Hazelburn Sauternes 55.5% 8 Year Old

New February 2011 bottling of the triple distilled Springbank.

Matured for 5 Years in refill bourbon casks and a further 3 years in Sauternes casks.

Limited release of 9,180 bottles.

£49.99 (£41.66 ex VAT)

Description

2011 limited release wood expression of triple distilled Springbank Hazelburn. Matured for 5 Years in refill bourbon casks and a further 3 years in Sauternes casks.

Distilled June 2002 and bottled February 2011.

Distillery: Springbank (Hazelburn)

Springbank is the oldest independent family owned distillery in Scotland and produces three types of whisky – Hazelburn malt is dried over hot air, no peat; triple distilled. Hazelburn Single Malt is a non-peated whisky and has been produced since 1997.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Warm and embracing: homemade Seville orange marmalade on a buttered, toasted cinnamon and raisin bagel. Orange liqueur, burnt demerara sugar, treacle, honey, figs and dates emerge from the sidelines as the aromas develop. Palate: Buttery, creamy and rich with orange fondantcream and ginger bread biscuits. Hints of honey and chiliglazed brazil nuts, sweet and warm.

http://www.thewhiskybarrel.com/cat-12-subcat-26-product-1041

Highland Park Store

GLENLIVET SEMINAR

Friday, April 29, 6:00-8:30pm

Glenlivet Brand Ambassador Winston Evans will lead this seminar and sample some of the finest Glenlivet whiskies available. This seminar will include 12 year, 15 year French Oak, 18 year, 21 year Archive and more. $10 W/Binny’s Card / $15 non-members. Seating is extremely limited and paid reservations are required.

Call (847)831-5400 or email highlandpark@binnys.com for more information. 

Bushmills Village, County Antrim

14th March 2011

MASTER DISTILLER SET TO TAKE DISTILLERY ON TOUR…

Colum Egan, Master Distiller at the Old Bushmills Distillery is set to launch a global competition – ‘Make it 2 Bushmills’ – that will, for the first time, see him take the world-famous distillery on tour.

Colum is offering two friends the chance to work alongside him for two weeks, to learn the skills of whiskey-making that have been alive and well in the Bushmills area for over 400 years, before he packs up the best bits of the Old Bushmills Distillery to go on tour. Destination? The winners’ home country.

Speaking ahead of the launch of Make it 2 Bushmills on St Patrick’s Day, Colum said: “More than 100,000 people visit our distillery every year but there are millions of BUSHMILLS™ fans the world over – so we thought it was about time that we visited them.

“We’re going to bring two friends here, give them behind-the-scenes access to the distillery, £5,000 spending money, luxury penthouse accommodation and the chance to together make their own unique blend of BUSHMILLS Irish Whiskey. Then we’re going to take the distillery on tour, when we pack up some of the equipment, people and whiskey that make our distillery the home of the world’s Best Irish Whiskey¹, and bring them to the winners’ home country for the ultimate BUSHMILLS party, where the winners and their friends will be the guests of honour.

“We’ll have live music from some of Ireland’s best up and coming musicians, we’ll unveil our winners’ unique blend and we’ll even toast the occasion with a few bottles of our special Distillery Reserve – a whiskey you can normally only get at the distillery itself.

“Make it 2 Bushmills is a great opportunity for friends from around the world to come here, to the heart of distillery and then take the distillery home”.

Make it 2 Bushmills will culminate in a global final – Bushcamp – a three day event taking place on Ireland’s spectacular north coast this August. Two friends from each country² will be voted by the public to go forward to Bushcamp, where they will experience what life at the Old Bushmills Distillery has to offer. 

Colum said: “At Bushcamp we’ll be looking for our winners – the two friends who best represent the BUSHMILLS spirit of friendship, so we’ll be challenging our finalists to together try some of the things the team here love to do. I love my golf, so we might be asking our finalists to together take on my trickiest Par-3 on one of the world’s biggest bunkers, or, as I like to call it, the beach! We take our whiskey ‘mixing’ very seriously, so it could be fun to see how our friends get on when it comes to DJing, and we’ve got some keen cyclists here, so we may even organise a tandem race round the distillery!

“We’ll not be forgetting the whiskey of course – we’re also going to test the palettes of our finalists with a series of whiskey challenges.”

Make it 2 Bushmills will be judged by a panel of famous BUSHMILLS fans, chaired by Colum himself. The full panel will be announced in the run up to Bushcamp.

“We’re looking for real friends, with a genuine love for life and wicked sense of humour”, said Colum, “and do you know what? I’m sure we’ll find them.”

To enter or find out more, visit facebook.com/bushmills1608. Entry closes at 11.59pm GMT on Sunday 17th April 2011. Terms and conditions apply.

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/prne/bushmills/48882/ for a video…

Share Bushmills Responsibly

www.DRINKiQ.com

The Bushmills word, the Pot Still device and associated logos are trade marks. © The Old Bushmills Distillery Co. Limited 2011

References

¹BUSHMILLS 1608 was voted as Best Irish Whiskey at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

²The competing countries in Make it 2 Bushmills are:

·         Belgium

·         Bulgaria

·         Czech Republic

·         Germany

·         Great Britain

·         Netherlands

·         Northern Ireland

·         Republic of Ireland

·         Russia

·         South Africa

·         United States

From each, one pair of finalists will be selected by public vote to go forward to Bushcamp.

Greenore 18yo (46%, Cooley Distillery PLC Single Grain Irish Whiskey)

A distinctive nose; sharp and vibrant, lively and pleasing. Slightly floral but contrasted by some good wood notes. Not overly complex however this is not a negative observation, the notes that present are very good. A little hand warming brings out some sweet grain, again very nice. The taste is very, very gentle and smooth along with the grain and the sweetness. Oh my, this is really sensational whiskey, no wonder the younger sibling is winning awards. A little oiliness in the back ground along with some really good grain notes. Beautiful. The finish has a flash of a really good gin (hints of juniper?) and then the sweet grain muscles its way back to the for. Mouth filling and gentle at the same time. Long and very, very perfect.

Brilliant. No idea on price – sample kindly provided by the proprietors. On of the top whiskies sampled in 2011.

Score 90 points

 http://www.cooleywhiskey.com/ 

The Irishman NAS ‘Rare Cask Strength’ (53%, OB, 2850 bts., 2010)

The nose is delicate at the start, a little time in the glass but shows some delicate grape fruit characteristics, hints of lavender, rose and heather but some woody and fruity notes begin to show themselves.  The presents as if it has some age. After more time in the glass the malt becomes more evident along with hints of oiliness. The taste is a surprise and is much more vibrant than the nose and it’s very good. Some cocoa, malt, dry oak flavours and then some mild olive oil notes and then BAM! some really good clean grains typical of many Irish whiskies. Lovely stuff quite frankly and there is a lot going on. The finish is very flavourful and long, warming and now some sweetness arrives (think of syrup drenched waffles – but with some restraint). The finish is very, very long with some really good oiliness clinging on seemingly forever.

No idea on price – sample kindly provided by the proprietors.

Score 86 points

http://www.hotirishman.com/

Jameson NAS (40%, OB, 2010) Lot JQ-058548

From www.jamesonwhiskey.com

“Triple Distilled, Twice as Smooth. The number three. The ancient Greek, Pythogoras, described it as the perfect number. And, as everybody knows, three time’s a charm. So, unlike American whiskies, which are usually distilled just once, and Scotch whiskies, which try a little harder with two distillations, we distil Jameson Irish Whiskey three times.

Perfectly Balanced. Balance is also important. While we love the number three (it’s been good to us), we’re also very keen on the dynamic equilibriums of two forces balanced to create perfection. We mix precisely the right amount of malted barley and exactly the right amount of unmalted barley. Likewise our pot still whiskeys complement our delicate grain whiskeys beautifully. We balance the nutty flavours of our sherry casks with the fragrant vanilla of our bourbon casks. All resulting in a perfectly balanced whiskey.

Single Distillery. And finally, we could not talk about our triple distillation and perfect balance without mentioning our Midleton Single Distillery. It is where, under the one roof and under the careful gaze of our whiskey masterminds, that every drop of Jameson Irish Whiskey is created, meaning we can guarantee the quality of every last sip.”

On the nose there is a distinctively oiliness intermingled with some grains and some really good sharp notes. The descriptors are quite quickly joined by some sweet notes. The lighter notes can be described as fresh cut grass and all is all it’s very vibrant. The taste quite honeyed at first followed by the oiliness and then the grains in quick succession. It’s very good and is still quite vibrant. Loads of flavour here. Moments of black pepper and further sweetness although this does not dominate; everything works very well together. Excellent! The finish is a mirror of the previous descriptors but then it becomes dry along with some malty moments (cocoa and oak spice) and it’s very long and lingers.

Lashings of activity here even for a 40% ABV but presents and tastes very well.

A mere $30

Score 85 points

Angels

 W H I S K Y   C L U B

www.angelswhiskyclub.com

Angels Whisky Club – St Patrick’s Day Tastings 2011

O’Neill’s Dublin, Clontarff castle and Kilkenny.

We’ve been tasting whiskey for St Patrick – Angels’ Whisky Club members have, during the week ending 10th March, been tasting as many Irish Whiskeys as possible. Back in January when this idea was conceived we set ourselves an extremely ambitious target but, with the help of Angels’ members around the globe (too numerous to mention), I think we’ve succeeded. Our members have again excelled themselves, giving up their valuable time totaste whiskey – it’s an onerous task but someone had to do it, and Angels’ members, showing no small measure of self sacrifice, volunteered.

A huge success it was with so many drams being tasted around the world, including; Green Spot, 3 varieties of Bushmills, many types of Cooleys inc Connemara (x 6), Tullamore Dew, Clontarf, Knapogue Castle, Hot Irishman, Redbreast, Tyrconnel, Jamesons, Colraine, even a homegrown potcheen!  Irish Mist, Paddy’s, Black Bush, Power, Lockes, Kilbeggan,Greenore, Hewitts, Feckin, Midleton, and Michael Collins.  We did our best!  Our thanks go to Angels’ members from: Germany; Australia; Holland; South Africa; Israel; Norway; Sweden; Italy; Canada; USA; Scotland; Russia; even England! and of course Ireland.

Some of the results of their labours are as follows:

Knapoggue castle 12 year old  Liz; vanilla and peaches, I can drink this easy and like it. She did.  Light and easy to drink, citrus, spice, a nice dram. reminds me of donkey’s in the fields of Kilkenny. PAUL (he has a thing about donkey dung, too much whiskey).   WILLIE said; fruity nose, lemon and apple, quite a sharp taste, wee bit of straw, confectionary sweetness here, never seen this one before, fascinating; nose and taste so different from each other. JANICE: medicinal but smooth, a good intro whisky, ie; more than one is ok.

Connemara Turf Mór Again Cooley, but this time a peaty one. Bloody awesome mellow, warm and peaty! Our notes go like this: mmhmmmm hmmm mmmhhhhmmmm….Me likey, me want!!!!  A definite hit in Germany then.

Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey A very light Whiskey floral in the nose and indeed fruity in the palate.
It does fit perfectly in my Irish Coffee and indeed Hot Toddy (isn’t it, Liz?)

Connemara Peated Single Malt Matured in Bourbon casks, the beautiful lingering peaty taste is complemented by vanilla and honey notes which lead to a silky smooth finish and the peat returns, making you come back for more

TYRCONNEL SINGLE MALT  nose of cherry boot polish, iodine? After the swallow it creeps back up my tongue. So unlike potcheen it hurts! This is easy and could be drunk too much, nice warm mouth to it lads!.

GREEN SPOT A grand wee dram so it is, a touch of the farmyard here somewhere? A favourite of a real whisky man Mark from Speyside, one wonders; why?  Says Paul “will take the paint off a door”.
MICHAEL COLLINS  as rare a dram as the man himself so it is, hard to fine, like man like whiskey! Seamus. First saw this in New York State, been drammin it ever since, no so much for the drink as fer the man. Sean.

PADDY’S  easy to snuffle down and even better when yer cousin buys it!

HOT IRISHMAN is this a ladies drink? Very difficult askin at the bar fer it when we are three fellas!  Did this just so we could write it for you all.  It is a good drink says Liz. Better than Baileys said Mahri. Its what I want goin to me bed says Marie.  Stop that girl.

KILBEGGAN Liz loved the shape of the bottle! Paul just liked the dram, as did many others. A blend but a good one, one of those you can drink all night, where’s the donkey?

FECKIN  easy to get at duty free and all over Ireland, basically, its what you say after a swig of this

COLRAINE is it a whiskey? Infamous quote from Russia.  Scots love it!

Greenore from Ireland. I found this strange but nice (Paul). Bit like my pal in Derry actually, ok and sometimes fine but don’t need too much of it.  Grant; never heard of it, but will put it on the shelf now in the pub! Willie, never had a grain before, don’t know what to think?  Bob, “is it free?” 

Connemara Peated Single Malt; Colour: light gold. Nose: pretty smoky, tannery aromas, hints of unripe hazelnut and Amaretto liquor, pastry. Palate: rather sweet and smoky (notes of smoked ham), lots of liquorice, iced caffe latte, Demerara sugar, drop of menthol. Finish: develops the palate, liquorice with milk and coffee, slightly bitter in the end. Summary: 8/10 our expert in Russia liked it.

BLACK BUSH  almost got a smack asking for this in the pub, but after explaining, it was a really excellent dram.

IRISH MIST true to its name, I tasted this and ended up in it! Mind, we did have one or two too many, but all in a good cause.

HEWITTS  for what it is and hard to find, this is a really good dram, a hidden gem. It’s available in the Foundry in Perth (Paul’s local) along with a few other Irish drams, we need keep the flag flying here for Irealnd. The pub now has two more Irish than it had before; Greenore and Kilbeggan, available for St Pats Day everyone.

POWER seems this is popular in Ireland with the older set, sorry, cousins of an age past 40. Its good as a side kick to a pint of Kilkenny beer. Says Cormac “its got a donkey kick, and tastes the same”. Michael; he cant tell the difference. Marie; they all have the manners of a donkey after it! The Daley’s should have tasted this away from each other I think!

POTCHEEN aye well, memories come to mind, Andy almost was divorced after his taste, his missus is still lookin to kill Paul, who forgot where he lived, Willie – never seen a face like that before! Ray liked it! Tracy fell over, Dave spat it out, Bob said he liked it, but he takes anything for free, Ron would hate it but drink it all.  If you are sane and sober, you won’t go anywhere near this stuff. But – och after a dram or 7 it does tempt you…

Someone mentioned a Bailey’s …come on lads we are tasting REAL Irish drinks, what whiskey is in this one?  Many of our Irish tasters ended up with an Irish coffee, no bad you would think and maybe what you would expect. Well – an Irish coffee to an Irishman is a hot whiskey with no coffee near it! There’s Irish for ya.

Overall best liked Irish whiskey tasted by Angel members;  most of the Connemara’s!  Well done to Cooley’s!!!

Angels Whisky Club is free to join, has membership all over the world, patron is Charles Maclean and ambassadors in place all over the globe. The website is full of facts and figures, photos, tastings, interviews, video links and fun!  www.angelswhiskyclub.com  Contact them to join up to an ever growing membership for whisky lovers! 

M C L E A N S C O T L A N D
W H I S K Y    T O U R S    T O    R E M E M B E R

Partners Liz and Paul are away for St Patrick’s Day to Islay to research the whisky and scenery for forthcoming tour groups. Aye, a trip was deemed necessary to meet friends old and new on the isle, in preparation for many whisky tours they will be sending to Islay this year. With groups coming from Canada, Norway, Sweden and more, they are doing what comes natural to them; every year Liz and Paul double check all accommodation, visit locations, distilleries and ensure all is 100% for the coming tour season.  No doubt they will also be checking the local drams are good enough for their clients too!  Liz and Paul  www.mcleanscotland.com Why Islay for St Pat’s? Well; its close to where he is buried – so why not? Said Paul.

Whisky Magazine has provided an update on the status of the Japanese distilleries

http://whiskymagazine.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/updates-from-japanese-distilleries-16th-march-2011/

You may donate to the Japanese Red Cross at;

 http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html

“We heartily appreciate your kind offer of donation.

If you want to donate money to the affected population of earthquake and tsunami, please contact your national Red Cross/Crescent society, which may have already launched fundraising campaign within your country.

If your national society doesn’t collect donation or you wish to send your donations directly to the Japanese Red Cross Society, please direct your fund to the following bank account. If you need the receipt of your fund, please state so clearly in the comment section of the bank transfer order. All the fund received under this account will be transferred to the Distribution Committee, which is formed around the local government of the disaster-affected prefecture and to be distributed directly among the affected population of earthquake and tsunami,

　Name of Bank: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
　Name of Branch: Ginza
　Account No.: 8047670 (Ordinary Account)
　SWIFT Code: SMBC JP JT
　Payee Name: The Japanese Red Cross Society
　Payee Address: 1-1-3 Shiba-Daimon Minato-ku, Tokyo JAPAN

Thank you once again for your generous offer. It is surely the source of encouragement for the affected population in Japan.”

The new Icon of Arran!
 
Please meet Ruaraidh (pronounced Roo-ree) the West Highland Terrier belonging to our Distillery Manager James MacTaggart. Ruaraidh is independent of character with a mischievous glint in his eye and is much admired by visitors to our Distillery in Lochranza. This limited edition bottling was drawn from 22 ex-Sherry Hogsheads distilled in 1998 and specially selected by James MacTaggart under the careful supervision of Ruaraidh. After 12 years of maturation this expression of Arran is rich & warming with a delightful complexity.

Click on the link below to see the pdf information sheet:
 
http://www.arranwhisky.com/App/uploads/Icons%20of%20Arran%203%20The%20Westie.pdf 

·         Limited Edition of 6,000 bottles worldwide

·         22 Ex-Olorosso Sherry Hogsheads

·         Stunning Packaging

·         Ideal for both the collector and connoisseur
 
·         Bottled at 46% abv

·         Non- Chill Filtered

·         No Added Colouring

Tasting Notes

Nose:    A fresh aroma with notes of toasted oak, treacle-toffee & orange zest.

Palate: Full-bodied and buttery with an initial rush of vanilla essence and Demerara sugar. The sweet character subsides leaving cocoa powder and cardamom seeds.

Visit Isle of Arran Distillery at www.arranwhisky.com