Neil Skinner, UK marketing director at Edrington UK, "Accelerated by the pandemic, e-commerce has become a crucial part of our business and this milestone launch - which wil be the first Famous Grouse blend to be available exclusively online for an initial period - marks a new era for the brand. This will allow us to test the waters and gain insight into our customers' new shopping habits as we look to the future." It is also believed that at least one of the 40 bottles has been opened and consumed, verified by images taken in Japan. The Famous Grouse has launched The Famous One, its first blended whisky with an initial exclusive online retail period. Heavily influenced by our dark and sweet PX sherry casks, this is a decadent whisky, perfect after dinner or to relax and unwind.

Once stirred, a garnish of lemon or lime zest or a wedge of citrus fruit juiced into the drink will complement almost every whisky choice. The nutty, vanilla and orchard fruit flavours in a whisky will generally always benefit from citrus twist in a whisky highball - simply pinch a strip of orange or lemon peel to release the citrus oils before adding to your drink with a flourish. Japan is a nation of drinkers who socialise in izakayas (an informal Japanese bar) to enjoy delicious highballs of Kirin, Suntory and Nikka inspired whisky with soda, accompanied almost always with food or otsumami. At The Lakes, we hold a close affinity towards our friends in Japanese whisky distilleries. We share an unrelenting focus on learning, developing and continuously improving to create more flavour in our whisky. Constant introspection, innovation and a desire to learn from Scotch Whisky heritage but interpret it in our own way, align us as ‘new world’ whiskymakers. Fondly known as Nettie, Harbinson was central to The Macallan’s early success and the creation of The Macallan 1926, after taking charge of the distillery when her husband died in 1918. Using fresh water from the river Derwent and classic botanicals native to the Cumbrian fells like juniper, bilberry, heather, and meadowsweet, The Lakes gin is an authentic, locally made spirit. Their rhubarb and rosehip gin has been a particularly popular release, as well as delectable flavours like elderflower and pink grapefruit (the latter of which received a Gold Outstanding award at the 2022 International Wine and Spirit competition).

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In the meantime, why not try The One, or one of our other cask expressions, The One Colheita, or The One Manzanilla Cask Finished whiskies? This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. The famed Scotch whisky brand said The Famous One had been developed "with all the complexity, smooth taste, quality and character" of its classic blend. It uses a blend of grain and malt whiskies selected by The Famous Grouse master blender and matured in sherry-seasoned American oak casks and ex-Bourbon casks.

To add to the whisky's rarity, this is the first bottle to have undergone reconditioning by The Macallan Distillery ahead of being presented at auction.Joakim Leijon, global brand director at The Famous Grouse, said: "We wanted to create a blend that allowed people enjoying whisky for the first time to explore a softer, sweeter, flavour profile. The Famous One retains all the brand's complexity and smooth texture, but with the additional honeyed, citrus and vanilla characters, it truly stands out on its own. Softer and more porous, Spanish oak encourages a higher degree of interaction between spirit and cask. The more open grain allows the whisky to travel deeper into the wood, drawing out rich and intense flavours, as well as creating a beautiful and natural colour. After being aged in sherry casks for six decades, just 40 bottles of The Macallan 1926 were bottled in 1986, representing the oldest Macallan vintage ever produced.