EVAN WILLIAMS LAUNCHES LIMITED EDITION KENTUCKY DERBY SINGLE BARREL BOURBON

Heaven Hill Brands, has announced the release of a special limited edition bottling of its Evan Williams Bourbon, to commemorate the 2017 Kentucky Derby Festival.

Evans Williams 2009 Single Barrel Vintage Bourbon - 2017 Kentucky Derby Limited Edition (53.5% ABV) has been matured in natural open-rick warehouses under the careful supervision of Heaven Hill’s Master Distillers, who monitor the progress of each year’s vintage to ensure it maintains its intended flavour profile and quality.

Evan Williams 2009 Single Barrel Vintage Bourbon
2017 Kentucky Derby Limited Edition

This latest limited release, which contains the details of the exact day it was put into an oak barrel to age on the label, is said to commemorate both the 62nd Kentucky Derby Festival and 45th Pegasus Pin anniversary.

Dipped in a unique gold wax with a commemorative pin sealed atop the cap, the bottle features a special face label with the Kentucky Derby Festival logo, and includes a 2017 Pegasus Pin in an envelope attached to each bottle.

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience Artisanal Distiller Charlie Downs and Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO Mike Brown, unveiled the official 2017 pin and limited edition bottle at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience on Thursday, Feb. 16, by personally hand-dipping two of the limited-edition bottles.

Commenting on the launch, Charlie Downs, said: “The Evan Williams Bourbon Experience is proud to partner with the Kentucky Derby Festival to share the unique Kentucky spirit that is unmatched elsewhere. We’re honoured to raise a toast to Kentucky’s heritage and welcome Festival Fans across the globe to join in celebrating the 2017 Kentucky Derby.”

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, has won five “Whiskey of the Year” awards and is one of the most critically-acclaimed specialty bourbons produced by Heaven Hill Distillery, the world’s second largest holder of aging Bourbon.

Evans Williams 2009 Single Barrel Vintage Bourbon - 2017 Kentucky Derby Limited Edition, will be available later this month from the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience and selected specialist retailers for a RRP of $74.99.

Posted by Steve Rush

ISLE OF ARRAN DISTILLERS BREAKS GROUND ON NEW DISTILLERY SITE

Isle of Arran Distillers, has today announced that work on their second distillery site on the south of the island at Lagg, has officially begun.

A ground breaking ceremony marked the start of construction of the new distillery, visitors centre and three new warehouses, which will allow enough capacity to increase production to 1.2 million litres.

Master Distiller James MacTaggart and Managing Director  Euan Mitchell
breaking ground on Arran's second distillery site

Situated overlooking the cliffs at Lagg, on the south coast of the island, the new site sits alongside fields of barley that are currently used in distillation at Lochranza.

Following the demand and popularity of Machrie Moor, the peated Arran Malt, Master Distiller of the Isle of Arran Distillery, James MacTaggart, plans to dedicate production at Lagg to more heavily peated single malts.

Commenting on the new distillery site, James MacTaggart, said: “Having been at capacity at Lochranza for some time, the prospect of starting production at Lagg is extremely exciting. As the Arran Malt continues to grow in popularity, the extra storage alone will enable us to lay down more of the award-winning Arran spirit.”

He went on to say: “I’m also very much looking forward to expanding our peated range. By moving production of Machrie Moor and concentrating the distillation of peated malts on the south of the island, I’ll also be freed up to create more of our extremely popular limited editions at Lochranza.”

Construction at Lagg begins as the popularity of distillery visits reaches an all-time high. The distillery site at Lochranza welcomed record numbers of visitors in 2016 with over 104,000 people making the trip to the distillery. This number is expected to rise to a combined 166,900 by 2018 once the new visitor centre in Lagg has been opened.

Posted by Steve Rush

WEMYSS LAUNCH THEIR FIRST SINGLE CASK BOTTLINGS OF 2017

Multi-award winning, Edinburgh based boutique spirits company Wemyss Malts, have announced the launch of their first batch of single cask whiskies for 2017.

Their latest batch of eight single cask whiskies range in age from 14 to 28 years old, and have been given descriptive names illustrating each whisky’s individual character, by the Wemyss tasting panel, under the watchful eye of industry aficionado Charlie Maclean.

Wemyss launch their first single cask bottlings of 2017

The full single cask list from Wemyss’s first batch of 2017:

The Ship's Decanter - 24 Year Old from Bunnahabhain (45.6% ABV)
Scallop Divers Dram – 28 Year Old from Bunnahabhain (46% ABV)
Peppered Biltong – 20 Year Old from Clynelish (46% ABV)
Mango Anise Sorbet – 21 Year Old from Braeval (46% ABV)
Spiced Apple Strudel – 14 Year Old from Craigellachie (46% ABV)
Apple Syllabub – 26 Year Old from Bladnoch (46% ABV)
Tiramisu Layers – 19 Year Old from Invergordon (46% ABV)
Hedgerow Berries – 20 Year Old from Glenrothes (46% ABV)

Commenting on the latest batch of single casks, William Wemyss, Founder and Managing Director at Wemyss Malts, said: “Following the successes of our multiple single cask releases and the launch of our first Batch Strength blended malts in 2016, Wemyss Malts has entered 2017 in a very strong position which is reflected in our newest release of single cask whisky. Hand-picked from our cask stocks, our first 2017 release reflects the scope and variety of our maturing single cask whisky, from the fruity and oily “Spiced Apple Strudel” to the pair of Bunnahabhain casks “The Ship's Decanter” and “Scallop Divers Dram” which really demonstrate how diverse single cask whisky can be.”

The latest batch of Wemyss single cask releases, will be available later this month from specialist retailers. Each cask is limited to only a few hundred bottles with RRP’s ranging from £70 to £270.

Posted by Steve Rush