The Brand New Woodford Reserve Classic Malt selection has just landed! Stock is very limited and will be treated on a first come first served basis.

The Whisky Shop are proud to announce another exclusive launch in the shape of the deliciuos Woodford Reserve Classic Malt edition.

One of the only single malt whiskies to be produced in KY and certainly the oldest (aged for 9 yrs)

The Classic Malt is the only 100% Malted Barley US Whiskey distilled in 3 copper pot stills, the time honoured method in whiskey production.

Made from 100% malted barley, the Classic Malt differs from any other US Whiskey by being matured in used Woodford Reserve barrels as opposed to brand new casks.

Golden colour, similar to an oaked Chardonnay with an aroma of subtle malt, citrus fruits and green wood. There is pronounced honey and vanilla flavor, and a delicateness which offers balance combined with a creamy mouth feel.

Simply Click here to buy

Auchentoshan 1992 “Rodney Graham” by McLean’s Artist Malts

Auchentoshan 1992, 21yo by McLean’s Artist Malts. Second maturation in a sherry infused octave and bottled at 45.8% bottled in 2013. Artist Rodney Graham, title: Old Softy. Box with inscription The art is digital photographic print on Hahnemuehle 2 08 … Continue reading →

ANNOUNCING “MAKING THE CUT”:  THE SEARCH FOR THE NEW FACE OF HUDSON WHISKEY

NEW YORK, MARCH 3^RD, 2014 – Whiskey distillation is a science of circles. Circular barrels. Circular bottles. Circular stills. The circle of Gable Erenzo, co-master distiller and soon-to-be-former brand ambassador of Hudson Whiskey, is almost complete, as he will once again focus his efforts back at the distillery full-time. But as is the nature of circles, with the end of Gable’s journey begins a new one. Enter “Making the Cut”:  the search to replace the irreplaceable Gable with a new face for the Hudson Whiskey brand, and one qualified individual’s shot at a full-time job as Hudson Whiskey’s brand ambassador. 

“Making the Cut” is not a hunt for the world’s greatest mixologist, or the foremost scientific mind in distillation. It is to find the human embodiment of Hudson Whiskey’s ideals and identity. Ten years ago, the Hudson folks set out to open a climber’s ranch, but the neighbors balked. They had to either go home or try something new: whiskey. As New York’s first whiskey distillery since Prohibition grew, Gable rose to Everest-level heights as the brand’s global ambassador. However, he has now decided to forego his time on the road and return to his precious distillery, nurturing and improving upon our country’s craftiest of craft whiskies. 

With “Making the Cut”, the Hudson Whiskey team, brand founders Ralph Erenzo and Gable Erenzo, and the highly decorated distiller William Grant & Sons,  which acquired the brand in 2010, is looking for someone who gets that make-it-happen, can-do spirit, and who gets the importance of shaking hands, meeting face-to-face and telling great stories. They want someone who understands how experiences circle back into the product, and how the product is comprised not just of distilled grain and rich barrel-aged flavor, but engrained with the personalities of each and every member of the distillery staff (there are only a handful!). Ralph and Gable chose whiskey over defeat, and they want someone who will make that same choice. 

The newest member of the Hudson Whiskey family will circle the country, speaking with bartenders, restaurant owners, whiskey enthusiasts and press, hosting tastings, connecting with fans via social media and representing our brand in the national press. 

Think you’re the one for the job? Ralph and Gable think so too. But they need proof, so send them a short video or a collection of photos, proving your readiness to begin your own circle of whiskey. Make a cocktail. Get crafty with some bottles. Recite your declaration of whiskey dependence. Then log on to HudsonWhiskey.com/MakingTheCut to submit your application. The chosen contenders will join us at the distillery to drink some good whiskey, meet some friendly people, and engage in a month-long course in craft distillation by Ralph, Gable and the rest of the distillery team. All will learn the wonders of craft whiskey from the leaders of craft distilling, but only one will make the cut to become the new Hudson Whiskey Ambassador. 

Enter at HudsonWhiskey.com/MakingTheCut or find out more at Facebook.com/HudsonWhiskey

NOTES

About William Grant & Sons

William Grant & Sons, Ltd. is an independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the United Kingdom and founded by William Grant in 1887. Today, the luxury spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family and distills some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world’s most awarded single malt Glenfiddich^®, The Balvenie^® range of handcrafted single malts and the world’s third largest blended Scotch Grant’s^® along with iconic premium spirits brands Hendrick’s^® Gin, Sailor Jerry^® Rum, Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey and Milagro^® Tequila. 

William Grant & Sons has been honored as “Distiller of the Year” by the prestigious International Wine & Spirit Competition and International Spirits Challenge ten times over the past 15 years. 

Founded in 1964, William Grant & Sons USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of William Grant & Sons, Ltd. and features one of the fastest growing spirits portfolios in the USA with brands including Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Hendrick’s Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey, Milagro Tequila, Grant’s, Hudson Whiskey, Gibson’s Finest, Monkey Shoulder, Clan MacGregor, Reyka Vodka, Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, Montelobos Mezcal, Ancho Reyes, Lillet, Art In The Age, The Knot and Raynal French Brandy. For more information on the company and its brands, please visit www.grantusa.com.

MARCH PREVIEWS: GROWING ON YOU

As a first few hopeful rays of sunshine brighten our day, we’ve been inspired to release some bottlings with a vigorous, sprouting feel. Let the fruity, floral notes of 44.60 start ‘Growing on you’ or drink some ‘Lemonade in a garden centre’ with 36.71. Hate gardening? We’ve got some peaty treats in our ‘Surf and turf’ selection…

Sweet, fruity & mellow

36.71 Lemonade in a garden centre

We puzzled over a bifurcated nose – many attractive elements (pineapple smoothie, pear tart, lemon sherbet, vanilla, toffee, honeycomb, banana chips) but time unfolded deeper, notes…

Age: 22 years
Cask: Second fill ex-bourbon hogshead

BUY £82.20

Spicy & sweet

44.60 ‘Growing on you’

The initial noses neat is not too inspiring, wet sand and freshly mixed cement, but give this one time. Notes of apricots, oranges and figs but also plum sauce, cedar wood, wild onions and a late summer rose emerge – intrigued?

Age: 14 years
Cask: Refill ex-sherry butt

BUY £48.10

Lightly peated

3.217 A Delicatessen Shopping Basket

This had all the makings of a great feast of prosciutto ham, sundried tomatoes, roasted fish skins, sushi and brown sauce. A leather jacket stuffed into a canvas bag…

Age: 16 years
Cask: Refill ex-sherry butt

BUY £60.00

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

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #78

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries two new Auchentoshan releases from the Douglas Laing stables. In the left corner: the Auchentoshan 12 Year Old 2001 Provenance spring distillation; in the right corner: the Auchentoshan 15 Year Old 1997 Old Particular. Let the match begin! 

http://youtu.be/ge-YdjS1XHI

New! SUNTORY Cask Collection 2013

Six new expressions from Yamazaki & Hakushu for Europe. Including sherry, bourbon, puncheon and Mizunara (Japanese) oak matured whiskies.

Yamazaki Sherry Cask $258.07

New! Yamazaki Bourbon Barrel 2013 $126.42

Yamazaki 18 Year Old $199.15

New! Hakushu Heavily Peated 2013 $126.42

New! Hakushu Sherry Cask 2013 $258.07

New! Yamazaki Puncheon 2013 $126.42

New! Yamazaki Mizunara 2013 $314.69

WHISKY AUCTIONEER’S LATEST AUCTION DRAWING TO A CLOSE

Whisky Auctioneer’s third auction will finish at 9:00pm on Monday 3rd March.

There are just over 250 lots in the current whisky auction with a variety of bottles to meet all budgets and tastes.

Some auction highlights are a pair of old 26 2/3 fluid ounce Macallans from 1959 and 1963; a 1973 Talisker 28 year old, one of only 100 bottles; and a Laphroaig 1960 Private Vintage 40 year old.

Some other notable bottles include the Bunnahabhain 1963 40 Year Old released for Feis Ile 2003; Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 1; Macallan Royal Wedding, Jubilee and Coronation bottlings; and several Silver Seal bottlings, including a 42 Year Old Bunnhabhain, 1971 30 Year old Glen Esk, 1980 Port Ellen 21 Year Old and a 40 Year Old Glen Keith.

Looking overseas, the auction features a bottle of the legendary Karuizawa 1971 from cask #6878 and the latest Whisky Exchange release from Karuizawa, distilled in 1984. Also in this auction is a 2003 bottling of Midleton Very Rare and a 30 Year Old from the Old Comber distillery, a true piece of Irish whiskey history.

If you are looking for more than one bottle there are a few complete collections in the auction, including the Icons of Arran series, the Highland Park Magnus collection and the Dalmore River Series.

The auction will end tonight, Monday 3rd March 2014!

This month, the auction will end after 21:00 on Monday the 3rd. From 21:00, activity on any item will prolong the entire auction by a further five minutes; the auction will end when there has been no activity on any item for five minutes.

International Shipping

Whisky Auctioneer has a successful record in shipping whiskies internationally, including to the USA. To find out more information on their very competitive shipping charges, take a look at the delivery page:

http://www.whiskyauctioneer.com/shipping

Whisky Auctioneer can also provide insurance if required; contact us for more information.

Future Auctions

Entries for future auctions are always invited. Whisky Auctioneer makes selling whisky online easy!

With a low sellers commission rate of 5% and competitive listing and reserve fees there is no better place to sell your bottle(s) or collections.

The deadline for the next auction will be March 19th; the auction will begin on March 28th.

We have a very exciting tasting this week as we are joined by Glen Moray!

Wednesday 5th of March 2014: Glen Moray Tasting of the Year (6.30pm in Bookends, @Butchart )

The sale will be on Monday (tomorrow) between 1-3pm in Alfies, Butchart
Tickets are £5 for members and £6 for non-members

IF YOU BUY A TICKET PLEASE BE ON TIME, LATE ENTRIES ARE NOT PERMITTED TO THE TASTING 

Jacqueline Sutherland works for Weymss Malts and is based in Edinburgh.

Paul McLean is the owner of MCLEANSCOTLAND & ANGELS WHISKY CLUB

Paul interviewed Jacque whilst they were both working at Helsinki Whisky Festival “Uisge” 

Jacque, thanks for the interview, I know it’s hard to answer when someone is looking directly at you! Good to see you here, when did you arrive and when home?

A; Arrived last night and after finishing the festival 11pm tomorrow, I will be up at 5am to get the flight home, zzzzzzzzzzzzz! No rest of the wicked! 

Q; you are not alone on the stand, who are the other guys?

A; Brewseeker, our importer here in Finland, are adorning Wemyss shirts today too! 

Q; have you been here before?

A; I have been in Helsinki twice before, last October I had a flying visit, here for 8 hours! Places to go, people to meet! 

Q; I know you are relatively new at Weymss, how long have you been there and what is your role?  (please be as liberal as you can, ta)  What are your day to day tasks?

A; I joined the Wemyss team January 2013, so one whole year now, as Regional Manager, which covers half the globe! As we are a wee team, that involves all aspects of the business, from selecting and naming the casks to be bottled, to looking after the markets our portfolio can be found in, visiting them to promote and build awareness of the brands in each market. 

Q; do you travel all the time?

A; No, it just feels like that! Never enough days in the week! I was overseas about 8 weeks last year but as I also cover UK, I can be away from home a lot. 

Q; what is your whisky history?

A; I worked weekends, even in my summer holidays from studying, promoting whisky liqueurs, I worked overseas for many years where I was expected to know about whisky and drink more than the locals so got to grips with the better known whiskies, then on returning to Scotland I found work in the trade and the past 7 years have been a steep (steeping) learning curve,  in all things whisky. 

Q; do you have a favourite dram – any dram?

A; Imperial, Caperdonich and Invergordon are favourites, depends on where, who, when! 

Q; I think we first chatted when you were at Duncan Taylor aye?

A; Yes, that was my first step in the world of independent bottling, where I acquired a taste for the above! 

Q; can you tell me anything about the future at Kingsbarns?

A; An amazing time to be with Wemyss, as the project takes off and comes to fruition, a new Lowland malt will be born and matured, near the ancestral home of the family. Kingsbarns will start production St Andrews day this year! (2014) 

Q; What (whisky) plans for the future – range? new releases? malt or blend?

A; We are always planning ahead, our latest single cask release is with the importers and distributors just now, to be allocated from start of March, then we do have plans for new gins and whiskies over the next few months, Non Aged Lord Elcho will launch first, so we are offering a premium blend of 40% malt, but a very affordable dram with no age statement, perfect every day drinking. With Elcho Castle on your door step, I look forward to sharing this one with you. (Paul, aye sooner the better!) 

Q; what is the best part of your job (apart from the pay cheque)?

A; Sharing great drams with great people, hearing the passion for what they experience. 

Q; can mcleanscotland/angels be the first tour into the distillery when ready?

A; Yes, along with thousands of others in the queue! 

Q; And what about your private life? Any other interest apart from whisky?

A; Yes, but you can read all about it in a copy of my book £20.99 from all good book stores! 

Q; Thanks very much, a pleasure chatting to you, now the festival is over, can we share a dram?

A; Mines a double! 

Paul and Jacque will be meeting up again soon for a dram or two, hopefully she can also meet up with some of the whisky gang from the Uisge festival, when they tour Scotland (again) in May. 

Paul; www.mcleanscotland.com   www.angelswhiskyclub.com

Jacque; www.weymssmalts.com

CHIVAS CELEBRATES THE SKILL OF THE MASTER BARTENDER WITH EXCLUSIVE NEW COCKTAIL COMPETITION 

As the world’s first luxury Scotch whisky, recognised by modern gentlemen around the globe for its exceptional quality, timeless style and exclusivity, Chivas Regal deserves a place in all the world’s finest bars.

Chivas Regal is aiming to spread this message amongst the bartender community this year as it launches a bartender engagement programme, The Chivas Masters.  

Over the coming months, Chivas will roll out a global five year programme, The Chivas Masters which will challenge the world’s finest bartenders to ‘travel back through time’, re-discovering the classic cocktails of the past and giving them a modern interpretation with Chivas.

The Chivas Masters is a truly international competition that will have a presence in every major region globally.

Follow #Chivasmasters to be a part of the journey. 

NOTES 

Chivas Regal

Chivas Regal is a truly global brand, selling 4.9 million 9L cases annually in more than 150 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific and Americas. The Chivas Regal range is the epitome of style, substance and exclusivity and includes Chivas Regal 12, 18 and 25 Year Old. http://www.chivas.com/  

Join us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ChivasRegal

Subscribe to us on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/chivasregalglobal

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Chivas Brothers

Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard – the world’s co-leader in wine and spirits.  Chivas Brothers is the global leader in luxury Scotch whisky and premium gin. Its portfolio includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater gin, The Glenlivet, Royal Salute, Aberlour, Plymouth gin, Longmorn, Scapa, 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport.

www.chivasbrothers.com