Inbox - October 18, 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.

Inbox - June 14, 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.

Inbox - May 24, 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.

Have just tried - AnCnoc Peter Arkle 2nd Edition

Back in the Autumn, we reported that the Highland single malt brand of AnCnoc (pronounced a-knock) had unveiled the second expression in a series created in collaboration with a renowned Scottish illustrator Peter Arkle. The partnership, which launched in April 2012, revolves around a series of limited AnCnoc single malt expressions presented in packaging designed by the artist. Matt T reviewed the First Edition when that was launched last Summer - click here to read his review.

Inbox - September 14, 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 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.  There is plenty of news this week, so we will keep it short and sweet for each item.  Grab your favourite dram and read on ...

New release - An Cnoc Peter Arkle 1st Edition

Highland distillery An Cnoc have recently added a new limited expression to their range with the release of the Peter Arkle 1st Edition. The distillery, based near Huntly on the border of the Speyside region, has collaborated with artist and illustrator Peter Arkle, and this bottling represents the first of a range of Peter Arkle bottlings; each one packaged using the illustrator’s unique and distinctive designs.

Peter Arkle is a Scotsman who lives and works in New York city. On one visit home, he took a trip up to the highlands where he came across Knockdhu distillery (the name of the distillery that produces An Cnoc single malt). During his tour of the distillery, he fell in love with the place and also the whisky and as a consequence offered to work with the An Cnoc brand. On seeing Peter Arkle’s work and his list of clients (Apple, The Big Issue, Converse, Microsoft, and Scouting Magazine, amongst other equally prestigious organisations), Inverhouse, An Cnoc’s owners, agreed. Check out Peter Arkle’s website if you fancy seeing some of his work. I think it’s pretty cool myself http://www.peterarkle.com/.

The inspiration for each of Peter Arkle’s designs comes from the distillery itself and the processes that go into making single malt whisky. This 1st Edition highlights the different ingredients and forces that go into producing An Cnoc. Each symbol on the bottle represents a different element, namely – barley, water, yeast, heat, time and of course er.. magic! This is all explained in moving pictures by the man himself here if you’re bored of reading stuff.

The 1st Edition is the first An Cnoc released that consists of whisky wholly matured in ex Spanish oak sherry casks and so represents quite a departure from the usual An Cnoc style. Most An Cnoc whiskies are either wholly matured in Bourbon casks or have had only a small proportion of their constituent whisky coming from ex sherry casks. It bares no age statement but it consists of whiskies around 10 years old. It is limited to 6000 bottles in only a handful of territories and is exclusive to Royal Mile Whiskies in the UK, costing £47.50.

Our tasting notes
The nose starts off with aromas of raisins, sultanas and figs which are quickly followed by bittersweet hints of caramel, burnt sugar, burnt toast, malt loaf, stewed apples and ginger. Some lovely nutty aromas present themselves as well, such as brazil nuts and pecans. After a while it becomes a tad more like your typical An Cnoc style with fresh and candied notes of lemon sherbet and white chocolate. With water the sherry aromas take more of a back seat. There are burnt toffee and caramel notes and a tiny sulphur note in the background with floral and herbaceous notes such as lemon verbena, parsley, water cress and mint up front. After a while the nose progressively gets sweeter with aromas of sherbet, fudge and milk-bottle sweets.

Up front, on the palate there’s chocolate and toffee but this soon gives way to some dryer, spicier, bitter flavours such as ginger, burnt sugar and oak. The initial hit of the bitter tannins soon die down and add a nice firm bitterness towards and throughout the lovely long nutty finish, reminiscent of brazils, hazelnuts and pecans. With water the palate is still initially on the sweet side, again with chocolate and toffee but soon becomes very sherry like with flavours of raisins, nuts and flor mould. The spicy tannins are much more restrained, gently coasting across the palate throughout.

What’s the verdict?
It’s great to try something different from the usual An Cnoc range and it’s really interesting to see how the spirit has interacted with the Spanish oak sherry casks to produce a classy, restrained, sherried malt. Although sherry monsters can be popular, the people at Inverhouse should be applauded for releasing a whisky that hasn’t been totally consumed by the sherry cask and still had some balance between oak and spirit; just a different sort of balance than what we’re used to from An Cnoc.

Inbox - April 20, 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 lots of activity this week, so here we go ...

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AnCnoc - Something RemARKabLE
No - we haven't hit the caps lock on the keyboard by mistake ... this is how the related press release was sent to us!  The up and coming single malt brand of AnCnoc, which is made at the Highland distillery of Knockdhu, have announced a new project in conjunction with renowned Scottish illustrator Peter Arkle (pictured, below).

Arkle has produced a series of images which will appear on limited editions of AnCnoc throughout 2012.  The first design features elements of the whisky making process - barley, water, heat, yeast, time and magic.  The whisky selected for this first release is also very special, as it is the first AnCnoc single malt to be released that has been wholly matured in ex-sherry casks.  There is also a short film on the AnCnoc website which charts the creation and progress of the designs.

Bowmore - Darkest Nights
The iconic distillery of Bowmore, the oldest on Islay dating back to 1779, has announced an interactive  consumer experience designed at bring their 15 year old Darkest expression to life. The Magic happens on the Darkest nights experience is being held in London on 25 and 26 April at 7.30pm, with a similar event taking place in New York in May.

The London venue, near Liverpool Street station, has been renovated to include a number of sensory rooms to unlock the secrets of Islay and the Bowmore Darkest whisky.  Fellow collaborators in the project include chocolatier Paul A. Young, astronomer Gary Fildes from the Kielder Forest Star Camp Observatory and Gideon Reeling, who specialises in bespoke interactive theatrical experiences.  It sounds great fun and tickets cost £15 from wegottickets.com. Here's a short video that they have released to whet your appetite ...

Black is back

Black Grouse - Alpha Edition

The Famous Grouse brand is adding a limited edition of its Black Grouse blended whisky to its range.  Named Black Grouse - Alpha Edition, the new whisky is a richer, smokier version of the award winning original Black Grouse.  It has been blended using a higher percentage of peaty single malt than the original.  The black glass bottle is adorned with a grouse feather and shows an alpha male grouse displaying his mating plumage.

The bottling is available exclusively from The Famous Grouse Experience shop at glenturret distillery in Crieff, or via The Famous Grouse website.  A bottle will cost £35.  It will also be available in selected travel retail/Duty Free markets, priced at €33.

It's party time

Chivas Regal -  The Art of Hosting

The popular whisky brand of Chivas Regal has teamed up with the founders of the Le Baron nightclubs to create a new limited pack.  The Chivas & Le Baron is designed around the increasing trend of drinking at home or hosting whisky tastings at home.  The pack contains a bottle of Chivas Regal 12 years old and a members card, allowing access to a new Chivas Art of Hosting website.  The site includes a series of videos by Le Baron's founders about how to throw the perfect party at home. 

The limited edition pack will be available shortly in off-trade retailers in 20 markets around the world and will cost around 10% more than the regular Chivas Regal 12 years old.

Cutty Sark - Celebration cocktails
The Cutty Sark whisky brand is celebrating the forthcoming re-opening of the boat from which it takes its name by mixing up two whisky cocktails.  The Cutty Sark, the world's oldest tea clipper, was devastated by fire in May 2007 and has undergone five years of restoration work.  The state of the art exhibit re-opens on 26 April.

The first cocktail is called Cutty Storm and is made with one shot of Cutty Sark whisky, half a shot of Bols Triple Sec liqueur, a wedge of lime and lemonade, served in a tall glass.  The other is the Cutty Fashion, which is made with two shots of Cutty Sark, two dashes of Angostura bitters, one teaspoon of gomme sugar syrup and a curl of orange peel.  To makes this, add the ingredients in a short glass with some ice and swirl for around a minute before decorating with the orange.

Creating a buzz?

Jim Beam Honey - UK launch
The bourbon based liqueur sees its launch in the UK next week and the brand is celebrating with two days of special events. Jim Beam Honey is made by infusing four year old Jim Beam bourbon with golden honey and is bottled at a strength of 35% ABV.  It will retail around the £23 mark.

The launch event for the brand see them take over Broadgate Circle in the heart of the City of London for a series of events, including the construction of a huge beehive!  Music and entertainment will also be provided, as well as the opportunity to try the new product for the first time.  The events take place on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 April between 6-9pm - entry is free and includes two complimentary drinks.