HUNTER LAING & CO LAUNCHES NEW OLD AND RARE HERITAGE SERIES

Leading whisky blender and bottler Hunter Laing & Co, has today announced the launch of a new limited-edition range of single cask bottlings.

The Hunter Laing Old & Rare Heritage Series, is comprised of 20 single cask, single malt Scotch whiskies, which have all been aged for at least 30 years.

The Hunter Laing Old & Rare Heritage Series


All 20 bottlings, which include a Tamdhu 30 Year Old, Ardmore 31 Year Old, Aultmore 37 Year Old, Benrinnes 40 Year Old and a Glenlossie 44 Year Old, have been bottled at natural cask strength and without artificial colouring or chill filtration.

The Hunter Laing Old & Rare Heritage Series bottlings, come presented in a dark green bottle and a specially crafted wooden clasp presentation box. The look is said to hark back to the original appearance of the Old and Rare “Platinum” range when it was first released at the turn of the millennium.

Commenting on the launch, Stewart Laing, Managing Director of Hunter Laing, said: “There are some whiskies which are so remarkable that they deserve a little extra recognition, and our heritage series was created to celebrate these incredible malts. My two sons and I have personally selected each of these whiskies from our finest and most prized stocks.”

The Hunter Laing Old & Rare Heritage Series, will be available later next month from specialist retailers. RRP’s (tbc).

Posted by Steve Rush

GLEN MORAY ANNOUNCES ITS NEW HEAD OF WHISKY CREATION

The Glen Moray Distillery, has today announced the appointment of its new Head of Whisky Creation.

Former Distill Senior Blender Dr Kirstie McCallum, who has been responsible for the Bunnahabhain, Deanston and Tobermory single malt whisky brands, has been appointed to the newly-created role, and will now be responsible for whisky creation and stocks at the Elgin based Glen Moray Distillery.

New Head of Whisky Creation at Glen Moray; Dr Kirsty McCallum

In addition to continuing the legacy of Glen Moray, she will also be responsible for other whiskies in its parent company La Martiniquaise-Bardinet’s portfolio, which include the Cutty Sark and Label 5 Scotch whisky brands.

Commenting on the news, Ian McLaren, Glen Turner General Manager, said: “We are very much looking forward to this next chapter in the long history of Glen Moray and look forward to learning from Kirstie’s extensive knowledge and experience across a wide spectrum of the industry.”

Kirstie, takes over from Graham Coull who was Master Distiller at Glen Moray for 14 years, who recently moved to the Dingle Distillery in Ireland. Graham, oversaw the expansion of the Glen Moray Distillery and developed several award-winning cask expressions which have become part of Glen Moray’s range of signature malts.

Posted by Steve Rush

AUCHENTOSHAN ANNOUNCES PACKAGING REFRESH

Beam Suntory, has today unveiled new packaging for its Auchentoshan single malt Scotch whisky brand.

The new packaging for the triple distilled, Lowlands based brand, is said to have been introduced to not only encourage younger drinkers to share, mix and enjoy an Auchentoshan together, but to also appeal to urban consumers and city dwellers who might not have experienced the brand before.

Auchentoshan announces packaging refresh

Commenting on the news, Eileen Livingston, Senior Director of Scotch Whisky for Beam Suntory, said: “We want to move away from traditional stereotypes that are connected with Auchentoshan and single malt by encouraging younger drinkers to share and enjoy an Auchentoshan cocktail with their friends. The launch of our bold packaging to reflect our urban positioning is the first step to doing this.”

Starting with its American Oak, Three Wood and 12 Year Old expressions, the new Auchentoshan packaging rollout will begin in November.

Posted by Steve Rush