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 …
Bladnoch
The privately-owned Lowland distillery of Bladnoch has launched an innovative new global tasting initiative designed to give more whisky enthusiasts the chance to sample its spirit. The Bladnoch Dram Back initiative will initially be available on Bladnoch Wave I: Time & Maturation, before being rolled out across other bottlings in the Bladnoch core range.
As part of the tasting initiative, 50cl dram sample pouches of Bladnoch Wave I: Time & Maturation will be available to order directly from the Bladnoch website. It will be priced at £15 including postage and packaging in the UK or as part of an international order. Then, if a full bottle of the whisky is purchased at a later date, the £15 will be taken off the price. Each tasting pouch is made with sugarcane, offering a sustainable and eco-friendly way to sample the whisky.
Bladnoch Wave I: Time & Maturation is the first expression in The Wave: a five-part limited-edition series which showcases the five pillars of whisky making at Bladnoch. It is released at 53.8% ABV and there are just 1,817 bottles available. The whiskies included have been matured in ex-bourbon casks before a two-year marrying session in a 1,500 litre Amontillado sherry tun. A bottle costs £150.
Jim Beam
The leading Kentucky bourbon brand of Jim Beam has revealed the latest addition to its flavoured range. The Jim Beam Pineapple is designed with mixability and warm weather occasions in mind. It is a pineapple liqueur infused with Kentucky straight bourbon and bottled at 32.5% ABV.
The new drink joins other flavours in the Jeam Beam range. These include Apple, Peach, Honey, Vanilla, Fire, and cherry-flavoured Red Stag. It is now available nationwide in the US and costs US$20 per bottle.
As a brand rooted in Kentucky tradition, we love putting fresh spins on our brands and Jim Beam Pineapple does exactly that. This new flavour is our first flavoured spirit in four years, and reflects the bold, vibrant spirit of today’s South.
Fred Noe | Master Distiller at Jim Beam.
Kilchoman
The family-owned farm distillery of Kilchoman has announced details of its annual Loch Gorm bottling. The whisky, which is named after the freshwater loch located next to the distillery, is always matured in ex-sherry casks. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Kilchoman, which was founded by Anthony Wills in 2005. The batch features just 23 ex-Oloroso sherry butts (20x first-fill and 3x re-fill).
The Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2025 Edition is also the first ever 10 Years Old expression to be released in the range. It is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. The whisky will be available via specialist whisky retailers in the UK and Europe this week, and spreading to further markets worldwide in time. A bottle will cost £75. The exact number of bottles in the batch was not disclosed in the press release.
Port Askaig
The Islay single malt brand of Port Askaig has announced three limited editions to complement the permanent Port Askaig 8 Years Old. The three whiskies have been created by Oliver Chilton, the Master Blender for brand owner Elixir Distillers. All four bottlings are non-chill filtered and of natural colour. The trio will be available through selected specialist whisky retailers worldwide from April.
The Port Askaig Cask Strength #02-2024 is the second iteration of the Cask Strength expression and a new batch made from no more than 60 casks. It is bottled at the natural strength of 59.1% ABV and will cost £65 a bottle.
The Port Askaig 15 Years Old is an age statement release bringing together just 30 casks from a distillery on Islay’s north coast. It is aged in traditional re-fill hogshead casks and bottled at 50.5% ABV. A bottle will cost £112. The Port Askaig 25 Years Old has been bottled from a batch of casks from an Islay distillery at 45.8% ABV. It will cost £325.
