Highlights online this month include:

  • It’s hip to have a flask: From pigs’ bladders to pewter, the humble hip flask has had an essential role for drinkers through the ages, finds Gavin D Smith.
  • Favourite flasks: We asked you to share a picture of your own treasured hipflask, and were delighted with the contributions in our competition to win a new SMWS flask. Congratulations to Ann Bingham for her winning shot, with the perfect bottling to go with her collection!
  • Cocktail season: The summer is packed with special days celebrating pretty much every drink you can think of. We asked Inka Larissa to take her pick and pair them with a cocktail, along with her advice about how to make the most of your fresh-air favourites this season.
  • Mountains and malts: The Society has always loved taking a dram outdoors, and in this feature from Unfiltered issue six in January 2010, Richard Goslan took to the hills to test some bottles at Munro height (that’s over 3,000 feet or 914 metres) in the company of inspirational mountaineer Jamie Andrew.
  • Where flavour comes alive – Young & Spritely: Ready to step into the light? Then it’s the perfect time of year for the Society’s Young & Spritely flavour profile, as Julien Willemsexplains.
  • The spirit of sharing: Whisky, in any of its manifestations, has been referred to as the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine and the ale that is consumed when good folks get together. While it is widely accepted that a fine dram tastes better when shared in equally fine company, have you considered that behind the discourse and discussion that often becomes empowered by whisky, there lies some sound science and research? Kami Newton has – pour a dram and find out more.
  • Distillery profile – Port of Leith: Something rather extraordinary is emerging on a tiny pocket of land on the outer reaches of Leith, where a mini skyscraper is taking shape on the edge of the harbour overlooking the Royal Yacht Britannia. The site is home to what will be Scotland’s first vertical single malt distillery, the vision of childhood pals Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher under the name of Port of Leith. Unfiltered editor Richard Goslan paid a visit.
  • Who’s for a digital dram? Ready to embrace a world of payment in ethers, non-fungible tokens, holograms and metaverse bars? They are all part of the whisky world already, whether you welcome these digital developments or not, finds Tom Bruce-Gardyne.
  • Industry Insider – Robert Fleming, Tomintoul: When a distillery has been your home and playground from an early age, it’s no surprise that it should then become your place of work. For Tomintoul’s master distiller Robert Fleming, whisky has been part of his life for as long as he can remember. Lee ‘Connas’ Connor caught up with Robert to find out more about his lifelong passion for the whisky world.
  • Share a dram with…the one and only Helen Stewart, SMWS Marketing guru