Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye is the

2016 World Whisky of the Year  

Brand Becomes First Canadian Whisky to Earn Title in Jim Murray’s Annual Whisky Bible, Showcases Brand’s Prominence as Category Leader

NORWALK, Conn., November 19, 2015 – Renowned whisky writer Jim Murray today announced Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye as the 2016 World Whisky of the Year, marking the first time a Canadian Whisky has received the honor. The recognition comes at a time when both the Canadian and Rye whisky categories continue to gain popularity amongst whisky aficionados and consumers alike.

“Crown Royal Northern Harvest pops up out of nowhere and changes the game,” said Murray of the whisky, which he awarded a record-tying 97.5 out of 100 points. “It certainly puts the rye into Canadian Rye. To say this is a masterpiece is barely doing it justice.”

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye was first released in the U.S. in early 2015. The variant showcases the distinctly Canadian rye whiskey featured in the traditional Crown Royal Deluxe Blend that consumers have grown to love throughout the last 75-plus years. The latest variant to be introduced by Crown Royal, Northern Harvest Rye (90 proof, 45% ABV) is the brand’s first ever blended, 90% rye whisky and embodies a smooth and spicy flavor profile that can be mixed into traditional rye cocktails or enjoyed neat or on the rocks.

“Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye showcases the rye whisky that has been such an integral component of the Crown Royal Deluxe blend since 1939. This is a testament to the unbelievable blending and distilling that’s been taking place in Gimli for over 75 years,” said Yvonne Briese, Vice President of Crown Royal. “We are thrilled that Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye has been named World Whisky of the Year!”

The recognition comes on the heels of the launch of Crown Royal’s new campaign titled “The One Made for a King.” The creative, which will run across TV, print, out of home, digital and social, was developed to share the 75-year-old brand’s royal origin story and liquid credentials with consumers. To view the TV spots, please visit www.YouTube.com/CrownRoyalBrand.

In addition to being named 2016 World Whisky of the Year, Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye received a double gold medal at this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye is part of Crown Royal’s vast portfolio of variants for whisky lovers to enjoy, including Crown Royal Regal Apple, the #1 innovation launch across U.S. Spirits over the past 12 month period, according to Nielsen and NABCA (Source: Nielsen xAOC 52 weeks through 10/10/15, NABCA 52wk ending 9/30/15), and Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel, a double gold recipient and winner of “Best Canadian Whisky” in the 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Diageo is proud to add this incredible honor to its Hall of Fame of award-winning whiskeys globally. This year alone, Diageo has earned more than 300 awards across the World’s Best ranks for its Canadian, Scotch and American whiskeys. Today at Diageo we are celebrating!

While raising a glass of Northern Harvest Rye in honor of this award, Crown Royal reminds consumers and whisky aficionados to please drink responsibly.

About Crown Royal

Crown Royal Canadian whisky is the number one selling Canadian whisky brand in the US by value and has a tradition as long and distinctive as its taste. Specially blended to commemorate a grand tour of Canada made by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain in 1939, Crown Royal Canadian whisky’s smooth, elegant style reflects its aristocratic origins and is considered the epitome of Canadian whisky. For more information visit http://www.crownroyal.com/. Crown Royal encourages all consumers to please enjoy responsibly. 

About Diageo

Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits, beer and wine categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan’s whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray, Guinness, and Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.

Diageo is a global company, and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO). For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at http://www.diageo.com/. Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.

Follow us on Twitter for news and information about Diageo North America: @Diageo_NA.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.

Canadian Whisky Speaks For Canada

OTTAWA, Nov. 26, 2015 – Canada’s new telegenic Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, is not the only Canadian turning heads. In drinking circles, the Canadian getting all the attention these days is Crown Royal.

This sudden popularity at home mirrors skyrocketing interest in Canada and Canadian whisky right around the world. It also provides the new government with an opportunity to raise a glass to Canadian farmers.

Sales of Canadian whisky have been increasing steadily for three years, so why this sudden enthusiasm? On Thursday, November 19, acclaimed whisky writer, Jim Murray named Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye: the Best World Whisky of 2015. Miffed, Scotch whisky writers dismissed his choice just as the whisky buying public jostled for the next available cashier.

Gimli, Manitoba, is the home of Crown Royal. Joel Carleton, president of the Manitoba Bartenders’ Guild was thrilled with the news. “I am excited to see so many people celebrating the Canadian whisky category. It draws more attention to my beloved local whisky, and highlights the rye grain that gives Canadian whiskies their distinct spicy, complex flavour.”

This sudden interest masks how popular Canadian whisky is already. It is, after all, firmly established as one of the four great world whisky styles (beside Scotch, Irish, and bourbon whiskies) with annual sales of over 250 million bottles.

Still, Canadian whisky makers have reason to celebrate. Not only will this attention bring long-lasting notice to Canadian whisky, it will also help assure the future of the thousands of Canadian farmers who supply the grain required to make it.

You disagree with Murray’s specific choice? It doesn’t really matter. Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye is now the ambassador for Canadian whisky worldwide.

Previous Speakers of the House have stuck to Scotch when naming their annual official Speaker’s Whisky. Perhaps Prime Minister Trudeau will take a page out of Murray’s book and suggest the new Speaker recognize a Canadian whisky this time.

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye: yet more accolades for Canadian whisky.

Diageo’s Gimli, Manitoba distillery where Crown Royal is made.

Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert

The world’s first in-depth book about Canada’s national spirit.

WINNER, GOURMAND BOOK AWARDS BEST SPIRITS BOOK CANADA 2012

WINNER, 2013 IACP BOOK AWARDS WINE, BEER AND SIRITS

Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert is published by McClelland & Stewart and distributed by Penguin Random House. It is available from most book shops and on-line book sellers.

Glenlivet 20 Year Old 1995 Signatory

Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

 

Hi folks. We’re now live with our biggest auction ever, so there’s bound to be something that takes your fancy!

Enjoy.

THE 56th AUCTION 

Kind regards from Glasgow

The SWA Team

20% off The Glenrothes Select Reserve

Nestled in the Scottish Highlands, the Speyside region is universally acknowledged as the heartland of single-malt whisky distillation and this weekend we are pleased to offer you The Glenrothes Select Reserve for just £30 – perfect for winter fireside drams.

Buy Now

THE CHRISTMAS WHISKY GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

Membership of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society lasts longer than just another bottle

This Christmas, treat adventurous spirits enthusiasts and whisky aficionados alike to a gift that keeps on giving – membership to The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is an international whisky club that bottles the world’s widest selection of single cask, single malt whisky for its members.

Each month, the Society releases around 15 whiskies to its members, with each one coming under one of its 12 unique flavour profiles such as ‘Juicy, oak and vanilla’, ‘Old and dignified’ and ‘Heavily peated’.

Society membership is the first step on an ever-changing sensory adventure that takes members on a mouth-watering journey of whisky discovery.

Membership also provides a perfect present to place under the Christmas tree in the form of a beautifully presented membership gift box, which includes:

• Three 10cl sample bottles of Society single cask whiskies
• Member’s handbook
• Society badge
• £10 voucher to spend on first SMWS bottle purchase

A membership of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society costs from £122 and grants members exclusive access to the Society’s monthly releases of single cask, single malt whisky, as well as special grain whiskies, bourbons and even rums. It’s an ever-changing selection, which will satisfy all, from the curious newcomer to the experienced connoisseur.

In addition to receiving award-winning members’ magazine, ‘Unfiltered’, members can also attend special tasting events and gain access to The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s beautiful private Members’ Rooms in Edinburgh and London. Members can sign up to three guests into the Members’ Rooms.

To purchase membership of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society for £122, visit www.smws.co.uk or call the sales team on 0131 555 2929  

Notes for Editors: 

About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society  

• The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is an international whisky club bottles the world’s widest selection of exceptional single cask, single malt whisky for its members – each month it releases new whiskies for its members
• The Society bottles the finest single malt whisky from around 350 single casks every year from a range of more than 132 distilleries. The very nature of the single cask means that each bottling offered by the Society is limited.
• The Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and now has more than 26,000 members around the world with branches in 19 countries.
• Members can choose from the world’s widest selection of single cask, single malt whiskies with only the very best selected and approved by the Society’s respected Tasting Panel.
• Exclusive Members’ Rooms are located in Edinburgh and London for tastings, dinners, meeting and presentations.
• Annual renewal after the first year is £61.50
• For more information, visit www.smws.co.uk

1995 Benrinnes 20 Year Old K&L Exclusive Signatory Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($99.99)

In our opinion, Benrinnes might be the most underrated distillery in all of Scotland. We’ve purchased a number of casks from the Diageo-owned Speyside producer over the years and we’ve even taken a detailed tour of the space. In just about every interaction with both the whisky and the people who make it, we’ve been completely impressed in just about every way. That being said, the 20 year old cask that we pulled in this year from Benrinnes might be the best whisky yet. It’s a jaw-droppingly delicious single malt that brings big vanilla, big spice, loads of ripe fruit, and a creamy, soft mouthfeel for a screaming deal of a price. Two decades in wood at full proof for $99.99? If the label said Glenmorangie or Glenlivet instead of Benrinnes, you’d no doubt be looking at $180 per bottle or more, but the fact that this is Benrinnes cuts that price point right in half. The irony, however, is that we’d rather have the Benrinnes! The finish even flirts with a phenolic note and hints of smoke, despite the fact that Benrinnes doesn’t make peated whisky. Do not miss this whisky. It might be the best of this year’s Signatory crop.
href=”http://www.klwines.com/PersonalReviews/Bio?PRID=2108&ReviewerType=S”>Andrew Stevens | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: November 15, 2015

After tasting through the new Signatory Cask Strength line up this 20 year old from Benrinnes, a distillery I was not actually familiar with, was my hands down favorite. Elegantly balanced between smooth peat and a little smoke this whisky started and finished super well. The best thing about it was how well the distiller was able to underlay the sweet vanilla notes with a touch of smoke that made me want to immediately take home the bottle.

Heather Vander Wall | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: November 09, 2015

This whisky is head and shoulders above almost any I’ve tasted this year. I’m not the biggest whisky drinker, but I love complexity, depth and character to my drinks, and this bottle over-achieves in all areas. Of the new Signatory lineup it is by far the softest, and most mild with a lighter body than the others, yet offering subtle complexities of spice and fruit characteristics. Don’t hesitate on this bottle, it is well worth your while

Jeff Garneau | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: November 04, 2015

Have you ever attended a party where everyone you met was articulate, fascinating, compelling…yet by the time you left you abruptly realized you had spent virtually the entire night talking with just one person? If so, you have some idea of what it was like tasting through the first wave of K&L barrel selections to arrive from Scotland. The ’85 Linkwood was unbelievably creamy in texture, the ’90 Glen Elgin delightfully spicy, the ’88 Blair Athol decadently rich and sweet, and yet…and yet it was the ’95 Benrinnes I kept going back to. Classic notes of wood spice and vanilla, and something I can only identify as “black cardamom” – at once smoky and lightly herbaceous (though David assures me there is no peat used here). I found this to be the most complex and layered of the whiskies I tasted, revealing more of itself each time I returned to the glass. I asked Kyle and David if they had a favorite and without hesitation they both answered “Benrinnes”. Hmm. I have always been more of a wine guy, but David’s relentless insistence that I taste everything he brings through the door may finally be paying off.

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

Win The Last Great Malts!

Dewar’s have a great selection of distilleries, but other than Aberfeldy, until recently they’ve been quiet about them. No longer! Starting in late 2014, they have been revamping their range under the banner of The Last Great Malts. With Royal Brackla on the market and The Deveron (aka Glen Deveron aka Macduff) coming very soon (after being launched at The Whisky Show in October), the series is complete, and we’re celebrating with a prize draw:

Buy any two different Last Great Malts from Aberfeldy, Aultmore or Craigellachie and we’ll enter you into a draw to win one of each of them.

That’s eight bottles of whisky worth more than £1,000, which is not to be sniffed at.

The three distilleries whose whiskies we’ve chosen to be in the draw are very different. Aberfeldy is well known for their weighty and sherry-heavy style, while Craigellachie produces a meaty spirit but focus on bourbon casks, creating a whisky that’s far from light, but is packed with tropical fruit and a hint of smoke. Aultmore straddles the spectrum, with the light and elegant 12 Year Old and the rich and earthy 25 Year Old. All in all, something for everyone.

Head to the prize draw page now for full details – the draw will close at 11.59pm on 10 January 2016.

The perfect Christmas Gift

A personalised 20l barrel of French Oak is one of the best things a whisky lover could dream of…we fill a cask for you, put your name on it and let it mature in our bondstore before bottling and sending it to your home where you can enjoy the fruits of our labour. The only downside is you have to wait a few years while the whisky matures, and that’s why this Christmas you get front-of-queue access to our latest French Oak release, the delicious cask HH435, when you purchase a barrel. Offer closes at midnight on the 31st of December, so hurry to get your hands on a bottle now.

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR BARREL

Tasmania Distillery
Lamb Pl
Cambridge, TAS 7170
Australia

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #120

Mark Dermul, Belgian Whiskyblogger, tries a Glenallachie. It is a Speyside distillery that produces almost exclusively for the blending industry. Being founded in 1967 it is a very young distillery indeed. The name is derived from Gaelic and means as much as the rocky valley. It is currently owned by Chivas Brothers. If you want to try it as a single malt, you will need to look at independent bottlings. The one Mark tries today is some such, bottled exclusively for a Belgian whiskyclub called Maltlovers. This is a 9 year old single cask at a whopping 50,7% ABV.

https://youtu.be/nd4NVABezpk