Top 10 spirit launches in October 2016
Irish whiskey aged in Port barrels, juniper berries smoked in peat, and a Scotch whisky compendium’s oak focus have earned their place in our list of top spirit launches.
This is our selection of the top 10 spirits launches in October 2016A flurry of fine spirits made headlines last month – Hennessy marked its historic ties with the US with the first Cognac from a series of “rare” limited edition expressions, while The Macallan expanded its core range with the launch of The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old.
Chivas Regal was very busy, releasing its first blended malt Scotch whisky, containing liquid from five Speyside distilleries, as well as the second bottling in its exclusive collection of 50-year-old single malts from The Glenlivet.
Looking at those which were made available on the market, as well as those which were unveiled to be released at a later date, this is our round-up of the top 10 spirit launches in October 2016.
Click through the following pages to discover which brands made the cut.
Chivas Regal Ultis
Last month Chivas Regal released its first blended malt Scotch whisky, containing liquid from five Speyside distilleries: Tormore, Longmorn, Strathisla, Allt A’Bhainne and Braeval.
Ultis is designed to pay homage to Chivas Regal’s five master blenders since its launch in 1909. Charles Howard, Charles Julian, Allan Baillie, Jimmy Lang and Colin Scott.
Scott, Chivas Regal’s current master blender, says Chivas Regal Ultis represents “the true essence of the iconic Scotch whisky” brand.
It is available in all major retailers and in travel retail.
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Portobello Road Gin’s Director’s Cut No.02 The Smoky Gin
Portobello Road Gin has released the second edition of its annual Director’s Cut bottling, The Smoky Gin.
The new offering contains juniper berries smoked in peat to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London.
The London-based brand’s founder, Ged Feltham, travelled to his ancestral home of County Kerry, Ireland, to source the peat, which was delivered to master distiller Jake Burger at 171 Portobello Road.
Burger then distilled 1,000 bottles of the smoky gin in 20-litre batches over the same four days that the Great Fire of London occurred (2-5 September).
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Hennessy Master Blender’s Selection No. 1
With Master Blender’s Selection No. 1 – a first in a series of “rare” limited edition expressions – Hennessy wanted to mark its historic ties with the US, which became its first export market more than 200 years ago.
To craft the liquid, a single-batch blend of 80 to 100 eau-de-vie, is aged for up to 16 years in two- to four-year-old French oak barrels.
The creation of by Hennessy’s seventh generation master blender Yann Fillioux, the latest blend is “a very personal signature” and is signed and numbered by Fillioux.
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Bushmills Port Cask Reserve
The second edition in its travel retail exclusive Bushmills Steamship Collection, Port Cask Reserve is crafted from ex-Port barrels hailing from Douro Valley in Portugal.
After a seasoning period of at least three years they are emptied and shipped to Ireland to be filled with spirit, resulting in a “rich, complex and smooth triple-distilled single malt whiskey with subtle notes of damson, black coffee and almonds”.
Port Cask Reserve has an RRP of £99 and is bottled at 40% abv.
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The Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter Two
William Grant & Sons has launched The Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter Two, which highlights the “complex” way different oak casks influence the flavour of whisky.
‘The Influence of Oak’ is the second instalment from the compendium, which celebrates the industry’s longest-serving malt master, David Stewart MBE.
Each whisky in Chapter Two hails from a different cask style – including European oak Oloroso sherry butts, first fill American oak Bourbon barrels, a European oak port puncheon and a European oak Pedro Ximénez sherry butt – and is aged between 15 and 44 years.
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The Glenlivet Winchester Collection Vintage 1966
Chivas Brothers has launched the second expression in its exclusive collection of 50-year-old single malt Scotch whiskies from The Glenlivet.
Just 100 bottles of The Glenlivet Winchester Collection Vintage 1966 have been created, with an RRP of US$25,000.
The whisky was created by former master distiller for The Glenlivet, Robert Arthur, in 1966 and has aged under the stewardship of current master distiller Alan Winchester.
Matured in a single Sherry cask, The Glenlivet Winchester Collection Vintage 1966 is said to have a “soft and sweet complexity” that is “layered by a “delicate cinnamon and liquorice spice” followed by an “exceptionally long, smooth finish, with a hint of dryness”.
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Black Button Barrel Reserve Citrus Forward Gin
New York’s Black Button Distilling has launched Barrel Reserve Citrus Forward Gin, a limited edition spirit that it describes as “half gin half whiskey”.
The resulting liquid is “bright with fruit and herbs” on the palate, and finishes with “the warmth of a whiskey”.
Jason Barrett, president and head distiller, said: “First we lowered the juniper and added a lot more orange peel to craft our citrus forward gin.
“Then we took that gin, threw it in some used Bourbon barrels and let it rest for a year on oak. Now we have this delightful limited release spirit that is the best of both worlds.”
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The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old
The Macallan has expanded its core range with the launch of The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old – combining Sherry-seasoned European and American oak to create a “new interpretation on the signature 12 Years Old Macallan”.
Flavour notes include vanilla, citrus and light oak with rich fruit, Sherry and wood spice.
Bob Dalgarno, Macallan master whisky maker, said: “This is a single malt which showcases a true balance of character which results in a fully rounded and distinctive flavour profile. By combining wood influences, we have been able to produce a new Macallan which sits perfectly between our existing Sherry oak and fine oak ranges.”
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The Lost Distillery Company Jericho Christmas Pudding
Independent Scotch whisky producer, The Lost Distillery Company, has launched a limited edition Jericho Christmas Pudding blended malt whisky for the festive season.
The seasonal bottling is a variation of the Jericho malt, which is part of the producer’s Archivist collection of blended malt Scotch whiskies – styled on the silent Jericho Distillery in Nether Jericho, Aberdeenshire, which closed in 1913 due to its isolated location.
On the palate, the expression is said to be “full-bodied and satisfyingly oily”, offering hints of heated rubber, ripened dried berries and “savoury depth”, which opens up into raspberries and gentle spice with a “burst of sweetness and tart notes” towards the end.
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The Half-Century Blend
The Blended Whisky Company has launched The Half-Century Blend to celebrate an era in which “flavour, not forecasts, ruled the roost”.
The third release by the company, The Half-Century Blend contains a blend of whiskies distilled more than half a century ago – before the ‘whisky boom’ of the late 1960s to the 1980s.
According to the firm, the boom sparked the beginning of an “inexorable march towards modernisation”, and a quest for increased yields “at all costs”.
