THE MACALLAN CELEBRATES EIGHT DECADES WITH SIR PETER BLAKE, GODFATHER OF POP ART

Today (25th June 2012), Sir Peter Blake, considered the “godfather” of British Pop art, will be 80 years old and to celebrate this momentous achievement, The Macallan has produced a unique, limited edition art piece, The Macallan and Sir Peter Blake celebrate eight decades.

Sir Peter has a long- standing connection with The Macallan, having designed the label which adorned the first 12 bottles of the highly collectable Macallan 1926, bottled back in 1986. For this project he has teamed up with art director, David Holmes, designer of the earliest Macallan advertising campaign and creative force behind the brand’s most recent Royal commemorative limited edition bottlings, celebrating the marriage of William and Kate in 2012 and more recently the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The Macallan and Sir Peter Blake celebrate eight decades consists of an oak box, divided in to eight sections, each decade having a backdrop and artefact designed, inspired or chosen by Sir Peter Blake, a miniature of The Macallan distilled in that decade (1930 through to 2000’s), with labels designed by Sir Peter and a small book of illustrations and text about Blake’s life.

The wooden box is designed to represent eight decades in the life of Blake and also The Macallan. The artefacts* contained within the incredible box, sourced by art director Stuart Newman following Sir Peter’s guidance, represent the four elements of water, fire, air and earth, as a direct connection to the whisky making process.

Commenting on the project, Sir Peter Blake, said, “This piece is a reflection of my approach to my work, taking inspiration from the last 80 years, be it from my own art collection or my own actual work. This project has brought together an outstanding team who have truly brought this wonderful idea to life. Working with The Macallan has been great fun and this project allowed me to explore different ideas to create something special, unique and highly creative. ”

The eight whiskies contained in the box offer a journey through the character of The Macallan from the 1930s through to the 2000s. The journey begins with a number of extremely rare single malts taken from The Macallan’s prestigious Fine & Rare collection through the decades, to a stunning whisky from 2002. The oldest whisky in the collection is a 1937, then progressing to a 1949; 1952; 1969; 1976; 1989; 1997; 2002.

David Cox, Director of Fine and Rare Whiskies at The Macallan, said; “Working with Sir Peter Blake and David Holmes has been a great pleasure for us at The Macallan. They have brought such flair and creativity to the project, testament to their outstanding skill and inspiration. This wonderful box is a true celebration of both The Macallan and Sir Peter Blake over the past 80 years, a work of art in its own right from one of Britain’s greatest living artists. We’ve selected whiskies which best reflect the character of our single malt through these eight decades. We are confident that it will be eagerly sought after by Macallan collectors and art enthusiasts around the world. ”

With only 250 boxes for sale, this box of treasures is set to achieve high rarity value and collectability. A small number of boxes are available via www.themacallan.com and the remaining are allocated to key markets around the world, with a guide price of £4,500.

*The artefacts
1930s
Black and white image of distillery workers at The Macallan
Fire bucket – representing water and fire
Dancing tin duck – a replica of one of Sir Peter’s favourite’s from his own collection

1940s
Windproof matches
Tin damsel fly – still very much alive on Speyside
Small bottle with painting of the Queen Mary, one of the first pieces of art Sir Peter Blake bought as a student in the late forties
Wellington boots – representing an original pair of Tom Thumb boots that Sir Peter has in his collection, and one of his favourites.

1950s
She Devil painting on cover of book
Halfpenny

1960s
CD with cover of Beatles painting by Sir Peter Blake – – including an old advertisement created by DH and a film by Phil Sansom on the making of the Blake @ LXXX box

1970s
Teapot and roses painting – adding flowers to the bold and colourful design

1980s
Robin painting – to provide some natural life
Gnome fishing (on the Spey!)or with garden spade.
Spey Salmon – representing the fishing on the Macallan’s Easter Elchies Estate

1990s
Extract from book – W for Whisky The collage is very typical of SPB’s style

Macallan cask – representing the importance of the oak casks in the making of The Macallan

2000s
Porcelain mouse – representing the computer age.

About Sir Peter Blake
Born 25 June 1932, Sir Peter Blake is an English pop artist, best known for his design of the sleeve for the Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. During the late 1950s, Blake became one of the best known British pop artists. His paintings from this time included imagery from advertisements, music hall entertainment, and wrestlers, often including collaged elements. Blake was included in group exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts and had his first solo exhibition in 1960.

THE MACALLAN TO UNVEIL EXCLUSIVE NEW RANGE FOR THE UK

The Macallan is set to unveil its latest development on the brand with the introduction of an entirely new range, The 1824 Series, commencing in the UK market this Autumn.

The move follows extensive work with distributors Maxxium UK, and other key market partners, to meet the growing demands for The Macallan, which consistently outperforms the category.

This addition to The Macallan family will initially be launched exclusively in the UK and will be classic, signature Macallan in style and character. The 1824 Series is 100% matured in oak sherry casks from Spain, focusing on the brand’s natural colour, delivering the full bodied aromas and flavours for which The Macallan is recognised and famed.

Ken Grier, Director of Malts, Edrington commented: “The 1824 Series will introduce a new approach to The Macallan in the UK market for single malt drinkers to enjoy and underlines our ongoing commitment to leading innovation. The move represents a major step in the evolution of The Macallan and we are extremely excited to be introducing this into the UK market first.”

Created by The Macallan Whisky Maker, Bob Dalgarno, and his team, the first expression in The 1824 Series will be available from September, followed by further expressions in 2013.

www.themacallan.com

Prince Harry Clinches Victory Against the Duke of Cambridge at the Beaufort Charity Polo Day

The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry competed head to head in a closely fought charity polo match on the 17th June at the Beaufort Polo Club, Tetbury, UK.

After an extremely close and high scoring match, Prince Harry’s Zedan polo team clinched victory in the final chukka against the Duke of Cambridge’s Royal Salute team, winning by 7½ goals to 7.

With polo legends Carlos Gracida (7 goals) and Miguel Novillo Astrada (9 goals) as Captains of the Royal Salute team and Zedan polo teams respectively, the spectators were treated to an exciting display of the sport.

The Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club Charity Cup raised over £60,000 for the charities Tusk Trust, Wellchild, and Child Bereavement, whose Patrons are the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

Guests enjoyed the thrilling game accompanied with a drinks reception, with hostesses serving Royal Salute 21 Year Old whisky with ice to guests in the glorious sunshine.

Royal Salute Brand Director, Neil Macdonald says, “We’re delighted to once again support this very special charity polo day at Beaufort, and to enjoy such a thrilling and closely fought polo game. Some terrific defensive play by Prince Harry allowed his team to clinch victory against the Duke of Cambridge’s team by just half a goal in a tremendously exciting match.”

Royal Salute
1. Janie Dear (0)
2. Dave Allen (5)
3. Carlos Gracida (7)
4. The Duke of Cambridge (1)

Zedan Polo
1. Amr Zedan (0)
2. Prince Harry (1)
3. Miguel Novillo Astrada (9)
4. Mark Baldwin (2)

Half time: Royal Salute 2 Zedan Polo 3 ½
Full time: Royal Salute 7 Zedan Polo 7 ½

Notes:

Royal Salute Scotch Whisky

Royal Salute starts where other whiskies end, as only the most precious Scotch whiskies aged for a minimum of 21 years are used to create its powerful and sophisticated blend.

The Royal Salute range includes Royal Salute 21 Year Old, Royal Salute Hundred Cask Selection, Royal Salute 38 Year Old Stone of Destiny, and Royal Salute 62 Gun Salute – the oldest permanent whisky expression in the world, with whiskies aged for a minimum of 40 years. Royal Salute has also released a number of limited editions including Royal Salute 50 Year Old and Royal Salute Tribute to Honour.

Royal Salute World Polo

Royal Salute Scotch Whisky is one of the world’s leading sponsors of international polo, with a series of events across China, India, Dubai, U.S, Brazil, Spain, Australia, South Korea, and the UK.

Within this international programme, Royal Salute is proud to support charity polo tournaments, which have included events that have raised funds for charities whose patrons are Prince William and Prince Harry.

These events have included:
• The Metropolitan Goldin Polo Cup, Tetbury, UK 2012
• Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup, Sao Paulo, Brazil 2012
• The Foundation Polo Challenge, Santa Barbara, U.S 2011
• The Sentebale Polo Cup, Coworth Park, UK 2011
• The Bernard Weatherill Cup, Tetbury, UK 2011
• The Beaufort Charity Day, Tetbury, UK 2010

For further information please visit www.chivasbrothers.com

Loch Fyne Whiskies Now Stocks ‘GlenDronach Single Cask Release Batch 6’

Due soon – GlenDronach have announced there latest single cask release which will be extremely limited

1971 / 41yo PX
1978 / 33yo Oloroso
1989 / 23yo Moscatel
1990 / 22yo PX
1993 / 19yo Oloroso

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

www.ralfy.com gets chatty with Serge the mega-blogger with Whisky Review #286 – Chat with Serge from Whiskyfun!

1 July 2012

This month we have a wide ranging selection of six (6) different OLD MALT CASK bottlings – six (6) from PROVENANCE plus one (1) OLD AND RARE – not forgetting two (2) from DIRECTOR’S CUT and two (2) DOUBLE
BARRELs.

Tasting Notes for OLD MALT CASK:

OMC2174 HIGHLAND PARK 15 YEARS
Nose: Sweet & vanilla’d + honey & an interesting camphor style
Palate: Opens fruitily sweet – lightly peated – softly smoked
Finish: When the sweetness fades, gentle peat smoke takes over (J)

OMC2187 IMPERIAL 17 YEARS
Nose: Aromatic with barley + tobacco early & nuts + baking later.
Palate: Dry – warmly spiced – opens to more tobacco, now camphor
Finish: Cough drops + gristy quality + light gentle oakiness (F)

OMC2186 SPEYSIDE SHERRY 20 YEARS
Nose: Syrupy sweet –with orange zestiness – nutty & gristy
Palate: Dark, macerated, spicy fruit + barley – crunched oats/nuts
Finish: Still spicy with soft camphor – grist & sweet liquorice. (F)

OMC2159 LINKWOOD 21 YEARS
Nose: Opens with a sweet, dried fruit character + a malty/woody quality.
Palate: Richly spiced + macerated dried fruit + marzipan & dark chocolate.
Finish: Long – still spiced – now drier carrying a nutty/leathery character. (J)

OMC2165 ROSEBANK 21 YEARS
Nose: Clean, fresh & fragrant – carrying a sweet fruity quality + honey
Palate: Sweet spicy with a Jasmin character + a fresh, lemon zest style
Finish: Long – still fruity + sweet grist then running drier to an oak tang (J)

OMC2189 AULTMORE 30 YEARS
Nose: Sweetly spiced – lightly oaked – home baked (ginger biscuit?) quality
Palate: Toffee’d & spicy + caramel & milk chocolate + sweet coffee
Finish: Long – now drier – with dark chocolate + more oak tang (J)

PROVENANCE Tasting Notes follow:

PRV0810 SPEYBURN SHERRY 7 YEARS
Opens with a fresh, flowery character carrying a sweet home baked style plus honey and vanilla – then ripe fruit and candied lemon appear. The palate is equally sweet, softly spiced with more fruit – now gently fermenting. This all runs to a light but surprisingly long finish with a spicy and crushed sugar style. (J)

PRV0809 BALMENACH 9 YEARS
The nose opens light and fresh and carries a fruity, malty quality. The palate is sugary sweet, still fruity and develops to a gristy character – all this is neatly replicated – sucrose sweet – on the medium long finish plus a late zesty tang (F & J)

PRV0812 JURA 9 YEARS
Blonde – but big and sweet initially on the nose plus later clean, fresh, gristy tones. On the palate – detect sweet barley, vanilla toffee plus light oak, toast and spiced flavours. The finish shows more of the (now lightly burnt?) toast and marmalade plus grist and a real spicy character. (F)

PRV0731 BOWMORE 10 YEARS
The nose opens with a surprisingly creamy vanilla style and runs to a sweet, peated barley quality. The palate carries a well balanced smoky character plus an old fashioned sweet butter style- like slightly burnt shortbread.
The finish is long – sweetly smoked and carries a flamed lemon zestiness. (J)

PRV0777 BRAEVAL SHERRY 12 YEARS
Wonderfully round, full and autumnally fruited as it opens on the nose – then as it warms detect burnt orange zest and warming spices. Palatewise it is massively sweet carrying fruit salad, candy floss and more spice with a long nutmeg – on – fruit – and – creamy-custard finish. (F)

PRV0784 ROYAL LOCHNAGAR 12 YEARS
Opens clean and fresh on the nose carrying a fruity, vanilla’d quality – home baked style. The palate opens light, still fresh and develops to a crushed sugar and orange pith character. The finish is medium long, sweetly spiced and runs to an orange tang. (J)

Tasting Notes follow here for OLD AND RARE

OAR0173 BANFF 36 YEARS
Sweet barley is immediately evident on the nose – and it opens further with honey, fresh cut summer grass – running to subtle aged and toasted, smoking oak. Palatewise there is a mouthcoating sugar tang of sweetness plus a Galliano liqueur style of spiciness with more late honey (Hot Toddy style) and coffee. Beyond replication of those same flavours – on the finish there is a vanilla fudge quality with the soft spices carrying even more interest. (F)

DOUBLE BARREL Tasting Notes:

DBS0036 CAOL ILA/TAMDHU – 1ST RELEASE
Nose: Initially it is sugary – opening to briny, beachy rock pools.
Palate: Oceanic with waves of sweet toffee and dark sugar coffee.
Finish: Spicy – with an interesting mix of hard candy, salt and a maritime style.

DBS0037 TALISKER/CRAIGELLACHIE – 1ST RELEASE
Nose: Opens surprisingly fresh, with burnt orange peel, spicy biscuits (also slightly burnt)
Palate: Fresh & grassy at first – before a sweetly spiced smoke appears
Finish: An apparent wood quality linger, burnt pine with a sweet ashy character

DIRECTOR’S CUT Tasting Notes:

DIR0015 DAILUAINE 40 YEARS
Nose: Rather citric – distinctly vanilla’d – Malty + lightly honied.
Palate: Soft and subtle/sugary and cedar-y/spiced yet subtle.
Finish: More honey apparent + warming spices and trailing smoke. (F)

DIR0013 BEN NEVIS SHERRY 45 YEARS
Nose: Spicy, with a Sherry trifle style and a drier/oaky backdrop.
Palate: Warmly spiced & tingling – heads drier to cloves in oranges.
Finish: A cough drop quality – mentholated! – dry yet warming (F)

With these and others we hope to be of service to you.

Yours faithfully

Fred Laing

www.douglaslaing.com

Safeguarding Scotland’s Resources

Scottish businesses could save £1.4 billion per year 

An innovative programme to encourage people to save money by wasting less and reusing more has been launched today by Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead.  

The Scottish Government’s ‘Safeguarding Scotland’s Resources’ consultation is proposing ambitious targets to cut Scotland’s total waste from households and businesses by 5 per cent by 2015 and 15 per cent by 2025 

For Scottish householders, who are currently estimated to produce over 2.8 million tonnes of waste every year, reducing waste thrown out by 15 per cent is the equivalent of cutting out over 6.7 million wheelie bins full of waste. That’s enough waste to fill over 40,000 refuse trucks.  

The business-focused proposals aim to tap into the estimated potential to save up to £1.4 billion per year by using raw materials more efficiently and cutting waste. 

The consultation also considers phasing out free carrier bags to encourage people to reuse bags and help cut litter. 

A new lightweight bottle of The Famous Grouse was unveiled by Edrington at the consultation’s launch. The bottle, weighs just 340 grams marking a 14% weight reduction previously not thought possible while retaining premium features like embossing and engraving.  The new bottle is set to be rolled out across the UK this winter, an initiative which will save Edrington 587 tonnes of glass every year.  

Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead, who helped unveil the new lightweight Famous Grouse bottle, said:  

“The challenge is to minimise the resources we need to deliver the quality of life we have come to expect, while reaping the economic benefits. This programme is about helping Scottish businesses become more competitive, about helping Scottish households cut costs, and about helping to preserve our environment for ourselves and for future generations.   

“This new Famous Grouse bottle is a great example of how businesses can be more environmentally friendly whilst retaining their high standards.”  

Marissa Lippiatt, Head of Business Resource Efficiency of Zero Waste Scotland, the organisation set up by the Scottish Government to deliver its Zero Waste Plan, said: 

“No one likes to see things that could be put to good use going to waste.  Preventing waste saves money and ensures we make the most of the resources we have.  Many of the raw materials we currently rely on are running out.  Using less now could safeguard our future, and it’s also the best option for the environment. 

“Scottish businesses stand to save up to £1.4 billion by taking simple steps to prevent waste and use resources more efficiently.  The Scottish Government’s proposed waste prevention targets will encourage businesses  to realise these savings and boost Scotland’s economy.” 

Julie Hesketh-Laird, Director of operational and technical affairs at the Scotch Whisky Association, said:  

“The Scotch Whisky industry is committed to delivering long term sustainability. The implementation of its industry-wide Environmental Strategy is key to achieving this. The strategy sets ambitious targets, for example to reduce use of fossil fuels and packaging materials in partnership with its supply chain.” 

Glen Gribbon, Director of The Famous Grouse at Edrington, said:  

“Edrington is acutely aware of its responsibilities to the environment and is an active participant in efforts by the Scotch Whisky Association to keep its promises and to reduce the impact of packaging on the environment. At The Famous Grouse we are constantly innovating so it’s great to see Scotland’s favourite whisky leading the way with such an initiative.” 

Business case study 

The attached photo shows Richard Lochhead, Marissa Lippiatt and Glen Gribbon, Director of The Famous Grouse, showcasing the lightweight bottle of The Famous Grouse.  This is a prime example of how businesses can innovate to become more efficient in their use of resources and energy. 

The bottle marks a technical first for a premium whisky bottle, weighing in at 340 grams – a 14% weight reduction previously not thought possible while retaining premium brand features like embossing and engraving.  Set to be rolled out across the UK this winter, the new bottle will save 587 tonnes of glass every year.  If this was rolled out across the whisky industry, over 58,000 tonnes of glass could be saved annually. 

The event, held at Edinburgh’s Scottish Malt Whisky Association, also gave the group a chance to see how The Famous Grouse whisky bottle has changed since the 1920s.   As well as the 340 gram glass bottle design, five other bottles were on display, showing a reduction in weight by 100 grams between 1925 and 2010.    

Bottle specifications (l-r): 

 *Weight reduction achieved due to introduction of narrow neck press and blow (NNPB) technology, which allows for savings of up to 30% 

**Weight reduction achieved by technical achievements made by the Edrington Group. 

Summary of the consultation 

Key elements of the consultation include: 

• ·        Measures to support business and public bodies to save on waste and materials, including delivering a single business resource efficiency service for Scotland. 
• ·        Improving the way producer responsibility measures for packaging operate to capture more for recycling in Scotland.
• ·        Introducing Zero Waste Pledges, encouraging businesses to commit to waste reductions and take the credit for their actions.
• ·        The consultation also puts forward proposals for requiring retailers to charge for single use carrier bags, with the proceeds going to good causes. This is about encouraging us all to reuse bags. 

Further details can be found here – http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/Current  

Multi award winning venue WHISKI on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and sister venue WHISKI Rooms have just released their first independent bottling of single malt scotch whisky via their specialist whisky shop adjoining WHISKI Rooms.

“Bottling our own whisky is something we have always wanted to do and with our whisky shop staff incredibly keen to have something exclusively from us, we decided now was the right time” said Anne Still, Director of Whiski.

The new whisky is a Braeval, 12 year old single malt scotch whisky available from our shop for £49.99. Bottled at 46% and matured in a single sherry cask with only 150 bottles available.

“We had great fun choosing and went through a lot of samples, scoring each one before selecting the Braeval as our fist independent bottling” said Gareth Van Rooyen, manager of the WHISKI Shop on the Mound.

This is the first bottling from the WHISKI Group and we are very happy with it and intend to bottle many more in the future.

Available from our shop here

WHISKI Rooms Shop
4 – 7 North Bank Street
Edinburgh
EH1 2LP
T: 0131-225-1532

A quick message from the good folks at Scotch Whisky Auctions

Hi folks. Some of you may have noticed error messages over the last two weeks, Bad Gateway messages etc, leading to difficulty sometimes getting on to the site. We’ve been working with our American hosts to try to resolve this and have today upgraded our servers which should make the system more robust. If you still get error messages, please let us know.

Best wishes from Glasgow

Bill, Tam and Mick

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 * 

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