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 …
Ahascragh
The Irish distillery of Ahascragh, which is located in Co. Galway, has launched the latest bottling into its Clan Colla Family Bond Collection. The Clan Colla 9 Years Old is the first whiskey in the series to featured ex-Bordeaux red wine cask maturation. The whiskey is a blend of traditional Irish single malt and single grains, with initial maturation in ex-bourbon barrels. This has then been finished in ex-Bordeaux casks from France.
The Clan Colla 9 Years Old is bottled at 46% ABV and is non-chill filtered. It joins five other bottlings in the Family Bond Collection, ranging from 7- to 20 Years Old. The whiskey is available in Ireland and the UK from specialist retailers and via the Ahascragh website. A bottle will cost £66/ €75.
Fielden
The English whisky brand of Fielden has been announced as a key partner at this year’s Groundswell Festival in Hertfordshire, UK. Groundswell is the UK’s leading event for regenerative farming and sustainable land management, and this will be the ninth edition. As part of the partnership, Fielden will co-host two headline banquets with Groundswell. These will celebrate the land, its growers, and the produce harvested.
Fielden will be the festival’s only alcohol partner. This includes running a whisky bar, offering whisky tastings and discussions around soil health and regenerative farming principles. Fielden will also be the only whisky available at The Earthworm Arms – the festival’s main bar. Groundswell 2025 takes place on July 2 and 3 at Lannock Farm in Hertfordshire, between Stevenage and Letchworth.
Glengoyne
The Highland distillery of Glengoyne has announced an exclusive single cask for Selfridges, one of the UK’s leading department stores. The single cask (Cask #1013) was selected by the Selfridge’s wine and spirits buying team and brand owners Ian Macleod Distillers. The whisky was distilled and filled to a single European oak first-fill ex-sherry cask in 2009 and has yielded just 259 bottles. It is bottled at the natural cask strength of 54.2% ABV.
The Glengoyne Single Cask 2009 Selfridges Exclusive will be in all branches of Selfridges from June 18. This includes London, Birmingham, Manchester Trafford, and Manchester Exchange Square as well as online for UK customers. Each bottle will cost £250.
Glen Moray
The Speyside distillery of Glen Moray has announced a new peated expression for its core age statement range – the Glen Moray Smoky 12 Years Old. It forms part of the refreshed Heritage Collection from the distillery. The whisky has been made using peated malt and has seen maturation in a combination of American oak and European oak casks. It sits alongside non-peated expressions at 12-, 15- and 18 Years Old in the range.
The Glen Moray Smoky 12 Years Old is bottled at 46.3% ABV and is non-chill filtered. The distillery first produced peated spirit in 2010 and it is made for a short period each year using locally sourced peat. The whisky is available now at the Glen Moray visitor centre and will be available worldwide by the end of 2025. A bottle should cost £49.
