Toulouse first dedicated whisky bar to open early September ! 

The Hopscotch Pub & Brewery will open its doors to the public early September, offering a Scottish home away from home with one of the largest whisky selection in France, tasty whisky-inspired cocktails, craft beers brewed by the team itself at the nearby Hopscotch Brewery and finger Scottish food.

 

Loch Lomond unveils 2 Island Collection expressions

The Loch Lomond Group, has officially announced the launch of two new expressions from its Island Collection of single malt Scotch whiskies.

Inchmoan 12 Year Old (46% ABV) was produced using spirit from the distillery’s traditional swan neck and straight neck pot stills, which was then matured in a combination of re-charred American oak and refill bourbon American oak casks. Inchmoan Vintage 1992 (48.6% ABV) was produced using spirit from the distillery’s straight neck pot still, before being matured for 25 years, in refill bourbon barrels. (read more)

Austin welcomes first whiskey distillery since prohibition

Located at The Yard at St. Elmo, the “urban distillery” intends to create both “classic and innovative” whiskey expressions, including Bourbon, small-batch specialty spirits, and seasonal offerings.

The Still Austin Whiskey Company team plan to mash, ferment, distill, barrel and bottle all products at the distillery using a 45-foot Bourbon still and copper pot still, with a focus on the surrounding agricultural community through the use of local grains and limestone-filtered water. (read more)

Synthetic ‘tongue’ developed by scientists to sniff out counterfeit whisky

Think you know your Bell’s from your Balvenie? Your Jim Beam from your Jameson? Well, if a team of German researchers have their way, an artificial tongue might have you licked.

The team, based at Heidelberg University, have developed a “tongue” (OK, it’s an assay plate with wells of 20 different fluorescent dyes that act as taste and flavour receptors) that they say can accurately distinguish between 33 different types of whisk(e)y.

Unlike other lab-based taste tests, the tongue doesn’t need to break down the mixture into its chemical constituents to work – instead it tastes the sample as a whole, in a process more akin to the way human tongues work.

According to a paper published in the journal Chem, the synthetic tongue senses “everything” using fluorescent dyes, the brightness of which changes in response to the flavour compounds in the drink sample.

The researchers can then analyse the magnitude of the changes and create a profile that allows them to discern the different properties of the whisky – and so identify which whisky the tongue has tasted. (read more)

Bacardi launches limited edition Craigellachie 33 years old

Following Craigellachie 31yo’s receipt of the World’s Best Single Malt prize at the World Whiskies Awards 2017, Bacardi Global Travel Retail is introducing an even older brother; a limited-edition small batch of Craigellachie 33yo single malt scotch whisky distilled in 1983.

Available exclusively in global travel-retail with the initial launch market in European airports, Craigellachie will be available in World Duty Free airport stores at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, and Manchester and in Scotland at Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Other Dufry European stores stores will soon follow and it will be available in select Asia/Pacific retailer stores this summer. (read more)

Royal Salute releases Polo edition

The new release described as “smooth and sophisticated” by the company is said to be “brighter in texture and tone with notes of ripe honeydew melon, homemade berry jam and creamy toffee.”

Designed for sporting occasions such as polo, the new Scotch whisky is housed in Royal Salute’s iconic hand-crafted, porcelain bottles with a distinct polo theme, unique to the limited-edition whisky. (read more)