Hi folks. The builders have told us the work may take slightly longer than first thought, so the office will be closed for new bottles or collections from tomorrow, Friday, 21 June until Tuesday 25th.
Apologies for any inconvenience.
The SWA Team
Visit Scotch Whisky Auctions at www.scotchwhiskyauctions.com
www.ralfy.com gets all peaty with Whisky Review 370 – Finlaggan Cask Strength Islay
BUSHMILLS IRISH WHISKEY® SETS UP LEGACY FUND FOR EMERGING ARTISTS, CURATED BY THIRD BAR’S GARY LIGHTBODY AND DAVY MATCHETT
David C Clements and VerseChorusVerse announced as first recipients of £20,000 fund created by Bushmills Irish Whiskey and Snow Patrol frontman’s artist development business, Third Bar
Bushmills Village: June 2013: Bushmills Irish Whiskey and artist development company Third Bar – made up of Snow Patrol lead singer, Gary Lightbody and Davy Matchett – today announced that they have joined forces to create and curate the Bushmills Live Legacy Fund.
Bushmills Live, the handcrafted whiskey and music festival, is a platform for established and emerging indie talent. This year the festival organisers wanted to take their commitment to supporting up-and-coming talent one step further and set up this Fund of £10,000. Recognising the significance this held for Northern Irish talent, Third Bar’s directors Gary and Davy pledged to curate and match this fund, creating a trust of £20,000 in total. They have selected two exciting emerging Northern Irish artists as recipients: David C Clements and VerseChorusVerse.
David C. Clements, 27, performed at Bushmills Live 2012, and since then has shared a stage with Ed Sheeran and co-written songs with Gary Lightbody. VerseChorusVerse, aka Tony Wright, 32, founder of ‘And So I Watch You From Afar’, has recently finished recording his highly anticipated debut album with fellow Bushmills Live performer and Ivor Novello winner*, Iain Archer, which is due for release later this year.
The team at Third Bar will be working with both to offer advice and guidance on the right places to invest their Fund**. Additionally, Bushmills will be lending a performance platform to the two artists at this year’s Bushmills Live. Both artists will be taking to the stage on 20th June alongside headliners Of Monsters and Men, Jake Bugg, Sons and Lovers, Willy Mason, Bear’s Den, Iain Archer and Foy Vance.
Gary Lightbody’s passion for the Northern Irish music scene saw him donate Snow Patrol’s fee for headlining Bushmills Live last year to the Oh Yeah Centre, Belfast. This donation led to the creation of Bush Gardens – Belfast’s largest rooftop performance space.
He commented: “It’s no secret that I am a passionate supporter of the Northern Irish music scene. Davy and I have been friends since school and we set up Third Bar together to help advise up-and-coming artists in the music industry which is why I think it is brilliant that the Bushmills brand is prepared to get involved at this grass roots level and put their money where their mouth is.”
He added: “I am a big fan of both David and VerseChorusVerse, having watched them both live – they have incredible stage presence and fantastic material, they just need a platform to make it big.”
Bushmills Master Distiller, Colum Egan, commented: “Bushmills Live provides us with a great music platform for established and emerging indie artists. Last year it was where Gary Lightbody watched David C Clements perform and where the idea for the Bushmills Live Legacy Fund was born. We decided that we wanted to provide further support to emerging artists, beyond lending them a stage at the festival. I’m really excited about seeing the recipients of the Fund perform among the casks and pot stills at the Old Bushmills Distillery in June and then following their progress on their path to global stardom.”
NOTES
Twitter: @BushmillsGlobal
Hashtag: #BushmillsLive
*Jake Bugg and Iain Archer received a nomination for this year’s Ivor Novello Awards for ‘best song musically and lyrically’ for ‘Two Fingers,’ a song they co-wrote.
**VerseChorusVerse is accessing the fund to assist paying for studio time, production and mixing costs relating to the recording of his debut album, due for release this year. David C Clements will be using the fund to assist the recording of his own debut solo album, due for release next year.
Tickets to Bushmills Live are no longer available – tickets were not available for sale but were won via a competition on Facebook. To find out more, visit facebook.com/bushmills1608.
BUSHMILLS LIVE LEGACY FUND ARTIST INFORMATION
About David C Clements:
David C Clements has been playing music throughout the UK and Europe more than a decade. Although his current guise has only been implemented from the beginning of last year, he previously fronted up Belfast act, Six Star Hotel. With a series of European tours, and a few critically acclaimed albums, he knew it was time for a change. He first dabbled in producing records for local acts, such as the Lowly Knights and Napoleon, but we all knew he would not stay off the road for long.
David C Clements, as a musical project, was born on 1st January 2012. Throughout the opening few months of 2012 David has released three two track EPs online, this has caused quite a stir throughout the industry, gaining him viral support from Two Door Cinema Club, a live session on BBC Radio One, a show at Union Chapel London, a Channel 4 advert and a plethora of local radio support.
“David has the voice of a melancholy angel. He has a rare ear for melody and lyrics that hit right at the heart of the human condition.” – Paul McClean, BBC Radio Ulster.
Website: http://davidcclements.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidCClementsmusic
Twitter: @DavidCClements
ABOUT VERSECHORUSVERSE
VerseChorusVerse is the musical alias of Tony Wright, the founding member, and composer of some of the most popular songs for And So I Watch You From Afar.
When he left the band in late 2011, he darted quickly in the opposite direction, keen not to repeat himself stylistically. Since then he has been racking up the miles playing across the UK, Ireland and Spain along with artist approved supports of Daniel Johnston, William Elliot Whitmore, Michael Kiwanuka, Jonah Matranga and James Yorkston.
He recently finished recording his highly anticipated debut album with Iain Archer (Jake Bugg, Ben Francis Leftwich – an Ivor Novello winner), and is due to release it this year with PledgeMusic as he seeks to fund the accompanying campaign for the album.
Website: http://versechorusverse.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/versechorusverseVCV
Twitter: @Toeknee_Wright
BUSHMILLS LIVE VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjyzNFGuRmo
To launch the festival, Bushmills commissioned some good friends who are artisans to make a 3D art installation that depicts the Bushmills Live poster using materials inspired by the handcrafted whiskey and music at the heart of the festival. The master craftsmen who cemented their friendship when creating the stage set for a hugely popular American television epic that was filmed in Belfast – used 254 casks, 250 bottle tops, 30 bottles of whiskey, five metres of AMP wiring and four guitars to handcraft the 10ft by 16ft installation artwork.
ABOUT BUSHMILLS IRISH WHISKEY
With a heritage rooted in authenticity and quality, Bushmills Irish Whiskey is produced, aged and bottled at Ireland’s oldest working distillery in the village of Bushmills in County Antrim on the far north coast of Ireland. The Old Bushmills Distillery uses 100% malt barley to make triple distilled malt whiskey, which is what creates the rich, mellow and distinct flavour that is the house style. The Bushmills portfolio includes: Bushmills Irish Whiskey; Black Bush, Bushmills 10 Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 16 Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 21 Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 1608 and now Bushmills Irish Honey.
ABOUT DIAGEO
Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JεB, Buchanan’s, Windsor and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Jose Cuervo, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit www.diageo.com. For Diageo’s global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit www.DRINKiQ.com.
Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.
Teeling Whiskey launch Silver Reserve 21 Year Old Single Malt
Teeling Whiskey Company unveils first release from Vintage Reserve Collection of very old are rare Irish Whiskeys
The Teeling Whiskey Company, Irelands leading independent Irish whiskey company, has released the first bottling from its new Vintage Reserve Collection, the Silver Reserve 21 Year Old Single Malt Irish whiskey.
This Silver Reserve bottling consists of 21 Year Old Single Malt Irish whiskey distilled in 1991 and matured firstly in Bourbon casks then allowed to marry in Sauterne wine casks to provide a truly unique Irish whiskey taste experience. This small batch bottling, limited to only 5,000 bottles, is the first ever Irish whiskey to be finished in Sauterne wine casks. Each cask was hand selected and chosen for their distinctive flavour profile.
The Teeling Vintage Reserve Collection will consist of handcrafted small batch releases of very rare and old Irish Single Malt whiskeys. Containing some of the oldest Single Malt Irish whiskey ever bottled, the Vintage Reserve Collection allows you to savour and appreciate Irish whiskey at its finest. The Vintage Reserve Collection will be individually hand bottled in exclusive decanters ensuring the finest presentation and care is given to such rare whiskey offerings.
The Vintage Reserve Collection will consist of 3 different bottlings ranging in age and price points the first release being the 21 Year Old which will be followed by a 25 Year Old and a 30 Year Old bottling of Irish Single Malt whiskey. Each bottling will have its own unique finishing and marrying methods to create very distinct taste experiences not currently available within the Irish whiskey category.
Jack Teeling, founder of the Teeling Whiskey Company, commented,
“We are proud to be able to release some of the oldest ever bottlings of Irish Single Malt with our Vintage Reserve Collection. These offerings are central to our goal to play the lead role in bringing an independent voice back to the Irish whiskey category and will help drive diversity in the category by introducing interesting and unique small batch bottlings of Irish whiskey. Teelings Silver Reserve Single Malt is a celebration of everything good about Irish whiskey – from its robust nose to its fully rounded and balanced array of flavours. There is nothing else like it in the market.”
The Silver Reserve 21 Year Old will retail for approximately €150.00 (USD$185.00 / GBP£125.00). The product will be initially only available in Ireland through Dublin Airport, the Celtic Whiskey Store and in quality independent off licences and will then be rolled out to international markets such as the UK, Canada, NZ, Belgium, Germany and France.
Mike Nicolson introduces an engaging Lowland Malt. Humorous insights on Malt and Blended Scotch Whisky from the distillers perspective, “As informative as Charlie Maclean and Richard Patterson, as user friendly as Ralphy.”
Semi retired, thirty six year Scotch Malt Whisky making veteran who now resident on Vancouver Island, Mike writes, presents and educates on Scotch Whisky and produces related video. His style is authoritative and experienced but personally engaging with humour and a degree of irreverence. Mike also advises on new plant construction, commissioning and quality control issues plus related Distillery visitor activity. Mike Nicolson’s Experience as a Master Distiller for Diageo from February 1967 – June 2003 (36 years 5 months) in multiple locations; former manager of five prestigious Malt Distilleries including the mighty Lagavulin. Experienced in Visitor Centre Management and first host/contributor to Diageo’s innovative and ground breaking ‘Malt Advocate Course’. Mike received the Whisky Academy Award from Whisky Magazine in 2003 for “Special Services to the Industry”
Ardbeg Ardbog – Now on Sale at TheWhiskyExchange.com!
Posted: 17 Jun 2013 06:00 AM PDT
Just a quick post to let you all know that Ardbeg Ardbog, as previously mentioned on the blog, is now on sale on our website. It’s one bottle per customer and costs £79.95. Just click on the picture of the … Continue reading >>
Krishna Nakula has written a great report about out the Malt Maniacs visit to Knockando during last’s years anniversary trip to Scotland:
www.ralfy.com tells you all about a single malt from a personal perspective with Whisky Review 369 – Glen Garioch 1990 Batch 34
Loch Fyne Whiskies ‘New in Stock: Kilkerran WIP 5 Bourbon Wood’
Kilkerran Work in Progress 5 Bourbon Wood 46%abv
£34.00 inc vat – £28.33 ex vat
From Glengyle Distillery, Campbeltown. Limited to 9000 bottles. Official Tasting Notes: Color: Hay Nose: This is evidently a Campbeltown dram. The waxy, lightly smoky nose with hints of leather gives away the origin of this dram. Rich and creamy with hints of American cream soda, apricots, dark fruit and linseed. Palate: Just like previous WIPs the tangy orange and citrus marmalade notes remains. A little bit sweeter than previous WIP releases, with clear presence of apricot jam. There is a great weight of Campbeltown sea air present. Very smooth and fruity. Finish: Fresh, sweet yet dry finish.
Best regards,
Loch Fyne Whiskies
The Top Spirits List rates all HIGHLAND PARK 25 YEAR OLD IS THE ‘BEST SPIRIT IN THE WORLD’
Highland Park 25 year old, distributed by Maxxium UK, is the ‘Best Spirit in the World’* according to Paul Pacult’s Top Spirits List in the June 2013 edition of Spirit Journal.
five star distillates from all spirits categories and Highland Park 25 year old is ranked number one on a list of 120 outstanding spirits from around the world. Highland Park Loki, the second limited edition bottling in the Valhalla collection, also features in the list at number 31. Highland Park has held the coveted title of Best Spirit in the World on three separate occasions.
Gerry Tosh, Global Marketing Manager for Highland Park, said: “We are honoured to be named ‘Best Spirit in the World’ for the third time across our collection. We are delighted that our 25 Year old expression has secured this top spot and can share the accolade with Highland Park 18 year old which has held the title on two separate occasions. The Top Spirits list is widely regarded in the industry and to receive the top spot amongst such strong competition really is testament to the quality of Highland Park 25 Year Old. In Paul’s own words it has ‘ethereal quality’, and with the accolades being bestowed upon it this year, we would be hard pushed not to agree with that. We are also delighted that Loki, another great expression from Highland Park, ranks in the top 35.
“At Highland Park we have an award winning reputation and we are proud to add this new title to our list of accolades, which shows we are consistently the best in the world at what we do.”
This is the second major accolade for Highland Park 25 year old this year, as it was recently awarded the first ever 100-point score, along with the Chairman’s Trophy for Best of Category, at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge.
For more information on Highland Park, visit www.highlandpark.co.uk
*Highland Park 25 Year Old is joint number one ‘Best Spirit in the World’; this is the first time ever that there has been a tie for the number one position in the World’s Top 120 Spirits. http://www.spiritjournal.com/tastenote.htm
Notes:
About Highland Park
Established in 1798 on Orkney, Highland Park is one of the most remote Scotch whisky distilleries in the world. For over 200 years, the distillery has combined time old tradition and the very best craftsmanship to achieve perfection. Its range of 12, 15, 18, 21, 25, 30 and 40 year old single malts is consistently acclaimed by connoisseurs and experts. Highland Park has won a string of prestigious awards across its portfolio, most recently including category winner at the 2011 World Whisky Awards for its 25-year-old single malt and ‘Best Whisky in the World 2009’ for its 21-year-old expression in the World Whisky Awards, as well as four double gold awards in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2009.
Highland Park 18 year old was named Best Spirit in the World by American drinks expert Paul Pacult in Top 115 Spirits, Spirit Journal 2009 and 2005.
Five keystones contribute to making Highland Park:
* Hand-turned malt adds to the deliciously succulent, balanced layers of aromatic character found in Highland Park
* Aromatic peat gives a delectably seductive, luxuriant floral sweetness to Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whisky
* Cool maturation enhances the smooth character of Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whisky
* Sherry oak casks contribute to the distinctive richness and multi-dimensional complexity of Highland Park
* Cask harmonization ensures consistency and balance in Highland Park
