The Highland Park Freya is now available to order online @ The Whisky Shop. Only available while stocks last.

The Highland Park Freya is the third release in the highly collectable Valhalla Collection. The Norse Goddess Freya was regarded as a serene, spiritual and giving goddess bringing bounty and hummanity.

Colour:
The Fair One, golden.
Aroma:
Almond and Madagascan vanilla shimmer in the distance like the Aurora Borealis.
Taste:
Orange peel, butterscotch and rose petals provide the sweetness along with orange blossom and ginger.
Finish:
The finish gives lingering spice and soft peat smoke intertwined with soft orchard fruits, toasted coconut and a light char.

Bottled at 51.2% volume.
£149.99 – Pre order only

Simply click here to buy

Only 100 Days to Go
Let the countdown begin

World Whisky Day – Saturday 17th May 2014

January is now a distant memory as we welcome the arrival of February and the beginning of our 100 day countdown to World Whisky Day on 17 May 2014. To celebrate, we have conducted a survey around whisky drinking habits in the UK with some interesting results. Details of the survey will be published soon.

2014 is going to the biggest yet for World Whisky Day with the arrival of our new website (coming soon), Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup and Whisky Month in May. There are already 100s of events that will be taking place around the globe and we hope to top last year’s success in having an event on every continent, including Antarctica.

We have lots more exciting plans in the run up to World Whisky Day so watch this space.

Get in the spirit, mark the date in your diary and lets raise a dram to World Whisky Day 2014.

We’ll let you know when the new website launches and you’ll be able to register your event at http://www.worldwhiskyday.com

In the meantime if you want to discuss your plans or find out more about getting involved then please email info@worldwhiskyday.com or call +44 (0)131 208 2582.

Kind regards,
Blair Bowman

Founder
World Whisky Day
www.worldwhiskyday.com

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and very exciting competitions.

It is with great pride that Diageo officially unveils the Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company – a new project determined to locate lost and forgotten barrels of whiskey from around the world and share them with discerning adult fans. 

The first two variants to be released from the company will include the 20-year-old Barterhouse Whiskey and the 26-year-aged Old Blowhard Whiskey. Barterhouse Whiskey(SRP: $75) stocks were discovered in old warehouses at the famed Stitzel-Weller facility in Louisville, Ky. Rumor has it warehouse workers have already begun lining up for the first taste of this beautiful whiskey with a soft nose reminiscent of warm spice, biscuit and buttercream.  The whiskey’s mellow taste includes notes of roasted grain, charred oak and a brown sugar finish.  

Old Blowhard Whiskey (SRP: $150) was also found at Stitzel-Weller.  At 26-years-old, the whiskey contains exuberant, rich flavors with undertones of smoke and honey followed by a gentle finish – dry and spicy with a hint of orange peel.  Old Blowhard Whiskey is meant to be sipped slowly and best enjoyed among gregarious friends and unyielding debates. 

Both whiskies are hand-bottled with love in Tullahoma, Tenn., and are expected to begin appearing on select shelved throughout the U.S. in March 2014 under strict allocation due to limited supply.

We are pleased to present our program for the 2014 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival:

Thursday 1st May
Liquid Treasures – A Whisky Treasure Hunt
Follow clues set by the Tomintoul and Glenlivet Development Trust to find liquid treasure. Thursday is Glenfarclas day. Follow the hunt at #liquidtreasures.
To register for this free event, and for more info click here.

Thursday 1st May 9.30am – 5.00pm
Spirits of the Glens
Join the Tomintoul and Glenlivet Development Trust for a tour of Glenfarclas, The Glenlivet, Tomintoul, Cragganmore and Tamnavulin distilleries. This ‘whisky festival in a day’ tour includes a whisky lunch in Tomintoul.
£230 per person. For full details, and to book, please click here.

Thursday 1st May 10.30am – 12.30pm
Seven decades of Glenfarclas with Kate Watt
Owned by the Grant family for six generations, Glenfarclas is in the enviable, and possibly unique, position of having stock available from seven different decades. Join Kate Watt, Sales & Marketing Executive, for a tour of the Glenfarclas distillery and the opportunity to try seven whiskies, with one from each of the seven decades; 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s and 10s. This will include a selection of current bottlings, and cask samples.
£85.00 per person, 28 places. To book please click here.

Thursday 1st May 3.15pm – 5.15pm
Manager’s Tour with Callum Fraser
Join Callum Fraser, our Production Manager, for a tour of the Glenfarclas distillery followed by a tasting of five whiskies. Callum, who has 23 years experience in whisky distilling, joined Glenfarclas in December 2012. This promises to be an interesting tour as Callum reflects on his first eighteen months in post, and shares his enthusiasm for the future of the distillery. After the tour Callum will introduce you to a selection of five of his favourite Glenfarclas expressions. £60.00 per person, 10 places. To book please click here.

Friday 2nd May 3.15pm – 5.15pm
Glenfarclas 1988 Visitor Centre Exclusive Launch with Ian McWilliam
After a tour of the family owned Glenfarclas distillery, join Ian McWilliam, Marketing Executive, for a tasting to celebrate the launch our new visitor centre exclusive bottling, a twenty five year old single cask from 1988. For comparison Ian will also present a selection of four other 25 year old Glenfarclas whiskies, including single casks and vintage bottlings.
£50.00 per person, 28 places. To book please click here.

Saturday 3rd May 3.00pm – 5.00pm
Glenfarclas Tasting at The Mash Tun, Aberlour
Join George Grant, the sixth generation of the Grant family of Glenfarclas and Douglas Belford, at The Mash Tun in Aberlour for an afternoon of whisky tasting through the Glenfarclas range.
Ticket price includes a Mash Tun Glencairn whisky glass to take home.
£22.50 per person. To book please click here.

Monday 5th May 10.30am – 12.30pm
The Family Casks – Help choose the 1999 bottling with George Grant
The Family Casks are a unique collection of single casks whiskies, with at least one cask bottled for every year from 1952 to 1998. To select the casks for each year, George Grant has nosed over 200 different casks. Now he would like you to assist in selecting the cask for the 1999 vintage to add to the collection. After a tour of the distillery, and a tasting of a selection of The Family Casks, George Grant will introduce a short list of 1999 cask samples, for you to nose, taste, comment on and then vote on. The chosen cask will then go forward for bottling, to be released for sale later in the year. £55.00 per person, 28 places. To book please click here

www.ralfy.com visits a characterful malt with Whisky Review 427 – Benriach 12yo Single Malt Scotch

It was a freezing cold night last November when our inaugural Glengoyne live online tasting event took place. Thankfully we were able to warm ourselves up with a dram or three of the finest Glengoyne single cask malts.

Together with Stuart Hendry, Brand Heritage Manager here at Glengoyne, I (Robbie Hughes, distillery manager) opened, sampled and discussed three Glengoyne single casks – and then Family members in attendance online were tasked with choosing just one of them for us to bottle.

The winner was Cask B – a sublime single cask 26yo Glengoyne. And it’s available to order now.

Visit the Glengoyne Online Shop to Buy Now >

Only 339 bottles in existence

This uniquely special Glengoyne comes from a first fill European oak sherry cask and is, I (Robbie Hughes) believe, a must for any Glengoyne drinker or collector. On the nose, chocolates and brambles give way to rum and raisin ice cream and lemon peel. The palate is mouthwatering, with real sweetness on the lips from honey, eucalyptus then oily lemon. The long finish eventually dries. It’s a beautiful Glengoyne to savour. We’ve presented it in a brand new engraved oak display box. The bespoke, heavyweight premium bottle features a unique metal/oak stopper and metal neck tag and seal. The front and back labels bear details of the cask. Priced at £350, bottles are ready to be dispatched. Drawn from a single cask of Glengoyne, there are only 339 bottles available, so once they are gone, they’re gone forever.

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• Laphroaig “Càirdeas” Port Wood Islay Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($64.99)
  This is the extremely limited edition Friend’s of Laphroaig bottling for 2013. Last time we got nearly 400 bottles of Cairdeas. This year we will get a fraction of that. So, yeah it’s gonna be hard to get.

United States – Single Malt

• Balcones Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 1 available ($74.99)

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

FREYA – ‘THE FAIR ONE’ – TAKES CENTRE STAGE

The third whisky in the acclaimed Valhalla Collection 

After the lightning strike of the mighty Thor and the smoky complexity of the trickster Loki, Highland Park has turned its attention to the mesmerising Norse Goddess of Love, Freya for the third release in the acclaimed Valhalla Collection. 

Famed for her great beauty and often known as The Fair One, Freya is the patron and protector of the human race, and to whom souls travel to be renewed.  On one hand she is a beautiful and sensitive adviser but on the other a hot blooded and glorious Warrior that no one can resist.  

Her story is full of colour and legends.  Spring flowers fall from her hair and she sheds tears of gold and amber.  It is believed the reflection from her magical cloak of feathers in the night sky creates the aurora borealis (Northern Lights). 

Highland Park has continued The Valhalla Collection tradition of reflecting the character and qualities of the Norse Gods in the whisky itself, this time taking Freya’s intriguing allure and feisty personality as their inspiration to create an entrancing single malt – full, rich and complex with a lingering beguiling finish. 

The shimmering gold 15 year old vibrant whisky offers a white chocolatey aroma with a fresh tropical fruitiness emerging from the trademark gentle, sweet smokiness Highland Park is known and loved for. 

Freya represents the continuation of Highland Park’s Valhalla Collection; a range of four unique whiskies taking inspiration from the legendary Nordic gods of old.  Bottled at 51.2% ABV this limited edition whisky comes housed in the same unique and award winning wooden frame of Thor and Loki, echoing the fearsome contours of a traditional Viking long ship. 

Gerry Tosh, Global Marketing Manager said: 

“Freya is the only female to feature in The Valhalla Collection and being a serene, spiritual and giving goddess, she brings a fresh allure and depth to the lineup.  Her beauty and majesty are said to make her utterly captivating and I think people might feel the same about this smooth and classy single malt.  It is unmistakably Highland Park, but offers a rich, full burst of flavour that reflects this Warrior God’s mesmeric aura and feisty dominant side.”  

Freya will be available from specialist independent whisky retailers, at the Highland Park distillery and www.highlandpark.co.uk from 7^th February at a RRP of £140. 

Tasting Notes:

Highland Park Freya – 15 years old – 51.2% abv

Colour:  The Fair One, golden

Aroma:  Almond and Madagascan vanilla shimmer in the distance like the Aurora Borealis. White chocolate followed by candied cherries makes way for a vibrant wave of mango and melon, riding upon a cloud of cream soda.

Taste:  The heart of this whisky shines like a jewel, surrounded by fragrant peat. Orange peel, butterscotch and rose petals provide the sweetness along with orange blossom and ginger.  Lively popping candy, lemongrass and tropical fruits are lightly shrouded in peat smoke.

Finish:  Complex and beautiful, yet balanced and considered like Freya herself, the finish gives lingering spice and soft peat smoke intertwined with soft orchard fruits, toasted coconut and a light char, providing a rounded depth and allowing this whisky to soar.   

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, Highland Park 18 year old was named Best Spirit in the World by American drinks expert Paul Pacult in Top 115 Spirits, Spirit Journal in 2009 and 2005. 

2013 has seen Highland Park 25 year old awarded the first ever 100-point score, along with the Chairman’s Trophy for Best of Category, at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. It too has also recently been named ‘Best Spirit in the World’. 

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 

http://www.highlandpark.co.uk/  

St. Magdalene 31 Year Old
Vintage 1982 / Hart Brothers / Single Cask

Sadly, St Magdalene single malt whisky is very rarely found, the distillery was closed by its owners, United Distillers in the mid 1980’s. During its early years the distillery was known as Linlithgow after the town in which it was built.

This 1982 single cask St Magdalene, bottled by Hart Brothers has been aged for 31 years. Released in very limited quantities in 2013 at cask strength, 53.5% vol.

£312.00 (£260.00 ex vat)

Click here to buy St Magdalene 1982 / 31 Year Old / Hart Brothers

Whisky Fest Cowichan Valley is on April 12, 2014 at the Oceanfront Hotel in Cowichan Bay from7pm-10pm.  There are also 3 Master Classes consisting of Ben Riach and Compass Box and Macallan 1824 series. 

All the tickets are for sale at Beverly Corners, online at http://cvwhiskeyfest.ca/ and at the hotel if you wish to stay overnight there.  Tickets for event are $70.00, Master Classes are $20.00 each and these classes are at 4:30 pm and 5:45 Pm.  Tickets are limited so come in and purchase them now!