DramMaster Daily Whisky News — 28 July 2026

Douglas Laing Dials Up the Sherry with Strathearn Batch 03

Douglas Laing & Co. has unveiled Strathearn Highland Single Malt Batch 03, the latest small-batch release from one of Scotland's smallest traditional distilleries. Bottled at 50% ABV, the whisky is available now at select retailers for a suggested price of £65. Batch 03 comprises a vatting of 31 selected casks, drawing on both inherited stocks and spirit distilled under Douglas Laing's ownership since its 2019 acquisition. The release keeps Strathearn's signature cask recipe of ex-bourbon, virgin oak, and ex-sherry oak, but increases the Sherry influence for added depth and richness. Every production shift at the Perthshire distillery produces just a single cask of whisky. Tasting notes from the brand describe toasted malt and barley sugar on the nose, buttery biscuit and toffee on the palate, and a long finish of oak, cocoa, and soft leather. Lead distiller Angela Brown said: "With Batch 03, we've carefully increased the influence of our Sherry casks to add further richness and complexity, while ensuring the distillery's signature creamy character remains at the forefront."

Murray's take: Strathearn produces one cask per shift. One. That makes every batch a genuine small-batch release, not a marketing label. The shift toward more sherry cask is the right call — Strathearn's naturally characterful spirit can carry the weight, and £65 for a 50% ABV single malt from Scotland's smallest distillery is fair pricing. Douglas Laing acquired Strathearn to move from blending into production, and Batch 03 shows the maturing pipeline is starting to deliver. The acorn bottle and "from small acorns, great oaks grow" philosophy is genuine here, not branding spin.

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Isle of Harris Adds Signature Single Malt to Its Range

Isle of Harris Distillery has launched a new signature single malt, simply named Isle of Harris Whisky, after more than a decade of distilling on the island. The expression joins the distillery's inaugural single malt The Hearach and The Oloroso, creating a three-bottle core range. Distillery blender Shona Macleod described the whisky as a combination of bourbon and Oloroso cask maturation, bringing warmth, sweetness, and gentle spice, with light peat adding depth without overpowering the spirit. Executive chairman Ron MacEachran said the new dram was "crafted with moments of relaxed enjoyment very much in mind, made to pour, share, and savour with friends." Macleod suggested it works well in a highball or a simple serve. The Hearach and The Oloroso will continue under the Isle of Harris Single Malt Scotch Whisky umbrella with updated labelling, new gift boxes, and simplified presentation. A wider rollout to UK specialist retailers and international markets begins in August.

Murray's take: Harris has been distilling for over a decade and now has a three-bottle range. That's a deliberate pace — this is a remote island distillery that built its reputation on gin before whisky, and the whisky pipeline is now maturing into a proper portfolio. The "light peat" positioning is smart: it differentiates from Islay's heavy smoke without abandoning peat altogether. The highball serve suggestion tells you who they're targeting — drinkers who want flavour without ceremony. The August rollout to UK specialists and international markets is the step that moves Harris from cult status to commercial visibility.

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Inside Rampur: The Himalayan Distillery Redefining Indian Whisky

The Whiskey Wash published a deep feature on Rampur Distillery, the Himalayan foothills single malt owned by Radico Khaitan. The distillery sits in northern India, where punishing summers and cold winters accelerate maturation far beyond Scotland's pace. "In Rampur, the interaction between spirit and oak occurs at a considerably faster pace than in cooler whisky-producing regions," the team said. That speed comes at a cost — evaporation losses are far higher. Rampur uses six-row Indian barley rather than two-row Scottish varieties, producing a fuller spirit with more cereal weight that can withstand the aggressive maturation. The core range includes Select (ex-bourbon), Double Cask (bourbon and sherry), Asava (Indian Cabernet Sauvignon finish), and Barrel Blush (Australian Shiraz finish). The experimental Jugalbandi Series explores cask interactions, named after the Indian classical music duet form. Virasat, the newest expression, is heading to the US market soon.

Murray's take: Rampur makes the case that Indian whisky isn't trying to be Scotch — it's its own thing. The six-row barley, the accelerated maturation, and the Indian Cabernet Sauvignon cask finishes are building a flavour profile that couldn't come from Scotland. Asava, finished in Indian wine casks, is the sharpest argument: a whisky that expresses Indian terroir through Indian agriculture. The evaporation losses are the hidden cost — faster maturation means less whisky in the cask each year. That's why Indian single malt at this quality level isn't cheap. Virasat landing in the US is the test: can a premium Indian single malt win on flavour, not on price?

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Port of Leith Cans the Old Fashioned with Velvet Launch

Port of Leith Distillery has expanded its Table Whisky range with the Velvet Old Fashioned, a pre-mixed canned cocktail launching as the second product in its Leith Bond range. The 100ml can blends Table Whisky — a single grain Scotch matured in virgin oak and sherry casks — with Pedro Ximénez sherry and a touch of saline. Bottled at 32% ABV, it carries a recommended retail price of £6.50 and has been available from July 24 through selected retailers and the Port of Leith online shop. The Pedro Ximénez comes from the distillery's Cask Partners range, sourced from Bodegas De Baron in south-west Spain. Vaibhav Sood, head of whisky at Port of Leith, said: "Pairing our single grain with Pedro Ximénez sherry gives it this rich toffee, gingerbread and dark chocolate depth, with a finish that goes on for ages. Whether you're pouring it properly over ice or cracking one open straight from the can, it's ready when you are." The cocktail can be poured over ice with an orange peel expressed over the top, or chilled and drunk directly from the can.

Murray's take: A canned Old Fashioned at 32% ABV for £6.50 is either brilliant or gimmicky, and the detail that tips it toward brilliant is the PX sherry source. Port of Leith isn't buying bulk PX — they're drawing from a named cask partner in Spain, the same Bodegas De Baron whose casks mature their whisky. That's a integrity signal. The single grain base is also a smart choice: grain whisky carries cocktail sweetness without fighting the spirit the way a complex single malt would. The ready-to-drink category is growing, and most of it is mediocre. A distillery making its own canned cocktail from its own whisky and its own cask-partner sherry is a different proposition entirely.

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Ospree Duty Free to Showcase 60-Decanter Macallan 34-Year-Old

Ospree Duty Free will become one of the first travel retailers to showcase ABD Maestro's debut ultra-premium release: The Collective Limited Edition 34-Year-Old Speyside Single Malt, distilled at The Macallan Distillery in 1991. The expression is limited to just 60 hand-filled decanters worldwide, each individually numbered, engraved, and hand-finished with gold lettering in Scotland. Priced at ₹11 lakh (approximately £10,200), each decanter comes in a handcrafted wooden box with a personally signed letter from Bollywood actor and ABD Maestro co-founder Ranveer Singh. The whisky will be available through selected Indian airport duty free stores. After more than three decades of maturation, the Speyside single malt offers floral, citrus, and malt notes alongside sherry cask influence. Bikram Basu, Managing Director of ABD Maestro — the luxury subsidiary of Allied Blenders & Distillers — said: "Ospree Duty Free, as travel retail partners, are perfect for The Collective — an experiential space where the world's most discerning collectors and connoisseurs converge."

Murray's take: Sixty decanters. That's the entire global allocation. This isn't a release — it's a positioning exercise. ABD Maestro is a luxury subsidiary of one of India's largest drinks companies, and the move tells you what they think of the Indian travel retail market: it's ready for ultra-premium Scotch. The Macallan 1991 distillation gives instant credibility — the liquid is genuinely old and genuinely from a distillery that commands premium prices. The Bollywood co-founder angle is the Indian market signal: luxury whisky in Indian airports is being sold as celebrity-adjacent luxury, not just as rare spirit. At roughly £10,200 per decanter, this is for collectors who buy at airports because airports are where the experience lives. Whether 60 decanters can establish a brand is a different question. But as a statement of intent, it's loud.

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