A Long-Term Commitment to Longmorn

Chivas Brothers recently introduced two new Longmorn single malts. The 18 and 22-year-old malts represent a long-term commitment to the brand, with all future Longmorns… Read More

Chivas Brothers recently introduced two new Longmorn single malts. The 18 and 22-year-old malts represent a long-term commitment to the brand, with all future Longmorns to be at least 18 years old. Chivas Brothers blending manager Kevin Balmforth was instrumental in creating both whiskies, and he’ll join us to discuss them and his day-to-day life in the blending lab on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. 

In the news, MGP is suing over two rickhouse projects that have been blocked by local officials in Kentucky, while a new website has been set up to help investors protect themselves from fraudulent cask investment schemes.  

Episode 1047: March 10, 2024

Links: Longmorn | MGP | ProtectYourCask.com | Brown-Forman | Ardbeg | Cardhu | Mortlach | The Lakes Distillery | OurWhisky Foundation | Whisky Auctioneer | The Glenturret | Woodford Reserve | New Riff Distilling | Lost Lantern Whiskey | The Perfect Fifth | Compass Box | Rabbit Hole | Devil’s Cask

Longmorn Debuts A Pair Of Whiskies

Wheated Two

Speyside whisky distiller Longmorn has released a pair of new single malts single-batch whiskies – Longmorn 18 Years Old and Longmorn 22 Years Old – both whiskies were aged in American oak casks. Longmorn 18 Years Old was bottled at cask strength 57.6% [115.2 proof] alcohol by volume and is said to contain notes of […]

The post Longmorn Debuts A Pair Of Whiskies first appeared on Whisky Critic – Whisky Reviews & Articles – Style. Attitude. Whisky..

Wheated Two

Speyside whisky distiller Longmorn has released a pair of new single malts single-batch whiskies – Longmorn 18 Years Old and Longmorn 22 Years Old – both whiskies were aged in American oak casks.

Longmorn 18 Years Old was bottled at cask strength 57.6% [115.2 proof] alcohol by volume and is said to contain notes of apples, apricots, milk chocolate and toffee.

Longmorn 22 Years Old was also bottled at cask strength 54.5% [109 proof] alcohol by volume and is said to offer notes of citrus, hazelnut, pears and toffee.

Longmorn 18 Years Old is being made available for $270 per bottle while Longmorn 22 Years Old is being made available for $430 per bottle.

The post Longmorn Debuts A Pair Of Whiskies first appeared on Whisky Critic - Whisky Reviews & Articles - Style. Attitude. Whisky..

Another New Distillery for Kentucky

Garrard County Distilling Company is the latest distillery to come on line in Kentucky, and it’s starting out with big ambitions. The producer of All… Read More

Garrard County Distilling Company is the latest distillery to come on line in Kentucky, and it’s starting out with big ambitions. The producer of All Nations Whiskey has two massive Vendome stills and a pair of rickhouses with plans for 22 more over the next six years. We’ll talk with distillery founder Ray Franklin on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Diageo reports more disappointing sales numbers, while Old Forester names an heir apparent for longtime Master Distiller Chris Morris. 

Episode 1042: February 4, 2024

Links: Garrard County Distilling Co. | Diageo | Old Forester | Longmorn | Heaven Hill | Redwood Empire | Hard Truth Distilling | Westland Distillery | Method and Madness | Titanic Distillers | Jack Daniel’s | Wayne Gretzky Distillery | Two Brewers | Crown Royal

Image courtesy Garrard County Distilling Co.

Inbox | The Week’s Whisky News | February 2, 2024

Welcome to Inbox – our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to the WFE email. We started Inbox several years ago as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from arou…



Welcome to Inbox - our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to the WFE email. We started Inbox several years ago 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. 
 
Here is this week's whisky news ... 

________


Lodestar
 

The American whiskey brand of Lodestar has launched its inaugural bottling. Simply named, Lodestar American Whiskey, the new product is a blend of high rye bourbon and American single malt from unnamed sources, and comes with the tagline 'All Flavor, No Fuss'. 
 
The brand was co-founded last year by cousins Anna Axster and Wendelin von Schroder in Los Angeles with the aim of creating an 'inclusive and approachable whiskey'. Lodestar American Whiskey is bottled at 45% ABV and is initially available in selected states of the US. It will retail at $US45 per bottle.
 
"As we began developing the brand, it is important to us that our whiskey is approachable, and can be enjoyed neat or in a cocktail. We wanted it to be inclusive and inviting to those who are new to the whiskey community while also satisfying those who enjoy whiskey regularly."
Anna Axster.

Longmorn
 

The Speyside distillery of Longmorn has announced two rare cask strength expressions that will initially be exclusive to the American market - the Longmorn 18 years old and Longmorn 22 years old. Both have been matured in a combination of American oak first-fill and re-fill ex-bourbon barrels and hogsheads. The releases commemorate the 130th anniversary of the distillery being founded by John Duff in 1894.

Both whiskies show a contemporary new look and packaging that features a purple and gold livery. The Longmorn 18 years old is bottled at the natural strength of 57.6% ABV and will retail for $US280. The Longmorn 22 years old is bottled at 54.5% ABV and will retail for $US440. The pair will be available in selected states throughout the US.


Macallan
 

The famous Speyside distillery of Macallan have announced the first bottling designed to celebrate their 200th anniversary this year - Tales of the Macallan Volume II. The new whisky is the second in a planned series of remarkably rare single malts. It has been created by Euan Kennedy, the Lead Whisky Maker at Macallan, and was distilled in 1949 and bottled in 2022.

The whisky is housed in a bespoke handcrafted crystal decanter designed by renowned French crystal maker Lalique. The decanter is presented in a book that conceals it within its 800 pages. This was created by London-based bookbinders Shepherds, Sangorski & Sutcliffe and Zaehnsdorf. Each volume of the series is designed to tell the story of Alexander Reid, Macallan's founder, and he features on the packaging in the form of illustrations by British artist Andrew Davidson.

The Tales of the Macallan Volume II is limited to just 344 decanters and is bottled at 44.8% ABV. It is available at the Macallan distillery in Speyside, Macallan Boutiques worldwide and selected luxury retailers including Harrods, Selfridge's and Berry Brothers & Rudd. Each decanter will cost £77,400/ $US89,000/ €89,000.


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Chivas Brings Ultis XX To Market

Chivas has released a blended Scotch whisky containing five single malts each aged for at least 20 years called Ultis XX. Chivas Ultis XX is an upgrade of Chivas’ original Ultis blend, released in 2016 as the distillery’s first blended malt whisky, and contains five of Chivas’ single malts – Strathisla, Allt A’bhainne, Braeval, Longmorn […]

Chivas has released a blended Scotch whisky containing five single malts each aged for at least 20 years called Ultis XX.

Chivas Ultis XX is an upgrade of Chivas’ original Ultis blend, released in 2016 as the distillery’s first blended malt whisky, and contains five of Chivas’ single malts – Strathisla, Allt A’bhainne, Braeval, Longmorn and Tormore – and is said to offer notes of red apples, honey, milk chocolate, raspberry jam, toffee and vanilla.

Psst…It’s A Secret Speyside Release

Giant spirits conglomo Pernod Ricard has released a set of seven single cask editions they are calling the Secret Speyside collection for global travel retail venues – the seven whiskies originate from four Speyside distilleries – Braes of The Glenlivet distillery, Caperdonich, Longmorn and Glen Keith – and are aged between 21 and 27 years. […]

Giant spirits conglomo Pernod Ricard has released a set of seven single cask editions they are calling the Secret Speyside collection for global travel retail venues – the seven whiskies originate from four Speyside distilleries – Braes of The Glenlivet distillery, Caperdonich, Longmorn and Glen Keith – and are aged between 21 and 27 years.

All seven whiskies have been matured in seven separate first-fill American oak casks.

The Braes of The Glenlivet 1992 is being made exclusively available to the Dubai travel retail venue for $990 per bottle. The Caperdonich Peated 1996 will be exclusive to the Frankfurt, Germany travel retail venue for $1,050 per bottle while the Caperdonich Unpeated 1996 will be exclusive to the Heathrow, London travel retail venue [also for $1,050 per bottle]. The Glen Keith 1998 will be exclusive to the Shanghai, China travel retail venue for $450 per bottle while the Glen Keith 1994 will be made exclusive to the Lagardère, Hong Kong travel retail venue for $760 per bottle. Last but not least, the Longmorn 1998 will be made exclusive to the Lotte, Singapore travel retail venue for $480 per bottle and the Longmorn 1995 will be made exclusive to the Everrich, Taiwan travel retail venue for $800 per bottle.

Bonhams Offers Rare Whiskies In Paris Sale Next Week

The Bonhams auction house will be offering their inaugural spirits sale at Bonhams Paris location at 4 Rue de la Paix in Paris on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. Bonhams’ 189-lot sale will feature several rare whiskies most “notably from Italian collections….such as rare bottles from [Silvano] Samaroli, one of the last Italian whisky trading companies,…including […]

The Bonhams auction house will be offering their inaugural spirits sale at Bonhams Paris location at 4 Rue de la Paix in Paris on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.

Bonhams’ 189-lot sale will feature several rare whiskies most “notably from Italian collections….such as rare bottles from [Silvano] Samaroli, one of the last Italian whisky trading companies,…including the now coveted 15-year-old Laphroaig, 1967 ($29,000 – $40,000 estimate).”

Other whiskies being offered up by Samaroli include a 12-year-old Springbank, was part of a small batch produced and imported exclusively for the Italian market ($15,800-$21,000 estimate).

Another whisky being offered is a 19-year-old Highland Park also exclusively distributed for the Italian market with a run of a mere 60 bottles and accompanied by a numbered Edinburgh crystal decanter ($1,685-$2,100 estimate).

Yet another offering is a 10-year-old whisky from The Macallan which was bottled at 57% alcohol by volume [114 proof] by Gordon & MacPhail ($1,155-$1,475 estimate).

Also being offered is a Longmorn 1974 ($2,315-$3,155 estimate) and a rare Cognac Hardy 1914 Grande Champagne which emerges directly from the personal collection of Jacques Hardy and was aged for several decades before being found in a demijohn by Hardy ($5,790-$6,840 estimate).

Virtual Whisky Show: Old & Rare 2021

It’s that time again. As February rolls around, whisky fans from around the globe usually get ready to head to the UK to find some of the finest drams ever bottled from across whisky history…

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – Virtual Whisky Show: Old & Rare 2021

Virtual Whisky Show Old & Rare 2021

It’s that time again. As February rolls around, whisky fans from around the globe usually get ready to head to the UK to find some of the finest drams ever bottled from across whisky history at Whisky Show: Old & Rare. While that’s not going to be possible this year, we’re not going to let the year go unmarked. It’s time for Virtual Whisky Show: Old & Rare 2021.

How does that work?

Whisky Show: Old & Rare is very different to other whisky shows. The hundreds of bottles on offer are pulled from the collections of the world’s best bars and biggest collectors, and the show is all about the conversations and in-person sharing of drams – something that’s almost impossible to replicate online.

So, instead, we’ve decided to focus on one element of the show – the masterclasses. The chance to try some of the world’s finest whiskies, curated by the experts behind the show: The Whisky Exchange co-founder Sukhinder Singh, and whisky experts Angus MacRaild and Jonny McMillan.

This year’s show will run from 25-27 February and feature four masterclasses. Each class will be live-streamed on Facebook for anyone to watch, but we also have a tasting packs available if you’d like to taste along on Zoom with Sukhinder, Angus, Jonny, me and a whole host of guests from around the whisky world.

Find out more on the Virtual Whisky Show: Old & Rare website >

The Line-up

Sukhinder, Jonny and Angus have dug deep into their whisky collections and, after months of (occasionally heated) discussion, have created the four tasting line-ups, each examining something that they are passionate about in whisky – old-fashioned peat, waxy whisky, the wonder of old Longmorn and the overlooked masterpieces of Gordon & MacPhail.

Waxy Whisky
7pm Thursday 25 February 2021

Waxy Whisky

When it comes to the character of old & rare whisky, waxiness is one of the most sought after flavours and textures. While the style is most commonly associated with Brora and Clynelish, there’s much more to the world of waxy whisky. This class looks into other distilleries and expressions distilled in the 1960s and 1970s, and asks ‘why?’ and ‘how?’. Our hosts will be joined by Roe and Co master distiller Lora Hemy, and whiskyfun.com creator and Clyenlish obsessive Serge Valentin to pull apart waxy drams and find out what makes them tick.

The drams:

  • Glen Ord 30 Year Old Diageo Special Releases 2005
  • Balvenie 1974 15 Year Old Signatory Vintage
  • Clynelish 1972 24 Year Old Rare Malts
  • Convalmore 1962 31 Year Old Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection
  • Balblair 40 Year Old Single Malts of Scotland
  • Clynelish 12 Year Old Green & Red Label

Learn more >
Buy the pack >

Longmorn
7pm Friday 26 February 2021

Longmorn

The way that whisky is made in Scotland means that we often don’t get a chance to try spirit from some of the greatest distilleries, other than in blends. Among those is Longmorn – one of Sukhinder’s favourite distilleries. Our hosts will be joined by The Whisky Exchange Old and Rare Spirits Manager Diego Lanza, and Catawiki whisky specialist Jeroen Koetsier for a look at what makes old Longmorn special. Expect old and elegantly fruity whisky with – especially if you ask Sukhinder – a touch of pink grapefruit.

The drams:

  • Longmorn 10 Year Old Hill Thompson, bot.1960s
  • Longmorn 15 Year Old Cadenhead Dumpy, bot.~1980
  • Longmorn 1970 Berry Brothers, bot.1998
  • Longmorn 1969 Signatory Vintage 10th Anniversary, bot.1998
  • Longmorn 1970 36 Year Old Single Malts of Scotland
  • Longmorn 1973 25 Year Old Hart Brothers, Port Wood

Learn more >
Buy the pack >

Gordon & MacPhail Old & Rare
4pm Saturday 27 February 2021

Gordon & MacPhail

While Gordon & MacPhail is one of the best-known and -loved independent bottlers in the world, not all of its whiskies get the attention they deserve. Hiding in its extensive range of old and rare bottlings are the simply-presented, unassuming vintage bottlings. They are a surprisingly reasonably-priced way of trying long-aged whiskies, matured in excellent casks and distilled in the golden era of whisky production. I will be joined by Diego Lanza and Jason Vaswani from The Whisky Exchange’s Old & Rare spirits team to taste these old drams and look into the history of G&M’s bottlings.

The drams:

  • Glen Grant 1966 45 Year Old
  • Strathisla 1963 48 Year Old
  • Glen Grant 1953 60 Year Old
  • Strathisla 1972 40 Year Old
  • Glenlivet 1955 56 Year Old
  • Longmorn 1964 50 Year Old

Learn more >
Buy the pack >

Old-style Peat
7pm Saturday 27 February 2021

Old-style Peat

Peat may be one of the longest standing flavours in Scotch whisky, but it hasn’t been constant over the years. Changes in production and peat sources have changed the way that smoky, peaty flavours express themselves in whisky. While modern peat smoke can be wonderful, old-fashioned peat is a very different thing, and something worth examination. Our hosts will be joined by Scotch Whisky Research Institute senior scientist Frances Jack, and photographer, author and smoky whisky expert Marcel van Gils to dig deep into the history of peat and find out how and why things have changed.

The drams:

  • Highland Park 1960 17 Year Old
  • Port Ellen 1974 22 Year Old, Signatory Silent Stills, cask #6754
  • Ardmore 1977 Samaroli 35th Anniversary, bot.2003
  • Brora 32 Year Old, Diageo Special Releases 2011
  • Glen Garioch 1972 Oddbins, bot.1990s
  • Glenlochy 1965 37 Year Old Dun Eideann

Learn more >
Buy now >

See you at the show!

The tastings will all be live-streamed on The Whisky Exchange Facebook page for everyone to watch, but don’t forget that you can grab a pack to join in and taste along with us. You can find all the packs on The Whisky Exchange’s Virtual Whisky Show Old & Rare page.

And don’t worry if you miss a tasting – they’ll be up on Facebook and YouTube to watch again.

We look forward to (virtually) seeing you there!

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – Virtual Whisky Show: Old & Rare 2021