Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (July 31, 2020)

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. 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 from this week ...

Review - The Legend of Fiona Macleod 33 years old

The Legend of Fiona Macleod is a single malt that sits at the top of the Character of Islay whisky range that has been created by Atom Brands. It is joined in the range by the Green Isle blend and two further single malts - the Aerolite Lyndsay 10 years old and Grace Île 25 years old. All the whiskies are designed to explore the brand's play on the romanticism of the island of Islay. Each 'character' in the range is designed to show historical references to Islay's whisky history and the quirks associated with the Hebridean island.

Review - The Glen Moray Distillery Editions 2020

These three new whiskies have been released to help fans and collectors who cannot visit the Glen Moray distillery in Elgin this year due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. The trio of Distillery Edition single cask single malts, which would usually have been visitor centre exclusives, have all been matured in ex-wine casks - Burgundy, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc - and selected by Dr. Kirstie McCallum, the Head of Whisky Creation at Glen Moray. They are all released at their natural cask strengths and are non chill-filtered and of natural colour. All were distilled in either 2003 or 2004.

Allotment Drams - Jura 18 years old & Mortlach 20 years old

Watch the two latest episodes in our Allotment Dram whisky review series, both of which are older single malts. Firstly Matt talks about the red wine cask influenced Jura 18 years old. Then he tackles 'The Beast of Dufftown' in the form of the Mortlach 20 years old. Watch to find out some distillery info, his thoughts and tasting notes on both whiskies. We hope you enjoy.

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Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (July 24, 2020)

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. 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 from this week ...

Our Top 10 Whisky Books

There are literally hundreds, possibly even thousands, of books on the subject of whisky out there. These cover all facets of the industry from how the spirit is made and the history of distilleries to 'must try' bottles and how to use whisky in cocktails. Some are written by well-known whisky or spirits writers, others by bartenders or those interested in the subject. There really is a whisky book for everyone.

Any Top 10 selection is subjective of course and everyone will pick a different line-up as their choice. It is the same for any Top 10 for any subject. Therefore you may not agree with our choices or have some in your own personal line-up and some not. We would love to hear what your favourite books are, so please feel free to comment against this post or on the YouTube video.

Allotment Drams - Highland Park 12 years old & Glendronach 18 years old

We have the two latest episodes from our Allotment Dram series of whisky reviews and chat for you. In both videos Matt has chosen a whisky that have influenced us in our whisky journey. Firstly, he talks about and gives his tasting notes on the classic Highland Park 12 years old from the Orkney islands - one of the whiskies that got us interested in whisky.

Then he takes a look at the Glendronach 18 years old, a cult classic amongst whisky drinkers in the 'sherry bomb/sherry monster' genre of single malts. Watch as he gives background about the iconic bottling and gives his thoughts and tasting notes.

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Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (July 17, 2020)

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. 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.

Allotment Drams - Label 5 Gold Heritage & Jameson Triple Triple

We have two more episodes from our Allotment Dram series to share. Watch the latest videos as Matt firstly talks about the Label 5 Gold Heritage, a blended Scotch whisky produced by La Martiniquaise, followed by the Jameson Triple Triple, a travel retail exclsuive whiskey from the famous Irish brand.

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Review - Grace Île 25 years old

The Grace Île is a recent addition to the range of single malts in the The Character of Islay series from Atom Brands.  The range also includes the Aerolite Lyndsay 10 years old and The Legend of Fiona Macleod 33 years old, plus the blended Green Isle. Each 'character' in the range is designed to show historical references to Islay's whisky history and the quirks associated with the Hebridean island.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (July 10, 2020)

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. 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.

Review - Aerolite Lyndsay 10 years old

The Aerolite Lyndsay is an award-winning single malt that is sourced and bottled by The Character of Islay Whisky Company. It is bottled at 10 years of age and is from an un-named distillery on the famous Scottish whisky island of Islay. The whisky has been created from a marriage of cask types - this is said to be 70% ex-bourbon barrels, 25% Spanish oak ex-sherry quarter casks and 5% 'mystery casks'. No clues given as to what the mystery aspect may be. Also, the name is an anagram of 'ten year old Islay' in case you are wondering. The Aerolite Lyndsay 10 years old is bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill-filtered and of natural colour. It is available from selected specialist whisky retailers and costs around the £45 mark.

Allotment Drams - Ardbeg Twenty Something 22 years old & Timorous Beastie 18 years old

Watch as we present two more episodes from our Allotment Dram series of whisky chat and reviews. Join Matt as he talks about two exciting and award-winning whiskies, whilst also showing off some of the produce that he has harvested from the allotment. First, he samples the Ardbeg Twenty Something 22 years old before giving his thoughts and tasting notes on this rare Islay single malt.

Then on his next visit he takes on the Timorous Beastie 18 years old, a limited edition blended malt from Douglas Laing's Remarkable Regional Malts range, that features single malts from the Highland distilleries of Blair Athol, Glen Garioch and Glengoyne amongst others. We hope you enjoy both videos.

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Review - The Lakes WhiskyMaker's Reserve No.3

This new whisky is the third bottling from the English distillery of The Lakes in the WhiskyMaker's series of single malts. The Lakes WhiskyMaker's Reserve No.3 is a limited edition of 9,700 bottles and has been created by Dhavall Ghandi, the Master Blender for The Lakes. It has been matured in an intriguing combination of ex-sherry casks including ex-Cream, ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry, plus ex-red wine casks. Ex-Cream sherry casks are particularly unusual in whisky maturation and are rarely used. It continues the distillery's experimental 'exploration of oak' ethos. The WhiskyMaker's Reserve No.3 has been bottled at the natural cask strength of 54% ABV and is non chill-filtered and of natural colour.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (July 3, 2020)

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. 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.

Explain About ... How To Taste Whisky

This is one of our most commonly asked questions - how do I taste whisky properly? The art of tasting whisky can seem confusing but is much simpler than you think. You can read reviews and tasting notes than refer to a whisky having the flavour of this or that, but how do you learn to pick up these characteristics?

The simple answer is to build up experiences by tasting different whiskies and taking a ‘taste snapshot’ of the aromas and flavours. The more that you do this then the better and more precise your whisky tasting will become.

Another key is that with whisky the true character comes through after some time, unlike the majority of other spirits. Therefore, it is important not to drink it too quickly and to remember that taste is a personal thing and that there are no right or wrong answers. Here are a few tips and things to consider so as to get the most of a whisky.

Review - John Crabbie 1994 Single Cask / 25 years old

This whisky is a new single cask single malt from independent bottler John Crabbie & Co. The whisky has been sourced from the Tobermory distillery on the Scottish island of Mull and was distilled and filled to an ex-sherry hogshead cask in 1994. This was a period that saw relatively intermittent production following its aquisition by Burn Stewart Distillers the previous year. After 25 years the cask has yielded just 247 bottles, which are exclusive to the UK.