NEW ARRIVALS… (items coming into our inventory for the first time)

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch •

Bruichladdich 16 Year Old “The Laddie” Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($109.99)

2006 Bruichladdich Bere Barley Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($69.99)

I don’t want to spark a run on this, but I think this is one of the best whiskies I’ve tasted in months. It’s startlingly good, especially considering the maturity level. Everyone at Redwood City agreed when we tasted through the new lineup – this was the winner. The Bere Barley single malt is made from barley grown on Islay, from Kynagarry Farm and the Achaba and Achfad Fields specifically. It’s a “bere” barley, which is the world’s oldest cultivated cereal that was brought to the Hebrides by Norse invaders in the 9th century. It’s ideally suited to the sandy soils of the island, but yields about 50% less than the modern crops do (hence why no one uses it!). Its bulk made mashing and milling the grain quite difficult and even damaged some of the equipment at the distillery, yet it was all worth it because this whisky is simply divine! Despite its youth (six years old) it’s quite round and full of life. Lots of vanilla and oak with a purity that is almost holy or touched by a higher power. I’m not kidding. It’s really, really good. If I could buy hundreds of cases, I would. Unfortunately it’s very limited and there’s not much available. You’ll want one, trust me. (David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer)

K&L Wine Merchants http://www.klwines.com Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637) Email: wine@klwines.com San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Where’s the single malt?

We are getting lots of enquiries on the status of our Single Malt Whisky. Our first few casks have, indeed, reached the legal age of three years in order to be called “whisky” in Canada. We are finalizing our packaging and hope to have the first casks of single malt bottled and ready for sale by April. We will definitely let you know when it is ready for sale! You can also follow the progress of all our maturing whiskies at www.caskbook.com. (And, in case you are wondering, we have sampled our oldest casks and believe that you will be suitably impressed.)

 In the meantime, we are pleased to offer you three new products, all directly available from us at our onsite retail distillery store.

Talisker Storm – Now Shipping – Whisky Galore @TGWS

New in stock: It’s whipping up a storm…. TALISKER STORM.

ORDER NOW

In Brief: Talisker Storm has a more profound maritime smoky flavour, taking the intense maritime experience to a new level.

How is the flavour achieved?

The Talisker Distillery Character:

Talisker is made by the sea on the remote and storm battered shores of the Isle of Skye.

Creating the unique  distillery character begins with the careful distillation process. The unusual shape of the stills and the traditional worm tubs, that minimise copper contact during the condensation process, help create a rich and complex spirit.

The peat  and malted barley used by the Distillery create the smoky and briny base notes of the Malt.

These factors all work together with the casks in a way that, even now, is not fully understood, delivering the gentle and late arrival of the smoky flavour that is so unique to Talisker.

Enhancing the Distillery Character. Talisker STORM.

The next stage of the flavour development is the preparation of the casks. Our rejuvenated American Oak casks are lightly roasted and then charred before being filled. The initial contact with the charring removes any impurities from the liquid. As time passes it reaches the toasted layer of wood, where the marrying of flavour really begins.

In contrast, the liquid selected from our refill casks has a greater conversation with just the wood, giving a different depth of flavour. A carefully selected combination of refill and rejuvenated oak casks, known only to our Master at the distillery, is used to create the smoothness, sweetness and woody spiciness that form the next layer of flavour in Talisker Storm.

Cask Selection for Talisker Storm:

In the final  stage, our Master Blenders have painstakingly worked on selecting the perfect balance of  differing aged casks  to marry the vibrant distillery character with a smoother, woody richness. The result is a new expression of Talisker that brings an exhilarating and intense taste experience.

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TALISKER STORM

Eagle Rare Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Shown here are the Eagle Rare Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 12 years old and 17 years old. Buffalo Trace, who makes this range of old whiskey, was named Distiller of the Year by Whiskey Magazine in 2005 and … Continue reading →

New Port Askaig Islay Single Malts available at The Whisky Exchange

The latest releases from Speciality Drinks Ltd’s Port Askaig range of single malt whiskies are now available at The Whisky Exchange. Sourced from an undisclosed distillery on the famed whisky-producing island of Islay they are selected to show a classic Islay profile across a range of different ages.

The Port Askaig 12 years old, released at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show in October 2012, is now joined by two additions to the range, aged for 19 and 30 years respectively and bottled at cask strength.

Port Askaig 12 years old – 45.8% abv

Nose: Very fresh and invigorating, with bracing sea air, seashells, a minerally character like wet slate, plus phenolic notes of ash and wet burnt wood. Faint honeyed, leafy notes in the background. Becomes earthier with time.

Palate: Mediumweight, but packs a punch. Very minerally initially, then salty and sweet at the same time. Becomes ashy and drying, with the brininess increasing as the smoke, dry turf and chalky, flinty notes assume control mid-palate.

Finish: Some lemony acidity breezes in to keep things fresh as the ashy smoke and turf linger.

Comment: More savoury than some drams from this distillery, this 12yo has impressive depth of character for a relatively young malt, but remains light enough to encourage a refill. Very more-ish.

Port Askaig 19 years old Cask Strength – 50.4% abv

Nose: Quite rich, with a great contrast of pure, clean, lemon-creamy malt and some deliciously dirty, turfy, earthy, sooty, oily phenols. Medicine cabinet hints of bandages, liniment, Savlon and swimming pools in the background. Gets more like a smoky lemon cheesecake with time in the glass.

Palate: Lemon & tart apple fruit at first, then big phenolic grunt, with lots of hot bitumen, ash, tar, soot; then creamy lemon and honey, a minerally note and burning turf.

Finish: The lemon cheesecake returns as the heavy phenols slowly disperse, leaving a sweet tingle at the death.

Comment: Although only a few % higher in abv, this 19 year old Port Askaig certainly raises the intensity compared to previous batches. Water releases a little sweetness.

Port Askaig 30 years old Cask Strength – 51.1% abv

Nose: Lots going on: rich honey sweetness, some strong melon notes, bananas in various forms – fresh, foam and milkshake, then some barley sugar and very light smoke emerges.

Palate: Quite full and generous, with very rich flavours following on from the nose, and a luxurious oily texture. Sweet initially, but the phenols are much more evident on the palate than the nose, with thick smoke and rich wet peat alongside more subdued melon and banana fruit notes from the nose. A thread of honeyed lemon runs through the whole ensemble.

Finish: Good length, sweet and lightly sooty, with the fruit lingering much longer than expected.

Comment: We’ve normally bottled this at the traditional 80 proof, but the vatting was just far too good to add water to. Superb stuff.

The Port Askaig 12yo, 19yo Cask Strength, and 30yo Cask Strength are now available from The Whisky Exchange website and London shop: http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/B-40-Port_Askaig.aspx

Notes:

The Whisky Exchange

The Whisky Exchange (TWE) is a family business founded in 1999 that has grown to be the internet’s No.1 specialist retailer of whisky and fine spirits, serving thousands of satisfied customers every week through their website www.thewhiskyexchange.com

The Whisky Exchange has won a string of industry awards, including Independent Spirits Retailer of the Year and Online Retailer of the Year at the Drinks Retailing Awards, Icons of Whisky Online Retailer of the Year and Independent Spirits Retailer of the Year at the International Spirits Challenge.

The TWE website currently stocks over 5000 whiskies, of which the majority are Scottish Single Malts, Bourbons & Irish Whiskeys, with the remainder coming from as far afield as South Africa, India, Sweden, Australia and Taiwan.

TWE also stocks a wide range of other fine spirits, including hundreds of gins, vodkas, cognacs, armagnacs, brandies, rums, tequilas, mezcals, liqueurs and many other drinks from all over the world.

As well as an online outlet, The Whisky Exchange also operates a shop in Vinopolis near London Bridge. Further details can be found at http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/Vinopolis.aspx

The world’s three best spirits books of 2012 were named in Paris on February 21, at the annual Gourmand Book Awards. Books from 171 countries were entered in the competition and from these 294 books from 86 different countries were named finalists in 66 categories. Six spirits books made it through to the finals.

Steffos Spritbibel, written by Sweden’s Steffos Törnquist and Helen Pe was named the Best Spirits Book in the World for 2013. Second place went to Germany’s Rainer Schillings and Ansgar Puden for their book Sake, while Canada’s Davin de Kergommeaux garnered third best spirits book in the world for his Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert.

The competition is held annually in conjunction with the Paris Cookbook Fair and celebrates outstanding quality cookbooks, wine books and spirits books.

(Paris, February 21, 2013)

NEW RELEASE Duncan Taylor Smokin’ Blended Scotch Whisky 40%

Whisky as it used to be. Smokin’ Scotch whisky perfectly balances robust peat smoke flavours and smooth notes of toffee and vanilla. Paying homage to the legendary blends of yesteryear, renowned for their rich flavor and uncompromising character, Smokin’ is a full bodied experience to be savored.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Pale gold
Nose: Initial punch of peat smoke, citrus spice and zesty lemon peel, moving on to caramelised sugar, toasted oak and clotted cream. Vanilla and sandalwood to finish
Taste: Smokey with fresh cream, butter biscuits and toffee. Hint of tobacco and leather
Finish: Clean, dry and malty
Comment: Churchill would have approved

£27.00 inc VAT

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW

The Whisky Wire / Compass Box Tweet Tasting for International Women’s Day 

We’re thrilled to be teaming up with Compass Box to host a special ladies only blind (Twitter) Tweet Tasting on IWD eve at 9pm (GMT) / 4pm (EST) on Thursday 7th March.

We will be welcoming a panel of whisky loving Twitter ladies from both sides of the Atlantic, to taste 3 mystery Compass Box whiskies, sharing thoughts and reactions to each of the drams before they’re revealed.

We’re also thrilled to announce that we’ll be joined by Compass Box’s very own Céline Têtu who will be taking over @CompassBox for the night.

We’d love to have you following the evening’s dramanagins, so join us with a dram in hand over on Twitter via hashtag #WhiskyandWomen

For full details visit: www.thewhiskywire.com

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #37

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, launches a mini-series of 5 videos in which he explores independent bottlings of Auchentoshan. In this fourth video, he puts put two bottlings head to head, i.e. the Auchentoshan 27 Year Old single cask from Master of Malt against the Auchentoshan NAS Batch 1 from That Boutique-y Whisky Company.

http://youtu.be/5AJOGZJUQgI

CHIVAS LAUNCHES DRIFTING: PART 2

(Click on poster above to watch the film)

Chivas Regal, the world’s original luxury whisky, has released the conclusion of Drifting, a two-part short film co-directed by Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal, produced in partnership with Mexican art house film company, Canana.

Drifting Part 2 sees Garcia Bernal take over from Diego Luna as director following Luna’s Drifting Part 1 film,  which set up the story of three friends who reunite after having drifted apart. A practical joke in part 1 saw the friends left in a precarious situation which Bernal has to resolve in the concluding film.

Following the launch of the second instalment, Chivas is encouraging its fans to celebrate real-life friendship by taking part in an exclusive competition to win an all-expenses-paid trip for two friends to the legendary Cannes Film Festival, of which Chivas is an official sponsor, for a special screening of Drifting. The We Go Way Back photo competition asks participants to upload pictures of themselves with their best friend, showing moments of friendship and shared memories*. People can vote for their favourite submissions in the gallery showcasing entries.

James Slack, Chivas Regal Global Brand Director, says: “Drifting explores themes of trust, forgiveness and acceptance, which are integral elements to friendships and the partnership has real life friendship and collaboration at its core – from the story of Canana to the way the two directors are working together on the short. We’re confident that this partnership will really resonate with modern gentlemen around the world and demonstrate how in tune Chivas is with their values and lives. We hope that with the Chivas and Canana content and our Facebook competition, we will give Chivas fans a rewarding experience.”

To view Drifting and exclusive behind the scenes interviews with Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal visit www.chivascanana.com

Notes

*The We Go Way Back competition will be open for entries from the 18^th February through to 24^th March 2013. People can vote for their favourite submissions until 31^st March. The winner will be selected by Canana from the ten submissions with the most votes.

About Chivas Regal

Chivas Regal is a truly global brand, selling 4.9 million 9L cases annually in more than 150 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific and Americas. The Chivas Regal range is the epitome of style, substance and exclusivity and includes Chivas Regal 12, 18 and 25 Year Old.

About ‘Real Friends, Make Time’

Chivas Canana Present was inspired by ‘Here’s to Real Friends’, the latest instalment of the Live with Chivalry campaign, featuring two short films about friendship directed by Academy Award® winning short filmmaker Joachim Back. The two cinematic films focus on the trials, tribulations and idiosyncrasies of modern male friendships, celebrating the stories that bind real friends together.

For further information visit www.chivascanana.com

About Canana

CANANA was founded in 2005 by Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal, Pablo Cruz, and most recently joined by partner and CEO Julián Levin.  Over the past 7 years, CANANA has produced over twenty films including Abel, Luna’s first feature length film, Sin Nombre, Miss Bala, directed by Gerardo Naranjo, and most recently, the English language film, Chavez, directed by Luna and based on the life of Mexican-American labour union organizer César E. Chávez.

In 2012, CANANA expanded its operations in the U.S. with Canana L.A., bridging the talent pool between Latin America and the U.S. with such projects as A Man Must Die, a political thriller produced in collaboration with Focus Features, with Naranjo set to direct. In México, CANANA added both a television arm, which produced Soy Tu Fan, starring Ana Claudia Talancón and Niño Santo, and a distribution outlet, CANANA Presenta, which has been releasing international art house films in Mexico for six years across all platforms, with a catalogue of more than 50 titles, including the award-winning NO, Pina, and The White Ribbon.  The partners’ passion for film has also reflected through Documental Ambulante, a traveling documentary festival that has taken over 200 documentaries to communities across México, having recently completed its 8th tour.