The relationship continues with the Cutty Sark Clipper ship…

Having been originally named after the Cutty Sark Clipper ship, our two brands have always had a relatively close relationship.

After an extensive six-year conservation project, the Clipper was re-opened two years ago and is maintained by the Cutty Sark Trust as part of Royal Museums Greenwich. Much like our whisky brand, the Trust is constantly looking for ways to stand out from the other visitor attractions in London and has taken a pioneering approach to its marketing.

Several international sponsors, including ourselves (Cutty Sark), have supported the Trust to ensure the ship is open for visitors all year round.

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 here for membership information This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Happy Birthday to PennyPacker Bourbon!

It has already been a full year since PennnyPacker Kentucky Straight Bourbon has been launched in the U.S. market in May 2013. Over the course of the past year, PennyPacker has received tremendous feedback, including 91 Points from the Tasting Panel Magazine, 87 Points from Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, Three Stars in the Spirit Journal’s Hall of Fame Issue among several other awards. PennyPacker has also been reviewed and featured on several websites and blogs, including WhiskeyIntelligenc.com, Bourbonblog.com, BourbonandOak.com, DrinkHacker.com, and many more.

With National distribution, PennyPacker has made its way from New York to California with appearances in various Chain Retailers such as Total Wine & More, Spec’s, Kroger’s, and more. PennyPacker is also being featured in bars and restaurants across the nation as a house-pour bourbon or used in Specialty cocktails, including “Blackberry Fig Infused PennyPacker” at Sip Rooftop Bar in Greenville, SC and the “Spring Packer” featured at The Strand Smokehouse in Astoria, NY.

What’s more is that out of approximately 130 labels imported/distributed by Niche Import Co. PennyPacker Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey has quickly made its way into the Top 5.

On the rocks. Neat. In a fancy cocktail. In a simple mixed drink. However you drink it, raise your glass, and join us in wishing PennyPacker aHappy 1st Birthday!

Niche Import Co.
At Niche Import Co., a woman owned company, it is our mission to form strategic partnerships with international wine and spirit producers from around the world to import, define, find and maintain distribution channels for high quality specialty brands in the U.S. market.

We are determined to offer outstanding service and competitive pricing to our clients through a dedicated understanding of our brands, their history, the market and target end-user within each geographic region in order to give them the energy, focus, and resources they require to thrive and grow.

Quality in your glass; quality in life. Drink responsibly.

To learn more about our products and services, please visit: www.ourniche.com

New Elements Of Islay – Billy Abbott edition!

The Elements of Islay range of whiskies is one that’s very close to my heart. While it’s bottled by our sister company, Speciality Drinks Ltd, the TWE Blog team often help out when putting together a new release. The first whisky I helped select after starting work in the drinks industry was Kh1, a surprisingly hard choice between three excellent cask samples, and the Elements have stuck with me ever since. From Kh1 onwards, I’ve at least had a taste of the new releases before they’ve hit the shelves, and have offered up my palate to help choose casks and decide which whiskies to vat together for the various releases. However, the latest batch are a bit more special to me than the previous ones – these have my name on the bottle.

The Elements are a range of whiskies whose labels tell you very little about what’s in the bottle. There’s no age statement, no cask number(s) and, most importantly, no distillery name. There is a code, which is fairly easy to work out, but the whiskies are put together to show off some great flavours without the preconceptions you might otherwise get from the label.

Annoyingly for Speciality Drinks, buying Islay whisky has become increasingly difficult over the years, with many distilleries stopping sales back in the early 2000s. Fortunately, they started stocking up before then, and there’s still at least a few years’ worth of releases to come.

Each time a batch of Elements of Islay bottlings is put together, Speciality Drinks approaches someone associated with the world of whisky to taste and approve the whisky in the bottles, and have their name on the label. They started with Charlie Maclean, the current king of whisky writers, and have since had luminaries from across the industry: writers Dom Roskrow and Ingvar Ronde, Islay super-fan Gordon Homer, collector Hideo Yamaoka and, for the last release, my colleague Ollie Chilton, who now looks after the Elements range.

I helped out with the selection of the whiskies this time – a hard task that involved accepting glasses pushed into my hand by Ollie, and offering up opinions on the liquid therein. Afternoons were spent blending various casks to find a mix that was better than the sum of its parts; single casks were compared and contrasted; judgements were made as to whether whiskies would get better with more time in the cask. At the end of the process, with four whiskies selected and ready to go, I was asked if I’d be the one to approve the drams this time and have my signature on the label.

I obviously said yes.

This latest release definitely tends towards the heavier and smokier end of the Islay spectrum. There’s nothing light and grassy or even delicately peaty this time, although there is a spot of Br4 and some Bw1 left if you’re looking for something along those lines. This release is about powerful flavours and the more traditional distillery characters.

One thing to note, before I drop in some tasting notes: I can’t give out much information on these whiskies other than what’s on the bottle. There are two reasons behind this:

1. It’s part of the ideology of the range. We have selected single casks and small vattings of whiskies to show off what we consider to be the best that the distillery can produce. That can be along the same lines as official releases, or something totally different, but in the end we just focus on flavour and character.

2. I don’t know much about them other than what they taste like – the focus when creating the whiskies was the flavour and character, and that’s what I had to hand about each whisky when tasting them.

Ar4, 58.1%. £89.95

There’s not much whisky from Ar floating around, other than the casks hidden in their warehouses, and it’s been hard to get hold of for a while. Fortunately, Speciality Drinks have some squirreled away and we had a few samples to choose between for this release. After Ar3′s sherry-heavy approach, to the point of being a bit much for me (despite my love of the combination of peat and sherry), this one goes for a much cleaner and more traditional take on the distillery’s character:

Nose: Earthy and sweet – peat fires and barley sugar. Behind that is spiced vanilla sauce and brioche, with leafy notes and touches of smoky bacon.
Palate: Softer than expected from the nose at first, but still solidly smoky. However, intensity builds, with lemon zest and vanilla accompanied by growing medicinal peat and charcoal. Remains quite sweet, with barley sugar notes balancing the bitter char, and touches of aniseed and cinnamon developing.
Finish: Long and sweet, with anise, liquorice and menthol, although lighter than that might sound and quite sharp. Some darker notes develop as it fades.
Comment: A great example of whisky from the distillery as well as being a bit different. Powerfully flavoured but easy drinking and with a great finish.

Bn6, 56.9%. £49.95

Again, this one is a departure from previous releases from Bn, and looks very much towards the distillery’s usual style. Rather than big peat and bourbon casks, as several of the previous releases in the range have veered towards, this is all about sherry and spirit character.

Nose: Dark dried fruit to start – sweet and spicy. Some more tropical touches develop: dried mango, papaya and pineapple kubes. Spiced fruit loaf (lightly toasted), orange zest and a hint of cocoa appear later on. Surprisingly light and zesty, although with a solid sherried weight behind.
Palate: Sweet and buttery to start: Eccles cakes, Victoria sponge with raisins. Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut, liquorice touches and some developing leafy notes.
Finish: Lingering spice and damp oak, with burnt raisins, a touch of apple and some dark liquorice as it fades.
Comment: Well-balanced sherry influence gives some intense and dark flavours, while allowing some of the fruity nature of the spirit to shine through.

Cl6, 61.2%. £59.95

The folks at Speciality Drinks really like whisky from Cl, and over the years we have spent a lot of time blending and tasting whisky from the distillery. A few years ago, we helped put together a release for a different range of whiskies in the Speciality Drinks portfolio, and in the process of doing so came across a few excellent casks that we put to one side for later use – Cl6 is from one of those special ones. There’s not much of it, as the cask wasn’t particularly full, but it’s probably my favourite of this release.

Nose: White toast, apple jam and freshly cut ferns. Pine needles and subdued pine smoke sit underneath with barley sugar and rich-but-thin caramel. Some minerality develops – granite and flint – along with mulchy leaves. It’s quite fragrant, with the darker notes propping up the lighter elements.
Palate: Powerful. There is some heat from the high ABV, but above that floats delicate flavours: white chocolate, honeysuckle, sweet apple and white grapes. Underneath there are darker notes, with dark chocolate, charcoal, liquorice and burned-meat umami. Water simplifies things, helping the flavours to integrate, although at the cost of the more subtle notes.
Finish: Soft and very long: green plum, green wood, cinnamon, hot chocolate and chocolate cookies, with a hint of cherry menthol.
Comment: Subtle, despite its high ABV, and as long as you can get past the strength, it’s very rewarding. Fortunately, it also takes water well, becoming much more approachable for those times when you don’t want to think too hard.

Lp5, 52.4%. £69.95

Again, a return to distillery form for this one. It’s not sherried, unlike previous batches, and it doesn’t go towards a far-out flavour profile – it’s a classic, sweet and fruity example of whisky from the distillery. It’s from a small batch of casks, bottled after being selected in a blind tasting.

Nose: Sweet smoke and classic medicinal touches: fresh bandages, sea spray and ozone. Aniseed balls sit up front, with richer flavours behind – Victoria sponge and digestive biscuits.
Palate: Big mineral hit to start, with cracked granite and seaside rock pools. Sharp peat smoke comes in, with sweet earth and touches of sweet-cure bacon. It’s quite intense, with developing aniseed, darker grainy notes and touches of Fisherman’s Friends. Water dims the spiciness and dials up the sweetness, while maintaining the smoke and sharp edges.
Finish: Salty liquorice, damp earth and mouth-drying smoke.
Comment: Classic, focused and intense. One for lovers of old-school medicinal peat.

Work is already in progress to select the next whiskies to bottle in the range. A few promising cask samples have appeared and more are on the way down from Scotland as I type. Even though it’ll be someone else’s name on the bottle next time, I’ll still keep a watchful eye on the process. Watch this space.

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – New Elements Of Islay – Billy Abbott edition!

FAIRGROUND THRILLS: THE BIG DIPPER

An adventure unlike any other: get ready to experience spikes of adrenaline and intenstine-twisting thrills, we’re dipping the prices on our summer selection of fairground flavours. Hold on tight for a white-knuckle ride – thrill-seekers can enjoy a 20% saving on these Panel-picked bottlings. Leave behind your everyday world and go head-first into flavour… enter ‘BIGDIPPER’ at our online checkout.

Be first in the queue, this fairground attraction ends Thu 26 June

Sweet, fruity & mellow

94.4 Ode to Autumn
WAS £92.40 BUY £73.92

Browse more old & dignified sale bottles HERE

Spicy & sweet

72.35 Pink Grapefruit Granita
WAS £110.30 BUY £88.24

Browse more spicy & sweet sale bottles HERE

Spicy & dry

28.24 Curiouser and curiouser
WAS £82.80 BUY £68.64

Deep, rich & dried fruits

9.76 Out of Africa
WAS £92.40 BUY £73.92

Old & dignified

35.101 Oh How Joyfully
WAS £280.00 BUY £224.00

Browse more old & dignified sale bottles HERE

Light & delicate

7.96 Subtle quality in a lady’s handbag
WAS £85.30 BUY  £68.24

Browse more light & delicate sale bottles HERE

Juicy, oak & vanilla

64.51 Tuck-time in a stately home
WAS £87.20 BUY £69.76

Lightly peated

44.59 Lime marinated grilled chicken
WAS £87.20 BUY £69.76

Something different: Grain Whisky

G4.5 Sweet and Spicy
WAS £83.10 BUY £66.48

Browse SALE

Browse all bottlings

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 here for membership information This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Longrow 14 Year Old Burgundy Finish 56.1%

Springbank’s Bottling Hall, located in a former bonded warehouse used by the actual Longrow Distillery which closed in 1896

Springbank is one of only three distilleries in the Campbeltown whisky region. With 130 distilleries in Scotland, it seems strange that one of the five regions should contain but three distilleries. This was not always true.

Campbeltown was once the capital of the whisky world, home to more than 30 active distilleries.

In deference to that lost diversity, the Springbank distillery makes whisky in three distinct styles. Their Springbank brand is moderately peated double distilled spirit. Their Hazelburn is an unpeated spirit, 2.5 times distilled and classically Lowland in style. Longrow is their twice-distilled spirit which has been heavily peated in the Islay tradition.

Longrows are very special single-malts that are rare to come by. I’m thankful to be able to offer one you may have not had the chance to try. This heavily peated whisky was aged in an old bourbon cask for eleven years before being transferred for a final three years rest to a cask that once held red wine from Burgundy. It’s been bottled at cask-strength, 56.1%. Everyone who has bought one so far has been very happy with it, and we have only ten bottles left. I expect it to go quickly.

Regularly $136.99 – On Sale $124.99

Check our website for more whisky offers 

Joe Howell
Federal Wine & Spirits
________________________________________
Email: joe@federalwine.com
Phone: 617-367-8605
Web: http://www.federalwine.com/

We have four new Four Roses private barrels:

Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
TPS Private Barrel – $29.99

Four Roses Barrel Strength OBSF Bourbon
TPS Private Barrel – $49.99

Four Roses Barrel Strength OBSK Bourbon
TPS Private Barrel – $49.99

Four Roses Barrel Strength OESV Bourbon
TPS Private Barrel – $49.99

We also have another George Dickel 9 Year Private Barrel back in stock:

George Dickel Hand Selected
TPS Private Barrel 9 Year – $45.99

The Ardbeg Auriverdes is nearly here. It will be in store at KWM, North America’s first Ardbeg Embassy, on Wednesday June 25th. Demand for the whisky, which was first sampled at Ardbeg Day Festivities coordinated by KWM, has been very strong, and pre-order requests have been brisk. It is not too late to reserve your bottle. My tasting note can be found below. We also still have a little stock left of the Ardbeg Galileo which was surprisingly re-released in Alberta a couple of weeks ago.

There are also a couple of exciting new whiskies available from KWM. The Gordon & MacPhail Glentauchers 1994 is perhaps the most interesting, $114.99. Very few bottlings are seen from this Speyside distillery, and this one caught our attention when it scored 96.5pts in the Whisky Bible. It is a KWM exclusive. There are also some very tasty left over bottles of Berry’s Linkwood 1993 from a single cask bottled for the Companions of the Quaich. The club took most of the bottles, but there are a few left over for the public to sample and purchase at $125.

I hope you enjoy this Malt Messenger Bulletin, and I hope we’ll see you in store soon to share a dram and check out some of our exciting new offerings.

In this Edition:
1. Ardbeg Auriverdes Due This Coming Wednesday
2. Introducing Gordon & MacPhail’s Glen Tauchers 1994
3. Berry’s Linkwood 1993 CofQ Cask Available to the Public
4. Lagavulin 37 Year
5. Finally the New Whiskies from Bruichladdich are Here!
6. Ardbeg Galileo is Back

Slainte!

Andrew Ferguson
Kensington Wine Market

PS- PS – Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/scotch_guy and Facebook: facebook.com/scotch.guy.1 .
www.fergusonwhiskytours.com

Ardbeg Auriverdes in-store Wednesday June 25

Ardbeg’s tasty 2014 Ardbeg Day Release is Nearly Here!

Demand has been strong for Ardbeg’s 2014 Ardbeg Day special release Auriverdes. The whisky will be available from Kensington Wine Market, North America’s first Ardbeg Embasssy on Wednesday June 25. The limited release was first tasted at Ardbeg Day in Calgary at events held by the brand and KWM. A soccer match was held on Saturday May 31 followed by release celebrations for the Auriverdes later that afternoon at the Bow Valley Lawn Bowling club. The whisky was a hit.

Auriverdes is Latin for Green & Gold, a nod to Ardbeg’s classic green bottle and precious golden nectar. Green & Gold is also the nickname of Brazil national soccer team, and so a tip of the hat at 2014’s World Cup. Distilled in 2002 the whisky is a tweak on the distillery’s flagship 10 year old bottling. The whisky was matured in 2nd Fill American oak barrels, fitted with custom toasted heads (barrel ends). Bottled at 49.9% it is creamy, fruity and decadent Ardbegian.

Ardbeg Auriverdes – 49.9% – My Tasting Note: ‘Nose: honeyed, fruity and subtly floral with decadent sugars and toffee, coconut butter and a hint of mocha; soft earthy peat, tinges of sea salt, spice and juicy malt lie beneath; both white and tropical fruits; Palate: still honeyed, lots more tropical and white fruits and decadent sugars with more mocha; the salty peat is very soft, and the barley is held well in check considering its age; light sugary spices dance all over while some licorice notes evolve; Finish: long, fresh and fruity with fading spices and soft-salty-peated-malt. $129.99

The Auriverdes is not expected to last long. It is already sold out in the UK, and it was only released just over 2 weeks ago. We are still taking pre-orders, and will have a bottle open for customer sampling on Wednesday. The whisky is exclusive to Ardbeg Embassies for 2 weeks, and will be available in limited quantities thereafter.

Introducing Gordon & MacPhail Glentauchers 1994

Exclusive to KWM, 96.5pts Whisky Bible!

Glentauchers distillery was built in 1898 at the height of what became known as a the Pattison Whisky Crash, the devasting bursting of a late 19th century industry bubble. Unlike many of the distilleries founded around that time it survived and has been in production for the most part ever since. From the bottler: ” The Glentauchers Distillery Company started as a joint venture between James Buchanan, the creator of the “Black & White” and “Buchanan” blends and WP Lowrie. The distillery was designed by local architect John Alcock.”

The distillery is currently owned by Pernod Ricard, and there are virtually no official bottlings. The closest thing available are those released by Gordon & MacPhail, such as this 1994 vintage which scored 96.5pts in the last edition of the Whisky Bible. On a recent visit to Gordon & MacPhail in Elgin, Scotland, I had a chance to sample it. My tasting note from that visit is below. The whisky is available exclusively from KWM in Alberta, and is a lovely summer dram!

G&M Glentauchers 1994 – 43% – Refill Sherry Butts & Recharred American Oak Hogsheads – My Tasting Note: “Nose: melons, pinapple and kiwi fruit; lots of honey, beeswax and citrus, subtle honey and soft floral tones; Palate: creamy, honeyed and still floral with smooth decadent oak and gentle spices; more melon and pineapple with a building creamy oakyness; Finish: long, clean and sweet, still fruity, soft and decadent.” – $114.99

Berry’s Linkwood 1993 Companions of the Quaich Cask now available to the Public

Only a couple dozen bottles of this soft and tropical whisky available!

This independently bottled single cask of Linkwood is excellent value for a cask strength 20 year old whisky. Selected by and bottled for Canada’s Companions of the Quaich whisky club, there were a few bottles leftover after the members had their share, and these are now available to the general public.

Berry’s Own Linkwood 1993 CofQ Cask – 20 Year – 53.2% – Refill Hogshead – My Tasting Note: “Nose: very soft, decadent and sugary with toasted oak, citrus and some silky floral tones; honey dew melon, marmalade and clotted cream with mint leaves sprinkled in powdered sugar; Palate: round, creamy and toasty with more sugars, citrus and floral notes; this is a sweet, decadent whisky and very soft; more melon, orange and clotted cream, but with pineapple, toasted oak and building spices too; Finish: long, coating and creamy with fading sugars and fruits.” – $124.99

Lagavulin 37 Year

Only 6 bottles coming in to KWM this Wednesday, all but 1 are sold!

The window is closing to acquire a bottle of the oldest Lagavulin ever bottled for your collection.

Lagavulin 37 Year – 51% – Distilled 1976 – Bottled 2013 – 1868 Bottles – Tasting Note by Serge at http://www.whiskyfun.com/: ” the oak feels a bit (astringency) but only for fraction of a second, because lemons, smokes and especially lapsang-souchong tea are soon to come to the rescue. I think we’re really in the world of tea here, it’s sharing many similarities with an old pu-erh, the soft kind of woodiness (incense once again, sandalwood, ‘sweet’ cinnamon), the mild fruitiness around kumquats and dried papayas, the earthy smokiness… Then there’s some honeydew, lemon pie, a faint camphory touch, certainly some cough syrup ‘as always’, some black chocolate, oysters, lemon balm… We’re experiencing the same phenomenon as on the nose, it keeps changing. Oh, and there are lovely touches of ripe melon.” 94pts Read the full tasting note here. – $2749.99 (priced over CAD$3,500.00-4,500.00 in other countries)

Finally the New Whiskies from Bruichladdich are Here!

Bruichladdich Scottish Barley, Port Charlotte Scottish Barley, Bruichladdich Black Art 4 & Octomore 6.1

All four of Bruichladdich’s new expressions came in to KWM this week, and while our most of our initial order has sold we have more of each on the way this coming week! I hope to get my own tasting notes up on them soon. In the meantime, here are some details:

1. Bruichladdich Scottish Barley – 50% – From the Distillery:Made from 100% Scottish barley, trickle distilled, then matured for its entire life by the shores of Lochindaal in premium American oak, it is a testament to the quality our ingredients. – $60.99

2. Port Charlotte Scottish Barley – 50% – From the Distillery: “This whisky is testament to our belief that raw ingredients matter. Trickle distilled from 100% Scottish Barley the spirit gently matures in the lochside village of Port Charlotte before being bottled here at the distillery using Islay spring water.” – $81.99

3. Bruichladdich Black Art IV – 49.2% – From the Distillery:”
Working with the very finest American and French oak to explore that most esoteric relationship between spirit and wood, Black Art is Master Distiller Jim McEwan’s personal voyage into the heart of Bruichladdich.” – $174.99

4. Octomore 6.1 – 57% – From the Distillery:”The world’s most heavily peated whisky, this is the sixth edition of the uber-experimental cult Octomore. Titanic amounts of peat but with a light, delicate complexity and a beguiling finesse. Young, yet eminently mature, it defies us. It remains an enigma. We embrace that. Here, we pay tribute to its pedigree, to the land from which it came and the raw materials that gave it life: Octomore Scottish Barley. We believe challenging convention matters.” – $131.99

The Black Art and Octomore aren’t expected to last long!

Ardbeg Galileo is Back!

But only for a very limited time…

A limited Ardbeg 11 Year old distilled in 1999, and released to celebrate the first whisky sent into space! Bottled in 2012 after maturing in Bourbon and Marsala cask, it is 49%. This whisky sold out very quickly in the Fall of 2012, and we were thrilled to get some back. Only 30 bottles left, they won’t last long!

Ardbeg Galileo – 49% – 11 Year – 1999 – My Tasting Note: Nose: surprisingly mellow for Ardbeg (but not Blasda mellow), lots of barley sugar, biscuitty peat, chocolate orange and candied coated fennel; very fruity with raisins and figs, ripe oranges and grape fruits, and mixed berries; Palate: creamy, earthy, peaty, sweet and spicy all at once; the citrus fruits, creamy vanilla and chocolate are all there but loosely buried under the surging peat and barley; more candied fennel along with oily-heathery-peat; Finish: drying, peaty and still sweet showing more chocolate, fennel and orange and lime peels; Comments: this whisky will take off like a rocket! – $119.99

Please send me an email or call the store 403-283-8000 to order! Thank You for Reading the Malt Messenger!

Contact & Disclaimers

If you have any whisky questions or comments concerning The Malt Messenger please contact me by e-mail, phone, or drop by the store.

All of the products mentioned in THE MALT MESSENGER can be purchased in store, over the phone or from our website at www.kensingtonwinemarket.com. All prices quoted in the Malt Messenger are subject to change, don’t include GST. In the case of discrepancies in pricing, the price in our in store point of sale will be taken as correct.

Thanks for reading the Malt Messenger.

Slainte!

Andrew Ferguson
Manager & Scotchguy
Kensington Wine Market
403-283-8000
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
www.kensingtonwinemarket.com

Owner & Opperator
Ferguson’s Whisky Tours
www.fergusonwhiskytours.com
scotchguide@fergusonwhiskytours.com

Kensington Wine Market
403-283-8000

THE 1975 and TIRED PONY Rock the World’s Only Whiskey and Music Festival in an Irish Distillery 

Bushmills Live™ 2014: A special blend of established and up-and-coming artists take to the stage at age-old distillery  

Bushmills Village: 13^th June, 2014

Global stars including THE 1975 and Gary Lightbody and Peter Buck’s supergroup TIRED PONY came together along with friends of BUSHMILLS to complete an unforgettable day at ‘Bushmills Live 2014’ – the festival of handcrafted whiskey and music that took place yesterday at the Old Bushmills Distillery on Ireland’s north coast.  

They were joined by rising stars JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW, LUKE SITAL-SINGH, DAVID C. CLEMENTS, MATTHEW AND THE ATLAS, LEVITY BREAKS and RUBBLEBUCKET on what was a fantastic day of music.

The intimate festival on Ireland’s north coast was attended by 700 music and whiskey fans from around the world, including countries as far-flung as the US, Bulgaria, Portugal and Russia. 

Artists more used to playing to crowds of thousands performed a series of small gigs in centuries-old buildings at the Old Bushmills Distillery where the art of whiskey-making, perfected over generations, is practiced every day. 

Gary Lightbody from TIRED PONY said: “Last night was TIRED PONY’s first gig in Ireland and it was unlike any other gig we’ve played before. The atmosphere was great.”                                                                                                                                  

Master Distiller at the Old Bushmills Distillery, Colum Egan, said: “Bushmills Live 2014 was a great success. 

“I was looking around and everywhere people were smiling and having a great time, enjoying the wonderful music  – and the exceptional whiskey, in moderation of course. 

“THE 1975 and TIRED PONY were sensational and it was fantastic to continue to provide a platform to up-and-coming talent. The atmosphere backstage was like an old school reunion with so many friends of the festival in attendance – the craic was brilliant!”

Notes  

About Bushmills Live

Bushmills Live is an annual music festival which hosts both iconic and emerging artists for a series of intimate gigs in age-old buildings at the historic Old Bushmills Distillery, where the art of distilling has been perfected over generations.

Keep up with Bushmills Irish Whiskey at: Facebook: facebook.com/bushmills
Twitter: @BushmillsGlobal

AN INTRIGUING ISLAY SINGLE MALT WHISKY:

BOWMORE LAIMRIG – EXCLUSIVELY AT THE WHISKY SHOP 

Bowmore Laimrig, £70 – The Whisky Shop / www.whiskyshop.com

Luxury drinks retailer The Whisky Shop presents the 2014 release of a sought-after, limited edition whisky from Islay – Bowmore Laimrig. 

Scottish Gaelic for ‘pier’, Laimrig celebrates Bowmore’s ancient stone pier where the distillery’s barley would once have been unloaded and where the renowned single malt would have first set sail for the four corners of the world.  

The cask strength, non-chill filtered Bowmore Laimrig 15 Years Old single malt whisky, has been finished in the finest Spanish sherry butts and has a rich, dark character and colour. 

The limited edition release in the UK is exclusively available at premium drinks retailer, The Whisky Shop’s 22 stores nationwide and at www.whiskyshop.com 

Tasting Notes 

Bowmore Laimrig 15 Years Old is bottled at 53.7% volume. 

The Look: On the eye teak brown.

The Nose: Breathe in sweet dark sherry, figs and cocoa balanced with smoky peatiness and a salty tang.

The Palate: Sip a rich combination of chocolate, sherry, raisins and smoke.

The Finish: Savour the long and lingering finish.

Bowmore Laimrig will join The Whisky Shop’s collection of rare and collectable single malt whiskies.  Andrew Torrance, Managing Director of The Whisky Shop, said: “The Whisky Shop is the first retail store in the UK to provide a dedicated platform for some of the world’s most exclusive whiskies and we are proud to showcase Bowmore Laimrig in our range. 

“It’s fantastic that The Whisky Shop has been selected to offer this unique bottling to our customers, both online and at all of our 22 stores, including our premium, new concept flagships in London’s Piccadilly, opposite world-famous landmark The Ritz Hotel, and in Manchester’s exclusive Exchange Street area.” 

Hannah Fisher, Global Senior Brand Manager, Morrison Bowmore Distillers, said: “Laimrig was first released three years ago as part of our portfolio of limited editions and quickly became a favourite of Bowmore enthusiasts around the globe. As such, The Whisky Shop is the perfect partner to showcase this year’s release.”

For further information please visit www.whiskyshop.com 

Notes: 

The Whisky Shop 

The Whisky Shop is the largest specialist whisky retailer in the UK with 22 stores nationwide and an online store at www.whiskyshop.com     

The premium London Piccadilly flagship opened in 2012 and recently won the 2013 National Association of Shopfitters (NAS) Design Partnership Award for Retail.