Spring 2026 has had a lot to talk about. Willem Dafoe of all people put his name on a Laphroaig, the long-running US tariff fight ended in dramatic fashion, distilleries on both sides of the Atlantic changed hands or pulled back, and a fresh wave of releases landed in time for festival season. Here's our roundup of the stories worth knowing about since our last update.
Laphroaig and Willem Dafoe Release 'Willem by Willem'
Laphroaig's latest celebrity collaboration is, of all people, Willem Dafoe. The 14-year-old Oloroso-finished single malt, called Willem by Willem, was selected by the actor alongside Senior Whisky Maker Sarah Dowling and is bottled at 53.7% ABV. A pre-release ballot ran on the Laphroaig site until 28 April, with broader UK release from 1 May. Price: £139.
What sets this apart from the usual celebrity-spirits playbook is the selection process. By all accounts, Dafoe didn't pick a blend designed for a brand brief; he chose the spirit that resonated most personally during a small-scale tasting. The result feels closer to a curator's pick than a marketing exercise, which fits Laphroaig's low-fuss character. The US, Germany, Japan, and Australia get it in the months ahead.
Trump Lifts UK Whisky Tariffs After Royal Visit
The biggest story in the trade calendar broke on 30 April, when US President Donald Trump confirmed he was scrapping the 10% tariff on UK whisky imports. He framed the move as a thank-you to King Charles III and Queen Camilla, whose four-day state visit had wrapped up days earlier, posting on Truth Social that "the King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do."
The relief is real. The Scotch Whisky Association had been warning that the tariff was costing members about £4 million a week in lost exports, with US shipment volumes down roughly 15% over the eight months it was in place. SWA chief executive Mark Kent called the decision a significant boost in the industry's most valuable export market, and Diageo's share price climbed 3% on the news.
For UK retailers and US consumers, the practical effect is straightforward: shipping plans that have been on ice can finally restart, and a feared snap-back to a 25% single malt tariff in July (when an earlier Boeing-Airbus suspension was due to expire) is now off the table.
Glengoyne Launches £24 Tesco-Exclusive Entry-Level Malt
Ian Macleod's Glengoyne has rolled out a new no-age-statement expression called Glengoyne Signature, exclusively in Tesco stores from 20 April. Bottled at 40% ABV, it sits well below the rest of the range as a fruit-and-vanilla-led entry point. RRP is £35, but Tesco Clubcard members in Scotland can pick it up for £24 until 15 June.
This follows Diageo's Johnnie Walker Red Soul launch and signals a broader shift toward affordability across major Scotch portfolios. Premium-or-nothing has been the dominant strategy for over a decade, but with younger drinkers increasingly priced out of single malt, brands are belatedly rediscovering the entry tier. Worth watching whether Signature stays a Tesco exclusive or rolls out wider after the introductory window.
Bourbon's Oversupply Catches Up With MGP
On 7 April, MGP Ingredients announced it would idle production at two of its Kentucky distilleries and lay off staff, with operations potentially halted for up to 12 months. CEO Julie Francis was unusually direct in her statement, calling the American whiskey market "structurally oversupplied, with excess capacity and elevated inventory."
Warehousing, bottling, and visitor centres are staying open, so this is a deliberate slowdown rather than a wind-down. But it's a clear signal that the bourbon boom of the early 2020s left producers with more aging stock than the current market can absorb. Expect more pressure on entry-level pricing through the back half of the year, and potentially some interesting bulk-stock deals for independent bottlers willing to do their homework.
Belgian Owl Distillery Goes Up for Auction
Etienne Bouillon's twenty-year-old Owl Distillery, the home of Belgian Owl single malt, has put itself up for sale through the Auctim online auction platform. The package is unusual: a fully operational distillery capable of producing roughly a million litres a year, more than 3,500 maturing casks (some up to 20 years old), and the original copper pot stills from the now-defunct Caperdonich Distillery in Speyside.
Those Caperdonich stills are the headline. Caperdonich closed in 2002, so any working spirit from those stills is increasingly collectible. Whoever picks up The Owl gets a going concern plus a meaningful piece of Scotch whisky heritage. The Owl follows BrewDog and Hooghoudt as the latest European distillery to step back, with consumer demand softening and tariff uncertainty (until last week) weighing on planning.
Tennessee Distilling Group Acquires Waterford
Waterford Distillery, arguably the most thoughtful Irish whiskey project of the last decade, has been bought by Tennessee Distilling Group for a reported €6 million after entering receivership in late 2024. The deal includes the distillery, its intellectual property, and a substantial inventory of single-farm spirit.
TDG is best known as a contract distiller, with Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan's project) and Uncle Nearest among its clients. The big question is whether it carries on with founder Mark Reynier's terroir-driven, single-farm philosophy or pivots toward something more conventionally commercial. Either way, Waterford's existing inventory is one of the most distinctive cask collections anywhere in Ireland.
The Lakes Distillery Closes Its Brand Home
The Cumbrian distillery shut its on-site bistro, shop, and tour operation on 24 April, with associated job losses. The Lakes had reported a £1.3m EBITDA loss on £5.8m revenue for the year ending June 2023, and despite an ambitious 10-year plan to capture 1% of the global luxury dark spirits market by 2030, the visitor experience appears to be the casualty of cost cutting.
Bottling and brand operations continue. But for a relatively young English distillery still building consumer awareness, losing the visitor pull of a Lake District destination is a meaningful setback. Expect The Lakes to focus harder on premium bottling sales and trade channels through the rest of 2026.
Ex-Edrington Chief Takes Charge at Witchmark
Mark Riley, who spent a decade as managing director at Edrington (Macallan, Highland Park) and held senior roles at Diageo, Beam, and Maxxium UK, has been appointed to lead Witchmark Distillery in Wiltshire. Founded in 2022 in a 17th-century barn etched with protective medieval witch carvings, Witchmark already calls itself one of England's largest and most sustainable whisky operations.
Riley's appointment matters because English whisky has reached an inflection point. The category has built credibility over the last decade, and the next phase is professionalisation: scaling production, building distribution, and executing brand strategy at the level Scotch's establishment has long taken for granted. Riley has done all three at scale.
High West Promotes Isaac Winter to Master Distiller
Constellation Brands has named Isaac Winter as senior director, master distiller at High West, the Utah-based American whiskey brand it acquired in 2016. Winter joined as distillery manager in 2017 and was promoted to director of distilling in 2023, so he has spent eight-plus years inside the operation. He replaces Brendan Coyle, who left earlier this year to focus on his cider business, Dendric Estate.
For High West fans, the message is continuity. The brand's identity rests on careful blending of distinct rye and bourbon stocks, and an internal promotion is the safest signal that house style is staying intact. No dramatic shifts expected.
Little Brown Dog Releases First Core Expression
After eight years of one-off bottlings and small-batch releases, Aberdeen-based independent producer Little Brown Dog has launched its first ever core expression. Aberdeenshire Single Malt is a 12-year-old unpeated Highland whisky distilled at Glen Garioch Distillery, just down the road from the company's HQ. The recipe is 60% first-fill bourbon and 40% Oloroso/PX sherry, bottled at 46% ABV with no chill filtration or added colour.
At £50 with hand-numbered runs of around 2,000 bottles, this is a calculated step up from the indie bottler's previous releases. The pricing pitches it squarely against the better Speyside core ranges, and the unpeated Glen Garioch source spirit gives it a recognisable character without paying single-distillery brand pricing. Worth keeping an eye on.
Laggan Bay Opens as Islay's 11th Distillery
Ian Macleod Distillers filled the first cask at Laggan Bay on 2 April, making it the eleventh operating distillery on Islay. Distillery Manager Malcolm Rennie, a 40-year industry veteran, has assembled a new team on the island with a brief to create a whisky that reflects both the site and a fresh distilling vision. The site has been designed with sustainability front and centre, with wetlands handling liquid waste and renewable-energy partnerships under exploration.
Laggan Bay narrowly beat Elixir Distillers' Portintruan to the eleventh-distillery slot, and Portintruan won't be far behind. After two decades of relative stability, Islay's distilling map is genuinely expanding for the first time in a generation. Laggan Bay opens its doors to the public on 31 May as part of Fèis Ìle, which is the earliest opportunity to see the new still house in person.
The Dalmore Reopens After £40m Overhaul
The Dalmore has reopened to visitors following a roughly £40m investment in a new production facility and visitor centre. The expansion adds capacity and, importantly, transitions production toward greener energy, while preserving the look and feel of the historic site. The Old Dalmore Kiln pagoda has been retained as the centrepiece of the new layout, and several original buildings have been repurposed rather than replaced.
The Dalmore has spent the last decade pushing hard at the high end of the luxury Scotch market, with collaborations like the Vintage and Decades collections trading well above five figures. A modernised distillery and a more polished visitor experience are the natural next step. Bookings are already open through April 2027 with a reserve list in operation.