From Marcus at Companions HQ in Vancouver BC;

Hello everyone,

For those of you that attended last year, you will remember what a memorable dinner the Art Institute did!   We have a fantastic event scheduled for  Tuesday, May 4TH,    at “the International Culinary School – Art Institute of Vancouver, Dubrulle.” The students there are preparing  4 course dinner  paired up with hard to get whisky’s from Rare Drams!

The Evening selections

1: Tomintoul 14 Year Old (Rated Single Malt of the Year 11-15 YO in 2010 Whisky Bible ($125)
2: Glencadam 15 YO 46% ABV ….$150 The most Southern Highlander !
3: Macallan  & Laphroaig 8 Year Old …two Icons in one dram ! ( $210) )
4: Ardbeg 18 Year Old…only 210 bottles worldwide..50% ABV ($345)

W.I. understands that all bottlings (other than the Tomintoul) are by Douglas Laing.

Date:    Tuesday May 4th,   International Culinary School – Art Institute of Vancouver, Dubrulle located at 609 Granville Street

Parking is on Dunsmuir Street and Granville underground

Reservations:   Send Marcus an Email   – Please remember, if you do not cancel your reservation, you will be charged for the event as the establishment charges me.  Thanks for understanding

Cost:  Because of the cost of the whisky, we have had to charge $5/more per person

Members – $ 60

Non Members – $ 70

Time: 6:30 p.m.  – Complimentary dram of scotch

Special thanks to:  Bob at Rare Drams for putting together the selection of spirits for the evening and Chef Don Gyurkovits.

See you there

Slainte

Marcus

Contact Marcus via www.thequaich.com under the Vancouver Chapter info

Dalmore OB Dee Dram 12yo 43%alc.

A limited Edition of 3600 bottles.

‘50% of profits from the sale of this outstanding single Highland malt will be gifted to The River Dee Trust in acknowledgement of their tireless work to protect and enhance this most beautiful of environments.’

Official Tasting Note:

‘Deep golden mahogany in colour, with orange, marmalade and aromatic spices on the nose. Elegant and rich on the palate with intense citrus and hints of sweet vanilla pods to finish. Longer than usual time in Sherry wood delivers an aftertaste of great complexity.

Matured 50% in American white oak Bourbon barrels and 50% in Oloroso Sherry wood.’

Price excluding VAT: £35.66
£41.90 Including VAT at 17.5%

Visit Loch Fyne Whiskies at www.lfw.co.uk

THE SPIRIT OF CELEBRATION

Grant’s launches rare and distinctive ultra premium expression to commemorate centenary 

Family-owned distiller William Grant & Sons Ltd. today announces the launch of Grant’s 25 Year Old, the ultra premium blended Scotch whisky designed to complement Grant’s award-winning range.

Grant’s 25 Year Old celebrates over a century and five generations of the Grant’s family, as well as their collective contribution to creating the finest Scotch whisky.  It marks 100 years since Charles Gordon (son-in-law of William Grant) set off on a 12 month trip to take Grant’s to the world – sowing the seeds for what has become the world’s most loved family whisky brand.

Expertly blended by Master Blender, Brian Kinsman, this rare and patiently crafted blend contains some of the world’s most highly-prized and distinctive malt and grain whiskies, including the first ever laid down at Grant’s Girvan distillery as well as rare whiskies from distilleries no longer in existence. Each individually numbered batch has been married in oak tuns for several months for enhanced depth and complexity, producing an exceptional whisky full of warmth and character.

“This exceptional 25 year old blended Scotch whisky is our way of celebrating each family member’s contribution to the success of Grant’s whisky and our unique family history,” comments Peter Gordon, the fifth generation descendent of the distillery’s founder, William Grant and current company Chairman. “Distilled in Girvan – a site built by our current life president Charles Gordon – Grant’s 25 Year Old contains 25 whiskies from every region of Scotland with the most unique element being our Girvan Grain – the backbone of all our blends.” 

Encased within an individually hand-finished cobalt blue presentation box adorned with champagne gold engraved metalwork, Grant’s 25 Year Old is presented in a bespoke glass bottle designed to perfectly showcase the rich amber of the whisky.

The embossed tree on the bottle represents the contributions of many branches of the Grant’s family and reflects the time, care and craftsmanship that are the key ingredients of this fine and exceptional blend. The heavyweight glass, tactile emboss and deep base give a substantial feel in the hand and the finely engraved stopper proudly crowns what is Grant’s most prized whisky to date.

Just over 2,000 bottles of Grant’s 25 Year Old will be available exclusively in the world’s most prestigious airports from June 2010 until the end of 2011, before a limited number will travel from the distillery to select retailers and high-end establishments around the world. It has a recommended retail price of £145 per bottle.

ENDS
 

Notes to Editors

Grant’s 25 year old

As you would expect from a precious blend of such age, it exudes elegance and refinement. In the glass, it glints deep bronze, its character immediate on the nose with deft balanced notes of fragrant summer peach blossom and polished leather. On the palate, there is cinnamon and a touch of ginger bite along with a fresh and mellow sweetness, followed by a finish of spices that lingers on the tongue.

Notes: Spicy cinnamon and a touch of ginger along with a fresh and mellow sweetness

Grant’s is produced by William Grant & Sons, an award-winning family-owned distiller founded by William Grant in 1886 and today still controlled by his direct descendants.  The deliciously complex and smooth taste of Grant’s Blended Scotch Whisky is down to the way it is made from a recipe created more than 100 years ago by William Grant. Passed down from generation to generation, today it is the expert skills of our Master Blender along with a team of craftsmen, who keep alive William Grant’s pioneering spirit and his passion for blending the finest whisky.

Grant’s award-winning range of cask finished and aged blended Scotch whiskies include Grant’s Family Reserve, the world’s oldest and most popular family owned Scotch. Grant’s Cask Reserves, created by ‘finishing’ Grant’s Family Reserve in either ale or sherry casks before bottling and Grant’s 12 Year Old is the only blended whisky to spend an extra finishing period in American oak casks, producing a full bodied Scotch of exceptional richness.

Five generations and over 100 years since its creation, Grant’s Family Reserve Blended Scotch reasserted its credentials as one of the whisky industry’s greats by scooping Gold at the prestigious 2009 International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC). The International Wine and Spirit Competition Medals and trophies are the most prestigious honours awarded in the trade, representing the best of the best in the world of wine and spirits.

Visit William Grant & Sons at http://www.williamgrant.com/

Edradour 12yo (57%, OB, ‘Gaja Barolo’, 464 Bts., D’ 23/01/1196 B’ 29/04/2008)

‘Bottled by hand, in Scotland’. So says the label. The nose is some what Speyside like in character and quite strong along with some very light heathery notes, light cut grass, malt and some honey. More time in the glass brings out more of the honey and heather. The diluted nose brings out more and now it is significantly fruitier which is nice. The undiluted taste is strong, syrupy sweet (like honey glazed heather) followed by more of the fragrant heather which is not significantly stronger than on the nose. The diluted taste is gentler, smoother and more drinkable. Some dry wood notes pop up unexpectedly. The finish is sappy, flirting with soapy, cloying and long. The sweetness flits in and out however the sappiness is mildly disturbing. After a while some malt arrives to restore some order. The malt is long but the very light sappiness is always lurking in the back ground. After a few minutes the malt is much more evident.

Actually quite nice and opens up with some water. Interesting. After a while. The sappiness/soapiness is verging on problematic.

£40 (a tad pricey for a wee 500ml bottle)

Score 79

http://www.edradour.co.uk/

Bowmore 13 Year Old
Chateau Petrus Cask,  Murray McDavid Bottling  Single Malt Scotch Whisky

$69.99

Distilled: 1996. Bourbon/Pomerol casks.
1200 Bottles. 46% ABV.

Iodine, brine, peat, red berry fruit, and custard on the nose. The palate is dry upfront with barley that quickly moves to iodine, salty fruit, cherries, berries, peat, cacao and peppery spiciness.

Highland Park 14 Year Old

Chateau Lafite Cask, Murray McDavid Bottling  Single Malt Scotch Whisky

$83.99

Distilled: 1995. Bourbon/Lafite casks.
1900 Bottles. 46% ABV.

Salt, Nougat, heather and barley on the nose. It has a light body but is fantastically flavorful. The palate shows raspberry, light smoke, salt water taffy, porridge, carob and strawberries. Very Creamy.

About Murray McDavid

Murray McDavid are Independent Bottlers with a difference. The tradition of independent bottling goes back 150 years and was, until fairly recently, the only source for many of Scotland’s finest malts. The practice of distilleries bottling their own malts started in the 60s, but only became a major event in the last few years. Independent bottlers offer the consumer many things. They offer the opportunity to taste some of the more esoteric malts not bottled by their owners. They offer the chance to try well known and widely available brands at a different age, a different strength, possibly even a different type of barrel than the distillery bottled product.

Visit D&M at www.dandm.com

email winesales@runbox.com Trentino Distribution

Duty stampsavailable if required

and now to sample the 127 review Malt (throwing caution to the wind) Ardbeg Corryvreckan.

… cheers,   ralfy.

Visit Ralfy at www.ralfy.com

Glen Scotia 17yo (46%, Duthies, 2009)

Robert W. Duthie was the nephew of William Cadenhead and he ran the company after the passing of Mr. Cadenhead in 1904.  Cadenhead’s recently re-established the brand. Bottled at 46% without chill filtration or the addition of colouring.

The nose reveals…. whoa, this is nice! There is some good toffee, damp hay, sweet malt and barley. The aromas build as it opens in the glass and further examination some really good oak/cocoa and after some more time the aromas lean towards the more meaty heavier side of the spectrum.  Very pleasant, there are some moments of Campbeltown thrown in addition to some brine and a whiff of smoke in the shape of an highly agitated Icelandic volcano…..just kidding…there is a whiff of smoke and some sharp sour moments. There is a lot going on in the glass and with more time it simply keeps on evolving. Fragrant. The taste is at first different from the nose is many ways but right off resembles the later stages of the aromas and is very Campbeltown like, complex, toffeed with a good back ground of malt and cocoa followed by some meatiness and then some complexity from the gentle smoke and more wood spice. Oh, this is really nice. A tiny, tiny hint of some pungent notes but they give character and back bone to the other flavours and do nit detract. Green malt at the very end. The finish is malty at first along with some green malt and a hint of smoke, a little (tiny) bit and then the cocoa and malt arrive, hand in hand to take a final bow before some not unexpected malty dryness brings down the curtain a long while later.

Very good.

$102 at Kensington Calgary (thank you for the generous sample Andrew)

Score 89 Points

Kilchoman Distillery Appoints Exclusive Importer for the USA

Kilchoman Distillery is delighted to announce it has appointed ImpEx Beverages Inc. as it’s exclusive importer for the USA.

The first bottles from the summer release 2010 will be available in September 2010.

Kilchoman’s Distillery owner, Anthony Wills said, ‘I’m delighted to be working with ImpEx Beverages. They have similar views on the best ways of
marketing premium, single malt and I’m looking forward to working with them over the coming years in the USA’.

Kilchoman Distillery is the first to be built on the Island of Islay, Scotland in 124 years. The Distillery uses barley grown on site of the Rockside Farm. The malts are produced on the distillery’s own malting floor, thereby taking the art of production backwards 200 years, the way Scotch orignally was made, on small farm distilleries.

For more information contact:
ImpEx Beverages, Inc.
650-872-1114
office@impexbev.com
Kilcholman Distillery Encourages Responsible Drinking

Duncan Taylor & Company Limited

Press Release : 20th April, 2010: Immediate Release

New Appointment :  Stuart Robertson

Duncan Taylor & Co Ltd is pleased to announce the appointment of Stuart Robertson as Distillery Development Manager for its Huntly Distillery project. Stuart’s expertise in this field, gained through his management of Distilleries within Diageo and latterly Springbank Distillers, will bring a wealth of experience to Duncan Taylor and its ambitions of becoming a Distiller in 2010. Stuart who will be joining the company next month will be instrumental in managing the new Huntly Distillery build and its production on completion.

Euan Shand, Duncan Taylor Managing Director, said today that “This is very exciting times for Duncan Taylor, we have had a great year despite the recession. Our new brand lines are introducing us to developing markets such as India and China, it is now time to build our Distillery. We believe we have got the best man to do the job”

Notes:

Duncan Taylor & Co Ltd

Duncan Taylor & Company Limited are Scotch Whisky Merchants who produce the award winning Duncan Taylor Rare Auld Single Malts brands including Black Bull, Battlehill, NC2 and Lonach. International Wines & Spirits Trophy holders and Independent Bottlers of the Year 2009. The company currently exports to Europe, USA, China, Asia/Pacific countries and Russia.

Huntly Distillery

Huntly Distillery is currently developing the first fully carbon neutral distillery in Scotland. The Distillery will utilise the most up to date methods of energy re-cycling, biomass heating and use of sustainable construction materials. The Distillery will produce Single Malt and Single Grain Whiskies and uniquely will produce Scottish Vodka and Gin. The Distillery will be sited in the town of Huntly in Aberdeenshire bordering the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road, 35 miles from Aberdeen.

Visit Duncan Taylor & Co at www.duncantaylor.com