Head of Marketing Wanted + Win a Bottle of Blended Whisky #1 35yo

If you like how we roll and think you have what it takes to develop a world-class marketing team and to develop and deliver the marketing strategy of all marketing strategies, then we should talk about you doing just that. For us...

...in this case, ‘us’ being Atom Group. Atom Group is our parent group, and is also baby daddy to some rather splendid brands out there, including Master of Malt, Maverick Drinks, Ableforth’s (he of Bathtub Gin and Rumbullion!), Drinks by the Dram, and The Blended Whisky Company (to name but a few - Atom Group has sown many wild oats).

The Head of Marketing is ultimately responsible for marketing across the entire family, and so this role is incredibly diverse; including everything from ecommerce and digital marketing, to events planning and branding.

For more information about the role, please check out this here Head of Marketing job ad.

As a lovely little bonus, if you can prove that you were the one to tip off our successful candidate by sticking this post under their nose, then we’ll sort you out with a bottle of Blended Whisky #1 35 Year Old by way of thanks.

Tea for two? No, it’s our first two of 2017 for you

With 2017 well underway, it’s time to get the Boutique-y bottling plant restarted and announce our first releases of the year.

First up, a 15 Year Old, and our second batch from this secret Highland distillery. Do you remember discovering Secret Distillery #2 from 2016? Well we’ve extracted another secret from them; a 15 year old single malt secret. The sixteen terrifying ‘swan men’ are back (some say they’re from Spain, but we’re not so sure) but why are we looking through rose tinted glasses at them, and why are they looking back at us with those googly eyes? What we can tell you about this mysterious malt is that with it’s pinkish ruddy hue, and rich and spicy nose, there are notes of cinnamon buns, rich Dundee marmalade and hints of nutmeg. Oh, and there are just 124 bottles available at 51% abv.

The second new release is our fourth batch from the Glen Keith Distillery and the first carrying an age statement. This 24 Year Old has been bottled at 49.7% abv and there are just 335 bottles. The label features the lads from The Edinburgh Whisky Blog in front of the castle, but can you spot the difference between this label and batch 3? (apart from the batch number, age statement, and abv of course - nobody likes a smartass!)

Glen Keith is not often seen as a single malt being reserved for the blending industry, so this 24 Year Old is something of a rarity and has those delicate light notes that blenders favour from this distillery. With notes of fragrant barley, dried grasses and toasted coriander seeds.

These delicious delights are available from fine retailers now. Off-trade/on-trade enquiries should be directed to our UK distributor, Maverick Drinks.

A CLOSER LOOK AT... THE ENGLISH WHISKY CO.

The English Whisky Company led the new wave of English whisky makers when they released the first English single malt for more than a hundred years in 2009. There are around 3,000 casks maturing in their Norfolk warehouses today with fantastic bottlings such as our 5 year old available to enjoy!

This week we’re taking a closer look at the The English Whisky Company. Why, I hear you ask? Well, they turned 10 years old on 12th December and we forgot to wish them a very Happy Birthday! The distillery was the first to produce whisky in England for over 100 years, but what else do you know about them?

About the Distillery
Founder James Nelstrop always had an interest in whisky, but it wasn’t until he turned 60 that he and his son, Andrew decided to pursue his dream.

Some of the best barley is grown in Norfolk, and the Breckland water is superb. After a great deal of research a planning application was submitted and approval was granted in January 2006. The initial plan was for a micro distillery, but the story told is that customs and excise wouldn’t consider anything smaller than 1800 litre stills 

Renowned ex-Laphroaig distiller, Iain Henderson was talked out of retirement and helped the new distillery to get going. In December 2006 the first 29 barrels were filled with new make spirit, and three years later, at the end of 2009, the first English whisky in over a century was released.The distillery was opened to the public in 2008, with a visitor centre, a very well appointed whisky shop and tours. 

Before Iain finally retired, he spent four months training ex-Greene King brewer David Fitt the fine art of distilling whisky. David has been the chief whisky maker since 2008 and as well as overseeing all the production, also ensures the maturation and bottling run smoothly.

Production Capacity
There is just one pair of stills and they have a capacity of producing over 100,000 litres of pure alcohol per year, although they haven’t reached this just yet, with 2016’s total reaching 50,000 litres. Sixty percent of the production is unpeated, the remainder peated. They are expecting to produce a little more through 2017. 

There are currently 3,000 casks maturing on site, and all of the ex-bourbon casks come from Jim Beam, but they also have a rolling program of cask trials, with es Sherry and Rum casks being used for some of their limited releases. 

Did you know
This English Whisky Company’s distillery is named St. George’s and their logo depicts a heavily armoured St George drawing his sword in readiness to slay the evil dragon

English whisky is batch made by hand, there’s no computerised equipment. Even the bottling is done by hand, one bottle at a time.

There’ll be a new visitor centre reception built through 2017, increasing the restaurant facilities and relocating the shop

About the Bottling
Our first batch from The English Whisky Company is bottled as a five year old. Yielding just 964 bottles, of natural cask colour, non-chill filtered at 49.5% abv, and it’s available from fine retailers now for around £40.

The label depicts a rare, and early POV shot of George’s encounter with the dragon, the camera was obviously strapped to George’s head before putting his helmet on. Was it really a maiden he was saving, or was it that case of golden Boutique-y whisky he was after?  

Tasting notes
Nose: Smoky with complex notes of caramel, citrus and hints of Buttercup syrup.
Palate: Sweet pastries and more of the sooty peat from the nose with butterscotch beneath the surface.
Finish: Drying, smoky, sweet malt.

Off-trade/on-trade enquiries should be directed to our UK distributor, Maverick Drinks.