This week: A few issues ago, we spent a good chunk of ink on the UK-India trade deal and what it meant for Scotch heading east. Fitting, then, that this issue opens with Scotch tariffs again, except this time they're the ones going away, and the ones replacing them are aimed at our neighbors to the north. Tariffs: the gift that keeps on giving, mostly to lawyers and spreadsheet software.

Grab a pour, strap something on your wrist, and let's get into it. Also, I realize I tell you to always pour a drink… and then go and send this at 8:05am. I’m not the one telling you how to live your life! Do you.

The 10% US tariff on Scotch officially lifted Friday, July 24, the second structural win for the category in two weeks after the UK-India deal we covered last issue took effect [1]. Before you start doing math on your next Springbank order, though: the industry's own read is that this relief is more likely to rebuild margins than to cut sticker prices, so Scotch's real near-term win is availability, not a discount [2]. Cheers to that, I guess, cautiously.

Trump announced a new 50% tariff on Canadian alcohol, including beer, wine, and spirits, effective August 19, in response to Canadian provinces pulling US-made alcohol off government liquor store shelves [3]. Here's the part that'll make you spit out your dram: a lot of "American" whiskey brands are quietly built on Canadian base spirit. Especially Ryes. Barrell Craft Spirits' Decade series is widely believed to source from Alberta Distillers in Calgary, the same distillery that supplies components to WhistlePig [4]. And Alberta Distillers is owned by Suntory Global Spirits, headquartered in New York. So there's a real chance this tariff taxes a US company for importing from itself. Somewhere, an accountant is either laughing or crying, possibly both. A few drams deep, though.

Which makes the timing on Barrell Decade 2 look almost suspiciously good. It dropped July 22, a week ahead of the tariff's implementation window: a blend of Canadian whiskies distilled annually from 1995 to 2005, aged 20 to 30 years, finished in Spanish brandy and Hungarian oak, bottled at a hazmat-strength 141.3 proof for $199.99 [5]. If you grabbed a bottle, you got in right under the wire, and you should probably feel smug about it.

The 17 Year Old Orange Wine Cask Finish comes from master blender Julieann Fernandez, one of the youngest in the industry at 34, built around her own Spanish heritage [6]. Fifteen years in ex-bourbon casks, then a two-year finish in Vino de Naranja casks from Andalucía, a fortified orange wine made with dried peel rather than the more common skin-contact style, which is the rarer and more deliberate choice [6]. It landed in the US this month at 53.6% ABV for $131.99 [7]. Deanston is a distillery I highly recommend. I am sad I did not get to their in Scotland on any of my strips. One day!

The MoonSwatch Mission to the Moon 1969 might be the best marketing stunt horology has pulled in years, and also a small case study in why open-book exams are hard to write. To qualify for a shot at one of the 1,969 numbered pieces, applicants completed a 32-question "ESTA" (Electronic Swatch Timepiece Application), a knowing riff on the US travel authorization form, timed to run 2 hours and 15 minutes to match how long Armstrong and Aldrin spent on the lunar surface [8]. Some questions are graded on creativity. Others are pure trivia, and Swatch eventually published an answer key so everyone could check their work [8]. That's where it got funny: one question asked how many "rolling planets" appear across Swatch's collection. Most people did the obvious math, 11 planets in the collection minus the Sun and Moon equals 9, and got marked wrong. Swatch's own key says 28, and applicants are still arguing with the brand about it [9]. When your own quiz can't survive contact with your own fans, maybe reconsider the difficulty curve.

For context on the odds: 1.2 million completed applications chased 1,969 watches, roughly 600 hopefuls per piece [9]. I didn't make the cut. Small comfort in knowing I probably wasn't the only one who trusted basic arithmetic over Swatch's internal logic.

The new Submersible PAM01756 keeps the familiar 44mm cushion case, black sunray dial, and blue ceramic bezel, but it's the first 44mm Submersible ever offered on a steel bracelet [11]. The bracelet gets its own first too: a quick-adjust clasp that extends 2mm per side, which matters more than it sounds like once you've worn a dive watch through a hot afternoon [12]. Power comes from the newer P.980 caliber, a 23-jewel automatic with stop-seconds and a three-day power reserve, replacing the outgoing P.900 [11]. Priced at €12,800 as a permanent-collection release [12], subtle evolution done right.

Final Thoughts:

The Desert Rising Edition just opened for order, the first entry in Ford's new Horizon Series of annual factory-backed customization packages. It's inspired by Utah's Great Salt Lake and Coral Pink Sand Dunes, built on an Outer Banks Sasquatch donor, and it does not do subtle: white Method wheels with magenta center caps, a pink grille surround, two-tone Katzkin leather inside [13]. The package runs $13,695 on top of the base truck, capped at 1,000 units [14]. What's more interesting than the color story is the model itself: this is factory-warrantied personalization, not an aftermarket build, and it's a bet that more buyers want that option than want yet another blacked-out special edition. I’m a huge fan of this one. The colors are wicked cool.

The Energy Commission's Replacement Tire Efficiency Program would require aftermarket tires to hit the same rolling-resistance and wet-grip standards as factory-original tires, with non-compliant tires barred from sale in the state [15]. The good news for enthusiasts: the CEC just revised the timeline, pushing Phase 1 from 2028 to 2029 and Phase 2 from 2031 to 2033, and added exemptions for competition tires, qualifying winter tires, sub-13-inch tires, and large off-road tires 34.5 inches and up [16]. Not final yet. Public comment runs through August 3, so if you have opinions about rolling resistance, now's your moment. I’m glad there’s revision, as it would technically make my wife and I’s tires illegal in California, which, is crazy. They are higher end summer tires (Michelin Pilot Sport 4S), but still! The regular Michelin Pilot Sport 4 would not be classified as illegal though.

Shown as a clay model at Stellantis's investor day, it blends Charger design language up front with Viper cues toward the tail, on a footprint closer to a Mustang than to the current Charger [17]. SRT boss Tim Kuniskis insists it's not a Viper successor while simultaneously floating electrification and gesturing at the model's visible tailpipes, so the powertrain question remains genuinely, almost theatrically open [17]. Best guess right now points to a Hurricane inline-six or supercharged Hemi V8 north of 700 horsepower, rear-wheel drive, starting around $100,000, targeting a 2029 model year [18]. Believe it when there's an actual production date attached, and not a second before.

Outro:That's Issue 17 in the books. Scotch got a tariff lifted, Canada got one slapped on, Swatch flunked its own pop quiz, and Ford painted a truck the color of a fever dream. If nothing else, the trade lawyers and the marmalade-orange whisky enthusiasts both had a good week. Catch you on the flip-side.