Hello Fellow Scotch Lovers – 

It just keeps getting better: This week I am as excited as ever to offer you the opportunity to purchase another highly collectible whisky: Knappogue Castle Sherry-Cask Finished 16 Year Old Irish Single Malt.

Knappogue Castle is a producer of super-premium single malt Irish whiskies. Their new 16-year old single malt whiskey, Twin Wood, is aged in two types of barrels…a first for the brand. After 15 years and three months in bourbon casks, this latest offering from Knappogue Castle, spent a final nine months aging in sherry casks – hence its name.

This is an extremely limited edition whisky, with only 1,900 signed and numbered bottles produced of the Twin Wood 16 Year Old. So if you want a bottle, please purchase your Knappogue Castle 16YO Twin Wood Irish Single Malt now, and this year celebrate St Patricks Day in style.

As always with opportunities like this, once it’s gone, it’s gone!

Doug Stone
Founder
www.ForScotchLovers.com  

Whisky Liqueur for Single Malt Connoisseurs

Master of Malt have created a whisky liqueur for single malt Scotch whisky drinkers.

Master of Malt’s (http://www.masterofmalt.com/) Whisky liqueur is made exclusively with all-sherry matured, 10 year old single malt whisky from a very famous Speyside distillery. It is flavoured with many Christmassy spices including cinnamon and cloves, and two kinds of orange peel. The result is a rich and complex liqueur aimed at the discerning single malt whisky connoisseur.

Master of Malt’s Sales Director, Ben Ellefsen, described the thinking behind the new venture: “We wanted to go against the grain and say “here’s a liqueur that a whisky connoisseur can enjoy”. Our new liqueur is made with all natural ingredients, based around an absolutely superb 10 year old Speyside single malt whisky, which was matured solely in sherry casks. The flavours we added were chosen to complement the Scotch, and bring it to a new level – this is in contrast to many of the mass-marketed liqueurs which use huge levels of sweetness and flavourings to hide the lack of complexity in the (often cheap, young, grain) whiskies they are based on.”

“Our new whisky liqueur is delicious neat or in a Rusty Nail cocktail, but we heartily recommend you have it in an ice-filled tumbler, garnished with a freshly cut strip of orange zest…”

You can buy Master of Malt 10 Year Old Speyside Whisky Liqueur for £26.95 here: http://www.masterofmalt.com/liqueurs/master-of-malt-10-year-old-speyside-whisky-liqueur/

Master of Malt Whisky Liqueur

–          Made exclusively with 10 year old, all-sherry matured Speyside Single Malt

–          Flavoured with Christmassy spices including cinnamon and cloves, and two kinds of orange peel

–          Handmade in very small batches

About Master of Malt

–          Established in 1985

–          One of the UK’s leading Online Spirits Merchants

–          A highly rated independent bottler, all of whose single cask whiskies scored over 90 points in the Jim Murray Whisky Bible 2009

Master of Malt Blog – http://www.masterofmalt.com/blog

Master of Malt Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/masterofmalt

Master of Malt Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/masterofmalt

Master of Malt – http://www.masterofmalt.com/

February Outturn: J’adore FOUR more?

We’re flaunting our ongoing love of the single cask by releasing four additional new bottlings this February Outturn…

25.58 Floaty and relaxing (Closed distillery)
Lowland
£83.60 inc free p&p  
Bright, floaty and relaxing, with dimpled, cheeky smiles; sweet perfumed toffee, floral soap, apricot, peach, lemon, brown sugar, pastry and pleasant woody notes

125.43 Dancing dolls in flower meadows
Highland Northern
£71.20 inc free p&p
Enchanting – lots of gorse flowers, coconut macaroons, dark chocolate-covered almonds, brown sugar, tablet, marmalade, coffee and vanilla – also hints of sandalwood, oak, charcoal and smoke

35.49 Ticklish and dreamy
Speyside Lossie
£47.50 inc. free p&p
This intriguing sample tickled our noses, its ginger and nutmeg spices dancing with aromas of marmalade, barley sugar, raisins, coconut, honey buns, toffee and chocolate brownie

3.174 Herbal and hot, with muted smoke
Islay
45.30 inc. free p&p
The nose had discreet smoke (far off bonfires), magazines in a fireplace, wood shavings, and barrel staves. We also found candles, perfumed soap, bath balls, honey and Murray Mints

Not forgetting our February Offers:
PAIR: 53.146 & 36.51 for £90 (save £17.70)
THREESOME: 29.89, 64.28 & 44.48 for £131 (save £26.40)
CASE OFFER: 53.146, 36.51, 29.89, 64.28, 44.48 & 1.156
for £259.50 (save £50.00)

Society Tastings & Events (47 Society tastings online)
Wokingham Preview Tasting – Cantley House Hotels, Fri 25 Feb
Harrogate Preview Tasting – Hotel du Vin, Fri 25 Feb
Brighton Preview Tasting – Hotel du Vin, Fri 25 Feb
Stirling Preview Tasting – Golden Lion Hotel, Fri 25 Feb
Birmingham Preview Tasting – Malmaison, Fri 25 Feb
6 Nations Ireland V Scotland Lunch – The Vaults, Sun 27 Feb
6 Nations Ireland V Scotland – Queen Street, Sun 27 Feb
Bon Voyage Tasting – The Vaults, Wed 2 Mar
New Outturn Open Tasting – London, Sat 5 Mar
New Outturn & Sunday Roast Tasting – The Vaults, Sun 6 Mar
New Outturn Open Tasting – London, Mon 7 Mar
Spanish Wine Dinner – The Dining Room, Queen Street, Tue 8 Mar
Springbank Tasting – The Vaults, Thu 10 Mar

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ
Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm).

Visit the Society at http://www.smws.co.uk/memberships for your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers.

Hi All,

At last the days are getting longer, the birds are coming back and I feel like a mole emerging from a very cold, dark tunnel!

Unlike a mole, however, I have been beavering away (sorry!) sorting out events for the first half of 2011. I am just about there now, with the next four months taken care of.

So without further ado, I give you the Whisky Lounge Calendar for February, March, April and May – so far!..

Independent’s Day? – Blind
£22 per person
Series looking at three malt distilleries, and tasting two whiskies from each – one from the distilling company and one from a top independent bottler. A chance to see how the two work slightly differently and how different whiskies from the same distillery can be…Already heavily subscribed, but some tickets remain at most venues.

Friday 11th February – Britons Protection, Manchester SOLD OUT
Friday 18th February – Blackfriars, Newcastle Upon Tyne, TICKETS AVAILABLE
Saturday 26th February – The Grand Hotel, York TICKETS AVAILABLE
Friday 4th March – Mint Hotel (formally City Inn), Leeds TICKETS AVAILABLE

Creative Whisky Company
£22 per person
Join us for a mini-series of tastings from this exciting and ambitious independent bottler. David Stirk, the companies Creator and Director, introduces some of his latest and greatest whiskies for your delectation. You are sure to enjoy this rare opportunity to enjoy the company of David who is a well-known and sometimes controversial figure in the whisky industry…

Friday 11th March – Britons Protection, Manchester
Saturday 12th March – Blackfriars, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Pernod Ricard – Glenlivet et all
£22 per person
Phil Huckle, the Chivas UK Brand Ambassador, guides us through a tasting of some of his favourite whiskies from their more than impressive range. Whiskies from Glenlivet, Aberlour, Scapa and Longmorn are expected – along with a few other lesser-seen and unexpected little beauties. This should be a fantastic and delicious series!

Friday 8th April – Britons Protection, Manchester
Tuesday 12th April – Red Lion, Crown Passage, London, SW1
Friday 15th April – Blackfriars, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Saturday 16th April – The Grand Hotel, York
Friday 13th May – Mint Hotel, Granary Wharf, Leeds

Look out, it’s the…

Newcastle Whisky Festival
Saturday 7th May 2011
The Civic Centre, Barras Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne
12pm-5pm
£18 per person

Yes it is already that time of year! Our third festival in ‘Toon’ takes place a little earlier this year and is already looking like being as bit as good as previous years, with exhibitors already flocking to stampeding to get involved!
Confirmed we already have…

Amrut
Ardbeg/Glenmorangie
Diageo
Berry Brothers & Rudd
Whyte & Mackay (Jura, Dalmore)
Cooley
The Square Whisky Barrel Co.
Springbank
An Cnoc
Old Pulteney
Balblair
Glenfiddich
Balvenie
Gordon & MacPhail
Compass Box
Duncan Taylor

…and there’s many more to come!

Tickets are available from the website already and are selling fast – keep checking back for masterclasses and more details of exhibitors.

I think that’s quite enough for just now so I will leave you to digest all of this and I look forward to seeing many of you very soon…

Slainte!
Eddie

Eddie Ludlow
Whisky Evangelist

thewhiskylounge
www.thewhiskylounge.com
eddie@thewhiskylounge.com
Twitter me up
Facebook Group

01904 466227
07515 854210

IWSC Spirit Panel Judge 2009-present

A lot of our emails to you begin with how the weather is. The main reason for this is the weather in England is the worst in the world; it’s dull, grey and dreary.

Right now the weather outside isn’t frightful, it’s just yawn-inducing, so we’ve planned ourselves a world trip! But what would any trip be without a fine dram? Boring, that’s what. So we’re going to take you on a tour of the world’s whisky regions, in a lovely old Bullnose Morris, only driving through countries where they drive on the left.

– The Chaps at Master of Malt –

Around the World in 8 Drams

English Whisky Chapter 6

Made in Norfolk at England’s only whisky distillery – this is aged for 3 years and distilled from locally grown barley…
Now £40.95

Penderyn Welsh Whisky

Wales’ very own single malt, aged in bourbon barrels and finished in Madeira casks for a fruity, creamy flavour…
Now £33.95

Millstone American Oak

A stunning Dutch malt distilled in 2000 and aged in American oak casks. Loads of complex flavour – delicious…
Now £58.45

Mackmyra Special 02

Released to celebrate the Swedish distillery’s 10th birthday. This is actually aged in Swedish oak…
Now £58.45

Nikka Whisky from the Barrel

Best value for money blended malt ever? We think so. This Japanese gem offers big toffee and hints of peat…
Now £25.45

Amrut Fusion
 
This wonderful Indian single malt is made with both Scottish and Indian barley – Jim Murray gave it 97 points!…
Now £34.95

Roughstock Montana Whiskey

This American single malt was produced in the state of Montana! It’s musty, leathery and full of character…
Now £54.95

Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky

A South African single grain whisky! This is delicious stuff, and stunning value for money…
Now £24.45

Visit Master of Malt at www.masterofmalt.com

Bill Mackintosh! You owe me a customer!
  
Still catching up on some stuff after a hectic few weeks but this interview with journalist, whisky drinker and Glasgow Whisky Festival organiser Bill Mackintosh was pointed out to me – in particular the part where it’s pointed out that his family switched to Ballantine’s because they thought the Whyte and Mackay was being watered down…
Of course it wasn’t being watered down at all – well, at least not by us – but young Bill was helping himself to a dram when his mum and dad were out and topping the bottle up with water. However, this lead to unintended consequences by the senior Mr Mackintosh:

“As the bottle got lower, dad said “Those b*st*rds are watering this” & switched to Ballantine’s.”

So there you have it. If you ever read this and thought your whisky at home tasted a little different, check with your younger kids – or see if you’ve had Bill Mackintosh over!

And I hope in later years that Mr Mackintosh has made up for the lost sales by buying a few bottles of Whyte & Mackay! I’ll certainly be having a word with him the next time he’s in my tasting suite.

Loch Fyne Whiskies has stocked FIVE new items in the ‘New Collectors’ Loft’

It’s just a month to St Patrick’s Day so we thought we would have an Irish theme to our Collectors’ Loft

You may view the latest post at https://www.lfw.co.uk/blog/2011/02/16/new-collectors-loft-4/

You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are posted.

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

Canadian LTD 1.75L…$11.99
Evan Williams Bourbon 1.75L…$19.99
Gentleman Jack…$26.99
Jameson Irish Whiskey 1.75L…$34.99
Jim Beam Black Label 1.75L…$32.99
Jim Beam Bourbon 1.75L…$21.99
Johnnie Walker Black Label 1.75L…$49.99
Johnnie Walker Blue Label…$159.99
Johnnie Walker Red Label 1.75L…$26.99
Maker’s Mark Bourbon 1.75L…$34.99
Seagram’s Crown Royal…$18.99
Seagram’s VO 1.75L…$18.99
Seagram’s 7 Crown 1.75L…$14.99
Canadian Club 1.75L…$16.99
Southern Comfort 1.75L…$19.99

*Prices valid W/Binny’s Card February 16 through February 22, 2011. Not responsible for misprints or typographical errors.  Sizes 750ml unless otherwise stated. Advertised items limited to quantities on hand. Don’t forget to use your Binny’s Card! Get discounts on mixed case wine purchases and work towards a 2% rebate on every $500 of eligible purchases. Get your free card at a Binny’s near you. www.binnys.com

Exciting Times Ahead

Some Extra Special Casks Arrive

Imagine a winery with world-class wines similar in style and quality to the very best Sherries, Ports and Madeira’s. A winery that is located on the same latitude, 45 degrees North, as the Southern Regions of France, Spain and Portugal, ideal for growing wine.  A winery  that was so highly regarded by generations of Russian rulers that the Tsars had their favourite wines produced here, then when Stalin came to power he repatriated  the wines from all of the Tsars palaces to the cellars of this winery and when the Germans invaded the Crimea the wines from this winery’s cellars were removed for safe keeping until the invaders left at which time they were returned.

Overlooking the Black Sea. Imagine taking some casks from this winery, that have been used to ferment and age these exceptional wines, and then shipping them to Portsoy and using them to mature exceptional single malt scotch whisky. The result, hopefully, will be a truly exceptional range of whiskies and the good news is that we may not have to wait too much longer to find out the answer, well about 9 to 12 months.

We are very pleased that the world famous winery of Massandra in the Crimea and the Glenglassaugh Distillery Company  have reached an exclusive agreement for the use of used Massandra casks for maturation of Glenglassaugh Scotch Whisky.

Today the wines from this winery are as highly regarded in Russia and Eastern Europe as the top quality Sherries, Ports, and Madeira’s are in the West. Having visited the winery twice within the last 14 months I can testify to the quality of the wines and the knowledge and skills of the winemakers.  I am really looking forward to the impact that these casks will give to our whiskies.

First few Massandra casks – filled with new spirit The first shipment of these casks arrived in Scotland just before Christmas and are now filled and maturing in our warehouses. Some are filled with new spirit for full maturation and some with older whiskies which will be used for finishing.

I will keep you abreast of this exciting development.

January Round-Up

Stuart, Alex Salmond (First Minister for Scotland) and Mr Li Keqiang (Vice Premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China) A busy start to the year with my visit to Edinburgh Castle to meet the Chinese Vice-Premier as his visit was toasted with a dram of Glenglassaugh, while back at the distillery Graham got production under way with his usual efficient and effective way.

The bad weather at the end of 2010 had led to casks which were coming from USA being held-up in Grangemouth and consequently our filling store vat was full over Christmas. We have now caught up with the filling programme and are moving ahead with filling this years’ production.

The changing face of the old office block. The mild start to 2009 has also allowed us to carry-on some work outside including removing a couple of chimneys from our old office block, which we are turning into a small visitor centre. The plan is that we will have the facility open in time for the Speyside Whisky Festival when we will be having tours plus  a special day to fill your own Octave cask and the opportunity to fill your own bottle of 2 year old Glenglassaugh.

February and another busy month

I have never been to  Japan, Singapore, Australia or New Zealand but by the end of February I will have visited all of these countries.

I am heading off later this week to visit Whisky Live Japan where Glenglassaugh is imported by Whisk-e  and then from there I go to Singapore to discuss the possibility of having our products imported there. Then it is off to see our importer in Australia, World of Whisky, where I will be carrying-out a private tasting. I then go onto Christchurch, New Zealand where our importer, Whisky Galore ,organises Dramfest  and where I will also have a master-class.  An exciting trip and the opportunity to meet new friends and hopefully introduce more people to the range and quality of whiskies that we produce.

This coming weekend, 18th February,  also sees Graham over at Munich Whisky festival where he will also be carrying out a master-class.

New Products

Back at the distillery we have also been busy in assessing the quality of the maturing spirit as we chose the next casks for the “Aged over 30 year old” and “Aged over 40 year old” products as we have finished the existing casks. I can tell you that the casks which we have chosen are both excellent with “Aged over 30 year old” particularly exciting as it has been maturing for the last 12 months in an ex-Sauterne cask which has given it an added layer of complexity. This should be available in March.

The next “Aged over 40 years” which is from a re-fill sherry cask will be available from June.

The Manager’s Legacy – Bert Forsyth – 1968 Vintage – 42 Years Old Following the success of the first two release of the Manager’s Legacy series, both of which sold out, we have now released the third in the series, a 42 year old whisky celebrating the contribution of “Bert Forsyth”. The final bottle in the series “Walter Grant” is a 43 year old and will be available from March 2011.

Slange

Stuart

Visit Glenglassaugh Distillery at http://www.glenglassaugh.com/