Review - Fettercairn 12 years old

This whisky is the best-selling core product in the recently revamped range of single malts from the east Highland distillery of Fettercairn. The relaunch occurred in the Summer of 2018 and was accompanied by a full bottle and packaging redesign, along with a refreshing of the brand logo. The four bottlings are designed to show an emphasis on old and rare stock and all carry age statements - these are at 12, 28, 40 and 50 years of age. This 12 years old expression has been fully matured in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels and is bottled at 40% ABV.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (December 20, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (December 13, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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. Of course, today is Black Friday so there are a couple of items related to this.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (December 6, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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. Of course, today is Black Friday so there are a couple of items related to this.

Review - Ardbeg Supernova 2019 Edition

This whisky signals a brief return for one of Ardbeg's most popular recent limited editions - the Ardbeg Supernova. The expression, which is the peatiest released by the brand and has even been sent in to space as part of an experiment, was first released in 2009 and this new whisky is bottled to commemorate that 10th anniversary. As with the previous incarnations this has been created by Dr. Bill Lumsden - the Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky Stocks at Ardbeg and its sister distillery of Glenmorangie in the Highlands.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (Nov 29, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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. Of course, today is Black Friday so there are a couple of items related to this.

Review - A Fine Christmas Malt 2019 Edition

A Fine Christmas Malt is the annual festive limited edition bottling from leading specialist spirits retailer The Whisky Exchange. The 2019 Edition is a 10 years old single malt that was distilled at the Speyside distillery of Linkwood on the outskirts of Elgin. The whisky has been matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and there are just 2,696 bottles of this year's release. These have been released at 54.2% ABV and the whisky is non chill-filtered and of natural colour. A Fine Christmas Malt 2019 Edition is exclusively available now from The Whisky Exchange. A bottle will cost £56.95.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (November 22, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - The Three Drinkers Cask Selection No.1

Introduction by Matt Chambers. Tasting notes & thoughts by Tobias Gorn.

The members of the Amazon Prime TV series The Three Drinkers have teamed up with retailer Master of Malt to release their first whisky - The Three Drinkers Scotch Whisky Cask Selection No.1. The whisky is a 17 years old blended malt inspired by different distillery locations within the first series of the show and is bottled at 45% ABV. It is non chill-filtered and of natural colour with only 300 bottles, which have been individually numbered and also signed by The Three Drinkers. The Cask Selection No.1 will be sold via Master of Malt and is available now. A bottle will cost £40.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (November 15, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Filey Bay

Filey Bay is the first single malt to be put on general release from the Spirit of Yorkshire distillery. The English distillery, which has only been in production since 2016, has already released a series of six preview bottlings under the Maturing Malts Distillery Projects label. Filey Bay is the first ever single malt whisky to be released from Yorkshire and is named after the nearby beach and holiday resort.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (November 8, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Tullamore DEW XO Caribbean Rum Cask Finish

Introduction by Matt Chambers. Tasting notes & thoughts by Tobias Gorn.

The Irish whiskey brand of Tullamore DEW has launched a new expression of its popular blend - the Tullamore DEW XO Caribbean Rum Cask Finish. The new variant takes the regular Tullamore DEW blend, which is triple distilled and uses three styles of Irish whiskey (grain, malt and pot still), and gives it a finishing period in first-fill ex-demerara rum casks sourced from the Caribbean. The release is said to pay homage to the Irish immigrants that arrived in the Caribbean during the 17th century and helped the early development of rum distillation in the region.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (November 1, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Benromach 50 years old

This whisky is the oldest ever single malt release from the small Speyside distillery of Benromach. The Benromach 50 years old is taken from a rare single re-fill ex-Oloroso sherry hogshead cask (Cask #2003). This was distilled and filled in 1969, and has been maturing in a dunnage warehouse at Benromach ever since. The antique cask was hand selected by Keith Cruikshank, who has been the Distillery Manager since 2000, and it has yielded just 125 bottles. These will be available in selected specialist whisky retailers and other high-end stores worldwide.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (October 25, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (October 18, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Whiskymaker's Reserve No.1

This whisky is the first every single malt to be given a wider release by the Lakes distillery. The Whiskymaker's Reserve No.1 is the first part of a planned wider range of whiskies from the English distillery and they will appear as and when stocks mature. It follows the distillery's 'sherry led style' and has been matured in three types of oak cask - made from American, French and Spanish oak - and these have previously held Pedro Ximinez sherry and red wine. These have then been married together by Dhavall Gandhi, the whiskymaker at the Lakes, who describes it as "an artistic exploration of oak and blending; of flavour evolution and the definition of a house style".

Review - Diageo Special Releases 2019

It is that time of the year again - Diageo, Scotland's largest whisky producer, has unleashed the 2019 edition of its Special Releases programme. The annual bottlings are designed to highlight rare or old whiskies from within Diageo's extensive portfolio of maturing stocks and are eagerly anticipated each year since the programme was first started with just three expressions in 2001.

This year is one of the smaller recent collections and sees just eight bottlings with a theme of 'Rare By Nature' running through them. As with all previous years the whiskies are all bottled at their natural cask strength. This year's whiskies have been selected by Dr. Craig Wilson, one of the Master Blenders at Diageo.

Review - Midleton Very Rare 2019 Edition

This whiskey is the latest in the long line of super premium releases by the Irish brand of Midleton. The Very Rare 2019 Edition is the 36th whiskey released in the annual range and features single pot still and single grain whiskeys that range in age from 13 to 34 years. For this year's release they have all have been matured exclusively in lightly charred American oak ex-bourbon casks and then married together by Brian Nation, the Master Distiller for Midleton, who picks them from a small pocket of rare stock that is maturing only for the Very Rare expression.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (October 11, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Cù Bòcan Signature Malt, Creation #1 & Creation #2

Cù Bòcan is the peated single malt brand from the Highland distillery of Tomatin distillery. The name comes from a local legend in which the Cù Bòcan, a ghostly canine-like creature, appears and causes havoc once every generation before mysteriously disappearing in a puff of blue smoke.

It has been on the market since 2013, but a major relaunch was recently announced. The relaunch involves new bottle designs and packaging, designed by Thirst Craft to 'show the qualities of the contemporary spirit', along with two new core range products. Cù Bòcan is produced using lightly peated Scottish barley for a short period during the winter months each year at Tomatin.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (October 4, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Glen Moray 21 years old Portwood Finish

The Glen Moray 21 years old Portwood Finish is the new premium addition to the Speyside distillery's Elgin Heritage Collection. It joins the 12, 15 and 18 year olds in the range. The whisky is one of the final creations of Graham Coull, the Distillery Manager at Glen Moray, before he moves on to pastures new. This has seen the liquid matured in ex-bourbon casks before a final period in ex-Port pipes from Portugal.

Review - Method & Madness 'Wild Cherry Wood Finish' and 'Acacia Wood Finish'

These two new whiskeys are the latest additions to Irish Distillers' experimental Method & Madness range of whiskeys. Both continue the brand's tradition of using unorthadox casks for maturation. Both are single pot still whiskeys with one being finished in casks made from cherry wood and the other in casks made from acacia wood. Both are also bottled at 46% ABV.

The Method & Madness range was launched in 2017 carrying the tag line of 'when knowledge and discovery collide'. The range is designed to push the boundaries of Irish whiskey and showcase some of the most innovative work that the blenders, coopers and distillers are producing. It also aims to combine the creativity of the whiskey makers and enthusiasm and fresh ideas of their apprentices. Many of the experiments are taking place at the Midleton Micro Distillery in Co. Cork.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (September 27, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Lagavulin 10 years old

The Islay distillery of Lagavulin has announced a new permanent addition to its travel retail single malt range - the Lagavulin 10 years old. The new whisky has been created by Dr. Craig Wilson, Diageo's Master of Malts, and he has used a combination of ex-bourbon, re-fill and newly charred rejuvenated casks. Lagavulin 10 years old is bottled at 43% ABV and will be available exclusively through Dufry stores, a travel retailer that are in over 60 countries. A bottle has a recommmended retail price of £50/ $60 US/ €54.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (September 20, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19 years old

This is the first permanent age statement single malt from Ardbeg since the 10 years old first appeared almost 20 years ago. Traigh Bhan (pronounced tri-van) is the name of a famous beach on the Hebridean island, known locally as The Singing Sands. Here the wind and sand combine to create a strange and haunting soundscape. The new whisky will be produced in annual batches and has been created by Dr. Bill Lumsden - the Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky Stocks at Ardbeg using a combination of American oak casks and ex-Oloroso sherry butts.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (September 13, 2019) Part 2

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (September 13, 2019) Part 1

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - The Singleton of Glendullan 12 years old

This whisky forms part of a wider range of whiskies that come under The Singleton umbrella. The brand, which first appeared on the market in 2006, is actually a collection of three different distilleries - Dufftown and Glendullan in Speyside and Glen Ord in the Highlands. Between them they have contributed to The Singleton becoming the 4th biggest selling single malt in the world*. The concept includes each distillery only being available in selected markets to cater for regional tastes. The Glendullan expressions are primarily sold in north America, while Dufftown is primarily available in Europe and Glen Ord in Asia.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (August 30, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (August 23, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - The Glenlivet Distiller's Reserve

The Glenlivet Distiller's Reserve is part of the new Triple Cask range of single malts, which are exclusive to the travel retail sector. It is a rebranding of the previous Master Distiller's Reserve release. The other two whiskies in the range are the White Oak Reserve (which replaces the Solera Vatted) and the Rare Cask (which is a re-naming of the Small Batch). As the name suggests, three casks have been used for maturation for each bottling. In the case of the Distiller's Reserve these are first-fill American white oak, European oak and ex-sherry casks used in combination.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (August 16, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Jameson Triple Triple

The Jameson Triple Triple is a new expression that will be exclusive to the travel retail sector. The name of the new whiskey refers to the fact that every drop of Jameson spirit is triple distilled and that this release features three different cask types for maturation - ex-bourbon, ex-sherry and ex-Malaga fortified wine casks - which have then been married together by Billy Leighton, the Master Blender of Jameson. Triple Triple is bottled at 40% ABV and will be available in airports globally. A one litre bottle will cost €32/ £29/ $36 US.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (August 9, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Oban Old Teddy

The Old Teddy is the latest exclusive limited edition single malt from the Highland distillery of Oban and will only be available in the distillery visitor centre. The new whisky has been created to pay homage to the Macleans, a family that have given three generations of service to the distillery. This started with 'Old Teddy' in 1953, who worked his way up to become Master Distiller. He was followed by his son 'Young Teddy' in 1985. Young Teddy's son Derek then joined the distillery team in 2017 and continues to work at Oban today.

Review - Crabbie's Yardhead

Crabbie's Yardhead is a new single malt from whisky bottler and distiller John Crabbie & Co. It has been designed to attract new spirit drinkers through mixing and making whisky cocktails. The Yardhead, named after the area in Leith where Crabbie's original maturation warehouses were during the 1820s, is a young Scotch single malt aimed to take on and fit in to the ever expanding blended malt and 'no age statement' whisky category. The distillery of origin is un-named but from the Highlands.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (August 2, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (July 26, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Mackmyra Äppelblom

The Mackmyra Äppelblom is a recent limited edition single malt from Sweden's leading whisky distillery. The name Äppelblom is Swedish for 'apple blossom' and this is a reference to the rare casks used during the final part of maturation. These have previously held Calvados, the famous French apple spirit, from one of France's most renowned producers - Cristian Drouin. Prior to this the whisky had been maturing in American oak ex-bourbon casks. Äppelblom has been created by Angela D'Orazio, the Master Blender at Mackmyra.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (July 12, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (July 5, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Scarabus

The Scarabus is a new Islay single malt that has been recently released by the family owned independent bottling company and distiller of Hunter Laing & Co. The new whisky, which is an old Nordic word for 'rocky place', was initially previewed at the company's Ardnahoe distillery on Islay during the Feis Ile 2019 in May. The whisky, which comes from an un-named Islay distillery, is bottled at 46% ABV. Scarabus is available to buy and sample at the Ardnahoe visitor centre shop and selected specialist whisky retailers worldwide. A bottle will cost around £33.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (June 28, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (June 21, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.

Review - Glenglassaugh Octave Cask #SC36

by Billy Abbott of Spirited Matters and The Whisky Exchange blog.

Glenglassaugh is a Highland distillery which has, over the past decade, occasionally offered casks for sale. This bottling is one of those, selected by Matt and Karen, purveyors of this very blog. They very kindly forced me to take/gave me a sample and asked if I would like to write about it. I, of course, accepted.

While it was founded in 1875, the distilling history of Glenglassaugh is surprisingly short. In 1907, after just 32 years of operation, it was at first mothballed, and then operated intermittently for another 53 years. In 1960, it was completely rebuilt at its clifftop location overlooking the North Sea, and ran happily until 1986.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (June 14, 2019)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. 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.