Inbox - May 17, 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.

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 ...

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Ballantine's - Miltonduff's chance to shine
The latest special edition from Ballantine's, one of the world's biggest selling blended whiskies, has been announced.  It is a limited edition of the Ballantine's 17 years old and is the third such release in their Signature Distillery series. The star of the show this time is single malt from the Miltonduff distillery on Speyside.  The two previous editions have featured Glenburgie and Scapa as the 'signature malts'.

The Ballantine's 17 years old features over 40 different single malt and grain whiskies and the aim of this series is to highlight the role of key distilleries in the Pernod Ricard (the brand's owners) portfolio.  Further releases in the series are said to be planned and we will bring you news of these when we have it.  The Ballantine's 17 years old Miltonduff Signature Distilleries Edition is available in limited markets at a cost of £50/$75 USD.

Jura - Prepares for 'long journey' 
The increasingly popular Jura distillery has released a new expression, which is to be exclusive to the travel retail market - the Jura Turas-Mara. The name of the expression translates from Gaelic as 'long journey' and refers to the many islanders who were forced to emigrate great distances during the Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19 centuries.

It is bottled at 42% ABV and each bottle has a compass emblem, which is repeated on the packaging along with a poem (called An Ode To My Homeland) by 19th century Jura resident Jessie Scott.  The Turas-Mara will be available in selected travel retail markets and will cost £40/€50 a bottle.


Laphroaig - Packaging update

The world's biggest selling Islay single malt has announced a 'refresh' of its iconic packaging, which is designed to bring the brand in to 2013 and create consistency across the range.  The famous green bottle remains, as does the white label and black text but the latter two have been subtly redesigned.  All expressions now carry the same label layout and have the same tube.  The new packaging will be rolled out globally shortly, beginning in Laphroaig's key markets of Australia, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the UK and the USA.

Michael Cockram, the Senior Global Marketing Director for Beam Inc. (Laphroaig's owners), says, “Our decision to refresh the brand’s packaging has been taken with a great care, given that the brand’s distinctive look has been so successful for many years. We believe the new look creates a modern evolution for the brand, reinvigorating the original design while educating consumers on the brand’s unique taste experience.”