Whisky News — 26 February 2026
Murray
🥃 DRAM MASTER DAILY — Wednesday, 26 February 2026
GLENFIDDICH REFRESHES 30 YEAR OLD PACKAGING, PRICE UNCHANGED AT £575 Glenfiddich has announced a packaging update for its 30 Year Old expression, moving to a handblown glass decanter with a new presentation box. The retail price of £575 remains unchanged. The expression itself — a vatting of ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks — is unchanged. Available from premium retailers. Murray's Take: The 30 Year Old is a genuinely impressive whisky at a fair price for the age. The new decanter will look good on a shelf.
R/WHISKY DEBATES THE BEST HIGH-STREET VALUE BOTTLES UNDER £35 A popular thread on r/whisky asked for the best genuine value single malts available in standard supermarkets and off-licences at under £35. Top responses included Speyburn 10, Tomatin 12, and Old Pulteney 12. The thread reached 2,400 upvotes with 600+ comments. Murray's Take: Old Pulteney 12 at under £35 is one of the great unrecognised value bottles in Scotch. The maritime character and consistent quality at that price is genuinely remarkable.
COMPASS BOX ANNOUNCES COLLABORATIVE RELEASE WITH KAVALAN Blender Compass Box has confirmed a collaborative expression with Taiwanese distillery Kavalan, combining Compass Box's vatted malt expertise with Kavalan new-make spirit matured in Scotland for six years. Release date: Q3 2026. Details of the expression and pricing to follow. Murray's Take: East-meets-West collaborations in whisky have a mixed record but this one has the right ingredients — two genuinely creative producers with a clear rationale for working together.
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