In embracing springtime, Earie pulls out his inner European to complain about the weather, and how it drives his whisky consumption. To us it looks like this Benrinnes form Van Wees would go down well regardless.

In another Dramface Friday First; our man in Asia feels the sting of shame as one of his whisky preferences is rudely invalidated. It takes a little reflection and another bottle buy to rectify things..

After years of pounding his way through his favoured Islay big-hitters, Fergus one day encountered what he would come to understand as a Mileston Malt; Mortlach. He picks up a steal of an Signatory release to revisit.

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.

As he settles into life in Dixie, Ogilvie meets up with a formidable local gent who declares if it isn’t bourbon, it isn’t whiskey. A dinner is the prize if a mind can be changed…

After some surprise that there might exist a sweet-but-pleasing and reasonably priced Oban, Ogilvie is once more shocked into a Diageo embargo where the prices are - once more - jacked up.

How can Wally admit to loving a bottle and yet score it 3/10? It’s complex, but in this case he thinks Diageo have made it a big, confusing, opaque and cynical mess - for retailers and punters.

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.

In what seems to have become something of a theme, in life Ogilvie mirrors his approach to whisky by uprooting and heading off top new horizons. As he says “there’s something in the water cooler at Dramface HQ” is it this Strathmill?

Whisky is better when shared, right? Well, sometimes. Ogilvie discovers how even a modest blend, ubiquitous in the Americas, is elevated when applied to the shared joy of an occasion.

Saddened by the recent Diageo Special Releases and declaring them ‘broken’, Wally reflects on his inevitable departure with a rarely seen cask strength Oban from 2021’s outturn.

Drawn by that comforting and familiar dumpy Balcones livery he loves, Ogilvie ends up buying something that he’d never have otherwise considered. In fact, something that can’t ever be considered whiskey.

A loyal fan of the Canadian whisky scene, Aengus asks if there’s a genuine lack of interest from the TradCan producers to make anything remotely interesting for enthusiasts, that isn’t meant to be kept in a glass ‘collection’ cabinet.

With four separate Dramface appraisals, we uncover why this Lagavulin 16yo has been such a powerful ambassador for whisky, and the reasons why that can no longer be.

A disappointed Drummond was tempted by a hefty discount on a bottle of JW Green, only to be shocked at how 15 year old malt could be neutered in such away.

Ever in pursuit of reliving an old Whisky Epiphany with Clynelish, Drummond searches for memories in a SMWS release, only to discover yet another bottling released just a bit too early.

Since so many of them are still around, Tyree gives an overview, with his own take on Diageo’s annual Special Releases

How long can we rely on the supply of good quality American oak casks?

Exactly what it says on the tin. Delicious, biscuity dram.

There’s gold hiding in these hills…