Looking back on 2025 and welcoming the new year with an excellent drop of single malt Scotch from Bunnahabhain in Islay.
Every year since I started this blog, I’ve published a New Year’s Dram review. Each time, I’ve selected a special whisky that was worthy of seeing out the year and welcoming the new. I’m a wee (!!) bit late this time around, thanks to a chaotic festive season with some troubling ill-health in the family, but I was determined to keep the tradition alive, so let’s kick off 2026 with a look back at the last 12 months.
2025 was a weird old year for me. The family suffered bereavement on far too frequent a basis, making it a tough slog at times, but it was also the first year for my new business venture, Scottish Rogue, which brought a lot of enjoyment, as well. Life, in other words. Both good and bad, often simultaneously.
Scottish Rogue
Scottish Rogue launched at the end of November 2024, making 2025 the first full year of the business. I’m confident that the work we’ve done over the last 12 months will provide a solid foundation upon which to build in the years ahead.
I’m particularly proud of our Whisky Bar Walking Tour. I think it offers a lovely balance between detailed whisky information and stories of Glasgow and its heritage. Being able to share my home city, not to mention my favourite bars, is a privilege.
Elsewhere, our DRAM JAM Whisky Tasting events have proved a success. The combination of whisky and music has been a passion of mine for some time, and this event shows I’m not alone in that thinking. Our tastings prove that there is a desire for whisky nights that don’t take things too seriously. Sometimes people just want to relax, enjoy some great drinks and listen to some music.
We’ve self-hosted events, but have also been joined by great partners, from time to time. Big thanks especially to Glasgow Distillery, Brave New Spirits, Dràm Mòr, and Turntable Spirits.
We can’t wait to get started on more events for 2026!
Visiting Distilleries
I’ve enjoyed many distillery visits over the last 12 months. I returned to Campbeltown for the first time in almost a decade and revisited Springbank, Glengyle and Glen Scotia. I’ve also been to Islay twice with the brilliant Islay Whisky Academy, spending time at Bowmore, Ardbeg, Bunnahabhain, Kilchoman, Laphroaig, Bruichladdich, Ardnahoe, and Caol Ila.
Closer to home, I finally got to see around the new Ardgowan distillery – which is looking great. There were trips to Glasgow, the Clydeside, and Glengoyne. There was also Deanston, Glenturret, Tullibardine, Lindores, and I finally made it back to the first distillery I ever visited: Bladnoch.
The Whisky Industry in 2025
Sadly, it was something of a brutal year for the wider industry. The boom times seem well and truly behind us, and many distilleries have been forced to halt production with stocks well in excess of current demand.
Are we witnessing Whisky Loch 2.0? Well, that depends on who you ask. Much of the industry is determined to frame the current situation as a blip, rather than a longer downward trend. History would perhaps indicate the opposite.
The owners of mothballed distilleries say the intention is to resume distillation in 2026, or even 2027, but what if things get worse before they get better? Will they be mothballed for another year? Two? Indefinitely? These are troubling times.
A Buyer’s Market?
There’s another side to the current situation, of course. Prices are coming down, and discounts and special offers are now commonplace. Auction sites, once a feeding frenzy of ever-escalating bids, are now an appealing place to shop, full of bargains for those who know what to look for.
It’s hard to know how to feel about all this. On the one hand, I support the Scotch whisky industry and want to see it a success. The last thing I want is to see closures and job losses. But, then again, we whisky drinkers have been paying a fortune for whisky over the last few years, and a de-escalation in price is long overdue.
Outside forces have contributed to the current downturn, of course. Turmoil on a global basis and breakdowns in trade relationships make things harder, but the whisky industry was well on the way to eating itself regardless. Greed in pricing and reckless expansion had alarm bells ringing a long time ago, but no one was listening.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Scotch whisky is still the best spirit in the world, and there’s plenty of it out there. I don’t doubt that things will get better for the industry, but it will take time. I hope that 2026 will bring a renewed focus on achieving the best quality of product for the best possible price.
Bunnahabhain Hand-Filled Warehouse 9 2014 Canasta Review
I bought this bottle during the Islay Whisky Academy Residential Diploma Week in October ’25. It was one of the drams featured in the Bunnahabhain Warehouse Tasting, excellently hosted, as always, by David Brodie. One sip of this wee sherry bomb, and I knew I had to have it.
It’s an unpeated single malt, matured in a Canasta sherry cask. Canasta is a brand of sherry made by combining oloroso and Pedro Ximenez. The spirit was distilled in 2014 and bottled at 60.9%.
Tasting notes: A nose full of sweet, nutty sherry. Raisins, walnuts, hazelnuts, and leather. It’s all very Autumnal with dry leaves and conkers. Currants. Gingerbread. Wee touch of charcoal. Oranges soaked in booze. A big honey-sweet arrival develops into dried fruits, raisins, prunes, figs, and (cliché alert) Christmas Cake. In the final third, some peppery spice develops with clove and nutmeg, before a mouthwatering, juicy oak finish.
Thoughts: Just a wonderful dram. It isn’t doing anything revolutionary, but it’s delivering everything I want from a sherry cask whisky. It’s rich and luxurious and has body, intensity, sweetness and best of all, balance. It’s perfectly drinkable at the full cask strength of 60.9% because the gentle oiliness of it helps to cool the alcohol, and it coats the palate beautifully and lingers a while. A fully-fledged belter, in other words.
Price: £155. Not accessible to everyone at this kind of price, but I loved it from the moment it passed my lips and decided it was worth buying. After all, it’s nice to have a special bottle for special occasions.
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