Irish Whiskey Tour with a group from Finland

May 2013, the Island of Ireland.

May 2013; an Irish whiskey tour with DaleyIrishTours, part of MCLEANSCOTLAND & Angels.

We took friends from Finland on tour with us to the Island of Ireland. A grand tour followed, we set out from Dublin airport, heading the three hours doon to Midleton, where we discovered Midleton Distillery Museum, a good tour was followed by a better tasting session, excellent to be precise. It’s just a shame we couldn’t see the actual working distillery, the museum was excellent, the size of that still! We then drove the short distance to our hotel – which, surprise, had a bar! But we headed out into town and found Paul’s favourite bar here, Paddy Casey’s followed by the Mad Monk, then a seafood restaurant, drinks appeared in each place strange enough! . A good night to start.

The day after we headed north to Kilkenny, we stopped here for a few hours, er, we found Tynan’s pub, we shared a dram and a Guinness, and Dylan’s pub, Dylans was particularly good, lots of drinks, a Titanic whiskey (no ice please) . From here to Kilbeggan distillery, another grand museum tour followed by many grand drams, our tasting expert here was John Cashman, who took us through many drams, all enjoyable. Good man. Heading then 15 minutes away to Tullamore and our hotel. Entertainment tonight was in Hugh Lynch’s pub, Emmet had laid on food, a whiskey tasting and traditional music, what a night! Many thanks must go to Paul’s pal PJ, of the Malt Teasers club, Dublin for helping arrange this night. We recommend everyone to visit here!

Third day; a morning visit to Tullamore Dew, another museum tour and grand tasting, many drams consumed here and a great “show round”, this is a new facility and they have made an excellent job of this, we were all impressed. From here, we drove to Letterkenny where we had a few hours free time. Followed by check in at the castle hotel in Donegal. Another enjoyable night, this time at the Scotsman’s bar in town, more music, many locals and many drinks! This is becoming a habit.

Following morning we headed out to Derry, we were met and welcomed by the Mayor and Paul’s chum Aoife, lovely girl so she is. Free time here before checking into our hotel, less said about that the better.  Anyhow, following morning saw us wandering over to the Giant’s causeway and Bushmills Distillery, where once again a grand (even in the hard rain) working distillery tour and even better tasting 10 drams here. Niall is a good man here folks! Down to the Republic again, near Slane, actually Navan for the night, good stuff! More Irish whiskey followed.  Following morning we hit Slane Castle, Alex welcomed us to his home and described how he will start building his own distillery here (ee; http://angelswhiskyclub.com/awc/slanecastlewhiskey.asp), meantime, we toured the castle and downed 4 good drams, including Slane Castle own!  I have to say here, Cooley used to supply him (and many other independents) but have now said no to all outside labels, hence his decision to build his own, away to go Alex. On to Dublin, check in for the final night in Ireland, but before we went another tasting was planned. With the help of Gillian of Castle Brands, we had Clontarf x 2, Knappogue Castle, Celtic Honey and Jeffersons Bourbon to sample, Paul took this tasting, his evenings are very different, fast, sharp and plenty of time for the tastings, no history business!  The Honey was not the most popular, we gave the bottle (what was left) to the bar (cafe en Seine, fabulous place), Clontarf went, so did Knappougue, so too most of the Jeffersons, the bar got a few drams and everyone went back to the hotel happy!

All in all, a very good Irish tour, everyone was really happy! Looking forward to the next one!

“After organizing a few truly excellent group trips for us in the isles of Western Scotland and the Mull of Kintyre, we decided to choose Mclean Scotland also as the organizer of Malt Whisky Association of Finland’s first-ever venture to Ireland. Now in hindsight this was a really wise decision, which we did not regret one bit, on the contrary! Our week-long tour of Ireland could not have been better organized, and the contents of the tour, pitstops, etc were all extremely well selected. The timetable was just right, not too tight, and we all thoroughly enjoyed what Ireland has to offer – local foods, culture, whiskey, and lively pubs with live music to entertain us! Our coach and driver were spot on, adding to the experience – a detail not to forget, due to the distances (we really went all over the island!). Paul’s network of contacts and ability to provide us with lovely, unexpected surprises (like a live local band & ex-tempore whiskey tasting, guided by an expert at Hugh Lynch’s pub in Tullamore – what a night!) really made us all extremely happy indeed. We will be back in Ireland – and in Scotland. Many thanks Mclean Scotland, Slainte!!!!”

Mika r. Jansson

President

Malt Whisky Association of Finland

UK vlogger Joe Ellis a.k.a Whisky Wednesday reviews Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey.

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PREMIUM CANADIAN WHISKIES FROM SAZERAC

MAKE GREAT FATHER’S DAY GIFTS

Caribou Crossing and Royal Canadian Small Batch Make Great Gifts for any Budget

NEW ORLEANS, lA. (May, 2013) – Forget the tie – this year give dad what he really wants – whisky!  Two premium Canadian whiskies from The Sazerac Company are sure to make dad’s eyes light up upon opening – Caribou Crossing, the world’s first single barrel Canadian whisky, and Royal Canadian Small Batch Canadian whisky.

“The premium and super premium Canadian whisky category continues to show strong growth, as consumers are re-discovering this category and realizing there are some strong players in it who have upped the ante when it comes to quality,” said Kevin Richards, Canadian whisky marketing director.

“The smooth, easy taste of Canadian whisky makes it easy to sip neat or with your favorite mixer.  With the addition of single barrel and small batch whiskies likes Caribou Crossing and Royal Canadian, more and more consumers are taking a second look at the Canadian whisky offerings and becoming interested again,” adds Richards.

Critics seem to agree with this, as both brands have won a myriad of awards since introduction, most recently at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, where Caribou Crossing won its second straight Chairman’s Trophy and a “93” rating, and Royal Canadian Small Batch was given a “very good, strong recommendation” by the judges.

The 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition also produced some medals, with both brands winning silver medals at the highly competitive tasting.

Other accolades for the brands include:

Caribou Crossing: “93” rating from John Hansell at Whisky Advocate; “2010 Canadian Whisky of the Year” by canadianwhisky.org; Double gold medal at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition; a gold medal and “90” rating from Tastings.com (Beverage Testing Institute); a gold medal and “90” rating at the 2010 Ultimate Spirits Challenge; a silver medal and best in class at the 2010 International Wine and Spirits Competition; and a bronze medal at the 2010 Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition.

Tasting notes for Caribou Crossing describe it as “primarily vanilla, with some crème brulee, toasted marshmallow, tangerine, peaches and cream, and gentle rye spice…” (John Hansell, Whisky Advocate.)

Royal Canadian Small Batch has its own set of hardware.  In the 2012 Ultimate Spirits Challenge the brand achieved a “90” rating; a gold medal and “90” rating from Tastings.com (Beverage Testing Institute); a “90” rating from Wine Enthusiast; a silver medal in the 2011 Ultimate Spirits Challenge; and a bronze medal at the 2011 World Spirits Competition.

Royal Canadian Small Batch has been described as “sweet and smoky like a Memphis BBQ. The initial sip is velvety smooth with huge flavors. There is a nutty praline sweetness that slides through the creamy rich sensations. The finish is a bold reminder that this is whisky and the citrus-spicy conclusion just leaves you with the desire for the next notable sip.”

Both brands were created by native Canadian Drew Mayville, Sazerac’s master blender.   Mayville himself hand-selects the barrel used for Caribou Crossing, choosing the most mature and flavor-rich samples available and overseeing the bottling of each individual barrel. The Royal Canadian Small Batch undergoes a similar stringent selection process under Mayville’s watchful eye.  The barrels themselves are from Sazerac’s 300,000 plus Canadian whisky barrel inventory.

The two Canadian whiskies make ideal gifts for Father’s Day, and are at price points for discriminating budgets. The Caribou Crossing retails for $49.99 for a 750 ml and the Royal Canadian Small Batch is $19.99 for a 750 ml.

The Caribou Crossing is also already wrapped in an elegant gift box, making it an even easier choice than a necktie.

About The Sazerac Company

Sazerac is one of New Orleans’ oldest family owned, privately held companies and has operations in New Orleans, Louisiana; Frankfort, Bardstown, Louisville and Owensboro, Kentucky; Fredericksburg, Virginia; Carson, California, Baltimore, Maryland and Montreal, Canada. For more information, please visit www.sazerac.com.

NEW English Whisky Coronation 60th Anniversary

2013 Sees Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II celebrate The 60th Anniversary Of her Coronation. To help celebrate this momentous occasion we have hand selected just 7 wonderful oak casks of Single Malt Whisky to create a unique whisky worthy of the event. This is the 3rd in a series of Royal commemorative bottlings. The 1st was the wedding of William & Kate and the 2nd was the Jubilee.

Limited Stock Available
PURCHASE NOW – £64.99

Today (May 29th) we are absolutely delighted to announce that we will once again be opening the doors to our distillery and island home in celebration of our annual island festival: the Feis Ile 2013.

Since we realise that not all of our lovely friends from around the globe are able to trek across to our neck of the woods, we thought we would bring the taste of Bowmore to some lucky winners instead. We are giving all whisky enthusiasts the chance to win one of three special bottlings of our Bowmore Feis Ile. This limited release of natural cask strength, bourbon matured and non-chill filtered Bowmore can only be purchased from the distillery itself!

If you fancy your chances at winning this fantastic prize, simply visit our website or Facebook page.

Exclusively matured in first and second fill ex-bourbon casks, then blissfully married together, Small Batch Reserve exhibits the best qualities of both. First-fill bourbon offers delicious vanilla sweetness, subtle spices and bourbon oak smoke to complement Bowmore’s gentle peaty smokiness, while the second-fill cask enhances Bowmore’s fresh fruity complexity and showcases its trademark honey and creamy malt character. Let us know what you think of it. Available at Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsburys and all good whisky specialists.

Slainte

The Bowmore team

Single Malt from Grain to Glass at Canada’s Shelter Point Distillery

You may view the WhiskyCast HD Episode HERE

The Yamazaki 1979 is now available to order only at The Whisky Shop

This exciting new Yamazaki 1979 Mizunara Cask could be the most collectable whisky to come out of Japan this year.

The Suntory Yamazaki 1979 was matured for 29 years in rare Japanese Mizunara oak casks, which are said to add a ripe cinnamon flavour. The whisky is copper in colour, with hints of pineapple and peach on the nose and a smooth vanilla taste bring together a balanced single malt with a long, sweet finish.

Priced at only £1450 we expect this to sell out very quickly.

One of only 294 bottles, bottled at 55% volume.

All orders will be dispatched week commencing Monday the 3rd of June.

Click here to buy