Friday, July 20, 2012

Inbox - July 20, 2012

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 that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we 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.  Here is what has grabbed our attention this week ...
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Balblair - Gather around ...
The up and coming north Highland distillery of Balblair have announced the launch of a new members section on the brand's website, named The Gathering Place.  The move comes as a number of distilleries and brands launch similar clubs.

Benefits of being a member include receiving news about the distillery and our Vintages, the ability to purchase exclusive single casks and watch expert tasting videos, be the first to read exclusive guest blogs, build up your very own online 'Vintage Cabinet' and share/discuss tasting notes with like-minded connoisseurs. There is also a competition to win a limited edition Balblair silk tie. Signing up is simple - visit www.balblair.com and enter your details.

Ballantine's - Life begins at 40
The popular blended whisky brand of Ballantine's has announced the release of its oldest and most limited premium expression to date - the Ballantine's 40 years old.  The new release will initially be put in to the Asian Duty Free/travel retail market, which is a stronghold for the Ballantine's brand.  The whisky has been constructed by Ballantine's Master Blender Sandy Hyslop using some of Chivas Brothers' (the brand's owners) finest old casks from their stocks.

The 40 years old is bottled at 43% ABV and is presented in a bespoke handmade wooden casket which features the individual bottle number, an engraved signature of Ballantine's Master Blender Sandy Hyslop and silver work by renowned silversmith Richard Fox. Only 100 bottles will be released globally each year with each bottle costing a minimum of $US 7,000.

Ballantine’s Global Brand Director Peter Moore says, “Ballantine’s 40 year old epitomises everything the Ballantine’s brand has stood for since the days of George Ballantine. The culmination of a unique heritage of producing high aged whiskies, Ballantine’s 40 year old will appeal to those who appreciate the experience of tasting such an exceptional whisky which is a unique part of Ballantine’s history.”

Glendronach - Latest single casks released


The latest batch of single cask bottlings from the GlenDronach distillery in Aberdeenshire has been announced. This is the sixth such batch to be released and this batch consists of five casks, which were bottled in June, with vintages ranging from 1971 to 1993. All five were hand selected by The BenRiach Distillery Company’s Managing Director Billy Walker. The cask details are listed below,
  • 1971 cask #1247 / 41 years old / Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon / 47.9% vol. / 529 bottles / £579.99
  • 1978 cask #1068 / 33 years old / Oloroso Sherry Puncheon / 52.9% vol. / 318 bottles / £279.99
  • 1989 cask #4885 / 23 years old / Moscatel Barrel / 53.9%vol. / 286 bottles / £119.99
  • 1990 cask #2966 / 22 years old / Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon / 55.1% vol. / 539 bottles / £109.99
  • 1993 cask #536 / 19 years old / Oloroso Sherry Butt / 59.4% vol. / 596 bottles / £89.99

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