Glen Grant is, in many ways, the single malt that started it all. It's been available in its 'self' (single malt) form from bottlers, grocers and merchants – as well as from the distillery itself – in various ages and iterations since the 19th century. Its beautiful 'highlander' label declaring 'from the heath covered mountains of Scotia I come' has long endeared the whisky to single malt connoisseurs around the world.

Indeed, it was Glen Grant, exported in youthful 5-year-old form by Gordon & MacPhail, that appealed to Italian palates in the 1950s and 60s, and helped kick start that nation's fascination with single malt Scotch whisky. It was a name revered for many years as the benchmark of quality in Scottish single malt. And yet, today it is often overlooked.

Show co-organiser Angus MacRaild has long been a fan of Glen Grant and has selected six bottles from the past 60 years to show how the distillery has been influential across the whisky world. Join him to learn more about the history and spirit of this famed distillery.

NOTE: You must have a valid ticket to Whisky Show Old and Rare on Saturday 29 February to attend the masterclass. It will also start before the official opening of the show – you must ARRIVE by 10:50am to attend. 

Springbank is held by many of today's whisky lovers to be one of the last remaining examples of genuinely traditional, 'old-style' whisky production. However, in light of this, it's easy to forget that the older Springbanks were often remarkably different in style and identity from their contemporary counterparts.

Show organisers Angus MacRaild and Sukhinder Singh have been sourcing and collecting old bottles of Springbank for years and have curated a selection of older Springbank bottlings for this tasting. The whiskies were distilled between the 1950s and the 1970s, a time that produced some of the most stunning and exquisite single malts ever created – not to mention some of the greatest examples of Springbank ever bottled. A real taste of liquid Campbeltown history!

NOTE: You must have a valid ticket to Whisky Show Old and Rare on Sunday 1 March. It will also start before the official opening of the show – you must ARRIVE by 10:50am to attend. 

Peat is the most important element of Islay’s whisky-making style, and each distillery on the island has its own way of working with this organic marvel and interpreting its unique flavour. 

For this masterclass, Whisky Exchange co-founder Sukhinder Singh and Old & Rare Whisky Specialist Diego Lanza have selected a range of iconic Islay whiskies between 10 and 15 years old from six much-loved Islay distilleries, showing how the many faces of peat have been interpreted by different whisky makers. Join them for a sensory journey through the heart of Scotland’s best-loved whisky island. 

You must have a valid ticket to Whisky Show Old and Rare on Sunday 1 March to attend this masterclass.

In 2018, Whisky Show: Old & Rare's Jonny McMillan was asked to value a mysterious whisky collection in America. That collection turned out to be an unknown hoard of more than 3,900 bottles built up over decades by US businessman and philanthropist Richard Gooding. The Perfect Collection by Mr Richard Gooding will come to sale through Whisky Auctioneer across two dedicated auctions in early 2020 and will represent the largest private collection, by both value and volume, ever sold at auction.

The Gooding family has given permission for a one-off preview tasting of The Perfect Collection to be held at Whisky Show: Old & Rare 2020. Iain McClune, founder of Whisky Auctioneer, will join Jonny to open seven standout bottles from the collection. With a focus on rare US exports, a particularly exciting and significant element of the collection, the tasting will include a 1920 bottling of Talisker and a 1968 Bowmore as well as five more rarely-seen whiskies.