The perfect whisky for the festive season

Has there ever been a whisky more aptly designed for the festive season than our very own Great King Street Glasgow Blend? With its full body, rich vein of smokiness, sherried nose and characteristic Compass Box sweetness it is a paragon of versatility for the weeks of feasting that lie ahead. Big, bold and complex enough to be enjoyed neat as a digestif, it can also be paired throughout your festive meals with blue-veined cheese, charcuterie, gingerbread or spiced puddings. Or if you’ve a little time on your hands, why not try a warming Glasgow is Burning cocktail: take 45ml Glasgow Blend, 15ml red vermouth, 2 drops Orange bitters and 1 barspoon Bénédictine. Stir with ice, strain and serve straight up garnished with orange zest. For more information about Great King Street Glasgow Blend, click here.

This week Joe Ellis reviews the most talked about whisky of the year, the Haig Club.

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First New Copper Pot Stills Arrive in Dublin in over 125 years

Landmark day for Teeling Whiskey distillery in Newmarket  

Friday, 5th December – Reviving the Spirit of Dublin, the Teeling Whiskey Company (TWC) this week witnessed the historic arrival of three new, handcrafted copper pot stills at the new whiskey distillery, located in Dublin’s Newmarket in The Liberties.

The pot stills mark a milestone for the Teeling family, bringing whiskey production back to their ancestral roots in Dublin 8. The new distillery will be a modern revival of the Teeling distillery that thrived in the area in the 18^th century.

Crafted in Sienna in Italy by Frilli Impianti, who have been making distilling equipment since 1912, the traditional copper pot stills travelled 2,275 kilometres to their new home in The Liberties, where they were assembled on-site. The 15,000 litre wash still, 10,000 litre intermediate still and 9,000 litre spirit still will be at the heart of the distillery and are essential for creating the distinctive flavour of Teeling Whiskey.

The Teeling Whiskey distillery is the first new distillery in Dublin in over 125 years and will have the capacity to produce 500,000 litres of whiskey on an annual basis. The Teeling Whiskey brand is already on sale in Ireland and is currently in over 30 export markets.  The construction of the new distillery will guarantee future supply for the Teeling Whiskey brands and allow the creation of a range of innovative and authentic Irish whiskeys based on the traditional and unique Dublin style of distillation

Jack Teeling, founder and managing director of the Teeling Whiskey Company commented “Today is a major milestone in the development of the new Teeling Distillery, with the final pieces of the jigsaw, the copper pot stills, finally positioned in their new home in Newmarket. We are extremely proud to be returning to our ancestral distilling roots and bringing whiskey distillation back to Dublin. We look forward to the first spirit flowing from our new stills and opening our doors to the public to come see a real Dublin distillery in operation in 2015. ” 

The new Teeling Whiskey distillery received planning permission in January 2014 and started work on site in August with over 100 people employed during the construction of the distillery with 30 permanent jobs planned for following its completion. Commission of the new distillery will happen early in the New Year and with the distillery opening its door to visitors soon afterwards.

For more on Teeling Whiskey Company and its award winning Irish whiskeys, visit www.teelingwhiskey.com

MACALLAN, HIGHLAND PARK COMPLIMENTARY TASTING EVENT THIS COMING WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY

Macallan, Highland Park will be holding a tasting event in the store between 12noon and 6:30pm on Wednesday and Friday of this week. Its a chance to try the Macallan 1824 range from Amber to Ruby and following on from the Dark Origins from Highland Park we will be delving a little deeper into the range and who knows what else might be around!

It’s free as an informal tasting but ask questions – thats what the 2 days are about.

We look forward to seeing you

Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop & Tasting Room
26 Chiltern Street
London
W1U 7QF

Tel: 020 7935 6999

THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY TRIUMPHS ONCE AGAIN AT ICONS OF WHISKY AWARDS 2014 

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is celebrating after a large haul at Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky Awards 2014. The Society was named Independent Bottler of the Year for the second year running, and saw 13 casks win individual awards across the board.

The news has rounded off a stellar year for The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, who have seen membership figures rise, a sell-out ‘Glorious 12’ whisky and game pop up bar in Shoreditch, London, and the re-launch of their magazine, Unfiltered.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is an international whisky club and bottler which bottles the world’s widest selection of exceptional single cask, single malt whisky for its members.

The Society bottles the finest single malt whisky from around 350 single casks every year from a range of more than 132 distilleries. The very nature of the single cask means that each bottling offered by the Society is limited.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society saw a large array of flavours released over the year, with Irish, extremely rare Japanese grain whiskies and a Bourbon released. The most recent outturn includes their oldest ever single cask Scotch bottling at 48 years old.

Helen Stewart, UK Brand Manager for The Scotch Malt Whisky Society comments on the wins – “We are very excited to be named Independent Bottler of the Year for a second year in a row. Our members choose from the world’s widest selection of single cask, single malt whiskies. All our whiskies are selected and approved by our respected Tasting Panel, who know a great whisky when they try one. These thirteen awards really highlight their skills.”

The full list of awards for The Society single casks below shows the quality of the whisky bottled from around Scotland:

Awards: 

Independent Bottler of The Year 2014

Campbeltown

• Campbeltown bottler of the year award
• 93.61 – Bronze 13-20 yrs
• 93.57 – Gold 21 yrs +

Highland

• 26.101 – Bronze 12yr and under
• 59.48 Silver 21 yrs + 

Islands

• 4.189 Silver 13 to 20yrs

Islay

• Islay bottler of the year award
• 10.76 Silver 12 yrs and under
• 53.184 Gold 13 to 20 yrs
• 3.203 Gold 21yrs + 

Non-Scotch

• 130.1 Gold 12yrs and under
• 131.2 Silver 13 to 20yrs 

Speyside

• 2.85 Bronze 12 yrs and under
• 21.28 Gold 21 yrs and over
• 7.100 Silver 21yrs and over

To purchase membership of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society for £122, visit www.smws.co.uk or call the sales team on 0131 555 2929 

Notes: 

About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society  

• The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is an international whisky club and bottler which bottles the world’s widest selection of exceptional single cask, single malt whisky for its members
• The Society bottles the finest single malt whisky from around 350 single casks every year from a range of more than 132 distilleries. The very nature of the single cask means that each bottling offered by the Society is limited.
• The Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and now has more than 26,000 members around the world with branches in 19 countries.
• Members can choose from the world’s widest selection of single cask, single malt whiskies with only the very best selected and approved by the Society’s respected Tasting Panel.
• Exclusive Members’ Rooms are located in Edinburgh and London for tastings, dinners, meeting and presentations.
• Annual renewal after the first year is £59
• For more information, visit www.smws.co.uk

Waiting is the hardest part this time of year so we’re pleased to release December’s decadent drams!

For full tasting notes and to purchase please visit www.smws.ca but for now here are the bottle notes to get you in the spirit:

Cask No. 28.25 Sweet nutty personality
Spicy & dry
23 years old; refill hogshead; 51.9%
The nose weaves creamy sweetness (crème Anglaise, chocolate éclairs) and some fruit through linoleum, sandalwood, new car and allotment shed. The palate is sweet and nutty – Crunchy Nut cornflakes, peanut brittle ice-cream, hazelnuts, muesli and digestive biscuits – more honeyed with water.

Cask No. 36.72 Zorba’s dram
Sweet, fruity & mellow
16 years old; refill barrel; 57.2%
Before water; raspberry muesli with peach yogurt. To taste bread and butter pudding with sugared almonds. With water the scent of Amalfi lemons and ice cream. To taste wax dipped pineapple and mango.

Cask No. G10.4 A witch’s Christmas tipple
Old & dignified
23 years old; refill hogshead; 57.9%
A Christmassy nose – oranges, pecan pie, Brazils, pine trees, floral perfumes, dark chocolate, coconut fudge and spice. The palate is medicinal (menthol, throat lozenges) with a bubbling cauldron of dark sweetness (molasses, sticky marmalade, treacle scones, cinder toffee and coffee dregs).

Cask No. 35.111 A chalet girl’s dram
Deep, rich & dried fruits
12 years old; refill chardonnay hogshead; 59.3%
Be transported to an alpine cabin with pork crackling with red currant jelly. Rich sherried ginger snaps. Hot ski wax. A meaty feast of biltong and coq au vin. Hot chocolate and tangerines in brandy. A leather pig skin football. Curious and quirky.

Cask No. 3.219 Never far from the sea
Peated
13 years old; first fill barrel; 54.3%
The nose has seaweed, whelks and ship’s timbers; wood-smoke, syrupy pancakes, lemon peel, pepper and minty toothpaste – fresh laundry with water. The palate delivers sweet, floral smoke, marmalade, smoked salmon with lemon and pepper and tobacco and eucalyptus to finish.

Cask No. 29.151 Polished violins and vintage cars
Peated
24 years old; refill sherry butt; 54.3%
The nose exudes excitement (vintage cars, Iranian rugs, polished violins) – also hibiscus flowers in syrup, sticky dates, honey cake and oysters. The palate is lip-smacking, delightful and integrated – barbecued ribs, honey-smoked ham, cigar ash, treacle toffee, clove, leather and heathery smoke.

Cask No. 10.77 Beware of the monster
Heavily peated
6 years old; refill hogshead; 61.4%
Wine gums, mackerel skins and antiseptic on the nose. Smoke is present but something bigger is lurking… Take a sip to unleash the full wrath of this peat monster, tongue singeing with hot charcoal and lavender ash. Tamed with water to bring heather, gorse, mussels and spare ribs.

www.smws.ca

It is that time of year again when I get told I am to sit and write a newsletter and begrudgingly I start, wondering how I am going to fill the page, only to find that I have so much to tell you that space becomes a rare commodity rather than a problem.

In some ways this has been the longest year ever and in others it has gone in the blink of an eye. Let’s start at the beginning; after another cracking Christmas period and a rather good Jan / Feb, suddenly the brakes slammed on and it seemed the public of Britain simply stopped shopping. Luckily, you kept visiting the distillery, so no harm done. Slowly over the summer, you all appeared to realise your drinks cupboards were empty and life has returned to normal just in time for us to be able to turn on the heating – so thank you to all of you for your continued shopping habits!

The distillery has seen lots of changes. The first change this year was the building of Bond 3, which is our latest maturation warehouse. This extra space should allow us to mature over 4000 casks on site – which if you were to bottle them all at once would be well over a million bottles of whisky! Quite extraordinary really. Sadly we will never get to see all that whisky for a couple of reasons; the Angels in Norfolk are rather greedier than their northern relatives, taking nearly 3 times as much and some of the whisky will be in the sheds for 50 years, which may be beyond my expiration date. We have also put a little extension onto Warehouse 1 to allow a lovely covered doorway that you, our customers, can use. This is a great change to our distillery tours, the old video has been retired and in its place is a visit to Bond 1. A great improvement and appears to have been a good decision judging by the feedback from those of you who have done the new and improved tour. Bond 1 has even had some cool lighting installed to give a lovely atmospheric feeling to the area.

New arrivals at the distillery… lets start with the most fun and sometimes most annoying arrival – George. When George first arrived in Norfolk, he was adorable, a bit goofy and gangly but spent most of his time dozing or eating; somehow since July he has turned into a rather large, very handsome Labrador. He is the new distillery dog! We are still undertaking his training and he adores seeing people at the distillery, but he appears to have decided that the best way to welcome people to the distillery is with a very loud woof. Slightly intimidating for those who aren’t sure about dogs – so I am working on this. Also he hasn’t worked out that the coffee shop is a perpetual source of food – which worries me as I am taking this as an indication of slightly below average Labrador IQ!

We have been fairly restrained with new releases this year with just 2 new batches of chapter 13 and a chapter 16. The autumn Chapter 13 is fantastic and allows us to support the poppy appeal which seemed appropriate this year. We have also re-launched our Norfolk Nog after a brief absence. It is much improved as it is now made with full matured single malt and is a slightly gentler 21%, well worth trying.

By the time you get this newsletter – we will have a brand new swanky website up and running. It should make life easier for you to find out what is going on and to buy stuff. Please email or call us when you find a bit that doesn’t work or the obligatory spelling mistake. I will write and tell you all about the new website in the new year. It has some very cool new features.

The English Whisky Co. was a lifelong dream of my father James and having built the distillery in 2006, he watched with great pride as our whisky found market places around the world and picked up award after award. He was also very proud of the fact that we appear to have spearheaded a revival of the English whisky industry, with a potential 5 distilleries in the pipeline at present. Perhaps the thing he loved most though was the fact that a lot of you visited the distillery and he had a chance to meet you and say hello. James Nelstrop sadly passed away in September but will be immortalised by his whisky and his founding role in the emergence of an English whisky industry. He would have been incredibly chuffed to know that Chapter 14 has been awarded ‘Best European Whisky 2015’ beating our friends from Scotland and Ireland!

On a lighter note… I hope you have all had a great 2014, are looking forward to Christmas – hopefully to be spent in good company, with good food and good drink. We are very proud to have you as our customers and obviously hope you find time to enjoy a little English Whisky over the hols or even better – come and visit us. We are having a half day on Christmas Eve, will be shut Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years day, but any other time we will be open and delighted to see you.

Andrew Nelstrop

Managing Director
English Whisky Co. Ltd
St George’s Distillery
Harling Road Roudham
Norfolk NR16 2QW

www.englishwhisky.co.uk

www.ralfy.com needs direct action with a feisty malt with Whisky Review 508 – Glenfarclas 105 single malt @ 60%vol

Malt Maniacs Awards 2014 – The Winners

This year (2014) sees the 12th edition of The Malt Maniacs Awards and once again we’ve seen some very strong competition throughout the three different categories for those prestigious awards. Our three categories are based on high street price and are as follows:

Daily Drams – Whiskies with a retail price up to €50

Premium Whiskies – Whiskies with a retail price between €51 and €150

Ultra Premium Whiskies – Whiskies with a retail price over €150

Within each category we offer five Awards; Supreme Winner, Best Sherried Whisky, Best Peated Whisky, Best Natural Cask Whisky and a “Thumbs Up” Award for a whisky we believe deserves a special mention. The competition is judged 100% blind, using only numbered samples and also judged only by a panel of our amateur members.

So, without further ado here are our deserving award winners for 2014:

Supreme Champion (Winner of Winners) Kavalan Solist (OB), Sherry Cask No. S060904031

Scoring an average 92 points across all our judges

Daily Drams category

Supreme Winner – Blackadder ‘Smoking Islay’ Cask No. BA2013/451

Best Sherried Whisky – Nantou Cask No.852

Best Peated Whisky – Blackadder ‘Smoking Islay’ Cask No. BA2013/452

Best Natural Cask Whisky – Boutique-y Whisky Company Inchmurrin

Thumbs Up – Lagavulin 16y – A Classic in excellent shape for 2014

Premium Whiskies category

Supreme Winner – Kavalan Solist (OB), Sherry Cask No. S060904031

Best Sherried Whisky – Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask No. S060821047 (OB for LMDW)

Best Peated Whisky – Kavalan Distillery Reserve “Peaty Cask”

Best Natural Cask Whisky – Blackadder “Raw Cask” Bowmore 13y

Thumbs Up – Adelphi Glenrothes 7y Cask No.3529 – So young but already so good

Ultra Premium category

Supreme Winner – Yoichi 21y Heavily Peated Madeira Finish Cask No. 129459

Best Sherried Whisky – Glen Grant 59y “Book of Kells” Cask No.845 (G&M for LMDW)

Best Peated Whisky – Benriach Tawny Port Finish Cask No.451

Best Natural Cask Whisky –Karuizawa 34y Ex-Bourbon Cask No.6476 (No.1 Drinks for LMDW)

Thumbs Up – Glengoyne 25y (OB) – Only standard distillery bottling in the top ranks

In addition to our Awards we recognize quality with our Medals based upon the average attained scores across all our judges, with our coveted Gold Medals being given to any whisky achieving an average of 90 points or more.

This year four whiskies have won our coveted Gold Medals and they are:

Kavalan Solist (OB), Sherry Cask No. S060904031 92pts (91.89)

Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask No. S060821047 (OB for LMDW) 91pts (90.89)

Yoichi 21y Heavily Peated Madeira Finish Cask No. 129459 91pts (90.75)

Glen Grant 59y “Book of Kells” Cask No.845 (G&M for LMDW) 90pts (90.33)

Full details and scores for MMA 2014 can be found on the Malt Maniacs website http://www.maltmaniacs.net/ and also our Malt Maniacs & Friends (MM&F) facebook page 

PALM BAY INTERNATIONAL AND WEMYSS MALTS FROM SCOTLAND ANNOUNCE NEW IMPORT AGREEMENT IN U.S. MARKET  

December 3, 2014 – Leading wine & spirits importer Palm Bay International has been appointed exclusive U.S. importer for artisanal spirits producer Wemyss Malts. Based in Scotland, the Wemyss Malt spirits offerings include Wemyss Malts and Darnley’s View London Dry Gin.

The team at Wemyss Malts believes that much of the malt whisky terminology can be difficult to decipher, even for a knowledgeable consumer.  The expressions from the Wemyss Malt whisky range are boldly named using the aromas and tastes of the whiskys to uniquely identify each bottling. Wemyss Malts whisky range includes blended malts such as Peat Chimney, The Hive and Spice King. Additional U.S. exclusives include the Single Cask and Single Malt bottlings of Heathery Smoke and Winter Larder.

Darnley’s View London Dry Gin celebrates the meeting of Mary Queen of Scots and her husband Lord Darnley at the family seat of Wemyss Castle in 1565. The London Dry gin has six key botanicals, including juniper, elderflower, orris root, coriander, angelica and lemon peel. The elderflower, which grows at the Castle, inspired the choice of botanicals for this London Dry Gin.

William Wemyss, Founder and Managing Director of Wemyss Malts, commented; “The U.S. is extremely important for us due to the rising interest in craft spirits, and we’re delighted to announce our agreement with Palm Bay International. Palm Bay® will bring us additional coverage in this market and we look forward to growing with them as they increase focus on craft imported spirits.”

Palm Bay International will import the following expressions from the Wemyss Malts portfolio. Prices noted are approximate suggested retail per 750ml:

• Blended Malts: Peat Chimney, Spice King & The Hive: 12 year ($74.00) & 8 year ($45.99)
• Single Malts: Picnic in the Park ($115.00), A Day at the Coast ($115.00), Smoke on the Rocks ($135.00), Winter Larder ($135.00), Matter of Smoke ($138.00), Beachcomber ($138.00), The Dunes ($189.00), Heathery Smoke ($249.00)
• Gin: Darnley’s View London Dry Gin ($32.99)
• Malts available in the following states: NY, NJ, CT, MA, CA, WA, PA, NH
• Darnley’s View available in the following states: WA, MD, DC, NJ, NY, TX, OR, FL, GA, MA, NV, CA, MO, CT 

About Wemyss Malts

The Wemyss (pronounced ‘weems’) family seat is Wemyss Castle in Fife where they have lived since the 1300s.  The family’s connection with the whisky industry dates back to the turn of the 19th century when John Haig’s first distillery was built on family land. Even today, barley from their estate in Fife is grown for many of Scotland’s leading distilleries.  The Wemyss Malts whisky and gin portfolio is available in over 20 markets worldwide. The Wemyss family built a new single malt distillery in Fife at Kingsbarns which opened on December 1st 2014.

About Palm Bay International

Palm Bay International, a dynamic family-owned company offers one of the nation’s most comprehensive portfolios of imported wines and spirits, including over 50 suppliers from around the globe. Among Palm Bay International’s most valued assets is its remarkable network of long-term partnerships with the foremost wholesale companies in all 50 states, as well as Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. With the crucial collaboration of these partners, Palm Bay International’s portfolio is able to meet the needs of every level of the industry, from independent restaurants and retail stores, to chain accounts, supermarkets, hotels, airlines, cruise ships, duty-free accounts and U.S. military bases. This impressive roster of brands, accounts and relationships positions Palm Bay® as a major source of fine wines and spirits and an industry leader in the U.S. marketplace. For more visit http://www.palmbay.com/.