www.ralfy.com visits the land of kashmir and curry with Whisky Review 572 – Amrut Two Continents malt @ 50%vol

New ticket sales record set as Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival events go on sale to whisky-loving public

Feb 4th, 2016. Ticket sales for the 2016 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival have set new records, with over 2,700 tickets valued at almost £75,000 being bought within the first hour of their launch this week.

Just 10 minutes after the website went live on Tuesday (February 2) transactions reached the same level that took an hour to achieve in 2015, while the same amount of sales in an hour took 24 hours on last year’s opening day.

Over 60 events in the packed programme taking place in whisky’s spiritual home from April 28 to May 2 have already sold out, and many more have limited availability.  The events attracts thousands of visitors to Speyside to raise a glass to Scotland’s national drink.

Visitors from the UK, Europe and North America have been the driving force behind the sales, with whisky lovers from as far afield as Bahrain, Australia, Japan and India also snapping up tickets on the opening day.

Festival manager Pery Zakeri says the phenomenal demand has taken everyone surprise, and there seems no sign of sales slowing down.

She adds, “We have had ticket sales from a total of 22 different countries and in the first 24 hours of going live we had reached a sales value of over £91,000.

“I think this just goes to show how eagerly anticipated the Festival is this year. We have garnered a fantastic reputation for putting on a world class event, and people are making sure they get in early to get tickets for the activities they really want.

“As with previous years, the exclusive distillery tours have sold out first. The real whisky aficionados are always looking for very special experiences that are only available at the time of the Festival, so tours of distilleries not normally open to the public, such as Strathmill and Dalmunach, were snapped up within minutes.

“However, with 467 different events on the programme from whisky tasting and blending experiences and from heritage walks to traditional ceilidhs, there are still plenty of tickets available.

“The beauty of the Spirit of Speyside Festival is that it is small enough to be incredibly friendly and welcoming, but big enough so that there is something for everyone. But we’d urge anyone thinking about coming to book their events soon as tickets are selling very quickly indeed.”

The Festival is taking part in Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, and many of the events are focused on the theme. There will be the chance to enjoy drams against the background of stunning architecture, and visitors will learn about the innovation born in the region which is home to the world’s best-loved whiskies.

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, says, “The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is always a massively popular event with visitors from around the world and we are delighted to see so many people eager to take advantage of the opportunity to sample this unique aspect of Scotland’s history and culture in 2016.

“Much more than simply whisky tasting, the Festival celebrates Scotland’s national drink with an exciting and innovative programme of events, and we’re confident that the hugely encouraging sales over these first 24 hours will be maintained ahead of the Festival over the coming months.”

Along with helping whisky fans organise their itineraries and finalising details of the Festival, organisers are balancing that with planning their new mini-festival in the autumn.

It takes place from September 9 to 11 at Elgin Town Hall, and will bring many of the region’s whisky producers together under one roof on their own doorstep from September 9 to 11. Tickets for that event are due to go on sale after the main Festival in May.

Tickets for all events in the 2016 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival programme are available to buy now at http://www.spiritofspeyside.com/ The Festival is also active on social media – facebook.com/WhiskyFestival and @spirit_speyside on Twitter and on Instagram.

Picture caption: You’ll find whisky galore here….X marks the spot for the nation’s treasure – the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.

Notes

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is committed to promoting responsible drinking. Visitors travelling to and from festival events can take advantage of a range of transport options. Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has received funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise and is also financially supported by many other private and public partners.

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2014 to 2020. The Scottish Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme.

Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design

2016 will shine a spotlight on Scotland’s achievements in innovation, architecture and design through a wide-ranging, variety of new and existing activity.

The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design will run from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016 and will build on the momentum generated by the 2015 Year of Food and Drink as well as previous years including Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.

Through a series of exciting events and activity, the year will showcase Scotland’s position as an “innovation nation”, its outstanding built heritage, and its thriving, internationally acclaimed fashion, textiles and design sector.

The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, supported by partners including Scottish Government, Creative Scotland, Architecture + Design Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).

The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate

It’s a leap year which means there’s one extra day to indulge in your favourite drams.  Happily we have seven new ones to choose from, so suit up and blast off into fabulous flavours!

CASK No. 112.10  A COMFORTING HUG IN A MUG

14 years old; refill barrel; 57.4%; Juicy, oak & vanilla

The nose balances sweetness (golden syrup, fudge) with vanilla and cereals – hints of cleaning cupboards disappear with water, leaving juicy tropical pleasures. The neat palate is lively and feisty – reduced it has delicious and comforting vanilla, marshmallows, strawberries and white chocolate.

CASK No. 1.196  SUNSHINE, MOTHERHOOD AND APPLE PIE

13 years old; 1st fill barrel; 57.2%; Sweet, fruity & mellow

The sweet, fruity nose (Turkish Delight, sherbet lemons, red lips, apples and pears) takes you to orchards and gardens. The palate is all sunshine, motherhood and apple pie – tart apple, sweet lollipop stick wood and Victoria sponge cake – easy and indulgent.

CASK No. 64.65  BITTER-SWEET AS LOST LOVE

14 years old; 1st fill barrel; 60.3%; Sweet, fruity & mellow

The nose offers salivating sweetness (toffee, marshmallows, Crunchie bars, maple syrup on ice-cream) and exotic fruits, which develop nicely with water. The bitter-sweet palate has lively, juicy fruits (kumquat, sherbet lemons, Caribbean punch), balsamic glaze, cinnamon, pickled ginger, vanilla and oak.

CASK No. 35.138  MISS AMERICAN PIE

20 years old; 1st fill toasted oak hogshead; 56.4%; Spicy & sweet

Cinnamon syrup over macaroons, liquorice, eucalyptus and American rye. Could music save their mortal souls from gingerbread laced with aniseed? Hints of dampened down bushfire smouldering with sweet perfume. Creamy coffee with orange zest on the day the music died.

CASK No. 39.111 TOTAL SHOCK!

15 years old; refill hogshead; 57.8%; Lightly peated

The nose has buttery cake mix, ginger biscuits, toasted tea-cakes and jam – but wait! – peat, wood-burning stoves and cockles in brine? The palate is smooth and sweet – but also peaty, salty, ashy and metallic – cooking burgers on a steam train shovel.

CASK No. 4.211  SUN, SAND, SURF AND SERENITY

24 years old; refill hogshead; 52.2%; Oily & coastal

Personality and character on the nose neat as well as on the palate. Aromas of barbecued langoustines, tarry ropes and ‘salty dog’ were followed by flavours of scallops wrapped in crispy pancetta whilst diluted a teasing perfumed smoke was released.

CASK No. 53.227  SWEET, SALTY AND SMOKY

18 years old; refill hogshead; 56.8%; Peated

Aromas of honeyed pork loin with lavender relish and mincemeat pie whilst the taste was that of broiled tuna steak. Water added a pork cutlet with a maple chipotle glaze and what seemed like a never-ending peat smoke/salty combo finish.

SMWS Canada

TICKETS SELLING FAST!

THE DATE

Friday 18th March & Saturday 19th March 2016

THE VENUE

The Honourable Artillery Company Armoury House, City Road, London EC1Y 2BQ

Whisky Live London returns to the Honourable Artillery Company once again, featuring over 100 fine whiskies for you to enjoy, more food and whisky pairings than ever before and a jam-packed schedule of Masterclasses! Whether a whisky enthusiast, a newcomer to the world of whisky, or just seeking a day out at a fantastic event, Whisky Live has something to offer everyone.

Whisky Live London runs over two days:

Friday 18th March 5pm to 10pm

Saturday 19th March 12 noon to 5pm

All tickets include entry to the show, samples of exhibited whiskies, hot food, served buffet-style, the Whisky Live tasting glass, food and whiskey combination samples and the Whisky Live show guide. VIP tickets include all of this PLUS an exclusive VIP Masterclass worth £25, VIP dining, entrance to the VIP Lounge and exclusive private VIP pourings.

Book signings

Ruth Ball – Rebellious Spirits at 18:00-18:30 on Friday 18 March

Neil Ridley/Joel Harrison – Distilled at 19:30-20:00 on Friday 18 March

Dave Wadell – The Knowledge: Whisky at 15:00-15:30 on Saturday 19 March

Ticket Options and Prices from £40

Full Day Entrance Ticket – £55 Entrance to Whisky Live London on Friday 18th March from 5pm – 10pm or on Saturday 19th March from 12pm – 5pm. Includes hot food, tasting glass and show guide.

Half Day Entrance Ticket – £40 Entrance to Whisky Live London on Friday 18th March from 7pm – 10pm or on Saturday 19th March from 2pm – 5pm. Includes hot food, tasting glass and show guide.

Weekend Entrance Ticket – £99 Entrance to Whisky Live London on Friday 18th March from 5pm – 10pm and on Saturday 19th March from 12pm – 5pm. Includes hot food, tasting glass and show guide.

VIP Tickets – £89 Entrance to Whisky Live London on Friday 18th March from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday 19th March from 12pm – 5pm plus an Exclusive VIP Masterclass worth £25. Includes VIP dining, VIP Lounge, Live tasting glass, showguide and exclusive VIP pourings

Confirmed Masterclasses

Friday – VIP

Neil Ridley – World Whiskies Awards 17:15-18:00

Charles Montanaro – Whisky cocktails 18:30-19:15

Lyndsey Gray (Craigallachie Hotel) – Don’t pigeonhole Scotch 19:45-20:30

Joel Harrison – Travel Retail 21:00-21:45

Saturday – VIP

Neil Ridley – World Whiskies Awards 12.15-13:00

Jonny Mcormick – Spectacular Speyside 13:30-14:15

Jonny Mcormick – Spectacular Speyside 14.45-15:30

Jonny Mcormick – Spectacular Speyside 16:00-16:45

Friday – Standard

Emiko Kaji – Nikka Expressions 17.30 -18.15

Alwynne Gwilt – Girvan 18.45-19:30

Saturday – Standard

Angus Dundee – Lorne McKillop 13.00-13.45

Iain Allan – Glen Moray 14.15-15.00

Michael Henry – Loch Lomond Whiskies – Spirit of a Truly Special Place 15.30-16.15

SPRINGBANK 2016 THE LOCAL BARLEY RELEASE

After a long wait the new 2016 local barley is about to hit the world with a limited world wide release of 9000 bottles. Cask Strength 54.3% Vol

What is the Local Barley some will ask naturally? Basically it’s a single malt made with locally grown barley around 8 miles from the distillery, Nothing unusual some might think, but given the distillery lies in the middle of Campbeltown it would be difficult to get it closer.

The water is from the old Springbank supply directly below the distillery.

The peat is locally cut something that’s not done as often these days due to the environmental impact caused by the mass whisky production carried out in and around Campbeltown over 200 years, today a small amount is taken to help maintain the peat fields.

Coal used in the heating of the Kiln is a truly rare commodity since the local mine closed in the 1960s, Springbank have a few tones held in storage to make the local barley.

Springbank is the only 2.5 times distilled spirit created through reduction rather than just simply cutting the liquid, It’s also bottled just yards from the still room and the bonded warehouses used to age the liquid.

NEW SPRINGBANK LOCAL BARLEY 16 YEAR OLD 54.3%

VERY LIMITED AVAILABILITY 9000 Bottles world wide.

This new Local barley delivers on taste and quality that all those who love the iconic Springbank would ever want.

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #123

Mark Dermul, Belgian Whiskyblogger, tries a duty free Speyside whisky. Glenfiddich launched the Cask Collection for Global Travel Retail. The three bottlings are the Select Cask, the Reserve Cask and the Vintage Cask. The series celebrates the Solera marrying process in which several casks are put together in the handcrafted Solera vat at Glenfiddich. He tried the first in the series, the Select Cask, which turned out to be a summery dram indeed. The video was shot on location in Edinburgh, near the Royal Yacht Britannia and on Arthur’s Seat.  

https://youtu.be/3cqzKG5rOPw

Whiskey Tour of Ireland 

DAY 1:

Arrive to Dublin and meet our driver and guide who is going to take you for a panoramic tour of Dublin.

Discover the beauty of Dublin and visit Trinity College and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

In evening you can enjoy whisky tasting and dinner in the 37 Dawson Street, one of the best bars in Dublin.

As an option, you can also book a Whiskey tasting class, which includes the history & tasting notes of whiskeys from Ireland, America, Scotland and Japan with a whiskey specialist!

DAY 2:

After Full Irish Breakfast your driver collects you and takes you for a tour to visit Old Jameson Distillery and the Teeling Whiskey Distillery.

In the Old Jameson Distillery located in the heart of Old Dublin, you can track the Irish Whiskey history since the 6^th century. Almost like a tour of a working distillery you can follow the fascinating craft of whiskey making through the different stages from grain intake to malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation, maturation and bottling.  Finally the tour culminates in the Jameson bar for a traditional Irish Whiskey tasting session.

You may also like to take the opportunity of enjoying a premium tutoring of Irish Whiskey or pull up a stool at JJ’s Bar and order a tasting mat with four of our favourite Jameson Family Reserve whiskeys. Sample the much-celebrated Jameson Distillery Reserve 12 years Old, Jameson Select Reserve, Jameson Gold Reserve and Jameson 18year old Reserve.

Your next stop will be in The Teeling Whiskey Distillery, which is Dublin’s newest destination for whiskey fans or for anyone with an interest in Dublin’s long, historical association with Irish whiskey.

The Bang Bang Bar serves complete portfolio of multi-award winning Irish whiskeys and experienced bartenders are on hand to take people through tastings of each of the products.

Alex Chasko & Stephen Teeling guide you through Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey. From the hand selected casks of malt and grain to the extra maturation in rum barrels and bottling at 46% with no chill filtration it produces the most unique Irish blend in the world.

After the tour, you can choose different tasting options.

Overnight in Dublin.

DAY 3:

After Full Irish Breakfast at your Hotel your driver will take you to the towns of Kilbeggan and Tullamore.

You will visit Kilbeggan Distillery (Lockes Distillery):  the only small pot still whiskey distillery remaining in Ireland. It houses the only examples of what used to be a widespread Irish industry. Kilbeggan Distillery was licensed in 1757 and produced whiskey for over 200 years.

The guided tour takes about 1 hour 30 minutes and shows the ancient process of whiskey making. The two sources of power, the steam engine and the water wheel are always of great interest. Over 85% of the original distillery machinery remains intact and restoration work is ongoing.

A tour of Kilbeggan Distillery will take you back in time to discover how Irish whiskey was made during John Lockes ownership of the distillery during the 19th century before bringing you into the present where you can hear, smell and taste Kilbeggan Irish whiskey as it is distilled today.

Finished with a Masterclass in tasting of four unique Irish whiskeys, Kilbeggan 8 Single Grain, Kilbeggan Irish whiskey, Tyrconnell Single Malt and Connemara Peated Single Malt.

After visit in Kilbeggan, you will drive to Tullamore, to visit distillery opened by Daniel E.Williams in 1829. The grandson of Daniel E. Williams, Desmond revolutionised the whiskey industry by introducing Ireland’s first blended whiskey. Tullamore D.E.W. believes in Power of Three: Triple Distilled, Triple Blended and Triple Cask Matured, which create a whiskey of greater complexity, balance, and unrivalled smoothness.

The full tour takes in every step of the artisan craft of whiskey making, each stage a story, told through captivating audio-visual media and the good old Irish charm of the expert guides.

After this, you will go to Athlone, where you stay for the night.

DAY 4:

After Full Irish Breakfast at the hotel you will be transferred to Belfast.

Enjoy a city tour of Northern Ireland’s Capital, which has been voted one of Europe’s most fashionable cities.

Visit Titanic Belfast, which extends over nine interactive galleries, explore the shipyard and travel to the depths of the ocean to uncover the true legend of Titanic, in the city where it all began.

Continue the tour to see the Belfast City Hall: built in 1906, in classical Renaissance style, in Portland stone, the crowning feature of the City Hall is the main dome.

In the evening discover the wonderful pubs this popular city has to offer. Make sure you will visit the Duke of York, the best whiskey bar in Ulster, which offers unique whiskey experience with their over 150 whiskey’s selection.

The Duke of York is located along the cobbled entry Commercial Court, in a historical part of the city and one of the oldest streets in Belfast.

Overnight Belfast.

DAY 5:

Full Irish Breakfast at hotel.

This morning you depart along the majestic Antrim coast starting with the Glens of Antrim, nine valleys running from the Antrim Plateau to the ocean and you will stop at Giant’s Causeway.

The Giant’s Causeway, renowned for its polygonal columns of layered basalt, is the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland and in 2015 was awarded the UKs Best Heritage Attraction at the British Travel Awards. Resulting from a volcanic eruption 60 million years ago, this is the focal point of a designated Area of outstanding natural beauty and has attracted visitors for centuries.

You will then be driven to the highlight of your Irish Whiskey Tour: Old Bushmills Distillery. It is Ireland’s oldest working distillery in County Antrim, Northern Ireland on the beautiful North Coast. The original grant to distil was signed in 1608 by King James 1st and there has been distillation on this site since then, using the unique water from their own stream and Irish barley. The Bushmills Brand Experience encompasses guided tours around a working distillery with all the associated sights and smells, tutored whiskey tastings, a specialist whiskey shop. At the conclusion of your tour you will be offered a whiskey in the 1608 Bar.

After your tour of the oldest distillery in the world it is time to return to Belfast.

DAY 6:

Transfer to Dublin or Belfast Airport for your flight home.

Anna Paluszak Geranio
Customer Manager
http://www.eirebus.ie/
——————————————————–
Tel: +353-1-8242626
Fax: +353-1-8242627

Early February 2016 Outturn Offerings 

Cask No. 121.77                                      $160

Dunnage warehouse orange boxes

Highland, Island

The nose had elements of oiled wood, linoleum, balsa wood and orange boxes, plus various sweet treats (brown sugar, toffee, sweet fig, chocolate and crunchy-nut cornflakes). The unreduced palate had spicy samosa heat to liven up the mouth; flavours included nutty (toasted pistachio, almond croissant) and sweet (bonbons, marshmallows, dark chocolate orange, sweet pastry). With water, the nose found syrup sponge and sugared almonds, with some new complications joining in to draw out a broader character – dunnage warehouses, burnt sticks, tobacco and ham. The palate was now a sweet and juicy pear flan with burnt edges – pleasant and nicely balanced.

Drinking tip: Sunday afternoon – listening to your favourite music.

Colour: Marmalade sky

Cask: Refill hogshead

Age: 19 years

Date distilled: November 1995

Alcohol: 53.4%

USA allocation: 114 bottles

Flavour profile: Spicy & sweet 

*President’s Choice*  

Cask No. 28.26                              $105

Pile-driver punch whisky

Highland, Southern

The nose hinted at paint and glue – water shifted this to fresh linen and warm photocopies; we didn’t find that in the taste. The rest of the nose had herbal, grassy notes (hay, thyme, cucumber) and fruity sweetness (brandy snaps, orange zest, peach stones, golden syrup, chilli marmalade). The palate had a pile-driver punch of spirity heat (even with water) but after a couple of sips we learned to take it on the chin – nice grassy, cereal notes, including popcorn, riverbank reeds and mint, then more of that fruity sweetness (mandarin, rhubarb and pineapple, with spun sugar, vanilla and pink Chewits).

Drinking tip: A good one to sip while watching action movies.

Colour: Golden sheen

Cask: Refill barrel

Age: 10 years

Date distilled: March 2005

Alcohol: 61.4%

USA allocation: 78 bottles

Flavour profile: Young & spritely 

Cask No. 100.12                                      $105

Trip to a shopping mall

Speyside, Deveron

On the nose, lemon, elderflower and tinned fruit salad gradually gave way to deeper notes of cashews, raisins, cinnamon, ginger and Buttercup cough mix. The neat palate had light spice and lots of sweetness (marshmallows, cherry lips, cola cubes, foamy bananas, Nutella and sticky toffee pudding). The reduced nose offered banana liqueur, red laces and rum and raisin ice-cream; some panellists were transported to a shopping mall (noodle bar, hairdresser and confectioner nearby). Oaky spice and vanilla began to show through on the reduced palate, along with butterscotch, banana chips, popcorn and toasted marshmallows – and a hint of Murray mints.

Drinking tip: To take on a city break, perhaps.

Colour: Buttercup gold

Cask: Refill barrel

Age: 10 years

Date distilled: February 2005

Alcohol: 58.7%

USA allocation: 108 bottles

Flavour profile: Juicy, oak & vanilla

Cask No. 33.133                                      $110 

Whipped with Happiness

Islay

This was a full Scottish Breakfast served in a leather armchair in front of a peat fire with aromas of fried eggs and bacon, grilled tomato, tatties, bangers, baked beans, sautéed mushrooms and black pudding. Wait until you try it. A sweet, smoky and savoury sensation! It has it all, everything you ever wanted in the right amount and in the right balance – ‘just throw away the cork’. If you want to add water; we were handed a vihta – a bunch of fresh birch branches to get whipped with in a Finnish sauna and the taste was bittersweet chocolate, mouth-watering and to die for.

Drinking tip: Makes every moment special

Colour: Polished cherry wood

Cask: Second-fill butt

Age: 8 years

Date distilled: May 2007

Alcohol: 60.5%

USA allocation: 120 bottles

Flavour profile: Peated

Visit the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America at www.smwsa.com

SPRINGBANK DUE IN 2016

• New look 21 year old due April/May 2016
• New 18 year old due August 2016
• New 25 year old limited edition due October 2016
• New Longrow 18 Sherry cask April/May 2016
• Kilkerran 12 year old This lays to rest the old WIP’s (Work In Progress) along with new packing and label. Due August 2016

So as you can see 2016 is going to be busy at Springbank & Glengyle (Kilkerran) Distilleries

RELEASES COMING SOON

Just to give you a head’s up, the next Cadenhead release will happen in February with the new Authentic collection. As soon as we have finalised the release we will let you know. hat I can tell you is we have some amazing vintages from Speyside the highlands and some great Islay’s.

Cadenhead’s club members can arrange for us to ship club bottles with any orders placed. They are all in the stores now.

IN OTHER NEWS

We are still in test mode for the new Web site so expect a few changes very soon.

The Highland Park 25 sold like hot cakes (No Shock I guess) We still have a few customers with hold bottles on one-side, you will need to contact us with-in 7 days otherwise we will have to release them for sale as they are now causing a backlog in the hold area of the stock rooms on all floors of the shop. Once they are paid for we can place them into our main hold area for safe keeping until you can come in or arrange for us to ship to you in the UK.

Finally we have to thank all those customers who put up with the disruption to the store during the renovation work that was being carried out this month.

While we still have a few bits to do it will thankfully be less disruptive to the customers coming into the store indeed you wont notice a thing only me looking a bit shabby as i am up and down ladders dusting and cleaning! Don’t worry i am not going to look like Bob the builder just a little less polished!!

Anyway that’s it for me i am sat in my Garden at 2AM on a January evening finishing off this quick newsletter and working on the next big one! (I must be mad!!)

All the best Stephen W

Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop & Tasting Room
26 Chiltern Street
London
W1U 7QF

Tel: 020 7935 6999

LIMITED EDITION JOHNNIE WALKER WHISKY

JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE ‘YEAR OF THE MONKEY’ LIMITED EDITION

Celebrate Chinese New Year in style with this limited edition bottle of the Johnnie Walker Blue Label – created to celebrate the Year of the Monkey. The all-white design is going down a storm with whisky collectors all over the world, and is highly limited, with only 750 bottles available.  Layers of big flavour, deep richness and smoke, layers of honey and fruit and an incredibly smooth finish deliver this truly rare character.

£149 Click to buy

THE JOHN WALKER LIMITED EDITION

A super rare Johnnie Walker, limited to only 330 bottles which was created in memory of the original John Walker himself. Known as the Founder’s Blend, it uses only whiskies that would have been familiar to John Walker in his lifetime, some of which come from distilleries that are now silent. Just nine distilleries in total contribute exquisitely-made whiskies, which are blended by hand using traditional methods and in extremely limited quantities, before being married together in a 100-year-old cask.

£2115 Click to buy

JOHNNIE WALKER KING GEORGE V

This special edition of Johnnie Walker Blue Label recreates the Johnnie Walker blending style in the time of King George V and celebrates the granting of a Royal Warrant to John Walker & Sons in 1934. This is a powerful, slow and exceptional blended whisky. This blend includes Port Ellen, a highly prized malt whose distillery no longer exists.

£500 Click to buy

JOHNNIE WALKER ODYSSEY

This John Walker & Sons Odyssey is a rare triple malt and a modern interpretation of Alexander Walker’s nautical decanter bottle and blend of 1932. When gently pushed, the bottle rocks elegantly to and fro.  The Johnnie Walker master blender searched a number of distilleries in Scotland for the three rare, hand picked single malts that have been carefully blended to create Odyssey. Further developed using Sir Alexander’s hand-written notes, Odyssey has been married in European oak casks to create an elegant and rich whisky.

£675 Click to buy

JOHNNIE WALKER PRIVATE LABEL

This Johnnie Walker Private Label whisky is the first in a series of one-off, once-a year JWS Private Collection limited releases of small batch, remarkable blends by Master Blender Jim Beveridge. It is created from 29 unique casks and only 8,888 numbered bottles are available worldwide. This expression is a tribute to one of Johnnie Walker’s signature flavours – Smoke. This blend includes whiskies from the experimental Calculus casks. Their intense vanilla, caramel and rich fruitiness balance the Highland, Island and Islay smokiness.

£515 Click to buy

JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL EDINBURGH LIMITED EDITION

The Edinburgh limited edition bottle is engraved with some highlight’s from the city’s skyline including Edinburgh Castle, The Scott Monument and the Duke of Wellington statue. Limited to only 1500 individually numbered bottles, it is presented in a Johnnie Walker Blue Label box with a limited edition Edinburgh sleeve.

£187 Click to buy

JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL LONDON LIMITED EDITION

The London limited edition bottle is engraved with a beautiful design featuring several of the city’s famous landmarks including Big Ben, the Gherkin, Nelson’s Column and Tower Bridge. Limited to just 2500 individually numbered bottles, only available to purchase within the UK, and presented in a limited edition London sleeve and Johnnie Walker Blue Label box. It is only available to purchase within the UK.

£187 Click to buy