Whisky ambassador Stefanie Holt

The nights are cold and spring is still far away, but fear not as we visit the warm tropics of Asia in our second instalment of Ladies Night! This session was hosted by the wonderful whisky ambassador Stefanie Holt. Full of passion and limitless knowledge, Stef guided us around three key Asian whisky-producing countries; India, Taiwan and, of course, Japan. We tasted six whiskies – two from each country – I learned so much in just one evening!

Whisky ambassador Stefanie Holt

Taiwan Taiwan sits on the Tropic of Cancer and the climate ages whisky three to four times faster than in Scotland. The country is also one of the main importers of high-value single malt in Asia.

Taiwan’s Kavalan has upped its production levels recently, and produces nearly 10m litres of spirit a year

Kavalan comes from the north east of Taiwan, an area of rolling hills and luscious green forest. Although it only began making whisky in 2006, it has already won many accolades and has garnered much recognition and respect. The distillery was built in nine months and attracts 1m visitors a year, more than all visitors to Scottish whisky distilleries put together. Kavalan has high aspirations, and now has 10 sets of stills, which will see it produce nearly 10m litres of spirit a year, close to the quantity made at Macallan.

India India is the biggest producer of ‘whisky’ in the world (albeit the majority is made with molasses and neutral grain spirit) and most of it is consumed domestically, so little is exported. Interestingly, it is not permitted to transport alcohol between regions.

Amrut, which created India’s first-ever internationally recognised single malt whisky, is based in Bangalore, far south but inland and therefore has a more stable climate. It uses six-row Indian barley (European barley has two) which has more husk and therefore protein, creating more flavour. The angels’ share is high, perhaps – as one audience member pointed out – because they have more gods…

Japan Japan has a temperate climate and much more similar to Scotland. Up until the 1850s, the Japanese only drank home-grown spirits, in particular an imitation of whisky which was made from a coloured high-alcohol shochu. However, this all changed when one man, Masataka Taketsuru, went on a mission and studied whiskymaking in Scotland. He returned to recreate the Scottish style in Japan.

Yoichi distillery is located in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido

Miyagikyo was created to replicate a Speyside distillery and was built to create blends – it even uses barley from Scotland. Yoichi is the most northerly distillery in Japan and was Taketsuru’s first. It was created to replicate an Island/Islay distillery, and is famed for its peaty, smoky whiskies.

FACT OF THE NIGHT

When you age whisky in tropical climates, the whisky interacts with the wood much faster than in cooler climates, which means that spicy, toasty notes from the oak interact with the whisky in a shorter period of time.

WE TASTED

Kavalan Classic Raisins, apricot, pineapple, coconut – fruity, light and gentle. Very pleasant.

Amrut Dried fruits, figs, more aromatic with sweet notes of fudge, toffee, vanilla, butterscotch. Woody, American oak, more texture, more cereal notes and a milky texture. Well-integrated alcohol.

Nikka Miyagikyo Single Malt Soft, subtle, green fruits, forest, pear, raisins, honey, vanilla, with a touch of smoke.

Nikka Yoichi Single Malt Smoky, briny, salty and oily, with earthy and vanilla notes. More American oak than sherry oak.

Amrut Fusion Soft smoke with toffee, savoury notes and some pencil lead. Richer, thicker texture, with integrated alcohol, and full bodied.

Kavalan Sherry Cask 6 Year Old TWE Exclusive We finished the night on a high! Powerful, intense sherry notes of sultanas, raisins, Christmas cake, walnuts, honey and chewy. Deliciously nutty.

WHISKY OF THE NIGHT

It was a close call but it ended as a tie between Miyagikyo and the Kavalan Sherry Cask.

COUNTRY OF THE NIGHT

Japan.

Whisky production is booming all over the globe – even Scotland is planning to open 25 distilleries this year – and we ladies welcome this with open arms. We cannot wait for the next Ladies Night tasting in the spring.

Gordon & MacPhail Bunnahabhain 2007 | Cask Strength 

Distilled in 2007 at the Bunnahabhain distillery, this cask strength single malt Scotch whisky from Islay has been aged for 9 years in 1st fill sherry hogsheads. Bottled at 55.8% in 2016 by independent whisky bottlers Gordon & MacPhail, for their superb Cask Strength series.

£47.90

Bunnahabhain Moine Oloroso

This limited edition Islay Single Malt Scotch from Bunnahabhain is the product of just seven Oloroso sherry casks left to mature fully in the sea-facing warehouse No.7, revealing a side to the distillery not often seen. An intense peat and sherry sweetness await in this non chill-filtered cask strength expression.

Find out more on Hamish’s Blog

£74.99 Buy Now

Available while stocks last.

Ralfy pops a cork ( again ! ) for Ralfy Review 626 – Bruichladdich 10yo 2nd Edition @ 50%vol

Twentseven – twentytwo

Friday; I went south from Perth down to Tullibardine on Friday – the start of the weekend. This is what I can tell you about the Tullibardine “Murray”. There are around 12,ooo bottles (and these have already all gone out to market as it was bottled on allocation). It is first fill ex Bourbon, cask strength 56.1%, this is the Marquess Range. At this point in time they do not know when the second edition will be released and indeed have not decided what this whisky will be. Anything they do will sit with the brand image as a boutique craft distiller, and so a whisky has to be just right to be considered under the range. The second edition will be released at the earliest mid 2018. But this one …. Chocolaty strawberries, oak barley and bakery notes (Bread or Greggs?), fruit with orange blossom (special). We (Liz and Paul) have up to now obtained 8 of these glorious bottles. The Murray is a 12 year old single malt whisky distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2016 at cask strength (see above) no chill-filtration. Released as part of their Marquess Collection, likely named after William Murray, who was the Marquess of Tullibardine. The 2nd Marquess of Tullibardine, Sir William Murray fought for the Jacobites at the Battle of Sherrifmuir on the hills close to the distillery. In 1745 he was chosen to unfurl the Royal Standard at Glenfinnan announcing the Prince as the rightful King. I’m a sucker for history. This is the first release of a Tullibardine at cask strength in a hundred years, it’s one of those “try before you die” drams, or in my case, “try before it’s all gone”!

I dropped into Tulli on Friday (3 Feb) to pick up our case of Murray, chat and be completely nosey as to all the developments going on there. As it is a half hour doon the road it is easy to “just drop by for a cuppa” a grand excuse to pick up drams and see what new ones are available now/soon. Said Matthew “We are currently thinking about whether we do a second bottling this year of the Murray given the demand we have for the product, again this has yet to be decided. The series was created by the team at the distillery – we are a very close knit team and we work on the brand development as a team with regular brand meetings. Matthew Johns Commercial Director

Tullibardine distillery founded in 1949 on the site of a brewery, said to have brewed ale for King James IV’s coronation in 1488! The brewery dates back to the 12th century. Named after Tullibardine Moor, the distillery draws its water from the Danny Burn to the south-west of Blackford village, renowned for the purity of its water, so much so that the well known Highland Spring is bottled close by from their own spring. Queen Helen, the wife of King Magnus of Alba (Scotland), drowned in a ford after falling from her horse not far from Blackford was named accordingly. So that was my weekend started with a case of whisky, reason for today? Didnee wish to take a case of whisky to Edinburgh with all those Irishers about!

Saturday; drove south again, over the bridge and into Edinburgh, stopped near the zoo to meet my pal PJ, he was away over with pals to see the game and have a grand weekend, he also brought me my bottle of Telling “Rising” and I gave him the Redbreast – we had pre – arranged this to be sure.

RISING an Irish dram from Teeling’s. An 11 year old single malt to mark the rising of the distillery and the 100 years since the Irish Rising of 1916, Dublin – where two of my great uncles fought alongside the hero’s against the British (Paul). A handcrafted small batch, 1000 bottles and consists of rare Irish casks. REDBREAST Mano a Lámh All Sherry Limited Edition. A limited release from Midleton of 2000 bottles for Stillhouse members. I had a spare bottle of this (Paul), Mano a Lámh, means ‘hand in hand’, represents the joining of two languages, Gaelic and Galician, in celebration of the relationship between the Masters of Midleton and the artisans in Spain, who have crafted the distillery’s sherry butts over 20 years. A grand pairing for this Scotland/Ireland rugby match, not forgetting the Murray (Murrayfield is the stadium for the game – clever eh!).

Leaving PJ I headed to drop off the car (found free parking) and my bag then dondered into the city – Jeeze, it was rammed with Irish. Ended up making a pub tour, just to find a space you understand to see the game. After some lunch and many visits, I ended up at Usquabae, superb craic in this pub, mega full with rugby supporters, Irish sitting next to Scots, next to English even, that’s the way it goes with rugby. Saw the fantastic game; Scotland’s passion and relentless tackling did not give Ireland time to breathe, let alone pass the ball (or have a dram). It was just suffocating. Stuart Hogg the Glasgow player is not just ahead of his rivals, he is clear of them by some distance, my man of the match. Game over after some nervous last few minutes, Scotland win 27 – 22! I wander downstairs to the whisky bar – by this time a cousin has arrived with pals, I am trapped. Usquabae whisky bar is superb, over 400 whiskies to select from, we immediately set up a bar tab, not thinking where this was leading … Michael and myself started with a Balvenie 21 year old Port, as you do. I was unaware of what the others were drinking, some went/stayed on the beers. Our education included a Redbreast 15yo (Irish to be nice), Glenrothers Sherr, Dalmore cigar malt and a Dalmore King Alec. After this it all got a bit dark and confusing, wee note here; be careful when drinking with Irish. I do recall a very nice Balvenie 17 year old looking at me across the bar, so called him over and educated myself and Michael from Donegal into the Balvenie way. It was about now we heard a hige roar fae upstairs, a less intoxicated Irishman went upstairs to see what was goin on? He arrived back saying the Saxons were behind against the French, superb! We had a long discussion between ourselves and bar staff “what the hell is Swing Low sweet chariot all about?” After, or during this chat – I lost all sense and apparently was assisted back to my hotel by Mic and a friend, I was walking but not in a straight line, Devil Irish strike again. I have to say thanks to Mic for getting me home – he is younger than me thankfully, he returned to the fray. I woke up on ma bed, fully dressed watching match of the day!

Sunday; driving home, at a suitable time for the fumes to dissolve, with two good friends in the back of the car (Rising and Murray) am happy as Larry. It’s always the same on this game, my dad fae Oban, my ma fae Kilkenny, I don’t really care who wins, I win each time! My big gripe and rant; is the saxon media, they never gave Scotland a chance, the Irish they said only have to turn up to beat us! And how did their team fare against the French, they scrambled a win only just, but that night the sports news BBC was full of a superb saxon win with umpteen minutes of coverage, Scotland got a wee mention. Typical. By the way saxon (English) media ANDY MURRAY IS SCOTTISH not British or English. Again, a great dram; Tullibardine Murray.

Ends.

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

BONHAMS TO HOLD FIRST ONLINE-ONLY WHISKY AUCTION IN HONG KONG

More than 70 lots of iconic Macallan

Bonhams Hong Kong is to hold its first online-only whisky auction starting on Friday 17th February and closing on 10th March 2017. For this inaugural online auction, Bonhams presents one of the great names of Scotch Whisky, The Macallan. The sale offers more than 70 lots of the world-renowned Speyside distillery, spanning five decades of rare vintages from the 1940s to the 1980s.

Among the highlights are:

33 bottles of Macallan from consecutive years 1954 – 1986. Estimate HK$550,000 – 700,000

Macallan-Select Reserve 1946-52 year old. Estimate HK$75,000 – 90,000

Macallan Gran Reserva 1979 – 1982 (4 bottles). Estimate HK$65,000 – 85,000

Macallan-1945. Estimate HK$60,000 – 80,000

There are also other important releases of Macallan such as Royal Marriage 48/61 and Red Ribbon.  Bonhams Head of Wine & Whisky in Hong Kong, Daniel Lam said, “We are very excited about this new sale – the first online-only whisky sale for Bonhams worldwide. We opted to sell bottles from one distillery only and in The Macallan I think we have chosen the best. I believe both the selection, and this innovative way of selling whisky at auction, will have broad appeal among whisky collectors.

The Macallan
Bonhams, Hong Kong, Admiralty
17 February – 10th March 2017
Specialist: Daniel Lam, Head of Wine & Whisky Department

NOTES

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest and most renowned auctioneers of fine art and antiques, motor cars and jewellery. The main salerooms are in London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, with sales also held in Knightsbridge, Edinburgh, Paris, San Francisco and Sydney. With a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams offers sales advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full listing of forthcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com.

What’s New at The Exclusive Dram?

Whisky – We have been working hard on bringing new, exciting and different whisky to our shop. All our whisky comes in 50ml samples allowing you to try something different at a fraction of the cost. For the full range visit us here.

Buy Now £64.99

Buy Now £21.99

Buy Now £16.99 

Buy Now  £12.99

Glassware – No whisky would be complete without a beautiful glass to drink it from. To have a look at our extensive ranges of Glencairn and Angels Share glassware and accessories click here.

Buy Now £30.00

Buy Now £36.00

The Exclusive Dram

“Your Online Whisky Bar”

www.theexclusivedram.co.uk

www.facebook.com/theexclusivedram

 Description

This stunning single cask charity bottling from Lagavulin is the culmination of its 200th anniversary celebrations, and will benefit Islay and the people who live there. This is Bottle Number 1/522 of a one-off release limited to just 522 bottles.

The full proceeds received by Diageo from the auction of the Lagavulin 1991 Bottle Number 1/522 will be donated to Islay Heritage (OSCR No. SC046938) to fund projects on Islay which are designed to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the rich and diverse history of Islay.
The nose has charred oak timbers, sawdust and voluptuous fruit backed by subtle milk chocolate and vanilla. The palate is hot and sweet. Searing, woody dryness, then calmer with mentholic chocolate notes and comforting honey underscored by a subtle chilli-like heat. The finish is quietly persistent with tart red-berry notes, cedar and a spicy, smoky ginger warmth. Leaves the palate minty, with a fruity coffee note and a sprinkling of salt.

Andy at Malt Box reviews Glenmorangie Bacalta

https://youtu.be/MgqXBF_Zigk

@maltbox on Twitter

£159.55

Glen Grant 25 Year Old 1990 vintage Speyside single malt Scotch whiskey. Single cask sherry butt bottled June 2011 by Hunter Laing & Co. for the Old & Rare Platinum Selection. 206 bottles. Established in 1840 by brothers James and John Grant, the business prospered and in 1897 Glen Grant No. 2 distillery was established across the road in order to meet the high demand for Glen Grant whiskey. During the late nineteenth century a Victorian garden was laid out in the valley behind the distillery and is now open to distillery visitors. Glen Grant is a Speyside malt whiskey distillery situated in Rothes equipped with eight stills and an on-site bottling plant. Gordon & MacPhail has released some rare vintage single malts dating back to the 1950s.