Chris Bauder, General Manager and Vice President of Beam Suntory

Chris Bauder is the General Manager and Vice President of Beam Suntory’s Whiskey & Cognac Business and Canada Marketing. Before joining Beam, Bauder served as SC Johnson’s Vice President Marketing, International Markets. Prior to this role he held several positions of increasing responsibility throughout his 17 years at the company, including Vice President Marketing, Developing Markets. In this role he led marketing, media and new product development efforts across Latin America, Africa, Asia, Russia and the Middle East. Bauder earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science from Duke University and has a Master of Business Administration from Marquette University.

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David Frost, CEO of the Scotch Whisky Association

David Frost CMG took up his role as CEO of the Scotch Whisky Association in 2014. Before that, he spent 25 years as a British diplomat. He remains a specialist in and commentator on the European Union, global economic and commercial issues, and multilateral diplomacy. His most recent senior roles were as Head of the EU (Internal) Department and then Director for the European Union in the Foreign Office, where he was part of the UK’s senior leadership team during the EU Presidency in 2005; as British Ambassador to Denmark (2006-8); as Director for Strategy and Policy Planning in the Foreign Office (2008-10); then, a loan to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as Britain’s most senior trade policy official (2010-13).

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Enjoy dinner, a dance and a dram at the Arran Malt & Music Festival

This June, the Arran Malt & Music Festival will return to the Isle of Arran Distillery in Lochranza for a weekend of music, food and whisky. Taking place from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th June, this year’s festival promises a host of exciting events to celebrate the the island and its whisky.

The ceilidh on Saturday night is the centre piece of the weekend, headlined by Scots Trad Music Award winning musicians, Skippinish, along with a band made up of distillery employees including master distiller James MacTaggart and sales manager Andy Bell. Isle of Arran Whisky enthusiasts will also have the chance to sit down with the people closest to the distillery at the White Stage dinner on Friday night and the Survivors lunch on Sunday, both of which sold out last year.

For those interested in the intricacies and art of whisky making and tasting, there are several masterclasses throughout the weekend. Stillmen’s Choice, will draw from the personal favourites of the Stillsmen themselves whilst Scotch Broth Events will pair Arran whiskies with some innovative canapés for a gastronomic tasting. Experts from the distillery will also guide visitors through the evolution of Arran whisky in the Arran through the Ages tasting session.

There are also some exclusive masterclasses for the more dedicated whisky enthusiast. The Ultimate Masterclass with managing director Euan Mitchell is restricted to just 20 lucky ticket holders who will have the opportunity to select the official bottling of next year’s festival.

Euan Mitchell says: “We’re very proud to be based on the Isle of Arran and endeavour to root our whisky in its heritage and landscape. The festival is our way of celebrating the island and what better way to bring everyone together then with good food, great music and a quality dram.”

Tickets are now available from www.arranevents.com. Tickets for the White Stag dinner and Survivors Lunch on Sunday are limited and sold on a strictly first come, first serve basis. Ten places for the Ultimate Masterclass are available online, those who are unsuccessful should email info@arranwhisky.com before the 16th February to be added to the draw for the final ten places.

Notes:

For more information visit www.arranwhisky.com

* Accolades for Isle of Arran Distillery include Winner for: Best New Exporter (2004), Queen’s Award for International Trade (2005), Scottish Distiller of the Year (2007) and Scottish Drinks Producer of the Year (2007.)

Product awards include: Best Whisky Liqueur (2007), ‘Best Single Malt Scotch 12 Years & Under’ for The Arran Malt Amarone Cask Finish (2008) ‘Best Single Malt Scotch 11-15 Years’ for The Arran Malt Sherry Single Cask 1998 (2010) and ‘Best Single Malt Scotch 11-15 Years’ for the Icons of Arran Peacock (2011.) ‘Double Gold Award’ for Arran’s 14 Year Old Single Malt and ‘Gold Award’ for Arran’s 10 Year Old Single Malt at the World Spirits Competition 2012. Double Gold in FiftyBest.com awards 2012. Double Gold Medal for the 12 year-old Cask Strength in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2013.

BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY BREAKS TOURISM RECORDS
Visitation Has Increased 145% Since 2010

FRANKFORT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, KY (2015) Buffalo Trace Distillery has much to celebrate as it rings in the new year. For 2014, the National  Historic Landmark Distillery welcomed 123,331 visitors, a new record, and a 26 per cent
increase over the previous year. Since the end of 2009, Buffalo Trace Distillery has  grown its visitation a whopping 145 per cent.

“We are so happy we’ve been able to meet so many new friends from across the world as they’ve stopped by to see us and take one of our five complimentary tours,” said  Meredith Moody, marketing services director. “In addition to offering a wide variety of  tours, we have also added to our special events over the last few years, including our  “Legends” dinner series, and other opportunities throughout the year to learn about our brands and our heritage. We have at least one special event about every month, so there’s  something for everyone here at Buffalo Trace!” Those interested in the special events can  see a list of them here.

Not only did 2014 bring a wealth of visitors to Buffalo Trace, it also brought a number of major awards. The Distillery was named “Distiller of the Year” at the International Wine and Spirits Competition, “Brand Innovator of the Year” by Whisky
Magazine at its Icons of Whisky America Awards, and its William Larue Weller Bourbon and Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old Whiskey won second and third finest whiskies in the world, respectively, by the esteemed Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible. To see all of the awards the Distillery has won, look here.

To address all the growth Buffalo Trace is experiencing, the company has started a vertical expansion on its Visitor Center, repurposing an additional 5,500 square feet above its current footprint to include an additional tasting area and meeting and event space. That expansion is expected to be complete by Derby 2015. Earlier in 2014, Buffalo Trace broke ground on an 83,000 square foot warehouse center that will have a state of the art Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS). This project is slated to be completed by spring 2015.

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 is 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 www.buffalotracedistillery.com.

We take a closer look at the 17 Year Old expression from Craigellachie’s first ever official range. 

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Loch Fyne Whiskies

david@lfw.co.uk

United States – Bourbon and Rye

• Twisted Manzanita Rebellious Rye Whiskey 750ml – 6 available ($29.90)

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

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS…

William Wemyss, Managing Director, Wemyss Malts

William Wemyss is Founder & Managing Director of Wemyss Malts, which was started in 2005, as an Independent Bottler of Scotch whisky and is located in Edinburgh, Scotland. Since then, the company has also branched out into small batch gin, creating Darnley’s View, a London Dry Gin with elderflower and citrus. In 2012, William and his family built the Kingsbarns Single Malt Distillery which opened in December 2014. He is also a director of other companies, including Wemyss Development Co Ltd, being the parent company of the family group.

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Joseph Magliocco, President, Michter’s Distillery

Joseph Magliocco is President of Louisville based Michter’s Distillery as well as its parent Chatham Imports, a supplier of imported wines, niche spirits, and beer. Upon completing his studies, he immediately began his full-time work in the spirits industry. Inducted in Bordeaux as a Commandeur de L’Ordre du Bontemps de Medoc et de Graves, he has considerable experience working with not just spirits, but wines as well. He graduated from Yale College, where he majored in Religious Studies and did some bartending, and he earned his law degree at Harvard Law School.

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Bakers encouraged to think – and bake – whisky in new competition whipped up for Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival

A competition that has been whipped up in Scotland’s malt whisky country, is calling on bakers to ‘think whisky’ and add a dash of the amber nectar to their next batch of buns.

Food and drink experts in Speyside – Scotland’s most prolific whisky-producing region – have laid down a challenge to bakers to invent whisky-inspired muffins and cupcakes.

Bakers can either produce cakes with Speyside malt as a main ingredient, or put forward a pairing proposal where the recipe has been devised to go with a particular dram.

The competition is organised by The Whisky Shop Dufftown and will be one of the key events at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, which takes place from April 30 to May 4.

During the five-day celebration of the national drink, distilleries, shops, bars, pubs and whole communities welcome visitors with drams, ceilidhs, music, special events, and this year – cakes.

The creator of the overall winning recipe will be treated to a luxury Speyside break which will include a two night stay at the Dowans Hotel in Aberlour, a special distillery tour and a voucher for The Oakwood Cookery School in Elgin.

Mike Lord, owner of The Whisky Shop Dufftown, came up with the baking contest. He says that with 2015 being Scotland’s Year of Food of Drink, it seemed an ideal time to convince bakers to push the boundaries of their creativity.

 “Home baking is again a real focus for people thanks to shows like the Great British Bake Off, so what better way to celebrate this important year for food and drink than by being inspired by our greatest product?

“The muffin or cupcake can either be created to pair with a specific Speyside dram, contain the whisky in the recipe or be inspired by Speyside’s finest in some other way. The whisky chosen should be readily available in the UK.

“The many different Speyside whiskies have a tremendous range of flavours and pairing them with food is a true delight.  It can emphasise flavours in the food or in the whisky.  It can even bring out entirely new flavours as well.”

In the lead up to the festival, judges will draw up a shortlist of their favourite recipes, before inviting visitors to choose their favourite combination at a tasting event which The Whisky Shop Dufftown will organise as part of the festival programme.

Bakers are asked to enter by supplying a detailed recipe, a picture of the finished baking and a short summary of no more than 300 words on the inspiration behind the entry. A video showing the making of the muffin or cupcake that could be used on social media would be great.  Entrants do not need to be planning a trip to Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival in order to take part.

Entries must be received by no later than March 31, 2015 and should be sent to enquiries@whiskyshopdufftown.com

Further information is available from The Whisky Shop Dufftown by emailing enquiries@whiskyshopdufftown.com or calling 01340 821097.

Visit www.spiritofspeyside.com for festival news and follow the festival at www.facebook.com/WhiskyFestival   or www.twitter.com/spirit_speyside. Tickets for this year’s events are on sale now.

Notes

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival takes place from April 30 to May 4, 2015.  Check out www.spiritofspeyside.com for news and follow the Festival at www.facebook.com/WhiskyFestival   or www.twitter.com/spirit_speyside. The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is committed to promoting responsible drinking. Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has received funding from EventScotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and is also financially supported by many other private and public partners

Just Whisky are Live with their latest auction. Their 15th whisky auction has an incredible array of interesting, rare and collectable whiskies up for offer, and just after Christmas there are many lots at great, investible prices. Bag yourself a bargain and head over to www.just-whisky.co.uk to get bidding. 

For those not registered, it takes two minutes and is easy.

Companions of the Quaich

Whisky Tasting & Dinner 

Thomas Chen & Barry Dunner

request the pleasure of your company

at a Companions Whisky Tasting

 Event Theme

Dare to compare 16 whiskies

A Blind Head-To-Head Tasting

Moderator: Darryl Lamb of Legacy Liquor Store

Pairings

Blend vs blend • Blend vs single malt • Single malt vs single malt •

Sherry cask vs sherry cask • Bourbon cask vs bourbon cask •

Sherry cask vs bourbon cask • Peated vs peated •

When & Where

Saturday, the 21^th of February at six o’clock

Legacy Liquor Store  • Olympic Village • Vancouver, BC

RSVP by February 6, 2015                                                          Programme

Companions of the Quaich                                                                  Reception: 5:45 pm

140-6751 Graybar Road,                                                       Whisky tasting 6:00 pm: Sharp

Richmond, V6W 1H3                                                      Couvert: $135; $150: non-members

email info@vanquaich.com                                             Seating limited to 20 participants

At the Door: $10 more                                                                                Casual attire

Please remember to drink responsibly

 The Companions of The Quaich

is a non-profit society dedicated to sharing knowledge and enjoyment of Single Malt Whisky.

A ‘Quaich’ is the traditional Scots drinking vessel for whisky. The name comes from the Gaelic ‘cuach’ which means ‘cup’.

www.ralfy.com tells the internet/online stuff on scotch with Whisky Review 521 – AnCnoc 18yo @ 46%vol: