Ballantine's Christmas Reserve

Hunting a gift for a whisky lover never presents the challenge it does for any other recipient, and the holiday season makes for a great time to bring your friends and family a bottle of the good stuff. Ballantine's, however, is taking it a step further with its new Christmas Reserve.

The special blend packs yuletide aromas such as sweet wood, dried fruit and cinnamon, and comes in a special bottle and white box with a snowflake motif. Ballantine's Christmas Reserve hits European markets this month, and is slated to become a seasonal offering for years to come.

Highland Park Announces the World's Oldest Island Single Malt

Just what we needed: another reason to love Highland Park, and another way to spend our children's college funds on the much-lauded Orcadian single malt. This time Scotland's most northerly distillery has released what is being billed as the oldest island single malt ever produced. And at 50 years old, we have no reason to doubt it.

Distilled in 1960, Highland Park 50 is vatted from five refill oak casks and bottled at 44.8% ABV. The result is a rich mahogany color, with a tobacco nose and a rich and spicy flavor. The distillery contracted Scottish jeweler Maeve Gillies to design the bottle, which features an Orkney sandstone amulet set into the intricate sterling silver laid out in a design evocative of the famous rose window of the St Magnus Cathedral.

Sadly only 275 bottles will be produced, available initially exclusively at Harrods department store in London, after which it will be offered through other retailers. But don't go looking for a bottle at your local retailer, as the £10,000 MSRP is sure to keep out the riff-raff.

The New Black Grouse Whisky from Famous Grouse

Just in time for the fall season, The Famous Grouse is coming out with a great new blended Scotch whisky with plenty of peat smoke in it, a welcome antidote to those weedy, watery blends we're usually beset with.

Deriving its name from the rare bird, Black Grouse is meant to be "the darker side of The Famous Grouse," the well-loved whisky that holds a Royal Warrant from the Queen of England.

The new bottling is a blend of Famous Grouse, which contains Macallan and Highland Park, married with some peaty, smoky Islay malts in oak casks, making for a rich, smooth spirit with plenty of character.

To celebrate the launch, Tinika Green and Andrew Duncan of New York's gourmet barbecue joint Blue Smoke have created a special cocktail dubbed the Black and Blue, which has been added to the eatery's drink menu for the season.

"The Black Grouse's flavor profile pairs well with the hints of sweetness in different barbecue rubs and sauces," notes Jason Krantz, Blue Smoke's Chef de Cuisine. "As we head into the fall, the smoky flavor combination of The Black Grouse and succulent barbecue will really warm the soul."

Check out the drink recipe and image after the jump, but be sure to try the whisky, which is priced at $28.99 for a 750ml bottle, with just a little ice or water as well for the full effect.

The Black and Blue - courtesy Blue Smoke, NYC

2 oz. The Black Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky
½ oz. calvados (apple brandy)
½ oz. amaretto
¼ oz. hazelnut liqueur

Combine all ingredients with ice and stir. Rinse cocktail glass with hazelnut liqueur. Strain cocktail into rinsed cocktail glass and garnish with orange twist.