Friday, March 31, 2017

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (March 31, 2017)

Welcome to Inbox.  For those new to WFE, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.  This is the news that has grabbed our attention this week ...

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Benriach
The small Speyside distillery of Benriach have announced that they are to release the first batch of peated single malt at cask strength.  This follows the launch of their classic non-peated Cask Strength bottling from last year.  This new Peated Cask Strength Batch 1 draws a small pocket of stock from Benriach's reserves of peated malt, which they make for a short period each year.  Batch 1 is bottled at 56% ABV, is non chill-filtered and of natural colour.  There are 18,262 bottles available and they will retail via selected specialist retailers in Asia and Europe. The price is £61.99 each.


Glenmorangie


The well known north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie have announced the third release in their prestigious and limited edition Pride range and it is the oldest bottling yet. The Glenmorangie Pride 1974 follows on from the Pride 1981 (released in 2011) and the Pride 1978 (released in 2014). As with the previous editions, this new whisky has been crafted by Dr. Bill Lumsden - the Director Distilling & Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie.

The Glenmorangie Pride 1974 is a marriage of two entire casks, both distilled and filled in 1974 - one has spent its entire life maturing in an ex-bourbon casks and the other in ex-Oloroso sherry butts.  This will be presented in a hand-blown crystal decanter specially designed by glassmaker Laurance Brabant and there will be just 503 bottles available from May.  It is bottled at 52% ABV and will cost £7,200 each.

"The Pride 1974 is the oldest and deepest Glenmorangie ever to be released. Its age lends the whisky an enriched intensity, borne only of a slow, patient maturation. The result is an exquisite blend of deep, rich, salty and spicy aromas."
Dr. Bill Lumsden.


Tamdhu 
The Speyside distillery of Tamdhu is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year and they have kicked off their commemorations with the oldest bottle of single malt ever to be released by the distillery.  The Tamdhu 50 years old is a single first-fill European oak ex-sherry butt that was distilled and filled to cask on November 2, 1963.  Despite spending five decades in the cask it has maintained a healthy natural strength of 55.6% ABV. The cask was personally selected by Sandy McIntyre, the Distillery Manager at Tamdhu, and was unvieled at a special launch event in Edinburgh last week.

The presentation of the Tamdhu 50 years old is a collaboration of some of the best British craftsmen - glassware designer Katy Holford, crystal maunfacturers Royal Brierley and silversmiths Hamilton & Inches.  There will be just 100 bottles available globally through selected specialist retailers and they will cost £16,000 each.


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