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…
Gordon & Macphail
The independent bottler of Gordon & Macphail has launched the fourth whisky in its Mr. George Legacy series.
The series honours George Urqhart, a legendary figure in Gordon & Macphail’s history and widely regarded as ‘the father of Scotch single malt’. The bottling features a single first-fill ex-sherry butt that was filled at Glen Grant distillery in 1958, nurtured by G&M for 65 years and then bottled in November 2023. It is released at 56.5% ABV and will cost £7,500.
Filey Bay
The Spirit of Yorkshire have announced their first special release of the year – the Filey Bay Porter Cask.
The new limited edition features spirit distilled in 2018 and filled to ex-bourbon casks that had previously held Rip Curl porter from the brand’s sister brewery, Top Wold. In turn, Rip Curl had been matured for 15 months in ex-Filey Bay casks. There are just 2,000 bottles. It is released at 50% ABV and will cost £80.
Redbreast
The Irish single pot still brand of Redbreast has released the fourth whiskey into its Iberian Series – the Redbreast Cuatro Bariles Edition.
The new bottling will be exclusive to the travel retail sector. It features a combination of four distinct cask types – ex-bourbon, Spanish oak ex-sherry butts, ex-Tawny Port hogsheads and European virgin oak. It is bottled at 46% ABV and will cost €108.
Kilchoman
The Islay farm distillery of Kilchoman have announced a new addition to their core range – the Kilchoman Batch Strength.
It joins the Machir Bay and Sanaig expressions. The whisky has been matured in a combination of re-charred ex-red wine casks, ex-Oloroso sherry butts and ex-bourbon barrels. It has been bottled at 57% ABV and will be available worldwide. A bottle will cost £65.
Dalmore
The Highland distillery of Dalmore has launched the second bottling of its prestigious Luminary Series. The Dalmore Luminary – The Rare 2024 Edition has seen Gregg Glass, Master Whisky Maker at Dalmore, and Richard Paterson OBE, Master Distiller at Dalmore, collaborate with Melodie Leung, Director at Zaha Hadid Architects. Leung created the extraordinary sculptural housing for the bottle.
The Rare comprises of a 49-year old whisky, matured in American white oak ex-Bourbon casks and finished in a blend of Port Colheita 1963, Apostoles sherry, ex-bourbon and a unique 1951/virgin oak hybrid cask. Just one bottle exists and will be auctioned by Sotherby’s in May. All proceeds will go to the V&A Dundee.
Alongside The Rare bottling, another has been released for worldwide distribution. The Dalmore Luminary – The Collectible 2024 Edition features a small percentage of rare peated Dalmore spirit. The whisky is bottld at 16 years old and has been matured in ex-bourbon and ex-Apostoles sherry casks, plus ex-Tawny Port pipes. There are 20,000 bottles and each will retail for £275.
Glenallachie
The Speyside distillery of Glenallachie has released a trio of ex-sherry cask whiskies in its Wood Collection series. A second trio will be released later in 2024. The Glenallachie ‘Sherry Series’ Wood Collection features three single malts at nine years of age – the Fino Cask Finish, Amontillado Cask Finish and Oloroso Cask Finish. All are bottled at 48% ABV and are both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. Each will cost £60.
Stauning
The Danish whisky brand of Stauning has launched a new hybrid whisky featuring single malt and rye. Stauning HØST (pronounced ‘hurst’ and meaning ‘harvest’ in Danish) pays homage to the turning seasons and local cereals used to produce the whisky. The single malt and rye whiskies have been matured in ex-bourbon casks with a small percentage of ex-Port barrels. The new expression is bottled at 40.5% ABV and is expected to retail for £45.
