JURA ANNOUNCE DRAM-TASTIC WHISKY FESTIVAL LINE UP

Sensory experiences will bring flavour to life at Tastival, Jura’s annual island whisky festival

Tickets today Tuesday 12^th April go on sale for Jura Tastival 2016 – back on the 25^th and of 26^th May – to inspire new and exciting ways to enjoy Jura Single Malt Whisky.

Tastival is Jura’s two day contribution to the Feis Isle Festival, which attracts whisky aficionados from all over the world to distillery open days each year.

The event on Jura invites guests to experience the island’s only distillery, while exploring the many different ways to enjoy its whisky through live entertainment, sensory tastings and exclusive tours.

The schedule has something for everyone – but whisky fans will have to be quick – 95% of tickets for last year’s event sold out in just 24 hours.

This year’s ticketed sessions include:

• Dine the Different Sides of Jura – An eclectic sweet and smoky menu from Jimmy’s pop up – taking their renowned pop up dining concept out of London for a one-of-a-kind whisky pairing.

• Dram Fyne – In partnership with renowned craft beer brewers, Fyne Ales, tickets are now on sale for this sweet and smoky themed beer pairing, putting some well hopped IPAs to the test alongside Jura whisky.In Conversation: with Richard Paterson – An exclusive Jura tasting session and Q&A with whisky legend Richard Paterson.  
• The Masters Tour – Jura Manager’s Willie Cochrane and Graham Logan will host this very special tour – a rare chance to experience the Jura still house as seen through the eyes of the people who make it.
•  Whisky on the Waves – Ticketholders will cruise into the open sea to savour Jura Turas-Mara the way it was meant to be experienced – with the wind and sea spray in your face.

In addition to ticketed sessions, the Cooperage will be free to access, where street artists from Recoat will bring to life the different sides of Jura on a large-scale mural, live in the Dramming Bar. The distillery will also run free tours of the still house throughout the day on a first come, first served basis.

Guests will also have first opportunity to try this year’s limited edition Tastival bottling, released especially to mark the occasion.  For 2016 Jura asked four artists from across the globe to create a unique illustrated design based upon their interpretations of the dram’s tasting notes.  Following heated competition, where fans voted for their favourite design online, Jura’s first ever crowd sourced packaging is ready to be revealed – and toasted – live at Tastival 2016.

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NOTES                                                                          

About Jura:

Jura is an island nestled off the West Coast of Scotland. With only one road, one pub, one distillery and 200 people, Jura is as beautiful as it is remote.

The distillery was established in 1810 and reborn in 1963 to revive the community.

Inspired by our history and our island home, we create single malt with a true passion for the craft of whisky making.

Early April 2016 Outturn Offerings

Cask No. 66.59 $125

Nieve de Leche Quemada

Highland, Eastern

Initial aromas of delicate smoke gave way to violets, roses, drawer liners, icing sugar and lemon and lime slices. To taste neat there were prawns on a BBQ, smoked limes, oyster shells and a smouldering peat hearth. One panellist was making Nieve de Leche Quemada (Mexican burnt milk ice cream) in the kitchen. A splash of water brought aniseed balls to a swimming pool, while smoked orange oil, poster paints, pencils and Worcestershire sauce on cheesy toast were all present. The taste was sweeter and slightly chalky with well-done toast and Parma Violet sweets. A truly sunny coastal finish with a salty breeze, sea spray, skittles, lobster shells and French fries.

Drinking tip: Drink at a BBQ on a speedboat

Colour: Sunlight on a lake

Cask: Refill barrel

Age: 12 years

Date distilled: November 2001

Alcohol: 57.4%

USA allocation: 120 bottles

Flavour profile: Lightly peated

*President’s Choice*

Cask No. 46.29 $135

Shaken not stirred

Speyside, Lossie

Young Bond prepared the ingredients for his cocktail: bruised mint, Gomme syrup, pink peppercorn and aromatic cherry and violet. As he mixed his ingredients for this Old Fashioned together he scanned the scene, it was a bit of a mystery. A large arrangement of flowers was the first observation. A table set with a curious collection: Fox Glacier mints, chocolate chip ice cream, Jolly Jammers and salted limes. He sipped his cocktail and enjoyed it’s sprightly kick. The perfumed scent of some exotic beauty lingered. He investigated further finding cream soda, marshmallow and Kendal Mint Cake. What did it all mean?

Drinking tip: When you’re saving the world

Colour: Gold fountain pen (that’s really a poison pen)

Cask: Refill hogshead

Age: 14 years

Date distilled: September 2000

Alcohol: 59.1%

USA allocation: 120 bottles

Flavour profile: Young & spritely

Cask No. 55.26 $135

Outdoor, masculine dram

Speyside, Findhorn

The nose was complex and interesting – sweet and spicy with some cosmetics and light struck match, plus an array of outdoor impressions (earthy, grassy, ripe fruits, wood sap, twigs and riverbanks). It seemed fresher with water (peach melba yoghurt, leaf mould, washing blowing in the breeze) though one panellist got a rugby player’s kit-bag. The palate however had massive, intense sweetness and mouth-scorching peppery, ginger heat – panellists reported Vimto concentrate and rhubarb dipped in brown sugar. With water, we found toffee, butterscotch, Old English spangles and ice-cream soda, with a few more masculine hints of mint tic-tacs, old wood and allotments.

Drinking tip: Benefits from water and the attraction is mostly in the taste – a drinker’s, rather than a sniffer’s, dram.

Colour: Golden retriever puppy

Cask: Refill hogshead

Age: 14 years

Date distilled: September 2000

Alcohol: 57.3%

USA allocation: 120 bottles

Flavour profile: Spicy & sweet

Cask No. 26.105 $220

Bumblebees by the sea

Highland, Northern

The first aromas were predominantly dark runny honey over crackers, followed by salted lemon and fresh kiwi fruit. With time, camphor and citronella candles burning in a damp pine forest. Juicy Fruit gum emerged on the nose and in the taste. It retained a white peppery heat at full strength, with lemon zest and lime posset emerging. Aspen bark, cinnamon and spearmint all became easier to find with water as if they had all been washed up on a seashore. A muskiness reminiscent of coastal dunnage warehouses belied its age, but homemade lemonade and green Starbursts lifted any hint of heaviness.

Drinking tip: Have a light hand with water

Colour: Honey on a gold spoon

Cask: Refill butt

Age: 29 years

Date distilled: November 1984

Alcohol: 57.6%

USA allocation: 150 bottles

Flavour profile: Light & delicate

Cask No. 53.226 $140

Teddy Boys at the beach

Islay

Rock (pool) and roll! Bad boys set an old boat alight with a splash of diesel, clean smoke puffing into the sky. They drink pisco sours and eat pork rolls with gherkin pickle, followed by baked corn pudding. Splashing sea water fizzes on the fire and sparks of pickled ginger and salted lemon fly. Hints of oregano and roll-ups waft together with an oily slick on the shore. They kick an old rubber tyre around and flick each other with a tarry rope. Olive oil cake with lemon icing, pickled onions with cream cheese and mackerel complete the beastie.

Drinking tip: Unleash your inner rockabilly

Colour: Dirty martini with green olives

Cask: Refill hogshead

Age: 15 years

Date distilled: March 2000

Alcohol: 63.5%

USA allocation: 90 bottles

Flavour profile: Oily & coastal

Cask No. 48.46 $125

Exploding flower

Speyside, Spey

The nose started with linoleum and green leaf, but slowly opened like a flower – vanilla sponge, Danish pastries, toffee, some fruit (strawberry, banana) and floral notes (gentian, rosewater, gorse). The neat palate was assertive, but complex and unusually bitter-sweet – ‘biting an orange’, tutti-frutti, jelly beans – one panellist found a honey, vodka and gunpowder mixture, but he self-combusted and didn’t trouble us anymore. With water, the nose became freshly intriguing, with tinned fruit salad, old-fashioned lemonade, tree-bark, liquorice and menthol. The palate was now really rather pleasant – juicy, sweet and refreshing, with peach and pear balancing clove and aniseed spice.

Drinking tip: Improves with water – would be a suitable conversational dram – or maybe with dessert.

Colour: Yellow gold

Cask: First-fill barrel

Age: 12 years

Date distilled: November 2001

Alcohol: 57.4%

USA allocation: 60 bottles

Flavour profile: Sweet, fruity and mellow

http://www.smwsa.com/

Japanese Whisky Tasting

April 15th. Friday

Pourings at 4:30 P.M. & 6:00 P.M.

Mars Shinshu Distillery

This Friday we will welcome Masano Mihara and Saki Umemura of the from the Mars Shinshu Distillery, Mars Shensu has been distilling whisky for over 65 years.

They will  tell us about  about their whiskies, including their bourbpn foinish, mixed barrel, and upcoming wine finish casks.

This will be a rare chance to meet the makers of one of the more exotic and exciting whiskey making countries in the world.

We will have two pourings,each 55 minutes; the first at 4:30 P.M.and the 2nd. at 6:00 P.M.

Come and taste some Japanese whisky bring a friend or a co worker – a nice start to the weekend.

Joe Howell

Federal Wine & Spirits

Email: info@federalwine.com

Phone: (617) 367-8605

Web: http://www.federalwine.com/

Federal Wine & spirits, 29 State Street, Boston, MA 02109

Below you will find listed three of our favourite Aberlour drams!
Perfect for celebrating the weekend with..

You can find our full range on The Spirits Embassy: Single Malts Direct’s brand new website. 

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Aberlour Abunadh Batch 53

60% ABV || £40.00 incl. VAT

With each batch carefully made by hand, Aberlour A’bunadh is a unique cask strength whisky that has achieved cult status among whisky connoisseurs.

A`bunadh, Gaelic for `of the origin` is matured exclusively in Oloroso Sherry butts. It is a natural cask strength malt whisky produced without the use of modern chill-filtering methods or the addition of water. As Aberlour A`Bunadh is released in small batches, the flavours may vary slightly from one bottling to another. Aberlour A`Bunadh is a natural cask strength malt whisky produced without the use of modern chill- filtering methods or the addition of water.

Aberlour 10 Year Old

40% ABV || £24.00 incl. VAT

Aberlour’s uniquely rewarding depth of character derives from how it’s made as much as the quality of the soft spring water and the other ingredients.

The difference even shows in the new make spirit as it emerges from the still. It’s unusually dense with flavour – crisp, clean and redolent of blackcurrants and red berries.

Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Matured

48% ABV || £35.00 incl. VAT

A unique expression within the Aberlour range, aged in fresh Oloroso Sherry butts, some of the most precious and expensive in use for maturing single malts.

This Aberlour single malt has been matured in two handmade oak cask types, traditional oak and the finest Sherry oak casks. On top of that, it hasn’t been chill filtered, so retains all of the goodness of the casks the whisky has been matured in.

Single Malts Ltd 36 Gordon Street | Huntly | Aberdeenshire | AB54 8EQ | Scotland UK

+44 (0) 845 606 6145 | info@thespiritsembassy.com

Littlemill 1988 Author’s Series Gustave Flaubert

Introducing an incredible Littlemill 1988 single cask which is limited to only 137 bottles. Distilled in November 1988 it was bottled in July 2015 at 56% volume. Part of the award winning Authors’ Series, view the full range here.

Tasting Notes

Honeyed flavours combine with wood spice and a herbal, slightly savoury quality. Cobnuts and popcorn lead to a finish of over ripened fruits, peach stone, toasted cereals and poppy seed. A precise and perfectly formed whisky, reflective of Flaubert’s exacting aesthetic.

£574 Click to buy

This week Joe Ellis reviews the Ardbeg Uigeadail

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Luxco Announces Plans for Bardstown Distillery

Company to build distillery on Kentucky Bourbon Trail

(St. Louis) April 4, 2016 – Luxco announced today the company has finalized plans to build a distillery, located in Nelson County, Kentucky. Luxco has chosen to build the distillery on a 70-acre site off state highway KY-245 in the heart of Bardstown and Bourbon Capital of the World. The company announced preliminary plans for the distillery in late 2015, and the distillery is expected to be fully operational by late 2017.

Construction on the project will begin in the summer of 2016. Buzick Construction has been awarded the contract for the project. When finished, the distillery will be approximately 18,000 square feet, have six barrel warehouses and will employ an estimated 34 people. In addition, the distillery will feature a tasting room and event space and will offer visitors a new stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

“We are looking forward to building the distillery on this scenic property and in such a central location in Bardstown,” says David Bratcher, President and COO of Luxco. “We intend the distillery to be a welcoming stop for those visiting the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and we are excited to bring our bourbon experience and brands to Nelson County.”

The distillery will be built alongside an existing house on the property, which is registered as a National Historic Place and will remain. Architect renderings of the new distillery, created by Joseph & Joseph Architects out of Louisville, are available upon request.

With the rapid growth of Luxco’s bourbon brands, such as Rebel Yell, Blood Oath and Ezra Brooks, the company decided to build this new distillery in order to meet its increasing whiskey demand.

“At Luxco, we are always looking to be innovative,” says Bratcher. “Building this distillery will allow us to control our own production as well as offer us the ability to experiment with new and innovative mash bills, barrel types and aging techniques.”

Luxco has received support for the distillery from various entities within Kentucky.

“We are pleased with the support we have received from the Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet, the Nelson County Economic Development Agency and City and County government officials,” said Donn Lux, Chairman of Luxco.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved the company for $1.3 million in tax incentives for the project. The Joint City-County Planning Commission also approved rezoning of the land for this project. Luxco also owns 50 percent interest in the Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky – which produces Yellowstone Kentucky Straight Bourbon.

“We are excited to have Luxco become a part of our community,” says Dean Watts, Nelson County Judge Executive. “Their history and success in the liquor industry will greatly enhance our County.”

About Luxco

Luxco, Inc. is a leading producer, importer and marketer of beverage alcohol products. Our mission is to meet the needs and exceed the expectations of our consumers, associates and business partners. Founded in St. Louis in 1958, where it is headquartered, it is owned and operated by the Lux family. Its portfolio of brands include: Juarez Tequila & Triple Sec, Pearl Vodka, Everclear Grain Alcohol, Arrow Cordials, El Mayor Tequila, Ezra Brooks & Rebel Yell Bourbons, Lord Calvert Canadian Whisky, St. Brendan’s Irish Cream, Salvador’s Cocktails, Yago Sant’ gria and other well-recognized brands. For more information about the company, visit http://www.luxco.com/

The Whisky Exchange April offers of the month – Royal Brackla

It’s time for April’s drinks of the month!

The Malt of the Month is Royal Brackla 16 Year Old. Launched in 2015 as part of Bacardi’s Last Great Malts series, it’s finished in first-fill sherry casks, adding a richness to the sweet, spicy and slightly smoky whisky. It is nearly £7 off at £64.95 for the whole of the month.

Royal Brackla 16 Year Old, 40%

Tasting Notes by Stuart P

Nose: Clean, bright aromas of fresh fruit – green apple, melon and pear – followed by warming notes of honey- and toffee-covered sponge cake. A touch of light, fresh floral notes, too, with a hint of ginger and cinnamon.
Palate: Honeyed fruit at first, then warmer, spicy notes of cinnamon, ginger and clove. Very clean and bright – the fruit and spice leap from the glass. Nice toffee richness, too.
Finish: The warming spicy fruit lingers.

Macallan 12 Year Old Fine Oak

Only 5,000 bottles of this outstanding Speyside single malt are available in the UK.

The Macallan 12 Year Old Fine Oak is a legendary Speyside whisky for good reason; triple cask matured in a unique, complex combination of exceptional European oak casks seasoned with sherry, American oak casks seasoned with sherry, and American oak casks seasoned with bourbon, it delivers an extraordinarily smooth, delicate yet complex single malt, matured at The Macallan Distillery for a minimum of twelve years. Simply outstanding value for one of our favourite Macallan whiskies!

£53 Click to buy

Banff 37 Year Old 1971 Dead Whisky Society
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

$744.54

Banff 37 Year Old 1971 vinatge Highland single malt Scoth whisky. Single cask #633 bottled August 2008 by the Dead Whisky Society for the Rare Old series. 565 numbered bottles. The Mill of Banff malt whisky distillery was established by Major James McKilligan at Mains of Colleonard Farm just south of Banff in 1824 and acquired by James Simpson a local merchant and ship owner in 1852.  Mill of Banff Distillery closed in 1863 when Simpson’s son built a new distillery on a site to the west of Banff at Inverboyndie and named it Banff Distillery. Relocation enabled the opportunity to expand and take advantage of a plentiful supply of soft Speyside water and the new branch line connecting Banff to the main Inverness to Aberdeen railway. Despite surviving the ups and downs of the whisky industry Banff Distillery closed in 1983and partially demolished in 1985 but most of the rest of Banff Distillery came down during a fire in 1991 and although shells of a few warehouses are still standing Banff is a lost Highland malt whisky distillery.