March/April Special Offers

Kicking off with private Whisky Supper offers for March & April
The clash between England and Scotland during this year’s Six Nations Championship gives cause to raise a Society glass to the Calcutta Cup, celebrated since 1872 and originating in Calcutta of course!

So for the months of March and April, the Society is offering an experience we’re sure you’ll be ‘game’ for :

Whisky and Hearty Suppers – private whisky tasting with a hearty Society supper from £35 + VAT  

And for those of you want to go the full 110 yards (a rugby pitch is no more than 100 meters didn’t you know), why not visit the Society in London for:

Whisky and Curry Supper – private whisky tasting and curries from award winning Cafe Spice Namasté from £37.50 + VAT        

Or better yet, if you are going to the game on Sat 13 Mar, visit us in Edinburgh for:

Pre-game warm up lunches – book a two course lunch and get a flask of Society whisky and taxi, right to the stadium from £45 + VAT                    

Contact the London events team on 0207 8314447 or email london@smws.com and the Edinburgh events team on 0131 555 2266 or email events@smws.com

More offers…

Visit www.smwsevents.co.uk for more of our latest offerings for meeting room hire, private dining and whisky tastings in our venues or a venue of your choice.

EXCITING UPDATES TO THE BALVENIE WEBSITE

The Balvenie website has been updated with all sorts of exciting new content.

For this spring edition we’ve taken the theme of CONTINUITY in craftsmanship, a subject extremely close to the heart of The Balvenie.

The INSIDE STORY examines how the tradition of apprenticeship ensures that each rare craft survives the generations, while LETTER FROM DUFFTOWN gives a personal insight on how The Balvenie rewards long service. With so many craftsmen spending a working lifetime here, it’s something that comes up rather regularly.

There’s also a new “special feature” section which this month goes into detail on DoubleWood – including how it came about.

We’d love to hear your views on all the updates. There’s a contact button for any feedback you may have, or any specific questions you’d like answered.

THE BALVENIE DISTILLERY COMPANY LIMITED
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire, Scotland AB55 4BB
www.thebalvenie.com

The Brandy Library in New York is having an Irish Whiskey Tasting on Tuesday March 9th featuring Cooley Distillery from 6PM to 8PM. Contact the Brandy Library for further details.

25 N. Moore Street. New York, NY 10013  212.226.5545

http://www.brandylibrary.com/

Amrut NAS (46%, OB, ‘Peated’ Batch. No. 01 B’24/09/2008)

A peated Amrut “It is not chill filtered and comes straight from the barrel in its natural colour”. Good, that’s great news and the way we like it. The nose is woody at first with some hints of damp cloth and a rich earthy mustiness that is soon over taken but the by now familiar sweetness that seems to be an Amrut characteristic. Crème brulèe with a very vague sweet egg aroma hovering in the background. The oak spice arrives after a few minutes in the glass and the egg notes vanish and all is well; dried fruits, warm leather (think or a purse or a saddle that has been in the sun for a while). Some wobbly moments there however time in the glass makes things right. The taste is somewhat Islay in style rather than peated Speyside. The peat an oak spice notes and the really good solid sweetness/warm leather are all working in concert. There is also some slight hints of malt but this is solid stuff. The finish is of peated malt, dry oak spice notes and then some tinned fruit (like tinned peaches in syrup) followed by a more malt and dryness. The finish is very long and after some time the peat makes a reappearance.

Mouth smackingly good.

Score 82

C$65

Visit Amrut Distillery at www.amrutwhisky.com/

I can now announce the provisional schedule for the 2010 World Whiskies Conference – and it’s great!  We have one of our very best line-up of speakers ever, with some highly provocative, engaging and relevant presentations.

This year, as worldwide whisky sales emerge from challenging economic conditions, we’ll hear from industry veterans who seen it all before and learn from some new and innovative approaches to social media, luxury and running your own business.

The Conference will be opened by Alexander Ricard, Chairman & CEO of Irish Distillers (part of Pernod Ricard).  On day 1 you’ll hear from Barrie Jackson, looking back over 25 years of whisky and 25 years into the future; Phil Parnell, with insights from the true insider story of rebuilding Drambuie; leading blogger and consumer commentator Mark Gillespie (whiskycast.com) getting into the mind of the enthusiast consumer and, from New York, experiential guru David Polinchock sharing the emerging tools that will drive social media.  We’ll round off the day with a fascinating presentation on the US whisk(e)y market from DISCUS’ Chief Economist David Ozgo that will take us into the Drinks Reception, where we’ll enjoy great Dewar’s whisky cocktails.

On day 2, James Espey (past Chairman of Chivas Brothers and marketer extraordinaire) offers lessons from more than 40 years in the drinks industry and takes your questions on spirits branding; Mark Izatt of Vertu looks at the challenges of the luxury market and the team from IWSR and Just-Drinks.com will offer exclusive new research findings on whisky.  Richard Williams of top London designers Williams Murray Hamm has some radical thoughts on creative disruption and we close with renegade whisky maker Alex Nicol who shares his life outside the corporate comfort blanket marketing Sheep Dip (it’s a whisky apparently).  

And there will be more to follow…so mark these dates in your 2010 schedule: the 2010 World Whiskies Conference (the 5th) will be held on Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st April 2010 when we return to Glasgow’s Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre.  Both days’ sessions will begin from 9.30am allowing you time to travel for a convenient start.

The 5th World Whiskies Conference will be the most hands-on yet as we deliver relevant business information and find the solutions to today’s market with speakers of real expertise and authority.

I look forward to meeting you at the growing global whisky business summit.  Meanwhile make a note of those dates – 20-21 April 2010 – and take advantage of our ‘early bird’ delegate rates (held from 2009) at www.whiskyconference.com

Kind regards,

Ian Buxton
Conference Director

PS: We’ve held delegate ticket prices for the 3rd year in a row – and our ‘early bird’ booking offers great value.

PPS: More about the programme in our next email or check back soon and book online at www.whiskyconference.com

An Update (as promised)

SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED FOR 5TH WORLD WHISKIES CONFERENCE

The World Whiskies Conference has announced its outline programme and, claims Conference Director Ian Buxton “We have our very best line-up ever, with highly provocative, engaging and relevant presentations.”

The Conference opens with Alexander Ricard, Chairman & CEO of Irish Distillers.  First day speakers include InterBev’s Barrie Jackson, looking 25 years into the future; Phil Parnell, with the true insider story of rebuilding Drambuie; leading blogger Mark Gillespie (whiskycast.com) getting into the mind of the enthusiast consumer and, from New York, experiential guru David Polinchock sharing the emerging tools that drive social media.  The day concludes with DISCUS’ Chief Economist David Ozgo on trends in the US whisk(e)y market followed by the Dewar’s Drinks Reception.

On day 2, James Espey (past Chairman of Chivas Brothers; marketer extraordinaire) offers lessons from more than 40 years in the industry; Mark Izatt of Vertu looks at the challenges of the luxury market and the team from IWSR and Just-Drinks.com will provide exclusive new whisky research findings.  Richard Williams of top designers Williams Murray Hamm has some radical thoughts on creative disruption.  Further speakers will be announced shortly.

“We’re seeing a more confident industry emerge from the recession,” claims Buxton “and the conference will address recovery strategies for global growth.”

The 2010 World Whiskies Conference (the 5th) will be held on Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st April 2010 in Glasgow’s Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre.  Details and on-line booking at www.whiskyconference.com

Islay Bound!
Get ready for a WhiskyCast marathon in May! I’ll be attending the Islay Festival of Malt & Music (also known as Feis Ile) at the end of May, and will be doing NINE shows in NINE days from the NINE distilleries on Islay and Jura that participate in one of Islay’s biggest events of the year. Listen to WhiskyCast for details as the festival gets closer, and if you’re planning to be on Islay between May 22-30, look for me and be sure to say hello!

In fact, Feis Ile will be my second trip to Scotland in a month. I’ve been invited to be a speaker at the annual World Whiskies Conference in Glasgow on April 20. This is a trade-only conference primarily for sales and marketing folks, and I’ve been asked to discuss the point of view that whisky connoisseurs have on the current state of the business. If you have some suggestions on what I can tell them, please let me know. I’m also planning to visit a couple of distilleries after the conference ends, with an eye to visiting Speyside this time around.

Slainte!

 
Mark Gillespie

www.whiskycast.com

Come and Taste a Wee Dram Scotch Tasting / Seminar
Two Major Independent Bottlers:
Signatory and Gorgon & MacPhail
Variety of Single Malt Scotch Whiskies From Lowlands to Islay

 Tuesday, March 9, 2010  6 pm

 TO BE HELD AT:  La Boheme Restaurant
 1425 Burlingame Ave  Burlingame, CA 94010

 Sponsored by K & L Wine Merchants and hosted by Chris Uhde

 To reserve a space please call 650-364-8544
 Admission is $ 50.00
 Must purchase tickets in advance – Space is Limited
 
Isle of Skye – Ian MacLeod, Benromach, Edradour, Bladnoch Un-Chillfiltered – Signatory, Cragganmore Un-Chillfiltered – Signatory
Laphroaig Cask Strength – Signatory.

Linkwood, Highland Park and Caol Ila Port Finish – Gordon & MacPhail

Visit K&L at http://www.klwines.com/

Amrut NAS (61.9%, OB, ‘Cask Strength’ bottled Sept 2007)

The second of three tasting notes this week featuring the single malts of Amrut Distillery. The undiluted nose is of tinned fruit cocktail and vaguely earthy at first but after some time in the glass it opens up and become floral followed by some un smoked pipe tobacco (the sweet kind) and then some nice wood spice notes (think of antique furniture). Very nice indeed. With water it become very familiar; ah yes, scotch! It is still very sweet and earthy followed by the wood spices. Everything is OK so far…. The undiluted taste is some unlike the nose at first but this quickly changes as it charges through sweet, earthy and then blasts into the wood notes and then the pipe tobacco. The floral notes make a late appearance but are very subtle. There is also some dry dusty malt an then some citrus. With water it’s more approachable and gentler; sweeter and mellower, the earthiness, the sweetness and the pipe tobacco all work together. The finish is very spiced and dry while being very long, after a short while the tinned fruit cocktail and the citrus make an appearance. The finish continues on for quite a while and is very pleasant. After a few minutes the finish is some smackingly good gentle malt and gentle oak notes.

Another very good whisky from Amrut Distillery (The NEW Bangalore Torpedo).

C$78

Score 85 Points

Visit Amrut Distillery at http://www.amrutwhisky.com/

2 of 3 scotch Indian Whisky by Amrut Distillery this week…….

Tickets on Sale Monday, March 15th!

First order of business: tickets for Spirit of Toronto 2010 go on sale Monday, March 15th at 10am sharp. These will be available directly from Roy Thomson Hall, in person, by telephone, by fax or online (weblink to be confirmed when activated). To receive an automatic ticket notification the night before, visit www.spiritoftoronto.ca and enter your email address.

Loch Fyne Whiskies News has stocked a new item, ‘Springbank CV’

Springbank CV
46% abv
£28.49 inc vat
£24.25 ex vat

Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk