The Most Expensive ‘Whisky’ in The World

The whisky world does like producing premium products. We know all about that at TWE, with last year’s Trinitas release being a big event in our normally sleepy existence, but outside of the world of expensive liquids there is another side – premium packaging. My interest was piqued this week when an article about Isabella’s… (please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article)…

http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2011/05/the-most-expensive-whisky-in-the-world/

SCOTCH AND SHERRY
Tuesday, May 24, 6:30-8:30pm

Join Martin Daraz, Edrington Group Brand Ambassador and native Scotsman, for a unique tasting of The Macallan and Highland Park whiskies, ranging in age from 12 to 30 years old, coupled with a blind tasting of other malts either aged or finished in sherry casks! In this tasting we will examine the use of sherry barrels in the scotch industry and what they mean to the flavor and texture of your favorite single malts. We will have copious amount of quality chocolate and mineral water to reinvigorate the palate too! $10 W/Binny’s Card / $15 non-members.

Call 312-768-4400 or email southloop@binnys.com for reservations.
Chicago – South Loop
1132 S. Jefferson Street | Chicago | 312-768-4400

Visit Binny’s at www.binnys.com

This is a big weekend on Islay, and not only because it’s the first weekend of the Islay Festival of Malt & Music. Bruichladdich is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its 2001 revival this weekend, and we’ll look back at the last 10 years with managing director Mark Reynier and the Bard of Bruichladdich, singer-songwriter Robin Laing. Midleton Distillery cooper Ger Buckley tells us about the centuries-old art of making barrels by hand, and shows us in the debut of WhiskyCast HD, a new series of video podcasts. We’ll also hear from the Spirit Journal’s F. Paul Pacult and Euan Shand of Duncan Taylor.

Visit WhiskyCast at www.whiskycast.com

The Travels of Whisky Intelligence

The 7th Annual Spirit of Toronto

East —->

The flight left the gate a mere 10 minutes late due to a reset of the on board computers but arrived over an hour late in Toronto. Now how does that happen? Did they take the scenic route? An unstable worm hole was to blame? We don’t know since they never made an announcement. Very irritating none the less and now an hour behind schedule and lunch with Davin de Kergommeaux of www.canadianwhisky.org fame was off the table, so to speak.

After meeting Davin at the Fairmont Royal York we headed over to the Spirit of Toronto venue Roy Thompson Hall to drop off a box of samples for Davin’s masterclass. At the door we were met by a very nice man in a black suit and a radio who immediately zeroed in on the box. “Is there alcohol in the box?” Yes we affirmed. “You cannot bring alcohol into the building; there are children in the building”. Excuse me? What the hell is he talking about? We didn’t want to serve it to them we just wanted to store it and prepare for the masterclass. “No. You cannot bring it into the building while children are present.” Oh for pities sake. Welcome to the cloud cuckoo land that is Ontario. One wonders how the little dears manage to walk past a bar in a hotel lobby without being scared for life.

So box in hand we made out way across the street to the Elephant & Castle to wait out our time in the penalty box until the building was clear. Some other law was most likely broken by bringing the box into the Elephant & Castle but they never said anything. The sliver lining is we did have an opportunity to have a late lunch and to line our stomachs prior to the commencement of hostiles. Joining us was fellow Malt Maniac Nabil Mailloux who was also in town for the Spirit of Toronto.

Eventually Roy Thompson Hall was swept clear of all children and we could return, fortuitously it was already time for a pre show masterclass, Gordon & MacPhail led by Michael Urquhart. After a very informative talk on the history of Gordon & MacPhail Michael led the room through samples of Mortlach 15yo, Glen Grant 21yo and Strathisla 25yo which were all very good. Also on the tasting mat were two other unidentified samples which were revealed in sequence, a rather lovely Benromach 30yo followed by the highlight of the class which was the G&M Glenlivet 70yo. There were gasps from all over the room as this was completely unexpected by the attendees. One poor fellow actually knocked over his glass of the 70yo earlier in the class; Michael Urquhart didn’t even blink.

After the Gordon & MacPhail masterclass it was time to examine the venue, new additions were Classic Cocktails by Yuki Yamazaki and Kentaro Wada, the Blind Whisky Challenge with Regis Lemaitre (participants had 15 minutes to identify 3 blind samples; single malt, grain or blend?) the Whisky Pod video stand where attendees reviewed their favourite whiskies and the Canadian Whisky “All Stars” in the American Express Lounge featuring Crown Royal XR, Canadian Club 30 Year Old, Wiser’s Red Letter and Gibson’s’ 18 Year Old.

As for the stands there was a good showing from Glenlivet and Aberlour, Glenfiddich and Balvenie, Highland Park,  Macallan and the Famous Grouse, Compass Box with John Glaser, Isle of Jura with Willie Tait in the Whyte & Mackay corner, Nikka with a real show stopper of a Nikka Taketsuru 12yo, Glenrothes, Lark Distillery,  Gordon & MacPhail and Glenmorangie.

At 8:30PM Ross Hendry started his Glenrothes masterclass and took us through their line of single malts explaining their careful wood policy, their attention to detail and that they only bottle vintages when they feel the whisky is at the peak of its maturity. Ross presented the Select Reserve,  1994, 1995, 1985  and the 1978 to the class.

The lady at the Glenlivet table took one look at the well travelled Guardians of the Glenlivet member card and promptly apologized for not having any Glenlivet 21yo for the Guardians. Whisky Intelligence accepted a fine dram of Glenlivet 15yo French Oak in its place.

As per tradition there was a gathering at the Elephant & Castle post event for a few drinks (because one must always have more drinks after a whisky festival) and there was one more bit of cloud cuckoo land fun. Since the group was so large it was proposed that two tables be turned end to end and joined together but this was quickly rejected by the locals. “Don’t do it” they warned, “this is Toronto, they’ll ask you to leave!” Odd, odd, odd.

Sunday morning after an amusing breakfast with Davin we grabbed a taxi and headed to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) www.ago.net  via a circuitous route due to the GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon which neatly screwed up the traffic. The marathon caused the taxi driver to complain some what bitterly about the lost revenue. Perhaps if they put all the runners in taxis and had the taxis race through the downtown core on the prescribed route if would offer more revenue for the taxi drivers and a really cool spectacle for those viewing from the side lines. 2,000 taxis crammed full of runners racing through downtown, now that would be something to see.

Cornelius Krieghoff

Once in the AGO we made a bee line to the excellent paintings of Cornelius Krieghoff  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelius_Krieghoff ) in the Kenneth Thomson Collection featuring may scenes of early Canadian life.

The Toll Gate

The Krieghoff’s were followed by the Canadian Group of Seven, the Thomson Collection of Ship Models and then some impressionist paintings including the excellent Alfred Sisley ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Sisley ). Alas our time was soon up and we returned to the hotel (with more marathon complaints from another taxi driver) and then our separate ways.

West <—-

Hours later while enjoying the comfort of the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge and enjoying a pre flight ‘blend’ of one ounce of Glenlivet 12yo mixed with one ounce of Johnnie Walker Black, an opportunity was had to reflect on the Spirit of Toronto. It really is a very good festival and the extra hour added just enough time to visit the stands and meet old friends and make new acquaintances.

Whisky Intelligence would like to thank Johanna Ngo and Charles Anderson, the producers of the Spirit of Toronto, for the tickets to their excellent show. Please visit the Spirit of Toronto at www.spiritoftoronto.ca and plan to attend in 2012, it’s scheduled for Saturday, 12th of May 2012.

MCLEANSCOTLAND have had the busiest month yet for whisky tours of Scotland! Late April (27th to be exact) until the end of May saw many tour groups arrive into Scotland;

A group from Vancouver, Canada for a tour including Glasgow, Inveraray, Islay, Oban, Inverness, Speyside and Glasgow with many distilleries included!

From Russia a wee distillery tour mixed into a general sightseeing tour.

We had the Dutch Whisky Society with us in Speyside and many other locations, a full tour programme seeing many, many distilleries.

From USA a wee tour to Oban, Perthshire, Glasgow seeing 8 distilleries including Glengoyne where they chose a cask.

Another from Holland, Glasgow, Islay, Oban, Craigellachie, Perth with a large number of distilleries visited.

A large group from Sweden touring Speyside, many distilleries and whisky dinners on this one!

A great group from the Faroe Isles, touring Speyside, Aberdeenshire, Inverness shire and whisky dinners, distilleries and visits.

A wee group from London taking in Speyside, Perthshire and Edinburgh.

All these tours were driver guided or coach, driver and guide. “It’s been a very busy month and we love it!” said Paul McLean, Senior Partner. Some of the tours were very personalised with Paul driving some himself.

“We have more tours booked throughout the year, including a group from Pernod Ricard Sweden, a Diageo tour programme from South Africa, more Dutch and Swedes, plus Norwegians”.  It is a busy time for whisky tourism.

With all the tours packing in, MCLEANSCOTLAND have no time to take a break themselves, nor have they time to be a part in whisky festivals, apart from the Chester (England) gestival in October, where they will take a stand!  With so many whisky trade contacts, the company are working well to bring as many people as possible to enjoy the delights of Scotland, it’s whisky, it’s people and all the country has to offer.

Not only that, they have also made time to plan a tour to Ireland, visiting distilleries there. In fact in 2012, whisky live will return to Dublin, and a 5 day tour is planned around the event, taking in some grand Irish distilleries, whisky tastings and sightseeing.

All of these tours arranged, planned, designed, booked and implemented by MCLEANSCOTLAND, in addition to the many general sightseeing tours the company arrange year round, May indeed was a busy month!

Past guests have said of MCLEANSCOTLAND

You are the best whisky tour operator in Scotland …  Thanks for a fantastic tour, it was simply wonderful, your coordination really helped…

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for being a reliable, generous and most thoughtful guide. Your business will flourish if the service we enjoyed is your norm. We had a great time … Hello Paul, Now we are back home in Norway after a safe return. Thanks to you for a very successful excursion on Friday. I have got very positive feed-back from the group. …  Paul’s whisky tour was outstanding. He took time to show us some of the country we would otherwise never have seen. I was fortunate to find a rare malt I had been looking for without success. I would not hesitate to recommend this trip to anyone  …   Dutch Whisky Society (DWS);   I would like to thank you again – also on behalf of the rest of the group – for our last week”s tour of Scotland. We had a really great time there!! Thanks to your (and of course Liz’ ) effort and preparations, and of course above all thanks to  Also we would like to thank you very much for the offer to send our excess bottles by mail to us! We are very happy we could buy now all we wanted and cannot get over here. “Aye, we do have this service available to all; bottles that cannot be taken home with your luggage, we can arrange shipping.” Paul

MCLEANSCOTLAND is owned and run by Liz Gillespie and Paul McLean out of Perth, Scotland.

www.mcleanscotland.com       info@mcleanscotland.com

Dear Friends in Spirits,

With another successful Expo behind us, plans are already brewing for the next exciting show in spring 2012.  Many thanks for all your feedback; it is proving very useful for planning a bigger and better event for WoW 2012.  We have in mind several brand new and magnificent venues, in addition to the good ole Hornblower Yacht’s “San Francisco Belle”.  We’ll be announcing our new location very soon!

As much as we like to listen to you, we hope you will allow all future attendees of the show to benefit from your feedback.  We greatly encourage you to take a minute and tell the world about YOUR experience of the last Expo.  Websites such as Yelp, Judy’s Book, Whisky Connosr, and others, will gladly post both your heartfelt appraisal and open minded critique.

Now on to the Whisky Talk:
 
This seems to be a year of mass creativity in the spirits world and we hope you are out there sampling some of the fascinating new bottlings on the shelves of bars and shops.
Glenmorangie has introduced Finealta.  Click for a sampling of this intriguing new expression.

From the larger more familiar brands, like Glenmorangie…to the tiny family owned distilleries we go on a summer road trip!  Up into New England and the home of Cabin Fever Whisky, a completely unique maple syrup based spirit developed over several years (and multiple recipe trial and error sessions) by the brilliant Robbilard Family.  Run a web search and you will find a highly personal and educational site all about Cabin Fever and its history, present and future. This is a definite bottle to be added to your Americana collection!

Word is out that High West, the intrepid Utah distillery, is in the process of aging further batches of some of its most amazing bottlings: Rendevous Rye and Double Rye.  If you haven’t tried these wild west whiskeys, you are missing out big-time!  And don’t overlook Bourye…as delicious a spirit as you will ever imbibe and only available in limited quantities.  Treat yourself to a summer vacation in Park City, Utah and walk through the doors of the distillery/restaurant right off the main street below the big mountain.  Or….wait until January and head out for the Sundance Festival where High West whiskies take center stage.

While we’re on the western theme it’s a good time to educate yourself about the unusual spirits coming to life at Balcones in Texas!  An amazing whiskey of BLUE CORN distillation, a single malt with a mystery all it’s own and more.  Chip Tate seems to always be brewing up something new and different and as big as Texas in flavor.

Isn’t it remarkable what America has been doing with whiskey in the past 10 years?  A whole new revolution…and a peaceful happy one!  It’s about time someone struck out for world peace and human contentment in this manner!!

**************************************************************************
 
Have a great spring and don’t forget that we’re always here to listen to your suggestions for the next WoW Expo, about new whiskies you’d like to taste, and new features to experience.

As for the features…were you one of the adventurous ones to visit the Beam Global Mixology Booth at this last Expo?  Then it’s very likely that their well mixed whisky cocktails (with such great whiskies as Makers Mark, Canadian Club, Laphroaig, and Knob Creek) were a nice discovery of the evening.  See all the recipes listed at the bottom of this newsletter.
 
We are also gearing up for local Whisk(e)y dinners/pairings. Get ready for a cooking class where we will prepare and then sit down together to eat our fabulous meal paired with Whisky.  Cooking is fun, cleaning up not so fun, so the restaurant staff takes care of this detail.  What more could you ask for?  Oh yeah, dessert.

And finally, congratulations to Animal Kingdom for a great race on Derby Day this month!  For the next year’s race, please remember that the best mint juleps are made with the best bourbons…and we’re sure to bring many of those for your enjoyment to the next Expo!

Cheers,

Douglas Smith

See updated photos from WoW 2011
WoW Photos (1)
WoW Photos (2)

Whiskies Of The World Expo
168 Park Bolton Pl
San Jose, CA 95136

www.whiskiesoftheworld.com

How much more Hand-s on can you get?

Two spaces left in ADI’s Hands-on Whiskey Distilling Workshop, June 5 – 10 at Stillwater Spirits (611 2nd St.) Petaluma, CA

$3,500 covers instruction, Bay Area distillery tours, presentations and tastings by ADI staff & guests, plus room and board at the very cool Metro Hotel 

Classes limited to 12 students. Send us an email to hold your space and a $3500 check to:

ADI Box 577 Hayward, CA 94543  or go to http://www.distilling.com/workshop.html and use PayPal.

Either pea soup for lunch or corn wash!

Society Cask Ends Sale: Enjoy BIG Savings

We’ve put together three parcels made entirely from the last few bottles from some outstanding and never-to-be-repeated casks.

Although the identity of the 70cl bottles in our parcels are a mystery, our Society Cask Ends Sale has become legendary amongst members.  The sale not only offers wonderful savings, it opens-the-eyes to some sensational single casks you may have never tried before.  We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised

Cask Ends Parcel A: Ex-sherry casks
£95.oo inc free p&p 

Cask Ends Parcel B: Ex-bourbon casks
£95.00 inc. free p&p

Cask Ends Parcel C: Ex-sherry & bourbon casks
£95.00 inc. free p&p

Additional Bottle Offer: Buy 2.78 for only £49.00 instead of £69.10 when you buy ANY Cask Ends Parcel

2.78 Kissed up by sweet promises
Speyside Spey
The nose had some seconds of spikiness, with pine resin and potato schnapps, but quickly settled to delicate aromatics of plum blossom, cherry wood shavings, lilac and candied angelica; then lovely sweet promises kissed up – vanilla, honeycomb, Ferrero Rocher

Society Tastings & Events

A Crash Course in single malts – The Vaults, Tue 24 May
Dunfermline Preview Tasting – Garvock House Hotel
Guildford Preview Tasting – Manor House Hotel, Thu 26 May
York Preview Tasting – Bedern Hall, Fri 27 May
Liverpool Preview Tasting – Malmaison, Fri 27 May
Cardiff Preview Tasting – Novotel, Fri 27 May
Champions League Final – Queen Street, Fri 27 May
New Outturn Open Tasting – London, Sat 4 June
New Outturn Tasting – The Vaults, Sun 5 June
‘Classic’ Malt Tasting – Queen Street, Sat 11 June

Society Whisky Tastings

Whatever and wherever our tasting or event, the main focus is to give members an informal, enjoyable and relaxed night out..with a taste of the single cask good stuff!

Events range from step by step instruction in how to get the most from tasting single cask, single malt whisky to more adventurous couplings of whisky with food.

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. 

CHIVAS REGAL AND FILMAID INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH GLOBAL BRAND PARTNERSHIP IN CANNES

FilmAid Founder Caroline Baron, FilmAid President Iliane Ogilvie Thompson, long-time FilmAid supporter Robert De Niro celebrate launch

Chivas Regal, the world’s original luxury Scotch whisky and Official Partner of the Festival de Cannes, today announced a new global brand partnership with the charity FilmAid International.

The official launch celebration of the partnership took place in Chivas House on the Croisette in Cannes and was attended by FilmAid Founder Caroline Baron, FilmAid President Iliane Ogilvie Thompson and long-time supporter of FilmAid and President of the Jury of this year’s Festival de Cannes, Robert De Niro.

The partnership will see Chivas Regal and FilmAid working together to help, educate and inspire communities in need through the power of film. An initial donation of $100,000 (US) was made by Chivas Regal to support FilmAid projects across the world.

FilmAid International is a humanitarian organisation that harnesses the power of film to educate and bring hope to refugees and other communities in need around the globe.  Founded in 1999 during the Balkan crisis, FilmAid works in partnership with the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and other global aid organisations to bring film and video programs that inform, inspire and empower to more than 1 million people. 

Chivas Regal has a history of supporting cinema having played a starring role at many of the world’s most celebrated events. Now in its third year as Official Supplier of the Festival de Cannes, Chivas Regal continues to strengthen its position in, and commitment to cinema.

To mark the launch, Chivas Regal commissioned Magnum Photos to create an exhibition of the work of FilmAid, a selection of which is on display in Chivas House.

James Slack, Brand Director, Chivas Regal says, “The work of FilmAid is truly inspirational and we are delighted to support the amazing work they do around the world.

“The partnership aligns well with values that Chivas Regal is passionate about: brotherhood, generosity, integrity and a social awareness for the world in which we live. The partnership with FilmAid provides our customers with a tangible proof-point of these values while reinforcing our commitment to film and cinema whether it be here in Cannes or among some of the most needy communities in the world.”

Liz Manne, Executive Director of FilmAid, says, “We at FilmAid International are delighted by our new partnership with Chivas Regal.  Their dedication to cinema makes them the perfect partner for FilmAid, which brings cinema to those most in need of the inspiration and education that film can provide.  We look forward to developing this partnership with Chivas in the future.”

Glann ar Mor distillery releases “Sant Ivy 2011” cask strength KORNOG

The family run artisan distillery situated on the Northern coast of Brittany announces a new cask strength/single cask bottling of its peated KORNOG Single Malt, “Sant Ivy 2011”, named after the emblematic saint of Brittany. Saint Yves or Sant Ivy represents to Brittany what Saint Patrick represents to Ireland, and is honored every year on May the 19Th since his canonization in 1347.

The first fill Bourbon barrel delivered 249 bottles at the natural strength of 57,8%, being available at the distillery’s Visitor Center (http://bit.ly/dIl4bZ) and online shop (www.tregorwhisky.com), and at a few selected retailers in Brittany.

The first bottling of KORNOG, “Taouarc’h Kentan” also at cask strength, was granted with a Silver Medal at the Malt Maniac Awards 2009, and a Liquid Gold Award with a score of 94.5 in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2011.

Beside KORNOG, the peated expression of the distillery made from 35 PPM malt, Glann ar Mor also offers a non peated expression bearing the name of the distillery itself.

Contact details
Celtic Whisky Compagnie
2, allee des Embruns
22610 Larmor-Pleubian
France

info@celtic-whisky.com
www.glannarmor.com