November Outturn: Nipper UPDATE
With our Nipper November Outturn released and raising temperatures we take a look at the top 5 member favourites…

1) 93.48 Immense, manly, meaty and peaty
2) 125.50 Heavenly beauty
3) 1.160 Sunny spiced apples & vanilla cream
4) 33.114 Sweet versus savoury
5) 29.104 Not for wee boys

November Nippers:
Pair: Buy *76.83 & *29.105 for only £89.00
Trio: Buy *93.48, 30.64 & *29.105 for only £145
*Buy 29.104 & *29.105 and get a FREE tasting glass

*Alternative bottle

Nov Outturn
Browse all bottlings (47 single casks online)

SMWS Tastings & Events (28 events online)
All about wood – 28 Queen Street, Thu 17 Nov
Greenock Preview Tasting – The Tontine Hotel, Fri 18 Nov
Aberdeen Preview Tasting – Caledonian Hotel, Thu 24 Nov
Winchester Preview Tasting – Winchester Royal Hotel, Fri 25 Nov
Glasgow Preview Tasting – Radisson Blu Hotel, Fri 25 Nov
Harrogate Preview Tasting – Hotel du Vin, Fri 25 Nov

More Society tastings

London Members’ Room: We’re upgrading our bar area to make it even more fabulous. It does mean that from now until Tue 15 November we will have to close the bar. However, the upstairs Tasting Room will be open for drams and bottles, but sadly no food. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Book an Event: Festive Dining & Suppers
This year the Society is capturing the essence of Christmas with a feast for the senses. Enjoy flaming cocktails, a fabulously festive three-course meal and whisky ‘affogato’
More details

Whisky Magazine’s 2012 Independent Bottler of the Year

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.

Hello Fellow Scotch Lovers –

My guess is many of you are familiar with Citizen Kane, the 1941 film directed by and starring Orson Welles, that examines the life and legacy of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane and the research of a newsreel reporter seeking to solve the mystery of the magnate’s dying word: “Rosebud.”

Any by now I’m confident that even more of you are familiar with Citizen Neck, the story of the relentless pursuits, shrewd business dealings and global triumphs of whisky magnet Nicky “The Neck”, who just yesterday was heard whispering the word “Rosebank” into his mobile phone from some far-away warehouse.

That’s right my friends…”Rosebank“….as in Rosebank 21 Year Old 1990 Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

For those of you unfamiliar with Rosebank, fear not, you’re not alone.

The Rosebank distillery was built in 1840 for James Rankine, a local merchant, on the waterside site of a former brewery near Falkirk in Scotland. It is one of the very few mainland distilleries that reached its markets by water (the Forth-Clyde Canal), and is highly regarded by Lowland malt enthusiasts. Tragically the Rosebank distillery was closed in 1993.

Fortunately for us, thanks to those relentless pursuits, shrewd business dealings and global triumphs of our man The Neck, I am thrilled to be able to offer you access to a bottle of Rosebank 21 Year Old 1990. The 53.8%ABV whisky is a triple distilled, natural cask strength whisky that was aged in refill American oak and refill European oak casks. This is a very rare bottling of some of the oldest stocks now held by the original distillers, with only 5,604 numbered bottles worldwide.

The price for a bottle of Rosebank 21YO 1990 is $289 We have an extremely limited supply and, as always, once it’s gone, its gone. So please, order your bottle now (limit 2-bottles per customer).

I hope you will take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to acquire this collectable rare whisky.

Until next Wednesday…keep those cards and letters coming!

Doug Stone
Founder
www.ForScotchLovers.com

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ROSEBANK 21 YO 1990 LOWLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

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ROSEBANK 21 YO 1990 DISTILLERS TASTING NOTES

COLOR: Pale gold. Moderate beading, very clear.

NOSE: Mild nose-feel. The soft start is soon balanced by a crisp, juicy fruit sharpness (tropical fruits, orange and tangerine peel) and sweetness (fruit sweets). Below this the sweet fruit gives way to a more delicate earthy, even floral character: lily and English rose. Water makes the aromas softer; sweet lemon fondant replaces the earthiness. Late green apple fruit and floral notes; ripe peaches in a brown paper bag.

BODY: Light.

PALATE: At natural strength, tingling mouth-feel and good acidity; fresh, clean and drying. Mineral and tart (ripe plum skins) with faint menthol, then pleasingly charred with light pepper. Beautifully silky with a little water, when a very soft floral sweetness emerges (fruit salad and orange water) before the lemony acidity asserts itself.

FINISH: Short and drying, with just an appetising hint of bitterness. Later, some red grape fruit. Softer, more gentle and rounded with water. Finally, a little late cocoa dryness.

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www.ralfy.com recommends a bit of your time to explore a different style with whisky review 231 – Hellyer’s Road (peated) Tasmanian Malt

A good example of a decent option of World Whisky

Whyte & Mackay Challenges City Explorers to Find Shackleton Whisky

Bottles hidden across UK & Ireland can only be found via smartphone app Repudo

Whisky giant Whyte & Mackay has challenged social media explorers in the UK and Ireland to find 10 bottles of its award-winning Shackleton replica whisky.

Reflecting the story of adventure behind the special edition Mackinlay’s – a recreation of the 100 year old whisky found near the South Pole at Shackleton’s 1907 camp – Whyte & Mackay are giving people the chance to discover a bottle in their own cities.

All people have to do is download the Repudo app to their Android/BlackBerry/iPhone device and then seek out the £100 bottle.

The company is using the digital object service for the first time to drop 21 tags in 10 cities. The number 21 was picked to reflect the number of crew members involved the 1907 Nimrod voyage.

But only one of the Repudo tags in each city “contains” a bottle of the whisky. The rest are empty. But explorers will have a choice of picking up the empty ones – making it easier for everyone to find the real one – or leave them for others to find.

Rob Bruce, head of PR for Whyte & Mackay, said: “Shackleton was a top explorer so what better way to mark the success of this whisky than by encouraging people to explore their city.

“It would be impractical and irresponsible to leave a real bottle out in the street, but this approach maintains the element of adventure in a safe and engaging way.

“We’ll update the blog at our site EnduringSpirit.com so that people know when a bottle has been found, and we’ll keep the competition open until they are all found.”

The Repudos will be rolling out on a week by week basis on the following timetable:

W/B Nov 14: Dublin, Belfast

W/B Nov 21: Glasgow, Edinburgh

W/B Nov 28: Cardiff, Leeds

W/B Dec 5: Southampton, Manchester

W/B Dec 12: London, Birmingham

All the explorers have to do is:

1) Download the Repudo App (available for iPhones, BlackBerry and Android devices)

2) Turn it on

3) Click Nearby to find the Repudos in the area

4) Search through the Repudos to find the right one

The official Shackleton site can be found at http://www.enduringspirit.com while the Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/EnduringSpirit

Benromach to Share the Secret with the Arts

Benromach, the Single Malt Scotch Whisky, is pleased to announce that it sponsored contemporary London art gallery Beers.Lambert’s production Systems Beyond Certainty.

The show at Project Space on Vyner Street in London ran on November 2 and 3.

Systems Beyond Certainty presents constructs of time, nature and space as structured, ideological concepts that provide simultaneously real and imagined delineations to our perception of the natural world.

Five artists consider these concepts as metaphor and reality, offering a re-evaluation of their surroundings in a context that provides contemplation for the relationship between the definite and the imagined.

The exhibition is conceived through several distinct themes: the natural world, the utopian versus the dystopian, the spatial, the psychological, and the futuristic sublime. The work drives pertinent questions into

abstract representations of The Present and The Future in lieu of a constructed versus natural world – the status of normalcy or the pursuit of constructed perfection. While artists such as Kevin Cooley and Peter

Matthews seem to offer views of the constructed or natural works in crisis, other artists such as Gillian Lawler appear to present re-affirmations of these themes through the representations of the future.

Commenting on the deal, David Urquhart Joint Managing Director of Gordon & MacPhail, owners of the Benromach Distillery in Forres, said:

“The Beers.Lambert is the perfect partner for Benromach. It is a pleasure to be associated with such a contemporary art gallery that features really cutting edge talent from around the world, which we feel reflects

many of the distinctive qualities of the various expressions or our malt whisky. We look forward to the success of Systems Beyond Certainty and to be able to share the secret of Benromach with the audience.”

All attendees attending the performance were invited to sample Benromach Ten Year, Benromach Organic or Benromach Peat Smoke and received a miniature Benromach 10 year old to take away.

Director of Beers.Lambert, Kurt Beers said: I wanted to combine my love of whisky and fine art which is why I have invited around 200 fine art enthusiasts to a private viewing and reception at our London gallery.

I esteem my gallery for exhibiting only the finest in emergent and stimulating visual arts internationally and I believe Benromach would be an exceptional compliment to the clean, crisp, contemporary feel of the work on exhibit.”

Notes:

About Benromach

Established in 1898, Benromach distillery changed hands many times and was virtually derelict when bought by Gordon & MacPhail in 1993. Drawing on generations of whisky expertise, the company carried out a painstaking refurbishment, and the distillery was officially re-opened by Prince Charles in 1998.

Just two men hand-craft Benromach using the finest Scottish barely and the purest spring water from the nearby Romach Hills. They fill new spirit into the highest quality casks before being left to mature at the distillery for many years. The Benromach portfolio includes the award winning Benromach 10 Years Old and the first fully certified organic single malt – Benromach Organic.

Benromach expressions include:

Benromach Ten Years Old

Benromach Ten Years Old is created from the finest Scottish barley and pure spring water from the nearby Romach hills. After being matured for at least ten years, it emerges golden in colour and displays rich fruit, sweet chocolate and delicate spicy aromas. With a rich sherry influence, the mouth-watering palate coats the senses with exotic fruit flavours, toasted malt and a delicate hint of smoke.

Benromach Traditional

A rich and mellow single malt with fruit and malty tones, balanced with a hint of smoke.

Benromach Peat Smoke

Full bodied, intense and challenging with a smoky character, yet balanced with the fruity elegance of Speyside.

Benromach Origins

A series of special bottlings crafted to highlight how small changes in the art of whisky-making can help to shape the character of the final single malt.

Please visit www.benromach.com for details.

Loch Fyne Whiskies has stocked Longrow Burgundy Wood

Longrow Burgundy Wood OB 14yo 56.1%alc.

Limited to 7800 bottles
11 years in refill Bourbon casks
3 years in fresh Burgundy casks
Distilled February 1997
Bottled October 2011

On the Malt Whisky Flavour Map I8
Rich / Rich & Smoky

Longrow Burgundy Wood 14 year old

Price excluding VAT: £49.08
£58.90 Including VAT at 20%

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

WHISKI Joins History Festival

WHISKY is the liquid gift that Scotland bequeathed to the world and its origins and tastes are discussed and sampled as part of a new festival in Edinburgh this month.

Scotland’s History Festival runs from Thursday November 17 to Sunday November 27 and the WHISKI Rooms in the city’s North Bank Street is offering tastings and insights into the water of life.

The venue, a sister operation to the famed WHISKI Bar and Restaurant on the Royal Mile, incorporates a range of whisky experiences in one: a shop selling the largest range of whiskies available in Scotland, all available for mail order, plus a bar and bistro and a tasting room.

Owner Anne Still said: “The story of whisky and Scotland is a fascinating one and we are delighted to be involved with this new festival. We are also proud to offer members of the public our amazing range of whiskies – truly something for everyone – and to guide them through the experience of enjoying our country’s national drink”

“We would love people to join us in our beautiful tasting room as we reveal how whisky has evolved in Scotland over the centuries and they can also taste a few whiskies along the way!”

In ancient times uisge beatha or the “water of life” was hailed as a cure for many ills and visitors can discover how things evolved from this to the first documented record of distilling several centuries ago. It all leads on to a very informative look at how whisky is ingrained into Scotland¹s unique history.

The festival aims to celebrate the rich and colourful history of Scotland and its people, and their extraordinary contribution in shaping the modern world. Through a wide series of diverse events taking place over 10 days, the festival aims to encourage community participation, and stimulate national debate, discussion and personal discovery.

The event runs daily at WHISKI Rooms, 4 North Bank Street, Edinburgh throughout the festival from 6pm and the cost is £15( £5 redeemable on any purchase of malt whisky in the shop).

Contact 0131-225-7224 to book a place.
www.whiskirooms.co.uk
Email: shop@whiskirooms.co.uk

This month we are delighted to introduce eight (8) new PROVENANCE bottlings (plus a new “4 Regions” PRV pack of 20 cls flasks).

Tasting Notes for PROVENANCE follow below:

PRV 0746 Mortlach 8 Year Old Sherry
On the nose there is initially a soft maceration of white fruits followed by a sweet mocha character. Mouth coatingly creamy on the palate- it then heads off to mixed spices and a malty sweetness. More chocolate than coffee is apparent on the long finish which also reveals late spices and aniseed. (F)

PRV 0733 Glen Grant 8 Year Old
Opens with an attractively sweet trait on the nose – soft meringue and icing sugar – then runs to a fruity (fresh apples) style. The palate is still sweet & fruity, now carrying vanilla and developing to an orange tang. The finish is long, sweetly spiced (cinnamon?) with more orange zest – now flamed.(J)

PRV 0725 Glengoyne 11 Year Old
The nose opens fresh & fruity, carrying a creamy sweet quality plus a poached pears style. The palate remains fruity running to a sweetly gristed, barley sugar character. The finish is medium long and carries a chocolate and orange zest tang. (J)

PRV 0729 Blair Athol 11 Year Old Sherry
Carries an alcoholic fruit salad plus liquorice and citrus on the nose … with a late hint of vanilla fudge. Palatewise it is round, full of toffee, interesting spices and a later dry gristiness. The finish carries even more – now warming – spices with sweet barley and late liquorice elements. (F)

PRV 0749 Auchentoshan 11 Year Old
Initially massively fruit toffee’d on the nose! – it then opens and warms to a soft barley sugar sweet style plus spices. Palatewise it is still sugar sweet – then moves to a subtle spiced gristiness. The early finish is dominated by barley sugar, spices – then tails drier. (F)

PRV 0732 Glen Moray 11 Year Old
Clean, light and floral fresh on the nose – it warms then to attractive sweet grist and barley. The palate is soft, sugary sweet and initially subtle – then it heads to barley sugar and cough drops – with the finish being long, spiced in a camphor style and lightly “burnt”. (F)

PRV 0738 Glencadam 12 Year Old
The fresh and floral nose carries a sweet, macerated sultana and gristy character. The palate opens spicy and runs to a herbal liqueur style with sweet accents and late camphor. The finish is long & spicy then runs drier with an attractive leather & oak quality. (J)
Yours sincerely

 Fred H Laing
Managing Director

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

It was great to get home on Islay after my two week tour of Australia and the Far East. I really enjoyed it. But I am now off again on a tour of Canada and America. I look forward to meeting as many Friends as I can.

The highlight in the Far East was of course the Laphroaig Live broadcast on the 6th Oct in Sydney. We had a huge global audience and as always I am surprised at how many of you stayed up to watch from all around the World. It was fantastic to meet Lin Johnston the great-great granddaughter of one of our original founders, Donald Johnston. It was also a privilege to get to open and try a very rare “antique” bottle of 10 year old that he would have recognised. In those days Laphroaig matured its whisky in a much broader range of cask types than we do today so it had a different style, but none the less instantly recognisable as a classic Laphroaig.

I appreciate that for many of you it would have been either night time or very early morning when the live broadcast went out so we have put a full recording up on the website for you to enjoy: http://www.laphroaig.com/laphroaig-live/sydney-2011.aspx .

We had many questions sent in live on the night but if you have any when you have watched the programme do please write in and I will try and answer them. You can post them on my Twitter site at www.twitter.com/laphroaigwhisky  or on the Laphroaig Facebook page at www.facebook.com/laphroaig .

The majority of questions we received this year were about our special Laphroaig BBQ sauce we had on the night with our Australian BBQ (I loved the Kangaroo!). We are endeavouring to get the sauce made commercially for you. For any of you that want to attempt it yourselves, the recipe is on the Laphroaig Live website. Personally I thought the smoky Laphroaig influence was terrific, but if you do make it, please tell me what you think.

Finally may I give a warm thanks to all the Friends of Laphroaig I met in Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam and Malaysia. You all made me feel very welcome; I hope to meet many of you in the future here in Islay when we can share stories over a dram!

Slàinte,

John Campbell
Distillery Manager, Laphroaig

For more information about becoming a Friend of Laphroaig visit www.laphroaig.com