News 224
BOWMORE OF ISLAY – DISCOVER THE LAST EDITION IN THE LEGENDARY SERIES: THE DEVIL’S CASKS III: THE TALE OF “DOUBLE THE DEVIL”
Islay, Scotland, November 2015: On a clear night, a cold westerly breeze off the coast of Scotland will carry you to the remote and rugged isle of Islay, an island which legend has it that was once the home to the Devil himself. On previous sightings, it is said that the Devil was chased through the village of Bowmore into the gates of Islay’s first distillery. Every inch was searched, but the Devil was nowhere to be seen; he was thought to have escaped inside a cask of Bowmore®, bound for the mainland. As the story of The Devil’s Casks unfolds further in this third and final chapter, the Devil’s plot creates an unprecedented twist.
Having returned to Islay once before (The Devil’s Cask II), the Devil has mastered the art of illusion this autumn with the sighting of a second devil. For the first time the whisky has matured in not just one, but two types of sherry casks, marrying dry Oloroso sherry casks and sweet Pedro Ximénez sherry casks to give the expression an incredible intensity and richness that tempts whisky fans with double the complexity and double the flavour.
DOUBLE THE DEVIL
To leave his mark on Bowmore and to be forever immortalised on the island, the Devil’s cunning escape has created a beguiling liquid that will taunt and tease with its double personality, which will be irresistible to all who come to taste it:
Devil No.1: Pedro Ximénez Sherry revels in its sweetness as the grapes are dried in the Spanish sun producing intense aromas of chocolate and coffee.
Devil No.2: Dry Oloroso Sherry captivates with its dark, fruity aromas with notes of figs and raisins, resulting in a smooth, dark and indulgent liquid.
The two first-fill sherry matured whiskies are expertly married (delicately blended together and rested) after having being laid to rest in Bowmore’s No. 1 Vaults, the oldest maturation warehouse in Scotland.
INTENSELY SATISFYING
Breathe in a wave of rich, dark, exotic fruits, including sultanas, mangos and raisins, fused with earthy angelica root and treacle toffee. Give in to temptation and sip the smooth, rounded taste of dates, chocolate fudge and salted treacle, warmed by orange-laced Aruba coffee. Finally, savour the powerful, long-lasting finish of smoked fruitcake, blood orange and sea salt. Devilishly rewarding and a great addition to any whisky collection, this limited edition release not only tells a tale, it spells the end.
www.bowmore.com
#DevilsCasks
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For more information please contact
Rebecca Brennan at LDR CREATIVE
rebecca@ldrlondon.com | 0207 851 6629
INTRODUCING THE ARDMORE PORT WOOD FINISH
The Ardmore Single Malt Scotch Whisky, distributed by Maxxium UK, has launched The Ardmore Port Wood Finish.
The new expression is distilled with the same traditional methods used at the distillery since 1898, before being double-cask matured for 12 years in traditional American white oak ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in European half port pipes.
The release of The Ardmore Port Wood Finish follows the success of The Ardmore Legacy, which replaced Ardmore Traditional Cask as the distillery’s core expression. A lightly peated, sweet dram, The Ardmore Legacy offers the ideal introduction to peated single malts.
The newest member of this emerging portfolio, The Ardmore Port Wood Finish is a unique expression with a touch of sweetness. Ruby gold in colour this single malt is full of spiced fruits with a subtle smoky finish.
Peter Sandstrom, Marketing Director, Maxxium UK said: “Following the success of The Ardmore Legacy, which has established its status in the peated single malt category, the launch of The Ardmore Port Wood Finish further cements the quality and taste of the brand’s portfolio.
“The Ardmore Port Wood Finish is an excellent whisky made using the same traditional distilling methods for over 100 years. It is a unique and premium expression – with notes of sweet red apple and honey with the subtlest hint of charcoal smoke and a smooth, long, lingering finish culminating in the trademark Ardmore dryness – it is a whisky that offers a taste that sets it apart.”
The Ardmore Port Wood Finish is bottled at 46% ABV and is available from specialist whisky retailers at the RRP of £49.99.
Issued by The BIG Partnership on behalf of The Ardmore
For further information please contact Fiona Hendrie/Laura Hutchinson at The BIG Partnership
Tel: 0131 557 5252 Email: fiona.hendrie@bigpartnership.co.uk / laura.hutchinson@bigpartnership.co.uk
YoCo Club Launches Their Service to Make Whisky Accessible to a Discerning Younger Audience
A group of young Scottish entrepreneurs based in Glasgow have launched a monthly whisky subscription club that makes whisky accessible to a discerning younger audience. YoCo Club, the monthly subscription service, delivers a case of two single malt Scotch whiskies to a subscribers door for as little as £27 per month. Each case contains 40cl of whisky, giving subscribers over 12 drams to enjoy every month.
The campaign will go live on Indiegogo at 11:00am on Wednesday the 21st of October 2015 and allows potential subscribers to sign up for either 1, 3 or 6 months at a time. Regardless of the length of membership, each case comes with a membership card that contains a QR code that the subscriber can scan to gain access to information about each of the single malts.
YoCo Club is trying to attract young professionals to sign up to their club by offering a familiar subscription model to the 25-45yo markets. Co-Founder and CEO Calum Leslie says:
“The UK market alone for Scotch whisky shrunk by 9.5% since 2009 and this is partly due to the fact that whisky distillers are failing to attract young consumers, as the core market remains 45+ year-old males”.
He continues “Scotch whisky is appreciated around the world and has been the drink of choice of many for decades. Younger people’s pallets have not changed; rather it is the way in which whisky is marketed, presented and delivered that is not appealing to the discerning younger generations. The subscription business model is blowing up with market leaders and it is very clear that the marriage between consumables and technology is a match made in heaven. As a result, this model is perfect for many discerning younger consumers who may feel a little overwhelmed by choice, undereducated in taste or discouraged by price when it comes to whisky ”.
However, YoCo Club is more than a whisky club. YoCo is an abbreviation of “Young Company” and the company is on a mission to “become this generation’s answer to discovering, delivering and reveling in Scotch whisky”.
The club brands itself as a lifestyle club that profiles their subscribers and is attempting to build a company that escapes the “old school” image of a whisky club. Leslie says:
“Whether people enjoy drinking whisky with ice, water, from a tumbler, one sip at a time or all in one go, we don’t mind and we won’t hold anyone to traditional etiquette”.
YoCo Clubs Indiegogo campaign is aiming to raise £10,000 for the company to get started. The campaign will run for 30 days and includes a number of “rewards” including a round of golf at St. Andrews and a private tour at one of Scotland’s famous distilleries.
Furthermore, YoCo Club has already been given the “seal of approval” from industry expert, and author of 10 leading whisky books including the award winning “Malt Whisky”, Charles MacLean. MacLean says:
“Malt whisky is the most complex spirit in the world. Learning to appreciate and enjoy its flavours and nuances is life-enhancing, as well as being great fun. But there are so many choices out there it can be baffling, and this is where the YoCo Club can help you develop your knowledge and appreciation. I commend it to you whole-heartedly!”
If you are a fan of whisky or know someone who would appreciate the gift of whisky, with an innovative twist, then visit the campaign at http://igg.me/at/yococlub (this link will go live at 11:00am on Wednesday 21st 2015, please see link below to view the draft campaign) and become one of the clubs “Founding Members”.
For more information please contact Martin Hunt on 0131 661 5212 or at martin@tartansilk.co.uk
About YoCo Club
YoCo Club is the monthly whisky subscription service delivering a case of two single malt Scotch whiskies to subscribers for as little as £27 per month. We have selected a range of whiskies from each of Scotland’s whisky regions and are sending subscribers a monthly case containing 1x20cl bottle of our first chosen whisky and 4x5cl bottles of our second chosen whisky. In other words, each case contains 40cl of whisky, which is over 12 drams for subscribers to enjoy every month.
For more information please visit our draft Indiegogo page at: http://www.indiegogo.com/project/preview/107b3985.
CELEBRATING 200 YEARS WITH A RARE LAPHROAIG® 32 YEAR OLD
Laphroaig® Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky continues to celebrate its bicentenary with the release of the Laphroaig 32 Year Old. The very special bottling, distributed by Maxxium UK, has been aged for over three decades in a single cask type.
Matured exclusively in a first-fill ex-Oloroso cask, the Laphroaig 32 Year Old is a whisky that has picked up all the flavours so typical of spirit laid down in ex-Sherry casks – the dark Christmas fruits, the nuts and spice, and at the same time possesses the extraordinary deli-cate balance common to old, excellent whiskies. It is an extremely rare and accomplished whisky.
On the nose the aroma of caramelised brown sugar is predominant, with notes of dark, bit-ter chocolate and nutmeg leading the palate, followed by a dry and lingering sherried oak finish.
Laphroaig 32 Year Old, an intensely rich single, malt will be available in October 2015 in selected specialist whisky retailers with a RRP of £750.00.
Issued by The BIG Partnership on behalf of Maxxium UK, UK distributors of Laphroaig.
For further information please contact: Sarah Fearon or Laura Hutchinson at The BIG Partnership on 0131 557 5252
Whisky Barrel Rockers – Robbie Reid Furniture
From his workshop out in East Lothian, Robbie Reid has turned his remarkable talent for furniture making and restoration to furniture creation of a slightly different nature. Turning de-commissioned whisky casks into furniture fit for any bar, garden or patio, Robbie clearly demonstrates not only his exceptional skill in furniture design but also highlights that even after that last drop has left the cask, new life exists just around the corner.
Business details:
E-mail – workshop@robbiereidfurniture.co.uk
Website – www.whiskybarrelrockers.co.uk
