BRAVE NEW SPIRITS LAUNCHES NEW WHISKYHEROES RANGE

The Glasgow-based independent whisky bottler and blender Brave New Spirits, has announced the launch of a new Whiskyheroes range.

The first batch of bottlings in the new series is comprised of eight whiskies, all of which are single cask or small batch releases. Each whisky has been matured or finished in either Sherry casks or Bourbon barrels. 

Brave New Spirits launches new Whiskyheroes range

The distilleries selected for the first release come from the Highland, Speyside, Lowland and Islay regions, and feature whiskies distilled at classic distilleries such as Linkwood and Blair Athol, along with a whisky distilled at the newer Annandale distillery.  

The range also includes one whisky from an undisclosed Speyside distillery, and one single grain release from Cameronbridge. 

The first batch of Whiskyheroes bottlings is comprised of:

Call to Submission – 14yr Single Grain Scotch Whisky (Cameronbridge)

First-fill PX Sherry hogshead - 50.3% ABV – 296 bottles

Adventures in the Meadow – 16yr Speyside Single Malt (Undisclosed)

Second-fill Bourbon barrel – 45.7% ABV – 308 bottles

Agent Ivy Trapped – 12yr Highland Single Malt (Blair Athol)

Finished in second-fill Oloroso Sherry barrique – 55.1% ABV – 257 bottles

An Eerie Silence – 13yr Speyside Single Malt (Miltonduff)

Finished in second-fill Oloroso Sherry hogshead – 53% ABV – 302 bottles

The Awakening – 13yr Speyside Single Malt (Linkwood)

Oloroso Sherry butt – 53.3% ABV – 522 bottles

Deep Creatures of the Lake – 10yr Highland Single Malt (Loch Lomond)

First-fill Bourbon barrel – 58.1% ABV – 425 bottles

Defender of the Crown – 8yr Peated Lowland Single Malt (Annandale)

First-fill Oloroso Sherry butt – 52.9% ABV – 676 bottles

The Haunting Songs – 12yr Islay Single Malt (Caol Ila)

Finished in first-fill Oloroso Sherry hogshead – 51.6% ABV – 694 bottles

The Whiskyheroes range will join the existing Brave New Spirits portfolio, which includes their Cask Noir and Whisky of Voodoo ranges, along with their Highland Shepherd single malt and Lighthouse blends.

The in-house designed labels for each release were inspired by vintage action comics, featuring titles and characters that reference elements of the originating distilleries.  

The Whiskyheroes range, will be available later this month from specialist retailers, with RRP’s starting from £50.00.

In August 2023, Brave New Spirits were granted planning permission for their first distillery; Witchburn in Campbeltown, which will have a production capacity of more than 2 million litres per year. The distillery is scheduled to begin spirit production in late 2024.

Posted by Steve Rush

LOCHLEA DISTILLERY LAUNCHES ITS LATEST SEASONAL RELEASE

The Ayrshire based Lochlea Distillery, has today announced the launch of first expression from the final part of their Seasonal trilogy series.

Lochlea Sowing Edition – Third Crop (46% ABV) is a limited-edition single malt Scotch whisky, which has been matured in ex-Bourbon barrels.

Lochlea Sowing Edition - Third Crop

The multi-award-winning grain-to-cask distillery celebrates the farming calendar with the four Seasonal releases during the year, each one showcasing a different side to Lochlea’s house style of spirit.

The four whiskies in the First Crop were released from early 2022, followed by Second Crop kicking off last spring with Sowing, ending with Ploughing in March earlier this year.  Once the Third Crop has been released this year, there will be no more Seasonal releases from the distillery.

Sowing marks the point of the year that the new barley crop is sown around the distillery on the farm – the start of spring and new life appearing. This spring will be the 8th year of barley grown on the farm at Lochlea.

All the casks that have gone into the final recipe have been hand-picked by John Campbell, Lochlea’s Production Director, and his team at the distillery. With each new Crop, the whiskies in the Seasonal range are getting older, with this latest release being nearly the same age as the recently released and sold-out Lochlea 5 Year Old.

Commenting on the launch, John Campbell, said: “Our third and final Crop of the Seasonal releases will offer whisky lovers the chance to taste our maturing limited-edition releases and even compare them with the past two Crops, so they can see how our whiskies are evolving. The Seasonal Editions have been a brilliant platform for us to showcase our whisky in different cask types and highlight the farming calendar.”

 He went onto say: “One of the main differences between our last Sowing Edition (Second Crop) and our new Third Crop is when the spirit was distilled. Second Crop was distilled in warmer months, whereas the new release in colder months. Distillation during warmer periods results in more of a stewed fruit flavour, whereas in the colder months we see much more of a crisp, fresh fruit flavour – in the case of this spirit, delicious green apple and pear.”

Lochlea Sowing Edition – Third Crop, will be available from specialist retailers from April 25th, for a RRP of £51.50.

 

Posted by Steve Rush