Happy 4th of July to our friends in the United States of America!

Timorous Beastie Highland Malt launches new ‘Cheese Cellar Collection’ with the release of a Port Finish Limited Edition.

Beyond its Blended Malts expertise, the award-winning Douglas Laing portfolio also includes Provenance, Premier Barrel, Old Particular, Xtra Old Particular, and XOP Black, collectively known as the firm’s “Exceptional Single Casks”.

Douglas Laing & Co. today adds a new collection to their Timorous Beastie brand, ‘The Cheese Cellar Collection,’ where the award-winning Highland Malt enjoys a lengthy finishing period in unique casks from some of the most renowned Wine regions across the world. Specially selected for the layers of complexity and unique characteristics these casks bring, this series has been expertly crafted to accompany Artisan cheeses with the goal of seeking out the ultimate flavour profile to pair with cheese.

To launch this special collection, Douglas Laing today unveils the limited edition Timorous Beastie ‘Port Edition’. Finished in some of the ‘finest’ Port Casks available, the Highland Malt displays a new depth of complexity as “the Port heritage is immediately apparent” bringing “juicy fruits, allspice and a cocoa sweetness.” The perfect pairing for this new release is said to be “Stilton” due to its rich and intense flavour and semisoft creamy texture. The savoury characteristics “perfectly complement this sweet, fruity and spicy expression.”

With a different shaped black bottle to the original Timorous Beastie, as well as featuring a burgundy wax dip seal, this special release was created to “resemble a traditional bottle of Port, but with a bold, beastly twist.”  The label displays the signature mouse character alongside premium gold foil finishing.

Bottled at 48% ABV and without colouring or chill-filtration, this bottling stays true to the Douglas Laing family philosophy to provide Scotch Whisky “as natural as it gets.”

Commenting on the new release, Scott Morrison, Timorous Beastie Brand Manager said:

“The launch of the Cheese Cellar Collection has been long awaited here at Douglas Laing. It’s a series that encourages you to expect the unexpected, embodying everything our mighty Highland Malt stands for. Bringing big, bold, and exciting flavours in perfect contrast to the timid field mouse displayed on the bottle, this Timorous Beastie expression is one we are extremely excited for people to try. With luxurious packaging to match the phenomenal liquid, this is one dram and collection of which we are seriously proud!”

The new release is strictly limited to just 700 cases / 4,200 bottles globally. Timorous Beastie ‘Port Edition’ is expected to retail at £65.00 / €75.00.

ABOUT TIMOROUS BEASTIE

Instagram: @timorousbeastiewhisky

Facebook: /dltimorousbeastie

Established in 2014 by Douglas Laing & Co, Timorous Beastie represents “ultimate distillation of the Highlands” in a small batch marriage of Single Malts distilled at Glengoyne, Glen Garioch, Blair Athol and Strathearn Distilleries, amongst others. The multi award-winning Scotch is distributed in over 50 markets globally and has amassed a loyal following.

ABOUT DOUGLAS LAING & CO.

www.douglaslaing.com

Douglas Laing & Co. is a leading independent Scotch Whisky distillery, blender and bottler specialising in the selection and release of Single Cask Single and Small Batch Malt Scotch Whiskies.

The company was founded by Fred Douglas Laing in 1948 and is still owned and run by the Laing family – Fred Laing Jr and his daughter Cara Laing.

The company philosophy is to bottle the way the distiller intended – at a high strength and without chill filtration to preserve the robust and unique character of the Whisky. Douglas Laing’s industry reputation and many awards are a testament to this ethos.

Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional Malts, the Ultimate Distillation of Scotland’s Malt Whisky Regions, encompasses The Epicurean Lowland Malt Scotch Whisky, Timorous Beastie (Highlands), Scallywag (Speyside), The Gauldrons (Campbeltown), Rock Island (Islands) and Big Peat (Islay).

A DELICIOUS COLLABORATION

Our newest release celebrates the art of whisky blending and the generosity of cask sharing that makes blending possible. We’re very excited to unveil DUALITY; a compelling collaboration between Compass Box and Bimber Distillery.

A WHISKY BORN IN LONDON

Bimber Distillery are experts at whisky distilling – and they also happen to be our neighbours. As fellow West London Whiskymakers, our blending team has admired their craftsmanship for years. But it wasn’t until a visit to their distillery in 2020 by lead Whiskymaker, James Saxon, that the prospect of a partnership began to take shape. While DUALITY contains whisky from both England and Scotland, this is a whisky truly born in London.

DUAL BY NAME…

The name DUALITY is fitting, as this whisky is a pairing of peat and sherry styles. And because two creations have been born from this collaboration. There will be two iterations of DUALITY – one from Compass Box, one from Bimber. Two creative interpretations of the same idea.

A DANCE OF FLAVOURS

Compass Box’s DUALITY contains a favourite ‘teaspooned’ Islay Blended Malt from our archives, and a Bimber Single Malt aged in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The Islay Blended Malt delivers intense peatiness and a tarry quality with notes of salted caramel, while the Bimber Single Malt brings flavours of roasted pineapple and delicately sweet raisin. It’s a delightful dance for the senses. Sip it and follow the interplay of tastes between young and old, Scotland and England, sherry and peat.

AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE FROM 4TH JULY AT COMPASSBOXWHISKY.COM

If the dismal weather outside is getting you down, fret not for here is our now live 145th auction to brighten your day!  We have a fabulous cornucopia of spirits on offer this month so you’re sure to find something special to sip while watching the unwelcome summer rain batter down.  We’ve picked out a few special drams from this month’s offerings to get the ball rolling.

Macallan Sir Peter Blake 8 Decades

This amazing work of art was created by Sir Peter Blake and Macallan to celebrate the godfather of pop art’s 80th birthday.  Housed in an oak box that is deceptively simple from the outside the interior is an explosion of colour and ideas, not to mention a miniature of Macallan representing each decade from the 1930s through to the Noughties. The labels on the bottles have been designed by Sir Peter and the oldest comes from 1937 and the youngest hails from 2002.

Dalmore 1926 50 Year Old

This incredible whisky was distilled way back in 1926, and bottled five whole decades later. 1926 was the year when John Logie Baird publicly showcased his new fangled invention the ‘Television’, prohibition was in full-swing in the United States, and it was also the year that the great Houdini passed away.  Considering it’s age this expression is in remarkable condition.  Dalmore as a distillery has been gaining popularity recently in the auction market so you can expect an example as fine as this to be highly coveted.

Bowmore 1955 Ceramic Decanter

Another blast from the past, this elegant and understated decanter was produced to commemorate the opening of Bowmore Distillery’s Visitor Centre on the 12th of September 1974.  The whisky within was distilled in 1955 and again this lot is in remarkably good condition given its advanced years.  This is a rare bottling which has only been through our auctions twice before in over ten years, so don’t miss this chance to own this unique piece of Scottish distilling history.

Karuizawa 1981 31 Year Old Single Cask #78

Another tremendous bottling from the most coveted of distilleries in Japan, Karuizawa.  This 1981 vintage has been aged for over three decades in a sherry butt and somehow managed to retain a hefty 60.5% ABV.  Bottled for legendary French retailer La Maison du Whisky, this fine example of Japanese distilling is one of only 375 bottles released.  This expression is named ‘Prendre le Rythme’, which translates to ‘pick up the pace’, and that’s certainly what you’ll have to do if you want to add this beauty to your collection.

Macallan Masters of Photography Annie Leibovitz “The Library” Label

We started with a Macallan, so why not end with one too.  From the excellent Masters of Photography series this is one of four bottlings made in collaboration with Leibovitz, one of the world’s most celebrated photographers.  The label features Scotia’s own Kevin McKidd moodily reclining in a library, and this particular bottling is the most limited of the collection with only 145 bottles being produced.We have over seven and a half thousand fantastic bottles just waiting to be discovered in this month’s auction, so now is the time to get scrolling through them and start picking your favourites.  Best of luck to all and remember…………don’t lose your bottle.

As the summer heat rises, grab some exceptionally limited whiskies. This is the last chance to buy the remaining bottles from some outstanding casks before they vanish forever. With 15 bottles or fewer available, don’t miss out on an unbelievable flavour experience.

 With the numbers dwindling on these RARE beauties, capture these captivating casks NOW. Click over to our website to explore or keep on scrolling for some of our flavour favourites.

VIEW BOTTLES

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

White Peak Wire Works Caduro

£59.95

A very exciting bottling here from English whisky-maker White Peak – Caduro is an ex-bourbon and STR-cask matured, lightly peated dram. And it works beautifully in a long serve! The subtle smoke is gloriously integrated with marshmallow, popcorn and chocolate orange notes. Complex, intriguing, and a must-taste.

Scroll on for four more Highball heroes from across the whisky flavour spectrum. The perfect selection for an array of Highballs. Add to your basket or pop into one of our London bars for a taste!

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Celebrate the 4th of July in style this year with Jack Daniel’s. Distilled to perfection since 1866, this legendary Tennessee Whiskey embodies the American spirit of freedom and independence with every sip.

View ALL Jack Daniel’s Products

ENJOY A DRAM OF WHISKY ON THE BEACH

by Paul Mclean

anCnoc unveils two new additions to popular peated range

Sherry Cask Finish, Peated Edition and Peatheart Batch 3 released to global market

anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky is building on the success of its award-winning peated range with the release of two exceptional new whiskies, both of which are set to be a treat for peat lovers the world over.

Launching on 1^st July, anCnoc Sherry Cask Finish, Peated Edition and anCnoc Peatheart Batch 3 have been crafted by Knockdhu Distillery Manager Gordon Bruce and his small, skilled team in Aberdeenshire, using the same traditional tools and techniques they use to make anCnoc’s unpeated drams.

Their process pays tribute to Knockdhu’s founders by using the locally sourced barley smoked with Aberdeenshire peat that would have defined the character of whiskies made when the Distillery was founded back in 1894.

Sweeter and woodier than the more pungent peat used for whisky making in other parts of the Highlands and Islands, the resulting anCnoc drams are amongst the most modern, interesting and accessible peated single malts on the market today.

anCnoc Sherry Cask Finish, Peated Edition

A permanent new addition to Knockdhu’s family of acclaimed single malts, this non-aged expression bursts with anCnoc’s soft, sweet, fruity flavours and the delicious vanilla and warm spice of a sherry finish – but with the added richness of subtle, lingering campfire smoke.

The whisky is crafted using a combination of Knockdhu’s peated and non-peated spirit, and after an initial maturation period in American oak casks, it’s finished in sherry butts from Jerez which hone the whisky’s character – as smoky spirit mingles with sweet spicy wood.

anCnoc released its first peated sherry expression in 2020, exclusively for the Swedish market. Its popularity amongst whisky drinkers, particularly those looking to explore peated whiskies for the first time, prompted the decision to craft an expression for anCnoc’s other key global markets.

Tasting Notes

Colour: dark amber

Nose: sweet honey and tropical fruit, notes of cinnamon and rich toffee, delicate campfire smoke

Taste: toffee apples coated in warming spices, deep vanilla, a rich, sweet, smoky character

Finish: long, wood smoke, caramel, vanilla

Bottled in 70cl at 43% ABV, RRP £40.

anCnoc Peatheart Batch 3

The latest addition to anCnoc’s award-winning limited edition Peatheart series, Batch 3 has been long awaited by anCnoc fans following the launch of Peatheart Batch 1 in 2017 and Batch 2 in 2020.

The Distillery team crafts Peatheart whiskies with just the right amount of peated barley, maturing them in American oak ex-bourbon casks to perfectly marry anCnoc’s light, honey, citrus notes with flavours of rich, soft, ashy barbecue smoke.

These qualities are in abundance in Batch 3, but this time round there’s a slightly more pronounced fragrant grassiness, with enhanced notes of green apple and citrus cutting through the oily smokiness.

This latest batch also pioneers a better way to help drinkers understand the level of peatiness in their bottle, by indicating two ppm levels (phenol parts per million): for both the barley and the finished whisky. The peat smoke used in production gives barley a unique phenol level, and for Peatheart Batch 3, anCnoc’s Master Blender specifies a barley with 34ppm. Phenols are lost during the whisky making process however, so to truly understand a whisky’s peatiness, it’s the ppm of the whisky that matters most. In the case of Peatheart Batch 3 this is 13.3ppm, meaning it’s a bold but more mellow peated dram.

Tasting Notes 

Colour: pale gold

Nose: sweet barbecue smoke and earthy peated notes blend with aromas of honey and sweet spices to create a fragrant, grassy character

Palate: peaty smokiness laced with green apples and citrus, sweetened with hint of vanilla and complemented by an oily smoky note which lingers in the finish

Bottled in 70cl at 46% ABV, non-chilled filtered and with natural colour. 1535 cases available. RRP £55.

Gordon Bruce believes it’s the combination of superbly crafted small batch whisky, and the distinctive smokiness of Aberdeenshire peat that lies behind global demand for anCnoc’s peated range.

He commented: ‘I couldn’t count the number of people who tell me they love whisky but just can’t drink it when it’s peated; until, that is, they try anCnoc’s peated whiskies. Both of these new expressions are a tempting proposition: modern, hand-crafted single malts, featuring our light, fruity spirit with a dark, smoky twist. And both are made with the integrity, craft ethos and local resources that our single malt is known for, offering drinkers something genuinely different in the world of peated whisky.

‘With Sherry Cask Finish, Peated Edition, rather than those medicinal flavours that can be hard to gain a taste for, we’ve created a luscious single malt that offers the best of both worlds; an appealing, ashy smokiness with light, honied anCnoc notes. Peatheart is a whisky that already has a lot of fans, but with Batch 3 there are some subtle differences and a few fresh flavours that we know drinkers are really going to enjoy.’

In the UK, both whiskies will be available exclusively at whiskyshop.com from 1^st July before going on sale with independent and specialist retailers and on Amazon from 3^rd July. The new expressions will be rolled out to other global markets including Asia, Europe and Canada in the coming months.

www.ancnoc.com

https://www.facebook.com/ancnocsinglemalt

www.instagram.com/anCnoc_whisky

www.twitter.com/anCnoc_whisky

ABOUT ANCNOC

anCnoc is produced at Knockdhu Distillery, which sits in the shadow of the ‘Black Hill’ (Knockdhu in Gaelic) near Huntly in Aberdeenshire. It was established in 1894 by the pioneering John Morrison, after he spotted an abundance of the natural resources needed to make fine malt whisky in the area: pure spring water and plentiful supplies of peat and barley.

Today, Knockdhu is known as one of the smallest and most enchanting distilleries in the Scottish Highlands, producing a refreshingly modern single malt whisky with the most traditional skills and processes. The Black Hill continues to supply pure water for the whisky making process. The Distillery’s two copper pot stills replicate the original 1894 design, their bulbous bases giving anCnoc its light, fresh, fruity flavour. Old fashioned worm tubs are used to condense the vaporised alcohol. And Distillery Manager Gordon Bruce, and his team, make up one of the smallest workforces in any Distillery (including many dogs!)

anCnoc’s first foray into peated whisky began back in 2014 with the launch of a new ‘Peaty’ range, inspired by the whiskies made early in Knockdhu’s history using local peated barley.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL BEVERAGE HOLDINGS LTD

International Beverage is one of the drinks industry’s most dynamic global businesses. Established in 2006 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thaibev, the company operates as its international business arm, specialising in the development of premium local spirits for the global market. Its success is built on a strong understanding of local cultures and markets within a worldwide business network. Based in Hong Kong with regional offices in Singapore, Malaysia, the USA and UK, the company is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of a portfolio of premium brands in over 85 markets. These brands are built on character, craftsmanship and quality, led by a range of award-winning Scotch whiskies and an array of vibrant spirits. These include:

• Single malt Scotch whiskies Old Pulteney, Balblair, anCnoc and Speyburn
• Blended Scotch Hankey Bannister
• Caorunn, No.1 Premium London Dry Gin in the Scottish Off Trade*
• Mekhong, ‘The Spirit of Thailand’ since 1941
• Phraya, a premium rum handcrafted in Thailand

*Neilson IQ – Volume and Value latest 52 weeks to 28/08/2022.