Friday, August 3, 2012

Inbox - August 3, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.  Here is what has grabbed our attention this week ...
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Bowmore - Two new Vintages
The Bowmore distillery - the oldest on Islay - has announced the release of two new whiskies in its limited edition series of vintages. The two were distilled in 1964 and 1985, and both have been hand selected by Bowmore's Distillery Manager Eddie MacAffer.  Both expressions follow in the footsteps of similar award winning releases and are available globally from specialist whisky retailers.

The 1964 (pictured, above) has been matured for nearly half a century in a combination of predominantly ex-bourbon American oak casks and finished in an ex-Fino sherry cask.  This stunning whisky is released at the natural cask strength of 42.9% ABV and is limited to just 72 bottles.  The recommended retail price is £8,000.  The bottle is a specially designed creation by renowned Scottish glass artists Brodie Nairn and Nichola Burns, each of which has been hand blown.  The finishing touches, including habd engraving and a bespoke silver neck collar and stopper, have been applied by leading Edinburgh jewellers Hamilton & Inches.

The 1985 has been created from a combination of ex-sherry and ex-bourbon casks.  This has also been released at the natural cask strength of 52.3% ABV and is limited to 727 bottles, each of which has a recommended retail price of £300.  This release is presented in the regular Bowmore bottle but with an accompanying wooden casket which includes features such as a leather strap with a copper buckle and a certificate signed by Eddie MacAffer.

Dalmore - Investor buys set
The north Highland distillery of Dalmore released its premium  Constellation Collection - a series of 21single cask whiskies spanning four decades - to much fanfare earlier in the year.  Now the first full set, carrying a price tag of £158,000, has been sold to a USA based whisky investor.

Atlanta based property entrepreneur Mahesh Patel (pictured with his set, above) has purchased set number 13, as it is his lucky number.  Patel has an extensive private whisky collection totalling over 3,000 bottles and rumoured to carry a value of $2 million USD.  The set was purchased through The Whisky Shop, the UK's largest whisky retail chain and current exclusive retailer for The Constellation Collection.

Mahesh Patel comments, “The Dalmore is up there with the best when it comes to quality, rarity and investment – and of course taste. I’m a big fan and The Constellation will have pride of place in my collection.” Andrew Torrance, Managing Director for The Whisky Shop adds, “The creation and sale of this prestigious collection shows that whisky goes from strength to strength. We have seen sales increase in the last year, and premium bottlings like this have grown in our stores.”

Highland Park - Get in the picture
The award winning Highland Park is set to make its fans a permanent part of its distillery on the isle of Orkney through the creation of a new, innovative piece of artwork. The Highland Park ‘mosaic’ is a collection of faces crafted into an image capturing a striking views of the island. Highland Park is giving its Inner Circle members, the free to join members club of Highland Park, a unique chance to be immortalised on the walls of the distillery itself.

All that members have to do is upload a picture of themselves to the mosaic and in return they will become part of the distillery's rich history, by joining our living artwork. Photographs can be submitted in three ways - by downloading the Highland Park App from iTunes; on their Facebook page or via www.highlandpark.co.uk (you can also sign up as a member of the Inner Circle on this website).

Daryl Haldane, the Global Brand Advocate for Highland Park, says, “When this unique 'family portrait' is completed, it will adorn one of the walls in the distillery, meaning that no matter how far away you happen to live from our beloved home, you can always say that you've left a lasting impression.”

Monkey Shoulder - For One Night Only
The innovative Monkey Shoulder whisky brand have announced a series of one-off UK events for the late Summer/early Autumn.  The events will be held under the banner of For One Night Only and will involve transforming anumber of disused and derelict urban spaces around London.  Each event, which will be held once a week (mostly on Fridays) for three months, will be themed around classic cocktails for which Monkey Shoulder is being used as the star ingredient.

Each unique For One Night Only event will be part art installation, part bar and part adventure playground for whisky fans. The events will run throughout September, October and November, providing topical serves to celebrate everything from London Fashion Week to Halloween and Bonfire Night. The experience will take place every Friday night in two sessions - the first is from 6pm to 8pm with the second from 9pm to 11pm. Tickets cost £20 per person. To buy tickets and for further information about the theme of each night, then please pay a visit to - www.monkeyshoulder.com/foronenightonly.
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Don't miss out - Win a case of whisky in our current competition
The headline says it all - we are currently running a competition in conjunction with The Famous Grouse Experience, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.  The Experience, which is based at the Glenturret distillery in the Highlands, are offering a case (6x70cl bottles) of their signature single malt whisky - the Glenturret 10 years old.

We have set a simple question so for further details about how to enter, the terms & conditions and more information - click here to read our original post.  The closing time and date is 9pm BST on Sunday 5 August, so you don't have long to get your answer to us.  Good luck and we look forward to hearing from you ...

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