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thewhiskynovice, 21-23 Highgate, Kendal (2026)

12/01/2026

Im back after a bit of a break from Instagram, and if I'm completely honest, I didn't miss it one bit.

So here's how 2026 is going to go.
I'm still going to be here, creating my usual whisky content, but I'm going to be a lot more selective on what I cover.

I still really enjoy chatting about whisky and talking to the whisky community, but sometimes I bite off more than I can chew, meaning whisky reviews eat into family time aswell as lugging bags of bottles on around family days out, and my kitchen looking like a whisky sample breeding ground.

After combining that with the shambles that is Instagram itself, limiting reach, hiding content etc, and a few other whisky Instagram accounts turning to AI to write their reviews, or buying likes/followers (I even spotted one person buying views on christmas day!), I've found myself enjoying Instagram less and less.

So, 2026. The year of quality over quantity.
Hope you all had a good festive break!

26/12/2025

I hope everyone's had a fantastic couple of days!
My plan tonight is to properly sit down with the new Creation 7 whilst catching up on Stranger Things.

Cheers all!

23/12/2025

Christmas gifts from Bunnahabhain!
A big thank you to the team for sending this little care package just before Christmas.

The Bunnahabhain 12 year old is widely considered as one of the most consistently great core range bottles on the market, at an affordable price point. There's a lot of more expensive bottles out there where the whisky isn't half as good as the Bunna 12!

Aswell as the bottle, they were kind enough to send me a sample pack, which means I finally got to try this year's 21 year old cask strength! It's like decadent chocolate truffles on the nose, and juicy chocolate coated raisins on the palate with just a hint of that Bunnahabhain saltiness. It is fantastic!

//Gifted
//Please Drink Responsibly

22/12/2025

All I want for christmas is... Heritage grains.

A nice little christmas suprise dropped through my letterbox this week. This is a sample of an upcoming release using Chevallier barley. Chevallier was the barley of choice for brewing for a long period in the 1800s and early 1900s, and was known for it's nutty, bready and marmalade-like flavours.

I was lucky enough to try this at , and was impressed! So it will be great to revisit this one in a more relaxed environment over the festive period.

The guys at White Peak have had another fantastic year, picking up several awards, developing their core range, and releasing some great limited editions.

What's been your favourite Wire Works whisky to date?

//Gifted
PS. They also sent me a whisky truffle, but that disappeared in seconds!

17/12/2025

Who doesn't love a bit of new make?
Well, this one is just a little different! have used the sour mash process with their peated malt barley to create this special spirit.

For those unfamiliar with sour mash, it's a little like making sourdough. Some of the leftovers from the previous mash is added to the next mash. The spent mash contains a lot of dead yeast, which is great for live yeast to feed off of. The acidic nature of the spent mash helps maintains a steady pH and controls bacteria growth.

This could very well be a first for InchDairnie, as it's believed to be the first time a Scottish distillery had used the backset process in single malt production.

Nose: This is funky! Sour melon, bread dough and flapjacks. It's super malty and a little ye**ty.
Palate: Interestingly the peat hits you straight away, before fading into fruit flavours, and then returning for another wave of smoke.
It's little acidic to start with a touch of citrus, which soon turns into peaches, lychee and a rich mineral note. The texture throughout is thick and creamy. Not what you'd expect from a clear spirit!

This is baffling! I am desperate to see what this is like when aged! InchDairnie released their first single malts this year at 8 years old, so I suspect it'll be a good while before we get to see the final product!

//Gifted

12/12/2025

And that's a wrap for 2025!
is always a great way to end the festival calender.

And of course, the photographer papped me as I was pouring and waffling about my love for the 14 year old Port Cask! 😅

Thanks to everyone who saw me on the road, came over for a chat, and enjoyed a dram!

Normal whisky reviews will resume shortly, right after I've shaken off this dreadful cold (hot toddy recipes gratefully received!)

09/12/2025

Curiosity killed the cat, but not this one.
This is a 14 year old Ben Nevis from . There's no mention of cask types on the front label, but a quick look on their website indicates that this has been matured in a mix of ex-bourbon and sherry casks.

I'm a big fan of the branding, and the way this bottle stands out on the shelf. (If you haven't seen them already, check out their Jura and Craigellachie bottles, too). But of course, what's important is what's in the pretty bottle, so let's dive in.

Nose: Lemon pips, freshly cut hay, apricot pastries, and caramel pancakes.
Palate: Green apples, baked pears, dried apricots, olives, coffee cake, pepper with a citrusy zing.

This is quite a savoury dram, and pretty much what you'd expect from a Ben Nevis of its age. There's a maltiness, with some stewed fruits and an element of funkiness with the olive note. There's also a lot more stone fruits and citrus than the tropical notes you would associate with an older Ben Nevis.

//Gifted

08/12/2025

A lovely christmas present from the team at the !
I've kindly been sent a bottle of the Lakes Signature to enjoy over the festive period.

The Lakes Signature was released earlier this year as the first readily-available single malt bottle in their core range. I've previously been a fan of quite a few of the Lakes releases, but their limited nature meant it was hard to pick up a second bottle of the ones I really enjoyed, so it's great to see a permanent addition to the range.

Signature is a combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherries, matured in both American and European oak casks before being bottled at 47%ABV.

Nose: Red berries and dried fruits. Blood orange, tanned leather, chocolate shavings, and a touch of nutmeg.
Palate: Baked apples, raisins, bread pudding, walnuts, baking spices, molasses, and a slightly dry oak spice on the finish

The flavour profile of this one is exactly what you'd want from a christmas whisky, with plenty of rich flavours that would stand up well against your christmas feast. And with it being 47%, there's no worry of being the first to fall asleep on Christmas afternoon...

//Gifted

05/12/2025

Last show of the year and the team have treated me to a new fish tank!

If you're at swing by to try the new !

05/12/2025

Cask Na Nollaig, the Christmas Cask.
Named after Crom Dubh na Nollaig, a character from Scottish folklore described as the anti-santa. The demon, also known as 'The dark crooked one of christmas,' would punish children by beating them with birch sticks. Sounds perfect for a whisky, right? 😅

have released a peated port cask for their christmas bottling. It's a blended malt from Islay, bottled at 46% and limited to 200 bottles.

Nose: Sticky BBQ glaze, plum jam, hazelnut spread, iodine scrub, and a coastal saltiness.
Palate: Raspberry, dark chocolate, cherry lip sweets, chewy caramels and lemon & lime cordial, then there's a kind of menthol-ly oakiness, aswell as a salty peat smoke on the finish.

The port and the peat on this one work together in harmony and make for a really tasty dram. If I had to pick one little ni**le, it's that there could have been a little bit more texture to it, but that's just me being picky.

I love that the guys have gone for something a little different than your standard "how much sherry can we get into this" christmas bottling. Whilst I do love a good sherry cask, it is actually a port cask I tend to turn to over the festive period.

Merry Christmas, or 'Fijne Sinterklaas' for my Dutch followers celebrating today!

//Gifted

03/12/2025

Gather. A single cask from that was only available from "bricks and mortar" whisky shops.

The idea? To get people out of the house and back into in-person retail, giving them the chance to interact with some of the fantastic people who work in local whisky shops around the UK.

Just by chance, I happened to be at over the weekend that this was launched. Matt has a wonderful shop in the heart of Chesterfield, selling all kinds of spirits, beers, and wines. Their knowledge and passion made the experience so much more enjoyable than sitting at home inputting my card details onto a screen.

In spirit of the 'Gather' element of this bottling, I've split mine with a local whisky club to ensure as many people get to try this sought-after whisky as possible. It's a double maturation single cask, starting life in an ex-bourbon barrel before being finished in a 1st fill Moscatel barrique.

In other White Peak news, their Bourbon barrel has just won The 's Whisky of the Year for 2026. A well-deserved award for what is a fantastic whisky. Congrats, guys!

thewhiskynovice

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