New release - Glenfiddich 15 years old 'Distillery Edition'

OK, before anyone contacts us - we realise that this Distillery Edition is not technically a 'new release' as it was first available in this form about two years ago.  However we have named it as such, as the limited edition expression of the popular 15 years old was formerly restricted to the shop at the Glenfiddich distillery and selected travel retail markets.  It has now been released to a wider audience for the first time and is set to wow whisky drinkers the world over.

Inbox - December 21, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.

This week's edition is the last of 2012 - Inbox will return in a couple of weeks on Friday 4 January 2013.  Most PR companies and whisky brands have now wound down for the festive period, and have spent the week sending us Christmas cards and best wishes for the season.  Thank you to all those that have. However, there are still one or two bits of interesting news, so here goes ...

Inbox - December 14, 2012

With the Christmas festive period fast approaching, the whisky industry and related PR activity seem to be slowly winding down.  We on the other hand are well and truly wound up, with three of us selling bottles of whisky to hundreds of consumers and the other selling millions of pounds worth of shiny stuff online.

As a result, this week's Inbox is on the shorter side ... Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.  Without further ado, here is what has caught our attention this week ...

New release - Balblair 2002

The Balblair 2002 is the latest Vintage to be released by the up-and-coming distillery. The policy of selecting whiskies from particular years, rather than well established age points such as 12, 15 or 21 years old, was started in 2007 and differs from the philosophy of most distilleries.  The whiskies are specially selected from Balblair's maturing stock by distillery manager John MacDonald and listening to him speak at a recent event he made one telling statement - "our whisky tells us when it's ready, not the other way round".  We liked that ...

Inbox - December 7, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.

As with the previous weeks, this last week has proved super-hectic for all four of us as we have hit Christmas trading in our day jobs.  It has proved difficult to get any blogging done as a result.  Please bear with us over the next couple of weeks - posts will appear, but less frequently and when we have any spare time.  Here is what has caught our attention this week ...

Whisky Books - Our Top 5 for Christmas

At this time of the year attentions begin to turn to the forthcoming festive period.  For the last couple of years we have written a beginner's guide to buying whisky as a present and recommended some of our favourite whiskies that may be considered as good options - if you want to read this, please click here.  This year we have decided to take a look at the ever growing number of whisky books that are on the market.

Inbox - November 30, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.

As with the previous weeks, this last week has proved super-hectic for all four of us as we have hit Christmas trading in our day jobs.  It has proved difficult to get any blogging done as a result.  Please bear with us over the coming weeks - posts will appear, but less frequently and when we have any spare time.  Here is what has caught our attention this week ...

Have just tried - Grant's 25 years old

We were recently invited to the UK launch of Grant's 25 years old - the oldest expression in the popular brand's range.  It marks the first official time that the bottling is available on British shelves. The event took place in the impressively stocked Wine & Spirits department of the iconic Selfridge's department store in central London.  The launch and subsequent tasting was hosted by Ludo Ducrocq, the Global Brand Ambassador of the Grant's brand.

Inbox - November 23, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.

As with the previous weeks, this last week has proved hectic for all four of us as we have hit Christmas trading in our day jobs.  It has proved difficult to get any blogging done as a result.  Please bear with us over the coming weeks - posts will appear, but less frequently and when we have any spare time.  Here is what has caught our attention this week ...

Have just tried - Aberlour 12 years old

Aberlour is one of the biggest selling single malts in the world and currently sits comfortably within the global top ten for volume of sales.  It is also the top selling single malt whisky brand in France, which is no mean feat as the French consume the most whisky of any country in the world. Aberlour is also popular in the UK and southern Europe, and the core range consists of this 12 years old plus 10, 16 and 18 years old expressions. These are joined approximately once or twice a year by a cask strength single batch whisky named A’bunadh (pronounced a-boona).

Inbox - November 16, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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. 

The last week has proved hectic for all four of us as we have well and truly hit Christmas trading in our day jobs.  It has proved difficult to get any blogging done as a result.  Please bear with us over the coming weeks - posts will appear but less frequently and when we have any spare time.  Anyway, here's the news that has attracted our attention this week ...

Inbox - November 9, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.  Here is the news that has attracted our attention this week ...

Have just tried - Jim Beam Honey

Earlier this year, the world's best selling bourbon launched a new liqueur which mixes its four year old bourbon, used in their famous White Label, with honey.  The result was Jim Beam Honey.  We were invited to the UK launch, which saw a London square turned into a large beehive with bartenders serving cocktails while wearing beekeeping outfits.  Jim Beam Honey has captured the attention of non-whisky drinkers and seems to go from strength to strength with its recent launch in the European travel retail sector.

Have just tried - Century Reserve Canadian Rye

The Century Reserve is released by the Canadian distillery of Highwood.  The whisky, subtitled Lot 15-25 or sometimes 15 Years Plus, is made up of casks aged between 15 and 25 years of age.  Some of these are believed to have been distilled at Potter's, a distillery which Highwood took over (along with most of its maturing stock) in 2005. Highwood Distillers is an independently owned company which is based in the Rocky Mountains of the Canadian province of Alberta.

New release - Paul John Single Cask #161

Paul John is the newest addition to the growing number of whiskies that are coming out of India.  It is produced by John Distilleries - they produce the Original Choice blended whisky, which is one of India's biggest whisky brands and the seventh best selling whisky by volume in the world, with annual sales of over 60 million bottles.  The company has decided to branch out in to the premium single malt whisky sector and Paul John is the result.  They have selected a single cask as the first release and this will be followed by other single casks in time.

Inbox - November 2, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.  Here is the news that has attracted our attention this week ...

Inbox - October 26, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.  Here is the news that has attracted our attention this week ...

New release - The Entertainer by Compass Box

Compass Box, the artisan whisky company, have teamed up with Selfridge's, one of the UK's leading department store chains, for their latest release. The Entertainer has been created to celebrate the life of Gordon Selfridge, the legendary founder of the department store. It can be purchased exclusively in one of their four department stores in Birmingham, London (Oxford Street) and Manchester (Exchange Square or Trafford Centre), or via their website www.selfridges.com.

Have just tried - Royal Household

A couple of months ago Matt C and I were invited to a tasting hosted by Diageo to showcase some of the very successful blended whiskies they have for sale in other markets aside from the UK. One of the whiskies we both took a shining to was Royal Household, part of the Buchanan’s stable of blends, a very successful range that sells in the millions in territories such as South America and Asia.

Inbox - October 19, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.  This week's Inbox is a bumper edition, so let's get cracking with the news ...

Have just tried - Thomas H. Handy Sazerac

Thomas H. Handy is an American rye whiskey which is made at the Buffalo Trace distillery.  It is a whiskey that has been the centre of attention during the last week, as the Batch 2011 has claimed the prestigious accolade of 'Whisky Of The Year' in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2013, the latest edition in the best selling series.  Traditionally, winners of this award sell out fast so it may already be too late to grab one.  However, we were lucky enough to track down a sample ...

Great places to drink whisky - Japan

Japan is arguably the home of the whisky bar. There are huge amounts of them all over the place, particularly in Tokyo. Consequently, when my girlfriend and I decided go on holiday to Japan, I immediately began looking into what whisky bars I could drag her along to and spend stupid amounts of money in.

Inbox - October 12, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.  This week's edition features the first mention of Christmas ... the countdown has truly begun!

New release - Lord Elcho 15 years old

The Lord Elcho 15 years old is a new release by independent spirits company Wemyss Malts. It is the company’s first foray into the world of premium blended whisky and compliments their range of single cask malt whiskies and award winning blends. The whisky is named after Lord Elcho, the eldest son of the 5th Earl of Wemyss, who was a supporter of Bonnie Prince Charlie in the 1700s. He went into the Battle of Culloden at the legendary Prince’s side and following their catastrophic defeat he was stripped of title and land, before being exiled to France.

New release - Arran 'Robert Burns'

The Robert Burns is a new single malt bottling from Isle of Arran Distillers.  The whisky pays homage to Scotland's famous poet, who lived within view of the island, and wrote such legendary literary works as Address To A Haggis, Auld Lang Syne and Tam o'Shanter.  The distillery are patrons of the Robert Burns World Federation and the whisky is a mix of different ages of Arran malt matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.  It has been bottled at 43% ABV, is priced around £30 and available to buy from specialist whisky retailers and www.arranwhisky.com.

Inbox - October 5, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.  This week's edition features news on a new single cask Indian whisky, a new whisky bar in New York and our favourite whisky book ...

New releases - Diageo Special Releases 2012

Each Autumn there is always a ripple of anticipation around the whisky industry as they wait to see what Diageo, the multi national drinks company, are to release in their annual Special Releases programme.  This programme highlights some of the most exceptional single malt stock from within their portfolio of 28 working distilleries, plus remaining stocks from those which have been closed. Some of these stocks have dwindled to almost critical levels.

New release - Glen Garioch 1995 Vintage

The Glen Garioch 1995 Vintage is the latest release in the east Highland distillery's popular small batch single malt programme. It is the sixth special addition to the Glen Garioch range. It was produced and filled to cask just months before the distillery was mothballed (this is the term used when production ceases at a distillery, but the equipment remains intact) in October 1995.  Some of the other whiskies in the series have been very good, so we were excited to try this new expression.

Inbox - September 28, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.  This week's edition features news on Glenrothes, Uisge Source Water and Yamazaki ...

Laphroaig Live 2012 - Watch it with us

Tonight sees the broadcast of the highly anticipated Laphroaig Live show. This year the iconic Islay distillery, which is famous for its very smoky style of whisky, takes the annual show to Germany. Previous shows have been broadcast from Australia, Scotland and Spain. Laphroaig Live 2012 will be broadcast at 9pm local time (that's GMT +1, so 8pm in the UK for example).

You can watch the fun live on www.laphroaig.com or live on a special page that we have created on the Whisky For Everyone website, as we have been granted special permission to show the live stream. The link to this page is below and there is also the option to email questions to the panel of guests, which may then be featured during the broadcast. A huge thanks goes to the guys at Laphroaig for allowing us to do this. We hope to see you for the show ...

http://www.whiskyforeveryone.com/laphroaig.html 

A panel of special guests - Laphroaig distillery manager John Campbell, Laphroaig Master Blender Robert Hicks, whisky writer Bernhard Schäfer and our good friend Pierre Thiebaut from whisky social network site Connosr - will take assembled guests and watching viewers from around the world through a whisky tasting which will be accompanied by German beer that has been matured in ex-Laphroaig casks and Laphroaig infused German sausages. Click the link above to see more details of the panelists. 

Inbox - September 21, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.  This week's edition features news on Jack Daniels's, Laphroaig and Something Special ...

Have just tried - Buchanan's 12 & 18 years old

The Buchanan's whisky brand is one of the famous old names of the Scotch whisky industry.  It is part of Diageo's extensive blended whisky range, which totals around 80 different brands, and has a particular stronghold in the South America.  Within this, the main markets are Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Mexico and Venezuela.  It is also the fastest growing Scotch whisky brand in the USA, as the Hispanic population are introducing it from the established markets.

New release - Bowmore 54 years old

Earlier this week Bowmore, one of Scotland's oldest whisky distilleries, announced the release of a very special single malt - the Bowmore 54 years old.  This exceptionally rare whisky was distilled in 1957 and is the oldest bottling of Bowmore ever released.  Not only that, but it is the oldest whisky to ever be released by any distillery on the famous whisky producing island of Islay.  This 1957 vintage is also set to be one of the most expensive single malts ever, and one of the most beautifully packaged. Intrigued? ...

New release - Ardbeg Galileo

A new Ardbeg is always a highly anticipated release in the whisky calendar and this new Galileo (named after the famous 16th century astronomer, who championed the idea of heliocentrism and discovered the four major moons of Jupiter) is no different. It also has a great story behind it as it is released to celebrate Ardberg’s first ever experiment in to space.

Tullamore DEW Original Blend - Deconstruction tasting

The team at Tullamore DEW have recently been hard at work revamping the packaging of the Tullamore DEW original bottling. The new look bottle is designed to celebrate the history of this Irish spirit with a cleaner look and a notable nod to Daniel E. Williams, the man that created Tullamore DEW.

Inbox - September 14, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.  There is plenty of news this week, so we will keep it short and sweet for each item.  Grab your favourite dram and read on ...

Johnnie Walker - Where Flavour Is King

The world's biggest selling whisky brand has this week launched a new global marketing campaign.  Normally, we would include such news in our weekly Inbox feature but we feel that the impressive quality, scale and magnitude of the photography and workmanship in the new Johnnie Walker Where Flavour Is King campaign warrants a full blog post.  This thinking may have something to do with the fact that both myself and Karen are from photographic backgrounds, having studied the subject to a decent level.  In this respect, it is easily the best and most engaging new whisky campaign that we have seen this year.

New release - Macallan Gold

Today sees the official launch of Macallan Gold, the eagerly anticipated first release in the new 1824 Series from the famous Speyside distillery.  The 1824 Series is an innovative new range of single malts that has been developed by Bob Dalgarno, the Master Whisky Maker at Macallan, and focuses on colour.  The ideas are to let the wood of the cask, and the colour that it imparts into the whisky, do the talking and that certain colours in whisky relate to certain flavour characteristics.

Exploring The Balvenie

David Stewart

The focus has well and truly been on The Balvenie this week.  On the 3rd of September David Stewart, the legendary Balvenie Malt Master responsible for the quality and consistency of every bottle of Balvenie, celebrated his 50th anniversary at the distillery.  He began as a 17 year old apprentice back in 1962 and, as reported in this week's Inbox, commemorated the special day by announcing the release of a Balvenie 50 years old single malt that has been maturing at the distillery as long as David has been there.

Inbox - September 7, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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.  Check out what has attracted our attention this week ...

The Macallan 1824 Series

The famous Macallan distillery have announced the imminent launch of a brand new range of whiskies - The Macallan 1824 Series (pictured, above).  There have been rumours about this new range circulating around the whisky blogosphere for the last two months or so, and it seems to have been causing quite a stir amongst our fellow bloggers and whisky fans alike.  Macallan is one of the biggest selling single malt whisky brands in the world and comfortably sits in third place for sales, so any new releases are going to be viewed with plenty of interest.  But this new range is one with a bit of a difference and I was delighted to be invited to the media launch at the distillery last week.

Inbox - August 31, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we 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.  So what has grabbed our attention this week?  Find out below ...

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society app

A couple of weeks ago we were invited to the launch of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society's (or SMWS for future reference) new app at their London facility in Bleeding Heart Yard.  In the past, an 'evening' at The SMWS (and their extensive collection of cask strength whiskies) has resulted in some 'less than productive' days at work the following day ... especially when Helen Stewart and Joe McGirr of The SMWS are present.  This evening turned out to be no different and we joined them, plus some fellow whisky bloggers including Billy from Billy's Booze Blog, Jason from Whisky Squad and Mark & Michelle from Dramatic Whisky.

Diageo Special Releases 2012

Around this time each year, there is always a ripple of anticipation around the whisky industry as they wait to see what Diageo, the multi national drinks company, are to release in their annual Special Releases programme.  This programme highlights some of the most exceptional single malt stock from within their portfolio of 28 working distilleries, plus remaining stocks from those which have been closed. Some of these stocks have dwindled to almost critical levels.

Inbox - August 24, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we 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.  So what has grabbed our attention this week?  Find out below ...

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Ardbeg - Galileo is about to arrive
The award winning Islay distillery has announced the forthcoming release of a new expression.  A new Ardbeg is always one of the most highly anticipated new releases in the 'whisky calendar' and the Galileo (named after the famous astronomer) is no different.  As ever, it is expected to sell out very quickly, with some retailers reporting that their pre-ordered stock has already been allocated to customers.

The whisky used in the Ardbeg Galileo was distilled in 1999 and it was bottled recently at 13 years of age.  The final whisky is a mix of casks, combining first fill ex-bourbon casks with some ex-Marsala casks from Sicily.  It has been bottled at 49% ABV, is non chill-filtered and will retail around the £70 mark.  It should be available from September 1 in the UK, Europe and selected Asian markets.  There will also be plenty of supporting activity for the launch on the Ardbeg website and a special Galileo Facebook page - keep any eye on these for further details.

Benriach - CaskStrength & Carry On 
Our fellow London whisky bloggers and good friends Neil and Joel of CaskStrength have announced their second single malt release.  Their aim is to work through the alphabet and release series of whiskies with one distillery from each letter.  Roughly this time last year, they released a very limited Arran and now they have moved on to Benriach for the second bottling.

They have selected a single cask which was distilled at Benriach in 1996 and was initially filled to an ex-bourbon hogshead.  In 2008 it was transferred to an ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry cask and it has spent the last four year maturing in that.  There are just 296 bottles and it has been bottled at the natural cask strength of 55.2% ABV.  The bottling is being sold via online retailer Master of Malt for a price of £54.95.  Rumour has it that it is selling fast, so if you fancy a bottle then don't hang around - click here to buy.

Famous Grouse - Record breakers
The popular blended whisky has broken the world record for the largest bottle of whisky.   The 228 litre bottle of The Famous Grouse was filled in front of Guinness World Record adjudicator Jack Brockbank and an assembled crowd of VIPs and fans at The Famous Grouse Experience on 12 August.  The Experience is located at the Glenturret distillery in the Highlands and has been celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

The record beats that previously held by Jack Daniels of 184 litres.  The Famous Grouse record breaking bottle holds a staggering 9,120 pub measures of whisky and took three hours to fill.  The hand blown bottle (pictured, above) was made by Czech glass manufacturer Bomma and stands an impressive 1.75 metres tall.  The bottle will stay at the distillery and be on permanent display to those visiting The Famous Grouse Experience.

New release - Benriach 17 years old Virgin American Oak Finish

The award winning Speyside distillery of Benriach (pronounced ben-ree-ack) has teamed up with The Whisky Shop, the UK's largest whisky retail chain, to release an exclusive bottling.  This 17 years old whisky has been crafted from just four single casks, which were all filled on the 4th May 1995. The four were married together exclusively for the chain.  Each cask was transferred to virgin American oak casks (ie - fresh oak casks which have not previously held whisky) for a short 'finishing' time before this marrying.

In a unique twist, the final whisky was chosen by a selected group of The Whisky Shop's customers in the form of a panel of W Club members (the W Club is The Whisky Shop's own private members club for customers). To join or for details on how to join, visit one of their 21 stores or www.thewclub.co.uk.  It has been at the natural cask strength of 53.1% ABV and is retailing in The Whisky Shop's stores or via www.whiskyshop.com for £73.99.

Benriach is a small independently owned distillery which is located in the Speyside region of Scotland, just to the south of the city of Elgin.  It was founded in 1897 by John Duff & Co, who built it to help with production at the adjacent Longmorn distillery.  They named it (rather unimaginatively) Longmorn 2. The distillery is currently owned by the Benriach Distillery Company, who took control from previous owners Pernod Ricard in 2004.  The distillery had been closed for a few years but the company invested heavily and the Benriach single malt brand has since gone from strength to strength, winning countless awards.  The annual production capacity is approximately 1.8 million litres.

Our tasting notes
The colour is a vibrant golden yellow and the nose is immediately intense and spicy.  There are powerful aromas of vanilla, freshly sawn oak, coconut oil, burnt brown sugar and plenty of wood spices (think of cinnamon bark, nutmeg and cedarwood).  Underneath are softer aromas of honey, stewed apple, toffee, toasted almonds and a whiff of spiced orange.  It is very oaky and has a bourbon-like quality.

On the palate, this whisky is equally as intense as on the nose. The drying wood spices instantly grip the taste buds and hang on - think again of coconut, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Other notes start to penetrate and add some sweetness and balance.  These include a lovely honey-like characteristic, which is joined by further notes of vanilla, crumbly brown sugar and a hint of tangy spiced orange zest.  With time the apple note from the nose can be detected, although now it is more reminiscent of dried apple. The finish is long, intense and drying with plenty of the woody notes and accompanying spices on show. This gives the whisky a mouth watering quality with some creamed coconut, honey and that hint of orange coming through right at the end.

With a few drops of water, the whisky instantly feels creamier, softer and rounder in the mouth.  The intense spices are dampened and the other notes are allowed to flourish, while maintaining their own intensity.  An interesting floral note is also detected - imagine something like honeysuckle.

What's the verdict?
This whisky is very interesting but throws up some challenges. The intensity is clearly driven by the combination of the virgin oak casks and the high alcohol strength.  This will mean that it may not be to everyone's taste.  However with water it becomes more approachable and has greater balance, as some of the subtle aromas and flavours are allowed to shine.  We would recommend adding water and it can take quite a lot, while still maintain its intensity and interest.

We also like the idea of allowing customers/whisky enthusiasts to select a whisky for release - naturally this is potentially fraught with danger or problems for the retailer, but the panel have not made a bad start with this Benriach.  We look forward to the next such release from them ...

Have just tried - Grand Old Parr 12 years old

Grand Old Parr, or simple Old Parr as it is sometimes known, is a popular blended whisky brand which is owned by drinks giant Diageo.  It forms part of their extensive portfolio of blended whiskies, which currently includes around 80 different brands.  The best selling version is this 12 years old, but there are also more limited 15 years old and 18 years old versions.  The range is bottled at 43% ABV and this 12 years old should cost around the £40 mark, if you can find it in the UK.