Review / The Diageo Special Releases 2023 : Spirited Xchange

It is that time of the year again. Each Autumn the Special Releases are released by Diageo, Scotland's largest producer of whisky. The 2023 Edition features eight whiskies selected from across their 28 single malt distilleries. The series carries the title of Spirited Xchange this year and each whisky has been selected by Dr. Stuart Morrison, one of Diageo's Master Blenders.

The Special Releases first appeared in 2001 and have been released annually ever since. The collection has grown to be eagerly anticipated by whisky fans, consumers and collectors around the world. The whiskies included each year are designed to showcase some of the best and rarest whisky, both single malt and single grain, held within Diageo's extensive portfolio of maturing stocks.

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (October 20, 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. 

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 / Torabhaig Allt Gleann Batch Strength

This whisky is the latest limited edition single malt whisky to be released from the Hebridean distillery of  Torabhaig (pronounced tora-vaig). the newest distillery on the isle of Skye. The Torabhaig Allt Gleann Batch Strength is a cask strength version of their popular Allt Gleann bottling, which was first released in 2021. Allt Gleann translates as 'old glen' from the local Gaelic dialect. The whiskies featured in Batch Strength were distilled in 2017 and 2018, and filled to ex-bourbon barrels. It forms part of The Legacy Series alongside the original Allt Gleann expression and other bottlings. Torabhaig Allt Gleann Batch Strength is released at 61.1% ABV and will be available in selected world markets, plus at the distillery shop on Skye. A bottle will cost £75/ €85/ $US89.  

Review / The Italian Collection by Tomatin

The Highland distillery of Tomatin has revealed a new series of whiskies and details of the trio of bottlings. The Italian Collection celebrates the distillery's long history of importing Italian wine casks and its success in the Italian market. Each of the three whiskies follows the same path - 10 years of maturation in American oak ex-bourbon casks before being tranferred for a two year finish in a different Italian wine barrel. 

The Amarone Edition 12 Years Old uses casks sourced from the Veneto region, the Barolo Edition 12 years Old features casks from the Piedmont region and the Marsala Edition 12 Years Old sees the whisky finished in casks from a Marsala winery in Sicily. 

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (October 13, 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. 

Review / Old Pulteney Port

This whisky is the second bottling in the Coastal Series range from the Highland distillery of Old Pulteney. The Old Pulteney Port features malt matured initially in ex-bourbon barrels before a further maturation period in ex-Ruby Port barriques and pipes. These casks were 230 litres and 550 litres in capacity respectively. The whisky has been created by Malcolm Waring, the long-serving distillery manager, and his team. 

The Old Pulteney Port is bottled at 46% ABV and is both of natural colour and non chill-filtered. A bottle will cost £75. There are two further releases in the series, which are scheduled for 2024 and 2025. The inaugural release featured a secondary maturation in ex-Pineau des Charentes casks from France.

Review / Cutty Sark Centenary Edition

The popular blended Scotch whisky brand of Cutty Sark is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and has released a commemorative whisky - the Cutty Sark Centenary Edition. The whisky is bottled at 23 years of age and features a pocket of stock distilled in 1999 that was matured in ex-Port casks. These were selected and married by Master Blender Stephen Woodcock.

The Cutty Sark brand was created in March 1923, allegedly following a lunch between the owners of the famous London wine and spirits merchants Berry Brothers & Rudd (Francis Berry and Hugh Rudd) and Scottish artist James McBey. It was named after the Cutty Sark, the famous tea clipper, and legend has it that McBey started drawing the logo of the boat on a napkin.

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (October 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. 

Review / Ancnoc Peated Sherry Cask Finish & Peatheart Batch 3

The AnCnoc Peated Sherry Cask Finish and the AnCnoc Peatheart Batch 3 are two new whiskies from the Highland distillery of Knockdhu. The pair feature peated spirit, which is only distilled for a short period each year and uses locally sourced Aberdeenshire peat. Both whiskies were created by Gordon Bruce, the Distillery Manager at Knockdhu, and will be available in selected markets worldwide. 

The AnCnoc Peated Sherry Cask Finish (pictured, above left) is a permanent addition to the range and combines the distillery's peated and classic non-peated spirits. These were matured initially in American oak ex-bourbon casks before being married and finished in ex-sherry casks sourced from Jerez, Spain. It is bottled at 43% ABV and will cost just £40.