Drams with Davis

Drams with Davis I'm a North East Scotland based whisky enthusiast on a mission to make our national spirit enjoyable to all through immersive events. 🥃

A second chance dram, and this time I actually made sure to pour one.This 10-year-old Master of Malt single cask from Da...
10/04/2026

A second chance dram, and this time I actually made sure to pour one.

This 10-year-old Master of Malt single cask from Dailuaine Distillery is one I’ve owned before — oddly, the first bottle came and went without me ever sitting down to taste it. A strange oversight, considering how good this one is.

Classic Dailuaine weight here: rich malt, orchard fruit, honeyed texture, and that lovely oily Speyside depth that keeps pulling you back for another sip. Refill hogshead maturation lets the distillery character speak clearly, and it does so with confidence.

Happy Easter - with a Springbank from RareWhisky101.Family-owned, fiercely independent, and still doing things the long ...
06/04/2026

Happy Easter - with a Springbank from RareWhisky101.

Family-owned, fiercely independent, and still doing things the long way — malting their own barley, using traditional floor malting, and producing three distinct styles under one roof. It’s not just rare, unique to Springbank.

This 1996, 27-year-old release bottled by Rare Whisky 101, Banchory, Aberdeenshire, is a perfect example of what patience, tradition and truly professional cask selection can create. Sherry cask influence wrapped around that signature Campbeltown character. Deep funk. Deep salt. Deep smoke. Deep chocolate for me. Might be the colossal amount of Easter eggs I’ve eaten this weekend 😂

If you’ve never had a springbank, find one, today, then keep an eye out for an Indy bottling like this. It’s phenomenal.

Aye go on then. 📍Aitchies Ale House, Aberdeen
17/03/2026

Aye go on then.

📍Aitchies Ale House, Aberdeen

Hark! What an utterly splendid visit to in Aberdeen this day.Behold the spectacle: more than 100 whiskies laid forth fo...
13/03/2026

Hark! What an utterly splendid visit to in Aberdeen this day.

Behold the spectacle: more than 100 whiskies laid forth for the curious and the devoted alike. With a noble gathering of cosy Chesterfields upon which to rest one’s bones, it is a most fitting haven in which to linger over a dram or three.

Mark my words — when next I venture forth in pursuit of the aul’ whiskies in town, this shall be the very place I return to.

What a magnificent array of fine juice awaits within! 🥃

There’s something about Ernest Shackleton and that he keeps showing up in my life.Not just as a historical figure — but ...
27/02/2026

There’s something about Ernest Shackleton and that he keeps showing up in my life.

Not just as a historical figure — but almost as a marker.

Before something significant shifts for me, he appears. A documentary suggestion. A book pulled from a shelf. A passing mention in conversation. Even a bottle on a back bar. It’s never forced. It just… arrives.

Shackleton’s story has always fascinated me — not because he conquered Antarctica, but because he didn’t ever once reach the pole, but he’s arguably one of the most celebrated polar explorers in history. The Endurance expedition failed in its original mission, yet what followed became one of the greatest leadership stories ever told. Ship crushed by ice. Crew stranded. Impossible odds. And yet every single man made it home alive.

That’s not conquest. That’s character.

We’ve seen him resurface in modern media too. From documentaries to leadership books to cinematic retellings like Endurance - where leads a crew to find the lost ship, Endurance - Documented by Dan Snow - and every time his story is retold, it’s usually during moments when resilience feels relevant again.

What strikes me most is this: Shackleton represents the space between plan and reality.

In my own life, his name tends to surface just before a change. A new direction. A test. A challenge. Not always dramatic — but always meaningful.

Maybe it’s coincidence, or maybe certain stories find you when you need them.

Either way, I’ve learned that when Shackleton appears, it’s usually time to steady the ship, look after your crew, and endure the challenge.

After joining the Klub late… I’ve managed to come up to date with the Klub Release Collection by A stunning release of ...
14/02/2026

After joining the Klub late… I’ve managed to come up to date with the Klub Release Collection by

A stunning release of 6 London Single Malt Whiskies made available to Bimber Klub members.

When I joined the Klub, I got a box through the mail which included two tasting glasses and a sample of an ex bourbon, and the delightfully fruity New Make. I had access to 5 and 6, but had to acquire 1, 2, 3 and 4 through other means, given thier scarcity and popularity, this wasn’t easy. It’s taken me nearly a year and a half to source all of them.

I’m nearly finished the FourSquare Rum Cask No. 4 - so if you know of anyone who has one kicking about - I’d like to talk to them about relieving them of it! 😀🥰

This will do nicely. There’s something satisfying about finding a proper dram where you least expect it.Johnnie Walker I...
10/02/2026

This will do nicely.

There’s something satisfying about finding a proper dram where you least expect it.

Johnnie Walker Island Green — an airport exclusive that quietly slips under the radar. A step up in smokiness from Black Label, with that coastal, lightly peated edge that makes it unmistakably “island” in character.

It’s a good reminder to always keep your eyes open. Travel retail, small hotel bars or tucked away on shelves in duty free, or even wee shops in the countryside might have something different.

Keep an eye open next time you travel ✈️🌍

🥃 Tonight at The Stag Hotel, Banchory 🦌A curated whisky tasting in great company, exploring contrast, character, and a l...
24/01/2026

🥃 Tonight at The Stag Hotel, Banchory 🦌

A curated whisky tasting in great company, exploring contrast, character, and a little Scottish soul.

Together with The Stag Hotel, we’ll be guiding guests through five very different drams:

• Ardent Invergordon 50 Year Old – half a century in oak, elegant and quietly powerful

• Cadenhead’s Glenfarclas 10 Year Old – a benchmark Speyside, honest and uncompromising

• Cù Bòcan 1st Edition – smoke with a Highland twist

• Mossburn Blair Athol 2009 – rich, muscular and beautifully balanced

• Immortal Memory – a whisky tribute to Robert Burns, fitting for a night of reflection and storytelling

An evening of conversation, comparison, and shared appreciation—made all the better in one of Deeside’s great whisky pubs.

Slàinte 🥃
x

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Bar 99, Aberdeen
21/01/2026

Bar 99, Aberdeen

Buro BrauereiPale Ale 4.2%A New England–style pale ale with a protein-forward grain bill that gives it a soft, almost cr...
19/01/2026

Buro Brauerei

Pale Ale 4.2%

A New England–style pale ale with a protein-forward grain bill that gives it a soft, almost creamy texture. Bright, zesty hops lead on the nose, followed by a very pale straw colour and a naturally hazy, opaque look. Kept deliberately low in carbonation, it drinks smoothly and easily, finishing clean and refreshing without ever tipping into sweetness.

Ordered from

Something different for ‘blue monday.’

Today’s work took me to Forthill Sports Club — and what might have been a routine visit turned into something quietly me...
15/01/2026

Today’s work took me to Forthill Sports Club — and what might have been a routine visit turned into something quietly meaningful.

Forthill was the sporting home of Sir Alexander Macklin (1889–1967), chief surgeon to Sir Ernest Shackleton on both the Endurance and Quest expeditions. Macklin was far more than a ship’s doctor. During the Endurance ordeal — months trapped in pack ice, the loss of the ship, and survival against impossible odds — he was a steady, humane presence at the heart of the crew. Shackleton trusted him implicitly.

After Shackleton’s death in South Georgia in 1922, it was Macklin who carried on with the Quest expedition. He later returned to Scotland, lived a quieter life, and died in Aberdeen in 1967 — a remarkable journey from the edge of the Antarctic back to everyday communities like this one.

To step inside Forthill today for work and see Shackleton Whisky on the shelf felt deeply symbolic. Mainly because I decided today, instead of listening to music while driving, to stream Dan Snow’s History Hit podcast, stumbling on the story of Endurance from inception to Shackleton’s untimely death in South Georgia.

Exploration doesn’t always live in museums or wreck sites!

One day I’ll get along to see Shackleton’s Hope Cross at Discovery Point in Dundee. The original crucifix marking ‘The Boss’ grave in Grytviken, now proudly on display in Scotlands South Pole Capital.





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