We all know how popular single malts are these days, but the innovation and leap in quality hasn’t just been confined to whisky’s aristocracy.

We knew we’d get a good turn out when we announced we were doing a vodka tasting, but we weren’t expecting it to turn into a marathon.
Click Here to download the tasting notes from The Panel.

It might have started as the fuel for a century long crimewave, but gin is fast becoming one of our most beloved spirits. In this month’s Panel tasting, we look at some excellent examples and try them in specially prepared cocktails

If ever there was a spirit that is enjoying its day in the sun, it is rum.
In the past five years or so, rum’s popularity has skyrocketed as people
move on from the thick,dark rums of yesteryear and start appreciating
lighter, more complex styles.

Jim Beam master distiller Fred Noe hit town again recently to promote, talk and - most importantly - drink bourbon. Rebecca Gibbs caught up with the affable and enthusastic ambassador for America's native spirit.

The wider world might still be struggling through its third year of recession, but whisky would seem to be untouched by the global financial crisis.

Ah, liqueurs; where would we be without them?

Well, for a start we’d have a few fewer cocktails and the back shelves of bars would be a lot less colourful, but there is a terrible tendency to treat these drinks with an attitude bordering on derision.

Cowboys, big cars and rock ‘n’ roll – if one thing conjures up images of all the American icons, it’s Bourbon.