.png)
Early July 2024 was marked by milestones for many whisky brands. Not only did we see the discontinuation of Glenmorangie's iconic 10-year-old The Original, but Brora released a 44-year-old single malt to celebrate the distillery's third anniversary since it reopened in 2021.
Further ado, here are the whisky releases that caught our attention in early July.
Kingsbarns Coaltown
In early July 2024, the Scottish Kingsbarns distillery in St Andrews released its ex-peated cask core range expression. Called Coaltown, the whisky has been aged exclusively in ex-peated whisky casks and is 'named after the mining village of Coaltown of Wemyss, situated near Wemyss Castle, the ancestral home of the Wemyss family'.
Bottled at 46% ABV, the expression retails for £46 (US$59). Following the launch, the first batch of the release was almost immediately sold out on the company's website.
Image by Kingsbarns
Ardbeg Anthology: The Unicorn's Tale
Following the launch of the Anthology Collection in August 2023, Ardbeg released its second expression in the series, The Unicorn's Tale, in July 2024. The collection is dedicated to exploring the distillery's smoky whiskies influenced by different casks and named after mythical creatures.
The first release, The Harpy's Tale, was aged for 13 years in a combination of ex-Bourbon and sweet Sauternes wine casks. In contrast, The Unicorn's Tale is aged 14 years in Malmsey Madeira wine and Bourbon casks.
The Unicorn's Tale is bottled at 46% ABV and is now available at the distillery's website, the visitor's centre in Islay, and selected retailers for £130 (US$164).
Original Image by Ardbeg
Brora, 44-year-old Untold Depths
In celebration of the distillery's third anniversary, since it reopened in 2021, Brora revealed its second distillery exclusive single malt expression.
Distilled in 1977 during the 'age of peat' between 1969 and 1981, Untold Depths has been aged 44 years and bottled at 49.1% ABV. Only 150 bottles have been produced, each selling for £10,000 (US$12,700) and are only available to purchase in person at the Brora distillery.
Brora has also acknowledged that the first new spirits from the distillery are reaching the milestone of being officially called Scotch whisky - stating Brora's 'new era of peat'. Although the whiskies will not be bottled for many years, participants of the £900 (US$1,145) per person Eras of Brora tour are offered a taste of the new casked whisky.
Original Image by Brora
Chichibu 7even Gods of Fortune Fifth Release - Fukurokuju
The Netherlands-based Salud Spirits has been bottling Japanese Chichibu whiskies since 2019. In 2022, the distributor launched its 7even Gods of Fortune series.
The fifth release of the series, Fukurokuju, has been aged in a first-fill Bourbon cask for eight years and bottled at a cask strength of 61% ABV. The expression is limited to 188 bottles and celebrates the god of wealth and longevity, Fukurokuju, pictured on the label as a bald man with long whiskers.
To learn more about Chichibu's past releases, click here to discover more than 450 bottlings.
Original Image by Salud Spirits
Glenmorangie The Original 12-year-old
In a surprise move, Glenmorangie announced the discontinuation of its flagship 10-year-old The Original in early July 2024. The original has been the distillery's pride and joy since the 1960s. But not to worry—Glenmorangie was just tweaking the core expression, making way for a 12-year-old The Original.
The new expression is offered at 40% ABV, retails for £40 (US$51) and will officially launch nationwide in the UK in August. That said, the expression went on sale on the company's website and visitor centre on 9 July.
According to the distillery, the change of age statement was the result of experiments by the whisky creation team that felt like the whisky's flavour was amplified by the two extra years. But reading between the lines might sometimes be necessary in the world of whisky. The fact that the price of The Original did not go up but is still sold at the same price (maybe a pound here or there) indicates that the expression already included a large amount of 12-year-old whisky to begin with. What do you think?
Images by Glenmorangie
Royal Salute 62 Gun Salute Trio
Royal Salute introduced the 62 Gun Salute in 2011 for the duty-free market. In July 2024, the Pernod Ricard-owned brand launched a new trio of releases, Original Reserve, The American Oak Reserve, and The Peated Reserve, that are said to form a new core line for the expression. The latest releases will see the brand distributed on a larger scale outside the travel retail market.
Available at selected retailers worldwide, the blue Original Reserve will retail for £2,330 (US$3,000), and the red American Oak Reserve at £2,565 (US$3,300). The green Peated Reserve, initially launched for duty-free, has a suggested retail price of £2,565 (US$3,300). All expressions are blends of over 50 Scottish whiskies.
While the original release of 62 Gun Salute was a blend of around 40-year-old whiskies bottled at 43% ABV, Chivas has not shared the possible age or ABV for the new trio at the time of the launch (including no ABV on the official website).
To learn more about Royal Salute, please visit our article about the brand's history and previous releases.
Original Images by Royal Salute
Glenfiddich 39-year-old Single Cask
In early July 2024, Glenfiddich distillery teamed up with BlockBar to auction off a 150-bottle lot of 39-year-old single malt. The single cask release will be bottled in September this year at around 54% ABV, and the lot winner will have the chance to personally label the bottles.
The whisky was distilled in 1985 and aged 16 years in American oak. In 2001, it was transferred into a single Oloroso sherry-seasoned cask. All 150 bottles will be initially sold to one person, but when the whisky is bottled later this year, the NFT of the lot will be broken down into 150 individual NFTs, which can be sold separately by the owner.
The lot's estimated price is £750,000 - £1.2 million (US$970,000-US$1.5m), and the buyer will also receive a VIP experience at the Glenfiddich distillery. The auction closes on 24 July 2024.
Original Image by Glenfiddich/ BlockBar
Coachbuilt Williams Racing 18-year-old
Coachbuilt, a blended Scotch whisky brand, was launched in 2022 and is co-owned by entrepreneur George Koutsakis and ex-Formula One driver Jenson Button. In July 2024, the brand launched its inaugural whisky expression in cooperation with Williams Racing, which gave Button his break in 2000.
The 18-year-old whisky is inspired by FW-18, one of Williams Racing’s 'most successful and iconic cars'. The whisky was aged in a combination of ex-Bourbon and sherry casks and is offered at 48%. Limited to 3,000 bottles worldwide, the expression retails for £230 (US$295).
The partnership is said to produce multiple releases in the future, celebrating the Formula One team's history and heritage.
Original Image by Coachbuilt/ Salracing
Thank you for reading The Whisky Ardvark. Please make sure to check out some of our other informative articles below.
Comments