New release - Macallan Diamond Jubilee Edition

A couple of months ago, we reported that the famous Macallan distillery had continued with its tradition of honouring Royal occasions with a special limited edition Diamond Jubilee single malt release. At the time of release, the whisky was only available from the Macallan Visitor Centre at the distillery or via www.themacallan.com. Now some of the remaining bottles are being released to selected whisky retailers in the UK.

Macallan is one of the most well known names in the Scotch whisky industry and their single malts have many fans around the world.  The distillery was founded in 1824 by Alexander Reid and was originally called the Elchies distillery.  It did not become known as Macallan until 1892 and is located in the heart of the Speyside region of Scotland, close to the village of Craigellachie and overlooking the River Spey.  Macallan is currently owned by the Edrington Group and is one of the largest distilleries in Scotland with an annual production capacity of eight million litres.

The Diamond Jubilee Edition is bottled at 52% ABV (to commemorate 1952, the year of the Queen's accension to the throne) and there are just 2,012 bottles. It has been produced using a marriage of ex-sherry casks which were hand selected by Macallan's Head Whisky Maker Bob Dalgarno.  The whisky is presented in a bespoke purple package, which has been designed by art director David Holmes. It includes a ceramic brooch showing a retro design of the Queen's head, which was designed by Arnold Machin, which was later used on postage stamps by the Royal Mail. Each bottle will cost £350.

Our tasting notes
The colour is a dark golden amber and the nose is packed with rich, sweet aromas - caramel, butterscotch, dark brown sugar, dried fruits (especially raisins, sultanas and candied orange peel), malted cereals, plus whiffs of vanilla and dark chocolate. It is a very promising start and one that makes you want to take a sip.

On the palate this immediately feels a bit prickly due to the high(ish) alcohol strength.  Once the taste buds get used to that feeling, the 'prickle' subsides and the characteristics begin to reveal themselves in layers.  First come some lovely notes of butterscotch, vanilla and chocolate, which are followed by some dark dried fruits (the raisins and sultanas again) and toasted almonds, plus an increasingly prominent note of candied orange peel/zest.  As things progress the sweeter notes begin to be taken over by some drier and spicier elements, which create a good balance.  These elements include notes of coffee granules, bittersweet cereals and wood spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg.

The finish is long, warm and intense with the lovely balance of sweet and spicy notes that combined so well on the palate, particularly the butterscotch, chocolate, cereals and zesty oranges.  A dash of water livens up this whisky even more - the 'prickle' of the nose and early palate is dampened and the orange and coffee notes are heightened and come to the fore. 

What's the verdict?
This is exceptionally good stuff.  The expertise and sympathetic use of the ex-sherry casks are evident and the whisky has a wonderful depth and complexity.  It is a whisky that is great taken neat, but it really comes alive when a few drops of water is added.  There is a lovely juiciness that develops and this only adds to the complexity.

There seems to have been numerous Diamond Jubilee whisky releases in the last few months, but this has to be the best to date. The price tag (£350) is higher than most of the other releases and may put many off purchasing this.  However, we would urge anyone that has that sort of money to get a bottle of this, especially if you enjoy your whiskies on the richer and sweeter side.

Have just tried – English Whisky Company Diamond Jubilee Whisky

To celebrate the UK's Royal long weekend we decided to try a whisky that certainly marks the event.

This English Whisky Company bottling is to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II which celebrates 60 years of her reign. This small batch production whisky is produced from a combination of bourbon cask and red wine cask matured whisky. It is bottled at 46% ABV in a decanter style bottle as a limited edition with 3300 bottles produced and only 1140 bottles available for sale in the UK. To order a bottle (at a cost of £59.99 each plus postage), go to www.englishwhisky.co.uk or check with a British specialist whisky retailer.

St. George's Distillery is operated by The English Whisky Company, which was founded in 2005 by Andrew and James Nelstrop. It was the first whisky distillery to be built and produce whisky in England for almost 200 years. The distillery is located in the heart of East Anglia, close to the town of Roudham in Norfolk (about 2 hours north east of London). The first spirit came off the stills in November 2006 and was overseen by legendary (and retired) whisky maker Iain Henderson, who had previously managed the famous Laphroaig distillery on the island of Islay, amongst others. The role of Distillery Manager now falls to David Fitt, an ex-brewer from Greene King, who was trained by Iain before he retired again.

St. George's spirit is made, where possible, from locally grown Norfolk barley, and the entire process, from milling to bottling, occurs on site. The distillery has already won many plaudits for its innovation and quality.

Our tasting notes
This whisky is a vibrant golden hue that comes from the mixture of casks (no colouring is added) which is a shade that was described at a recent whisky tasting event as a 'classic' whisky colour.

On the nose the first impression is sweet notes of butterscotch, golden syrup and sultanas. This is not over powering, as it is matched by fresh notes of green grass and tangy apples, with woody warming spiciness of cinnamon and nutmeg. With water the whisky shows more pronounced floral notes of rose and honeysuckle with green apple freshness, but certainly doesn't lose the sweetness or spiciness.

On the palate the strength is noticeable and the whisky is less sugary sweet than expected, despite there being definite toffee and sultana characters. The red wine shows here in way of darker red apples and prunes along with plenty of warming spices and oily nuts such as almonds. The finish is short and dry with spiciness and mouth watering tannins. There are lots of wood spices and a touch of red chilli pepper. With water the palate has extra creaminess but maintains sweet notes of toffee and apples. The spiciness is pushed to the back but remains on the finish. All in all we think that this whisky has extra desirable characters when tasted at the higher ABV strength so we are pleased that the decision was taken to bottle at 46% and allow drinkers to add to water to their own taste.

What's the verdict?
This commemorative bottling is a whisky created to be collectable yet remarkably approachable. It is at a price, rarity and strength that make it a good purchase for the occasional whisky drinker who wants something to remember the event by that is more desirable than a collectable teapot. Having said that we don't think that serious whisky collectors would be disappointed either. It is not overly complex but certainly offers fabulous value for money.

This is a remarkably affordable bottling to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, especially when compared to many other less rare 'limited' celebratory releases. While we expect that many people will be buying the bottle to collect we thoroughly suggest that you don’t just leave it on the shelf but do give it a try.

Inbox - June 1, 2012

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 that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we 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.  There is a right old mixed bag of news this week, so here goes ...

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Chivas Brothers - Expansion plans
Scotland's second largest whisky producer, Chivas Brothers, have announced expansion plans to increase their distillation capacity and production facilities.  The £40 million plans are being implemented to meet the increasing demand for Scotch whisky worldwide, especially in emerging markets such as Asia and South America.

The first part of the work is to increase the distillation capacity and includes expanding the current facilities at four of the Chivas Bros distilleries - Glenallachie, Glentauchers, Longmorn and Tormore.  It also involves the re-opening of the Glen Keith distillery, which has been mothballed since 2000.  This will see a 25% increase in capacity by 2013.  The second facet to the plan is to open a new bottling plant (pictured, above), which will be ready later this Summer. This will have an emphasis on the hand bottling of premium and super-premium blends such as Chivas Regal 25 years old, Royal Salute and Ballantine's special editions, plus the rare and single cask bottlings of Glenlivet.

Compass Box - World record attempt with The Whisky Shop
Award winning whisky blenders Compass Box are joining forces with The Whisky Shop, the UK's largest whisky retail chain, to try and break the world record for the amount of whisky tastings in different locations hosted by the same group of people.  The attempt will see the team visit eight of the chain's twenty stores.

Compass Box's founder John Glaser will join The Whisky Shop’s team, including whisky writer Dominic Roskrow on this tour.  They will begin at 00.01 on the morning of Friday 15 June with a tasting at The Whisky Shop in Inverness and hope to finish in Brighton with a grand finale at 23.30.  In the 23 and a half hours in between, the team will host tastings (each covering a different subject) in The Whisky Shop's stores in Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Birmingham, Oxford and London.

Tickets for each event are £5 with all proceeds going to the Red Cross.  To book tickets, please contact the store in the city that you wish to attend via the store directory page on www.whiskyshop.com.  You can also follow the progress of the tour via @CompassBox or @TheWhiskyShop, or on the Facebook pages of both companies.

Dalmore - New packaging
The increasingly popular Highland single malt brand of Dalmore has released a set of new packaging for its core range.  The change has been implemented to reinforce Dalmore's luxury credentials, plus to give the bottle and packaging more prominence on retailers shelves. All bottles across the range, incorporating the 12, 15 and 18 year olds, Cigar Malt Reserve and King Alexander III, will now feature a solid silver stag logo and the packaging features a new colour scheme, contemporary lines, new labels and increased brand communication.  The aim is to bring the packaging and design of the core range closer to that of the brand's premium releases, such as the Astrum 40 years old.

Chris Watt, the Dalmore's Head of Brand says, “Our distillery has been producing exceptional single malts since 1839 and we have some of the rarest aged whisky stocks in the world. Our malts exude quality, craftsmanship and liquid excellence and we feel that the new packaging introduction brings our image proudly in line with that.”

Isle of Skye - New packaging also!
Ian MacLeod Distillers, the owners of the Isle of Skye blended whisky brand, have also announced a new set of packaging for their products.  The new look will cover the core range of whiskies - the eight and 12 years old age statements.  The colour scheme has been chosen to reflect the landscape of the island of Skye, primarily the Red and Black Hills of the island's Cuillin Mountains.  The label also gives more prominence to the age statement of the whisky and increased tasting notes.

Iain Weir, the Director of Marketing for Ian Macleod Distillers says, “We wanted the new brand design to create an authentic representation of Isle of Skye’s core values – the values that are embedded in its age statement and island heritage. The new packaging will also ensure better shelf-standout and reinforce its position as a premium quality, award-winning blended Scotch whisky." Further information can be found at www.isleofskyewhisky.com.

Lagavulin - Time for jazz
The iconic Islay distillery of Lagavulin has announced that it is to sponsor the island's jazz festival again later in the year.  This will be the third year that the brand has sponsored the event, which takes place on the 14, 15 and 16 September.  Artists already booked for the Lagavulin Islay Jazz Festival include the Neil Cowley Trio, the Colin Steele Quintet, Konrad Wiszniewski with Pascal Schumacher, and Scottish guitarist Graeme Stephen. Further details, highlights of last years festival and ticket booking for this year will be available shortly on the Islay Jazz festival website.

Macallan - Diamond Jubilee bottling
The famous Macallan distillery has continued with its tradition of honouring Royal occasions by announcing a special limited edition Diamond Jubilee single malt release.  The whisky is bottled at 52% ABV (to commemorate 1952, the year of the Queen's accension to the throne) and there are just 2,012 bottles.  Bottles is available now for £350 from the Macallan visitor centre, selected luxury retailers and via the shop at www.macallan.com (UK customers only).

The Diamond Jubilee Edition is presented in a bespoke purple package, which has been designed by art director David Holmes.  It includes a ceramic brooch showing a retro design of the Queen's head, which was designed by Arnold Machin, which was later used on postage stamps by the Royal Mail. Ken Grier, Director of Malts at the Edrington Group comments, “Our Whisky Maker, Bob Dalgarno has put together a superb single malt which carries the character and nobility of the occasion it commemorates, whilst David Holmes has given us a truly inspiring way to use this iconic image”.

Inbox - May 18, 2012

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 that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we 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.  There are a number of new whisky releases that dominate this week, so here goes ...

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Crown Royal - XR launched

The Canadian blended whiskey brand of Crown Royal have announced a new limited edition to their range - the Crown Royal XR.  It has been created by Crown Royal's Master Blender Andrew MacKay and is made using the last remaining casks from the closed LaSalle distillery. Some of these are very old, which have been carefully blended and then bottled at 40% ABV.  The blend is poignant for MacKay, as he spent his early years in the industry by working at LaSalle.

The Crown Royal brand was originally launched in 1939 to commemorate the visit of King George VI to Canada, so it seemed fitting to release this new special release in the year of the current Queen's Diamond Jubilee.  The XR will only be available for a short period of time, predominantly in the US market - it has a recommended retail price of $129.99.  For further information, please visit www.crownroyal.com.

Glenkeir Treasures - Two new additions
The Whisky Shop - the UK's largest whisky retail chain - have announced the two latest releases in their Glenkeir Treasures range.  The two new additions are a Highland Park 18 years old and a Jura 21 years old.  Both are bottled at 40% ABV and will retail at £54 and £59 respectively for a 50cl bottle.  They can be purchased in any of The Whisky Shop chain's 20 stores around the UK, or via www.whiskyshop.com.

As a special promotion to celebrate the launch, they are also offering a year's free membership to The W Club - The Whisky Shop's new members club, which launched in March - with every purchase.  The W Club offers a members only website, which features tasting notes, an interactive blog, exclusive member competitions and bottlings, plus 10% off all purchases in the stores or on their website.  For more information on The W Club or to join, go to www.thewclub.co.uk.

Laphroaig - Jubilee special release
The iconic Islay distillery of Laphroaig has joined the Diamond Jubilee whisky party by announcing a limited release to mark the occassion.  The distillery has strong links with the British Royal family, including having Prince Charles as a patron.  The release sees the 18 years old expression from the core range given a commemorative presentation carton, including the Queen's crest and 1/3000 bottles label being displayed.

The 18 years old Diamond Jubilee Edition is limited to just 3,000 bottles and is available only in the UK market.  It will be available from the end of May/start of June in selected specialist whisky retailers - the recommended retail price is £77.  To mark the celebrations, Laphroaig are also donating £3000 to The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust. For further information, please visit www.laphroaig.com.

Inbox - April 13, 2012 (Part 2)

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 that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we 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 is a little different, as Inbox is split in to two parts - the first part appeared on Friday.  This is due to Matt and Karen having been away to Australia and returning to a large amount of emails about all manner of whisky related things.  Here is the second part of what they discovered ...

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Balblair - New batch released
The northern Highland distillery of Balblair has won many plaudits for its 1989 Vintage, and it has now released the eagerly awaited third batch of this popular release.  In line with the recent policy change by the brand's owners Inver House Distillers, the Batch 3 is released in the new streamlined packaging, is non chillfiltered and bottled at 46% ABV.

The Balblair 1989 Vintage Batch 3 can be found in specialist whisky retailers now with a recommended retail price of £60.  It is to be available in numerous countries, with key focus on the French, Russian and UK markets. Distillery Manager of Balblair John MacDonald says, “The second release of the 1989 Vintage was many people’s favourite Balblair. I believe this variant – at a higher strength, uncoloured and non-chill-filtered – is even better.”

Ballantine's - Championship Blend
The famous Ballantine's blended whisky brand have announced a new and very limited edition to their range of super-premium whiskies.  The Championship Blend has been created to commemorate the 2012 Ballantine's Championship, which is this year being held at the Blackstone Golf Club in Incheon, Korea between the 26-29 May.

The whisky has been created by the Ballantine's Master Blender Sandy Hyslop, with the help of Lee Westwood who won the tournament in 2011.  They have put together a blend which uses some extremely rare whiskies, the youngest of which is 41 years old.  As a consequence, there are only 10 bottles available and most have already found a home.

Famous Grouse - 10 years on
The pioneering whisky visitor experience that is The Famous Grouse Experience is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.  In the decade since opening, the Experience has been visited by almost one million whisky fans.

It is located at Glenturret, which is currently the oldest distillery in operation in Scotland, and holds a prestigious 5* tourist attraction rating from VisitScotland.  To celebrate the anniversary, a number of special events are planned.  The first of these is a new tour named the Celebration Tour - this is priced at £14.95 per person and includes a tasting of five whiskies from the Famous Grouse family at the end.  For more information, visit their website - click here.

Glenlivet - Rare casks released
The Glenlivet, which is the second biggest selling single malt Scotch whisky in the world, has announced the release of a series of rare expressions in its Single Cask Editions range.  Each bottling is released at its natural cask strength.  Two of the whiskies - the Helios which is a 20 year old and the Josie, named after Josie's Well which is the water source for Glenlivet - are available globally.

Another bottling is the Guardians (pictured, above), which has just 631 bottles and is available exclusively to members of the Glenlivet Guardians club.  This has been matured in a second-fill ex-sherry cask and was hand selected by a group of Guardians at an event in London late last year (- Karen was there!).  Others include the Inveravon, which is exclusive to Taiwan, and the Kilimanjaro and Legacy, both exclusive to Germany.

Laphroaig - New travel retail bottling
The biggest selling smoky single malt whisky in the world has announced a new addition to its travel retail range.  The Laphroaig PX Cask replaces the Triple Wood in this sector and is the first Laphroaig whisky to be part-matured in ex-Pedro Ximinez sherry casks.  It has also been matured in ex-bourbon casks and quarter casks. The new whisky will be listed globally in travel retail stores and is available from mod-April.  It has a recommended retail price of £55/€65.

Royal Salute - Diamond Jubilee Edition
A special limited edition of the premium Royal Salute blended whisky is being released for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.  The blend, which is produced by Chivas Brothers and first appeared in 1953 to celebrate the Queen's coronation, appears in a Royal blue glazed porcelain flagon.  This is accompanied by a hand made display box. It will be available in 20 markets around the world and has a recommended retail price of £105/$165.

Neil Macdonald, the Global Brand Director for Royal Salute, says “Royal Salute was originally created to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. We are delighted that this Royal Salute Limited Edition will celebrate the Diamond Jubilee, as it is only the second time in history that this milestone has been achieved by a British monarch.”

Inbox - April 13, 2012 (Part 1)

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 that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we 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 is a little different, as Inbox is split in to two parts - the second part will appear over the weekend.  This is due to Matt and Karen having been away to Australia and returning to a large amount of emails about all manner of whisky related things.  Here is the first part of what they discovered ...

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AnCnoc - Something is coming soon ...
One of the more surreal emails that we received was from the guys at AnCnoc. The up-and-coming whisky brand, which is made at the Highland distillery of Knockdhu, has released a short video alluding to a new project which is just around the corner.  It is meant to whet your appetite and we will let you know as soon as we know what it is all about.  For now, the video is below ... any guesses, please leave a comment below.

Bell's - Jubilee Decanter announced
Within this two part edition of Inbox, you will read about a number of whiskies being released to coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in June. These represent just a few of the plethora of such releases associated with the event.  The Bell's brand has a strong tradition of releasing such limited edition decanters for Royal occasions, as well as  for each Christmas.

The Diamond Jubilee Decanter has been specially designed and shows a change in style and colour from previous decanter releases.  This edition of Bell's has a heavy bias towards the single malts from Blair Athol and Caol Ila in the blend. It is available exclusively to the UK market and will retail for 85.  Numerous specialist whisky retailers in the UK are currently taking pre-orders.

Chivas - Cannes Film Festival
About this time last year, we reported on the third year of sponsorship of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival by the Chivas Regal whisky brand.

To celebrate the continued association, the brand has announced an extension to the sponsorship until at least 2014.  This will also see Chivas Regal continue to support the FilmAid International charity.  The brand will host various events in the French town during the Festival, which runs from 16-27 May. James Slack, Global Brand Director for Chivas Regal says, “We are delighted to continue our support as official partner of the Cannes Film Festival. Like Cannes, Chivas Regal is synonymous with discerning style, luxury and legend, which makes this partnership a perfect one".

Famous Grouse - Jubilee special
The biggest selling blended whisky in the UK is launching a limited edition commemorative version in order to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The Famous Jubilee is a new take on the classic Famous Grouse blend that has been specially constructed by the Master Blender of the Edrington Group (the brand's owners), Gordon Motion. It will be available in the UK only, exclusively to the Waitrose supermarket chain, and will cost £24.99.

The brand is also issuing a revised Jubilee package box for the regular Famous Grouse, which will be available in the supermarket chain of Sainsbury's for the Jubilee period.

Speyburn - New packaging and club
The Speyside distillery of Speyburn have announced a new set of packaging for their single malt range.  The brand, which is owned by Inver House Distillers, has gone for a fresher and more contemporary look with the new packaging, which includes a new bottle, label and tube.  This will initially be applied to the two most popular malts in the range - the Brandan Orach and the 10 years old (pictured, left) - with the aim to increase brand exposure in retail outlets.

The brand has also just opened a new members area, called Clan Speyburn, on its newly refurbished website.  When you sign up you will receive a welcome pack, receive a regular newsletter and be able to enjoy special offers which include limited edition bottlings just for club members.  To sign up - click here.

Tullamore Dew - New distillery
William Grant & Sons, the owners of the Tullamore Dew whiskey brand, have announced plans to construct and open a new distillery in the brand's spiritual hometown of Tullamore, County Offaly. Tullamore Dew is currently the second biggest selling Irish whiskey brand behind Jameson, and the new pot still facility is to help maintain the current level of growth and demand for the product, which is growing by 15% per annum.

The new distillery will bring whiskey production back to the town for the first time since 1954, when the original Tullamore distillery closed.  William Grant is investing €35 million in the project and will created 100 temporary and 25 permanent jobs in the town.  The building work is estimated to take two years and the facility will incorporate an environmentally efficient pot still distillery and a visitor centre.

Whisky Round Table - April 2012
The latest sitting of the newly re-vamped Whisky Round Table is now available for you to read.  The April edition is hosted by one of the original members of the group - Gal Granov of the excellent and informative Whisky Israel blog.

Gal set an interesting question about whether the procedure of maturing casks in two or more locations actually benefited the whisky or whether it was simplay a PR stunt.  Read the answers of the twelve Whisky Knights, including us, by clicking here.