Review - Glendronach Traditionally Peated

This whisky is the new smoky addition to the core range of the highly regarded east Highland distillery of Glendronach. The Traditionally Peated pays homage to the robust earthy smoke that would have been prevalent throughout the distilleries in the Highlands during the first half of 19th century when Glendronach was founded. It combines rare smoky spirit, which is only made at the distillery for a short period each year, which is produced using peat cut in Aberdeenshire - this has a softer, gentler and sweeter feel than that taken from areas more famous for peaty whisky, such as Islay and the western isles. It is also specially malted locally for the distillery.

Review - Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 8

This whisky is the latest in the east Highland distillery's annual limited edition cask strength release and was released in Autumn 2019. The Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 8 has been created by Master Blender Dr. Rachel Barrie using whiskies matured for a minimum of 10 years in both ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximénez casks, plus smaller quarter casks. It has been bottled at the natural strength of 61% ABV and is non chill-filtered and of natural colour. The Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 8 is available in specialist whisky retailers worldwide and costs a recommended price of £62 per bottle.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (January 18, 2019)

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.

Review - BenRiach 21 years old

This whisky is a new 21 years old expression of the 'classic' unpeated single malt from the innovative Speyside distillery of BenRiach. The release sees an unconventional selection of four cask types - ex-bourbon, ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry, ex-red wine and ex-virgin oak - used to create the whisky. These have been selected and married by Rachel Barrie, the Master Blender at BenRiach, and is one of her first creations since joining in early 2017.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (September 1, 2017)

Welcome to Inbox.  For those new to WFE, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. 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.

Review - Slane Irish Whiskey

This whiskey is the first to be launched from the new Slane Distillery in Ireland. This is located on the grounds of the famous Slane Castle, which is renowned for music concerts and its setting within the Boyne Valley. The distillery itself is yet to commence production, which is anticipated from late Summer 2017, so this first release showcases the complex flavour to be expected from the triple cask maturation used. Blending whiskey from virgin American oak, seasoned American oak and ex-Oloroso sherry casks, this expression is created to be a more complex, yet smooth, Irish whiskey. It has been bottled at 40% ABV.

Review - Old Forester

Old Forester is a bourbon from the famous whisky producing state of Kentucky in America.  It is one of the oldest American whisky brands and it has a number of claims to fame.  It was the first American whisky to be sold in sealed glass bottles rather than wooden barrels - this was over 25 years earlier than most other brands, who were later required to by a law change in 1897, and was done to ensure a better consistency of quality.  Old Forester was also one of the only distilleries to remain open during the damaging Prohibition era after it successfully applied for a license from the U.S. Government to continue production for 'medicinal purposes'.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (June 26, 2015)

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. 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.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (June 12, 2015)

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. 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.

Inbox > March 4, 2011

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR type material that has found its way in to our email inbox. Sadly, we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive, so Inbox has been born! It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we will 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 if you want to. Here are this week's findings ...
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Collingwood Canadian Whisky launched
Brown-Forman, the Kentucky based bourbon whiskey producer, has announced the launch of a new Canadian whisky in its portfolio. Collingwood is made in small batches from Canadian cereals, uses water from Georgian Bay in Ontario and is triple distilled. It is then matured in white oak casks, before undergoing a unique process called Maplewood mellowing (we are still trying to find out exactly what this means! - Matt). Collingwood is packaged in an extraordinary looking bottle (pictured, left) and will initially only be available in the states of Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana and Texas. More markets will be introduced through 2011 and the recommended price point is $26.99.

English Whisky Company > Royal Wedding whisky on its way!
The Norfolk based distillery, which is the only whisky distillery in England, has announced a new release to celebrate the forthcoming Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton on 29 April. The whisky is a marriage of their peated and unpeated expressions, which have both been aged in first fill ex-bourbon casks from the famous Jim Beam distillery. In addition, there is also some whisky that has been matured in ex-red wine casks in the marriage. The Royal Wedding whisky will be bottled at 46% ABV in mid March and will be available from the English Whisky Company’s online shop from the end of the month … just in time for the wedding!! To pre-order a bottle (cost £65 each plus postage), go to www.englishwhisky.co.uk.

Lagavulin > meet the new Distillery Manager
The iconic distillery on the famous whisky island of Islay has a new Distillery Manager. Lagavulin have announced the appointment of Georgie Crawford, who is an Ileach (a person born on Islay) in to the role and she replaces the out-going Peter Crawford. Both are featured in the short film below, where they explain how they became interested in whisky, what their influences are, their favourite stories from their time in the industry and what it means to them to work at Lagavulin.

Have just tried ... Woodford Reserve

Prize winning bourbon
Woodford Reserve is a bourbon that is produced in small batches by the Labrot & Graham distillery. The distillery is located in the American state of Kentucky, close to the town of Versailles. Woodford Reserve whiskey is presented in a recognisable narrow square bottle and varies in strength from 43-46% ABV, depending on the batch. It is made using a secret combination of corn, rye and malted barley grains and is the only bourbon that undergoes a triple distillation (most others are distilled twice). Woodford Reserve is the official bourbon of the world famous Kentucky Derby horse race and has won many prizes worldwide. These include a Double Gold Medal at The World Spirits Competition in 2000 and this made it the first bourbon to ever win that prestigious prize.

Kentucky's oldest
The distillery was founded in 1812 by Elijah Pepper, making it the oldest operational whiskey distillery in Kentucky. Kentucky is widely regarded as the heart of the American whiskey industry. The current distillery buildings were erected in 1838 and it was named the Oscar Pepper Distillery after Elijah's son. In 1878, Leopold Labrot and James Graham became the new owners and they changed the name to the Labont & Graham Distillery. This name appears on the current bottles of Woodford Reserve.

The birth of Woodford Reserve whiskey
Labont and Graham ran the distillery until 1941, when they sold up to the Brown-Forman Corporation. Brown-Forman are still in ownership and also own the Jack Daniel's distillery in the neighbouring state of Tennessee. They mothballed (the process where a distillery is taken out of service but remains intact) and sold the distillery in 1968. However, they decided to start producing premium small batch bourbons and re-purchased the Labont & Graham distillery, which they saw as ideal for the purpose. This was in 1993 and following a complete refurbishment, including new stills made in Rothes in Scotland, production was restarted. Woodford Reserve, which is named after the Woodford County where the distillery is located, was first introduced in 1996 and we are now on the release of batch number 59.

Our tasting notes
The colour of Woodford Reserve is a rich amber orange and the nose is intense, sweet and spicy. There is an immediate hit of vanilla and oak and it feels very woody (think of new oak furniture or wood shavings). Underneath this, other elements reveal themselves - coconut, honey, maple syrup, orange oil and warm spices (imagine ginger and nutmeg). On the palate, a similar thing happens - your mouth is hit with a ton of oak and vanilla before other notes begin to come through. The vanilla has a creaminess to it and the combination of the coconut, orange oil and warm spices (especially the ginger) from the nose in addition to some brown sugar and slightly bitter cereal grains, give the whiskey depth and complexity. The initial oak grips your palate and hangs on right the way through to the long finish. The finish becomes increasingly dry, tannic and spicy - imagine a combination of heavy oak, cereals (especially the more bitter rye grains), ginger, nutmeg and a touch of hot chilli.

What's the verdict?
Woodford Reserve is one of the increasingly popular bourbons within the cocktail world. It is easy to see why as its exaggerated flavours and deep complexity would manage to stand out when mixed with any manner of other things. When taken neat, this is a lovely bourbon for those same reasons but it may be a little too rich, woody or spicy for some palates, especially the uninitiated bourbon drinker. However, that should not stop you trying this excellent whisky. A bottle should cost between £25-30 from specialist retailers and some larger supermarkets.