Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (May 14, 2021)

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 / Talisker Xpedition Oak 43 years old

This new whisky is the oldest ever single malt to be released by the Talisker distillery from the Scottish isle of Skye. The Talisker Xpedition Oak 43 years old has been created from just 10 casks, with all being filled in the late 1970s. These have yielded just 1,830 bottles in total - a reference to the year that the distillery was founded. The whisky was finished for a short period in casks made from oak staves that travelled 3,264 miles across the Atlantic Ocean on the yacht of explorer James Aitken when he was taking part in The Atlantic Challenge. A piece of stave is included within the each presentation box.

Allotment Drams / Sadler's Peaky Blinder Blended Irish Whiskey & Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 9

We have two more episodes of our Allotment Dram whisky review series for you. First, Matt goes Irish and blended as he talks about the Sadler's Blended Irish Whiskey from their Peaky Blinder range of spirits. Learn about the brand and then hear his thoughts and tasting notes about this budget dram.

Then for his next visit, which is on a freezing cold day, he takes a look at the brand new Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 9 - the latest release in the annual cult limited edition series from the east Highland single malt distillery. Find out details of this year's bottling, plus Matt's thoughts and tasting notes.

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Review - Smokehead Rum Rebel

 

This whisky is the latest addition to the increasingly popular Smokehead range from Ian Macleod Distillers. The Islay single malt, which is sourced from an un-named distillery on the famous whisky island, has seen a finishing period in ex-rum barrels from the Caribbean. It was launched in time to celebrate International Rum Day on August 16th. It joins the Smokehead Original, High Voltage and Sherry Bomb expressions in the core domestic range and the Extra Rare and Rum Riot in the travel retail range. All carry no age statement.

Distillery Visit - Westland

The Westland distillery is located in the SoDo district of Seattle in the west coast American state of Washington. It was established by Matt Hoffman in 2010, who wanted to set up a craft distillery near to his home town of Tacoma following a period of studying brewing and distilling at Herriott Watt University in Edinburgh. Westland has recently been taken over by drinks company Remy Cointreau.

Washington has a vibrant craft brewing and distilling community. Washington and neighbouring Oregon are two of the major barley and hop growing areas in the world, which has driven this growth and vibrancy. The state also has a temperate climate and this is perfect for whiskey maturation.

Review - Ardbeg Grooves Committee Release

Ardbeg Grooves is the latest experiment in the annual Ardbeg Committee series from Dr. Bill Lumsden (the Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky Stocks at Ardbeg) and is inspired by the distillery's community when it was a much smaller and local operation in the 1960s. The release is part of a wider 1960s themed promotion that will run throughout the year, including this year's Ardbeg Day on June 2, which is called 'Peat & Love'.

Grooves has seen a pocket of the whisky included be matured in re-toasted ex-red wine casks, which were heavily charred while still sticky with the residue of the wine. This created deep grooves in the wood and an intense flavour profile.

Review - Benromach 1977

This whisky is a recent release from the small Speyside distillery of Benromach in their Single Cask Vintage Collection. This is designed to showcased a number of rare casks from the 1970s and has so far seen bottlings from 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976. The Benromach 1977 Vintage has been matured in a single re-fill American oak ex-bourbon cask (Cask #1268) for 39 years and is bottled at the natural cask strength of 56% ABV. There are just 225 bottles, which were released last Autumn and distributed to selected specialist whisky retailers worldwide. Each bottle cost £1,350 (€1,500).

Review - The Ballantine's Single Malts

The blended Scotch brand have entered the single malt category with the release of three whiskies. These are from three of the most important distilleries that contribute single malt to the Ballantine's blended range - Glenburgie, Glentauchers and Miltonduff. All are from the Speyside region and bottled at 15 years of age. They are each presented at 40% ABV and will be available in Asia through travel retail, before seeing a global domestic market introduction. The price will be £42 ($56 US) each.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (December 15, 2017)

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 - Highland Park Dragon Legend

The Dragon Legend is a new expression that has recently been released by the Orcadian single malt whisky brand of Highland Park. It is designed to have a 'richer and smokier flavour' than previous expressions of Highland Park and is initially exclusive to UK supermarkets, including Tesco. Dragon Legend will then be rolled out to key European markets in early 2018. The name takes inspiration from the brand's Viking heritage and the tale of the evil serpent Fafnir. It has been matured in a combination of American oak and European oak ex-sherry casks, and is bottled at a strength of 43.1% ABV. The recommended retail price is £40.

Review - Glen Scotia 25 years old

This whisky is the new super premium bottling from the Campbeltown-based distillery of Glen Scotia. The Glen Scotia 25 years old is the oldest expression in the current single malt range from the distillery and was launched at the recent Campbeltown Festival. The core range also includes the Double Cask, 15 years old and Victoriana expressions. The whisky has been matured in American oak casks that were then hand selected by Michael Henry, the Master Blender of Glen Scotia, and then transferred to first fill ex-bourbon casks.  It has been bottled at 48.8% ABV and is available through selected specialist whisky retailers worldwide. A bottle should cost £250.

Review - Tomatin 1971

This whisky is the first release of the new luxury Warehouse 6 Collection from Tomatin. The collection will feature a series of rare single casks from the maturing stock with the first being distilled in August 1971 and bottled in May 2016. The 44 years old has been matured in a single ex-Oloroso sherry hogshead cask, which has yielded just 252 bottles. The whisky is presented in a bespoke hand-blown crystal decanter made by Glencairn Crystal and sits in a varnished wooden plinth with gold metal trim alongside two crystal tumblers.

Review - Talisker Skye

Talisker Skye is the latest whisky in the core range from the popular single malt distillery from the Scottish Isle of Skye. The whisky is created in homage to the rugged landscape and wild seas that surround the island distillery with tastes of fresh citrus, sweet smokiness and the maritime influence which is a signature of Talisker whiskies. This expression is constructed using toasted and refill American oak casks that are hand selected by Diageo's Master Blenders. It sits within the range consisting of Storm and Port Ruighe as the lighter, fresher and most citrusy of the series, but with an extra edge of sweetness compared the 10 year old thanks to the selection of a slightly higher proportion of toasted casks. Skye is bottled at 45.8% ABV and will be available in Spring 2015. The anticipated recommended retail cost will be £33.

Review - Highland Park Odin

Highland Park Odin is the greatly anticipated (and already sold-out) fourth and final bottling in The Valhalla Collection. Each single malt whisky in this series is named after legendary figures from Nordic history and Odin follows the previous award-winning releases of Thor, Loki and Freya.

This limited edition whisky with only 17,000 bottles released globally is presented in a dramatic black ‘battle worn’ bottle and black Viking long ship inspired wooden frame that is a signature to the complete series. It is 16 years old, 55.8% ABV, and for those lucky enough to have managed to pick up a bottle, it was available at a recommended retail price of £180. The whisky itself is aged in 250 litre hogsheads previously holding sherry; starting with refill casks then transferred to fresh first fill casks for a final four years.

New Release - Old Pulteney 40 Year Old

Old Pulteney Distillery is the northernmost mainland distillery in Scotland. Located in the town of Wick, the distillery is squeezed tightly into the surrounding streets and buildings and space is at such a premium that the Wash Still has had to be designed with an unusual flat top so as to allow it to fit into the Still Room. Luckily the compromise with the still shape has not adversely affected the quality of the whisky produced and the Old Pulteney 21 Year Old was rated as the best whisky of the year in whisky writer, Jim Murray’s 2012 Whisky Bible.

New Release – Balvenie 17 Year Old Doublewood

The announcement that Grant's would be adding a 17 year old version of the Balvenie Doublewood to their core range a few months ago was quite exciting. The 12 year old Doublewood, to this writer at least, is pretty legendary and will always have a place in my heart as the whisky that first got me into whisky. It’s a great complex accessible dram. The idea of releasing an older version is, like most genius ideas, obvious. I’m amazed no one thought of it before.

Great places to drink whisky - Japan

Japan is arguably the home of the whisky bar. There are huge amounts of them all over the place, particularly in Tokyo. Consequently, when my girlfriend and I decided go on holiday to Japan, I immediately began looking into what whisky bars I could drag her along to and spend stupid amounts of money in.