Check out a Charity Blending Day at Compass Box HQ in London. Thanks to the wonderful Gregg Glass at Compass Box Whisky for the enjoyable day of tasting and blending whisky. It had the added bonus of raising funds to help schools in Malawi.
www.ralfy.com reaches 250! . . . Whisky Rreview 250 – Black Bull 40yo
750 to go, I wonder if I will reach 1000 reviews! (Whisky Intelligence would like to congratulate Ralfy on his milestone and remind him it’s only one review at a time; we look forward to watching Whisky Review 1000).
EXCEPTIONAL 50 YEAR OLD GLENFIDDICHS LEAD WHISKY SALE AT BONHAMS EDINBURGH
Two exceptional and rare bottles of 50 year old Glenfiddich lead Bonhams Whisky sale in Edinburgh on 7 March. They are estimated at £13,000 – 15,000 each.
In 1991, 500 bottles of Glenfiddich from casks filled in 1937 and 1939 were released. Bottles 250 and 449 from this batch feature in the Bonhams sale. The whisky has been described as having a complex nose with floral notes, tobacco leaf and a hint of smoke and an initial taste of orange marmalade and vanilla toffee followed by aromatic herbs, soft fruits, and gentle smoke.
Bonhams whisky specialist, Martin Green commented, ““The Glenfiddich 50 year old is regarded as one of the truly great achievements in whisky making and bottles from the 1991 release are very highly sought after. I was lucky enough to be at the launch and to have tasted the whisky then and it is easy to appreciate why it has such a high reputation. ”
Also for sale is a bottle of The Macallan-52 year old-1950, distilled in 1950 and bottled by hand in 2002 (£5,000-7,000) and a Bowmore-40 year old distilled in 1955 and bottled in 1995 in a Caithness Crystal decanter (£5,000-7,000).
For more information on the sale click HERE
NOTES
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. 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 three in the UK regions and Scotland. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Connecticut in the USA; and Germany, France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Australia. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments go to www.bonhams.com.
We’ve got some wonderful new malts to set your taste buds alight this month.
After a long absence, we welcome the return of the 21 year old malt from Highland Park. At a higher strength 47.5% vol, it packs quite a punch, holding its own alongside THE MIGHTY THOR!!
We’ve two fantastic 17 year old’s from BenRiach and if the second edition Solstice tastes as good as it looks, it’s set to be a belter!
Pre-orders available for Dalmore Cigar and Cromartie as well as Kilchoman’s latest release Machir Bay.
To view all new arrivals follow this link…
Sláinte
Abbey Whisky
enquiries@abbeywhisky.com
www.abbeywhisky.com
07890 983 844
Hope you are getting excited…
Come along to our tasting on Wednesday!!
Due to popularity we have to limit it to 60 people!
So come along early to make sure you get in!!!
Usual tasting, so expect lots of whisky for very cheap (2£), and raffles with many exciting prizes. (all proceeds go to Childreach Charity 🙂
Make sure you turn up early to avoid disappointment! We’ll have a fine selection of fantastic drams on the go:)
£2 for 4 drams!!!
Location: BookEnds (top floor), Butchart Centre, University Road, Old Aberdeen
(click here for map)
Time and Date: 7pm – Wednesday 15th February 2012
What to Bring: £2 for entry + Membership Card + money for raffle
2£ entrance for members, 3£ for non members.
This will get you 4 drams from a wide selections of single malts.
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TRIP TO ISLAY!!!!
26TH – 29TH APRIL!
IT IS GOING TO BE AMAZING.
£150 APPROX.
Who wants to come???
LET US KNOW ON WEDNESDAY!
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ABERDEEN WHISKY FESTIVAL
20TH APRIL 2012
More details coming soon…
You don’t want to miss this amazing day!
WWW.ABERDEENWHISKYFESTIVAL.COM
Our mailing address is:
University of Aberdeen Malt Whisky Society
The Butchart Centre
University Road
Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire AB24 3UT
Mulberry Bank Auctions is pleased to announce its second pre-sale tasting. Taking place at our west end auction rooms in Glasgow on Tuesday the 27th of March at 7.30pm. We will be showcasing a stunning line up of 8 incredible spirits. Apart from such single malt gems as a Glen Grant 30 year old distilled in the 1930s and an incredibly rare Glendronach 1970, we will also have a Caroni Rum from the 1920s and last, but certainly not least, an incredible 1870, pre-phylloxera Grand Champagne Cognac. And as if that wasn’t enough there will also be a selection of fine Scottish cheeses, courtesy of local cheesemonger George Mewes, to sample as well. All in all it should be the tasting event of a lifetime. If you thought the first tasting was good, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Tickets are strictly limited and sold on a first come first served basis. They are priced at £50 per head and are available directly from our auction house by calling 0141 225 8181.
7.30-10.30pm. March 27th. Mulberry Bank Auction House. 26a St Vincent Crescent. G3 8LH.
The full line up is:
1: Bruichladdich 1971 39yo single cask. A Privately bottled single cask that has been bottled at a naturally low cask strength of 39%.
2: Bruichladdich official vintage 1970. The legendary 1970 vintage from Bruichladdich, bottled back in 2002.
3: Martell 3 Star cognac. An old bottling from the 1930s with a spring cap seal.
4: Grand Champagne Cognac from an unknown producer. Vintage 1870. Bottled by Cockburn & Co of Leith, Edinburgh. Bottled around the turn of the 20th Century this is from one of the greatest vintages of the 19th century.
There will be a break here for a selection of Scottish cheeses supplied by local cheesemonger George Mewes.
5: Caroni Navy Rum. 90 proof. Bottled sometime in the 1920s.
6: Glen Grant 30yo by G&M. Distilled sometime in the 1930s and bottled in the 1960s. A great chance to taste a pre-war malt.
7: Dalwhinnie 36yo 1966. Bottled 2002.
8: Glendronach 1970. A single cask bottled by Cadenheads in the 1990s under their legendary White Label series. This is from a great vintage and, unusually, is not matured in a sherry cask.
World Wide Whisky Design Awards 2012
Great King Street Blended Scotch whisky by Compass Box (nominated in Category 1 – Bottle, less than € 250)
Great King Street Blended Scotch whisky in 50cl bottle at 43% abv. Great King Street is a recent new mission from Compass Box; a mission to get people to rediscover the joys of Blended Scotch. “Great King Street will offer … Continue reading →
Toshan Man at Whisky Festival Ghent (Belgium)
On Saturday 11th February 2012, I visited the Whisky Festival in Ghent (Belgium), where I was able to sample some 35 whiskies from all over the world. Some of the finer drams I tried were the Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength, Highland Park 22 Year Old from Sesante and Caol Ila 25 Year Old from Kintra, to name but a few.
FOTO 1
But the highlight came at the end of the show, when I again visited the booth from Morrison-Bowmore, manned by the sympathetic brand ambassador Gordon Dundas and the importer for Belgium Stephan De Bolle (who, incidentally, won the Brand Ambassador Award at the Belgian Whisky Awards 2012, congratulations!) where I tasted the Glen Garioch Founder’s Reserve, the Bowmore 25 and – last but not least – the Auchentoshan 40 Year Old 1965.
I could not believe my luck when, at the end of the day, Stephan offered me (after some nudging on my part, I admit) to buy the remainder of the bottle for my Toshan Man collection. I jumped at the chance without a second thought, when he (less reluctantly than I had feared) agreed.
I am very happy to be the owner of (albeit a half full) bottle of this wonderful whisky. Only 200 bottles of this great dram are in existence. They retail around 900 EUR, so you can imagine it is not the kind of bottle you purchase on a whim (if you can find it in the first place). Getting a half bottle, number 75/200, was a deal too good to be true. Well, not really, since I did get it.
Another great addition to the Toshan Man Collection.
Thank you, Stephan and Gordon, for making this whisky lover’s day!
Mark Dermul – Toshan Man
www.markdermul.be/toshanman
An Evening of Whisky, Food and Cigars
When: Thursday March 1, 2012 6 pm to 8:30pm
Where: Ferraro’s Patio – 4480 Paradise Road Las Vegas, NV 89169 www.ferraroslasvegas.com
What: $25 Admission gets you:
• Amrut Whisky tasting of Single Malt; Fusion, Cask Strength & Intermediate Sherry –
• A Free Cigar
• Passed Appetizers
• A “No Host” Whisky Bar available for all four Whiskies above to be purchased by the glass plus a special Amrut Whisky Cocktail
How: For Reservations: Contact Nikki Blake at 702 364 5300 – Limited to 50 people
Key Milestone Reached for Virginia Distillery — Stills Are Set!
These pot stills are central to the promise of VDC whisky. In the U.S. anyone can call their whisky single malt, but to be authentic it must be double distilled in single batches in copper pots. This view is from the mezzanine level of the distillery. Here you can see the wash still and the spirit still are connected with the lyne pipes. In the center is nerve center of the distilling process, the spirit safe. That is where the quality of the whisky is controlled.
The spirits from the both the wash still and the spirit still are sent to the spirit safe. There the master distiller monitors the alcohol content with a hydrometer. The low wines are from the wash still are tested for quality. The spirits coming from the spirit safe are fractionated into thirds — the foreshots, the potable spirit and the feints. The foreshots and feints are returned to the process and redistilled. The remaining spirit goes into barrels for aging. The narrower the middle the lower the yield but the higher the quality. That’s how you can tell the quality of whisky before it’s aged a day.
Rare View of Copper Pot Still
This photo was taken before the final flooring was placed on the mezzanine which allows for a full view of the installed stills. The stand was specially fabricated by a roller coaster company because they were the only ones who could bend the steel to provide sufficient stability.
Inside the VDC Single Malt Distillery
VDC’s consulting engineer, Jim Taggart, sets the swan neck on the stills. The swan neck stretches to the rafters and will be the most visible section of the stills from the Mezzanine level.
The rakes inside a mashtun are rarely seen. This photo was taken before the top was installed. This equipment mixes the malted barley with water to make the mash. The liquid from the mash, called the wort, is then transferred to the fermenter where yeast is added.
The tanks and fermenters are now in place. The next phase is boiler and pipe installation followed by electrical.
Harry Cockburn, VDC’s master distillery engineer, visited from Scotland in January to check the status and plan the next phase. He, Chairman George Moore and President John McCray visited the distillery just prior to closing off the mezzanine floor.
Virginia Distillery Company
299 Eades Lane P.O. Box 509 Lovingston,
VA 22949
info@vadistillery.com
http://www.vadistillery.com/
