Inbox - June 22, 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.  Things seem a little quiet this week, but here are a couple of things that caught our eye ...

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Compass Box - They made it!
Last Friday (15 June) saw an extraordinary world record attempt by artisan whisky blenders Compass Box, in conjunction with The Whisky Shop chain.  The attempt involved Compass Box founder John Glaser, along with whisky writer Dominic Roskrow, hosting a whisky tasting in eight of The Whisky Shop's stores in a 24 hour period.

We can report that they achieved their goal, although they are still waiting to hear from The Guinness Book of Records to find out if it will be an official world record.  The trek from one end of the UK to the other started with a tasting at the Inverness store at 00.01 and finished at 23.30 in Brighton.  In the 683 miles in between, the highlights included a breakfast tasting of whisky, haggis and kippers in the Newcastle store and Compass Box cocktails in the London store during the England v Sweden match (interspersed with cheers from the pub opposite).  Well done to John, Dominic and The Whisky Shop team for completing their epic mission!

Glengoyne - 'Ideal' tastings
The single malt brand from the southern Highlands teamed up with Olly Smith, one of the UK's most charismatic wine and spirits experts, at the recent Ideal Home Show Scotland.  Glengoyne and Olly hosted a series of entertaining master classes at the show, with the aim of bringing the whisky brand to a wider audience.  In preparation, Olly was also shown around the Glengoyne distillery by manager Robbie Hughes.

Olly Smith commented, "The Glengoyne range has a vibrant fruity character with delightful purity in every sip, whether it’s light and refreshing or deep and rich. The casks impart complexity and depth as the whiskies gently develop with age. I loved visiting the intimate Glengoyne distillery and it was a great opportunity to share these brilliant drinks with visitors at The Ideal Home Show Scotland too.”

Laphroaig - Cáirdeas 2012 available
The famous Islay distillery have made a limited amount of their annual Cáirdeas whisky (an annual bottling for the Islay Festival) available for purchase to Friends of Laphroaig members.  The Friends of Laphroaig is a members club for fans of the Islay malt - you can sign up for free at www.laphroaig.com.  This year's release celebrates the 18th anniversary of the Friends of Laphroaig.

The 2012 version of Cáirdeas is created from a mix of different styles of Laphroaig - 50% is made up of whisky aged between 13 and 21 years of age, and the other 50% is whisky which has been specially maturing in quarter casks for seven years.  It has been bottled at 51.2% ABV and is available on a first come first served basis for £45 a bottle + postage.  Another cause for celebration for the Friends of Laphroaig is that the membership recently passed the 500,000 mark!