Review / Tamnavulin Red Wine Cask Edition

This whisky forms part of the core range from the Speyside distillery of Tamnavulin. The Red Wine Cask Edition has first been matured in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels before a finishing period in ex-Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels sourced from France. It sits alongside two other wine cask finished whiskies in the range. These have been part-matured in ex-Grenache and ex-Pinot Noir wine barrels. All three are released with no age statement. The core range also features the best-selling Double Cask, the Sherry Cask Edition, a travel retail exclusive Tempranillo Finish and a series of limited edition vintages dating back to 1970. 

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (June 25, 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. 

Review / Cotswolds 'Hearts & Crafts' Pineau de Charentes Cask

This whisky is the second release by the Cotswolds into the Hearts & Crafts series from the English distillery. The Cotswolds 'Heart & Crafts' Pineau de Charentes Cask has been fully matured in French Oak casks that have previously held Pineau de Charentes. This is produced the Charentes Maritime region of France, which is near Bordeaux. It 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 famous ex-resident of the Cotswolds, William Morris. Morris inspired designs are featured on a special packaging tube and neck tag.

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (June 18, 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. 

Allotment Drams / Tomintoul 16 years old & Mackmyra Brukswhisky DLX

We have two more episodes from our Allotment Dram video series for you. First, Matt takes a look at the Speyside distillery of Tomintoul and the classic 16 years old expression from their core range. Watch to discover a few facts about the distillery and bottling before he cracks open the bottle to give his thoughts and tasting notes.

Then, on his next visit he talks about the brand new Mackmyra Brukswhisky DLX. This is the latest addition to the pioneering Swedish single malt distillery's limited edition Moments series. Watch as Matt gives some background to the distillery and brand, then discusses what makes the whisky special. Then he opens the bottle (eventually) to offer his thoughts and tasting notes.

To watch other episodes of the Allotment Dram or any of our other videos, or to subscribe to our YouTube channel - please click here.

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Review / Mackmyra Brukswhisky DLX

This new whisky is the latest addition to the exclusive Moments series from the Swedish single malt distillery of Mackmyra. The Mackmyra Brukswhisky DLX pays homage to the classic Brukswhisky expression, which is part of the brand's core range. The recipe and casks used are exactly the same as for Brukswhisky but with much greater maturation time in the casks. All whiskies used are between nine and 14 years. The cask types are ex-bourbon (both 100 and 200 litre size), ex-Oloroso sherry and Swedish oak. All have been matured in Mackmyra's Bodås warehouse, which is housed underground in a former iron mine.

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (June 11, 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. 

Review / Lagavulin 13 years old Feis Ile Edition

This whisky is one of two limited edition single malts from Diageo to celebrate this year's Feis Ile festival. The other is from Lagavulin's fellow Islay distillery of Caol Ila - read our review of that release here. This Lagavulin is a 13 years old expression and this was initially matured in re-fill American oak casks, before being transferred to high char ex-Port barrels for a finishing period. These were selected by Pierrick Guilaume, the Distillery Manager at Lagavulin. There are 6,000 bottles and the whisky is released at the natural cask strength of 54.4% ABV. Each bottle will cost £160. Both whiskies will be available exclusively from the Lagavulin distillery shop and www.malts.com.

Review / Caol Ila 12 years old Feis Ile 2021 Edition

This whisky is the annual limited edition Feis Ile bottling from the Caol Ila distillery. It is joined by a 13 years old expression from Diageo's other Islay distillery of Lagavulin. This Caol Ila is bottled at 12 years of age and has been matured firstly in re-fill American oak casks before being transferred to ex-Moscatel wine casks for a finishing period. These casks were nurtured by Samuel Hale, the Distillery Manager at Caol Ila. The Caol Ila 12 years old Feis Ile 2021 Edition is released at the natural cask strength of 56.6% ABV. There are just 3,000 bottles and each will cost £130. Both whiskies are available via www.malts.com and the Lagavulin distillery shop.

Review / Aber Falls Inaugural Release

This bottling is the first ever single malt whisky from the Aber Falls distillery in north Wales. The Aber Falls Inaugural Release features some of the very first barrels of single malt produced at the distillery back in 2018. This was the first whisky distilled in north wales for 100 years. It has been matured in a combination of three cask types - European oak first-fill ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, American virgin oak barrels and rare European oak ex-orange wine casks. These have then been married together by Dr. Kirstie McCallum, the Master Blender of Aber Falls. The Aber Falls Inaugural Release is bottled at 46% ABV and is limited to just 2,000 bottles. Each bottle was sold for £45.

Review / Glasgow 1770 'The Coopers' Cask Release'

This bottling is a limited edition single malt whisky from The Glasgow Distillery Co. The release is designed to celebrate the unique relationship that exists between a cooperage and a distillery. The whisky is a collaboration between the Glasgow-based distillery and the Kelvin Cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky. The cooperage is one of the largest independently-owned cooperages in America. It was founded by Ed McLaughlin in 1991 when he moved his coopering business from Glasgow to the famous whiskey state of Kentucky. 

The cooperage, now owned by Ed's son Paul, has created a cask made from a combination of two different cask types - half of the staves are heavily charred virgin American oak and half are from a lesser charred cask that has previously held Glasgow 1770 single malt. This unique cask was then filled with Glasgow 1770 spirit that had previously been maturing in ex-Port barrels.

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (June 4, 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. 

Review / The Singleton of Dufftown 54 years old 'Paragon of Time'

This rare whisky is the second and final release in Diageo's The Singleton Paragon of Time Collection. The Singleton of Dufftown 54 years old is the oldest ever single malt to be bottled by the company or the Speyside distillery of Dufftown. The whisky was distilled in 1966 and was filled to a European oak cask that has yielded just 235 bottles. The cask was selected by Maureen Robinson, the Master Blender for The Singleton, who gave it a final carefully monitored and short finishing period in a single ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry cask.

Allotment Drams / Glen Grant 10 years old & Black Bottle 'Island Smoke'

We have two further episodes from our increasingly popular Allotment Dram series for you. This is where we sit and review different whiskies in the surroundings of our north London allotment. Firstly, Matt takes a look at a classic Speyside single malt in the form of Glen Grant 10 years old. Watch to discover about the distillery and then hear his thoughts and tasting notes on this multi award-winning whisky.

Then on his next visit, which is a pretty warm Spring afternoon, he cracks open the new Black Bottle 'Island Smoke', a blended Scotch whisky that forms part of the famous old brand's new Alchemy Series. Find out more about the new bottling and a little bit about the history of Black Bottle before he then gives his thoughts and tasting notes.

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