yo North Highland — Thompson Bros teaspooned Clynelish (48.5%) — 6/10
“A summer dram from the land of no summer” — taut, mineral and saline, wrapped in a lovely essay on what makes a good independent whisky retailer. Sold out at £36.50, which tells its own story.
— Dramface
Bourbon Corner
Four Roses’ first-ever “Experimental” release succeeds — Mizunara cask bourbon
Experimental Series 001 is a 6-year OBSK bourbon finished in notoriously leaky Japanese Mizunara oak, bottled at 104 proof ($55/375ml, visitor-centre exclusive). Steve Coomes rates it a success, with fresh Brent Elliott quotes on the experiments surviving the Gallo acquisition.
— Bourbon & Banter
Sagamore High Rye Bourbon (108 proof) — B
Maryland’s rye specialist flips the mash bill: “fruity, but also kind of ballsy. Fans of the Sagamore style should be pleased.” $50.
— The Whiskey Reviewer
Buffalo Trace’s 2026 Prohibition Collection reviewed — the 140.6-proof rye steals it
The third edition of the $1,000 five-bottle set honouring Blanton-era brands: the near-HAZMAT Henry Watterson Straight Rye is “downright exceptional”, while the Walter B. Duffy bourbon underwhelms for the price.
— Breaking Bourbon
Old Elk 10 Year Old Wheated Bourbon (105 proof) — B
The Colorado producer’s first major release since the Middle West Spirits acquisition: musty-but-floral, “bailing hay… orange creamsicle” notes at $70 — a solid marker of where the brand is heading.
— The Whiskey Reviewer
Jackson Purchase Kentucky Select — “something special is happening in Hickman”
Bourbon Obsessed marks its 600th review with a 4-year, 108-proof straight bourbon distilled under Craig Beam in far-west Kentucky — aged in a palletized warehouse converted from a blue-jean factory, and tasting far older than its four years. $64.95, Kentucky only.
— Bourbon Obsessed
Available Now — Local Online Retailers
A quick round-up of new – or interesting – bottles on the shelves in SA this week:
Mother City Liquor
New whisky arrivals — most of the rare stuff is down to the last bottle or two, so move fast:
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
| GlenAllachie 21yo 2005 Signatory CS (#900273) — NEW | R5,999.99 |
| Benriach 25yo 2000 Signatory CS (#25632) — NEW | R7,999.99 |
| Edradour 12yo Burgundy Cask — NEW | R2,149.99 |
| Edradour 10yo Sauternes Cask — NEW | R1,999.99 |
| Glenfarclas 2010 Distillery Exclusive (2022) | R7,999.99 |
| Glenkinchie Distillers Edition 2022 | R1,899.99 |
| Decadent Drams Mortlach 20yo (1 of 179) | R6,999.99 |
WhiskyShop
New release or returning classics — Two Stacks Blenders Cut is now sold out:
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
| Falkland Speyside — NEW | R590 |
| Indri Trini The Three Wood | R899 |
| Redbreast 18yo | R3,999 |
| Redbreast PX Cask / Lustau | R2,390 / R2,150 |
| Two Stacks Smoke & Mirrors Peated | R1,333 |
WhiskyBrother & Co
Some nice picks on the new-arrivals page — in-stock highlights include:
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
| Ben Nevis Tartan Army 11yo (Signatory) | R995 |
| Balmenach 10yo 100 Proof (Signatory) | R1,395 |
| Ben Nevis Heavily Peated 7yo 100 Proof (Signatory) | R1,395 |
| Edradour 10yo Sauternes Cask Small Batch | R1,490 |
| Edradour 12yo Burgundy Cask Small Batch | R1,550 |
| Nikka From The Barrel Extra Marriage | R1,195 |
| Glengoyne 16yo Mizunara Oak | R6,700 |
The 100 Proof sell-through continues — Clynelish 10, Mortlach 11, Craigellachie 15 remain gone, now joined by the Speyside (M) 14 Small Batch.
Wild About Whisky
New arrivals — last 30 days:
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
| Glenmorangie – A Tale of Spices (On Sale) | R1,195 |
| Glenfiddich Solera Reserve 15yo | R1,139 |
| Glenmorangie Original 12yo + glass pack | R655 |
| GlenAllachie 12yo | R959 |
| Ledaig Rioja Cask Finish (Sinclair Series) | R949 |
Whisky Library
New arrivals — the “2nd Birthday Sale” is doing damage across the rare/vintage wall:
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
| Lagavulin 12 Special Release 2020 | R3,500 (was R4,499) |
| Teaninich 8yo SR 2025 “Daring Rye” | R1,799 (was R1,999) |
| Talisker “Wild Explorador” SR 2023 | R2,199 (was R2,799) |
| Glenmorangie Special Reserve 1980s Vintage | R3,999 (was R4,999) |
| Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX (first Private Edition) | R8,999 |
My favourite of the Private Edition series, the Sonnalta PX! I wish I had the money to grab that bottle, it’s so good.
Decanter Liquor
Browsing through the newest listings — this caught my attention:
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
| Ledaig Sinclair Series Rioja Cask | R949.99 |
| Hepburn’s Choice Tamdhu 11yo | R999.99 |
| Hepburn’s Choice Glenburgie 10yo | R899.99 |
| Mars Kasei | R999.99 |
| GlenAllachie 11yo Palo Cortado | R2,199.99 |
| Balvenie 14yo Victo Ngai Caribbean Cask | R3,699.99 |
Upcoming Events
The Only Whisky Show returns this week
157 whiskies, one show, unapologetically dedicated to the good stuff. The Only Whisky Show hits Johannesburg this Thursday and Friday, then heads to Cape Town for the same two nights next week — with peated and unpeated, single malt and grain, cask strength and small batch pours from Scotland, Ireland, the USA, South Africa, Wales, Israel and Taiwan all on the floor. Your ticket covers unlimited access to every exhibitor, plus three Copper Coupons to redeem against the rare and hard-to-find drams marked ‘CC’ on the list.
For something more intimate, the masterclass programme brings international whisky personalities Olaf Meier, Kevin O’Gorman and Ronan Currie to Johannesburg, with Keeper of the Quaich George Novitskas joining Olaf and Ronan in Cape Town. Seated tastings run about 70 minutes, capped at 25 guests, just three per night — at R200 a head, book early.
The Only Whisky Show 2026
JHB: 13 & 14 August | The Galleria | R690pp
Book JHB
Cape Town: 20 & 21 August | CTICC | R690pp
Book CT
WhiskyBrother’s Helden Distillery Day Trip (Note: The date has changed)
Saturday, 17 October 2026 | Parys Free State | R1,490pp
A full-day experience at South Africa’s Helden Distillery with an in-depth tour led by founder and owner Dr Pieter van Helden — ideal for anyone who hasn’t visited a working distillery before. Book tickets
Worth Reading
“Succession plan: what happens after a master distiller leaves?” — Whisky Magazine
Mark Jennings on whisky-maker succession, built around Highland Park’s Marc Watson inheriting from Gordon Motion after 27 years, and Dr Rachel Barrie’s moves at Brown-Forman. The “gardener, not author” framing alone is worth the read.
— Whisky Magazine
“Why I believe the single malt market owes everything to Johnnie Walker” — The Whiskey Wash
Mark Littler’s contrarian essay argues blends bankroll the single malt category: roughly 60% of Scotch export value and 80% of distillery output goes into blends. Sacrilege to some Fellowship members, maths to others.
— The Whiskey Wash
Five Indian single malts that make great gifts
Shiv Rajvanshi’s tour through Rampur Double Cask, Crazy Cock’s Mahura-cask Madhuca III, the Virasat and Cabernet-finished Asava, and GianChand — a tidy primer on the subcontinent’s premium wave.
— The Whiskey Wash
And That’s a Wrap!
Thanks for all the support, comments, suggestions and inspiration that helped shape this issue of the Digest. What other community-related content would you like to see here?
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Until next week, DRAM on!