GLENDRONACH DISTILLERY TARGETS CORPORATE SECTOR
 
FOUNDED by the Scottish entrepreneur James Allardice in 1826, Forgue’s GlenDronach distillery shows it’s just as enterprising today…by hiring out its historic premises to the corporate sector.
 
Marketing Manager Kerry White explained: “As well as being an award-winning malt whisky distillery, GlenDronach is also an excellent corporate events venue. So if companies are seeking somewhere fun, memorable and unique, we’re the perfect choice for that perfect event.
 
“Whether it’s a corporate lunch, meeting, conference, product launch, incentive, in-house training or team-building day, our recently-refurbished facility will provide a very comfortable and enjoyable environment for hosting that special event. We can comfortably accommodate up to thirty people Monday-Friday all year round.”
 
She added: “Research shows that workers who are happy and who feel valued make good companies even better. We can help create that special “feelgood” factor for organisations that want to motivate, entertain or innovate, and we’re offering a professional service, expert planning, some wonderful malts and of course a phenomenal location.
 
“GlenDronach, with its twenty acres of ground, nestles in the valley of Forgue amidst rolling hills which are home to some of the most breathtaking scenery in Scotland. It’s peaceful, calming and far from the madding crowd – yet only fifty minutes from Aberdeen. With atmospheric historic stone buildings, an 18th century cobbled courtyard and many of the time-honoured distilling methods still intact, GlenDronach is the jewel in Aberdeenshire’s crown.”
 
Facilities include a flexible conference room, presentation facilities and broadband Internet access plus friendly staff and excellent food. And as it’s a distillery, there’s a range of tours and opportunities for whisky sampling and expert talks on whisky production and distilling.

Visit GlenDronach Distillery at www.glendronachdistillery.com

VIP PRIZE DRAW WINNER DRAWN

On the 15th of October we randomly drew a name from the Warehouse 24 membership as the winner of our VIP trip to The Balvenie Distillery.

We are delighted to announce the winner as Jeff Goldrich from New Jersey, USA.

Jeff, who has been a member of Warehouse 24 for two years, has been a fan of malt whiskies for 15 years now, after being introduced to the world of whisky by a friend.

His first dram was Dewar’s, but his favourite Balvenie is our 12 year old DoubleWood.

Jeff, who works in the world of finance, is married with two children. He hopes to visit in May and will be joined by his wife Marie.

I very much look forward to meeting Jeff and Marie, and showing them around our distillery.

If you are in the Speyside area and want to visit us, take the tour and enjoy a generous nosing and tasting of The Balvenie range, simply arrange it using our online booking tool.

Look forward to seeing you in person some day.

Slainte mhath,

David Mair

The Balvenie Distillery Ambassador

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

With Black Friday approaching, Old Forester, America’s First Bottled Bourbon and the brand who celebrates “Firsts” with you, has created the “Official Cocktail of Black Friday”. Old Forester encourages you to be the FIRST shopper out the door in the morning and the FIRST person home in the afternoon who has their shopping completed for the holiday season so you can then sit back and relax with the Old Forester Black Friday Cocktail. Cheers!

The Black Friday

1.5 oz Old Forester Bourbon

1 oz Ginger ale

2 oz Cola

Squeeze of lime

Garnish with crushed lime.

Note that the green lime represents your money that has been crushed from shopping.

Love life. Sip responsibly.

Old Forester Straight Bourbon Whisky, 43-50% Alc. by Volume, Brown-Forman Distillers Company, Louisville, KY 2010

Cooley Named Best Distillery in Europe for Third Consecutive Year

Chairman John Teeling hails export industries as key to Ireland’s recovery

Cooley Distillery, Ireland’s only independent distillery, has been named European Distiller of the Year for the third consecutive year at the annual International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) banquet held in London.

Cooley Distillery Founder and Chairman, John Teeling believes that Cooley’s achievements throughout the downturn are proof positive that the exporting and marketing of quality Irish produce will drive the recovery of the Irish economy.

John Teeling, Chairman, commented, “While the state and the economic commentators work to rearrange the chairs on the deck of the Titanic, the rest of us are getting on with what needs to be done to bring us back from the brink.

This award, Cooley’s for the third time in a row, demonstrates three things; the value of Irish businessmen building world class internationally competitive businesses; the indisputable fact that Irish workers can produce products of the highest quality and the ability of young Irish road warriors to market our products and gain market share in tough markets around the world.

Our sales in over 40 countries around the world clearly illustrates that the future lies in the exports of Irish owned wealth producers. This award proves it can be done.”

Cooley’s continuing international acclaim has been driven by its commitment to innovation and its focus on exporting its portfolio of award winning whiskeys to over 40 countries around the world.

Despite the downturn, Cooley’s focus on export markets has enabled the company to continue to be profitable and has invested €6.5 million in the infrastructure of their two distilleries – Cooley Distillery in County Louth and the Old Kilbeggan Distillery in County Westmeath.

This latest accolade follows 10 gold medals from the IWSC in July of this year and Cooley Distillery being named Distillery of the Year by Malt Advocate, the leading whisky magazine in North America.

To date Cooley has won the European Distiller of the Year title three times (2008, 2009, 2010), been named World Distiller of the Year by the IWSC (2008) and in 2009 Cooley’s Kilbeggan 15-year-old blended whiskey collected the prestigious Brown Forman Trophy for Worldwide Whiskey of the Year.

List of Gold Medals at the 2010 IWSC

§ Gold Medal & Best in Class, Kilbeggan 15 Year Old Blended Irish Whiskey

§ Gold Medal & Best in Class, Tyrconnell Single Malt

§ Gold Medal & Best in Class, Tyrconnell 10 Year Old Sherry Finish Single Malt

§ Gold Medal & Best in Class, Tyrconnell 15 Year Old Single Cask Single Malt

§ Gold Medal & Best in Class, Connemara Sherry Finish Peated Single Malt

§ Gold Medal & Best in Class, Connemara 12 Year Old Peated Single Malt

§ Gold Medal & Best in Class, Greenore 8 Year Old Single Grain

§ Gold Medal & Best in Class, Greenore 15 Year Old Single Grain

§ Gold Medal & Best in Class, Lockes 8 Year Old Single Malt

§ Gold Medal, Tyrconnell 10 Year Old Madeira Finish Single Malt
 
For More Information

Jack Teeling

Managing Director

Cooley Distillery

Notes

Cooley Distillery is the only independent Irish whiskey distillery. Established in 1987, Cooley takes its name from the location of its distillery, situated at the foothills of the Cooley mountains, in Co. Louth. Cooley has an awarding winning portfolio of Irish whiskeys including Kilbeggan Irish whiskey, Tyrconnell Single Malt, Connemara Peated Single Malt and Greenore Single Grain Irish whiskey. To learn more about Cooley Distillery visit www.cooleywhiskey.com.

The International Wine and Spirit Competition is the premier competition of its kind in the world. Its aim is to promote the quality and excellence of the world’s best wines, spirits and liqueurs. All wines, spirits and liqueurs are blind tasted in groups divided by variety, region and vintage. Awards are made on a points system and sponsored trophies are presented in selected categories. Technical analysis is carried out on Gold, Gold (Best in Class), Silver (Best in Class) award winning wines, spirits and liqueurs to ensure that all products are technically sound and will be of the same high quality when they reach the consumer as they were when the judging panels originally tasted them. For more information visit: www.iwsc.net

Balblair NAS 1989 (43%, OB, +/-2010) 

The 2nd edition 1989 batch made up of 37 casks of 2nd fill ex-bourbon.

The nose is of tinned fruit cocktail & hints of vanilla, syrup,  and pears. Once again an extremely pleasing collection of aromas that work well together. After some time in the glass a little tobacco comes through (cured but not lit). The taste delicious! Oak notes and sweetness all backed by a little tobacco & a hint of citrus hovering in the back ground. The 2nd sip confirms the 1st & still very good the extra oompf from the wood notes adds another dimension. Dusty malt and tobacco backed by some fruit (pineapple or grapefruit). The finish the wood notes 1st, then the sweet fruit in syrup and then malt & the tobacco notes delicious! The finish is quite long & very good, very complex, active certainly NOT a boring dram, exceptional.

Another cracker from Balblair.

£44

Score 89

Visit Balblair Distillery at www.balblair.com

Whisky Weekend II (WWII)
Don’t mention the…Whisky Weekend.
I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it all right!

£70(tbc) = 3 Days in Speyside!!!

DETAILS OF WWII:

Departure will be 9.30am on Friday 3rd December. Back on Sunday 5th Afternoon. £35 deposit required. (by Wednesday 24th be ideal). Very limited seats (12 seats).

Regular members will be first to get tickets. Over 18s only. We are also going to try and have 50/50 female-male ratio (this is just to simplify the hostel booking). Please book if you are 100% sure of coming. 5-6 distilleries to visit, nights out in Inverness + Baxters. One minibus. 2 nights in Inverness. Total will be £70(tbc) – Full amount by Wednesday 1st December. Cost of trip will be for accommodation, visits and Saturday Dinner!! (lunches, drinks and bottles of whisky will be at own expense).

Miss it. Miss out.

University of Aberdeen Malt Whisky Society
The Butchart Centre
University Road
Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire AB24 3UT
aberdeenwhisky@googlemail.com

DRAMFEST 2011 is ready to go!

New Zealands Premier whisky fest is ready to kick off on Feb 25th 2011, after a succesfull start in 2007 with a great event in 2009, 2011 has come around fast and tickets are flying.

Join us for DramFest’11 www.dramfest.co.nz

Thanksgiving & Christmas entertaining this year?

Did you know….

…that you’ll really impress your guests by serving a different whiskey with each course, instead of serving wine, when entertaining this Thanksgiving and/or Christmas?

A suggested seasonal menu would look something like this:

Organic Smoked Irish Salmon on Brown Soda Bread

served with

The Irishman Single Malt

Roast Turkey & Ham with Brussels Sprouts,

Carrots and Creamed Potatoes

served with

The Irishman Original Clan or The Irishman 70

The Irishman Irish Cream Liqueur Cheesecake

served with

The Hotirishman Irish Coffee

The Irishman Cask Strength

(with a nice cigar)

Sláinte!

www.thehotirishman.com

WILLIAM GRANT & SONS CROWNED DISTILLER AND INTERNATIONAL DISTILLER OF THE YEAR

Pioneering distiller scoops two prestigious titles, 33 medals and one trophy at IWSC Awards

18 November 2010: Independent, family-owned distiller William Grant & Sons has been named 2010’s ‘Distiller of the Year’ and ‘International Distiller of the Year’ at the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) Awards, which took place at Guildhall in the City of London, last night. 

William Grant & Sons has reclaimed the IWSC’s title of ‘Distiller of the Year’, the third time it has been awarded this highly sought-after title since 1999, having received distiller accolades from ISC and IWSC an unprecedented eight times in the last 11 years.

The Company also took home the Trophy prize for ‘Single Malt Scotch Whisky Over 15 Years Old’ for the The Balvenie PortWood, 21 YO Single Scotch Whisky, and 33 medals for its spirit portfolio.

Brian Kinsman, William Grant & Sons’ Malt Master and Malt Blender, commented on the win; “We’re absolutely delighted to be named Distiller of the Year and International Distiller of the Year.

“Having won the 2010 title of Distiller of the Year at the Whisky Icon awards, it’s fantastic to have this recognition reinforced by last night’s IWSC awards. It is truly testament to the hard work the whole team puts in to produce the very best dram in the valley – it’s been quite a year for us in Dufftown.”

William Grant & Sons wins these awards fresh from its victory at last week’s ISC event, where it scooped the ‘best single malt’ award for the Glenfiddich 40 Year Old.

2010 IWSC Awards

William Grant & Sons Ltd:

William Grant & Sons is an independent family-owned distiller founded by William Grant in 1886 and today still controlled by the fifth generation of his family.  The Company distils some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world’s favourite single malt Glenfiddich®, the handcrafted range of The Balvenie® single malts and one of the world’s best loved blended Scotches, Grant’s®, as well as selected other spirits, including Hendrick’s® Gin, Sailor Jerry® Spiced Rum and Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey®
 
Click on www.williamgrant.com for more information on the Company and its brands

A message from Raj Sabharwal of Purple Valley Imports (The agents for the English Whisky Company)

Many of you will recall that last year I wrote lamenting about the TTB’s decision to not allow Amrut to be designated as a “Single Malt Whisky”. After appeals and clarification they relented allowing US consumers to enjoy another Single Malt Whisky.

At Purple Valley Imports we are focused on bringing world class Single Malts to US consumers and have been working to offer the English Whisky Company Single Malts to the US market.
 
Well, the powers that be are up to the old tricks again.

We recently presented The English Whisky Company’s Chapter 6 and Chapter 9 to the TTB Beverage Lab ( http://www.ttb.gov/ssd/index.shtml ) for analysis. (Any “Whisky” not from Scotland, Ireland, Canada or the US must go through lab testing).

Although the English Whisky distilled spirits taste, smell and drink like Single Malts the TTB department has deemed that we may call these “Whisky or Whiskey” but not “Single Malt”. Their reasoning? Well, the spirits are not aged in “new oak charred barrels”. 

As all of you are aware the majority of distilleries in Scotland use ex-Bourbon barrels. Bourbon is aged in new oak charred barrels and can only be used once. So, technically whisky is being aged in “new oak charred barrels that have had bourbon pass through them”.

The English Whisky Company, is the first new distillery in England in over a century. Located some 250 miles from Scotland they produce “Single Malt” Whiskies using barley grown and malted in England. (By the way some 60% of the barley used for Scottish Malt Whiskies is grown in England).

Andrew Nelstrop, Managing Director of The English Whisky Company commented: “We use only English barley, malted in England. The whisky we are producing at present was also peated in England. I am not aware of any distillery that can claim they use 100% barley, water and yeast produced in their own country other than ourselves”.

So, here is a small Distillery producing a wonderful dram (can I  call a whisky that isn’t from Scotland a dram?), that the US will not allow to be labeled as “Single Malt”.

Yet, they will allow whiskies from a distillery in Wales (which is much further in distance to Scotland then the English Whisky Company is) to do so.

Well while the rest of the world enjoys The English Whisky Single Malts, the consumers in the US can only dream. 

We are appealing this from here and from the UK. As always we appreciate your support and comments

Cheers

Raj

http://purplevalley.tv/