OND: The Most Wonderful (and Exhausting) Time of the Whisky Year
For those in the liquor industry (and us whisky lovers too), OND – October, November and December – is rather like Christmas coming early, except that this Christmas lasts three months. Our calendar fills faster than a well-stocked whisky cabinet, and spouses/partners start to wonder how many whisky events one person can possibly need to attend.
It’s a season of tastings, launches, festivals, dinners and last-minute invites. The whole community comes alive, with the diary starting to resemble a game of Tetris, with very little room left for anything else.
Amid all the excitement, it’s worth sparing a thought for the people who make the season happen: the retailers juggling stock, customers and end-of-year demand, the brand ambassadors travelling from tasting to tasting, often living out of a suitcase, and the many people behind the scenes who make every event look effortless. For them OND is less a celebration than a marathon.
So as we accept another invitation, book another tasting and promise our better halves that this really is the last event of the week, we might remember those putting in the long hours to keep the industry moving. Raise a glass to them, and when you get home, perhaps pour one for your spouse/partner too. Surviving OND deserves a dram of its own.
Sláinte,
Mark
What’s In Mark’s Glass This Week
Lagavulin Offerman Edition 11yo Guinness Cask Finish (46%)
I was clearing out the shelves in my office, and came across this bottle, thinking it was empty. You can imagine my delight when I discovered I still had 1/4 of a bottle left! And that delight doubled when I realized I had Guinness in the fridge.
This is an excellent combo: take a sip of the Guinness, making sure to get some of the creamy head, swallow, and then immediately take a swig of the whisky, swirling it around in your mouth with the remnants of the head. One of life’s little pleasures.
I fell in love with Guinness when I worked in Dublin, back in 1996, and with Lagavulin at my first Whisky Live Festival. It was – to me – the benchmark single malt whisky back then. Throw in one of my favourite shows, Parks & Rec and the grumpy Ron Swanson, and marry that all together and you get a delightful result in the glass. Offerman’s wonderfully organic relationship with the distillery is to me one of the very few genuine celebrity/brand partnerships in the world of spirits. Sláinte Nick/Ron!
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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.
“As one of the whiskies that first got me into whisky, it always reminds me just how good more delicate drams can be.” — Tinus V. | Blair Athol 12yo
“Bourbon is the best blanket for little piggies on a cold winters day.” — Andrea E. | Woodford Reserve
Industry News
Belgian Owl is gone — and its 1898 Caperdonich stills are going under the hammer
The Belgian single malt pioneer (founded 2004) closed earlier this year after an attempt to sell it as a going concern failed. Auctim is now selling more than 20,600 bottles in nearly 3,000 lots, over 3,500 maturing casks (ages undisclosed), the mash tuns and bottling line, and two copper stills from 1898 that originally came from Speyside’s Caperdonich, plus its spirit safe. Bidding on bottles and equipment opens 29 October; the equipment auction closes from 12 November, and cask auction dates are still to come. (Mark: ties back to the story about Caperdonich’s history I wrote about a few weeks back.)
— Whisky Monkeys
Tasmania’s whisky makers are bracing for the global downturn.
ABC’s 7.30 programme visits a young industry caught out by falling demand: McHenry Distillery has cut staff and now distils a couple of times a month, down from daily 18 months ago, while Sullivans Cove puts Tasmania’s share of global whisky sales at just 0.05% and still dreams of 1%. Jim Beam’s pause at its main Kentucky distillery for all of 2026 is cited as a sign of how deep the slump runs, and excise relief (the first $400,000 refunded) only goes so far. William McHenry: “What worries me is that we’re out there trying to get overseas business now.”
— ABC News (Australia)
Diageo’s Cameronbridge strike is suspended — talks go to Acas.
Unite has called off the remaining walkouts at Europe’s largest grain distillery (15, 19 and 22 October) after a single day of action on 12 October, as a “gesture of goodwill” ahead of conciliation. The dispute is over Diageo’s proposed job cuts — up to ten roles at Cameronbridge, citing reduced production volumes — which the union says weren’t consulted on properly. An overtime ban continues during talks, and Diageo says it expects no disruption to product availability. It follows the three-week strike we flagged in Week 39.
— Drinks Intel
Pernod Ricard’s first quarter: India up nearly 20%, China down 25%, and The Glenlivet slipping in US control states.
Organic sales for July–September slipped 0.9% to €2.234bn. The US fell 10% and China 25% (Pernod blames inventory adjustments), Europe was down 6%, and Asia-ROW rose 9% — India by nearly 20%, with Japan growing and Korea and Taiwan back in the black. In US control states (through August) Jameson declined and The Glenlivet fell more substantially, while Redbreast grew; Pernod still guides to broadly stable organic sales for the year.
— Shanken News Daily
Amrut expects flat sales until 2030 — and is watching the India–UK trade deal.
Bengaluru’s Amrut Distilleries says Indian single malt’s three-year-minimum maturation caps how fast supply can grow: it holds about 75,000 nine-litre cases of single malt inventory and expanded distillation capacity to 1.3–1.4 million litres last year, but that stock takes time to become saleable. It has launched a blended malt, plans a cheaper single malt for North India before December, and is holding off major price cuts while it assesses how the CETA could lower import duties on Scotch. Rivals named include Indri, Kamet, Longitude 77 and Godawan.
— Ambrosia India
Gordon & MacPhail appoints Jo Coomber as Global Marketing Director
The independent bottler and Benromach owner has named Coomber to its executive team as it pursues its “ambitious growth plan,” per chief executive Mark Geary, who says she “will bring a wealth of experience” to the business. Coomber: “It is a personal privilege for me to be joining the business at such an exciting time.”
— WhiskyIntelligence
Heriot-Watt wants a £35m Centre for Advanced Brewing and Distilling.
The proposed centre, beside the National Robotarium, would be funded by £25.3m of industry money and £9.7m public investment, and a BiGGAR Economics report estimates it could add around £53m a year to the Scottish economy (£324.8m of annual GVA and 1,570 jobs within a decade). The report warns the existing facilities are “no longer fit for purpose” — notable given the 2024/25 figure of £240.1m GVA from the current centre.
— The Whiskey Wash
New Releases
“One Whisky To Rule Them All”: a New Zealand single malt for the Fellowship of the Ring’s 25th. Ringbearer is distilled by Pōkeno, a multi-cask malt of at least six years (first-fill bourbon, virgin American oak, French Muscat and Manuka honey-seasoned casks) at 46%, $109.99 for 700ml. Officially licensed; co-founder Matt Johns calls the honey-seasoned casks a first. (Mark: I really need to get a bottle of this!)
— WhiskyIntelligence
Guest House No.02 is a leaking cask turned into a single-cask Dailuaine. The first single-cask release in the Guest House series: a 9yo Speyside malt from a first-fill oloroso sherry butt, bottled at 51% after a leak concentrated the spirit. Under 40 bottles (from 75 litres) went on sale online and it has already sold out; the team’s note calls it “mouthcoating, reminiscent of a good oloroso dryness.” Announced 17 October.
— WhiskyIntelligence
Nikka Frontier: a new, lightly peated core blend with Yoichi in the driving seat. A permanent tribute to founder Masataka Taketsuru: 48%, non-chill filtered, 51% malt (heavily peated Yoichi) blended with Miyagikyo grain, in a 500ml bottle with an embossed shimenawa motif at £33. It’s a Majestic exclusive in the UK from late October, with a wider UK off-trade rollout planned for January 2027. Distributor Speciality Brands says it’s built for Highballs and Old Fashioneds.
— The Spirits Business
Kilchoman Sanaig Cask Strength returns for 2026. 57.5%, a mix of Oloroso hogshead-finished and fully matured casks sourced from Bodega José Miguel Martín in Jerez, no age statement, RRP £76.90 through selected specialists. Announced 15 October. (Mark: You can also see the team at Kilchoman’s reactions to the new Sanaig Cask Strength on Instagram.)
— The Whisky Wire
Isle of Raasay’s “The Full Monti” is all unpeated. A small-batch 57.1% malt (100 proof in old UK money) matured three years in ex-rye barrels and then three years in American oak ex-Amontillado casks, limited to 5,000 bottles at £80 through specialist retailers in selected markets.
— Whisky For Everyone
Woven teams up with Ottolenghi on a food-friendly Scotch blend. Leith-based Woven combines Edinburgh grain, Speyside malt and Oloroso-seasoned casks, shaped by Ottolenghi’s kitchen and bar teams around flavours like preserved lemon, fennel and pink peppercorn. £60 for 70cl, served at the new Ottolenghi Edinburgh and sold in limited numbers online; executive chef Neil Campbell: “This isn’t a whisky to save in the cabinet.”
— The Whisky Wire
Tobermory and Ledaig go Christmas — with folklore. A four-strong range: Tobermory 12 (£47), The Whispers of Burg (Tobermory 13yo, Amontillado-finished, 55.6%, £90), Ban-fhàidh’s Rebirth (Ledaig in Bolgheri wine and Spanish brandy casks, 57.6%, £70) and Ledaig Castaway (£65), the brand’s first rum-and-tequila-cask maturation.
— The Whiskey Wash
Reviews Roundup
Bruichladdich Old Skool 10yo (50%, first-fill bourbon and first-fill Sauternes) — solid, if not essential. Ruben Luyten’s verdict on the new 10: “A solid release, though maybe not particularly unmissable if you already own other expressions.” (Mark: Looking forward to tasting this and sharing my notes.)
— WhiskyNotes
A very lovely trio of Glenfarclas — the 1979 Family Cask for Bow Bar & Shinanoya takes 90 — Serge Valentin scores the Glenfarclas 190 Anniversary (51.4%) 88 (“they’ve got this assemblage absolutely right”), the 1979/2014 Family Cask (50.8%) 90 (“quite beautiful”) and a 1965/2005 Scott’s Selection (48.5%) 85, “still very beautiful, of course.”
— Whisky Fun
The Time Warp Sessions: Scapa 21yo (OB, 52.9%) takes 89, forty years on from a Cadenhead 1965/1990 at 85 — Serge Valentin finds the new 21 “tauter and less soft and fruity than last time,” while the old Cadenhead “remains moving and, when all is said and done, excellent.”
— Whisky Fun
The Whisky Agency, five ways: Bruichladdich 2012 13yo (hogshead, 50.7%, 166 bottles) leads at 89 — Ruben Luyten finds “a creamy fruitiness” there, with a Secret Orkney 2006 19yo (51.2%) at 88: “Simply very good, unsurprisingly so in fact.” The Secret Speyside 2007 and a Linkwood 2011 Monbazillac barrique both land at 87.
— WhiskyNotes
Faer Isles Debut Release (3yo, 48%) — 84/100 — The first whisky from the Faroe Islands is a vatting of mainly ex-bourbon and ex-Bordeaux NEOC casks. Thomas Øhrbom: “Youthful malt with a rustic edge.” Launch events are planned for Europe, Asia and North America in Q1 2027.
— Whisky Saga
Fuji 12yo Single Grain (Kirin, 48%) — 89/100 — Thomas Øhrbom’s verdict: “A truly refined and inspired single grain.” Japan’s grain whisky continues to quietly outperform its profile.
— Whisky Saga
Macallan 1992 33yo (Robbers & van den Hoogen, 54.7%) — 9.1 — Thijs Klaverstijn’s pairing with Decadent Drinks’ Marketing Malt 2008 15yo (57.1%, 8.9, “a whisky that apologises to no one”): the Macallan “doesn’t show its years maybe as much as you’d expect.”
— Words of Whisky
Kingsbarns 10yo ‘Cambo Collection’ First Edition (46%) — 8.5 — “While fairly oak forward, this is a characterful single malt with a fair bit of complexity.” A useful second opinion on the release we flagged in Week 41.
— Words of Whisky
Caol Ila 8yo Tawny Port (Murray McDavid, 55.9%, €45/£40) — 6/10 — Kenzie Fisher’s debut Dramface review is cautiously won over: “Good enough to make me reconsider my opinions on ‘special casks’.”
— Dramface
Clydeside 8yo Small Batch Oloroso (55.5%, £50) — 7/10 and 7/10 — Charlie Campbell calls it “Clydeside’s best release so far”; Wally Macaulay is more measured — “another solid and confident step in the distillery’s development.”
— Dramface
Decadent Drinks Old Orkney Relics 30yo 1996 (41.7%, £120) — 7/10 — The final cask of the original Old Orkney blend: 30 years in a refill sherry butt, 492 bottles, bottled uncut. The Bros’ verdict: “Personally we preferred this neat.”
— Two WhiskyBros
Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength (56.2%, £48.75) — 6.5/10 — The Bros find the palate “more interesting, with a nice balance of sweetness and log fire smoke.” Solid but not a showstopper.
— Two WhiskyBros
Bourbon Corner
Garrison Brothers Ranch Reserve — PX and Oloroso sherry cask-strength single barrels (8yo, $190 each)
Breaking Bourbon’s capsule reviews rate the PX (129.9 proof) a 4 and the Oloroso (131 proof) a 3.5: “Every now and then, a few barrels tell you they’re not meant to be blended away.” Both went on sale 17 October.
— Breaking Bourbon
Old Forester launches its annual Tribute Series with a 12-year-old (57.5% ABV, $299.99)
The inaugural bottling is blended from the brand’s oldest age-stated stocks rather than a single barrel, in a faceted glass decanter with a heavy metal stopper that draws on Old Forester’s 1954–1969 holiday decanters. Future releases will run between 110 and 125 proof. It reached limited select retailers nationwide on 15 October.
— The Bourbon Flight
New Era launches Marquee, a $49.99 small-batch bourbon blended by a nine-person Kentucky panel
Nine bourbon professionals tasted 30 barrels aged five to nine years, split into three teams that each built a blend, then voted: the winner is 11 Kentucky barrels across seven mash bills, in a 750ml bottle with a colourful label. Founder Zane Brammell: “Some cocktails and social occasions call for a bourbon like Marquee.” Announced 15 October.
— The Bourbon Flight
Rittenhouse United States 250th Anniversary Commemorative Edition (100 proof, $100) — 3.5
Breaking Bourbon’s 15 October review of the Liberty Bell-packaged rye: the edition “celebrates Rittenhouse’s Pennsylvania heritage with commemorative Liberty Bell packaging.” (The bottling itself launched in May; this is the review.)
— Breaking Bourbon
Scattered Castles Batch #1 (117.2 proof, $75) — B+
A sourced blend of five barrels aged six to eight years, finished in old rum casks and bottled at cask strength, under 1,000 bottles. Richard Thomas: “My verdict is a sterling outcome, especially for a first effort.”
— The Whiskey Reviewer
Basil Hayden Golden Rye (80 proof, $37) — easy rather than exciting
A 100% malted rye, NAS and at least four years old; Craig calls it “an easy, approachable sipper that goes down quickly,” while Cynthia finds it bright and well suited to daytime sipping and mixing.
— Bourbon Obsessed
Is Bourbon on the Banks the next must-attend whiskey festival?
Patrick Pho reports from Frankfort, Kentucky — a relaxed alternative to the big Kentucky Bourbon Festival, with a bottle share, a VIP reception with Kentucky distillers, a charity auction, new Bourbon Women programming and Pauley Hollow Distillery as a standout discovery. Jeff McMullen: “This festival… it’s intimate. It’s more comfortable. It’s just better.”
— Bourbon & Banter
Auction & Market Watch
Black Bowmore takes the spotlight: a complete set of every Black Bowmore release made $47,580.
Whisky Advocate’s latest auction update (16 October) also has a Bowmore x Aston Martin 1968 Arc-54 at $42,294, a Bowmore 1964 35yo (cask 3709) at $25,153 at Scotch Whisky Auctions’ 184th sale, and — a reality check — The Abyss 1989 34yo at $18,107, well short of its $27,500 retail price. Ahead: Bonhams Edinburgh on 21 October, then Sotheby’s Hong Kong on 23 October (Scotch) and 28 October (Japanese whisky, including all three Yamazaki 50 releases).
— Whisky Advocate
Whisky.Auction’s October sale: an SMWS Ardbeg 1974 33yo tops the table at £5,400.
A late bidding battle pushed a Macallan 1958/59 25yo Anniversary Malt to £4,700, with a Brora 35yo (11th Special Releases) at £1,400 and a Longrow 1987 Samaroli at £1,350 further down.
— Whisky.Auction Magazine
Available Now — Local Online Retailers
I ran out of time this week to compile the list, so check back in next week.
Upcoming Events
Be sure to bookmark the Whisky Events page, and check back regularly for new events, dinners and festivals happening in your area.
GlenAllachie Whisky Tasting Experience
Tuesday, 27 October 2026 | Bottega Café, Parkhurst | R995pp
The Bottega Whisky Club presents an exclusive tasting of five GlenAllachie expressions: the new 10 Year Old Cask Strength (Batch 13), alongside the 12, 15, 18 and 21 Year Old. Hosted by Sav Cardillo and Fortune Maseko, GlenAllachie’s South African Brand Ambassador, at Bottega, 22d 4th Avenue, Parkhurst. Arrive 18:30 for a 19:00 start. The ticket includes the tasting, a two-course meal and gratuity for your waiter (extras excluded). Seats are limited, so book early.
RSVP via email to parkhurst@bottegacafe.co.za
Decanter presents The Macallan Timeless Collection Tasting Experience
Wednesday, 28 October 2026 | Sass The Venue, Bedfordview | R1,000pp
Decanter presents an evening with The Macallan, featuring tastings of Double Cask 12, 15, 18 and 30 Years Old, with a few surprise drams along the way.
Hosted by The Macallan Brand Ambassador Thami Banda, the evening includes the tasting experience and dinner. The event starts at 18h30 for 19h00, with limited availability.
Book via WhatsApp on 082 456 1071 or email info@decanterliquor.co.za
Book via Decanter
Benriach Whisky Tasting
Thursday, 29 October 2026 | The Whisky Shop, The Gantry, Fourways | R650pp
An evening exploring the rich, complex world of Benriach, with a curated tasting of Benriach 12, Benriach Smoke Season, Benriach Quarter Cask and Glendronach 12. Your ticket includes a bottle of Benriach 12 to take home, food and a welcome drink. Arrival from 18:00 for an 18:30 start. Spaces are limited.
Book via WhatsApp or call 065 933 7646
The Only Spirits Show 2026
Friday, 30 October 2026 | Hyde Park Corner Mall, Joburg | R250pp
A celebration of spirits beyond whisky, featuring tequila, mezcal, cognac, brandy, gin, rum and liqueurs, with more than 50 products available to sample. Each exhibitor will offer complimentary tastings, with selected products also available by the glass.
The Underground Whisky Club x Velvet Rose: A Burlesque Experience
Friday, 30 October 2026 | The Premium Liquor Company, Cape Town | R1,000pp
For one night, The Premium Liquor Company takes on a darker, more theatrical character as The Underground Whisky Club hosts an intimate evening with Velvet Rose. Burlesque performances run throughout a curated dinner, paired with bubbles, exceptional whisky pours and old-world glamour, in a setting closer to a private salon than a traditional show. Starts at 18:30. Dress code: formal. Places are deliberately limited; RSVP to Steven by 23 October.
Book via WhatsApp or call 079 173 7368
Whisky Live Festival South Africa
Thursday, 5 – Saturday, 7 November 2026 | The Galleria | From R695pp
South Africa’s largest whisky festival, with General Access (R695) for the tasting hall, Combo (R1,095) for tasting hall + Master Class + 18 tokens, or VIP (R2,495) for the VIP Lounge, tasting hall, dinner, private bar and 20 tokens.
Book via Ticketpro
Spirit of Ireland: An Evening of Irish Whiskey
Thursday, 12 November 2026 | The Whisky Shop, The Gantry Shopping Centre, Fourways | R750pp
Whiskyshop hosts an evening celebrating the spirit of Ireland, presented by Kiera & Ese. The line-up features Clonakilty, JJ Corry, Sailors Home, Dingle, Redbreast and Whistler Cream, making it an evening of Irish whiskey, good company and discovery.
Runs from 17:00 to 21:00. Food, snacks and light refreshments are included.
Book via Whiskyshop Events
Worth Reading
New Zealand’s Cardrona comes of age
Over dinner in London, Pattinson tastes the single casks (bourbon, Pinot noir and Oloroso) that make up Cardrona’s flagship single malt, The Falcon, with master distiller Sarah Elsom — and finds the blend more balanced than any of its parts. A high-altitude, dry Central Otago site, a 2023 purchase by ThaiBev’s spirits arm and a decade of laying down stock frame a candid discussion of identity over novelty: “We were never going to be a distillery that did something different every week.”
— Barley Magazine
“It’s the heart of us”: Mitchell & Son on Green Spot’s colourful century
Green Spot — once dubbed “the coelacanth of whiskey” — turned 100 last October as the only Irish single pot still whiskey of its age in continuous production. The story of how the Mitchell family, wine merchants, kept it alive through lean decades and then negotiated, when Bow Street Distillery closed in 1977, to stay the brand’s stewards while Irish Distillers took over production.
— Whisky Magazine
Brazil Has Been Making Whisky For 50 Years, So Why Haven’t You Heard About It?
A tour of a quietly forming national style: Union Distillery (producing malt spirit since 1974, branded releases again since 2019), Lamas with its native woods and eucalyptus smoke, and Lunatic Asylum, Brazil’s first independent bottler. Hot-climate maths — roughly 5–7% annual evaporation against 1–2% in Scotland — shapes everything. Márcio Lamas’s warning: “If you’re not careful, it becomes more native wood than malt.”
— The Whiskey Wash
The luxury of time at House of Hazelwood
A tasting profile of the Gordon family’s private cask collection: director Phil Keene leads five whiskies aged 33 to 44 years, argues “grain is the canvas and malt is the colour,” and previews the One for the Next project — aged Girvan grain whisky released at up to 100 years old in 2065.
— Barley Magazine
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!