Whisky Reviews
Here you'll find honest opinions, thoughtful analysis and the occasional disagreement, because no two palates are quite the same. We review widely, score reluctantly and remain convinced that whisky is far more interesting than the numbers attached to it.
Agreement is optional; curiosity is encouraged.
Official vs Indy: Royal Lochnagar
In another of Charlies series, he looks at the exact opposite of Diageo’s so-called ‘workhorse’ distilleries. This time it’s the tiny Royal Lochnagar, a rare thing indeed, and finding an indy proves tricky.
Decadent Drinks April 2026
As well as sharing his thoughts on a selection of Decadent Drinks recent outturn, Ainsley also shares his thoughts on his latest visit to the Independent Spirits Festival in Leith.
Auchentoshan 20yo Whisky Craft
Our resident Parisian Ainsley is still unpacking the madness that was Glasgow’s Whisky Festival in 2025. With some distance, he also unpacks a lesser seen indie Auchentoshan from newcomers Whisky Craft.
Decadent Drinks August 2025 Outturn
Fergus reflects on the solidifying of his whisky exploration through trips and sharing, but also the understanding of new concepts, such as independent bottling, like this month’s Decadent Drinks outturn.
Decadent Drinks June 2025 Outturn
You’ve asked we do more of these, despite samples being a hot topic at Dramface. Well this time it’s sample-debutant Charlie’s turn with a set of minis from the Decadent Drinks June outturn. How will he get on?
Gold Cock 20yo
After preaching about his resolutions to become a little more ‘scrutinous’ about purchases, an auction offers up a Gold Cock Czech whisky and Earie can’t resist a punt. How did that work out?
Indy Ledaig Quintet
Fletcher uses a quintet of quite different, independently released Ledaig expressions to try to fathom how Signatory Vintage arrived at its pricing for a recent Cask Strength 17yo single cask.
Kilkerran 20yo
Prepare for a dose of FOMO as Wally waxes lyrical about another banger from Glengyle’s Kilkerran. He says, despite all the defiance and fighting to get there - they’ve released their best yet.
Inchgower 20yo
Murdo finds an ‘interesting’ whisky in this 20yo Inchgower but also shares an ‘interesting’ business model which understandably, prevents him from shopping local.
Ardmore Trio - Official vs Indie
Another continental buddy up today as Earie and Ainsley pour over a trio of different takes on Ardmore while considering the pitfalls of brand loyalty.
Tormore 20yo
Visiting a brick-and-mortar whisky shop, with best intentions, Broddy tries to use up some time while not using up any money. He fails and blows a fortune, but uncovers an absolute banger.
Ardmore 20yo & Glentauchers 14yo
In response to the recent news that Gordon & Macphail will stop filling casks and bottling independently, Broddy picks up a couple of local G&M Distillery Labels series finds and cracks them in mild contemplation of what this significant news holds for malt whisky’s future.