Review / Lagavulin 14 years old Fèis Ìle 2023 Edition

This new limited edition single malt whisky is this year's bottling for the annual Fèis Ìle festival for the Islay distillery of Lagavulin. The Lagavulin Fèis Ìle 2023 Edition is bottled at 14 years of age and has been matured in American oak and European oak barrels before a finishing period in ex-Armagnac casks, which were sourced from France. This is the first ever expression of Lagavulin with such a finish. The casks were hand selected by Jordan Paisley, the Distillery Manager of Lagavulin. It is bottled at the natural cask strength of 58.4% ABV and will retail for £220. The Lagavulin 14 years old Fèis Ìle 2023 Edition is on sale from today at the distillery to celebrate their open day. 

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (March 26, 2023)

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. 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. 

Review / Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 12

The new whisky is the latest limited addition to the Cask Strength series from the Highland distillery of Glendronach. The Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 12 has used whiskies of differing ages matured in ex-Pedro Ximénez and ex-Oloroso sherry casks from Andalucía in the south of Spain. The whisky has been created by Dr. Rachel Barrie, the Master Blender for Glendronach. The series was started by former owner Billy Walker and has gained somewhat of a cult status amongst whisky fans. The Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 12 is bottled at 58.2% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. It is available through selected specialist whisky retailers worldwide. A bottle will cost £75. 

Review / Oban Young Teddy

This whisky is a distillery exclusive bottling from the west Highland distillery of Oban. Oban Young Teddy is the second whisky in The Macleans Series, which honours the distilling legacy of the Maclean family and their long association with the Oban distillery. It follows Old Teddy, which was released in 2019 - this was dedicated to Old Teddy Maclean, their long-serving distillery manager who began working there in 1953. To read our review of Oban Old Teddy - click here. The new whisky is dedicated to his son, recently-retired Young Teddy Maclean, who joined in 1985. The legacy continues as Young Teddy's son, Derek Maclean, joined the distillery staff in 2017. 

Video / How To Make A Whisky Barrel

We recently had the privilege of watching a cooper construct a whisky barrel from scratch. So, we thought that we would share the experience with you by recording it. Below you will see Brian Morgan from the Speyside Cooperage in Alloa, Scotland use his training and skill to build a cask using only the wooden staves, metal hoops and traditional tools.

The video is split into two parts. In Part 1 you will see how he takes the basic components and puts them together to form a recognisable barrel, while in Part 2 you will see the finishing touches that make the barrel watertight and ready to receive spirit. Watch and enjoy, and we hope you find it as fascinating as we did.

Review / Bushmills 25 years old & 30 years old

These two premium whiskeys will permanently sit at the top of the core range of Bushmills. The Bushmills 25 years old and 30 years old are both triple distilled single malts. The 25 years old (pictured, above left) has experienced a four year initial maturation in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks before a 21 year secondary maturation in ex-Port pipes. It is bottled at 46% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. The whiskey will be available worldwide and retail for US$900/ £790/ €850. 

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (March 19, 2023)

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. 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. 

Review / InchDairnie Ryelaw

This whisky is the highly anticipated first release from the Fife distillery of InchDairnie. The Ryelaw was distilled from a mix of 53% malted rye and 47% malted barley in 2017. Both cereals were grown at farms in the Kingdom of Fife, including Ryelaw Farm from which the whisky takes its name. The spirit was then matured in charred virgin American oak casks for five years. It has been bottled at 46.3% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. Ryelaw is made for just one week each year at the groundbreaking distillery, which features one of only two mash filters in the Scotch whisky industry (the other is at Teaninich in the Highlands) and a bespoke Lomond still. 

Review / Kilchoman Loch Gorm (2023 Edition)

This whisky is the latest in the annual Loch Gorm limited edition bottling from the family-owned Islay farm distillery of Kilchoman. As with each of the previous editions of Loch Gorm, the 2023 Edition is matured entirely in ex-Oloroso sherry casks and remains the only such bottling by Kilchoman. The 2023 Edition is a vatting of just 22 casks - these were originally sourced from Spain and then hand selected by Anthony Wills, the founder of Kilchoman. Eight of these were distilled and filled in 2013, six in 2014 and the other eight in 2015. The combination of casks has created a batch of 18,000 bottles. 

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (March 12, 2023)

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. 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.