Purple Valley Imports Increases Distribution

Purple Valley Imports USA, the US importers of Amrut Single Malt Whiskies from India, Glenglassaugh Highland Single Malt, Blackadder Whiskies, Still Waters Single Malt Vodka from Canada, is pleased to announce the appointment of the following new distributors.

New York – Opici Wine Company of New York
New Jersey – American BD
Connecticut – Opici Wine Company of Connecticut
Maryland – Prestige Beverage Group
Delaware – Prestige Beverage Group
Minnesota – Vinocopia
Nevada – Pemberton Distribution Company
Texas – Rainwater Beverages
Washington DC – Ledroit Brands

Purple Valley Imports began importing into the US in April, 2010 with one brand – Amrut and distribution in 3 states. They now are the exclusive importers of 6 brands with distribution in 18 States. Purple Valley Imports USA is focused on identifying and bringing to market world class spirits.

Raj Sabharwal, Managing Director Purple Valley Imports USA, commented: “Our growth is largely driven by the interest American consumers have in world class spirits. Consumers today have a real desire to experience new products and appreciate that traditional old world spirits are being produced to world class standards in new world countries.”

“We are proud of the direct relationships we have with the distilleries we represent, this is reflected in the distributors we appoint and the relationship they in turn have with their accounts. For us it is important to understand, appreciate and believe in the brands that we import,” added Raj Sabharwal.

Please join us July 29th, 2011 for a unique and special pairing at The City Club of San Francisco!

Time: 6:00PM – 9:00PM
Where: 155 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104

Register today at: http://bourbonbbq.eventbrite.com/  

Kentucky Bourbon Distillery and D&M Wine & Liquors will be presenting a variety of premium Bourbon and Rye Whiskies, while Chef Michael Munoz will be pairing down-home barbecue in his own unique style. We start the evening off with a cocktail featuring Old Bardstown Estate Bourbon and a light hors d’oeuvres reception.

Old Bardstown is a 100% genuine Old Fine Sour Mash Kentucky Bourbon. It is a Bourbon of distinctive flavor which contains the true characteristics found only among the very best Kentucky Bourbons. Old Bardstown was given the very highest honors by being recognized as “Outstanding,” the highest award category among forty of the top=rated North American whiskies in the International Competition held in London in 1996. Worthy of the most discerning connoisseurs of fine Bourbon. After a delightful reception, guests will be seated in rounds, and will be treated to these fine Bourbons, paired with Chef’s menu (TBA).

The Bourbon tasting will include: Willett Pot Still Reserve, Willett Family Estate 3 year Rye, Willett Family Estate Reserve Single Cask.

Please join us for this casual tasting with an inside look at this distillery, which was founded in 1935 and has been producing quality Bourbons since then!

Don’t miss out – Register Today!  

Whisky enthusiasts are being given a one off opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit as part of a special auction which includes a bottle of 10 year old Jura signed by (the actor who portrayed) Jesus Christ.

The heavenly bottle of Jura bears the signature of actor Robert Powell, who took on the role of Christ as part of the hit 70’s TV show Jesus of Nazareth.

The holy water will be auctioned off as part of a special collection of whisky signed by well known celebrities, including Rory McGrath, Maureen Lipman, Larry Lamb and Tom Conti, who attended the Borders Book Festival last month.

The proceeds of the auction will be shared by Book Aid International and the Borders Children’s Charity, the two charities supported by the hugely popular literary festival.

The auction will run from 18 – 22 July. In order to gain access to the open auction entrants must:

1. Register as an honorary Diurach at www.isleofjura.com

2. Place a bid in the comments section of the blog where the auction is being hosted –

http://bit.ly/whisky-jesus

3. Honour their bid

To find out more about Jura whisky go to www.isleofjura.com

About Jura

Off the west coast of Scotland lies one of nature’s best kept secrets, the Isle of Jura.  Populated by a community of less than 200, known as Diurachs (the Gaelic name for the people of Jura), it is a place of myth, legend and intrigue – and an award-winning range of single malt whiskies, which hold the promise of good fortune for all those that believe.

There are four classic bottlings in the Jura Collection: Origin 10, Superstition, Diurach’s Own and Prophecy. Many of the Jura whiskies have their own distinctive drinking rituals, but one cuts across the range.  Islanders believe that it brings good fortune to knock on wood before they drink a dram.

WHISKY’S ANSWER TO THE WORLD CUP COMES TO A GLORIOUS CLOSE!

NEW YORK, July 2011 – The World Cup of the whisky world – also known as The Glenrothes Whisky Maker contest – reached its thrilling conclusion in June, with amateur whisky aficionados from Taiwan, England and the USA coming together in Speyside, Scotland, to tough it out in a series of challenges and tastings that would have tested the nerves of famed Scottish outlaw Rob Roy, let alone a malt expert.

The Glenrothes Single Malt Scotch Whisky, one of the world’s top single malts and the pre-eminent vintage-distilled single malt, launched its quest to bring together top whisky enthusiasts from around the world 12 months ago. Following entries in the thousands, from as far afield as Albania to Zimbabwe, four finalists from Taiwan, England (where two hailed from) and Ohio, USA, were selected to go head to head, and nose to nose, in the glens of Speyside, the home of The Glenrothes Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Finalists faced off in everything from gauging the purity of the water source at the distillery’s two springs to milling the malt to achieve the golden proportions of husk, grits and flour to making casks at the cooperage and rolling them into the warehouse. The contest culminated in a blind tasting, and individual blending and bottling, in the distillery’s fabled Inner Sanctum, where Eliott Edelstein, the American representative, remembers “sniffing and blending [our] way through three casks that had never been used for bottling before. We then took on the holy grail of taste-tests: every vintage whisky ever put out from The Glenrothes, from Vintage 1975 through to the new 1995; it was truly a religious moment.”

At the close of Whisky Maker, Ronnie Cox, The Glenrothes’ Global Brand Heritage Director and comedic star of the accompanying You Tube video reel on the contest, declared all the entrants winners, meaning this dual ended in more of a draw than an all out thrashing. “The Glenrothes is a whisky unrivalled in terms of heritage and uniqueness, from its distinctive vintage offering through to its commitment to unearthing the next generation of would-be master blenders, via programs such as Whisky Maker. Not only does something like Whisky Maker unite the passion felt globally by people for The Glenrothes, it ultimately invests in the quality of the dram in the bottle, to be enjoyed by enthusiasts of The Glenrothes for years to come.”

Find video recap of The Glenrothes Whisky Maker, featuring Ronnie Cox, as well as the four finalists on their Speyside odyssey. For more video logs from Whisky Maker, search “The Glenrothes Whisky Maker” on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3K4mgjSN4Q or www.theglenrothes.com

Notes:

1. The Glenrothes was founded in 1879
2. Little more than 2% of the distillery capacity is bottled as Single Malt to ensure exceptional quality
3. Of the 16 Vintages released to date, 12 have entirely sold out
4. The whisky is matured in a combination of Spanish and American oak casks – the best of both worlds
5. The Glenrothes Select Reserve was voted Best in Class at the World Whiskies Awards 2008 and won two Double Golds at The San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2007
6. The Glenrothes 1972 was awarded a Trophy at the 2005 International Spirits Challenge
7. The Glenrothes 1978 was voted Best Speyside Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards 2008
8. The Glenrothes 1975 won a Double Gold award at The San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2008
9. The Glenrothes 1991 won a Gold Medal at The San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2010
10. The Glenrothes 1994 won a Gold Medal at The San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2010
11. The Glenrothes Alba Reserve won a Double Gold at The San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2010
12. “I have always felt that Glenrothes deserved to be more widely appreciated. Beautifully rounded…sophisticated after-dinner malt.” Michael Jackson’s Malt Whisky Companion
13. Jim Murray, in his Whisky Bible, refers to The Glenrothes Select Reserve; “One of the softest deliveries on Speyside, the silky barley and citrus caress the tastebuds with rare tenderness” and scores it 24 out of 25

Turkish coffee in a barber shop

Cask No. 30.63
Highlands, Speyside (Rothes)

This split the panel, though the majority definitely approved; the nose had roasted smoked ham, chutney, crème brûlée, Christmas cake, toffee, marmalade and coffee creams; also a light sulphury note which one panellist called ‘old barber shops’. Water brought out raisiny sticky buns, wood polish and oily rags. The palate was dry, even drawing, and spicy at natural strength, with Turkish coffee, concentrated Tia Maria, Fernet Branca, walnuts and salted cashews. In reduction it had lots of pleasant sweetness but also dry, burnt and salty characteristics, not unlike dry roasted peanuts. The distillery sits between a castle and a graveyard.

Drinking tip: After dinner with coffee (better with water)

Colour: Late autumn trees
Cask: Refill sherry butt
Age: 20 years
Date distilled: May 1990
Alcohol: 55.8%

$145

Cornish pastie and plaster-board

Cask No. 31.20
Highlands, Jura

After a brief coir matting opening, the aroma reminded us of a new house – wet plaster and plaster-board – with a light grape-seed oil note, peppercorns and mixed spice emerging after a while. The taste, unreduced, is fresh, sweet and peppery, with a thread of smoke. Water moves the nose towards cooking scents: roasting tin (with lamb shanks), fatty Cornish pasty, Scotch broth with barley… and one found nasturtiums. The taste is now soft and sweet and lightly nutty: brown rice with Gouda cheese and a flick of soy sauce. The distillery was designed by Delme Evans and built in the early 1960s, overlooking Craighouse Bay.

Drinking tip: Lunch on-site in the new-build home

Colour: Pale gold
Cask: Refill hogshead
Age: 21 years
Date distilled: September 1988
Alcohol: 53.4%

$145

‘Hot, juicy and intense’

Cask No. 53.147
Islay, North Shore

Aromas of witch hazel, coal, pork crackling (with a dry mustard rub), charred scallops, dune grass, tar, black seaweed in rock pools and really good barbecue sauce (think Blumenthal), were mirrored on the taste; but there was an intense spicy, juicy lemon character that made us wanting more; one Panellist insisted he tasted Crème Egg. Water brought out pine sap (Christmas trees), sea salt, lint bandages, more dune grass, oh and smoke, glorious sweet perfumed smoke. To taste it was, sweet, salty, smoky and chilli hot, with dark bitter chocolate, sweet cured ham, and warm tarmac. From Islay’s largest distillery.

Drinking tip: An ideal dram for a lazy summer’s day while having a barbecue on the beach

Colour: Shiny lemon yellow gold
Cask: Refill hogshead
Age: 10 years
Date distilled: November 1999
Alcohol: 66.6%

$95

Vanilla malt shake

Cask No. 76.81
Highlands, Speyside (Dufftown)

The Panel found earthy, oily and floral notes as well as wet dog, tomato vines, malted barley, grist, worts & new make (not surprising considering the age) but also aromas of spearmint, raspberry cream and cherry Tunes. To taste it was hot, fizzy, sweet and malty– baked apples and pears in Calvados. The addition of water only lightened it more – vanilla, lemon, sweetened Alpen, Weetabix (still in the box), cheap milk chocolate and lime cordial or Tic-Tacs; while on the palate it was light, malty, easy drinking with plenty of creamy vanilla. From the first distillery to have a license.

Drinking tip: Perfect for sharing during summer picnics

Colour: Flaccid yellow
Cask: First-fill barrel
Age: 8 years
Date distilled: April 2002
Alcohol: 60.1%

$85

A Baker’s Delight

Cask No. 121.42
Highlands, Arran

The lively nose brought lemon hard boiled sweets, peach flan and barley sugar. Then, a multitude of layers unfolded with fudge, strawberry tarts and banana bread. There was a freshness too with clean linen and lavender scent. The neat palate was hot and spicy, reminiscent of a Bakewell tart with spices. Grapefruit, lemon peel and almonds brought more delights to the bakery. The reduced nose revealed strawberries and cream (double thick Jersey cream), with a squeeze of lemon. Pastry notes followed with icing sugar and cream tarts. The reduced palate became paradoxically thicker with water – chewy lemon meringue pie with whipped cream. This distillery, on the most southerly Scottish island, celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2010.

Drinking tip: With exceedingly good cakes

Colour: Sandstone
Cask: Refill hogshead
Age: 14 years
Date distilled: December 1995
Alcohol: 52.8%

$115

You may join the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America at www.smwsa.com

Stourbridge Town Hall                                                                   www.whiskyfest.co.uk

Tickets for the Dalmore Ultimate Masterclass are on sale now!

Tickets for the Dalmore Ultimate Masterclass are on sale now on paypal priced at just £10. This superb event is likely to sell out fast due to high demand. Tickets will be limited so please hurry.

For Tickets and full details of the event please visit http://www.whiskyfest.co.uk/?page_id=28

The Scottish town of Oban celebrated its 200th anniversary this week, and the folks at Oban Distillery fired up a Time Machine to celebrate. They went back to 1823 and found a cousin of the distillery’s founders to explain life as Oban was being settled. “Alan Stevenson” explains some of the history, along with Joanne McCutcher of the Diageo Archives and Oban visitors center manager Carol Bennett. We’ll also hear from Glenmorangie/Ardbeg’s David Blackmore and Knob Creek Whisky Professor Bernie Lubbers, and there’s breaking news on plans to export Nikka whiskies to the U.S.!

Visit WhiskyCast at www.whiskycast.com

Whisky Intelligence has added a new category called ‘Vignettes – Moments in Whisky’ which will feature whisky moments as experienced by the readership. If you have a whisky moment please feel free to submit your moment and we’ll do our best to publish it.

SPRINGBANK SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

Greetings to all Society Members from an almost sunny Campbeltown. I have finally got time to sit down and compose myself and let you know what has been happening here at Springbank Distillery. We have had a very busy couple of months and it doesn’t look as if it’s about to stop any time soon!

Open Day

This year’s open day was another great success, starting off at 11.00 am with the official opening from Frank McHardy, our Director of Production. This year there were Springbank Masterclasses with Frank and Gavin, the Distillery Manager – this year Gavin “flew solo” with his Masterclasses. Peter Currie our Sales Manager and Ranald Watson, Sales Executive held Masterclasses at Glengyle Distillery while Jenny Karlsson our other Sales Executive was kept extremely busy all day hosting tastings in one of the warehouses.

There were the usual free distillery tours and plenty of food throughout the day from Auntie Mo’s kitchen, Ifferdale Lamb with their BBQ and MacMillan smokehouse with a variety of fish and shellfish, this year we also had Fyne Ales in attendance with loads of their beer.

We also had local craft people there selling their products and music throughout the day from Campbeltown Brass, Frank Rochdale with his fiddle, and Johnny Hill to round off the evening singing and playing guitar.

This year we had the shop housed in a marquee, with Lisa in full charge, to give us more room for folks to go in and purchase bottles from the two single casks, one a Springbank and the other a Hazelburn. Grant Macpherson also hosted a very busy and noisy Cadenhead Tasting in the Tasting room – Donald, I think, was on crowd control!!

We had intended closing for a couple of hours to give us time to set up the BBQ for the evening but things just didn’t happen that way – some people just would not go away, so we ended up staying open throughout, getting ready round about the folks who were there then carrying on with the BBQ – which was sold out far too quickly – and a wee “spooks” tour of one of the warehouses. This was just a wee bit of fun, we expected a few people to participate and for it to last just 10 minutes. We ended up having to have three “spooks” tours, conducted very ably by Lea Gibson, our tour guide, amidst lots of squeels and laughter. Look out everyone for next year!!!

The staff throughout the distillery and offices joined in everything that was happening on the day, worked very hard indeed to make sure that everything went as smoothly as possible, and on top of all that, cleared up the debris the next day. Without them it just would not be possible to hold such a day.

We have started to speak about next year already and what we can do to make it a bit different from this year’s. Roll on!!!

Open Golf Competition

The golf competiton – the first we hope of many – was held the day after the open day at Machrihanish Dunes Golf course. We did not have too many entrants this year, but hopefully this will become more popular as the years go by. The format was a Texas Scramble and the winning team were Flemming Bagger and Henrick Muller – both Society members with Peter Currie and Ian McGougan making up the team, so very well done to them. Their names will be the first to be on the plaque which will hang in the Tasting room. Machrihanish Dunes provided breakfast of rolls and coffee at the start followed by a splendid buffet at the end of the competition. Each entrant received a “goody bag” from Machrihanish Dunes which included a miniature of Springbank spcially labelled for the occasion.

Whisky School

The whisky school this year has been a great success, the last week was week commencing 4th July. All eight weeks have been full with students from all over the world attending. I hear that during one of the weeks that some of the students had a “wheelbarrow race” in the malt barns and that the malt floor had never been put down as quickly in the history of the distillery – but that is just a story. All of the students have been very friendly and the distillery staff have been eager to help them during their stay with us. Hopefully they have all taken away some good memories of Springbank.

Dates have not been set as yet for next year’s school, but at this stage it looks as if we will start in May 2012 for eight weeks. Further details will be announced when we have fixed dates.

Hip Flasks

We now have Springbank hip flasks in stock – it was not really practical to have Society hip flasks as there was not really enough interest and we would have had to purchase quite a sizeable number. The cost in the shop is £22.50 but for Society members the price is £20.25. They are available from the online shop, or if you drop me an e mail I can order it for you.

The hip flask has a hinged lid so that you do not lose it when you are having a wee dram.

As you will see it is really quite smart.

We also have some Springbank hand made chocolates in the shop – again they are in the online shop if you would like to have a wee look. They were made by the Oban Chocolate Company, and very nice they are too. Very hard to resist once you have tasted one.

Possible Cask Offer

We are always looking for new ideas for Society Members, things that are exclusive to you as members. I have been promised a few casks of whisky, the type has not been decided as yet, to be offered to Society Members, not for them to own of course, but to have a share in.

Dependent on the number of members who would be interested in such a scheme we would then decide whether or not we would pursue this. The proposal is that a number of members would share the contents of a cask and would receive a bottle from the cask for each of four years then in year five the remainder of the cask would be bottled and shared between those members.

We had looked at letting the cask mature over a longer period with members getting a sample bottle every second year, but the losses would be too great and at the end of a ten year period the “angels” might have had more than their fair share.

Each cask would have a set number of “sharing” members and that cask would be exclusive to your group. You would be given details of the cask – type of whisky and finish, age and cask number. Each bottle sent our to you would have a private label with your name on it. (You would not be able to design your own label).

The cost would have to reflect excise duty, VAT and dispatch charges and would be a one of payment. The number of casks would depend on the interest Society Members show in such a system, but of course would not be limitless.

Before we go any further with this and start getting into the legal details and the cost of such a scheme I would need to know how many members would like to participate. So, if you think this is a good idea and would like to get on board, drop me an e mail, or a wee note with your comments and I’ll take it from there. It may well be that we would only be able to do this for UK members or members who would collect their bottles, rather than trying to send them to other countries in the EU, given the difficulties we face when we dispatch bottles outwith the UK.

Society Bottle

The Local Barley has sold very well, there are a few people who have ordered it and have still to send me some paperwork before I can send it out, I will be in touch with them individually so that I can finalise whether or not I still have a few bottles for sale.

The Local Barley has started it’s journey this week for the USA and the members have been advised – I will e mail all members in the USA letting

them know who to contact to have their bottle dispatched from the various outlets.

I will now start looking for another cask for Society Members – it does take a while from start to finish as we always have to wait for labels to be printed and for a suitable slot in the bottling programme. I will try to persuade Frank and Gavin to get into the back of the warehouse and dig something interesting out for you.

Cadenhead Whisky Shop

Over the past couple of months our sandwich shop has moved from Eaglesome’s in the shop next door and has been renamed Aunti Mo’s Kitchen and the Eaglesome’s sandwich shop has been completely revamped to become Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop Campbeltown. The transformation is complete and the big unveiling was on Saturday 2nd July. The shop opened at 11.00 am and from 2.30 pm until 7.30 pm an assortment of cocktails and nibbles were served to visitors to the shop.

The shop was busy from opening time right up until we finally closed just after 7.30 pm, a very successful day with everyone enjoying the nibbles, Donald’s fabulous cocktails and tastings from the Tasting room casks.

So, as you can see, a busy time here in Campbeltown, with tours also picking up the pace as we get into holiday mode.

I hope the sun is shining on you where ever you are and I look forward to hearing from you, even if it’s just to say hello.

Slainte

Janet

For the Springbank Society

Contact Janet via society@springbankwhisky.com  for details on how to join the Springbank Society

J & A Mitchell and Co Ltd, The Tasting Room, 9 Bolgam Street, Campbeltown, Argyll, PA28 6HZ
Tel : + 44(0) 1586 552009 Fax : + 44(0) 1586 553232

Visit Springbank Distillery at http://www.springbankwhisky.com  

Early Times becomes official spirits sponsor of the ACO and ACO World Championships of Cornhole

Louisville, Ky (July, 2011) The American Cornhole Organization announces a partnership with Early Times Kentucky Whisky where Early Times becomes the “Official Spirits Sponsor of the ACO”.

In the agreement, the ACO will help Early Times promote its Early Times Man Day platform throughout all events across the country, which culminate with the ACO World Championships of Cornhole. Select events throughout the American Cornhole circuit of tournaments will include both Early Times Man Day competitions and ACO sanctioned cornhole tournaments. These selected events will be leveraged as qualifying events into the ACO World Championships of Cornhole, held January 5-8, 2012 in Tunica, Mississippi.

“The Early Times relationship ties in nicely with the ACO and our events planned all around the country,” said Frank Geers, president of the ACO. “The Early Times Man Games are all about fun and we can certainly identify with that.”

Early Times secures the “Official and Exclusive Spirits” sponsorship of the ACO through 2014. At the ACO World Championships of Cornhole in January, there will be an Early Times Man Day Zone featuring Man Games competitions.

“Early Times is known as the ‘Workin Man’s Reward’ and the game of cornhole fits perfectly into that motto,” said Therese McGuire, Early Times brand manager. “We look forward to a long-term partnership with the ACO and to building a strong relationship in the years to come.”

About American Cornhole

Established in 2005 and headquartered in Milford, Ohio, American Cornhole Organization is the governing body for the sport of cornhole. Offering sanctioned products, official rules, and comprehensive information about cornhole events. For additional information, visit http://www.americancornhole.org

About Early Times

Early Times Kentucky Whisky is enjoyed in 28 countries around the world and the Early Times Mint Julep is the “Official Drink of the Kentucky Derby™.” For more information visit www.earlytimes.com. For over 140 years, Brown-Forman Corporation has enriched the experience of life by responsibly building fine quality beverage alcohol brands, including Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Southern Comfort, Finlandia, Canadian Mist, Early Times Kentucky Whisky, Korbel, Gentleman Jack, el Jimador, Tequila Herradura, Sonoma-Cutrer, Chambord and Woodford Reserve. Brown-Forman’s brands are supported by nearly 4,000 employees and sold in approximately 135 countries worldwide. For more information about the company, please visit http://www.brown-forman.com/.