Archie shares his thoughts on the new Teuchter 17yo from Decadent Drinks, while admitting to getting down and dirty with his precious camera and the pursuit of better pictures.

Sometimes relationships take a little time. But when they gel, you need a back up. We’re speaking about whisky, and dogs, apparently. Broddy shares doggy tales over a 31yo North Star Sirius.

The gateway dram for Charlie was a Dalmore 18 year old. We all start somewhere. In this instalment of his indy vs official series he tackles Dalmore once more. Four of them.

Charlie wraps up a trio of Official vs Indy articles with a distillery which has yet to nudge the needle on the whisky enthusiast scanner, he wonders why as the distillery launches a 12yo flagship.

A stranger to Glenlossie until 2025, Charlie uncovered one of Diageo’s ‘blend houses’ in a Cadenhead’s tasting. Typically for him, a pleasant experience and a bottle purchase finds him exploring and comparing.

In the first of his series of “Official vs Indy” reviews, Charlie tees up one of our most evocative comparisons: Clynelish. The question is, will he uncover any of the W-word?

Over time, Ainsley thinks the Scotch whisky landscape builds into a mental whisky bell-curve where favourites lie to one side and lesser malts the other. But what about the in-betweeners, such as this Cadenhead’s Miltonduff?

Facing an ever-expanding stash of samples, Archie decides to get torn into a pack of Tri Carragh samples he was sent last year, most of which are still available, and some of which are belters.

Remember the ‘good ole days’ as kids where we ranged far and wide fearlessly. Memories of those days in playgrounds bring a contrast to the newer playground designs where sharp edges are banned and children protected. Reflecting, Mason finds a tasty Peat Monster from the back of the cupboard which he has a soft spot for.

As a lapsed fan of Dungeons & Dragons, Hughie realises he’s using whisky as a way to continually re-write and relearn experiences. An independent duo of Aultmore illustrate a recent side-quest, and they’re tasty.

Ainsley has a few passions: whisky and music, sure, but he’s also a big fan of rugby. He chooses an opposing nation’s whisky output to mark the 6 Nations finale - a White Peak from Thompson Bros.

Archie happens upon a ‘distillery’ he’s never heard of. This ‘Shieldaig’ turns out to be a branded malt, which is fine. It has a purpose. Just like Dramface, which he also wants to discuss a little.

Many of the Dramface team are overly-affected by branding, none more than Ally. In a space rapidly moving towards homogenised ‘clean’ and ‘modern’, he finds solace in Fragrant Drops. Tasty too.

Drummond returns from a short hiatus with an insight into a trait that he’s come to accept; the need to pause and make time for self-care. A trio of Cadenhead’s Bunnahabhain helps of course.

All good things must end. Archie wraps up his Northern California trip & kills off one of his favourite ever from his beloved Caol Ila: a Woodrows in Palo Cortado.

Three of the team hark back to Christmas vibes as they each, independently, happen upon a Signatory 100º Proof Exceptional Cask Glentauchers. As is typical with Dramface, it divides opinion.

Some much needed positivity from Gilbert as he shares why he thinks Scotch whisky is coming home, using Symington’s 10yo Blended Scotch as the perfect example of why.

The hardest questions in whisky? “What’s your favourite?” However, at this moment in time, Hamish has an answer. Today, he shares his all-time favourite whisky! An SMWS Ardmore.

We all hit forks in life’s road. Archie shares one of his. Eventually decisions lead us to other, unplanned opportunities. Like when a bottle he was chasing escaped and made him pick up a peach of an Edradour.

The new year and corporate environs has Hughie thinking about how the dreaded annual performance reviews could be applied to whisky. He cracks an Indy Arran 10 for comparison to the OB.