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…
Douglas Laing & Co.
The independent bottling company of Douglas Laing & Co. have revealed the latest bottling to celebrate their 75th anniversary – the XOP x Scallywag Tormore 35 years old. In a move away from the Scallywag brand’s blended malts, the limited edition whisky is a single cask single malt from the Tormore distillery in Speyside. The single cask has yielded just 285 bottles, which are individually numbered and presented in special glass bottle and black suede gift box.
The whisky has been bottled at 46.2% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. It is for sale via www.douglaslaing.com and selected specialist whisky retailers in Europe and the UK. Each bottle will cost £750/ €865.
Macallan
The Speyside distillery of Macallan has announced the second single malt in their A Night on Earth series. The Macallan A Night on Earth – The Journey has seen the brand collaborate with Chinese mixed-media artist Nini Sum on the packaging. The design has been inspired by Sum’s experiences and memories of celebrating Chinese New Year with family in Shanghai.
The new whisky features a combination of both American oak and European oak ex-sherry casks, plus American oak ex-bourbon barrels. The Macallan A Night on Earth – The Journey is bottled at 43% ABV and is available through selected specialist and luxury retailers in the UK. A wider global release is expected in early 2024. A bottle will cost £105.
Midleton
Irish Distillers have introduced the fifth bottling into their limited edition Dair Ghaelach series – the Midleton Very Rare Dair Gaehlach Kilranelagh Wood. Dair Gaehlach translates from Gaelic as ‘Irish oak’ and each expression has featured casks made from Irish oak. This fifth bottling has seen a finishing period in virgin Irish oak casks made with wood sourced from the Kilranelagh Estate, which is located in Co. Wicklow.
The wood for the casks was sourced from just six trees. These were identified by Ger Buckley, the Master Cooper at Midleton, and Paddy Purser, the Forest Sector Manager. The whiskeys used in the blend were initially matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels before being transferred to the virgin Irish oak casks for 20 months. The blend has been created by Kevin O’Gorman, the Master Blender for Midleton.
The Midleton Very Rare Dair Ghaelach Kilranelagh Wood has been released at different ABV strengths for different world markets. These markets include China, France, Ireland, the UK and USA. The exact number of bottles was not revealed in the press release. Each will cost £425/ €490.
