This week Joe Ellis reviews The Wild Geese Untamed Release Irish Whiskey
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MASTERS AWARD FOR THREE SHIPS PREMIUM SELECT 5 YEAR OLD
Three Ships Premium Select 5 Year Old whisky received a Masters award in the World Whisky category at The Spirits Business 2014 The Travel Retail Spirits Masters international competition.
The competition, held annually by the leading UK spirits magazine, aims to reward the finest travel retail spirit brands, tasted blind by a panel of leading spirits specialists who award entries from around the world with silver, gold or master awards within the various categories.
With travel retailers supplying world travelers with a growing selection of exclusive and luxury products the competition attracted a record number of entries for its various categories which in addition to whisky also include gin, vodka and brandy.
Judge and managing editor of The Spirits Busines, Becky Paskin said to win a Masters medal was a significant achievement. “The travel retail environment is a competitive and super premium environment. More than 50% of spirits sales in travel retail are owned by Scotch whisky brands. They drive the aspirational purchases of travelers by investing an incredible amount in promoting their brands.
“For a South African whisky to win a Masters is certainly outstanding. It proves that Scotland is not the only country to produce quality whisky and Three Ships can certainly compete with the market-leaders in travel retail.”
Three Ships Premium Select 5 Year Old is a blend of the finest malt and grain whiskies crafted at the James Sedgwick’s Distillery in Wellington in the Boland. Inspired by the iconic Islay malts, this smoky yet fruity whisky is matured for a minimum of five years in American oak casks before being blended and bottled. The warmer South African climate accelerates maturation, producing an exceptionally smooth whisky after just five years.
Robust and aromatic on the nose, it blends seamlessly with fruit, oak and shortbread. The palate is peaty with ripe pears and spiciness in the background with a warm, lingering finish.
The Three Ships Premium Select 5 Year Old is available nationwide and retails for about R160.
Lots of changes at the
Park Avenue Liquor Shop.
“Hello, yeah, it’s been a while.
Not much, how ’bout you?”
– Dan Seals
We realize we haven’t been in-touch with our e-mail promotion followers for some time. We hope to be more active in keeping you all up to date with new exciting arrivals and promotions at the Park Avenue Liquor Shop. Please see below for the first of many new exciting changes for the Park Avenue Liquor Shop.
Cheers!
Jonathan & Eric
Park Avenue Liquor Shop
292 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
212-685-2442
info@parkaveliquor.com
www.parkaveliquor.com *
*We are launching a whole new Website.
In the next day or so – parkaveliquor.com will have whole new look. It will still capture everything we carry (to the best of our ability) across all categories of wines and spirits.
What is important to know is that if you are already have a login and password for our site – You will need to recreate them for the new site to place future orders. So please make a note of your current information.
During the launch of the new site, we will be filling in information about upcoming tastings, making more announcements and continually adding photo images for the products we carry.
As always we are here to take any questions you have about this exciting change and will do our best to iron out any kinks as quickly as possible.
We hope to see you on our new site.
The new website is live!
Check out our new look and feel
We thank you all for your patience as we completely overhauled our online presence. Our new, beautiful www.vadistillery.com is up and ready for you to have a look around. We’ve incorporated some great new features and some beautiful photography to go along with our new email format and our invigorated social media presence. As things get more and more exciting around here, we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop every step of the way.
New Features
www.ralfy.com uncovers an older malt appearing younger with Whisky Review 496 – GlenDronach 21yo ‘Parliament’ @ 48%vol
October 2014: Today, Chivas Regal, the world’s first luxury whisky, introduces Chivas Regal Extra — its first new global expression since 2007*. Complementing its collection of premium blended Scotch whiskies, Chivas Regal Extra is one of the richest, most generous tasting blends within this category, crafted for those who look for more.
Taking Chivas Regal’s famous, award-winning house style to a new taste experience, Chivas Regal Extra continues the legacy of founding brothers James and John Chivas, who pioneered and excelled in the art of blending whiskies in the 19th Century. Blending whisky for 25 years, Colin Scott, Chivas Regal Master Blender has created a unique and outstanding blended Scotch using some of the rarest malt whiskies from the Chivas inventory.
Chivas Regal Extra is a special selection of whiskies matured in Oloroso sherry casks together with the rarest and finest Chivas malts, creating a rich and generous Chivas blend, for those who look for more. The result? An incredibly rich and discerning interpretation of the Chivas signature style, Chivas Regal Extra has a fruity, sweet nose with notes of ripe pears, creamy toffee and a hint of ginger. The ripe pears continue on the palate, with sweet tropical flavours of melons and soft notes of vanilla and caramel, blending with spicy notes of cinnamon and hints of almonds, leading to a long and fulfilling finish.
“This is our first new global expression since 2007.” explains Colin Scott, Master Blender at Chivas Regal. “The mark of its quality lies in its rich and generous taste which we’ve created by using some of our rarest whiskies built on a rich foundation of malts that have been matured in a higher proportion of sherry casks. This process delivers a profound depth of flavour and a whisky that showcases the character of this unique blend, taking it to a whole new level.”
Max Warner, Global Brand Ambassador for Chivas Regal, has developed a series of ‘Fortified Classics’ cocktails using the richer flavours of other fortified spirits such as Lillet, Sherry and Port. The line of cocktails takes inspiration from some of the world’s most famous classic cocktails, such as the ‘Rob Roy,’ to complement nuances of nutty sweetness, spiciness and a deep rich amber colour of Chivas Regal Extra. For recipes, visit: http://www.chivas.com/en/int/chivas-regal-extra/mixology/ Chivas Regal Extra will be stocked at whisky retailers around the world plus other specialist spirits merchants.-
-*Chivas Regal Extra is the first global expression to be released by Chivas Regal since Chivas 25 Years Old which was launched in 2007.
Notes
About 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. www.chivas.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
The Whisky Show Masterclass – Gordon & MacPhail
One of the standout Masterclasses at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show saw the launch of Gordon & MacPhail’s new Private Collection Ultra series – a range of four single-cask whiskies, each selected by a branch of the third and fourth generations of the Urquhart family.
Four members were present: Stephen Rankin, Laura, Michael and Richard Urquhart – each presenting one of the whiskies in the line-up – along with whisky writer Jonny McCormick who wrote the official tasting notes. The Masterclass also served as a farewell to outgoing managing director Michael Urquhart, who joined the family business in 1981 and is retiring after seven years at the helm.
From left: Johnny McCormick, Stephen Rankin, Richard, Michael and Laura Urquhart
We started with MacPhail’s 15 Year Old as an amuse-bouche, while Jonny introduced the range. The releases are all from the 1950s (around 60 years old), with approximately 60 bottles available. We are only selling the bottles as a four-bottle set, priced at £25,000, here are my thoughts:
Linkwood 1953, 61 Year Old, Private Collection Ultra, 49.4%
(chosen by Stephen Rankin, UK sales director and his mother (Michael Urquhart’s sister) Rosemary Rankin, a retired director). Being a classic Speysider, Linkwood is a favourite with Gordon & MacPhail. Believed to be the oldest-ever bottling from the distillery, this was the oldest cask of Linkwood Gordon & MacPhail had, would have been produced with floor-malted barley and was aged in a first-fill sherry hogshead.
Nose: Intense notes of prune and fig, with hints of sweet toffee and walnuts in the background.
Palate: A classic sherried whisky – the waxy and mouth-coating texture reveals rich dark chocolate, coffee, Christmas cake, marmalade, prune, fig, and hints of cardamom.
Finish: Cardamom spice is present at the end of a very long finish.
Comment: A classic example of sherried whisky, but one which, despite the age, is beautifully integrated and not as oaky as one would expect.
Glenlivet 1952, 62 Year Old, Private Collection Ultra, 43.4%
(selected by retired managing director Ian Urquhart, his son Neil, director of logistics and facilities, and daughter Jenny Houldsworth, a non-executive director). Initially aged in a first-fill sherry butt, this was transferred to a sherry hogshead in 1969. Produced at a time when the distillery was only producing 7,000 gallons a year – this figure is now more than 2 million.
Nose: Rich in profile, yet elegant in intensity, with chocolate and Turkish delight, along with fresher fruit than expected from a long-aged sherry-cask whisky, with orange and lemon notes.
Palate: Stunningly elegant in nature with a classic sherried flavour profile of dark chocolate, fruit cake and orange, along with a hint of ash and tar from the wood, but it’s not overly oaky.
Finish: Long, with chocolate orange and some oak spiciness.
Comment: The transfer to a hogshead from a (presumably over-active) butt has created an elegant style rather than a sherry monster. Elegant whiskies of this age and complexity are rare and a delight.
Mortlach 1951, 63 Year Old, Private Collection Ultra, 42.5%
(chosen by retired joint managing director David Urquhart and his twin sons Stuart, whisky supply manager, and Richard, export sales executive). This was the company’s last cask of 1951 vintage Mortlach, a distillery that’s another Gordon & MacPhail favourite, and was aged in a sherry hogshead.
Nose: Sweet-style nose of crème caramel, butterscotch and toffee with a hint of beeswax.
Palate: Wow – a stark contrast to the nose. Creamy, and drier than the nose suggests, with the fruit notes of orange and apricot joined by clove and hints of ash, tar and smoke.
Finish: Long, dry and spicy, with the smoke increasing in intensity.
Comment: The contrast from the nose to the palate was startling, and proves you can’t smell sweetness. The smoke was unexpected but welcome and helped to integrate the fruit and spice – another exceptional whisky.
Strathisla 1957, 57 Year Old, Private Collection Ultra, 51.6%
(selected by retiring managing director Michael Urquhart and daughter Laura, brand manager). The darkest in colour of the four (with a dark mahogany hue), this is believed to be the oldest bottling of Strathisla ever released, and was matured in a sherry hogshead. Michael’s father John bid for the distillery at auction in 1950, losing to incumbent owners Chivas Brothers.
Nose: Incredibly intense and complex nose, with pickled gherkins joined by hazelnuts, geraniums and a hint of wood.
Palate: The complexity continues with an oily texture with soy sauce, umami and Christmas cake combined with dry woody spiciness that is well integrated.
Finish: Long and dry with the wood notes prominent, but not overpowering.
Comment: This one divided the room – the prominent woodiness too much for some – but for me it was well integrated, with the oak not overpowering. An excellent example of drier-style sherried whisky.
With this range, Gordon & MacPhail have demonstrated they have stocks of whisky that are unrivalled in age and quality. This is an exceptional set of whiskies, with each having its own place in the range. However the Strathisla (for its sheer intensity of flavour) and the Linkwood (a classic example of sherried Speyside) were my personal favourites.
This was a fitting farewell to Michael’s tenure. In his years as managing director, he oversaw the release of the oldest Scotch whisky bottlings – a 1938 Mortlach in 2008 being followed by a 1940 Glenlivet two years later – and while not as old as that pair, judging by this tasting, the four expressions in the Private Collection Ultra series are sure to receive the same level of acclaim.
The four-bottle range is available as a set for £25,000. The set is available to buy on The Whisky Exchange website – your chance to own a piece of Urquhart family history.
A new look for TWE – website updates
If you have a look at The Whisky Exchange website today, you may notice a few differences. By which I mean we’ve totally revamped the site.
Our new front page – isn’t it pretty?
We’ve been doing little tweaks over the past few years, but we decided that it was time to overhaul the site’s look and feel, as well as drop in a few new bits and pieces that you’ve been asking for. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new.
First up is the new look. The site is now mobile friendly, with a responsive design that will work on phones, large screens and everything in between – change the size of your web browser and things will resize so as to best to fit your screen. Here’s the same page on my phone, iPad and desktop; click to show them full size:
On desktop
On tablet
On mobile
We’ve also upgraded our tasting notes, with our product pages now telling you much more about what drinks taste like, with key flavours and styles now added. We’ve not filled those in for everything yet, but we’re adding more every day.
Guess the whisky… (click for the answer)
We’ve added more information all over the site, from the product pages through to our category, brand and distillery pages. If you want to know more about port or the difference between the types of American whiskey, then it’s all there – just click the ‘Discover more’ link.
More filters…
Behind the scenes we’ve also been adding information, and our searching and filtering is now even better. Typing into the search box will now offer more suggestions, as we’re tapping into much more information than on the old site. As one of the largest sellers of old and rare bottles online, we thought we’d make it easier for you to focus on either those or newer bottles – every product list on the site now has three tabs to help you quickly switch what you’re looking at: all, standard and old & rare.
Wishlists!
One of the most commonly requested features for the website has been wishlists, and we can now happily announce that we have them – just click the ‘Add to wishlist’ button that’s on every product page to start building one. This is just version one, and we’ve got lots of ideas on how to make them better that we’ll be rolling out over the coming months.
We’ll be continuing to add information and enhancements, so keep an eye out for more changes in the future. Any comments or suggestions, please drop them in a comment below – we always welcome feedback.
Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – A new look for TWE – website updates
unlocking the mystery of whisky
The latest release of the Bruichladdich Octomore has for the very first time been distilled exclusively from 100% Islay barley. Octomore 6.3 Islay Barley has been bottled at 5 years old at the Bruichladdich distillery using Islay spring water from the Octomore fields of farmer James Brown.
This limited edition is the peatiest ever release in the whisky industry measuring in at 258 PPM – that’s 89PPM higher than the previous highest release.
