Seems like this week distilleries all over were quite busy…
Douglas Laing Old Partiuclar Series Announced
Douglas Laing’s Old Particular is a ‘particularly’ unique series of individually hand-selected aged Single Cask Malts from all over Scotland – each bottled according to the founders’ philosophy of topmost quality. Meaning, Old Particular bottlings are from only one cask, without colouring and without chill filtration – allowing the cask and the naturally present oils, fats and enzymes in the spirit to make their own special contribution to its nose, mouthfeel, palate and finish. Launching this September and available from specialist Whisky retailers, some truly exceptional bottlings feature in this first batch including Malts distilled at Bowmore, Caperdonich and Port Ellen distilleries to name but a few. 
The entire line up for this series is below (ordered by whisky age):
- OLP0002 Auchentoshan 15 YEARS
- OLP0021 Braeval 15 YEARS
- OLP0006 Clynelish 16 YEARS
- OLP0026 Glen Ord 16 YEARS
- OLP0018 Arran 17 YEARS
- OLP0032 Miltonduff 17 YEARS
- OLP0019 Auchroisk 18 YEARS
- OLP0023 Caperdonich 18 YEARS
- OLP0004 Sherry Blair Athol 20 YEARS
- OLP0025 Glen Keith 20 YEARS
- OLP0012 Jura 20 YEARS
- OLP0037 Tomatin 20 YEARS
- OLP0003 Bladnoch 21 YEARS
- OLP0028 Glen Garioch 21 YEARS
- OLP0007 Glen Scotia 21 YEARS
- OLP0031 Macduff 21 YEARS
- OLP0005 Bowmore 25 years
- OLP0014 Tamdhu 25 YEARS
- OLP0035 Teaninch 30 YEARS
- OLP0033 Port Ellen 31 YEARS
- OLP0008 Tobermory 35 YEARS
Morrison Bowmore is to release a special Halloween edition of Bowmore named The Devil’s Casks this October.
Matured exclusively in first fill Sherry casks for 10 years and bottled at a high 56.7% abv, The Devil’s Casks are described as “hot and fiery” with notes of fruitcake, chocolate and dark fruits.
The small batch, limited edition has been created to tell the spooky tale of how the Devil himself was spotted in the round church of Bowmore and chased from Islay onto a paddle steamer carrying a cargo of Bowmore headed for the mainland.
Just 6,000 bottles of the non-chill filtered single malt Scotch have been created, each packaged in a deep red gift box with imagery and text depicting the story.
“Ten years’ maturation in first fill sherry casks has brought out Bowmore’s fiery characteristics,” said Iain McCallum, master of malts for Bowmore. “The notes in this dram are hot and seductive. This small batch release is quite simply, devilishly good.”
Bowmore The Devil’s Casks are being released in October with an allocation of 540 bottles for the UK, carrying an RRP of £50.99.
GLENFIDDICH CELEBRATES 125TH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW RELEASE
The Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage – part of the Glenfiddich Rare Collection – is a 25-year-old expression first casked in European sherry oak on Christmas Day 1987. Malt master Brian Kinsman then selected a small number of centenary casks so that Glenfiddich founder William Grant’s great-great grandson Peter Gordon and his son Dougal could choose which would become the Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage. Peter Gordon, who is also company director of Glenfiddich, said: “It was an honour to select this whisky – it truly reflects the pioneering spirit that has underpinned our 125 year history and my great-great grandfather’s legacy of making ‘the best dram in the valley’.” With only 286 bottles available, the limited edition expression is said to have notes of fruit cake, almonds, cinnamon, citrus and vanilla on the nose, with spice, sweet sherbet and oak on the palate. “Bottled from just one European oak sherry cask and testament to the uniqueness of this exclusive whisky, Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage has a cask-strength abv of 55.4%. “Glenfiddich has been family-run since 1887 and with the freedom of independence and the foresight of long-term planning, we have created the largest collection of single malt stock anywhere in the world.” Each bottle of Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage is individually numbered and is finished with a rustic copper and blue design. Officially launched on 9/9/2013, the release comes with an RRP of £699.
Lagavulin Jazz Festival 2013 Bottling Announced
A special limited-edition bottling of Lagavulin™ single malt Scotch whisky will again be available at this year’s Lagavulin Islay Jazz Festival ( #LagavulinJazz ), which starts on Friday 13 September with a concert in the Malt Mill at Lagavulin distillery by the master of American Stride piano, Stephanie Trick. The third in this series of releases, the 2013 bottling comes in an edition of 1,500 individually numbered bottles filled on 19 January 1995 and drawn from hand-selected Sherry Butts. It is bottled at an ABV of 51.9%. “We’re delighted to announce our third Jazz Festival bottling” said Nick Morgan, Diageo’s Head of Whisky Outreach. “The first two have been of quite exceptional quality, and this year we’ve increased the quantity to ensure that it can be enjoyed by visitors who come from all over the world to enjoy the Lagavulin Islay Jazz Festival, and those who follow.” The neck labelling continues the jazz theme of previous editions, again featuring a piano keyboard. Bottles will be available to personal visitors only at Lagavulin distillery (limit of two bottles per customer) at a UK RRSP of £99.
Nose: Surprise! An initial strong pine wood – for a moment I was confused and thought I taste their Rye whiskey (another product from this distillery) but there’s no doubt this is not malt based spirit. Then we get some spices, vanilla and honey, the whiffs of pine wood keeps coming back for visits, also had a random of rubbery solvent. Overall, Nose is nice but isn’t very complex – it do feel young and fresh. With water added, it becomes gentler and more rounded, still getting that pine wood notes with sweet vanilla.
Whisky Gospel 