The on-line forum for Whisky Magazine has added three sub forums to the popular “Collectors Corner” in the form of ‘For Sale’ , ‘Wanted’ and ‘Valuations’
Visit the Whisky Magazine Forum at http://www.whiskymag.com/forum/
This from Richard Paterson……
Just a couple of hours left now until the Dalmore Oculus goes under the hammer…
Isn’t it a beauty? This was a really pleasant whisky to create and very soon now, we’ll find out if it becomes the world’s most expensive whisky. In fact Bonhams almost put it better than me:
The Dalmore Oculus
A rich spicy and orange zest core to the malt is first selected from cask 1781, distilled in 1951, some 58 years old. Dried fruits, ripe bananas, treacle toffee and almonds from our original fifty year old – now held in small glass jars at The Dalmore distillery – are added to develop complexity. This rare malt, selected from vintages distilled in 1868 (10 June to be precise), 1878, 1922, 1926 and 1939, truly adds the gravitas of time. To deepen and intensify the weight of the mouth feel we add long matured distillate from cask 1782, the brother in 1951 to cask 1781 – an incredibly intense oak, spice and bitter dark chocolate tannic malt. Finally we add the “capstone” to our malt – the oculus to our world of alchemistic artistry – a judicious amount of our revered 64 yo, proffering notes of coffee, aromatic spices and citrus zest.
Vatted malt, cask strength
1 crystal decanter
Estimate: £15,000 – 20,000
The Dalmore, long recognised as a single malt that truly shines as a result of long ageing, has some of Scotland’s oldest and most valuable maturing stocks.
The task of crafting this absolutely unique expression– The Dalmore Oculus – was bestowed on Richard Paterson, a man with some four decades experience and who has judiciously monitored, measured and assessed these precious stocks over the passing decades.
Drawing on his intimate knowledge of the stocks he has fused an incomparable and brilliant assemblage. His creation is the eye that invites you to look in to his world, a world of sublime maturation and peerless whisky fusion.
Never before created, never to be repeated.
The Dalmore Oculus is a singularly exceptional expression allowing a glimpse in to the world of our brilliant art.
Selecting a decanter to house this precious spirit led us to Baccarat – world renowned craftsmen from France. It is their masters of light, which create objects that infuse the everyday with a brilliant and beguiling atmosphere of attraction. Each exceptional piece is crafted using techniques that their makers and cutters have handed down from generation to generation. For Oculus it was fitting that light is captured and becomes substance in its purest form – crystal – facilitating an eye on to the liquid world of The Dalmore whisky held within. Decorated with a painstakingly crafted solid silver iconic stag – by pouring a river of molten silver in to a mould and then hand finishing and polishing – the decanter is finally engraved.
It’s going to be quite the auction.
For those of you not bidding, feel free to post in comments what you think it will sell for…
This arrived a wee late but is still informative….
Dear Malt Messenger Subscribers,
As many of you know tomorrow night is the official release for our cask of BenRiach 1994 Madeira Finish. This whisky was poured as a teaser at our hugely successful Fall Single Malt Festival on Thursday night and was easily one of the highlights of the show. More than a dozen bottles were pre-ordered that night alone…
The cask was selected by the customers of the Kensington Wine Market with my assistance and direction at the first of three Whisky Democracy Tastings (The other two being Springbank and Jack Daniels). The decision was a tough one with one cask each of peated and unpeated BenRiach showing very well. Ultimately the decision was made to go with Cask 4810 which is a spectacular expression of unpeated BenRiach distilled in 1994 and finished in a single Madeira barrel. I am especially excited about its release and tomorrow night is your first formal opportunity to taste it.
There are still about 15 of the 60 spaces open for tomorrow night’s BenRiach Cask Release Party. I have included below information on the distillery as well as the event. Tomorrow night’s event will include a formal introduction to our cask as well as the opportunity to try the full range of whiskies from BenRiach and Glendronach distilleries. If you have a free evening tomorrow what better way could there be to spend it than with like minded company and some great whiskies? Oh and BenRiach Brand Ambassador Alistair Walker will be there too…
Hope to see you there.
Slainte!
Andrew Ferguson
BenRiach Cask Release Party – Tuesday November 17th – $40
Tomorrow night’s BenRiach Cask Release Party is going to be an incredible event. Alistair Walker, Brand Ambassador for BenRiach and Glendronach distilleries will be on hand to help us celebrate the launch of our 1994 Madeira finished cask of BenRiach. For $40 you will receive, your own Glencairn crystal single malt glass, have access to some incredible “one night only” deals on BenRiach single malts and will also have the opportunity to sample some of the following whiskies:
1. BenRiach 1994 KMW Cask 4810
2. BenRiach 10Yr Curiositas
3. BenRiach 12Yr
4. BenRiach Arumaticus Fumosus 12Yr
5. BenRiach Herodotus Fumosus 12Yr
6. BenRiach Importanticus Fumosus 12Yr
7. BenRiach 15Yr Jamaican Dark Rum Finish
8. BenRiach 15Yr Madeira Finish
9. BenRiach 15Yr Tawny Port Finish
10. BenRiach 16Yr
11. BenRiach 20Yr
12. BenRiach Authenticus 21Yr
13. BenRiach 25Yr
14. Glendronach 12Yr
15. Glendronach 15Yr – Not yet available in Canada!
16. Glendronach 18Yr – Not yet available in Canada!
All this and Alistair Walker for only $40!
If you would like to register for this event please call the store at 403-283-8000!
A Little About BenRiach Distillery
BenRiach is one of about a dozen independent distillers in Scotland. The distillery was purchased in 2004 by a South African group headed by former Burn Stewart Director Billy Walker. In just a few short years Billy and his son Alistair managed to transform BenRiach from a closed, obscure, Chivas distillery into one of the most innovative and interesting distilleries in Scotland. Before the purchase BenRiach was almost exclusively used in blends like 100 Pipers, Chivas Regal and Queen Ann, with only a small amount directed towards a rather lousy 10 year old expression.
When new buyers purchased the distillery in 2004, they lost little time in rebranding and diversifying their product base. Post purchase the distillery’s focus has changed considerably, they still cask a considerable amount of whisky for blending, but far more of their casks are now directed towards the single malt market. BenRiach’s Core Range now consists of some 16 or more whiskies, both peated and unpeated. In addition to this there have been many special releases.
Benriach was founded in 1897 along the main road between Rothes and Elgin adjacent to its sister distillery Longmorn. Although the distillery itself was closed for a total of 65 years in the 20th C., its warehouses (some of them used by Longmorn) remained in continuous use, and its floor maltings operated until 1999–uninterrupted for more than 100 years.
Located just five minutes south of Elgin along the highway to Rothes, Benriach is nearly impossible to miss. But although it is one of the easiest distilleries in the Speyside to find, it is not yet open to the public for tours. When I was there in September the distillery manager indicated there are many plans in the works for Benriach. One of the short term goals is the construction of a visitor center; the other–more long term–is the desire to reopen their own maltings.
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If you have any whisky questions or comments concerning The Malt Messenger please contact me by e-mail, phone, or drop by the store. Feel free to forward me any whisky news you feel should be included in a future issue of The Malt Messenger; it might just get included.
All of the products mentioned in THE MALT MESSENGER can be purchased in store, over the phone or from our website at www.kensingtonwinemarket.com.. All prices quoted in the Malt Messenger are subject to change!
Thanks for reading the Malt Messenger!
Slainte!
Andrew Ferguson
KWM Scotchguy
403-283-8000
888-283-9004
1257 Kensington Rd. NW
Calgary, AB, Canada
T2N 3P8
Just two days before our ground-breaking Iconic Whisky Tasting Evening, tickets are still available.
Both performers have been rehearsing every day and can be said to be in the peak of condition – fit, enthusiastic and only the very slightest sign of lack of sleep. Whatever, we are looking at a very enjoyable evening. There is accommodation locally and drivers will not have to buy a ticket, obviously (but people have still asked).
Visit Loch Fyne Whiskies at https://www.lfw.co.uk/
Loch Fyne Whiskies News has stocked a new item, ‘Jura Prophecy’
Jura Prophecy
46% abv
£48.00 inc vat
£41.74 ex vat
https://www.lfw.co.uk/blog/2009/11/17/jura-prophecy/
Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk
Richard Paterson comments;
You may have heard me mention on the whisky podcast (or if you’ve bumped into me recently) that there’s two crates of whisky belonging to Whyte and Mackay down at the South Pole from Sir Ernest Shackleton’s trip in the early 1900’s that I might be getting a sample of soon.
In January a team from Antarctic Heritage Trust are going back to Shackleton’s abandoned base at Cape Royds (97 miles from the pole) that he used before abandoning his quest for the pole in 1909.
However two feet under the ice, just outside the hut, are two crates of whisky (which cost a pricely 56 shillings!). An old brand from McKinlay and Co called ‘Rare Old’ that was part of a consignment of 25 crates given to Shackleton for his expedition.
Now it’s hoped that if the bottles can be recovered, perhaps one or two can come back home, which seems right. It’s been laying there lonely and neglected. It should come back to Scotland where it was born.
The problem is there are international treaties preventing us taking it. However we may get one or two. Failing that, we may get a sample back (by putting a needle in through the cork). We might even get enough to be able to take a stab at recreating it.
But, judging by the questions I get sent to Ask Richard, what you all want to know is: how will it taste? To which the answer is: cold.
Seriously, whiskies back then – a harder age – were all quite heavy and peaty as that was the style. And depending on the storage conditions it may still have that heaviness. For example, it may taste the same as it did back then if the cork has stayed in the bottle and kept it airtight.
But if the whisky is on its side, the cork may have been eroded by the whisky or air may have got in some other way – especially if the corks have been contracting and expanding with the temperature changes over the years and seasons.
As I show to a lot of people, I’ve got the original letter from Shackleton about the whisky so it would be great to have a dram of the actual drink to put next to it.
And you can bet, I’ll be talking a lot about this in January.
The background story;
By Emily Stone — Special to GlobalPost
Published: October 26, 2009
Updated: October 30, 2009
CAPE ROYDS, Antarctica — This spit of black volcanic rock that juts out along the coast of Antarctica is an inhospitable place. Temperatures drop below -50 Fahrenheit and high winds cause blinding snowstorms. The only neighbors are a colony of penguins that squawk incessantly and leave a pungent scent in their wake.
But if you happen upon the small wooden hut that sits at Cape Royds and wriggle yourself underneath, you’ll find a surprise stashed in the foot and a half of space beneath the floorboards. Tucked in the shadows and frozen to the ground are two cases of Scotch whisky left behind 100 years ago by Sir Ernest Shackleton after a failed attempt at the South Pole.
Conservators discovered the wooden cases in January 2006. They were unable to dislodge the crates, but are going in with special tools in January during the Antarctic summer to try to retrieve them. An international treaty dictates that the crates, and any intact bottles that are inside, remain in Antarctica unless they need to be taken off the continent for conservation reasons. The whisky’s condition after a century of freezing and thawing is unknown.
Polar explorers of that era relied on their alcohol of choice to help them and their crews through the long Antarctic nights and insomnia-inducing days. And Shackleton knew a thing or two about being well prepared for an adventure. On a later trip to the continent he kept all 28 members of his crew alive during 15 harrowing months after their ship got marooned in and then slowly devoured by ice. So it’s no surprise that he brought 25 crates of Scotch with him when he set off on an expedition to the South Pole in 1907.
The earlier trip didn’t go well, either. Shackleton turned around 97 miles short of his destination, telling his wife, “I thought you’d rather have a live donkey than a dead lion.” When the ship arrived in 1909 to pick the men up, they left their supplies behind in their hut, including reindeer sleeping bags, tins of boiled mutton and bottled gooseberries. And, as we now know, they also abandoned two cases of Charles Mackinlay & Co. whisky.
Al Fastier is a program manager in New Zealand with Antarctic Heritage Trust, the group charged with preserving the hut at Cape Royds along with three others on that section of Antarctic coastline. He was there the day the crates were discovered. The team was clearing out a century’s worth of ice that had accumulated under the hut and was causing structural problems.
“It was a very exciting time of actually finding artifacts that possibly hadn’t been seen since the historic explorers left,” he said. The group also found felt boots and jugs of linseed oil. The other 5,000 or so artifacts left behind are inside the hut or on the ground nearby and had been catalogued and viewed by the occasional tourist and on the internet.
In January, the conservationists will use a special drill that chips into the rock so they can pull the crates out and let them melt free in the omnipresent Antarctic summer sun.
So what will century-old, Antarctic-iced Scotch taste like?
Richard Paterson, master blender at Whyte & Mackay, the Glasgow whisky company that now owns the Mackinlay label, is eager to learn of the whisky’s fate. He’s equally hopeful that he gets to taste some of it.
He has a 1907 letter from Shackleton acknowledging receipt of the cases, along with a photograph of the bottles’ label. The company may have donated the cases, which Paterson said cost 28 shillings each, as polar explorers came looking for sponsors for their trips, which were usually run on tight budgets. “Shackleton has been one of my heroes for many years,” he said. “It’s nice to think that perhaps we helped him when his other spirits were down, that our spirits kicked him up a wee bit.”
Paterson said he’d expect that when bottled, the whisky was heavy and peaty, which was the style in that era. He’d like to sample it by sticking a needle through the cork and extracting some of the liquid with a syringe. If the bottles stayed airtight — a big if since the corks may have shifted as they were expanding and contracting with the changes in temperature — the whisky would likely taste much as it did in Shackleton’s day, Paterson said.
A whisky’s flavor develops as it’s aged in barrels because air is able to reach it. Once it’s bottled and cut off from external oxygen, it stops changing in taste. If oxygen was sneaking back into the bottles, the whisky would have continued aging and could have started to go bad, much like food that’s left out too long.
Even if the bulk of the bottles remain in Antarctica for historic reasons, Paterson is hopeful that a couple can be returned to the company. One would go in the Mackinlay family archives and the other could be auctioned off, he said.
Helen Arthur, who has written six books about whiskey from her home in southern England, said it’s difficult to guess what a bottle of Shackleton’s whiskey would fetch, but if it’s in good shape and the label is intact, it could be upwards of $1,000. While she doubts the whisky still tastes very good, she doesn’t think a buyer would be interested in it for sipping, but rather for its lineage.
If the bottles stay in the hut, which sees about 900 visitors a year, they will be protected from any over eager collectors, Fastier said. No one is allowed into the huts without a guide, and the value of an artifact often dictates how high up on a shelf it’s placed.
Paterson said he’ll be disappointed if that is the whiskey’s final resting place.
“It’s been laying there lonely and neglected,” he said. “Can it not come back to Scotland where it was born?”
ARDBEG WHISKY TASTING featuring Corryvreckan
Dates: Monday 30th November 2009 (St. Andrews Day)
Time: 8PM
Cost: £15.00
Join us as we work our way through the legendary Ardbeg family of malts. Ardbeg is a heavy hitter among Islay malts and very peaty and the distillery has been awarded many accolades. Ardbeg Uigeadail has been named World Whisky of the Year in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2009 and their latest release of Corryvreckan is gaining brilliant reviews.
Hosted by Ardbegs Brand Representativess, Cory Soutar and Martin Grant , this evening will be entertaining and informative.
See here for more information and to book
http://www.whiskibar.co.uk/Ardbeg.html
Join us on St Andrews day, 30th November 2009 to try them for yourself…WHISKI Bar
119 High Street
Edinburgh
A new scotch whisky appreciation club has been established in St. Louis Missouri, details can be found by visiting http://www.scotchstl.com/
Once a year, your LFW team debate which whiskies have proved most attractive for our customers following an in-shop taster. This year’s clear-cut winner is:
Springbank Madeira Wood 11yo
55.1% abv
£36.60 inc vat
£31.83 ex vat
Distilled June 1997, Bottled January 2009, limited to 9090 bottles.
Initially a sherried nose, then the Madeira cuts in giving caramel-sweetness, mustiness and spice.
Explosive on the tongue, floral-vegetative (greenhouses) and a little smoke. Some of that sulphur-tobacco notes that European oak is expressing at the moment. Vigerous, mouth challenging and enjoyable for a much cask influenced Whisky.
Water gives more Madeira and greener veg initially, then settles to an enjoyable and mouth filling dram. Recommended.
Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk
Visit Loch Fyne Whiskies at https://www.lfw.co.uk/
The Glenrothes Ultimate Gentleman’s Cocktail Contest
The Glenrothes is hosting The Ultimate Gentleman’s Cocktail Contest in The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh on Monday the 30th of November, starting at 6.30pm (until late), and would be most delighted if you could don your flat caps and finest tweed in joining them for an evening of entertainment.
Hosted by The Glenrothes’ own mixologist Andy Gemmell, the competition will bring together 14 of Scotland’s finest bartenders and showcase their skills in designing, preparing and creating a top class tipple.
Using The Glenrothes Select Reserve, these specially selected chaps and chappettes will go head to head in creating a cocktail that encompasses everything that a gentleman would want from a beverage with finesse.
The judging panel will comprise some well known names within the drinks industry including Ronnie Cox, the Global Brand Ambassador for The Glenrothes and Simon Difford, editor of CLASS Magazine. There are also two special guests on the panel who will not be revealed until the evening of the event.
The stakes are high as there is a lot to play for – the creator of the winning cocktail will win a VIP trip to The Glenrothes Distillery in Speyside, a bottle of The Glenrothes Vintage 1991 and an array of cocktail making goodies. The two runners up will also be invited to stay at The Genrothes Distillery.
The Voodoo Rooms will be running special deals on The Glenrothes cocktails so why don’t you pop along for an alternative Monday night and enjoy one.
The Glenrothes, introduced in 2005 is a popular tipple amongst whisky connoisseurs. The Select Reserve is a versatile yet unique malt laced with notes of ripe fruits, juicy citrus, creamy vanilla and hints of spice – making it the perfect liquid to partner with cocktails.
On the evening, contestants will be given three minutes to create a cocktail which contains at least 30ml of The Glenrothes and a maximum of six other ingredients. They will be marked on name, balance, simplicity, taste, originality, presentation, delivery and performance.
If you think you have what it takes to partake in this unique cocktail competition, please contact Andy Gemmell at andy.gemmell@maxxium.com.
-Ends-
For further information please visit www.theglenrothes.com
For press enquiries or photography, please contact:
Linda Edstrand / Pamela Wils, The BIG Partnership
Tel: 0131 555 5522
Email: linda.edstrand@bigpartnership.co.uk; pamela.wils@bigpartnership.co.uk
Notes to editors:
About The Glenrothes
· The Glenrothes was founded in 1879
· The Glenrothes is available from Sainsbury’s, Oddbins, Thresher and whisky specialists nationwide and on The Glenrothes website www.theglenrothes.com.
· Little more than 2% of the distillery capacity is bottled as Single Malt to ensure exceptional quality
· Of the 16 Vintages released to date, 12 have entirely sold out
· It is matured in a combination of Spanish and American oak casks – the best of both worlds
· The Glenrothes Select Reserve was voted Best in Class at the World Whiskies Awards 2008 and won two Double Golds at The San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2007
· The Glenrothes 1978 Vintage was voted Best Speyside Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards 2008
· The Glenrothes 1975 won a Double Gold award at The San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2008
· “I have always felt that Glenrothes deserved to be more widely appreciated. Beautifully rounded, sophisticated after-dinner malt.” Michael Jackson’s Malt Whisky Companion
· Jim Murray, in his Whisky Bible 2007, refers to The Glenrothes Select Reserve as; “One of the softest deliveries on Speyside, the silky barley and citrus caress the tastebuds with rare tenderness” and scores it 24 out of 25
Linda Edstrand
Account Manager
The BIG Partnership
Suite 4/3, Great Michael House, 14 Links Place, Edinburgh, EH6 7EZ
Tel: 0131 555 5522
Mob: 07717 875 227
Fax: 0131 554 3742
www.bigpartnership.co.uk
