Whisky news for the weekend

Master of Malt Announces the Release of a New Advent Calendar

the-ginvent-calendar-lqfor those of you who like Gin :

Online Retailer Master of Malt announces the release of The Ginvent Calendar for Christmas 2012.

In anticipation of this year’s festive season, Drinks by the Dram have teamed up with The Gin Blog to create The Ginvent Calendar.

The Gin Blog installed a life-size version of The Ginvent Calendar—standing 1.5 metres tall and using full size bottles of gin—in Soho’s Graphic Bar during December 2011.  Subscribers to The Gin Blog’s Twitter feed could then win a bottle from the Calendar by correctly answering a gin-related question each day throughout the month. This year, The Gin Blog has collaborated with Drinks by the Dram to create a commercially-available Advent Calendar so that everyone can get involved in this gin-themed, festive fun.

The Ginvent Calendar 2012 is a scaled down version of the original Ginvent Calendar and features artwork of gin botanicals taken from the Encyclopaedia Botanica. The inspiration behind the design is to highlight the variety of botanicals that can be used in the process of making gin; often one botanical defines a particular gin, such as cucumber in Hendricks Gin. Furthermore, the artwork emphasises the possibilities of using ever more inventive botanical recipes in the future.

Behind each door is a different 3cl dram of gin, one for each day of Advent. The Gin Blog writes, “We’ve chosen twenty-four different gins that reflect the category as a whole… all the gins can be bought in the UK should any tickle your fancy, there is a real difference between the gins, and all twenty-four represent what we think is the best the category has to offer.”

The Ginvent Calendar – £79.95

The new Speyburn 25 Year Old unveiledSpey25years_box bot1

Speyburn Distillery, the producer of Speyburn Single Malt Scotch Whisky, is pleased to
announce that the successor of the World Whiskies Awards 2012 Gold-Medal-winning
Speyburn 25 Year Old will soon be available in markets around the world featuring
exciting new packaging. The relaunch of the much-admired premium expression of
Speyburn follows a successful year for the Scottish brand.
The oldest and most exclusive Speyburn yet has been a hidden gem and a favourite for
whisky aficionados for years. It didn’t come as a surprise when earlier in 2012 the
coveted Speyburn 25 Year Old ‘Solera’ was named by the World Whiskies Awards panel as
the best in its category. Now, the new and reinvented premium expression from the
iconic Speyside distillery has arrived. It’s simply called Speyburn 25 Year Old.
The Whisky
The whisky for this all-new Speyburn came from American oak Fino sherry and exbourbon
casks of the highest quality. The spirit matured entirely on site at Speyburn
Distillery, on the banks of Granty Burn. The whisky is bottled at premium strength of 46%
ABV. It is unchill-filtered and shows its natural colour.
Speyburn 25 Year Old has a vibrant and bright aroma, rich with lime honey and lemon
peel notes, accentuated by fragrant tropical fruit. The taste is rounded and smooth.
Sweet to begin with, it opens up with toffee, creamy vanilla and pink grapefruit flavours
and drifts gently towards a long and warming finish.
The Packaging
Speyburn 25 Year Old is presented in the new Speyburn bottle encased in a silver wooden
box. Two engraved collapsible metal tasting cups are also included making it the perfect
gift for an outdoors enthusiast. Each pack is signed personally by the Distillery Manager
Robert Anderson.
Recommended retail price: £240 , not cheap at all but it’s a fine dram!

Check out my tasting notes for this lovely dram i posted earlier this month.

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