Springbank 21 Year Old Vintage 1992 / Single Cask #248 / 150 Bottles

Distilled in 1992, Springbank single cask #248 was the dream of Dion Gunson, a wine merchant with close ties to the famous Campbeltown distillery. Back in the early 90’s, cask 248, an ex-bourbon filled barrel was purchased and left to slumber for 21 long years. In 2013 it was ready. Bottled at a natural cask strength of 51.9% vol and dressed with a label and fact book which has been designed and drawn by Scottish artist, Chris Watson.

A wonderful cask strength limited edition bottling of Springbank. With an out-turn of only 150 bottles, we can’t see this delicious Campbeltown malt hanging around for long…

£226.00 (£188.33 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Springbank 21 Year Old / Single Cask 248

Glentauchers 1994 / Gordon & MacPhail
Awarded 96.5 Points / Whisky Bible 2014

A vintage 1994 from Glentauchers distillery, bottled in 2012 by Gordon & MacPhail as part of their Distillery Label Range series. A superb tastng dram that offers excellent value for money.

Glentauchers 1994 was recently awarded 96.5 points in Jim Murray’s 2014 Whisky Bible, which was only 1 point behind the overall leader.

£39.50

(£32.92 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Glentauchers 1994 / Gordon & MacPhail

Springbank 21 Year Old / 2014 Release

The return of the much anticipated Springbank 21 Year Old, complete with gold attire. The 2014 release looks like it’s going to be another stunning dram, showing off the great complexity that you get from a Springbank whisky developed with age.

Very limited stock.

£216.00 (£188.00 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Springbank 21 Year Old / 2014 Release

Yamazaki Sherry Cask / 2013 Release

The 2013 Yamazaki Sherry cask, a beautiful Japanese single malt whisky that’s been aged exclusively in sherry casks.

The launch of the 2013 Yamazaki Cask Collection, coincides with the distillery’s 90th anniversary. There were four special whiskies released for 2013, matured in a variety of casks; Bourbon, Sherry, Puncheon and Mizunara Japanese oak.

Click here to view all the bottles released in the Yamazaki Cask Selection along with all our new arrivals…

£102.50 (£85.42 ex vat)

Two long awaited Irish Whiskies have landed at the Park Avenue Liquor Shop.

This is more newsworthy than the amount of snow we’re getting.

Let’s talk about something besides the weather.

We’re happy to announce that two great Irish Whiskies are now on the shelves at the Park Ave Liquor Shop.

We’ve long been fans of Redbreast Irish Whiskey. We were fortunate to sample it a few weeks ago and it is not to be missed.

Green Spot has been a ‘white whale’ for many Irish Whiskey lovers in the U.S. More times than we can count, we’ve had people inquire about its availability. Now we can proudly say, ‘Sure, we have that.”

Both bottles are currently in-stock but are not yet on our website. Please contact the store to secure a bottle.

To all who are being affected by the winter storms – Stay safe.

Cheers!

Jonathan & Eric
Park Avenue Liquor Shop
292 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
212-685-2442
info@parkave;iquor.com
www.parkaveliquor.com 

Redbreast: 21 Year Old

Tasting Notes for Redbreast 21 Year Old:

Nose = “Remarkable aroma, spanning fresh tropical fruits, nuts and rich dried fruit.”

Taste= “Soft vanilla, toasted oak, sherry nuttiness with a dusting of pot still spices. Luscious fleshy fruit notes complete the creamy mouthfeel.”

Finish = “Lingers, seemingly forever, to oak and pot still spices and then, the final bow from barley – where it all began.”

Our Price: $225/btl

Green Spot: Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Tasting Notes for Green Spot:

Nose = “Fresh aromatic, oils and spices with orchard fruits and barley on a background of toasted wood.”

Taste = “Full spicy body. A hint of cloves along with the fruity sweetness of green apples rounded off with toasted oak.”

Finish = “Lingering flavors of spices and barley.”

Our Price: $55/btl

Our next tasting is this Wednesday
Wednesday 19th of February: Society Tasting (6.30pm in Bookends, @Butchart )

Come along to the FIRST whisky tasting event of the year.
We will have some super whisky on offer.

Tickets will be on sale at the door, so please come on time
As per usual, £3 for 4 whiskies
or £4 for non members

ALL members must renew their membership for this year.
Please see details below about how to do this.

HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE MALT WHISKY SOCIETY

We also need to get EVERYONE to become a member of the Malt Whisky Society.
To do this follow these simple steps:
1. Go to www.ausa.org.uk
2. Register a new account
3. Search for “Malt Whisky Society”
4. Add “Malt Whisky Society Student Membership” (£2) to your basket (like amazon.com)
5. Go to your basket – you MUST add “Societies Union” membership (£2) before you can pay
6. Follow payment instructions – you NEED a credit/debit card to pay.
7. Bring along your reference on a bit of paper/your mobile phone to the next whisky event and we will give you your membership card.

CASH PAYMENTS
It is possible to pay for membership with cash at the Butchart Reception desk during opening hours.

BALLANTINE’S AND BOILER ROOM TAKE FANS ON JOURNEY OF MUSICAL DISCOVERY A TEASER LAUNCH VIDEO CAN BE VIEWED ATVIMEO.COM/BOILERROOMTV/STAYTRUE AND EMBEDDED INTO NEWS ONLINE NEWS STORIES USING THE EMBED CODE BELOW

Ballantine’s, the world’s No. 2 Scotch whisky, today announced a global brand partnership with online music phenomena, Boiler Room.

‘Boiler Room & Ballantine’s Stay True Journeys’ aims to discover and celebrate the stories of the world’s most vibrant music scenes – from the characters who defined them, to the pioneers that are driving them forwards. The centrepiece of the project will be the production of a series of online documentaries, shot on location across the globe and featuring local musicians exploring the stories of the people, places and factors that have created each unique music culture.

A series of one-off, local events in stunning venues will also be staged throughout the year, featuring a mix of local legends and emerging talent, as well as some of the hottest international names. Tickets to the events will be exclusively available via Ballantine’s and Boiler Room channels, with a global audience able to tune-in live online via the microsite, Boilerroom.TV/StayTrue.

The first ‘Stay True Journey’ will take place in a yet undisclosed location in Mexico in March, with further destinations already lined up across three continents. More details will be announced in the coming weeks at Boilerroom.TV/StayTrue.

From its inauspicious beginnings as a lo-fi series of streamed DJ sets and live performances from a warehouse in Hackney, London, Boilerroom.tv has gone on to become one of the world’s most popular, authentic music channels, with well over six million monthly viewers and a social community of over a million.

Its unique formula of intimate, invite-only events, featuring artists performing the music of their choice, via global live-stream, has already attracted artists including Thom Yorke, Laurent Garnier, Bonobo, Skream and Mark Ronson. In the last few weeks they have broadcast shows from Berlin, London, Glasgow, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Lisbon.

Peter Moore, Global Brand Director for Ballantine’s commented: “Boiler Room is a natural partner for Ballantine’s. They’ve consistently delivered the most credible live and streamed music experiences to music lovers across the globe and, as such, epitomise the Stay True values of our brand. At a time when music is all too often viewed as disposable, ‘Stay True Journeys’ allows us to immerse fans in the stories which lie behind the world’s most exciting and authentic musical talent.”

Blaise Bellville, founder and CEO of Boiler Room added: “We don’t enter into brand partnerships lightly. What excited us about this opportunity was that Ballantine’s stands by its mantra of being genuine and authentic, with a true passion for music – where it’s come from, where it is at currently and where it’s heading. This project is going to allow us to capture and share the best of these stories, from all over the world.”

In addition to ‘Stay True Journeys’, Ballantine’s has also been supporting Boiler Room events around the world, with Ballantine’s in Mexico having previously hosted a number of events and Ballantine’s in Israel signed up to sponsor the first ever Boiler Room event in the country. Ballantine’s unveiled its new brand positioning, Stay True, Leave An Impression, in October 2013, which serves as an invitation to consumers to express themselves in a genuine and authentic way, applauding conviction and self-belief.

For more information, see Boilerroom.TV/StayTrue.

Embed the teaser launch video into news pieces using;

Boiler Room and Ballantine’s present Stay True Journeys from BOILER ROOM on Vimeo.

Notes:

About Ballantine’s

Ballantine’s is the No. 1 Scotch whisky in Europe and the world’s No. 2 Scotch whisky by volume, and the range sells over 70 million bottles a year worldwide. Ballantine’s has won more than 120 trophies and medals at international competitions in the past 10 years for quality, as a result of its unique richness of character and perfect balance. The range, from Ballantine’s Finest to the exclusive 40 Year Old, is the most extensive in the world of Scotch and is maintained by the latest in a tradition of Master Blenders that dates back to 1827.

www.ballantines.com

About 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

For further information please visit www.chivasbrothers.com

• Buffalo Trace K&L Exclusive Single Cask #43 Lot 4669 Kentucky Straight Bourbon 750ml ($24.99)
  Last October we toured Buffalo Trace distillery for the first time and got to select samples directly from the distillery. Getting to bottle our own selections from one of the nation’s best and most-popular distilleries is a fantastic way for us to provide something unique and interesting for our loyal whiskey customers. Now that the word is out that Pappy Van Winkle is made at the Frankfort facility, tourists have begun flocking to Buffalo Trace to conduct their own whiskey pilgrimages. When we were there in the Fall the campus was a madhouse of Bourbon aficionados and die-hard enthusiasts. We were lucky to taste anything as the gift shop was completely sold out of everything except cream liqueur. Luckily, there were two solid, classic Buffalo Trace casks there for the taking and we snatched them up. The #43 barrel offered plenty of burnt sugar, toasted nuts, and barrel spice right on the nose, with more on the palate right afterward. The cask yielded a little more than 200 bottles and we’re pumped to finally have them on our shelves. (David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer)

• Buffalo Trace K&L Exclusive Single Cask #45 Lot 4669 Kentucky Straight Bourbon 750ml ($24.99)
  Last October we toured Buffalo Trace distillery for the first time and got to select samples directly from the distillery. Getting to bottle our own selections from one of the nation’s best and most-popular distilleries is a fantastic way for us to provide something unique and interesting for our loyal whiskey customers. Now that the word is out that Pappy Van Winkle is made at the Frankfort facility, tourists have begun flocking to Buffalo Trace to conduct their own whiskey pilgrimages. When we were there in the Fall the campus was a madhouse of Bourbon aficionados and die-hard enthusiasts. We were lucky to taste anything as the gift shop was completely sold out of everything except cream liqueur. Luckily, there were two solid, classic Buffalo Trace casks there for the taking and we snatched them up. The #45 was more herbaceous and full of bold rye flavor with plenty of wood spices on the finish. It’s a more intense version of the standard formula wi th everything dialed up a bit. We’re excited to have it all to ourselves! (David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer)

• Faultline Straight Bourbon Whiskey 750ml ($39.99)
  We’ve been doing gin and single malt for years, and now rum, so why not throw our hat in the Bourbon pool? One of the obstacles that kept us from making a Faultline Bourbon earlier was availability: the current demand has made the extra barrel a thing of the past. One of the only distilleries that would sell us a cask for a private label was the old LDI distillery in Indiana, but with the already overcrowded LDI market (Bulleit Rye, Templeton Rye, High West, etc) we didn’t think our product would be different enough, or of the quality we desired, for the Faultline name. That’s when John Little from Smooth Ambler stepped in and said he’d be happy to help us do something special. If we were going to work with LDI casks, then we needed the capability to blend something special to taste – the specs wouldn’t sell this baby. John had some incredible 10 year old low rye formula that we used in conjunction with some 7 year high rye. We kept tastin g and tasting until we found the sweet spot at 100 proof. It’s FAR better than I ever thought it would be. I hoped we could provide something fun and different, but the final whiskey is phenomenal. It’s rich, with sweet fruit right on the entry, a full-bodied mid-palate, and a long, rich, spicy finish. It tastes like it came from Four Roses or somewhere fancy and at 50% it pops in all the right places. I hope we can make another batch like this because this Bourbon is the new king of K&L. Taste it if you don’t believe me. (David Driscoll)

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

FEBRUARY UPDATE: HEARTS AFLUTTER FOR 3 NEW BEAUTIES

February’s 14: we loved them; you loved them so much that just a week in they’re running low. Fear not though because we’ve come to the rescue with three brand new lovelies to set your hearts aflutter…

Light & delicate  
46.23      A sweetie shop in a park

A gentle, unassuming nose – slight suggestions of scorched wood and small insinuations of acidity – but mainly a sweetie shop (vanilla, Turkish Delight, strawberry fondant) in a park (meadowsweet, laurel, gorse, wood sap, flowers). The palate held a happy balance of sweet (chocolate-coated raisins, iced vanilla sponge-cake) and bitter…

12 yo
Refill ex-bourbon hogshead
£50.70

BUY

Young & spritely 
39.95 Caressing, warm and friendly

The nose, fresh and attractively youthful, tumbled aromatic antics of vanilla, gorse flowers, sandalwood, scented candles and melon, plus plentiful sweet suggestions  (stroop waffles, toffee ice-cream, lemon puffs, Edinburgh Rock, white chocolate). The palate also provided intense sweetness…

9 yo
Refill ex-bourbon barrel
£44.00

BUY

Spicy & sweet
4.188 A ploughman’s picnic

A bracing start to the day with breakfast of granary toast with marmalade, caramelised apple and fresh grapefruit. Our ploughman strides past hedgerows, damp woods and gorse bushes. The flavours are exotic with a dramatic blast of ginger, cinnamon stick and orris root…

13 yo
First fill ex-bourbon barrel
£51.80

BUY

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 http://www.smws.co.uk/memberships for your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers.

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

The Word extraordinary is often overused.

Defined as something beyond the expected, it should be reserved only for the truly remarkable. With that in mind, it is our pleasure to introduce the second expression from our Extraordinary Single Cask collection – the Glenrothes 1969 Single Cask #11485. With golden hues and peerless texture it is the most beautifully balanced, elegant and well-mannered single malt we have ever produced. The hogshead cask used to create this single malt has yielded just 133 bottles, meaning it is almost as exclusive as it is elegant.

FIND OUT MORE

Yamazaki Cask Collection 2013 Masterclass – Sunday 23 February at 3pm

The team at Tomoka Spirits Boutique in St. Albans, Hertfordshire are delighted to announce a very special tasting of the Yamazaki single malt whisky Cask Collection 2013.

We will be guided through the whiskies by Suntory’s UK ambassador, Zoran Peric. The line-up includes the highly sought after Yamazaki Mizunara cask and is definitely one not to miss!

Tickets are £20 per person and are strictly limited. Please email us on billmccoy@tomokaspiritsboutique.co.uk or call on 01727 894869 to find out more and book your tickets.

Tomoka Spirits Boutique
5A Christopher Place
St. Albans
Hertfordshire AL3 5DQ
01727 894869

Birthday alert… Spirit of Toronto turns TEN!!!

It’s incredible to think that ten years ago the first Spirit of Toronto Whisky Gala took place at Roy Thomson Hall. Year after year it’s been our pleasure to showcase some truly stellar whiskies and fine spirits to our ever growing audience, including the first ever public tasting of Highland Park 40 Year Old, the first Canadian tasting of the Generations Glenlivet 70 Year Old and the king of cognac, Louis de XIII de Rémy Martin.

We’re also pleased to have held Canada’s only dedicated whisky auction which raised over $7000 for the Parkinson’s Society of Canada on behalf of the late whisky writer Michael Jackson.

That said, the many friends that Spirit of Toronto has made along the way are the true highlights of the past ten years. Those of you who not only return every year, but come back with your family, friends and colleagues in tow. It is with you in mind that we look forward to presenting a birthday bash that you will be talking about for the rest of the year…

Tickets on sale Monday, March 24

Tickets for this year’s Spirit of Toronto Annual Gala go on sale Monday, March 24 at 10:00am sharp. Once again tickets will be sold through Roy Thomson Hall’s box office online, by telephone and in person at 60 Simcoe Street. Those of you subscribed to this list will receive an automatic email notification the night before.

The complete schedule for the Spirit of Toronto 2014 Masterclass Series is also close to being confirmed. For those of you in need of some hints, I can report that this year’s tutored tastings will see some of you visting Italy, while some of you will take on the role of master blender. And then there are the lucky few who will be afforded a rare opportunity to travel back in time. All will be revealed in the coming weeks when Spirit of Toronto’s new website is published in March.

Coming in from out of town?

No need to wait to arrange your travel plans, once again we have discounted rates being offered by our hotel partners, and both are within walking distance of Roy Thomson Hall.

The Fairmont Royal York is right next to Union Station and is offering attendees rooms at $159 per night. You can book online by clicking here or by calling the hotel directly at 416-368-2511 and quoting “Spirit of Toronto”.

The Marriott Residence Inn Downtown Toronto is 3 blocks from Roy Thomson Hall and has a limited number of Studio Suites with full kitchen and living area available for $159 per night which includes WiFi, highspeed internet and a hot buffet breakfast. These can be booked by calling the hotel directly at 416-581-1800 and quoting “Spirit of Toronto” or by clicking here.

Single Minded 2014: A Modest Guide to Really Good Whisky

For those of you who can’t wait until May, the 2014 edition of Single Minded is now published and available to order online through Amazon Canada.

Based on more than ten years worth of tasting and travel in the world of whisky—both as an enthusiast and in my role as executive producer of the Spirit of Toronto—this is a no-nonsense guide to the affordable, everyday whiskies that I hold to be every bit as good (and often better) as bottles costing twice the price.

In short, this is my love letter to whisky, featuring those bottles I have purchased myself and enjoyed at my leisure… what I’d invite you to taste should you drop by for a wee blether as my Scottish friends like to say.

The Relaxed Whisky Weekend

6 – 8 September 2013

Hi there,

Just a very quick update from the Maltstock headquarters.

It’s just 7 months till Maltstock 2014, be there or be square!

We are very happy to confirm that this year’s breakfast will be served by Wullie Macmorland, proud owner of the Hielander Scottisch Restaurant and organizer of the yearly held Hielander Whisky festival both in Alkmaar. Wullie will cook for us the world famous full scottish breakfast, twice! Owww yeah!

Hielander Whisky Festival will actually be held this week. Maltstock as always will be present with a couple of nice people and a table full of whisky for you to enjoy. Come and visit us!

We redesigned Maltstock.com lately. Visit our new site at www.maltstock.com. We are still working on some of the features, but it’s a great site already.

Although the shop is offline due to maintenance: the tickets are flying out!
Please, if you want to come, send an email to: shop@maltstock.com

Thanks!

Maltstock will be present at the following festivals as well:
Whisky in Leiden – 12\apr\2014 – http://www.whiskyinleiden.nl/
Internationaal malt whisky festival Gent – 8\9\maart – http://whiskyfestival.be/
Whisky festival noord Nederland – 28\29\30\maart – http://www.wfnn.nl/
Spirit of Speyside Whisky festival – 1\2\3\4\5\mei – http://www.spiritofspeyside.com/

See you at one of these great festivals

And we hope to see you at Maltstock 2014 of course!

Annette, Bob, Jeroen, Klaas, Stan and Teun

http://www.maltstock.com