Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round-up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way into our WFE email. Inbox features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Here is this week’s whisky news.
Glenkinchie
The Lowland distillery of Glenkinchie has announced a high-aged single malt exclusive for visitors at the distillery. The Glenkinchie 30 Years Old: A Richness of Swallows is inspired by a short story written by tour guide John Johnsone. He has worked at the distillery for 15 years. He wrote the story about the swallows that visit Glenkinchie each year following their impressive migration from Africa.
The whisky celebrates Glenkinchie’s light and grassy style. The whisky has been matured in a combination of American oak and European oak re-fill casks before a two year marrying period in European oak ex-sherry puncheons. The Glenkinchie 30 Years Old: A Richness of Swallows is released at the natural cask strength of 58.4% ABV and there are just 1,002 bottles. They will be available exclusively at the distillery’s visitor centre near the village of Pencaitland, east Lothian. Each bottle will cost £595.
Loch Lomond
The Loch Lomond distillery has announced the launch of a new series. This will focus on innovation in flavour through expert distillation and maturation. Loch Lomond The Original Series features a trio of whiskies that celebrate the distillery’s unique capabilities in flavour creation. This uses both their straight neck stills and traditional swan neck stills, plus a range of cask finishes.
The series features one existing bottle from Loch Lomond’s core range, plus two new expressions. The three single malts are the Loch Lomond The Original: Triple Oak, Loch Lomond Oloroso: Sherry Cask, and Loch Lomond Peated: Rioja Cask. All have been created by Michael Henry, the Master Blender for Loch Lomond.
The Original: Triple Oak features three styles of American oak barrels – first fill, refill and re-char. It uses spirit from both sets of stills and will cost £28 per bottle. The Oloroso: Sherry Cask features spirit distilled via the straight neck stills and has a six-month finish in ex-Oloroso sherry casks. The Peated: Rioja Cask has spirit from both still types and features a six-month finish in ex-Rioja red wine casks from Spain. Both will retail for £31. All are bottled at 40% ABV. They are available to buy on www.lochlomondwhiskies.com before rolling out globally throughout 2026.
Spirit of Yorkshire
The English distillery Spirit of Yorkshire have announced two new whiskies for the Spring season. Both are bottled under their Filey Bay brand name. They have been created by Joe Clark, the Whisky Director at Spirit of Yorkshire. The Filey Bay Porter Cask #2 has been fully matured in barrels that have previously held Top Wold Brewery’s Marmalade Porter. There are just 990 bottles and it is released at 51.4% ABV. Each bottle will cost £85.
The Filey Bay Marrying Strength is the second bottling. Marrying strength sits between natural cask strength (around 55-60% ABV) and bottling strength (45-48% ABV). It is a term often used by the distillery team and is released at 50.1% ABV/ It is essentially a higher strength version of their core Flagship release. A bottle will cost £70. Both are available now at the distillery shop in Hunmanby, online at spiritofyorkshire.com and in selected whisky retailers in the UK.
