Eastern promise
IT burst on to the scene with its blend of Scotch and Japanese whiskies. Now Fusion Whisky is mixing Scotch with Indian whisky for its latest product launch.
Edinburgh-based Fusion said the limited-edition E&K is a blend of Scotch whiskies from Ardmore and Glenrothes distilleries with malt whisky from Amrut Distillery in Bangalore.
It was made to celebrate and the historic ties between India and Scotland and honour the Scot who helped modernise India’s railways and link the cities of Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta and Karachi by rail. Victor Bruce, the ninth Earl of Elgin and 13th Earl of Kincardine, served as viceroy and governor general of India between 1894 and 1899. He is the great grandfather of Adelphi Distillery managing director Alex Bruce, a master blender who created the recipe for the E&K blend.
Around 80 per cent of the E&K will be exported to more than 20 countries. Fusion’s first launch was The Glover, a blend of Scotch and Japanese whiskies inspired by the “Scottish samurai” Thomas Blake Glover who became the first foreigner to receive the Order of the Rising Sun.
Festive filling
CHRISTMAS arrived a little early for Glasgow’s newest distillery this week.
The first whisky cask has been filled with new-make spirit by The Clydeside Distillery, just days after its official opening.
The spirit will be matured for at least three years in American bourbon casks, by which time it can officially be called Scotch whisky.
Looks like we’ll have to go elsewhere for our New Year carry out this Hogmanay, then.
Unresolved
IT looks like a surefire way of saving money: if you plan to scrap a New Year’s resolution, why bother starting one in the first place? Especially when, according to research by TSB, Brits spend an average of £187 on resolutions only to later give then up.
TSB said that one in three people (31 per cent) who resolved to make changes to their lives at the start of 2017 had given up at least half of their resolutions by the end of January. By the end of March that figure had risen to more than four on ten (46 per cent), the bank said.
We don’t think we’ll even try this time. Now pass me that mince pie...
In the best spirit
STILL on whisky (it is Christmas, after all), The Bottom Line doffs its cap to Arbikie, the Scottish “farm to bottle” distiller, which is raising funds for a hugely-deserving medical cause.
Arbikie, based on an Angus estate that has been farmed by the Stirling family for four generations, is raising funds for the Euan Macdonald Foundation for Motor Neurone Disease from sales from one of its experimental pot distilled Scottish rye offerings.
Two versions of rye whisky have been produced – a Scottish version made in accordance with The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009, one in line with the America tradition – and a total of 35 bottles will be released.
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