Augustus Hare

This month, two days after Augustus Hare returned from showing our collection in Tokyo, a Japanese single malt was named the finest Scotch in the world.   The Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 was described by expert Jim Murray as displaying, “near indescribable genius”.

Spring is here. At Augustus Hare HQ exciting things are happening – lambs are appearing in the meadows that I overlook, bulbs are filling the garden with colour and I am once again feeling my whisky palette shift with the seasons. When the days were short and I looked forward to a fire in the […]

At Augustus Hare HQ it’s been snowing heavily for almost a week now. This calls for a heart warming tipple. Enter: Bruichladdich 16 year old, Cuvee F: Pomerol. This malt, from my favourite Islay distillery, is part of their ‘First Growth Series’. Bruichladdich has purchased barrels from a number of first growth classified vineyards in […]

The snow drops are out and Spring is doing its best to overthrow the ravages of winter. With every bright dawn I’m moving further from the heavy and peat-drenched malts of Islay. They have done me well through Winter, but now I’m in the mood for something from Speyside.

I’ve recently been drinking the world’s peatiest whisky. The peatiness of a whisky is measured in ‘phenol parts per million’ (PPM). The stalwarts of the smoky scene measure like this: Laphroaig is 40 PPM, Lagavulin is 45 PPM, and Ardbeg is 54 PPM. The Bruichladdich Octomore 5.1 weighs in at an absurdly hefty 169 PPM. […]

I visited the small Oban distillery last summer with my friend Alan. I made the mistake of not buying their “Available only at the Distillery” release. Thankfully Alan was wise, and while he was hosting me in NYC I had the chance to pilfer a few more drops.