#scotch-whisky

#scotch-whisky

"With projects like this, it's very rare to have complete creative freedom over what we're doing. What myself and my team have been allowed to do is just create a collection that works well as a whole and sits well, and talks about different diverse flavours and different approaches to whisky making."

Mizunara is the third release in the distillery's Oak Masters' Series, which also includes White Oak and White Oak 24-Year-Old expressions. Mizunara is native to Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. It's an extremely rare oak and quite difficult to work with because it's very porous, making it difficult to craft into casks. But the effort is almost always worth it, as the oak brings out sandalwood, incense, floral and even tropical notes.

Growing numbers of Scottish spirits producers are showing signs of financial strain as weakening export demand, rising costs and trade barriers squeeze margins across the sector. Research by restructuring specialist BTG Begbies Traynor found that 69 Scottish distillers were facing "significant" or "critical" financial distress at the end of the year, up from 49 in the previous quarter. According to the Scotch Whisky Association,

If you're shopping in a state where grocery stores are allowed to sell liquor, you might even see Trader Joe's brand whisky on the shelves with a low price tag attached to it. So, how is it that a grocery chain can put proper, single-malt Scotch on the shelves for just $20 to $30 a bottle? The answer is similar to that of most of the deals you find in the store: A private label bottled by a non-distiller producer (NDP) in Scotland.

As a result of a new deal agreed during Sir Keir Starmer's trip to China, import taxes on whisky will be cut from 10% to 5% - a deal the UK government said would be worth 250m to the UK's economy over the next five years. Scotch whisky is a key export for Britain's drinks sector, with more than 5bn in annual exports. In recent years, China has been one of its fastest-growing markets.

The Scottish whisky market has slipped into a supply glut as US tariffs and falling demand weigh on the country's distilleries. Global scotch sales fell 3% in the first half of 2025, marking the third consecutive year of decline after decades of growth, according to the alcohol data provider IWSR. The slowdown comes as distilleries grapple with uncertainty around Donald Trump's trade tariffs, as well as declining rates of alcohol consumption.

Gone are Glen Grant's traditionally light and fruity characteristics, replaced by aged notes of stewed prunes, cinnamon, dark chocolate and oak spice.