A CONVOCATION OF COMPANIONS TO CELEBRATE OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY!

You are cordially invited to attend “The Great Gathering of The Quaich”

September 24 to 26 at Fern Resort Orillia, Ontario

Join your fellow Companions of the Quaich and friends for a wonderful weekend

Featuring:

The Great Malt Tastings & Dinners*

The Great Via Allegro/Diageo Hospitality Suite

The Great Chapter Challenge Golf Tournament*

Arrival:   Friday September 24        Check in: 4 p.m.
Departure: Sunday September 26  Check out: 1 p.m.

Package  rate per person: $393.75 single     $315.00 double
plus 13% HST, 10% Service Charge

Package rate includes:

Accommodation for 2 nights:  large inns and lakeside units

Meals – includes 6 – Dinner Friday to Sunday Lunch

Use of sports and recreational facilities;

4-way volleyball, 9-hole mini putt baseball, soccer shuffleboard, Bocci, horseshoes, Tennis, badminton, basketball 5-hole par-3 golf course
walking, nature trails archery, batting cage canoes, kayaks, paddle-boats 2 outdoor pools, lakeside. Indoor pool, sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi Exercise & fitness room

Hospitality Suite – WiFi resort wide.

Assistance provided for evening activities / social for Friday and Saturday night. Activities Director for sports and recreational facilities

*The Friday and Saturday malt tastings and dinners are open to all Chapter members and guests who are not staying at the Fern Resort. Cost is $60 for members and $70 for guests. Mail cheque with reservation to Ed Patrick by September 1.

*The golf tournament at Hawk Ridge Golf Course, Orillia, is open to everyone. Pay your own greens fees and shared carts: $59.99 plus HST.

For further details and a registration form please visit http://tinyurl.com/CofQConvocation

John Eastam from Gordon MacPhail, talking about their Connoisseurs Choice and Cask Range Thursday 27th May Cost £25

We’ll be tasting:

Aberfeldy 1990 10yo
Benromach OB  10yo
Old Pulteney Cask 1993 59%
Clynelish 1997 59%
Aultmore 1995

Bookings

Venue : Stourbridge West Midlands : underneath/sous-terre C16 cellars
Start : 7:00pm
Cost : £ 25 per person
Seating : One cushioned seat per person .
Food : Oat cakes n various cheeses.
Water : Plenty

David Gardener
Nickolls and Perks
01384 394518

Visit Nicolls and Perks at http://www.nickollsandperks.co.uk/

Whisky Intelligence has reproduced (with permission) The Gauntleys Whisky Newsletter for October 2003; a small sample of scotch whisky archeology. The author, Chris Goodrum, has some excellent insights of whisky, which makes for excellent reading on a Sunday.  However as you may have noticed we are nearing the end of the series of his excellent newsletters. Enjoy one of the final installments!

Dear Whisky customers

The big news this month is a series of new releases from Bruichladdich. As you will all be aware that I have the greatest respect and admiration for Jim McEwan. He is passionate about his whisky and has a nose for a superb cask of whisky.

JIM McEWANS CELTIC HEARTLANDS

This year, the master distiller celebrates his 40th year in the whisky business, which he joined at the age of 15 as an apprentice cooper. Over four decades he has put his heart and soul into the making of Scotch Whisky and has brought a taste of Scotland and the magic of Islay to thousands throughout the world.

In commemoration of this, he has selected some very special casks which he feels reflect the Celtic heritage of his homeland and convey the passion he feels for it.

The Celtic Heartlands whiskies are 100% Bourbon Cask matured, are caramel free, have not been chill-filtered and are bottled at their natural strength. Each are presented in a specially commissioned decanters featuring one of the most endearing Celtic symbols, the Birds of Friendship. Limited to just 722 bottles of each expression, each one is individually numbered.

As Jim says “These are the finest single malts from the heartlands of the Celts”

THE RANGE

1968 Bowmore  40.6%
1967 Highland Park 40.1%
1968 Macallan 40.2%

The recommended retail price is £249.95 per decanter. However for orders placed before 31st October we are offering them at £222.95 per decanter. For orders of two or more of these stunning decanters the price drops to £209.95 each.

LEGACY SERIES 2

The Bruichladdich Legacy Series is the second release of their oldest and best casks which were inherited when the distillery was bought in December 2000. Jim has made this personal selection of casks dating back to 1965 and has carefully vatted them together to create an exceptional limited edition of 1500 bottles.

The label has been specially commissioned by the celebrated artist Frances McDonald, whose work depicts the scenery of Scotland’s Hebridean Islands entitled “Loch Indaal from Port Charlotte”.

Like all their bottlings, it has been bottled without chill-filtering and at the natural strength of 41.8%

Bruichladdich Legacy Series 2 37 Year Old

50% American Oak, 50% Refill Sherry.
Luscous, silky, mellow fruit exudes from the glass. Sublime in the mouth, full of Amontillado laced oak, dried tropical fruit, a dash of vanilla, hints of glorious coconut milk, brandy butter, marshmallows and a tingle of lively lemon and Islay air have melded together beautifully to offer an extraordinary dram.

The recommended retail price is £189.95 per bottle. However for orders placed before 31st October we are offering it at £177.95.

THE 1973 VINTAGE LADDIE

Finally the last new offering is this superbly crafted 30 year old whisky. Limited to 4200 bottles, each of which is hand numbered and bottled at the natural strength of 40.2%. It demonstrates the complexity and depth of flavour found in the sophisticated Islay malt.

Bruichladdich 30 Year Old 1973 Vintage

65% American Oak, 35% Refill Sherry.
A lovely, mellow, sherry tinged aromas with that classic, complex, Bruichladdich signature  of vanilla sweetness and a touch of briny sea air. Initially the quality, mellow oak engulfs the palate, leaving a complex array of flavours on the tongue, sweet  gingerbread, almond cake, stewed pears, honey glazed marmalade oranges, and finishes with a very long quiet warmth that denotes its elegant maturity.

The recommended retail price is £114.95 per bottle. However for orders placed before 31st October we are offering it at £107.95.

CONTACT

We would welcome any comments you would like to make about this newsletter,  any of our products, or how we can improve our service. Please feel free to  contact us on rhone@gauntleywine.com

Sincerely
Chris Goodrum

Visit Gauntleys of Nottingham at http://www.gauntley-wine.co.uk/

ABERLOUR GETS THE CONSUMER VOTE AT SPEYSIDE WHISKY AWARDS
 
Aberlour single malt whisky is celebrating after last night (29 April 2010) winning two categories at the Spirit of Speyside Festival Whisky Awards for its 10 Year Old and 16 Year Old expressions. The awards were presented by renowned yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston at the Festival’s Opening Dinner and Dance and were collected on behalf of Aberlour by Distillery Manager Stuart Pirie.
 
Aberlour triumphed in the ‘12 Years Old and Under’ and ’13 to 20 Years Old’ categories in the only malt whisky competition that embraces the decisions of the consumer. The Spirit of Speyside Festival Whisky Awards are only open to single malts produced within Speyside, Scotland’s premier whisky region. The festival itself is one of Europe’s largest whisky festivals, bringing together thousands of whisky lovers from around the world many of whom also have the opportunity to judge entries to the awards.
 
Brand Director for malts at Chivas Brothers, Neil Macdonald, comments: “To win two ‘best of the best’ awards at this esteemed awards ceremony is exceptionally flattering and really highlights the popularity of Aberlour with whisky lovers around the world. What is great about the Spirit of Speyside Festival Whisky Awards is that ‘real people’ decide the winners – and ultimately these are the people who are buying and enjoying Aberlour.”
 
Selling over 2.5million bottles of Scotch per year, Aberlour is one of the most successful whiskies in the complementary malts portfolio from Chivas Brothers that includes The Glenlivet, Longmorn, Strathisla, Scapa and Tormore. It is the best-selling single malt in France, the world’s biggest whisky market.
 
Aberlour 10 Year Old is an elegant yet complex malt that is suitable for all occasions. Aberlour 16 Year Old Double Cask Matured was launched in 2003 and is a further example of Aberlour’s versatility when matured in sherry and traditional oak casks.
 
Introduced at the 2005 Festival with the support of Whisky Magazine, the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Awards have developed into a prestigious feature of the Spirit of Speyside Festival. 
 
Notes :
 
Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard – the world’s co-leader in wine and spirits. Chivas Brothers is the global leader in luxury Scotch whisky with a portfolio that includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater Gin, The Glenlivet, Royal Salute, Aberlour, Plymouth Gin, Longmorn, Scapa, 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport.
 

Spirit of Speyside Chairman Jim Royan, OBE, with Aberlour Distillery manager Stuart Pirie.

1ST May 2010

Dear Customers,

This month we are bringing to your attention – and to the market – four (4) new PROVENANCE bottlings.

Their Tasting Notes are:

PRV 0617 Glenburgie 11 Year Old
The nose is fresh & clean and carries a sweet, candy floss character and develops to a barbershop style. The palate opens with a fruity sweet quality, reminiscent of pears poached in wine and spices. More pears on the finish, now with cloves and spices (J)

PRV 0614 Arran 12 Year Old

Opens with a sweet character on the nose then develops to a spicy, complex amalgam of bees wax, polished wood, boiled sweets and stewed fruits. The mouthcoating palate carries toffee and runs to dried fruit and spices. The finish is long, replicates the palate and tails with an oak tang. (J)

PRV 0615 Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old

Opens fresh and fruity on the nose and carries to a barley sugar, sweet style. The palate replicates the nose, still fresh with a mandarin liqueur, sweet character. The finish is light and attractively fruity, still fresh with an orange tang that just runs and runs. (J)

PRV 0624 Port Ellen 27 Year Old

The nose is fresh and clean, developing to a salty, oceanic style and runs to sweet smoke and burnt citrus peel. The palate is well balanced between sweet and smokey elements, then a mentholated quality appears which carries to a soft tar character. The finish is long, sweetly
smoked with a salty, leathery quality. (J)

Already tasted by recent visitors to the office, we hope they will similarly be appreciated by you and your own valued clients. The (ever decreasing) Port Ellen and the Glenburgie (which was considered nicely aperitif and very appropriate for summer consumption) were particularly well received through these recent informal tastings.

We hope they will all have a real interest when we take some of these malts on a Whisky tasting near you. At your service!

Best wishes

Fred

Visit Douglas Laing & Co at http://www.douglaslaingwhisky.com/

Edinburgh & St.Andrews

Wanted!

Old & Rare Whiskies!

Competitive Prices Paid…In Cash!

Ardbeg, Port Ellen, Macallan, Laphroaig, Glenmorangie, Hazelwood, Dalmore and many more wanted.

Bottles or full collections…Auction prices paid!

Email us now with details of any Whisky you might be looking to sell, along with detailed pictures.

enquiries@abbeywhisky.com

Sláinte

Abbey Whisky

www.abbeywhisky.com

Specialist supplier of rare, collectable and exclusive malts.

Grant’s Scotch Whisky have launched their newly redesigned website, take a moment and explore the new site at http://www.grantswhisky.com/ 

Glenfarclas OB 40yo 46%alc.

If you fancy a super-premium, ultra-aged, souper-dooper dram ready for drinking at a penny-pinchingly affordable price, here it is.

There is everything you want from a prestige whisky for sharing, well sherry-matured – but not too much, big aroma – but not too heavy on the palate and big-big value.

On the flavour map it fits in square J5, ‘Rich’. But not just for the rich (ho-ho). Buy lots.

On the flavour map we put it in square J5
Rich

Price excluding VAT: £217.02
£255.00 Including VAT at 17.5%

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

Ben Nevis 25yo (56%, OB, C#98/51/1, 628 Bottles, Distilled 12/1984 Bottled 01/2010)

Ben Nevis Distillery established in 1825, is one of the oldest licensed distilleries in Scotland. The distillery is nestled at the foot of Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis, which has a summit elevation of 4’406 feet above sea level. This imposing mountain provides an impressive background to a traditional Scottish craft. (From the website http://www.bennevisdistillery.com )

This sample was filled into freshly dumped bourbon barrels on the 20th of December 1984 and continued to mature in these casks for 14 years until on the 14th October 1998 the whisky was vatted and transferred into freshly dumped sherry butts. Maturation continued in these casks until this a particular cask was bottled in early January 2010 as a 25 year old. (From the wee neck booklet on the bottle).

The nose is closed at first but quickly opens up with rich tinned fruit, Christmas cake, warmed raisins and fruit cake backed by light varnish, hints of clove, oak notes and Demerara sugar. As you may surmise from the descriptors the nose is very rich, after a few minutes there is a hint of fennel lurking in the back ground along with an equally vague hint of burlap along with more of the oak. The more time it spends in the glass the more it evolves so it’s best to nip this in the bud and have a taste other wise we’ll be at this all day. There is strong (which is good)  bursts of sherry richness and huge dry oak and lashing of Fry’s cocoa and then a creaminess followed by light Marzipan, cold black unsweetened tea, more sherry and dryness. Oh my, what a complex wonderful dram. The finish is warming, long and sweet at first followed by the really excellent cocoa and the dryness. Think of old musical instruments and antique furniture shops and quality. After a number of minutes some malt makes a late appearance.

Impressive. Indeed, Ben Nevis is special. (Beware of palate failure; your palate must be tip top, no heavy meals, garlic, blue cheee or sheep’s brains, this is a delicate whisky with a big public persona that really isn’t if you take the meaning).

Score 89 points

http://www.bennevisdistillery.com/

https://www.whiskyintelligence.com/2010/04/ben-nevis-25yo-single-cask-at-single-malts-direct-scotch-whisky-news/ for further information and it’s priced at £78.99

Whisky Visitor Numbers Up Again in 2009

New figures announced today by ScotlandWhisky – the national Whisky Tourism Organisation – reinforce the importance of Scotch Whisky to Scotland’s tourism sector. 

Visitor numbers grew by 2.6% in 2009, with 1,268,553 tourists visiting a distillery in Scotland. 

Consumer spending at distilleries increased by nearly 13%, contributing £28.4* million  to the local economy. 

Chris Conway from ScotlandWhisky said:

“These latest figures clearly show the continued attraction of Scotland’s national drink to tourists.   Visitors have a real desire to find out more about Scotch Whisky, and visiting a distillery remains a ‘must-do’ activity.  In fact, approximately 8% of visitors to Scotland tour a distillery**.” 

The increase in distillery visitors was in line with provisional figures for the wider Scottish tourism sector, with the growing average spend at distilleries outperforming the market.  

Conway continued:

“The on-going growth of visitor numbers to distilleries is a testament to the investment and innovation distillers continue to make.  More distilleries are investing in improved visitor facilities with a real emphasis on education and entertainment.  Many distilleries now offer additional connoisseur tours, masterclasses and opportunities to bottle or even blend your own Whisky – as well as participating in Whisky Festivals.” 

“Moreover, with many of Scotland’s best known distilleries situated in the Highlands and Islands the increase in spend gives a particular boost to rural economies.” 

Today’s figures come ahead of an important month in the whisky tourism calendar.  This year’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival runs 29th April to 3rd of May with events at distilleries throughout the region (more details can be found at www.Scotlandwhisky.com).

It will be followed later in the month by the Islay Malt and Music festival: 22nd to 30th May.

ENDS

* This figure includes sales of tour tickets, retail sales from distillery shops and café sales.
 **Based on the latest full year figures from VisitScotland (2008).  Tourist that spend an overnight stay in Scotland

Notes

• ScotlandWhisky is supported by The Scotch Whisky Association, The Scotch Whisky Experience, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, VisitScotland and its membership.

• 90 hotels, golf courses, bars and restaurants are now officially recognised as Scotch Whisky ‘Embassies’, having met specific quality criteria, including staff trained in Scotch Whisky appreciation.   Further information about ScotlandWhisky and its Embassy network is available at www.scotlandwhisky.com.