20 Years of Whisky-news.com

In January 2006, I launched my website, www.whisky-news.com, and 20 years later, it is still alive.

For many years, I have tried to update my website daily, but as I have been very busy professionally over the last few months, the frequency has slightly decreased. Instead, I am trying to publish tasting notes in groups of 3-4.

The website:
Since 2006, the Internet has evolved, and at the time, the framing was a nice way to navigate easily through the pages. Some years later, this format disappeared, and I had to redesign my website to its current format.
It is an old-fashioned website, but it still works for me. Moving to more recent tools, such as WordPress, is not really an option, as this website contains way too many pages. Doing so would be time-consuming and rather expensive. In addition, there are no cookies at all, and it will remain advertisement-free.

Over the years, I have never received any financial support from the industry and have only received it a few times. I am open to receiving free samples from individuals or companies; feel free to get in touch.

Literature:
I love reading books about whisky, and as a scientist by formation, I also enjoy scientific articles and theses related to whisky. I will try to keep writing scientific articles or book reviews whenever I can.

News:
I have now limited the publication of news to what I can consider interesting or relevant, and I cannot update the news section with all the PR that I am receiving, as often, they are in a different format and “unfriendly” for posting (cannot do just a copy-paste).

Reports:
I personally enjoy going to whisky events all over Europe, as it is a nice way to discover new products, meet new whisky enthusiasts or discuss with the many whisky friends I have made over the past 20 years. Whisky-news.com is one of the few (in some cases the only) websites containing such reports. Such reports are a nice way for me to share my experience of the event, but they are very time-consuming. Roughly, it takes 1 hour of writing for every hour spent on site. For instance, the last Limburg whisky fair report took approximately 7 hours to write.

Therefore, I will keep attending as many events as possible, and sadly, unless the Whisky Show in London resumes the Press and Trade Day, I will not join this event anymore.

Samples:
The tasting notes published on whisky-news.com are mostly from samples purchased at whisky fairs, and in some cases, from samples swapped with whisky enthusiasts, purchased online or on whisky forums. This represents a consequent budget, and thanks to several whisky retailers, bottlers, or distillers, samples are proposed at a discounted price or offered. Therefore, I take the opportunity to thank all these people and companies for their support, which is greatly appreciated.

In terms of tasting notes, I taste whiskies by group of 3 to 5, typically with a similar flavour profile. Between the tasting and the publishing, it takes me about 30 minutes by whisky. Considering that over 6000 tasting notes have been published so far, you can do the maths to estimate the time spent on the tasting notes…

The whiskies
2000-2020: Expansion and Innovation
The period between 2000 and the early 2010s was the golden age for whiskies, in my opinion: We had plenty of stunning old whiskies, such as the Longmorn, Glen Grant or Strathisla from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, or Islay whiskies from the 1970s, at very fair prices (some Ardbeg OB from the 1970s below £500), as well as old whiskies from lost distilleries such as Glen Mohr, Inverleven, Millburn or Glenury. Then started the period of the “finisih”-driven whiskyies, mainly by Bruichladdich and Murray McDavid, with lots of innovation and the rise of the single malts category in general, going up from 2-3% up to circa 20% by 2020. With this boom, production increased as demand increased, and many distillers changed their wood policy in the late 2000s, with the increasing use of first-fill bourbon casks to accelerate the maturation process and increase consistency. Companies also started to use smaller casks, such as Laphroaig or Ardmore, to accelerate maturation. Later, there have been additional innovations using, for example, heavily charred casks, different types of cask end, or increasing the phenols (PPM) in the barley, with Bruichladdich and their Octomore, or Ardbeg with their Supernova.

Craft distilleries started to emerge, and we could see the renaissance of  Japanese single malts, with whiskies such as Yoichi, Karuizawa or Yamazaki winning competitions, including the Malt Maniacs Awards.

In terms of packaging, bottles of all shapes and sizes were produced, including luxurious packaging and decanters for the premium whiskies, sometimes a nightmare for retailers, i.e, try to place a Bruichladdich and an Octomore on the same shelf. Marketing exploded, as well as the prices, thanks to the premiumisation led by companies such as Edrington, with Macallan prices going through the roof.

Distilleries boomed not only in Scotland, but throughout the world, including Europe, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Ireland, and many other countries and regions.

2023- Today: Collapse and whisky loch

With new distilleries being built and the massive extension of distilleries such as Macallan or Glenfiddich being able to produce over 15 million LPA (litres of pure alcohol), the production increased massively, e.g., by 475% in the USA between 1999 and 2022.
Demand also increased significantly in Southeast Asia, especially for the premium whiskies, with China being the driver of the premiumisation. Companies started to bottle ultrapremium whiskies only for the Chinese consumer.

In China, whiskies were often seen as investments, with some customers buying and stocking palettes of Macallan for speculation. In 2023, following the crash in the housing market, investors were forced to sell their speculative investments in whiskies, resulting in a sharp decline in prices in the secondary market and demand for new bottlings. Thus, price corrections in the wholesales market-

In addition, increases in duty in the UK of 14% in 18 months, the tariff war from the US administration, the financial situation in key European markets such as France, the war in Iran, and the decline in demand from the younger Western consumers have generated oversupplies of whiskies, with warehouses full of matured whiskies. Prices on travel retail have dropped, and independent bottlers like Signatory have released since then numerous bottlings at very low prices, with e.g., 16 years old single malts below 50 euros. On the secondary markets, prices of Karuizawa have dropped massively, and Macallan, aged 25 or 30, can be found 25% below the recommended retailing price.

Not surprisingly, several distilleries in the US and Ireland have filed for bankruptcy, while many distilleries in the UK have reduced their production. Growth in demand might come from Latin America, Africa, or India, but these markets are sensitive to pricing. Existing distilleries or recently established distilleries will need to find their place and continue to create innovative products and/or create their own identity.

For the consumer, this results in an abundance of high-quality products at fair value, and you can now buy and drink the whiskies, without second thought.

The distilleries and visitor centres

  As mentioned above, numerous distilleries have emerged during the last 20 years: small ones like Dornoch or Ballindalloch distillery, but also big ones like Roseile, not only in Scotland but in the rest of the world. In addition, the largest distilleries have increased their capacity even further, such as Glenfiddich or Macallan. Some lost distilleries, such as Brora or Port Ellen, have been resurrected, and a move towards greener and more efficient production was observed. Distilleries such as Dornoch, Port of Leith or Holyrood have innovated the industry by using older or various types of yeast  barley.

When I visited my first distilleries in the early 2000s, the visitor centres were small and sometimes non-existent. At times, it was unwelcomed to ask if it was possible to visit the distillery. The tours were often basic, but very cheap, typically around £5 that you could redeem if you bought a bottle. Edradour was even free and loads of cars were coming, as a free “pit stop2. Since the 2010s, this has changed, as companies have seen the value of attracting visitors and started to build lavisitor centrestres, with big shops and different type of tours. Prices have increased since then, mostly in the £15-25 price range for the basic tours, going up to £1500 for the exclusive tour at Highland Park. The price of the “bottle your own” distillery exclusives has increased, and unfortunately, since the Brexit, most distilleries in the UK don’t offer anymore tax refund.
For some recently established distilleries, visitor centres are a crucial source of income, especially in cities like Dublin, Ireland.

The whisky fairs

With the boom of single malts, whisk fairs all around the world have emerged, like the Whisky Live, Whisky Fest, Limburg Whisky Fair, Whisksychiff. The number of events has exploded over these 20 years, but since a couple of years, several events have disappeared, such as the Whiskybase gathering. I am not sure about the reasons, but these events cost time and money for the exhibitors. With the decrease in demand, consumers might taste as often as before, but are buying less and/or cheaper in most Western countries. Also, due to the competition between these whisky fairs, some companies had to prioritise the events they wanted to participate in.

  Other events such as the Feis Ile or the Speyside whisky festival have changed drastically. I enjoyed the Autumn Speyside Whisky Festival in Dufftown very much, where you were driven around for distillery tours for very modest prices. The meeting point was the Whisky Shop in Dufftown, and from there, budroveving you to the distillery(ies) and back. Very convenient. Also, the atmosphere in the Feis Ile until early 2010 was very convivial and organised by the distilleries themselves, with each distillery having its own day.
Since companies saw profits in such events, they took over these festivals, and both the Speyside whisky festival and Feis Ile have lost their initial atmosphere and became commercial events. The distillery tours at £15-25 have been replaced by tours at £50+, with accommodations going through the roof, but as long as demand remains, this will not change. I am nostalgic for these down-to-earth events.

At the whisky fairs, it seems like I am meeting the same people year after year, which is very nice, as I made many friends over the years and enjoy chatting with them whenever I can, but I am slightly concerned that in Europe, not much is done to attract new customers.
Such events like the Whisky Live Paris might be a solution by combining whisky tastings with other spirits, cocktails, and food stands.

Conclusion:

Over the last 20 years, I have tasted thousands of whiskies, including some incredible ones, visited over 100 distilleries in Europe,USA and Japan, and attended a large number of whisky fairs and events in Europe. I plan to continue doing so over the next decade(s) and hopefully attend to some whisky events outside Europe.

Number per se are not as important as the interactions I had with the whisky men (workers, distillery managers, brand managers) or with the whisky enthusiasts, as these moments of sharing and discussion have the longer lasting events and that makes whisky so close to my heart.

The whisky industry has changed a lot, giving the impression of going through a whole industry cycle. What will happen over the next decade is unclear, but warehouses are full, so there will be no shortage of whisky. The industry has been resilient so far, including during the COViD pandemic, and it will remain so, even if more distilleries will close.

So, a big thank you to all the people I met and who are supporting me. Hopefully, you will continue reading my website, and why not share a dram or two with me.

Slainthe,
Patrick
05 May 2026