Inbox - October 11, 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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First up we would like to mention the latest edition (#9) of the The Cocktail Lovers magazine, which has been released this week.  This is an excellent magazine about cocktails, cocktail culture, bars and the spirits industry, which is put together by Mr. G and Mrs. S (AKA The Cocktail Lovers).  For this new edition we were delighted to be asked by them to write a 'Beginners Guide To Whisky' - this was particularly exciting as it was our first proper magazine article.

We would like to thank them for asking us and invite you to order your free copy via their website - www.thecocktaillovers.com.  If you are in London (or various other locations around the UK, plus New York and Paris) you can pick up a copy from numerous locations.  A list of locations is also on the website.  Now on to the other news ...

Arran - Celebrate the Millenium
The award-winning Isle of Arran distillery have announced a special bottling that will help a local charity to raise funds.  The Millenium Cask Edition is a single malt made up of 45 casks (35x ex-bourbon and 10x ex-sherry) which were all distilled on December 31 1999 to celebrate the new millenium.  These have been hand selected by Master Distiller James MacTaggart and there are just 7,800 bottles as a result.

The whisky is bottled at the natural cask strength of 53.5% ABV and will retail at £64.99. A donation from each sale will go to The Arran Trust, a conservation charity that looks after and maintains local landscapes on the island of Arran. The Millenium Cask Edition will be available worldwide through specialist retailers and www.arranwhisky.com from the end of October.

Euan Mitchell, the Managing Director of the Isle of Arran Distillers, says: “We want to help maintain the island for future generations and this new whisky release will help us to raise money for charity. We always work closely with the Arran Trust as we have a shared interest and passion for looking after our beautiful corner of Scotland.” 

Chivas Regal - Tailored to perfection
The popular blended Scotch brand of Chivas Regal has announced a partnership with the Savile Row Association.  Savile Row in London is world renowned for its tailoring.  The Made For Gentleman collaboration has seen bespoke tailor Patrick Grant design a special limited edition tin for the Chivas Regal 12 years old.  This follows on from last year's highly successful tin, which was designed by shoemaker Tim Little.

Grant of Norton & Sons has designed the tin to showcase four silhouettes, each featuring a different style accessory associated with modern gentlemen - a tie, a cufflink, a watch and a pocket square. The collaboration will be ongoing and is supported with a website, www.chivas.com/gents, and social media activity. The Made For Gentleman by Patrick Grant will be available in 60 different markets worldwide, plus through the travel retail sector.  Grant explains about the design in the short video below ...

Macallan - Dial 'M' for ...
The Speyside distillery of Macallan have announced a limited edition premium single malt.  The Macallan M is made from some of the rarest stock held in Macallan's portfolio. It is presented in a six-sided decanter designed by Fabien Baron, the leading creative director for some of the world's biggest luxury brands.  The decanter has been produced by Lalique, the world famous crystal glassware producer. The whisky is bottled at the natural strength of 44.7% ABV and will retail for £3,000 each.  There are just 1,750 bottles.

David Cox, the Director of Fine and Rare for Macallan, comments: “The coming together of three such masters has resulted in a truly beautiful creation. It showcases the vital influence of The Macallan’s exceptional sherry seasoned oak casks and the craft of the Whisky Maker. The natural colour of M is stunning. A single malt of the most exquisite complexity and character, M will set a new standard in the world of decanters to become the iconic representation of The Macallan.”