Author: thedailywhisky
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Godawan whisky: Diageo’s desert single malt and its botanical cask secret
Godawan whisky is an artisanal Indian single malt made by Diageo India in Alwar, Rajasthan, launched in 2022. It is the most distinctive of India’s major single malts, finished in casks treated with two Indian botanicals, Rasna and Jatamansi, a process no other distillery in the world uses. Named after the critically endangered Great Indian…
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The best Indian single malts of 2026, tried and ranked
The best Indian single malts of 2026 span everything from rare single casks to everyday bottles, and we have tasted across all five major distilleries to rank them. Some of our favourites are limited releases poured at Whisky Live Paris and The Whisky Show in London, the kind of bottle most people will never see.…
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The Indian single malt rules: what the IMWA defines
The Indian single malt rules were written down for the first time in 2025. For most of the category’s history, the phrase had no legal meaning, which let almost anyone use it. That changed when the Indian Malt Whisky Association set formal standards. To qualify as an Indian single malt, a whisky must be made…
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Indian single malt vs Scotch: how do they compare?
Indian single malt vs Scotch comes down to one thing more than any other: climate. Both are made from malted barley, distilled in copper pot stills at a single distillery, and matured in oak, so on paper they are the same kind of whisky. The difference is that India’s heat ages spirit three to four…
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Why Indian whisky matures faster than Scotch whisky
Indian whisky matures faster than Scotch for one reason: heat. Indian whisky matures roughly three to four times faster than Scotch overall, and in Scotland a cask loses about 2% of its contents to evaporation each year. In India that figure, known as the angel’s share, runs at 8 to 12%. The high temperatures drive…
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Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection: the late Stewart Laing’s final cask-strength Islay pick
The Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection is a limited edition Islay single malt Scotch whisky composed to the personal specifications of Stewart Laing, founder and chairman of Ardnahoe and Hunter Laing & Co, who died on 8 April 2026 aged 79. It is the most heavily peated Ardnahoe to date, matured predominantly in first-fill sherry casks for…
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Glengoyne Summer Solstice No.2: a 2012 first-fill bourbon single cask, 58.3% ABV and only 244 bottles
Glengoyne is bringing back its Solstice Series for a second summer, and this time there are 244 bottles to go round instead of 168. Summer Solstice No.2 is a single cask Highland single malt drawn from a 2012 first-fill bourbon barrel, bottled at 58.3% ABV, and timed to land while the longest days of the…
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Black Jack Classic: the World’s Best Corn Whisky comes from Bali, and we tasted it
The world’s best corn whisky doesn’t come from Kentucky. It comes from Bali, and we have now tasted it. Black Jack Classic, distilled at Astidama in Tabanan, was named World’s Best Corn Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards 2026, after taking gold and the country category title for Best Indonesian Corn. That’s no small prize…
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Stauning R.Y.E. Tasting Box: six Danish rye whiskies and a live virtual tasting from the founders
Stauning has built a box that does something most distilleries only gesture at: it puts the people who founded the place in the room with you while you drink. The Stauning R.Y.E. Tasting Box bundles six 5cl drams with a live virtual tasting on YouTube, hosted by three of the distillery’s founders, and the whole…
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Glengoyne Single Cask No. 1789: a 12-year-old bourbon-cask exclusive only at Glasgow Airport
Glengoyne Single Cask 1789 ties one cask to one airport. The new 12 year old is sold in exactly one place on earth: the World Duty Free store at Glasgow Airport, the gateway closest to the distillery’s own front door. There are just 248 bottles. It is bottled at 59.9% cask strength from a first…
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