Happy 4th of July to our friends in the United States of America!

Refurbished Tomatin Distillery is Preparing for a Bumper Summer Season

Tomatin Distillery is looking forward to welcome in excess of 20,000 visitors to its Visitor Centre this summer, following a £150,000 investment in upgrading the popular tourist attraction.

As well as extensive refurbishment and brand new facilities, an exciting new feature within the Visitor Centre is the ability to pour and label your own limited bottle of Tomatin whisky. There will be two Distillery Exclusive casks at any one time for visitors of the distillery to choose from and when the cask is emptied it will be replaced with a new selected cask.

The distillery tour has also been improved, so much so that the distillery is also celebrating its upgraded VisitScotland rating to 4 stars, awarded in June 2012. While the tour previously offered limited access, visitors will now – for the same price – see more of the production areas of the distillery, including the Malt Bins, Mashing, Fermentation, the Stillhouse and one of the traditional Dunnage Warehouses.

Marie Macleod, Visitor Centre Manager, is delighted with their new look: ”Following the refurbishment, the Visitor Centre now looks much brighter and more inviting. We’ve had great customer feedback since we started the new tour, which was emphasised with the great result following our mystery guest visit from VisitScotland!

Our Distillery Manager, Graham Eunson, also had the great idea of opening up the side of one of our disused Mash Tuns to let visitors see the inside, an added extra which is unique to Tomatin Distillery and has also been a wonderful success so far.”

Tomatin continues to push its award winning Single Malt Scotch Whisky range, along with its Blended Scotch Whisky brands, all of which are available to purchase from the Distillery Visitor Centre Shop. Details of Visitor Centre opening times and tours are available from their website: www.tomatin.com

Notes
 Tours cost £3 per adult, kids go free.
 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 
 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 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

Kilchoman NAS Single Sherry Cask Release KWM (60%, OB, C#322, D’ 15/11/2006 B’13/09/2011)

A single cask bottled for Kensington Wine Mart in Calgary Alberta from Islay’s newest distillery. And bottled at a prodigious 60% ABV; on the nose there is a very good richness but also a very big presence of peat smoke and some nice influence from the cask (chocolate and mocha) as well as some slight green or vegetal notes. The sherry influence shows as rich maple syrup which is a welcome addition to the mix. The undiluted taste is very strong with an aggressive peat some attack as well as an assault by the high alcohol but it’s manageable but just. Some good fruit. With water it’s significantly richer and rounder and oily and chewy and all very good. It handles water very well which improves the taste significantly and quite shockingly brings out even more of the very rich peat smoke and chocolate. These two momentarily obliterate the sherry but really, who cares? The finish is strong and very malty chewy with more peat smoke in the back ground and then more of the grain, like chewing on peated malt straight from the kiln.

Amazingly good. Amazingly big and a stunner.

$115 exclusively to Kensington Calgary

Score 88 points

WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR EXCEPTIONAL 50 YEAR OLD MACALLAN AT BONHAMS EDINBURGH

The highest price ever paid for a bottle of The Macallan 50 year old, distilled in 1928 and bottled in 1983, was achieved when it sold for £17,500 at Bonhams Whisky sale in Edinburgh on Wednesday 27 June.

Estimated at £10,000-12,000 the bottle, bearing a label in particularly fine condition, came in its own wooden presentation case. The Macallan 1928 was one of the first 50 year old malts to be released and is regarded as a key part of any serious whisky collection. Only 500 bottles were released, and as they rarely come onto the market they have become increasing difficult to find.

Bonhams Whisky specialist, Martin Green said, “This is acknowledged as one of the greatest whiskies ever and it is not surprising to see it attracting a record price.”

The previous highest price for the The Macallan 50 year old was £13,500.

The sale made a total of £200,000 with 87% sold by lot and 90% by value.

NOTES FOR EDITORS
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.

Loch Fyne Whiskies Stocks, ‘Caol Ila Moch’

A refreshing alternative for a peaty Islay whisky fan. (So says the Joynson)

A cleaner, fresher, sweeter, peaty dram that I certainly will be pouring in the shop for a recommendation. Moch is Gaelic for Dawn that, while quite tenuous, is a good name for this bright dram; imagine dawn after the rain, a flat loch, you just godda get out on the water!

Moch is livelier than the OB standard 12yo Caol Ila, the peat and lemon characters sound an awful combination but is has a delicious charm; there is more malted barley and the peat is light but intense.

A very enjoyable dram, someone compared it with one of the young Ardbegs but I was not a fan of Very Young, I am of the Moch.

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

AIR FRANCE KLM toasts increase in market share with special dram from Aberdeenshire distillery

AIR FRANCE KLM Group is market leader in Scotland, flying over 1.2 million passengers last year. To celebrate this, KLM – de facto carrier of Scotland – has teamed up with one of the intrinsic elements of Scottish culture, a Scottish whisky distillery, to pick its own cask of single malt whisky.

Following a strong increase in market share over the past year, the Air France KLM Group now transports 1 in 4 long-haul passengers.

KLM recently expanded their Scottish service by adding Inverness to its Scottish network following a new partnership with Flybe. Air France KLM now offers up to 38 flights a day from its five airports in Scotland: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

To reaffirm KLM’s commitment to serving the needs of Aberdeen and Grampian’s business community, the airline teamed up with local Aberdeenshire distillery, Glen Garioch, to pick its own cask of single malt whisky.

Senior KLM staff visited the Glen Garioch distillery earlier this year to hand-select a non-chill filtered single malt preserved at cask strength from North American oak, which has been quietly maturing at the distillery since 1998. It was specifically chosen by KLM for its sweet roasted almond notes mixed with intense dark chocolate and wood spice, finished with smooth and creamy hints of vanilla and coconut. Bottles of the single malt will be distributed to business and leisure customers.

Henri Hourcade, General Manager of Air France KLM, UK and Ireland, said:

“To highlight KLM’s commitment to Scotland, we have teamed up with Glen Garioch, where staff from KLM picked its own cask of single malt. Investing in local businesses and people is important to KLM and we wanted to mark our continued success in Scotland by partnering with a distillery with such a rich history and beautiful whiskies.”

David Wilson, Sales and Marketing Director at Morrison Bowmore Distillers, said:

“We were delighted to team up with KLM to pick a cask at the Glen Garioch distillery earlier this year. The KLM staff picked an excellent 14-year-old with wonderful sweet roasted almond notes and a lovely smooth vanilla finish. This is sure to be an excellent dram to be enjoyed by KLM customers.”

Notes

Images of whisky launch at Aberdeen Airport attached. In picture 002 L-R: Gail McParlin, Air France KLM, Phil Nickson, Morrison Bowmore and Don Jacobs, BAA Aberdeen Commercial Director.

AIR FRANCE KLM, the result of a merger between AIR FRANCE and KLM in 2004, is one of the leading European air transport groups. Its main activities are the air transport of passengers and cargo as well as aircraft maintenance. In 2011, AIR FRANCE KLM carried 75.8 million passengers and 1.1 million tonnes of cargo. The group’s fleet comprises more 586 aircraft, including 173 regional aircraft operated by its partners Brit Air, City Jet, Regional and KLM Cityhopper. Its network covers 230 destinations in 113 countries from its hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol. The Flying Blue frequent flyer programme is leader in Europe and has over 20 million members.

With their partners Delta and Alitalia, AIR FRANCE and KLM operate the biggest transatlantic joint venture with more than 250 daily flights.

AIR FRANCE and KLM are members of the SkyTeam alliance which has 16 member airlines, offering customers access to a global network of over 14,700 daily flights to 958 destinations in 173 countries.

About Air France

Air France currently offers flights from 13 airports in the UK: Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, London Heathrow, London City, Newcastle, Manchester and Southampton.

For more information on Air France, visit www.airfrance.co.uk or call 0871 66 33 777.

The AIR FRANCE KLM Group was voted Airline of the Year 2012 at the Business Travel Awards.

About KLM

KLM offers services from 16 airports in the UK: Aberdeen, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Durham-Tees Valley, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Humberside, Inverness, Leeds-Bradford, London City, London Heathrow, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich and Southampton.

KLM flies via the multi-awarding winning Amsterdam Airport Schiphol whose wealth of accolades include Business Traveller’s ‘Best Airport in Europe’ award 2011.

For more information, visit www.klm.com  or call 0871 222 747.

Glencadam 14yo (46%, OB, Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish, 2012)

A new offering from Glencadam and bottled without added colour or chill filtration and happily we’re seeing more and more expressions from this distillery of late. On the nose there is good malt and rich fruits (raisins, plums and berries) with more of the malt (dry and dusty) to round out the aromas. Very good so far….the taste is quite malty and once more the rich dried fruits make their presence known along with some good creaminess and a little leather and tobacco. The creaminess is intriguing and adds another welcome layer of flavour. The finish is a little malty and then leather and tobacco followed by the creaminess and then the dried fruits but it’s leans a little towards the leather and tobacco.

Very good and drinkable…seek it out.

$90 or £47 at Single Malts Direct

Score 87 points

Early Bird tickets for Whiskies of the World in San Francisco are now on sale! Join us on Saturday, April 6, 2013 aboard the SF Belle Hornblower Yacht as we bring together distillers from around the world to share their finest spirits and knowledge. Celebrate again with us the “Art of Whisky” in the company of connoisseurs and whisky celebrities.

Early Bird Sale now on! Sale ends Sept 30, 2012.

Distillery Spotting From The River Spey

Hello all,

Speyside may not be as vast a region as the Scottish Highlands, but it’s home to more malt whisky distilleries than any other part of Scotland, and as Grant’s fans may already know, many of those famously sweet and fruity Speyside whiskies regularly find their way into our blends.

I use a lot of my…(Please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article)…

THE LINK 

Kind regards,

Ludo

Loch Fyne Whiskies Stocks ‘Benriach Authenticus 25yo’

Fruit fireworks over a fresh peat base line. (So says the Joynson)

A well aged, and so unusual, peated Speyside expression.

Initially the aroma is closed; there is a low rumble of peat and some fruity esters, a little later aniseed and honey.

It’s in the mouth that the fun starts, peat skips from sweet to sour, it’s malty and then *flwoop!* a fruit explosion like no other! This explosion rises further to a greater peak on the swallow, marvellous! The finish is long and peaty (mainland peaty, no maritime notes).

Certainly a different dram, a fascinating weave between peat and fruit and something I have very much enjoyed.

On the Flavour Map square F9, on the Smoky side of Rich & Smoky

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