Friday, May 14, 2021

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (May 14, 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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Aber Falls
The Aber Falls distillery in north Wales has announced the bottling of their first ever single malt whisky - the Aber Falls Inaugural Release. The distillery, which is located in the town of Abergwyngregyn close to the waterfall of the same name, began production of single malt in 2018 and is made using 100% Welsh barley and water that has flowed over the Aber Falls waterfall. The whisky has been matured in a combination of European oak first-fill ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, American virgin oak barrels and European oak ex-orange wine casks. These have been married together by Dr. Kirstie McCallum, the Master Blender of Aber Falls. 
 
The Aber Falls Inaugural Release is bottled at 46% ABV and will be limited to just 2,000 bottles. Each will cost £45. It will be available to purchase exclusively via the Aber Falls website from May 17.
 


Big Peat
The award-winning Islay blended malt of Big Peat has announced a new limited edition for the Summer - the Big Peat Peatrichor. The name refers to the word petrichor, which describes the earthy scent produced with rain falls on dry soil. As with all expressions of Big Peat it is created using only single malts from Islay. It is bottled at a cask strength of 53.8% ABV and is limited to just 5,000 bottles. These are available now on the Douglas Laing website and via selected specialist whisky retailers worldwide  from the end of May. The bottle and packaging feature a specially created design for the release. A bottle will cost £48.


Gladstone Axe
 

Fine wine and spirits company Biggar & Leith have launched a pair of Scotch blended malts under the Gladstone Axe name - the Gladstone Axe 'American Oak' and the Gladstone Axe 'The Black Axe' The whiskies are said to be 'a modern twist on classic Scotch' and are named after four-times UK Prime Minister William Gladstone. Both have been created by Elwyn Gladstone, the founder of Biggar & Leith and the great great great grandson of William Gladstone.

The American Oak expression is made from 14 single malts from the Highlands and Islay. These have been matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels. The Black Axe also features 14 single malts but with a higher proportion from Islay. Both are bottled at 41% ABV and will cost £32 each from selected online retailers to begin with. The bottle features an embossed design, cork stopper and wax dipped cap.
 
"We are really excited to be launching a new blended malt whisky bearing the name of my ancestor. In 1860, he signed the Spirits Act. This allowed the legal blending of Scotch whisky for the first time and essentially creating the Scotch whisky industry as we know it today."
Elwyn Gladstone.



Naked Malt
Edrington have announced a major rebrand for their Naked Grouse blended malt, which will now be called Naked Malt. The rebrand comes with refreshed packaging that features a sherry cask front and centre. This is in reference to the whisky being produced from malts matured in ex-sherry casks. The whisky remains the same as when it was Naked Grouse, but the new bottle now also features the signature of Diane Stuart, the Master Blender for Naked Malt. The bottle is also 100% recyclable. Naked Malt is bottled at 40% ABV and will cost £27 a bottle. It will begin appearing in retailers from July.
 
"Naked Malt is blended using some of the finest Scottish single malts, each selected for its quality and individual flavour. By extra maturing Naked Malt in first-fill ex-Oloroso sherry casks, we deliver quality and intensity of flavour enviable in the contemporary whisky category."
Diane Stuart.


 
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