Glendronach – A new look

The Glendronach distillery was founded way back in 1826 and, like all of its contemporaries and peers, has seen many changes during its long history.  The last two hundred years of the Scotch whisky industry is a tale of booms and busts, ups and down; Glendronach has seen all those bumps and handled the waves with the best of them…including having parts of the distillery destroyed by fire back in 1837!   

2024 sees the distillery refresh its brand and labelling, opting for clean, pared-back packaging and an updated illustration of the bramble and rooks that surround the distillery.  (It’s often overlooked that many of Scotland’s distilleries’ names are gaelic descriptions of their geography and environment…Glendronach is Scots Gaelic for ‘Valley of the Brambles’).

What is of note with this refresh of Glendronach’s branding is that it appears to be limited to the packaging and labelling.  Unlike so many other recent brand refreshes by other Scotch whisky brands, the core range remains the same; the names are more-or-less the same; and the contents inside the bottle remain unchanged.  Fans of Glendronach – and there are many of us – can breathe a sigh of relief.

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Angel’s Envy

The explosion in whisk(e)y making across North America over the last decade has resulted in many new brands appearing on the shelves of our retail liquor stores or behind the bar at the on-premise venues. Courtesy of the massive – and highly innovative – craft distilling movement that swept across the United States, many of these new whiskies have either eschewed traditional bourbons or they’ve pushed bourbon in new directions. Angel’s Envy is one such whiskey, and the brand is rapidly gaining traction…

In the big pond of Kentucky distilleries, Angel’s Envy is a relative newcomer, having been founded in 2010. That said, this was hardly a “cold start” – the distillery was established by none other than the legendary Lincoln Henderson. Henderson had spent decades in the game as a Master Distiller with Brown Forman, having been responsible for the likes of Woodford Reserve and Gentleman Jack. He came out of retirement to establish Angel’s Envy with his son, Wes, and the brand wasted no time in pushing the envelope.

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World Whiskies Awards & Icons of Whisky Australia, 2024

The World Whiskies Awards and the Icons of Whisky winners (in the Rest of World category) have been unveiled for 2024.  There are some familiar names and, pleasingly, some new names and faces as a number of new distilleries bring their whiskies to the world’s stage… 

The World Whiskies Awards has grown to such an extent that, several years ago now, it was split into various regions to do justice to the huge number of distilleries, producers, bottlers, and individuals who contribute to the many sectors of the whisk(e)y industry.  While some regions naturally pick themselves (e.g. Scotland, USA, Ireland), the catch-all region of Rest of World was created to capture the likes of Australia, Japan, India, Taiwan, Canada, New Zealand, Israel, China, and the many European countries producing whisky (e.g. Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, etc) and more.  In February this year, the 2024 winners in the Rest of World categories were announced for both the World Whiskies Awards and the Icons of Whisky Awards.  Being an Aussie and someone who’s written a lot about Australian whisky, I trust you’ll indulge us if we highlight the Australian winners for 2024… 

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The Whisky Ark, Sydney

Exciting news for Sydney whisky enthusiasts with the opening of the city’s second bricks-and-mortar retail shop dedicated purely to whisky.  Thirteen years after World of Whisky established itself in Double Bay back in 2010, The Whisky Ark has now set up shop in the Queen Victoria Building in the heart of the CBD.

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Whisky art, Cryptowhisky, and NFT whisky

Whisky art is nothing new, and whether it’s a beautiful photograph of a distillery in the setting sun, or an oil painting of a copper pot still in the stillhouse, there are some incredible pieces of art out there that any whisky enthusiast would be happy to hang on their wall.  But whisky art took an unexpected twist recently, with the category moving into the NFT space.   WTF is NFT?  Well, it’s almost as controversial as NAS, but easily twice as confusing.  For whisky has now entered the cryptocurrency arena:  NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token.  Still need help?  You’re not alone, so let’s dive in.  Just keep an open mind…..you’ll need it.

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Johnnie Walker – A long stride

Johnnie Walker – it’s the world’s biggest selling blended Scotch whisky.  Is it unreasonable to assume that every whisky drinker has, at some stage or another, notched up a JW on their list of conquests?

For so many years, Johnnie Walker’s iconic Red Label and Black Label expressions were staples in nearly every bar and whisky drinker’s cupboard.  Gold Label and Blue Label came along, also eventually joined by Green Label.

With interest in the category booming, Johnnie Walker has continued to innovate and expand, developing and releasing an impressive range of limited editions, or adding to the core range.   There are now multiple variations in the Green Label range; ditto the Black Label; and the old Gold Label evolved into two new expressions, the Gold Label Reserve (a no-age-statement), and the 18yo (which was badged as Platinum Label for a few years).  Needless to say, the striding man is never standing still.  And speaking of a long stride….

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Free the whisky

Most whisky enthusiasts around the globe have heard of the dramas and dilemmas taking place in British Columbia, Canada, where the government conducted a raid on a whisky bar and confiscated over 240 bottles of single malt whisky.  It’s time to free the whisky.

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Chivas ‘The Blend’ Experience

Have you ever tried your hand at blending? Think you’ve got what it takes to come up with a delicious whisky?   Would you like to be a Master Blender for a day? The Blend by Chivas is giving you that very opportunity!

Chivas ‘The Blend’ Experience is a fantastic event to not just learn a bit about Scotch whisky and the story behind one of Scotland’s most famous blends, but to also have a crack at blending and putting together your own blended Scotch. Best of all, you get to take home a 200ml bottle of your own creation at the end of the session!

Chivas ‘The Blend’ Experience is coming to four cities across Australia over the next five months and whisky drinkers are able to sign up and register for their own session. Full details on this a little lower below but, first of all, what’s involved?

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