WOM 620  Buying whisky for Hogmanay  Do you find the wide
variety of scotch available bewildering? Here are a few hints
and tips to help you find what you're looking for Islay tidal
stream project Rolling out the barrel at Caol Ila distillery,
Islay. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian  If you're not
a regular whisky drinker you might be forgiven for thinking that
the world of scotch is forever one of side whiskers, wing-backed
leather armchairs and the occasional impossibly rugged Aran
sweater. And to some extent you'd be right, because that's the
image that the industry has worked hard to convey for a long
time. When a couple of cases of scotch were discovered buried in
the permafrost outside Shackleton's hut in Antarctica earlier
this year, the story was manna for the industry and a source of
genuine excitement for whisky lovers.  Times are changing -
distillers, blenders and marketing executives are coming up with
all kinds of cunning plans to refine and refresh their products'
unique selling point