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.

Once more, Wally’s weary brain is faced with a whisky he doesn’t understand. In the end he wonders if the odd presentation of The Borders’ Right As Rain release is all to do with it being too cheap.

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.

You know what we all need now and again; a glass of something nice and a trip out to the porch. We may not have a porch, but we can enjoy the Shaw Porch, with Ogilvie, Art and a bottle of Sagamore Rye.

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.

Archie packs a few bottles on a long drive north for a short break to contemplate his decade of change. He soon realises he only needed to pack one - the latest 10 year old Ardnamurchan from 2025.

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.

Finally, Ogie can breathe. The shackles of a toxic workplace & a draining professional life have been shaken off. He sits at his kitchen table in reflection over a Thompson Bros Glen Scotia

In order to calm the tensions of travel, Archie once enjoyed an airport beer. These days, however, he’s moved up a few levels: Planedrams. In his Plaincairn on this trip he revisits an old faithful Glenfarclas 12yo.

Charlie’s been around whisky just about long enough to realise he’s going to change his mind. He reflects on his scoring and how he nearly missed out by trying to give this Glasgow Port Cask away.

Wally is surprised to see a release form The Cairn so soon. That it’s also only 1,000 bottles and only £50 for 57% ABV, he can’t help but pick it up. It makes him think about time, fairness and also Dramface.

Feeling the crunch on his finances, Mason gets introspective. Facing over-accumulation, he naively attempts a slow down and a clear out of languishing bottles & revisits a Cadenhead’s 11yo Garioch.

After discussions orbiting around the fact people actually read Dramface, Ainsley is forced to recognise it’s more than a pet project. He dials in on an under-the-radar peat alternative that’s everywhere for £45.

Even in far-flung California, Archie is landing decent indie bottlings. In a follow up to his Woodrows Foursome, we have a Living Souls Trio: Two Smoky Sevens and a Speyside, all crackers.

Wally tries to blow off the January blues and heads out to a festival; the National Whisky Festival in Glasgow. He unearths lots to be positive about but lands of a terrific and affordable Jane Street Single Malt from Woodrow’s.

Browsing an auction, Earie spots something that has completely passed him by - an all-natural OB Jura, at cask strength. He’s left to wonder whether they were shy about it or was it that he just wasn’t looking hard enough?

After nearly smashing this bottle of Annandale before the photo shoot, Fletcher recalls the times he’s lost whiskies through packing fails and baggage handling fails. He also wants to know why this malt is such a positioning fail.

The second Ardnahoe in two weeks at Dramface. Maybe it’s going to be another good year for Islay’s newest malt. Charlie evaluates the Skerryvore XX special limited edition from 2025.