This pair of single malts are this year's bottlings in the annual Vintages Collection from the north Highland distillery of Dalmore. The Dalmore Vintage 2005 and Dalmore Vintage 2008 are the third such pair to be released in to the prestigious series. As with the two previous bottlings, the whiskies have been created by Master Distiller Richard Paterson OBE and whisky maker Gregg Glass and use some of the finest casks available from Dalmore's warehouses.
Meikle Tòir, which translates from Gaelic as 'big pursuit', is a new peated single malt brand from the Speyside distillery of Glenallachie. The range features peated spirit produced at Glenallachie since Master Blender Billy Walker and The Glenallchie Distillers Co. took over in mid-2017. Previous to this no peated whisky had ever been distilled there. The range has four editions in the 2023 batch, each aged five years.
Now the inaugural Remixed bottling has been launched to join it - the Jameson Caribbean Beats 21 years old. This unique expression of Jameson has been fully matured in ex-rum casks for 21 years - the first 18 years were in American oak ex-FourSquare rum barrels from Barbados, followed by a three year finishing period in ex-Havana Club Selección de Maestros rum casks from Cuba.
The Special Releases first appeared in 2001 and have been released annually ever since. The collection has grown to be eagerly anticipated by whisky fans, consumers and collectors around the world. The whiskies included each year are designed to showcase some of the best and rarest whisky, both single malt and single grain, held within Diageo's extensive portfolio of maturing stocks.
The north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie have launched the fourth bottling in their annual Tales series - the Glenmorangie A Tale of Tokyo. This has seen Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie, using rare Japanese mizunara oak for the famous single malt brand for the first time. The whisky from these casks has been married with traditional American oak ex-bourbon cask and ex-sherry cask stock to create the perfect balance.
The Amarone Edition 12 Years Old uses casks sourced from the Veneto region, the Barolo Edition 12 years Old features casks from the Piedmont region and the Marsala Edition 12 Years Old sees the whisky finished in casks from a Marsala winery in Sicily.
The Old Pulteney Port is bottled at 46% ABV and is both of natural colour and non chill-filtered. A bottle will cost £75. There are two further releases in the series, which are scheduled for 2024 and 2025. The inaugural release featured a secondary maturation in ex-Pineau des Charentes casks from France.
The Cutty Sark brand was created in March 1923, allegedly following a lunch between the owners of the famous London wine and spirits merchants Berry Brothers & Rudd (Francis Berry and Hugh Rudd) and Scottish artist James McBey. It was named after the Cutty Sark, the famous tea clipper, and legend has it that McBey started drawing the logo of the boat on a napkin.
The AnCnoc Peated Sherry Cask Finish (pictured, above left) is a permanent addition to the range and combines the distillery's peated and classic non-peated spirits. These were matured initially in American oak ex-bourbon casks before being married and finished in ex-sherry casks sourced from Jerez, Spain. It is bottled at 43% ABV and will cost just £40.
McDowell's Reserve No.1 is the biggest selling whisky brand in India. Not only that but it is officially the largest seller in the world (source - Drinks International 2022 report) with an incredible 30 million 12-bottle cases sold every year. Infact, the first four whiskies on the world sales list are all Indian - McDowell's is joined by Imperial Blue, Officer's Choice and Royal Stag. These four brands push Johnnie Walker into fifth place. McDowell's sells six million more cases than its closest rival. The brand is engrained in Indian culture and regularly features in Bollywood movies and cricket sponsorship. McDowell's also release popular brandy and rum expressions, plus a ready-to-drink whisky and soda.
It is that time of the year again. Each Autumn the Special Releases are released by Diageo, Scotland's largest producer of whisky. The 2023 Edition features eight whiskies from across their 28 single malt distilleries, which show the diversity within their extensive portfolio. The series carries the title of Spirited Xchange this year and each whisky has been selected by Dr. Stuart Morrison, one of Diageo's Master Blenders.
This whisky is the latest bottling in the Red Wine Cask Collection from the Highland distillery of Aberfeldy. The Aberfeldy 18 years old has been finished in ex-Cabernet Sauvignon casks from the Napa Valley in California. The series, which launched in 2019, showcases some of the finest wine barrels from wineries around the world. This new release has been created by Stephanie Macleod, the Malt Master at Aberfeldy. The Aberfeldy 18 years old limited edition is bottled at 43% ABV and is available in selected global markets including France, Germany, the UK and USA. A bottle will cost £115/ $US150.
The Highland distillery of Loch Lomond has announced the release of a new range of blended malts named Noble Rebel. The new range is designed to 'push boundaries in the pursuit of flavour' and consists of three expressions - Orchard Outburst, Smoke Symphony and Hazelnut Harmony. These have been created by Michael Henry, the Master Blender for Loch Lomond.
This whisky is the latest addition to the core range of innovative peated Highland single malt Cù Bòcan (pronounced koo-bock-an). The Cù Bòcan 12 years old features spirit that is matured for a short period each winter at the Tomatin distillery near Inverness. The new bottling features part-maturation in ex-rum casks sourced from the Caribbean. These have come from Barbados and Guyana in particular. Prior to that, maturation was in ex-bourbon barrels. The whisky is released at 46% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour, It will be produced in small batches annually. The Cù Bòcan 12 years old will be available in selected specialist whisky retailers worldwide and will cost £65/ $US80.
