So make sure you're ready with the latest in home mixology news, and a great selection of Cocktail recipes, all delivered straight to your inbox each week
Islay distillery Ardbeg has added a 25-year-old expression that was distilled back in the 1990s to their permanent range.
Although it will only be released in limited quantities, the brand feels that this rare whisky was so exquisite that it should be bottled and released as a permanent expression.
Creator Dr. Bill Lumsden said: “After a quarter of a century in the cask, you’d be forgiven for imagining that Ardbeg 25 Years Old would have lost some of the hallmark Ardbeg smoky punch. I can assure you it hasn’t.
“And yet there’s also a remarkable complexity and elegance to this whisky that I find utterly captivating. It’s unmistakably Ardbeg, but unlike any Ardbeg, you’ve tasted before.”
Tasting notes include smoked cream, peppermint, toffee, fennel, and pine resin on the nose, leading to a ‘vibrant, hot peppery mouthfeel’ with flavours of sherbet lemon, carbolic soap and tar, creamy toffee, aniseed, and chilli pepper. The finish is said to be long, mellow, and lingering, with cream, fudge, and antiseptic notes.
Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White has moved into spirits with the launch of his own London Dry gin, Mr White’s.
The famed restaurateur created the limited-edition gin with master distiller Dai Wakely, from the Cygnet Distillery in Wales.
“Marco has always loved gin,” says the brand. “He has perfected cooking simple things well and wanted to learn something new to reignite his passion for creating recipes from his days spent working in London.
Bottled at 40% ABV, the expression is said to be juniper-forward and counts hand-peeled orange, lemon verbena and fresh lavender among its botanicals.
“I distinctly remember the captivating smell of the juniper berries being distilled at Booth’s Gin distillery on Wandsworth Bridge, as I made my way to and from Harveys on Wandsworth Common, London,” said White.
“The smell takes me back to memorable moments from my days spent back in the capital all those years ago. And at a time when more than ever people are interested in the provenance and authenticity of what they are drinking, [it] is precisely what this new gin is all about.”
US zero-proof brand Ritual has expanded its product line with a rim alternative, just in time for a post-COVID summer.
With the tagline that that ‘It’s the rum punch that doesn’t knock you out, the Hurricane without the hangover’, the expression boasts all the warm vanilla, toasted spice and velvety decadence of dark rum, minus the alcohol or calories.
“Ritual is the true liquor replacement. It is to spirits what the Impossible burger is to meat; what Oatly is to milk,” said Marcus Sakey, founding partner of Ritual Zero Proof. “Most people who buy those products aren’t vegetarian – they just want a little balance, without sacrificing flavor. Ritual has cracked that code – and consumers have noticed.”
The brand has also taken the opportunity to tweak and improve the recipes for their beloved Gin, Whiskey and Tequila Alternatives, incorporating expert and consumer feedback to make them taste even more like their alcoholic counterparts.
“The Beverage Testing Institute, gold-standard for the industry, named Ritual the best non-alcoholic spirit in the world,” said Sakey. “But the latest iteration of our products are better than ever, and the new Rum Alternative is just delicious.”
GORDON & MACPHAIL UNVEILS THE WORLD'S OLDEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH
June 16,2021
On 3rd February 1940 in a quiet corner in the north of Scotland, George Urquhart and his father, John, had the extraordinary foresight and vision to lay down spirit from Glenlivet Distillery in a bespoke Gordon & MacPhail cask to be enjoyed by future generations.
Last year, 80 years later, the decision was taken to finally bottle the content of Cask 340, into a total of 250 decanters. The decision not only aligned with George Urquhart belief that each whisky should be left to mature until the cask and spirit had combined to create the desired quality, but it has also made history.
“That this whisky – the oldest single malt Scotch ever bottled – remains so full of vibrant flavour with a strength of 44.9% ABV, is testimony to knowledge handed down over successive generations of my family,” explains Stephen Rankin, Director of Prestige at Gordon & MacPhail Whiskies, and member of the fourth generation of the family that owns the company.
Setting a standard of exceptional quality has been the benchmark for Gordon & MacPhail over its 125-year history and it is the brand’s unique depth and breadth of experience that enables them to combine oak, spirit and time to create iconic whiskies found nowhere else in the world.
“Maturing a single malt Scotch over eight decades is an art,” said Ewen Mackintosh, Managing Director at Gordon & MacPhail, “similar in many ways to architecture where you are creating something that needs to stand the test of time. Neither can be rushed. Both Sir David and Gordon & MacPhail share a commitment to invest in the future. We both see the significance of creating something exceptional; leaving a legacy for future generations.”
The whisky bottler partnered with Sir David Adjaye OBE to design a decanter and oak case to present the whisky. The price of the whisky will be unveiled in September, along with Adjaye’s decanter and case.
Sotheby’s will auction decanter number one in early October, with all proceeds, minus costs, to be donated to award-winning Scottish charity Trees for Life, which works to rewild the Caledonian Forest.
Expanding its JJ Whitley range, Halewood Artisanal Spirits has unveiled a limited-edition vodka filtered through a gold silk thread.
Distilled in St Petersburg, Russia, the wheat-based Vodka expression has been passed through a filter of gold silk thread, which the brand says provides a clean and exceptionally smooth tasting experience.
The expression has then been bottled in ‘dazzling gold’ that features the “distinctive” embossed detail at 38% ABV.
“For those looking to treat themselves or find something special to mark a celebration, or even as a great gift option, we’re confident our limited edition vodka will present a strong sales opportunity for retailers this summer,” said James Stocker, marketing director, Halewood Artisanal Spirits.
“We have been investing heavily in our JJ Whitley vodka portfolio and our new distillery in St Petersburg, which enables us to provide our customers with a quality, authentic Russian vodka at [a] great price point.”
WHISTLEPIG UNVEILS TWO NEW FARMSTOCK BEYOND BONDED EXPRESSIONS
June 15,2021
Vermont distillery WhistlePig has achieved a milestone with the release of two 100% grain-to-glass whiskeys from the WhistlePig Farm.
WhistlePig FarmStock Beyond Bonded Rye and FarmStock Beyond Bonded Bourbon are the first products harvested, distilled, aged and bottled at the WhistlePig farm and distillery.
By “Beyond Bonded,” WhistlePig means that its whiskey is not only Bottled-in-Bond, but also single barrel, fully traceable at every step of the Farm-to-bottle journey, the company says, and bottled at 100.1 proof, just beyond the bonded whiskey standard.
“Today’s craft spirits drinkers, especially whiskey collectors, are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about process,” says Jeff Kozak, CEO.
“After working toward a 100% Farm whiskey vision for more than a decade, our team is proud to invite WhistlePig fans to look under the hood at who, where, when and how our grain-to-glass whiskey is created, and to offer a one-of-a-kind experience from each barrel.”
WhistlePig’s FarmStock Beyond Bonded Rye is a straight rye whiskey made from 100% Remington Rye harvested from the North Orwell 1 field of the distillery’s 500-acre farm.
FarmStock Beyond Bonded Bourbon is a straight bourbon whiskey made with a high rye mash bill, with 51% Dent Corn and 49% Remington and Rifle Rye varietals, harvested from North Orwell 1 and North Orwell 2 fields.
Both expressions have been aged for upwards of four years in Vermont Estate Oak barrels, produced from local Vermont oak. The oldest barrel in the release aged for four years, 8 months and 14 days.
