FROM THE BARLIST JOURNAL
Distilleries
On the southern coast of Islay, the name Laphroaig stretches across a whitewashed warehouse facing a narrow bay. The lettering now belongs to one of the most recognisable names in Scotch whisky, yet the identity behind it was built from a tightly local set of materials: barley, peat, water, casks, coastal geography, and the decisions […]
June 15, 2026
Distilleries & Producers
By the late 1980s, Irish whiskey carried a celebrated past but supported very little competition. An industry that had once included dozens of distilleries had contracted to two working production sites controlled by the same company. Historic distilleries had closed, regional distinctions had weakened, and the possibility of establishing an independent Irish whiskey producer appeared […]
June 10, 2026
Distilleries & Producers
In the early 1800s, the Livet valley already had a reputation for whisky before it had legal certainty. Small Highland stills operated through geography, local protection, taxation pressure, and rural necessity. Whisky from the Glenlivet area was known beyond the valley, but much of the system that produced it remained outside formal law. The turning […]
June 6, 2026
Distilleries & Producers
Few Scotch whisky distilleries have experienced a history as uncertain as Ardbeg Distillery. Today, Ardbeg stands among the most recognisable names in heavily peated whisky, celebrated for expressions such as Ardbeg 10 Years Old, Ardbeg Uigeadail, and Ardbeg Corryvreckan. Yet the distillery’s modern success was far from inevitable. Between the early 1980s and the late […]
June 1, 2026
People & Innovation
Blending rarely announces itself. It does not produce singular moments that can be isolated and attributed. Its influence accumulates quietly, across batches, across years, across shifts in production and demand. In Scotch whisky, few careers reflect that sustained discipline more clearly than that of Colin Scott. When Scott joined Chivas Brothers in 1973, he entered […]
April 28, 2026
Barlist
The Southern Japanese Alps do not suggest whisky at first glance. The air is thinner, filtered through dense forest, and the terrain isolates rather than connects. Yet in 1973, Hakushu Distillery was established here under the direction of Keizo Saji, marking a decisive departure from the logic that had shaped earlier whisky production in Japan. […]
April 23, 2026
Barlist
Along the River Brosna in County Westmeath, the buildings of Kilbeggan Distillery remained intact long after distillation had ceased. Water continued to move through the wheel, timber structures held their form, and the layout of what had once been known as Locke’s Distillery did not disappear with production. Founded in 1757, the site operated through […]
April 18, 2026
Distilleries
Heat settles early in Yilan. By mid-morning, the warehouses at Kavalan Distillery have already begun their daily cycle, expanding casks, pushing spirit into oak, and accelerating reactions that, in Scotland, would unfold over years. Here, maturation is not a slow negotiation. It is constant pressure. When the distillery was established in 2005 by the King […]
April 16, 2026
Distilleries & Producers
Whisky has long evolved gradually, shaped by production methods, ownership, and long-term decision-making. Over the past decade, a quieter structural shift has emerged as female founders in the whisky distillation and modern distillery model. Women now hold leadership roles in roughly 20 to 30 per cent of US craft distilleries, with growing influence in new […]
April 14, 2026
