“Scotch: the History, the Taste and the Mystique”
Thursday Sep 08, 2011 7:00PM – 9:00PM
San Francisco,
$65
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/190558

Whisky Archive and The Distilled Man present “Scotch: the History, the Taste and the Mystique.” Appropriate for Scotch novices or aficionados, the educational tasting will provide answers to these and many more questions:

Why is Scotch whisky made only in Scotland ?
Why does Scotch whisky taste smoky?
Why are single malts more expensive?
Why do single malts differ in taste?
Where is the “Whisky Trail”?
Is older whisky always better?
Does water really intensify the whisky flavor?
How long can single malts be s to red?
Why do single malts vary in color?
What does “cask-strength” mean?

This intensive 2-hour workshop will be led by Mark Stewart Cassidy, a Scotch specialist. For over 10 years participants have learned from Mark to fully enjoy and appreciate the most complex and culturally entwined spirit of them all.

About Whisky Archive:

The Whisky Archive is collective for people who like SCOTCH WHISKY–dedicated to spreading the love of scotch, one event at a time. Sign up for our mailing list to be notified of an upcoming event in your area, or let us help you host an event of your own. ..Slainte (Cheers!). www.whiskyarchive.com.

About The Distilled Man:

Dedicated to the gentlemanly arts, The Distilled Man offers classes and events in basic “man skills” like grilling, cocktails and poker. For more information or to sign up for our mailing list, visit www.thedistilledman.com.

Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/190558

NEWSFLASH!!

SPRINGBANK WHISKY SCHOOL 2012

The dates for the next Springbank Whisky School have now been set.

Next year the Springbank Whisky School will run for 10 weeks, in terms of one week each, from week commencing 16th April with the final term being week commencing 18th June.

If you would like a registration form and further information please contact whiskyschool@springbankwhisky.com  

The Glenlivet Storms Leading International Spirits Competition

The Glenlivet, the world’s No 2 malt whisky, was last week awarded one of the top trophies at the prestigious International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) 2011.

The covetable IWSC Cask Strength Scotch Whisky Trophy was given to The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve, which also picked up a Gold ‘Best in Class’ medal in the competition. The pinnacle of the brands success at the IWSC, The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve was commended by IWSC judges as a most ‘elegant and well balanced’ whisky.

The Glenlivet 18 Year Old and The Glenlivet 21 Year Old Archive were also awarded the top Gold ‘Best in Class’ medal, while The Glenlivet Nádurra Cask Strength 16 Year Old won a Gold medal. All three whiskies received acclaim from IWSC judges; The Glenlivet 18 Year Old was referred to as ‘elegant and poised to perfection’ while judges spoke of The Glenlivet 21 Year Old Archive as ‘a grand old whisky’. The Glenlivet Nádurra Cask Strength 16 Year Old received high praise when described as ‘classy in every respect’.

Global Brand Director for Malts at Chivas Brothers, Neil Macdonald, said: “This outstanding achievement highlights the quality credentials of The Glenlivet. A pioneering spirit, inspired by The Glenlivet founder George Smith, runs through the history of The Glenlivet and is just as prevalent today as it was then – as Master Distiller Alan Winchester so perfectly demonstrates with this award-winning range.”

The Glenlivet Distillery in Speyside recently underwent a £10 million expansion. The new facility will help increase production by 75%, as part of Chivas Brothers’ long-term ambition for the brand to become the World’s No 1 single malt Scotch whisky.

The Glenlivet 18 Year Old – the perfect expression of age and elegance, balancing the archetypal ripe fruit notes of The Glenlivet with a drier, evocative oak influence.

The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve 21 Year Old –This is Glenlivet at its best, incredibly smooth and envelops the mouth with delicious and mouthwatering fruity flavours. A limited edition of 1824 bottles were created in recognition of the year George Smith founded the distillery and to celebrate the opening of The Glenlivet distillery expansion.

The Glenlivet 21 Year Old Archive – a batch-produced whisky using only hand-selected casks. It is a complex whisky with sherry and wood notes integrating seamlessly with the aromatic palate.

The Glenlivet Nàdurra Cask Strength – Gaelic for ‘natural’, this 16-year-old single malt Scotch is a bold innovation and an exciting premium addition to The Glenlivet range. Non-chill filtered, Nàdurra is a smooth and fruity Speyside whisky with a softly rich, floral aroma, combined with added richness and creaminess devolved from maturation in first-fill ex-bourbon casks.

The IWSC was founded in 1969 to promote and reward the quality and excellence of the world’s best wines, spirits and liqueurs. Winners are selected following a rigorous two-stage judging process of professional blind tasting and a detailed technical analysis. The competition is backed by a group of vice-presidents made up of the most influential individuals in the trade and a judging panel of industry experts. This year’s competition received entries from almost 80 countries.

Notes:

Chivas Brothers
Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard – the world’s co-leader in wine and spirits. Chivas Brothers is the global leader in luxury Scotch whisky and premium gin. Its portfolio includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater Gin, The Glenlivet, Royal Salute, Aberlour, Plymouth Gin, Longmorn, Scapa, 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport.

In July 2010, Chivas Brothers launched The Age Matters campaign to help consumers understand the importance of Scotch whisky age statements.

For further information: Visit: www.chivasbrothers.com

A very wet but busy summer at Glenglassaugh

The Chosen Few

A first bottling of a new exclusive series of single cask bottling from Glenglassaugh Distillery titled “The Chosen Few” is now available.

Each bottling in this series is limited edition, from a single cask of Glenglassaugh and has been chosen by a different member of the team at the distillery. Each of the ten members of the team has made their choice and over the next 3 years the selected casks will be bottled and made available for sale. The selected casks include some from the very old stock of pre 1986 while others have not yet reached the age at which we can call them whisky but they will soon.

The first cask in the series is a 1976 sherry butt, chosen by Ronnie Routledge who is well known in the industry and beyond having previously worked with both Single Malts Direct and Gordon and Macphail. Ronnie is our customer accounts manager and is regularly active on “Friends of Glenglassaugh” on Facebook.

The whisky is a great example of a 35 year old cask which has loads of sherry, but not overpoweringly so, to complement the expected fruit medley notes and array of spices at the end, which is typical Glenglassaugh.

There are 654 bottles of the whisky, which is bottled in a 700ml tall round bottle and comes in a gold coloured round tube, in a similar livery to The Managers’ Legacy range. The whisky will retail in the UK at £300.00 per bottle. (Unfortunately due to bottling all of the cask in 700ml bottles it will not be available in USA or South Africa)

As usual it is bottled on site, at cask strength, with no chill filtration and with no colour added.

More Exclusive Releases

We have been working hard with a number of our distributors around the world and so will soon be able to announce exclusive releases of more single cask bottling in a number of markets. This follows the great success of an exclusive bottling for our German distributor Caminneci Wine and Spirit Partner which sold out extremely quickly.

I can reveal that we have agreed exclusive releases with importers in 4 different continents so if you are wanting to find one then you will have good chance that one will be coming to a country, relatively, near to you.

As the bottles are despatched to market I will let you know more about each bottling.

This activity has meant that we have been much busier in our small bottling operations recently and although it won’t help for this year, we are looking to move the bottling into a larger area on site and have a bottling and packaging area which is larger and better laid out and easier to work in.

Sherry Octaves

At the end of August we will receive delivery of our first batch of sherry octaves, direct from Spain. This will be another first in the industry as no-one else has matured spirit for full maturation in an ex-first fill sherry 50 litre cask. Many of you have taken the opportunity to order one of these casks and be one of the first people to own one and such has been the demand that we have pre-sold all of the first delivery.
However the good news is that we have a second batch due later this year and we are starting to take orders for this second delivery now.

Peated Spirit

Rather embarrassingly we have found that demand for our octaves to be filled with peated spirit has been greater than we xpected and we have no
peated spirit left. However we will be back in production shortly and as we are starting with peated malt then we will catch-up with the outstanding orders.
The growing demand for our peated spirit and the number of compliments that we receive about the quality has meant that we have decided to increase the volume of production of this type of new spirit again in 2011, which was already larger than 2010.

Visitor Centre

Well the windows, which we have been waiting on for a long time, have finally arrived. Ronnie Lawrence has been working hard on installing them and they have really transformed the place, although there is still a lot of work to be done.

The next stage will be installing the electrics, then loft insulation, then the flooring before moving on to the fittings and decoration.

We aiming to have it completed by the end of this year but with the above workload then Ronnie may a hand at times.

Glenglassaugh in the press

We have recently made more appearances in the press, firstly our recently released 45 year old single cask single malt Scotch whisky winning the summer Merchants Challenge in Scottish Field magazine. Ronnie Routledge was previously a judge for this magazine, although he is now barred as he works for a whisky company, and assures me that the competition is both fiercely competitive and tough with a high number of excellent whiskies.

Shortly after that I was interviewed as part of a article in SMWS magazine which elicited opinions on what a few people from the industry would do if there was no legislation on how Scotch whisky is manufactured. I voiced my opinion that more innovation should be allowed, particularly around in maturation and discovered that I had been described as “The Maturation Maverick”, must admit I kind of liked the title.

Finally the result of an interview with a business journalist in Edinburgh was a 2 page feature spread which appeared in the Scottish Daily Record business section and also in the Scottish Business Insider on-line magazine. http://www.business7.co.uk/features/business-profiles/2011/07/29/stuart-nickerson-profile-growth-has-been-double-digit-since-we-relaunced-106408-23305143/

Once again please feel free to comment below or send me an email or comment on “Friends of Glenglassaugh” on Facebook.

Slange

Stuart

Visit Glenglassaugh Distillery at www.glenglassaugh.com

Glenglassaugh Distillery Company Limited

Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, AB45 2SQ, Scotland

‘Best of the West Festival’

Plans are underway for an informal celebration of the West of Scotland’s splendid offerings to be held in the grounds of Inveraray Castle. Bring a driver and the family and join Loch Fyne Whiskies with some of our distilling neighbours for a couple of afternoons mellow chat, relaxing drams and great music…

Watch this space for news of the event as it develops, event brochure here

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

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

1994 Bruichladdich 16 Year Old K&L Exclusive Single Ardbeg Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Pre-Arrival) ($99.99) One of our good-natured business deals from Scotland ended up providing us with the chance to secure a single barrel of something quite special and unbelievably rare – an unpeated Islay whisky aged inside the cask of another peated Islay whisky! This 16 year old Bruichladdich spent its first 13 years in hogshead, lending it the standard vanilla and sweet grains the malt is known for. For the last 3 years however it sat soaking up the flavor from a barrel which had formerly held some super-smoky Ardbeg whisky. The residue left inside the wood was enough to turn a mild-mannered Bruichladdich into something smoky and aggressive. Very light in color, the nose is a combo of fresh malted barley and vegetal peat moss aromas. The palate is lean and mean with spicy pepper and wisps of smoke meandering in between the salty vanilla notes inherent in the malt itself. The finish is all peat smoke, but it’s an unfamiliar smoke – not peated Bruichladdich, but not Ardbeg either. As a fan of both distilleries, I find this marriage of the two styles exciting, delicious, and utterly fascinating. This will be a big hit with Islay fans and collectors everywhere. -David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer

Highland Park 15 Year Old Alchemist Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 1 available ($59.99)

Glenlivet XXV 25 year old Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Elsewhere $390) – 2 available ($299.99)

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Dear Customer

This month we offer you seven (7) new bottlings under the OLD MALT CASK label, one (1) new PREMIER BARREL, two (2) from OLD & RARE ,two (2) Old CLAN DENNY GRAINS, and six (6) new ADVANCE SAMPLE 20 cls bottlings. Also available this month is a new “big hitter” from the DOUBLE BARREL series – being Laphroaig/Mortlach.

Tasting notes for OLD MALT CASK follow –

OMC 2069 Glen Ord 14 Year Old
Nose: Opens clean & fresh – running to sweet fruit + a gristy style
Palate: Still sweet – a macerated ripe fruit character + gentle spices
Finish: Long – sweetly spiced with pleasant orange bitters lingering (J)

OMC 2067 Macallan 15 Year Old
Nose: Fresh & fragrant – carries a gristy/honey’ed sweet character
Palate: More honey combined with a rich spiced fruit & toffee quality
Finish: Long, carrying a real barley quality with spices and smoke lingering (F)

OMC 2070 Laphroaig 15 Year Old
Nose: Feisty –fresh – barleyed – spiced – and lightly oaked
Palate: Very fruity with crunched sugar, toffee, juicy barley + spice
Finish: Caramel sweet/warmingly spiced + with a camphor/cough drop style (F)

OMC 2073 Arran 15 Year Old
Nose: Opens sweetly + a crushed sugar quality + vanilla & ripe grapes
Palate: Still fruity – carrying a honeyed style + a fresh, sweet, citric trait
Finish: Remains sweet – now with a little tangerine – marmalade character (J)

OMC 2064 Laphroaig 21 Year Old
Nose: A subtle example – salty and earthy with hot beach sand + sweet barley.
Palate: Carries some real sweet peat + cinders & chewy muscovado sugar.
Finish: Detect: Camphor, iodine, phenols + spicy warmth + sugar and vanilla (F)

OMC 2072 Tamnavulin 21 Year Old
Nose: Opens sweetly spiced +tobacco & a bees wax quality + toffee waffles
Palate: Sweet & spicy running to ginger snaps + orange zest & chocolate
Finish: still spicy + more citrus (now spicy mandarin liqueur style) & tobacco (F & J)

OMC 2057 Glenlivet 34 Year Old
Nose: Opens sweetly running to a citrus style – lemon meringue pie
Palate: Smooth – softly spiced – carrying a hard candy sweetness
Finish: Long – still sweetly fruited – now with a lemon pith quality (J)

ADVANCE SAMPLES

SMC 0395 Glentauchers 11 Year Old
SMC 0399 Glen Grant 12 Year Old
SMC 0397 Highland Park 13 Year Old
SMC 0398 Allt A’Bhainne 14 Year Old
SMC 0400 Mortlach 14 Year Old
SMC 0396 Glen Ord 14 Year Old

Tasting Notes for CLAN DENNY GRAIN –

DEN 0069 Cambus 36 Year Old
Opens sweet & spicy and runs to a toffee & vanilla style with a honey-on-porridge character. Instantly detect the light oak and spicy nuances on the palate which continue in a sweet and warming, lightly peppered, rich quality. The finish is medium long, rich and smooth, reminiscent of sweet mocha butter cream. (F & J)

DEN 0068 Cameronbridge 37 Year Old
Opens sweetly on the nose carrying a rich toffee – and maybe even coffee – character plus a concentrated creamy vanilla style. The big palate is sweetly spiced and is round and mellow,
confirming the American/Bourbon origin of the cask reflected by the rich vanilla quality. The finish is typically short – carries a fruit cake style and is very attractively spiced, in a more-ish kind of way.(F&J)

Tasting Notes for OLD & RARE –

OAR 0135 GLENROTHES 21 Year Old Sherry Matured
It noses in a very spiced style and warms to barley with citrus – akin to a clove studded orange – whilst carrying a palate packed with sugary sweet Scotch tablet, more orange, and now some late cough drop type spices. The finish reflects the palate – though it is a little drier – still being spiced and still laced with an orange liqueur. (F)

OAR 0137 Speyside’s Finest 46 Year Old Sherry Matured
The nose opens with an appealing rich and “darkly” spiced character carrying a fresh leather & ground nuts (hazelnuts?) quality. The palate is mouth coatingly spiced with soft wood tones and runs to black cherries in alcohol and dark chocolate. The finish is long, gently oaked, and remains warmingly spiced with a “candied ginger coated in (more) dark chocolate”-style. (J)

Tasting Notes for PREMIER BARREL –

PBR 0102 Glen Grant 12 Year Old
Give me the Glen Grant! No I shan’t! Why! It’s my masterful mollifying meritorious malt mash which is now chock a block with choc that – then portrays peaches and vanilla virtuosity …… a veritable
peach (Melba) of a GG! (F)

We hope you will find some interesting Malts from this month’s selection and, as always, we send you best wishes.

Yours sincerely

Fred Laing

Visit Douglas Laing & Co. Ltd. at www.douglaslaing.com

Aberlour Goes for Gold at Leading International Spirit Competition

Aberlour has been awarded two Gold medals at one of the most prestigious international spirit competitions – the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) 2011.

Aberlour 16 Year Old Double Cask Matured won a Gold ‘Best in Class’ medal at the competition while Aberlour 18 Year Old was presented with a Gold medal.

The Gold ‘Best in Class’ is the highest medal a spirit can receive in the competition. The IWSC judges commended the ‘great depth of character’ of Aberlour 16 Year Old Double Cask Matured. The judge’s praise was also given to Aberlour 18 Year Old for its ‘inviting nose’ and a ‘creamy, rich flow and deep texture.’

Brand Director for Chivas Brothers Malts portfolio, Neil Macdonald, comments: “We are absolutely thrilled with these wins for Aberlour at this prestigious competition. The result highlights the quality of this multi-faceted and distinctive single malt whisky range which continues to attract wide acclaim from industry leaders such as the IWSC judges.”

The Aberlour malt whisky range has some very distinct characteristics, due to the fact it is matured in rare ex-sherry butts and ex-bourbon casks to ensure a perfect balance of flavours. The Aberlour range has a heritage stretching back more than 1,500 years to an ancient Celtic settlement established by St Drostan. Unlike most whiskies, the Aberlour brand name is synonymous with the Speyside village in which the original distillery is still located. The range has also recently undergone a packaging revamp to give the brand a more contemporary look and reflect the quality and richness of the whisky.

Aberlour 16 Year Old Double Cask Matured – launched in 2003, this whisky is matured in sherry and traditional oak casks to ensure a depth of character as well as the spiciness and fruitiness of Aberlour.

Aberlour 18 Year Old – an intense whisky of perfect structure with notes of chocolate and orange zest, leading to a very long, smooth finish.

The IWSC was founded in 1969 to promote and reward the quality and excellence of the world’s best wines, spirits and liqueurs. Winners are selected following a rigorous two-stage judging process of professional blind tasting and a detailed technical analysis. The competition is backed by a group of vice-presidents made up of the most influential individuals in the trade and a judging panel of industry experts. This year’s competition received entries from almost 80 countries.

Notes:

Chivas Brothers
Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard – the world’s co-leader in wine and spirits. Chivas Brothers is the global leader in luxury Scotch whisky and premium gin. Its portfolio includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater Gin, The Glenlivet, Royal Salute, Aberlour, Plymouth Gin, Longmorn, Scapa, 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport.

In July 2010, Chivas Brothers launched The Age Matters campaign to help consumers understand the importance of Scotch whisky age statements.

For further information: Visit: www.chivasbrothers.com

Tickets for the 2nd Masterclass at the UK’s Midlands Whisky Festival 2011 are on sale now !

Willie Tait Jura UK Masterclass.

The Man Himself

We are ecstatically chuffed to accept this whisky giant to tutor at this special event on 24th September.

You will be tasting some of the rarest & most delicate single malts Jura has to offer, Jura 30 yo & 21 yo Anniversary. Demand for these tickets will be extremely high and only 30 places are available priced just £10.

Event time : 2:15 till 3:00 pm (45min duration).

All samples will be pre-poured at table settings.

Click on the link to Buy tickets for Willie Tait Masterclass  

Tasting of Single-Malt Scotches from Scottish Independent Bottler Gordon & MacPhail
Tuesday, August 16th 2011 4:30 P.M. & 6:00 P.M.

Joe writes,

Next Tuesday we will host a tasting of some excellent malts from one of our favorite bottlers, Gordon & MacPhail. As usual we will have pourings in the store at two times, free of charge. The malts on offer will show a wide spectrum: Lowlands – Highlands – Speyside and Islands. Although we will not have any malts showing big peat there will be a young buck from Orkney that will keep most happy, it’s a real cracker. We will also have one or two closed distilleries, and bottlings ranging from great values in younger whisky to ancient gems. Full details soon, watch the website. ( It’s Getting Better )

In addition we’ll be putting out special offers on all manner of single-malts this week over Twitter. If you’re not on that particular social media platform you should seriously consider signing up and following us @federalwine. All offers will be released first on Twitter then following that, a roundup of the week’s offers will appear in next week’s newsletter. These will comprise both new and old releases and all will be extremely limited in quantity.

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Email: info@federalwine.com
Phone: (617) 367-8605
Web: http://www.federalwine.com/