Welcome to A Scot on Scotch – the Whisky Blog and YouTube channel from Neill Murphy
I’m Neill Murphy, founder of A Scot on Scotch whisky blog and YouTube channel. I got into whisky by accident. I was attending a funeral in the highlands at the time. When I arrived at the wake, I was offered a dram of 12-year-old Highland Park single malt. I didn’t want to appear rude so I took it and quickly made my way to a quiet corner where I could sip my drink and hope no-one saw the grimace on my face. As it happened, that sip changed my life.
Within a month I had gathered four or five bottles of malt and soon it had become a hobby. I scoured shelves for books and followed dozens of bloggers and vloggers who shouted passionately into the void about every conceivable facet of the whisky world. I attended as many whisky tastings as time, money and my liver would allow, soaking up as much information as people were willing to send my way. Then, in 2014 I took a course, led by renowned whisky writer John Lamond. Two years later I completed the ‘Whisky Ambassador‘ course. The hobby had clearly become something more.
Writing a Whisky Blog
I always enjoyed writing. English was the only subject I had a natural affinity for at school, though the possibility of doing anything about it never entered my head. I was too busy trying to be a DJ and my late teens and most of my twenties were spent in pubs and clubs, either playing or listening to loud electronic music.
Of course, when I crashed unwillingly into my thirties, the appeal of sleepless nights and busy cubs diminished and the notion of writing returned. I tried to write about the club culture I had immersed myself in but my enthusiasm for that subject had already waned. At 34, my wife fell pregnant and I did what any self-respecting man would do. I panicked. It seemed my life would never be the same again. And I was right – but two weeks before my daughter was born, I paid a visit to Auchentoshan and a light bulb illuminated. I could write about whisky! I published my first blog on WhiskyReviews.net in early October 2015 and I haven’t looked back since.
Whisky Blog to Whisky Channel?
In addition to my blogs, I started making short videos for Instagram and TikTok in 2023. It was fun but I found the short video format frustrating at times. There was just so much to say! The only sensible course of action was to step into the world of YouTube. That’s when I created A Scot on Scotch, a channel that would allow me the space and time to discuss many facets of Scotch whisky, outside my traditional review format.
The next logical step was to bring the YouTube channel and blog together under one umbrella. The channel’s name (inspired by the 1991 book, Scots on Scotch, by Pip Hills), seemed to fit the purpose well so I purchased the domain and here we are! WhiskyReviews.net is no more. Long live A Scot on Scotch.
Other Whisky Projects
In addition to the blog, YouTube channel and associated social media content, I am and have been involved in various other projects that may be of interest.
The Quaich Podcast was a lockdown project for myself and colleague, Micky Plummer. We spent two years and sixteen episodes discussing current affairs in whisky and beyond. The series is finished now, but all episodes are archived here.
The Glasgow Whisky Group. This is a Facebook Group originally set up by Cailean Collier to provide a space for the citizens of Glasgow to share details of whisky events or deals discovered throughout the city. After a period of inactivity, I rebranded it simply, The Glasgow Whisky Group, and turned it into a community hub for whisky lovers in the city and surrounding areas. I regularly host online tastings for the group.
The Islay Whisky Academy. The IWA is a creator of educational experiences on the beautiful island of Islay. Founded and directed by Rachel MacNeill, it welcomes guests from all over the world to the Queen of the Hebrides. It’s been my honour to serve as IWA Kinship Host since 2020, a role that involves supporting the community of course alumni as well as helping with tastings and web content.
I also work as a Freelance writer and have contributed in various ways to different projects. You can find many of my tasting notes on bevvy.com. I wrote an extensive selection of distillery biographies for distilando.com. I have also provided written features and reviews for conciergescotland.com
I’m very grateful to everyone who took the time to visit my website. Any feedback you have is welcomed. Please let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see added to the site.
Thanks for being here.
Neill Murphy
