Category Archives: PR

News & PR: Chivas Masters Cocktail Competition announces the First Chivas Master

Posted on by
Reply

299-chivas-regal-new-logo-mdChivas Regal Announces the First Chivas Master

The CHIVAS MASTERS 2014 New YorkAmerican bartender, Masahiro Urushido, has been revealed as Chivas Regal’s first ever Chivas Master, winning the iconic whisky brand’s inaugural bartender competition in style at the NoMad hotel in New York (15th July 2014).

Urushido was announced as the winner following a tightly-contested final which saw him impress an international panel of judges with his ‘The New Pal’ cocktail to secure victory over the 12 other international competitors. He wins the opportunity to work in partnership with Dave Arnold, inventor and co-founder of Booker and Dax, a food science development company and lab dedicated to finding solutions to real world food, beverage and cooking issues. The partnership will see Urushido and Arnold collaborating on an inspirational concept which will be revealed at the next Chivas Masters final in 2015.

Continue reading →

News & Review: Reference Series ‘The First Educational Whisky’

Posted on by

RefSeriesLogo

Reference Series – The First Educational Whisky

There’s a new funky experiment in town. I say new, it’s been out for a wee while, but I’m catching up, and for those that missed the initial announcement then this is a good follow up! It’s from those crazy people at… what… I have no idea which brand to pick… Master Of Malt / Drinks by the Dram / Blended Whisky Company / Maverick Drinks / That Boutique-y Whisky Company / Reference Series. More brands than you can shake a fist at… however you know who I mean I’m sure, basically that Ben chap.

Here’s the PR text which explains probably better than I can… Once you’ve read it, please find my tasting notes of the initial three releases at the bottom! 🙂
Continue reading →

Opinion: Bowmore and Chocolate – A Perfect Combo

Posted on by

Bowmore-Logo

I’m kind of supposed to be on a diet… one of those diets that never really quite get going, but you have every good intention of starting tomorrow. With that in mind friends and family eased off buying me anything much in the way of any Easter eggs this year, which made me really quite upset, damn them!

However, (yippee) Bowmore came to the rescue! Bless them and their chocolaty Easter eggy general good chappishness. (FYI mostly not actual chaps, I’m being gender neutral here).

So, it’s with excitement I opened the following just before Easter hit…

Continue reading →

News: Glenlivet release Nàdurra Oloroso

Posted on by

LivetLogo

The Glenlivet Nàdurra expands into a range of cask experiences

The Glenlivet is expanding its Nàdurra brand into a range featuring different cask experiences.

GlenlivetNadurraOlorosoEach expression in The Glenlivet Nàdurra range is crafted in small batches using traditional production methods and is matured exclusively in a different cask-type. The range is bottled without chill-filtration, which offers the additional complexity, body, and texture of a whisky that has just been drawn from the cask.

The Glenlivet Nàdurra Oloroso is the first new permanent expression in the range. The first-fill, ex-Oloroso sherry casks from Jerez in Spain impart rich, distinctive dried fruits aromas, warm spices, and notes of cinnamon and liquorice. The spirit combined with the cask influence, produces a sweetness of dark chocolate and a finish which is long and sweet with a slightly dry, spicy effect from the European oak maturation.

The Glenlivet Nàdurra Oloroso will be introduced to Travel Retail Europe in May 2014.

News and Review: Glenfiddich – The Cask Collection

Posted on by

34468_Glenfiddich

(Scroll on down for my review…)

Glenfiddich has launched The Cask Collection, three new whiskies comprising of Glenfiddich Select Cask, Glenfiddich Reserve Cask and Glenfiddich Vintage Cask. These are Glenfiddich’s first no-age-statement range of single malts and have been released into the global travel retail market; a range the company is calling its “most innovative launch of the year”.

The trio will become the core range representing Glenfiddich in travel retail, and will replace 12yo, 15yo Solera and Rich Oak on travel retail shelves.
Continue reading →

Review: Scallywag – Blended Speyside Malt Whisky

Posted on by

ScallywagBottleTubeFurther continuing my little series of reviews for affordable, good, blended whiskies, here’s my review for Scallywag, one of the new boys on the block from a great independent producer.

Here’s some of the blurb… Douglas Laing & Co have launched a new blended malt, not content with their Islay only Blended Malt “Big Peat” the team at Douglas Laing have now put together a Small Batch Speyside only Blended Malt, named “Scallywag”. It  is a Small Batch bottling created using only the finest Speyside Malts including – amongst others – Mortlach, Macallan and Glenrothes.
Continue reading →

Review: ‘The One’ – British Blended Whisky

Posted on by

TheOneBottleFollowing on from my recent review of the new Black Bottle, today I’m reviewing “The One”, a British Blended Whisky from The Lakes Distillery, a new distillery about to take shape in Cumbria.

Official blurb reads as such: The One is a unique blend of exceptional whiskies from the British Isles, each has its own distinctive characteristics, resulting in a whisky of intriguing complexity.

There are now distilleries producing whisky across the British Isles, and this has led us to create an entirely new concept in blended whiskies – a British Isles Blend.
Continue reading →

Review: (New) Black Bottle – Blended Scotch Whisky

Posted on by

BlackBottlePR Bit: Burn Stewart Distillers have unveiled the new Black Bottle Scotch Whisky – a return to the original blend and bottle design. With 18 months of development the new Black Bottle see a return to the original Scotch, more in keeping with its original north east recipe which the Graham brothers created in Aberdeen at the turn of the 19th Century. The result is a curiously rich and slightly smoky taste that maintains the distinctiveness of Black Bottle but adds another layer of depth to the liquid. Black Bottle is presented in new packaging, abandoning the regular green glass whisky bottle and re-introducing the distinctive black glass bottle, which was the original inspiration behind the name of the brand. This iconic bottle was used until the outbreak of the First World War after which time it changed  to a standard green glass bottle.

On to the review…
Continue reading →