DramMaster Daily Whisky News — 28 August 2026

By Murray

Laphroaig Unveils 35-Year-Old in Strong Characters Collection

Laphroaig has released a 35-year-old single malt as the second bottling in its Strong Characters series, honouring Dugald Johnston, son of co-founder Donald Johnston. Dugald inherited the distillery at 21 in 1857, during a period of famine and economic hardship on Islay, and grew production more than threefold over two decades. The whisky is priced at £880, limited to 5,500 bottles worldwide, and bottled at 43.8% ABV. Unlike the first release — a 33-year-old matured in sherry casks — the 35-year-old is aged exclusively in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels. Dr Calum Fraser, master blender for Scotch and Irish at Suntory Global Spirits, said: "There are very few casks of high-aged Laphroaig whisky left, so creating this 35-Year-Old expression was both a privilege and a responsibility." The nose offers freshly baked pastry, apple, and cherry. The palate delivers smoke and spice with a creamy mouthfeel, opening to light raisin. The finish carries aniseed and pepper, fading back to peat smoke. In the UK, the bottle is exclusive to JPHA until 28 September.

Murray's take: A 35-year-old Laphroaig in ex-bourbon only is a deliberate choice. The first Strong Characters release leaned on sherry casks for richness. This one strips it back to bourbon and lets the spirit carry the age. The tasting notes — pastry, apple, cherry, aniseed — barely sound like Laphroaig. That is the point. Few high-aged casks remain, and Fraser is showing what the distillery's spirit tastes like when the peat steps back instead of shouting. £880 for 43.8% is expensive, but 5,500 bottles worldwide at 35 years will sell through. The Strong Characters concept is solid — tie the liquid to a real person from the distillery's history, not a marketing invention.

---

UK High Court Shuts Down Scam Whisky Cask Investment Firm

The High Court in London has wound up Cask Spirits Global Limited, a whisky cask investment company whose customers paid for casks they never legally owned. The order was made on 25 August following an Insolvency Service investigation. Investigators identified 17 customers who paid a combined $132,000 (£97,249). Only four held valid ownership documentation. The company, incorporated in June 2024, recruited buyers through social media and cold calling, promising returns of 120% to 150% and tax advantages. Some received certificates for casks that did not exist. Others held certificates registered in the company's name, or naming warehouses with no connection to the firm. One buyer was told his cask sat in a bonded warehouse in Scotland; the warehouse denied any relationship. The company failed to provide 27 of 29 accounting documents requested. Mark George, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "People handed over thousands of pounds for whisky casks they never legally owned." This is the second such case in two years — the High Court wound up Cask Whisky Ltd in October 2024 under similar circumstances.

Murray's take: A certificate of ownership issued by a seller has no legal standing on its own. Ownership of a cask held under duty suspension is recorded by the bonded warehouse, not the seller. The document that transfers title is a delivery order — a document directing the warehousekeeper to update its register. If you are buying a cask and the seller cannot produce a delivery order, you are buying a piece of paper. Two firms shut down in two years is not a coincidence. It is a pattern, and the pattern exists because buyers do not understand the difference between a certificate and a delivery order. Guidance is available at protectyourcask.com.

---

Glen Moray Extends ISPS Handa Senior Open Partnership

Speyside distillery Glen Moray has signed a three-year extension to remain the Official Whisky of the ISPS Handa Senior Open, Europe's only senior golf major. The Elgin-based distiller first signed a three-year deal starting at Carnoustie in 2024. This year's Championship at Gleneagles attracted more than 20,000 fans and 144 players. Glen Moray's on-site tasting room and sampling program have become one of the event's most popular attractions. Nearly 600 guests sampled the brand's spirit across four complimentary whisky flights from the Explorer, Heritage, Xperience, and Warehouse 1 ranges. The Glen Moray Chipping Challenge drew 1,500 participants. Global Brand Ambassador Iain Allan presented a unique single cask — cask #5286, distilled in 1994 and bottled in 2026 — to this year's winner, Jerry Kelly. Stephen Watt, commercial and marketing director at Glen Moray, said: "After three successful years of partnership with the ISPS Handa Senior Open, we are more convinced than ever that world class golf and whisky go hand in hand."

Murray's take: A Speyside distillery sponsoring a senior golf major is not a headline grabber. It is a long-game brand-building move. Glen Moray has been quietly building a reputation for accessible, well-priced single malt, and the Senior Open audience — older, discretionary income, interested in craft — is exactly the demographic that buys whisky by the case, not the bottle. The single cask presentation to the winner is a nice touch. A 1994 distillation bottled exclusively for the Championship is the kind of one-off that gets talked about in clubhouse bars. Three more years of this is steady, not flashy.

---

Four Roses Launches Experimental No. 002 Honey Cask Finish

Four Roses Distillery has released Experimental Series No. 002 Honey Cask Finish, the second limited-edition bottling in a series exploring maturation beyond its traditional 10-recipe system. The bourbon will be available from 18 September exclusively at the Four Roses Distillery and Cox's Creek Visitor Centers in Kentucky. The release was inspired by a partnership with local honey producer Bohman Bee Company. Four Roses barrels were first used to age honey, then returned to the distillery for a second fill of bourbon. Master distiller Brent Elliott blended six-, seven-, and eight-year-old bourbons from the OESQ and OBSK recipes, then finished the blend in the honey-seasoned barrels for three to nine months. Bottled at 104 proof (52% ABV), the bourbon carries tasting notes of natural honey, floral undertones, warm baking spice, and a rich, lingering finish. It is sold in a 375ml format with a suggested retail price of $55. Four Roses, owned by Kirin Brewery Company since 2002, launched the Experimental Series to allow Elliott to test alternative maturation and production techniques outside the distillery's core range.

Murray's take: Four Roses' 10-recipe system is the most interesting thing about the distillery, and the Experimental Series is where they get to break their own rules. Ageing honey in bourbon barrels, then putting bourbon back in those same barrels, is a genuine experiment — not a finish for marketing's sake. The OESQ and OBSK recipes are both high-rye mash bills, which means the honey sweetness will have to fight through spice rather than ride on top of corn sweetness. $55 for 375ml at 104 proof is distillery-only pricing — limited, but not allocated nonsense. If you are near Lawrenceburg in September, it is worth the trip.

---

Michter's Toasted Barrel Finish Rye Returns at Barrel Strength

Michter's Distillery will release its US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Rye this September, bottled at barrel strength. The Louisville, Kentucky-based producer was recently named The World's #1 Most Admired Whiskey for a fourth consecutive year by Drinks International. The rye is finished in a second barrel that is toasted but not charred — a technique Michter's introduced in 2014 when it launched the first Toasted Barrel Bourbon. The wood for the second barrel was air-dried and seasoned outdoors for 24 months before being toasted to specification. Master distiller Dan McKee and master of maturation Andrea Wilson led the 2026 release. The average barrel proof is 109.1 (54.55% ABV). Tasting notes from the brand describe dark and savory notes transitioning to baked cinnamon roll with melted caramel icing, finishing with gingerbread and toastiness. The suggested retail price is $120 for a 750ml bottle. Michter's president Joseph Magliocco said: "This is what led our team to create a new category when in 2014 we launched the first Toasted Barrel Bourbon finished in a second barrel that had been toasted, but not charred."

Murray's take: Michter's invented the toasted-barrel-finish category in 2014 and has been refining it since. The technique works because toasting caramelises wood sugars without the carbon layer that charring produces — you get vanilla and baking spice without smoke. Two years of air-drying the staves before toasting is longer than most distilleries bother with, and it shows in the price. $120 for a barrel-strength rye is premium, but Michter's pricing has never been aggressive — the brand trades on reputation, not volume. Four consecutive years as World's Most Admired Whiskey is a serious accolade, and the toasted barrel program is a big part of why.

---

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