Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (January 6, 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. 

Review - Diageo Special Releases 2015

The Diageo Special Releases are one of the biggest and most talked about annual whisky releases. Each Autumn, the largest producer of single malt in Scotland announces the line up.  The Special Releases programme has been running since the early 2000s and is designed to showcase some to the finest and rarest stocks in Diageo's portfolio, both from their current 28 single malt distilleries and those no longer in operation.  All the bottlings are at the natural cask strength, non chill filtered and limited edition.  The 2015 collection features nine whiskies.

Karen and Matt C were privileged to be invited to a small private tasting of the nine whiskies in London last month. The tasting was hosted by Dr. Nick Morgan, Diageo's Head of Whisky Outreach, and Maureen Robinson, one of Diageo's Senior Master Blenders. Both are part of the Special Releases selection panel. A huge thank you to both for the invite.

Inbox > August 12, 2011

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR type material that has recently found its way in to our email inbox. Inbox was born as we sadly 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. So here goes with this week's edition. Enjoy ...
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Buffalo Trace > Two new white whiskies launched

The bourbon distillery based in Frankfort, Kentucky have unveiled two new un-aged whiskies – White Dog Wheated Mash and White Dog Rye Mash. These join the existing White Dog Mash #1 (pictured, left) in their 'white whiskey' range. The whiskeys are bottled fresh from the stills at their natural strengths. Wheated Mash White Dog is distilled from corn, barley and wheat and is bottled at 114 proof. The Rye Mash White Dog is made from corn, barley, and rye grains. This is bottled at 125 proof. Kris Comstock, the Buffalo Trace Brand Manager, said “Hopefully bartenders and consumers will come up with some creative cocktails using the new Wheat and Rye versions. If nothing else, you can see how these whiskeys taste before and after barrel aging.” The three versions in Buffalo Trace's White Dog range will be available in 375ml bottles only, at a suggested retail price of $15.99 per bottle.

Master of Malt > New Dailuaine bottling announced

The innovative online retailer Master of Malt have just bottled a new single cask of Dailuaine. Bottlings of this little known Speyside distillery are rare and eagerly anticipated. It was distilled in 1983 and has been aged for 27 years in a single refill ex-sherry hogshead. The whisky is released at the natural cask strength of 53.6% ABV and will retail for £64.95.  The Master of Malt tasting notes for this exclusive whisky are - the nose offers ginger, and oily, toasty malt, and on the palate there are notes of golden syrup, gingerbread, barley, vanilla and sweet oak, developing into a spicy, dessert wine-like finish. There are only 231 bottles and they can be purchased only from www.masterofmalt.com.

Suntory > New Japanese cocktails created

The multi award winning Japanese whisky giants, who own the Hakushu and Yamazaki distilleries and the Hibiki blended brands, have created two new whisky cocktails using their products. These are designed to help combat the oncoming Autumn months and have been created by Suntory Brand Ambassador Zoran Peric. The first is the Hibiki Hakuro (pictured, left) - made from 50ml Hibiki 17 Year Old, 50ml sugarcane juice, 2.5ml milk thistle - and this is made by pouring the ingredients over ice and stirring thoroughly, before serving in a highball glass and garnishing with a twist of orange zest. The second is the Hakushu Shuubun – made with 50ml Hakushu 12 Year Old single malt whisky, 20ml Yuzu juice, 20ml gomme syrup and an egg white - and this is made by shaking the ingredients thoroughly and pouring into a cocktail goblet, before garnishing with lemon twist.

Whisky Connosr > Pure Whisky & Music Festival

Our good friends at the popular whisky social network Whisky Connosr, Jean-Luc and Pierre, have announced an exciting whisky and music festival in London.  They have teamed up with promoters Brand New Music to create the event, which will be held at The Relentless Garage (opposite Highbury & Islington tube station) over the weekend of 24-25 September.  The music will be supplied by such acts as The Raveonettes,  James Yorkston and Electric Soft Parade.  The whisky brands involved include Ardbeg, AnCnoc, Cooley, Dewar's and Whyte & Mackay, with whisky writer Dominic Roskrow holding tastings also.  Tickets are £28.50 each for each day and this includes vouchers for eight drams or cocktails and access to all of the music.  Please visit www.purefestival.com to book your tickets.

Inbox > July 29, 2011

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR type material that has recently found its way in to our email inbox. Inbox was born as we sadly 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. This week's edition features a couple of items that slipped through the net during our recent two week holiday. Apologies, but better late than never ...
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Annandale > A new Lowland distillery

OK - this is a bit of old news but we have only just discovered it! There is a distillery awakening from a very long sleep in the Lowland area of Scotland. It is called Annandale and is located in the town of Annan in Dumfries & Galloway, which is very close to the English border. Annandale was originally opened in 1830, but fell silent in 1919 and has remained unused ever since. That is until 2007, when the derelict site was purchased by David Thomson and Teresa Church. Now following extensive renovation, news has it that the distillery is almost ready to start producing single malt whisky again. We will bring you further news in the future, but in the mean time you can check out their website www.annandaledistillery.co.uk.

Canadian Club > Hire Aussie cricket legend!
The Canadian whisky brand has launched a new pre-mixed drink on to the Australian market - Canadian Club & Dry.  The 'face' of the advert campaign is former Australian cricketer and well-known drinker David Boon - the man famous for downing 52 cans of beer on an Ashes flight from Sydney to London!  Apparently, Boon's tastes have changed and he now prefers a Canadian Club & Dry to a beer.  Only time will tell if other Aussies follow his lead ... but in the meantime, check out the short advert below.



Dailuaine > Expansion plans announced

Diageo have submitted expansion plans to Moray Council for a significant expansion to their Speyside distillery at Dailuaine.  The distillery, which contributes large amounts of its single malt whisky to the company's popular Johnnie Walker blended range, will undergo a £9.5 million redevelopment to increase its current 3 million litre annual capacity.  The application is still at the consultation phase, which includes canvassing the opinions of local residents. The company's malt distilling director, Brian Higgs, Diageo's Distilling Director says, "Speyside is already at the heart of our malt distilling operations and I am delighted that, beginning with the Dailuaine proposal, we are looking at further enhancing our business in this area."

Glenfiddich > New Vintage released
The famous Speyside distillery, owned by William Grant & Sons, have announced the release of their latest annual Vintage Reserve.  This bottling was distilled in 1974 and the exceptional cask was selected by a panel consisting of Brian Kinsman (Glenfiddich's Malt Master), Ian Millar (Glenfiddich's Global Brand Ambassador) and the 13 Glenfiddich Brand Ambassadors from around the globe. Brian Kinsman comments, “This year’s Vintage Reserve selection is distinctively Glenfiddich, with rich, spicy oak notes and an amazing vibrancy for whisky of this age. The nose of the 1974 Glenfiddich Vintage Reserve is rich and oaky with vibrant vanilla sweetness and an intriguing hint of polished leather and liquorice. To taste, it’s initially very sweet with a vanilla toffee character – it’s a beautiful whisky.” Just 1,000 bottles will go on sale in September of this year.

New releases > The Douglas of Drumlanrig range

The Douglas of Drumlanrig is a new range of independently bottled single malt whiskies. The range is named after Drumlanrig Castle (pictured, left) which is located near to the Dumfires & Galloway town of Thornhill in the south western corner of Scotland. Drumlanrig is not actually a castle but a large country house, which is one of the best examples of baroque architecture in the UK. The house was built between 1684 and 1691, and is the ancient stronghold of the famous Douglas clan and current home of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch & Queensberry.

Each of the bottlings in this initial release of the Douglas of Drumlanrig range is from a specially selected single cask and is non chill-filtered with an alcoholic strength of 46% ABV. The selection process has an emphasis on whiskies from cult, boutique or closed distilleries. The range is being sold exclusively in The Whisky Shop - the UK's largest specialist whisky retailing chain - and can be purchased in one of their 16 stores or online at www.whiskyshop.com. We have recently sampled four of the new range and our tasting notes are below.

Ben Nevis 12 years old
Info > ex-sherry cask/distilled December 1996/764 bottles/£47.99
The colour is golden amber and the nose is packed with dried fruit (especially sultanas and raisins), toffee and malty barley grains. There is a hint of sharpness, reminiscent of a tart style of apple, and some honey aromas that come through with time. On the palate, there is that tangy apple note but this gives way to softer sweeter toffee, caramel and dried fruity characters - think of the sultanas and raisins again, but add in some dried pear and apple. The robust malty cereals add grip, as does a pinch of a woody spice like cinnamon and some liquorice. The finish begins sweetly but turns drier with plenty of the cereals and wood spice present. These combined with the tangy apple notes give a pleasant mouthwatering quality.

Dailuaine 11 years old
Info > ex-sherry cask/distilled August 1997/715 bottles/£46.99
The colour is a coppery amber and the nose is fresh and fruity. There are strong aromas of caramel, dried fruits (think of raisins and apricots especially) and orange oil. Under these are distinct notes of oak, barley sugar and sweet honey, which mingle with some nutty bitter spices (imagine nutmeg). On the palate, this feels creamy and rich with some lovely warm spicy notes (the nutmeg again) combining with sweet cereals, toffee and the dried fruits. There are also elements of yeast, honey and the orange note is again quite strong. The woody spices and the barley flavour increase with time. The finish begins sweetly before dramatically turning bitter and try, leaving a pleasant astringency in the mouth. The orange oil note helps counteract this a little.

Linkwood 13 years old
Info > ex-bourbon cask/distilled May 1997/242 bottles/£54.99
This has a pale straw gold colour and a light, fresh and vibrant nose. There are aromas of icing sugar, vanilla, honey and fresh hay or grass. After this come further aromas of malty cereals, green foliage, freshly sawn oak and a twist of lemon zest. The palate is also fresh and tangy with the citrus, oak and grassy notes to the fore. These are quickly joined by a sweet nutty almond note (reminiscent of marzipan?) and further sweetness in the form of honey and delicate cereal grains. The oakiness threatens to become overpowering but the over riding sweet notes reign it back in, as does an interesting sherbet characteristic. The finish is crisp, clean and refreshing with plenty of honey, zest and oak present - this would be a perfect summer dram!

Macallan 8 years old
Info > ex-bourbon cask/distilled September 2002/264 bottles/ £47.99
The colour is a pale lemon yellow and the nose is fresh with distinct grassy and grainy aromas particularly prominent. Further freshness is added with aromas of fresh green pear and apples, plus a whiff of alcoholic spirit. Underneath are delicate notes of honey, vanilla, oak and just a hint of cinnamon spice. On the palate, the fresh and clean notes are continued with the green crisp fruit and a hint of zesty lemon at the forefront. This is tempered by some subtle sweetness driven by notes of honey and vanilla in particular, but also malty cereal grains and increasing amounts of fresh oak. There is also a hit of peppery heat from the youthful alcohol. The finish is a little short but with a drying wood spice quality (that cinnamon again). Sadly, it is gone before it really gets going. Again, another good dram for warm weather.

In addition to the whiskies sampled above, the new Douglas of Drumlanrig range also includes >
Aultmore 13 years old - ex-sherry cask/distilled January 1996/£54.99
Caol Ila 9 years old - ex-bourbon cask/distilled December 2000/£56.99
Glentauchers 9 years old - ex-sherry cask/distilled November 2000/£41.99
Glen Ord 11 years old - ex-bourbon cask/distilled March 1998/£46.99
Mortlach 12 years old - ex-sherry cask/distilled September 1997/£54.99
Port Ellen 27 years old - ex-bourbon cask/distilled March 1983/£209.99