The malt whisky sector grew by 46.7% between 2003 and 2012, according to a new report from just-drinks and The IWSR, hitting a record high in 2012 of 7.8m cases, fuelled by strong growth in Asia. 

The report, entitled ‘Global market review of malt whisky – forecasts to 2018’, shows that Asia has seen a “very dynamic” compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.2%, reaching around 1.5m cases in 2012. While most of that growth came from Taiwan, the report adds that most countries in the Asia region are experiencing “healthy growth”. Taiwan overtook France in 2012 to become the second-largest market for malt. 

Another key driver for the malt sector has been the Travel Retail market, which has grown its share of the category from 12% in 2003 to 15% in 2012. Travel Retail sales in value terms reached US$447.7m in 2012. 

Growth has also been strong in the Americas. North America has registered a “very healthy” 6.3% CAGR over the last ten years, according to the report. In 2012, the US was the largest malt market in the world at 1.4m cases, representing a rise of almost 12% from 2011. 

The US is also the largest individual market in retail value terms (including excise duties), with a 15.5% share in 2012. The US malt category’s retail value sales climbed from US$272.5m in 2003 to just under US$613m in 2012. 

Overall, the global malt market expanded at a CAGR of 7% between 2007 and 2012 in retail value terms (including excise taxes and duties) to reach US$3.95bn. 

Europe is the largest region by retail value with a 38% share, followed by Asia Pacific at 22%, the Americas at 21% and travel retail at 11.3%. 

However, Europe’s share of the global market has fallen from almost 60% in 2003. Most of this decline can be attributed to softening sales in Southern Europe as a result of the economic crisis. 

Italy, Spain and Greece have all seen sharp declines, the report states. 

About just-drinks.com 

Established in 1999, just-drinks is a leading online resource for the global beverage industry, publishing around 20 news articles, analysis features and insights every working day. Under the direction of managing editor Olly Wehring, its experienced team of journalists, consultants and analysts provide a unique and comprehensive blend of reports and interpretation of the beverage industry, including key events, trends, interviews and research that are delivered to over 92,000 business executives per month. 

Through its web site, webinars and in-depth management briefings just-drinks offers insight into soft drinks, wine, beer, spirits and bottled water industry developments and supply-chain trends, brand and corporate strategies, CONSULT research platform, enterprise technologies such as PLM and ERP. 

Furthermore, just-drinks supplies news on manufacturing developments and how the drinks industry is performing around the world. 

For details of how just-drinks is helping decision makers make decisions, visit http://www.just-drinks.com/ 

For further information and images please contact John Newton, Public Relations at Aroq Limited on +44 (0)1527 573 734, email john.newton@aroq.com 

Here is a brand new E-pistle by the Malt Maniacs Awards Coordinator Keith Wood who has been working hard to bring the annual awards up to date with current developments.

Click HERE to read the article

Introducing the NEW Glengoyne 25YO

Announcing the launch of the Glengoyne 25YO. This is an extremely special whisky, unchill-filtered and bottled at 48% ABV. Matured exclusively in hand-selected sherry casks in our traditional dunnage warehouses for a quarter of a century and presented in its own bespoke bottle, this unique malt has a flavour of soft oak, cinnamon, stewed fruits and a Seville marmalade tang – a perfect after dinner dram.

The Glengoyne 25YO, priced at £250, will be on UK shelves from Monday 7th April and available globally shortly thereafter.

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #84

Mark Dermul, Belgian Whiskyblogger, tries a vintage whisky from Glenrothes. The Glenrothes distillery is one of five in the village of Rothes in the heart of Speyside. The first distillate ran from the stills on the same day as the Tay Bridge disaster in 1879. Most of their whisky matures in European oak and they bottle their whisky not with an age statement, but with a vintage. Why not try one of those beautiful vintages, say the 1978? And what a dram it turned out to be! 

http://youtu.be/WnhCb6X7AdA

…………blame the wretched servers.

A.  Smith Bowman Distillery Releases Limited Edition

Double Barrel Bourbon  

               Fredericksburg, VA. (March 26, 2014) – A. Smith Bowman Distillery announces the first release in its Abraham Bowman line for 2014, the Abraham Bowman Limited Edition Double Barrel Bourbon. This new bourbon was aged a total of seven years and two months.

               This bourbon was originally put into barrels on December 12, 2006 and transferred to new barrels on April 17, 2013.  After aging an additional six months in Bowman’s standard Warehouse (A1), the barrels were then moved to the mezzanine of Warehouse K, and aged for an additional 5 months. The mezzanine allows for increased air flow around the barrels while also allowing the barrels to receive more scrutiny under the watchful eye of Master Distiller Brian Prewitt.

               “This is a bourbon lover’s bourbon,” said Prewitt. “We decided not to chill filter this bourbon to help retain more of the flavors. The bourbon is smooth and sweet in the mouth, with a pleasant marriage of spice, vanilla, and toasty oak flavors that linger delicately on the palate.” 

               Prewitt also describes the bourbon to have a “beautiful deep cooper color. The nose opens up with honey and vanilla, giving way to baked apple and pear notes. Sweet caramel, brown sugar, and brown spice round out the nose.”  

The Abraham Bowman Limited Edition Whiskey Double Barrel Bourbon is part of a series of limited edition whiskies, named after Abraham Bowman, the commander of the 8^th Virginia Regiment in the American Revolutionary War. Each edition of the Abraham line is a different expression and a new expression is released a few times a year.  The Abraham Bowman Limited Edition Double Barrel Bourbon is on sale now. It is 100 proof. Suggested retail pricing is $69.99.  

About A. Smith Bowman

A. Smith Bowman’s distilling roots date back to the years before Prohibition when the Bowman family had a granary and dairy farm in Sunset Hills, Virginia. They used excess grain from the family estate to distill spirits. In 1934, after the Repeal of Prohibition, Abram Smith Bowman and his sons continued the family tradition and built a more modern distillery in Fairfax County, Virginia called Sunset Hills Farm.  In response to the rapid rise of taxes in Northern Virginia, the Distillery was moved in 1988 and is now nestled in Spotsylvania County near the city of Fredericksburg, 60 miles away from the original location.

As a small and privately owned company, A. Smith Bowman Distillery continues the time-honored traditions on which it was founded. Considered a micro-distillery by today’s standards, A. Smith Bowman produces an assortment of hand-crafted spirits distilled from only the finest natural ingredients and using the latest technology. This micro-distillery focuses on the production of premium spirits honoring the legacy of Virginia’s first settlers. For more information on A. Smith Bowman, please visit www.asmithbowman.com.

5007 Underwood Ave, Omaha NE 68132 dundeedell.com 402.553.9501

April Events at the Dundee Dell!

We have an exciting month in April, we have many events to attend!

Scotch Tasting
Sunday, April 6 @ 4 p.m.
Chris and Amanda have been planning a great tasting for April. The girls really love Scotch and give a great tasting! $50 per person

Rye Whiskey Tasting
Sunday, April 13 @ 4 p.m.
Pat is very excited to give a Rye Whiskey Tasting. He picked his favorite 8 Rye Whiskies & is going to share all of his amazing knowledge with us! This tasting will be packed and I can’t wait!! $50 per person

THERE’S GOLD – LIQUID GOLD – IN THEM THERE HILLS!

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival launches treasure hunt with a difference 

The liquid gold rush will come to Scotland’s most famous whisky producing region as treasure hunters gather to seek out bottles of exclusive single malt that have been hidden in the Speyside landscape. 

A group of distilleries known as The Famous Five – Glenfarclas, Tomintoul, Tamnavulin, The Glenlivet and Cragganmore – have teamed up to offer bottles of single malt whisky valued at over £600 as the haul for lucky scavengers. 

The grown-up treasure hunt has been organised as part of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, which will welcome thousands of whisky lovers from around the globe from May 1 to 5. 

Festival-goers will be able to take part in the hunt for free, simply by following the clues that appear at the Festival hubs in the towns of Elgin, Aberlour, Dufftown, and Tomtintoul on Festival transport and on Facebook and Twitter. 

Tomintoul and Glenlivet Development Trust – which operates in an area regarded as the beating heart of Speyside’s whisky production – is behind the Liquid Treasures event. 

Trust chairman Charlie Ironside says he hopes the treasure hunt will encourage visitors to spend more time in the Tomintoul and Glenlivet area during their trip to the region. 

He adds, “Our organisation was set up to help regenerate the rural economy, and working with large events like the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival – an event which is renowned with whisky lovers throughout the world – is key to that. 

“Thousands of visitors come to the area every year to visit our historic distilleries and learn more about the industry, and what we want to do is to encourage them to spend more time here. 

“They might come for the whisky, but we hope they will leave with a better knowledge of what else Tomintoul and Glenlivet has to offer – incredible walking and mountain biking trails, rich built and natural heritage, fantastic wildlife and some of the most breathtaking scenery in Scotland.” 

Each of the five distilleries have offered up some of their most exclusive bottlings for Liquid Treasures, which will run for the duration of the five-day festival. Details of the hidden malts will be announced nearer the event, but will be a worthy addition to any collection. 

Clues – which will test whisky knowledge rather than local geography – will be posted each day, and participants will be able to piece together the puzzle of the secret locations. Clues will also be posted on Twitter, and participants will be able to follow the latest news by using the hashtag #liquidtreasures. The hunt can be followed at facebook.com/TomintoulGlenlivet and on Twitter @TGDevTrust 

Mr Ironside adds, “This area of Speyside is where the Scotch whisky industry started, as The Glenlivet was the first licensed distillery in Scotland. The hills in these parts are alive with stories of smugglers and illicit stills, so it seems right that we should once again have people scouring the area trying to find some treasure of their own.” 

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival chairman James Campbell says that Liquid Treasures looks set to be one of the most popular events on this year’s programme. The Festival line-up includes more than 370 events, such as nosings, tastings, distillery tours, walks, art exhibitions and food pairing. 

It will also launch a brand new attraction this year – The Spirit of Speyside Sessions. A festival in its own right, the Sessions will feature performances by some of the leading acts in Scottish traditional music in venues closely linked to the whisky industry. 

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is one of the leading events for Year of Homecoming 2014 – a year-long celebration which showcases all that is great about Scotland. The Festival will also have the honour of kicking off Homecoming’s own Whisky Month in May. 

Mr Campbell adds, “Liquid Treasures is proving to be one of the most talked about events of the Festival, and I know that many, many people  are planning to take part. 

“The great thing about this event is that it is so accessible – it is open to absolutely everyone. I wish each and every one of our budding pioneers the very best of luck in their attempts to strike gold in Speyside.” 

Tickets for all events in the 2014 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival programme can be bought via the website – www.spiritofspeyside.com The Festival is also active on social media – facebook.com/WhiskyFestival and @spirit_speyside on Twitter. 

Picture caption: Treasure hunters will be on the search for liquid gold at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival. 

NOTES

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival runs from Thursday, 1 May – Monday, 5 May 2014.  Check out http://www.spiritofspeyside.com/ for up-to-date news and follow the Festival at www.facebook.com/WhiskyFestival  or www.twitter.com/spirit_speyside 

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is committed to promoting responsible drinking. Visitors travelling to and from festival events can take advantage of a range of transport options. Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has received funding from EventScotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and is also financially supported by many other private and public partners 

EventScotland: EventScotland is the national events agency. EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. 

Year of Homecoming Scotland

Scotland will welcome the world in the Year of Homecoming 2014- providing a year-long programme of events alongside the Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games . The Year of Homecoming Scotland will run from 31 December 2013 to 31 December 2014 throughout the length and breadth of the country.  Visitors from around the world are invited to join in a celebration of the nation’s food and drink, active pursuits, cultural heritage, nature and ancestral heritage. 

Homecoming Scotland 2014 is a Scottish Government initiative being led by EventScotland and VisitScotland, supported by numerous partners. To find out more visit http://www.homecomingscotland.com/

Whisky Cocktail Tasting – Thursday 1st May 2014

We’ve got a real treat in store to celebrate May day this year – and, no, there won’t be any Morris men or a maypole to dance round but there may well be some merry making by the end of the night as we will be welcoming along the extremely entertaining Bruce Perry, Sales Director of Eaux de Vie, to present an evening of delicious whisky cocktails.

Whisky cocktails have been around for many years, with the earliest recorded ones dating back to the late 1800s, but the rise in popularity of cocktails generally in recent times has lead to a renewed appreciation of the versatility and complexity that whisky can bring to mixed drinks. On the evening Bruce will talk you through the whiskies being used, which will be a selection from America, Sweden, Scotland and Japan, and an experienced mixologist will demonstrate how to make each of the cocktails so, with the help of the recipe cards that will be provided, this fun and relaxed evening will provide you with the basics of how to create your own fabulous concoctions.

This is a perfect way to spend a summer evening but there are only 34 tickets available so don’t miss out! Tickets are priced at £17.50 per person and will be available to buy from 1.30pm on Wednesday 2nd April. No bookings will be taken before this time. Due to the restricted number of tickets the maximum number of people per booking is 4.

See below for all the details and if you have any queries just contact us.

Sláinte!
Fran and Ken
Arkwrights Whisky and Wines
www.whiskyandwines.com

UPCOMING EVENT

Name Whisky Cocktail Tasting
Date Thursday 1st May 2014

Time 7pm for 7.30pm
Venue Stanton House Hotel, Stanton Fitzwarren SN6 7SD

Details Admission to the tasting is by ticket only, and the whiskies featured in the cocktails, plus most of the other ingredients, will be available to purchase on the night so come prepared. Tickets are £17.50 per person, and this also entitles you to a discount of £3 against a bottle of one of the featured whiskies if bought or ordered on the night of the tasting.

Tickets are very strictly limited, and allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Arkwrights reserve the right to restrict the number of tickets per customer and as these tastings usually sell out within hours it is best to book ASAP. To buy tickets just log on to www.whiskyandwines.com from 1.30pm on Wednesday 2nd April and place an order for the number you require.

Please note, we cannot accept provisional bookings and payment must be made when booking. We do not give refunds for tickets purchased for our events except in exceptional circumstances.

N.B. We have negotiated special rates at the hotel for anyone who wants to stay overnight after the tasting – click here for further details.

The Famous Feastival

The Famous Feastival, on Sunday 25th May, is a celebration of food, whisky, chocolate and music, held at Scotland’s Oldest whisky distillery, The Glenturret, at The Famous Grouse Experience in Crieff. This year’s Feastival is delighted to be working with world renowned British chef Tom Kitchin and we have a selection of exclusive, and very tasty, VIP events from which to choose.

BOOK NOW