Exploring Scotland on The Last Great Malts Tour

Scotland was never on my radar much before last year. I visited once, maybe twice before, but it had always been that classic case of 'it's local, and it's not going anywhere'. That may be true, but it's not a particularly good excuse for neglecting a bit of exploration - and we're always meaning to broaden our horizons.

Scotland, it turns out, has a lot to offer this blog - stunning countryside, happening towns, whisky galore, and very friendly people. Last year's Glenrothes trip could have filled a number of posts - and we were only there for one night. In the end, we stuck with some damn fine distillery shots and a piece on a VW graveyard.

This year, it was back to almost the same spot in Speyside, on Scotland's East Coast: an area packed with whisky distilleries. And this time, rather than just one, we'd be visiting five, covering six hundred miles of the Scottish Highlands. So, you can probably guess that this post on its own won't really do the experience justice. Sorry in advance for that.

Visiting The Glenrothes Whisky Distillery

The Glenrothes Distillery, Speyside, Scotland

Scotland to me is like the old bus analogy – you wait for ages, then two come along at once. A couple weeks after I visited the Johnstons of Elgin Wool Mill I found myself preparing to catch the plane back up to the very same part of the east coast of Scotland. Bags packed for two days in Rothes at The Glenrothes' own house, for a tour of the whisky distillery, food and "outdoor pursuits". I'm not the manliest of guys but this trip was sure to hoick me up the ladder.

Another 4am rise for Buckets. People keep saying, "you must be getting used to it by now", yet it never gets any easier. But the thing is, just like my 3:30am rise for our trip to Paris, these travel opportunities rarely disappoint. In steps The Glenrothes, one of the most prestigious and acclaimed Single Malt Whisky Distillers of them all. I'm not one to doubt 130 years in the business. My knowledge of whisky mostly stems from Hollie's Dad's drinks cabinet – where I've been known to work my way through his Japanese selection – so in the scheme of things I know very little.

With something so specialists + subjective as whisky it's best to listen to the experts, and The Glenrothes team have it running through their veins. The live it. After a quick meet-and-greet with our travel partners (Foodepedia + Toms Whisky Reviews) and bag drop at The Glenrothes cottage we made our way through the local woodland to the famous distillery.

Exploring the Isle of Jura with Trakke + Jura Whisky

Image by Willy Iffland

It's not often I arrive home from a trip feeling totally content, but spending three days getting to know the beautiful island, and people of Jura was an experience I'm not likely to easily forget. We were invited to stay on the Scottish island by Jura Whisky, to celebrate their partnership between Glasgow-based Trakke, and the distillery itself – the result being a limited edition waxed cotton backpack.

Travel to this remote island wasn't easy, in fact it took two trains, a overnight in Glasgow, a plane, a ferry and an hour's bumpy taxi ride to reach the town of Craighouse. But it was all worth it just for those views.

We spent three days on Jura - a mountainous and boggy island, located west of mainland Scotland. An island famous for its whisky, but vast in its community spirit, local quirks and plush landscape. By intergrated ourselves into the community; drinking and dining with the locals, learning about the island's history and exploring the endless rocky terrain, we experienced a true sense of what it might be like to live somewhere so remote.

When the collaboration between outdoor brand Trakke and Jura Whisky was shared with me, I was instantly intrigued, but learning about the reasons behind why these two companies were coming together made for a more meaningful experience.

Christmas Cocktails with Old Forester Bourbon Whisky

Our love for whisky (and whiskey) is well known. Over the past couple of years, we've been tasting what we can, when we can, and growing the drinks cabinet collection. Now Mat has a new house - congratulations to him and Hollie! - there's even more need to get the drinks in; especially as he has way more space for that collection.

There's also a need to focus more on interiors, furnishings, and all the over stuff needed for a home. Before you know it, this blog will be interior design only - and that's totally fine, as long as I can keep the drinks for myself.

Taking a trip to Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings to meet with Old Forester Bourbon, was a perfect combination of the two. This place has that perfect Instagram-able vibe going on. White walls, cool patterns, a long bar sparkling with bottles - the works! I'm sure Mat's house will be looking like this before long, complete with an impressive bar.

As with any masterclass, Old Forester had invited us down to learn more about their brand. America's first bottle Bourbon, Old Forester has been around for well over a hundred years and one of the only few to have survived prohibition in the US.

Unlike its ubiquitous brother Woodford Reserve, Old Forester isn't that well-known in the UK and - of course - that's something the brand's looking to change. A smooth Bourbon, with notes of vanilla and spice and a surprising hint of mint in the aftertaste, it's a light tasting dram for its 43% alcohol.

But, we know not everyone is keen on neat spirits, so Old Forester handed us a recipe - a whiskey smash - which I've tweaked to my own taste for you here:

Raspberry Whisky Smash Cocktail

- 15ml Simple Syrup
- 20ml Fresh Lemon Juice
- 10ml Raspberry Liqueur

- A Handful of Fresh Raspberries

- 8-10 Mint Leaves, plus some for a garnish
- 50ml Old Forester Whisky

- Ice

• Take a Boston shaker and crush the raspberries into the bottom. Add all of the ingredients and fill to the top with ice cubes. Shake for 10 to 15 seconds and pour, without straining, into a tall glass.

• Top with a sprig of mint and a couple of raspberries.

• Like all good recipes, this one is simple, easy to create, and needs very little equipment. You don't even have to strain it, as the messy element is part of the drink's charm.

• It's a brilliant drink for this time of year, too - red fruits in a cocktail always go down well at Christmas.

• Give it a try and let us know how you get on. And, if you get chance, head over to the Old Forester website to have a read about their long and interesting history.

You can find Old Forester Bourbon at Tesco priced at £33.95. For more cocktail inspiration check them out on Instagram.

This post is in partnership with Old Forester. Thank you for taking the time to support the brands + businesses that make this blog happen.

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Visiting East London Liquor Company

In 2014 I became well accustomed with whisky, on first-name-terms if you will. I started the year knowing little more than the fact I knew I wanted to like it, but in the main I was mostly indifferent. I liked the sweeter American ones, but it wasn't until I visited The Glenrothes back in November that I started to really enjoy a wider range. Like beer, you've got to try a bunch to figure out which you really like.

I haven't touched gin since I was a teenager. Paint stripper-type cheapness and blinding headaches left a lasting impression - strong enough for me never to touch the stuff in over 10 years. Maybe I was being close-minded but memory is a powerful thing. It wasn't until late December 2014 when I was contacted by Virgin Experience to see if I would like to visit the East London Liquor Company's Distillery + Bar that I'd considered giving it a second chance. One look at their website and I was sold.

Located just off the canal between London Fields + Mile End, the East London Liquor Company is the definition of a craft spirits distillery. They produce their own gin (and soon to be whisky), in small qualities, right in front of your eyes. As we waited for our tour of their distillery to start we sat patiently in the bar, knowing that just over our shoulders lurked two beautiful + imposing coppery behemoths - otherwise known as East London Liquor Company's distills. The only other bar/distillery I've been to like this was Moon River Brewing Co. in Savannah, GA. They've done a brilliant job creating such welcoming and almost homely-feeling environment.

Photos 1, 7, 10, 11 provided

As I mentioned above, I wouldn't consider myself a fan of gin, but I really wanted these guys to convince me otherwise - after all, it is one of Britain's most loved drinks. Our group was taken on a tour of the small, but perfectly formed, pristine distillery. We learnt about the distilling process, their unique + bespoke equipment, why they use certain ingredients, where they take inspiration from and why their branding means so much to them. It's true, a company's branding/positioning can make a sale (first impressions and all), you only have to look at The Apprentice's Water Task to see what I mean. Taste-wise their gin was nothing like I'd had in the past - I was pleasantly surprised. Tasting the individual flavours of each of their gins was a real eye-opener, and since has turned into my drink of choice.

Overall I genuinely enjoyed my time speaking to the folks at East London Liquor Company. Getting to share a drink with the people that make the distilling happen was a real highlight for me. We even got to try other curious drinks like rum gin and "hops"-laced gin, who knew? The latter wasn't so much to my taste, but as for their own stuff, let's just say I'm giving gin a well deserved second chance.

Thank you to Virgin Experiences for inviting us to the East London Liquor Store for the afternoon. Click the link for more information on the tour.

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This Week's Kit | A Busy Old Month

I was expecting a pretty quiet start to 2016, but it's been the complete opposite. We're still working with a "beans on toast month" kinda situation, but that's not to say January + February haven't been productive. And this business ain't stopping in March either. First off, myself + Hollie will be celebrating our 10th anniversary with a few days in Edinburgh, then I'm flying to a distillery a few days later. We've also got some shoots to prep for, I've got a some LUMIX duties to keep me busy, and I'll be finishing March off with a few days exploring Newcastle. 

When I have found some downtime it's mostly involved reading, car shopping and sharing a few drinks at the weekend. With that being said This Week's Kit is loosely based on those days where things are a little more chill, and doesn't involved five blummin' train journeys...

Private White V.C. Field Jacket | Printed Pages Magazine | Ajoto Aluminium Silver Pen | Millican Crew Bag | Club Monaco Chinos | Instrmnt 01-B Watch | Whole Earth Peanut Butter with Mixed Seeds | Nike Archive 83.M Sneakers | Haeckles Hand Balm | Gipsy Hill Beatnik Beer | Ancnoc Blas Whisky

I'm not saying I'd usually sit around in my best jacket, but its fabric has been developed by, "Nobel Prize-winning scientists" - so I can't imagine it letting me down. This water-resistant Field Jacket will be perfect with these off-white chinos by Club Monaco. The Instrmnt watch is another piece I spotted on my travels, whilst visiting their Glasgow store last week.

Coming straight of the 1983 archive are these previously unreleased suede + mesh Nike sneakers. They dropped a few colourways in these last year, but for SS16 Nike have released this blue + petrol version. This would be my second part of Archive '83, but I can see these working nicely with this canvas tote bag-slash-briefcase by Millican.

I've been using Ajoto's signature pens for about a month now, and as well as coming in some of the most thoughtful packaging I've ever seen, it's been a dream to use. Weighty, this beast is by far one of my favourite products of the last 12 months. Now, just imagine if Ajoto made notepads...Equally intriguing is this Seaweed + Geranium hand balm by skincare brand, Haeckles, which a couple of people have recommended.

Two new drinks of my radar this month; first up, Ancnoc Blas single malt whisky, which has been developed in partnership with British design, Patrick Grant. Sweet, fresh and easy to drink. And, the Beatnik pale ale by Gipsy Hill Brewery, is one that Nik's been recommending for a while, so I'm currently trying to track a few bottles down.

What are your favourite products this month?

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A Weekend in Brighton | Love C4 Cactus

This was the three days in Brighton I mentioned last week, the ones that were sandwiched in between visiting The Liquor Store in Birmingham and heading to Geneva with Kia. "But how did you end up in Brighton", I hear you ask...after a few tweets + emails we ended up with a sweet ride for a few days c/o the folks at Citroen. They asked us if we fancied test driving the new Citroen C4 Cactus for the weekend – of course we did! The brief was to go have fun and explore a destination of our choice within the British Isles. Easy? Well the choice was easy to make, we set the Sat Nav to the south coast.

Having visited Brighton several times I considered myself pretty well-versed in the city, but like London, this place moves sharpish, so there's always somewhere new to discover. Hollie couldn't make this trip so Nik enthusiastically stepped in her place. As Nik's a big foodie he beavered away, researching into all the known + off-the-beaten-track places for us to visit. 

 Wearing - Timberland Jacket | Leith Shetland Wool Jumper | Uniqlo Tee | Albam Jeans | Vintage Scarf | 
Patagonia Backpack | ASOS Hat | Skagen Watch

Getting To Know Us A Little Better | Russ Erwin, with GANT

Russ Wears - Oxford Shirt + Selvedge Jeans c/o GANT | Realm & Empire Jacket | Desert Boots | Victorninox Watch

Over the next few months we aim to bring a more personal series to the blog. We share the things we love, and have always prided Buckets & Spades on having both a personal and relatable feel. But we also try to think bigger and share subjects which may reach a wider audience. But how well do you really know the people behind the blog?

Currently there's myself (click here to get to know me better), Nik, Hollie, Yasumi + Russ, all doing our bit to make this thing run smoothly. In partnership with GANT, and their new Never Stop Learning campaign, I followed my mate Russ Erwin (who you may remember from shoots with New Look Men + Kickers) around for a day; exploring his daily routine as a musician, his influences, and love of fitness and style.

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Buckets & Spades - When did you start playing the guitar, and did song writing come naturally to you?

Russ Erwin - I first picked up the guitar when I was about 15/16 years old, and I started off by just covering songs I enjoyed at the time. I never really thought too much about writing until I started piecing together my own chord progressions - writing seemed to come out of nowhere really. I suppose you could say it came naturally, yeah.

Tell us a little bit about a normal day for you; where are some of your favourite spots to visit, and cool places to eat, grab coffee etc...

I try to be up for 6:30-7am, jump in the shower, and put the clothes on that I've usually picked out the night before. Now breakfast. If I'm pushed for time then a protein shake does the trick, ideally I have natural yogurt + muesli, accompanied by a cup of tea.

I like to head up to Lytham or Preston for lunch. There's a few great places; Zest do a great chicken, bacon, egg + avocado sandwich, or if I'm in Preston Cocos Soul Food hits the spot with a burrito. Coffee is next on the list, before having a general mooch around. A double macchiato is my usual order. Preston has the upper-hand with coffee though, there's a lovely independent place called Cedarwood. From there I usually grab a flat white, a peanut butter flapjack.