Review | Glenmorangie A Tale of Ice Cream

The north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie has launched the fifth bottling in its annual Tales series of single malts - the Glenmorangie A Tale of Ice Cream. The new limited-edition whisky is inspired by trips to a traditional ice cream parlour. 

It features spirit initially matured in ex-bourbon casks before a finishing period in high-vanillin virgin American oak barrels. These barrels have been lightly charred to bring out extra vanilla notes from the wood. A Tale of Ice Cream has been created by Gillian Macdonald, the Master Blender for Glenmorangie, and Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Whisky Creation for the brand. 

Review | Glenmorangie Triple Cask Reserve

This is a new addition to the core single malt range of the north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie. The Glenmorangie Triple Cask Reserve has married three different cask types together to take the spirit in a different direction. These are ex-bourbon, charred new American oak and ex-rye whiskey casks. It has been created by Gillian Macdonald, Master Blender for Glenmorangie, and will be the new kick-off point for the core range and ahead of the recently released The Original 12 years old, which replaced the former 10 year old version.

Review | Glenmorangie The Original 12 years old

The north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie has reimagined its classic and well-loved The Original single malt whisky. The bottling, which was previously bottled at 10 years old and has remained largely unchanged since the 1950s, is the cornerstone of the Glenmorangie core range and will remain so. It is the whisky that all others in the range are based around. The new iteration has seen the age increase to 12 years old with the cask make up (100% ex-bourbon barrels) and strength (40% ABV) remaining the same. It is essentially the same whisky but two years older.

Review | Glenmorangie 23 years old: Dr. Bill Lumsden x Azuma Makoto

This limited edition whisky is a premium release from the north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie. It marks a collaboration between Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Whisky Creation for the brand, and renowned botanical artist Azuma Makoto. The partnership has seen the pair use a shared love of landscape and the natural world (a concept know as shinra bansho in Japan) to create a unique whisky and living art installation. This follows a visit to Glenmorangie and the surrounding Highlands by Makoto, with Lumsden as his guide.

Review / Glenmorangie A Tale of Tokyo

The north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie have launched the fourth bottling in their annual Tales series - the Glenmorangie A Tale of Tokyo. This has seen Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie, using rare Japanese mizunara oak for the famous single malt brand for the first time. The whisky from these casks has been married with traditional American oak ex-bourbon cask and ex-sherry cask stock to create the perfect balance. 

Review / Glenmorangie Amontillado Cask Finish 12 years old

This new whisky is the fourth bottling in the Barrel Select Release series from the north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie. The Glenmorangie Amontillado Cask Finish 12 years old is exclusive to Australia and the UK and has been crafted by Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie. Initial maturation was in ex-bourbon barrels for eight years before being transferred to ex-Amontillado sherry casks sourced by Lumsden for a further four years. It has been bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill-filtered. The Glenmorangie Amontillado Cask Finish 12 years old is exclusive to The Whisky Club Australia and the visitor centre shop in Tain. It can also be purchased via glenmorangie.com. A bottle will cost £75/ $AU135. 

Review / Ardbeg Hypernova

This new whisky is the latest limited edition exclusive from Islay distillery of Ardbeg. The Ardbeg Hypernova is pitched as the smokiest Ardbeg single malt ever and is only available to Ardbeg Committee members. The new whisky is an evolution of previous cult classic Supernova and shows peat levels in excess of 170ppm (phenol parts per million). This is over three times above the regular level of Ardbeg spirit. The Ardbeg Hypernova is bottled at 51% ABV and will be available in limited numbers from the Ardbeg Committee part of the Ardbeg website and Ardbeg Embassies around the world. Membership to the Committee is free and open to all Ardbeg fans or peaty whisky drinkers. A bottle will cost £190. 

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (November 4, 2022)

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 / Glenmorangie A Tale of the Forest

This new whisky is the third release in the north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie's annual Tales series. A Tale of the Forest follows A Tale of Cake from 2020 and A Tale of Winter from 2021. This year's edition takes inspiration from Dr. Bill Lumden's walks through the woodland close to his home. Glenmorangie's Director of Whisky Creation has evoke the sights, sounds and smell of the forest by using a small batch of barley kilned with woodland botanicals. This traditional practice from yesteryear sees barley dried with small quantities of peat, juniper, pine, heather, rowan berries and birch bark. The whisky has been matured in a combination of first-fill and re-fill ex-bourbon casks. The packaging has been designed by illustrator Pomme Chan.

Review / Whistlepig Piggyback 6 years old

This new bottling is the youngest expression from the Vermont-based brand of Whistlepig. As with the rest of the range Whistlepig Piggyback 6 years old is made from 100% rye. It joins the 10, 12 and 15 year old expressions. The new whisky has been conceived following consultation with bartenders and is designed for use in mixing and cocktails. It was created by Dave Pickerell, the late Master Distiller at Whistlepig who sadly died just before its launch. Piggyback is bottled at six years of age and has been aged in American oak barrels. It was launched in America last month and saw its UK launch on Independence Day (July 4). Whistlepig Piggyback 6 years old is bottled at 48.28% ABV (96.56 Proof) and will retail for £45 per bottle.

Review / Glenmorangie The Accord, The Elementa & The Tribute

These three whiskies form the core range of travel retail exclusive single malts from the north Highalnd distillery of Glenmorangie. They were launched in Autumn 2021 as the world began travelling again following 18 months of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. They are available now in airports globally and have been created by Dr. Bill Lumsden - the Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky Stocks at Glenmorangie.

Review / Glenmorangie A Tale of Winter

This whisky is a new seasonal limited edition single malt from the north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie. The Glenmorangie A Tale of Winter is inspired by the cosy quality of a thick winter jumper and was created by Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie. It follows last year's A Tale of Cake in the series. The whisky was initially matured in ex-bourbon casks before finishing for a period of time in ex-Marsala wine casks sourced by Lumsden from Sicily. The Glenmorangie A Tale of Winter is bottled at 13 years of age and 46% ABV. It is also non chill-filtered and will be available globally via selected specialist whisky retailers. A bottle will cost £75/ $105 US. 

Review / Ardbeg 8 years old : For Discussion

This single malt whisky is the latest limited edition from the Islay-based distillery and will be exclusive to Ardbeg Committee members. The Ardbeg 8 years old : For Discussion is designed to get Committee members talking about the whisky and how it compares to other whiskies in the Ardbeg range. It has been created by Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Distilling & Whisky Creation, and has been matured in ex-sherry casks. The aim was to temper the powerful smoke of the 8 year old spirit. The Ardbeg 8 years old : For Discussion is bottled at 50.8% ABV and is both natural colour and non chill-filtered. The Ardbeg Committee has over 100,000 members worldwide.

Review / X by Glenmorangie

This whisky is a new release from the north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie. The X by Glenmorangie will sit in their single malt core range and is designed for mixing. The new whisky has been crafted by top bartenders under the watchful eye of Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie. X by Glenmorangie features whiskies that have been matured in ex-bourbon barrels with some being finished in charred virgin oak casks for a short period. 

X by Glenmorangie is designed to elevate simple serves with mixers such as Glenmorangie X Tonic and Glenmorangie X Cola, but has also led to the development of combinations for those feeling more creative. These recipes and combinations can be found at www.glenmorangie.com. 

Review / Ardbeg Scorch (Committee Edition)

This whisky is the latest single malt for the Islay distillery's annual Ardbeg Day bottling, which celebrates the final day of the Feis Ile festival on the island. The 2021 edition is named Ardbeg Scorch and is inspired by a mythical dragon that is said to live in one of the dunnage warehouses at the distillery. The whisky has been matured in heavily charred American oak ex-bourbon barrels. This heavy char makes the wood crack and is often known as 'alligator char' as it looks like reptile skin (or dragon skin in this case ...). The Scorch (Committee Edition) is bottled at the natural cask strength of 51.7% ABV. It was available exclusively to members of the Ardbeg Committee but has now sold out.

Review / Ardbeg 25 years old

This new whisky represents the oldest expression to enter the core range of Ardbeg to date. The single malt is particularly special given that the cult Islay distillery was out of production for large parts of the 1980s and 1990s when this was distilled. During that time, Ardbeg was only operated for short periods each year and often by staff from other distilleries on the famous whisky island. Therefore, the liquid is extremely rare and will be released in small batches. The Ardbeg 25 years old has been created by Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Whisky Director for Ardbeg, using a tiny selection of casks that were filled in the mid-1990s.

Review / Ardbeg Arrrrrrrdbeg (Committee Release)

 

This whisky is a limited edition single malt from the cult Islay distillery of Ardbeg that celebrates the 13-year tenure of departed Distillery Manager Mickey Heads. Arrrrrrrdbeg has been matured entirely in ex-rye whiskey casks, which were sourced from the American whiskey industry by Dr. Bill Lumsden - the Director of Whisky Creation at Ardbeg. It is the first ever Ardbeg to have undergone such maturation. The bottle features an illustration depicting Mickey Heads as a pirate, which was created by renowned graphic artist Butcher Billy. The whisky has been released at its natural cask strength of 51.8% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour.

Review - Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake

 

A Tale of Cake is a new limited single malt that is the brainchild of Dr. Bill Lumsden - the Director of Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie. For this release, he has been inspired by memories of baking pineapple upside down cake, firstly with his grandmother and then with his daughter. The spirit involved was earmarked for use as Glenmorangie Original, having been matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels. This was then finished in ex-Tokaji dessert wine casks from Hungary. These highly prized and rare barrels were sourced and hand selected by Dr. Bill for A Tale of Cake. The release also features bespoke packaging designed to represent a cake and the whisky is bottled at 46% ABV.

Review - Ardbeg Blaaack (Committee Release)

The Blaaack is the annual Ardbeg Day release from the Islay distillery of Ardbeg. The 2020 edition celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Ardbeg Committee, one of the world's first distillery clubs that boasts over 100,000 members. Ardbeg Blaaack is so named to honour the distillery's 'black sheep of the family' image amongst Islay distilleries and has been matured in ex-Pinot Noir red wine casks. These were sourced from New Zealand by Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Whisky Creation at Ardbeg. This cask strength limited edition will be released at 50.7% ABV exclusively for Ardbeg Committee members. A bottle will cost £94.

Review - Ardbeg Supernova 2019 Edition

This whisky signals a brief return for one of Ardbeg's most popular recent limited editions - the Ardbeg Supernova. The expression, which is the peatiest released by the brand and has even been sent in to space as part of an experiment, was first released in 2009 and this new whisky is bottled to commemorate that 10th anniversary. As with the previous incarnations this has been created by Dr. Bill Lumsden - the Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky Stocks at Ardbeg and its sister distillery of Glenmorangie in the Highlands.