The latest article by MissWhisky is now available via the link below.

THE LINK

ONLINE SALES & DELIVERY NOW AVAILABLE

We are thrilled to announce the opening of our online store for purchase of ALL our products 24/7.

Our website is now ecommerce enabled for secure ordering of our whiskies, new make spirits, vodka, and brandy as well as a selection of other merchandise such as glasses, books, flasks, t-shirts, caps, etc.

 https://www.stillwatersdistillery.com/shop.php

 We’re sorry, but we offer delivery within Ontario only. The small print:

• All prices are in Canadian dollars
• We only ship within Ontario, Canada
• You must confirm you are at least 19 years old to make a purchase
• All orders are shipped Expedited Parcel using Canada Post with Proof of Age Required option
• Deliveries can only be made to someone at least 19 years old
• The person receiving the delivery may be required to show identification proving they are of legal drinking age

Onsite Retail Distillery Store

Our onsite retail distillery store remains open and we invite you to pay us a visit to shop in person and see the distillery first hand. We are located at 150 Bradwick Drive, Unit #26, Concord, Ontario. For directions, click here.

Our hours are:

• Monday through Thursday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
• Friday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Saturday and Sunday by appointment

New Blog Post: Tasting Isle of Jura 35 Year Old Single Casks (via the LINK below)

THE LINK

TOMATIN DISTILLERY EARNS 2013 TRIPADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE
Honoured as a Top Performing Distillery as
Reviewed by Travellers on the World’s Largest Travel Site

 Inverness – /05/13 – Tomatin Distillery today announced that it has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award. The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Only the topperforming 10 per cent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.

To qualify for a Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travellers on TripAdvisor, and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.

“We are very pleased to receive a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence,” said Graham Eunson, Distillery General Manager. “We strive to offer our customers a memorable experience, and following our recent upgrade to a Four Star Visitor Attraction by Visit Scotland, this accolade is evidence that our hard work is translating into positive reviews on TripAdvisor.”

“TripAdvisor is delighted to celebrate the success of businesses around the globe, from Sydney to Chicago, Sao Paulo to Rome, which are consistently offering TripAdvisor travellers a great customer experience,” said Alison Copus, Vice President of Marketing for TripAdvisor for Business. “The Certificate of Excellence award provides top performing establishments around the world the recognition they deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most – their customers.”

NOTES

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. The Visitor Centre, which hosts 20,000 visitors per annum, received a £150,000 upgrade in 2011 which resulted in an upgraded star rating to 4* from Visit Scotland.

Website: www.tomatin.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Tomatin1897Twitter: 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

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site*, enabling travellers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travellers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 200 million unique monthly visitors**, and over 100 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors. *Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, January 2013 **Source: Google Analytics, worldwide data, March 2013

UK FREE Shipping

on orders over £50.00 for a limited time

Ideal for Fathers Day 16th June 2013

Call us freephone: 0800 107 1936

June Outturn Tasting – Vancouver

10 June 2013 at Edgemont Fine Wines, Spirits & Ales, 3020 Edgemont Blvd, North Vancouver, BC

Monday, June 10, 6:45pm

JUNE OUTTURN TASTING

Please join us for another line-up of fabulous single cask bottlings.

Open to members and non-members this is a great way to “try before you buy” and spend an evening enjoying fine scotch, some light food and the company of fellow scotch-lovers!

Please register by Friday, June 7 $50 ($10 discount for members)

Please click here to register online

Canadian Whisky Eh?

Sun Network’s Byline with Brian Lilley, recently took an 8-minute break from politics to discuss the rise of Canadian connoisseur whisky. In an interview that includes some on-camera sipping, Lilley asks whisky writer and author, Davin de Kergommeaux, why Canadian whisky doesn’t get more respect at home.

While sampling high-end examples from four Canadian distilleries the two agreed that whisky lovers overlook Canadian whisky at their own peril.

THE VIDEO

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #49

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries the newest Glenglassaugh offering, the Evolution, matured on an ex-Tennessee cask from George Dickel. It is also the last offering under the stewardship of the Scaent Group, as the distillery has just been acquired by Billy Walker and his team (famous for BenRiach and GlenDronach). The Evolution is a young beast, but what a lovely whisky indeed!

http://youtu.be/qBTf6Fb5JVQ

Echlinville House, Gransha Road, Kircubbin, Co Down BT22 1AJ

History made as a second Northern Irish distillery starts operations

Echlinville Distillery has now been granted the first licence to distil spirits in Northern Ireland in over 130 years by HM Customs and Excise.

The granting of this crucially important licence was announced today by Shane Braniff, a local business man from the Ards, who launched the ever successful Feckin Irish Whiskey brand in 2005.

The licence award coincides with planning approval for a new state-of-the art distillery complex on the Echlinville Estate, just outside Kircubbin on the Ards Peninsula.The investment planned will include a visitors’ centre, restaurant, bar, distillation hall, maturing warehousing and museum.

Mr Braniff, outlining his plans, said:  “We have been planning this distillery now since 2005. It will bring many tangible benefits to the Ards Peninsula in terms of additional employment and as an attraction for tourists and other visitors.

“The success we are enjoying with the Feckin Irish Whiskey, particularly in the US, has led us to invest in this new distillery. As our experience with Feckin has demonstrated, demand for Irish Whiskey is growing strongly in global markets. In fact, Irish whiskey is now the fastest growing brown spirit worldwide.

“Our plan is to continue with Feckin Irish Whiskey, the unique Feckin Spiced Irish Whiskey and then   develop a range of drinks that can be sold almost immediately without having to wait the three years for our whiskey to mature, and finally to develop a premium/super premium malt whiskey.

“It is great that Echlinville Distillery is now up and running. We have had equipment in place since last Christmas but could not even turn it on until now. The road ahead is not going to be an easy one for us. Our competitors are mostly large Cooperation’s with millions of pounds/ dollars to spend in marketing and design. We are going to have to think outside the box in every approach we take with this business.

“We are located on the Ards Peninsula  which boasts a very unique micro climate and is well suited to the production of whiskey. It may be the most suited location in the whole of Ireland, Scotland and the rest of the UK. I do believe this gives us an edge. We have the experience and the skills in place along with some great equipment to produce some of the best tasting whiskey’s ever experienced .

“In addition, we have a longstanding distribution agreement in the US with World Spirits, a division of Minneapolis-based Phillips Distilling Company. This gives us access to an established distribution network that covers virtually every state in America.

“No business has any right to success. It must be earned. I believe we have the best location, we will employ the best people, we must engage with the best partners and finally we must produce the best possible product with no compromising whatsoever to quality.”

The new Echlinville Distillery is already registered as an Invest Northern Ireland client and has received some assistance to date in the development of its business plan, marketing strategies and new product development.

Notes

Echlinville Distillery takes its name from the Echlinville Estate, a graded B1 listed site of great historical importance, which was owned during the 18^th and 19^th century by the Echlin family, who originally moved to Northern Ireland in the year 1613 when Robert Echlin, originally from Fife in Scotland, took up his post as Bishop of Down and Connor.

The Echlin family through this period in time were very influencial and powerful, and in 1779 one of the bishop’s descendants, Charles Echlin, formed the Echlinvale Volunteers with another well-known individual as their chaplin, William Steele Dickson. Mr Dickson later became heavily involved with the United Irish Rising of 1798.

The Echlinville apple tree which can still be purchased in Ireland and the UK also originated from this stately home.

Echlinville Distillery has already planted around 100 acres of its own malted barley to be used exclusively in its own whiskey production, giving not only full traceability on raw materials, but also reducing the distillery’s carbon footprint. Echlinville whiskey will truly be the greenest of whiskeys.

While the history of whisky is long and proud, with legend telling of Saint Patrick bringing the craft of distillation to Scotland, the history of the Quaich is no less long or illustrious.

 The word Quaich comes from the gaelic “cuach” which means cup and they have been used for centuries to welcome or bid farewell to guests, or as a mark of comradeship or friendship. Sharing a dram of whisky from a Quaich has long been symbolic of binding people together in love, friendship or comradeship or to welcome or bid farewell to favoured guests. Today quaichs are often given as a gift to someone held dear.

This two handled Scottish drinking cup may have originated with the practise of drinking whisky from a scallop shell and progressed to forming these shallow cups from wood, stone or horn. Over the years the cups became more elaborate and highly skilled craftsmen fashioned wooden quaichs with beautiful celtic designs. From the 17^th century, as metals came to be more commonly used, quaichs have been made of  brass, pewter, silver or a combination of all three. The original outer shape was retained but the thick bases were thinned to reduce the the weight.

Quaichs originated in the Highlands and weren’t used in Lowland Scotland until the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie when the quaich travelled south in the canteens of the Prince’s army. The quaichs of the army were reputed to have glass bottoms enabling the drinker to keep an eye on those around him; a sad reflection on treacherous times.

Alex Scott & Co Ltd, a long established Aberdeen based company would like to offer you the chance to win a beautiful quaich so you may sup your dram in the traditional way and our gift set even provides a miniature of MacAllan Gold single malt whisky for the first filling.

To enter simply email the answer to the following question along with your name and address to sales@kiltmakers.co.uk using the subject line Quaich Competition, and we will draw the winner, at random, from the correct answers. Closing date June 19th, 2013…….. Please don’t forget to title your email Quaich competition.

What is the Centenary Quaich?

1. Quaich which resides in the Scottish Parliament building and is used for ceremonial occasions.
2. An international rugby union trophy contested annually by Ireland and Scotland.
3. A annual flat race run at Ayr races each September with the Centenary Quaich also being the name of the trophy.
4. A quaich presented to Queen Victoria by her loyal Scottish Subjects at the turn of the twentieth century.

Terms and Conditions:-  The winner will be notified of their win by email and the prize sent by post. No further correspondence will entered into and the judges decisions are final. The prize cannot be substituted or exchanged for cash. The competition is open to all except employees or relatives of Alex Scott & Co (kiltmakers.co.uk) or employees and relatives of Red Evolution. Important – entries will only be accepted from those who are 18 years old or over. This contest will run until Wednesday June 19th, 2013.