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…
Bruichladdich
The Islay distillery of Bruichladdich has announced the addition of two new rare whiskies to their core single malt range – the Bruichladdich 18 years old and Bruichladdich 30 years old. They are the first permanent whiskies of such age to sit in the range. They form part of a new premium sub-range named Luxury Redefined.
The Bruichladdich 18 years old (pictured, above left) features whisky made from the first crop of Islay barley distilled at Bruichladdich in 2004. The majority has been matured in ex-bourbon barrels with a small percentage of ex-Sauternes wine and ex-Port casks. All casks have been matured on Islay. It is released at 50% ABV and will cost £150 a bottle.
The Bruichladdich 30 years old (pictured, above right) features whiskies distilled in the early 1990s – a period of uncertainty for the distillery, which eventually closed for seven years in 1994. The whisky has been matured in ex-bourbon barrels and is released at 43% ABV. A bottle will cost £1,500. Both whiskies are available via www.bruichladdich.com and selected specialist whisky retailers worldwide.
Both whiskies also come in revolutionary new packaging which features a new bottle made from 60% recycled glass and a pioneering wraparound sleeve made from recycled paper pulp. This is moulded to the shape of the bottle and is plastic free and produced using 100% green energy.
Port Ellen
The legendary Islay distillery of Port Ellen, which will be reopened in March after a 41 year closure, has announced the release of two rare whiskies to celebrate the comeback. The set, know as Port Ellen Gemini, are the oldest ever whiskies to be released by Diageo, the distillery’s owners. The pair of whiskies – Port Ellen Original and Port Ellen Remnant – are drawn from just three casks. Both are bottled at 44 years of age.
The three European oak casks were distilled and filled in 1978 and have been split between the two bottlings. They have yielded just 274 sets. The Port Ellen Original (pictured, above left) features whisky purely from these casks. It is bottled at 54.9% ABV. The Port Ellen Remnant (pictured, above right) has seen whisky from these casks placed in the Port Ellen remnant cask – a remnant cask is used at every distillery to measure excess spirit from a filling run – for a short period of time. It has been bottled at 53.6% ABV.
Port Ellen Gemini features two crystal decanters and these are presented in a unfolding mirrored case. The set will be available globally and will cost £45,000. Registration with Diageo’s private client team is now open for those interested.
Spirit of Yorkshire
The field-to-bottle English craft distillery Spirit of Yorkshire has announced its first new bottling of 2024 – the Filey Bay STR Finish Batch #4.
It is looking to follow the success of the award-winning first three batches. The whisky underwent initial maturation in ex-bourbon barrels before a finishing period in STR ex-Rioja wine casks. STR stands for ‘shaved, toasted and recharred’, a technique that helps to rejuvenate casks.
The Filey Bay STR Finish Batch #4 is limited to just 3,000 bottles and is released at 46% ABV. It will be available at the distillery visitor centre, via www.spiritofyorkshire.com and in selected UK specialist retailers. A bottle will cost £65.
“The key difference to previous batches is the increased time in cask, both ex-bourbon and STR. This release shows development of both this style and our whisky, and really reflects the quality of these unique and beautiful casks.”
Joe Clark | Whisky Director at Spirit of Yorkshire.
