Read all about it;

THE LINK

They are not very verbose at the SFWC

GREEN, BOURBON AND COUNTRY

Southern style made country wide!

Join international wine and spirits icon Michael Green and Kentucky born singer/ songwriter Bryan Glover for an incredible evening adventure. From the roller coaster of bourbon libations you’ll be led through by Michael, to the songs and stories told by Bryan, Green, Bourbon, and Country is a southern inspired event sure to be one you will not want to miss! The mix of Green and Glover not only makes for a phenomenally genuine experience, but also a recipe that will have you buzzing like the neon lights of Broadway. Pull on your kickers and hold onto your hats for a back road ride on the country side!

About Michael Green

Michael Green is one of America’s premier wine and spirits celebrities, serving as Gourmet Magazine’s wine and spirits expert for 19 years and making appearances on the Today Show, Food Network, MSNBC, and CNN. Featured in the New York Times, Fortune Small Business, and Entrepreneur Magazine, Michael is a long-time icon in the wine and spirits industry. He serves as the Wine and Spirits Director and lead presenter for the Food Network Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival, and is the headlining wine and spirits personality on the national Buick Discovery Tour.

About Bryan Glover

Bryan Glover is a young country artist on the rise! This up and coming singer/songwriter found his love for music at the young age of 8 years old in his home town of Mayfield, Kentucky. Surrounded with family members who shared that same love for music, honing his talents has been a work in progress ever since his teen years. From singing in church and for various organizations such as Relay for Life, to playing small hole in the wall bars from Bowling Green, KY to Nashville TN, he gives a truly authentic look into living a country life. Stories put in words that belong with melodies is a passion that shines through the songs he sings!

www.michaelgreen.com

Show Length: 1 hr 45 min

Details and Tickets: $49.00 (All inclusive) *Ticket price includes admission, SIX bourbons, bar food and entertainment.

Leather armchairs and old wardrobes 

Cask No. 16.32                                  $95

Highlands, Eastern Highlands

The nose was certainly savoury (salty bacon, roast parsnips, beef in red wine reduction) but also sweet (buttery croissants, marmalade, toffee) with hints of coke embers, engine rooms, tobacco, struck match, floral notes and ‘old wardrobes’. The palate was rich and substantial, oozing unctuous sweetness, but with balancing spiciness – maple syrup, treacle and a Jamaican Christmas cake. The reduced nose offered zesty citric peel, candied fruits, salty toffee, leather armchairs and coffee. The reduced palate was an amazing dessert, combining lemon meringue pie, sticky toffee pudding and icing sugar-dusted biscotti dipped in espresso. The distillery houses the Famous Grouse Experience.

Drinking tip: A kitchen table dram – perfect reward for all that cooking and baking

Colour: Light, orangey gold                                  Date distilled: March 2001

Cask: Refill port pipe                                             Alcohol: 57.2%

Age: 10 years                                               USA allocation: 120 Bottles 

Poire et poivre 

Cask No. 25.63                                  $145

Lowlands, Central Lowlands

The nose suggested fermenting beer – still life on the lid of a washback – green apples, a pear, a peach, some lemon puffs, a stone bowl containing sweet pipe tobacco and a bunch of fresh spring flowers. Pears again on the palate (riper now), also some fizzy fruit (sherbet lemons), more flowers (this time from high summer) and definite peppery spice (‘poire et poivre’). The second nosing had mild liquorice (sherbet dib-dabs) tobacco leaf and pear and nettle sorbet. The reduced palate gave light, pleasant flavours of bergamot and floral perfumes; a mild tingly finish. From Falkirk’s sadly now defunct distillery.

Drinking tip: Summer-time dram – perhaps to accompany tea in the garden

Colour: Winter moonbeams                                 Date distilled: November 1990

Cask: Refill hogshead                                           Alcohol: 59.8%

Age: 21 years                                               USA allocation: 108 Bottles 

Bottled essence of summer 

Cask No. 106.18                               $175

Highlands, Speyside

Our noses found poignant floral perfumes, shrubberies and pine tree freshness. We also detected ripe fruits (apple, mango), candles, cinnamon, clove and honey on buttered toast. The palate was chewy and delicious; fragrant wood, flowers and tropical fruits (lychee, apricot, passion fruit) mingled with sweet toffee flavours to draw sighs of contentment from the panel. The reduced nose, with tutti-frutti ice-cream, lime, sawn wood and aromatherapy oils made us think of warm summer nights. The palate now carried rose and lemon-flavoured Turkish Delight with stem ginger spicy warmth in the tail-flick. The distillery houses the spiritual home of Johnnie Walker.

Drinking tip: Perfect dram for the first day of your holiday

Colour: Yellowish amber                                    Date distilled: November 1984

Cask: Refill hogshead                                           Alcohol: 52.6%

Age: 27 years                                               USA allocation: 78 Bottles 

Chestnut puree and new hiking boots 

Cask No. 128.3                                  $85

Welsh

The nose was sweet and fruity – macerated raspberries, Kirsch, cherry jam, Dr. Peppers, chocolate-coated cranberries and Haribo mix, but with fudge, toffee, hints of swimming pools and ‘brake pedals in an ambulance’. The palate held something deeply rewarding but hard to describe – sweet woodiness; hot, but also smooth – sumptuous flavours of vanilla slice, banana ice lollies (right to the stick) and milk chews. The reduced nose had evident vanilla, Berwick Cockles, prunes, plums, peaches, chestnut purée and new hiking boots. The palate now delivered exotic fruits (passion fruit, star-fruit) like some long-matured single malts. From the only distillery in Wales.

Drinking tip: A bit of a surprise dram – use it to create a stir

Colour: Vibrant yellow gold                                  Date distilled: October 2006

Cask: First-fill barrel                                               Alcohol: 61.3%

Age: 5 years                                                USA allocation: 78 Bottles 

A Smoky, Peachy, Yoghurt of Loveliness 

Cask No. 129.1                                  $85

Islay

Your speed boat rockets out of Leith; you’re heading for 60 knots; the city disappears behind; the clouds part. The noise of traffic dies down; the hubbub and stress are left behind; your mind floats to aromas of barley fields and eucalyptus in rainforests; the only sound is the ticking of the engine; the dominant flavours are the Arbroath smoky, butter beans and tzatziki on the sandwiches you packed. Think of incense, forget the rat race, cut the engine… and enjoy the finish of the smoky, peachy yoghurt of loveliness as you float into open water.

Drinking tip: Day or night; come rain or shine; with friends or alone

Colour: Olympic gold                                       Date distilled: June 2006

Cask: First-fill barrel                                               Alcohol: 60.2%

Age: 5 years                                                USA allocation: 114 Bottles

Please visit the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America at http://www.smwsa.com/ for further information on their single cask bottlings.

AMERICAN WHISKIES FROM BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY NAMED 1ST AND 2ND BEST IN THE WORLD

Never before has any one distillery earned the top two honors!

FRANKFORT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, KY (Nov. 6, 2012) – Buffalo Trace Distillery has made history in the whiskey industry with not one, but two Whiskey of the Year Awards from esteemed whiskey reviewer Jim Murray. In the newly published 2013 Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible, the Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye was named “2013 World Whiskey of the Year” and the William Larue Weller was named “Second Finest Whiskey in the World.”

The coveted number one and two spots were the result of Jim Murray tasting over 4,500 whiskies, in route to publishing his annual Whisky Bible. It is the first time in the book’s ten year history that both the number one and two whiskies in the world have come from the United States, much less the same distillery.

About the Thomas H. Handy, Murray says, “This is enormous….Once off the ground it just doesn’t stop traveling. Superb!” A 97.5 (out of 100) rating.

The praise doesn’t stop there; for the second place William Larue Weller, Murray says, “WOW! This is becoming a must experience whiskey for hardcore bourbon lovers. Well, whisk(e)y lovers period, really! Majestic! Or, as it’s American, perhaps I should say: Presidential.” Also a 97.5 (out of 100) rating.

In regards to deciding between the first and second place, with both whiskies earning the same score, Murray says, “This was a very tough call to make on which of the two deserved top billing. Although from the same distillery they are very different animals. The enormity of the Weller was so apparent…I knew from the very first taste that it stood every chance of being World Whisky of the Year.

“But it was eclipsed by the Thomas Handy Rye, even though they both scored the same number of points. The Rye edged it, by the smallest of fractions, simply because of its extraordinary life and balance on the palate and its uncanny ability to just keep working on full alert for the longest imaginable time. It took a couple of days to decide between the two, but the Handy could not be denied.”

In addition to the number one and number two finest whiskies in the world, Buffalo Trace Distillery also earned an astounding 35 additional awards from Jim Murray, including Bourbon of the Year for its William Larue Weller; Rye of the Year for its Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye; Rye 11 Years or Older for its Sazerac 18 Years Old, and a host of Liquid Gold Awards, which are given only to those whiskies which score a “94” or higher, which is considered, “superstar whiskies that give us all a reason to live,” according to Jim Murray.

Amongst those whiskies from Buffalo Trace Distillery that received Liquid Gold Awards were George T. Stagg; Buffalo Trace Bourbon; Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 15 Years Old; Old Weller Antique 107 and Single Oak Project Barrels 63, 14, 132, 33, 61, 164, 191, 81 and 167.

“We were blown away when we heard the results from Jim,” said Harlen Wheatley, master distiller, “To have one ‘Best Whiskey in the World’ is wonderful. To have the number one and the number two spots is just amazing; we’re very proud of our team here at Buffalo Trace.”

The 2013 Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible can be purchased at the Buffalo Trace Distillery gift shop, among other places, or online at www.whiskybible.com.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery
Buffalo Trace Distillery is a family-owned company based in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich distilling tradition dates back to 1787 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee. Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Distillery has won seven distillery titles since 2000 from such notable publications as Whisky Magazine, Whisky Advocate Magazine and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. It was named Whisky Magazine 2010 World Icons of Whisky “Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year.” Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 200 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com

Make the once in a lifetime trip and sail with Tall Ship Thalassa! Sail along with us to the best single malt distilleries and visit the famous Islay Whisky Festival. Discover Scotland’s coastal distilleries, enjoy the company of whisky lovers and learn from whisky professionals! See Scotland and its isles from a different angle and discover its beauty.

We are proud to present the whisky sailing programm of threemasted barkentine Thalassa for 2013 to you:

Dates and prices

Whiskytrip 1: Saturday May 18th – Saturday May 25th 2013

Price: € 895,- per person

Whiskytrip 2: Saturday May 25th – Saturday June 1st 2013 (during ISLAY WHISKY FESTIVAL)

Price: € 995,- per person

Extra fare for a single cabin is € 450,-. If you book for two persons, sharing one cabin, the price for the second person is € 795,-.

The price for this trip includes:

– 7 nights on board of Tall Ship Thalassa;

– all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner);

– all drinks during meals (coffee, tea, milk and water);

– 2 whiskytastings on board guided by a whisky expert.

Not included are all alcoholic beverages (beer, wine and whisky), visits to the distilleries and other events visited during the Islay Whisky Festival and other excursions ashore.

The sailing trips start and end in Scotland, in the harbour of Troon. Transport to and from Scotland should be arranged by yourself and/or your local travel agency.

Day 1: Embarkation in Troon

Day 2: Sailing to Campbelltown and visit Springbank distillery

Day 3: Port Ellen

Day 4: Bunnahabhain or another distillery

Day 5: Bruichladdich and visit distillery, sailing to Ballycastle

Day 6: Giant Causeway and Bushmill’s Distillery

Day 7: Troon

Day 8: Disembarkation in Troon

The definite sailing route depends on wind and weather conditions. The captain of the vessel is authorized to modify the schedule, if necessary due to circumstances as described above.

During the trips the guests are facilitated on board of Tall Ship Thalassa in one of the 15 high quality double cabins, each with a privat shower.

With her 14 sails, altogether 800 square metres, Tall Ship Thalassa makes an impressive appearance. Rigged according to century-old traditions and equipped according to the latest security regulations, Tall Ship Thalassa is extremely safe and seaworthy.

More information about the trips can be found here. For further questions please contact us by email or phone: +31-10-4156600.

For online booking click here.

Welcome on board!

Kind regards,

Liesbeth Wammes – de Graaf

Brigitte Beckers

Loch Fyne Whiskies  ‘Christmas 2012 DEALS! Now Online’

All our DEALS! for the season are now online and our regular old-style mailing is being printed as we type, those of you who have ordered from us in the last 12 months can expect something via Mr. Postie at the end of next week. In the meantime, if you are impatient, here are downloadable copies …[please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article]…

THE LINK

Best regards,

Loch Fyne Whiskies

david@lfw.co.uk

Tasting Calendar 2012 – 2013

“An excellent evening. We enjoyed the relaxing and characterful surroundings of the Milroy’s of Soho cellar, and the tutor was very informative…”

Dates and information about forthcoming tastings

Big Beasts: Sherry Cask Whisky November 14th

Not just a convenient vessel for transporting and maturing spirits! Old sherry casks also introduce a spectrum of flavours to whiskies: from dried fruits to dark chocolate. Join us as we discover how Scotland’s and Jerez’s most famous exports combine so well. £45.00

Bruichladdich Ambassador Night November 19th

Expect some old favourites and some exciting new releases: Islay barley…Peat Project…Port Charlotte…Laddie 10 year old and so many more… Not only that but the ticket price is redeemable against purchases on the night! £20.00

Fine and Rare Whisky November 22nd

Old whiskies from long closed distilleries as well as sought after limited editions that come and go; this is our selection of some of the finest and rarest of whiskies. A laid back evening of whisky reverence and a spectacular line up. Quite the night to remember. £100.00

Happy Whiskey To You Fellow WhiskyLover

It has been a tumultuous two weeks since my last email. Most recently we again showed the world how lucky we are to live in a nation “of the people, by the people”.

And one week prior to that demonstration of democracy, the Global HQ of ForWhiskeyLovers took a mighty blow from a nasty wench named Sandy in my home village of Piermont NY on the mighty Hudson river.

The devastation in my town, and the broader NY/NJ/CT area, is like nothing I have ever seen before. Trees…boats…electrical wires…everywhere. We had no power through last Thursday, and we were extremely fortunate. As of this morning their were still untold thousands still without power…with an old-school Nor’easter bearing down on us.

But fear not. We’re New Yorkers…and if there is anyone I’d bet my last dollar on to “tough it out and bounce back”, its one of us. And of I had $4, I’d bet $2 on New Jersey, and $2 on New York, and I’d laugh all the way to the bank.

If you feel so inclined…please consider donating to some sort of Sandy Relief effort….like the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army. There is so much rebuilding needed…of lives, business and infrastructure. Every little bit will help.

So what better way to honor and thank my fellow NY’ers, for being my neighbor and working to rebuild our lives, than to raise a glass to them…a glass of an exquisite whisky with a New York history: Compass Box’s Great King Street, New York Blend.

Created for the 2012 New York Whisky Fest, GKSNYB is the first in a series of one-off, regional Scotch whisky blends released by Compass Box under the Great King Street label.

The whisky, created by Compass Box’s whisky maestro John Glaser, is dedicated to Patrick J. Duffy…the man who in 1894 (legend has it) first brought a branded and bottled Scotch whisky to New York. GKSNYB is based on an actual recipe Glaser found from the 1890’s.

GKSNYB was created using lots of peaty single malts, plenty of sherry cask-aged single malts, and a much higher proportion of malt to grain whisky (80%/20%) than is typically used today. This is just as the finest blending houses would have created a whisky in 1894.

This is a hearty, full-flavored Scotch with notes of smoke, dried fruits and malty complexity, The whisky was bottled at a higher strength of 46% ABV, with natural color and without chill-filtering.

GKS New York Blend is an extremely limited production whisky, with less than 1700 bottles produced, and less than that available in the US, primarily in the New York Metropolitan area.

But fortunately for us our man Nicky The Neck OWNS New York, and everything to do with it. And so we’ve been able to procure more than our fair share of this whisky with ‘tude, and can offer you the opportunity to acquire your own bottle of GKSNYB for $89.95/ bottle, with $10 from every purchase being contributed to the Piermont NY Volunteer Fire Department.

I hope you’ll join me in honoring my fellow New Yorkers, and helping us rebuild. You’ll be getting an amazing and highly collectable whisky as a “thanks” for your generosity.

But act now, because once its gone…

Until next week…I wish you high spirits!

Doug Stone
Founder
ForWhiskeyLovers.com

GREAT KING STREET – NEW YORK BLEND

DEWAR’S^®: THE DRINKING MAN’S SCOTCH

World’s Most Awarded Scotch Challenges Category Conventions with Irreverent and Seductive

New Campaign for the Modern Man  

Launch Marks DEWAR’S Return to National Television after a Five Year Absence  

Coral Gables, Fla.  – DEWAR’S^® Blended Scotch whisky, the world’s most awarded Scotch and the number-one selling premium blended Scotch whisky in the United States, announces a break from the tired conventions of the category for the launch of its new campaign – “DEWAR’S: The Drinking Man’s Scotch.” The tweed and tradition that dominate Scotch whisky will be subverted to reintroduce DEWAR’S to a new generation of modern and urban men. Just as the Dewar family revolutionized the Scotch category when it launched the brand in 1846, the new DEWAR’S campaign will once again challenge the norm by bringing sensual taste intellectual stimulation and a hint of irreverence to the world of men in television, print and digital mediums nationwide.  The campaign, which will highlight DEWAR’S® WHITE LABEL® and DEWAR’S® 12 year old, is the first time that the brand will appear on television since 2007.

“The DEWAR’S campaign takes a never-before-seen approach,” says Arvind Krishnan, VP, Brand Managing Director, DEWAR’S Blended Scotch Whiskies. “It speaks to the personality and motivations of men, and challenges them to rethink their Scotch selection. It has intelligence and wit, bringing the brand back to the independent spirit with which it was created.” 

The new campaign is delivered with a wink and a smile. The icon, a beautiful, alluring and mysterious Scottish woman has the presence of a queen and the mouth of a gangster. She draws the viewer in from the moment she is seen, enticing men and pulling them into her clandestine world. She is incredibly desirable yet unattainable. She offers sharp words of wisdom to the DEWAR’S man – advice on living life, on drinking Scotch, on women and on being a man. She has a strong, commanding grip over the edgy, underground world of the East End of Glasgow, Scotland – a post-industrial landscape littered with intrigue, mystique and secrets – and exudes her power through her piercing attitude, cutting tongue and entrancing beauty. By displaying her strength in an edgy, yet inescapably striking way, the icon entrances men to follow her lead and step up to DEWAR’S Blended Scotch.

The gritty, industrial setting of Glasgow – the same place where DEWAR’S bottles its award-winning Scotch – brings a new identity to the brand. “The Drinking Man” doesn’t take life too seriously, but knows that his choice of Scotch is an important one. He is smooth and sociable, but with a sharp edge that carries him through his urban environment. Gone are the wood-paneled libraries, leather club chairs and cigar smoke: Glasgow is the home of DEWAR’S and the home of its cunning icon. While its image has evolved to reflect more modern times, the liquid has remained, and always will remain the same. DEWAR’S, the most awarded Scotch in the world, is renowned for its double barrel ageing process, unparalleled smoothness and character.

In the print campaign, stunning images of the icon are presented with her signature words of wisdom, such as “Serious is not always easy, but it comes with serious benefits” and “Speed is often the enemy of true pleasure.” Upon seeing these striking images and listening to the icon’s seductive words, the DEWAR’S man understands that he shouldn’t take life too seriously, just his choice of Scotch.

The DEWAR’S campaign will run in national and regional print publications, with the commercial airing on premium cable networks starting October 30, 2012. The campaign will also be available on www.dewars.com and www.facebook.com/dewars starting October 30, 2012.

About DEWAR’S^®

Founded in 1846 by John Dewar, DEWAR’S has grown from a small wine and spirits merchant shop in Scotland, to one of the largest Scotch whisky brands in the world.  Best known for its iconic DEWAR’S White Label, the top selling Blended Scotch Whisky in the USA, it has expanded its family to create a portfolio of premium and super premium whiskies including DEWAR’S 12 Years Old, DEWAR’S 18 Years Old & the exclusive DEWAR’S Signature. These whiskies are crafted using the DEWAR’S double barrel ageing process. Pioneered by DEWAR’S in 1899, it involves returning the hand-crafted blend to vintage oak casks for further maturation. The result is a smoother taste with a long, lingering finish; a taste that wins medals and applause, making DEWAR’S the world’s most awarded Scotch. 

About Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.

Bacardi U.S.A., Inc. is the United States import and distribution arm of one of the world’s leading spirits and wine producers. The company boasts a portfolio of some of the most recognized and top-selling spirits brands in the United States including BACARDÍ^® rum, the world’s favorite and best-selling rum, as well as the world’s most awarded rum; GREY GOOSE^® vodka, the world-leader in super-premium vodka; DEWAR’S^® Blended Scotch whisky, the number-one selling premium blended Scotch whisky in the United States; BOMBAY SAPPHIRE^® gin, the top-valued and fastest-growing premium gin  in  the world; CAZADORES^® 100 percent blue agave tequila, the number-one premium tequila in Mexico and a top-selling premium tequila in the United  States; MARTINI vermouth and sparkling wines, the world’s leading vermouth and the world’s favorite Italian sparkling wines ; and other leading and emerging brands. For additional information, visit www.bacardiusa.com.