The Best Richly Sherried Single Cask Whiskies

Macallan 1989, 50%, Scotts Selection

Big oak, gentle warm spice, sultanas and plums to finish. £75

Tomintoul 1988, 50.1%, Scotts Selection

Very dark almost charcoal in colour, peppery and fruity yet smooth and gentle. £65

Glenglassaugh 1984, 25 Year Old, 50% Old Malt Cask Douglas Laing

Great distillery, rare to find sherry cask. £105

Tullibardine 1992, 53.8%, John Black Single Cask No5 Distillery Bottled

Fantastic, dark brown, brooding single malt loads of sherry. £90

Glencadam 1977 32 Year Old, 54.9% Old & Rare Douglas Laing

Heavy sherry with the added benefit of being particularly quality whisky. £205

Tamnavulin 1989 21 Year Old, Rare Auld Duncan Taylor

According to DT, from a refill sherry butt but still obviously sherried. £69

Glengoyne 21 Year Old 1985 53%, Distillery Bottled

This was matured in First Fill Sherry. £140

Bowmore 1987 23 Year Old, 59.1% Old & Rare Douglas Laing

Highly recommended. £205

Delivery is free to any one address in England and Wales for orders over £285.00 Inc Vat. For orders under £285.00 Inc. Vat there is a delivery charge of £17.25 Inc Vat. Orders for Scotland, the Islands and Highlands will be charged at cost. 

Lee Tomlinson
Assistant Manager
Milroy’s of Soho
3 Greek Street
London
W1D 4NX
www.milroys.co.uk

Whisky Review 195 – GlenDronach 15yo Revival… and all because www.ralfy.com recommend’s it !

A Little Bit of Chemistry

Good afternoon,

Ask any enthusiast what whisky is made of and they’ll tell you –  water, cereals and yeast. Romantics will argue there is a fourth one –  people; but have you ever wondered what whisky is really made of? What  are its chemical properties? For instance, what gives Grant’s its  honeyed…(click on the link below to read the rest of the post)…

http://blog.grantswhisky.com/2011/04/a-little-bit-of-chemistry-2/

Kind regards,
Ludo

All of the Jolly Toper’s whisky tastings take place on Thursday nights from 7:30pm until approximately 10pm at the Tolbooth Tavern, 167 Canongate, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, meals available up to the time of the tastings.

P/O/U/R/S = Peaty, Old, Unusual, Rare and Sherry cask matured.

Thursday April 14th:- P/O/U/R/S £20/17*

Thurs. April 28th:- Tomintoul £15/12* – ticket includes £5 off a bottle from the Tomintoul range
21yo 40%
33yo 43%
Old Ballantruan peated 50%
12yo port finish 46%
12yo oloroso sherry finish 40%

Thursday May 12th:- P/O/U/R/S £20/17*

Thursday May 26th:- non-Scottish peaty drams £tbc
India: Amrut 62.8%
U.S.A.: McCarthy’s
Japan: t.b.c.
England: St. Georges
Ireland: Cooley

Thursday June 9th:- P/O/U/R/S £20/17*

Thursday June 23rd:- Arran £tbc
Machrie Moor peated 46%
‘Oran Mor’ 56.4% sherry cask 236 bottles
10yo 57.1% Bourbon cask 219 bottles Loch Fyne Whiskies bottling
Cadenheads 1998 12yo 57.4%
plus another one to be confirmed

Thursday July 7th P/O/U/R/S £20/17*

Thursday July 21st Lagavulin £tbc
LG2
Distiller’s Edition 1994 – 2010 43%
16yo 43%
1995 12yo European oak 48% Friends of Classic Malts
and a fifth expression to be confirmed

Future Themes:

18yo- ‘Us’ and ‘Them’: comparisons of distillery bottlings with independant expressions – Highland Park, Glendronach and Tamdhu, Ben Nevis: Cadenheads 1996 – 03/2009 12yo 57.1% Bourbon hogshead 256 bootles, 10yo 46%, single blend, single grain, Cadenheads ‘dumpy’ 06/1965 – 12/1981 16yo 46%, Bladnoch: Rare Malts 23yo, Cadenheads 17yo 55.1% Bourbon hogshead, peated, sherry cask plus one other example

Peaty blends 40%: Islay Mist, Islay Hallmark 8yo, Black Bottle 10yo, Black Grouse, Black Bottle, plus a special guest (Brora or Port Ellen) Template design by Web-Kreation.

Visit the Jolly Toper at http://www.jollytopertastings.co.uk/

IRISH DISTILLERS PERNOD RICARD WINS TOP AWARDS AT PRESTIGIOUS SPIRIT COMPETITION

Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard is celebrating the success of its premium whiskey portfolio after achieving four Double Gold and one Gold medal at the internationally renowned San Francisco World Spirit Competition (SFWSC) 2011.

Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve, the most luxurious whiskey in the Jameson family, picked up a Double Gold in the Blended Irish Whiskey category, while Jameson 12 Year Old Special Reserve won Gold.

Redbreast, the highly acclaimed single pot still whiskey also created at the Midleton Distillery, Co. Cork, won Double Gold for both its 12 Year Old and 15 Year Old expressions.

Powers 12 Year Old, the premium edition of Powers Gold Label, one of Ireland’s favourite whiskeys, also picked up a Double Gold medal.

Speaking about the company’s success, CEO and Chairman of Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, Alex Ricard says: “To achieve five top awards at this prestigious competition is a huge honour and testament to the skill and dedication of our master distillers at the Midleton Distillery. As owners of Jameson, the world’s leading Irish whiskey, we are continuing to invest in this fast-growing category and these awards will only help to build further consumer advocacy around the world.”

A record number of entries were submitted to the 11th annual SFWSC with 1106 products from 61 countries. Entries were evaluated by a panel of 33 industry heavyweight judges including experts from noted restaurants, well-known spirits journalists, spirits buyers, and spirits consultants. Judging was based on a blind, consensual procedure ensuring competitive integrity, making the competition one of the most reputable and recognised competition in the spirits industry.

Notes:

Irish Distillers Pernod Picard, part of Pernod Ricard Group, distils and distributes a range of famous Irish whiskey, gin and vodka brands internationally including Jameson, Powers, Paddy, Midleton Very Rare, Redbreast, Cork Dry Gin, Cork Crimson Gin and Huzzar Vodka.

Jameson is the world’s No 1 Irish whiskey. Award-winning as a result of its exceptional smoothness following its unique triple distillation process, Jameson is enjoyed in over 120 countries worldwide. The core Jameson range includes Jameson; Jameson 12 Year Old Special Reserve; Jameson Gold Reserve; Jameson 18 Year Old Limited Reserve; Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve and Jameson Signature Reserve (Travel Retail exclusive).

For further information:

Visit: www.jamesonwhiskey.com

THE FINE ART OF DRINKING

INAUGURAL 2011 WHISKY AUCTION TO HIGHLIGHT BONHAMS NEW YORK APRIL CALENDAR

New York/San Francisco/Los Angeles – Bonhams is delighted to announce full details of its first Whisky sale of 2011 in New York.

In the early evening of Thursday April 14, Bonhams New York will hold Whisky, a 322-lot sale that includes three notable private collections, along with a variety of other Scottish single malt whisky consignments.

Richard Pike, Bonhams New York Wine & Whisky Director, says: “These two April sales present to our growing international client base an excellent selection of sought-after wine and whiskies from the leading producers of the world. Whether it’s exceptional Macallan or leading current vintages from Château Lafite-Rothschild, Bonhams is happy to continue to expand its sale offerings in these two categories, and to further its role within a wider Wine department that regularly holds wine and whisky sales across three continents.”

Whisky, April 14

The auction is dominated by three notable private collections. The first two are consigned from an East Coast collector and a whisky aficionado from Virginia. They both represent a wide, eclectic mix of Scottish single malt whiskies, including whiskies for current drinking, rare bottlings from independents, and sought-after rarities. Highlights include a Macallan Private Eye individually numbered bottle (est. $600-800); a 12-year-old Ghillie’s Dram Macallan (est. $450-600); three bottles of Ardbeg 1974 Provenance (est. $600-900 per bottle); and two bottles of Black Bowmore 1964 (est. $2,800-3,500 per bottle).

A third collection comes from a remarkable Brooklyn consignor featuring exceptional rarities, including Macallan 55 year old in Lalique decanter (est. $16,000-22,000, pictured); Macallan 57 year old in Lalique decanter (est. $15,000-20,000, pictured); Glenfiddich 50 year old (est. $15,000-20,000); the Bowmore Trilogy (est. $15,000-20,000); a six-bottle Springbank Millennium Set (est. $9,000-12,000); and a six bottle original wooden presentation case Macallan-Speymalt set (est. $8,000-12,000).

Whisky Auction: April 14, 5pm EST, Bonhams New York

Notes

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong, Australia and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com (May 2010).

Kilchoman Launches Spring 2011 Release

Kilchoman, Islay’s Farm Distillery, has launched its sixth single malt.

This release is a vatting of 70% 3 year old and 30% 4 year old matured in fresh bourbon barrels.   The 4 year old has been finished in 20 year old oloroso sherry butts for 5 weeks prior to bottling.

The whisky was vatted and reduced to bottling strength on Islay using Kilchoman’s exclusive spring water and then shipped in transit tanks to the mainland for bottling.

Colour : Medium Straw
Nose:  Strong peaty aromas with a soft complex blend of mixed fruits
Palate: Hints of butterscotch and rich tropical fruits with an intense sweetness
Finish: A true classic Islay malt…peaty, fresh and clean

Kilchoman Spring 2011 is available from twenty four specialist whisky retailers in the UK at a retail price of £40 per bottle and twenty six markets worldwide.   This price represents an approximate discount of 15% from previous releases.   For more information visit our website at www.kilchomandistillery.com

In June 2011 we will launch our ‘100% Islay’ single malt from barley grown, malted, distilled, matured and bottled on Islay and in November our first 5 year old will be bottled.

Anthony Wills, Managing Director, commented ‘2011 is a very exciting year for everyone involved with Kilchoman as we launch some wonderful new expressions’

Kilchoman Spring Release 2011

Following the previous releases we expect this one to move fast so we are giving you the opportunity to pre-order now to avoid missing out on one.
Despatch date is mid April.
 
£40.00 inc VAT

Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix

Back in Stock

The Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix whisky creation was inspired by the collapse of several Glenfiddich distillery roofs in January 2010, following weeks of heavy snow and record low temperatures. Weighed down by four feet of densely compacted snow, the roofs collapsed and exposed hundreds of maturing oak casks to the night sky. In wintery conditions and temperatures of -19˚C, distillery staff swung into action – working round the clock to clear the snow.

Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix Scottish whiskey is made from many different ages ranging from 13 year old to 30 year old single malt and, unusually, from a number of different cask finishes. This is a limited edition Scotch and won’t be available for long, the Snow Phoenix is a unique and interesting Scottish whisky and a credit to Glenfiddich. We think Scottish single malt whiskey fans will be secretly hoping the roofs collapse every year now!

£59.99 inc VAT

Visit Single Malts Direct at www.singlemaltsdirect.com

Belgium is known for its outstanding beers, but the country has three languages, three different cultures, and one sub-culture that unites them…a whisky culture! Belgian whisky writer Fernand Dacquin explains in this week’s episode, which also includes highlights from Whisky Live New York. In the news, Scottish distillers team up to help Japan, Tomatin’s Douglas Campbell celebrates 50 years of distilling, and Jim Beam gives the Devil his due.

Visit WhiskyCast at www.whiskycast.com

The Travels of Whisky Intelligence.

The Nth Show Las Vegas March 18th & 19th, 2011

The first we heard about the Nth Show Las Vegas was while standing in line for the Ardbeg tasting the night before Whisky Fest San Francisco where we had the good fortune to meet Nina and Mahesh Patel who were at that time planning the Las Vegas based show. https://www.whiskyintelligence.com/2010/10/whisky-fest-san-francisco-october-8th-2010-scotch-whisky-news/  There was some speculation, mutterings, musings and promises on our part about attending the Nth the following March on the night of the Ardbeg tasting at the Barber Lounge but frankly, it was a done deal. There was no way that Whisky Intelligence was going to miss the Nth. 

In due course tickets were available to book on-line and this was done with ease followed by simply printing them off the office computer, this is really a trouble free method of securing tickets. The Wynn Encore had a special festival room rate and even the air line had a sale; all was looking good for the Nth. Once again it was time to wait, damn it.

——- > South…

Due to the timings of flights etcetera we arrived in Las Vegas the early evening prior to the Nth show so we took the opportunity to dine at Switch, the steak house in the Encore (it’s named ‘Switch’ due to the walls and ceiling moving position to change the appearance of the room about every 15 minutes; very Vegas.).  A glass of red with dinner and a dram or two of Chivas 18 along the way rounded out the meal nicely. Both the steaks and the rest of the meal were very good and the service was excellent.

After dinner if was a quick commute across the casino floor to meet up with some friends in the hotel lobby bar and much to our delight the bar stocked Laphroaig 15 for a reasonable price. Travel is always tiring so it was with some relief when we made our way to our very large room, all the rooms in the Wynn Encore are quite sumptuous, about 750 square feet and very well appointed so they were an extra value considering the very reasonable Festival room rate.

Friday was a quiet day and we had the good fortune to meet up for lunch with whisky enthusiast Noel Buckley from Vancouver who was also in Vegas for the Nth show. Finally, after what seemed the longest day ever it was time to register for the show where we received our wrist bands and goodies bags which included our crystal Glencairn glasses engraved with the Nth logo. A nice & classy touch. While registration was quick and efficient the short time spent in the line was an opportunity to re-connect with old friends like Ed Patrick, president of the Companions of the Quaich and to meet some new ones including William C Myers who is one of the authors that updated Michael Jackson’s Malt Whisky Companion (6th Edition). Everybody was naturally quite excited about the show….

After registration a group of us made a bee line to the special event room (one of six special events held on Friday evening) that would soon be hosting the Gordon & MacPhail Glenlivet 70yo ‘Generations’ tasting led by Michael Urquhart. By rearranging the furniture in the hall way we managed to barricade & separate ourselves from any late comers thus protecting our spots in line. (Just kidding…. mostly). But wait in line we did and in due course Michael let us in a little early to wait until the 6:15 start. In front of each seat was one glass and after a short talk on Gordon & MacPhail and the history of the Glenlivet 70yo Michael asked if we thought it was time for a dram; 25 heads nodded in unison. He asked Andrew Ferguson of Kensington Wine Mart in Calgary to pour everybody a sample and the appreciative nosing started.  Tasting this aged dram was only improved the experience by the whisky being so good. (As of tomorrow, April 11th,  2011, Andrew has been inducted into the illustrious Keepers of the Quaich)

After the Gordon & MacPhail Glenlivet tasting we, the lucky few,  happily trooped upstairs to the ballroom for the main show and the continuation of the evening. The main ballroom was not cavernous but it was roomy enough to accomodate the estimated 250 people in attendance and the 35 stands representing a myriad of brands and at least 230 whiskies. (Duncan Taylor, GlenDronach & BenRiach, Springbank, Hirsch Anchor Distilling,  Dewar’s & Aberfeldy, Laphroaig, Inver House, The Glenlivet & Royal Salute, Four Roses, Amrut & Glenglassaugh, Highland Park, Macallan, Glenfarclas, Burn Stewart, Sirius (a new independent bottling brand launched at the Nth), Gordon & MacPhail, Glenfiddich, Balvenie, High West, Dalmore, Jura, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, Morrison Bowmore, Glenrothes, Suntory, Glencairn, Casa Fuente, wine and champagne tables for the non whisky drinking guests. Yes! They thought of that too!

If you couldn’t have had fun in that room, you’re doomed. Doomed. Additionally there was a superb buffet meal in the downstairs ballroom featuring meat pasta, salads, roast turkey, roast beef and vegetables. Which we took advantage of at some point in the evening, it was nice to have a break and the food was thoughtfully prepared so as not to interfere with your palate; yet another small touch that added to the whole show.

To add to the experience were “super pours” every attendee received a token good for one super pour along with a second token for a Glenfarclas 1966 dispensed by Brett Pontini of Binny’s. The extensive list of super pour drams featured were Dalmore Astrum, Highland Park 40yo*, Glenglassaugh 40yo*, Glenrothes John Ramsay*, Dalmore Aurora, Laphroaig 21yo*, Ardbeg 1974, Glenfarclas 50yo*, Scotch Malt Whisky Society Cask #1.124 39yo*, Speyside (very rare bottling, BenRiach 40yo*, Glenfiddich 40yo, Yamazaki 1984*, Gold Bowmore, Balvenie 40yo, The Glenlivet Cellar Collection 1964*, Gordon & MacPhail Strathisla 1963*, Macallan 1950, Duncan Taylor Kinclaith 1941 41yo* and Glenmorangie Quarter Century 25yo*. However many stands didn’t feel the need to collect a super pour token, especially as the evening progressed. (Hence * = tried it). Of course this was only the super pour list; every stand had a complete selection of their brands ranging from standard bottlings to premium bottlings such as Dewar’s Signature which quite frankly should have been on the ‘super pour’ list, it’s that good.

Also in attendance was Tim Puett of the Ardbeg Project who seemed to loiter around the Ardbeg table for most of the evening!

Due to the schedule of the Nth, the masterclasses followed the Friday show so it’s was best to keep your wits about you since the masterclasses started at a seemingly unreasonable early 11:30 Saturday morning. However a large number of attendees couldn’t resist the pull of the Las Vegas strip and the walking wounded poured into the hotel pretty much until Saturday morning.  A few were never seen again.

There were a grand selection of 19 masterclasses featuring The Glenlivet, Macallan, Glenglassaugh, Four Roses, Glenfiddich, Morrison Bowmore, Glenmorangie, Amrut, Dalmore, Glendronach BenRiach, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Suntory, Glenfarclas, Balvenie, Glenrothes, Benromach, Highland Park, Ardbeg and High West.

We attended The Glenlivet with Ricky Crawford and the list of whiskies included a French Oak finish, two expressions of Nadurra and two aged Cellar Collection (a 37yo and a 40yo if memory serves). Ricky also explained at how he became an ambassador, the personal recollection added to the experience, it was a very good masterclass. It was made even better by the fact that the attendee to the left was hung over something fierce and passed along both Cellar Collections samples. Thanks! That’s the way to start your masterclass experience!

The Morrison Bowmore class was different altogether with a selection of whiskies from Bowmore, Glen Garioch and Auchentoshan with ambassador Jamie Mackenzie and Morrison Bowmore Senior Blender Iain McCallum. Iain’s presentation style is much like a broad side from a warship of old; however  it was both informative and enjoyable.

The BenRiach and GlenDronach masterclass with Alistair Walker was also a first rate affair and featured a generous selection; GlenDronach 1995 cask # 2045 (Preiss exclusive single cask), 31yr (Grandeur), 1972 Single Cask Bottling and BenRiach 25yr plus 21yr (Authenticus – peated).

The Glenfarclas masterclass with George Grant featured four 40yo; Millennium 40yr, Family cask 40yr, 105 40yr, and the New 40 yr. George was fresh as a daisy so he must have gone straight to bed after the show the previous night. Ahem.

And finally we were invited to sample two whiskies from the newly launched Sirius label (by Nth Show CEO Mahesh Patel); a 1965 Carsebridge 45yo and a 1967 Dalmore which may or not be a 43yo, by this point in the day the palate and memory were begging for a break. The Carsebridge was sublime and the Dalmore an aged gentleman.

And thus the Nth 2011 came to a close. A new standard has been set for whisky events in the United States, well done Mahesh, Nina and Mit Patel. Whisky Intelligence heartily recommends the convivial Nth Show in Las Vegas and plans on returning in 2012.

< ——— North…

Sunday early, Las Vegas McCarran airport in the departure lounge staring across the tarmac at the “Janet” airlines white with red cheat lines 737-600’s that transport people daily to and from the Nevada Test Site (area 51) and northern California on secret defense related work. Ah, it’s Richard Paterson; he’s on the same flight and a chance for a chat…

The 2012 Nth Show is scheduled for March 2nd and 3rd at the Wynn Encore and details will appear in due course at http://universalwhiskyexperience.com/