Two refill hogsheads, numbers 3868 & 3869 married together and then bottled in the autumn of 2007; happily un-chillfiltered and without colouring. The nose a peat heads dream, deep strong peat smoke, very clean with some hints of butter, Hessian, tinned fruit cocktail, toffee, brine and heather. It’s a very well integrated collection of aromas. The taste is peated and surprisingly smooth with tastes of the butter, oak, cocoa, chocolate, maritime, burnt cake and light toffee. Exceptionally good. The finish is both dry and bitter with rolling rollicking peat smoke intertwined with the cocoa, a very brief flash of diesel and then the bitter cocoa arrival. The bitterness at the end is exceptional with a further rise of the cocoa/dark chocolate. What a grand dram. The finish is very long, complex and enduring; after 5 minutes there is a really good taste on malt and peat smoke followed by a hint of peanut butter and a handful of dry peated malt scooped from the malt kiln.

Score 88 Points

C$135

Please visit Douglas Laing at http://www.douglaslaing.com/

This has been a very busy year to date for Duncan Taylor, despite the financial woes of the world, sales of our whiskies have reached new heights. We have had more awards, some great product reviews and huge success with Black Bull. We hope this will continue for the second part of the year.

Company & Product News

Sales have increased in most markets with Black Bull a runaway success. In fact, the 30YO was released in America early August and is now sold out!

As you may have seen from our press release that the “Rare Auld” has now been released in a new much up graded gift pack custom designed by Euan.

We bid a fond farewell to the colour coordinated regional boxes and give a warm welcome to a new generic gift box which provides a  simple, yet striking appearance, instantly enhancing the brand identity on your shelf. The new two tone box consists of a light colour lid, in moonstone grey, which contrasts perfectly with the elegant slate colour on the base.

The label will retain detailed information and the regional colour coordination, as before, which we feel stands out extremely well against the neutral background. The back of the box carries the DT history and brand values giving the consumer an immediate insight into what we are all about.

The double layered gift boxes afford increased protection and are more easily opened. A protective sleeve protects them in transit and storage. All in all – added value all round, helping to realise increased sales!

Mark has just returned from a successful weekend at Bredaryd Wardhaus in Sweden.  Mark was in his element as 35 of the most dedicated followers of whisky in Sweden met to talk about and taste some amazing whiskies.  The real surprise of the show came when in Mark tasting a group of self confessed single malt fans voted Black Bull Blended Whisky number 1, Cameronbridge 1979 Grain whisky number 2 and the 70th Anniversary Duncan Taylor vatted malt as number 3 in the taste off!  

Staff News

We are pleased to announce that Mark Watt has now been promoted to Export Sales Director. Whisky Magazine’s “Young Ambassador of the Year” has worked solidly in promoting the Duncan Taylor brands in particular bringing the delights of Caperdonich to the attention of those who were unfamiliar with the malt. Mark will now be managing the export sales team and looks forward to bringing you even more interesting whiskies to the table.

To improve our service to you, our customers and friends, we are in the process of upgrading our computer system with the installation of some expensive new sales database software, this will help us greatly to keep in touch and offer an exemplary service. To assist with this process we have employed Marie McDonald.

As both Jemma’s and Kirsty’s babies grow, so their arms are having to get longer to reach their keyboards. Any time soon, they will have to surrender their desks to have a few days rest before the due date!  We wish them both best of health and easy times ahead. Huntly Distillery

Huntly Distillery project is still online, albeit at a slightly more leisurely pace than in the initial phase of planning. It now has full planning consent and building warrant approval. The site has been undergoing a “makeover” with ground clearance, landscaping, structure demolition and building remedial work over the past month. The project has been awarded a further grant of £100,000 from the Hydrocarbons Trust so we are getting very close to starting the major build part of the project. We are considering doing some “futures” on the first distillation so if you are interested then please let me know at euan@duncantaylor.com

Past Events

It is August, Whisky Fringe was back at the stunning venue of Mansfield Traquair in Edinburgh, and Duncan Taylor again introduced fans new and old, to some malts new and old!  The event as always was a huge success and the 70th Anniversary malt went down very well with those who chose it as there half time tipple!  Black Bull 30yo went down a storm on the day being voted in the top three whiskies of the entire show with the Glasgow Whisky Society hitting Edinburgh and declaring it their number one whisky of the day.

The Lonach gathering was on the 22nd of August and was a busy event with locals and tourists alike eagerly trying to get their hands on the 2009 event bottling.  We would like to thank everyone who attended and made it such a special day at all events, and to those in the back ground who make these things happen.

Upcoming Events

Runrig, Scotland’s premier band, have once again entrusted Duncan Taylor to produce its exclusive limited edition bottling to commemorate its largest gig of the year at Scone Palace, Home of the Scottish Kings, on 29th August. This limited edition bottling is a fantastic Highland Park 22 Year Old. It goes on sale 24th August, get your orders in now as it will be a sell out as it has been in previous years. Limited to only 750 bottles at cask strength.

The Runrig event on 29th August will also include a specific whisky tent which will have Scotland’s best Distillery companies exhibiting. Duncan Taylor are proud to be the only Independent Bottler exhibiting there so the estimated 20,000 people coming that day will have a great selection of wonderful whiskies. For ticket sales and additional venue information, visit www.runrig.co.uk/scone

Looking forward – we are also at Whisky Live Glasgow in September.

See you all there!
New Bottlings

There are some pretty stunning new releases this month which I am sure will be of interest to you all. The first is the return of the Sherry Cask Glen Grant 1970 this one from cask 844 – it is certainly a big sherried whisky but with so much more to offer.  We have only done one cask so you best be quick.
 
Later in the month will also see us release a cask strength NC2 Springbank 1997 12 year old. This version of Springbank was non-peated and was triple distilled. I think you all know which whisky we mean by that, although we can not put that on the label as the whisky was not distilled at the distillery that closed in 1925 but is in fact one of three styles of whisky made at Springbank distillery.
 
Another NC2 we bottled at cask strength was a particularly good cask of Imperial 1996. We are huge fans of Imperial here at DTC and this one showed excellent toffee notes and such great character that it deserved to be bottled at cask strength – certainly not one to be missed.

For those who prefer a bit more smoke in their whisky the latest cask of 1982 Caol Ila Cask 2743 certainly should not be missed – a great balance between fruit and smoke.

In future bottlings make sure to look out for the launch of Black Bull 12 yo – sure to grab you by the horns.  Also for look out for an up coming bottling of 1997 Heavily peated Bunnahabhain a dram that will certainly please the peat freaks – you know who you are!

For further information, please contact:
Duncan Taylor & Co Ltd
Whisky Merchants and Brokers,
4 Upperkirkgate, Huntly,
Aberdeenshire, Scotland AB54 8JU
website: www.duncantaylor.com
email: info@duncantaylor.com
Phone: +44 (0) 1466 794055
Fax: +44 (0) 1466 794618
 

Purveyors of the worlds most exclusive range of Scotch Whiskies

MALTS ON THE MARCH: BENRIACH AND GLENDRONACH EXPAND INTO CHINA, VIETNAM AND USA
 
As part of its planned growth strategy for its two malts, the BenRiach Distillery Company is expanding into emerging markets such as China and Vietnam.
 
The company is also beefing up its presence in the USA.
 
Regional Sales Director James Cowan is responsible for marketing BenRiach and GlenDronach in China and Vietnam. He said: “In the past, these countries were perceived as being off the radar as target malt whisky markets.
 
“However, in recent years the booming economies and the rise in the number of wealthy individuals have helped to make malt whisky a more attainable product.
 
“Additionally, these markets are already hugely popular holiday destinations due to improved air links and the spin-off from the Beijing Olympics. 
 
“Due to the sheer size of China – over three and a half million square miles and over 1.3 billion of a population – we intend on focus on a small number of regions rather than try to target the country as a whole. This can act as a springboard to build the brand further in due course.
 
“Meanwhile, Vietnam has also entered a significant period of growth within the tourism sector, and this lends itself well to the introduction of premium malt whisky throughout the relevant outlets that this industry attracts.
 
“Our plan is to conduct a series of organised tastings and corporate events in the months to come which will aid the brands’ introduction. For any new market and particularly emerging markets, it is essential that we are closely in touch with activities on the ground, as has already been successfully proven in some of our other new te rritories around the world.”
 
Looking at the USA, Regional Sales Director Alistair Walker commented: “BenRiach has been available in the US for four years now and we ar e gradually establishing a name for it through tutored tastings and whisky festivals across the country.
 
“Our US Importer Preiss Imports will be introducing the new GlenDronach range – 12, 15 and 18 year old malts – towards the end of this year.
 
“I believe GlenDronach has excellent potential in the US. We have been inundated with enquiries from US consumers via our website so there clearly remains an awareness for the brand in the States – an awareness that was built up during the past five decades via William Teacher’s and Allied Distillers.” 
 
ends                                  28 August 2009
 
INFORMATION – James Cowan, Alistair Walker, 01324 682220

For further information please visit   http://www.benriachdistillery.co.uk/  & http://www.glendronachdistillery.com/

Distillery coming to West Richland
By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer

West Richland can expect to have the first distillery in southeast Washington soon.

Plans for the proposed Black Heron Spirits Distillery and Port Works got a boost Tuesday after the Port of Kennewick Commission approved sale of an acre of land in the port’s Wine Estates Park on Van Giesen Street and Keene Road. The park also is home to Pacific Rim Wine Estates, one of the region’s largest wineries.

The craft distillery, to be constructed and operated by Joel Tefft and Becky Runyan, will offer barrel-aged whisky, brandies, port wine, gin and corn liquor, said Tana Bader Inglima, the port’s director of governmental relations and marketing. The distillery is scheduled to open next year.

Tefft, who owned Tefft Cellars Winery in the Yakima Valley for 20 years, recently sold it to pursue his interest in distilling, she said, adding Runyan will bring extensive customer that service experience to help run the distillery.

A new state law allows craft distillers to produce 20,000 gallons or less, to serve up to 2 ounces and sell up to 2 liters of liquor per person in tasting rooms, said Ruth Swain, economic development specialist for the city of West Richland, which partnered with the port.

It’s a great development opportunity for the city to diversify its economy, Swain said, and will spur more growth in the proposed Red Mountain Center near Van Giesen and Ruppert Road. The city has invested more than $15 million in infrastructure there, she said.

California winemaker Randall Grahm also invested close to $7 million on the 30,000-square-foot Pacific Rim winery on the port’s property two year ago.

The new value-added industry will tie in with tourism and ag production and open more doors for growth, she said. The law requires that at least half of the raw materials used in production at craft distilleries be Washington-grown, Swain said.

“The essence of Black Heron Distillery and Port Works is to create and present fine handcrafted spirits in an elegant manner reminiscent of a bygone era. Our location will pull elements of the Roaring Twenties and Prohibition together to create an atmosphere of mystery, elegance and nostalgia for our customers to witness the process of craft distillation,” said Tefft and Runyan in a prepared statement.

The distillery will use locally grown products and work with local businesses to create and support their operations, they said.

“Distilling is Washington’s newest passion, just as wineries and breweries were a decade ago,” said Tim Arntzen, the port’s executive director.

Last year, five new distilleries opened in the state, and this year, more than a dozen are in the permitting process, port officials said.

* Pratik Joshi: 509-582-1541; pjoshi@tricityherald.com; Business Beat blog at www.tricityherald.com

DIAGEO PROFITS UP BY 10%

Diageo Plc today announced that their pre tax profits for the year end 30 June 2009 are up by 10% from 2008 to �2.4billion. The company has ridden the storm and despite a downward trend in their deluxe products, people are sticking with the Johnnie Walker brand and still hold it in high esteem.

http://www.diageo.com/

(You can’t pay a dividend from a loss! WI)

An update on the 2009 Awards from Johannes;

Here’s a quick update about the progress with the preparations of the MM Awards.

At this point, some 25 distillers and bottlers have confirmed they will participate; I’m about to send reminders to circa two dozen other potential participants. So far circa 15 bottles have already arrived in France; if all the confirmed bottles arrive my slightly optimistic guestimate is that we’ll be at 100 bottles by september 26 – already enough for a proper competition. Looking at the names on the ‘unconfirmed’ list, it should be very doable to get circa 50 bottles from other participants. I’ll take stock again in a week or two – at that time we can check if any further ‘arm twisting’ is required for certain parties.

Sweet drams,

Johannes

http://www.maltmaniacs.org/

Villa Konthor

Our holidays are over now while the preparations for our villa party on September 26th. & 27th. are proceeding. With our partners & suppliers we`ve managed to put up a great programme including tastings, talks, food, music & presentations.

We`re happy to have the Scotch Malt Whisky Society with us (Ansgar Eichler), Cadenhead`s Whisky Market Cologne (Gregor Nackend), Westwood Whisky (Olaf Manns) as well as The Nectar/Daily Dram (Mario Groteklaes). Of course, our local guys from MaRa, Whisky Fair & Whisky Agency will be there, too.

We`re looking forward to seeing you then! Feel free to contact us whenever we can help with accomodation or any other information:

more information to be found here: www.villa-konthor.de

Your contact: info@villa-konthor.de (Robin Pitz) 
 

MARA Malt Rarities

2009 is the year of our 10th. anniversary and so we`ll be doing our jubillee
tasting by the end of November. The Whiskys we`ll be having are listed down below:

Starter: Sennachie 30y.o. 75cl 43% “Single Malt”, dumpy green bottle
(bottled late 80ies)

Line-Up:
1) The Macallan distilled 1936 75cl 70° Proof bottled by G&M
2) Highland Park 19y.o. 75cl 43% James Grant, dumpy green bottle (dark
sherry)
3) Brora 30y.o. 70cl 52.4% Original Bottling (bottled 2002)
4) Bruichladdich 1966-83 75cl 53.5% Original Bottling “Riserva
Veronelli”(dark sherry)

Break / Buffet

5) Glen Rothes 27y.o. 1966-94 70cl 51.3% Wilson & Morgan (dark sherry)
6) Rosebank 20y.o. 75cl 57% Distillers Agency for Zenith/Bonfanti (bottled
mid/late 80ies)
7) Springbank 18y 1973-91 75cl 57.9% Cadenhead`s (dark rum)
8) Bowmore 75cl 43% Bi-Centenary, distillery bottling for the 200th
anniversary of Bowmore in 1979

For further details (date, price, location) please check our homepage www.maltwhisky-mara.de

Our anniversary bottling of Yamazaki 1989 Owner`s Cask 60% is still
available in small quantities @ Euro 155. For this and any other issue related to MaRa please do not hesitate to contact  roland.puhl@t-online.de 
 

Daily Dram

Our Daily Dram online shop has extended his range. We can offer 4 new bottlings as follows:

Glenrothes 1970, 39 years 47.9%, Duncan Taylor for The Nectar
Bruichladdich 1992, 17 years 46%, Bruichladdich Distillery exclusively for The Nectar
Ben Nevis 1995, 55.5%, Ben Nevis Distillery exclusively for The Nectar
Arran Malt 1998, 53%,  Isle of Arran Distillers for The Nectar

Coming soon – 4 new Daily Dram-bottlings will arrive in September:

Clynelish 1982, 27 years 46%
Undercover n°4 1990 (Speyside), 19 years 48%
Laphroaig 1996, 13 years 55%
Glen Garioch 1991, 18 years 46 %
Our current range is updated here:  www.daily-dram.de

Your contact: info@dailydram.de (Vincent Löhn) 
 

Whisky Agency

Our new series have been released now and some bottlings have already sold out.

We`ve therefore started to prepare our new range for autumn 2009 and look very much forward to offer you some beauties “from the good, old days” then again.

In the meantime we`ve gotten back some remainders of our “Liquid Library -Islay” set which we`ve originally done for export markets. It`s not much
left in fact but all seven bottlings are excellent for drinking and come
with nice art labelling (with works by Hans Dillesse www.hansdillesse.net).

We`ll have some for sampling with us at the Berlin Coepenick Fair next weekend and at the Villa Konthor Party by the end of September.

Our current range is updated here: www.whisky-agency.com and you may contact us: post@whisky-agency.com

Whisky Fair
Our 1976 Benriach bottlings have been doing really well & we`ve run out of
supply by now.

Now we`re proud to announce our next bottling for arrival during October:
Lochnagar 1972, dense & oily body, thick & powerful – a typical old-style
Highland character from the golden period of whisky production.
Excellent, as we find it!

The present stock is to be found here: Whisky Fair Online Shop (Whisky Fair Online Shop) & all additional info here:  info@whiskyfair.de
 
Miscellaneous
Our Limburg Stand will be travelling through fairs & festivals as follow:

Cöpenicker Whisky-Herbst
Desta Volkach
Celtic Weekend & Tobacco Days
Whisk(e)y Pur, Aschaffenburg
 
 
Sincerest Regards and many greetings from Limburg/Germany
 
Imprint
Responsible for this newsletter:
Limburg News
Werner-Senger-Straße 23
65549 Limburg
Phone: +49 (0)6432 5758
E-Mail: newsletter@whisky-agency.com
Website: www.whisky-agency.com

Dear all,

This is just to let you know the tickets for our Chivas Tasting are on sale NOW. They are £25 per person, and a maximum of 2 per person. Please be quick, and/or patient with the redial button as we have but the one telephone, and we are likely to limit this to only 30 places.

Thanks

The Team

The Whisky Exchange

Vinopolis

1 Bank End

London

SE1 9BU

Tel:-  +44 (0) 207 403 8688

Fax:- +44 (0) 207 403 8788

e-mail:-   vinopolis@thewhiskyexchange.com

website:- www.thewhiskyexchange.com

Is this the oldest whisky bottle in existence? Can you guess how old it is?

Posted: 26 Aug 2009 08:31 AM PDT

Just a quick post – having a fantastic time in Taiwan still – but received this in email and thought it was worth passing on – and seeing if anyone can guess the age of it?

Tony Sampson sent us over these pics and details:

My cousin found it while snorkeling at low tide, quite close on the shore below our home on Gorham’s Point, Second Peninsula, near Lunenburg. It is light green in color with the distinctive W & M raised insignia in front and Whyte and MacKay, Glasgow on the back.

Who wants to take a guess at the age of it then? If anyone gets it right we’ll send them out something a little special…

Contact Richard at richard@themasterblender.com

Press Release

27th August 2009

Cooley Unveils the New Face of Connemara

The Award Winning Range of Connemara Peated Single Malt Irish whiskeys receive a contemporary makeover

Cooley Distillery, Ireland’s only independent whiskey distillery, has officially unveiled the new branding for its award winning Connemara Family of Peated Single Malt Irish whiskeys.

Connemara is the most decorated Irish whiskey over the last decade winning over 20 Gold Medals from International Spirits Competitions.  Included among these accolades are the “World’s Best Irish Single Malt” titles for 2008 and 2009.

Inspired by Ireland’s ancient distilling traditions, Connemara’s smooth sweet malt taste and complex peat flavours make it a truly unique Irish whiskey. To reflect the quality of the whiskey Connemara has been rebranded to enable it to pay homage to its roots while maintaining an appearance in keeping with modern premium spirits brands.

Connemara Peated Single Malt is a tribute to the local distillers from the wild, rugged region of Connemara on Ireland’s Atlantic coast.  During the 18th and 19th century, often operating illegally, these distillers created a unique style of whiskey by drying malting barley over peat fires giving it a distinctive smoky taste. Connemara is the only modern Irish whiskey produced in this way and has a following with a whole new generation of whiskeys drinkers around the world with distribution in over 30 countries.

Jack Teeling, Sales & Marketing Director for Cooley Distillery commented, “Connemara is a truly unique Irish whiskey based on the rich heritage of distilling used in the West of Ireland and is the most decorated Irish whiskey of recent times. To communicate these unique selling points we have given Connemara a new appearance which celebrates its Irish heritage while still having a contemporary premium feel. We hope the rebranding will enable more consumers to unearth the Peated pleasures of the Connemara Family.”

To coincide with the launch of its new packaging the Connemara family has been extended with the launch of a new “Small Batch Collection” series. This involves limited edition bottlings of new expressions of Connemara Peated Single Malt. The first release from the Collection involves “finishing” Connemara in Sherry casks to impart further depth and flavours to the whiskey. Bottled at 46% it is a remarkable well – balanced masterpiece and has already won a Gold Medal at the 2009 International Wine & Spirits Competition.

For More Information:

Jack Teeling                                                                +353-1-8332833

Sales & Marketing Director

David O’Siochain                                                      +353-1- 6496322

Pembroke Communications

Visit Cooley at http://www.cooleywhiskey.com/