The Special Releases are an annual set of bottlings released by Diageo - Scotland's largest producer of whisky. The collection of whiskies appears each Autumn and has been given a theme for the last couple of years. The 2022 edition has been named Elusive Expressions and is designed to push the boundaries of cask strength whisky through the innovative use of casks and cask finishes. Each whisky has been created by Dr. Craig Wilson, Master Blender of the Special Releases programme.
This limited edition bottling from the popular Singleton single malt brand celebrates the opening of its innovative new visitor centre at the Glen Ord distillery in the north Highlands. The Singleton of Glen Ord Celebratory Edition will only be available at the distillery in Muir of Ord, which is north of Inverness. It has been created by Maureen Robinson, the retiring Master Blender for The Singleton, and uses just 12 second-fill ex-sherry hogshead casks. It is designed to show off and enhance Glen Ord's fruity distillery character. The Celebratory Edition is bottled at 51.8% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. Details of the price were not included in the press release.
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 was 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's the news that caught our attention this week ...
Looking for a last minute gift for Father’s Day? Well, look no further than the Auchentoshan Distillery, near Glasgow, where dads will go absolutely free on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June. This is for The Classic Tour, a one hour guided tour of the distillery that provides the perfect introduction to Auchentoshan’s triple distilled whisky. Under 18s years old will also go free. The tour includes a dram for dad at the end of the tour, with tours running every hour from 10am until 4pm. For £5, places can be booked on The Enhanced Tour, which includes the distillery tour plus tastings of three whiskies from the Auchentoshan range. The final exclusive offer is that a complimentary personalised label can be added to purchases of the 12 years old or Three Wood bottlings in the shop. To book your place, please visit www.auchentoshan.com.
The north Highland distillery on the edge of the Black Isle, owned by Diageo, has announced news of its recent sales figures. These show that The Singleton of Glen Ord 12 years old is the fastest growing single malt whisky in terms of sales in the Asia Pacific region. In 2010, sales grew by 40% in the region and were particularly strong in Taiwan and Singapore, with over 100,000 cases sold in total. The range has been added to with 15 and 18 year old versions, which have also proved popular. Mark Sandys, Diageo’s Category Director for Whisky in the region says, “We were confident from the outset that The Singleton of Glen Ord would be very well received in this vibrant and fast-growing region. Our consumers tell us that it’s the taste of The Singleton that appeals strongly to them, plus the strikingly elegant style and presentation”.
The Isle of Jura distillery again took part in the nearby Islay Whisky Festival this year and they have announced the release of the brand new Festival bottling – the Jura Boutique Barrel 1996 Vintage. One French Limousin oak cask was chosen by a select group of Jura residents, which has yielded just 493 bottles at a cask strength of 54% ABV. These will be sold exclusively on the island from the distillery shop and will cost £100 each. Whyte & Macakay, who own the distillery, have released the following brief tasting notes - This unique spirit has a rich body of creamy toffee and vanilla, ginger, spice and nutmeg with flavours of toffee apple and sweet marmalade, which complete a classic aftertaste. To order a bottle contact – shop@isleofjura.com.
A 130 year old bottle of whisky has returned home. The whisky, which was distilled at Lagavulin on the island of Islay in 1881 and carrying the name Lagavulin Liqueur, was bottled on 2 June 1911 at the age of 30 years. The bottle was recently purchased at auction by Lagavulin’s current owners Diageo and to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of its bottling, it was returned to Lagavulin on 2 June this year. The bottle will now be on display in the visitor centre at the distillery and will form part of Diageo’s comprehensive Spirits Archive . The whisky is particularly rare as it was highly unusual to bottle Islay whiskies as single malts, especially ones of this age, in the early 20th century.
The Black Isle's distillery
Glen Ord is a distillery that is located in town of Muir of Ord, to the north of Inverness in the north Highlands. This area is referred to as the 'black isle'. This name comes from the colour of the soil and is one of the most fertile farming regions in Scotland. The distillery was founded in 1838 and the location was selected due to its proximity to the abundance of quality barley, dark peat and fresh local spring water. The distillery is currently owned by multi national drinks company Diageo and it is one of their largest. It produces over three million litres of whisky a year but remains one of Diageo's least known distilleries. The main reason for this is that the majority of whisky made at Glen Ord is taken to use in the owner's world famous Johnnie Walker blended range. However, Diageo are looking to increase the popularity of the single malt and expand the range, as the world's thirst for whisky continues to increase. While Glen Ord is relatively unknown in the UK, its most popular markets are America and South East Asia. The distillery releases just one regular bottling - a 12 years old - although this is supplimented by occasional older versions. Independent bottlings are rarely found but are worth trying if found.
Glen Ord was the first distillery that we ever visited. We can definitely recommend the tour there as you get to walk around the working distillery and was very informative. Also, you get to taste the goods at the end, which makes it even more worth while! It is based to the north of inverness in a small town called Muir of Ord (not the best place to be stuck for any length of time, trust us...!). The surrounding area is referred to as the Black Isle. This is one of the most fertile areas of farm land in Scotland and as a result is reknowned for growing some of the best barley. Glen Ord is owned by drinks giant Diageo and is their fourth largest distillery in Scotland, producing over 3 million litres of whisky per year. Despite this, the only current official release from the distillery is this 12 years old. Most of the whisky produced at Glen Ord is used in the blending of the Johnnie Walker range, which is a massive global brand.
