Winter Whisky

Single malts have a lot to offer and are often more affordable than you might think. A dram of single malt perfectly partners the armchair next to the pub fire but remember that misconceptions around single malts are fading and consumer trends are pointing to different serves. A simple highball can provide a longer serve with better margins and using single malts for your whisky sour and old-fashioned offerings can significantly increase spend per head.

Elegant, light and fruity, lowland single malts are often seen as a gateway into the world of scotch for those customers who haven’t yet ventured into the whisky category. This region is experiencing significant popularity due to a renaissance that has seen many new distilleries spring up in the last decade, making lowland single malts a must on your stocking policy this winter.

KINGSBARNS is one these up and coming distilleries. Based in the Kingdom of Fife a few miles down the road from St Andrews they produce the award winning. Dream to Dram. This is a fruity and elegant ex-bourbon barrel expression that has a lovely spicy ginger finish perfect for winter. Balcomie, recent gold medalist at The 2022 Drinks Business and The Spirits Business Autumn Blind Tasting, is matured in ex-Oloroso American Oak Sherry Butts giving a lovely cake spice to the palate and a hint of roasted hazelnut on the finish to make this a winter favorite.

Blended Scotch Whisky has a lot to offer too, with peated and unpeated versions, both styles hold up fantastically in a hot toddy. Hot toddies with warmth and spice are the perfect bar offering on a cold winter evening.

ADELPHI offers a superb blend created by their founder, Jamie Walker, and his friend the famous whisky writer Charlie MacLean. This blend is called Adelphi Private Stock which has a lovely balance of malt and spice characteristics, perfect to use in a hot toddy or as one part of a whisky highball.

It’s always advisable to have a range on offer but it doesn’t’t have to be a big range. You need to make sure you offer a choice of the regions as well as the choice of peated and unpeated single malts. Easy and interesting ways to extend your range is with limited releases and single casks or mix it up a little further, by stocking up on independently bottled whisky. Single casks and the independent bottlers give a great look to any back bar and are a fantastic topic of conversation.