Whisky news round-up: Tours, festivals and more

Looking up

The UK’s first vertical whisky distillery has appointed its Head of Whisky as it prepares to turn on its stills and open its doors to the public.

Vaibhav Sood, previously Operations Manager at The Lakes Distillery, has taken on the newly created role.

The £13m nine-storey distillery is due to open later this year in Leith’s historic port.

Anticipated figures indicate that the distillery will attract 25,000 visitors in its first year, with projections soaring to 160,000 annual visitors by 2025.

 

Royal visit 

Aberdeenshire based spirits specialists, Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky, presented HM Queen Camilla with their Coronation Edition of three special aged Laphroaig whiskies, at her first Royal engagement in Scotland, as Queen.

The special set, which were all sequentially numbered, were launched in time for the Coronation weekend back in May and only 150 were produced, which sold out globally within a week.

But the Scots firm kept number one and presented it to HM Queen Camilla as part of her celebrations for the Scottish Coronation with King Charles.

 

New expressions

Bladnoch Distillery has announced the release of The Samhla Collection.

Derived from the Scots Gaelic word meaning ‘symbol’ or ‘likeness,’ Samhla embodies three generations of Bladnoch’s history, with vintages from 1966, 1990, and 2008.

Bladnoch Distillery, with a storied history dating back over 200 years, was brought back to life in 2015 by David Prior with his passion for Scotch Whisky. 

The Samhla Collection serves as a tribute to the authentic human relationships that have shaped Bladnoch’s legacy and shines a light on Lowlands whisky once more.

 

Cheers!

Tamdhu Single Malt Scotch Whisky is offering members the chance to decide on its next Dedication Society Single Cask, to be released at the 2024 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival. 

To take part, Tamdhu connoisseurs from across the globe are invited to enter the Dedication Society ballot, of which a maximum of 20 guests will be randomly selected to taste a series of carefully selected single casks and ultimately choose the flavours and characteristics of the future expression.

The ballot has opened today, and is only open to members of Tamdhu’s Dedication Society.

To join the Tamdhu Dedication Society see: www.tamdhu.com/sign-up

Whisky tours

The Scotch Whisky Experience has revealed three new immersive tour areas which will open to the public later this month.

Visitors will be transported to a peaceful Highland glen, leaving the bustle of Edinburgh’s vibrant Royal Mile behind them.

The tour will explore how single malt Scotch is produced, before discovering the whisky producing regions, the art of blending, and tasting a dram in one of the world’s largest Scotch whisky collections.

www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk

 

Festival flavours

Fresh from a record-breaking whisky festival this spring, the Spirit of Speyside team are back with Distilled 2023, taking place 1 and 2 September at Elgin Town Hall. 

The annual event will unite Speyside’s best whisky distillers under one roof for a weekend, celebrating the flavour of the region that is home to over half of Scotland’s distilleries with best-selling brands participating alongside small, craft producers. 

Among those already confirmed are crowd favourites Cardhu, Aberlour, Speyburn, Glen Moray, Benromach and Glenlivet.

Tickets are now on sale – www.spiritofspeyside.com

 

Read more news and reviews on Scottish Field’s food and drink pages, in association with Cask & Still magazine.

Don’t miss the July issue of Scottish Field magazine.