DramMaster Daily Whisky News — 7 July 2026

Isle of Harris Distillery Launches Signature Single Malt After a Decade of Distilling

Isle of Harris Distillery has released Isle of Harris Whisky, a new signature single malt Scotch priced at £50. The expression goes on sale first at the distillery shop in Tarbert on 14 July, with online availability from 22 July and a wider rollout across UK speciality retailers and international markets — including the US, Germany, and France — beginning in August.

The lightly peated whisky is matured in a combination of first-fill ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. Official tasting notes describe butterscotch, floral sweetness, and gentle spice. It joins The Hearach and The Oloroso in a restructured range aligned more closely under the Isle of Harris name. The Hearach and The Oloroso will continue with updated labelling, new gift boxes, and a revised naming structure.

The distillery opened in 2015 and has now completed ten years of whisky distilling and maturation — a milestone that has allowed it to build the stock reserves needed to support consistent global supply. Ron MacEachran, executive chairman, said: "The Isle of Harris Single Malt Whisky emphasises how far we've come as a distillery over the last 10 years. From the outset, our ambition has been to create spirits that share the story of our island with the world."

Shona Macleod, distillery blender, said: "With Isle of Harris Whisky, we wanted to create a spirit that feels both distinctive and approachable, without losing any of that sense of place. The combination of bourbon and Oloroso casks brings warmth, sweetness and gentle spice, while the light peat adds depth without overpowering the spirit."

The distillery will host a ceilidh on 14 July to mark the release, with celebrations continuing at the HebCelt festival in Stornoway from 15–18 July, where visitors can sample the whisky neat or in a highball.

Murray's take: Ten years is the minimum sentence for a distillery built from scratch on a remote island with no whisky heritage to lean on. Harris didn't have the advantage of a historic name or existing stock — it started with gin to pay the bills while the spirit matured. Now it has three expressions, a restructured range, and global distribution starting in August. £50 for a lightly peated single malt from first-fill bourbon and Oloroso casks is a mainstream price point, not a premium one. That tells you Harris is positioning this as a volume expression, not a collector's bottle. The restructuring — bringing The Hearach and The Oloroso under the Isle of Harris umbrella — is a brand consolidation move that makes the range easier to navigate on a shelf. Whether the liquid justifies the shelf space is the question that matters, and the answer arrives on 14 July.

---

Port of Leith Distillery Puts Single Grain Scotch in Cans

Port of Leith Distillery has launched Table Whisky in 100ml cans at an RRP of £6.50 ($8.50). Each can contains two 50ml serves of single grain whisky, distilled in Edinburgh, matured in a combination of new oak and Sherry casks, blended in Leith, and bottled at 43% ABV.

The distillery says the cans can be enjoyed straight from the can, poured over ice, or mixed into its signature Table Ginger serve — ginger ale, ice, and a wedge of lime. Table Whisky is also available in 700ml bottles at £36.50 ($49) and 50ml miniatures at £6.50 ($8.50).

Vaibhav Sood, head of whisky at Port of Leith Distillery, said: "Table Whisky has always been about making Scotch whisky feel uncomplicated and approachable, without compromising on flavour. We wanted to create a whisky people could enjoy however they prefer, whether that's neat, over ice or mixed. The can is simply another expression of that same idea. It's the same whisky, just in a format that fits more occasions."

The £12 million ($14.5m) Port of Leith distillery opened in October 2023. Described as Scotland's first vertical distillery, it has the capacity to produce up to one million bottles of single malt whisky per year. The RTD category continues to grow, with sales surpassing £700m ($948m) in the UK off-trade last year.

Murray's take: Canned Scotch whisky. Two reactions are possible here, and both are valid. The first: this is a gimmick that devalues the category. The second: this is a format that meets drinkers where they actually are — at picnics, on trains, at beaches — instead of demanding they come to a glass. Port of Leith is not putting a 25-year-old single malt in a can. It's putting a 43% ABV single grain whisky matured in new oak and Sherry casks into a portable format at £6.50 for two serves. That's a £3.25 pour. The whisky itself is the same liquid that sells in a 700ml bottle for £36.50 — this is a packaging decision, not a quality compromise. The RTD category surpassed £700m in UK off-trade sales last year, and none of that was canned Scotch. Port of Leith is the first through the door. Whether the door opens onto a category or a cul-de-sac depends on whether other distilleries follow, and whether drinkers actually reach for a can of grain whisky when they could reach for a gin and tonic in the same format. The answer is not obvious. But the experiment is worth running.

---

Kilchoman Adds Rockside 11 Year Old to Core Range — First Age Statement Expression

Kilchoman Distillery has added Rockside 11 Year Old to its core range — the first age statement core expression from the Islay farm distillery. The lightly peated single malt carries a phenol level of 20 ppm, compared to 50 ppm in core expressions like Machir Bay and Sanaig.

Rockside claims to be Islay's only single farm single malt: grown, malted, peated, distilled, matured, and bottled at the distillery's own 2,300-acre Rockside Farm on the north-west coast of Islay. Aged in ex-Bourbon and Sherry casks and bottled at 46% ABV, the whisky offers notes of light smoke, tropical fruit, toffee apple, salted caramel, sweet citrus, walnuts, and mixed spices.

Anthony Wills, founder of Kilchoman Distillery, said: "More than 20 years in the making, Rockside 11 is the culmination of a journey that began with our first crop of Rockside barley in 2004. Across 15 100% Islay releases, we watched the spirit develop, waiting for the right moment to introduce Rockside as a core range expression."

He added: "Bright, fragrant and threaded with sweet peat, Rockside's character begins with the barley. Grown here on the farm, it endures harsh conditions, yet those challenges produce a barley, and ultimately a whisky, unlike any other."

Kilchoman Rockside 11-year-old will be rolled out first in the UK and across Europe, with international markets to follow. It has a recommended retail price of £55 ($73).

Murray's take: Kilchoman has been the most interesting distillery on Islay for a decade, and this release explains why. Most Islay distilleries lead with peat. Kilchoman leads with farming. The 20 ppm peating level — less than half of Machir Bay and Sanaig — is a deliberate choice to let the barley talk. The claim of "Island's only single farm single malt" is not marketing. It's a supply chain: 2,300 acres, Rockside barley, floor malting, stillhouse, warehouse, bottling line — all on one site. Ardbeg can't say that. Lagavulin can't say that. Bruichladdich can say it sources barley from Islay farms, but it doesn't grow it on its own land. £55 for an 11-year-old Islay single malt at 46% ABV, non-chill-filtered, from a single farm, in ex-Bourbon and Sherry casks — that's honest pricing. The 50 ppm expressions built Kilchoman's reputation among peat heads. This 20 ppm expression is aimed at the drinker who wants Islay character without Islay aggression. It's a wider net, and a smarter one.

---

Glenturret Debuts 21 Year Old Deux Terrain — Sauternes Finish, 500 Bottles, £750

The Glenturret Distillery has announced the launch of The Glenturret Deux Terrain, a 21 Year Old single malt Scotch whisky bottled at 42.8% ABV. Limited to 500 bottles, it is available from The Glenturret website at an RRP of £750.

The whisky was initially matured in Sherry-seasoned oak casks before being finished in casks that previously held Sauternes wine from Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey. The Château, founded in 1618 in Bordeaux, sits under the same Lalique guardianship as The Glenturret — a connection the release is built around. "Deux Terrain" translates to "Two Lands," referring to the Scottish Highlands and the Bordeaux vineyards.

Created by Whisky Maker Bob Dalgarno, the expression delivers notes of pineapple, caramelised apple, gentle spice, vanilla, seasoned oak, ginger, sweet cinnamon, and ripening citrus. The Glenturret is Scotland's oldest working distillery, founded in Crieff.

Murray's take: A 21-year-old single malt finished in Sauternes casks from a First Growth-classed Bordeaux estate, limited to 500 bottles, at £750. This is a luxury release, and it's priced like one. The Lalique connection — both Glenturret and Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey sit under the same ownership — means this isn't a cask-sourcing deal. It's a portfolio play: two properties under one luxury group, sharing liquid across categories. Sauternes is a risky finish. The wine is sweet, botrytis-affected, and assertive — it can overwhelm a spirit that doesn't have the structure to push back. Twenty-one years in Sherry-seasoned oak first gives the spirit that structure. Whether the Sauternes adds complexity or just sweetness is the question, and at £750 a bottle, it's a question few will get to answer for themselves. The 42.8% ABV is unusually precise — most distilleries round to the half or whole number. That precision suggests Dalgarno stopped diluting at the exact point he judged the flavour balance correct. It's a detail that tells you this was tasted, not calculated.

---

The Viceroy 1977 Enters Luxury Spirits With 15-Year-Old Speyside and a Cricket Ambassador

The House of The Viceroy 1977, a new independent luxury spirits brand founded by Rakesh Rathod, is preparing for its global launch with a 15-year-old Speyside single malt and a Monsoon Heat Premium Botanical Gin.

The Viceroy Founder's Edition is a non-chill-filtered 15-year-old Speyside single malt, distilled with 100% malted barley at an undisclosed Speyside distillery and aged in first-fill European oak hogsheads. Bottled at 46.3% ABV, it is limited to 803 bespoke 1,120g heavyweight gold-crested decanters with individually numbered neck booklets. The whisky is described as having natural, heavy-oil ester complexity with a rich, mouth-coating texture, and notes of honeyed oak and orchard fruit.

The Monsoon Heat Premium Botanical Gin, bottled at 42% ABV, is crafted using vapour-infusion with a copper basket. Its botanical profile features black pepper, green cardamom, fresh Scottish juniper, and dehydrated citrus peel. The gin has already been awarded two Gold medals at The Global Spirits Masters Competition 2026.

The brand launches on 16 July 2026 at the Kia Oval cricket ground in London, hosted by television presenter and F1 broadcaster Matthew Walker. England ODI and T20 Cricket World Cup champion Chris Woakes has been named brand ambassador. Following the London launch, the brand will officially release on 17 September, with an India launch at The Oberoi Gurgaon in late October via sister subsidiary Rajpratha Heritage Spirits. A Shikar & Rajwada Edition will be released exclusively for the Indian market.

Murray's take: An undisclosed Speyside distillery, 803 bottles, heavyweight gold-crested decanters, a cricket ambassador, and a launch at the Kia Oval. This is brand architecture, not whisky making. The liquid is sourced — there's nothing wrong with that, independent bottlers have done it for centuries — but the distillery's name is withheld, which means the story is about the packaging, the launch event, and the ambassador, not the spirit. 46.3% ABV is a deliberate choice, and first-fill European oak hogsheads will have delivered a robust, sherried character over 15 years. That's a solid foundation. But the proposition — "liquid assets" and "rare Scottish single casks treated as fine art" — positions this as a collectible, not a dram you'd pour at home. The gin has two Gold medals, which is more tangible proof of quality than the whisky currently has. The India market strategy is smart: a premium Scotch with Indian cultural positioning, launched at The Oberoi, with a cricket World Cup winner as ambassador. That's a targeted audience, not a scatter shot. Whether the whisky earns its place in the glass — or just on the shelf — depends on what's inside those 803 decanters. We'll know more after 16 July.

---

Got a tip or story we should cover? Find us at drammaster.academy or email [email protected].