WACWAC - The Wallington & Carshalton Whisky Appreciation Club

This is quite a good website to read up on whisky news, views, opinions, rumours, tasting notes, events, product launches, editorial and comment. (I subscribe to this - Peter)

Distilling in Wales was a lost art, but in the late 1990s in a pub in a small post-industrial Welsh valley town, a group of friends drank and chatted about establishing the first whisky distillery in Wales in over a century. They dreamt of creating a whisky as pure and precious as Welsh gold, represented today by Penderyn’s ‘gold seam’.

There is quite the wave of whiskies coming out of India these days, and generally what makes it to the UK is decent stuff. Amrut has long since established itself in the market, not long followed by Paul John. And largely speaking they’ve all been well-received. Next to join the race is in fact not strictly speaking a newbie at all. It’s Rampur Single Malt Whisky – which is distilled in India’s oldest distillery, Radico Khaitan, a place that dates back to 1943.

The history of Amrut Distilleries is as old as the history of independent India itself. Indeed, just as India is now noted as one of the world’s leading economies, so too is Amrut Distilleries an industry leader. In 1948, as India was taking its place as an independent nation, Amrut Distilleries entered the field of liquor making, with an initial investment of a few lakhs. Today’s success has been made possible by the resolve of successive generations of the Jagdale family to embrace value and quality.

In the small village of Bushmills, settled on the banks of the river you'll find the oldest working distillery in Ireland. A place where family and friends have worked for generations, in a small Northern Irish village that for over 400 years has kept to the philosophy that hand crafting small batches is the way to produce beautifully smooth tasting Irish whiskey.

Midleton Distillery, together with the North Mall and Watercourse Distilleries in Cork, was part of the Cork Distilleries Company. Only 13 miles from Cork, Midleton is situated on an inlet of Cork Harbour, with the Dungourney River supplying water to the distillery.

Despite being a relatively small and obscure distillery, Glen Spey has a rich and intriguing history. Over the years, Glen Spey has shared the town of Rothes with four other distilleries: Glenrothes, Glen Grant, Speyburn and Caperdonich. Glen Spey’s production is relatively modest in comparison to its neighbors, which explains why it has gone relatively unnoticed for so long.

Glencadam opened in 1825 in the ancient city of Brechin and is now the only distillery in the county of Angus, an area of the Highlands region of Scotland. The name “Glencadam” comes from the area known as “The Tenements of Caldhame”. These were plots of ground given to the burghs of Brechin for food production. They were situated to the north and south east of the Den Burn where the distillery stands.

Miltonduff Distillery is said to be located on the site of the meal mill of Pluscarden Abbey, six miles Southwest of the town of Elgin and two miles from the abbey itself. The abbey was founded in 1236 by Benedictine monks, destroyed but revived again in the year 1948. A stone from the original Abbey is retained by the distillery.

Founded in 1888 on the site of Eigashima in the city of Akashi, White Oak distillery was the first in Japan to obtain the license of distilled spirits in 1919 and according to the legend would consequently be the first to distil whisky.

Yamazaki, in southwestern Kyoto at the foot of Mt.Tennozan. With his unwavering preference for the high-quality water and natural environment vital in whisky-making, Shinjiro selected the land of Yamazaki from among several candidate sites.

Of Nikka's two malt whisky distilleries, Yoichi produces rich, peaty and masculine malt. The whisky gets its distinct aroma and body from direct heating distillation, in which the pot stills are heated with finely powdered natural coal--the traditional method that is hardly ever used today, even in Scotland.

This is the where most of our whiskies tend to be purchased from. Founded in 1999, The Whisky Exchange is the world's best specialist retailer of whisky and fine spirits, with more than 5000 whiskies from around the world. The London shop is based in Borough Market adjacent to the Vinopolis Wine Experience. If ever you're in the area, it's well worth popping in to talk to the knowledgeable staff and see the spectrum of whisky on display - including £2,000 bottles of very rare whisky... mouth-watering!

This is an excellent website giving you all you need to know about Scotch Whisky and Distileries - ideal for those quiet 'browsing' moments or when you want to find out about a particular Scotch...

This is a film taking you through the production process for Scotch Malt Whisky, Grain Whisky and Blended whisky. The first part of the film takes you through the production process for Scotch Malt Whisky from malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and finally maturation. The film then takes you through the production process for Scotch Grain Whisky from malting and cereal cooking to mashing, fermentation, distillation and finally maturation. Finally it takes you through the production process for Scotch Blended Whisky. Blended whisky is made by blending Single Malt Whisky with Grain Whisky. The highly skilled and complex task of creating a marriage of Single Malt and Single Grain whiskies to make a blended whisky.