Inbox | The Week's Whisky News | January 12, 2024

Welcome to our first Inbox of 2024. Inbox is 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. 

Inbox | The Week's Whisky News (November 10, 2023)

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. 

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (October 8, 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. 

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (April 16, 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. 

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (October 25, 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.

Have just tried - Colonel E.H. Taylor Rye

Rye can be argued to be the original American whiskey and was the most popular type of whiskey produced and drunk in the United States up to the advent of prohibition in 1920. Records show that there were various different Rye whiskies, each named after their area of production (i.e. Maryland Rye, Monongahela Rye etc) which suggests that each area produced it’s own distinctive style. Unfortunately we’ll never know if this is the case as Rye whiskies popularity declined after the end of prohibition in 1933 and many producers never resumed production.

Nowadays though, Rye whiskey is experiencing something of a renaissance with a lots of new different Rye’s now available and distillers struggling to keep up with demand. A lot of these whiskies are hard to come by in the U.K. as a lot of brands are kept for the home market but one such Rye that has made its way over here is Colonel E.H. Taylor.

Inbox - March 29, 2013

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.

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.  This week's edition is a special bumper Easter one, as we missed out last Friday - this was due to us hosting Whisky For Everyone's 5th birthday party last week (more to follow on that shortly ...), then going to Whisky Live in London and then being busy at work.  Anyway, here we go with what has caught our attention in the last couple of weeks ...

Have just tried - Thomas H. Handy Sazerac

Thomas H. Handy is an American rye whiskey which is made at the Buffalo Trace distillery.  It is a whiskey that has been the centre of attention during the last week, as the Batch 2011 has claimed the prestigious accolade of 'Whisky Of The Year' in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2013, the latest edition in the best selling series.  Traditionally, winners of this award sell out fast so it may already be too late to grab one.  However, we were lucky enough to track down a sample ...

Have just tried - Sazerac Rye

Sazerac Rye is an American whiskey that is made at the Buffalo Trace distillery.  The distillery is located in the town of Frankfort, which is in the famous American whiskey making state of Kentucky.  The whiskey was originally made in the early 1800s in New Orleans by The Sazerac Company, which was owned by entrepreneur Thomas H. Handy. It was designed to be the house whiskey in his business The Sazerac Coffee House, which is the birthplace of the popular Sazerac cocktail. The Sazerac Company was purchased by Buffalo Trace in 1992 and they have produced the whiskey at their distillery ever since.

The striking award winning bottle was created by the US design agency SPAR. They used the influence of antique bottles found in The Getz Bourbon Museum in Bardstown, Kentucky to design a stunning bottle with a mid-1800s period feel. Sazerac Rye is matured for approximately six years and is bottled at a strength of 45% ABV (90° Proof).  It is still relatively difficult to find in the UK but can be found within a small selection of specialist liquor retailers.  It should cost around the £30-35 mark for a 75cl bottle.

In America whiskey is made using a mixture of grain types, most commonly wheat, corn/maize, barley and rye. These are mixed in different proportions and percentages with each other to create the unique recipes for each whiskey.  In Sazerac Rye, as with all rye whiskies, the percentage of rye grain in the mash mixture has to legally be greater than 51%.  Other laws stipulate that rye whiskey must be distilled at an alcohol level less than 80% ABV and that it must be matured for a minimum of two years in new American oak casks.

Our tasting notes
The colour is golden yellow and the nose has a real 'wow factor' - it is vibrant with a lovely, promising scent. There are initial aromas of sweet vanilla, fresh coconut, tangy orange zest, sweet honey and robust bittersweet cereals.  The vibrancy is highlighted by plenty of woody and spicy notes that grip your nostrils - cinnamon bark, nutmeg, sandalwood, cedarwood, toasted almonds.  On the palate, this spiciness continues unabated with an initial wave of drying woodiness.  It replicates the aromas from the nose very closely and much like on the nose, these notes grip the palate. The fragrance that comes from it in the mouth is almost overwhelming. Then comes another wave of sweet orange, coconut, something floral and plenty of honey, all of which balance the prominent spice notes.  The combination is challenging and intense but delicious.  The finish is dry, spicy and bittersweet.  Plenty of the rye grains are present here, along with the wood spices, which leaves your mouth watering.

What's the verdict?
Sazerac Rye is a deliciously vibrant and expressive whiskey which sets you a challenge from the first moment that you encounter it.  It is intense and has a lovely combination between the dry, spicy, sweet and bittersweet elements, which are all battling for your attention.  Having not tried many rye whiskies, we cannot really say if these are typical notes for the genre but it has made us want to sample others.  To be fair, the whiskey is a little hard work on its own and seems perfectly suited for mixing in such cocktails as the Sazerac or Old Fashioned.

Inbox > October 28, 2011

Welcome to Inbox - our weekly round up of whisky news and PR type material that has recently found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. 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 we go with the whisky news ... there's quite a bit this week!

Auchentoshan > Switch contest reaches finale

Martin stirs it up

A few weeks ago, we wrote in Inbox about an initiative being run by the Scottish Lowland distillery of Auchentoshan.  The Switch is a contest that sees a bartender from either side of the Atlantic swap countries to work in a top bar for one week.  We attended the UK final which was held in London earlier this week, which saw 18 top mixologists go head-to-head for the chance to work in the famous Apotheke bar in New York. The winner was Martin Ball from Corridor in Manchester, who created the Tight Corner Fizz using Auchentoshan Three Wood whisky and then had to present an Auchentoshan Master Class in the final.  The US winner was Charles Joly from The Drawing Room in Chicago. He will work at the legendary 69 Colebrooke Row in London for a week.

Ballantine's > Christmas Reserve 2011 launched

Christmas comes early

The popular blended Scotch whisky has announced the release a new product for Christmas.  The Ballantine's Christmas Reserve has been created by Ballantine's Master Blender Sandy Hyslop and has been designed to have a seasonal profile of dried fruits, cinnamon, spiced orange, pears and apples.  It will appear between now and Christmas in limited quantities and in limited markets including France, Spain, Taiwan and the UK. To support the the 2011 launch, Ballantine’s Brand Ambassador Fredrik Olsson has created a series of seasonal cocktails using the Christmas Reserve - the Golden Saffron Martini, the Spiced Hot Chocolate and Hot Christmas Punch - which we hope to have a go at making! Check out www.chivasbrothers.com for more info.

Bowmore > Tempest Batch No.3 released

A stormy dram?

The famous Islay distillery of Bowmore, which is the oldest on the island (founded 1779), has released Batch No.3 of its popular Tempest bottling.  The Tempest batches are released at cask strength and are matured for 10 years in ex-bourbon casks - 55.6% ABV and first filled casks respectively in this case.  Batch No.3 follows the two previous batches, which hauled in the prizes at various prestigious whisky awards and built up a cult following of fans.

Bowmore's Brand Manager Cara Laing comments, “We’ve released a small batch of Bowmore Tempest annually to great response. Every batch is slightly different but always reflects Bowmore’s raw spirit – it’s like tasting a dram straight out of a first fill bourbon cask in our famous No.1 Vaults." There are 11,000 bottles and they are available now worldwide with a suggested price of £50.

Buffalo Trace > Antique Collection 2011

The famous five

The popular Buffalo Trace distillery from Kentucky has announced that this year's Antique Collection will get a limited release in the UK, following the full release in the USA back in September.  The distillery makes numerous brands and they have been releasing some special editions of these on an annual basis since 2000. This year's highly anticipated bottlings are - Eagle Rare 17 years old, George T. Stagg 71.3% ABV, Sazerac 18 years old Rye, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye and W. L. Weller Wheated Rye.  Previous bottlings have been highly awarded at various shows and also in past editions of Jim Murray's Whisky Bible.  The bourbons will be distributed in the UK by Hi-Spirits. For further info, check out this article on the must read www.bourbonblog.com.

Chivas > Employ Oscar winning director for project

The Chivas Regal blended Scotch has teamed up with Oscar winning director Joachim Back to produce two films about friendship.  The films, entitled Big Bear and Twinkle, centre around a group of four friends and follows them through the trials and tribulations of life. The films form part of Chivas Regal’s ongoing Live with Chivalry campaign which launched in 2008 and encourages men to aspire to not just to have more, but to be more. Film and Chivas Regal lovers can raise a glass to Big Bear or Twinkle and discover the full story online at www.chivas.com from 31 October 2011.  In the meantime, below is a short trailer ...



Drinkaware > New interactive video

The UK Drinkaware initiative, of which we are proud to be part, have released a new interactive video to help parents explain to their children about the effects of alcohol on their bodies and behaviour.  Drinkaware are an independent charity that aims to change the UK's drinking habits for the better by promoting responsible drinking of alcohol.  They do this by spreading knowledge and setting up initiatives to change the nation's drinking culture and help to reduce alcohol misuse. This new video, which you can take part with below, tackles the tricky subject of how to communicate with children and break down some of the 'myths' about alcohol by talking with them. Have a go and see where your conversation leads ... it's good fun and cleverly done, but with a serious message.

Great places to drink whisky ... The Red Lion & Sun, London

The Red Lion & Sun pub can be found in Highgate village in north London. Highgate village is a leafy suburb that has been swallowed up by London sprawling outwards, but still retains a unique character and charm. It was an excellent surprise on a recent visit there to discover that the Red Lion & Sun has had a major revamp. Previously a dusty old place serving up warm real ales with funny names and microwaved food, the place has now been sympathetically modernised. Part of this modernisation includes introducing the residents of Highgate to one of the larger selections of whiskies that we have seen in a pub. There is a whisky menu with around 25 different Scottish malts, about a dozen bourbons, 6 or 7 Japanese whiskies and various others from around the world, all of which are decently priced. The staff are passionate about whisky and they also run a whisky club and tastings (you can sign up for this at info@theredlionandsun.com). We decided to try a few different things that we had not had before.

Glenlivet 12 years old
Glenlivet is one of the most popular whiskies in the world. The distillery is located in Speyside and they produce a light and easy drinking spirit. This 12 years old is light but quite complex and refreshing with lots of fruit and floral notes on the nose and palate. There are apples and pears (a classic Speyside characteristic), some citrus (imagine lemon zest), lots of malted barley and cereals and a distinctive heather element. The finish is light, crisp, dry and good!

Aberlour A'bunadh
Another Speyside distillery, Aberlour is less well known in the UK but very popular in mainland Europe especially France and Spain. Famous for their use of sherry casks for maturation, the A'bunadh (pronounced a-boona) has a massive sherry cask influence and is released as cask strength (over 60% ABV in this case). They release limited batches of this every so often with each batch being slightly different. This is rich and creamy with loads of intense dried fruit, butterscotch, concerntrated citrus flavours (think of orange marmalade) and honey. Adding some water takes away the strength of the alcohol and reveals a gorgeous spiciness (imagine cinnamon and nutmeg). The finish is long, creamy, rich and spicy. Lovely.

W. L. Weller Special Reserve
The Weller distillery closed in 1991. This American bourbon is now made at the Buffalo Trace distillery in Kentucky using the traditional recipe and grain mix. This special reserve is released at seven years of age and is light and refreshing. The nose and palate are full of woodiness and vanilla. There is a very nice creaminess in the mouth with a note of honey coming through with something spicy at the end (think of cinnamon and nutmeg again). The finish is crisp with lots of wood and sweet vanilla with an interesting bitterness, that reminded me of a dark chocolate or black coffee. Very drinkable but you would really have to like that woody taste to enjoy it fully.

Nikka 'Straight from the barrel'
This Japanese whisky is cask strength vatting made up of whisky from Nikka's two distilleries - Miyagikyo and Yoichi. It is rich with strong elements of vanilla and fresh fruits (imagine apples and pears). There is also something nutty (reminding me of hazelnuts and almonds, i think), some caramel/butterscotch and just a hint of some smokiness. The finish is sweet, spicy (think of something warm like ginger) and refreshing.

In the whisky cupboard ... Buffalo Trace

Buffalo Trace is an American whiskey from the northern most distillery in the state of Kentucky. There are seven distilleries in Kentucky and these make different brands of American whiskies and bourbons, each one with it's own unique recipe. However, Buffalo Trace is the only distillery where the whiskey is made entirely on the same site using only traditional methods. The distillery name originates from it's close proximity to 'the great buffalo trace', which is an ancient migrating path (or trace) used by buffalo that stretches across North America and along the banks of the Kentucky River. Early settlers followed this path and set up a community in the late 1700s and the distillery has been operating on the same site since 1812. It was also one of the few distilleries to continue distilling during the prohibition period (purely for medical purposes, of cause!). Now, Buffalo Trace is regarded as one of the best American whiskies in the world and has won numerous awards. This whiskey has been aged for a minimum of nine years and is made from a selection of corn, rye and malted barley which are all grown in Franklin County, near to the distillery.

The colour is dark and golden and the nose is gorgeous. There is lots of vanilla and coconut with a bitter grainy note coming through (imagine the aroma of a dense type of bread, like rye bread). On the palate, this is soft, thick and creamy with lots of that vanilla and coconut present. Following this, some more subtle flavours are revealed with something citrus in there (lemons, I think), something spicy (nutmeg or cinnamon, I'm not sure), a hint of aniseed and some toffee. The finish is quite long and starts off sweet and creamy but interestingly twists to be slightly bitter and dry right at the end. Buffalo Trace is extremely well balanced and complex and is my favourite American whiskey that I have tried to date. It is also a bargain for something that is so good and that has won so many awards, costing just over £20 per bottle. Buffalo Trace is becoming more wide spread in the UK all the time and is available in some supermarkets and numerous independent retailers, as well as becoming extremely popular in bars and pubs if you want to try it before you buy a full bottle.