Canadian whisky book release set for May 8
Finally an authoritative book about Canadian whisky

Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert is the first systematic presentation of Canadian whisky – how it is made, who makes it, why it tastes as it does, its history, and the rich folklore that has developed around it over the centuries. The book is also an informed exploration of taste, so that for the first time, whisky consumers can approach the acquisition of Canadian whisky with a connoisseur’s appreciation of its rich subtleties.

Readers take a pan-Canadian journey from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, exploring the multiplicity and celebrating the diversity of Canada’s unique spirit. They learn from carefully researched, reliable and authoritative information that is quite simply not available anywhere else. Through its pages the reader walks the ground, smells the aromas, and discovers the secrets and stories of Canada’s operating distilleries. Along the way, readers hear compelling tales of disasters, sudden triumphs and destructive family feuds that make up Canada’s colourful whisky lore. The turbulent tales that make up the story of Canadian whisky both entertain and intrigue them. And the more they know the more their tastes will be informed.

Today’s distillers tell the story of how a tradition adapts to new circumstances. Yesterday’s distillers make their presence felt through their diaries, and their archives reveal their hopes, their dreams, and, yes, their disasters. Real examples from specific distilleries and brands illuminate the details of production. Tasting notes draw on the author’s wealth of experience judging whisky competitions internationally, to provide descriptions that are both accurate and accessible.

With Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert the knowledge chasm is bridged. Whisky aficionados need no longer rely on minimal sketchy published details and unreliable web sources that do little more than cite the well-worn myths and paid commercial copy about Canadian whisky. This is the first and foremost authority on all things Canadian whisky. It is the real thing: The independent authority.

Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert is set to launch on Tuesday May 8, 2012. This new book was written by Canadian whisky expert, Davin de Kergommeaux, to fill a huge gap in the whisky literature. It is published by McClelland & Stewart, Canada’s oldest and most respected publisher, and distributed by Random House. The book is available in hardcover from most major bookstores in North America, and world-wide from all major on-line sellers. It is also available as an e-book from Amazon.com

http://www.canadianwhisky.org/news-views/a-first-peek-at-my-canadian-whisky-book.html 

http://www.fiddledrum.co.uk/whisky-festival.htm

Whisky for Father’s Day

Search for the best prices on WhiskyMarketplace

Father’s Day, Sunday 17 June, is an occasion to wise-up on whisky and buy Dad his favourite. Or, for a more adventurous choice, where can you get the best inspiration? Whichever way, you will also want to know that you are buying smartly. Click on www.WhiskyMarketplace.co.uk for recommendations and an easy way to buy from established online whisky retailers. Browse all in one place and rest confident as you save time and effort by buying at the keenest prices, and knowing that delivery will be efficiently taken care of.

This absorbing and informative site does so much more than list prices. Enjoy the www.WhiskyMarketplace.co.uk blog; also videos of tastings presented by master distillers and behind the scenes visits with experts at different distilleries. Pierre Thiebaut of WhiskyMarketplace, and presenter on WhiskyMarketplace TV, is also a judge in the World Whisky Awards. Here he gives a few of his top recommendations. “If you know Dad’s favourite brand, he may like to try a different aged bottling from the same distillery. Or you can search by style, for example, a smokey, peaty Islay whisky or a more subtle, sweet Lowlands style. You can then easily choose from a list of choices, prices, and availability, for everyday drinking right through to rarities to collect.”

Compass Box: Great King Street ‘The Artist Blend’

“A blended whisky?” I hear you cry. Yes, but this is not any old blend. Before we get into that, let us be clear, there is nothing wrong with blended whisky; some of the greatest whiskies are blends. This little number stands head and shoulders above anything in its price range. The secret to a great dish is fine ingredients, and whisky-maker John Glaser knows that only too well. With his attention to detail and a simple, confident recipe of fine malts and grain whiskies, he has crafted a masterpiece. Around £24. 

Lagavulin 16 years old

Is Dad a fan of deep peat flavours? If he already has some Laphroaig or Ardbeg stashed in the cabinet, he might just be missing this other gem from the Island of Islay, the spiritual home of the peat beasties. This whisky is rich with smoldering peat embers and a delicate touch of sweetness. It will transport him to a beach on Islay, with the moonlight glinting on the water, as the fire dies down on a summer night. Around £43.

Highland Park 21 years old

Now we are getting serious. Gentle peat, woody notes and fruits combine to produce an elegant and beautifully balanced whisky. A luxurious and rich texture delivers the wonderful flavours with aplomb. Bottled at a higher strength 47.5%, it is perfect for appreciating the subtle complexities it holds. Yes please! Around £92.

Brora 1982 ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ bottled by Gordon & MacPhail

This is one for a Dad who knows his distilleries. Brora, the most famous of the ’lost distilleries’, shut down its stills in 1983. Some of the whisky it produced still rests in casks in the dark corners of warehouses. From time to time, it gets bottled, although there is less of it about than there used to be. The price is modest for a Brora but there is more to this and other whiskies from that sadly missed distillery than just scarcity value. The whisky is as intriguingly complex as it is rare. Around £130.

Notes

• www.WhiskyMarketplace.co.uk is an essential companion to premium whisky buying. It provides an easy one-stop retail comparison of over 4,000 whiskies. No longer need will you have to trawl through individual retailers to find a chosen whisky. Major brands through to boutique expressions, limited editions and rarities can be easily tracked down. With just a couple of clicks, you can land on the product purchase page of a selection of online retailers and know that your choice is available to buy.

• www.WhiskyMarketplace.co.uk was created by brothers Pierre and Jean-Luc Thiebaut who designed the resource as an extension of their well established whisky social network www.connosr.com. This currently features over 2500 product reviews from registered consumers.

Grant’s in Russian with Valentina

Hi all,

After the U.S. and Taiwan, it is now the turn of the Grant’s family in Russia to steal the spotlight, courtesy of our charming Russian ambassador, Valentina Naumova. For those of you with confident Russian skills, the video below shows Valentina introducing three of our blends and discussing glassware and the use of ice….

http://blog.grantswhisky.com/2012/05/grants-in-russian-with-valentina/

Kind regards,
Ludo

Loch Fyne Whiskies Stocks ‘Bell’s Decanter – The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee’

Bell’s Decanter – The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
40% abv
£79.90 inc vat
£66.58 ex vat

You may view the latest post by clicking HERE

Best regards,
Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk

GLEN GARIOCH EYES UP TRAVEL RETAIL PUSH IN 2012

Artisan Single Malt Scotch Whisky Glen Garioch is investing in a year-long travel retail push in a bid to become a key player in the sector this year.

The small Highland distillery saw triple figure volume increases in the UK and Nordic travel markets in 2011 and has committed further investment throughout 2012.

Paul Hunnisett, Morrison Bowmore travel retail and duty free manager, said travel retail is a key market for a small brand like Glen Garioch and Morrison Bowmore will make a significant investment in attracting travel retail consumers looking for undiscovered quality malts.

Said Hunnisett: “Travel retail is the perfect environment for luxury spirits like single malt and Glen Garioch’s success in 2011 has cemented our intentions to become a serious player in the sector this year.

“As a small distiller it gives us the opportunity to shine the spotlight on the quality of liquid we are producing, tell its story, educate consumers and enable them to buy – there’s no other outlet quite like it for artisan producers.

“Glen Garioch is a punchy malt with a real robust Highland flavour and the brand benefits from the unique proposition that travel retail offers. Duty free consumers like finding a hidden gem or treasure and Glen Garioch’s handcrafted malts and small scale production combined with 200-year-old provenance appeals to those looking for something off the beaten track.”

The distillery will shortly launch an exclusive limited edition vintage for travel retail which will be available throughout World Duty Free and World of Whisky stores in the UK as well as a range of international airports, ferry operators and specialist terminal whisky stores.

A full sampling programme throughout the year will complement the push and bring the Highland brand to life in store.

Selected airport teams throughout the UK will also handpick their own vintage cask for exclusive distribution.

John Mullen, Glen Garioch brand manager, said: “We were thrilled with Glen Garioch’s performance in travel retail in 2011. The brand struck a real chord with operators and consumers alike who were clearly very appreciative of our small but special Highland Distillery”.

“We are excited about cementing Glen Garioch’s position as a hand-crafted artisanal producer distilling fine liquid year-on-year and offering something extra special to single malt enthusiasts.

“Our range will be sold and sampled through passionate and knowledgeable staff and will make an impactful and lasting impression throughout 2012.”

English Whisky at TWE Vinopolis

While we’re busy running around at HQ finishing up some SEKRIT PROJECTS (of which more will be heard shortly…) the folks down at our Vinopolis shop have been continuing running their series of rather excellent tastings, celebrating St George’s Day … Continue reading >>

BenRiach Maltings

We are really excited to officially announce that the BenRiach Distillery is going to start making its own malt again. We will be one of only a handful of distilleries in Scotland with our own maltings. An update from our distillery manager, Stewart Buchanan:

As you all may be aware we have been working hard since the Christmas shutdown getting the BenRiach maltings back up and running. We have been going through the whole system and apart from the odd belt, bearing and a bit of elbow grease, all the conveyers and elevators are now running smooth. Surprisingly, after being shut for the best part of 13 years, the machinery is all in great condition!

The next stage is to get some weight on the system to see how it runs under stress. I have 3 tonnes of barley sitting ready to go for a whirl round the floors, and it will be great to hear its blood pumping and the old place coming back to life.

The Kiln is working well: the compressor started at the first attempt and when the fire is stoked up the old baffles and fan maintain the heat perfectly. The slightly harder job is to erect a scaffold platform on the underside of the kiln floor to do some maintenance on the diffuser and the floor itself. The maintenance is the easy bit, getting the scaffold in through the hearth is a bit trickier! All going well, it should all be ready in around 10 days maximum.

We also have been very lucky with the running side of the plant; the 80’s brewer at BenRiach, Robert Fleming now the manager at Tomatin distillery, took a rummage through his loft and came up with some great information; old steep charts, floor times and temperature log books and kiln charts. Also BenRiach’s ex maltster Andrew Anderson has popped in and given us more personal knowledge of the building – the things that can’t be learnt from any book!

This is all invaluable hands-on knowledge and will make the learning curve not quite as steep as it could have been. The mild winter weather has been kind to us; all the boys have mucked in, giving up their weekends to cleaning and painting the place throughout. As a result, the place is looking great if I do say so myself!

We may also have been left some other things from yesteryear ……. As some of the boys worked late into the night painting around the steeps, footsteps and voices where heard over at the kiln area on the other side of the building. Thinking it was myself or Les, our engineer, they headed over for a blether, finding no one….They thought we had left and went back to the job in hand. On the second time they heard the noises they shouted over but no reply….On the third time, the paint brushes were dropped and a hasty exit was made! Was it the wind…..???

I shouldn’t be telling you this story, now I’ll never get anyone to turn the floor and stoke the kiln on night shift!!!

Until the next update, Slainte!

Stewart Buchanan, BenRiach Distillery Manager

Second Saturday Scotch Sipping at Six

2nd Saturday each month 6 – 9 p.m. no reservation required

Enjoy 5 half-ounce samples 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 single malt menu 

Peruse our whisky library. Learn about our single malts in our menu book: distillery info, tasting notes, & more. Enjoy light hors d’oeuvres. Non-whisky drinkers welcome.

2012 Features:

10% off bottles of the Malt of the Month * 

May 12 

Balblair 1997 *
Edradour 10 yo
Glenkinchie 12 yo 

June 9 

Kilkerran Work in Progress 3 (2011) *
Isle of Jura 16 yo
Deanston Virgin Oak 

Price goes to $25 July 14 

Balvenie Signature 12 yo Batch 4 *
Glenrothes Alba Reserve
Tullibardine 1993 

August 11 

Glengoyne 10 yo *
Ledaig 10 yo 46.3%
Tomatin 18 yo 

September 8 

Glen Grant 10 yo *
Bruichladdich Links –St. Andrews
Edradour 2003 Port Cask

October 13   

Strathisla 12 yo *
Benromach Peat Smoke # 4
Oban 14 yo

Bob at work….

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

May Previews: the unkown is yonder

Ready yourself for an adventure into the unknown.  Make and meet Society friends among the 13 single cask single malt characters of May’s Outturn – surprising, new, curious and long in the tooth.       

 Too many tempting tipples, try our favourites

 High Street Pair: 35.66 & 76.89 for only £89
    Buy  

 High Street Visitor Trio: 35.66, 76.89 & 29.117 only £140
    Buy

 Shopaholic Case Offer: 35.66, 76.89, 4.159, 63.27, 64.34 & 3.187 only £255
    Buy

 Tasting Panel Favourite: 66.35 only £38.70
    Buy

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ
Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm).

Visit the Society at http://www.smws.co.uk/memberships for your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers.