Well well, this week is loaded with whisky news from Ardbeg, Old Pulteney, Douglas & Laing, and more . wow.
Ardbeg announces its next Limited Edition – Ardbog
Ardbeg Islay Single Malt Scotch whisky, the Ultimate Islay Malt, has announced that its latest Limited Edition whisky will be called Ardbog, to bring attention to the famed peat bogs of Ardbeg’s island home and to celebrate their vital part in the whisky making process.
Each year Ardbeg throws an open invitation to all fans and island visitors to visit the distillery on ‘Ardbeg Day’, traditionally the last day of the Islay Festival and this year falling on 1st June. However for 2013 the distillery has decided to rename the annual party ‘Ardbog Day’, a nod to the Limited Edition which will be made globally available on the 1st June.
The Ardbeg Distillery also organises ‘Ardbeg Day’ parties around the world for those who cannot make the annual pilgrimage to Islay and their favourite distillery, and in 2013 it will be no different, with gatherings taking place from San Francisco to Sydney to the centre of London. Aside from enjoying Ardbog whisky, participants at ‘Ardbog Day’ will be able to take part in a series of games and events with an archaeological theme as they ‘dig deep’ into Ardbeg and Islay’s peaty past.
Dr Bill Lumsden, Director of Distillation and Whisky Creation explains: ‘The overall combination of effects in Ardbog truly conjures up the impression of ancient, primeval, salty peat bogs, but reassuringly this is combined with some classic, intense Ardbeg notes of leather, toffee and smoke.’
Ardbog follows the highly acclaimed Ardbeg Galileo, awarded as the ‘World’s Best Single Malt’ at the World Whisky Awards 2013.
Ardbog is matured for ten years in traditional American oak ex-bourbon barrels and rare ex-Spanish Manzanilla sherry butts. This gives Ardbog a distinctively salty texture accentuating the salty, briny flavours already prevalent in the whisky.
Dr Bill Lumsden continues: ‘Every year we try to come up with something interesting and enticing for our Ardbeg fans, and we have for years laid down a range of experiments which may or may not see the light of day!
‘Ardbog is one such experiment in that it combines two different styles of maturation to create a new flavour experience.
‘At its heart our hallmark smoky yet fruity and floral spirit has been matured in Spanish ex-Manzanilla sherry casks for ten years, which has then been wrapped with traditional Ardbeg of the same age that is matured in American ex-bourbon oak casks. The Manzanilla maturation weaves salty flavours through the whisky which is then balanced with the maple syrup creaminess of the first fill ex-bourbon casks.’
Bill emphasised: ‘As with all Ardbeg it is about getting the balance of many flavours right so others such as mocha coffee, cloves and even anchovies play their part!’
‘This dichotomy of savoury and sweet flavours underlines Ardbeg’s status as the most complex of all the Islay Malts.’
In the production of malt whisky, peat (de-composed vegetable matter) is the fuel that has long been used on Islay to dry the barley during malting, thus giving a distinctive smoky aroma to the whisky; and with a phenol level of the peat measured at an average 55 -60 parts per million, Ardbeg is by far and away the peatiest malt whisky in Scotland. It manages to balance this smoky intensity with an intriguing sweetness derived from its distillation that makes for a malt of famed complexity.
The Islay Festival of Malt and Music (the Feis Ile) that runs from the 26th May – 1st June 2013 has become a key date in the calendar of malt whisky aficionados around the world and every year thousands of them make the trip to the Island of Islay.
In recent years Ardbeg has spread the word about this annual celebration through its worldwide fan club, the Ardbeg Committee, which today numbers over 85,000 members in 130 countries.
Big Peat Islay Blended Malt Releases A Limited Edition ‘Private Bottling’
Big Peat, the unique Small Batch Islay Blended Malt Whisky from Douglas Laing & Co, launches a new limited edition bottling this month.
Launched by Douglas Laing in 2009, Big Peat has become a firm favourite with whisky enthusiasts worldwide offering them a distinct and unique taste of the magical whisky island of Islay. Big Peat is created from a selection of the finest Islay Malt Scotch Whiskies – from Ardbeg to Bowmore, Caol Ila to the now legendary Port Ellen plus a couple of blender’s secrets!
This new limited edition bottling is exclusively available online at www.bigpeat.com and has been created in response to pleas from Big Peat fans around the globe to offer something with even more “meat on the bone”!
Bottled at 50% and with no chill-filtration, the result is an amplified phenolic and maritime quality on the nose, palate and finish. One sip of this special Small Batch edition transports the drinker to its magical home of Islay.
Big, dry, ozone-y and nicely phenolic as it opens on the nose followed by floral and hot sand hues. On the palate is seaweed sweetness, mocha, lively spices and a “battery” tang – look out for late softly peated barley – ginger and a tarry / creosoted influence. All that leads to a long finish with that now softer tar, distinct camphor cough drop style plus late soot combined with damp Islay bonfire ash.
Fred Laing, Managing Director of Douglas Laing, adds: “This Big Peat Small Batch limited edition has been released to show another side of Big Peat – distinct peat, smoke and maritime character – but with a truly sweet side too. As we like to say – the sum of the parts is greater than some of the individual elements. Hopefully Big Peat’s loyal friends will be able to sit back and enjoy this slightly stronger dram – after all it’s been bottled specifically for his peat partial friends!”
This special Big Peat Small Batch edition is available only via www.bigpeat.com from end April at RRP £29.99.
Wemyss Malts new season’s Single Cask Releases 6 casks across 4 decades
Edinburgh based boutique Spirits Company Wemyss Malts is delighted to announce the release of their latest single cask single malt whiskies. Releasing 6 casks simultaneously, distilled across 4 different decades, is a first for the company.
Each cask is a celebration of the unique and contrasting appeals of the different Scotch whisky regions. Wemyss whiskies are each identified by their natural taste and aroma and this latest release comprises:
“Dark Chocolate Orange” – 1977 single cask from Glenlivet, Speyside
“Pears and Almonds” – 1982 single cask from Inchgower, Highlands
“Ginger Spice” – 1988 single cask from Glenrothes, Speyside
“Toasted Hazelnuts” – 1996 single cask from Longmorn, Speyside
“Candied Fruit” – 1998 single cask from Auchentoshan, Lowlands
“Chocolate Honeycomb” -2001 single cask from Bunnahabhain, Islay
Each cask has been selected and named by the Wemyss tasting panel, under the watchful eye of industry aficionado Charlie Maclean. There are only a few hundred bottles from each cask and the recommended retail prices range from £55 to £135. These bottlings will be available in selected retailers in the UK, EU and key Asian markets.
William Wemyss, Founder and Managing Director at Wemyss Malts, commented: “We continue to celebrate the great quality and diversity of single malt single cask bottlings with this our largest parcel launched to date. We have enjoyed excellent demand for our single casks bottlings around the world and I am sure this fine selection will excite and delight Scotch whisky fans.”
Old Pulteney presents the new ‘LIGHTHOUSE’ series (travel retail)
Old Pulteney is proud to present three new additions to its single malt family, the ‘Lighthouse’ Series. The new whiskies have been developed for the Travel Retail and will be available exclusively from airport duty free stores and other travel retail outlets from August 2013. The three new expressions of the famous Maritime Malt showcase the iconic Old Pulteney coastal style from three different maturation angles. The whiskies are presented in striking packaging and highlight Pulteney Distillery’s maritime heritage by celebrating prominent local lighthouses – Noss Head,Duncansby Head and Pentland Skerries.
Old Pulteney Noss Head
The whisky featuring the distinctive Noss Head lighthouse, located just four miles north of the
distillery, was matured wholly in ex-bourbon American oak casks. It’s bottled at 46% ABV, non chillfiltered
and presented at its natural light golden colour. The spirit is full-bodied with pronounced notes of lemons, oranges, creamy vanilla, coconut and spices. RRP is £39.99 for 1 litre bottle.
Old Pulteney Duncansby Head
The Duncansby Head lighthouse located slightly further north graces the packaging holding a classic Old Pulteney matured in a combination of ex-bourbon casks and Spanish ex-sherry casks of the highest quality. The style of the whisky is sweet and full bodied with notes of chocolate, honey and oranges. The whisky is bottled at 46% ABV, non chill-filtered and at its natural colour. RRP is £44.99 for 1 litre bottle.
Old Pulteney Pentland Skerries
The most premium of the three new releases, Old Pulteney Pentland Skerries celebrates two lighthouse towers of the same name located at the eastern entrance to the Pentland Firth. The whisky was matured wholly in Spanish ex-sherry butts and has a robust, full-bodied style with top notes of raisins, dark chocolate and spices. Similarly to the other two, it’s bottled at 46% ABV, non
chill-filtered, and not coloured. The RRP is £54.99 for 1 litre.
Margaret Mary Clarke, Senior Brand Manager for Old Pulteney commented:
‘Old Pulteney’s Lighthouse Series represents a further investment in bringing distinctive,high quality products to the travel retail trade for the enjoyment of travelling consumers.The association with the great lighthouses of Scotland’s north easterly coast brings to life another aspect of Old Pulteney’s maritime heritage.’ The ‘Lighthouse’ Series follows the hugely successful ‘Boat’ Series for Travel Retail, which related to exceptional vessels associated with Wick Harbour. The new ‘Lighthouse’ Series will be showcased for the first time at the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition in Singapore this May.
Amrut distilleries release their oldest expression ever : Greedy Angels
Amrut Distilleries is once again pushing the boundaries of creating whisky in India. As the Bangalore distiller continues its innovative exploration of the world of single malt, it has bottled its oldest whisky.
Two bourbon casks have been matured for eight years – an unprecedented length of time for Amrut’s malts which mature relatively quickly in the unique environment of the distillery and warehouse in Bangalore – and then bottled.
This special bottling has been named Greedy Angels. “Over those eight years – in the tropical conditions of our warehouse – we lost close to 274 litres of spirit from the two casks,” explains Ashok Chokalingam, Amrut’s International Brand Ambassador. “In the end, we could only bottle 86 litres of whisky. No wonder we have named it Greedy Angels.”
When Amrut decided to bottle these two old casks – numbered 2800 and 2864 – no-one was quite certain how Greedy Angels would turn out. With the insight of his experience as Amrut’s Master Distiller, Surrinder Kumar, believed he had something very special. When invited to London, he was happy to hear what people on the other side of the world thought. At a series of blind tastings, he was greeted with the most positive of feedback. The 144 bottles of Greedy Angels have now been released worldwide. As befits the first bottling of such an old Amrut malt, it has been dedicated to celebrating the 60th birthday of Amrut’s Chairman, Mr Neel Jagdale.
On the nose, Greedy Angels is full of tropical fruits such as pineapple, red liquorice and hickory. On the palate, it is full bodied tropical fruits coupled with subtle spices and citrus notes. It has a sweet finish leaving you wanting more.
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