A week in whisky: price bubbles, Israeli whisky and awards

Good morning dear readers, here’s some whisky items which have caught our eye this week.

2013 – Week 51

More money required. Despite the fact that whisky exports have doubled in the last 10 years Gavin Hewitt, the outgoing chief of the SWA has called for more investment by distillers to meet future global demand.

It’s not all good news though; whisky prices have increased by about 170% in the last five years, but those prices could drop significantly if the bubble bursts.

The Celtic Tiger roars again as the Irish Whiskey industry targets Scotland’s market dominance in signs of increased economic confidence.

Ice with that? Glenfiddich pulls off the whisky marketing coup of the year by with Prince Harry drinking it as part of his South Pole Charity trek.

Land of milk and honey as Israel’s first distillery starts production. The first whisky should hit the shelves in December 2017.

Orkney getting an third distillery? Plans by a Swedish distillery to move their operations to Orkney have been given a boost by the appointment of the former manager of Highland Park as an advisor.

Friends with benefits as Diageo releases series of five triple-matured single malts, only available to Friends of the Classic Malts.

Great Odin’s Raven is coming to the UK, but you’ll have to wait until February to get hold of some, once the promotional partnership between Jameson’s and Paramount is completed.

Yamazaki releases some classy gift sets; the 18 and 25 year old whiskies are released in limited edition leather packs.

2013’s best whiskies are announced; Whisky Advocate has been drip-feeding its 2013 award-winners over the past few weeks in advance of the Spring edition of the magazine. Big Peat Christmas Edition, Kilchoman 2007 and Macallan Ruby all feature.

Mortlach moves into focus; Dufftown’s oldest distillery has just been expanded and four new expression are planned for next year. They’ve also just appointed former SMWS ambassador Georgie Bell as the global ambassador for the brand.

There’s an app for that as Distiller launches a “whiskey recommendation engine”. Add your parameters (where you want to drink, how adventurous you’re feeling and how much you want to spend) and it will suggest a whisky or whiskey you may like. Although quite simplistic at the moment, discovering new whiskies may never be easier.

Coke with your whiskey? How about whiskey made from Coke? as the King County Distillery in Brooklyn uses Coca-Cola in place of grain as their mash. The result is not a whiskey by any means, but an interesting experiment nonetheless.