www.ralfy.com discovers lots of cask and a little malt with Whisky Review 588 – Kavalan King Car Conductor malt

Jazz & Whisky Tasting – 28 Queen St, Fri 24 June  More >

July Outturn Preview – The Vaults, Thu 30 June  More >

Edinburgh Whisky Solstice 2 for £40 – Assembly Rooms, Sat 25 June More>

UK-WIDE PREVIEWS WITH UISGE SOURCE

Dundee – Malmaison, Fri 24 June  More >

Melrose – Town House Hotel, Fri 24 June  More >

Perth – The Salutation Hotel, Fri 22 July More >

Durham – Radission Blu, Fri 29 July  More >

Stirling – The Golden Lion, Fri 29 July More >

Sheffield – Leopold Hotel, Fri 29 July  More >

FREE EVENTS AT THE VAULTS

Live Music Night with Hot Tin Roof – Tue 12 July  More >

Browse All Events & Tastings >

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

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2016 Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

$238.05

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2016 Islay single malt Scotch whisky. Selecgted for the Islay Festival 2016 ‘Feis Ile’ matured in Madeira casks. Laphroaig Distillery was established in 1815 on the rocky south coast of the Isle of Islay off the west coast of Scotland. Laphroaig is a malt whisky distillery which continues to malt barley using its traditional malting floors and malt kiln. In 1994 Laphroaig was awarded the Royal Warrant. Visitors are welcomed at the Laphroaig Distillery visitor centre where distillery tours are available. Laphroaig Distillery participates in Feis Ile, the Islay Festival of Malt and Music.

Evan Williams Bourbon Launches American Hero Edition Bottle for Summer 2016

Evan Williams Bourbon is saluting American veterans with a custom red, white and blue edition of Evan Williams Black Bourbon featuring the heroic stories of 10 military veterans, chosen for their selfless acts of service at home and abroad.

As an American-made and American-owned brand, Evan Williams recognizes true American heroes through their exceptional stories of honor and bravery. Available exclusively during the month of May for Memorial Day and extending through July 4, this limited edition bottle will be sold nationwide.

The American Hero Edition bottle features custom labels showcasing the individual stories of the ten Evan Williams American-Made Heroes on one side. Adorned with stars and stripes, the red, white and blue bottle pays homage to the ultimate symbol of American independence. Evan Williams is the world’s second largest selling Bourbon in the world, and remains family-owned and operated to this day.

“Evan Williams is proud to work directly with our chosen military heroes to showcase their achievements in the military and in their communities,” said Chris Ratterman, Evan Williams Bourbon Brand Manager. “The American-Made Heroes program encompasses the spirit of Evan Williams’ American heritage and those who protect the American spirit day in and day out. Every hero has a story, and Evan Williams is honored to share them.”

Evan Williams is also extending the program by inviting others to nominate the military hero in their life to win a $250 gift of thanks and the chance to be selected as one of the next official Evan Williams American-Made Heroes – a prize that will be awarded to hundreds of military members. Nominations will showcase the difference each of the veterans are making in the lives of others while exemplifying their courageousness. To learn more about the program, go to http://www.american-madeheroes.com/.

The American Hero Edition is available for a suggested retail price of $24.99 for the 1.75L and is bottled at 43% alcohol by volume (86 proof). The launch of the new custom label is supported by national advertising through ESPN the Magazine, Military.com, newspaper, and other key digital video and social media partners. Custom bottle neckers and retail displays featuring a military-grade footlocker to display the bottles will also support the launch.

Founded in 1935, Bardstown, KY-based Heaven Hill Brands (www.heavenhill.com) is the nation’s largest independent, family-owned and operated spirits producer and marketer and the world’s second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon. Heaven Hill’s diversified portfolio of brands includes Evan Williams Bourbon; Larceny, Elijah Craig and Henry McKenna Bourbons; Deep Eddy Vodka; Burnett’s Vodkas and Gin; Admiral Nelson’s and Blackheart Rums; HPNOTIQ Liqueur; The Christian Brothers Brandies; PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur; Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur; Lunazul Tequila; Cinerator Hot Cinnamon Flavored Whiskey and Rittenhouse Rye Whisky.

Heaven Hill reminds you to “Think Wisely.  Drink Wisely.”

OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD WHISKIES

To celebrate the return to Earth of British astronaut Tim Peake, we’re not only launching our 29 year old homecoming bottle 39.124 ‘A toast to Tim Peake’s return’, we’re releasing a bunch of new, out-of-this-world whiskies for you to taste and explore.

Read Ambassador Phoebe’s review on our blog HERE >

NEW BOTTLINGS ONLINE

Old & dignified

39.124 A toast to Tim Peake’s return
Price: £176.70
The nose – elegant and sophisticated – hints at things you would miss while in space – flower markets, old-fashioned ice-cream parlours and perfumed ladies in vintage cars.

BUY >
29 years old,
Second-fill sauternes hogshead
*Available in our Members’ Rooms too

Peated

3.267 Brunch with a difference
Price: £73.00
The taste was like chocolates filled with a nutty cream ganache infused with peat smoke, followed by a vanilla ice-cream sundae with hot fudge and caramel sauce whilst in the long finish, surprisingly, grilled bacon.

BUY >
14 years old,
Refill ex-bourbon hogshead

Spicy & sweet

55.37 Choc a l’orange
Price: £59.10
“It’s like being in an orange grove at Christmas”. Sweet and warm fruits of pineapple and dried orange skin mingled with crystalised ginger, cloves, nutmeg and allspice

BUY >
15 years old,
Second-fill sauternes hogshead

Sweet, fruity and mellow

64.69 Sweet sensuous indulgence
Price: £110.00
We got spiced chicken, Japanese teriyaki and Portuguese piri-piri style as well as oysters with lemon and tabasco sauce. Water added aromas of a lady’s handbag; perfume, lipstick, cigarette packet and soft mints.

BUY >
25 years old,
Refill ex-bourbon hogshead

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

Longrow, Ardbeg, Glenmorangie & more!

This week we welcome the all-new 2016 bottling of the Longrow 18 Year Old from our friends down the road at the Springbank Distillery. We take a look at what makes it so different and explore some of our other whiskies with peat and sweet tendencies!

Longrow 18 Year Old 2016 Edition

This peated and twice-distilled expression comes from Campbeltown’s oldest remaining distillery. This time round, Springbank have matured the spirit in 60% rum casks and 40% refill sherry casks where before it spent its 18 years in 100% sherry casks.  The nose is spicy with cinnamon, ginger, pear and pastry. The palate is buttery with ginger developing into marzipan and coconut. Juicy apples and a thick sweetness of sugar cane molasses emerges thanks to the rum cask influence. The finish is peat and spice with hints of nutmeg and burnt embers.

£110 Buy Now

Ardbeg Dark Cove

This brand new expression from Ardbeg was released to mark Ardbeg Night during the Islay Festival and celebrates the long gone days of illicit stills and bootleggers trying to slip casks past the dreaded Excise Men.  Matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and dark sherry casks, the nose entices with dark chocolate, treacle toffee and distant bonfires. The palate is smouldering with charcoal and wood polish with raisins and dates emerging, while the finish is long and spicy with cured ham and squid ink noodles lingering.

£110 Buy Now

Lochside 52 Year Old Sovereign

This Single Grain Scotch Whisky was distilled at the Lochside Distillery in Montrose before being aged for more than half a century in a single refill hogshead. Bottled at a cask strength of 48.1% abv.  The nose is complex with notes of dark fruits, candle wax and furniture polish. The palate is ripe with rich forest fruits and hints of green moss and wood fire smokiness. The finish is long and warm with lingering oak notes gathered over 52 years.

£960 Buy Now

Jura Tastival 2016

Only available while stocks last, this limited edition was released to celebrate the 2016 Jura Tastival festival. With only 2000 bottles made available to the UK market, this is one to catch before it’s gone!  Offering flavours of toffee apples, vanilla and ginger tantalising the palate, this expression is the result of a triple sherry finish combining 19 year old, 15 year old and 14 year old malt from the Isle of Jura.

£95 Buy Now

Glenmorangie Milsean

Matured in a bourbon cask, this expression would have already been sweet as is, but determined to replicated the flavours of traditional sweet shops Glenmorangie finished this expression off in flame toasted Portuguese wine casks. Truly remarkable this expression has a hint of tingling spice and chilli, which gives way to a sweet boastful flavours. Candy, citrus zest, tart, plummy fruits, cherries, nectarines, plums and melons to name but a few of the flavours present in this whisky… this is a whisky with a difference.

£76 Buy Now

Bruichladdich PHD_135 Feis Ile 2016 Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

This week Joe Ellis teams up with Ben from “A Dram A Day” YouTube reviewer and reviews The Glenlivet Guardians Chapter Single Malt,

https://youtu.be/G1Az8i2NCtE

http://Twitter.com/whiskytube

https://www.facebook.com/whiskytube

EAGLE RARE BOURBON LAUNCHES 2017 RARE LIFE AWARD

National contest seeks nominations to award $80,000

FRANKFORT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ky. (May 31, 2016) – Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is seeking nominations of people who dedicate their lives to helping others for its annual Rare Life Award competition. Now in its seventh year, the contest will award $80,000 to winners. To date, the Rare Life Award program has donated a total of $320,000 to 42 charities across the United States.

Nominations are now being accepted online at www.eaglerarelife.com. The 2017 Grand Prize winner will receive a $50,000 donation to the charity of their choice. Six runners-up will receive $5,000 for their charities.

The Rare Life Awards honor individuals who exhibit courage, leadership, survival, devotion, character and heroism. Those making nominations will identify which Rare Life value their nominee’s story best represents. The general public will vote for the person who most embodies the “Rare Life” core values, with the top 30 across all categories considered for the Grand Prize and the top five in each category considered for a runner-up prize. Nominations and voting are open beginning today and continue through Jan. 4, 2017. Winners will be announced in March of 2017.

“The accomplishments of our past winners are incredible, and we look forward to more stories of everyday people making a difference,” said Kris Comstock, Eagle Rare Bourbon brand manager. “We are honored to help bring awareness to charities working to make the world a better place, and to people who truly embody what it means to live a rare life.”

About Eagle Rare Bourbon

Eagle Rare Bourbon Whiskey is part of the award-winning Buffalo Trace Distillery, an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, (Franklin County), Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich distilling tradition dates back to 1773 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee. Eagle Rare Bourbon is a 10-year-old bourbon that has won multiple awards, including five double gold medals from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. To learn more about Eagle Rare, visit www.eaglerarelife.com.

Introducing a new core expression from Isle of Arran: Arran 18 yr old

~ Independently Owned & Independently Minded ~

THE ARRAN 18 YEAR-OLD SINGLE MALT BAKED PEACHES & TOASTED ALMONDS

We are proud to present the first ever 18 year-old in Arran core range when distillery turns 21. The Arran 18 year-old is a wonderfully balanced expression of The Arran Malt which displays the tremendous depth of character of our Distillery.

Caramelised citrus and tropical notes on a background of toasted oak have created an intense, well rounded dram with charm and personality. A balanced mix of our finest aged ex-Sherry and ex-Bourbon Casks, this fully mature expression of The Arran Malt is exceptional. We are the only Distillery on the Isle of Arran and a proudly independent Scottish Company. We celebrate 18 years of independence with pride.

Tasting Notes

Color: Honeyed gold

Aroma: Baked peaches with syrup and toasted almonds. Vanilla and light cinnamon spice.

Palate: Sweetness dances on the tongue with chocolate, ginger, caramelised brown sugar and vanilla. Water uncovers floral notes and aromatic orange fondant creams.

Finish Long, lingering and luxurious. The classic Arran citrus and orchard fruits mingle with milk brioche and dark chocolate. A memorable depth of character, Arran is fully mature at 18 years-old.

RRP  $140.00