Honest Whisky Reviews · Est. 2026
Steve and Alan review whisky the way you'd want it at the kitchen table with the bottle open — specific tasting notes, plain verdicts, jokes allowed. Warm as a Speyside, sharp as an Islay, and never, ever snobby.
Dram of the Month
Islay · Single Malt
Lagavulin Distillery
ABV
43%
Bottle
£95
Rating
4.7/5
The benchmark Islay dram. Alan calls it 'a leather armchair by a beach bonfire' — and for once, Steve doesn't argue.
“The benchmark Islay dram. Alan calls it 'a leather armchair by a beach bonfire' — and for once, Steve doesn't argue.”
— On Lagavulin 16
The Ledger
Islay · Single Malt
Ardbeg Distillery
ABV
46%
Bottle
£48
Rating
4.3/5
Nose. Tar rope, lime, smoked pear. Palate. Black pepper and bonfire toffee, with a citrus lift keeping it honest. Finish. Long, briny, argumentative.
Steve scored it 82 — see the head-to-head
Speyside · Single Malt
The Balvenie Distillery
ABV
40%
Bottle
£45
Rating
4.2/5
Nose. Honeyed cereal, sultana, a rub of cinnamon bark. Palate. Soft toffee and orchard fruit, sherry cask arriving politely halfway through. Finish. Medium, warm, gently spiced — like the last third of a good crumble.
Islands · Single Malt
Highland Park Distillery
ABV
43%
Bottle
£160
Rating
4.5/5
Nose. Heather honey, aromatic smoke, beeswax polish on old church pews. Palate. Silky. Marmalade, dark cherry, a curl of floral peat that never overstays. Finish. Long and layered — honey first, smoke last, both perfectly mannered.
87
Alan
“The Old Wise One”
“Stewed orchard fruit and a whisper of smoke. The whisper is the point.”
82
Steve
“The New Blood”
“A bonfire in a jam jar. Brilliant, but it shouts.”
Both scores stand · They always do
The Learn Series
Everything Steve and Alan wish they'd known when they started. Four volumes on the liquid, the land, the craft and the language.
Volume I
Aqua vitae to the craft boom — twelve centuries in ten minutes.
Read →Volume II
Malting to bottling, cask types and the angels' share.
Read →Volume III
Scotland's six regions and the great whisky-making nations beyond.
Read →Volume IV
How to taste, when to add water, and the glossary you can quote back.
Read →Volume V
Glass, temperature, pour size and the small rituals that matter.
Read →Volume VI
Ten essential whisky cocktails, properly measured and properly made.
Read →Volume VII
Pairing done properly — by region, by course, by the plate in front of you.
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