DramMaster Daily Whisky News — 10 September 2026

By Murray

Bowmore x Snarkitecture: Two 20 Year Old Islay Single Malts Where Architecture Meets Whisky

Bowmore has launched the Captivo Collection, a collaboration with New York design studio Snarkitecture, comprising two 20-year-old Islay single malts: Oak Voyage and Sherry Cask Pursuit. This is Snarkitecture's first partnership with a whisky brand. Co-founder Alex Mustonen travelled from New York to Bowmore's No.1 Vaults on Islay, one of the oldest maturation warehouses in Scotland, built below sea level on the shores of Loch Indaal. The island's landscape and the warehouse environment informed the packaging, which features carved, portal-like forms reflecting a concept of threshold and passage. Oak Voyage is shaped by two decades of maturation in American oak. Sherry Cask Pursuit explores the influence of Oloroso sherry casks and is available through select Global Travel Retailers and on Bowmore.com to My Bowmore members. Dr Calum Fraser, master blender for Scotch and Irish at Suntory Global Spirits, said: "The richness of Oak Voyage and the smooth sweetness of Sherry Cask Pursuit demonstrate the remarkable impact of time and cask selection." The collaboration will feature at the London Design Festival on 13 September, where Fraser and Mustonen will speak at the V&A. Bowmore has been making whisky on Islay since 1779.

Murray's take: A design studio's first whisky collaboration could have been a packaging exercise with a bottle attached. The fact that Mustonen went to Islay and spent time in the No.1 Vaults before designing anything gives the concept substance. Two 20-year-old expressions with different cask provenance is a proper release, not a label job. The London Design Festival appearance at the V&A is smart positioning: Bowmore gets in front of an audience that buys design objects and might buy whisky for the same reason.

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WhistlePig Boss Hog XIII: The Golden Pharaoh — A Rye Whiskey Inspired by a 3,000-Year-Old Egyptian Recipe

WhistlePig has announced The Boss Hog XIII: The Golden Pharaoh, the 13th chapter in its collectible Boss Hog series and the first to draw inspiration from Africa. The straight rye is finished in barrels seasoned with Egyptian black honey (Asal Eswed, which is sugarcane molasses rather than bee honey) and tiger nuts, an edible tuber with a flavour similar to almonds or coconut. The recipe comes from a tiger nut cake carved into an ancient Egyptian tomb over 3,000 years ago. Head blender Meghan Ireland said: "We recreated the recipe on our farm and fell in love with the flavour combination. That led us to experiment with the finishing for this year's Boss Hog." The rye is aged in new American oak before its seasoned-barrel finish. Tasting notes from the brand: brown sugar, cinnamon, and toasted almond on the nose; molasses, honey, and baking spice on the palate; toasted almond and fresh oatmeal on the finish. Bottled at 51.3 to 52.8% ABV in 750ml format, with a suggested retail price of $599.99 (£445). Each bottle carries a pewter topper inspired by King Tutankhamun, with a select number featuring a rare gold topper for collectors. Available for presale from 9 September, with nationwide launch on 29 September.

Murray's take: The Boss Hog series has always been theatrical, but finishing a rye in barrels seasoned with sugarcane molasses and tiger nuts from a 3,000-year-old tomb recipe is genuinely eccentric. The tasting notes, if accurate, suggest the molasses finish is doing real work on the palate. At $599.99 for a 750ml rye, this is a collector bottle with a story attached, and the pewter and gold toppers reinforce that positioning. Whether the liquid earns the price is a separate question from whether the story sells the bottle.

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Gordon & MacPhail Appoints Jo Coomber as Global Marketing Director

Gordon & MacPhail, the Elgin-based family-owned whisky specialist established in 1895, has appointed Jo Coomber as its new Global Marketing Director. Coomber brings more than 25 years of experience in UK and international marketing across luxury, consumer brands, and creative industries. She has been a consultant in recent years, advising on brand development and marketing strategy for companies including Suntory Global Spirits and Scottish design house Timorous Beasties. She is a Fellow of the Marketing Society. Coomber will lead marketing for Gordon & MacPhail, Benromach Distillery, and The Cairn, with a focus on international expansion. Chief Executive Mark Geary said: "Her proven track record in brand development and insight-driven marketing makes Jo the perfect fit as we continue to invest in our brands in key markets around the world." Coomber said: "Gordon & MacPhail has a rich heritage, exceptional whiskies, and an ambitious brand-led vision for the future. I look forward to working with the team and partners to deliver the next phase of our brand growth ambitions, both at home and internationally."

Murray's take: Hiring a marketing director with Suntory Global Spirits on her consultancy CV signals where Gordon & MacPhail sees its next phase. The company has built its reputation on cask expertise and independent bottling, but The Cairn distillery and the Benromach single malt brand need consumer-facing marketing to compete internationally. A Fellow of the Marketing Society with luxury and spirits experience is the right profile for a family-owned business trying to punch above its weight in global markets.

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Blind Summit Splits a 1989 Macallan Cask Into Two 35-Year-Old Whiskies

Leith-based independent bottler Blind Summit Whisky has released two 35-year-old single malt Scotch whiskies from a single Macallan cask distilled on 11 October 1989. The launch is limited to 30 paired sets worldwide. The original liquid came from a refill Bourbon hogshead. Co-founder and whiskymaker James Zorab divided the cask and finished the two halves separately: one in a Rivesaltes fortified wine cask (45.3% ABV) and the other in a Barbados rum cask (46.4% ABV). Both are bottled at cask strength, non-chill filtered, and at natural colour. Each 50cl bottle is priced at approximately £1,250 ($1,650), with a paired set at £2,500 ($3,300). Zorab said: "Our responsibility with a whisky of this age was to respect what the years in cask had already achieved. Each finishing cask was chosen to build on the character of the spirit rather than change it." Co-founder Jamie Dawson added: "We didn't want to release another Macallan finished in Oloroso simply because that's what's expected. Splitting the cask gave us the opportunity to explore two very different finishing journeys while making sure the character of the original whisky always remained at the heart of both expressions." The Rivesaltes finish adds dried fruit and nut richness, according to the brand. The Barbados rum cask brings brighter tropical notes. Each pair is presented in 50cl packaging with mirrored labels designed as one continuous artwork, created with Leith-based Studio Reekee.

Murray's take: Splitting a single Macallan cask and finishing the halves in Rivesaltes and Barbados rum is a more interesting move than another Oloroso finish, and Dawson is right that the conventional route would have been the expected one. Thirty sets at £2,500 per pair will sell out. The question for anyone who tastes them is whether the two finishes diverge enough to justify buying both, or whether one half of the cask got the better deal.

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Sullivans Cove Unveils First 20 Year Old French Oak in Seasonal Capture Collection

Tasmanian distillery Sullivans Cove has launched its inaugural Seasonal Capture collection, four single malt whiskies united by their connection to French oak. The spring release features the brand's first-ever 20 Year Old French Oak expression, Cask Nº TD0021, described by the distillery as "a milestone in the Sullivans Cove story." A ballot for the 20 Year Old opens on 5 October and will be drawn on 19 October. The collection also includes a French Oak ex-Chardonnay (Cask Nº SC0814, matured for seven years and seven months in a single French oak ex-Chardonnay cask), a French Oak ex-Pinot Noir (Cask Nº SC0387, matured for seven years in a 225-litre ex-Pinot Noir barrique, with 96 bottles remaining as the final allocation), and an Ex-Brandy Edition Double Cask (Batch Nº DC127), which incorporates casks from Sullivans Cove's own historic brandy programme. Sullivans Cove, based in Hobart, gained international recognition in 2014 when its French Oak expression was named World's Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards. The collection arrives later this month.

Murray's take: A 20 Year Old French Oak from Tasmania is a serious age statement from a distillery that put Australian whisky on the global map in 2014. The ballot system for the 20 Year Old is the right call. Limited allocation with a structured draw prevents the shelf-clearing that derails fair access. The ex-Brandy Double Cask using casks from Sullivans Cove's own brandy programme is the quiet detail that matters. Most distilleries source ex-wine casks from elsewhere. Using casks from a programme they ran themselves gives the Double Cask a provenance story that no imported barrique can match.

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