NEW ARRIVALS
Canada – Rye
BACK IN STOCK
Scotland – Single Malt Scotch
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
Andrew Torrance, John Beard and Ian Bankier
WHISKY INDUSTRY HEAVYWEIGHT
JOINS THE WHISKY SHOP BOARD
Arrival Of Former Whyte & Mackay CEO Will Assist Expansion Drive
The Whisky Shop, the UK’s largest specialist whisky retailer, has announced the appointment of former Whyte & Mackay CEO John Beard as non-executive director.
The business, which now has 23 shops in the UK, including a new flagship store in London’s Piccadilly, is gearing up for a period of further expansion in its home market as well as overseas.
The Whisky Shop is the first retailer in the UK to provide a dedicated platform for some of the world’s most exclusive and high value whiskies and is widely regarded by the industry as the leading specialist whisky retailer in the world.
Ian Bankier, founder and chairman of The Whisky Shop, said: “Having established a sizeable footprint in the UK, we now have aspirations to expand into Europe. John brings us a wealth of experience of overseas markets and brand development and will play an important role in helping us achieve our international growth ambitions.”
Mr Beard was until recently CEO of Whyte & Mackay Limited. He left at the end of 2013 and recently worked with Lion Capital Private Equity in a £430m bid for Whyte & Mackay, which ultimately went to a higher bidder.
A highly experienced global drinks executive, Mr Beard spent his formative career with the Bacardi Group rising to become UK CEO of £300m turnover Bacardi Brown Forman Brands, from where he moved on to become Global Chief Executive of Whyte & Mackay Limited.
John Beard said: “I’ve known Ian and his managing director Andrew Torrance for several years and watched in admiration as they have grown the business with an unwavering focus on quality.
“The Whisky Shop’s reputation amongst the industry’s key brand owners and the discerning public is an enviable one and I’m greatly looking forward to be joining the team in a non-Executive part-time capacity, supporting Ian Bankier’s leadership and Andrew Torrance’s dynamic management.”
Ian Bankier added: “The international appetite for premium whisky is growing strongly, giving us the confidence to examine a number of exciting opportunities to replicate our UK growth in overseas markets. We are looking at Europe first.”
The Whisky Shop is the UK’s largest whisky only specialist retailer with a full range available online at http://www.whiskyshop.com/ and at 23 stores nationwide, including premium flagships in London’s Piccadilly and on Manchester’s Exchange Street.
The long-awaited third and final chapter of our incredibly popular Devil’s Punchbowl series will be available for sale from our web site mid July. This series has been a great success and this final bottling rounds off the trilogy in great style with the inclusion of some our Single Malt matured in French barriques, married with our classic Arran style of Sherry and Bourbon Cask. You will find it first in our web shop.
The Limited Edition Arran 17 year-old was released at the end of March and only 9,000 bottles were released worldwide. It sees us take another step closer to our 18 year-old which will be released next Spring and there are still a few bottles of this left in our web shop.
This Summer we are are also launching our re-designed core range of Single Malts. Our 10 year-old, 12 year-old Cask Strength and 14 year-old are still the same excellent quality Single Malts that everyone has come to know and expect from us, with a fresh look for 2014. Click Here to read more about all of our recent and upcoming releases and to see the newly released 14 year-old.
The next issue of Whisky Magazine includes a US Special Focus. Published on the 12th September, this issue draws the attention of Whisky connoisseurs the World over to the latest developments in US distilling, ageing and drinking. Reviews include a look at a wide range of whiskies from various regions in the US and an in-depth review of some of the distilleries, providing plenty for readers to explore. To the other side of the Atlantic, we also take a look at the four countries that make up Scandinavia with a view of the whiskies produced in this region and also the opportunities to drink whiskies.
On the 24th October, Whisky Magazine reviews Blended Whisky from around the world and looks at pairing food with particular expressions, together with a look at global Craft Distillers. The travel piece takes a look at the Scottish regions of the Highland and Lowlands and selects Distilleries to enter and review.
Editorial Features
Issue No.121
Special Features
Whisky Travel: Scandinavia
Special Features: A focus on a wide range of whiskies from across the US.
Special Distribution from the Kentucky Bourbon Festival
Publication Date: 12th September
Issue No.122
Special Features
Whisky Travel: Scottish Lowlands & Highlands
Special Features: Blended Whisky & Global Craft Distillers
Publication Date: 24th October
Whisky Magazine
Celebrating the whiskies of the world
On Thursday 26th June we are joined by Sam Macdonald who will be presenting (and we will be tasting) the fantastic whiskies from the Teeling Whiskey Company. After successfully managing the popular Cooley Distillery, the Teeling Family sold-up to Jim Beam and struck out to found their own distillery in Dublin – once the distilling capital of Ireland.
Whilst Teeling have yet to produce their own whiskey that has been distilled on-site, they have been bottling a selection of grain, blended and single malt whiskies from stock they retained from Cooley.
On the 26th we will be sampling their delicious rum-finished Irish blend, their stunning grain whiskey, plus some other treats, and maybe even a Poitin (essentially Irish moonshine)!
Tickets are available here on our website.
Deerfield, IL (June, 2014) –Laphroaig®, the world’s #1 Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, is unveiling its new global advertising and digital campaign featuring candid, real-life opinions of Laphroaig® from some of the brands biggest fans. The idea behind “#Opinions Welcome” is to inspire whisky drinkers to share their own personal Laphroaig® “tasting notes” by showcasing the often offbeat and unique descriptions that members of Friends of Laphroaig®, the brand’s distinguished loyalty group, have provided over the years, as well as first-time Laphroaig drinkers. By commemorating the passion of an enlightened few, Laphroaig® hopes to intrigue those who are unfamiliar with, but interested in trying it for the first time.
With authentic descriptions like, “Smells like medicine. Tastes like soil. My whisky of choice,” and “Salt, peat, smoke, iodine and seaweed. My friend the oceanographer said it tasted ‘like dead fish’ I was hooked,” the campaign will be brought to life through print and digital ads, as well as video content.
“Laphroaig® has long been a brand that elicited diverse and strong opinions from those who taste it, and the quotes we’ve selected to showcase at the launch of the campaign honor our long time friends and represent their affinity for Laphroaig®,” said John Campbell, Laphroaig® Master Distiller. “These authentic reactions will entice those unfamiliar with the whisky and inspire them to share their own opinions of Laphroaig®.”
At the heart of the campaign is a microsite www.Laphroaig.com/Opinionswhich will act as the central hub for the public to submit their own opinions of Laphroaig®. In addition to showcasing the content online, some of the newly generated opinions will be selected and used within future advertisements and as brand content in the Laphroaig® social media channels. To further inspire intrigue, a series of viral videos titled, #OpinionsWelcome, will feature various people tasting Laphroaig® and openly sharing their tasting experience with the liquid – whether positive or negative. The videos will premiere throughout 2014 and can be viewed at http://www.laphroaig.com//Opinions and at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_ivP4xqeZo.
Fans are encouraged to join the discussion and share their opinions by using the hashtag #OpinionsWelcome on Facebook and Twitter.
To learn more about Laphroaig® Scotch Whisky, #OpinionsWelcome, or how to become a Friend of Laphroaig®, visit www.Laphroaig.com, LIKE us on Facebook www.Facebook.com/Laphroaig, or follow us on Twitter @Laphroaig.
About Laphroaig®
Laphroaig® (La-‘froyg) literally means “the beautiful hollow by the broad bay.” Born from the streams and blue peat smoke of Islay, Laphroaig® is a Single Malt Scotch Whisky with a distinct taste and story in every bottle. The secret to Laphroaig® is that it benefits from the happy circumstances of where it is produced—next to ocean water and on land that gives Laphroaig® a unique peaty taste. It is one of only a few distilleries that still uses traditional malting floors and dries and infuses its own malt with the thick blue smoke from old peat-fired kilns. It’s also the only Single Malt Scotch Whisky to bear a Royal Warrant bestowed by HRH Prince Charles.
About Friends of Laphroaig®
Each bottle of Laphroaig® Scotch Whisky comes with a gift of friendship. Created by Laphroaig® Master Distiller John Campbell, Friends of Laphroaig® is a distinguished loyalty group, which today boasts over 600,000 members from more than 150 countries. Each Friend of Laphroaig® is given a lifetime lease on a numbered, one square foot plot of land in Islay that runs alongside the important Laphroaig® water source – the Killbride stream. The plot is registered and can be visited in person or via video on the Friends of Laphroaig® website –www.Laphroaig.com/Friends. Throughout the year, Friends of Laphroaig® from all over the world get together and share photos, tasting notes, Scottish history and more. To become a member of Friends of Laphroaig®, consumers can enter their unique code found on each bottle of Laphroaig® on the Laphroaig® Facebook Page –www.Facebook.com/LaphroaigUSA or Friends of Laphroaig® website at www.Laphroaig.com/Friends.
About Beam Suntory Inc.
As the world’s third largest premium spirits company, Beam Suntory is Crafting the Spirits that Stir the World. Consumers from all corners of the globe call for the company’s brands, including the flagship Jim Beam bourbon and Yamazaki Japanese whisky, as well as world renown premium brands including Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek bourbons, Hakushu and Hibiki Japanese whiskies, Teacher’s, Laphroaig, and Bowmore Scotch whiskies, Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, Sauza tequila, Pinnacle vodka, and Midori liqueur. The company generates annual worldwide sales of approximately $4.6 billion excluding excise taxes.
Beam Suntory was created in 2014 by combining the world leader in bourbon and the pioneer in Japanese whisky to form a new company with a deep heritage, passion for quality, innovative spirit and entrepreneurial culture. Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, Beam Suntory is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Limited of Japan. For more information on Beam Suntory, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility, please visit www.beamsuntory.com and www.drinksmart.com.
IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY BOOKED, CONTACT US VERY SOON, as the event always sells out. (Half the seats are booked already.)
Here are the details for the event:
Date: Friday July 4th, 2014
Time: 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Please note we will start promptly right at 6:30; doors open 6:15pm
Location: The Strath Ale Wine & Spirit Merchants, 919 Douglas Street, Victoria
The event is scheduled to be in the Maple Room, above the Sticky Wicket Pub, entrance on Courtenay Street. But please check in the Store on the day.
Price: $35 each for Members & Partners, $45 for Non-Members/Guests
REGISTRATION:
Please email, drop into the store or phone with credit card details (we do not keep card details on file)
Email: whisky@strathconahotel.com Phone: 250-370-9463
IMPORTANT: Please remember these are cask strength whiskies, so you should not be driving home after the tasting.
Slainté!
Colin Southcombe
General Manager
The Strath Ale Wine & Spirit Merchants
919 Douglas Street, Victoria BC, V8W 2C2
Tel: 250-370-9463
Email: whisky@strathconahotel.com
