Whisky Shop In The Heart Of Central London

In September 2005 The Whisky Exchange set up a retail shop in the Vinopolis building on London’s south bank, to give people that have been shopping on our website for the last 8+ years an opportunity to see the extent of our range ‘in the flesh’. The shop has gone from strength to strength since its opening, having been a runner-up in Whisky Magazine’s Retailer of the Year and winning awards for our exclusive bottlings. The shop offers people the chance to purchase from our range of over 1,500 single malt whiskies, many of which are only available through us. This is backed up by friendly and knowledgeable staff with many years of experience in the drinks business, so you can be sure that you are getting the best possible advice.

For those of you that prefer their whisky to be spelt with an extra ‘e’, we have the widest choice of Bourbons and Ryes from the US and Canada that you will find anywhere in the UK, as well as a huge range from Ireland. To complete the choices, we carry over 20 whiskies from Japan, as well as examples from Wales, India and even Sweden.

In addition to our ‘already in the bottle’ choices we have a huge number of casks maturing in Scotland which enables us to offer here in store a choice of 5 whiskies you can fill directly from cask. At the moment our current choices are:

• Ardbeg "Quite Young" / Hogshead
• Clynelish 1992 / Bourbon Barrel
• Rosebank 1991 / Hogshead
• Laphroaig 1996 / Hogshead

Of course we realise that whisky isn’t everyone’s choice of tipple, so we have taken the opportunity to carry a wide selection of other spirits from our sister company Speciality Drinks. With an astonishing variety of Rums (80+), Cognac and Armagnac dating back to 1818, more than 150 Vodkas in every conceivable flavour as well as hundreds of other drinks from Aalborg Akvavit to Zyntia!

As if this unsurpassed range isn’t enough to get you to call in and see us when you’re in London, we also hold ‘Tasting Nights’ in the Vinopolis Building, where you get a chance to meet the people behind the drinks.

We’ve already hosted an ‘all-star’ line-up for our tasting evenings so far in 2008, with guest speakers including Mickey Heads from Ardbeg, Dr. Bill Lumsden from Glenmorangie, Richard Paterson from Dalmore, Euan Mitchell from Arran, Laurie Fishlock from Benromach and a rare chance to spend an evening with Harlin Wheatley and Kris Comstock from Buffalo Trace (all tough acts to follow!)

BUT, as we head towards the end of 2008 and into ’09 we’re putting together even more great evenings, including some (hopefully all) of the following:-

Mickey Heads with a new Ardbeg expression AND some ‘experiments’
Annabel Meikle the Whisky Creator and Sensory Expert from Glenmorangie
Glengoyne Distillers
Diageo 2008 releases with Roger Mallindine and/or Colin Dunn
Inver House with Nial Mackinlay
A range of Cognacs from Chateau Beaulon

In addition to our monthly tasting evenings with guest speakers, we are now able to offer private tutored tastings in the shop from 6.45pm Monday-Thursday. We can cater for groups of 6-16 who want to learn about whisky in a 1½ - 2 hour informal tasting. The evening covers the history, production and regional styles of malt whisky, whilst nosing and tasting at least 6 different drams.

To find out more about our Tasting Event options, or to book a tasting please contact us on tastings@thewhiskyexchange.com.

Vinopolis is located opposite London Bridge Station, and just behind the world famous "Borough Market" - where you will find the best that there is to offer from fruit and vegetables, to any type of food you can think of. It is mainly a wholesale market, however the market is now open to the public every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from the early hours till 5pm.

The Market has been voted London's most popular market in the Time Out's publication's retail surveys. In 2003 it won the Visit London award for the most popular London experience.

Other nearby attractions include The Tate Modern Museum, Southwark Cathedral and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

Note: We would like to make visiting customers aware that we do not have shelf space for every item that is listed on the website. If you are planning to visit and purchase a specific bottle (very limited release or a particular cask number) you are strongly advised to contact us on vinopolis@thewhiskyexchange.com to ensure that the bottling is in stock for your visit.