Inbox - August 23, 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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Lagavulin - Jazz Festival comes to London
A couple of weeks ago, we reported on the news that Lagavulin were to sponsor the Islay Jazz Festival for a fourth successive year - click here to read about that.  The festival is to be held over three days in mid-September but an event has been announced that kick things off for those who cannot make the trip to the famous whisky island.

Lagavulin has teamed up with The Whisky Exchange, radio station Jazz FM and the legendary Jazz Cafe in Camden to organise an event which will bring a bit of the Islay Jazz Festival to London.  The headline act are the Colin Scott Quintet and ticket prices include a Lagavulin based aperitif and cocktails and drams of the classic 16 years old.  To buy tickets and for the chance to win a pair to the event, please visit The Whisky Exchange's special Islay Jazz Festival page on their website.

Midleton Rare - New batch announced
Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, the owners of the Midleton distillery in southern Ireland, have announced the release of the 2013 batch of their prestigious Midleton Very Rare blend.  The blend is made up of hand selected single pot still and grain whiskies from Midleton that have been matured in lightly charred ex-bourbon American oak casks.

The Very Rare was first created by Barry Crockett, the former Master Distiller of Midleton, in 1984 and he has hand selected and created each batch ever since.  This year will be the last to carry his signature on the label as he has recently retired after 47 years of working at the distillery.  The blend has now built up an award-winning reputation for being one of the best premium Irish whiskeys on the market.

Barry Crockett says: “Due to the hand crafted nature of Midleton Very Rare, there are slight variances in taste from year to year. The 2013 edition is characterised by a complex yet elegant taste of soft ripe fruits, leading to a generous single pot still spice and a long, balanced finish. The depth and complexity means it appeals to both collectors and connoisseurs, with the nuances of each annual release making them a must-try spirit for all whiskey drinkers.”

Southern Comfort - Kicks on with ad campaign
The whiskey based liqueur brand has released the latest advert in its Whatever's Comfortable campaign.  The new advert, entitled Karate, follows on from the Shampoo advert which we reported on a few months ago. It follows the same character as in Shampoo and shows him 'being who he is', which is the idea behind the whole campaign.  This is quite apt as the actor is actually highly skilled in karate.  The ad has again been directed by Tim Godsall and will air in the USA for the first time at the start of September.  Here is a sneak preview ...