WOODFORD RESERVE® BOURBON RELEASES SORGHUM VINAIGRETTE DRESSING

First bottled dressing available at distillery gift shop

June, 2011, Louisville, KY – Looking for the perfect summer dressing to enhance  fresh garden lettuces, season-grilled vegetables, or the perfect marinade for your favorite meats? Look no more. Woodford Reserve® has created its first-ever bottled salad dressing–Woodford Reserve Sorghum Vinaigrette Dressing–available now in the distillery’s gift shop.

The delectable dressing was developed at The Woodford Reserve Distillery by Chef-in-Residence Ouita Michel for the famous Bourbon Academy Salad (recipe below). Michel teamed up with Bourbon Barrel Foods’ Matt Jamie to bottle the dressing.

“We wanted to reflect the flavors of our premium spirit perfectly- sorghum and bourbon is a match made in heaven. This dressing is light and tangy with the smooth flavors of Kentucky Sorghum running throughout,” says Michel.

Made in Louisville, the dressing contains Kentucky sorghum–similar to molasses–along with apple cider, vinegar, Woodford Reserve bourbon, onion powder, paprika, and hot sauce.

“Sorghum is rich and earthy and adds a great dimension to this unique product. All these flavors are custom matched with our unique flavor wheel approach to develop great bourbon dishes and recipes,” said Michel. “The dressing also works great as a marinade for grilled pork and chicken or even on fresh fruit such as peaches, marinated and grilled.”

Retailing at $5.99 for a 8.4 fl oz. bottle, the dressing is available for purchase at the distillery gift shop, located at 7855 McCracken Pike, in Versailles, KY, or by calling the gift shop directly at 859-879-1940 and ordering over the phone. The item is available for shipping anywhere in the U.S.

Bourbon Academy Salad:

Limestone Bibb lettuce

Fresh sliced oranges or strawberries

Toasted pecans

Thin sliced red onion

Assemble all items, and drizzle dressing over the top.

About Woodford Reserve

Woodford Reserve is a super-premium Kentucky “small batch” bourbon distilled at the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, KY. It is a bourbon of craftsmanship and the embodiment of substance and style. Woodford Reserve is also the Official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby and its distillery is the oldest bourbon distillery in America. Woodford Reserve is one of the fine spirits produced and marketed by Brown-Forman Corporation, a producer and marketer of fine quality beverage alcohol brands, including Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Finlandia, Tequila Herradura, Sonoma-Cutrer, Chambord and Tuaca. Please enjoy your bourbon responsibly. For more information on Woodford Reserve, visit www.woodfordreserve.com. 

Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 45.2% Alc. by Vol., The Woodford Reserve Distillery, Versailles, KY ©2011

BONHAMS WHISKY SALE MAKES OVER £140,000 AS LIVE ON-LINE BIDDING IMPACTS
 
Bonhams whisky sale in Edinburgh on 22 June made over £141,500, with 96% of the lots finding a new home.
 
Star performers included a rare, early 20th century Glenfiddich, which made £2,880 (est £1,500-2,000), an 18 year old Bowmore which sold for £3,840 (est £2,500-3,500) and a 1932 Glenrothes-Glenlivet bottled in 1974 which exceeded its estimate of £800-1,200 to sell for £1,800.
 
This was the first Bonhams whisky sale to feature live on-line bidding.  Martin Green, Bonhams whisky specialist, commented, ”The availability of on-line bidding made a noticeable difference both to the number of bids and to the variety of bidders, some of whom were taking part in a Bonhams whisky sale for the first time. On this evidence, the convenience of being able to bid from your own home or office is clearly welcomed.”
 
www.bonhams.com
 
NOTES
 
Bonhams
 
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. 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.

Why not work with us to design your whisky tour in Scotland (or Ireland), we can take you to distilleries that are closed to the public for a really special tasting.  Any number of guests, any length of visit.  We  drive you to distilleries, arrange accommodation, whisky dinners, private tastings and even ship your excess whisky (we promise not to drink it!). We also offer self drive, but please don’t drink and drive.
 
A SUPERB NEW TOUR – join us at next year’s Dublin Whisky Live – you will need to book your place soon as tickets are very limited.  www.mcleanscotland.co.uk/irishwhiskey.asp A grand Irish trip not to be missed, so many whiskey events and tastings planned, watch the website for updates.
 
Looking forward to hearing from you.
 
Paul McLean
www.mcleanscotland.com
The Best Whisky Tour Operators
 
Guests from June 2011 “Paul, On behalf of all I can say we will treasure this trip as a unique experience of the whisky world.   Your network allowing access to closed distilleries and the tastings of very special whiskies at different locations was just beyond belief (and taste).  I have been bragging about this trip already at work, they all envy us. This trip was more than we all imagined.  We feel that we have seen Scotland in a way only possible with a guide like you. Your knowledge of whisky and all details attached to it really made it a special trip.   The adventure has just begun!”  Marc. Netherlands
 
Further as to what our guests have said about our whisky tours:  www.mcleanscotland.co.uk/whisky2011

Macallan

Distilled in Speyside since 1824, Macallan is regarded as one of the best single malts whiskies produced in Scotland. Today we bring you a small selection of some very rare and exclusive malts that have been released by this wonderful distillery. Each released in very limited numbers, and with great reviews from experts around the globe, these wonderful whiskies continue to rise in value and would make for great investment.

Remember!  We don’t charge for postage to the UK mainland when you spend over £100! £16.00 to most of Europe. Great Prices to the USA.

Macallan / Re-Awakening / 12 Year Old

A very special release of 1002 bottles to celebrate the “Re-awakening” of Macallan’s stills, that had laid silent for more than 20 years.

£225.00

Macallan / Royal Marriage / 29th April 2011

Macallan released this very special bottling to celebrate the marriage of HRH Prince William and Catherine Middleton on 29th April 2011. Two casks filled on 29th April 1996 and 1999 have been selected, then married together to create a limited release of 1000 bottles.

£400.00

Macallan / Speaker Martin’s / 10 Year Old

£130.00

Macallan / Speaker Martin’s / 10 Year Old

£115.00

Macallan / Runrig-Beat The Dram / 20 Year Old

This exclusive 20 Year Old Macallan was released at the ‘Runrig, Beat the Drum Concert’ which was held on the northern shores of Loch Ness in 2007. One of only 500 individually numbered bottles, which includes a certificate signed by the Runrig band members. 

£155.00

Macallan / Private Eye / 1961

Selected by whisky maker F.A. Newlands at the Macallan distillery, this limited edition release of 5000 individually numbered bottles is a very special bottling as it features an enamelled label by the famous cartoonist Ralph Steadman. Released to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Private Eye magazine.

£995.00 -70cl and £195.00 – 5cl Discount available for combined purchase.

Macallan / 25 Year Old / Sherry Oak

A rare version of Macallan’s 25 year old Sherry oak. Released for a short time in this beautiful red wooden box.

£550.00

Should you have queries regarding any of the bottles listed above, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Sláinte!

Mike & Peter

Are looking to sell? Get in touch, auction prices paid!

Abbey Whisky
www.abbeywhisky.com
enquiries@abbeywhisky.com

Specialist supplier of rare, collectable and exclusive malts.

Hello Again friend,

We revamped our database so I thought I would send you another post. This one compares some great affordable whiskies for fourth of July. Let me know what you think and you can just add the image to the top. If you like the database: I would appreciate being put on your blog roll as resource for whisky lovers worldwide.

Affordable American Whisky

You don’t have to splurge to be patriotic this year!

Americans have a lot to be proud of: Freedom, national landmarks, great food and of course, some great spirits. With the Fourth of July coming up, why not enjoy a taste of American history? If you are thinking you have to sacrifice your wallet for the perfect whisky, remember there are plenty of quality options for whisky lovers on a budget.

FindTheBest wants to share five affordable, American whiskies to enjoy before, during and after the fireworks!

Thirteenth Colony Southern Corn With a Gold rating from the 2011 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a $30 price tag, this one is definitely worth trying out.

Downslope Double Diamond Try saying it five times fast after enjoying this blended spirit, which goes for $32.

Hudson New York Corn Whisky At $35, you can have a sample of a whisky made the old fashioned way-small batch distillation. Sip this one slowly and be proud that prohibition is a thing of the past.

Rogue Oregon Single Malt The south is definitely the mecca for American whisky, but don’t be afraid to try a taste of the Pacific northwest. For just $37, you can enjoy the smoky, oak flavors of this Oregonian gem.

George Dickel Barrel Select Tennessee For just $37, you can enjoy this southern treat that has aged for ten years with hints of vanilla.

Check out this detailed slideshow of: FindTheBest’s Five American Whiskies Under $40!

FindTheBest is an objective, socially curated comparison engine that allows you to find a topic, compare your options and decide what’s best for you.

The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry Head-to-Head at Sentebale Polo Cup Sponsored by Royal Salute

The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry demonstrated polo at its finest with the Duke’s team coming out on top, in front of a star-studded crowd at The Sentebale Polo Cup sponsored by Royal Salute yesterday.

Neve Campbell, Dougray Scott, Claire Forlani, Ellie Goulding and Greg James, were hosted by the luxury Scotch whisky Royal Salute, as they overlooked a spectacular game of polo at Coworth Park just outside London. The exclusive invite-only event raised funds for Sentebale, a charity co-founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, who also attended the event.

Prince Harry said: “I’m delighted to be at the second Sentebale Polo Cup in the glorious setting of Coworth Park. While my team didn’t finish as champions, it’s encouraging to see the level of support here today for this great cause that gives hope and help to the children of Lesotho.”

Christian Porta, Chairman and CEO, Chivas Brothers says, “Royal Salute is honoured to be associated with polo and more importantly today, with Sentebale, a very special charity that is helping and changing the lives of many in Lesotho. It’s been such a privilege to watch this incredibly historic and skilful game in the beautiful surroundings of Coworth Park.”

The exclusive Royal Salute Dinner and After Party, attended by The Prince, the Duke of Argyll, models Karolina Kurkova and Tallulah Harlech, model and actor Douglas Booth, and actors Toby Kebbell and Sally Hawkins, further treated VIPs to a special viewing of Tribute to Honour, Royal Salute’s finest and rarest limited edition expression of only 21 bottles. Adorned with over 400 black and white diamonds, Tribute to Honour is a collaboration with Garrard, the royal jeweller and fellow supporter of Sentebale.

The Sentebale event, sponsored by Royal Salute included an auction to raise vital funds for the charity, set up five years ago by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, in support of the neediest and most vulnerable people of Lesotho.

The Sentebale Polo Cup sponsored by Royal Salute further highlights the whisky brand’s growing commitment to international polo, with sponsorships of some of the world’s most prestigious polo events currently spanning China, India, Dubai, Brazil and the UK.

Royal Salute World Polo Series continues on the 18th June 2011 at a charity event held at the Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Gloucestershire and closely followed by The Foundation Polo Challenge, at Santa Barbara, California, to raise funds for the American Friends of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry on 9th July 2011.

Notes:

Royal Salute

The pinnacle of Scotch whisky, award-winning Royal Salute was first created as a tribute by Chivas Brothers to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II upon her coronation in 1953. This defining luxury whisky has a very powerful and sophisticated style, and has become the world’s leading luxury Scotch whisky brand.

Royal Salute has a long legacy of paying tribute to nobility and leadership, it is part of the brand’s DNA
• 1953: Royal Salute created to pay tribute to Her Majesty the Queen’s coronation
• 2003: Royal Salute 50 Year Old launched for the 50th anniversary of the coronation, also paid tribute to Sir Edmund Hillary’s and Sir Tensing Norgay’s on the anniversary of their successful ascent of Everest
• 2005: Royal Salute 38 Year Old launched – a tribute from Scotland, inspired by the Stone of Destiny
• 2010: Royal Salute 62 Gun Salute launched paying tribute to the craftsmanship of four master blenders who have safeguarded the Royal Salute legacy
• 2011: Royal Salute Tribute to Honour launched, paying homage to the most notable to and compelling symbols of Scottish royalty

Royal Salute World Polo

In addition to The Sentebale Polo Cup sponsored by Royal Salute, the Scotch whisky also supports some of the most luxurious polo tournaments in the world, staged in the grandest venues, including:
• Charity polo event (name TBC) Beaufort Polo Club Gloucestershire, UK, previously titled The Chakravarty Cup
• The Foundation Polo Challenge, Santa Barbara, California, US
• Royal Salute Tang Polo Cup, Beijing, China
• Royal Salute Maharaja of Jodhpur Golden Jubilee Cup, Jodhpur, India
• The Nations Cup, Dubai, UAE
• Triple Crown Tournament, Helvetia Polo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Garrard

Garrard, the international jeweller with a cultural heritage of unparalleled richness was founded by master goldsmith George Wickes, who received his first royal commission in 1735. By the time the firm had passed into the hands of Robert Garrard in 1802, whose name it still bears, creating designs of matchless magnificence for the social and royal sects had become a matter of course. Garrard’s seductive collections can be found today at its flagship store on London’s Albemarle Street and or on display in the permanent exhibition in the Tower of London, where the Crown Jewels reside. Celebrating a 275 year anniversary this year, Garrard’s legacy of devotion to the highest degree of workmanship has been the company’s trademark since the first designs drew the attention of the world. Garrard continues to passionately embrace the past by creating tomorrow’s heirlooms today.

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 www.chivasbrothers.com

A unique moment at BenRiach distillery.

Our recent whisky tour took us yet again to BenRiach, our Dutch group spent over two hours here tasting from several casks (many, many actually!) and did indeed mention it was “the moment we went to heaven”.  Photos show Calum managing to get enough of the heavenly liquid for the boys.  A whisky tour that included; Bowmore, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Bruichladdich, Oban, Ben Nevis, Glenfiddich, BenRiach, Knockdhu, Strathisla, Glen Grant, Edradour, Dewar’s Aberfeldy and Auchentoshan.

A dark moment.

dark? aye, Knockdhu to be factual.  The Dutch boys took their time on this unique distillery tour, with distillery manager Gordon, 2 and a half hours of warts – an – all – sights and tastes. Many thanks to Gordon for these special moments, we must also mention the doogs! 

Submitted by Paul Mclean of www.mcleanscotland.com

Send us your own ‘Vignettes – Moments in Whisky’. If you have a whisky moment please feel free to submit your moment and we’ll do our best to publish it.

WHISKI named 2011 WHISKY BAR of the Year at DRAM AWARDS

On Monday 20th June 2011, WHISKI bar on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile was awarded Whisky Bar of the Year at the 2011 DRAM awards, the Oscars of the licensed trade industry. This is the first time that an Edinburgh bar has won this top accolade and the judges commented that; 

“WHISKI goes to exceptional lengths to promote whisky in Scotland, with  over 300 whiskies, whisky cocktails and extremely well trained staff”

WHISKI also opened a new venue called WHISKI Rooms on Sunday 19th June 2011 overlooking the iconic Mound in Edinburgh. WHISKI Rooms is a hybrid venue comprises a specialist whisky shop with a dedicated tasting room that will host daily whisky tastings in summer, a bar and an all day dining bistro serving fresh local Scottish produce.

“We are delighted with the DRAM Whisky Bar of the Year award and feel that again the profile of whisky will be raised with this recognition of Whiski in the capital of Scotland and the launch of our new venue WHISKI Rooms” said owner Gary Still.

Background:

WHISKI is an award winning whisky bar situated mid way down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. WHISKI launched in May 2007 specializing in whisky and fresh Scottish food.

Visit Whiski Bar at www.whiskibar.co.uk 

Suntory Japanese Whisky Charity Tasting Event

TWE Blog is proud to welcome the legendary Duncan Ross from TWE Vinopolis as a guest writer on the blog, with his first post being the following report on our recent charity Japanese whisky tasting: The events that occurred in Japan in March this year had repercussions that were felt around the world and the pictures that we saw made .…(please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article)…

THE LINK

June 2011 at Portsoy

It has been over a month since I last published my blog and we have been through another busy period and this is the perfect time to update you all on progress on several fronts.

Changing Faces

As I announced last time, Graham Eunson will shortly be moving on and therefore the search was underway for a new manager. Although I received a number of applications and interviewed some top candidates in the end I decided that we already had some excellent talent on the site who were ready to take on larger roles and so decided to share the role between Mhairi McDonald, who will become Production Manager and Graeme Morrison who will be Maturation Manager.

Mhairi has a first class honours degree in Brewing and Distilling from Heriot-Watt University and has previous experience working with Diageo and Chase distillery as well as working in a marketing role with us a couple of years ago.

Mhairi checking the quality of the distillate

Graeme has previously been in charge of a large filling and warehousing complex operated  by Chivas, in Keith.

Graeme Morrison

I know that both of them will do exceptionally well and for those of you that visit us then you will get the chance to meet them in due course.

This of course left a vacancy within the team and when we combined this with the need to increase our bottling rate due to increased orders then it resulted in a need to recruit 2 people. We duly advertised in the local paper and to date have received around 150  applications, I am not sure if this is a reflection on the(un)employment situation or the attractiveness of working in a distillery.

New Importers

As mentioned last time we have been working hard on extending the numbers of countries where Glenglassaugh is available and within the last month we have received orders from 3 new countries. 

In Switzerland our importer is “House of Single Malt”, in Singapore “The Whisky Store” and in China “Xiamen Spirit Empire Corporation”.

This brings the number of countries where Glenglassaugh is available to twenty-four and we are continuing to work on increasing it further.

The overseas importer page on the website, www.glenglassaugh.com , has been updated with details of each country where we have an importer appointed and their website.

In addition we are working hard with each importer to increase distribution throughout their own country and for the USA, there is an updated list in “Friends of Glenglassaugh” of which state has Glenglassaugh available.

New Products

Exclusive Bottling

As well as interviewing  for new roles and searching for new importers we have been busy working with some of our existing importers to release new exclusive single cask bottling for their specific market. These follow on the success of exclusive “Andrea Caminneci” bottling for Germany in 2010. I cannot reveal details yet but will shortly be able to let you know of when and where these will be available.

The Chosen Few

As announced last time this will be a new series of single cask releases, each cask chosen by a different member of the distillery team. The first cask selected is Ronnie Routledge’s choice and is from a 36 year old butt.

Following the success of “The Manager’s Legacy” series where we have sold out, then we will again need to release this on an allocation basis for each market.

We hope to be able to confirm release date, and retail price shortly.

First Three Year Old

There is nothing new to report, except to say that the cask is still maturing silently in the warehouse and we are working on the packaging design. As you can tell, we are all multi-tasking!

The Weather

I couldn’t end without mentioning the weather. At one stage is looked as if we were going to have a warm and very sunny summer, however that has turned into a wet and cool summer – good for topping up the water supply for the whisky but not for sun-bathing on Sandend Beach. Oh well there is always next year, when I will be able to also enjoy Glenglassaugh Whisky that the new team have produced!

Finally

A plug for Anne Smith who is a local photographer who we almost use exclusively when we want professional images, the two photographs in this blog were taken by her.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Photography-By-Anne-Smith/169154283136420

Slange.

Stuart Nickerson