New release - Glenmorangie Ealanta

The Ealanta is the fourth bottling in Glenmorangie's annual Private Edition range.  The name means 'skilled and ingenious' in Gaelic and the whisky follows the innovative track of the previous three releases in the series - the Sonnalta from 2010, Finealta from 2011 & Artein from 2012.  The Ealanta is 19 years of age and matured virgin American oak casks selected from the forests of the Ozark Mountains in Missouri, which were filled in 1993.  It has been bottled at 46% ABV and is available in specialist whisky retailers in the UK now for a recommended price of £75.

Inbox - January 25, 2013

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, 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 received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company

That Boutique-y Whisky Company is a new(ish) independent bottling venture from the innovative online retailer Master of Malt. The first batch of four whiskies were released back in September 2012, with two further batches following since. The concept behind the bottlings is to release a set of bespoke whiskies without age statements and the restrictions of being a single cask. Each whisky is constructed from a selection of casks and then bottled at whatever the natural cask strength is. The 50cl bottles also feature a series of eye-catching cult comic book style labels which feature people from around the whisky world or stories connected to the featured distillery.

The Canadian Whisky Awards 2012

The third annual Canadian Whisky Awards have just taken place in Victoria, British Columbia as part of the Victoria Whisky Festival. The gala dinner was held to celebrate some of the best and most innovative whiskies produced in Canada during 2012 and the contribution of pioneers from within the industry. The whisky producers were asked to submit their best whiskies and each was sampled and scored in a blind tasting by a panel of judges.

Inbox - January 18, 2013

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, 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 received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

New release - Glenglassaugh Evolution

The Glenglassaugh Evolution - Ex Tennessee Cask is the first bottling in a new series of single malts which will celebrate the variety of oak cask styles used to mature whisky.  In this case it has been matured in a first fill barrel from the American distillery of George Dickel in Tennessee.  It has been bottled at the natural cask strength of 57.2% ABV and costs £49 a bottle.  The exact number of bottles is not revealed is rumoured to be approximately 6,000. You can only buy it from selected specialist whisky retailers for around the £50 mark.

Distillery Visit - Yamazaki

When it was suggested ages ago that my girlfriend Harriet and I might go on holiday to Japan for a couple of weeks it didn’t take me long (instantaneously in fact) to start thinking about what distilleries we could visit while we were over there. Luckily Harry is quite understanding in these matters so when we flew off to Japan in September, I’d managed to arrange for us to pay a visit to Suntory’s Yamazaki distillery and have a little look around.

Our Top 10 whisky blogs (2013 update)

The number of whisky blogs on the internet has risen massively over the last couple of years and each contributes to a lively and vibrant whisky community online. Some say that there are too many, but the beauty of the online whisky community is that there is enough room for everyone's voice and opinions. The fact that each blog is written by different people, with different writing styles and with differing opinions is what makes it so interesting.

New Release - Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 1

Skirting the border of the region designated as “Speyside” by the Scotch Whisky Association. Glendronach lies within the rolling arable land of the Aberdeensire countryside between Huntly and Aberdeen. Long held in high esteem as an excellent malt but only really attracting a cult following due to its scarcity, Glendronach is finally attracting a lot of interest since its present owners took over from Pernod Ricard in 2008.

Inbox - January 11, 2013

Welcome to the first Inbox of 2013.  We hope that you all had a good and enjoyable festive period.  This year promises to be a big one for the whisky industry as the popularity of the spirit continues to grow.  We recently wrote about our highlights of the last whisky year and plans for the new year - if you missed this, then click here.

For those that have discovered our blog up to and over the festive period, 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.

New release - Johnnie Walker 'The Spice Road'

Just before Christmas we announced that the world's largest whisky brand had released the first in a new series, which will be exclusive to travel retail - Johnnie Walker The Spice Road.  The series is called The Explorers' Club Collection in reference to John Walker's pioneering travel around the world to establish markets for his whiskies back in the 1800s.  The Spice Road is the first in a sub-series named the Trade Route Series - the whiskies are inspired by the cultural richness that can be found on three of the world's great trade routes.

Our Top 10 whiskies of 2012

2012 has been a productive year for new whisky releases.  Many companies are developing and releasing more products to meet or drive consumer demand, as the category continues to grow in both sales and consumption across the globe.  We have reviewed over 100 whiskies this year, with many being new releases.  It is impossible to sample every new release, but we have been lucky to try some of them through this blog.

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013

So we have now waved goodbye to 2012 and welcomed in 2013.  Many drams of whisky will have undoubtedly have been consumed last night, so we hope that the hangovers are not too bad.  The new year is always a time for reflection on the previous year and a time for hope for what the new one may bring.  We are no different at Whisky For Everyone, so here we go with our thoughts ...