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. 

Our Top 10 Whiskies of 2021

This is always one of our favourite posts to write each year. The Top 10 is something we first began way back in 2009 and within it we celebrate the finest new whisky releases of that calendar year. Our first selection crowned Benromach 10 years old as our Whisky of the Year. We decided some time ago to no longer give a top prize. Instead, each of the ten whiskies that we have chosen is a winner in its own right and for differing reasons.

As the world continued to do battle with the Covid-19 pandemic, the whisky world seemed to respond with some excellent releases. The adversity and uncertainty acted as inspiration for some of the companies to bottle some of their best whiskies of recent times. It has been difficult to select just ten to be honest.

Review / Diageo Prima & Ultima Collection (2021 Edition)

This set of single malts form the second line-up for the annual Prima & Ultima Collection from Diageo, Scotland's largest whisky producers. The 2021 Edition consists of eight rare bottlings and shows the diversity of maturing stock across Diageo's portfolio, both from current and closed distilleries. The whiskies were selected by Maureen Robinson, Senior Blender at Diageo, who has taken over the reigns from Jim Beveridge OBE. He curated the inaugural set in 2020. 

Allotment Drams / Linkwood 12 years old by DS Tayman & Samuel Gelston's Single Pot Still

Two more new episodes of our Allotment Dram series for you, both filmed on chilly January afternoons. First watch as Matt opens a single cask Speyside offering from new independent kosher whisky bottler DS Tayman - a Linkwood 12 years old finished in kosher red wine barrels. Then on his next visit he goes Irish as he talks about and samples the Samuel Gelston's Single Pot Still. Watch both videos to find out more about each brand, plus Matt's thoughts and tasting notes.

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#AllotmentDram

 

Review / DS Tayman Second Edition - Caol Ila 12 years old & Linkwood 12 years old

DS Tayman are a new independent bottling company that have been set up with the aim of offering certified kosher whiskies to customers. This is being achieved by pairing selected casks of whisky with wine barrels from different wineries. These casks have then been blessed by a Rabbi in situ in the warehouses in Scotland. This gives the company the ability to carry kosher stamps from KLBD (Kosher London Beis Din), MKL (Mishmeres haKashrus London) and OU (The Orthodox Union). DS Tayman is part of Dalkeith Brokerage.

The company released their first two whiskies in Spring 2020. This Second Edition was released back in the Autumn and features two more whiskies - one from Caol Ila on the island of Islay and one from Linkwood in Speyside. These are released as a set of single casks (30 in total) spanning the two distilleries and at the same ages. In each case the whisky has been initially matured in first-fill ex-bourbon casks before being transferred to ex-red wine casks from the Flam Winery in Israel.

Review - A Fine Christmas Malt 2019 Edition

A Fine Christmas Malt is the annual festive limited edition bottling from leading specialist spirits retailer The Whisky Exchange. The 2019 Edition is a 10 years old single malt that was distilled at the Speyside distillery of Linkwood on the outskirts of Elgin. The whisky has been matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and there are just 2,696 bottles of this year's release. These have been released at 54.2% ABV and the whisky is non chill-filtered and of natural colour. A Fine Christmas Malt 2019 Edition is exclusively available now from The Whisky Exchange. A bottle will cost £56.95.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (November 22, 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.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (March 23, 2018)

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 - The Diageo Special Releases 2016

The Special Releases are a limited edition range of whiskies that are bottled each Autumn by Diageo, Scotland's largest whisky producer.  The series started in the early 2000s and is designed to highlight some of the best and rarest Scotch whiskies from Diageo's extensive estate of single malt and single grain distilleries, including some that are no longer in production.

In 2016 special release there are 10 whiskies - nine single malts and one single grain - and all are bottled at the natural cask strength and all are non chill-filtered.

Distillery visit - Linkwood

A few weeks ago we headed north and paid a visit to the annual Spirit of Speyside Festival.  One of the highlights of our trip was a special tour, which is only run once a year during the festival, called The Laich of Moray.  This tour takes in four of Diageo's single malt distilleries around the Elgin area of Speyside that are not normally open to the public - Glen Elgin, Glenlossie, Linkwood and Mannochmore.  Our guide for the trip was Eric Walker, the Senior Site Manager in charge of the four distilleries.  So, on a bright Spring Saturday morning we boarded a minibus full of European malt fanatics and headed for Linkwood, our first distillery of the day and one which we knew very little about.

Inbox - November 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.

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

Have just tried ... Linkwood 26 years old & Glen Craig 34 years old from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

On our recent tasting evening at the London headquarters of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, we sampled another couple of whiskies in the members’ bar. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a members club that bottle single casks of whisky from distilleries all around the world. The majority are from Scotland with 126 distilleries represented. They use a numbering system for their labelling, rather than naming the distillery. In this system, the first number is the distillery ID and the second is the number of the cask that has been bottled from that distillery (for example, using one of the whiskies below – 39 is the distillery ID for Linkwood and 69 represents the 69th cask that the Society have bottled from Linkwood). We randomly picked two distillery numbers and this is what we got …

39.69 Linkwood 26 years old
Linkwood is a distillery from the Speyside region of Scotland. The distillery was founded in 1821 and is located in the town of Elgin. It is currently owned by drinks giant Diageo and they use most of the whisky produced at Linkwood for blending, especially in Bell’s which is one of the UK’s best sellers. Only about 2% of the annual two million litres of whisky produced there gets released as single malt. The colour is golden and the nose is light yet fragrant. There is lots of vanilla, caramel and herbal notes (think of dried grasses and leaves). On the palate, this feels thick and quite syrupy in the mouth. The caramel becomes more toffee/butterscotch-like and the grassiness is particularly prominent. This is counteracted by a zingy citrus note (imagine lemon zest) and results in a refreshing feeling. The finish is complex and reasonably long with the vanilla and malted barley cereal coming through. Finally, this becomes quite dry, tannic and woody but this is not unpleasant.

104.11 Glen Craig 34 years old
Glen Craig is a very rare single malt whisky that was produced at the Glenburgie distillery between 1958 and 1981. Glenburgie is a Speyside distillery that can be found between the towns of Elgin and Forres. It is currently owned by Pernod Ricard, who use it in their popular Chivas Regal blends. Some also goes to other best selling blends, such as Ballantine’s and Teacher’s. Less than 1% of the four million litres produced there every year gets released as single malt, with the only way to buy it being through independent bottling companies. Glen Craig was an experimental single malt developed in the late 1950s and produced using Lomond stills – a type of still that could produce differing styles of whisky by adjusting its components. Production was stopped when these Lomond stills were dismantled and the whisky is now extremely rare.

The colour is a rich dark gold and the nose is very unusual. It is very fragrant and floral (imagine a cross between a feminine perfume and a spring meadow!), with some gorgeous sweet vanilla and cereal grains underneath (think of a digestive biscuit). This nose just made you want to try it and on the palate this is creamy and full bodied. The sweet vanilla and malted barley are there again and are joined by a complex mix of caramel, warm spice (think of nutmeg), tropical fruit (imagine pineapple and mango) and that fragrant floral note (think more of roses this time – sounds odd I know, but its true!). The finish is long, sweet and enjoyable with a hint of nuttiness coming through at the end (imagine a bitter style of nut like a walnut).

New releases ... Diageo cask strength special releases 2008

Diageo, the multi national drinks company, have just released their latest cask strength range and Whisky For Everyone were lucky enough to get an invite to the official launch and tasting that was held at Diageo's headquarters in London. The idea behind these annual releases is to showcase special stock that they are holding from their existing and closed distilleries. All are limited in numbers and some are highly collectable and desirable. They will only be able to be purchased from specialist retailers.

Caol Ila unpeated 8 years old
This whisky is only produced for a very short time each year at Caol Ila distillery on the island of Islay. Normally, Caol Ila produce some of the smokiest whiskies in the world but this one is unpeated, young and fresh. This is bottled at a very high strength (64.2% ABV), is limited to only 5500 bottles and should cost between £40-45. The nose is full of crisp fruit (imagine green apples and pears), some citrus (like lemon zest), vanilla and malted barley. A gorgeous floral note (think of heather) emerges when water is added. The palate is intense yet light and creamy in the mouth with sweet vanilla and malted barley prominent. There is also some fruity citrusness going on (that zest again) and maybe a hint of saltiness. The finish is shortish and dry but full of flavour with that floral note coming through. This is an excellent whisky that is light, crisp and refreshing yet very complex. One of my three favourites of the night.

Glen Elgin 16 years old
Glen Elgin is one of Diageo's lesser known distilleries and the release from this Speyside distillery is the largest in the collection, with just under 10,000 bottles. It is bottled at 58.5% ABV and should cost between £50-60. The whisky has been matured in sherry casks and this shows in the colour and nose. The colour is dark amber and the nose is full of dried fruit (think of raisins and sultanas) and candied peel (imagine orange zest) with some butterscotch and vanilla. These translate on to the palate with loads of dried fruit and sweet vanilla. There is also a slightly acidic citrus note (orange zest again). These are joined by some sweet cereal grains and a hint of spice (think of nutmeg). The finish is medium and quite nutty (imagine almonds) with a bitter element coming through at the very end with some warm spices (nutmeg again). This is fairly pleasant but has too much sherry cask influence for my taste, making it slightly too bitter and woody. It is like drinking a strong version of a sherry.

The Linkwood 26 year old range
There are three very limited releases from this Speyside distillery. Each has had 12 years of maturation in a bourbon cask and then 14 years in either port, rum or red wine casks. Each expression has a release of only 1250 bottles and should cost around £130-150 each. The bottles are 50cl and were specially commissioned by an award winning designer. The port finish is bottled at 56.9% ABV and is almost crimson in colour. It has a rich and fruity nose that has red fruit as the predominant characteristic (think of blackcurrants, red grapes and blackberries). The palate is pretty sweet with that red fruit taking over, although some vanilla and an interesting citrus note (imagine orange zest) battle their way through. The finish in contrast is quite dry, bitter and tart. The rum finish is golden in colour and bottled at 54.5% ABV. There is a pleasant mix of notes on the nose, with citrus (think of orange zest), caramel, cereal grains and honey present. This is very sweet on the palate, almost sickly sweet. There are lots of sweet vanilla, those cereal grains again and some sugary cane sweetness. These notes follow through to the finish, which is fairly long but gets quite dry and bitter towards the end. The red wine expression is finished in a Burgundy wine cask and has a dark golden red colour. The nose hits you with loads of red fruit (imagine redcurrants, blackcurrants, blackberries and red grapes). There is lots of red wine character on the palate with the red fruit prominent. Some vanilla and butterscotch fight their way through but the over riding flavour is that of red wine. This dries your mouth and the finish is fairly long but very mouth drying and tannic. For me, these three expressions were disappointing. Linkwood is known as producing a light, aromatic spirit but here the distillery character has been completely overtaken and masked by the three finishes.

Brora 25 years old
Whisky from this closed highland distillery is becoming harder and harder to find. This bottling was distilled in 1983, the last year of production at Brora. Only 3000 bottles have been released and the strength is 56.3% ABV. A bottle should cost between £170-200. The nose is quite light with some smokiness (imagine wood ash), some citrus (think of lemon zest), dried fruits (like sultanas or raisins) and some nuttiness (imagine almonds). Upon adding water, the nose becomes more floral (think of heather) and salty (imagine seaweed or a sea breeze). On the palate, this is again light with a complex mixture of sweet vanilla, that citrus note from the nose, some malted barley and a salty tang. There is some smokiness but it is more subtle and earthier than the nose. The finish is reasonably long but quite dry with a bitter twist at the end. More smokiness and saltiness comes through than on the palate. This is good but left me slightly disappointed as it didn't quite seem to live up to the hype that Brora whiskies have.

Port Ellen 29 years old
Another bottling from a closed distillery, this time from Port Ellen on the island of Islay. The distillery stopped production in the early 1980s, although the maltings there still provided malted barley for some of the island's other distilleries. Stocks of Port Ellen are rare, especially at this age, and this is bottled at 55.3% ABV and limited to 6500 bottles. The cost should be between £180-200 per bottle. The colour is deep amber and the nose is elegant and rich. There is a sumptuous mix of sweet dried fruits (sultanas, i think), warm spices (think of nutmeg or cinammon), some saltiness (like sea air) and smoke (imagine coal fire smoke). On the palate, this is quite light and more subtle than many Islay malts. All the elements from the nose are present with the addition of a more peppery spiciness. The marriage of the coal smoke and salty brine-like flavours is really good. The finish is long and warm with that smoke and saltiness prominent, with licquorice and cinammon notes interestingly coming through at the end, especially when water is added. This is pretty good stuff and needs to be snapped up before it all runs out!

Talisker 25 and 30 years old
There are two releases from Talisker, the only distillery on the western island of Skye. Whilst the Talisker 10 years old is one of the best selling single malts in the world, whiskies of this age from the distillery are much rarer. The 25 years old was distilled in 1983 and has a release of 6700 bottles. It is bottled at 54.2% ABV and should cost between £130-150. The nose is surprisingly soft with some pepperiness (imagine black peppercorns), some saltiness (think of seaweed), caramel and a meaty smokiness (sounds weird but it instantly reminded me of smoky bacon crisps!). On the palate, this is pleasantly oily and quite thick. It is rich with some peppery smoke, some fruitiness (imagine dried fruit like sultanas), a hint of salt (think of brine) and an interesting iodine bitterness. The finish is long, warming and spicy (something like ginger?) with a more earthy smokiness. The 30 years old is gentler and more subtle than the 25. It is distilled in 1978 and is bottled at 49.5% ABV. There are only 3000 bottles released and one should cost between £200-230. The nose is very fresh for a whisky of this age and is a complex mix of dried fruit (think of Christmas pudding), saltiness (imagine seaweed) and subtle spicy smokiness (think of black pepper and nutmeg). This is thinner on the palate than the 25 with delicate sweetness marrying well with light smoke (imagine wood ash/embers), that salty element (think of brine) and the dried fruits (although these are less prominent than on the nose). The finish is long and quite herbal (menthol, maybe?) with some honey sweetness and just a whiff of smoke. Both of these whiskies are of excellent quality. If i had to choose one, it would be the 30 years old as it has so many subtle flavours and was different to any Talisker that i have tried before. One of my top three for the night.

Lagavulin 12 years old
This release from the iconic Lagavulin distillery on the island of Islay is one of the cheapest of the collection. At between £50-60, this is a real bargain. The colour is a gorgeous deep amber and the nose is full on. This has an intense nose full of peaty, earthy smokiness (reminded me of wood embers/ash) and this is joined by a lovely mix of caramel/toffee, some saltiness and a citrus element (imagine lemon zest). On the palate, this is full bodied with that smokiness marrying perfectly with some sweet barley, saltiness (think of brine), caramel and something nutty. With water, the whisky opens up to become even more smoky and salty with a pepperiness coming through. The finish is long and intense with that earthy, peaty smoke fading slowly. This is an excellent whisky and was probably my favourite of the evening.

Have just tried ... Linkwood 1990 from Signatory Vintage

Linkwood is a distillery on the outskirts of Elgin in Speyside. It is owned by multi national drinks company Diageo and has a reputation among connoisseurs for producing very good whisky and has a bit of a cult following. Most of the whisky produced at the distillery goes into blended whisky, therefore actually distillery releases are few and far between. This one is from Signatory Vintage, who are one of Scotland's largest independent bottlers, and is 17 years old. The colour was extremely light (like straw). Considering the age of the whisky I would expect it to be darker. The nose is good with hints of vanilla, coconut, green apples and peaches (unripe ones, though). On the palate, this whisky is very light and delicate. There are fresh leafy and grassy notes, with some vanilla, unripe stone fruits and toffee coming through. However, there is an oily flavour on the finish that reminded me of smelling petrol and also something else that resembled hard wood or furniture polish. This made the finish very dry but it did cleanse the palate well. This whisky was easy to drink but just not that memorable, and I am not sure that I liked that finish. I think it would be a great summer drink, a good palate cleanser after a meal or a good mixer with soda or ice. It is refreshing and if you like a good gin and tonic then you may enjoy this.