It’s been about 9 months since I first took the plunge into the world of whisky brokering, possibly too grand a title for what I am doing, but I am buying and selling casks of whisky, if only at a very lowly level. I usually manage to sell three or four casks each week and like everyone else I’m always looking for that very special cask at an affordable price. The bread and butter casks obviously contain new-make spirit not yet subjected to the aging process and are bought by a wide range of people including investors, private individuals, whisky enthusiasts, as wedding presents for someone special or by grandparents seeking a birthday present for their newly born grandchild. These buyers are prepared to invest a modest amount of money and are willing to take the time to enjoy the maturing process. Some customers prefer to skip the first few years and perhaps opt for a four or five year old, again modestly priced, it’s had a bit of maturation and they may then decide to transfer it into a different cask of their choice with a view to drinking it as a 10 year old. With the more middle-aged casks, the 10, 12 or 15 year olds, these can be bottled immediately, either in whole or in part and usually the buyer has an immediate outlet for the whisky, or he may be a trade buyer wanting to bottle to sell to his customers. The 20 to 30 year old casks are generally bought by trade buyers and numerous whisky clubs from all over Europe.

I’ve discovered that this job is just like any other small business enterprise. Some of you may have seen short videos of me on Youtube bottling whisky or off-loading casks on the forklift truck. I was moaning to someone earlier this week about one of my working days- I got up about 5:30am, left the house about 6pm, drove up to Ayr to pick up a hire van and then drove north to Tomatin Distillery to pick up 5 casks of Bowmore. By the time I got back home and off-loaded the casks and returned the van to Prestwick and then drove back to Bladnoch it was about 10:30pm and I had covered about 700 miles. It wasn’t all bad, the scenery was good and Jane my wife had come along for the ride. An email from a customer to the effect that a drive up to Tomatin or anywhere in Scotland was surely better than what he had been doing, undertaking audits on supplies for insurance purposes made me realise that my varied working day isn’t too bad.

However a purchase yesterday of 5 hoggies of Tomatin new-make means that this journey will have to be repeated again very soon. Jane might not be so enthusiastic next time. Other casks purchased recently include some 10yo Glenburgie while casks which I declined recently were some 13yo Bowmore and some 20yo Macduff from refill sherry casks. They were a bit too expensive. When I buy this type of cask there has to be the potential for someone in the trade to buy it off me, have it bottled and sell it to the public with us both making some profit on the way. Some casks still under consideration are some 1990 Strathmill and a few first fill sherry butts of “Islay Malt” from a well known Islay distillery whose name unfortunately cannot be used on the bottles. Not being able to use the distillery name is a disadvantage and affects the value.

So my job involves paperwork, sitting in front of a computer sending emails, working in the warehouse, arranging transportation of pallets and casks and a wide range of other things. What’s the biggest difficulty? Balancing cash flow. Am I making some money? A tentative yes (although some of the big purchases, like today’s new forklift and the new van I need in the next month are not helping!) Am I happy with my chosen career … absolutely yes.

Casks Currently Available:

Bottles Currently Available:

Distilled at &  Price (not including postage)
 
Dailuaine 27 year old, 70cl, 53.6%, refill sherry matured  £45
 
Caol Ila 27 year old, 70cl, 53.1%  £49
 
Cragganmore 20 year old, 70cl, 54.2%  £37
 
“Mystery Whisky”, 20 year old, 70cl, 55.8% (label gives clues to distillery name)  £36
 
Glen Grant 17 year old, 70cl, 55%  £40
 
Dalmore 14 year old, 70cl, 55%  £32
 
Blair Athol 13 year old, 70cl, 58.7% (only 15 bottles remaining)  £30

For trade prices please contact me.

If there is any cask you would particularly like to see available, please let me know and I’ll keep an eye open for it. Comments/suggestions can be made on the Guestbook of my website, especially if you have purchased a cask. Alternatively you can email me.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Martin Armstrong

www.whiskybroker.co.uk

info@whiskybroker.co.uk

Loch Fyne Whiskies has stocked a new item, ‘Braeval [Signatory Vintage] 1998 12yo’

 Braeval 1998 12yo Signatory
 57.5% abv
 £47.90 inc vat
 £39.92 ex vat

Distilled: 12/11/1998, Bottled: 07/06/2011. Matured in Hogsheads # 168861+62 and limited to 449 bottles. A Signatory Independent cask strength bottling.

https://www.lfw.co.uk/blog/2011/07/25/braeval-signatory-vintage-1998-12yo/

Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk

Arts an-Cnocing

anCnoc Highland Single Malt Whisky Develop Visual Art Campaign

anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky have revealed an extension of its brand campaign focusing on the visual arts, to provide a contemporary experience of whisky for modern day drinkers. Developing their long-standing programme of arts activity, anCnoc is working with contemporary galleries on high profile visual art exhibitions and events, enhancing the brands visibility and appeal amongst arts audiences.

The campaign builds on anCnoc’s grass roots involvement with arts organisations, refreshing existing partnerships with new elements of activity and working with several new galleries in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

In Glasgow, anCnoc is working with famed performance venue The Arches to sponsor their prestigious graduate award for visual artists, Blackbox. The sponsorship realises an artist residency within the Arches, with the winner of the award creating a groundbreaking visual artwork, due to be revealed as part of The Arches Live festival this September. anCnoc also sponsors gallery exhibitions at renowned cultural landmark The Tron Theatre, within the newly unveiled anCnoc Long Gallery exhibition space. anCnoc Long gallery exhibitions are curated by Glasgow Print Studios, with the brand’s bespoke illustrations framing artist’s work. anCnoc has also forged a new partnership with Glasgow Print Studios themselves, providing sampling for exhibition openings and First Thursday events, which are part of a late night opening across the renowned Trongate 103 arts complex.

In Edinburgh, anCnoc continues to work with The Fruitmarket Gallery, while new partners include Stills Gallery and Collective with sampling activity at their opening nights. Paying testament to the location of anCnoc’s distillery at Knockdhu near Huntly, anCnoc is also working with two new Aberdeen based galleries, leading contemporary art space Peacock Visual Arts and Project Slogan.

Gillian Gibson, anCnoc Brand Manager, commented: “anCnoc is a refreshingly modern brand, and our focus is to outreach to contemporary whisky drinkers. Visual arts provide us with an exciting platform to do so and we are delighted to announce our enhanced involvement and support for so many of Scotland’s leading arts organisations.”

Notes

International Beverage Holdings (www.interbevgroup.com) was established in 2005 as the international arm of ThaiBev, one of South East Asia’s leading alcohol beverage companies. With a network of regional offices in Asia, Europe and North America, the company is responsible for the production, sales, marketing and distribution of a portfolio of premium global brands in over 80 countries and territories.

Inver House Distillers (www.inverhouse.com) is globally integrated into International Beverage Holdings and drives the distillation and maturation of Scotch through its five distilleries.

International Beverage brands include:

Ø Chang Beer: Thailand’s iconic beer brand

Ø Single Malt Scotch Whiskies: Old Pulteney, Balblair, anCnoc, Speyburn

Ø Blended Whiskies: Hankey Bannister

Ø Mekhong: ‘The Spirit of Thailand’ since 1941

Ø Caorunn – a small batch distilled Scottish Gin infused with 5 Celtic botanicals

The company’s success is built on the combination of a strong understanding of local cultures and markets with the creation of a truly global operational network. Brand building pays respect to heritage, provenance and craftsmanship whilst delivering innovative and highly effective strategies at global level. A skilled and dedicated team of more than 12 nationalities speaking over 14 languages delivers the highest standards of customer service and attention to detail across all aspects of the business.

Rattray’s Blended Malt 19yo 55.8%alc.

A lovely example of artist created whisky from Brian Morrison of the Morrison Bowmore family.

A mix of Auchentoshan, Balblair, Benriach and Bowmore all over 19 years, all sherry-wood matured and all-over a lovely malt whisky.

It has many layers; overall it is liveliness in a mellow background. A light, constant peatiness over sweet and soft. You can pick out notes from all four whiskies, Bowmore’s peat, Balblair’s honey and Benriach toffee, another note of the combined four and a sixth character that I’d credit with being Craigellachieness, a true whisky-zing.

The finish is magnificent, long and rumbling medium peat. Ace.

On the Flavour Map square I7 on the Rich side of Rich & Smoky.

Rattray’s Blended Malt 19 year old
Barcode: 5016817000640

Price excluding VAT: £43.25
£51.90 Including VAT at 20%

Visit Loch Fyne Whiskies at www.lfw.co.uk

Arts4Arts sake!

Is it just me? Or is the whisky industry trying to place products in the Tate gallery? ART 4 ARTS SAKE; Surely whisky is produced to drink, enjoy and share with friends. Recently there has been an influx of “designer” bottles and packaging. Now dinnee get me wrong, I love design as much as the next person, er aye, well maybe a bit more actually, design has been a part of my life for the past 40 years! So, why is it that several whiskies are now being packages in super dooper boxes and designer glass?

How much of the cost for these examples shown, is actually the whisky and how much the packaging? I do really like each of the samples shown, but come on, the cost is out of reach of most people and many of these end up in “collectors” collections. I bet they dinnee actually ever drink them, surely that’s not whisky is all about. It’s like owning a Lamborghini but never actually driving it, and that’s a damn shame eh!

Tell me; once you have actually drank your whisky, do you keep the bottle on a shelf for everyone to look at? Or do you dump it in the bin? Rr do you never drink it because it looks really cool?

by Paul McLean http://angelswhiskyclub.com/awc/art4art.asp

paul@angelswhiskyclub.com and www.angelswhiskyclub.com

This oipnion is solely that of Paul Mclean….and not of  Whisky Intelligence

Whisk(e)y Pairing

When: Sept 12, 2011
What: Legend’s of Whiskey Dinner/Pairing
Where: Los Gatos Brewing Company, Downtown San Jose (By San Pedro Square)

Featuring:

Dan Tullio, Canadian Club Whisky, Master Ambassador
Bernie Lubbers, Small Batch Bourbon Collection, Whiskey Professor
Simon Brooking, Laphroaig Global Ambassador

Space is limited. Reserve your seat today!

Dear Bladnoch Forum Member.

We are now offering three of our recent forum bottling in 35cl bottles at a great offer price

These bottles were very popular in 70cl and they are well discounted so as stocks are limited be quick to avoid disappointment

Balblair 20yo @ 46% NOW £20.00

Dufftown 27yo @ 53.6% NOW £26.00

Glenburgie 26yo @ 53.7% NOW £24.00

These can be ordered from our internet shop at www.bladnoch.co.uk

Once again thank you for your continued support.

Raymond

www.bladnoch.co.uk and you may join the forum at http://www.bladnoch.co.uk/threads/ubbthreads.php to take advantage of this offer.

HIGHLAND PARK RELEASES FINAL EDITION IN MAGNUS SERIES

The long-awaited and much anticipated third, and final, edition in Highland Park’s Magnus Series has now been released. Earl Haakon continues the story from the Orkney Inga Saga but reflects the darker, more sinister character by bringing the murderous cousin into the spotlight.

Whilst the first two bottlings in the Series celebrated the influential 11th century Earl Magnus who was canonised to become Saint Magnus only 20 years after his untimely death, his cousin Haakon was far closer to the warmongering and violent Viking of legend. It was in fact Haakon who ordered the death of Magnus under the most deceitful and murderous of circumstances.

Highland Park Earl Haakon adopts the character of its namesake through 18 year old cask strength single malt giving a character-busting ABV of 54.9%. This Orcadian beast encapsulates the spirit of Haakon, a true berserker and warrior, to capture the depth of flavour of Highland Park’s multi-award wining 18 year old but adding a new dimension achieved through one vatting. With only 3,300 bottles available worldwide, this third edition is set to sell out in record time and build on the success of both Earl Magnus and Saint Magnus.
Gerry Tosh, Head of Brand Education, Highland Park, “Both previous bottlings began the
storytelling but the introduction of Earl Haakon brings the Saga to its climax and signals the end of the Highland Park Series. This 18 year old cask strength beast is both complex in flavour and bursting with powerful character. This combination will undoubtedly appeal to our fans and I’ve no doubt that Earl Haakon will become a legend in the history of Highland Park.”

He continued, “The story of Magnus and Haakon is truly legendary in Orkney. The two were joint rulers of Orkney for a period of peace and harmony however things changed and they become enemies. Legend has it that the two agreed to meet for a peace meeting but the treacherous Haakon sailed up with eight fully-equipped warships, outnumbering Magnus and sealing his fate. Haakon had won the battle for supremacy over Orkney but it is Magnus who is remembered today. “

The Earl Haakon bottle is entirely black glass, made in the same historic way as the previous two bottlings, and is presented in an open black wood window wooden gift box.

Earl Haakon will be available from specialist independent whisky retailers throughout the UK, the Highland Park distillery and www.highlandpark.co.uk at a RRP of £160.

Tasting notes

Age: 18 year old cask strength
ABV: 54.9%

APPEARANCE: Rich russet, clear and bright
NOSE: Shellac, hot fudge, gingercake, lemon zest and blackcurrants with a hint of damsons
PALATE: Sweet vanilla, wood smoke, cedarwood and ginger
FINISH: Lingering spiciness, medium sweet and long

Please enjoy our brand responsibly. www.highlandpark.co.uk  www.drinkaware.co.uk

Notes:

Highland Park: Established in 1798 on Orkney, Highland Park is one of the most remote Scotch whisky distilleries in the world. For over 200 years, the distillery has combined time old tradition and the very best craftsmanship to achieve perfection. Its range of 12, 15, 18, 21, 25, 30 and 40 year old single malts is consistently acclaimed by connoisseurs and experts. Highland Park has won a string of prestigious awards across its portfolio, most recently including ‘best new whisky release of the year 2009’ for its 40-year-old single malt and ‘best whisky in the world 2009’ for its 21-year-old expression in the World Whisky Awards, as well as four double gold awards in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2009.

Five keystones contribute to making the Best Spirit in the World:

• Hand-turned malt adds to the deliciously succulent, balanced layers of aromatic character found in Highland Park single malt Scotch whisky
• Aromatic peat gives a delectably seductive, luxuriant floral sweetness to Highland Park single malt Scotch whisky
• Cool maturation enhances the smooth character of Highland Park single malt Scotch whisky
• Sherry oak casks contribute to the distinctive richness and multi-dimensional complexity of Highland Park single malt Scotch whisky
• Cask harmonisation ensures consistency and balance in Highland Park single malt Scotch whisky.

Bullish Results – Award Winning Black Bull Range

Black Bull 40 Year Old Batch 2, the flagship of the Black Bull range is a superior blend of 90% single malt and 10% single grain and is bottled at cask strength. Recently awarded Whisky Magazine’s Editors Choice for issue 95 May/June, scoring an incredible 9.2 and 9.5 and described as “A pure beauty.  The age without the wrinkles…” and “A belter, everything is well balanced and sings together”.5 May/June, scoring an incredible 9.2 and 9.5 awarded Whisky Magazine’s Editors Choice for issue 95 May/June, scoring an incredible 9.2 and 9.5 awarded Whisky Magazine’s Editors Choice for issue 95 May/June, scoring an incredible 9.2 and 9.5   and “A belter, everything is well balanced and sings together”.

The latest addition to the range blended to celebrate the success of Black Bull 12 at the World Whisky Awards, Black Bull Special Reserve No.1 marries older and younger whiskies  to create a lively, fruity profile that balances the subtleties of age with the vibrance of youth.  The quality of the whisky was quickly recognised by being crowned Editor’s choice in issue 96 of Whisky Magazine, scoring 8.5 and 8.8.

Please viisit Duncan Taylor at www.duncantaylor.com

Tomatin OB 30yo 46%alc.

Tomatin 30 year old
Barcode: 5018481002111

Price excluding VAT: £84.58
£101.50 Including VAT at 20%

Visit Loch Fyne Whiskies at www.lfw.co.uk