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Four single casks, four decades and four distilleries within about ten miles of Elgin. The Gordon & MacPhail Anniversary Releases are cask strength Speyside single malts, each named for its year of distillation: 1966 from Longmorn (first-fill sherry butt, 46% ABV, 30 bottles), 1976 from Glen Grant (refill American hogshead, 42% ABV, 50 bottles), 1986 from Miltonduff (refill American hogshead, 46.9% ABV, 50 bottles) and 1996 from Linkwood (refill sherry butt, 50.4% ABV, 100 bottles). The family-owned bottler has built the collection around life’s milestones, from a 30th birthday to a diamond wedding. Prices run from £496 to £6,966, and orders are open now for delivery before Christmas. Gordon & MacPhail has been selecting casks from the distilleries around its Elgin shop since 1895. This collection feels like a quiet reminder of that: no far-flung names, just four Speyside neighbours, each given a vintage that lines up neatly with a round-number celebration in 2026. Four vintages, four milestones The idea is simple and well judged. Each vintage marks an anniversary falling this year, which turns a very old single malt into a very specific gift. The 1966 Longmorn is aimed at a 60th birthday or a diamond wedding. The 1976 Glen Grant fits a 50th or a golden anniversary. The 1986 Miltonduff lines up with a 40th, and Gordon & MacPhail pitches it directly as a ruby wedding bottle. The 1996 Linkwood covers a 30th birthday or a pearl anniversary. Stephen Rankin, Director of Prestige at Gordon & MacPhail, frames it around the moments that shape a life: “Each of these never-to-be-repeated single malt Scotch whisky captures a moment in time.” All four were hand-selected by the Gordon & MacPhail team and bottled at cask strength, with outturns of between 30 and 100 bottles. Gordon & MacPhail Anniversary Releases at a glance | Vintage | Distillery | Cask | ABV | Bottles | Bottled | Milestone in 2026 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1966 | Longmorn | First-fill sherry butt | 46.0% | 30 | 2019 | 60th birthday, diamond wedding | | 1976 | Glen Grant | Refill American hogshead | 42.0% | 50 | 2020 | 50th birthday, golden wedding | | 1986 | Miltonduff | Refill American hogshead | 46.9% | 50 | 2025 | 40th birthday, ruby wedding | | 1996 | Linkwood | Refill sherry butt | 50.4% | 100 | 2026 | 30th birthday, pearl wedding | All four are 70cl single cask Speyside single malts at natural cask strength. The collection is priced from £496 to £6,966. Tasting notes from Gordon & MacPhail We haven’t tasted these yet, so the notes below are Gordon & MacPhail’s own. 1966 from Longmorn Distillery Nose: Sweet fruitcake, brown sugar, sticky prunes, candied citrus peel Palate: Steeped dark fruits, warming spice, liquorice, dried tobacco, oak Finish: Long, with charred oak and a subtle ash note ABV: 46% | Cask type: First-fill sherry butt | Bottles: 30 1976 from Glen Grant Distillery Nose: Seville orange zest, honeysuckle, desiccated coconut Palate: Tropical fruit, baked apple, roasted peanut Finish: Full and long, with lingering floral notes and aniseed ABV: 42% | Cask type: Refill American hogshead | Bottles: 50 1986 from Miltonduff Distillery Nose: Honeycomb, Seville orange, apple, fresh-cut grass Palate: Golden syrup, citrus zest, butterscotch Finish: Medium-bodied, with mixed nuts and pineapple ABV: 46.9% | Cask type: Refill American hogshead | Bottles: 50 1996 from Linkwood Distillery Nose: Beeswax polish, fruitcake, citrus Palate: Seville orange, damson plum, dark chocolate Finish: Full, lingering and nutty ABV: 50.4% | Cask type: Refill sherry butt | Bottles: 100 Why the 1996 Linkwood is the one we’re watching closest We have a real soft spot for Linkwood, and this bottle plays to everything we love about it. Founded in 1821 just outside Elgin, Linkwood has spent most of its life as a blender’s distillery. Official single malt bottlings are rare, which means independent bottlers have done much of the work of showing what the spirit can do on its own. Gordon & MacPhail has bottled Linkwood for generations, and it has a long habit of pairing it with sherry casks. That pairing works because Linkwood’s spirit is clean, fruity and floral. A refill sherry butt adds depth and dried fruit without burying that brightness, and the notes here (beeswax, Seville orange, damson, dark chocolate) read like a textbook example of the balance. It is also the strongest of the four at 50.4%, the youngest at close to 30 years in wood, and by far the most available at 100 bottles. For anyone who has followed Linkwood through Gordon & MacPhail’s Connoisseurs Choice bottlings, this is a chance to see the same partnership at an age and strength you rarely meet. Longmorn, Glen Grant and Miltonduff: the rest of the line-up Longmorn 1966 is the centrepiece. The distillery was founded in 1894 by John Duff a few miles south of Elgin and has long been prized by blenders for its fruit and texture. This cask was filled in February 1966 and spent more than five decades in a first-fill sherry butt, which explains the deep mahogany colour in the bottle and the fruitcake and liquorice in the notes. With 30 bottles, it is the rarest in the collection. Glen Grant 1976 comes from Rothes, where the distillery’s tall, slender stills and purifiers produce a light, fruit-forward spirit. Gordon & MacPhail’s relationship with Glen Grant runs back through many decades of old vintages, so it is no surprise to see it here. The ABV is worth pausing on: 42% at cask strength is what you expect from a refill hogshead after more than four decades, as the strength gently falls year on year. It also means the tropical fruit and honeysuckle arrive undiluted. Miltonduff 1986 is the collection’s quiet surprise. Founded in 1824 just south-west of Elgin, Miltonduff is best known as a heart of Ballantine’s, and single cask bottlings at close to 40 years old don’t come around often. A refill American hogshead keeps the distillery’s honeyed, orchard-fruit character front and centre. The design: a front page for every vintage The packaging deserves its own mention. Each bottle sits beside a textured grey box laid out like a newspaper front page from its year, with the vintage embossed in gold at the centre. The 1966 box carries Star Trek’s premiere and the Beatles’ final live concert. The 1976 box has Concorde’s first commercial flight and Rocky. The 1986 box leads with Greg LeMond’s Tour de France win and Halley’s Comet, while the 1996 box features Braveheart’s Oscar night and Toshiba’s first DVD player. The muted grey lets the gold numerals and the colour of the whisky do the talking, and the fluted decanter catches the difference between the pale gold Glen Grant and the deep red of the Longmorn beautifully. It is a design that suits a gift without shouting about it. Price and availability The Gordon & MacPhail Anniversary Releases are priced from £496 to £6,966. They are available now from specially selected whisky retailers and online at gordonandmacphail.com, with orders open for delivery in time for Christmas. Readers outside the UK should check with Gordon & MacPhail directly or with their local specialist retailer, as allocations this small rarely reach every market. Is it worth it? For the right buyer, yes. These are genuine single casks at natural strength from four respected Speyside distilleries, in outturns where every bottle counts. If you have a 30th, 40th, 50th or 60th to mark this year, it is hard to think of a more personal bottle. The Linkwood is where we would look first: the most bottles, the highest strength, and a distillery and cask style that Gordon & MacPhail knows inside out. The Longmorn is a collector’s piece and priced as one. With 30 to 100 bottles each and a Christmas deadline attached, anyone with a matching anniversary should not wait long. Frequently asked questions What are the Gordon & MacPhail Anniversary Releases? The Gordon & MacPhail Anniversary Releases are four single cask, cask strength Speysid

The Glenturret has unveiled a brand-new whisky, and collectors of special bottles will want to move fast. The Scottish distillery is adding a 20-year-old single malt to its Extremely Scarce Collection. And scarce it is: only 1,700 bottles have been released worldwide. Two even rarer whiskies are also making a return. The new The Glenturret 20 Years Old takes center stage in the Extremely Scarce Collection for 2026. What is the new The Glenturret 20 Years Old whisky? The new 20 Years Old was created from four European oak casks. According to The Glenturret, the whisky shows what a long, carefully curated maturation can do for the spirit’s character. Rather than letting the oak take over, The Glenturret puts the spotlight on tropical fruit and sweet spices. Mature oak, according to the tasting notes, plays more of a supporting role. The distillery has also shared the tasting notes: - Nose: Ripe pineapple and mango, with gentle wood spice, a hint of ginger, and mature oak. - Palate: Tropical fruit takes the lead, complemented by sweet spices and an elegant, warming spice. - Finish: Subtle, fruity, and refined, with tropical fruit lingering softly. The whisky is bottled at 47.6% alcohol by volume (ABV). With just 1,700 bottles, it is decidedly hard to come by. The price per bottle has not been disclosed. Even older The Glenturret returns The Glenturret is also re-releasing its 25 Years Old. Only 210 bottles are available worldwide. Matured in European sherry oak, this whisky brings together dried fruits, ginger cake, vanilla, dark fruits, and wood spices. A step rarer still is The Glenturret 30 Years Old, which is also making a comeback. Only 75 bottles will be released. When will the new The Glenturret whiskies be released? The Extremely Scarce Collection 2026 will be available from September 25 via The Glenturret directly and at the distillery shop in Crieff. True to its name, the 30 Years Old is indeed Extremely Scarce. With only 75 bottles for the entire world, the odds of casually spotting one on a whisky shelf are slim. FAQ - How many bottles of The Glenturret 20 Years Old are there? Worldwide, 1,700 bottles of the new The Glenturret 20 Years Old are being released. - What does The Glenturret 20 Years Old taste like? The whisky has a distinctly fruity character with notes of pineapple and mango, complemented by ginger, sweet spices, and mature oak. - How much does The Glenturret 30 Years Old cost? The Glenturret 30 Years Old costs £2,200 per bottle. Only 75 bottles of this 30-year-old single malt are being released worldwide.

The World’s Most Valuable Single Malt Scotch To Lead Sotheby’s Sale At The Macallan Estate The historic auction marks the first live sale hosted at the Speyside distillery, headlined by a legendary 1926 vintage estimated to fetch up to $2.8 million. High-end spirits collectors will converge on Speyside, Scotland this fall for an unprecedented event in whisky auction history. On October 9, Sotheby’s and The Macallan will host “Live from The Macallan Estate,” the first live auction ever held at the famed Scotch distillery. Drawn almost exclusively from private collections, the sale gathers an extraordinary lineup of rare single malts to celebrate a monumental milestone: the centenary of the distillation of The Macallan 1926. Leading the auction is a bottle of The Macallan Fine and Rare 60 Years Old 1926, widely recognized as the holy grail of Scotch whisky. Distilled in 1926 and aged for six decades in sherry-seasoned oak cask number 263, the legendary barrel produced just 40 bottles upon bottling in 1986. Of these, only 14 received the distinguished Fine and Rare label, while others featured custom artwork by Sir Peter Blake and Valerio Adami. Carrying a presale estimate of approximately $2.2 million to $2.8 million, this bottle is poised to become one of the most expensive spirits ever sold, according to the auction house. This landmark sale marks the first time a 1926 Macallan has come to market since 2023, when Sotheby’s London established the current world record for any bottle of spirits with the $2.7 million sale of The Macallan Adami 1926. Jonny Fowle, Global Head of Whisky and Spirits at Sotheby’s, called the centenary celebration “a landmark moment for the world of whisky collecting,” adding that “bringing exceptional examples of The Macallan together at the Estate, where their story began, offers collectors a truly unique opportunity to engage with one of the most legendary names in spirits.” Jaume Ferras, Creative Director at The Macallan, echoed that sentiment, noting that “welcoming collectors and guests here in Speyside for this landmark sale is a fitting way to celebrate 100 years of the enduring legacy of The Macallan 1926, while reflecting the creativity, craftsmanship, and sense of possibility that continue to shape our future.”

Aberlour is unveiling two brand-new whiskies for lovers of mature single malts: a 21 Year Old and a 25 Year Old. They immediately become the oldest whiskies Aberlour has ever added permanently to its range. Both whiskies roll out from September 2026, making their debut at Whisky Live Paris. That said, “permanent” doesn’t mean unlimited availability. Aberlour will release the single malts annually in small batches, with the Aberlour 25 Year Old in particular being highly limited. But what are these whiskies actually like? Aberlour 21 Year Old matured in two types of casks For the new Aberlour 21 Year Old, the distillery returns to something it’s famed for: maturation in two different cask styles. This single malt spent over two decades in a combination of American oak and sherry casks, making it one of the oldest permanent expressions in the distillery’s core range. Tasting notes for Aberlour 21 Year Old: - Nose: Juicy cherries, spiced baked apple, sticky dates, toffee sauce, chocolate ganache, and candied ginger. - Palate: Fresh cranberry, blood orange, dark chocolate honeycomb and treacle tart, with generous notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. - Finish: Complex and rich, with lingering spicy tones. The whisky is bottled at 48% alcohol by volume (ABV). The Aberlour 25 Year Old will be seriously scarce The distillery’s oldest permanent release now stands at a quarter of a century. The new Aberlour 25 Year Old is composed differently and will appear in far smaller numbers. Aberlour uses a small number of hand-selected casks, including a first-fill sherry hogshead. The whisky is then bottled at cask strength. Here are the tasting notes for the Aberlour 25 Year Old: - Nose: Juicy orange, peaches in syrup, red liquorice, rich butterscotch, marzipan, cinnamon sticks, and sweet toasted oak. - Palate: Fresh apricot, candied cherries, ripe red plums and vanilla ice cream, followed by fresh ginger and a subtle hint of cardamom. - Finish: Very fruity and sweet, with a playful spicy character. The ABV of this whisky has not been disclosed. Available from September These two new whiskies arrive at a special moment for Aberlour. Founded in 1879 by James Fleming, the distillery is introducing these older bottlings as the brand approaches its 150th anniversary. Aberlour 21 Year Old and Aberlour 25 Year Old will be available from this month at selected retailers worldwide. Pricing for both bottles has not been revealed. FAQ - How old are Aberlour’s new whiskies? Aberlour is introducing a new 21 Year Old and 25 Year Old. They are the oldest permanent expressions the brand has released to date. - What casks are used for Aberlour 21 Year Old? The 21 Year Old matures for more than two decades in a combination of American oak and sherry casks and is bottled at 48% ABV. - What’s special about the Aberlour 25 Year Old? The 25 Year Old is crafted from a small number of carefully selected casks, including a first-fill sherry hogshead. The whisky is also bottled at cask strength and without chill filtration.

GlenWyvis Distillery to call in administrators By Joe RogersCommunity-owned Scotch whisky distillery GlenWyvis is set to appoint administrators after failing to secure funding to continue trading. A spokesperson for GlenWyvis in Fife said the distillery’s management committee filed a Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators (NOIA) at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on 23 September 2026. The move follows what is described as ‘a prolonged period of substantive commercial, operational and legal issues on the business, driven by challenging conditions across the whisky market, rising operating costs and sustained external pressures’. The Spirits Business understands that members of the society were informed ahead of this announcement, and that private cask owners will be contacted following the appointment of administrators. Dr Jock Ramsay, chairman of GlenWyvis Distillery, said: “This is a very sad day for all of us associated with GlenWyvis Distillery. For 10 years this distillery has been owned by its community and sustained by the extraordinary support of its members, volunteers and staff and the team explored every available option to secure its future. “Our focus now is on working with the proposed joint administrators to achieve the best possible outcome for our members, creditors and the wider community, and we will keep our members informed at every stage.” GlenWyvis launched as a not-for-profit community benefit society in 2016 and began distilling in 2018 following a successful community share offering. The filing of an NOIA does not mean administrators have yet been officially appointed, but does ensure creditors are unable to initiate legal recovery actions against the firm for a period of 10 business days. Alistair McAlinden and Geoff Jacobs, of London-based business management consultancy Interpath Advisory, have been nominated as joint administrators. Pauline Smith, chief executive at the Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS), said: “This is genuinely sad news. GlenWyvis brought thousands of people together to build and own a distillery, and that achievement should not be lost in today’s news. The difficulties the society has faced do not diminish what community ownership can make possible. “GlenWyvis was a pioneer – built and owned by thousands of people who believed in what a community could achieve together. Its volunteer directors have faced an exceptionally difficult trading environment across the whisky industry, alongside the sustained burden of defending a series of legal proceedings. “The society has repeatedly defended itself successfully, but doing so has inevitably consumed time, money and energy that a community business governed by a volunteer board could ill afford. They deserve great credit for how they have conducted themselves throughout, and DTAS will continue to stand with the society and its members through whatever comes next.” The rise and fall of GlenWyvis Dingwall-based GlenWyvis was established in 2015 by John McKenzie, a former Army Air Corps helicopter pilot. In July 2016, the project successfully secured £2.5 million (US$3.31m) in funding, representing investment from 2,443 community shareholders. It was described at the time as the ‘first’ community-owned distillery in the world. It planned to produce both single malt Scotch whisky and gin using entirely renewable energy. The project offered more shares in July 2017 and later that year launched a Crowdfunder campaign to secure funds to build a new visitor experience at the site. The first single malt from Glenwyvis was released in late 2021. In February 2026, the distillery’s management committee successfully raised £500,000 (US$683,000) from Scottish social investment fund Catalyst to develop the distillery’s production capabilities and create new jobs. But by August, the committee had paused production at GlenWyivs and warned of a “serious situation facing the distillery”, stating it urgently needed to find funding to secure the company’s future. A statement issued at the time said: “Member funds, grants and loans have supported the distillery since its inception 10 years ago, but these are no longer sufficient to sustain operations for the longer term.” It continued: “We are exploring all viable options with our professional advisers, including external investment and, where appropriate, discussions with potential interested parties. If new investment cannot be secured, we may need to consider alternative arrangements for the distillery’s future.” Glenwyvis has faced financial difficulties, such as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, a fire in the stores of wood chips for its biomass boiler, and an ongoing legal battle with its founder. “The members have spoken, they in fact spoke some time ago by voting through their lack of support for the leadership and poor business planning/decision making by the management committee of GlenWyvis Distillery,” McKenzie told The Spirits Business today (25 September). “It would appear the committee are now being forcibly removed after burning through vast amounts of members’ and public money when documented alternatives were presented as long ago as 2022. Local community leaders and myself can now work on a rescue plan alongside working with Interpath.” McKenzie, who owns the land on which the distillery is located, resigned as managing director of GlenWyvis in 2019. He was removed from the community benefit society following a sheriff court judgement. Related news GlenWyvis in dire need of funding to save distillery

English whisky row highlights 'threat' to scotch A cross-border row has erupted over the definition of single malt whisky after the English version of the drink received protected geographical indication (GI). Under the UK government's classification confirmed this month, English single malt must be made from UK-grown cereal grain and English water. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said the rules are too lenient and '"jeopardise" producers in Scotland who "have spent tens of millions of pounds" to meet stricter requirements to produce malts on single sites. But Paul Abbott, of Grasmere Distillery in Cumbria, said the SWA's "nit-picking objections" showed "they obviously feel English whisky is a meaningful threat to them commercially". GI ties a product's name to a place and specific production methods. But while Scotch single malt requires mashing, fermentation and distillation to happen at one distillery, only the distillation stage of English single malt production needs to happen at one site. The SWA said: "We are profoundly concerned by this decision. "We do not oppose the principle of an English whisky GI, and indeed have helped in its initial drafting. "But the text as approved undermines the established definition of single malt, creates confusion for consumers and jeopardises the category which the Scotch whisky industry established and built the reputation of around the world. "This is about a level playing field, pure and simple." There are more than 70 whisky distilleries operating in England and Andrew Kaye, who sells a range of both countries' whisky in his shop in Pooley Bridge near Ullswater, said: "It's definitely been a growing market over the past five years." He said the English drink's new protected status benefits producers both sides of the border because it creates points of difference between each product. Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron said GI would lift the profile of English single malt but the product was too good to be held to a "lower standard". "It would give our friends and neighbours in the rest of the British Isles a stick to beat us with on the marketing front and I don't want to give them that, as much as I'm a fan of scotch whisky," he said. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said there was no statutory UK-wide definition of single malt and each nation had its own traditions and practices. Abbott agreed with the traditional method of producing whisky entirely on one site and does so at his Grasmere distillery, but believed the SWA had given English whisky a boost. He said: "I've had people comment they didn't know there was much whisky made in England until there was a big 'hoo-ha' with the criticism from the SWA. "In a sense we should all be sending them our thank yous for highlighting to the general public that this is an exciting new category of drinks." The SWA said: "Following discussions with Defra, we are considering our position and next steps." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram and listen to Radio Cumbria on BBC Sounds.

There’s a question that’s long been an internet meme among various movie fandoms — who is your favourite Chris? The Captain America fans say Evans, the Guardians of the Galaxy fans say Pratt, and the Trekkies say Pine. Well for the whisky enthusiasts, the answer is now very clear — Hemsworth. After rising to fame for his multi-year stint in the Australian soap Home and Away, Hemsworth shot to global stardom for his role as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This stint in the MCU has led him to starring in two of the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time, and there’s no doubt his upcoming Avengers: Doomsday in December is going to give many on that list a run for their money. But now, the next venture for the Aussie superstar couldn’t be further away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Archie Rose Distilling Co have announced that the actor has joined as a co-owner, alongside founder Will Edwards. Archie Rose was founded in 2014 by Edwards, after he left a corporate job and opted to travel in search of an answer to a very important question: why weren’t there more distilleries in Australia, specifically in the cities, and could one be established? Since its inception 12 years ago, Archie Rose has become one of the most reliable names in Australian whisky. For historical reference, while Archie Rose’s foundation was underway, Hemsworth was filming Avengers: Age of Ultron. “I’ve been a fan of Archie Rose for a long time,” says Hemsworth. “Wherever I am in the world, tasting an Archie Rose whisky immediately transports me right back home, to that feeling of sitting around a campfire in the Australian bush with my mates.” Hemsworth’s co-ownership comes as the distillery looks to roll out a global expansion. The first will be an expansion into the US market at the end of 2026, before a rollout continues in 2027 with both EU and UK markets. This marks a significant step for the Australian brand to become a globally recognised staple of the country. Speaking to Marie-Ève Venne for Whisky Magazine in 2022, Edwards mentioned the importance of the “understanding of the relationship between grower and land.” Since then, the brand has continued to be best known locally for its support of its community. The distillery has partnered with local growers to source heirloom and drought-resistant grain varieties for its whiskies. Made exclusively using own-grown malts, this is something that stood out for Hemsworth, who says, “Their ethos of only using Australian-grown malts to produce flavour-packed whiskies at their Sydney distillery is truly awesome. They’re a brilliant example of what Australia does best.” “Our approach has always been about championing local ingredients to create spirits that taste truly Australian,” says Edwards. “Having Chris join the business as a co-owner allows us to bring that ambition to the world. We aren’t just making spirits; we are using Australia’s raw materials and ingenuity as the base for producing the world’s best whisky, gin, and other spirits, telling the stories of the growers and the land beneath them.” It’s no surprise to see Hemsworth so closely involved with a distillery which has put environmentalism and local ethos at the centre of its story. Along with his wife Elsa Pataky, Hemsworth has supported Oceana, a charity working to protect marine life and support sustainable seafood resource. He has also served as brand ambassador for Corona and Parley for the Oceans and is currently a cultural advisory board member for Colossal Biosciences, which works on genetic technologies finding ways for ecosystem restoration. There are many more to name, such is the size and scope of Hemsworth’s activism efforts and contributions to many different causes and campaigns. In June 2026, Archie Rose was officially B Corp certified. B Corp certification recognises businesses that meet high standards for how they treat people, communities, and the environment. Certified companies are assessed on their social and environmental impact, as well as their transparency and accountability. It shows that a business is committed to creating positive change alongside making a profit. Behind the international expansion is creation of three new whisky expressions, with Hemsworth closely involved. “Working alongside Chris on this range has been an incredibly collaborative journey,” explains Edwards. “As a long-time fan of our spirits, we’ve worked with Chris to co-create three truly Australian whiskies — from shaping the brand identity and packaging to developing the creative assets and campaign work.” While Archie Rose is keeping its cards close to its chest for now, there is definitely an air of excitement for the introduction of these whiskies in October. Their release will also make a significant statement: that Hemsworth’s involvement is not all about image, but instead involves a lot of collaboration and creation. Regarding the liquid itself, Edward says, “Our goal remains to showcase the breadth, quality, and distinctive character of Australia’s raw ingredients alongside the innovation and ingenuity of our Sydney distillery. The production process continues to be proudly led by our award-winning team under master distiller Dave Withers, and we can’t wait to introduce these three distinct whiskies to the world this October.” The new releases will no doubt be the latest in a long line of acclaimed whiskies since Archie Rose’s inception, but there’s no denying the addition of Hemsworth’s involvement has created even more buzz and excitement. In 2020, the brand took home the highly coveted honour of World’s Best Rye for its signature Rye Malt Whisky. Speaking at the time, Edwards said that “we’re honestly blown away by the result”. The World Whiskies Awards have continued to be a source of success for Archie Rose, with the most recent success coming at the 2026 awards as a category winner for its Blended Malt. Hemsworth may be best known for playing one of fiction’s most iconic mythical characters in one of the biggest fantasy film franchises of all time, but his latest venture represents something much more grounded. While being one of the biggest film stars of the last 20 years, the time has come to bring Archie Rose into the global spotlight as the next big A-lister.