Jura Tastival 2017 bottling unveiled
Jura marks annual whisky festival by bringing the spirit of the Douro Valley to the Isle of Jura in new Limited Edition ‘Tastival’ 2017 bottling
Jura Single Malt Whisky today, 11 May, announces the launch of its Tastival 2017 bottling, a unique Limited Edition single malt that marks the distillery’s annual island whisky festival, set to take place on 1 June 2017.
The festival celebrates new ways to enjoy whisky through exciting flavour experiences that everyone can enjoy – whether new to whisky or a well-established fan – and Jura’s Tastival 2017 bottling fully embraces this ethos.
This Non Chill-Filtered, cask strength Limited Edition expression marries some of Jura’s finest aged spirits, is enhanced in both first fill American White Oak ex-bourbon barrels and hand-selected Graham’s Port Pipes sourced from Portugal’s lush Douro Valley. Customers will get notes of chewy liquorice, black forest fruits and creamy white chocolate on the nose, and orange zest, walnut cake, glazed pineapple and Crème De Cassis on the aftertaste.
Jura Tastival 2017 is the first Limited Edition release to be overseen by new Jura Distillery Manager, Graham Logan, who took over from Willie Cochrane in September 2016.
Graham said:
“Tastival is all about welcoming people to Jura with open arms – not only to our island festival, but to our whisky – whether you’re a single malt expert or are trying it for the first time.
The creativity that goes into our Tastival event programme is well reflected in this Limited Edition expression, meaning everyone can enjoy a taste of our Festival – whether they can make it to the island or not.”
Tastival guests will have an exclusive first try of this year’s Limited Edition bottling at the island festival on 1 June, where the whisky will be available to buy. A full event programme, plus information on localised Tastival events to take place in Europe will be announced in the coming weeks.
Jura Tastival 2017 will be available online and in shops globally (excluding US) RRP £85 from 1st June.
Ardbeg Day Plunges Deep Under The Sea
Ardbeg has revealed its plans for the 2017 Ardbeg Day celebrations.
On 3rd June, the Distillery will pay homage to the sea surrounding Islay and the mythical sea creatures that live beneath. Participants in Ardbeg Day will be plunged deep under the sea to help celebrate the launch of Ardbeg Kelpie with a day filled with mystery, food, games… and of course, Ardbeg Single Malt.
Guests of Ardbeg Day will be invited to join in an Ardbeggian boat experience, followed by a tasting led by Ardbeg’s Paul Malone of the new Ardbeg limited edition, Kelpie, alongside seafood pairings and a pub quiz on the history of Islay and Ardbeg.
In the UK, each Ardbeg Embassy will have a team that will be challenged to decorate their own Kelpie boat, adding their own mythical figurehead from materials and props supplied. The participating teams will have to paddle across a stretch of water to reach a number of buoy targets en route. Each buoy will lead to a treasure hidden under the water.
Ardbeg’s general release of Kelpie at 46% ABV, launches on Ardbeg Day (3rd June), the expression will be available to purchase from https://www.moethennessy-selection.co.uk/ardbegday2017 and Ardbeg Embassies* and for a two-week exclusive period. Kelpie will then be available at Ardbeg Embassies, whisky specialists and department stores with a RRP of £98.00.
Ardbeg Day will be celebrated at the distillery on Saturday 3rd June 2017 and at participating Ardbeg Embassies around the world.
Free dram on top of Ben Lomond
Get ready to dust off your hiking boots and enjoy a wonderful walk with a unique whisky-themed twist.
Award winning Loch Lomond Single Malt Whisky is planning to ‘take-over’ one of Scotland’s most iconic summits, Ben Lomond, on Saturday 20 May to celebrate World Whisky Day.
The World Whisky Day mountain ‘take-over’ will be kick started in the UK by a team from the local distillery taking in dawn from the summit of Ben Lomond. To ‘toast’ the global day of whisky, the Loch Lomond Whisky team will offer a free dram for everyone that reaches the summit of Scotland’s most popular Munro that day.
Anyone climbing to the summit at 974 metres (3,196 ft) on World Whisky Day, will be given a card that will be stamped at the top. This can be exchanged on their return to the base at Rowardennan car park for a free miniature of the award winning 12-year-old Loch Lomond Malt to celebrate World Whisky Day and their bagging of Scotland’s most southerly Munro.
Scott Dickson, marketing manager of Loch Lomond Group said: “We want to start World Whisky Day on top; and where better to do that than at the summit of our nearest Munro. Our team will be some of the first people to arrive on the summit to watch the sun rise over the Scottish Highlands and kick start World Whisky Day in the UK.
“Ben Lomond is one of Scotland’s most popular Munros, with more than 30,000 walkers reaching its summit every year. It is also the nearest mountain to our distillery home in Alexandria, near Balloch, overlooking the same glistening waters of Loch Lomond that helped to inspire our beautiful whiskies.
“The one day take-over for World Whisky Day is a great way to make people aware of the fantastic Loch Lomond Single Malts whilst enjoying one of Scotland’s best views, in stunning surroundings.
“Having taken on Ben Lomond myself, I know that it is a challenging, but beautiful walk. The spectacular 360 degree views at the summit is one that should be rewarded with a great dram; it takes in the stunning Scottish Highlands as far as the islands in the West and even to a snow-capped Ben Nevis on a good day.”
As part of the celebration, all walkers who return from the summit of Ben Lomond with a stamped card will be entered into a free prize draw to win a bottle of the 18-year-old Loch Lomond and a bottle of 18-year-old Inchmurrin, its name taken from the largest island on Loch Lomond.
In addition to the mountain take-over, a global online competition will be launched encouraging Loch Lomond Whisky followers to submit their pictures of any peak in the world with the hashtag #SummitSnap #lochlomondwhiskies. All entrants will be in with a chance of winning award-winning liquid from the Loch Lomond Single malt family.
The ‘take over’ team will be at car park at Rowardennan from 8am to 6pm on Saturday 20 May to celebrate World Whisky Day.
Yamazaki 2017 Limited Edition available for pre-order
Shoppers at Dekantā will be among the first to sample Suntory’s Yamazaki Limited Edition release for 2017, as the e-commerce retailer for high end Japanese spirits is the only online store offering the whisky for pre-order. The 2017 edition is the latest of Yamazaki distillery’s annual limited edition single malts, a tradition that began in 2014. The bottlings have grown increasingly popular, and new releases are shrouded in secrecy.
Founder Makiyo Masa says “This year’s bottling is expected to build on the reputation of previous releases, which have offered us some of the most delicate, smooth and deep whiskies in the world. With experimentation at the forefront of the Yamazaki Limited Edition range, the tasting notes of each new release are notoriously difficult to predict. We look forward to seeing what the world will make of the Yamazaki 2017.”
Each Yamazaki Limited Edition release is a premium single malt consisting of multiple Yamazaki vintages that have undergone maturation in different casks, before being brought together for bottling.
Highland Park launches exclusive World Duty Free edition
Highland Park has created an exclusive Single Cask bottling for Heathrow and World Duty Free, a Dufry company. This extremely limited edition – just 588 bottles are available – will only be sold in World Duty Free’s specialist World of Whiskies stores at Heathrow. The launch event, which took place on 5th May during Heathrow’s Whisky Festival, saw Martin Markvardsen, Highland Park’s Senior Brand Ambassador, make a guest appearance in World of Whiskies at Terminal 5 to lead tasting and educational activities, as well as a World Duty Free Twitter Takeover, where he interacted online with Highland Park fans and whisky connoisseurs.
The 14-year-old Highland Park Single Cask Edition for Heathrow and World of Whiskies is drawn from a 500 litre ex-sherry cask made from Spanish Oak. It was filled on 25th July 2002 and placed in Warehouse 20 at Highland Park distillery in Orkney before being moved to Glasgow at the end of 2016. It was bottled at cask strength – 58.2% ABV.
On the nose, the whisky has aromas of ripe black cherries and rich cocoa, as well as a delicate mix of ginger, cinnamon and peat smoke. The palate is spicy and long-lasting, with notes of honeycomb and a gentle wash of peat smoke. It finishes with mouth-coating honey and richness from the peat.
Kasper Andersen, Commercial Director at Edrington EMEA Travel Retail, commented: “The release of the exclusive Single Cask Series of Highland Park in London Heathrow is an important step as we look to grow this unique brand’s presence in the travel retail channel and recruit new consumers. Differentiation and storytelling are two key pillars in our strategy to build Highland Park, and this exclusive bottling epitomises this approach. We are delighted to collaborate with World Duty Free and Heathrow to bring Highland Park’s unique heritage to life in the World of Whiskies stores.”
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