Inbox > February 25, 2011

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR type material that has found its way in to our email inbox. Sadly, we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive, so Inbox has been born! It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we will 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 if you want to. Here are this week's findings ...
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Chivas Regal & Vivienne Westwood
A new bespoke packaging design has been unveiled to celebrate London Fashion Week, which is now on. It celebrates the collaboration between the world famous Chivas Regal blended whisky, owned by Pernod Ricard, and iconic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. The whisky in question is the Chivas Regal 18 years old and it is encased in a cloak of Westwood’s Union Jack print – this is to celebrate the year 1801, when both the current design of the Union Jack and the Chivas blends first appeared. The exclusive and limited release will consist of just 2,500 bottles and will be available globally for a retail price of $495.

Knob Creek > new bottling released
The American bourbon brand, owned by Beam Global, has announced a new bottling in its range – Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve. This is the first ever single barrel release of Knob Creek and each barrel has been hand selected for its supreme quality. It has been matured in charred new American oak barrels for nine years and is bottled at an alcoholic strength of 60% ABV (120 proof). The Single Barrel Reserve will initially only be available in the USA and will have a retail price of $40. Fred Noe, Beam’s seventh generation distiller and son of Booker Noe (the man who introduced the Knob Creek brand to the market) says, “we pay close attention to the barrels we select as we want to ensure that we’re bottling an extraordinary bourbon with a complex balance of aroma and taste.” For further information, go to www.knobcreek.com.

William Grant & Sons > new shop at airport
The famous owners of the Grant’s blended whisky range and top selling single malts such as Glenfiddich and Balvenie, have opened a designated Grant’s whisky store in Terminal 2F at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. The shop features all of the Grant’s range, including the 25 years old and Distillery Edition expressions which are only available through Duty Free/Travel Retail channels. William Grant & Sons have decided to temporarily showcase their whiskies at the airport, which accommodates three million travellers each year, to celebrate the company’s incredible sales in France in recent years.