Whisky News — 18 February 2026
Murray
🥃 DRAM MASTER DAILY — Tuesday, 18 February 2026
ARRAN DISTILLERY ANNOUNCES £8M VISITOR CENTRE EXPANSION Isle of Arran Distillers has announced a £8 million expansion of its Lochranza visitor centre, including a new exhibition space, extended tasting facilities, and a heritage archive of the distillery's 30-year history. Work begins in spring with completion expected late 2027. The distillery welcomes over 100,000 visitors annually. Murray's Take: Arran has built something genuinely impressive in 30 years. The visitor centre investment is earned — this is a distillery people want to visit.
IRISH WHISKEY OVERTAKES JAPANESE IN UK RETAIL MARKET SHARE New data from IWSR shows Irish whiskey has overtaken Japanese whisky in UK retail market share by volume for the first time, with Irish brands capturing 7.2% of the total spirits market versus Japanese at 6.8%. Jameson remains the dominant Irish brand. The growth is attributed to cocktail culture and younger consumer demographics. Murray's Take: Irish whiskey's revival is one of the great success stories in spirits. Twenty years ago the category was nearly extinct outside of Jameson. Now it's genuinely competitive.
GLENALLACHIE RELEASES 10 YEAR OLD PERMANENT EXPRESSION Billy Walker's GlenAllachie distillery has released a permanent 10 Year Old expression at 48% ABV, priced at £55. The expression uses a combination of ex-wine and ex-bourbon casks and is non-chill filtered with natural colour. GlenAllachie has built a strong following since Walker's acquisition in 2017. Murray's Take: GlenAllachie at 10 years old is a confident statement — Walker knows exactly what he wants this whisky to be, and he's achieved it.
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