Inbox > May 13, 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 was 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's the news that caught our attention this week ...
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Ardbeg > Chopper gets ready for lift off!
The cult Islay distillery of Ardbeg have come up with a unique way of bringing their single malt to the masses – they are going to drive it around northern Europe on a motorbike! The motorbike, nicknamed the ‘Ardbeg Chopper’, has been custom-built by cult US manufacturer Orange County Choppers. The Ardbeg Chopper will begin its tour at Glasgow airport and drive 2,000 miles across Europe before eventually returning home to the distillery. The bike will pull in at bars, whisky shops and festivals in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Netherlands and the UK. Fans of Ardbeg will be encouraged to pose with the Chopper and sample a wee dram of the award-winning Ardbeg 10 years old. You can follow the Chopper’s progress on Ardbeg’s Facebook and Twitter accounts or by visiting www.ardbeg.com.

Glendronach > New expression launched
The innovative independent distillery at Glendronach have announced the launch of a new addition to their Wood Finishes range – a 15 years old Tawny Port finish. The whisky has spent a majority of time maturing in European oak ex-sherry casks, before being transferred to Port casks. This expression has been bottled at 46% ABV and will be available in specialist whisky retailers in the UK and 20 export markets. It is non-chill filtered, natural in colour and there will be only 6,000 bottles in the release. Sales Director of owners The Benriach Distillery Company, Alistair Walker says “Last year we launched the first of our four wood finishes which included a 20yo Tawny Port finish. This whisky was a great success, so we decided to release a second bottling again this year. We have carefully selected whisky that has been gently maturing in lighter casks so that aficionados experience the full impact of the port. The very pleasing result contributes extra depth and concentrated stewed fruit flavours.”

Old St. Andrew’s > Range gets new bottles
The range of whiskies that are blended and released by the small family owned Old St. Andrews Company have undergone a major packaging revamp. In a move away from bottling their whisky in a golf ball shaped bottle, the company’s premium blended range will shortly appear in a fresh clean designed bottle with straight sides – this will allow easier shelf display and pouring. This range will continue to draw on the brand’s golfing heritage and includes the Clubhouse bottling, the Twilight (a 10 years old blend tagged 'the fresh delicate one'), the Fireside (a 12 years old blend - 'the smoky warming one') and the Nightcap (a 15 years old - 'the rich honeyed one').