Blog

GlenAllachie launches Wood Finish Series

The GlenAllachie Distillery has extended their range of whiskies with the launch of the Speyside-based distillery’s first-ever series of limited edition wood finishes. The range comprises the 8 year old Koval Rye Quarter Cask Wood Finish, the 10 year old Port Wood Finish, and the 12 year old Pedro Ximénez Sherry Wood Finish. To create the new range of wood finishes, GlenAllachie’s Master Distiller Billy Walker first hand-selected barrels from among the 50,000 casks in the 16 warehouses on site at the distillery for the additional maturation. Casks were sourced from a variety of bodegas and distilleries that shared Walker’s… Read More

Douglas Laing introduces two new blended Island malts

Douglas Laing announced the first two new releases for its blended malt range from Island distilleries, which recently has been rebranded from Rock Oyster to Rock Island. A Limited Edition Rock Island release is available via specialist spirits retailers at an expected retail price of £89. This 21 year old blended malt is bottled at 46.8% abv and just 4,200 bottles have been produced. Rock Island 10 Years Old, expected to retail at £45 and bottled at 46% abv, will join the range as a continually available offering, joining fellow Remarkable Regional Malts age statement offerings launched earlier this… Read More

BenRiach Cask Bottling Batch 16 announced

BenRiach has announced the release of Cask Bottling Batch 16. The latest batch of the Speyside distillery includes 24 single cask whiskies. The 16 unpeated and 8 peated cask bottlings were aged in a selection of cask types sourced from around the world: Virgin oak, Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry, port, claret, marsala, madeira, sauternes, rioja, tokaji and South African red wine, Jamaican rum, and bourbon casks. Each bottle is filled exclusively from one of these individual cask types. BenRiach Master Blender Dr. Rachel Barrie: “There is no better insight into our intriguing palette of flavour than BenRiach Cask… Read More

Barton 1792 Distillery Introduces 12 Year Old Bourbon

Barton 1792 Distillery unveils the latest in its line of limited edition releases, 1792 Aged Twelve Years. Using the same rye recipe as 1792 Small Batch Bourbon, the Aged Twelve Years expression is bottled at 96.6 proof, or 48.3% abv.  Master Distiller Danny Kahn describes the newest offering as “Super-complex up front aromas. The first thing that hits the palate is a subtle but rich sweetness.  It is full, slightly creamy, with a hint of pleasant spice that settles on the tongue. At the end, there is a touch of oaky smokiness that rounds out the aromas. The… Read More

Wemyss announces two new Highland blended malts

Wemyss Malts have released two additional bottlings into its Family Collection range of blended Scotch malt whiskies and have named them ‘Blooming Gorse’ and ‘Flaming Feast’ after the flavours found in each whisky. The first whiskies in Wemyss Malts’ Family Collection range are named Vanilla Burst and Treacle Chest. ‘Blooming Gorse’ is the third release of the Wemyss Family Collection range. It is a combination of two Highland single malts matured in a total of fifteen 1st fill ex-bourbon barrels and 1 st fill ex-bourbon hogsheads. Blooming Gorse is a malty and floral Highland Scotch whisky… Read More

Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon makes comeback

Heaven Hill Distillery announced the re-introduction of Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The origins of Heaven Hill’s eponymous Bottled-in-Bond brand dates to 1939. The lineage of Heaven Hill Bourbon has been a constant throughout the company’s history, from the original 1939 4-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond to the 2018 release of Heaven Hill 27-Year-Old. The 2019 release of Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond was aged for 7 years. Made from Heaven Hill Distillery’s traditional Bourbon mashbill (78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley), mingled in small batches, and bottled at 100 proof, this 7-year-old offering of the namesake brand exceeds the… Read More

Brenne updates packaging and artwork

Brenne French Single Malt Whisky, the first single malt to be aged exclusively in both new French Limousin oak and cognac casks, revealed a new global visual identity, including bottle artwork, logo, and packaging redesign for the flagship Brenne Estate Cask and limited-edition age statement release Brenne Ten. The new packs will begin appearing on shelves this month. With the launch of Brenne Whisky in 2012, founder and entrepreneur Allison Parc created a seed-to-spirit, terroir-focused French single malt, bringing a completely new style to the rapidly-emerging world whisky segment. The original Brenne Whisky label was inspired by the blue window shutters and doors… Read More

GlenDronach introduces new port finished single malt

Inspired by the historical import of casked port into Scotland during the 19th century, The GlenDronach distillery announced the release of The GlenDronach Port Wood. The GlenDronach’s Master Blender, Dr Rachel Barrie, said: “The GlenDronach means ‘valley of the brambles’ in old Scots Gaelic. We are delighted to celebrate this heritage with a Portuguese twist on our revered Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry cask maturation, which uses the finest Spanish oak.“ The GlenDronach Port Wood is matured for 10 years and bottled at 46% abv. As is the case for all The GlenDronach expressions, is non-chill filtered and absorbs… Read More

Roe & Co Distillery starts production in Dublin

Diageo has kicked off production at its Roe & Co distillery in Dublin, which cost €25 million (US$28m) to build, in a former power house. The distillery has three copper pot stills, can run both double and triple distillation and has an annual production capacity of 500,000 litres of alcohol. The Roe & Co Irish Whiskey distillery will open its doors to visitors beginning June 21st. The facility will offer a 75-minute tour, where guests will see distillation in progress and learn about the history of Irish whiskey and Roe & Co’s production process. Before the tour, guests… Read More

Whisky ageing: the different types of casks

Apart from the length of maturation and the liquid that the cask previously held, it’s also the size of the cask that influences the flavor of the whisky that comes out. The bigger the wood-spirit ratio (wood directly touching the spirit), the more flavor the oak can transfer to the liquid. So, generally: the smaller the cask, the bigger the influence of the cask, and the more intense the flavor. Whisky cask sizes Although a cask can come in any size, there are several standard cask types that have been used to age wine and other liquids for… Read More