Ballindalloch, March 2016

J & G. Grant proudly announce the release of the Glenfarclas 50 Years Old, which now joins the special Collector Series as the third edition of this limited family range. This expression represents the third generation of the Grants of Glenfarclas, George Grant (1874-1949), who inherited the distillery alongside his brother John, leading to the formation of their private family company J. & G. Grant at the turn of the nineteenth century.

The Glenfarclas 50 Years Old has been matured in the typical Glenfarclas style in ex Oloroso Sherry Casks, producing 937 bottles to be sold worldwide. A non-chill filtered bottling at 41.1%, on the nose it reveals wonderful fresh sweet sherry with an unexpected youthful aroma from such a whisky of its age. With time in the glass, hints of crème caramel and butterscotch develop. Its flavour reveals an assertive spiciness but never overpowering followed by treacle toffee, chocolate ice-cream and sherry soaked raisins. On the finish, a wonderful balance of sherry, spiced fruits and cinnamon and aneverlasting sweetness which you would expect from 50 years in our finest sherry casks.

  The bottle is presented in a black leather box with a silver emblem of George Grant, third generation of the family and features III in Roman numerals etched underneath. As a matter of holding true to traditions, the Grants have created yet another vintage whisky from treasured casks dating back to the 1960s. Bottled in late 2015, this expression is set to create much curiosity and intrigue for collectors around the globe.

George Grant, Glenfarclas Sales Director, comments “we’re very excited to have reached the half way mark in our Family Collector Series. Thanks to my family’s foresight in laying down stock for the future, today we’re able to enjoy impressive age statements which is certainly a luxury worth sharing!”

www.glenfarclas.co.uk

NEW TO THE PARTY

Widow Jane 10yr Bourbon – The 8 year was excellent, and this 10 year is even better. We’re excited to see a new product from this great NY distillery.

Sonoma County Cask Strength Rye and 2nd Chance Wheat Whiskey – Sonoma County Distillery works from grain to glass using direct fire pot stills. It’s an old school way to make delicious traditional whiskey.

11 Wells Prototype Bourbon 375ml and Rye 375ml – The founders of 11 Wells are keeping true to their origins in Minnesota. The Prototype line is unique in that different types of wheat and rye will be used and market tested. They want to hear what you think, so help them make good whisky great!

Redemption Rye 8 Year Barrel Proof – It’s back and as big as ever. This is the limited top-shelf selection from Redemption and comes in at full cask strength.

Wild Turkey Forgiven – Be sure to stock up if this is one of your go-to Wild Turkey whiskies. We are told Wild Turkey will be discontinuing Forgiven as a regular item, and it will become a once a year limited time offering from here on. Get it while the gettin’ is good!

Jack Daniels Honey and Fire Combo Set – What a convenient way to try JD Honey and JD Fire. One combo pack, a couple mixers, and some friends and you have a party.

Jack Daniels Glass Set – For the same price of a fifth of Jack, you can get two designated JD drinking glasses!

Ardbeg 10 Year Glass Set – The packaging looks like a bottle of Ardbeg and two glasses were the original test products to be frozen in carbonite on Cloud City, right before Han Solo. It’s a cool package and the Scotch is the same awesome Islay malt it’s always been.

Rosebank 23 Year Gordon & MacPhail – You are reading that correct, TPS has some Rosie in stock. Ok, so it’s not Port Ellen, but it’s also not $2,500 either. Here’s one of the greats. Keep it in mind for your best client, or chip in with some friends and taste a bit before it’s gone forever.

Gordon & MacPhail Arrivals – See here for our replenished stock of G&M bottlings.

Arran – We restocked these awesome single malts from the lesser known Isle of Arran. Check out what’s back.

Glenmorangie w 50ml – This is a great scotch to keep on hand, and in doing so you get to try a 50ml of two of their higher end selections. One is the sherry cask finished Lasanta, and the other is the port cask finished Quinta Rubin

Benromach 10yr 50ml – If you’re heading on a flight, love scotch, and don’t want to pay $8 for a 50ml of Dewars, fear not. Take as many of these Benromach 50mls, in a quart sized plastic bag, in your carry-on as you wish. You can buy toothpaste anywhere, pack minis to make your flight a little smoother.

John Barr Blended Scotch – Here’s a historical label of blended scotch. Now owned by the master scotch blenders of Whyte and McKay, it’s a super smooth blend that is good on its own, or will undoubtedly make a great scotch and soda.

www.thepartysource.com

95 Riviera Drive, Bellevue, KY 41073  (859) 291-4007

EASTER FEAST: £20 OFF BOTTLES £80 & OVER 

CUDDLE UP TO CHOCOLATE

Deep, rich & dried fruits

1.193 Gleeful & goluptious
Was £85.80
NOW £65.80 

Sweet, fruity & mellow

50.75 Comfort and emotional warmth
Was £143.80
NOW £123.80

Old & dignified

63.34 Artists and antique shops
Was £107.00
NOW £87.00

Spicy & dry

50.61 A fickle date in no haste
Was £101.60
NOW £81.60

NOT ANOTHER EASTER EGG!

Sweet, fruity & mellow

64.68 Through a pine forest in fluffy slippers
Was £115.60
NOW £95.60

Juicy, oak & vanilaa

48.49 Herbal enough to please a gerbil
Was £92.60
NOW £72.60 

Oily & coastal

4.217 Nordic Nosh
Was £90.70
NOW £70.70 

Spicy & sweet

37.61 Refreshing and relaxing
Was £119.30
NOW £99.30 

Browse Current Outturn >
Browse All Bottlings >

*£20 discount available online only on single bottles over £80, until Wednesday 16 March and not in conjunction with any other offer, or on already discounted products such as bundles.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm).

Visit the Society at here for membership information This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Dramming Perth in Perth!

We gathered again at Exel Wines in Perth (good pals of ours) on Thursday for another tasting sesh of good drams. Peter Mackay was our host, from MORRISON & MACKAY. Independent Scotch Whisky Merchants and Producers, based in the heart of Perthshire, family owned and managed. So what was on the menu? We started with the Bruadar whisky liqueur, to be honest, didnee like it, am no a big fan of liqueurs, so I moved on quickly to … Old Perth 4^th release. Chill filtered at 43%, have tried earlier batches and I can say hand on heart, this is the best so far, some of the make up of this blend have obviously aged since batches 1 – 3.  A good starter whisky for the beginner, based on the old Peter Thompson blend, its main core is Aultmore, Blair Atholl and Ailsa Bay, so cannee be bad!  This is their own blend and proving to be a good seller.

Moving on, next up was another Old Perth – my favourite from this family – the Sherry cask. Again 43%, 3 malts are hidden in this blend, nae grain. Glentauchers, Glenfarclas and Ailsa Bay, as the label shows, 3 different barrels, my own thoughts were; a younger brother to GlenDronach, like this a lot.

The final Old Perth was the Peaty version. The first (limited edition) release, couple of thousand bottles on this batch. Not an overpowering dram – for non peaty lovers; get them one of these. A really interesting story on the label – buy it to see – liked this also. We broke here for nibbles, I must admit, Peter and myself devoured the mini sausages (sorry Liz). A good time to chat, munch and look forward to the next three. First came a Tobermory 2008. If honest, far too young from this distillery for me, Tob (in my view) needs be min 15 years plus to be worthy, moving on … MORTLACH 1999 ah, nectar to my moothy. What can I say that hasnee been said already? A superb 16 year old, one of 520 bottles from M&M. Need say no more on this.

Caol Ila 2008, no too sweet, placed in a cask that had been enlarged with a few extra staves, a real nice light peaty dram, not the heavy peat of some Islay malts. I WOULD SAY BEST DRAMS OF THE NIGHT were Mortlach then Old Perth Sherry – but… Peter then brought out a surprise bottle to end on (always a good trick, have done it myself), a 28 year old Macallan! Oh boy did this hit my senses, a superb silky smooth dram, this bottle was 22/240, I wanted to buy one … sorry all gone, gone for good. From the Black Gold range, this was maybe £500 ish when available, if there are any left anywhere, I reckon maybe £1500 – £2000 by now. Here’s what you could have won!  I offered to by the remainder but was given a hard look by Peter, oh well.

Another good evening in Perth, thanks to Peter and Keron (exel).

PAUL MCLEAN  http://www.whiskytours.scot/   http://www.mcleanscotland.com/

C’EST MAGNIFIQUE! 

Hip flask filling service and special whisky launched for rugby fans 

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) has launched a hip flask filling service and a special whisky called ‘C’est Magnifique’ for rugby fans in Edinburgh for Sunday’s Six Nations clash between Scotland and France.

To celebrate the match between the Auld Alliance, the SMWS is inviting rugby fans to visit its 28 Queen Street whisky bar in the heart of the city to fill up their hip flasks with the 34-year-old single malt whisky ‘C’est Magnifique’ or try a dram of it.

The hip flask filling service is available to visiting rugby fans in the run-up to the match at Murrayfield at the 28 Queen Street bar, which is now open to all whisky fans, having previously been open to members only.

Jan Damen, Operations Director for the Society, said: “The Auld Alliance might be under threat for 80 minutes on the pitch this weekend, but we’re doing our best to ensure it’s a temporary interruption by offering fans a chance to top up their hip flasks with the very best Scotland has to offer. And we all know the French love a drop of whisky as much as the Scots!”

Throughout the weekend, rugby fans can bring their hip flasks to 28 Queen Street and fill up with ‘C’est Magnifique’, or any other whisky from the Society’s collection.

Prices for one dram start from £4.60  

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, 28 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JX

www.smws.com 

@SMWSQueenStreet

Notes: 

About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society 

• The Scotch Malt Whisky Society releases new whiskies for its members each month
• 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

Jim Beam announces first-ever global packaging redesign

Jim Beam®, the world’s No.1 bourbon, has undergone a transformation with all-new global packaging, marking the first time significant changes have been made to the brand in decades. As of mid-2016, the Jim Beam portfolio will have a unified, premium look in more than 100 markets around the world. Maxxium UK is rolling out the new packs from March, beginning with Jim Beam Bourbon followed by Jim Beam flavours, including Jim Beam Apple, Jim Beam Honey, Jim Beam Maple and Red Stag by Jim Beam, Jim Beam Rye and Jim Beam Devil’s Cut.

This global packaging upgrade comes two years after the launch of Make History®, the first global marketing campaign for the iconic American brand, which traces its history to 1795. The updated bottle and exterior styling will better represent the premium bourbon inside, which is not changing and still follows the same Jim Beam family recipe used during the past two centuries. This redesign will contemporise the Jim Beam brand while celebrating its rich heritage at a time when American Whiskey is performing at +9.6% MAT volume in the UK.

The new Jim Beam bottle has a bolder structure with a clean label design featuring premium finishes, refreshed distiller portraits and a refined “rosette” logo, harmonising the flavoured product range. Jim Beam Devil’s Cut and Jim Beam Rye feature a bolder, more rectangular bottle structure with premium label enhancements, including extra fine detailing, crafted borders, real gold foil finishes, refined embossing and matte paper stock. It also includes a matte finished shrink sleeve along the closure.

Maxxium UK’s Marketing Controller for Imported Whiskey, Janice McIntosh, says: “We are continuing to Make History in 2016 with the launch of Jim Beam’s new, unified, premium packaging that reflects the quality and heritage that goes into every bottle.

“In the UK, Jim Beam is performing strongly with volume sales of the portfolio +10.2% MAT. The new packaging design comes at the perfect time for the brand as more consumers continue to discover Jim Beam, helping to grow the bourbon category. The new packs support our customers as they take advantage of the bourbon boom and meet shopper demand for premium, quality brands with heritage.”

Seventh Generation Master Distiller and Jim Beam’s Great-Grandson, Fred Noe: “This represents another historic milestone in my family’s history. I’ve always been proud to see the faces of every Beam Master Distiller displayed on Jim Beam bottles across the world and these bottles feel even better in my hands when pouring this fine bourbon.”

The new packaging for the Jim Beam portfolio will be available on shelves from April in the UK. This includes Jim Beam Bourbon, Jim Beam Apple, Jim Beam Honey, Jim Beam Maple, Red Stag by Jim Beam, Jim Beam Rye and Jim Beam Devil’s Cut.

As an ongoing evolution of Jim Beam’s successful Make History campaign, the premium packaging launch is being supported with in-store point of sale showcasing the upgraded bottles and advertising featuring global brand partner, Mila Kunis.

Additional packaging imagery and information is featured on the Jim Beam Twitter page @JimBeamUK.

Introducing some of the most collectable Glenfarclas whiskies available anywhere, including the new and highly limited 50 year old! Glenfarclas is one of the few family run distilleries remaining in Scotland, and it is fiercely committed to principles of tradition and innovation in the field of Scottish malt whisky. This commitment is reflected in the reputation the distillery holds in the whisky community, being very highly regarded by whisky connoisseurs.

Glenfarclas 50 year old

The third edition in this special collectors series from The Glenfarclas distillery. Matured in an ex Oloroso Sherry Cask, The Glenfarclas 50 Year Old has been bottled at 41.1% abv and limited to only 937 bottles worldwide. The bottle is presented in a black leather box with a silver emblem of George Grant, third generation of the family and features III in Roman numerals etched underneath. A wonderful balance of sherry, spiced fruits and cinnamon and an everlasting sweetness which you would expect from 50 years in their finest sherry casks.

£1850 Click to buy

Glenfarclas 1960 Family Cask

The Family Casks are a unique collection of the best single casks from the distillery’s warehouses. Launched in 2007, the collection initially comprised 43 single cask bottlings, with one cask from every year from 1952 to 1994. Official Tasting Notes: This 1960 single cask is heavy in rich cocoa beans. An old fashioned Gentleman’s Club with Chesterfield chairs, polished banisters and old wood panels. Bottled 2013 from cask 1770. One of 166 bottles. Delightful!

£2025 Click to buy

View the full range

Glenfarclas 105 20 year old

Glenfarclas 105 20 year old is a great single malt whisky, which embodies all the typical characteristics of Glenfarclas in a glass. The 20 year old expression of the popular Glenfarclas 105 is bottled at Cask Strength. A limited release, and an interesting progression from the standard bottling. Official Tasting notes: Strong, oaky and christmas spices on the nose, which is then unusually sweet and smooth on tasting, especially considering the 60%abv tag. Chocolate and yet more spices, leads to a long finish, sweet and wintery.

£195 Click to buy

Glenfarclas 25 year old

Since 1865 Glenfarclas has been owned and managed by just one family, the Grants of Glenfarclas. To this day Glenfarclas is one of only a few distilleries in Scotland to remain family owned and managed and is now in the hands of the fifth and sixth generation of the family. The Grants remain committed to the vision of creating the best quality Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky.

Glenfarclas is renowned for producing Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky in the traditional Speyside style, with a heavy Sherry influence and one of the delights of Glenfarclas is exploring the subtle differences between the different expressions.

£140 Click to buy

Glenfarclas 1994 Whisky Shop Exclusive

Bottled exclusively for The Whisky Shop and limited to only 1200 bottles. Bottled at 43% volume. Winner of the coveted Liquid Gold award in the 2016 Jim Murray Whisky Bible – scoring an imprssive 95.5 points:

Jim Murray Tasting Notes: Very close in character and quality with to distillery’s latest official 1994 release. Which means it’s not far off God’s gift to present day sherried malt whisky…

£84 Click to buy

The Perfect Gift

Glenfarclas 2000 gift box selection:

This single malt Scotch whisky was specially selected for The Whisky Shop, and is an utter delight from start to finish – a juicy, fruity, playful, classic Speyside whisky. There is enough Glenfarclas character here for fans of the distillery to love it. But this is also a great way to start your exploration in to the distillery if you are not yet familiar with it. A great malt. Accompanied by two award winning Glencairn whisky glasses and housed in a luxurious presentation box.

£80 Click to buy

YUKON BREWING LAUNCHES TWO BREWERS WHISKY 02 IN ALBERTA

Release 01 Sold Out In Under Six Hours On Release Day

WHITEHORSE, YUKON (February 22, 2016) -­ Award Winning Brewery, Yukon Brewing will be launching their second whisky expression, on March 5, 2016 in Whitehorse Yukon, and in select locations in Alberta.

“We have created a wide assortment of malts by varying mashes and barreling techniques, and I truly believe we are creating very flavourful and high quality single malt whiskies.” stated distiller Alan Hansen.

Two Brewers Release 02, a Special Finish expression, will be the first Two Brewers Yukon Single Malt Whisky to be released in Alberta, after their Charter Release sold out in less than six hours at their Whitehorse retail location. “We are extremely appreciative of the support we have received from our fellow Yukoners on releasing our Yukon Single Malt Whisky,” quipped Alan Hansen. “We knew there was great interest in our product, but I was thrilled by the many smiling patrons I had the pleasure to meet at our launch event -­ most of whom were still smiling after waiting in line for an hour!” .

There will be 1650 individually numbered bottles of this Second Release available.

The premise of the Two Brewers line of single malt whiskies is that every release will be unique. From the array of aged malts they have created, they will release expressions broadly grouped into four categories, Classic, Peated, Special Finishes, and Innovative. Hansen revealed, “Our brewing knowledge in mashing and fermentation, and our growing understanding of barrelling techniques and effects, allows us to bring a wide variety of character to the malts we are creating.”

RELEASE 02 TASTING NOTES

The nose is warming and vibrant, rich aromas with a heart of peaches and stone fruit. Ripe nectar- ines, round and creamy on the palate, are wrapped at once in resins of sherried oak and bright touches of nutmeg and white pepper. The lightly lingering finish of sweet honey and spice is wispy clean.

ABOUT THE HOUSE OF TWO BREWERS

Yukon Brewing was formed by Bob Baxter and Alan Hansen in 1997, the result of a canoe trip conversation taken well beyond the campfire. After years of building a successful local craft brewery, they decided to expand into spirits and in 2009 invested in a small pot still. Hence came the birth of Two Brewers Yukon Single Malt Whisky;; made in small batches, with a variety of malted and roasted grains, using different fermentation techniques and a mix of barrels. The goal is that no two releases will be the same, so that as each expression emerges, it is layered and complex and probably never repeated.

March Auction *LIVE*

Ends Sunday 20th March 20.00 GMT

So far March has been an extremely busy month for us all at Just Whisky and it seems like just a few days ago our February auction came to a close! The quality of bottles to appear through the doors this month is just incredible. We have hundreds of bottles to bid on this month and we’re excited for the auction to begin. There is a particularly nice selection of Karuizawa bottles on offer this month. Included in that, we are lucky enough to auction one more Wealth Solutions 1964 Karuizawa, the incredibly rare (1 of 24) 5th Exclusive Nonjatta ‘Ghost Series’ bottling of Karuizawa showcasing four decades of the distillery’s past in a single bottle. Others include the highly decorative 35 year old Harbour City Exclusive bottle you see below and many more. Bidding starts at 6PM on Friday 11th (GMT) and comes to an end from 8PM on Sunday the 20th March. Here is a small selection of interesting Lots to whet your appetite …

Karuizawa 35 Years Old 1980 – Harbour City Exclusive

A fantastic release from Karuizawa from spirit distilled in 1980, which has a fabulous reputation among Karuizawa aficionados. This particular release comes in a beautiful piano black presentation case adorned with a woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi which is simply stunning.

The packaging adds a real sense of drama to this bottle, but the liquid inside is reputedly even more impressive. Limited to just 212 bottles and exclusive to Harbour City Hong Kong, it was bottled in 2015 from a single sherry butt (cask no. 4376) at a heady 60.1% vol.

Arran 18 Years Old 1997 – White Stag First Release

The tasting panel of Arran White Stags have chosen cask no: 1997/737 as a first ever official bottling of the White Stag community of the Arran friends worldwide. Distilled on the 23rd May 1997 and bottled on the 6th June 2015, this cask has been slumbering in Lochranza for 18 years in an outstanding example of a Sherry Hogshead matured Arran single malt.

This is an excellent start to the series of casks chosen exclusively by White Stags on behalf of the whole community.

Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt 1988 – ‘Cards’ Queen of Clubs

This is the Queen of Clubs from the highly collectable Cards series. Distilled in 1988 then matured until 2008 firstly in a Hogshead barrel and latterly in a a New American Oak Hogshead before bottling in 2008 by Sasanogawa. No Chill Filtering. No colouring. Imported by Number One Drinks Co. Ltd.

View the whole auction here – It ends Sunday 20^th March from 8PM

MARCH TASTINGS