A 36% rye bourbon, further aged for 6 months in French oak zinfandel casks from four different vineyards. The zinfandel that housed these casks came from vines ranging from 70 to 135 years old.

Special D&M pricing! $35.99

Non-chilled filtered and proofed at 91, the Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Port Cask Finish is a 36% rye bourbon that was finished in a 10 year Tawny Port Barrel for 6 months.

Special D&M pricing! $35.99

Tasting Notes: GlenDronach 1995 PX Cask Exclusive to TWE

Never say we’re not good to you.  TWE have teamed up with Glendronach to bring you a very special heavily sherried single cask.  Bottled in March 2013, Cask #4682 was distilled on 8th November 1995 and was a Pedro Ximenez sherry … Continue reading >>

www.chivasbrothers.com

Scotch-MaltWhisky.com gives away collectable 1930s and 1940s vintage whisky labels 

Scotch-MaltWhisky.com today announced that it is giving away several 1930s and 1940s vintage whisky labels as prizes for their monthly random draw contest. With participation as simple as leaving a name and email address on their website, Scotch-MaltWhisky.com hopes that the contest will encourage whisky consumers to discover and appreciate fine whisky, and join their social community of like-minded enthusiasts.

Scotch-MaltWhisky.com started in 2012 as a website that was devoted to the promotion of fine whisky, and was built and designed to help enthusiasts find their favourite brews and discover new ones. Today, it features over 3000 whisky products ranging from the rare and expensive to the treasured miniature. It also has a growing collection of articles on whisky appreciation, history, and facts about the most sought after bottles.

“We are passionate about helping whisky enthusiasts rediscover their love for fine whisky”, said James Parker, writer for Scotch-MaltWhisky.com. “These vintage whisky labels will be a great addition to any enthusiast’s collection, and we hope that they will ignite the passion in appreciating the history and legacy of fine whisky in our social community.”

With whisky developing an ever growing popularity around the world, James noted that, “whisky appeals to people’s sense of continuity and longing for something of quality.” He added that, “the diaspora of visitors we have to our website is amazing, it cuts across all income groups and geographical regions around the world. The great thing about the whisky industry is that they offer something for everyone. Whisky is a timeless product that we should all be proud of.”

With whisky labels having a vibrant collector’s scene the vintage nature of Scotch-MaltWhisky.com’s labels is likely to draw particular interest. Many of the labels being offered capture a period of huge change within the world represented in their iconography and style. They present a world of exploration and hope while appealing to the timeless nature of whisky.

James adds: “Scotch-MaltWhisky.com is continuously updated with the whiskies we discover and want to share with our fellow enthusiasts. Our goal is to become an authority in whisky with an active social community of people with similar interests.”

The first contest to give away vintage whisky labels is underway and runs through 7 April 2013. To participate, visit the contest web page or Scotch-MaltWhisky.com.

Okay, this isn’t funny. It’s now mid-March and I think we’ve seen the sun twice. Still, its good whisky-drinking weather, so perfect for a whisky event or two…

So much to bring you up to speed with, including our next raft of tastings around the UK, plus our Brighton, Edinburgh, Leeds and London Whisky Festivals. We have a new review up on the website of the fabulous Balcones, a quick review here of the Newcastle Whisky Festival and more! Read-on…

With the amazingly well-received Japan Vs Scotland tastings reaching their climax in York, Leeds and Sheffield this week and next, we usher in our next series of sitting down dramanigans. We have been very lucky people indeed in securing the prestigious whiskies from the SMWS – Scotch Malt Whisky Society – for our April/May program. If you haven’t experienced the delights of the SMWS previously, you are in for a real treat. ‘The Society’, as it is known by its fans and customers, is now in its 30th year and is without doubt the most prolific independent bottler in the world. In order to keep world peace and avoid embarrassing scenarios, each bottle is labelled with numerical codes and funky, taste-related names. This only adds to the mystery and intrigue and appeals to the ‘inner-geek’ in us all! The best news of all is that all of their bottlings are single cask and cask strength… nuff said I reckon. Check out the tasting dates below and get booking – these are going to sell-out quick!

With our first festival of the year under our belt – see Newcastle review below – we are preparing with all guns blazing for a rapid succession of shows in Brighton, Edinburgh, London and Leeds. That’s a lot of miles and even more whisky to organise. We also need to organise the most important thing, which is YOU! All of these festivals are now up on the website with tickets still available for all. We have a cheeky little early-bird in operation now for Leeds and a few still left for London, so get your skates on as these won’t last long.

SUNDAY 19TH MAY 2013
We are very excited to finally announce a project – as part of the London Whisky Festival – that we have been working on for months, if not years. We wanted to find a way of combining our main interests of whisky, music and food and we think we’ve finally nailed it. We don’t want to give too much away as we would like it to be a revelation on the day, but we can tell you it will involve tasting whiskies from the stands as per a ‘normal festival’, but interspersed with short bursts of live music, tied in with blending. It should prove to be a really interesting and eye-opening day with plenty of chances to experience something new. We’ve also kept the ticket price as low as possible at £25 to encourage you out on a Sunday afternoon…

The 5th Newcastle Whisky Festival on Saturday 9th March was a vibrant and exciting event with punters enjoying the whiskies from new and old exhibitors. As always we ran our ‘Dram of the Day’ and ‘Stand of the Day’ competitions, with Diageo performing a clean sweep in both categories. Kilchoman and Whisky Broker also proved popular with silvers and Brora 30yo and Balcones filled the last medal slots with well-deserved bronzes. ‘Under the Counter Drams’ included Talisker 25yo, Benromach 30yo, Brora 30yo, Highland Park Thor, Glen Grant 1974 and more. I think we can safely say it was the best year yet going by customer and exhibitor feedback and we look forward to next year.

Hopefully this gives you a taste of what to expect in the coming months at our other festivals around the country…

As promised above, here are the dates for the upcoming SMWS series of tastings. Tickets are only £20 and include your drams. Each tasting starts at 7pm and lasts up to two hours. Just click on the venue and date you are interested in. Simples!

DATES & VENUES

23RD APRIL LONDON
24TH APRIL LONDON
25TH APRIL BRIGHTON
 2ND MAY DURHAM
3RD MAY NEWCASTLE
4TH MAY MANCHESTER
22ND MAY LEEDS
24TH MAY YORK

15th-18th June & 19th-22nd June 2013

As you may have seen from our last newsletter, we are heading to Islay in June and taking some of you with us!

We are taking 20 lucky customers over the course of 2 three-night trips on a ‘back-stage’ tour of the island and its distilleries. We are staying in a beautiful farmhouse and cottage and we will be ferried around in relative luxury from place to place. Now, if you thought you were too late to sign up, you’re not. We have 4 places left on the 1st trip and 2 places on the 2nd. Tickets are £300 and include travel from Glasgow, accommodation on the island and all distillery tours.

If you’re interested have a look at the pages on the website, send us an email or call us on 01904 410841.

We look forward to seeing you soon! Slainte, Eddie, Amanda & Joe

Highland Park Loki Now Available To Order – Only Available While Stocks Last!

The Whisky Shop is delighted to announce the arrival of one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of 2013! The Highland Park Loki!

The second release in the Valhalla Collection series from Highland Park

Highland Park Loki, a 15 year old limited edition single malt bottled at 48.7% abv, comes housed in the same unique and award winning wooden frame as Thor, echoing the fearsome contours of a traditional Viking long ship.

Nose: A spirited lift of dried bitter orange which quickly turns into lemon peels. Cardamom notes trick then tease the nose, before an enticing hit of gingerbread develops. With a touch of water, licorice and aromatic smoke are both unleashed.
Palate: The true shape-shifting ability of Loki springs to life on the palate: its waxy texture is amplified by an intense smoke that doesn’t appear on the nose, shattering the light citrusy illusion of the aroma. All is not what it seems. The smoke fades as licorice and rich spiced apple flavors come out to play. Lemon and grapefruit are consistent throughout this elusive, yet intriguing character. With a touch of water, lingering notes of melted dark chocolate over spent embers leave a soft, smoky impression.
Finish: As Loki departs, he leaves behind toasted cloves, hickory smoke and soft vanilla. It is constantly changing, from appearance to finish. Loki is an enigma and truly another whisky of the gods.

Only £130 – simply click here to buy

Jolly Toper WHISKY TASTING
at The Kilderkin, 65 Canongate, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, 7.30pm – 10.00pm

 THEME: bottled at the distillery No.2 Thursday 21.3.13 £20/17*

 A wee while ago we tried 5 drams that were filled directly from the cask at the distillery: Benromach, Aberlour, Glen Moray, Old Pulteney and Springbank. Since then there are a few other distilleries offering this service so it’s time to see what’s on offer:-

Glen Garioch 13yo 29.11.1999 – 28.02.2013 Bourbon cask No.2907 bottle No.43 59.0%
Arran sherry cask No.608 distilled 25/06/96 bottled 09/07/12 16yo 325 bottles 52.4%
Glendronach 19yo cask filled 24.9.1993 bottled the other day 59.2% oloroso butt
Longrow bottle filled on 2.3.13 48.8%
Glenfiddich 55.5% 15yo

 ENTRY BY PRE-PAID TICKET ONLY

 *£3 discount to first timers & members (membership cost £10 for 13 months)
Further details at www.jollytopertastings.co.uk

Karuizawa 2012 Cocktail serie of Honshu Single Malt

The Cocktail series is a range of four Karuizawa bottlings exclusively sold by La Maison du Whisky, featuring labels by the Japanese artist Hideyuki Katsumata. He was inspired by the link between single malts and cocktails that apparently exists in … Continue reading →

Whisky Wednesday Works...

Whisky Wednesday reviews Balcones True Blue 100 Corn Whisky.

http://youtu.be/Tk25RCBX_8Y

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http://Twitter.com/whiskytube

The Dalmore Launches Valour for Travel Retail

The Dalmore distillery has launched a new expression, The Dalmore Valour, for sale exclusively in travel retail.

The spirit is named after the Clan Mackenzie’s act of bravery in 1263 when an ancestor of the Mackenzie Clan bravely saved King Alexander III from a charging stag. The grateful King granted the Mackenzies with a ‘Royal’ 12-pointer stag in their coat of arms. The Dalmore distillery was long owned by The Mackenzie family and every bottle of The Dalmore single malt whisky is adorned with this proud emblem, symbolising the distillery’s royal pedigree.

A unique blend of three different cask finishes, The Dalmore Valour is matured initially in first fill ex-Bourbon casks from Boston and Clermont, USA and 30 year old Matusalem oloroso sherry butts from Gonzales Byass, Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. The spirit is then finessed in Port Pipes from Duoro Region, Portugal to create a truly unique Dalmore expression.

Launching with a high profile promotional display in Qatar Duty Free in March 2013, The Dalmore Valour and will be rolled out through travel retail outlets over the course of 2013, priced at £50, €55 or $72.

The Dalmore Master Distiller, Richard Paterson

“With a distinctive aroma consisting of scents of ripe plums, creamy caramel and citrus fruits on the nose and a wonderful palate that consists of oranges, pineapple and chocolate fudge, Valour is truly an exceptional malt.

Named in honour of the Dalmore’s Mackenzie heritage, travel retail shoppers will be the first and only people to savour this latest Dalmore legend”

Travel Retail Director, Francesco Scaglione

“The Dalmore brand has had a stellar year in travel retail and we are proud to say that it is now the fastest growing malt in the channel*. This year, we will build on that momentum and continue to work closely with our partners to create innovative products and displays – the first of which is our new Dalmore Valour exclusive.”
*IWSR 2011

Tasting Notes:
• Aroma: Ripe plums, citrus fruits and creamy caramel
• Palate: Candied orange, pineapple and chocolate fudge
• Finish: Black forest fruits, coconut, figs and marzipan

The Dalmore

Dating back to the days of King Alexander III, The Dalmore gained its iconic 12-point stag emblem in 1263 when one of the Mackenzie clan saved the king from being gored by a stag.  Unlike other whiskies The Dalmore is produced in very limited quantities. Due to the distinctive distillation process no two batches will be exactly the same, ensuring that each release of the The Dalmore is unique.  Crafted using a process which has been perfected over the last 150 years, The Dalmore is now the world’s fastest growing single malt. (IWSR, 2012).  The Dalmore distillery houses some of Scotland’s most precious and rare whisky stocks. Home of the record-breaking The Dalmore Trinitas 64 year old and a number of other rare expressions such as Sirius,Selene, Candela and Oculus, it is no wonder that whisky investors, collectors and aficionados keep a watchful eye on this collection.

www.thedalmore.com