The mystery of the world’s ‘oldest whisky’
When 40 ancient bottles of whisky were found in a dusty Perthshire cellar last year, a race to reveal the true provenance and value of this precious haul began. Nick Morgan turns whisky sleuth to uncork the truth about this controversial consignment
Belfast – the full Irish
Chris Moss discovers jumping jazz, boisterous bars and the first new distillery in almost 90 years on a titanic trip to Belfast
Twelve Drams of Christmas
From Taiwan to the Isle of Arran, the Lake Disrict to Jutland, it’s the Barley guide to the best whisky to gift and drink this Christmas
Geek bar: welcome to the new wave of designer distilleries
It’s like any love story. Distiller meets architect. They bond over a mutual passion and produce the longed for off spring — tots of whisky. We reveal how the sacred palaces of scotch are being re-imagined and rebuilt for the future
The Cost of Eating Well in Copenhagen
It was the year the food scene exploded, she embarked on an exciting but fraught relationship and nowhere was more thrilling to be than the Danish capital. Alice Florence Orr reflects on the bittersweet summer of 2018
Barley’s Hall of Whisky Fame: Jane MacGregor
In a new occasional series we salute the remarkable men and women, past and present, who have driven change and done outstanding work for whisky that stands the test of time
From field to kiln — the wild life of barley
From harvest to the ‘dark chambers’ of the Port Ellen maltings on Islay, the journey of a barley seed is tumultuous and unforgiving. But it’s also a magnificent, life-affirming adventure
Sip adviser: Olly Smith’s whisky cocktails for Christmas
Spruce up your festive whisky drinking this year with delicious concoctions from around the globe. Olly Smith brought back these Christmas crackers from jaunts to Argentina, Canada, New York and….Wales
The Fabulous Baker Boy
He went from designing football shirts to pursue his dream of creating recipes his aunt taught him when he was a boy on the Isle of Lewis. Tom Pattinson finds that the charming Coinneach MacLeod, aka The Hebridean Baker, didn’t have to fake it to make it in dough business …
The girl on the golden bottle
Its 2000 release was the first ever bottle of whisky to feature a woman on the label. Now, 24 years on, artist Stephanie Rew has thrillingly re-imagined the iconic Compass Box Hedonism girl in shimmering, burnished gold leaf. Here, she talks to Barley about a remarkable artistic endeavour
The strange case of the whisky that never was
Whisky is investment gold — it always has been. But in the case of ‘cask investment schemes’, it’s an increasingly perfidious endeavour governed by parasitical imposters, posing as informed, knowledgeable and well connected members of the whisky trade
Two Roberts, two whiskies: Annandale’s decade in a dram
After a century of silence, Annandale Distillery is back – and its first 10-year-old single malts are ready to tell their story. Named after Robert the Bruce and Robert Burns, these whiskies carry the soul of Scotland’s forgotten Lowland peat
Fruits of labour: How Fielden made the mighty Hedgerow
Fielden’s first limited edition release Hedgerow is inspired by the damsons, sloe berries, hazel trees, rosehip and wild apples found in the English countryside
Exclusive: Limited edition ‘Secrets of Smoke’ from Compass Box in time for Christmas
A special limited edition release from Compass Box unveils the secret sweetness behind peated malts
Don’t flake on these new Edinburgh coffee shops and bakeries
Barley sorts the sourdoughs from the sour-don’ts in our round-up of the most exciting new cafes and bakeries in the Scottish capital
Bar hopping through the barrios on a nostalgic night out in Buenos Aires
Chris Moss swings back into the Belle Époque bars of his beloved Buenos Aires and finds the old place still chaotically smitten by cheap whisky and faded glamour
Gentlemen Prefer Blends
Do blends have more fun? Damn right they do, says one author who still bears the scars of his screw-top whisky days
The Wonder Waller
One woman’s tale of how drystone walling, and reconnecting with her past, helped rebuild her life
Dalwhinnie dreams
During a memorable visit to Dalwhinnie distillery, Alba Chiara Di Bari is transported back in time by an extraordinary tale of a perilous rescue mission
Entering the Metropolis
The third of Compass Box’s Extinct Quartet, Metropolis, is launched with a little steam punk vibe in a nod to the city
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In A Special Place: Glencoe
By Alastair Campbell
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Video: Queens of cashmere
By Barley staff
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Whisky cabinet must-haves
By Olly Smith
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5 distilleries opening soon
By Barley staff
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Islay whisky starter for six
By Dave Broom
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Three classic Detroit speakeasies
By Nina Caplan
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Video: Japan's best dram?
By Tatsuya Minagawa
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Four supermarket whiskies we rate
By Olly Smith
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The Last Sipper
Hollywood legend Brian Cox invites Barley’s Tom Pattinson into his home to talk about the drams that changed his life - and what he really thinks about tasting notes…
Video produced by Emir Eralp