Hello Fellow Scotch Lovers –

If you’re reading this email, then you deserve a hearty slap on your sunburned back for having successfully navigated your way through a weekends worth of explosives, missiles and drunk boaters. I commend each and every one of you.

This weeks Whisky Wednesday email takes us on a trip to the far east…Japan to be precise….where they are producing what is generally regarded as some of the finest whiskies in the world. “They”, of course, are Suntory…the Japanese distiller that has been producing amazing spirits since 1899. In 1989, Suntory launched Hibiki, their premium line of blended whisky.

If you think the Japanese know how to make a car, you ought to try their whisky. And if you have been wanting to try a great Japanese whisky, there is no time like the present. Our normal retail price for a bottle of Hibiki 12 Year Old blended Japanese Whisky is $63.85…not a bad price if you look around. But Niki-the-Neck, who dabbles in the art of Sumo Wrestling when he isn’t shaking down liquor distributors, was able to parlay his contacts in the Japanese Underground to get us a great price on the whisky, which allows us to offer it to you foronly $57.85/ bottle.

I hope you will take advantage of this great offer, and try a whisky from the other side of the world. Your perception will definitely be turned upside down.

Doug Stone

Founder

www.ForScotchLovers.com

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SUNTORY HIBIKI 12 YEAR OLD BLENDED JAPANESE WHISKY

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HIBIKI 12 YO BLENDED JAPANESE WHISKY – TASTING NOTES

A wonder of fruity, clean, rich, pure taste.

Color: shiny amber

Nose: pineapple, plum, raspberry, honey, custard

Palate: soft, mellow and smooth, sweet

Finish: long and sweet, spicy-fruity, hint of sourness

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ABOUT SUNTORY HIBIKI

The legendary Hibiki represents true harmony. The enigma of perfection, the paragon of the art of whisky and the art of Japan’s artisans. Hibiki, meaning resonance in Japanese, speaks to the soul and emotions of the most discerning whisky lover.

Hibiki resonates from nature, and all the subtleties found from the twenty four seasons of the old Japanese lunar calendar. Numerous types of pure single malt whiskies ageing in various types of casks, including Mizunara, a very rare Japanese oak, all combine to create a full orchestra of flavors and aromas.

Seductive, blossoming and enigmatic, Hibiki celebrates the unrivaled art of blending, fine craftsmanship, and sense of luxury of the House.

Shanghai Whisky Live 2011, September 2 & 3

The Luxury Interactive Experience
 
Mainland China’s biggest whisky festival returns to Shanghai on September 2 and 3.  Whisky Live & Fine Spirits Shanghai, now in its third year, promises to be fun and educational with an interactive twist in new, luxurious surroundings.

The festival has a name for interaction, giving everyone from complete novices to experts, the chance to learn more about the huge range of whiskies on offer and cut through baffling terminology. This year the event has a new, five star venue and there will be more single malt whiskies than ever before along with ultra deluxe blends such as Royal Salute & Ballantine’s

Show Director, Stephen Notman, said: “Mentorship lies at the very centre of slowly introducing and sustaining a foreign drinks culture in China. With more single malts being showcased at the event than ever before, it is important we empower consumers with the right tools to continue their journey into the world of whisky.”

The Education Zone returns where you can discover what whisky is and how to taste it. You also have the unique opportunity to create your very own blended whisky in the Blending Zone.

New to this year’s festival is the Whisky Live Passport. Find out which single malt region of Scotland the dram you are trying is from, and receive a stamp in your passport- the ideal souvenir.   
Also at this year’s show, the winners of the Shanghai Icons of Whisky Awards 2011 will be announced. Judged by industry professionals, the awards are for those driving awareness, educating consumers and increasing the profile of whisky. This year there’s an extra category- Best Newcomer.

And there’s live entertainment too guaranteeing a fun, educational day out.

Notes:

-Whisky Live is the world’s premier whisky tasting and sampling show, taking place everywhere from London to Tokyo, Paris to Glasgow.

-Whisky Live provides whisky enthusiasts of all levels the opportunity to taste the finest whiskies the category has to offer. With industry experts on hand using simple and easy to understand whisky terminology, this is the ideal way to start your journey into the world of whisky. 

-Whisky Live & Fine Spirits will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel Puxi, 500 Hengfeng Lu, near Tianmu Xi Lu, Zhabei District, Shanghai, on September 2 and 3. Tickets: Consumers 150RMB, VIPs 900RMB.

Follow Show Director Steve Notman on Twitter for the latest updates from the Far East: @Whiskyasia

Maltstock Hotel

Fellow whisky enthusiasts,

We know that some people do want to come to Maltstock, but prefer not to stay in one of the small dorms at Maltstock. For all of you who appreciate a little bit more privacy we now have special Maltstock rates at hotel Umberto in Wijchen. Hotel Umberto is the hotel nearest to the Maltstock venue (it’s just over 4 kilometers away). The hotel offers free parking and gets good ratings (8,1 out of 10 on average).

Special Maltstock room prices, excluding breakfast:
Double room = € 74,- per room per night
Single room = € 60,- per room per night

Breakfast is available in the hotel at an extra € 10,- per person per night. But there’s of course also the full Scottish breakfast at Maltstock.
Additional costs: Tourist tax à € 0,65 per person per night, to be paid at the hotel.

To make a reservation simply send us an  e-mail.

For more information on the hotel, please visit their  website.

Only 10 more weeks until Maltstock. Hope to see you all there!

Teun van Wel

www.maltstock.com
the relaxed whisky weekend

Second Saturday Scotch Sipping at Six

2nd Saturday   every month   6 – 9 p.m. No reservation required for tastings.

Taste 5 half-ounce pours of single malt Scotch whisky: $20 

    ♦ We feature 3 single malts, including a Malt of the Month *

    ♦ You roll a die, then pick a whisky from one of the six Scotch regions

    ♦ You pick your Connoisseur’s Choice from our menu of 77 single malts

Enjoy light hors d’oeuvres to cleanse your palate between pours. Non-Scotch drinkers are welcome to enjoy something from our non-whisky menu.

Featured malts:

* 10% off bottles of the Malt of the Month 

July 9, 2011

Our 3-year anniversary of monthly single malt Scotch tastings. Click for details.

Thanks to the following for publishing our 3rd anniversary news:

Lander Area Chamber of Commerce

Wyoming Business Report

Wyoming PBS

August 13, 2011

Glenfiddich 15 yo *

Dalmore 12 yo

Deanston 12 yo

September 10, 2011

anCnoc 12 yo *

Cragganmore  12 yo

Arran Machrie Moor

Visit the Miner’s Delight Inn at http://www.minersdelightinn.com/

Bob at work...

Welcome to part two of my epic jaunt around the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.  Click  here  if you missed Pt. 1 (or if you just fancy reading it again).

By Tim F.

The following morning, after a fine fry-up in Linn House’s impressive dining room, our destination was Longmorn distillery, where we were accompanied on a tour of the equipment by the delightful Ann Miller from Chivas and the (somewhat unconventionally) English distillery manager Neal Corbett, a charming Midlander (stop laughing at the back) who dealt amiably with our interminable silly questions..…(please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article)…

THE LINK

Note to distillery managers: Never remove an unmarked bottle of whisky from your pocket while your colleague is talking

So what’s the latest on the Shackleton whisky?

Richard Paterson reports: I’ve been asked on Facebook and Twitter recently for some more details about the Shackleton replica whisky and the basic news is that it’s still going tremendously well – it’s selling as quickly as we can make it!

But if you’ve ever wanted to know what goes into nosing and making a whisky, do I have the technical document for you to read…

The Shackleton whisky has reached Australia and is expected to hit US shores in a couple of months – there was a very nice piece in the Huffington Post by Tony Sachs about it.

There’s also an incredibly detailed piece (PDF format I’m told) about the whisky and a detailed breakdown of what is in it at Sensory and Chemical Analysis of ‘Shackleton’s’ Mackinlay Scotch Whisky which should have enough detail for even the most ardent whisky fan!

Once again, my thanks to everyone across the globe who has shown interest in this exquisite dram over the last few years – and my thanks to everyone at Whyte & Mackay for helping make it the success that it has been.

Now if you’re looking for a bottle, this site (UK) or this site (most of the world)  might be able to help.

Lagavulin – a place of pilgrimage for many adorers of this quintessential Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

But before the malt whisky comes the malt – in this case, famously imbued with the memorable aromas of Islay’s peat. The malted barley for Lagavulin, and for several other Islay distilleries, is created just up the road, at the Port Ellen Maltings.

It’s rarely open to the public, and even then, many parts are off-limits to visitors.

So the visit you’re now invited to make through You Tube is a privileged ticket to areas that most people have never seen – where the operators themselves can explain how we make the malt that makes some of the world’s most famous Single Malt Scotch Whiskies.

Full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVIBCv5X1OM

Hi all,

Some very exciting news to share with you whilst you enjoy the first July weekend – and a scorcher at that!

As you know – or should know – we have three Festivals for you in September, in quite different places. As we are trying to develop our offering into new areas and in order to reach out to more and more new customers, we decided to try a new initiative in conjunction with Groupon.

Therefore for a limited time (24 hours in fact!) each of the following Festivals will be available at an extraordinary price – but only on the Groupon website.

Brighton Whisky Festival – 3rd September
Liverpool Whisky Festival – 10th September
York Whisky Festival – 17th September

The deal is two tickets for £15 and is unrepeatable!

As you can imagine, there are a limited number of these tickets available and they are on a one pair per customer, first come first served basis.

Ideally I would love for this to be an opportunity for you to get friends and family along who perhaps have a slight interest but have avoided the plunge up until now, but what you do with this information is up to you!

The first of these deals goes up tomorrow (Sunday 3rd July) – just after midnight tonight – and is for York. If you don’t already know Groupon, go to www.groupon.co.uk and enter your location in order to be shown the relevant deals. I’m certainly not suggesting all their deals will interest you, but there are some tasty morsels from time to time!...(due to short notice Whisky Intelligence was unable to publish this article in time for July 3rd)

The Liverpool ‘deal’ will follow on 13th July and then Brighton on 21st July.

There will be no further warnings or reminders about these ‘deals’ and The Whisky Lounge will not be held responsible if you miss out for whatever reason!

Hopefully you will agree that these events are stunning value at full price and I am working on a reward scheme for those of you that do pay full price and have done since the year dot…

Anyway, good luck, enjoy your summer – here’s hoping we actually get one – and I look forward to seeing you later in the year.

Slainte!
Eddie

Eddie Ludlow
Whisky Evangelist

thewhiskylounge
www.thewhiskylounge.com
eddie@thewhiskylounge.com

Grant’s in the news

Happy Monday all,

Monte Carlo, Toronto, Shanghai, London and Bucarest. This is where my diary says I need to be between June 14th and July 14th, but for now, I am enjoying a sunny day in beautiful Dufftown, slowly catching up with non-urgent emails. Amongst these are a few external reviews of our blend, which I….(please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article)…

http://blog.grantswhisky.com/2011/07/grants-in-the-news/

Kind regards,
Ludo

Ralfy gives a friendly wave with …. Whisky Review 209 (2/7) – Whisky Masterclass (Appearance). So … what can you tell about a whisky from it’s colour ? … less than you might think !

See for yourself at www.ralfy.com