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.
Decadent Drinks June 2026 Outturn
Wally ‘forgets’ to forward on the set from Decadent Drams showcasing their June outturn. Luckily, there are some quite spectacular treats inside, including a 52yo Glen Garioch.
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.
Fragrant Drops Duo
North America hosts the World Cup and the USA finds itself once more distracted by this odd sport that fascinates the rest of planet Earth. CA based Archie drinks it all in with two recent bottles from Fragrant Drops.
Little Brown Dog Duo
Charlie manages to attend only the very last day of this year’s Campbeltown Malts Festival, but still feels like it was very worth while - especially after picking up two Little Brown Dog bangers!
Mortlach 11yo Signatory 100º Proof
Sometimes, we don’t get exactly what we expect. That’s when an open mind and patience can deliver a decent experience regardless, as Earie and Fergie discover on this Signatory Mortlach.
Murray McDavid Duo
In a wonderfully candid and personal piece, Archie shares his transition into trusting independent bottlers and how he decided to start with Murray McDavid. It’s not what you might think.
7x SMOS Reserve Cask Series
Broddy gathers seven bottles of SMOS Reserve Cask Small Batch releases in a single mega review. He justifies his scoring for each while dropping a bombshell of heresy about oatcakes.
Official vs Indy: The Singletons
Charlie continues his deep dive into new distilleries (to him), this time uncovering the two ‘Glens’ of Ord and ‘Dullan, then comparing two Special releases to indies from James Eadie and the Thompson Bros.
Glendullan 23yo Chorlton The Rare Malt
Murdo heads out into the rain to break a self-imposed bottle ban. So much for future indulgence space making. He’s weak. Aren’t we all? A Glendullan from Chorlton in the glass.
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.
Mannochmore 15yo Equinox & Solstice
As an advocate for bottle splits, Earie enjoys a souvenir from a pal - one of the Equinox & Solstice releases from Decadent Drinks - this time an under-the-radar Mannochmore.
Official vs Indy: Glenlossie
A stranger to Glenlossie until 2025, Charlie uncovered one of Diageo’s ‘blend houses’ in a Cadenhead’s tasting. Typically for him, a pleasant experience and a bottle purchase finds him exploring and comparing.
Official vs Indy: Clynelish
In the first of his series of “Official vs Indy” reviews, Charlie tees up one of our most evocative comparisons: Clynelish. The question is, will he uncover any of the W-word?
Lagavulin 11yo Sweet Peat
Betraying his age as well as his sense of humour and movie preferences, Archie surprises himself with a low-expectations bottling from Lagavulin: their new 11 year old Sweet Peat.
Lagavulin 8yo
Earie, like many of us, keeps Diageo on the naughty step until their insanely greedy and odd behaviours change. But gifts are gifts, so what’s he missing out on? Lagavulin 8 in the glass this time.
Caol Ila 10yo Palo Cortado
All good things must end. Archie wraps up his Northern California trip & kills off one of his favourite ever from his beloved Caol Ila: a Woodrows in Palo Cortado.
Four Single Casks from Woodrow’s
A new year, a new writer. Debutant Archie sips from Long Beach California and for his first Dramface piece he went for four from Woodrow’s. A Balvenie, Laphroaig, Dailuaine and an Ardna. Nice.
Decadent Drinks December 2025
It’s Dougie’s turn to step up with a box of the latest outturn from Decadent Drinks. Like this weekend deep-dive read, it’s no small undertaking. But it starts with an Ardnamurchan, so he’s in…
Dailuaine 11yo SMOS
Earie has given up worrying about the scale of his ‘collection’ and admitting that the fun is in buying more whisky. He trusts SMOS and buys blind, but he may have come a cropper on this Dailuaine.
Elevenses Linkwood 9yo
A solid and dependable dram is needed to help Mason come down after a whirlwind trip to Glasgow for the annual Whisky Festival. This Fragrant Drops Elevenses Linkwood does the trick nicely.