Christmas 5
Thomas Lowndes Launch Handcrafted Cocktails
NEW PREMIUM COCKTAIL RANGE, 1826, LAUNCHED BY THOMAS LOWNDES IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS
- Thomas Lowndes has launched a new range of handcrafted cocktails, made with premium ingredients
- Included in the range is ‘The Mint Julep’, ‘The Old Fashioned’, ‘French Martini’ and ‘Espresso Martini’
- Priced at just £25, they are available exclusively at Master of Malt, Drinks Supermarket, Whisky Shop and Whisky World
Thomas Lowndes, the food and licensing division of Edrington-Beam Suntory UK, have launched the new 1826 range of handcrafted cocktails made with premium ingredients to create the ultimate experience at home. Founder Thomas Lowndes started the business by importing and exporting spirits around the globe, all the way back in 1826 which is where the brand gets its name.
Moira Jacques, General Manager of Thomas Lowndes said: “This exciting new range by 1826, associated with premium whiskies, cognacs and bourbons gives us the perfect opportunity to showcase how easily bar quality cocktails can be created in the home. We want to show customers that you can create premium, top quality drinks in the comfort of your own home.”
The classic serves are brought to you in a bottle so you can enjoy bar quality cocktails at home. Each bottle includes 5 serves, allowing 1826 to be the perfect drink shared with loved ones. The full range includes the Old Fashioned, Cognac Espresso Martini, Smoky French Martini and the Mint Julep:
Old Fashioned
Made with premium bourbon Maker’s Mark and the highest quality ingredients, this particular tipple allows you to enjoy the ultimate Old Fashioned at home.
Simply fill a rocks glass with ice, add a measure of 1826 Old Fashioned and gently churn together. Snap a twist of orange peel over the drink then add to the glass as a garnish.
Cognac Espresso Martini
If you’re more of a Cognac lover, then why not try an indulgent twist on a modern favourite with the Cognac Espresso Martini from 1826.
Expertly handcrafted with the highest quality ingredients and Courvoisier cognac, all you need to do is shake, pour and enjoy.
Smoky French Martini
A smoky twist on a classic, handcrafted with Laphroaig, peated whisky and quality ingredients to re-create your favourite cocktail from the comfort of your own home.
This particular tipple is best enjoyed in a chilled martini glass, simply shake and pour from the bottle. To really elevate your cocktail, why not add a raspberry as a garnish.
Mint Julep
A refreshing American classic expertly created with Maker’s Mark. For the perfect serve, just add a measure of the mint julep together with crushed ice.
Available online at Master of Malt, Drink Supermarket, Whisky Shop and Whisky World with an RRP of £2
Netflix, The Queen’s Gambit & Gin Cocktails
The Queen’s Gambit: House of Suntory Unveil
The Roku Gibson
Although Not a Whisky… Exceptions Can Sometimes be Made For a Rather Fine Gin!
Since its arrival on Netflix a couple of weeks ago, The Queen’s Gambit has attracted a staggering 62 million viewers worldwide.
If you’ve seen it, or even heard about it, you’ll know that The Gibson cocktail is featured throughout, and now its inspiring people to make their own version of the classic at home.
Made using Gin, vermouth, and fresh ginger with a pickled onion garnish, it’s an interesting and delicious take on its cousin, the ubiquitous Martini. Now, James Bowker, House of Suntory Brand Ambassador, has released a recipe for people to try themselves, using Japanese gin, Roku.
Indeed, with more people than ever drinking cocktails at home (according to CGA, 50% of cocktail drinkers now make serves themselves at home, up significantly from 37% pre COVID), sales of spirits are booming. With us 6 weeks into the Christmas trading period, Roku gin has seen sales grow an incredible +69% YoY.
The Roku Gibson:
Recipe:
50ml Roku Gin
10ml Dry Vermouth
1 Slice Fresh Ginger
1 Drop Sushi Vinegar
Glassware:
Martini / Cocktail Glass
Garnish:
Pickled Onion
Method:
Stir
Roku is available to purchase Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, Waitrose.
Collaborative Festive Whisky Campaign Announced
The Macallan Reveals David Carson Collaboration
Shared Creativity and Craftsmanship Inspire Seasonal and Gifting Campaign
The Macallan has collaborated with globally acclaimed graphic designer David Carson to create a powerful and disruptive creative campaign for the festive season.
Featuring striking artwork in David Carson’s signature iconoclastic style, the campaign focuses on a selection of five distinctive single malt whiskies which reflect the uncompromised pursuit of excellence which has driven The Macallan since 1824.
Each of the expressions – The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old, Sherry Oak 18 Years Old, Sherry Oak 25 Years Old, Rare Cask and Estate – also share key characteristics with David Carson and his award-winning work including uniqueness, innovation, craftsmanship and complexity.
Crafted from the perfect partnership of American and European oak sherry seasoned casks, The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old embodies the innovation pursued by The Macallan and David Carson. Full-bodied and complex, The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old showcases mastery and craftsmanship while The Macallan Sherry Oak 25 Years Old is complex and distinguished, with exceptional character – just like David Carson’s inimitable work.
Selected from casks that exhibit a distinctive and unusual flavour profile The Macallan Rare Cask 2020 stands out and apart, in the manner of David Carson’s style and The Macallan Estate contains rare spirit distilled from barley grown on The Macallan Estate, creating a unique single malt like no other.
David Carson, born in Texas, 1954, is considered one of the world’s most influential graphic designers. Also a professional surfer, he began his career as a magazine designer, before in the 1990s becoming art director of the magazine Ray Gun where his experimental page layouts featuring pioneering use of typography revolutionised the field of graphic design.
His work has been displayed in one-man shows across the world and he is a recipient of the AIGA, which is renowned as the design profession’s highest accolade. Since establishing his own studio, he has created campaigns for some of the world’s leading consumer brands including Nike, Levi, Pepsi and Ray Ban.
The American artist’s collaboration with The Macallan brings together bold, fractured typography with graphic illustrations of notable flavours present in the five featured whiskies and playful representations of the festive season. Straplines include: I love it; Nothing less will do; You don’t have to; and You know me so well.
The designs will be published digitally and in print, with David’s name and signature appearing on all communications throughout the course of the campaign.
Jaume Ferras, Global Creative Director for The Macallan, said: “David Carson is an extraordinary visionary whose ground-breaking graphic designs continue to excite and inspire to this day.
“Like The Macallan, he is renowned for his unique style and mastery of his trade. Working with him has been an incredible process and we look forward to revealing the results of our collaboration over the festive season.”
For further information, visit www.themacallan.com.
The Macallan Introduce New Additions to The Double Cask Range
INTRODUCING THE MACALLAN DOUBLE CASK 15 YEARS OLD AND 18 YEARS OLD
THE PERFECT HARMONY OF AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN OAK
The Macallan has released Double Cask 15 Years Old and Double Cask 18 Years Old in a significant expansion of the highly successful range.
First introduced in 2016 with The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old, the enticing collection is formed from a harmonious union of American and European oak sherry seasoned casks. Together they combine to create a perfectly balanced single malt Scotch whisky with a distinctive warm character that is punctuated with a contemporary soft sweetness.
Double Cask tells the story of a journey which brings together two different worlds. The voyage begins in the vast green forests of northern Spain and the French Pyrenees, where The Macallan sources its European oak. New oak from the lush forests of Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky in America is also transported thousands of miles to Spain, where both types of oak are hand crafted into casks that are filled with sherry.
Once seasoned, the casks are shipped to The Macallan Estate on Speyside where they are filled with new-make spirit. Following years of slumber, The Macallan’s Whisky Mastery Team use their skill and expertise to select the best balance of spirit from both the American and European oak sherry seasoned casks to create Double Cask.
The result is a perfect partnership, with the sherry seasoned American oak imparting delicate flavours of vanilla, while the European oak delivers the subtle and unmistakeable spice and classic style of The Macallan.
The incredible wood journey which underpins Double Cask was recently showcased by a collaboration with iconic Magnum photographer Steve McCurry, who travelled across continents to witness The Macallan’s decisive story unfold. His exclusive photographic journal documents the people, places, skills and processes involved in the production of The Macallan’s exceptional oak casks.
The new expressions will significantly enhance the existing Double Cask range, which lies at the heart of The Macallan’s portfolio of single malts and is a popular choice with whisky lovers around the world.
Displaying a golden butterscotch hue, The Macallan Double Cask 15 Years Old imparts aromas of dried fruit, toffee and vanilla, and delivers a warming finish with a creamy mouthfeel.
The Macallan Double Cask 18 Years Old has a rich amber honey tone, and imparts notes of dried fruits, ginger and toffee. A warm oak spice finish is balanced by citrus flavours of sweet orange.
Kirsteen Campbell, Master Whisky Maker, The Macallan, said: “Bringing together American and European oak sherry seasoned casks to achieve the perfect balance of flavours is incredibly exciting for the Whisky Mastery Team, and we are proud to offer two new expressions to this distinctive range for The Macallan Double Cask fans to explore.
“With Double Cask 15 Years Old, the delicate and indulgent flavours of American oak including honey, citrus and chocolate balance The Macallan’s more traditional characteristics of rich fruits, sherry and wood spice. The Macallan Double Cask 18 Years Old offers slightly more complexity, with rich raisin and sultana subtly balanced by warming oak spice.
“Oak influence is the single greatest contributor to the quality, natural colour and distinctive aromas and flavours at the heart of The Macallan’s single malts.”
The new Double Cask expressions demonstrate The Macallan’s enduring desire to go beyond the ordinary, to seek out the extraordinary, and create peerless single malts.
The Macallan Double Cask 15 Years Old has an RRP of £100 and The Macallan Double Cask 18 Years Old has an RRP of £250. They will be available from specialist retailers such as The Whisky Exchange, Master of Malt and The Whisky Shop.
For further information visit www.themacallan.com
A Macallan Journey of Discovery With Steve McCurry
STEVE MCCURRY CAPTURES THE MACALLAN’S EXTRAORDINARY WOOD JOURNEY
Spanning two continents and thousands of miles, the incredible wood journey undertaken to create The Macallan’s hand-crafted, sherry seasoned oak casks has been chronicled in extraordinary new detail by iconic Magnum photographer Steve McCurry.
His exclusive photographic journal, which is revealed in full for the first time, showcases the people, places and processes involved in the production of The Macallan’s exceptional oaks casks.
Crafted to unique specifications, The Macallan’s oak casks are the single greatest contributor to the outstanding quality, natural colour and distinctive aromas and flavours of The Macallan’s peerless single malts.
The images also provide a compelling new insight into the mastery of wood and spirit for which The Macallan has been renowned since 1824.
Steve McCurry said: “The thing I admire about The Macallan is their passion for craftsmanship, their excellence and their integrity for their processes.
“Sometimes you have to choose a different path – the one less taken – to go beyond hardship, to reach excellence.”
Firstly, the photographer, recognised as one of today’s finest image makers and synonymous with evocative colour photography, made the trip to the vast green forests of Northern Spain, the source of European oak for The Macallan casks. Then he journeyed to Jerez, Southern Spain where The Macallan’s casks are hand-crafted and seasoned with sherry – one of The Macallan’s defining strengths.
McCurry also travelled to Pennsylvania to discover the influence of American oak. Grown in the lush forests in the North East of the US, it is key to the unique flavour of The Macallan’s highly successful Double Cask range that balances both American and European sherry seasoned oak casks. After leaving America, these casks are also shipped to Jerez to be crafted into casks and filled with sherry, using the same traditional processes applied to the European oak.
When fully seasoned, each cask is transported to The Macallan Estate home to the award-winning Distillery on Speyside. It is then filled with the finest quality, new make spirit ready to be matured under the watchful eye of The Macallan Whisky Mastery Team.
As well as evoking the sights, sounds and even the smells of the forests where the oak trees that form The Macallan’s casks are grown, McCurry also reveals the mastery and commitment of those who craft The Macallan’s casks, including the coopers – professional cask makers – who spend many years learning and perfecting their art.
Stuart MacPherson, Master of Wood, The Macallan, said: “Steve McCurry is one of the world’s greatest documentary photographers and we are privileged that he has expertly captured The Macallan’s wood story through his incredible lens.
“Our people and their craftsmanship have defined The Macallan for almost 200 years and Steve’s outstanding images provide a unique insight into the intensive process of sourcing, crafting and seasoning our exceptional oak casks.
“With up to 80% of The Macallan’s final flavour and character determined by cask quality, Steve has recorded the painstaking commitment and attention to detail that we uphold to deliver the uncompromised excellence that lies at the heart of our brand.”
Steve McCurry’s interpretation of The Macallan’s wood journey is his latest partnership with The Macallan. It follows his previous work with the brand to document the build of The Macallan Distillery, alongside fellow Magnum photographers, in 2018.
For further information visit www.themacallan.com
