Archives for June 14, 2018

Royal Salute Unveils New 28 Year Old Kew Palace Edition!

June 14, 2018 by Gary Leave a Comment

Royal Salute 28 Year Old Kew Palace Edition

The ‘King of Whisky’, Royal Salute, has unveiled the exceptional new Royal Salute 28 Year Old Kew Palace Edition, the latest in its annual Flask Collection. The rich, round and silky blend is the result of an exciting, first-time collaboration between Royal Salute’s Director of Blending, Sandy Hyslop, and esteemed perfumer Barnabé Fillion, and is inspired by the magnificent Kew Palace and its iconic Kitchen Garden.

Combining Hyslop’s unparalleled knowledge of Scotch whisky with Fillion’s inimitable artistic acumen, the 28 Year Old Kew Palace Edition balances Royal Salute’s signature style with super rich fruits, scented flora like violet and aromatic leaves from the Kitchen Garden, resulting in the ultimate sensory experience that pushes the boundaries of modern blending.

The collaboration saw Hyslop lay the foundations of the new blend before uniting with Fillion to create a bespoke whisky top dressing that embodied the iconic Kitchen Garden of Kew Palace. The two worked together, nosing countless whiskies in Hyslop’s blending room in Scotland, to capture their interpretation of the lush flora of the Kitchen Garden, while staying true to Royal Salute’s signature style.

It follows the launch of the Royal Salute 30 Year Old Flask Edition last year, and this next iteration in the collector’s series again offers a disruptive take on traditional British drinking traditions. The perfect companion for whisky aficionados on the move, the set includes a bespoke green porcelain flagon and exquisite flask, alongside a pouring funnel and wooden serving tray.

The new expression pays homage to London’s iconic Kew Palace, one of Historic Royal Palace’s most charming royal buildings, as part of Royal Salute’s longstanding support of the charity charged with conserving some of Britain’s royal palaces for future generations. The Palace and its famed Kitchen Garden are showcased on the stunning packaging through artwork from esteemed British illustrator, Jason Brooks.

We are thrilled to unveil this exceptional 28 Year Old whisky, made even more special by the coming together of two industry experts. Sandy Hyslop is the absolute pinnacle when it comes to blending so to be able to further enhance his latest creation with some magic from long-time friend of the brand and famed perfumer, Barnabe Fillion, is really special – and the result, the whisky, speaks for itself.

We’re proud to continue supporting our charity partner, Historic Royal Palaces, with a limited edition inspired by Kew Palace. The charity does amazing work preserving and protecting historic royal buildings to keep their story alive for generations to come, and as a brand steeped in royal heritage, Royal Salute is thrilled to play its part honouring a true British icon in this unique and special way.
– Mathieu Deslandes: Royal Salute Marketing Director

For the first time in Royal Salute’s history, whisky aficionados will have the opportunity to enjoy a first look at the new whisky and its exquisite flask during an intimate event at Kew Palace in June. Hosted by Sandy Hyslop and Barnabé Fillion, it will provide a unique glimpse inside the world of Royal Salute, bring to life the inspiration behind the new Kew Palace Edition and offer an opportunity for aficionados to enjoy the company of those who share their passion.

Befitting its status as a true collector’s item, the Royal Salute 28 Year Old Kew Palace Edition will be available from June 2018 for a limited time at select luxury whisky retailers around the world, for RRP of $790. For more information, visit royalsalute.com.

Royal Salute is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-

Master of Malt
The Whisky Exchange
Edencroft Fine Wine & Spirit Specialists
Abbey Whisky
The Whisky Barrel
The Green Welly Stop
Whisky Online

Sell-out Success For Glasgow Distillery’s Inaugural Whisky!

June 14, 2018 by Gary Leave a Comment

(L-R) Liam Hughes, Mike Hayward and Ian McDougall, co-founders of The Glasgow Distillery Company, raise a dram to toast 1770, their first whisky release

The Glasgow Distillery Company, the first independent single malt distillery to open in the city since 1902, has sold out of its first ever single-malt whisky release after phenomenally high demand.

The release has sparked international interest, with applications to the online purchase ballot coming in from as far afield as Hong Kong, Australia, North America and Japan as well as huge interest closer to home.

It comes at an incredibly exciting time for The Glasgow Distillery Company, which recently secured £6 million in investment from its private investors and the Clydesdale Bank. The boost has allowed the team to order more stills and invest in other areas of the business which will ultimately see the distillery double its whisky production in 2019 to 1 million bottles per annum.

The 1770 sold out within a matter of days

Launched in March, the ballot was quickly oversubscribed and the decision was taken to both close it early and to limit purchases to a single bottle per-person, in an attempt to give as many people as possible the chance to own a piece of history.

With only 5,000 bottles of the first release existing globally, successful applicants for 1770 Glasgow Single Malt Scotch Whisky were contacted on closure of the ballot and product was sold out within days.

Laid down in first fill ex-bourbon casks, and finished for a short period in virgin oak, 1770 delivers a clean, full flavour from the very start. Non-chill filtered, it is bottled at an ABV of 46%.

We couldn’t be more thrilled at the reception our first single-malt whisky has received.
“We have been blown away by the demand generated, and in the end, we had to limit the bottles to one per-person to try and ensure as many people as possible got their chance to buy our inaugural release.

We know some people didn’t manage to get their hands on the bottle, but our 2019 releases will be along soon with our second unpeated release and our first peated release already planned in.
– Liam Hughes: CEO and co-founder of The Glasgow Distillery Company

Whisky Flash Blog: Sampling The Singleton Malt Master’s Selection!

June 14, 2018 by Gary Leave a Comment

Singleton Malt Masters Selection

It’s #WhiskyFlashBlog time!

A whole bunch of us (see below) are getting together today to simultaneously blog about our tasting experience of a new Singleton Malt Whisky release – The Malt Master’s Selection.

The Singleton of Dufftown Malt Master’s Selection will soon be available globally to both on- and off-trade consumers, priced at about £30 a bottle.

Malt Master’s Selection is a NAS (No age statement) dram that has been matured in a combination of refill, Sherry and Bourbon casks, with a greater proportion of refill to allow ‘the sweet yet refined distillery character to shine through’.

The Singleton Malt Master’s Selection is an exciting new addition to the Singleton range. Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable, they’re looking for new liquids to try and are genuinely interested in craftsmanship. And the trade are itching to experiment with new liquids.

The Singleton Malt Master’s Selection with its sweeter notes and delicate flavour will appeal to those new to the category whilst still complementing the collection – sitting well with our existing fans and loyal whisky drinkers.
– Nick Temperley: head of diageo reserve GB

If you want to see what all the bloggers had to say about this dram you can view the tweets and read their blogs by searching for the hash tag #WhiskyFlashBlog on Twitter.
Oh! and don’t forget Sean Murphy from The Scotsman over on Facebook!

So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …

The Singleton Malt Masters Selection (40%)

Nose: Red apples, sweet sherry, oak wood, vanilla caramel with a little chocolate.

Palate: ‘Thin’ mouthfeel, sweet sherry, smooth vanilla and little oak.

Finish: A short finish that is pleasantly sweet coupled with a Very mild spice that gets a little more peppery towards the end.

Overall: A mild-mannered dram that gets tastier by the sip. Positive, morish, tasty.

Truly a malt whisky that is sure to gather fans when released and at a price-point to put a smile on your wallet!

The Singleton of Dufftown Malt Master’s Selection will be available globally priced at about £30

My fellow Whisky Flash Bloggers were:-

@TheWhiskyWire @GreatDrams @TheWhiskyphiles @EdinburghWhisky @CherryConstable @iheartwhisky @Spiritandwood @JasonVaswani @OCDWhisky @MaltMusings @WhiskyWings @BrawSpirit @TheDramble @SpikeyDog120 @Malthound @Unchillfilter @RealDramRob @The_Cask_Blog @cowfish @steveprentice @cache1337 @NNWhisky @rodbodtoo @ScotchPodcast @BlackCountryWS @SwaleDaleBothy and not forgetting
Sean Murphy from The Scotsman over on Facebook.

Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@TheWhiskyWire) for arranging and of course, Singleton (@SingletonWhisky) for sending the samples and without whom!

Singleton is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-