Ardbeg is celebrating its 200th Anniversary at a London event where guests will be taken through the past, present and future of the brand. The experience will consist of an immersive 3 course meal and paired with specially selected Ardbegs.

Tickets for the London event are now available to purchase here

The Vinyl Factory 30th May 2015 with two exclusive events – 12:30pm lunch and 7:30pm dinner

• Hosted by Brendan McCarron (head of Maturing Whisky Stocks).
• Tasting of special Ardbegs including the new Limited Edition, Ardbeg Perpetuum.
• Included in the price of each ticket is a unique bottle of Ardbeg Perpetuum engraved with Dr. Bill Lumsden’s and Brendan McCarron’s signatures to commemorate the occasion.
• There are 80 places per sitting. Tickets are now on sale at £200 each, and are limited to four tickets per person.

If you can’t join us you can purchase Ardbeg Perpetuum at The Whisky Shop from June 13th.

• Michel Couvreur K&L Exclusive Overaged Peated Malt Whisky 750ml ($89.99) The chance to work with Michel Couvreur on a special K&L whisky project was something that David and I had been dreaming of for years. We had heard the stories. This crazy Belgian had moved to Burgundy in the 60s, carved out a wine cellar inside a mountain, only to fill it with Scottish single malt whisky instead of pinot noir. He set up camp in Beaune, ordered new-make spirit to be delivered by tanker, and drove down to Jerez himself; selecting his own sherry butts to insure only the finest quality casks for his contracted spirit. Unfortunately, Michel Couvreur passed away last year from pancreatic cancer, thus ending the career of one of the industry’s most courageous pioneers. Luckily for us, however, apprentice Jean-Arnaud has carried on after studying under Michel for more than a decade. When we visited the underground cave this past Spring, we were all in total awe. The tunnels of dripping stone go on forever, and the amount of whisky stored in this secret lair is jawdropping. We put our trust completely in Jean-Arnaud and are happy we did. Our peated version of the incredible sherry expression is a seamless creation that drinks like the best version of Johnnie Black ever, mixed with the most supple and soft expressions of Macallan. It’s a lush, unfiltered, creamy, caramel-laden dream of a whisky composed only of malts 12 years and older. There’s a bit of peat on the finish, but the soft sherry is the star. (NOTE: do NOT cut the hard wax seal, tap it so that it breaks)

• Nikka Coffey Still Japanese Grain Whisky 750ml ($62.99) Grain whisky is one of the least understood components of the whisky world. When you sip a blended Scotch like Johnnie Walker or Suntory’s Hibiki, you’re drinking a blend of two types of whisky — both single malt and grain — hence the term “blend” (many people assume the “blend” refers to the blend of various distilleries). While we’ve gone out of our way here at K&L to help our customers understand 100% malted barley single malt whisky, we’ve never really talked very much about grain whisky — mostly because there’s very little of it available! Grain whisky is made from corn, wheat, and unmalted barley on a continuous still — much like vodka is produced. The Coffey Still is a type of continuous still that can pump out grain whisky without having to alternate batches. Because of the efficiency and cheaper production cost, grain whisky has taken on a bit of a bad rap. This reputation is entirely undeserved, however, especially when delicious grain whisky like the new Nikka Coffey Still is available. This is classic grain whisky — round vanilla, hints of caramel, and an herbaceous, spicy note that brings some pop on the finish. NOTE: while grain whisky can be enjoyed on its own, I find it’s flavors are much more impressive on the rocks and when splashed with a bit of soda. The Nikka Coffey Still is perhaps the best grain whisky we’ve yet seen available on the American market. We need more whiskies like this! ASAP!

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

Johnnie Walker Platinum Label 

Inspired by this tradition, Johnnie Walker Platinum Label is a supremely rich and full-flavoured 18 year old Scotch Whisky, created for those truly special moments. Drawn from a limited number of casks, carefully chosen and retained throughout their maturation because of their exceptional character, it is an intense, smooth and subtly smoky blend, crafted from single malt and grain whiskies.

£93 BUY NOW

News release from Benromach Distillery Company Ltd 

Benromach 15 Years Old launched by leading Speyside distillery 

A notable new addition to the Benromach stable of classic Speyside single malt whiskies has gone on sale.

Benromach 15 Years Old has a distinctive golden amber colour thanks to long maturation in sherry and bourbon casks and a soft smokiness.

It tastes of luscious sherry and rich fruitcake with stewed plums and a hint of cocoa.

Launched by the Benromach Distillery Company Ltd, the 15 Years Old is available now with an RSP of £48.99 (prices may vary in export markets because of duty and import taxes).

As with all Benromach whiskies, the 15 Years Old is hand-crafted by just three distillers using the finest natural ingredients at the Forres distillery.

Benromach, in Forres, was bought over by Gordon & MacPhail in 1993 and carefully restored.

It was opened once again in 1998 by HRH Prince Charles and has since gained a reputation for producing an innovative range of distinctive Speyside whiskies with pre-1960s character.

Ewen Mackintosh, Chief Operating Officer of Gordon & MacPhail which owns the Benromach Distillery Company Ltd, said: “The Benromach story is a remarkable one, and the launch of the 15 Years Old marks a significant milestone in the distillery’s history.

“The whisky has a great deal of character and we hope it will appeal to whisky lovers who have tried other Benromach single malts and to those who would like to see what a classic pre-1960s Speyside malt is like.”

The packaging for Benromach 15 Years Old adopts the same design principles as the 10 Years Old, with the addition of gold effect detailing to highlight the premium nature of the product.

The bottle style and packaging reflects the hand-crafted character of the Benromach whiskies.

The elegant bottle’s neck and shoulder resembles the shape of the Benromach stills while the box, complete with embossed hand-drawn lettering, replicates their colour.  

Notes to Editors 

Leading malt whisky specialist Gordon & MacPhail is the owner of the Benromach Distillery Company Ltd. Established in 1898, the distillery was virtually derelict when the family-owned company bought it in 1993.

Following careful restoration and re-equipment, it was re-opened by HRH Prince Charles in 1998.

In reopening Benromach Distillery, Gordon & MacPhail decided to create a classic Speyside single malt – a style that draws its influence from pre-1960s Speyside whiskies.

Benromach Distillery is located on the outskirts of the ancient market town of Forres. A four star visitor centre is open to the public throughout the year for tours and tastings. Benromach Distillery is a member of the world famous Malt Whisky Trail.

Three fingers of whisky, three times a day. That was the daily regime for the Glengoyne workers for over 150 years – gathering in the canteen for a dram at nine o’clock, midday, and three o’clock.

Wonderful, certainly, for the seasoned workers – but a bit much for the younger ones. To save face, they’d take the first dram, then discretely pour the next two into a copper teapot on the windowsill. However, it certainly didn’t go to waste. Their older colleagues – veterans of the dram one and all – would intersperse official drams with unofficial “cups of tea”.

Only available at Glengoyne, the Teapot Dram IV has been lovingly recreated by men with a hazy recollection of those times.  Bottled at 58.7%, this batch of 3,178 bottles was created by marrying seven First Fill Sherry casks.

The casks have certainly done their job: the natural colour of dark mahogany, and packed with sweet treacle, soft oak and black pepper. It’s a treat, for sure, but it would be irresponsible of us to recommend the consumption of nine fingers’ worth by mid-afternoon. A little goes a long way.

Purchase the limited edition Teapot Dram IV >

Please note: We would love to ship the Teapot Dram worldwide, but due to restrictions, we are limited to the countries listed here.

* Maximum purchase of 6 bottles

Hello there!

Now that World Whisky Day 2015 is behind us I’d like to thank you on behalf of the whole team for your effort. This year we had a record number of events take place in more countries than ever before, and on, for the first time ever, all seven continents. The success of the day is all down to people like you running events big and small, so here’s to you for making such a good one.

Head over to http://worldwhiskyday.com/blog where you can read our report from the day. More importantly, though, I’d love to hear from you and learn about your own experiences on the day, so please do get back in touch with any comments, reports, pictures, reviews etc.

World Whisky Day 2016 is being held on Saturday 21 May, so be sure to keep the date in your diary. It’d be incredible to think that you could join us again for some more of the good stuff. What’s more, you don’t even have to wait another 365 days to get involve; our vision for World Whisky Day is to create an entire culture surrounding it throughout the year, and as part of this we have recently starting producing a weekly mail-out called Whisky Wednesday. If you’ve not done so already, visit http://worldwhiskyday.com/email where you can read the previous issues and sign-up for free.

Cant wait to welcome you on-board for some more adventures in the world of whisky.

All the best,

Malcolm Triggs

World Whisky Day

Saturday 16 May 2015

t: 0131 555 6494

w: http://www.worldwhiskyday.com/

NEW ARRIVALS

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• Highland Park 13 Year Old Alexander Murray Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 4 available ($89.99)

United States – Bourbon and Rye

• Low Gap 2 Year Old Rye Whiskey 750ml – 10 available ($64.99)

• Stranahan’s Diamond Peak Colorado Whiskey 750ml ($74.99)

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

This week Joe Ellis reviews Overeem Sherry Cask Matured Cask Strength.

https://youtu.be/TK23O71JVdE

http://Twitter.com/whiskytube

https://www.facebook.com/whiskytube

3^RD ANNUAL BOURBON SUPPLY

UPDATE FROM BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY

FRANKFORT, Franklin County, Ky (May 13, 2015) There’s good news and there’s bad news coming from Buffalo Trace Distillery in its third annual bourbon inventory update.  The good news is that supplies of fully-aged whiskey at the 225-plus-year-old Distillery continue to increase and Buffalo Trace is making more whiskey than ever. The bad news is that demand continues to outstrip its available supply, which means all of the Distillery’s whiskey brands remain on allocation.

“This annual update relates to Buffalo Trace Distillery specifically, and is not intended to speak for the bourbon industry as a whole, or other distillers,” said Kris Comstock, bourbon marketing director.  “Not a day goes by that we don’t hear from fans asking why they can’t find their favorite whiskey at the local liquor store, so we are offering an annual update to inform people where we stand, and ensure fans we are distilling more whiskey and planning for the future.”

Since demand continues to outstrip supply, brands such as Elmer T. Lee, Rock Hill Farms, Van Winkle, and the Antique Collection (George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Sazerac 18, Thomas H. Handy, and Eagle Rare 17) will continue to be on strict allocation and hard to find for the foreseeable future. 

Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, Weller, Sazerac Rye, Stagg Jr., and E. H. Taylor, Jr. will continue to be in short supply, but will benefit slightly from increased production more than a decade ago. “Although we can’t guarantee that every fan will find Buffalo Trace or Blanton’s every time they visit the liquor store, things are starting to look up, and overall our inventory is in a better place than it was a year ago. We are very appreciative that fans like our whiskey and thankful for all of their continued patience,” added Comstock.

A few things that Buffalo Trace Distillery will NOT do:

• Buffalo Trace Distillery won’t lower their quality standards or alcohol by volume (ABV) just to sell more whiskey.
• The suggested retail pricing will not be raised, just to take advantage of the high demand. (Note, although some stores may charge a premium for Buffalo Trace’s limited brands, the Distillery is not asking them to do so.)
• Brands won’t be discontinued. All bourbon brands will continue to be produced and allocated each year, with a focus on quality and making more.

 In addition to the previous improvements announced in 2014 such as distilling more whiskey, adding more bottling lines, and hiring more people, Buffalo Trace is taking additional steps to prepare for a growing future.  The Distillery recently purchased an additional 300 acres of farmland adjacent to its current land where it intends to grow its own grains for a farm-to-table bourbon, plus potentially build more barrel warehouses. Additionally, former barrel warehouse buildings repurchased a few years ago on the main campus of Buffalo Trace are being re-ricked and used again as barrel storage warehouses, and plans are in the works to re-rick additional buildings on site in the next few years.

The innovation Buffalo Trace is so well known for is being enhanced as the Distillery expands – its experimental warehouse, Warehouse X, has had nearly one year of barrels aging in it, yielding data with very interesting results; more than 3,000 barrels of experimental whiskies are currently aging on the Distillery’s grounds; and research on DNA fingerprinting is taking place as well.

 The whiskies from Buffalo Trace are benefiting from resurgence in the category as a whole.  According to Nielsen, bourbon and whiskey grew at 6% for the 52 weeks ending 3/28/15, with premium volumes up 6.2% and ultra volumes up 19%.  

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 1786 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 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Distillery has won seven distillery titles since 2000 from such notable publications as Whisky Magazine, Whisky Advocate Magazine and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. It was named Whisky Magazine 2010 World Icons of Whisky “Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year.” Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 200 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit http://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/.

I hope you are all well. The excitement is building up here in Campbeltown, ready for all our visitors arriving next week for the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2015! We’re just getting everything into place for the events which will take place and we’re looking forward to meeting many of you very soon! Our Whisky Shop has recently undergone a major extension with walls being knocked down which lead to the shop next door and we can’t wait for you all to see it!

I’m just sending out the break down of events once again with a few details added, including information on the special bottlings which will be available at the Springbank Open Day.

Wednesday 20th May 2015

From 10am – Glen Scotia Open Day

At 1pm – Springbank Society Tasting in the Malt Barns at Springbank Distillery – FULLY BOOKED. For any members who will be attending this event, please arrive at the Malt Barns for 12.45pm, ready for the tasting starting at 1pm.

At 7pm – The Warehouse Dinner at Springbank Distillery – FULLY BOOKED. For members who are attending this, you should have already received an email with details about the evening. Please arrive at the Springbank Distillery gates for 7pm.

At 9.30pm – Whisky Quiz at Whisky Mac’s Bar & Grill. This will be free to enter and teams of up to 6 will be accepted. There is no need to pre-book your team for this.

As previously mentioned, the Ardshiel, Craigard House Hotel and Harbourview Grille at the Royal Hotel will also be hosting whisky related dinners for visitors who will not be attending our Warehouse Dinner on the Wednesday night. The menus are attached to this email so if you would like to book a table at any of the hotels, please contact them directly using the numbers at the foot of the menus. Please note that the Craigard House Hotel will be offering their whisky related menu from 19th-23rd May and not only on the Wednesday evening.

Thursday 21st May

As you are aware, Thursday will be the annual Springbank Open Day with events kicking off in the distillery yard at 11am. The following activities will be taking place throughout the day and evening:

From 11am-5pm:

• A range of masterclasses and warehouse tastings as follows:

            * 12pm // Kilkerran Masterclass with Jenny Karlsson

            * 12.30pm // The Distillery Manager’s Springbank Warehouse Tasting (FULLY BOOKED)

            * 1.30pm // Springbank Masterclass with Ranald and guests

            * 2.30pm // The Distillery Manager’s Springbank Warehouse Tasting (FULLY BOOKED)

            * 3pm // Cadenhead Masterclass with Mark Watt and Cameron McGeachy

            * 4.30pm // The Distillery Manager’s Springbank Warehouse Tasting (FULLY BOOKED)

• Free distillery tours
• A selection of over 25 stalls from local businesses
• The popular Warehouse Whisky Bar
• Fyne Ales
• Music from local musicians
• Hot Food and Cakes

From 6pm-9.30pm:

• Live Music in the yard from Kintyre Schools Pipe Band and popular local band THE WEE TOON TELLERS
• The Pizza ‘Volcano’ selling hand-made pizzas
• Drinks tent selling a selection of whisky, spirits and Fyne Ales
• The return of the popular ‘Spooks Tour’ around the distillery warehouses

A new addition to the day will be our ‘Blind Tasting Challenge’. This stall will be located in the yard and it will be £5 per go. There will be 4 different whiskies to taste and you will have to guess the type of whisky (they will all have been made at Springbank), type of cask and the age. Fiona and Janet from our distillery office will be in charge of this so remember to drop by and see how well you really know our whiskies!

You may notice that Cameron McGeachy will now be helping Mark Watt during the Cadenhead Masterclass. Cameron started work in our Campbeltown Cadenhead Shop at the end of March and will be doing various tasks such as conducting tours and tastings for visitors, working on the shop floor and also taking care of all our Cadenhead Club members. He will assist Mark in the Cadenhead Masterclass and is very much looking forward to the experience.

A reminder for anyone who has already booked tickets for the Masterclasses or Warehouse Tastings, there will be no ticket collection area at the Open Day this year. For the Masterclasses, names will simply be ticked off as you enter the Malt Barns so please arrive at the Malt Barns 15 minutes before your booked Masterclass begins. For the Warehouse Tastings with Gavin on Thursday and Mark on Friday, please arrive at the Distillery Office 15 minutes before the tasting is due to take place and the person in charge of the tasting will meet you there before heading round to the Warehouse.

During the course of the day, some of our staff members will be circulating with short surveys for visitors to complete. It would be great if you could help us out by answering a few questions to get feedback on certain issues. The survey should only take a couple of minutes and everyone who takes part will be given a Springbank Pin Badge so it’s definitely worth your time! 🙂

Friday 22nd May

In the last update, I told you we were looking into another activity to take place on the Friday as the boat trips could no longer take place because of the new marina not being ready in time. Unfortunately we were unable to secure another activity for this year so the final plan for Friday is:

At 11am: Architecture Tour of Campbeltown with David McEwan  (Free of Charge)

At 12pm:   Cadenhead Warehouse Tasting with Mark Watt  (£25 per person)

At 2pm: Heritage Tour of Campbeltown with Alex McKinven  (Free of Charge)

At 3pm:   Cadenhead Warehouse Tasting with Mark Watt  (£25 per person)

Booking is essential for the above tours and tastings and there are only a handful of spaces still available on each so if you would like to book a place on any then please email me to mairi@springbankwhisky.com asap.

Springbank Open Day Bottlings 

We have three exciting bottlings which will be bottled especially for Springbank Open Day 2015.

The first will be a Springbank 7yo which has been matured in a Fresh Sauternes Hogshead, bottled at 56.9% ABV with only 309 bottles available. This will retail at £50.00 on the day.

The second will be a special Springbank 21 year old Claret-matured whisky with only 264 bottles available. This will retail at £250.00 on the day and if there are any leftover after Thursday, the bottles will be taken to our Campbeltown Cadenhead’s shop where others will be able to purchase it. The price for buying this after the day will be £280.00.

The third bottling is an Open Day special Kilkerran 9yo Rum Wood, bottled at 58.3% which is being sold in 35cl bottles and costs £30.00.

Upcoming Kilkerran Releases

2015 marks the final year of the Work In Progress series for Kilkerran Single Malt as next year for the twelve anniversary, we will bottle the first official 12 year old bottling. To mark the final year of the WIP series, we have two cracking new releases of Work In Progress 7. The first is the WIP7 Sherry Wood which has been bottled at 46% ABV with 12,000 bottles available worldwide. This will retail at £35.00 per bottle. The second is the WIP7 Bourbon Wood which has been bottled at a cask strength of 54.1% ABV with a more limited 6,000 bottles available worldwide. This bottling will retail at £44.00 per bottle. As always with the WIP series, Society Members will receive their 10% discount on both bottles which will make them £31.50 and £39.60 for our members.

The bottles will be available from Thursday 21st May onwards but here is a sneak peak at the tasting notes for each to get your taste buds tingling…..

Kilkerran Work In Progress 7 Sherry Wood 

Nose:  Toasted pink marshmallows spinning around fresh rhubarb and green apples. Toffee and treacle adds to the sweetness but an earthy note keeps this whisky well balanced and not overpoweringly sweet.

Palate:  Heather honey and digestive biscuits. Creamy milk chocolate, black cherries mix with oak and wood spice. A truly complex and interesting dram.

Finish:  Dry nutty finish with some gentle peat lingering along with some further oak notes….delicious!

Kilkerran Work in Progress 7 Bourbon Wood

Nose:  Immediate hit of lush green apples mixed with marzipan and hot baked vanilla buns. A gentle smoke hugs the fruit notes throughout. Let it breathe in the glass for a quarter of an hour and you are greeted by immense madagascan vanilla pod seeds in a warm full fat milk.

Palate:  Puff of smoke mixed with tangy apple, yet elegant and mature – fantastically well rounded dram.

Finish:  Long, smooth and luxurious.

I’m going to be out of the office quite a bit over the next week getting everything organised for the festival but I will try to reply to all festival enquiries as quickly as I can. If you have an enquiry about the festival then please email my personal account (mairi@springbankwhisky.com). I will begin replying to all other enquiries and orders week commencing 25th May.

Sláinte,

Mairi

Mairi Paterson

For the Springbank Society

To join the Springbank Society please contact them at

society@springbankwhisky.com