Sharing some things about the Isle of Skye that are both expected and unexpected, Dougie Crystal finds parallels in a glass of his, thus far ignored, local libation: Talisker.

Dove-tailing Doog’s review of the mass-market Aberfeldy 12yo, Ainsley finds an all-too-rare alternative, one more tailored for those of a geeky bent. Inexpensive too!

An occasional visit from Gilbert to ask us for our trust. He’s finding it difficult not to like a bottle that’s almost universally ignored, or even disliked. He digs beyond the tacky to work out why.

In a whisky landscape swamped with ratcheted prices and disgruntled malt lovers, Fletcher uncorks what he believes just might be a brilliant antidote. Bravo Signatory Vintage, bravo.

Shock horror, model son Dougie actually chooses to buy a whisky he knows to be 40%, chill-filtered and probably coloured. And yet, he finds a place where it fits perfectly, and no, it’s not down the sink.

When some of the Dramface reviews are for limited outturns, mostly from indies, Earie wonders; What’s the point? Then he finds something like this. That’s the point.

Dougie, deliberately, seeks out the distillery that everyone has told him is terrible, he pulls the trigger on a bargain to discover “Jura is well worth the chase. Jura is magic whisky. Jura is hugely enjoyable and fun.” 😳

Drawn to his beloved Ardmore like a moth to a flame, Fletcher believes that, while the official bottling is a pale imitation, indies always deliver Ardmore’s amber light through clumsy darkness. Unless…

Surprised by tales of woe and predictions of whisky doom and gloom, Ogilvie harnesses positivity in the bottle chase, and immediately steps out and snags himself a banger of a dusty ‘99 Glen Garioch

Itching to get his curious whisky face back on, Dougie heads to his local purveyor of whisky dreams. Running on nothing more than excitement and seat-of-his-pants selection, we’d like to tell you he lucked out, but, alas, no.

Celebrating batch variation and reminding us that darker does not mean better, even if it does in this case. Tav tucks in to a crowd pleasing Ledaig 10yo comparison.

A recent trip through Heathrow’s travel retail leaves Drummond uninspired, so he grabs a solid bottle from Deanston he picked up for a song, back when GTR (as it’s known) was a little more interesting.

Saving a special bottle for a quiet moment, Ramsay swims in a dusty and now discontinued Glencadam 21yo while wondering if it’s worth reviewing hard-to-find bottles. We must Tav! We must!

While reviewing those two Aqvavitae Ardnamurchan bottles, somehow, in so many incidental ways, Dougie highlights all of the things to be grateful for exploring whisky. Those high-energy, emotional, glowing, amber-inspired moments we all love to live for.

Dramface takes on a six bottle outturn from Watt Whisky, it’s a team effort. Two single malts, a blended malt, a blend, a single grain and a curious Bas Armagnac. No wonder the images are blurry.

Amazing gestures of generosity place Doog in the possession of two much celebrated special releases from Loch Lomond; the XL Fermentation DE3 goes up against Aqvavitae’s 2022 release.

In a Dramface first, we visit Nc’Nean. Two malts showcasing what they’re up to in sustainability and organic processes. Ramsay wonders if he’s missed anything, with a little help form Drummond.

Malt? Or grain? Wally tries to decipher the latest release form Loch Lomond’s fascinatingly geeky Distillery Edition series, which isn’t quite as easy as it at first may seem.

A buddy-up review is required as Drummond and Dougie both have their beloved Ardna from rum casks to discuss. This wide but limited release is no doubt on a few Santa lists this year.

Earie places a popular bang-for-buck Ledaig against a very similarly profiled indie release, only to have him wondering why there isn’t an official cask strength from Mull’s in vogue peat monster.