BEAM JOINS OPERATION HOMEFRONT IN HOLIDAY MEALS PROGRAM FEEDING 7,500 MILITARY FAMILIES

Deerfield, Ill. – Dec. 20, 2013 – For the fifth consecutive year, Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM), a leading global premium spirits company, has joined with Operation Homefront as a partner for the Holiday Meals for Military program, which will provide 7,500 holiday meals to military service members and their families at 22 bases nationwide this month.

Beam, and its flagship Bourbon brand, Jim Beam, founded the Holiday Meals for Military program in 2009 to help ease the burden that service members and their families often experience during the holidays. Now in its fifth year, the Holiday Meals program has grown from initially providing 500 meal kits in 2009 to providing 7,500 this holiday season – reaching 15 times more military families than the first event five years ago.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to Operation Homefront and the military, Beam is honored to be a key partner in the Holiday Meals effort and celebrate the fifth year of the program by reaching more military families than ever before,” said Ken Ruff, VP of national accounts, on-premise for Beam. “Service men and women have given so much to our country; this is just one small way we can give back to them and share the spirit of the holidays.”

In a series of 22 giveaway events happening this month, Beam, Operation Homefront and key sponsors will distribute pre-packaged meal kits to military families stationed at bases nationwide, including Fort Campbell and Fort Knox in Kentucky, where Beam produces more than 60% of its volume; Great Lakes Naval Base, near Chicago and close to Beam’s global headquarters; and several other large military communities. In addition to helping secure sponsors and volunteers, Beam will donate $25,000 to the cost of the pre-packaged meal kits, which contain all the grocery items needed for a full holiday meal and more.

“Operation Homefront has been proud to partner with Beam on several charitable efforts since 2008, the Holiday Meals program being a great example of the incredible impact that can result,” said Jim Knotts, President and CEO of Operation Homefront. “We have significantly expanded our reach every year for the past five years, and we look forward to working together to support even more of our nation’s military families in the future.”

Since 2008, Beam has worked closely with Operation Homefront, an organization that provides emergency financial aid and other assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors. Beam has donated more than $2.5 million to the cause since their partnership began.

For more information on Holiday Meals for Military events or to join Beam in support of this cause, please visit http://www.holidaymealsformilitary.org/. 

Japan – Single Malt Scotch

• Suntory Yamazaki 25 year old Japanese Single Malt Whiskey 750ml – 1 available ($1,599.99)  
• Suntory Yamazaki 12 year old Japanese Single Malt Whiskey 750ml – 11 available ($49.99)

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

Whisky Intelligence has added a new category called ‘Vignettes – Moments in Whisky’ which will feature whisky moments as experienced by the readership. If you have a whisky moment please feel free to submit your moment and we’ll do our best to publish it.

Go on, you know you want to be famous…

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #74

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries something extraordinary. The supporters of his local football club AA Gent are called Buffalo’s. And they have their very own whisky, aptly named Smoking Buffalo. This 5th edition is something special though, being a Speyside single malt from an undisclosed distillery, finished on an Islay cask, thus living up to the name! 

http://youtu.be/HUVaNwziIn8

• SMWS 35.100 (Glen Moray) “Rare Release” Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($115.99)
  The illustrious Scotch Malt Whisky Society finally comes to a retail store. Do not fret if you’re already a member, the amount of whisky being released to the public is a tiny drop in the bucket, just a taste to show the world what the Society has for those who are not aware. We were lucky enough to be selected as one of the four retailers to carry SMWS, along with a few key on-premise accounts, and will be your only source for SMWS bottlings for non-members. This outstanding cask is highly collectable not simply because it’s the 100th cask from this little distillery to be bottled by the Society, but also because it’s one of the best whiskies I’ve had all year. Glen Moray is not a well known distillery in the states, but I think the utter freshness of this whisky will shock even those who know it well. Vibrant and brimming with life, it spent 10 years in a fresh bourbon barrel. The Society’s stringent cask selection system is on display h ere, so it will certainly be sought out by SMWS members who pride themselves on procuring special casks like this one. Get yours now or wait and lose out on one of our most interesting casks of the year. SMWS tasting notes, “Fruity and Fresh, the nose has lime pastilles, apple sours and Midori, coriander leaf, flowers and rhubarb tart – refreshing as a waterfall. The palate has lime, orange sherbet, apple turnover and kiwi – wood shavings, pepper and chilli provide a punchy finish.”

• Macallan 25 Year Old Distillery Bottling Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 9 available ($799.99)
  Extremely Limited! Macallan’s 25 year old sherry casks are a modern classic.

• Four Roses K&L Exclusive Single Barrel OBSO (BN 4-1H) Cask Strength Bourbon 750ml ($59.99)
  Three barrels of Four Roses have arrived, tasted by our spirits department at the distillery, directly from the Cox warehouse facility with Jim Rutledge himself. To make matters confusing, we ended up picked three fantastic barrels of the same Four Roses formula (OBSO), when there were ten different recipes to choose from. We couldn’t help it–our palates were simply drawn to the bold, woody flavors of that whiskey. This eleven year, one month old barrel–being the oldest–is the richest and sweetest of the three. It brings the sweet vanilla and the baking spices in waves. A solid cask that should sell quickly given the provenance, age, and the quality. Really good stuff.

• Four Roses K&L Exclusive Single Barrel OBSO (US 55-1P) Cask Strength Bourbon 750ml ($59.99)
  Three barrels of Four Roses have arrived, tasted by our spirits department at the distillery, directly from the Cox warehouse facility with Jim Rutledge himself. To make matters confusing, we ended up picked three fantastic barrels of the same Four Roses formula (OBSO), when there were ten different recipes to choose from. We couldn’t help it–our palates were simply drawn to the bold, woody flavors of that whiskey. This nine year, eleven month old cask managed to proof itself down to a respectable 53.5 percent and starts off with a red-fruited flavor before immediately headed into the more herbaceous and peppery realm. Pencil shavings and old fashioned Bourbon goodness on the finish bring the experience to satisfying climax. This is a punchy little whiskey that sticks to the tried and tested flavors of American Bourbon and does it very, very well.

• Four Roses K&L Exclusive Single Barrel OBSO (US 59-6M) Cask Strength Bourbon 75 0ml ($59.99)
  Three barrels of Four Roses have arrived, tasted by our spirits department at the distillery, directly from the Cox warehouse facility with Jim Rutledge himself. To make matters confusing, we ended up picked three fantastic barrels of the same Four Roses formula (OBSO), when there were ten different recipes to choose from. We couldn’t help it–our palates were simply drawn to the bold, woody flavors of that whiskey. This 10 year old (on the nose) cask of Four Roses bursts right off the bat with high-toned cinnamon and baking spices, before moving into more of a rye-based flavor. The high proof overpowers a bit of the nuance on the finish, so make sure to add a drop of water. On the nose, there are aromas of heavily toasted oak and pencil shavings. This whiskey was simply made for ice cubes or high-end Manhattans.

Miner’s Delight Inn, 2nd Saturday, every month, 6 – 9 p.m.

No reservation required for tastings, but we appreciate advance notice for groups

Here’s what you get for $25:

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

♦♦ 3 Saturday features, including the Publican’s Pick *

♦♦ You roll a die and pick a whisky from 1 of 6 Scotch regions

♦♦ Pick your Connoisseur’s Choice from our single malt menu

♦ Hors d’oeuvres to cleanse your palate between pours

Saturday Features:

*10% off bottles of the Publican’s Pick

January 11, 2014

Deanston Virgin Oak

Linkwood 16 *

Bunnahabhain Toiteach

February 8, 2014

Balblair 2001 *

Old Pulteney Navigator

Talisker Storm

www.ralfy.com ends the Year with a malt-monolog from the Manx Bothy Fireside and introduces his malt-of-the-year for 2013

UK vlogger Joe Ellis celebrates Christmas Day with a review of the new Arran Malt The Millennium Casks. 

http://youtu.be/k997ON5kscU 

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