Hamish's Blog

Loch Fyne Whiskies opened its doors in 1993 and quickly became a beloved fixture in the Royal Burgh of Inveraray, attracting drouthy visitors from far and wide in search of a special dram to quench their thirst. A quarter of a century later – though you’d swear I haven’t aged a day – and firmly established as a bit of...

Every year in the last week of May our wee town swells with dram-seekers from around the globe. The Islay Festival (or Fèis Ìle to give it its Sunday name) is perhaps the biggest event in the whisky calendar. Here on the West Coast, Inveraray is a natural stopping place for the hordes of whisky pilgrims on their way to...

Long time no see auld pals! I haven’t been doing too much writing lately what with the freezing cold winter here in Inveraray, but now that things have started to thaw a bit I thought I’d pick up the proverbial pen and get back to it! First up on my to do list: Campbeltown. This gem of a place was...

For peat’s sake! Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? The beautiful whisky mecca of Islay is home to eight operational distilleries, with another one in development at Ardnahoe, and the island is renowned for its peaty, smoky drams. While not all Islay drams fall into the smoky category, there is one that goes above and beyond...

Douro Valley: a sprawling majestic wilderness in the northern provinces of Portugal. Campbeltown: a fishing town on the Kintyre peninsula of Scotland. What do they have in common? Both are dedicated to the production of a quality beverage that can’t be produced anywhere else in the world. For Campbeltown we know, of course, of the great history of the Victorian...

The Smugglers’ Series of limited edition bottlings from Arran distillery has really captured the imagination, with a story that harkens back to days of illicit stills and casks stowed away on boats to the mainland. The third in the series lands tomorrow and although limited to just 8,700 bottles worldwide, we’ve managed to smuggle a few bottles for our customers...

We whisky folk are obsessed with being single. Sometimes single malt isn’t even enough, we need a single cask! Perhaps it’s a longing for the days of our youth. When I was a lad of 18 summers, before I met the future Mrs Hamish, I would run wild and free around Inveraray, dropping into the bar at the George whenever...

Ah it’s that wonderful time of year again! The birds are singing, the flowers are in bloom, that huge, mysterious fireball has been sighted in the sky over Scotland, and the shop is flooded with pilgrims on their way to the magical isle of Islay. The annual Islay Festival of Music and Malt got underway at the tail-end of last...

When I hear the word Valkyrie, only one thing comes to mind: a horde of choppers flying across Vietnamese forests, the trees bending beneath the force of the air from their blades as orchestral music swells. “I love the smell of Napalm in the morning!” Of course, Apocalypse Now has nothing to do with the Norse mythological creatures beyond Wagner’s Ride of the...

I love nothing more than a wee courie up with a good book and a great dram. I have to admit that my 1999 New Year’s resolution to read more of ‘the classics’ hasn’t made as much progress as I’d hoped – War & Peace stands out as a major culprit – but I keep trying all the same. And...