THE ONE KEEPS WINNING 

Despite launching just 20 months ago, The ONE blend of British whiskies produced by The Lakes Distillery, has now won its third international award for its outstanding quality.

The International Spirits Challenge 2015, one of the world’s most authoritative, respected and influential spirits competitions, has awarded The ONE a silver medal in the Whiskies Worldwide sector, placing it amongst the leading whiskies in the world.

More than 1,000 spirits from over 70 countries enter the awards with only those of the highest quality receiving awards, including The ONE’s sister brands The Lakes Gin and The Lakes Vodka which were awarded silver and bronze respectively in their categories, less than six months after production began.

In its 20th year, spirits entered into the ISC are blind assessed by an experienced panel of over 50 respected and experienced industry professionals. The spirits are assessed according to their age, region and variety and then scored on their aroma, appearance and taste.

Paul Currie, founder and managing director of The Lakes Distillery, commented on the announcement: “The ONE is a whisky of outstanding quality, blended with great care and passion to create a perfectly balanced whisky. We are the only blend to include the best whiskies from each of the countries in the British Isles.

“We believe winning prestigious awards such as the ISC is a testament to our production values and a benchmark of the exceptional quality of our spirits.

Both The ONE and The Lakes Gin have already received silver medals in the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) and the prestigious Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition (HKIWSC) which awarded The ONE a Silver medal in the Worldwide Whiskey category and The Lakes Gin a Silver medal in the gin category.

The ONE and The Lakes Gin have also recently been listed in Majestic Wines stores nationally.

A spokesperson for the ISC commented: “The International Spirits Challenge is home to some of the finest palates in the world. Each of our judges must demonstrate their skill and knowledge in spirits before joining one of the ISC specialist panels.

“Our judges are truly international and representative of the industry: they consist of the most respected leaders in the business and include master blenders, master distillers, importers, distributors, buyers, consultants, journalists, authors and independent experts.”

The Lakes Distillery opened its doors to the public in December 2014 and shortly after it started production of The Lakes Single Malt, The Lakes Gin and The Lakes Vodka. Visitors to the £7m distillery in Cumbria will find a world class Visitor Centre, artisan bar and bistro, The Bistro at the Distillery, and a shop selling the distillery’s spirits and a range of other local products.

More information about the Lakes Distillery is available at http://www.lakesdistillery.com More information about The Bistro at The Lakes is available at: www.lakesdistillery.com/en/bistro-and-bar  

Notes

The ONE, The Lakes Gin, The Lakes Vodka and both the Connoisseurs’ Club and Founders’ Club are available to buy online at http://www.lakesdistillery.com/shop/

The ONE is a unique blend of exceptional whiskies and brings together the very best whiskies from around the British Isles, blended with great care and passion to create a perfectly balanced whisky of intriguing complexity. The whiskies used are from all of the countries in the British Isles. Tasting notes: Slightly smoky, sweet and fruity, nutty, with hints of spice.

The Lakes Distillery

Close to Bassenthwaite Lake, in an area of unimaginable beauty encircled by Cumbrian fells, is the perfect home for England’s premier distillery.

The experienced team behind the Lakes Distillery, which includes managing director Paul Currie who co founded the Arran Distillery, Master Distiller Chris Anderson with over 30 years’ experience and Alan Rutherford a former Production Director of Diageo, have renovated the historic buildings of an old Victorian Model Farm next to the famous river Derwent and close to Bassenthwaite Lake, and are producing a new world-class whisky, gin and vodka.

The water from the famous River Derwent, with its source high up in the fells, a team steeped in experience of producing spirits, and perfect conditions for distilling create a very special range of spirits.

The Lakes Distillery opened to the public in December 2014. The Lakes Single Malt began production in November 2014 and will be available late 2018, and its blended whisky from the British Isles, called The ONE, the Lakes Gin and the Lakes Vodka are available to buy now.

Eric Obry – from Arras to Aberlour

Author: Jennifer Stevenson

Eric Obry joined Chivas Brothers as our full-time chef based at Linn House a year ago, and having just delivered some show-stopping menus at the latest Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, he still loves the challenges the role brings.

Owner of La Faisanderie French restaurant in Dufftown, Eric, who hails from the north of France, decided that it was time for a change. With a young family and a passion for whisky, he doesn’t regret swapping the restaurant business for an in-house role at Chivas Brothers.

He said: “Life changed because I have a young family now and the problem with having a restaurant is that you are open every day for long hours, so I didn’t really get to spend much time at home.

“When the opportunity came up to work for Chivas Brothers as chef at Linn House I was delighted. It gave me the opportunity to have the weekends off to spend with my family, and having already done a lot for the company on an ad hoc basis, I knew I’d love working with the team. I‘ve known many of them for years because they used to come to my restaurant, so they’re like family.”

Based at the company’s Linn House property in Keith, Eric caters for the hundreds of visitors that come to our sites in Speyside from throughout the UK and overseas each year. These include VIPs and distributors from key markets, as well as our colleagues from other parts of Pernod Ricard, media guests and visitors to the annual Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.

Eric said: “I’ve created dinners at Aberlour, Strathisla and The Glenlivet distilleries as well as Linn House. I’ve also been working on the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival gala dinner with (Chivas Brothers International Brand Ambassador) Ann Miller for 13 years, and it’s one of the highlights of the festival. We used to do it at Aberlour distillery, but now, because it’s becoming more and more popular, we do it at Strathisla where we can accommodate more guests.”

A keen hunter and gatherer, Eric loves using local Scottish produce and raves about the Highlands’ rich natural larder. He added: “I’m a seasonal chef so I like to use what is in season. Nowadays you can get things like strawberries all year round, which I don’t like. One of my main ingredients is game – I hunt myself – and wild mushrooms. It’s all locally sourced, and at Linn House we also have a private garden where we grow fruit and vegetables.”

Eric first arrived in Scotland 16 years ago. When asked what attracted him here, he simply answered – “The whisky!”

He elaborated: “I have always, always been attracted to Scotland. I love whisky, and ended up in Dufftown because it’s supposedly the whisky capital of the world – although I’ve heard there is a dispute with Islay over who holds that title! We visited Strathisla distillery when we had only been in Scotland for a few weeks.

“I am from the north of France, a place between Calais and Paris called Arras,but before I moved to Scotland I lived in the south of France, near Montpellier for nearly nine years. Some people thought I was crazy going from the south of France to the north of Scotland – but the people here are so friendly. I was really welcomed and have a lot of friends. I love it.”

Eric’s creations include whisky dinners where each course is paired with one of our products, to creating unique sauces, desserts and meat dishes using whisky as the key ingredient.

Having  worked alongside Martine Nouet – a food and drink commentator renowned for creating unique whisky pairings and sensory experiences – Eric quickly honed his skills for cooking with whisky, despite this being a fairly new concept to him when he first arrived in the UK.

He sums up: “The Brand Ambassadors usually give me free reign with the menus. I love to cook with venison, Aberdeen Angus beef and the scallops here are also great. There aren’t enough chefs that use the local produce, which is a shame because it’s all here.

“I’ve cooked for people from all over the world. It’s great to meet them. We get great feedback and it’s always a pleasure to cook for them.”

BOTTLES FROM ALL MAJOR SCOTTISH WHISKY AREAS

AT BONHAMS JUNE SALE IN EDINBURGH

Bonhams Whisky sale in Edinburgh on 10 June features top lots from all the major whisky producing areas of Scotland.

From Islay there is an extremely rare Ardberg Guaranteed 10 year old estimated at £1,200-1,500 as well as a bottle of Bowmore-30 year old estimated at £1,200-1,400 distilled in 1963 by Morrisons and then bottled by them to mark the 30th anniversary of their acquisition of the distillery.  A bottle of Black Bowmore 1964 bottled in 1995 carries an estimate of £3,000-3,500 and a bottle of Bowmore 40 year old distilled on 22 November 1955 is expected to sell for between £4,000-6,000.

Lot 64: Bowmore 40 year old 1955

Speyside boasts a bottle of Macallan-Glenlivet 1937 at £1,200-1,500, a bottle of The Macallan 1961 at £4,500-5,500 and one of The Macallan 32 year old distilled in 1970 and bottled in 2002.  Two bottles of The Glenlivet 21 year old distilled in 1963 and bottled for the Chairman in 1984 are estimated at £1,000-1,400 each.

Lot 120: The Glenlivet 21 year old 1963

Finally, from Campbeltown come six bottles of Springbank ranging from the 50 year old to the 25 year old and taking in the 45, 40, 35 and 30 years old. Offered as a single lot the bottles carry an estimate of £5,000-7,000.

Bonhams whisky specialist, Martin Green, said: “This is a very varied sale with some fascinating rarities and interesting and valuable bottles from all over the country showing the strength in depth of whisky production in Scotland.”

NOTES

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. Today, the auction house offers more sales than any of its rivals. The main salerooms are in London, New York and Hong Kong. Sales are also held in the UK in Knightsbridge, Oxford and Edinburgh; in the US, in San Francisco and Los Angeles; in Europe, in Paris and Stuttgart and in Sydney, Australia. Bonhams also has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full listing of forthcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com.

Spend some time this Sunday with local Omaha scotch collectors!

Dundee Dell | 5007 Underwood Ave | Omaha | NE | 68132

Fathers Go Free

Fathers go free when being accompanied by one full priced adult St Georges Tour Ticket. What a better way to spend Fathers Day than a tour and tasting at St Georges Distillery. Come to the Distillery on Saturday 20th or Sunday 21st June 2015 and enjoy a buy one get one free on tours. Why not combine a tour with a walk down by the river within the beautiful grounds of St Georges Distillery? Tours run on the hour every hour between 10am and 4pm. Booking recommended but not essential. Book now on 01953 717939.

Buy your voucher today!

Personalised bottles A unique gift for all occasions and a perfect one for Fathers Day! From only £39.99 select your choice of whisky and create your own personalised label or engraved bottle with the text, logo or image of your choice. To guarantee delivery by Fathers Day, personalised label orders must be received by 16th June and engraved bottle orders by 12th June.

Click here for more information

BALLANTINE’S LAUNCHES ‘W’ THE WORLD’S FIRST WHISKY MAGAZINE ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM, INSTAGRAM

Ballantine’s, Europe’s No.1 Scotch whisky and the No.2 Scotch whisky in the world, has today launched the world’s first digital whisky magazine hosted exclusively on Instagram. Adapting traditional magazine publishing for the social media platform, the Ballantine’s Insta-zine has been specially created to appeal to modern whisky drinkers, design and tech enthusiasts, and pop-culture fans.

The Ballantine’s Insta-zine is accessible from the @Ballantines_Official Instagram account. Users land on the Insta-zine’s contents page – a mosaic-style grid of Instagram posts – from where they can navigate between articles published on @W_IssueONE by tapping on individual image posts. The smart functionality and creative use of the social media platform demonstrates Ballantine’s commitment to staying true to its values of innovation and leadership since it was created 180 years ago by George Ballantine.

The Ballantine’s Insta-zine explores the current whisky zeitgeist and is comprised of three articles: The Women Shaping Whisky, The Rise of Bitter Drinks, and Did the Sims Introduce Mixology to the Masses? In the first, Ballantine’s interviews three women changing the face of modern whisky, while The Rise of Bitter Drinks visually explores cocktails with a bitter taste profile and features some of Ballantine’s own signature serves. The third article delves into the surprising link between mixology and the popular Sims game, exploring whether the craft of bartending has influenced the way consumers drink cocktails today.

Peter Moore, Ballantine’s Global Brand Director, commented: “Ballantine’s has become renowned for its dynamic and engaging marketing initiatives and we are very excited to add the Ballantine’s Insta-zine to our list of innovations. We are confident that the concept and the content of the Ballantine’s Insta-zine will excite whisky, design and pop-culture enthusiasts alike as we continue to bring the proud heritage of our whisky into a dynamic digital future.”
Follow @Ballantines_Official on Instagram to read the full Insta-zine today.

About Ballantine’s
Ballantine’s is the No.1 Scotch whisky in Europe and the No. 2 Scotch whisky in the world with the range selling over 70 million bottles a year worldwide. Ballantine’s has won more than 130 trophies and medals at international competitions in the past 10 years for its outstanding 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 Master Blender Sandy Hyslop, continuing the brand’s tradition of Master Blenders that dates back to 1827. In 2013, Ballantine’s continued its innovative approach by launching Ballantine’s Brasil, a spirit drink made from selectively cask steeping Scotch whisky with Brazilian lime peel.
www.ballantines.com

@Ballantines

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

@ChivasNewsRoom

About Pernod Ricard
Pernod Ricard is the world’s co-leader in wines and spirits with consolidated sales of €7,945 million in 2013/14. Created in 1975 by the merger of Ricard and Pernod, the Group has undergone sustained development, based on both organic growth and acquisitions: Seagram (2001), Allied Domecq (2005) and Vin & Spirit (2008). Pernod Ricard holds one of the most prestigious brand portfolios in the sector and employs a workforce of approximately 18,000 people, operating through a decentralized organization with 6 ‘Brand Companies’ and 80 ‘Market Companies’ established in each key market. Pernod Ricard is strongly committed to a sustainable development policy and encourages responsible consumption. Pernod Ricard’s strategy and ambition are based on 3 key values that guide its expansion: entrepreneurial spirit, mutual trust and a strong sense of ethics. Pernod Ricard is listed on the NYSE Euronext exchange (Ticker: RI; ISIN code: FR0000120693) and is a member of the CAC 40 index.
www.pernod-ricard.com

BEAM SUNTORY WHISKIES WIN 11 GOLD MEDALS AT THE INTERNATIONAL SPIRITS CHALLENGE 2015
Hibiki, Yamazaki, Hakushu, Knob Creek, Bowmore and Laphroaig Expressions Earn Top Honors at Prestigious International Tasting Competition

Learn more about Old St. Andrews

New Whiskey Distillery, Old Line Spirits Opening in Baltimore City 

Old Line Spirits, Baltimore’s newest distillery, will begin production later this summer of its flagship product, Old Line American Single Malt Whiskey, said founders Mark McLaughlin and Arch Watkins. The distillery’s permanent home will be in the city and its location will be announced shortly.

Baltimore residents, McLaughlin and Watkins acquired award-winning Golden Distillery in Washington State in April, and have moved the equipment and barreled whiskey to the city. The rebranded product will be available this summer under its new name: Old Line American Single Malt Whiskey.

The single malt whiskey is made from 100% American malted barley distilled in a traditional copper pot still, then aged for two years in new, charred white oak barrels. McLaughlin and Watkins will continue to utilize the same award winning recipe and process in Baltimore.

Long-time whiskey enthusiasts, McLaughlin and Watkins have been working towards joining the Baltimore spirits market for over a year.  They viewed the opportunity to acquire Golden as a way to enter the market with an excellent product in a new and innovative category.  “The Mid-Atlantic has a number of great bourbon and rye distilleries.  We see our version of American single malt whiskey as something different and exciting,” said Watkins.

“We want Old Line’s spirits to be a product that Marylanders can be proud of,” said McLaughlin. “We’ve been very appreciative of the enthusiastic welcome that we’ve received from the City as well as other Baltimore business owners. We’re eager to open our doors later this summer.”

• Four Roses K&L Exclusive OBSF (11 year & 8 months) Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon 750ml ($66.99)

• Four Roses K&L Exclusive OBSV (10 Years Old) Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon 750ml ($66.99)

• Four Roses K&L Exclusive OESV (10 years & 11 months) Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon 750ml ($66.99)

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
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