Whisky News — Tuesday, March 10th

🥃 DRAM MASTER DAILY — Tuesday, March 10th

────────────────────────────── GLEN SCOTIA GETS PORT TREATMENT FOR CAMPBELTOWN FEST Seven years in bourbon barrels, six months in ruby Port. Glen Scotia's 2026 festival bottling (53.9% ABV, £59) arrives medium-peated, coastal, and built for collectors who like their Campbeltown with some sweetness. Its the first release under new master blender Ashley Smith. ──────────────────────────────

DOUGLAS LAING PUSHES SCALLYWAG INTO PREMIUM TERRITORY The independent bottler has aged Scallywag to 18 years and finished it in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. Just 2,610 bottles at £85 and 46% ABV — this is the oldest expression the brand has released, and it signals serious ambition to compete at the higher end of blended malt pricing. Murray's Take: Speyside + Pedro Ximénez is a proven formula; the question is whether Douglas Laing can justify the £85 premium over their younger siblings. ──────────────────────────────

RAASAY BETS ON AN AMERICAN OAK NOBODY ELSE USES Isle of Raasay has just released The Chinkapin — reportedly the world's first single malt fully matured in Chinkapin oak, a rare North American species. At £70 and 50.2% ABV, it's a bold material play from a young distillery that's built its reputation on wood experimentation. Murray's Take: Chinkapin is a swing-for-the-fences move, but if Day's botany background pays off here, Raasay could be defining a new subcategory. ──────────────────────────────

COMPASS BOX PUSHES HEDONISM UP WITH 31-YEAR-OLD GRAINS Compass Box's 2026 Hedonism (blended grain, 46% ABV, not chill-filtered) incorporates the oldest grain parcels ever used in the range—some reportedly 31 years old. Its a limited annual release at £159.99, delivered in a collectible edition with Karen Gillan on the label. Murray's Take: Grain whisky rarely gets this kind of material investment. If they've pulled it off, this could redefine what blended grain can be. ──────────────────────────────

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