A team review is required around a new take on Elixir’s Port Askaig series and their first Cask Strength Small Batch. Wally leads with a deep dive into why we’re not drinking enough. Apparently.

In something of a follow up to Earie’s Shelter Point piece, we hear about Broddy’s visit to what may be his desert island distillery -The Netherland’s Zuidam, makers of Millstone. Dougie chimes in too.

A sudden gust of luck brings a random Instagram win for Earie. In enjoying a Christmas selection set of Douglas Laing’s Rock Island malts, he finds a way to share his splash of good fortune with us all.

Worlds collide as an in-real-life cross border meet up and distillery visit has otherwise unobtanium whisky change hands and call for for a three-way Dramface review, this time Batch 3 of Shelter Point’s 10 year old Canadian malt.

Drummond dives into another solid Benromach, this time in the Contrasts Series range with their Double Matured Bordeaux. With it, he reaffirms that age isn't everything and even though it is not quite a hole-in-one, its still a worthy addition to the Benromach shelf.

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.

Earie takes a wander through the Dram Mòr Autumn/Winter releases 2023 and discovers a solid turnout, but one of them knocks him clean off his feet.

Glenlivet’s ubiquitous 12yo in its slightly more modern ‘Double Oak’ guise is gifted to Ogilvie as he departs for his newly relocated life. Exhaustion has him skip the bottle specs, forcing a blind sip and a surprise.

It seems we’ve discovered the next rabbit hole that threatens to swallow our Doog for a while - that of Single Grain. Old, decadent, tasty and fairly priced stuff too.

As part of a ‘team building exercise’ Hamish is invited to stretch his olfactory senses in a structured test. His colleagues - knowing he’s a whisky reviewer - determine that he’ll “boss it”. Well, did he? You know the answer…dontcha?

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 from 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 rare visit to Dramface towers from Dallas, as he shares his thoughts on Ballindalloch. It’s a story he’s followed from the start. He compares three of their releases to others who choose to move perhaps a little too early.

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.

After rekindling his love of scotch Eallair decides to put all the ‘natural’ and ‘integrity’ mantra to test. He selects what may be the two most obvious examples to sip side by side; Laphroaig’s ubiquitous 10yo and the popular Port Charlotte 10. This Friday First is not to be missed.

Enjoying your booze this week? This has been handled gently but it’s no less hard hitting. For some, perhaps not easy to read. As you hear about two legendary Canadian bottlings, awareness is crucial.

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.

With so many whiskies being released it’s hard to keep up. Wally spends an entire article making excuses while admitting to the new normal; solid, reliable, tasty whiskies. Predictable but reassuring, like these new Glenallachie Meikle Tòir releases.

Dougie is caught trolling the dying embers of the auctions once more for bargains. What’s this he’s found? A very curious SMWS oddball he needs to decipher first, both in description and flavour. We suspect he’s hit the rye wall once more.

A self-administered humility check is required as Ogilvie is disappointed to receive an old standard. As he digs in to the Johnnie Walker Black, he’s reflective of the easy rise of snobbery in whisky.