Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (October 30, 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 - Glenglassaugh Coastal Casks #559 & #1346

These two whiskies form part of a larger set of 10 single casks from Glenglassaugh under the new Coastal Cask banner. All are either 10 or 11 years of age and have been distilled since the distillery re-opened after a 22 year period of closure in 2008. Each cask in the collection was hand selected from maturing stocks by Dr. Rachel Barrie, the Master Blender for Glenglassaugh. 

The Glenglassaugh Coastal Casks collection are all bottled at their natural cask strengths - these range from 51.1% - 57.9% ABV - and are non chill filtered and of natural colour. Prices are £89 for the 10 year olds and £99 for the 11 year olds. Each coastal cask will be made available in different markets worldwide with pricing and availability varying with each location. Details of each cask are listed below. 

 

Review - John Walker & Sons Bicentennial Blend

The Bicentennial Blend is one of three special bottlings by Johnnie Walker, the world's best selling Scotch whisky, that have been created to celebrate its 200th anniversary. The other two new whiskies are the Celebratory Blend and the Blue Label Legendary Eight. There is also a special commemorative pack for the regular Blue Label bottling. The three new whiskies are all limited editions and have been created by Jim Beveridge OBE, the Master Blender for Johnnie Walker, and his team at Diageo. John Walker opened his grocery shop in King Street, Kilmarnock in 1820 and began blending his own whiskies in the cellar.

Review - The Wine Society Reserve Cask Selection 1989 Vintage

This whisky is the first release by The Wine Society in their new Reserve Cask Selection of single malts. It has been created from just nine casks (7x hogshead and 2x butt), all of which had previously held sherry for The Wine Society in the 1980s. Once emptied these were sent to Scotland to be filled with single malt at an un-named Highland distillery in 1989. They have been maturing every since until bottling earlier this year at 30 years of age. The casks had previously held Amontillado and Palo Cortado sherries prior to the whisky. The whisky is bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill-filtered and of natural colour. The exact number of bottles was not revealed in the press release but each one cost £95. All bottles have now sold out.

Allotment Drams - Weller 12 years old & Dalaruan by The Lost Distillery Co.

 

We have two more episodes of our Allotment Drams, the series where we talk about different whiskies in the surroundings of our north London allotment, for you. Firstly watch as Matt opens and tastes the Weller 12 years old wheated bourbon, which is made at the Buffalo Trace distillery on Kentucky, for the first time ever. Learn about what a wheated bourbon is and then hear his thoughts and tasting notes.

Then on his next visit he takes a look at the Dalaruan, part of a series of blended malts from The Lost Distillery Co. that give modern interpretations to long closed distilleries. Dalaruan was located in Campbeltown and closed in 1925. Watch as Matt talks about the creative project and then gives his thoughts and tasting notes.

To keep up-to-date with our videos or to subscribe to our YouTube channel - please click here.

#AllotmentDram

 

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (October 23, 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 - Johnnie Walker Blue Label Legendary Eight

The Blue Label Legendary Eight is one of three special bottlings by Johnnie Walker, the world's best selling Scotch whisky, for its 200th anniversary. The other two new whiskies are the Celebratory Blend and the Bicentennial Blend, both released under the John Walker & Sons name. There is also a special commemorative pack for the regular Blue Label bottling. The three new whiskies are all limited editions and have been created by Jim Beveridge OBE, the Master Blender for Johnnie Walker, and his team at Diageo. John Walker opened his grocery shop in King Street, Kilmarnock in 1820 and began blending his own whiskies in the cellar.

Review - Ardnamurchan AD/09.20:01

This AD/09.20:01 is the first ever single malt to be released from the west Highland distillery of Ardnamurchan. It follows limited releases of new make and part-aged spirits under the AD label. The whisky is a marriage of unpeated and peated styles, with the ratio being 50:50. The peated spirit is produced with a phenol level of 30-35ppm. Both styles have been matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks for this release. The distillery has been built to be self sustainable due to its remote location, and is one of the greenest and most eco-friendly in Scotland. The name of the whisky refers to AD (Ardnamurchan Distillery), 09.20 (September 2020), 01 (Batch No.1).

Review - Benriach The Twenty One

This whisky forms part of the newly revamped core range of single malts from the Speyside distillery of Benriach, which is designed to showcase Benriach's eclectic range of casks from around the world (these come from 20 different origins) and the three different spirit styles that are produced there - classic Speyside, peated Speyside (produced for only 5-6 weeks each year) and triple distilled (produced for just 1-2 weeks each year). The range has been entirely created by Dr. Rachel Barrie, the Master Blender for Benriach. The Twenty One combines both classic and peated malts together and features four cask types - ex-bourbon, ex-red wine, ex-sherry and virgin oak.

Allotment Drams - John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend and Midleton Very Rare 2020 Edition

 

We have two more episodes from our ongoing Allotment Dram series for you and both feature brand new whiskies that have just been released. Firstly, Matt looks at the John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend. This forms part of a commemorative set of whiskies that have been created for the Johnnie Walker 200th anniversary by Dr. Jim Beveridge OBE and his team of blenders at Diageo. Watch to find out about the special blend and Matt's thoughts and tasting notes.

 

Then on his next visit, Matt showcases the latest bottling in the legendary Midleton Very Rare series. This series of whiskeys has been described in the past as 'the pinnacle of Irish whiskey' and this one is the last created by the now-departed Master Distiller Brian Nation. Watch as Matt talks about what makes each release special, plus gives his thoughts and tasting notes. We hope that you enjoy both videos.

To keep up-to-date with our video content or to subscribe to our YouTube channel - please click here.

 

#AllotmentDram

 

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (October 16, 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 - Midleton Very Rare 2020 Edition

This whiskey is the latest in the long line of releases by the Irish brand of Midleton. The Very Rare 2020 Edition is the 37th edition with the whiskey released annually since 1984. It is also the final one to be created by former Master Distiller Brian Nation.  This year's edition features single pot still and single grain whiskeys that range in age from 13 to 35 years and all have been matured exclusively in lightly charred American oak ex-bourbon casks. These were then married together by Nation who picked them from a small pocket of rare stock that is being matured only for use as Very Rare. The 2020 Edition sees a higher pot still whiskey content than many previous years and an increased use of re-fill casks.

Allotment Drams - Dalmore 12 years old Sherry Cask Select & Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake

 

We have two more episodes of our Allotment Dram series for you and both feature new whiskies from distilleries in the north Highlands. Firstly, Matt talks about the Dalmore distillery in Alness and their recently released 12 years old Sherry Cask Select that includes part maturation in ex-sherry casks specially constructed and seasoned for Dalmore.

 

Then on a gloomy Sunday afternoon he discusses the new A Tale of Cake from Glenmorangie, the famous distillery located in the town of Tain. Find out what is behind the strange name of the new single malt, which features a finishing period in ex-Tokaji dessert wine casks from Hungary. Watch to find out his thoughts and tasting notes on both whiskies.

 

To subscribe to our YOuTube channel, keep up to date with videos or watch other episodes of the Allotment Dram - click here.

#AllotmentDram

 

Review - John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend

 

The Celebratory Blend is one of three special bottlings released by Johnnie Walker, the world's best selling Scotch whisky, for its 200th anniversary. The other two new whiskies are the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Legendary Eight and the John Walker & Sons Bicentennial Blend. The brand is also commemorating this year's significant date with a specially designed pack for the regular Blue Label bottling.  The three new whiskies are all limited editions and have been created by Jim Beveridge OBE, the Master Blender for Johnnie Walker, and his team of blenders at Diageo. John Walker opened his grocery shop in King Street, Kilmarnock in 1820 and began blending his own whiskies in the cellar.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (October 9. 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 - AnCnoc Peatheart Batch 2

This whisky is a new release from the east Highland distillery of Knockdhu. The AnCnoc Peatheart Batch 2 is a limited edition and forms part of the brand's ever increasing range of smoky whiskies. These are made for a short period each year, a process which started 15 years ago, and use Highland peat cut locally during the malting process. It follows on from the inaugural batch of Peatheart from 2017, which was exclusive to Sweden, and has a phenol measurement of 40ppm (phenol parts per million). The Peatheart Batch 2 has been matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels. There are just over 10,000 bottles available.

Review - Dalmore Sherry Cask Select 12 years old

 

This single malt is the latest addition to the Principal Collection from the north Highland distillery of Dalmore. The Dalmore Sherry Cask Select is described as 'an elegant evolution of the distillery's legendary house style' and features casks seasoned with a bespoke sherry blend created especially for Dalmore in Jerez, Spain. This includes both Oloroso (three different types actually) and Pedro Ximenez sherries. The Sherry Cask Select began its maturation in American white oak ex-bourbon casks before a three year finishing period in these special ex-sherry casks. It is bottled at 12 years of age and 43% ABV.

Review - Jura Winter Edition

The Winter Edition is a new single malt that is the second release in the Cask Editions Series from Jura. The series highlights the role of different casks on a whisky during maturation and this bottling follows on from the Red Wine Cask release from earlier in the year. The Winter Edition has been matured in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in Spanish ex-sherry casks. It has been created by Gregg Glass and the team of whisky makers at parent company Whyte & Mackay. The Jura Winter Edition is bottled at 40% ABV and will be available in the UK, exclusively at supermarket Tesco to begin with. A one litre bottle will cost £44. 

Allotment Drams - Speyburn Bradan Orach & Glendronach 15 years old Revival

 

We have a couple more episodes of our Allotment Dram series for you. Firstly watch as Matt records the 50th episode (we could not have believed that the series would be so popular when we thought of it during lockdown six months ago ...) and talks about the Speyburn Bradan Orach, an entry level no age statement Speyside single malt.

 

Then on his next visit he discusses the sherry cask classic Glendronach 15 years old Revival, a perfect dram for an Autumnal October afternoon. Watch to find out his thoughts and tasting notes on both whiskies. We hope that you enjoy the videos.

 

To keep up-to-date with our videos or to subscribe to our YouTube channel - click here.

#AllotmentDram

 

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (October 2, 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 - Talisker 8 years old Hepburn's Choice

This new whisky forms part of a set from the independent bottler, blender and whisky producer of Hunter Laing & Co. It also kicks off a major rebranding for their Hepburn's Choice range of single malts. The redesign is inspired by Managing Director Stewart Laing's maternal grandfather, William Hepburn and his travels around the world in the Diplomatic Service in the 1960s. New features include colour coding to show the Scottish region of origin and large graphic numbers to show age. The label and box also feature cask details such as filling date, botting date, cask type and the number of bottles yielded. All of this is packaged within a box showing a new smart grey livery and graphic touches.