Whisky Auction Ends Sunday!
Just Whisky’s 33rd auction ends this weekend (Sunday). If you’ve not already done so, now is the time to place your maximum bids. There are some absolutely incredible whiskies on offer and still some at very attractive prices. Sunday evening is the last opportunity to secure a bargain.
Don’t leave it too late! Place your bids now!
The Greats of Glenfarclas
With the Glenfarclas 1981 Port Wood coming into stock at The Whisky Shop next week, we thought we’d take a look at this brand new release and some other great whiskies from the “valley of the green grass”. From highly limited editions to great deals, now is the time to get your hands on these gems from Glenfarclas!
Free delivery available on all orders over £75 Next day delivery available
This brand new release is the fourth limited edition bottling in the Family Collector Series. Matured exclusively in a port cask rather than the typical Oloroso sherry casks used at Glenfarclas, this highly limited edition is Glenfarclas’ oldest port cask matured release to date at 35 years old.
With only 521 bottles available worldwide, this rare expression is bottled at cask strength revealing a distinctive character accentuated by a sweet port influence.
£450 Pre-Order Now Stock arriving w/c 22nd August
This extremely limited edition is drawn from the oldest cask of whisky owned by the Glenfarclas distillery. Distilled in 1953 and matured in a single Spanish oak sherry cask, this Single Malt is presented non chill-filtered at its natural cask strength of 43.9% abv.
Gleaming rich sandy oak in colour, this malt offers a rich sherried nose that develops into lovely toffee notes followed by delicate oak. Once it has had time to breathe, the palate has warm spiced notes, stewed fruits and liquorice, while the finish is long and sweet with toffee apples and cinnamon sticks.
Bottled in 2013 from cask 1770, this Glenfarclas comes from the dawn of the Swinging Sixties. With only 166 bottles produced, very few remain on the market making this price an attractive investment opportunity.
Heavy in rich cocoa beans, this expression is reminiscent of an old fashioned Gentleman’s Club with Chesterfield chairs, polished banisters and old wood panels, notes of liquorice, toffee apple and treacle intermingling.
Glenfarclas 21 Year Old with 101 World Whiskies to Try Before You Die
One of our best deals ever with one of our all-time favourite whiskies, this 21 year old expression of Glenfarclas is rich and full-bodied with fruity spice on the nose. Smooth on the palate with notes of malty biscuits and a touch of oak smoke, with a long and smooth finish.
Once you have whet your appetite, Ian Buxton’s 101 World Whiskies to Try Before You Die is on hand to provide a map to your next dram.
Kilkerran 12 Year Old
It’s been ‘Work In Progress’ for 12 long years but after all the hard work, the first official core bottling from Mitchell’s Glengyle Distillery is here – and what a beauty it is. Aged for 12 years, this Kilkerran single malt Scotch whisky is lightly peated, double distilled and created from 70% bourbon casks and 30% sherry casks.
Malt of the Month
Aged for around 18 years!
Another superb release from Independent whisky guru’s Gordon & MacPhail. Distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2016, this Speymalt from Macallan distillery offers tremendous value for money, considering the whisky has been matured in cask for around 18 years.
Krishna Nukala has submitted a new E-pistle; it is the report of his visit to Paul John distillery in Goa, India. Please click Here to read the article.
Scotland
Faultline Blended Scotch Whisky (750ml) $24.99 View
K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA
The Chicago Independent Spirits Expo Returns for a 6th year on
September 21st, 2016 at the Chicago Hilton Hotel
For the 6th year, the world largest gathering of small, independent & artisanal brands will converge on Chicago, much to the delight of spirits enthusiasts everywhere. What started out as just three small brands conducting a tasting in a bar in New York City over 10 years ago has now grown to become one of the most anticipated underground spirit tastings on the planet. The brainchild of Dave Schmier, former owner of Redemption Rye & Temptation Bourbon whiskey brands, and Martin C. Duffy, U.S. Brand Representative for Glencairn Crystal and former Sr. Masters of Whisky for Diageo, the Indie Spirit Expos has taken place in San Francisco, New York City, Las Vegas and New Orleans (during the fabled Tales of the Cocktail week). Now the Windy City hosts the grandest of them all!
The CISE provides members of the service industry as well as consumers an opportunity to meet the new wave of creative & innovated distillers, bottlers, importers and distributors as they sample & speak about their spirits. Attendees will be able to chose from over 500 spirits within the major liquor categories of vodka, gin, rum, tequila, mescal, whisk(e)y, liqueurs and even drink mixers from around the world.
According to Mr. Schmier, “The Chicago Indie Spirits Expo is a direct response to both the growing interest in craft spirits among consumers and the growth of craft distillers and other spirits entrepreneurs.” Co-producer Martin Duffy, after experiencing Schmier’s New York event in 2011, convinced his friend to bring the Expo to City of Big Shoulders. “Chicago has always been a progressive drinking town, so it only seemed logical to bring this event here and make it the biggest and best event of its kind”, said Duffy. ”Plus, it is a great chance to highlight the best of the Midwest’s own burgeoning distilling community.”
The 2014 Chicago Independent Spirits Expo will feature over 130 exhibitors sampling over 500 different artisanal and independent spirits from all over the world (The USA, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, France, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) to over 1200 key bartenders, F&B managers, bar owners, distributors, importers, retailers and spirit aficionados coming from all over the North America and beyond.
Just a sample of the brands that were showcased at last year’s event:
THE INDUSTRY ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION
A feature unique to the Chicago Indie Spirits Expo from the other ISEs is the addition of The industry roundtable Discussions. Held the afternoon of the Expo in The Buckingham Room of the Chicago Hilton Hotel & Tower, the industry round table discussion (12 noon to 2pm) is a select panel of spirit producers, retailers, distributors and others from various levels of the spirits industry who discuss the current trends, topics, opportunities and challenges that face small spirits brands in the current market place. These round table discussions are open only to VIP ticket holders, exhibitors and media.
This year’s panel will include:
FOR TICKETS ~
Tickets for the Chicago Independent Spirits Expo include two options:
VIP ticket ~ $85.00 ~ allows access to the round table discussions, seminars plus early admission to the tasting session at 4:30pm.
General Admission ticket ~$65.00 ~ grants you entry to the tasting session from 6:30pm to close at 9:00pm.
A portion of all ticket sales will go to our charitable partner.
Purchase Tickets here ~ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2016-chicago-indie-spirits-expo-tickets-24260637219
For press & media passes, please contact the organizers at indiepspirit@gmail.com.
For online Exhibitor Registration – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2016-chicago-indies-spirits-expo-exhibitor-registration-tickets-23597446598
Please visit our Facebook event page for updated brand listings, satellite events and to contact the organizers ~
KILKERRAN 12 YEAR OLD 46% 70% BOURBON CASKS 30% SHERRY CASKS
It’s finally here the first fully aged Kilkerran single malt from Glengyle distillery.
Price per bottle is 36.00
As we expect demand to be high for this first release, and to allow as many as possible to purchase a bottle, we have a limit of 2 bottles per customer today as we have both on-line and shop sales to allocate during the 12th of August Event (We hope to be able to lift this once the next bottling run arrives later this month).
In the last Newsletter we covered the history from 1872 to early 2004 when the distillery opened. The first distillation date was March 25th 2004, this was when the first official distilled spirit came off the stills.
A lot of things have happened in the world since the opening of the distillery! We have seen off 3 PM’s in No 10 with a 4th now in place; the banking crisis in 2007/8; Austerity in 2010; Boris Johnson (Will that Man ever go?); we had the Olympic Games in London; we moved from Covent Garden; I spent best part of a year in Romania (Now that’s a country worth visiting); we had a vote in Scotland to leave the UK (ish) and we have had decades of anti EU bashing going on and on and on until finally the UK left (or they say we will leave!). We had all those who pushed to leave get what they wanted only to realise the enormity of the task so ALL resigned to avoid putting into place something they had no idea how to! Interest rates have been historically low for the banks but not so much for the rest of us!
We have had good things happen in the whisky industry as more and more distilleries opened or expanded, with the growth rate in Ireland one of the most impressive. A side issue to the growth has been the emergence of NAS whiskies (No Age Statement) with premium prices.
During all this and more Kilkerran kept on ageing away quietly, as it did, some experiments in distillation styles had taken place along with a whole range of woods. Let’s call them Kilkerriments (TM).
The first release of Kilkerran happened 5 years after the first distillation, it was called Work in Progress (WIP), with further annual releases until the final WIP last year that sold out all too quickly leaving us with a gap while we awaited the 12 year old
The official tasting notes are as follows…
NOSE: Oak notes are dominant followed by toasted Marshmallows and dried fruit, as well as cherries, marzipan and a hint of peat.
PALATE: initially fruity with citrus notes and orange peel after this comes vanilla, butterscotch with honeycomb and digestive biscuits can all be tasted and enjoyed.
FINISH: Velvet smooth with Lemmon meringue, there’s an oiliness and saltiness that you expect from a good Campbeltown malt.
So folks it’s here and ready to buy but don’t panic we have good supplies for the release day with more coming in shortly, so we can meet the demand with a 2 bottle per order limit that’s only in place while stocks last. Once we have passed through the initial rush stocks will be replenished by the end of August.
Stephen at Cadenhead’s London Shop
The 2nd Dornoch Whisky Festival takes place 28-30 October 2016. We are delighted to be joined by Charles Maclean who will open the weekend’s festivities by leading a tasting prior to the showing of ‘The Angel’s Share’ in Balbair Distillery, to an exclusive audience of 16. This is just one of 30 events which include Gala Dinners, a Grand Tasting, visits to Distilleries, a ceilidh and a golf competition on Royal Dornoch. On-line booking now open at www.dornochwhiskyfestival.com
Celebrity spirits – pet project or moneymaker?
George Clooney, Matthew McConaughey, Mila Kunis and even Danny DeVito. Are stars attracted to spirit brands because they believe in the product, or just the money?
Early in the film Lost in Translation, Bill Murray’s character, an over-the-hill American actor in Japan to endorse Suntory whisky, is shooting an advert. He sits silently while the director yells instructions (in Japanese), with a translator on hand for guidance. With limited understanding, Murray delivers his lines only to be cut off repeatedly by the fiery director. The scene is genius because of Murray’s discomfort, his suspicion of the translator, and his general mood sat in a tuxedo endorsing whisky for a quick buck.
Whenever I see a celebrity endorse an alcohol brand, I always wonder if they went through a similar experience to Murray’s character. Earlier this month, when Matthew McConaughey was announced as the new ‘creative director’ for Wild Turkey bourbon, he made a convincing case that he is more than just a celebrity spokesman: releasing a six-minute (admittedly stirring) video of him walking through the distillery while narrating in his trademark southern accent. He promises to have his ‘hands in the clay’ and ‘wants to be a part of the whole story’ – an elaborate exaggeration or genuine passion?
I think McConaughey is convincing, but I’ve laid out some more examples of celebrities who have dipped their toes into the world of spirits. The question is: are they just wooed by the cash, or are they credible?
In 2014, Jim Beam changed its brand ambassador from country-rock singer Kid Rock to Hollywood star Mila Kunis. One of her first videos was an entertaining montage of landmarks in American history with flashes of Jim Beam logos and memorabilia. The ads are a success and I think that Kunis is a confident host and brand ambassador, but I have a difficult time believing that the Friends with Benefits star is a genuine bourbon fan.
Cash or credible? Cash.
Mila Kunis with Jim Beam master distiller Fred Noe
This month J. & G. Grant introduce the final limited edition to the Family Collector Series, the Glenfarclas 1976 40 Years Old VI. George S. Grant, Sales Director and 6th generation of the family reaches his 40th birthday today and what better way to celebrate than launch a special whisky for the occasion! Matured in our finest Sherry Casks, this bottling produced a total of 1,500 bottles at 43.7%, which will be available worldwide in the upcoming months.
Born in 1976, George takes great pleasure in sharing the last of the 1976 Glenfarclas casks with you. He is passionate about Glenfarclas and particularly enjoys introducing whisky lovers to these older expressions of Glenfarclas, those distilled by his grandfather and watched over by his father. He comments “The 1970s was a key time period in Glenfarclas history as this is when my grandfather decided to push sales of Glenfarclas single malt, combined with my father’s efforts in appointing distributors around the world”. Today the 5th & 6th generations of the Grant family can enjoy the fruits of their labour as they complete the Family Collector Series with the fantastic Glenfarclas 1976 40 Years Old VI.
2016 has certainly been an eventful year with a number of new vintage releases from the distillery. Glenfarclas is proud to show a commitment to age statement whiskies in an evolving market where keeping it classic yet creative presents an exciting challenge. We hope you enjoy this special Glenfarclas 1976 40 Years Old as much as George Grant will on his birthday
