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.
Big Peat
The popular blended malt brand of Big Peat, which is created by Douglas Laing & Co, has revealed a special limited edition for this year’s Islay Festival. The Big Peat Fèis Ìle 2026 Edition celebrates the 40th anniversary of the festival, which starts tomorrow (May 23). As with all expressions of Big Peat, only single malts from Islay distilleries have been used to create this limited edition. These were blended and then finished for a period in ex-Pedro Ximinez sherry casks.
The Big Peat Fèis Ìle 2026 Edition is released at the natural cask strength of 52.6% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. Each bottle is hand signed by Fred and Cara Laing. The exact number of bottles was not revealed in the press release but they will be available globally in selected specialist whisky retailers and via douglaslaing.com. Each will cost £60/ €69.
Cù Bòcan
The Highland peated single malt brand of Cù Bòcan has revealed the latest limited edition whisky in its Creations series. This features whiskies unorthodox and often groundbreaking cask types, and an experimental and innovative approach to maturation. The Cù Bòcan Creation #8 is the eighth in the series and features a never-before-seen cask combination. This is rare ex-Canadian ice wine casks and ex-Spanish Verdejo white wine casks.
Ice wine is a sweet dessert wine made from grapes left to freeze on the vine before harvesting. The grapes are pressed at around –7°C, when the water inside has crystalised. This leaves a small amount of highly concentrated sugary juice. For this expression, Cù Bòcan used ice wine casks from family-owned Canadian winery, Pillitteri. Verdejo is a white wine from Spain’s Rueda region is known for its fresh, zesty and herbal character. The Verdejo casks used to mature Creation #8 were sourced from the renowned Belondrade winery.
The Cù Bòcan Creation #8 packaging debuts a striking new colourway of electric purple and neon green, reflecting the individuality of the spirit within its bespoke twisted bottle. It is released at 46% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. Bottles are available from the Tomatin website and voa specialist whisky retailers worldwide. There are just 3,600 bottles and each will cost £45.
Glasgow Distillery Co.
The Glasgow Distillery Company has announced the latest editions in their Glasgow 1770 Cask Strength range. This is the third batch in the series. The pair of single malts include the Glasgow 1770 Cask Strength The Original Batch 3 and Glasgow 1770 Cask Strength Peated Batch 3. Both are bottled at their natural strength and are non-chill filtered and of natural colour.
The Glasgow 1770 Cask Strength The Original Batch 3 features the distillery’s unpeated spirit and is matured in first-fill ex-bourbon casks before a finishing period in heavily charred virgin American white oak barrels. It is limited to just 750 bottles and released at 60% ABV. Each will cost £65.
The Glasgow 1770 Cask Strength Peated Batch 3 uses their peated spirit, which uses malt smoked using Aberdeenshire peat. It has been matured in virgin American white oak barrels before an extended finish in ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. There are just 1,000 bottles and they are released at 61% ABV. Each will cost £67.50.
Both whiskies are available now via The Glasgow Distillery’s website and specialist whisky retailers across the UK, with international allocations rolling out across Finland, Denmark, Canada, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Jura
The Hebridean island distillery of Jura have announced the release of two special editions for this year’s Islay Festival, which begins tomorrow (May 23). Both bottles will be available at the Jura distillery open day on May 29 and until sold out. The exact number of bottles was not revealed in the press release and they will only be available to those visiting the distillery.
The Jura Fèis Ìle 16 Years Old has been matured in second-fill ex-bourbon barrels before undergoing an 18-month finishing period in a single ex-Armagnac cask. It is bottled at 55.3% ABV and will cost £130 per bottle. The Jura Fèis Ìle 24 Years Old has been matured in re-fill ex-bourbon barrels before an 8 year secondary maturation in a single ex-Sauternes sweet wine barrique. It is bottled at 48.8% ABV and will cost £320. Both are non-chill filtered and of natural colour.
Lochlea
The Lowland family-owned farm distillery of Lochlea has announced the second bottling in its annual Red Wine Cask Series. The series is designed to showcase the art of finishing mature spirit in carefully selected red wine casks from different wine-making regions around the world. The Lochlea Red Wine Cask 2026 Edition has taken whisky initially matured in first-fill Bourbon barrels and finished it in carefully chosen ex-Sangiovese wine casks from Tuscany, Italy.
The Lochlea Red Wine Cask 2026 Edition is released at 46% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. It will be available from May 28 via specialist whisky retailers in the UK and other selected world markets. For more details, please visit lochleadistillery.com. A bottle will cost £55.
Wild Turkey
The leading American bourbon brand of Wild Turkey has announced a new series – the Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives Collection. It is the first collection from the famous Kentucky distillery to be curated by Bruce Russell, the third generation Associate Master Blender. The series debuts with the Gold Foil Edition: a 16-year-old, non-chill filtered Kentucky Straight Bourbon. It is inspired by one of Wild Turkey’s most coveted vintage releases from the 1980s and 90s, affectionately known to fans as the ‘Cheesy Gold Foil’.
The Gold Foil Edition is bottled at 60% ABV/ 120 Proof. The series is named after the grocer turned liquor distributor Austin Nichols, who created the Wild Turkey brand in the 1940s. The Austin Nichols Archives Series is designed to commemorate the most coveted vintage bottles from the brand’s history. The first bottling is available now in selected US states and in limited supply in selected global markets. A bottle will cost US$400/ £295.
