14 h. ago A snapshot of just a few significant Scotch whisky launches unveiled in 2025

During the last 12 months there have been some amazing Scotch whiskies launched to suit all tastes –from lovers of a bold Campbeltown, to those who appreciate a bit of peat smoke, and others who prefer something light on their palate.

Politics

16 h. ago Slàinte mhath as we review the last 12 months for Scotch whisky

Welcome to our annual Scotch whisky “state of the nation” report from The Scotsman. It’s always a joy to write about our national drink, especially in the approach to the festive season when it’s hard to beat a warming dram or hot toddy on a cold, dark night.

Politics

6 d. ago Laura Cannell: Brightly Shone the Moon review | Jude Rogers' folk album of the month

(Brawl)The violinist sets out on her darkest exploration of yuletide yet, giving a murky and melancholy twist on familiar Christmas standardsTraditional music finds its popular, cosy home in the carol, despite the uncanniness that surrounds the nativity story, and the fraying thread back to the past that each winter brings. A veteran explorer of the season (in 2020’s sparkling Winter Rituals EP with cellist Kate Ellis, and 2022’s starker New Christmas Rituals, with amplified fiddle-playing from André Bosman), Laura Cannell sets out on her best and darkest journey yet here, exploring the time of year when, as she writes on the liner notes, “joy and heartache try to exist together”.Named after the line in Good King Wenceslas before the cruel frosts arrive, Brightly Shone the Moon begins at the organ – a nod to Cannell’s childhood Christmases in the Methodist chapels and churches of Norfolk. Cannell’s fiddle then quivers around the 16th-century folk melody of O Christmas Tree/O Tannenb...

Politics

7 d. ago ‘One bite and he was hooked’: from Kenya to Nepal, how parents are battling ultra

Five families around the world share their struggles to keep their children away from UPFsParents and young people: share your concerns about ultra-processed foods (UPFs)The scourge of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is global. While their consumption is particularly high in the west, forming more than half the average diet in the UK and the US, for example, UPFs are replacing fresh food in diets on every continent.This month, the world’s largest review on the health threats of UPFs was published in the Lancet. It warned that such foods are exposing millions of people to long-term harm, and called for urgent action. Earlier this year Unicef revealed that more children around the world were obese than underweight for the first time, as junk food overwhelms diets, with the steepest rises in low- and middle-income countries. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago The raccoon that got drunk as a skunk! Animal is found passed out in liquor store bathroom after breaking in and helping itself to scotch and whisky

The masked burglar broke into the closed Virginia liquor store early on Saturday and hit the bottom shelf, where the scotch and whisky were stored. 

Politics

9 d. ago Whatever happens to Rachel Reeves, this was a bad Budget for Scotland

From the lack of help for North Sea oil and gas and Scotch whisky to a new charge on electric vehicles, the Budget saw measures that will hit Scotland hard

Politics

2 w. ago How Rachel Reeves' Budget is killing the Scotch whisky golden goose

It seems inevitable that we will see more Scotch whisky companies close their doors over the next year

Events

2 w. ago Debit: Desaceleradas review | Ammar Kalia's global album of the month

(Modern Love)The producer’s second album is a granular dissection of cumbia rebajada, forcing the listener to focus on the strangeness of every moment in her ambient soundworldMexican-American producer Delia Beatriz, AKA Debit, has a talent for making historical sounds her own. Her 2022 breakthrough, The Long Count, featured woozy, ambient soundscapes made from electronically processed samples of ancient Maya flutes. On her latest record, Desaceleradas (Decelerated), Beatriz turns her attention to the 90s trend of cumbia rebajada. Slowing the Afro-Latin dance genre of cumbia to a sludgy tempo, cumbia rebajada is a dub-influenced take on a typically upbeat, party-driven sound. DJ Gabriel Dueñez popularised the style with his bootleg cassettes; two of his earliest releases now form the basis of Beatriz’s experiments.Landing somewhere between composer William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops and DJ Screw’s chopped’n’screwed production style, Desaceleradas slows the shaker-rattling, synt...

Politics

3 w. ago The Guardian view on Labour’s asylum plans: ministers cannot out

Shabana Mahmood’s asylum overhaul burdens an overstretched system and hands political advantage to her opponentsIn government, politicians often mistake gestures for progress. It is disappointing to see Shabana Mahmood succumb to that temptation. The home secretary’s flurry of proposals are designed to signal purpose, but constitute a wishlist of demands that her department can’t deliver. Currently, those fleeing persecution are given a five-year right to stay in the country and can apply for settled status after that. Ms Mahmood wants refugees to stay in the country initially only for a 30-month period, and then review their status to see whether they will be allowed to remain in the country for another 30 months. After two decades in Britain, they could apply to stay here permanently.Denmark is held up as the model. A decade ago a centre-left government there was under pressure, with a surging populist right and immigration dominating voters’ concerns. Danish Social Democrats clai...

Politics

3 w. ago Whisky from newly opened Scottish distillery named best in the world at global awards

A 31 year old Scotch whisky has been awarded ‘best in show’ at an annual global competition.

Events