LIMITED EDITION THREE SHIPS SINGLE CASK LAUNCHED 

Three Ships Whisky, the pioneer of the South African whisky industry, has made history yet again with the launch of a rare single cask single malt whisky to showcase the extraordinary whisky crafted at The James Sedgwick Distillery in Wellington.

Only 800 bottles of the Three Ships 10 Year Old Single Malt Single Cask PX Finish whisky, bottled by hand and numbered, have been released by master distiller Andy Watts. Distilled in 2005, the whisky was initially matured for eight years and ten months in American oak where after a small quantity was selected to spend a further 14 months in a cask in which Pedro Ximenez (PX) sherry had previously been matured.

The whisky forms part of the Masters Collection which will see a limited edition being launch, each year, over the next years under the Three Ships brand.

Presented in its purist form, the whisky is un-chillfiltered, natural in colour and bottled at 46.2% alcohol by volume to enhance the complexity and flavours of this elegant malt.

Says Andy: “Local whisky lovers have long been asking me to produce something extra special and while cask finishes have been produced for many years around the globe, it was time for Three Ships to make history for the South African whisky industry. Although the challenges presented by different cask finishes have occupied us for a number of years, we didn’t want to release a new whisky just to satisfy the demand. The product had to be right in every aspect and I believe what we have here was certainly worth the wait.”

Andy experimented with various casks for a few years before selecting the PX for the particular effect it has on whiskies with a presence of smoke and peat. “Pedro Ximenez is a white Spanish wine grape varietal used for the production of a sweet-style sherry. The raisiny richness it imparts to the cask was the perfect finishing touch I wanted to complement the smokiness of our single malt with some sweet, nutty flavours.”

Andy selected only a small percentage of the limited edition Three Ships single malt he had been working on at the time (due for release in 2016) to spend a finishing period in a single PX cask.

“The end result has not disappointed and the decision to produce only one cask has turned this whisky into a very rare collector’s item.”

The Three Ships 10 Year Old Single Malt Single Cask PX finish is complex with delicate sweet notes from the sherry cask which lifts the nose with prunes, dates, figs and fruitcake and combines effortlessly with the elegant smokiness of the malt. The whisky is powerful and lingering in its taste and finish.

Available from 27 October only online at http://www.threeshipswhisky.co.za/, Norman Goodfellows, Whisky Brother and http://www.vinoteque.co.za/. The limited edition will retail for about R850.

For more information please visit http://www.themasterscollection.co.za/ and #PXFinish.

Cornelia Parker ‘Blue Luna’ Launch @ Multiplied 2015

Launching ‘Blue Luna’ Single Malt Scotch Whisky,  Matured under the influence of 223 full moons 8 of which are blue. edition of 35 Cornelia Parker 

The time has arrived!

M>A>M is delighted to be presenting ‘Blue Luna’ at Multiplied Art Fair, 2015. A new artist whisky by Cornelia Parker RA OBE, ‘Blue Luna’ will be launched at this years art fair, where you can catch the artist in conversation with Iwona Blazwick OBE director of Whitechapel Gallery, Friday 16th October, at 2:30pm, discussing moon landings, and other lunar activities surrounding Parker’s practice over the years.

For this commission, Parker has been intrigued by whiskies maturation process, how time and more specifically the moon cycle effects the spirit. In a continuation of Parker’s lunar series, this latest work ‘Blue Luna’ is very much a time orientated piece. The artist asked that we keep the whisky in the cask, (distilled at Benrinnes distillery 223 full moons ago) until the next blue moon (31st July 2015). We bottled this fine spirit during this special lunar moment at cask strength 54.5%, we managed to capture 35 bottles unique to this art work. The piece includes a series of 6 lithographs produced by Poligrafa Obra Grafica and a unique photogram, (a piece influenced by the blue moon itself) entitled ‘Bottoms Up’ (whisky glass moon).

If you wish to get your hands on one of these rare specimens, join us at Multiplied art fair 2015, where we will also be showcasing a new work by artist/ film maker Ben Rivers who currently has an excellent solo exhibition at Camden Arts Centre.

As well as the latest pieces by Cornelia Parker and Ben Rivers we will be exhibiting for the first time, all of our back catalogue, which features works by Charles Avery, Rose Wylie, Rodney Graham and Laure Prouvost.  Hope to see you there, Sláinte!

New from Compass Box – Flaming Heart 5th and This is not a luxury Whisky

We like a birthday at TWE. With our 15th anniversary year drawing to a close, we’ll happily use anyone else as an excuse to continue the party, and the folks at Compass Box have stepped up. They kicked off their celebrations in April with the launch of Hedonism Quindecimus, and have followed it up with a pair of new releases launching today – Flaming Heart Fifth Edition and This is not a luxury Whisky.

First up, Flaming Heart. The first edition appeared in 2006 as the result of Compass Box founder John Glaser’s experiments with new French oak – the same experiments that led to Spice Tree and Oak Cross‘s finishing in casks with new French oak heads and, before that, the original Spice Tree‘s whisky-regulation-bending use of extra new oak staves dropped into the body of the cask to add extra, well, spice.

In their usual fashion, Compass Box are being entirely open about the make-up of the whisky: it combines 14- and 30-year-old Caol Ila, 20-year-old Clynelish, and 7-year-old blended Highland malt, itself made up of whisky from Clynelish, Teaninich and Dailuiane finished for at least two years in very active Oak-Cross-style hybrid casks. With more than 65% of the spirit from Caol Ila, you’d expect a lot of smoke, but there’s more to this new Flaming Heart than the recipe suggests…

COMPASS BOX FLAMING HEART 5TH EDITION, 48.9% ABV

Nose: Soft and sweet, with waxy apples, waxed jackets, chamois leather, bung cloth, polished tables, touches of tropical fruit – pineapple and dried mango – hints of honeysuckle and green herbs, and a background of smouldering peat and charcoal dust.

Palate: Lots of ash and char up front, with bittersweet peat smoke pulling back to reveal rich earthy notes, soft apple, cinnamon spice, maritime touches – a hint of rock-pool minerality and sea spray – and forest-floor-after-rain rancio.

Finish: A fire in a field of ferns – herbal and smoky – dies down, leaving fresh mint, muddy peat and a hint of savoury, high-cocoa chocolate.

Comment: The combination of old and teenage Caol Ila to provide the smoky backbone for this dram gives it an elegance you might not expect. While you can taste the components – spice from the hybrid casks, maritime smoke from the younger Caol Ila, fruit from the older, and waxiness from the Clynelish – they combine into something that’s more than the sum of its parts. More great work from the Compass Box team.

The second new release draws on John Glaser’s love of art – in this case René Magritte’s famed 1929 work Le Trahison des images – The Treachery of Images – better known as Ceci n’est pas une pipe – This is not a pipe.

It’s not a pipe? Is the concept of a pipe the same as a pipe? Shall we just have another drink?

The original has been discussed for years but Compass Box’s take is an examination of the current state of our industry – the new release is called This is not a luxury Whisky.

The intention is to invoke discussion around the concept of luxury, and how it applies to whisky. But the key thing about the release is the whisky in the bottle itself, and not how people will perceive it. It’s a classic Compass Box recipe, turning ideas of blending on their head and creating something new: 79% 19-year-old Glen Ord from a sherry butt, top-dressed with 40-year-old grain whisky from Strathclyde and Girvan, and a dash of 30-year-old Caol Ila, probably the same as used in the new Flaming Heart.

THIS IS NOT A LUXURY WHISKY, 53.1% ABV

Nose: Toffee, freshly cracked coconuts (with shells) and sweet flowers lead the way, with the floral notes growing as it sits in the glass, becoming more candied and sweet – like a candy bracelet. Poking out around the sides are citrus bursts – lemon juice, peel and pith – and some sharper spicy notes: clove and cardamom.

Palate: The floral notes from the nose appear at first, before fading into the background and letting fruit and smoke take over. Apples and pears sit with burning green twigs and earthy peat, but the smoke is quickly replaced with spicy and malty notes – light fruit cake with clove and nutmeg, lemony cardamom and singed cinnamon sticks. The floral nature of the whisky doesn’t disappear, and as the stronger flavours fade, flowers return, with toffee and vanilla sweetness.

Finish: Floral and herbal, with flowers and their leaves fading to a spicy and earthy end, run through with smoke.

Comment: A whisky that swings between various flavour camps, pulling away before it plants its flag in any particular one. It has well-balanced floral notes, smoke, spice, fruit, and classic grain sweetness, with a flavour that moves back and forth between them, ending on a finish that brings everything together. Also, as a sucker for great package design, this is my favourite looking Compass Box whisky yet.

An excellent end to an anniversary year – two very different whiskies, doing very different things and both, in my opinion, succeeding. While it’s five years until the next milestone, I suspect we won’t have to wait that long before Compass Box’s next new whisky…

HTFW @ The Harrow Whisky Festival 2016

This week Joe Ellis reviews the Jack Daniel’s Rested Rye.

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HARLEN WHEATLEY NAMED THE FIRST

MASTER DISTILLER OF THE YEAR” AT WHISKY MAGAZINE’S

ICONS OF WHISKY AMERICA AWARDS 2016

Visitor Center Manager Highly Commended for Visitor Attraction Manager of the Year 

FRANKFORT, Franklin County, Ky (Oct. 7, 2015) – Buffalo Trace Distillery’s master distiller and visitor center manager were each honored at “Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky America Awards 2016,” for their hard work at the Distillery. Harlen Wheatley was named “Master Distiller of the Year” and Matt Higgins was recognized as “highly commended” for Visitor Attraction Manager of the Year.

The category for “Master Distiller of the Year” is brand new this year, making Wheatley its very first recipient.

“Receiving ‘Master Distiller of the Year’ is a great honor, and doing so as the first recipient of this award to kind of the set the bar is extremely humbling,” said Harlen Wheatley, master distiller. “In every single category, we’re up against some very tough competition each year. We feel very honored to receive each of these recognitions.”

The Icons of Whisky Awards were created by Whisky Magazine to celebrate the people and places behind the great whiskies of the world. Nominees can be self-nominated or nominated by anyone working in the spirits industry.  Those working in the spirits industry then vote on the winners, with the editors of Whisky Magazine then culling down the votes into final winners. This year’s awards were announced during The Great Kentucky Bourbon Tasting & Gala on September 19th.  The winners from the Icons of Whisky America Awards will go to compete at the World Whiskies Awards taking place in London, England, in the spring of 2016.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is a 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/

RMW 40 Year Old Three Sherry Cask Blended Malt

Quite frankly, we are delighted with our latest exclusive Royal Mile Whiskies bottling. Three excellent sherry cask matured single malts from the distilleries of Glenrothes, Macallan and Tamdhu have been gently married together to become probably the best value 40 year old malt whisky available in the world today. We’re confident that in this age where any whisky with forty years of maturation can cost big bucks, this simple but elegant bottle (nice label, no expensive box) of unctuous malt will bring big smiles to the faces of many whisky fans. Click through for tasting notes

J. & G. Grant are delighted to announce the new limited edition 1956 Oloroso Sherry Cask. Intended as the second of the series of six special bottlings from the renowned independent distillery, the Grant family are set to continue this collector series with a fantastic 57 year old whisky.

The 1956 Oloroso Sherry Cask has been matured in two sherry hogshead casks and one sherry butt, producing a total of 660 bottles for the world market. A non-chill filtered bottling at 47.5% ABV, this whisky carries an impressive strength for its age. Due to be launched in the UK this autumn, the 1956 will be rolled out across key international markets over the coming months.

George Grant says “For our second release of this family series, which follows up last year’s 1966 Fino Cask, we are proud to go back to our roots of oloroso sherry cask maturation. As promised, this offers a completely different expression to its fino cask predecessor.

It’s a real pleasure to introduce the 1956 Oloroso Sherry Cask, considering that the casks we have from the 1950s are the oldest in our warehouses, we wanted to be sure to incorporate a small vatting of these treasured whiskies as part of this special family series”.

The bottle is packaged in a similar style to the first edition, making it a recognizable product of the range. It is presented in a black leather box with a silver emblem featuring George Grant, second generation of the Grant family who lived during the time period of 1830-1890. Having recently celebrated the 150^th anniversary of family ownership at Glenfarclas earlier this year, the 1956 limited edition marks yet another historic milestone for the Grants much-admired family business.

Glenfarclas Email: info@glenfarclas.co.uk Website: www.glenfarclas.co.uk Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/glenfarclas/ Tel: +44 (0) 1807 500257 Fax: +44 (0) 1807 500234 Address: Glenfarclas Distillery, Ballindalloch, Banffshire AB37 9BD, UK

Glenfarclas 1956 Sherry Casks

The 1956 Oloroso Sherry Cask has been matured in two sherry hogshead casks and one sherry butt, producing a total of 660 bottles for the world market. A non-chill filtered bottling at 47.5% ABV, this whisky carries an impressive strength for its age. George Grant says “For our second release of this family series, which follows up last year’s 1966 Fino Cask, we are proud to go back to our roots of oloroso sherry cask maturation. As promised, this offers a completely different expression to its fino cask predecessor. It’s a real pleasure to introduce the 1956 Oloroso Sherry Cask, considering that the casks we have from the 1950s are the oldest in our warehouses, we wanted to be sure to incorporate a small vatting of these treasured whiskies as part of this special family series”. The bottle is packaged in a similar style to the first edition, making it a recognizable product of the range. It is presented in a black leather box with a silver emblem featuring George Grant, second generation of the Grant family who lived during the time period of 1830-1890. Having recently celebrated the 150th anniversary of family ownership at Glenfarclas earlier this year, the 1956 limited edition marks yet another historic milestone for the Grants much-admired family business.

ONLY ONE LEFT OF OUR ALLOCATION £1895

T.B.Watson Ltd.

TRY SOME 20 YEAR OLD BOURBON!

BECAUSE WHY NOT?

The guys at Michter’s have just confirmed their line-up for our Michter’s Ambassador Night on the 26th October. The highlight is a phenomenal 20 year old Bourbon which we had the pleasure of sampling at this year’s Whisky Show, needless to say it’s a real treat! Oh, and if we didn’t mention  it, you get your ticket price back against a bottle of Michter’s on the evening, can’t say fairer than that! More…