Friday, December 13, 2019

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (December 13, 2019)


Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Of course, today is Black Friday so there are a couple of items related to this.

Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.  This is the news that has grabbed our attention this week.

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Johnnie Walker
The leading Scotch brand of Johnnie Walker has announced a special limited edition of its super premium Blue Label expression to celebrate the forthcoming Chinese New Year. The release forms part of its annual Zodiac Collection and 2020 sees it honour The Year of the Rat. The Johnnie Walker Blue Label - The Year Of The Rat Edition features Highland and Speyside distilleries such as Benrinnes, Cardhu and Clynelish alongside some Islay single malts. These have been matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.

The packaging for this limited edition also features artwork paying homage to the Chinese zodiac and Asian cultures. The whisky is bottled at 40% ABV and will cost £235/ $315 US.


Royal Salute
The super premium blended brand of Royal Salute has announced two new limited releases that will be exclusive to the travel retail sector. The first is a 25 years old expression, the first ever to be released at that age, which is named The Treasured Blend (pictured, left). It is inspired by The Crown Jewels, which famously reside in The Tower of London, and features packaging with artwork by Kristjana S. Williams. The Royal Salute 25 years old - The Treasured Blend will be available globally and will cost £195/ $260 US.


The second bottling is extremely rare and there will be only 35 bottles available. The Royal Salute Single Cask Finish 52 years old is the first release in the new Time Series. The whisky was blended and has then spent the last 14 years finishing in a single oak cask. The youngest whisky in the blend was distilled in 1967. The Royal Salute Single Cask Finish 52 years old is presented in a hand-blown blue Dartington crystal decanter and a bespoke wooden casket featuring five layers of wood, each layer representing a decade of the whisky's life. A bottle will cost £22,370/ $30,000 US. Both whiskies have been crafted by Sandy Hyslop, the Royal Salute Master Blender.



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