Whisky Ramblings Via Video #8

In his 8th Whisky Rambling on video, Belgian whisky blogger Mark Dermul discusses the Irish Single Grain Whiskey range from Cooley and tastes the Greenore 8 Year Old.

http://youtu.be/oHg0oyHUADY

Tomatin scoops up awards in the States

Tomatin Distillery is celebrating a number of awards from the United States this month for its range of single malt Scotch and blended Scotch whiskies.

The Tomatin 30 Year Old, released in 2011, is the latest addition to the distillery’s core range of single malts. It has impressed both the industry and customers with its deep fruity aromas and full bodied character and was duly awarded ‘Gold’ at last week’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The Tomatin 15 Year Old was also awarded ‘Gold’ for the third year in a row since its release in 2009.

The Antiquary Aged 21 Years blended whisky also performed extremely well at the San Francisco competition winning the prestigious ‘Double Gold’ award in its category. The Antiquary is Tomatin’s biggest selling blend, and already boasts an array of industry awards including Blended Scotch Whisky of the Year in 2008.

Finally, the Tomatin 18 Year Old single malt was also recognised in this year’s Ultimate Sprits Challenge held in New York at the beginning of March, receiving an “Extraordinary Ultimate Recommendation” accolade with a score of 96/100 in the challenge, just one point behind the overall winner in the Single Malt Scotch Whisky category of the competition.

Stephen Bremner, Sales Director is delighted: “Our whiskies are currently exported to over 35 international markets and the USA is a major market within that group, so to be awarded so many first‐rate medals from competitions held there is fantastic. We believe our spirit is first‐class which is why we are determined to grow the Tomatin brand, and awards such as these confirm the high quality standard we deliver.”

Notes

 The Tomatin Distillery Co Ltd is a producer and blender of Scotch whisky, boasting a strong core range of single malt whiskies along with a range of popular blends.
 Website: www.tomatin.com 
 San Francisco World Spirits Competition: http://www.sfspiritscomp.com/index.html
 Ultimate Spirits Challenge: www.ultimate‐beverage.com
 Website: www.tomatin.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Tomatin1897
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Tomatin1897
 The distillery was established in 1897, and while historically the whisky produced was primarily sold for use in other brands of blended whisky, the company is now very much focussed on growing the Tomatin single malt brand in its own right.
 The company’s most popular blends are The Antiquary, The Talisman and Big ‘T’.
 The distillery is owned by Japanese company Takara Shuzo: http://www.takarashuzo.co.jp/english/index.htm

Boston’s Best Whisky Event.
Boston’s Best Whisky Event? You be the judge.
Whisky Tasting and Dinner Cruise
Aboard The Spirit of Boston
May 2nd 7:00-9:30 PM

The Whisky Guild will return for this special annual event. In just a couple of weeks’ time, we’ll embark upon a spectacular harbor cruise with a great selection of whiskies available to taste – and a buffet dinner. It is almost sold out, a night you do not want to miss. This is one of the best events to come to Boston. It promotes whisky, yet in my eyes this is an event for consumers – novice to aficionado – to not only taste and talk about malts, but to engage with ambassadors, distillers, blenders, and distillery managers. They attend not just to promote their wares, but to get the chance to hear what you are looking for. They take the input you give them very seriously, so speak up, ask questions, and get your money’s worth.

VIP access gives an extra hour to sample the offerings and more of them beginning at 6 PM. This was a great time in the past and one we’ve been anxiously anticipating all year. You’ll enjoy the opportunity to sample from more than 100 rare and exclusive whiskies, poured by distillery managers, Ambassadors and master blenders from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and Japan.

We’re extremely grateful to Whisky Guild for bringing this superlative event with a broad range of whiskies to our neighborhood. We believe that our customers in particular will appreciate and enjoy this unique event. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to be out on the water, sipping scotch, and enjoying a cigar (smoke ’em if you got ’em) on the deck of a luxury cruiser. Did you miss Whiskyfest Chicago? Whisky-Live New York? No worries, you have this- every bit as good, no, better: you’re out on the harbor.

VIP Boarding Time: 6:00pm
Boarding Time: 7:00pm
Sail Time: 7:30-9:30pm

Regular Ticket Price $95
VIP Ticket Price $115 (Board At 6:00pm)
Price includes Whisky, Dinner & Whisky Tasting Glass

Tickets may be purchased directly from The Whisky Guild at:
www.whiskyguild.com/tasting_boston.html
Federal customers will receive at 15% discount
with the code: FEDERAL

The boat leaves from 200 Seaport Boulevard at 7:30, please bring a valid ID.

Whisky Magazine names Federal Wine & Spirits
2012 National ‘Retailer of the Year’

Whisky Magazine is based in the UK, but is the international journal of record for scotch whisky in the world.

Joe Howell
Federal Wine & Spirits

——————————————————————————–

Email: joe@federalwine.com
Phone: 617-367-8605
Web: http://www.federalwine.com/

The Glenlivet Launches Rare Single Cask Editions

The Glenlivet, the world’s No 2 single malt Scotch whisky, is to release a series of rare expressions as part of its Single Cask Editions range, highlighting the subtle, complex and elegant style of The Glenlivet.

Each expression in this highly collectable range is non chill-filtered and bottled at its cask strength before being presented in the same luxurious bottle that houses the ultra-premium and prestige expressions within The Glenlivet range.

The new additions to the range include The Glenlivet Guardians Single Cask Edition, an 18 Year Old whisky which was hand-selected by members of The Glenlivet Guardians – the brand’s online community – at an exclusive event in London in 2011. Aged in a second-fill sherry butt, the expression offers flavours of golden syrup and dried fruit with a warm, multi-layered finish, while retaining The Glenlivet’s subtle, floral characteristics. Just 631 bottles will be available exclusively to purchase or sample to The Guardians of the Glenlivet, the distillery’s community of 100,000 followers. www.theglenlivet.com/guardians

In addition, The Glenlivet Helios Single Cask Edition, a 20 Year Old non chill-filtered single malt aged in a second-fill hogshead cask, and The Glenlivet Josie Single Cask Edition, named after the well that provides water to the distillery in celebration of the provenance of The Glenlivet, will both be available in specialist outlets globally.

Further Single Cask Editions are being released into selected markets around the world including The Glenlivet Inveravon, exclusively available in Taiwan, along with The Glenlivet Kilimanjaro and The Glenlivet Legacy which are exclusive to Germany.

Neil Macdonald, Brand Director for Malts at Chivas Brothers, says: “The Glenlivet Single Cask Edition range is a collection of exceptional hand-selected whiskies that celebrate the unique qualities of The Glenlivet. We are fortunate that the quality of The Glenlivet spirit enables our Master Distiller to create an interesting and varied range, drawing out and enhancing the characteristics of the spirit through ageing in different, hand-selected barrels.”

Introduced in 2005, alphabetised expressions of The Glenlivet Single Cask Editions range to date include The Glenlivet Atlantic, Blairfindy, Cairn Daimh, Drumin, Eclipse and Faemussach. The latest Single Cask Editions are available and will retail from £150.

Notes:

The Glenlivet Guardians Single Cask Edition
The Glenlivet Guardians Single Cask Edition, which was hand-selected by members of The Glenlivet Guardians – the brands online community – at an exclusive event in London in 2011. The 18 Year Old expression, aged in a second-fill sherry butt filled on 18th December 1992, is non chill-filtered and bottled at 55.7% ABV cask strength. Just 631 bottles will be available exclusively to purchase or sample at VIP Guardian events.

The Glenlivet Guardians Single Cask Edition tasting notes
Colour: Deep gold
Palate: Gentle oakiness, creamy, spicy, vanilla & gingerbread
Nose without water: Mocha, golden syrup, earthy, toasted oats
Nose with water: Cinnamon, marzipan, dried fruit
Finish: Medium long, balance, warm, multi-layered

The Glenlivet Helios Single Cask Edition
The Glenlivet Helios Single Cask Edition, named to signify the importance of the sun in production at the Speyside distillery, is a 20 Year Old non chill-filtered single malt aged in a second-fill hogshead cask, that was filled on 9th May 1991. Bottled at 50.7% cask strength, just 307 bottles made available with markets including the UK.

The Glenlivet Helios tasting notes
Nose: Sweet, fruity (tropical fruits and peach) with flavours of peardrop sweets and honey and a scented floral background.
Taste: Juicy sweet and jam packed full of fruity flavours echoing the nose with the faintest hint of root ginger
Finish: Exceptionally long, sweet and slightly spicy

The Glenlivet Josie Single Cask Edition
The Glenlivet Josie Single Cask Edition takes its name from the distillery’s infamous underground spring. The 17 Year Old non chill-filtered whisky was aged in a first-fill ex-sherry butt in European oak, that was filled on 6th July 1994. Bottled at 57.5% ABV cask strength, just 464 bottles of The Glenlivet Josie Single Cask Edition made available with markets including the UK.

The Glenlivet Josie tasting notes
Nose: Concentrated sweet flavours of moist raisin and cherry fruitcake creamy fondant orange and traditional barley sugar sweets.
Taste: Sweet candied almonds intermingled with tangy orange marmalade and liquorice.
Finish: Long and mellow.

The Glenlivet Inveravon Single Cask Edition
The Glenlivet Inveravon Single Cask Edition takes its name from a mountainous moorland parish in the Glenlivet. The 21 Year Old non chill-filtered whisky was aged in a first-fill American oak barrel, that was filled on 24th April 1990. Bottled at 54.6% ABV cask strength, just 204 bottles will be exclusively available in Taiwan.

The Glenlivet Inveravon tasting notes
Nose: Incredibly sweet and fruity with flavours of pears in syrup, soft red toffee apples. Very well balanced.
Taste: Very smooth and creamy with flavours of soft pears and sweet oranges.
Finish: Long and very slightly dry.

The Glenlivet Kilimanjaro Single Cask Edition
The Glenlivet Kilimanjaro Single Cask Edition is a 15 Year Old whisky aged in a second-fill hogshead cask and bottled at 58.2% ABV. Just 232 bottles of this expression will be available exclusively at selected outlets in Germany.

The Glenlivet Legacy Single Cask Edition
The Glenlivet Legacy Single Cask Edition is a 16 Year Old whisky aged in a first fill barrel and bottled at 52.8% ABV. Just 198 bottles of this expression will be available exclusively at selected outlets in Germany.

The Glenlivet is currently the No 2 single malt Scotch whisky in the world and the No 1 single malt Scotch whisky in the US – the world’s largest malt whisky market. Crafted in the remote Livet Valley since 1824, it is the only whisky with the unchallengeable right to be called The Glenlivet.

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 visit: www.chivasbrothers.com

April 2012 Outturn Offerings

Character and contradictions 

Cask No. 27.96                     

Campbeltown, Argyll 

The nose was sweet, nutty and buttery, with heather, fig and honey, but the salt, Swarfega, hair grease, garage and harbour aromas suggested a Campbeltown fisherman going out on the town. A splash of water made it even more aromatic – sweet barley, walnuts, pepper, oven chip trays and brown sugar-glazed, clove-studded ham. The unreduced palate was big, intense, woody and sweet, with tobacco and manuka honey in hessian bags. With water, we found Madeira cake (bolo de mel), clove, ginger, pistachios in honey (baklava) and salt – a dram of distinctive character and some happy contradictions from the independent Campbeltown distillery. 

Drinking tip: A campfire dram – or after sailing 

Colour: Dark honey                                          
Cask: Refill gorda                                             
Age: 13 years                                      
Date distilled: May 1998
Alcohol: 57.2% 

$110 

Spritzy, lively and stimulating 

Cask No. 3.181                     

Islay,LochIndaal 

The central aroma was lightly citric (lemon shortbread, pineapple cake, lemon squeezed on scallops) but either side of that bright window hung heavier drapes of smoke, ferry-boat ropes, sugary espresso dregs and railway stations. To taste, it was spritzy, lively and stimulating, tickling the mouth with fruit pastilles and buttercup linctus – the after effect was drying, like chewing burnt sticks and licking ash. The reduced nose had lemon barley water, cake mix and ladies hats – perhaps a Womens’ Institute meeting? The reduced palate combined delicious sweetness and smoke with a tangy, tart, lemony bonus. The Queen visited the distillery in 1978. 

Drinking tip: To wake up or refresh the palate 

Colour: Translucent primrose                           
Cask: Refill hogshead                                       
Age: 15 years                                      
Date distilled: October 1996
Alcohol: 60.5% 

$115 

A charming evocation of summer 

Cask No. 5.33                       

Lowlands,Western Lowlands 

The nose was a fresh and charming evocation of summer – apple pie, cinnamon, rhubarb and custard, pineapple juice, lime, papaya, pear and banana. To taste, we found it a sweet and citric mix – lemon curd on digestive biscuits, sherbet lemons, grape skins, flying saucers, etc. – but along with that, some varnished pine and green beans. The reduced nose was very pleasant, with light vegetable oil, cider or perry, cranberry juice, icing sugar and a forest glade with boulders, after the rain. The reduced palate found Empire biscuits and pleasant creamy textures – exceedingly drinkable. From a distillery just west of Glasgow. 

Drinking tip: To relax – maybe after a bath 

Colour: Palest misty sunrise                             
Cask: Refill hogshead                                       
Age: 10 years                                      
Date distilled: October 2000
Alcohol: 60.4% 

$95 

A cheeky treat for afternoon tea 

Cask No. 36.54                     

Highlands, Speyside 

Summery themes develop from the start with rich blossom honey, hay, toffee, raisins and a range of sumptuous puddings – crème brulee, tarte tatin and stewed apples with a hint of cloves. Fresh tobacco with pencil shavings emerge and to taste the tannins come to the fore in a rich syrupy sweetness. With water, the tobacco and honey are joined by tea leaves, hay barns and golden syrup on hot buttered toast. To taste, the water adds fresh laundry but is shorter than you might expect. Go careful with the amount that you add. The distillery takes its name from the local Corbett. 

Drinking tip: To accompany a delicious cake at afternoon tea. Or instead of it! 

Colour: Freshly baled straw                              
Cask: Refill ex Sherry butt                               
Age: 23 years                                      
Date distilled: May 1988
Alcohol: 59.2% 

$155 

Elderflowers dangling in June 

Cask No. 77.27                     

Highlands,Northern Highlands 

The nose was sweet, fresh and appealing – warm dessert wine, peardrops, lavender-flavoured iced gems, lemon bonbons, sugar-crusted pansies and dusty barley sacks. The unreduced palate was ‘clean as a whistle!’ – like peeled twigs dipped in syrup, then lots of floral impressions and hints of menthol and bath salts in the finish. The reduced nose had attractive, syrupy sweetness; sponge-cake with lemon icing and Battenberg cake; also freshly laundered linen. The reduced palate suggested traditional lemonade and elderflowers dangling in June – fresh, sunny and bright, right to the sherbet tingle at the end. The distillery lies near the town of Beauly. 

Drinking tip: Perfect for a summer garden party – or a good introduction to single malts for the uninitiated  

Colour: Moonlight on a golden chain                
Cask: Refill hogshead                                       
Age: 11 years                                      
Date distilled: March 2000
Alcohol: 55.2% 

$100

Littlemill 21 Year Old / Queen’s Diamond Jubilee 70cl / 46% / 495 Bottles

Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Hart Brothers Bottling

Littlemill 21 year old is a rare vintage release bottled by Hart Brothers in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Bottled in 2012 at 46%vol with a limited release of 495 bottles.

£108.00
(£90.00 ex Vat)

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

07890 983 844