Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to 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 …
Loch Lomond
The Highland distillery of Loch Lomond has announced two limited edition single malts to continue its sponsorship of The Open golf championship. Loch Lomond The Open Special Edition 2025 and Loch Lomond The Open Course Collection 2025 pay tribute to the worldest oldest golf tournament. Scottish golfing legend and longstanding Loch Lomond whisky ambassador Colin Montgomerie collaborated with Michael Henry, Master Blender at Loch Lomond, to create both expressions.
Loch Lomond The Open Special Edition 2025 is crafted solely from spirit distilled through Loch Lomond’s unique straight-necked stills. It is aged in a combination of American oak ex-bourbon barrels and finished for eight months in first-fill ex-Chianti red wine casks from Italy. The whisky is bottled at 46% ABV and will cost £45.
The Open Course Collection 2025 is bottled at 22 Years Old and 46.7% ABV. Initial maturation was in a combination of American oak ex-bourbon barrels and hogsheads, before a finishing period in first-fill Spanish oak ex-sherry casks. The recommended price is £250. Both whiskies are both non-chill filtered and are available from www.lochlomondwhiskies.com and selected whisky retailers worldwide.
Midleton
The premium Irish whiskey brand of Midleton has announced the latest addition to their annual Very Rare bottling. The Midleton Very Rare 2025 Edition features a combination of three single pot still and three single grain whiskeys, which span four decades in age. The new whiskey has been created by Kevin O’Gorman, the Master Distiller at Midleton. It also honours the Midleton distillery’s 200th anniversary.
The Midleton Very Rare 2025 Edition is packaged in a fully recyclable gift box and bottle. It is released at 40% ABV and is available in Ireland, the USA, Australia and the UK, plus Irish and global travel retail and Irish Distillers’ brand homes. Other markets will be introduced throughout the year. A bottle will cost €240/ US$350/ £220.
Scotch Malt Whisky Society
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has announced the third set of bottlings in its highly acclaimed Creators Collection. The four whiskies, entitled Whispers of Spring: A Journey of Reawakening, are of high age and designed to evoke the light, fresh and floral notes of Spring. All are aged between 27 and 35 years and in re-fill casks to allow the distillery character to shine through.
The four whiskies are:
- 50.120 Dawn’s Embrace – Lowlands/ 34 years old/ 53.4% ABV/ £325
- 72.125 Blossom Reverie – Speyside/ 29 years old/ 49.6% ABV/ £245
- 94.51 Verdant Reawakening – Highlands/ 27 years old/ 55.8% ABV/ £199
- 105.55 Crepuscular Complexity – Speyside/ 35 years old/ 46.2% ABV/ £375.
The SMWS Whispers of Spring: A Journey of Rewakening is released at the end of April and will be available via www.smws.com. The four bottlings can also be purchased as a set for £1,144. Numbers are limited.
Spirit of Yorkshire
The Spirit of Yorkshire has announced the launch of a bespoke English single malt bottling for English Heritage. The new whisky, named Filey Bay Heritage Edition, will be on sale at 40 English Heritage sites throughout the UK. It features a marriage of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, which have all been matured on site at the distillery.
English Heritage is a charity, which cares for over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include world-famous prehistoric sites, grand medieval castles, Roman forts and even a Cold War bunker. Through these, they bring the story of England to life for millions of visitors each year. The Filey Bay Heritage Edition is bottled at 46.5% ABV and is available from selected English Heritage sites, plus online at englishheritage.org.uk. A bottle will cost £60.
Filey Bay Heritage Edition is made with 100% homegrown barley from our family farm. This is sited where the rolling Yorkshire Wolds meet the North Sea at Filey Bay. Our ethos is about respecting tradition but doing things our way. We are honoured and delighted to work with English Heritage to create this special release.
Joe Clark | Whisky Director at Spirit of Yorkshire.
Talisker
The island distillery of Talisker has announced a new limited edition single malt, which will see part of the profits donated to charity. Talisker The Wild Blue is presented in a 100% recycled glass bottle and also comes with no secondary packaging. The bottling sees the Skye-based brand collaborating with ocean charity Blue Marine Foundation. They are committed to helping restore coastal habitats and each promotional bottle made represents a £3 donation. The total donation will be £112,608.
The whisky has been launched ahead of World Ocean Day on June 8. It features a 16-month finish in ‘coastal wine casks’, which is a first for Talisker. Initial maturation is in ex-bourbon barrels before being transferred to ex-South African red wine casks. Talisker The Wild Blue is released at 48.2% ABV and is available in specialist retailers in selected world markets, plus via www.taliskerwhisky.com. A bottle will cost £82.
