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We’re here to make browsing for the most loved whiskies on the internet as simple as possible. Find your choice of whisky, whether it is Scotch, Bourbon, Canadian Whisky, Japanese Whisky, or Irish Whiskey, for the best prices around with our advanced whisky finder. Buying whisky online for yourself or a close friend has never been easier. Want to try something different? Our website will find you a selection of brands that match your budget and preferences in drink, in addition to providing excellent reviews on various popular whiskies, such as The Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, The Macallan. Keep up to date with our updating podcasts and get a little closer to becoming a real whisky connoisseur.
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Scotch Whisky
The most celebrated of all the world’s whisky producing countries, Scotland is synonymous with whisky. The Irish and the Scots fiercely contest the claim to having invented the water of life but what is clear is that, while Ireland may boast the oldest surviving licensed distillery, the Scots have the greatest number of very old distilleries and, arguably, the most mature whisky industry.
The Scots were also the first to embrace continuous, or column, stills for the production of grain whisky and pioneered the production of blended whisky - a mixture of grain and malt whiskies.
All Scotch whisky must have been distilled in Scotland, then matured for a minimum of three years in oak casks stored in Scotland and be bottled at a minimum of 40% ABV. In 2011 UK government regulations came into effect defining in strict legal terms five categories of Scotch whisky. These are Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Blended Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, Blended Grain Scotch Whisky and Single Grain Scotch Whisky.
Irish Whiskey
The vast majority of Irish whiskey is now distilled at three distilleries - Midleton, Bushmills and Cooley. Cooley also own the Kilbeggan Distillery which recently began production again after years operating only as a whiskey museum. Until 2012 Cooley were the only independent, Irish owned, distillery of any size but having recently been acquired by Beam Global all the major Irish producers are now foreign owned.
Irish whiskey is famous for its often smoother, mellower, style - preferred by fans of a sweeter, softer whiskey. The Cooley brands have won over many followers with their excellent single malt and blended whiskeys, full of character and flavour. Furthermore recent offerings from Redbreast show that there is a lot more to Irish whiskey than the dominant Jameson and Bushmill blends.
American Whiskey
The production and maturation standards American whiskey must adhere to, according to US law, are very strict. These govern the type of casks used and the minimum length of maturation. In the case of bourbon they include the stipulation that only virgin American oak casks may be used - that is to say brand-new casks that have never held another spirit. A consequence of this is that once the casks have been used they must be sold or discarded, making them a popular and cost effective choice for the maturation of other spirits included much Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Japanese Whisky
The first distillery to be built in Japan was the Yamazaki Distillery in 1923 which means that Japan is now considered to be one of the mature whisky producing nations. The distillery was established by Masataka Taketsuru, an employee of saki producers Shettsu Shuzo who had sent him to Scotland learn how to build a distillery and more importantly how to distill whisky. His employers never built their planned distillery but Taketsuru left them to build the Yamazaki facility with his partner Shinjiro Torii. Torii later established the Great Japan Juice Company - which became Nikka - while Taketsuru later built the Yoichi Distillery.Japanese whisky now regularly beats Scotch whisky in blind tasting competitions and has a growing and devoted following for the excellent blended and single malt whiskies it produces.
Canadian Whisky
The news isn’t all bad however because there are some examples of fine Canadian whisky - some of the older whiskies from Crown Royal and Canadian Club have garnered praise in recent years. The US company Buffalo Trace, known for the quality and innovation in its whiskeys, owns the Caribou Crossing & Royal Canadian brands and is releasing some interesting small batch bottlings under those names.
World Whisky
One of the most important developments in the world wide whisky industry during recent decades has been the emergence of many new whisky producing territories. It seems as though everyone is at it. From France though Belgium and Germany to Scandinavia, eastern Europe and then further south to Spain, Europe is seeing a rapid proliferation of distilleries. Outside Europe there are distilleries in India, South Africa, Australia - particularly Tasmania - and New Zealand. And closer to Scotland & Ireland, the English and Welsh have got in on the act.A common thread with many of these distilleries is that they operate in territories with less regulation and restriction on how whisky should be made, they are free of local pre-conceptions of what whisky production should look like and are frequently smaller operations than the distilleries in the established ‘big five’ territories. The result? They are more likely to experiment and innovate - sometimes with mixed results - often producing new and exciting flavours and re-definitions of what whisky should look, smell and taste like.
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Three foodies - (from left) housewife Florence Lee, ST food critic Wong Ah Yoke and food consultant Violet Oon tasted 12 rice brands sold at supermarkets. They ate the steamed rice plain.
