We would drive 500 miles for this…(swimsuit optional)
Dolphins, fine dining and natural wonders abound on Scotland’s most northerly trail. Barley picks 10 places definitely worth a stop-off or a detour on the North Coast 500
A racehorse, the Beatles’ drummer and the first British Bourbon
It’s a whisky tale that’s got the lot: a race-horse steered to victory by a teenage Lester Piggott, one of the first ever live performances by the Beatles and, well, lashings of lady luck. Tom Pattinson hears about the miracle birth of Never Say Die…
Bothy dreams
A crackling fire, the company of strangers and, outside, miles of unspoiled wilderness. Our writer falls for the restorative pleasures of Scottish bothy living
Sip advisor: 5 great Speyside single malts for under £50
You’ve made it through the dark, dog days of January. Well done. You deserve a drink. We’ve got five single malts from the heartland of whisky that taste great and won’t break the bank
‘No, Mr Bond, I expect you to drink’
From James Bond to, er, Ron Burgundy, film and TV is awash with whisky-swilling heroes. But what does the choice of dram say about the man? Barley sifts the on-screen evidence for clues…
Berlin’s best whisky bars
Beyond the iconic TV tower in the city’s arty neighbourhoods and suburbs our writer discovers offbeat sights and some of Berlin’s most atmospheric whisky bars
English whisky’s Indie heroes
The big label behemoths of Scotch are in an almighty scrap with the Indie upstarts making a noise (and creating a serious stir) south of the border. England’s alternative whisky scene has a lot of bottle — here’s the best of them
The mystery of the world’s ‘oldest whisky’
When 40 ancient bottles of whisky were found in a dusty Perthshire cellar last year, a race to reveal the true provenance and value of this precious haul began. Nick Morgan turns whisky sleuth to uncork the truth about this controversial consignment
The full Irish
Chris Moss discovers jumping jazz, boisterous bars and the first new distillery in almost 90 years on a titanic trip to Belfast
Twelve Drams of Christmas
From Taiwan to the Isle of Arran, the Lake Disrict to Jutland, it’s the Barley guide to the best whisky to gift and drink this Christmas
Geek bar: welcome to the new wave of designer distilleries
It’s like any love story. Distiller meets architect. They bond over a mutual passion and produce the longed for off spring — tots of whisky. We reveal how the sacred palaces of scotch are being re-imagined and rebuilt for the future
The Cost of Eating Well in Copenhagen
It was the year the food scene exploded, she embarked on an exciting but fraught relationship and nowhere was more thrilling to be than the Danish capital. Alice Florence Orr reflects on the bittersweet summer of 2018
From field to kiln — the wild life of barley
From harvest to the ‘dark chambers’ of the Port Ellen maltings on Islay, the journey of a barley seed is tumultuous and unforgiving. But it’s also a magnificent, life-affirming adventure
Sip adviser: Olly Smith’s whisky cocktails for Christmas
Spruce up your festive whisky drinking this year with delicious concoctions from around the globe. Olly Smith brought back these Christmas crackers from jaunts to Argentina, Canada, New York and….Wales
The Fabulous Baker Boy
He went from designing football shirts to pursue his dream of creating recipes his aunt taught him when he was a boy on the Isle of Lewis. Tom Pattinson finds that the charming Coinneach MacLeod, aka The Hebridean Baker, didn’t have to fake it to make it in dough business …
The girl on the golden bottle
Its 2000 release was the first ever bottle of whisky to feature a woman on the label. Now, 24 years on, artist Stephanie Rew has thrillingly re-imagined the iconic Compass Box Hedonism girl in shimmering, burnished gold leaf. Here, she talks to Barley about a remarkable artistic endeavour
The strange case of the whisky that never was
Whisky is investment gold — it always has been. But in the case of ‘cask investment schemes’, it’s an increasingly perfidious endeavour governed by parasitical imposters, posing as informed, knowledgeable and well connected members of the whisky trade
Don’t flake on these new Edinburgh coffee shops and bakeries
Barley sorts the sourdoughs from the sour-don’ts in our round-up of the most exciting new cafes and bakeries in the Scottish capital
Bar hopping through the barrios on a nostalgic night out in Buenos Aires
Chris Moss swings back into the Belle Époque bars of his beloved Buenos Aires and finds the old place still chaotically smitten by cheap whisky and faded glamour
Gentlemen Prefer Blends
Do blends have more fun? Damn right they do, says one author who still bears the scars of his screw-top whisky days
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In A Special Place: Glencoe
By Alastair Campbell
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Video: Queens of cashmere
By Barley staff
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Whisky cabinet must-haves
By Olly Smith
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5 distilleries opening soon
By Barley staff
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Islay whisky starter for six
By Dave Broom
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Three classic Detroit speakeasies
By Nina Caplan
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Video: Japan's best dram?
By Tatsuya Minagawa
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Four supermarket whiskies we rate
By Olly Smith
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The Last Sipper
Hollywood legend Brian Cox invites Barley’s Tom Pattinson into his home to talk about the drams that changed his life - and what he really thinks about tasting notes…
Video produced by Emir Eralp