THE Glenmorangie Company has unveiled a groundbreaking new whisky called Artein, the Gaelic word for ‘stone.’

The unique whisky is created from 15 and 21 year old Glenmorangie single malt whisky that has been extra matured in Italian ‘Super Tuscan’ wine casks, from the Tuscan hills.

Glenmorangie Artein is the third in the company’s award-winning one-release-a-year Private Edition range, already comprising Sonnalta PX and Finealta.

Sonnalta PX – which means generous in Gaelic – was hailed by world-leading whisky aficionado Jim Murray as "a mesmeric whisky," scoring 96.5/100 in 2012’s Jim Murray Whisky Bible.

Glenmorangie Artein is inspired by the stone from its own Highland water source – the Tarlogie Springs near its Tain distillery – which slowly adds minerals to give the whisky its complex and fruity aromas. It is described by the company’s renowned Head of Distilling and Whisky Creation Dr Bill Lumsden as a bouquet of ripe red berries, honeysuckle and fresh mint.

On the palate, sun-soaked baked fruits are said to come through before a lingering finish of zesty, lemon sherbet and a flourish of creamy cappuccino.

Dr Bill Lumsden is regarded as a pioneer in whisky extra maturation and said he felt a strong affinity with the innovative wine producers of Tuscany.

He explained: "Wine is one of my huge passions and I was fascinated by the role stony ground played in cultivating the vines – therefore influencing the flavour profile of the famous ‘Super-Tuscan’ wines.

"I was inspired to experiment with extra-maturing Glenmorangie in these wine casks and was thrilled with the result – a rich, outstandingly fragrant whisky – born of stone. Our previous Private Editions have won several awards and we have high hopes that this one will follow suit."

The Tuscan vineyards are built on stony foundations, which force the vines to delve deep into the soil for nourishment, so the grapes claim intense flavour from this unique terroir – hence the name ‘Super Tuscan.’ Super Tuscans are an unofficial category of wines, not recognised within the Italian wine classification system.

Bottled at a strength of 46 per cent ABV, Glenmorangie Artein costs £69.99 and will be available at specialist whisky shops in Scotland and globally from January 2012.

BenRiach’s 17-year-old Septendecim is the company's newest addition to its celebrated peated range and will be available worldwide later this month.

The new whisky has been matured only in ex-bourbon casks and continues BenRiach’s quirky trend of using Latin names – such as Authenticus, Curiositas and Heredotus Fumosus - for its richly-peated expressions.

The tasting notes confirm Septendecim – Latin for “seventeen” - is a magnificent, multi-layered malt with fantastic length. The colour is rich summer gold with a freshly harvested barley impression.

On the nose, it’s full of energy and vibrancy - a complex mix of fresh peaty aromas constructed around a central core of apples and toasted nuts dowsed in wild mountain honey.

And on the palate, it gives sweet concentrated peat flavours which dominate from the start. Bold and intense, the peaty heart is united with honey-infused raisins, roasted nuts and a luxurious leather impression.

Sales director Alistair Walker said: “Septendecim is a real robust heavyweight, full-bodied and beautifully balanced with enormous impact.

“It’s another fine example of our distillery going back to its 19-century roots - a time when, unlike today,  the majority of Speyside distilleries were producing peated whiskies.”

Peated malt whisky production only represents approximately six weeks’ worth of the annual production at BenRiach, but the peated whiskies have become an important part of the distillery’s product portfolio as they offer something unexpected from the Speyside region.

Septendecim is non chill-filtered and bottled at natural colour, with a strength of 46% vol. Unlike the recently-launched BenRiach Solstice, the Septendecim is not a limited release and should be continually available for years to come.

New Black Grouse Alpha Edition hopes to ruffle a few feathers.

The Famous Grouse has today unveiled The Black Grouse - Alpha Edition, a new blended Scotch whisky. It is a richer, smokier expression of the award winning Scotch whisky – The Black Grouse.

The Alpha Edition will be launched early next year and will be available exclusively for the first six months in travel retail.

The Alpha Edition is a whisky that truly stands out from the crowd. The black grouse is a rare and charismatic bird celebrated by this special bottling. During the mating season the black grouse demonstrates both flamboyance and machismo to establish himself as the alpha male. These two sides of his character inspired Alpha Edition, a perfectly balanced and rare blend that is flamboyantly rich at first taste, before delivering a powerful smoky finish.

The Black Grouse, with its rich, sweet and gently smoky characteristics, was launched to wide acclaim in October 2007. The aim of this new blend is to build on this success and deliver a whisky for consumers who enjoy an even richer, smokier taste.

The Alpha edition is created by blending a greater concentration of aged, peaty malt whiskies, to achieve a fuller, richer whisky. Presented in a stunning pack, it showcases a male black grouse in full display during the mating season as he embarks on his mission to become the alpha male.

According to Helen Potter, Innovations Manager for The Famous Grouse: “This is a brilliant example of the art of blending to create a true balance of flavours. On first taste it is rich and sweet, before layers of smoke reveal themselves. We believe we have created something truly special which will appeal to Scotch whisky, bourbon and rum spirit drinkers keen to explore a richer, fuller version of The Black Grouse.”

The Black Grouse - Alpha Edition carries a recommended travel retail price of 33 euros and represents the latest innovative addition to The Famous Grouse range alongside The Snow Grouse and The Naked Grouse.

Steven Sleigh, Area Director Global Travel Retail for The Edrington Group, owners of The Famous Grouse brand, said: “Travel retail has been chosen as the launch pad for The Black Grouse – Alpha Edition following the tremendous success of other product launches led by this channel.”

Glen Williams, Managing Director Maxxium Travel Retail, responded: "European travel retail is the perfect environment for a launch of this new edition to The Famous Grouse range. The channel is ideal for attracting travellers who are looking for innovation and new variants of their favourite products."