IRELAND

Since 1757, Kilbeggan Distilling Company has crafted a portfolio of beloved Irish whiskeys unlike any other at its two distilleries: Kilbeggan Distillery, the oldest continually licensed distillery in Ireland, and Cooley Distillery, established in 1987 and considered a driving force behind the Irish Single Malt evolution.

• Kilbeggan Original Irish Whiskey (SRP: $24.99) is a classic, boutique Irish Whiskey from the oldest licensed distillery in Ireland. All about bringing people together and fostering community, Kilbeggan honors the people of the town that bears its name, whose unwavering dedication and perseverance has kept the distillery alive for more than 260 years.
• The Tyrconnell 10 Year Madeira Cask, Port Cask and Sherry Cask Finish (SRP: $75 each) are a trio that showcase the versatility of Irish Whiskey. Initially aged for 10 years in ex-bourbon barrels, each spirit spends an additional 6-8 months in casks that have been hand-selected for their ability to further enhance the profile of The Tyrconnell.

SCOTLAND

Made at the first distillery on Islay since 1779, Bowmore Single Malt Scotch Whisky is known as one of the most balanced Islay whiskies, which are often thought to be the smokiest Scotch whiskies in the world.

• Released earlier this year, the Bowmore Timeless Series showcases two exceptional masterpieces of whisky beautifully crafted and shaped by time. Bowmore Timeless 27 Year Old (SRP: $2,000, introduced worldwide) and Bowmore Timeless 31 Year Old (SRP: $2,100, exclusive to Global Travel Retail). Housed in a distinctive black box with an hourglass timed to three precious minutes – the time it takes to enjoy and savor the nose of this beautifully balanced masterpiece that has taken decades to perfect.
• With notes of citrus, salt, smoke and vanilla, Bowmore 12 Year Old (SRP: $52) brings out the best in fresh seafood, especially oysters. Together, the Scotch and oysters raise each other’s profile and reveal new flavors on the palate.

JAPAN

For more than three generations, the master blenders at the House of Suntory, the Founding House of Japanese Whisky, have devoted themselves to pursuing the harmony of Japanese nature and craftsmanship to produce the legendary Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki and Toki whiskies.

• Yamazaki® 55 Single Malt Whisky (SRP: $60,000) Bottled in 2020, Yamazaki 55 – the House of Suntory’s oldest release in history – celebrates the “Showa” era of the 1960s that represented a major period of change for the House of Suntory. For each of the 100 bottles purchased in the US, Beam Suntory will donate $5,000 to the White Oak Initiative, benefitting the long-term sustainability of American’s white oak forests.
• Yamazaki® 25 Single Malt Whisky (SRP: $2,000), one of the world’s greatest whiskies, newly reformulated this year. Yamazaki 25 Single Malt Whisky is blended from rare whiskies aged over a quarter of a century in American oak, Spanish oak and Japanese Mizunara oak.

Glen Moray Warehouse 1 1998 Barolo Finish Description

The latest in the Bushmills Causeway Collection

Limited in the UK to just 738 bottles and only available at The Whisky Shop, this 1991 vintage from Bushmills is the latest release in their celebrated Causeway Collection. Spending 13 years in oloroso sherry butts and bourbon barrels, it was finished for a further 16 years in Madeira wine casks creating a rich, fruity and decadent Irish dram left at 50.2% abv cask strength and free from chill filtration.

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Bushmills 1991 Madeira Cask Finish
The Causeway Collection TWS Exclusive

Part of the acclaimed Causeway Collection from Bushmills, this 1991 vintage limited edition has spent 13 years in oloroso sherry butts and bourbon barrels before being recasked in 2005 for a further 16 years in Madeira wine casks. This extra long finish in fortified wine barrels adds sweet mandarin orange and a distinct praline nuttiness, complemented by layers of smooth chocolate.

Bottled at a natural cask strength of 50.2% abv, this expression is limited to just 738 bottles exclusively released for the UK and only available at The Whisky Shop.

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The nose leads with rich fruit notes of mandarin, toasted cocoa, roasted coffee and charred oak, moving to a creamy palate of almond praline and mocha, finishing off slightly drying with more fruit sweetness.

The 2021 Special Releases collection from Diageo is here. This year, the exclusive cask-strength single malt Scotch whiskies showcase the core characteristics behind their distilleries through undiscovered legendary tales. The ‘Legends Untold’ release offers a multi-sensory experience with striking illustrations and narrations of mythical creatures that represent the true essence of the distilleries, which include Talisker, Lagavulin and Royal Lochnagar.

This one-of-a-kind range showcases the diversity and quality of Diageo’s outstanding whisky reserves. Escape reality with an immersive tasting experience designed to captivate your senses from the comfort of your own home.

SHOP SPECIAL RELEASES

https://youtu.be/C_CxiWHWKGo

Someone at Fettercairn is listening, I like that.

The second release in their Warehouse series has seen them bring some rye casks into the mix. Previously, I’ve never had great experience with rye cask influence Scottish whisky. I always used to wonder why nobody did it, and then a few notably bad examples got released and it put me off. Always happy to be proven wrong, and here it is!

The spirit forward nature of this, with Fettercairns trade mark exotic fruit character has really produced something interesting. Legitimately interesting, not just ‘general whisky blurb interesting’.

Vanilla cream, pineapple, mango, carroway spice and green apples are all here and are happily dancing along with the natural presentation of this whisky. Fettercairn, I like what you’re doing. Please keep at it!

Diageo unveils 2021 Scotch Whisky Special Releases Collection “Legends Untold”

Impeccably crafted, the highly anticipated Single Malt Scotch Whisky Collection features eight treasured whiskies and this year, the first-ever augmented reality experience, revealing untold stories of the distilleries in a unique and enchanting way.

The 2021 collection, drawn from some of Scotland’s most interesting, legendary distilleries and curated by Master Blender Dr Craig Wilson, portrays the otherworldly beings which have fiercely protected the heartlands of remote Scottish distilleries for an eternity, according to our ancient fables, and the mythical creatures come to life revealing their true characters. Drawn from renowned distilleries, the collection nods to the hidden gems that can be found in each corner of the Scottish terrain amongst the lochs and rugged highlands.

The annual, carefully selected line-up highlights the diversity of our most treasured whisky reserves maturing in Scotland. Each whisky will be visually brought to life with heavily detailed illustrations and design work from renowned digital illustrator Ken Taylor. His striking signature style and interpretation of the mythical creatures takes cues from his portfolio of pop culture artwork.

Activated through an on-pack QR code, a multi-sensory experience begins with a narration of the cask-strength Single Malts’ tale. Enthusiasts are then guided through a mixed reality tasting experience, designed to captivate their senses and bring a taste of Scotland to their homes.

SOCIETY LAUNCHES WHISKY TALK PODCAST SERIES WITH DJ VIC GALLOWAY

Famous faces of Scottish culture and arts including crime writer Ian Rankin to feature on The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s new podcast series

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) has partnered with Vic Galloway for a special podcast series dedicated to great music and stunning whisky.

Since collaborating with the Society in May 2021 to match music with the 12 SMWS flavour profiles, BBC Scotland DJ and writer Vic Galloway is taking his passion for Society whisky to the next level, with his Whisky Talk: Malts & Music podcast series.

Across the series, Vic will sit down in the Tasting Room at The Vaults, the Society’s spiritual home in Leith, for a whisky-fuelled chat with well-known whisky fans from Scottish cultural life.

Along with a tasting pack of five Society single cask malt whiskies, each of Vic’s guests will explore their creative loves, their passion for whisky and most importantly, how each of the five Society drams has inspired a favourite piece of music.

Whisky Talk: Malts & Music kicks off on Thursday, 7 October with crime writer Ian Rankin, who pairs his Society drams with tunes from John Martyn, James Yorkston, Karine Polwart, The Skids and The Blue Nile.

The podcast series will continue with Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub, writer Val McDermid, Justin Currie from Del Amitri and Stina Tweeddale of Honeyblood.

BBC Scotland DJ, writer and whisky enthusiast, Vic Galloway said: “Good whisky and good music go hand in hand. I had such a great time pairing 12 music genres with the 12 Scotch Malt Whisky Society flavour profiles earlier this year, and that gave us the idea for Whisky Talk: Malts & Music.

“Asking a whisky-loving creative person to match five malts with five pieces of music and chat to our guests about the experience was a huge amount of fun. As the whisky flows, we go off on unexpected tangents about creative work, opinions and life in general. I hope the Whisky Talk: Malts & Music interviews give listeners and viewers a new insight into these creative minds and some of the finest whisky on the planet. Join us for a good chinwag and spectacular drams!”

Whisky Talk: Malt & Music with Vic Galloway launches on Thursday, 7 October on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Google Podcasts and Stitcher, or simply search for ‘Whisky Talk podcast’.

You can watch the videos of the conversations on the SMWS YouTube channel at: https://cutt.ly/4ERQC4R.

For more information about The Scotch Malt Whisky Society click here.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

f: https://cutt.ly/8ERQ0SF

i: https://cutt.ly/AERQ3mu

t: https://cutt.ly/lERQ4WH

Yt: https://cutt.ly/4ERQC4R

#SMWS

About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

•   The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and now has more than 27,000 members and branches around the world.
•   The SMWS bottles rare single malt whisky, and a range of other spirits
•   The Society bottles single malts, unique single casks and exclusive blends
•   The Society has bottled whisky from more than 140 distilleries from Scotland and beyond
•   The Society offers a new batch of around 20 single malt whiskies every month
•   The Society offers a variety of membership packages that can be tailored. Please see: https://cutt.ly/VERWwBs
•   For more information about the Society, visit: https://cutt.ly/zERQK7W
•   Twitter: @SMWSUK Facebook: @thesmwsuk Instagram: @smws_uk

– New Make Spirits – Holyrood Distillery –

Before single malt develops, a clear, flavorful liquid called new make is produced. More and more distilleries are choosing to share their aromatic and complex new make spirits with an intrigued public. Post pandemic consumers are becoming increasingly adventurous in their drink choices, playing with new flavours and focusing on drinks with more provenance and the addition of a new spirit to this category is being welcomed by whisky drinkers and beyond. At the forefront of this trend, Edinburgh’s Holyrood Distillery has just launched its Brewer’s Series of new make spirits.

Established in 2019, Holyrood is Edinburgh’s first single malt distillery in almost a century. Built with a vision to create a new kind of whisky distillery, one that would reflect the dynamic and diverse, modern city of Edinburgh. The distillery’s new make spirits range, titled the Brewer’s Series is inspired by Edinburgh’s illustrious heritage as the historic brewing capital of Scotland. Each new make spirit draws upon a different element of the brewing process, from yeast selections to specialty malt ratios. Holyrood are proud to be creating a historically inspired, yet innovative range of liquids, that reflect their working style and ethos, which for whisky fans will prelude the brands inaugural single malt release.

Nick Ravenhall, Managing Director, commented: ‘We have been floored by the response. We initially thought we might sell 500 bottles to die hard whisky geeks and so far we have sold ten times that. We have orders from the Far East, Australasia, Europe, and across the major whisky retailers in the UK. At the request of some of our export partners we put together a release of Aged New Make which showed the development work we’ve been doing on heritage barley varieties such as Maris Otter and Plumage Archer and the work we are doing on yeasts such as US05 the American IPA yeast that helped launch the current IPA trend. That aged new make series sold out in five days.’

The Brewer’s Series comprises four distinct liquids, all of which echo different flavours from beer and distilling processes and methods. ‘Brewers X Distillers Yeast‘ focuses on the yeast selection, fermenting Distiller’s Malt for 111.5 hours, with a combination of M-strain distiller’s yeast and US05 brewers yeast. The ‘Crystal Malt’ spirit replaces 10% of the distiller’s malt, which in beer creates a clean, nutty, caramel flavour. While the ‘Chocolate Malt’ edition is a spirit rich with chocolate, dark fruit and roasted coffee flavors.

A culmination of the team’s explorative attitude and a symbol of their innovative style of whisky making, the final liquid from the range ‘Made By Edinburgh New Make Spirit’ draws on all other three new-make bottlings, combining crystal and chocolate malts alongside their distiller’s malt in the mashbill recipe, adding Edinburgh Ale yeast.

The New Make Brewer’s Series is available to purchase at Royal Mile Whiskies and is priced at £34.95. Please do let me know if you need any further information, or if you’d like to speak to Nick Ravenhall for any further comments.

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LEDAIG 1999
PEDRO XIMENEZ CASK

Distilled in 1999 and matured in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks for 22 years, this limited release from Tobermory Distillery boasts great depth of flavour. Aromas of gentle smoke and red grapes are met with notes of dried fruits and chocolate. Similar flavours are met on the palate alongside sweet coffee, candied fruits and almonds, giving way to a smoky and spiced finish. Bottled at cask strength of 55.6% ABV.

£250