September Previews: Beautiful Landscapes Unfold

The gentle foothills of an Indian summer or perhaps the shady valley of the first frosty night – who knows what’s just over the horizon in September? Join us in climbing a towering peak of single casks, where the high vantage point will let you catch the first glimpse of next month’s beautiful landscape unfolding before you…

36.63 There is chilli in the fruit pie 

15yo Refill ex-bourbon barrel

Speyside Spey £49.20

The nose neat is a balanced combination of fruity and sweet aromas; apple and pear crumble, rhubarb and custard, apricot jam and strawberry and lime cider. The taste is a surprise like a chilli infused apple and pear pie, very strong ginger beer and tonic water. With a little time sweeter notes of orchard fruit yoghurt and fruit salad with double cream emerge… Buy

73.59 Beautiful landscapes unfold

14yo Refill ex-bourbon barrel

Speyside Deveron £48.10

A front note of lemon trumpeted a parade of fine aromas – beeswax, polished wood, pineapple, apple, pear and rose, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla custard and canvas. The palate had a definite ‘zing’ of lemon juice squeezed over apple slices or pineapple fritters, then toffee apples, Toffoes, spongecake and wood shavings… Buy

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at http://www.smws.co.uk/memberships for your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers.

Spot the SMWS bottles in this You Tube video

www.ralfy.com  reviews his first 100% wheat spirit with Whisky Review 389 – Bernheim Wheat Whiskey

ANNOUNCED AUGUST 2013

Unique in the whisky world (we think), an exclusive to MCLEANSCOTLAND

The Whisky First Aid Kit

How often have you thought “I am in desperate need of a dram”  or “havn’t had a decent whisky in ages”

well, think and wonder no more!

As the label states; if desperate…

to be taken liberally morning, noon & night with or without water.

If a condition of thirst continues, go to a respectable bar right away.

Take until condition returns to normal.

MCLEANSCOTLAND your spiritual advisors.

please drink aware as a sensible adult.

www.mcleanscotland.com

firstaid@cleanscotland.com

info@mcleanscotland.com

Paul Mclean of MCLEANSCOTLAND

BLACK ON BLACK – the headbangers challenge; nae riff raff invited!

Black Bush against JW Double Black. Both are malt-grain blends. Both Diageo brands.

BLACK BUSH  Bushmills.  Rich and ripe, with some black fruit. Raisin, cocoa, coconut. I must admit (Paul) that this is my dram of choice in my local pub, very kindly, Billy and Helen buy the BB specially for me, though some other people “mug it off me” over the bar. Sweet start then a chocolate and raisin taste appear. Long sweet finish, so easy to drink – far too easy I may add. Beautifully balanced. Black Bush is a great blend from Bushmills, mostly malt whiskey aged for 11 years in sherry casks before blending. A word of warning though; be careful how you ask for it if there is a lassie behind the bar, have had that trouble before (luckily, the really good looking lasses in my pub know what I mean – in fact many just say “the usual”, or “ a dram?”).  This is not a powerful dram, it’s an “any time of day or night dram”. You only realise maybe you have had enough when you see the bottle as it’s being poured into the glass, and see its half gone already!

JOHNNIE WALKER has the luxury of having access to some of Scotland’s best whiskies, ranging from the west coast peats to the subtle east coast. BLACK LABEL draws upon all these aromas to create a unique blend with a smooth, deep and complex character.   But we tested the JOHNNIE WALKER DOUBLE BLACK – a Blended Whisky with a rich, intense, smoky flavour. By blending selected aged whiskies that are naturally smoky and rich in character, matured in charred old casks, the Master Blender has created a whisky of real character and depth of taste (as we all know, taste is a matter of … well, taste!). The flavour is full bodied and complex with peat shining through raisins and sultanas. Apples, pears and orange zest bring freshness, vanilla and spice also tangle with your tongue. The finish combines spicy oak and lingering smoke. For those who like the smoke/peat, we reckon this is the best JW for you. Strangely enough, this dram is sometimes very hard to find behind the bar in Scotland, mostly export.

SO WHO WON? well, hard to say, they are both different drams, complex and tasty, both won in our opinion. Where did we sample these? as usual in Christies, Perth. Time of day? oh around 6pm – ish, could have lingered on a bit. Background? aye the jukie (juke box) was playing … you guessed it; ACDC  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAgnJDJN4VA  another few tastes and we were thunderstruck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM  at the end of the day we were shaken http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo2qQmj0_h4  (not stirred).  Who tasted? usual suspects; Paul, Lizzie, Kevin (now mr and mrs), Ming and Boab. Any photos? you gigglin? none of us could hold a camera or mobile phone straight at that time. Drink sensibly people.

The Mad ferrets in Christies; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxMctrfZoKU  well worth following their website to see when they are back, superb live pub music.

Brought to you by www.angelswhiskyclub.com  a free worldwide whisky club

Jim Beam® Honey on a Mission to Save Bees from a Serious Issue by “Suing” Bears

Deerfield, Ill. – August, 2013 –Jim Beam® Honey, a new Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey infused with real honey and liqueur, is distressed by the current plight of the honey bees. A condition called Colony Collapse is causing honey bees to die at alarming rates. Fewer bees means less honey. Something needs to be done.

As passionate honey lovers and bee advocates, Jim Beam Honey has hired legendary “Seinfeld” attorney, Jackie Chiles, to “sue” honey’s other biggest fan – the bears. That’s right – it’s time for bears to cease and desist from their rampant honey theft.

“Bears are egregious, devious, and just plain mischievous!” says Chiles, who has not represented a case since his “Seinfeld” days. “I’m here to go on the record – with Jim Beam Honey as my witness – to ensure that sweet, mouth-watering justice is served!”

This frivolous fight – a legal first – is something everyone can join. Fans 21 years and over can follow Jackie Chiles in his quest to sue the furry foes by using the #suethebears hashtag on Twitter. While Jackie fights the bears, Jim Beam Honey is focused on saving the bees. For every Tweet using the #suethebears hashtag on Twitter, Jim Beam Honey will donate $100 to the Pollinator Partnership (up to $25,000).

“We’re excited to raise a glass of our new Jim Beam Honey and to raise awareness for the bees’ plight,” said Halley Kehoe, Senior Brand Manager, Jim Beam. “We know that bears love honey, and based on the excitement we’ve seen around our new product, it’s clear that Jim Beam drinkers love it too.”

Jim Beam Honey is also documenting every step and giving its fans the chance to follow along. Exclusive content will be released by Jim Beam Honey on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube along with a series of editorials on BuzzFeed.

Jim Beam Honey Donation to Help Save the Bees

While Chiles handles those troublesome bears, there’s another very real, mysterious and serious issue plaguing honey bees called “Colony Collapse Disorder.” This winter marked among the highest death rate of bees ever documented and without bees to propel the pollination process, U.S. agriculture may face some serious threats. In fact, about one third of bees in beehives across America were reported missing or dead over the 2012/2013 winter season, according to a recent survey of commercial beekeepers.1

To support honey bees, Jim Beam Honey is funding research toward Colony Collapse Disorder through a donation to the Pollinator Partnership, the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to the protection of pollinators.

Get Your Paws on Jim Beam Honey

“Lawsuit” and bears aside, Jim Beam Honey is a smooth whiskey experience that features the real flavor of golden honey. It’s perfect for those who already enjoy whiskey or bourbon as well as those looking for a new flavor:

• Jim Beam’s inspired distillers infused our honey bourbon recipe with natural flavors that round out the edges, giving fans an incredibly smooth, 70-proof spirit with just the right amount of sweet honey flavor
• The taste begins with complex notes of caramel, oak and vanilla and finishes with rich, sweet honey
• It’s delicious on its own, as a chilled shot, on the rocks or mixed

Jim Beam Honey is available nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $15.99 for 750mL. Prices vary by market and product size.

Port Charlotte Scottish Barley (50%)

New 2013 release made using barley sourced only from farms in Scotland.

Heavily peated spirit distilled at Bruichladdich distillery and matured in American oak casks.

Shop – $55.85

From Bourbon Country comes PennyPacker Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. New to the U.S. Market, PennyPacker is an American-made, hand-crafted Bourbon of high quality with a competitive price.  Three types of grain are used in the distilling process: maize, rye, and barley with Maize making up 70% (above average) of the product. PennyPacker is produced according to the continuous method of distillation, which guarantees PennyPacker’s invariable character and consistently high quality. This particularly distinguished bourbon whiskey is full-bodied, yet mild straight bourbon whiskey with a slight hint of vanilla and caramel.  PennyPacker is everything America stands for: from the Penny to Abraham Lincoln to the American Flag.  PennyPacker recently received 91 Points from The Tasting Panel Magazine.

This week I’m opening a fourth bottle of Grant’s Best Procurable. It’s not as old as this pre-1937 blend which I tasted a while back, but it was certainly bottled before this one – and it predates the introduction of our triangular bottles in the 1950s and 60s.

This bottle was clearly destined for the US…

Kind regards,

Ludo

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #58

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries the Auchentoshan Silveroak. It is one the Lowland distillery’s duty free expressions. Bottled at a cask strength of 51,5% ABV, it is a 21 year old from 1990. Mark enjoys it at the poolside of his holiday home in France. Oh, life can be sweet indeed!

http://youtu.be/USZ5FYQahiA

Celtic Tiger Teeling is back again New Distillery in Dundalk, Ireland

Ernie – Ernst J Scheiner, The Gateway to Distilleries at www.whisky-distilleries.net

The Irish Whisky Company (IWC) which was formed by John Teeling with his sons Jack and Stephen will spend about €35m over four years in transforming Diageo’s Great Northern Brewery in Dundalk, Co Louth into a whiskey distillery. Shareholders of the new IWC are also the former Cooley Distillery directors Jim Finn and David Hynes.

Ireland’s second largest brewery known as the Harp Brewery locally will end its brewing history in Dundalk which started in the 1950s. „The production of Harp, Smithwicks and Carlsberg brands will be moved to St James’s Gate in Dublin,“ said Paul Armstrong, Supply Director Brewing of Diageo’s International Supply Centre. „By centralising our brewing facilities in the capital, we will secure the future of beer brewing in Ireland.“

The new Great Northern Distillery will be distilling grain whiskeys, pot still whiskeys and single malts for national and international markets. The Irish Whisky Company will produce white label-whiskeys for retailers worldwide, blended whiskeys for brand owners without distilleries and grain whiskeys for smaller Irish craft distilleries. The new Dundalk Distillery will be operated as an efficient low cost modern bulk distillery. Production is planned to start by August 2014 with first mature whiskey available by 2018.

John Teeling had successfully converted the former Ceimicí Teo Distillery at Riverstown, Co. Louth into one of the most decorated and highly praised distilleries in Ireland. The grain and single malt distillery produced whiskeys like Greenore, Tyrconnell or the peaty Connemara. Their creator Noel Sweeney has become one of the most decorated master blenders of Ireland.

But Cooley Distillery was also quite successful in supplying bonders and retailers with whiskeys like Slane Castle, Feckin, Titanic or Michael Collins. Almost 35% of its annual turnover was gained from the third party whiskey market.

This segment of the industry lies bare now as the American drinks firm Beam Inc stopped serving Bonders and Blenders after the aquisition of Cooley Distillery in 2011.

Beam Inc has focused on its Blended Whiskey Kilbeggan and cut all third party supply contracts evolving new whiskey distillery projects at Slane Castle, in Echlinville and Belfast.

John Teeling: „We will supply segments of the market with whiskey which are currently not served at all, or poorly served.“

The Dublin based Teeling Whiskey Company Ltd (TWC) formed by Jack and Stephen Teeling will continue to run as a separate unit. The two brothers will continue with their plans to build a new whiskey distillery in Dublin. The Great Northern Distillery will certainly be used as a source of whiskeys in the future.

For more information please see:

http://www.beamglobal.com

http://www.teelingwhiskey.com

http://www.whisky-distilleries.net

https://www.whiskyintelligence.com/2013/03/slane-castle-distillery-goes-ahead-new-irish-distillery-to-be-built-irish-whiskey-news/

https://www.whiskyintelligence.com/2013/02/jack-teeling-is-back-irish-whiskey-news/

Photos

Paul Armstrong and John Teeling at The Great Northern Brewery. Copyright Diageo 2013.

Jack Teeling and his whiskeys. Copyright TWC 2013. 

About the Author: Ernie – Ernst J. Scheiner M.A. was a director in an adult education centre. Ernie offers courses on whisky distilling, writes for newspapers, magazines and blogs in Germany. He is the editor of The Gateway to Distilleries at www.whisky-distilleries.net which gives an excellent photographic and educational insight into the whisky industry of Scotland, Ireland, Europe and Asia.

Please see also: http://www.whisky-distilleries.net