www.ralfy.com discusses how to minimise purchasing disappointment with Whisky Review 537– buying scotch whisky in 2015

Gemini Brands Win Top Awards in Two Tasting Competitions

Spirits Bring Home Chairman’s Trophies and Double Gold Medals 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (May 20, 2015) – Several Gemini Spirits brands received top marks in two recent tasting competitions, including  two Chairman’s Trophies at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge and four Double Gold medals in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

“We are honored by these exciting results,” Gemini Spirits & Wine General Manager Ken Kwarta said. “We have a strong portfolio and these awards are another testament to that.”

2015 Ultimate Spirits Challenge

Judges awarded Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky each the highest honor of “Chairman’s Trophy” at the 2015 Ultimate Spirits Challenge. Selected as Chairman’s Trophy finalists in their respective categories were Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength Single Malt, Glenfarclas 25 Year Old Single Malt,”

Those awarded as “Extraordinary, Ultimate Recommendation” include:

• Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky
• Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky
•  Glenfarclas 25 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Glenfarclas 17 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Those awarded the distinction of “Excellent, Highly Recommended” were:

• Glenfarclas 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

• Glenfarclas 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

• Glenfarclas 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

 This competition, in its sixth year, is judged by a panel of the spirit industry’s most renowned judges including award-winning authors, buyers, journalists, educators and bar owners, who rate each spirit on a 100-point scale.

Complete results for the 2015 Ultimate Spirits Challenge can be found at www.ultimate-beverage.com/usc2015results.

San Francisco World Spirits Competition

More than 1,580 entries were submitted for a blind tasting at the 15^th annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition, where 41 of the industry’s finest spirits experts reviewed each entry, ultimately awarding four Double Gold medals and one Gold medal to Gemini brands.

Double Gold

• Glenfarclas 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Glenfarclas 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Gold

• Glenfarclas 17 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Complete results for the 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition can be found at http://sfspiritscomp.com/results/browse.

About Gemini Spirits & Wine

Gemini Spirits & Wine is the fastest growing spirits and specialty brand development company in the United States. Gemini is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sazerac Company and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Gemini operates as an autonomous company, and is focused on building its portfolio of spirits and specialty brands concentrated in targeted categories. For more information, visit http://www.geminispiritswine.com/.

Tamdhu Batch Strength limited release is here!

A Tamdhu for the devoted malt fan, this magnificent edition is bottled un-chill-filtered at natural color and high strength. Each batch is unique and varies slightly in style and intensity. As with every bottle of Tamdhu, once distilled it is matured exclusively in hand-selected sherry oak casks. Our oak is amongst the finest in the industry, with a high proportion being first-fill and teeming with flavor. Finally, patience is required to allow these fine casks to do their work, giving Tamdhu its deep color and exquisite quality. Tamdhu Batch Strength arrives with a great award on its shoulders: San Francisco’s Worlds Spirits Competition crowned it with the Golden Medal in its most recent edition.

The Macallan 18 year old 1997 Sherry Oak

Often referred to as the Rolls Royce of whiskies the Macallan boasts a fantastic range of whiskies prized by connoisseurs around the world. The Macallan 18 year old 1997 expression is incredibly smooth – the whisky combines notes of rich dried fruits and sherry with some gentle wood smoke and spicy flavours.

£160 Buy Now

The Macallan 30 year old  Fine Oak 

As with all the Fine Oak series, this 30 year old Macallan is matured in a combination of both ex-sherry and ex-bourbon casks and showcases a lighter style of Macallan than the Sherry Oak series, with more of the distillery character coming through. The 30 year old expression is bottled at 43% abv, and is described as heady and aromatic with a silky, elegant finish.

£1400 Buy Now

The Macallan 25 year old Sherry Oak 

The sumptuous Macallan 25 year old Sherry Oak is becoming harder to find and delivers everything you would expect from an older, sherry-matured expression from this highly-revered distillery. This is a full and rich whisky, with lots of dried fruit and cinnamon flavours and hint of woodsmoke and spice. Bottled at 43% abv.

£750 Buy Now

The Macallan Lalique No. 6

The Macallan No. 6 brings togther the art and knowledge of the Macallan Whisky Maker and the craftmanship of Lalique to create a stunning whisky encased in a beautfiul crystal decanter. A rich, complex single malt that has been exclusively matured in first-fill Spanish sherry casks, this is a perfect example of the exquisite quality and character expected of The Macallan distillery.

£2800 Buy Now

UPCOMING TASTINGS & EVENTS

The Vaults – Tue 26 May

Feis Ile is underway, celebrate in our spiritual home with 5 BIG peaty drams & supper More >

New Members’ Tasting

19 Greville Street – Wed 27 May

Designed to welcome new members and share our passion for single cask whisky More >

UK-wide Preview Tastings

Fri 29 May

Enjoy our preview selection of drams from June’s Outturn along with supper

More NEWCASTLE >

More WOKINGHAM >

More DUNFERMLINE >

More GLASGOW >

June Outturn Preview Members Tasting

The Vaults – Thu 4 June

Sample 5 drams with supper and get your bottles before they run out More >

New Outturn Open Tasting

19 Greville Street – Sat 6 June

Try out five single cask whiskies from this month’s new list with cheese from Ian Mellis. More >

Steak and Chips Sampling Session – ‘New Style’

28 Queen Street – Tue 9 June

NEW – Explore a wide range of flavours with an unprecedented SEVEN smaller samples More >

Browse All Tastings >

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

NEXT AUCTION GOES LIVE ON TODAY!

Our next auction will go live on Monday 25 May and ending on Tuesday 2 June. We have an exciting line-up of bottles, with plenty of single malts, old blends, everyday drinking whiskies and a good selection of miniatures. Our Japanese whisky selection is strong, with bottles from Karuizawa and Hanyu, and some bottles that were only released in Japan. Look out for the following bottles, and good luck with your bids!

• Hanyu Joker Monochrome – from the oldest vintage and the last release to complete the Hanyu Card Series
• Johnnie Walker 1805 The Celebration Blend – just 200 bottles were made to celebrate the 200th anniversary of John Walker’s birth, and were only given to dignitaries and VIPs
• The Macallan in Linley Miniatures Trinket Box – a set of six miniatures of Fine & Rare Macallans from 1947 to 1989
• Highland Park 40 Years Old – one of the oldest Highland Parks ever released
• Karuizawa 1984 Sherry cask #3662 – a joint bottling from Shinanoya and The Whisky Exchange

To find out more, please email info@whisky.auction,

call Enrico Gaddoni on +44 (0)20 8838 9381

or visit the website https://whisky.auction.

A Day at The Distillery

Visiting The Glenlivet distillery during Speyside whisky festival is quite an experience. Tasting the spirit and seeing photographs of the landscape beforehand, you build up your own picture: remote warehouses nestling into the surrounding hillside, the unmistakable smell of malt, the hum of the mash tun. All of which is true, but in reality there’s so much more – the welcoming hospitality, the sense of history, slick modern industry.

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has been drawing whisky fans from around the world to the distilleries of the Scottish highlands since 1999. Over six days, whisky-themed events take place across the region encouraging visitors to celebrate Scotland’s national drink in a variety of fun and informative ways.

The Glenlivet has been involved with the Spirit of Speyside Festival since its inception, and the sense of celebration at the distillery is palpable. The place is buzzing as visitors enjoy live music, whisky tastings, demonstrations and tours laid on specially. Key members of the distillery team mingle with visitors, happily sharing stories and whisky wisdom. The festival is a wonderful opportunity to get to the heart of the single malt that started it all.

Discover how Spirit of Speyside Festival is celebrated at The Glenlivet

Calling all budding Munro Baggers!

This year, we’re once again running the Isle of Skye Blended Scotch Whisky Munro Challenge in partnership with outdoor specialist, Tiso. We’re aiming to raise as much money as possible through sponsorship for Scottish Mountain Rescue by encouraging Scots to climb one or more of Scotland’s Munros throughout the month of September 2015.

Last year, the Munro Challenge raised over £21,000 for the critically deserving charity and these funds are currently helping with the provision of SARDA search and rescue dogs, avalanche training and specialised rescue equipment.

We’re inviting you to fly the flag for Scottish Mountain Rescue this September! Sign up here and we’ll send you a registration pack, including an Isle of Skye Blended Scotch Whisky flag for you to fly at the summit of your Munro. Share you ‘summit selfies’ to our Facebook or Twitter pages in September for your chance to win a bottle of our award-winning 8yo blend.

Keep watching our Facebook and Twitter pages for outdoor safety tips, kit advice and Munro recommendations from Scottish Mountain Rescue and Tiso between now and challenge month in September.

We can’t wait to hear about all your Munro experiences on the way!

Isle of Skye Blended Scotch Whisky

BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY RELEASES

FRENCH OAK BOURBONS 

Two French Oak Barrel Aged Bourbons are the

First Experimental Collection release of 2015  

FRANKFORT, Franklin County, Ky (May 19, 2015) When Buffalo Trace Distillery started its whiskey experiments more than three decades ago, one of the first releases was bourbon aged in French oak barrels.  That bourbon was aged ten years and released in 2006, quickly becoming a favorite of both the master distiller and bourbon connoisseurs.

Ten years ago, Buffalo Trace embarked on another French oak experiment, but this time endeavoring one step further – creating two different barrel types, one made entirely of French oak, and another using French oak heads, but American white oak staves.

The barrels were both constructed with Buffalo Trace’s exact specifications as far as size, stave drying, and charring.  The barrel staves were air-dried for six months and the barrels were charred for 55 seconds. Both of these experimental barrels were filled with the same bourbon recipe, known as Buffalo Trace Rye Bourbon Mash #1.

After 10 years of aging, these two bourbons have been bottled as part of Buffalo Trace Distillery’s Experimental Collection, and referred to as 100% French Oak Barrel Aged Bourbon and French Oak Barrel Head Aged Bourbon.

“These bourbons, when tasted side by side, are complementary but yet have subtle differences,” said Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley.  “Both are nice, well-rounded bourbons, but the 100% French oak bourbon has more soft, fruity notes to it, while the bourbon made with the French oak heads and American oak staves offers more of a smoky oak and tannin flavor profile.

It’s interesting to compare these two bourbons to each other and also to our standard bourbon offerings,” continued Wheatley. “These French oak experiments offer a unique flavor profile from our standard bourbon barrels.  That’s one of the things that make our experiments so fun; we never stop learning how subtle changes can alter the taste profile.”

These barrels are part of more than 3,000 experimental barrels of whiskey aging in the warehouses of Buffalo Trace Distillery. Each of them has unique characteristics that differentiate them in distinct ways. Some examples of experiments include unique mash bills, types of wood, and different barrel toasts. In order to further increase the scope, flexibility and range of the experimental program, an entire micro distillery, named The Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. “OFC” Micro Distillery, complete with cookers, fermenting tanks, and a state-of-the-art micro still has been constructed within Buffalo Trace Distillery. Buffalo Trace has increased its commitment to experimentation with the recent addition of its Warehouse X. Although small in size, Warehouse X is designed to explore the extent of environmental influences on the flavor profiles of whiskey.

The Experimental Collection is packaged in 375ml bottles and 12 bottles to a case, with six bottles from each barrel in a case. Each label includes all the pertinent information unique to that barrel of whiskey. These whiskeys retail for approximately $46.35 each and will be available in May, 2015. They are both 45% alcohol by volume (90 proof). Experimental Collection releases are generally quite small and have limited availability. For more information on the Experimental Collection or the other products of Buffalo Trace Distillery, please contact Elizabeth Hurst at ehurst@buffalotrace.com.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich 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.  Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site and is a National Historic Landmark as well as being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Distillery has won 17 distillery titles since 2000 from such notable publications as Whisky Magazine, Whisky Advocate Magazine and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. It was named “Brand Innovator of the Year” by Whisky Magazine at its Icons of Whisky America Awards 2015.  Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 300 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit http://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/.

The London limited edition bottle is engraved with a beautiful design featuring several of the city’s famous landmarks including Big Ben, the Gherkin, Nelson’s Column and Tower Bridge.

Limited to just 2500 individually numbered bottles, only available to purchase within the UK. Presented in a limited edition London sleeve and Johnnie Walker Blue Label box.

£199 Pre-order Now

The Edinburgh limited edition bottle is engraved with some highlight’s from the city’s skyline including Edinburgh Castle, The Scott Monument and the Duke of Wellington statue.

Limited to only 1500 individually numbered bottles, presented in a Johnnie Walker Blue Label box with a limited edition Edinburgh sleeve.

£199 Pre-order Now