Comment - Spirits - Buxton: Banging the Dram
By: Ian Buxton
Augmenting our spirits coverage, Ian Buxton will be casting his eye over the brown side of the sector on a monthly basis.
Comment - Spirits - Adding a Touch of Flavour to Scotch Whisky
25 March 2013
Earlier this month, Bacardi announced the launch of Dewar's Highlander Honey in the US. The move has ruffled feathers in Scotland, where the heritage and provenance of Scotch whisky is almost an obsession. Here's Ian Buxton with his take on the storm in a nosing glass.
Comment - Spirits - Filling The Bourbon Hole
28 February 2013
What do Bacardi, Diageo and Pernod Ricard have in common? Aside from the obvious, Ian Buxton proffers that they share the same problem when it comes to Bourbon, and that's their lack of it.
Comment - Spirits - Scotch: It’s Scotland’s Water
11 January 2013
This month, Ian Buxton takes a look at an idea that, should it come to fruition, will send shockwaves through the Scotch whisky industry. In Scotland, he notes, there seems to be water, water everywhere, but not a drop that is taxed. Yet.
Comment - Spirits - Scotch: Age Ain't Nuthin' But a Number?
27 September 2012
An online row broke out among the Scotch whisky fraternity earlier this month. It all kicked off with the launch of The Macallan Gold from The Edrington Group, and its cousins Amber, Sienna and Ruby, all set to follow next year. But wait, asked some observers; how old are they? Ian Buxton is equally quizzical.
Comment - Spirits - Small is Beautiful
23 August 2012
In his latest column, Ian Buxton profiles a new spirits distiller in the UK and considers what this could mean for the craft spirits category of the futue.
Comment - Spirits - Bearing up to Polarisation
26 July 2012
This month's sermon from Ian Buxton looks at the ongoing issue of polarisation in the overall spirits category. He starts and finishes with two quotes, from two wildly disparate sources.
Comment - Spirits - Keeping an Eye on the Little Guys
28 June 2012
In the whisky category, it would appear that, while the big are getting bigger, the small are getting... more proliferative. This month, Ian Buxton considers the boom in craft distillers and flags up the perils and pitfalls they face.
Comment - Spirits - Flavoured whisk(e)y: A Spirited Move
10 May 2012
Our whisk(e)y specialist, Ian Buxton, has had his head turned this month by a glut of flavoured whiskies. Or, 'spirit drinks', if you're a European.
Comment - Spirits - All That Glisters is not Gold for Scotch Whisky
10 April 2012
The recent release of export numbers for Scotch whisky appeared to be cause to celebrate for the category. But, as Ian Buxton warns, the devil is in the detail.
Comment - Spirits - Taiwan: The Future for Whiskey?
13 March 2012
There’s a large and very prominently displayed sign at the entrance of Kavalan’s visitor centre in their distillery at Yi-Lan, Taiwan. “The New Homeland of Whisky”, it reads. Now, it would be easy to dismiss that as marketing hyperbole or simple self-aggrandisement, were it not that around 1m people a year see the sign.
Comment - Spirits - Is Rap Music the Future for Whisk(e)y Innovation?
9 February 2012
Having recently returned from his travels, Ian Buxton reports back on some of the more outlandish attempts to innovate in the notoriously traditionalist world of whisk(e)y.
Comment - Spirits - What Will (Not) Happen in 2012
17 January 2012
This week is prediction week on just-drinks. On Thursday, Chris Losh will give us his annual, tongue-in-cheek forecasts for the coming year. Today, however, Ian Buxton, consider what might happen in brown spirits in 2012.
Comment - Spirits - Is Investing in Whisk(e)y as Good as They Say?
22 November 2011
Ian Buxton has some money burning a hole in his pocket. Some of his peers are suggesting he goes with what he knows, and spends it on drink, but not necessarily for consumption. Ian's none too sure.
Comment - Spirits - "And, the Winner iszzzzz..."
8 September 2011
Every season appears to be awards season in our industry. And, while Ian Buxton bemoans the number of awards up for grabs in brown spirits, his comments could also be applied to beer, soft drinks, water and wine.
Comment - Spirits - The Thorn in Scotch Whisky's Side?
2 August 2011
This month, we welcome another regular commentator to the just-drinks fold. Augmenting our spirits coverage, Ian Buxton will be casting his eye over the brown side of the sector. To kick off, this month Ian looks at a character who is ruffling the feathers of many in the Scotch whisky industry.
