Roundup of our Newest Arrivals - October 2024 by Spirits Buyer Oliver Pinel
4th November 2024
Another busy month, another bevy of releases landing on shelves in time for the manic Christmas season!
Here's the lowdown and roundup on the latest and greatest we're offering in spirits from October 2024.
Scotch Roundup
Scotch arrivals took somewhat of a backseat this month in favour of releases from across Japan and America.
Firstly, something incredibly rare... so rare we've only got 1 available! ICHIRO'S MALT Chichibu 'London Edition' 2024 Release Japanese Single Malt Whisky Bottle (70cl) 50.5%abv NO DISC is a bottle considered year after year by the whisky community at large as one of the year's most heavily anticipated releases. Now in its 7th edition and available exclusively to the UK market, the 2024 release comprises a blend of 10 casks, predominantly ex-bourbon barrels with an additional red wine cask added to boost its depth & balance. Only approximately 1920 bottles were released for sale, make sure to grab yours quick!
Next up... All the single ladies rejoice! SIRDAVIS American Rye Whiskey by Beyoncé & LVMH Bottle (70cl) 44%abv is now available at Dunell's!
Back in August, singer-songwriter and cultural phenomenon Beyonce Knowles-Carter announced (to enormous fanfare) her very own American whisky brand in collaboration with Dr Bill Lumsden of Moet Hennessy... Introducing SirDavis American Whisky.
This synergetic effort from these two icons of their fields has already yielded countless awards and acclaim from across the Whisk(e)y World:
- 95 Points (Gold) at the NY International Spirits Competition 2023
- Platinum 'Best in Class' & Platinum 'American Rye Whiskey' at the Sip Awards 2023
This rye focused (51% & 49% malted barley) American whiskey was finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, culminating in a harmonious symmetry of rye spiciness & rich dried fruits.
And finally... to keep our Scotch lovers included... we've received the sherried variant of the hugely popular blended malt from Elements of Islay! Produced by the wildly talented team at Elixir Distillers and headed up by fellow Oliver, Master Blender Oliver Chilton, the ELEMENTS OF ISLAY 'Sherry Cask' Islay Blended Malt Scotch Whisky Bottle (70cl) 54.5%abv is the perfect example of a sherried blended malt balanced beautifully at its cask strength.
At a whopping 54.5%, you'd expect this dram to absolutely wallop your santa-covered Christmas socks clean off, but you'd be wrong... Teeming with dried cherries, rich dark chocolate and wisps of pungent smoke, this is like eating a Black Forest gateau next to a campfire on the Scottish west-coast shoreline... an unusual analogy but a fair one! This release is simply lovely.
Rum Roundup
With the popularity of rum ever-increasing, I've made it my mission to keep up to date with the ever-changing expressions and releases coming from all-across the rum-world. With this latest release, I believe we've found a release that will appease the most discerning and speculative lovers of whisk(e)y, rum and brandy! Incroyable!
We first saw the Black Tot brand land on shelves back in late October 2020 and since then it's become a firm customer favourite, appealing to those who want to discern themselves from overly sweet rums that are becoming ever-more popular across the world. 4 years on, the BLACK TOT 'Historic Solera' PX & Oloroso Sherry Matured Caribbean Rum Bottle (70cl) 46.2%abv has arrived on scene!
Bottled at the Black Tot status quo ABV of 46.2%, the Historic Solera is essentially a maturation continuation of the brand's standard release, the Black Tot 'Finest Caribbean', with a further 2 years of ageing in oloroso & PX sherry casks before being aged in their own '46-strong sherry butt solera'. Following a year of maturation in each 'criadera' or 'tier', part of the liquid is bottled and part is used to replenish the barrel on the next tier. This method is used to create additional depth and to offer richness and beguiling complexity that has ultimately allowed for a portion of the original rum to always remain within the solera system.
The rums from across Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica have had no sugar, colouring or chill-filtration added or used after the fact, creating such a vivid and unique release that I know our customers will fall in love with!