London’s best bars for drinking bourbon
Neat, on the rocks, or in a killer cocktail. From basement speakeasies to opulent lounges, Barley’s guide to 10 bars in the capital where the bourbon drinking is beyond compare
The Last Sipper with Kiefer Sutherland
The Canadian actor and guitar-mad musician tells Barley about his new whisky — and reveals what Picasso taught him about tasting notes and why he loves nothing more than drinking ‘Cutty Sark in dive bars’
The Deep Dive: Wake-up call for whisky?
Sales slumps. Teetotal Gen Z-ers. And a cataclysmic attempt at categorisation alongside chicken nuggets by food activists. In this exclusive investigation for Barley, Nick Morgan reveals the range of converging factors conspiring against a new golden age of whisky
Neon wonderland: Tokyo’s hidden whisky bars
It famously has nearly as many whisky bars as it does residents, we’ve found the best ones
The Last Sipper with Georgie Bell
The Heart Cut founder on the book she’s been inspired by, her favourite whisky bars in the world – and the Mexican taco joint that will knock your socks off
10 great whisky festivals from around the world to book for 2025
From Kentucky to Dublin, and Paris to Islay, there’s a host of great whisky shindigs happening this year. What are you waiting for? Here’s where to go and how to book
How the water of life poured back into Port Ellen
Nina Caplan travelled to Islay to witness the rebirth of one of the island’s most romantic and revered distilleries - and found a thriving culture where that distinctive whisky is flowing abundantly again
‘I’m part of the dodo race’
Take two Dundonians, one a poet, the other a Hollywood star…. Don Paterson and Brian Cox set the world to rights
I was a tartan teen tearaway
Tartan can’t make a comeback, says the fashion editor and influencer, because for her it never went away
Sky’s the limit – a year in the life of Port of Leith distillery
It’s a cloud-busting marvel of engineering and the UK’s first vertical distillery. As Port of Leith celebrates a year open to the public, ‘Diplomatic Division’ team member Anna Lou Larkin reveals the highs, woes and thrills
The Last Sipper with Jakub Niziolek
Nattily attired and generous with his expertise, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Jakub Niziolek is a popular figure in the members’ room at the club’s London base. Barley popped along to ask him about his whisky passions
Sour mash, sweet music: Nashville city nights
Bourbon whiskey, glittering rhinestones, blistered hogs and cool Country music – Chris Moss goes on tour in Nashville and finds the stetson still mighty but a buzzy new culture riding in over the skyline
The Twelve Drams of Christmas
We’ve scoured the globe, we’ve sipped, scribbled and selected. Yes, it’s Barley’s annual festive dozen — 12 fantastic bottles for your Christmas cabinet, with something to suit every taste, style, region and pocket
Sip advisor: Scotland’s best independent whisky shops
From epicurean emporiums to quirky outposts, 10 places to pick up that next special bottle
From Kentucky to Hoxton
A dazzling new Bourbon bar in London is pure whiskey paradise, discovered Heather Storgaard, who zipped along to taste some historic pours from the fabled stable of Yellowstone
The Last Sipper with Joel Harrison
The spirits writer and presenter on the whisky that gets his tastebuds tingling, and his favourite Soho hangout
Barley culture: Alice Lascelles
Our favourite people on the things they like, that you might like too: this month, the award-winning drinks writer and columnist on an epic novel, her favourite blended whisky and the special place she retreats to
A vine romance: Whisky and Port’s joyful union
The Dalmore’s epic new Port Edition is forged in Scotland and finessed in the feted Douro valley wine region. For Anna Lou Larkin, a Glaswegian with a Portuguese grandfather, this was a magical marriage too good to resist
English whisky’s field of dreams
The centuries old Christian and Pagan tradition of Lammas Day has been resurrected by Fielden whisky to honour the harvest and sow a new way of making whisky – with heritage grains once used by the Vikings. Tom Pattinson joins the happy throng
Libations in Laugharne on the trail of Dylan Thomas
Drink, poetry and solitude. Chris Moss toasts the Welsh writer on a walk around the author’s favourite home town – and final resting place
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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