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In March 2024, the whisky industry experienced a series of significant events. Alongside International Women's Day and Women's History Month celebrations and St. Patrick's Day, the Port Ellen distillery opened its doors for the first time in nearly 40 years on March 19th. Additionally, this period marked an award season for the whisky industry.
In addition, the industry witnessed the launch of new whisky releases and expressions, rebranding initiatives and the release of The Glenturret distillery's first gin. This article features 12 well-known whisky producers' releases that appeared first or were announced in March 2024.
The Macallan Horizon
The Macallan Horizon was first announced in August 2022 and officially launched in mid-March 2024 as part of the distillery's 200th-anniversary celebrations. The eye-catching whisky decanter, featuring a 180-degree twist, results from a partnership established in July 2021 between The Macallan distillery in Speyside and Bentley Motors. The limited bottling is promoted as futuristic and innovative, showcasing six materials associated with the brands: copper, aluminium, wood, glass, leather, and, of course, whisky.
Curated by The Macallan's master whisky maker, Kirsteen Campbell, the single malt whisky is blended from six first-fill sherry-seasoned casks selected from the distillery's warehouses. While the age of the six casks has not been disclosed, if a hint is given, the Horizon will be available for a suggested retail price of £40,000 per bottle. Only 700 bottles will be released worldwide.
Image by The Macallan
The Dalmore Luminary No.2
Following the initial release of The Dalmore Luminary series in 2022, Luminary No. 2 was announced in late March 2024. The series collaborates with V&A Dundee, Scotland's design museum, and features artwork from renowned artists.
The Dalmore Luminary No. 2 has two separate bottlings: The Rare and The Collectible. The latter is a limited release, bottled at 16 years old and restricted to 20,000 bottles, aimed at whisky drinkers with a less extravagant look and a reasonable price of around £275. Initially aged in American oak barrels, the single malt was finished in Graham's Tawny Port pipes and 30-year-old Apostoles sherry casks, with a light touch of rare peated Dalmore in the mix.
Both releases result from a collaboration between The Dalmore's master whisky maker, Greg Glass, and Melodie Leung from Zaha Hadid Architect. Still, The Rare stands out with its presentation and rarity.
The Rare is a single malt aged 49 years and is limited to only three bottles, two of which are presented with a circular glass sculptor. Matured in American white oak ex-Bourbon casks, The Rare has been finished in a combination of rare Port Colheita 1963, 30-year-old Apostoles sherry, and select Bourbon. It was then completed in a 1951 virgin oak hybrid cask, air-dried and hand-toasted by Gregg Glass himself.
One of the Luminary No.2 bottles will be kept at The Dalmore distillery, and one will be auctioned at Sotheby's in May 2024, with a portion of the proceeds donated to V&A Dundee. The third bottle will be eventually included in a one-off set after all three expressions have been released.
Images by The Dalmore
Midleton Very Rare 40th Anniversary Ruby Edition
In celebration of Midleton Distillery's 40th anniversary, Irish Distillers released a special Ruby Edition in early March 2024. Curated by master distiller Kevin O'Gorman, the release was created using casks from the vintage years of the three Master Distillers—Barry Crockett, Kevin Nation, and Kevin O'Gorman. The whiskey, which contains pot still and grain whiskies, was then married and finished in a single ruby port cask.
The release is presented in a crystal decanter made in Waterford, Ireland. Only 550 bottles were released, each with a suggested retail price of around £17,700.
Midleton also created a single bottle of the release in partnership with Keanes Jewellers in Cork. This special bottle features a 24-carat gold neck and stopper, with 32 ruby gems embedded on the neck. The one-of-a-kind NFT decanter was sold through BlockBar.com, and a portion of the proceeds from the £60,000 sale went to support The Forest Genetic Resources Trust.
Images by Midleton
Compass Box Extinct Blends Celestial
Compass Box closed its Extinct Blend Quartet series in late March 2024 with the release of Celestial. Including single malts from Ardbeg and Caol Ila distilleries, the last release from the series is the peatiest of the four expressions. The blend is bottled at 50% and limited to only 5,532 bottles worldwide. It is the first whiskey release from Compass Box since Alex Saxon was named the new whisky-making director. Celestial follows three previous releases in the series: Ultramarine, Delos, and Metropolis.
Image by Compass Box / The Whisky Ardvark
Port Charlotte 18-year-old
Launched on the last days of February 2024 and overshadowed by Bruichladdich's release of its innovatively packaged 18- and 30-year-olds, the 18-year-old Port Charlotte is the oldest release under the label to date. Limited to only 6,000 bottles worldwide, the edition has been made with 100% Islay barley peated to 40ppm, distilled in 2004, aged 74% refill sherry casks, 26% refill French oak wine casks, and bottled at 54.3%.
Image by Bruichladdich
Kilchoman Batch Strength
On March 25, 2024, Kilchoman Batch Strength was launched and added to the distillery's core range. This whisky has been aged in a combination of re-charred red wine casks (STR), oloroso sherry butts, and bourbon barrels, and it is bottled at 57% ABV. The barley used is peated to the distillery's signature level of 50 ppm.
Image by Kilchoman / The Whisky Ardvark
Gold Spot 13-year-old
The 13-year-old Gold Spot from Mitchell & Son, distilled at Midleton distillery, was released in mid-March 2024. The first whiskey bottled under Gold Spot, the 9-year-old, was released in 2022 to commemorate Mitchell & Son's 135th anniversary. The 13-year-old is the first release labelled as part of the Generations series.
Staying true to the whisky bonder's past as a wine merchant, the new expression has been finished in wine casks, just like previous Spot whiskies. Initially aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and sherry casks, the Gold spent the last 16 to 17 months in Valpolicella Recioto Italian wine casks from Secondo Marco winery and was bottled at 46%.
Image by Spot Whiskies
New Riff 8-year-old
The New Riff distillery in Newport, Kentucky, released its oldest bourbon to date on March 8, 2024. As a new addition to the core range, the 8-year-old bourbon is made with the same mashbill as the distillery's four-year-old expression—65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley—and bottled at 50% ABV. As a blend combining whiskies from two distilling seasons, the expression is not labelled as bottled-in-bond, although the whiskey meets the criteria.
Image by Whisky Advocate / Lexington, Kentucky
Torabhaig Legacy Series Cnoc Na Moine
The third release from Torabhaig's Legacy series, Cnoc Na Moine, was introduced in late March 2024. This release marks the first whisky from the Scottish Isle of Skye-based distillery to be partially aged in sherry casks. The release is limited to 90,000 bottles worldwide in specialist retail sectors.
The Legacy series is a countdown towards Torabhaig's future 10-year-old core range expression, which is due for release in the 2020s. Whisky maker Neil Macleod Mathieson stated that the Legacy series will see a total of five to seven releases before a permanent age-statement whisky is launched.
Image by Torabhaig / The Whisky Ardvark
Monkey Shoulder Rebranding
Monkey Shoulder blended malt by William Grant & Sons rebranded the classic expression in March 2024 for the first time since the brand was launched in 2005. The new look includes a slightly slimmer bottle with a longer neck that uses up to 25% less glass and a two-part label with an enlarged logo. According to the owner, only the label has changed to make it more appealing to consumers, and the whisky is still the same, shared on social media with the phrase 'Same Monkey Business, New Look'.
Image by The Whisky Ardvark
Ballantine's x RZA
Ballantine's 7 American Barrel was released at the beginning of March as part of the collaboration between Ballantine and the frontman of Wu-Tang Clan, RZA. The release follows a series of releases under the partnerships Stay True campaign. The label is inspired by a poem the rapper created on his visit to Ballantine's brand home in Scotland. The blend itself has been exclusively aged in American oak barrels for a minimum of seven years.
The expression follows Ballantine's previous band-related releases celebrating AC/DC and Queen.
Image by The Whisky Ardvark
The Aberturret Gin
The Aberturret gin from The Glenturret distillery was first announced in November 2023 and officially launched in March 2024. The gin is named after the Aberturret Estate House, formerly the Dower House of the Murray Clan, which founded The Glenturret distillery over 260 years ago. The estate house is now available for private hire. Along with the gin launch, Jennie Baernreuther was named as the new managing director of The Glenturret.
The Aberturret London dry gin uses 14 botanicals, including coriander, angelica, and sumac, blended with the new-make spirit from The Glenturret distillery. It is bottled at 45% and is described as a classic gin that works well in cocktails.
Original Image by The Aberturret Gin
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