Arran 18 Year Old

The third and final release in the trilogy of malts released by Arran distillery to celebrate the countdown to the launch of the first official bottling of Arran 18 year old! This limited edition Arran has been produced from un-peated malted barley and matured in a selection of ex-sherry casks.

£70.00 (£58.33 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Arran 18 Year Old

Arran 17 Year Old

A limited edition release from Arran distillery produced from un-peated malted barley and aged for 17 years in casks that previously held Spanish sherry.  This bottling is the second in a series marking the countdown to the launch of The Arran Malt 18 year old in Spring 2015.

£61.95 (£51.63 ex vat) 

Click here to purchase Arran 17 Year Old

Special Offer! Arran Single Cask #893

Single cask #893 is the 2014 Autumn release from Arran distillery. Distilled in 1998 and aged for just over 16 years in a single sherry cask, 296 bottles have been filled at 54.3% vol.

Was £64.95

Now £57.50 Save £7.45 (£47.92 ex vat) 

Click here to purchase Arran Single Cask 893

www.ralfy.com double-reviews an official and indi malt with Whisky Review 528 – Glen Elgin 12yo + 17yo Indi cask

2015 Rare Life Award Presented to Alana Miller of Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary

Miller Awarded $50,000 Donation; Supporters Rallied Record-Setting Number of Votes

St. Pauls, NC (March 10, 2015) — Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey has named Alana Miller of St. Pauls, North Carolina, as the winner of the Grand Prize 2015 Rare Life Award.

Eagle Rare will donate $50,000 to Miller’s charity, Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary, and host an awards ceremony in St. Pauls on March 14.

The Rare Life Award is an annual recognition program created to honor individuals who exhibit courage, leadership, survival, devotion, character and heroism. Candidates are nominated by friends, family and colleagues. Their stories and photos are posted online at www.eaglerarelife.com, where many people vote for their favorite inspirational stories.

The 2015 award received 259 nominees and a record-setting 1 million votes were cast, 11 percent more than for the 2014 award. Miller garnered nearly half the votes, with 467,721, a testimony to her active social media presence, including more than 1 million Facebook fans.

Miller opened Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary in 2005 after volunteering for a local animal shelter and seeing blind cats immediately euthanized. “There were no resources or support for blind cats, but I decided I needed to do something,” Miller said. Blind Cat Rescue is a cage-free, lifetime care facility for blind cats and cats with feline versions of leukemia and FIV. Cats are not up for adoption into homes, but supporters have “adopted” them online – pledging financial support to cover expenses, which run about $230 per month per cat. Blind Cat Rescue provides full medical care including vaccinations and dental exams.

There are currently 91 cats at Blind Cat Rescue, which is about their maximum capacity. “We are not hoarders,” Miller said. “We are a responsible shelter, but we can’t save them all. However, 90 percent of the cats we put on Facebook get adopted.”

Part of Miller’s mission is educating the public, including potential adopters or those whose cat goes blind due to an illness. Miller said, “A blind cat doesn’t know it’s blind. They will act like a normal cat. They climb on top of things, scale the curtains … We have several big hamstertype wheels that the cats run on and they can’t see the wheel, but they can jog like nothing you’ve ever seen.” Cats, like humans, are vulnerable to a number of diseases that can cause them to lose vision, including cataracts, glaucoma, traumatic injury, and viral and bacterial infections. Blind Cat Rescue features a live web stream of the cats 24/7 and a live tour of the shelter on the stream daily. Miller strives for transparency and also enjoys letting her supporters see her opening boxes of food or toys they have sent, so they can see where their donations go.

Eagle Rare spokesman Kris Comstock said, “Alana Miller has selflessly committed herself to helping a whole population of domestic animals that the rest of the world has written off. She has shared their stories and educates the public about caring for these creatures, while dedicating her own life to making sure they have safe shelter and lifelong care. We congratulate and thank her, along with our other winners and nominees, for sharing their rare lives with us. In addition to the cash award, we hope this greater visibility assists them in securing long-term support for their invaluable work.”

Eagle Rare also will donate $5,000 to the charities of choice of the six runners-up, each one embodying a distinct characteristic of a Rare Life: Courage, Leadership, Heroism, Character, Devotion and Survival. Eagle Rare’s prize donations for 2015 total $80,000. This is the fifth year for the Rare Life campaign, and the 2015 awards will bring total grants to date for charities to $240,000.

The six 2015 runners-up are:

Rocky Bleier of Pittsburgh, Pa.: Heroism Award for The Beating the Odds Foundation

Ashley Boyd Gann of Lexington, Ky.: Character Award for Sweet Blessings

Howard Garrett of Palm Harbor, Fl: Leadership Award for Orca Network

Karen Good of Trail, Minn.: Courage Award for Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue

Brooke Pennypacker of Berlin, Wisc.: Devotion Award for Operation Migration

Melissa Phelps of Warsaw, Ky.: Survival Award for Dystonia Medical Research Foundation

For more information on the Rare Life Award or Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, visit www.eaglerarelife.com.

About Eagle Rare Bourbon

Eagle Rare Bourbon Whiskey is part of the award-winning Buffalo Trace Distillery, an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, (Franklin County), Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich distilling tradition dates back to 1773 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee. Eagle Rare Bourbon is a 10-year-old bourbon that has won multiple awards, including five double gold medals from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. To learn more about Eagle Rare visit www.eaglerarelife.com

This month Cutty Sark is 92. Ninety-two years since its very humble beginnings in 1923, when the Cutty Sark blend was brought to life by the vision of two wine merchants and their illustrator companion, James McBey, who drew the image of the ship featured on the yellow label…

Cutty Sark’s popularity grew immensely during the Prohibition era of the 1920’s and 30’s, when cases used to be smuggled into the States from the Bahamas. It came to be known as a high quality, easy drinking whisky. By the 1960s, Cutty was the biggest selling whisky in the US. Part of its success was down to maverick advertising director, George Lois, who was responsible for the iconic Cutty Sark advertising during the 1960s and 70s. Some say that George inspired the character of Don Draper in the hugely popular TV series Madmen. Since then, the Cutty family has grown to include Storm and Prohibition Edition. Today, you can enjoy a Cutty in cool bars across the globe.

So, join us in a toast to this exciting history and an even better future!

Here’s a little cocktail inspiration,

That’s our kind of Cutty.

Rare and exclusive whiskies

From the very limited single cask bottlings from Hunter Laing, to the last remaining bottles of Brora and Port Ellen from Diageo’s 2014 Special Releases, we’ve got some fantastic whiskies that you definitely don’t want to miss out on! We’re also very sad to announce that stocks of our wonderful Bowmore Exclusive have almost run out, so it’s your last chance to get one before it’s gone forever!

Glenfarclas Family Casks

Glenfarclas Family Casks

The Family Casks are a unique collection of the best single casks from the Glenfarclas distillery’s warehouses. Launched in 2007, the collection initially comprised 43 single cask bottlings, with one cask from every year from 1952 to 1994. The Family Casks are bottled at cask strength and natural colour, allowing you to explore the subtle differences between casks and the history of family owned Glenfarclas.

£175 – £2,315 Explore the full range here

Single Cask Bottlings

Hunter Laing 

Hunter Laing is an independent bottling company based in Glasgow, who select the finest casks from the best distilleries in Scotland and bottle them under the Old and Rare, Old Malt Cask and Douglas of Drumlanrig brands. All of the Hunter Laing whiskies we sell are hand picked by our staff, based on their fantastic flavour profiles, value for money and exclusivity. All of the whiskies are of natural colour, and non-chill filtered.

Discover the full collection here 

Ghosted Reserve

Rare Cask Reserves  Ghosted Reserve

The Ghosted Reserve is the first blended malt from William Grant & Sons that contains whisky from long closed distilleries Inverleven and Ladyburn. Both of which have been closed since 1991 and 1975 respectively. This exceptional one-off expression offers notes of almond oil and zesty citrus fruit. One of only 4100 individually numbered bottles were created and only 1200 are available to purchase in the UK.

£350 Buy now

Last chance to buy

Port Ellen 35 year old 14th Release

A limited edition, natural cask strength single malt from Port Ellen, a closed distillery on the Isle of Islay. One of the most rare and highly sought after malts, this is the 14th of a limited series of annual releases and is the oldest release of Port Ellen ever to come from the original distillers. Part of Diageo’s 2014 Special Releases. One of only 2,964 individually numbered bottles, bottled at 56.5% abv.

£2,200 Buy Now

Brora 35 year old 13th Release

Distilled in 1978 and matured in refill American Oak and European Oak casks for over 35 years old. From the closed distillery at Brora on the Sutherland coast. It is the equal-oldest Brora bottled in this series and the thirteenth of a limited series of annual releases. One of only 2,964 individually numbered bottles, bottled at 48.6% abv.

£1,200 Buy Now

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #106

Poitin or poteen is sometimes also referred to as moonshine. It was a practice that was banned in 1661, but nowadays quite a few distilleries market their new make. This Teeling Poitin is a mix of 80% triple distilled maize spirit and 20% double distilled malt spirit. The result is quite astounding.

http://youtu.be/TKJu1W3yev4

Glenturret 2000The MacPhail’s Collection 

A 2000 vintage Glenturret, bottled by independent whisky retailer Gordon & MacPhail for The MacPhail’s Collection. Beautiful colour on this Highland whisky, bottled in 2015 at 43% vol.

£38.80 (£32.33 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Glenturret Vintage 2000

Glenturret 2006 – Single Cask #545 Ewan McGregor 

A single cask release from Scotland’s oldest distillery. Distilled in 2006, cask #545 is a distillery exclusive and has been named Ewan McGregor due to the famous Scottish actor being born in Crieff, the same town in which the distillery is located.

£108.00 (£90.00 ex vat) 

Click here to purchase Glenturret Single Cask 545

Moray Golf Club toasts links with new packages

Visitors to Scotland now have the opportunity to combine the thrill of links golf with the pleasure of sampling the very best malt whiskies through a new range of exclusive golf packages. For the first time, Moray Golf Club has introduced a range of special offers designed specifically for visitors to the club, which will host one of the UK’s most prestigious amateur championships in May.

Moray Golf Club has launched the three new experiences following the success of its ground-breaking sole-supplier agreement with one of Scotland’s most respected suppliers of wines and spirits. Along with the launch of a limited edition 15-year-old Speyside single malt, the formalisation of the club’s relationship with Gordon & MacPhail was one of the highlights of the club’s 125th anniversary celebrations last year and has now been extended to a new three-year contract.

The interest it generated also led to the creation of the new packages, as John Thomson, captain of Moray Golf Club, explained. “The link between Moray Golf Club and whisky has always been celebrated by the club, but the new packages take this connection to another level. The combination of championship links golf and whiskies from every distillery in Morayshire and Speyside is a big draw, and now our tailored packages give us the means of delivering a very special Scottish experience.”

The link between Moray Golf Club – which will host this year’s Carrick Neill Scottish Open Stroke Play Championship – and whisky cannot be overstated. The club claims to have the longest association with its own malt whisky of any golf club in the world with its own malt being created when the club was founded in 1889. Indeed, many of its founders were distillery owners who collectively laid down hogs heads of whisky for the club’s members to enjoy. The club’s own current malt is a 10-year-old Glen Moray from nearby Elgin.

Within living memory, the club whisky was bottled on site with the practice only being abandoned after committee members were overcome by fumes emanating from the bottling process. The new experience packages have been designed to celebrate this link between golf and the ‘water of life’ with the first incorporating a round of championship golf on either the Old or New Moray course followed by a whisky tasting experience created by Gordon & Macphail. Hosted in the club’s Heritage Room which overlooks the sparkling waters of the Moray Firth, The Whisky Experience includes an exhilarating round of golf with a tasting session incorporating five specially selected drams.

The second package embraces the skills needed to tackle Moray’s celebrated championship links courses by playing six holes alongside the club’s pro John Murray. What better preparation could there be than picking the brains of one of Scotland’s finest coaches and an expert in links golf? The Links Experience is a unique opportunity to get some handy links tips and to test them out on the sandy turf before a full round.

The third option combines both The Whisky Experience with The Links Experience creating a full day of learning, fun and indulgence. The experience begins with either a one-to-one or group session with Moray’s resident pro followed by a round on the magnificent Moray Old and then a visit to the Heritage Room to taste some of the finest whiskies Scotland has to offer.

“The Moray Experience brings together the very best of Moray in a fantastic day of golf and whisky,” explained Thomson. “It has been devised to cater for individuals, pairs and groups, and provides a structure around which visitors can experience a day like no other.”

The new Moray experiences have been launched to coincide with the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival and Homecoming Scotland’s Whisky Month in May which form part of the Year of Food & Drink Scotland in 2015.

Notes:

About Moray Golf Club

1) Founded in 1889, Moray Golf Club is situated in Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland. The club has two 18-hole courses appropriately called the Old Course and the New Course.

2) A classic layout designed by Old Tom Morris, the Old Course is one of the finest links courses in Scotland with one of the most memorable closing holes you’ll find in golf. At 6,572 yards, it has a par of 71. It is No 37 in Golf World’s Top 100 Scottish Courses (2013).

3) The tighter New Course was masterminded by Henry Cotton, whose preference for precision golf can be seen in the shorter layout and smaller greens. At 6,068 yards and a par of 70, it is every bit as challenging as the Old Course.

4) Closely associated with whisky, many of the club’s founders were distillers who collectively laid down various malts for the members of the club. In fact, the club has its own cask-strength collection called Founder’s Legacy which started with a 15-year-old Miltonduff. The second in the series is the current malt; the 14-year-old Mortlach (Dufftown’s oldest distillery). 5) The club’s first malt was Dailuaine before moving on to Glen Grant which lasted nearly eight decades before being replaced by The Macallan. Today, the club malt is a 10-year-old Glen Moray from nearby Elgin.

6) For more information about Moray Golf Club, visit http://www.moraygolf.co.uk/

7) For more information about the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, visit http://www.spiritofspeyside.com/

8) For more information about Whisky Month, visit http://www.visitscotland.com/ 

About Gordon & MacPhail 

Established in 1895 the family owned firm of Gordon & MacPhail has a number of business interests. It is as a retailer in Elgin; a wholesaler of wines and spirits in the UK; a bottler of Scotch whiskies, an exporter to over 60 international markets; and a distiller, owning Benromach Distillery in Forres.

Gordon MacPhail is one of the UK’s leading independent specialist wholesalers and distributors, stocking over 4,500 products, including an extensive portfolio of wines, spirits and UK specialist beers and ciders.

For more information about Gordon & MacPhail, visit http://www.gordonandmacphail.com/

Whisky sailing trips Tall Ship Thalassa 2015 and 2016

Make the once in a lifetime trip and sail with tall ship Thalassa! Sail along with us to the best single malt distilleries and visit the famous Islay Whisky Festival. During our whisky sailing trips you will discover Scotland’s coastal distilleries, enjoy the company of whisky lovers and learn from whisky professionals!

Do you prefer a rather unique combination of pure sailing pleasure with the most famous whisky distilleries of Scotland? Decide to join our whisky expeditions on board of tall ship Thalassa!

Would you like to experience such a special adventure in 2015 or 2016? Take your chances and make your reservation immediately!

Whisky sailing trips 2015 and 2016

For the third whisky trip the Thalassa will make in 2015, we still have some places available: Saturday May 30th till Saturday June 6th 

Price: € 995,- per person

The dates for the journeys in 2016 have been released:

Whisky trip 1: Saturday May 14th – Saturday May 21st 2016

Whisky trip 2: Saturday May 21st – Saturday May 28 th 2016 (during ISLAY-Whiskyfestival)

Whisky trip 3: Saturday May 28th – Saturday June 4th 2016

Sailing schedule:

Day 1: Embarkation in Troon, head towards Bruichladdich

Day 2: Sail to Port Ellen

Day 3: Leave to Bunnahabhain

Day 4: Visit distillery, sail to Port Ellen

Day 5: Port Ellen, in the afternoon sailing to Jura

Day 6: Visit distillery of Jura, leave for Campbelltown

Day 7: Visit Springbank distillery, sail to Arran, visit distillery, leave for Troon

Day 8: Disembarkation in Troon

Prices from € 995,- per person

Click here to book your journey online!  

Whisky expedition 2015 and 2016

Beside the popular whisky journeys mentioned above along the Westcoast of Scotland the Thalassa will sail a most unique whisky expedition in 2015 and 2016, starting from the rugged Westcoast, passing by the Northern treasures of Scotland and ending at the more quiet Eastcoast.

Decide to join our newest whisky expeditions and visit within one week not only the West of Scotland (Islay), but also the beautiful North (Skye and Orkney) to end this spectacular holiday at the Eastcoast, Buckie. A journey that cannot be made with regular means of transportation is within reach by ship for you.

Whisky-expedition 2015: Saturday June 6th – Saturday June 13th

Whisky-expedition 2016: Saturday June 4th – Saturday June 11th

Sailing schedule:

Day 1: Embarkation in Troon, leave for Islay

Day 2: Port Ellen, visit numerous distilleries, at evening head towards Bunnahabhain

Day 3: Visit distillery of Bunnahabhain, leave north to Skye

Day 4: Visit Tallisker distillery, sail towards Orkney

Day 5: Prolong journey to Orkney, sleep over in Stromness

Day 6: Orkney, visit distilleries of Highland Park and Scapa

Day 7: Sail to Buckie

Day 8: Disembarkation in Buckie

Price: € 995,- per person

NB: All definite sailing routes depend on wind and weather conditions. Because of this the ship’s captain has the right to change this schedule if necessary. 

The ship

During the trip the guests are facilitated on board of tall ship Thalassa in one of the 15 high quality double cabins, each with a priviate shower.

With her 14 sails, altogether 800 square metres, tall ship Thalassa makes an impressive appearance. Rigged according to century-old traditions and equipped according to the latest security regulations, tall ship Thalassa is extremely seaworthy.De Thalassa combineert uitstekende zeilprestaties met hedendaags comfort. De enthousiaste bemanning zorgt ervoor dat het u aan niets ontbreekt.

Information and online booking

More information about the whisky sailing trips and whisky expedition can be found on our special website: http://www.whiskyzeilreizen.nl/index_uk.php. For further questions please contact us by email or phone: +31 – (0)10 – 4156600

Welcome on board!

HOLLANDS GLORIE

Liesbeth Wammes – de Graaf

Brigitte Beckers

SULLIVANS Cove named Best Australian Single Malt third year running 

Top Tasmanian whisky Sullivans Cove was named “Best Australian Single Malt” at the 2015 World Whiskies Awards in London last night (8:30am this morning in Australia). This is the third year running that Sullivans Cove French Oak has won this prestigious award.

Sullivans Cove is Tasmania’s top selling and most decorated single malt. Last year Sullivans Cove French Oak went on to claim the ultimate title at the 2014 World Whiskies Awards when it was named the world’s best single malt. Earlier this year the distillery’s American Oak single malt was awarded a coveted Liquid Gold Award by whisky guru Jim Murray in the 2015 Whisky Bible.

Speaking from the awards ceremony in London, Sullivans Cove General Manager Patrick Maguire said: “I’m thrilled to be here with the rest of the industry and once again we have had a fantastic result. It’s still quite unbelievable that we keep winning these incredible international awards and it just goes to show the quality of Sullivans Cove as a truly world class single malt whisky.”

20l casks of the famous French Oak single malt whisky are available from the distillery. Please visit http://www.sullivanscovewhisky.com to secure one.

About Sullivans Cove Whisky

Tasmania Distillery produces Sullivans Cove Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky. Sullivans Cove Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky is double distilled using only Tasmanian barley with only the purest wilderness water from local mountains and forests. Matured in hand selected oak casks and allowed to settle and clear naturally, the whiskies retain full, creamy and lingering flavours that are winning fans the world over. Each cask is bottled separately, yielding only around 450 bottles, making each bottle a rare item to own and enjoy.