Springbank Society Newsletter Part 2

Poor Ranald didn’t get a chance to put his contribution into the newsletter, and we don’t wish to offend him, so he’s getting one all to himself (well nearly).

Out and about

Ranald is going to have a very busy few weeks with lots of whisky fairs and tastings around the world. He will be at the Stockholm Beer and Whisky Festival on the weekends of September 17th-19th and 24th-26th, and in between those dates he will be holding tastings for whisky clubs around Sweden. Ranald will be in Soderkoping on Sunday 20th September, Kalmar on the 21st, Helsingborg on the 22nd and Malmo on the 23rd.
He’ll then have a few days at home to recover before heading to America for a week of tastings in Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles before attending Whisky Fest San Francisco on Friday 16th October.
Then it’ll be off to Milan in Italy for the Milano Whisky Festival at the end of October and back to the USA for some work on the East Coast around Whisky Fest New York on Tuesday 10th November.
If you would like more information on any of these forthcoming events just get in touch and we’ll give you any information that we can.

Next Society Bottle

For those members who go onto the Forum you will have seen that we are having a wee “tasting panel” to give some members a chance to make a contribution to the chosing of the next cask for the Society bottle.   The panel has been chosen – it was the first 20 Society members who posted a reply on the Forum, and very quick you had to be to be amongst the first 20.

We plan on doing things like this on a regular basis, so, as well as getting a newsletter, there will be features in the Forum for members to get involved in.

If you are not a regular visitor to the Forum, and would like to be involved in future happenings, get yourself on at www.springbankwhisky.com and join in.   You never know you might be lucky to get on the next panel.

Slainte

Janet
for Springbank Society

To join the Springbank Society please contact Janet at society@springbankwhisky.com
*********************************************************
J & A Mitchell and Co Ltd, The Tasting Room, 9 Bolgam Street, Campbeltown, Argyll, PA28 6HZ
Registered in Scotland, registration number 3582
Tel :   + 44(0) 1586 552009   Fax :  + 44(0) 1586 553232  website  http://www.springbankwhisky.com

GlenDronach malt whisky is set to benefit from a major £7m investment this autumn.
 
It’s part of the strategy by the owners of the Aberdeenshire distillery to restore the malt to its former glory and accelerate its growth in new markets worldwide.
 
Forty years ago, GlenDronach was amongst the top five most popular malts in the world. Now a £5m investment in sherry casks over the next four years and a further £2m on brand promotion and extra staff will boost the sleeping giant, says MD Billy Walker.
 
“In recent years, GlenDronach has fallen out of view but it has maintained a kind of cult status. This new investment returns it to centre-stage.
 
“It’s testament to our ambitions as a small, niche distiller. We are making sure the whisky coming through is of the highest quality and the new sherry casks will be at the heart of maturation, imbuing the whisky with its distinctively sweet, fragrant and fruity taste.”
 
When Mr Walker and his associates bought GlenDronach last year, there were less than 20,000 bottles sold worldwide. This year, having added a number of new expressions like the 15 and 18 year-old, GlenDronach will sell around 150,000 bottles. By 2014, the aim is to sell some 250,000 bottles.
 
The company currently employs thirty people and is now looking for a further five.
 
Mr Walker added: “We’re pursuing our dream – to sell fine malt whisky all over the world and put GlenDronach back where it belongs.”
 
Pic shows GlenDronach’s Regional Sales Director Alistair Walker.
 
ends                                       11 September 2009
 
INFORMATION – Alistair Walker, 01324 682220 http://www.glendronachdistillery.com/

We have a unique dinner planned for Tuesday October 13th at Beyond Restaurant with Chef George Koay and Chef Lynda Larouche ( formally from Watermark on Kits beach) preparing a 6 course dinner.  Paired up with this culinary delight are four single malt scotch whiskies – private bottlings that you will only be able to taste here.  ( will take orders if anyone wishes to purchase some when they officially arrive in November)   

The Evening selections

Appetizer
 
Longmore 12 year  – 46% Cooper Choice bottling, 120 bottles available in Canada

Organic strawberry tomato fondue,

Potato bacon prawn croquette

Mortlach  18 years – 46% Coopers Choice bottling,  sherry Butt cask, 120 bottles available ( $125)

Pacific Sablefish filet

Dungeness crab au jus

Palate cleanser

Lapharoig – 10 yr old,  46% Coopers Choice Refill cask , 120 bottles available ( $98)

Fallow venesion  Bourguignon

Organic parsnip, carrots, pearl onion,

Shaved blue cheese

Ileach  Cask Strength, 58%, placed 2nd in the world out of 3840 single malts , 97 rating, $125)

Blue cheese crème brulee

Dark chocolate petit four

White chocolate macarron fresh rasberries

Whip cream

Date:    Tuesday October 14th, Beyond Restaurant, Century Plaza Hotel, 1015 Burrard Street, Vancouver ( lots of parking around the area)

Reservations:  Please  email me of call 604- 687-0575  for reservations!

Cost: Members – $ 55             Non Members –  $65

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Special thanks to:   Chefs  Lynda Larouche  and George Koay and the staff at Beyond Restaurant.   The single malts will be supplied by VonAlbrecht & Associates.  See you there

Slainte

Marcus VonAlbrecht

Email: mava@telus.net

http://www.thequaich.com/

Federal Wine & Spirits 
September 9, 2009  
 
Malts We Loved
Classic Islay 21 Y.O. 46% Un-chill-filtered

A few years ago people started to talk to me about a new release from an un-named Islay distillery. It was not available in Massachusetts,. The buzz was so strong that when I went to a Whiskyfest in Chicago I had to pick up a bottle. It was as good as people said. The nose was soft, seductive and intriguing. The palate was velvety and brought me straight to Islay, glorious harmony with the malted barley, sea air, a touch of iodine. It had only just begun. Then to a crofter’s cottage in front the peat fire,when the peat starts slow and gets bigger and bigger but stays tame and alluring, never overbearing, with the smoke coming like soft mist to dovetail with the peat at the back of the palate.The finish: soft, warming, lingering. It was simply brilliant. I still remember the first time I tasted it !!
At the beginning of October we are getting the last of the stock of what I think is a classic bottling of pure Islay. The word is that it is a rare bottling of Lagavulin, rare because the distillery is so small and demand so great that almost none gets out to independent bottlers.
My palate says that too, from a classic bourbon cask. I tried the last of my precious bottle against a Lagavulin 21 Y.O. Cask Strength distillery bottling and I preferred the Classic Islay. I feel 100% certain what this is. Even if I am wrong, it is an amazing whisky not to be missed, one of the year’s best Islays in both taste and value. This will be a one-time, the only opportunity to get it. You will never have this chance again.

Pre Arrival price $140.00 – Reg Price $189.99
Arrival late September or early October.

Please pass this on to any friends who are scotch enthusiasts.

Joe Howell
Federal Wine & Spirits

——————————————————————————–

Email: joe@federalwine.com
Phone: 617-367-8605
Web: http://www.federalwine.com/  
 

A new event added to the schedule:

Fred Noe (Master Distiller Jim Beam) has just been added to the schedule at Liquor World of Bardstown during the 2009 Kentucky Bourbon Festival. He will be hosting a bottle signing on Tuesday, Sept. 15th from 4 to 5 P.M. Also, a new tasting has been added to their schedule. They will be tasting Jim Beam’s new Red Stag on Saturday Sept. 19th from 3 to 5 P.M. It is completely free to attend both events.

Liquor World of Bardstown will be hosting a number of bourbon tastings and bottle signings during the 2009 Kentucky Bourbon Festival (Sept 15th through Sept. 20th 2009). They are all absolutely free to attend, sample the great bourbons, and meet many of the industry’s master distillers. Hanging out and mingling with other bourbon and whisky enthusiasts is strictly encouraged.

Craig Beam (Master Distiller Heaven Hill) will be tasting the new Evan Williams Honey Reserve, Henry McKenna Single Barrel, and Evan Williams 1783 on Wednesday, Sept. 16th from 3 to 5P.M., as well as signing bottles.

Thursday Sept. 17th is a full schedule of tastings and signings:

Levick Distillery (KY Walker, Boone County, Prestige Bourbon) will be hosting a bourbon tasting from 2 to 3P.M.

Jim Rutledge (Master Distiller Four Roses) will be hosting a tasting and bottle signing from 3:30 to 5 P.M. Jim will be celebrating the release of this year’s Four Roses Marriage, as well as Liquor World Of Bardstown’s Private Bottling of Four Roses Uncut.

Greg Davis (Master Distiller Barton) will be tasting Ridgemont Reserve 1792 and signing bottles from 4 to 5 P.M.

Julian Van Winkle (Pappy Van Winkle) will be signing bottles from 5 to 6P.M.

Parker Beam (Master Distiller Heaven Hill) will be signing bottles and tasting Evan Williams Single Barrel and Elijah Craig from 6 to 7 P.M. Parker will also be celebrating his birthday.

Friday, Sept. 18th

Chris Morris (Woodford Reserve Master Distiller) will be on hand to sign bottles and host a sampling of Woodford Reserve from 3:30 to 5:30 P.M.

Don Outterson (Owner / Distiller Woodstone Creek) will immediately follow Chris Morris in hosting a tasting of his unique bourbon as well as signing bottles from 5 to 7 P.M. Don will be helping Liquor World celebrate the release of Woodstone Creek Barrel #1, which was previously only sold at the distillery, and will now be sold exclusively at Liquor World of Bardstown.

Drew Kulsveen (Owner Kentucky Bourbon Distillers) whose small distillery produces many great bourbons (Old Bardstown, Rowan’s Creek, Noah’s Mill, Willett, Johnny Drum, and the Vintage Bourbon line) will be hosting a bourbon tasting and bottle signing on Sunday, Sept. 20th. from 1 to 2 P.M. Drew will be helping Liquor World celebrate the release of their new exclusive Willett Single Barrel which will be Uncut and Unfiltered.

Whiskey River and Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey will be following Drew with a joint whiskey tasting from 2 to 3 P.M.

Also expected to stop by throughout the week to sign bottles are Fred Noe (master Distiller at Jim Beam), Tom Bulleit (Bulleit Bourbon), and potentially Bill Samuels (Master Distiller Maker’s Mark).

Also, a tasting of Jim Beam’s new Red Stag is yet to be scheduled.
Liquor World of Bardstown is located at 93 N. Salem Dr., Bardstown, KY 40004. Please call (502) 349-7560 for more information. Must be 21 or older.

Liquor World of Bardstown has just added a few more things to their schedule of tastings during the 2009 KY Bourbon Festival.

Preston Van Winkle will be joining his father, Julian, on Thursday, Sept. 17th from 5 to 6 P.M. for a joint bottle signing. This will present a unique chance to meet both generations of distillers at one time.

Also, Rick Wasmund (Wasmund’s) has just committed to do a bottle signing and whisky tasting on Saturday, Sept. 19th from 1 to 3 P.M. Rick’s product is a unique Virginia Single Malt Whisky. Wasmund’s also produces whisky making kits which come with either rye or malt spirits, a charred oak mini barrel, and instructions so that you can age you own whisky. We will be tasting from one of the kits that Rick has been aging himself so that everyone can see how it progresses.

It is completely free to attend these signings and to sample the bourbons. Mingling and talking with other bourbon enthusiasts is encouraged. Please call (502) 349-7560 for more information.

Ralfy is at it again, this review he has published a review #74 Supermarket Whiskies.

Ralfy at Work

Visit Ralfy at http://www.ralfy.com/ Click on “Whiskyreviews”

I promised in my last email that I would write to you again with all the final details for the live webcast we will be doing at Maker’s Mark distillery in Kentucky so here they are.

The online event will be happening on Friday 25th September at 8pm Kentucky time which I’m told is Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). I believe that works out at 1am on Saturday 26th for the UK. I know this isn’t an ideal time for our FOLs in Europe but for anyone who can’t tune in, the video will be available a week or so later on the Laphroaig website for you to watch at your leisure.

Of course I hope as many of you as possible tune in live as you will be able to submit questions to the panel (Kevin Smith from Maker’s Mark, John Hansell who is the Editor of ‘Malt Advocate’ and of course myself) during the show. Anyone whose question is read out during the live broadcast will be sent a special prize as well so remember to include your email address when you submit the question.

We also have a special webpage set up which has a countdown on it as well as some further information on the event. If you go to http://www.distillerylive.us.com and make sure you bookmark the page so that you don’t forget the address on 25th!

Since my last email I have had a few emails from FOLs who don’t know what time the show will be on in their country. I’m going to update the webpage with the time in some countries but there will I’m sure be too many to list so you can also try looking online to work out the time conversion. On the www.distillerylive.us.com website we have now got a link to a page which will show the time of the show in your country.

As I mentioned in my last email we will be tasting a range of Laphroaig expressions including the 10 Year Old, the new 18 Year Old and finally the 25 Year Old. There are also some special items I am really excited about. The guys over at Maker’s Mark have found a famous chef who is going to come and cook some lovely food for us, designed to compliment Laphroaig and Maker’s Mark whiskies. Hopefully I can get hold of the recipes in advance so all you culinary experts can try out the recipes too.

As I mentioned in the last email we will also have a cocktail section. Thanks to everyone who has already emailed me their suggestions for cocktails, we’ve had a lot of fun trying out your recipes. Remember anyone whose cocktail is made during the show will win a special prize. If you still haven’t emailed your suggestion you still can, just drop me a line at info@laphroaig.com with the subject line: Distillery Live recipes.

In other news I have created a Twitter account – I am still a bit of a novice but am really enjoying connecting with some more FOLs from around the World in real-time. If you would like to follow my ‘tweets’ (as I have been told they are called) then go to http://www.twitter.com/laphroaigwhisky. I will be updating my twitter with news in the build up to Distillery Live but I will of course also be updating the FOL homepage.

Slàinte,

John Campbell

D Johnston & Company (Laphroaig) Ltd, 310 St Vincent Street, Glasgow, registered in the United Kingdom, registration number SC028072

NEW PRODUCTS
 
Kilchoman Inaugural Release – £44.99 inc. VAT £39.12 ex. VAT
  Kilkerran Single Malt – £29.99 inc. VAT £26.08 ex. VAT

 
Arran 1996 The Peacock Limited Edition # 1 46%£37.99 inc. VAT £33.03 ex. VAT

 
Glendronach 1992 16 Year Old Oloroso Sherry
£62.99 inc. VAT £54.77 ex. VAT

 
Glendronach 1972 37 Year Old Oloroso Sherry £299.00 inc. VAT £260.00 ex. VAT 
  
Octomore 5 Years Old Edition 02.1
£84.99 inc. VAT £73.90 ex. VAT

 
Springbank Vintage 2001 Batch #1
£39.99 inc. VAT £34.77 ex. VAT

Glendullan 12 Year Old ‘Beinn a’Cheo’ £38.99 inc.VAT £33.90 ex. VAT

SPECIAL OFFERS

Benriach 12 Years Old – RRP £27.99 – Offer £22.99 – SAVE £5.00
 
Nose: Honey, vanilla, floral, fruity with well balanced wood overtones.
Colour: Amber, hints of gold.
Taste: Rounded medium to full bodied, rich honey, vanilla with hints of cream, spice and chocolate.

 
Glencadam 10 YO – RRP £28.49 – Offer £23.99 – SAVE £4.50
 
Nose: Delicate, intense. Grassy freshness and citrus tones with hints of spicy oak.
Colour: Straw Gold.
Taste: Long and soothing. Rich, clean barley and gristy sweetness 
 
 
LAST BOTTLES

 Ardbeg 1993 Cask 1724 15 Year Old
£99.99 inc. VAT £86.95 ex. VAT

You can also read the full release at the www.responsesource.com website:
http://www.responsesource.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=mAQEA

Press Trip to New Orleans with exclusive celebrity interviews and images

09 September 2009

Slice PR is organising a press trip on behalf of Southern Comfort (28th-30th Sept TBC) to celebrate its New Orleans heritage.

Southern Comfort is 135 years old and we are looking for three journalists who would be interested in attending the trip and featuring this heritage story. The trip includes an iconic photo shoot featuring three music acts:
Jack Penate, Remi Nicole and Sophie Ellis Bextor – TBC. You will receive these images as exclusives and also have interview time with your chosen celebrity. 

New Orleans has various interesting angles such as Voodoo, music and the first cocktail was made in New Orleans! We can work with you to decide suitable angles and accommodate these through events/ tours whilst in New Orleans

We require resulting coverage to appear before Christmas.

If you are interested, please contact me ASAP as timings are near!

Thanks,

Holly Jeffries

0203 128 6644

Master blender Keith Law talks about pairing food and whisky…

People have a very divided opinion over pairing food with whisky and most people find it hard to envisage a whisky and food match. Personally, I think a blended scotch whisky can match certain foods and dishes excellently and the array of flavours found in blended whisky can bring out and define a food’s taste.

Many articles about pairing whisky and food talk about single malts, however I like to remind people that blended whiskies offer a perfect alternative.

I feel that people have missed an opportunity not to drink blended whiskies with food mainly because it is something they never thought about trying before. The truth is that blended Scotch whisky when drunk neat or sometimes slightly “longer” than usual with water can make a great alternative to wine and really emphasise the flavours of certain foods and dishes.

Matching whisky with food takes some experimentation and experience to get it right. But if you stick to simple foods it can be a real eye opener.

In general, dishes with extreme flavours that generally do not match easily with some wines work well with blended whisky. Tapas, Asian dishes and particularly seafood combine well with some of the lighter less peaty blends such as Buchanan’s and J&B.

Desserts and after dinner courses work well with blended whisky too. Johnnie Walker Gold Label served “frozen” (at least 24 hours in the freezer please!) can give an indulgent taste sensation when served “straight” with dark chocolate desserts.

To finish off a meal a smoky, rich blend such as Johnnie Walker Black Label goes nicely with a cheese platter.

In the past I have experienced some unusual combinations of blended Scotch whisky and food  – How many of you have attended a Burns Supper and saw people pouring some whisky over their Haggis?  It just works!

So in many cases choosing foods to match blended Scotch whisky is very much down to personal preference and experimentation is the key. So keep educating your palate and have fun trying out new combinations. Enjoy!

www.diageo.com