Loch Fyne Whiskies has posted a new item, ‘Christmas 2010 – Deadline & Weather Watch’

Our deadline for deliveries to be made in time for Christmas has now passed. We are continuing to despatch same day except we can not despatch to SCOTTISH addresses at all, at the moment we do not have a date when this will resume, watch this space.

You may view the latest post at
https://www.lfw.co.uk/blog/2010/12/20/christmas-2010-%e2%80%93-deadline-weather-watch-3/

Best regards,
Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk

Tomatin releases 1973 and 1982 Single Casks.

Tomatin Distillery is delighted to announce the release of two exquisite Single Cask bottlings. These expressions of the Tomatin Single Malt Scotch whisky were selected by Master Distiller, Douglas Campbell, who deemed them to be of an exceptional standard.

Matured in a refill Bourbon cask the 1973 displays a complex mix of flavours ranging from wild cherries and pear drops to coconut flakes and lemon curd. This 36 year old single cask yielded a paltry 184 bottles and will be available to consumers worldwide although the majority of the stock is expected to be sold in Western Europe. Bottles are expected to retail at £450.00.

The 1982 expression comes from an Oloroso sherry Puncheon and offers drinkers a remarkably different experience to the 1973. Bottled at a natural strength of 57%abv and limited to 560 bottles this bottling will again be offered to Tomatin distributors throughout the world. The 1982 is expected to sell for around £340.00

Both of these whiskies are presented in an ultra heavy weight glass bottle which is sealed with a wax coated glass stopper. Each bottle is protected with a luxurious velvet lined wooden box designed by Breeze Creative and manufactured by Mount Gabriel.

Graham Nicolson, Regional Sales Manager for Western Europe commented “I feel confident that these Single Cask expressions will be very well received by whisky enthusiasts around the world. We are starting to build up a loyal following in certain Western European markets and I am sure that consumers will not be disappointed by what are 2 very unique expressions of Tomatin”.

Product Details

Brand Name Tomatin 1973 Single Cask
Cask No 25602
Cask Type Refill American Oak Cask
No of Bottles Produced 184
Date of Distillation 13.09.73
Date of Bottling 10.08.10
Age Over 36 years
Strength 44%abv
Chill filtration No

Tasting Notes

Nose – A veritable fruit salad. Pear drops, wild cherries, cranberries, malt, vanilla and beeswax
Palate – Light ,soft , subtle fruity flavours coat the middle of the tongue. These are followed by delicate hints of lemon curd, coconut flakes and a heather honey sweetness that linger on and on…
Finish – Smooth , sensual and creamy.

Brand Name Tomatin 1982 Single Cask
Cask No 92
Cask Type Refill Sherry Puncheon
No of Bottle Produced 560

Date of Distillation 29.01.82
Date of bottling 10.08.10
Age Over 28 years
Strength 57%abv
Chill filtration No

Tasting Notes

Nose – Soft and honeyed with gentle hints of aniseed. Darjeeling Tea leaves, banoffee pie with a minty undertone.
Palate – Rich , sweet and mellow. Gently toasted hazelnuts and almonds, stewed plums giving way to subtle oaky flavours.
Finish – Subtle and creamy with a hint of coconut.

Orders placed with us over the weekend to ENGLAND & WALES should be good for delivery in time for the 25th, don’t delay a moment as this may change. After Friday 17th we can not despatch to SCOTTISH addresses at all, at the moment we do not have a date when this will resume, watch this space.

Visit Loch Fyne Whiskies at https://www.lfw.co.uk/

Best regards,
Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk

Burns Supper at the City Club of San Francisco

Haggis, poetry readings, singing and most of all, lots of scotch whisky. Join us for a great Burns Party with Robin Coupar of Skyy Spirits. Join us on January 21st from 6:30 to 9:00 pm at the City Club of San Francisco for a Burns Supper celebration in honor of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns. This formal dinner will start with the Selkirk Grace as it follows the traditional format of the supper. And if whisky and poetry aren’t enough to excite you, there will of course be plenty of haggis!

http://www.whiskiesoftheworld.com/store/index.php?cPath=20

Dominic Roskow took on a tough challenge for his latest book – identifying the world’s 750 best whiskies. We’ll hear from the author of “The World’s Best Whiskies: 750 Essential Drams from Tennessee to Tokyo” in this episode. In the news, Ken Storrie, the owner of Glasgow’s legendary pub “The Pot Still” has died…and his Scrooge-like landlord evicted Ken’s widow and family from the premises days before Christmas. We’ll also hear about the retirement of Woodford Reserve manager Dave Schuerich, a milestone at Heaven Hill, and some of your “Dramcember” drams. 

Visit WhiskyCast at www.whiskycast.com 

Snowflakes are falling on the distillery, so it’s the perfect time to send my Christmas card and write my end of year letter to you.

As always it has been a really busy year. So let’s start with the changes at home.

The Distillery and Islay
We opened our own Cooperage this year. It’s a fantastic facility to have at the distillery as there is always work to do on the thousands of barrels, butts, hogsheads and, of course, our special Quarter Casks. The cooperage also features in a new Laphroaig film that we have shot for release next year. We have also added a new lift in our original Warehouse Number 1 right by the sea. This will give us access to the two top floors once again where we will be able to mature an additional 7,500 barrels. Production remains busy at the distillery and we will, by year end, have created a new production record – so a big thanks go to all the team for this great achievement.

The other new physical addition is the Laphroaig Museum – this is situated next to the Friends of Laphroaig members lounge. The beautiful slate floor was only finished last week and the final historical memorabilia will be added before Christmas with luck.

Online, the big development was the launch of our official Laphroaig Facebook page. I try to save emails for only the important communications to the Friends so Facebook is a brilliant way for us to tell you about events as and when they happen. It’s proved hugely popular with over 45,000 of you joining in the first 9 months. If you have not had a look, please do – you can even see pictures of yours truly sporting a ridiculous moustache for Movember! Thanks by the way for all of you that sponsored me, the total amount raised was in excess of £1300, thanks to your generosity. You can find our page by searching for ‘Laphroaig’ on Facebook or by going to http://www.facebook.com/laphroaig.

Talking of new construction projects, I should also add that 2 new piers are being constructed at Port Ellen and Port Askaig. Nice though this is, the truth appears to be that when the new (larger) ferry was ordered in 2007, nobody checked to see whether it would fit the existing structures!

The Feis Ile
This year’s Feis Ile in May was the best yet. Of course we released our annual Friends bottling, called Cairdeas Master Edition, specially created by our Master Blender, Robert Hicks. As usual, it sold out in a couple of weeks. I have of course passed on all the many lovely comments you sent me about it to Robert. 2011 is my turn, so I hope you enjoy my selection as much as you did his!

We also ran boat tasting trips where we sailed visiting Friends around our neighbouring island, Texa, whilst Simon Brooking, our Laphroaig Ambassador for North America, conducted tastings and regaled his captive audiences with Scottish folk songs. The Sensory Tour and our Chef Master Classes also proved very popular. But the highlight of the week was actually on the Sunday when we held our first official Laphroaig Gathering. Unfortunately it was limited to the first 300 Friends, and they all turned up to put on their special wellies, receive their engraved toasting glasses and visit the Plots – where we all shared a toast with Cairdeas. Since then I have presided over 2 further official Gatherings, one in Jerez, Spain, and a second at the Statue of Liberty, New York.

Laphroaig Live 2010
Talking of Jerez, Spain, this was the location of our fourth Laphroaig Live broadcast. Once again it broke all viewing records – so thank you for tuning in on the night and sending in so many questions. The hot topic you all wanted to know more about was our new expression, Triple Wood, which enjoys its third maturation in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, hence our Spanish location. You all wanted to know when it would be coming into general retail; the answer is (we hope!) September 2011. Oh, and the second most popular request was for the next Laphroaig Live to be in different FOL’s own countries! Well, as always, that has to be a secret – but, it will be my first trip down there and I am really looking forward to meeting you all. That’s all I’m saying for now!

International
This year the Laphroaig team have met Friends all over the world. I have conducted tastings in Sweden, Finland, UK, Spain and The USA. Robert has travelled to India, South Africa, Japan, France, Romania and Brazil. Simon has covered the length and breadth of America and Canada, and Vicky visited Sweden and Norway.

Whilst I don’t like to boast, I was really pleased with this year’s hoard of international medals, bagging Gold, Double Gold and Best in Class from the 3 main independent competitions. But, for me, the highlight was the Best Cask Strength Whisky award for our 25 year old.

Well, that’s all for now. A big thanks once again for all your letters. emails and postcards over the year – keep them coming, we love them. Have a super holiday season and, as always, I will be toasting you all on our special day in Scotland – Hogmanay.

Slàinte Math

John Campbell
Laphroaig Distillery Manager

Friends of Laphroaig web site
http://www.laphroaig.com/friends

Laphroaig Distillery, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay, Argyll, PA42 7DU, Tel. 01496 302418

Enjoy responsibly – http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/

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

Laphroaig 25yo (40%, OB, +/-2008)

“Farven Justeret Med Karamel” Oh, c’mon! Really?? It’s not necessary. “the most richly flavoured of all scotch whiskies. Part matured in the finest Oloroso sherry casks’ Oh really, then why the need for the KARAMEL?

 In any case the nose is gently peated with hints of tinned fruit in syrup and loads of unsweetened cocoa. The peat smoke is restrained and very good, it’s very seductive, a really good combination of cocoa and peat smoke. The taste is gentle at first and slightly dry but the flavour rises after a moment or two and then plateaus and becomes almost fizzy like. It’s very gentle, the 40% has really not helped but it’s still a very tasty whisky. The best moment is right after the first swallow which leads to another. There are even hints of some maritime and the hospital gauze so loved by many in other Laphroaig.  The finish is quite dry followed by the peat smoke but once again it is very gentle but still good but not brilliant. After a minute or so there is some good malt intermingled with the peat smoke which is gamely hanging on. After a few moments all that remains are peat and malt and some good dryness.

A restrained Laphroaig but still very, very good, not sure where the Oloroso got to however. Some what a kissing cousin of the Laphroaig 15yo in the box (not the tube) from many years ago. Both are some what restrained but still Laphroaig and still good.

C$700 in one Canadian market or £299 at the Whisky Exchange

Score 88 points

(Many thanks to Al & Maggie for this sample)

HEAVEN HILL DISTILLERIES FILLS MILESTONE 6 MILLIONTH BARREL OF KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY

Company Only the Second Continuously Operated Distillery to Reach Historic Number

BARDSTOWN, Ky. – Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., the nation’s largest independent family-owned distilled spirits producer and the world’s second-largest holder of aging Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, today celebrated the filling of Bourbon barrel number six million.  Heaven Hill is only the second continuously operating Bourbon producer to reach the historic benchmark. And in an historic coincidence, the filling of barrel number six million took place on the exact same day, 75 years later, that Heaven Hill filled their first barrel of Bourbon in 1935.

“It is indeed a proud day for our company and our extended Heaven Hill family,” said Heaven Hill Distilleries President Max L. Shapira.  “That the filling of this historic barrel fell on the 75th anniversary of the day that my father and his four brothers filled Heaven Hill’s very first Bourbon barrel makes this day monumentally important for us.  And it is made all the more special that it is personally overseen by two generations of my family and two generations of the family of our Master Distillers Parker and Craig Beam.”

No one could foresee the many changes and tremendous growth that lay ahead for both Heaven Hill and the American Whiskey industry in between the filling of their first barrel— ironically on Friday, December 13th, 1935—and their latest milestone barrel, but the company remains true to its original mission as a family-owned and operated independent Kentucky company, the last remaining in the Bourbon business today. Heaven Hill now has over 900,000 aging barrels of Kentucky Bourbon in their inventory, and their flagship Evan Williams brand is the second largest selling Bourbon in the United States and the world. 

The 6 millionth barrel was “bunged off” by sixth- and seventh-generation father and son Master Distillers Parker and Craig Beam in a brief ceremony at Heaven Hill’s cistern room attended by company executives and local dignitaries.  Congressman Brett Guthrie, Bardstown Mayor J. Richard Heaton and Mayor Elect Bill Sheckles, State Rep. David Floyd and Nelson County Judge Executive Dean Watts attended the brief ceremony and offered congratulations to the company on their latest accomplishment.  The barrel was then moved to Rickhouse “Y” where it will rest alongside the other Heaven Hill milestone barrels in a special display where visitors to Heaven Hill’s Bourbon Heritage Center may view them.

Founded in 1934, Bardstown, KY-based Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. (www.heavenhill.com) is the nation’s largest independent, family-owned and operated spirits producer and marketer and the world’s second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon. Heaven Hill’s diversified portfolio of brands includes The Christian Brothers Brandies; Evan Williams and Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskeys; Burnett’s Vodkas and Gin; Hpnotiq Liqueur; PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur; Lunazul and Two Fingers Tequilas, and Dubonnet Aperitif.

Heaven Hill reminds you to “Think Wisely. Drink Wisely.”

The Christmas season is upon us and I can’t believe how quickly 2010 has gone by. It’s a time for family and friends and a time to toast the health of those near and far with a wee dram of our beloved malt. It’s also a time to unwind, to switch off and re-charge batteries that have been well and truly run down after such a busy year!

This Christmas, we have a lovely offer open to all of you as a special thank you for joining us and being part of our community. We’re offering one lucky Diurach and 7 of their nearest and dearest the chance to start 2011 in style at the Jura Lodge. It truly is the perfect Scottish getaway and the ideal base to enjoy and explore our wonderful island.

To be in with a chance of a stay in the best setting on earth (once you’ve been, I just know you’ll agree) all you have to do is tell us why you would like to enjoy a break on Jura in 50 words or less. To give yourself the best chance of winning, get your friends and relatives to enter too. One of them may win and decide to take you along! The more the merrier as they say. Click here to enter.

All that remains for me to say is that I wish you all the very best and I look forward to seeing you in 2011. Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year from all of us on Jura.

Slainte

Willie Cochrane
Jura Distillery Manager