Thursday 12 November 2015

This week in whisk(e)y #25 - Chivas Regal "The Icon" launches, Chivas/QT/Movember packages, The Last Drop Distillers release two new whiskies in Australia

As you might know if you read this blog regularly, we get a fair few interesting press releases and news articles here at TimeforWhisky, and usually try to feature them with our own spin, experiences or comments. Sometimes though, they come thick and fast, and we just don't have time to do them all justice.

So we've decided to take a leaf out of some other excellent whisky blogs, and feature a "PR roundup" every now and then - basically a wrap-up of relevant press releases we've received in the previous week or so (including other interesting whisk(e)y news Steph, Hendy & or I think you might enjoy). So on with it then...


Chivas Regal "The Icon" launches
Hendy recently attended the Australian launch of Chivas Regal The Icon - an ultra-prestige blend including whisky from a number of mothballed distilleries (edit: detailed write-up and tasting notes here).

More recently though, "The Icon" has been launched in HK, and in a few weeks we'll be bringing you all the news, including Martin's tasting notes. Until then, here's a snippet from the press release:
 
"Chivas Regal The Icon is the perfect balance of old and new, with each distillery imparting its own unique characteristics. At its heart lie the rarest malts from Strathisla, the spiritual home of Chivas Regal, and the oldest continuously operating distillery in the Scottish Highlands. Accented with hand-selected single malts from Longmorn and Glen Keith, Chivas Regal The Icon is a bold, balanced and unforgettable blend specifically developed with discerning whisky connoisseurs in mind. 

Each year,  a limited number of bottles of Chivas Regal The Icon will be available, making it a must-have product for whisky adorers and collectors alike.

Presented in an elegant bottle, each decanter of Chivas Regal The Icon has been hand-blown by dedicated master craftsmen at Dartington Crystal before being hand-filled with the luxury liquid. The glass is delicately etched and finished with precision crafted metalwork and presented in sublime green glassware in homage to the original green Chivas Regal bottle that captured the world’s attention in 1909. Adorned with a signature luckenbooth stopper, a traditional Celtic symbol of love, the distinctive bottle is certain to be adored by whisky enthusiasts around the world.

The limited edition of Chivas Regal The Icon is available by private order only at HK$28,800"


Chivas Regal & QT Hotel Movember packages
Ok so this one's not purely whisky-related, but Movember is a charity we strongly support (I'm  actually doing it for the 7th year this year - feel free to donate a few bucks if you like!) and when we heard they teamed up with QT Sydney and Chivas Regal to further their excellent causes, we figured it warranted featuring.

A launch event was held recently (which although we couldn't attend, seemed to have a number of similarities to this event in 2014), to celebrate QT Sydney's Movember packages, which are as follows:

  • QT Shave –Tidy-Shave package. Valued at $120, the package costs $100 with $25 donated to Movember
  • QT Sydney will donate $10 from all other shave services undertaken during the month to Movember ensuring guests who may not be ‘Mo-ing’ can still shave for the cause.
  • QT Sydney will donate $4 from every Parlour Lane MO’hito and all gold coin stick-on moustache proceeds to Movember.



The Last Drop Distillers Limited brings two new releases to Australia
Back in May of this year, we mentioned The Last Drop Distillers had releases their 1967 Glen Garioch Single Malt Scotch Whisky & 48 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky in Hong Kong. Fast forward a few months, and those same whiskies are now available in Australia, via Dan Murphy's.

We expect to have tasting notes for both whiskies available in the next few weeks, but until then, here's the press release:
"November (Sydney, Australia) - Purveyors of exclusive, super premium spirits, The Last Drop Distillers Limited, announces the launch of its newest expressions in Australia; The Last Drop 1967 Glen Garioch Single Malt Scotch Whisky and 48 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky – both awards winners in the Jim Murray Whisky Bible 2015.
Founders and whisky industry veterans, James Espey, Tom Jago and Peter Flack, have enjoyed long and illustrious careers in the wine and spirits trade. The trio have channelled their unrivalled passion for premium spirits into creating the world’s most exclusive spirits company, The Last Drop Distillers Limited. Today, James and Tom, with the help of their daughters, Creative Director, Rebecca Jago and Marketing Director, Beanie Espey, tap into their combined 120 years experience in the industry to seek out the rarest and most exclusive distillations and deliver them to discerning spirits enthusiasts around the world. 
In past roles, James and Tom have worked together on some of the most iconic names in Scotch whisky, including Johnnie Walker Blue Label and Chivas Regal 18 Years Old, as well as Malibu and Baileys Irish Cream; two of the most original and successful new drinks categories in the world.
Tantalising the tastes of Australian whisky aficionados, the brand’s newest drops, the 1967 Glen Garioch Single Malt Scotch Whisky and 48 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky, are now available in limited supply through Dan Murphy’s online and selected Dan Murphy’s stores.
The Last Drop 1967 Glen Garioch Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The Last Drop’s Directors regularly look to the cellars of Scotland where they have long procured some of the most elegant barrelled spirits in the world. Unearthed at Glen Garioch, one of the Scotland’s oldest distilleries, the 1967 Glen Garioch Scotch Whisky is a 47-year-old single malt. Initially created as a robust and ‘peated’ whisky, the liquid was stored in a Bourbon style remade Hogshead cask and has matured into a more mellow, beautifully balanced whisky with an unexpected hint of honey and apple sweetness.
The spirit has been awarded 96.5 points by leading international Whisky commentator, Jim Murray, and is the recipient of the 2015 Single Malt Scotch Whisky of the Year.
Of 118 bottles existing in the world, just three bottles are available in Australia and can be purchased via Dan Murphy’s online and selected Dan Murphy’s stores for an RRP of $9,000 AUD.
The Last Drop 48 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky
Several of the distilleries represented in this unique blend have long since closed, making this a truly rare and luxurious Scotch whisky unlike any other in the world.
It was developed after a small volume of this bottling’s original blend was selected by the Chief Blender to be refilled into fresh ex-bourbon cases and aged further. Since then, this small batch whisky has been slowly maturing in one of the older traditional warehouses in the Highlands of Scotland resulting in a balanced chestnut-hued liquid that is both rich and fragrant
This unique blend has been awarded 96.5 points by leading international Whisky commentator, Jim Murray, and is both the 2015 Scotch Whisky of the Year and 2015 Scotch Blend of the Year.
Of 592 bottles existing in the world, only three bottles are available in Australia via Dan Murphy’s online and selected Dan Murphy’s stores for an RRP of $5,500 AUD.
“At The Last Drop, we’ve made it our mission to unearth the rarest and most discerning spirits in the world and bottle them for the enjoyment of spirits aficionados. We’re thrilled to bring these two exceptional expressions that are truly unique and provide Australian drinkers with a once-in-a-lifetime taste that can only be found in The Last Drop bottles,” says James Espey, Found and Chairman of The Last Drop Distillers.
Each of The Last Drop’s selected spirits are bottled straight from the cask, corked and wax-dipped by hand before being housed in a signature Last Drop Distillers leather case. Each case includes a generous 50ml miniature as well as a leather-bound booklet that not only certifies the bottle, but also serves as a record of the buyer’s personal tasting notes as they explore the exceptional drops.
The Last Drop soft launched in Australia in 2014 with the release of The Last Drop 50 Year Old, six bottles of which are currently available via Dan Murphy’s online and in selected Dan Murphy’s stores for an RRP of $6,000 AUD."

At $9,000AUD and $5,500AUD, these whiskies are clearly not every day drinkers, but considering their worldwide release of 118 and 592 bottles respectively, you don't find whiskies much rarer... (we can't wait to try them!)


Thats all for this week. Until next time...

Cheers, 
Martin.

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