GlenDronach 39yo 1972/2011 (49.8%, OB for KWM, Oloroso Sherry Butt, C#711, 300 Bts.) 

A label you can read, what a concept. A bottling done exclusively for Kensington Calgary. Coca-Cola on the nose and those Coca-Cola candies from a way back, remember them?? Some good solid meatiness followed by rich Christmas cakes, all very nice and with time spent in the glass some leather and tobacco arrive which soon dissipates leaving the Christmas cake in splendid isolation. The taste is spicy and sweet at first and then it becomes quite dry and zesty with some lemon notes complimenting the sherry which is Omni present. The finish is more of the lemony and sweet tobacco (just after it’s been cured) and very long and quite dry, like a dry sherry.

Well done Kensington.

$350 & sold out it would seem….

Score 88 points

Part two of four of Old & Really Expensive Week.

Taste single malt Scotch in Atlantic City, Wyoming

We’re testing something new on

Friday, November 9, 2012

Miner’s Delight Inn, November 9, 2012, 6 – 9 p.m.

Call to let us know you plan to attend: 332-0248

Here’s what you get for $40:

♦ Jazzy hors d’oeuvres to cleanse your palate between pours and

♦ 5 half-ounce pours of single malt Scotch whisky:

♦♦ Sample 3 top-shelf single malts, including a Malt of the Month * (10% off)

♦♦♦ Benromach 2001 Cask Strength * (from 7 bourbon casks)

♦♦♦ Arran Sherry Cask 1996 (a USA exclusive single-cask bottling)

♦♦♦ Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC7 (a peaty limited edition)

or

♦♦♦ Glenmorangie 18 year old Extremely Rare

♦♦ Pick 2 Connoisseur’s Choices from our single malt menu

Don’t wear perfume or cologne at tastings because scent plays a key role in whisky enjoyment.

Bruichladdich became the biggest whisky story of the year when Rémy-Cointreau paid £58 million for the Islay distillery in July. However, the new owners are keen to stick to the template that made the independent ‘Progressive Hebridean Distillers’ so successful.

The Whisky Exchange shop at Vinopolis is delighted to welcome Craig Johnstone from Bruichladdich to take us through the distillery’s myriad styles, from Organic spirit and whisky made entirely from Local Barley, through the recently-released 16yo and 22yo Laddie Classic expressions and Jim McEwan’s devilish Black Art III to the uncompromisingly bold Port Charlotte, now fully mature. As is traditional, Craig will also have a secret little surprise with him for the lucky attendees.

The tasting will take place on Tuesday 20th November at 7:30pm at The Whisky Exchange Shop at Vinopolis in London.

£30 per ticket, on sale now.

As ever, tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis and are limited to two per customer.

To book your ticket call us at 020 7403 8688  or visit our shop

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/nlv/nl-05-11-2012-tasting-bruichladdich/

Glenfarclas 105

Best bang for your Buck!
Full strength Glenfarclas back in-stock

Buy – $55.87

Snowbound at the Distillery

Hi all,

As the cold weather settles in Scotland and we start discussing whether winters are getting colder, wetter or milder, I thought I’d share with you the story of a night in 1965, when 60 employees got snowbound overnight at our Girvan Distillery.

There’s no mention of how much whisky was consumed that night, but I…(please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article)…

THE LINK

Kind regards,
Ludo

Benromach Honoured With Top Award

Speyside’s smallest working distillery, Benromach, has scooped a top award at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition for its flagship Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Benromach 10 Years Old.

Now in its fourth year, The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition is a unique event and the first Asian wine and spirit competition in the world.

Run in partnership with the London-based International Wine & Spirit Competition it recognises quality in wine and spirits from across the globe.

This year judges from across Asia blind tasted over 1,800 different wine and spirits for awards in 45 different wine and spirit categories.

Benromach 10 Years Old won the trophy for the Best Single Malt Scotch Whisky 15 Years and Under.

Commenting on the award, Michael Urquhart, Managing Director of Gordon & MacPhail, owners of Benromach, said:

“This competition is highly regarded and provides consumers with the ultimate guide to purchasing wine and spirits available in this part of the world. Receiving this award will provide instant prestige for Benromach across the continent and around the globe.”

“Benromach is a small distillery, producing in one year what other distilleries can produce in a week. We’re thrilled to have been recognised in this competition, which is testament to the quality of the distillery and the two men who go the extra mile to handcraft the excellence of our flagship Benromach 10- year-old single malt whisky.”

Winning an award at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition is a great achievement as the competition puts integrity at the heart of the judging process. Tastings took place on 4-8 October 2012. For more information about Benromach Distillery and the Benromach range of Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whiskies go to www.benromach.com

Notes

About Benromach
Established in 1898, Benromach distillery changed hands many times and was virtually derelict when bought by Gordon & MacPhail in 1993. Drawing on generations of whisky expertise, the company carried out a painstaking refurbishment, and the distillery was officially re-opened by Prince Charles in 1998. Just two men hand-craft Benromach using the finest Scottish barely and the purest spring water from the nearby Romach Hills. They fill new spirit into the highest quality casks before being left to mature at the distillery for many years. The Benromach portfolio includes the award winning Benromach 10 Years Old and the first fully certified organic single malt – Benromach Organic. Please visit www.benromach.com for details.

For more information about the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition visit: http://www.asiasbestwinesandspirits.com/home

Glenrothes 42yo 1969/2012 (42.6%, Adelphi, Cask #2, 297 Bts.) 

No indications of the cask type however we do have a request for Mr. Adelphi; “Would he, please, please, please, make the labels and the font for all the print very much smaller? Since the details are so easy to read in the current font.” On the nose there is some pleasant sweetness that is usually associated with European oak that has previously contained sherry and that ever so unreliable arbiter of colour backs this up (the colour is dark mahogany). After some time spent languishing in the glass some very gentle oak spice arrives to compliment the sherry (& now some excellent Christmas cake) however not to over whelm. Any distillery character has been somewhat obliterated by the sherry but quite frankly it’s enough of a relief that it’s not sulphured and the oak hasn’t taken over like so many older Scottish whiskies these days. The taste leans a little to heavily towards the oak but not so much as to raise one’s ire and the sherry does yeoman service to tame the cask influence (the oak). Some good pepper (white) and the Christmas cake is there also along with some. The finish quite like the nose and the taste with a little meatiness hovering in the back ground. Big finish and the oak is just beginning to take over a little too much.

Good news about the lack of sulphur however the oak in the finish knocks off points but one to impress your friends with (based merely on price).

£399 at the Whisky Exchange

Score 80 points

Part one of four of Old & Really Expensive Week.

Get your taste buds ready for the next great Whisky night in Malmaison. Join the Ambassador of the Glengoyne Distillery for a feast of courses partnered with carefully selected Whiskies for only £65.  Allow Danielle Murphy to excite and enlighten you with her knowledge and answer every question you may have during the evening. 22nd November 2012 and  7.30pm start. Click here to reserve

Love Whisky? Come along, We Dare You!

 Chefs table of cheese & charcuterie, home made jams, relishes & chutneys

Game pot au feu, slow cooked barley, potato gratin

Clootie dumpling, Glengoyne ice cream

www.ralfy.com offers a personal take on experiencing a fairly ordinary   … but old bottled Scotch with  Whisky Review 317 Part 1/2 – Greenfields 5yo Pure Malt Whisky from 1960’s

Two new Private Collection’s Released

Malt Whisky specialist, Gordon & MacPhail, has added two new expressions to its Private Collection range.

Private Collection from Ledaig Distillery St Joseph Wood Finish 45% and Private Collection from Balblair Distillery Crozes-Hermitage Wood Finish 45% are the latest editions to the series of Single Malts personally selected by the directors of the family owned firm for their outstanding quality and character.

The expression from Ledaig Distillery was distilled in 1993 and bottled in 2012 and finished in St Joseph casks for 40 months. It has developed sweet fruit and dry herbal influences. A mild spice and delicate smoke adds to the character of the whisky.

Private Collection Balblair Distillery Crozes-Hermitage Wood Finish was distilled in 1991 and bottled in 2012 and again finished for 40 months from casks from the northern Rhône region of France. The expression has developed sweet fruity notes, strawberries and banoffee pie and a lingering peppery edge.

Michael Urquhart, Joint Managing Director of Gordon & MacPhail, said:

“For generations Gordon & MacPhail has built up a stock of Single Malts of various ages and strengths from distilleries throughout Scotland. As a result our portfolio is wide and varied and includes Single Malts to suit different tastes and price points.”

“The latest expressions released under our Private Collection range enable whisky enthusiasts to explore how the characteristics of the Single Malt are complemented by the characteristics found in these high quality French casks.”
Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection from Ledaig Distillery St Joseph Wood Finish 45% retails in USA for approximately $95, whilst Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection from Balblair Distillery Crozes-Hermitage Wood Finish 45% retails for approximately $150.

For details of availability in the USA please contact Matt Chivian at Classic Wine Imports (MChivian@martignetti.com)

About Gordon & MacPhail

Gordon & MacPhail is an independent, family-owned Scotch Whisky specialist which has been based in Elgin, Moray, since 1895. Four generations of the Urquhart family have continued the tradition of seeking out the best and rarest Scotch whiskies.

Since its foundation, Gordon & MacPhail’s policy has been to send casks to distilleries throughout Scotland, fill them with ‘new make’ spirit and mature them either at the distillery of origin or in the firm’s own bonded warehouses in Elgin.
Now one of the world’s leading malt whisky specialists, Gordon & MacPhail exports to more than 55 countries. It offers more than 300 presentations of own-bottled single malts. In 2009, Gordon & MacPhail was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade.

In 1993 Gordon & MacPhail purchased Benromach Distillery and re-equipped it before it was officially opening by HRH Prince Charles in 1998.

TASTING NOTES

Private Collection from Ledaig Distillery St Joseph Wood Finish 45%

The distillery was in the past known as Ledaig, changing its name to Tobermory Distillery in the 1970s. The distillery occupies the ground beside the Ledaig Burn on the foreshore of the picturesque 18th century harbour of Tobermory. Tobermory Distillery has enjoyed mixed fortunes since it was first established in 1823. It has been closed several times, most recently in the 1980s. Having reopened in 1989, Tobermory is now back in production.

Situated in the northern Rhône region of France, St Joseph was given its name in the 17th Century by the Jesuits of Tournon. Wines from the region have been sold as early as the 16th century and enjoyed at the tables of the French Kings. The red wines are generally made in the lighter style with soft tannins.

COLOUR – Dark Amber.
AROMA – Sweet wine influences with red grapes and sweet summer berries aromas. Fresh and herbal with hints of coriander and sea air.
TASTE – Rich dark chocolate flavours, with maraschino cherries and black forest gateau. A slight nuttiness is also present with a touch ash and new leather.
BODY – Medium.
FINISH – Long and Lingering.

2200 bottles have been released for sale worldwide.

Private Collection from Balblair Distillery Crozes-Hermitage Wood Finish 45%

In the village of Edderton, formerly known as the \”parish of the peats\”, lies Balblair Distillery. The distillery, named after the nearby Balblair Farm where it was originally built in the 1790\’s, moved to its present site in 1895. The buildings have changed little since then, the main characteristics being the pagoda roofed kiln, sadly no longer in operation, and the 70 foot high red brick chimney, both visible for miles around.

Crozes-Hermitage is the largest Appellation Contrôlée in the northern Rhône region of France, producing over half of the region’s total wine. Red wines are produced from the Syrah grape and tend to have a soft, delicate character.

COLOUR – Golden Amber with a hint of Red.
AROMA – Sweet and fruity with hints of strawberry and ripe banana. A toasted malt edge develops with a touch of vanilla.
TASTE – A touch of black cracked pepper followed by summer fruits and citrus flavours. A creamy milk chocolate edge lingers.
BODY – Medium.
FINISH – Long and Fruity.
Only 2000 bottles have been released for sale worldwide.