Scotland
1998 Ben Nevis 15 Year Old Fresh Sherry Butt Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky (750ml) $199.99 View
Benriach 12 Year Old Sherry Wood Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $49.99 View
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
MARCH PREVIEWS: SLIGHTLY WICKED SWEET TREATS
Warming cinnamon fragrance, buttery pastry melting in the mouth, fingers sticky with glaze; today’s preview bottlings are whispering sweet nothings to entice you to their sides. Whether you’re smitten with sherry (9.104) or seduced by Sauternes (5.49), give in to temptation and embrace your object of desire before they vanish in Friday’s general release…
Spicy & sweet
44.72 Slightly wicked sweet treats
The nose has slightly wicked sweet treats (iced ginger cake, cinnamon swirl), plus pot-pourri, leather tobacco pouches and nuts. The taste combines walnut cake, honey and toffee apple sweetness with suggestions of earthy, woody notes…
Age: 12 years
Cask: Refill ex-bourbon barrel
Price: £46.70
Old & dignified
9.104 Lychee martini
Mixed green salad, followed by wild boar stew and Comice pear on the nose neat, whilst on the palate smoky apple and honey glazed ham. Diluted; chargrilled balsamic vegetable skewers and in the finish…
Age: 27 years
Cask: Refill ex-sherry butt
Price: £129.90
Juicy, oak & vanilla
5.49 Lady of the night
Fruity Aromas were soon followed by the perfumed floral scent of orchids. Hot and almost over-the-top sweet perfumed flavours neat. Diluted, much more balanced; spicy and sweet and puff pastry with cinnamon sugar…
Age: 12 years
Cask: Second fill ex-Sauternes hogshead
Price: £46.70
Please note: This is a limited release from March’s Outturn, full release on Friday 4 March.
Browse Current Outturn >
Browse All Bottlings >
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
Glenburgie 1974 – 32 Year Old
A rare limited edition whisky, one of only 324 individually numbered bottles. This special malt was distilled in 1974 and aged for 32 years, before being bottled at cask strength, 55.9% vol.
Exceptionally fine’[1] Lagavulin™ marks 200th anniversary
Celebrated Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky distillery releases an Eight Year Old bottling in honour of original whisky scribe Alfred Barnard
2016 is a year of celebration for Lagavulin, treasured around the world as one of the most special of all Single Malt Scotch Whiskies. Famous for its majestic nose of Hebridean peat smoke, richly textured and complex flavours and its long, sweet and power-driven finish , it encapsulates the passion, heritage and skills that lie behind its crafting . The bi-centennial activities start with the launch of a special limited edition bottling of Lagavulin 8 Year Old in honour of Britain’s most famous Victorian whisky writer, Alfred Barnard.
In the late 1880s, Alfred Barnard, the first ever whisky journalist and traveller, sampled an 8 Year Old Lagavulin during a visit to Islay, describing it as “exceptionally fine” and ‘held in high repute’. He went on the declare Lagavulin to be “one of the most prominent” of the few Scotch Distillers that can turn our spirit for use as single [Malt] Whiskies.
Dr Nick Morgan, Diageo’s Head of Whisky Outreach said: “This is a special year for a much loved Single Malt Scotch Whisky revered around the world as the definitive Islay whisky. There are a variety of plans across the year to bring people to Islay and bring Islay to as many people from around the globe as possible. We are thrilled to begin the celebrations for such an historic occasion with the launch of the first Lagavulin 8 Year Old for many years.”
Georgie Crawford, distillery manager at the Lagavulin distillery adds: “Although many things have stayed the same since Alfred Barnard first came to see us on Islay, visitors to the distillery will also notice some changes to mark this special year. We welcome you all to visit us and see for yourselves.”
Lagavulin has delighted generations of whisky drinkers and this Lagavulin 8 Year Old acknowledges the 200 year legacy of this distillery. Cramped and chaotic by nature, this sea front distillery can never be expanded and therefore demand often exceeds supply. In the words of Alfred Barnard, ’no prettier or more romantic spot could have been chosen for a distillery.’
The release of the limited edition Lagavulin 8 Year Old is the start of the Lagavulin 200 celebrations. This specially developed whisky will be released twice during the course of the year. 2016 will see more events throughout the year to observe this milestone birthday.
NOTES
Tasting notes:
Nose: Immediately quite soft with clean, fresh notes, faint hints of milk chocolate and lemon and then developing fragrant tea-scented smoke alongside nose-drying, maritime aromas, with subtle cereal. A prickliness seen earlier now develops, while the trademark Lagavulin dryness emerges as fresh newsprint. Softly sooty. Softer, fuller and more rounded with water: it’s not hugely fruity but there’s just a trace of red berry preserve, perhaps, beneath the smokiness, which comes sharply into focus.
Body: Light, growing pleasantly oily.
Palate: A soothing light texture, with a magnificently full on Lagavulin taste that’s somehow even bigger than you expect; sweet, smoky and warming, with a growing, smoky pungency, then dry, with more smoke. Charred, with minty, dark chocolate. Beautifully balanced midpalate then salty, oven-charred baked potato skins and smoke. Water rounds things, the taste still mighty yet more succulent, sweeter, spicier and now tongue-tingling, mint-fresh and warming.
Finish: Lovely; clean, very long and smoky. Smoothly, subtle minted smoke surrounds chocolate tannins, leaving a late drying note to emerge in time. It’s warming, soft and still smoky with water, not as long or intense now, yet still leaving the palate dry as sweet smoke lingers on the breath.
The origins of Lagavulin
Local records suggest that Lagavulin was already a centre of whisky production in the early 18th century.
So there had almost certainly been many other illicit stills before John Johnston founded the first legal distillery at Lagavulin Bay in 1816. As with all Scottish distilleries, it passed through the hands of different owners, including the celebrated Sir Peter Mackie, whose company became White Horse Distillers, forever associated with Lagavulin. White Horse joined The Distillers Company Ltd. (eventually Diageo) in 1927. In 1989, Lagavulin, now normally bottled at 16 years rather than the original 12, became one of the six Classic Malts of Scotland™.
About Diageo:
Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JεB, Buchanan’s and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.
Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.
The LAGAVULIN word and associated logos are trade marks. © 2016
Visit malts.com for further information.
[1] Alfred Barnard noted in his book, The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom (1887)
Our February auction is now LIVE!
To find out more, please email info@whisky.auction, call Enrico Gaddoni on +44 (0)20 8838 9381 or visit the website www.whisky.auction.
Our latest auction is now live and will end on Tuesday 8 March. The auction features some of best Islay whisky ever produced, a strong line-up of Irish whiskeys, a Johnnie Walker Blue Label Year of Monkey Set, and two Karuizawas available only at the distillery before Number One Drinks bought the remaining stock. You can also find never-released-for-sale miniatures, including Mortlach 75 Years Old, Glenlivet Generations Sample Set, Bowmore Devil’s Cask III and Black & White 60 Years Old. Look out for the following bottles, and good luck with your bids!
You can bid in two ways: either increase the highest bid by a fixed amount, or place your maximum bid straightaway – ideal if you can’t be online on the last day of our auction. Be the first to bid!
Get bidding, and good luck! The Whisky Auction team.
THE SPICE OF LIFE: FLAVOURFUL NEW RELEASES
Give life all its flavour with this sizzling selection of newcomers and choose the style you love most, be it bold spice, floral sophistication, comforting sweetness or ‘Properly good smoke!’. Brand new today or returning by the bottle for the first time, these appealing drops are from extremely popular distilleries and very limited in number; you heard it here first so pick one up before everyone else notices!
NEW ONLINE
Spicy & sweet
33.143 Thank you and goodnight!
Age: 8 years
£120.00 BUY >
Sweet, fruity & mellow
RARE RETURNS
50.75 Comfort and emotional warmth
Age: 25 years
£143.80 BUY >
Spicy & dry
121.76 Close shave from a tipsy barber
Age: 9 years
£46.10 BUY >
Light & delicate
29.177 Mind-Wandering
Age: 16 years
£72.50 BUY >
Lightly peated
The whole is greater than…
Age: 21 years
£82.10 BUY >
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
Banker’s Club Bourbon – Not much info is available on this newest bourbon to hit our shelves. There is a seemingly farfetched backstory on Reddit about a man, a bourbon business venture, and lost or stolen barrels, but who really knows? Check it out and tell us what you think.
Rebel Yell Variety 3-Pack – This is a steal of a deal. Try the American Whisky, Straight Bourbon, and Small batch Rye for nearly half the price of all three bottles individually!
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye – Rye whisky is making a comeback in a big way. It makes sense that one of the most iconic American whisky producers would join in on the party. Comprised of 70% rye, 18% corn, and 12% malted barley, it’s bottled at 94 proof.
Evan Williams Single Barrel TPS Private Barrel – Thank goodness that Heaven Hill has un-suspended their private barrel program! Leading off is this stellar single barrel of Evan Williams. It’s a smooth sipper with some serious stuffing. Non-chill filtered. Tasting notes below, under Private Barrels.
Bushmills 16 Year – The whisky is finished in bourbon, port, and sherry casks and it earned a Gold Medal at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. St Patrick’s Day is coming up, try something new and delicious!
Compass Box Flaming Heart – From Compass Box, “First released in 2006, Flaming Heart was the first whisky to combine the rich, complex spice of Scotch aged in new French oak with the evocative peat-fired smoke of Islay malt. It created a genre-defying style that was smouldering, spicy, complex – and so popular that we’ve re-released it four more times in the years that followed.” Natural color, non-chill filtered, 48.9% ABV.
Compass Box This is Not a Luxury Whisky – Again, From Compass Box, “Inspired by a 1929 surrealist artwork, ‘This is not a luxury Whisky’ is a compelling, lingering, complex Blended Scotch packaged in a style that we hope also poses questions about what it is that makes a luxury whisky a ‘luxury’. Complex, rich, lightly smoky and opulent. Sultanas, sweet sherry and concentrated floral notes combine with deep demerara sweetness, cacao and lighter creamy coconut character.” Natural color, non-chill filtered, 53.1% ABV.
Buchanan’s Master Blend – The personal creation of Buchanan’s Master Blender Keith Law, this is a whisky with a smooth sweetness and fresh and spicy notes on the tongue.
Knob Creek 50ml 3-Pack – Whether you’re a bourbon novice sampling all you can, or are buying for a true Jim Beam lover, what better way to check out the Knob Creek lineup than with this 3pk of 50 ml’s?
Jim Beam 50ml 6-Pack – Speaking of Jim Beam (see above), with this set you can try the bourbon and all the flavored bourbons Jim Beam offers!
95 Riviera Drive, Bellevue, KY 41073 (859) 291-4007
This week Joe Ellis reviews the Highland Park 15 Year Old Single Malt.
THE FAMOUS GROUSE APPOINTS NEW MASTER BLENDER
Kirsteen Campbell has been appointed to the role of Master Blender for The Famous Grouse, taking over from current Master Blender Gordon Motion this month.
Kirsteen has worked alongside Gordon for over 8 years and became Master Blender for Cutty Sark at the age of just 33.
Kirsteen will now become one of the few people allowed to share the secret of the unique blend of whiskies that combine to make The Famous Grouse. 43 million bottles of The Famous Grouse are produced each year, and it is exported to over 100 countries. It also holds the prestigious title of being the best-selling Blended Scotch in Scotland, and the UK.
The role involves managing the legendary ‘106 Sample Room’ at Edrington’s Blending Headquarters on Great Western Road. Here, an estimated 11,000 samples of single malts, grains and blends are stored – a working library for Edrington’s team of nosers lead by Gordon and Kirsteen. The team can nose up to 600 samples a day, hunting down the right aromas, colour and character needed to create The Famous Grouse blend.
Gordon Motion will remain at Edrington in his new role as Edrington Master Whisky Maker, and will focus on the company’s single malt portfolio, concentrating on Highland Park and The Glenturret Single Malts and including The Macallan.
Kirsteen Campbell said: “I feel very privileged to be taking on the role of Master Blender for The Famous Grouse. It is an exceptional blend and I’m looking forward to working with the team here to ensure we that we continue to deliver the quality and character expected of the UK’s number one selling blend.”
Gordon Motion commented: “Kirsteen is a very talented Master Blender and I’ve no doubt she will rise to this new challenge. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last six years as Master Blender for The Famous Grouse. My highlight would have to be when The Famous Grouse 40 Year Old was awarded the Trophy Award at the International Spirits Challenge in 2013, it was a very proud moment for me and the team.”
Kirsteen will continue in her role as Master Blender for Cutty Sark Blended Scotch Whisky.
Notes
The Famous Grouse (www.thefamousgrouse.com)
A marvel celebrating a bygone age: GlenDronach’s oldest-ever release in latest batch of single cask bottlings
In 1968, Harold Wilson was the British Prime Minister, the film 2001: A Space Odyssey was released and the Beatles were top of the charts with Hey Jude.
Also that year, GlenDronach cask number 5837 was filled with Highland spirit, laid down and left to mature in a quiet corner of the Aberdeenshire distillery.
Almost half a century later, it is today (17 February) the glittering centrepiece of GlenDronach’s latest batch of rare single cask bottlings…as it is their oldest-ever release with just 301 bottles filled from the cask.
“This marvel is an amazing, venerable and exceptionally rare whisky,” says Master Blender Billy Walker, “and it is sure to become one of our most sought-after bottlings.
“We only have a few casks of the legendary 1968 vintage left in our inventory and they are extraordinary survivors from a golden, bygone age of whisky production. Today we are thrilled and delighted to present this remarkable expression in Batch 13 to our customers worldwide.”
The 47 years old heavyweight is, in appearance, dark oak edged with rich crimson. On the nose, intense, full-bodied aromas of dark treacle, sour plums and rich prune syrup combine with fragrant herbal notes and faint cigar smoke. On the palate, an impactful sherried character is laden with dark prunes and molasses while a torrent of vibrant orange bitters and dark espresso holds hints of eucalyptus and pine needles.
Eight other spectacular malts are included in Batch 13. They all share GlenDronach’s robust and richly-sherried signature taste complemented by mouth-watering notes of treacle, plums, apricot, figs, damsons and currants…even with intriguing hints of red chilli, chocolate raisins and vintage leather!
As a contrast to the 47 years old, the youngest is a zingy 12 years old from cask number 5521, at 57.3% vol. On the nose, dark fruit cake infused with hints of stem ginger syrup, orange bitters and notes of toasted walnuts. On the palate, sumptuous depths of sweet dates and ripe figs hold a crisp oak and herbal balance complementing the rich sherry character.
All nine are presented in beautiful gift boxes.
Master Distiller Billy Walker added: “This is what aged sherry-matured whisky is all about – gorgeous colouring, luscious fruity aromas, rich sherry and dark chocolate flavours combining brilliantly to create sweet, gutsy and utterly memorable malts.”
The full cask details are as follows:
1968 cask # 5837 / 47 years old / Pedro Ximenez Sherry Hogshead / 45.9% vol.
1991 cask # 2361 / 24 years old / Oloroso Sherry Butt / 53.1% vol.
1992 cask # 76 / 23 years old / Oloroso Sherry Butt / 52.0% vol.
1993 cask # 40 / 23 years old / Oloroso Sherry Butt / 58.5% vol.
1994 cask # 3274 / 21 years old / Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon / 53.1% vol.
1995 cask # 3047 / 20 years old / Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon / 48.6% vol.
2002 cask # 4651 / 13 years old / Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon / 54.8% vol.
2003 cask # 930 / 12 years old / Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon / 53.4% vol.
2004 cask # 5521 / 12 years old / Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon / 57.3% vol.
All nine bottlings will be available soon at your local specialist retailer.
For more information, visit http://www.glendronachdistillery.co.uk/
