Friday, April 23, 2021

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (April 23, 2021)



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 round-up of this week's news ...

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Ardbeg
The Islay distillery of Ardbeg has revealed details of its annual Ardbeg Day bottling. Ardbeg Day is the traditional last day of the Feis Ile festival on the famous whisky island. The 2021 edition is named Ardbeg Scorch and is said to be inspired by a mythical dragon that lives in one of the dunnage warehouses at the distillery. The whisky has been matured in heavily charred American oak ex-bourbon barrels and is bottled at 46% ABV. Ardbeg Scorch will be available via specialist whisky retailers, the distillery shop and Ardbeg Embassies globally from May 27. A bottle will cost £100.

 

Cotswolds
The English distillery of Cotswolds has announced the second release in its Hearts & Crafts series - the Cotswolds Heart & Crafts Pineau de Charentes Cask. The whisky has been matured in French Oak casks that have previously held Pineau de Charentes - this is a product from the Charentes Maritime region of France that is made from fresh grape juice blended with Cognac, which is then left to mature in barrels. The new whisky is inspired by the Art & Crafts movement championed by Cotswold resident William Morris. It is bottled at 55.2% ABV and will be available exclusively from the distillery. There are 1,600 bottles with each costing £75.
 
 

Glenmorangie
 

The north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie have revealed a new single malt in their core range that is designed for mixing - the X by Glenmorangie. The new whisky has been crafted by top bartenders under the watchful eye of Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie. X by Glenmorangie features whiskies that have been matured in ex-bourbon barrels with some being finished in charred virgin oak casks for a short period.

X by Glenmorangie is designed to elevate simple serves with mixers such as Glenmorangie X Tonic and Glenmorangie X Cola, but has also led to the development of combinations for those feeling more creative. These recipes can be found at www.glenmorangie.com. The whisky is bottled at 40% ABV and will be available via whisky retailers from the beginning of May. A bottle will cost £30.
 
"X by Glenmorangie came from a dream of creating even more flavour possibilities, with a single malt that is made to mix. Consulting with top bartenders, we crafted this sweeter, richer single malt for all those enjoying mixing at home. This whisky will bring your drink a real X-factor!"
Dr. Bill Lumsden.

 

Kilchoman
The family-owned Islay distillery of Kilchoman have announced the release of their Feis Ile 2021 Edition. The annual festival will again be virtual this year due to the Covid pandemic. The Kilchoman Feis Ile 2021 Edition features just eight casks - 2x ex-Oloroso sherry butts from 2011 and 6x ex-bourbon barrels from 2012. These are 100% Islay with spirit made from barley grown on Kilchoman's own farm. It has been bottled at the natural cask strength of 56.3% ABV and the eight casks have yielded just 2,832 bottles. Each will cost £99.95 and are available exclusively from the Kilchoman website.
 


Talisker
 
The Talisker distillery, which is located on the isle of Skye, has revealed the oldest ever single malt to be released by the brand - the Talisker Xpedition Oak 43 years old. Just 10 casks have been chosen with all being filled in the late 1970s. These have given just 1,830 bottles - a reference to the year that the distillery was founded. The whisky was finished in casks made from oak staves that travelled 3,264 miles across the Atlantic Ocean on the yacht of explorer James Aitken when he was taking part in The Atlantic Challenge. A piece of stave is included within the each presentation box.

The Talisker Xpedition Oak 43 years old is bottled at the natural cask strength of 49.3% ABV and will be available in specialist and luxury retailers in selected global markets - these include Australia, China, Europe, Singapore, Taiwan and the USA. A bottle will cost £3,500/ $4,860 US.

 
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