Review - Bowmore 'Tempest Batch #5'

This whisky is the latest edition single malt in the Tempest series from Bowmore, the oldest distillery on the famous whisky island of Islay.  The series consists of small batch cask strength whisky that has been matured in ex-bourbon casks, and batches are released annually. The original Tempest was released in 2010.  Batch #5 was released worldwide in May of this year and follows on from the previous four batches, which have proved extremely popular and won numerous awards.

Distillery visit - Laphroaig

Laphroaig (pronounced la-froyg) is one of the most famous names in the world of Scotch whisky and is known for its very peaty and smoky style of single malt.  In fact the 10 years old expression is the biggest selling malt in this category and helps put Laphroaig in ninth place for total sales in 2013*. The name is derived from the Gaelic meaning 'beautiful hollow by the broad bay'.  Laphroaig was one of the whiskies that got us in to the peaty flavour, so Matt C was delighted when he recently got invited for a special tour as part of Beam Suntory's Peated Malts of Distinction launch.

New release - Auchentoshan American Oak

The American Oak is the new entry level whisky in the Auchentoshan single malt range.  The whisky has been created to appeal to new whisky drinkers and has been solely matured in first fill American oak casks, which have previously held bourbon.  It will replace the current Classic expression.  The American Oak was launched in London in late October and the event featured new cocktails and murals being painted live by street artists, such as the one above.

New release - Great King Street 'The Glasgow Blend'

The Glasgow Blend is the second permanent expression in the award-winning Great King Street range, and joins the Artist's Blend. It is a blend of 67% malt and 33% grain whiskies, with an emphasis on rich, rounded smoke and sherry cask influence. This is a high percentage of malt content for a blend and the whisky has been created by John Glaser, the founder of Compass Box.  The original version of Great King Street has won multiple awards and is one of our all time favourite whiskies.

New release - Glenmorangie Taghta

This whisky is the new single malt from the popular Highland distillery of Glenmorangie and has been chosen by their Cask Masters programme. The process of selecting and marketing this whisky began 18 months ago and has seen members of the public choose between three initial whiskies, select a name, design the packaging and photography, and finally choose the venue of its launch event. The result is Taghta, the Gaelic word for 'the chosen one'.  To read more about the Glenmorangie Cask Masters - click here.

New release - Glen Garioch 'The Renaissance - First Chapter'

This is the first bottling in a new series of four single malts from the cult east Highland distillery of Glen Garioch. The Renaissance Collection will showcase whisky that has been produced since the distillery was re-opened by owners Morrison Bowmore in 1997. It had been closed for two years prior to that. This first release is at 15 years old and called First Chapter.  It will be followed annually by 16, 17 and 18 year old expressions.  This new release appeared back in August.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (November 14, 2014)

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 release - Old Pulteney 35 years old

This whisky is the latest premium release from the popular Highland single malt brand of Old Pulteney.  It has been matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, which were hand selected by Distillery Manager Malcolm Waring, for 35 years.  This makes it one of the oldest bottlings ever to be released from the distillery, second only to last year's 40 year old expression.  This 'new' release was actually launched back in June but we are only now getting around to reviewing it ...

New releases - Diageo Special Releases 2014 (Part 2)

Diageo have announced the eleven whiskies that will make up the 2014 Special Releases collection, which is due for release very shortly. This programme highlights some of the most exceptional single malt stock from within their portfolio of 28 working distilleries, plus remaining stocks from those which have been closed. This year's selection of whiskies are all bottled at the natural cask strength, are non chill filtered and all are limited edition. The collection again places well known flagship distilleries alongside very rare stock from the iconic Brora and Port Ellen, both of which closed in 1983.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (November 7, 2014)

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.