Cask & Still Issue 8

The last few months have been a busy time at Cask & Still. In conjunction with our sister publication Scottish Field, we’ve launched a series of videoed whisky reviews called ‘60 Second Dram’ which have seen us review 24 whiskies so far, all of which will be making their way onto YouTube and our website (www.scottishfield.co.uk) over the coming weeks and months.
What this process has brought home to me is the remarkable variety of drams out there. We’ve tried everything from Swiss, Welsh, English, South African and American whiskies, and plenty more besides. Some have been disappointing and a couple were genuinely filthy, but the majority have been of a surprisingly high quality. That bar just keeps getting higher and higher.
One of those whiskies, the South African dram Bains, is profiled by my colleague Blair Bowman in these pages, and we’ve got lots more content besides. Rugby legend Finlay Calder talks about his days taking a snifter before internationals, while we also reveal the top whisky bloggers, 007’s favourite whisky cocktails and the most influential women in whisky, not to mention our experts highlighting their favourite whiskies. Enjoy!

EDITOR Richard Bath