R&B Distillers second release of Raasay While We Wait

This February, R&B Distillers are delighted to announce the release of the second batch of their lightly peated single malt whisky – Raasay While We Wait. This limited edition second iteration has spent 18 months finishing in Tuscan red wine casks, imbuing the spirit with a rounder and fruitier flavour.

After a successful first year of production, R&B Distillers have now sold out of the first release of their multi-award winning single malt, now only available at some of their stockists. R&B Distillers are in the process of building the first (legal) distillery on the remote Isle of Raasay, off the east coast of Skye, and they have chosen to create a limited second batch of 1,974 bottles to honour a renowned figure in Raasay history. In 1974, Raasay resident Calum Macleod completed a mammoth ten-year endeavour: to build a hand-constructed road across Raasay, from Brochel Castle to Arnish. R&B’s latest batch plays homage this immense and patient feat.

Masters of patience themselves, R&B Distillers began working with another Highland distillery to create whisky while obtaining planning permission to build their first distillery on the island. In November 2015, R&B launched the aptly named Raasay While We Wait a handcrafted whisky that offers a clever prediction of the taste and character of the whisky which will run from the stills on Raasay this Summer.

The inaugural release was created by combining heavily peated single malt with an unpeated single malt from one Highland distiller. This created a lightly peated single malt whisky reflecting the high minerality of Raasay water, which filters naturally through the volcanic rock of Dùn Caan. The pot stills, now on site at the new distillery, have been sourced from Tuscany and R&B decided to strengthen this Italian connection by finishing Raasay While We Wait in Super Tuscan red wine casks. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc casks lend juicy and fruity notes to the whisky which carefully balances the 15ppm peating.

While the first batch has spent 8 weeks in the red wine casks, the second batch has been developing in complexity over the past 18 months finishing in the casks. This new iteration contains the same level of peat, but the extra finishing furnishes the whisky with a bigger, more rounded flavour and is less spicy and smoky than the original incarnation. Similarly, the whisky’s distinctive heather hue has subtly but evidently darkened.

Brand ambassador Chris Hoban comments “The second release of Raasay While We Wait has quite a bit of the smoke and earthy notes from the first release but these have been enriched with fruity, juicy, full bodied red wine notes. Where the wine notes were more prominent on the nose in the first release, with just small amounts on the palate, the second release is enveloped with plum and raisin notes, mixed in with burning peat and dark chocolate.”

In 2016, the first release of Raasay While We Wait was awarded several accolades including a Silver at the International Wine and Spirits Competition, and Bronze medals at the International Spirits Challenge and Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition.

Alasdair Day, co-founder of R&B Distillers hopes that the second release will match this success: “We’re very excited to launch the second release of our Raasay While We Wait single malt. Given the batch nature of these whiskies we’re looking forward to hearing feedback from our customers on the difference between the first and second releases.”

February’s Outturn brings a bountiful catch of new single casks that are crisp, fresh and mouth-watering.  Cast your net and discover the perfect whisky for you!

CASK No. 30.81  A BAKER’S DELIGHT

23 years old; refill hogshead; 56%; Sweet, fruity & mellow

The nose evokes bakeries (Danish pastries, Magdalenas, croissants) with fruit (apricot jam, marmalade, peaches, rhubarb and custard) and floral perfume later. The palate has dried mango, caramelized sugar, amaretti biscuits, butterscotch, melted marshmallows and vanilla; hints of leather and tobacco underneath.

CASK No. 64.72  FRUITFUL JOY

9 years old; 1st fill barrel; 58.2%; Juicy, oak & vanilla

Notes of Williams pear brandy and alpine strawberry fruit wine certainly made their impact on us before we tasted raspberry and gooseberry jelly and lemon curd. With water, banana bread and orange hobnobs, finishing strong with a strawberry and rose water gin fizz.

CASK No. 9.90  SPICY ‘ADULT’ SWEETNESS

26 years old; refill butt; 55.1%; Spicy & sweet

The nose has fine, deep sweetness – caramel wafers, dulce de leche, sweet tobacco, marmalade and sugary espresso dregs, with hints of pepper, wood and wicker. The palate’s chocolate gingers, Tia Maria, pain au chocolat and Crunchie bars deliver yummy adult sweetness.

CASK No. 36.102  AFTER THE RAIN

12 years old; 1st fill barrel; 57.7%; Juicy, oak & vanilla

Perfumed aromas with furniture polish, mango incense sticks and a coconut shea butter aromatic candle. Apricot and ginger frangipane tart and raspberry pepper jam made it a fiery and flavoursome experience. A drop of water and we promise you a rose garden.

CASK No. 33.134  PEAT ROASTED PIG HAWAIIAN STYLE

8 years old; 2nd fill butt; 60.9%; Peated

We were invited to a luau feast where a whole pig wrapped in banana leaves and covered in a wet burlap sack got slow roasted in an underground oven. The result was salty, sweet, smoky and succulent but also chewy, crispy and crunchy.

CASK No. 66.90  STEAM TRAIN THROUGH A PHARMACY

12 years old; refill barrel; 58.5%; Peated

The nose delivers unmistakable vanilla smoke – also cigar ash, polished wood, pine forests, steam trains and pharmacies. The palate has a more tarry smoke; also Buckley’s Mixture, Liquorice Allsorts and blackcurrant Halls – sweet, succulent and easy-drinking with a drop of water.

SMWS Canada

The Last Drop 1972 Lochside

A Single Grain Scotch from the short-lived Lochside distillery (1957-1992) in Montrose. Aged over 44 years old, this expression was distilled in 1972 and filled to 2nd-fill bourbon casks. Only 109 bottles were produced by The Last Drop Distillers in January 2017. Presented in a chocolate brown leather case with a signed authenticity certificate, a 50ml miniature and a custom-made stopper.

£2,400 Pre-Order Now

Stock arriving w/c 27th February

*COMING SOON*

Taketsuru age statements 

This Wednesday, the Taketsuru 17 year and Taketsuru 21 year will be landing in store. Notoriously fast sellers so get your hands on them quick.

Masataka Taketsuru.

Founder of Japanese whisky.

Japanese whisky has been becoming increasingly prominent in the whisky industry and we have Mr Taketsuru to thank for it. In the early 1900s he did apprenticeships at Hazelburn and Longmorn after studying Organic Chemistry at the university of Glasgow. In 1920 he moved back to Japan with his Scottish wife Rita where he helped to establish Suntory as a whisky brand before he left and opened Yoichi Distillery in the mountains of Hokkaido and thus, the Nikka brand.

Hello you beautiful people! Irish whisky (whiskey) is something that i feel is still looked down upon by some whisky drinkers. All whisky is good, it’s just that we all have very different tastes, Irish whisky however has always held a place in my heart and palate. This expression from the Tullamore distillery is something that really blew me away last year, a 14 year old single malt, triple distilled and matured in a combination of; bourbon, sherry, port and madeira casks – not very typical at all. Irish whisky is on one hell of a rise and in the next decade, will continue to fly high and should do as well. Enjoy!

Whisky Reviews every Wednesday

Facebook.com/whiskytube

Twitter.com/whiskytube

Ezra Brooks® Launches New Straight Rye

Brand Adds Rye Whiskey to Family Lineup 

(St. Louis) January 12, 2017 – The iconic brand Ezra Brooks® Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey has a new addition to its product lineup: Ezra Brooks® Straight Rye. The brand, which dates back to 1957 and has been a part of Luxco’s portfolio of whiskeys since 1993, will continue to provide variants for consumers that celebrate the modern gentleman in all of us.

Ezra Brooks Straight Rye, a genuine straight rye whiskey, is made from the finest ingredients available and bottled at an honest 90 proof. This rye whiskey offers slightly sweet and oaky tones with a warm, spicy finish – making it perfect for crafting classic cocktails or enjoying on the rocks. It is available nationally starting this month in 750ml and 50ml bottles.

“In the past 12 months, we have seen rapid growth in the rye category, up 27 percent*, which indicates consumers are interested in more rye whiskey products,” says Fletcher Buchman, brand manager at Luxco. “Ezra Brooks’ recent packaging refresh has elevated the brand to the same high-quality of the bourbon found inside the bottle.”

Ezra Brooks’ updated look includes a new corked bottle with a premium matte-finish closure capsule. In addition, a higher end label offers the bottle a craftier look and feel. The brand has recently earned top honors at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, taking Gold for Old Ezra Seven Year and Silver for both Ezra Brooks Black Label and Ezra B 12 Year Single Barrel in 2015.

The brand family – all offered in 750ml bottles and ranging in suggested retail prices of $11.99 to $26.99 – includes:

n  Ezra Brooks Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, bottled at 90 proof and offering a mellow flavor with hints of spice and chocolate and a smooth finish.

n  Old Ezra Seven Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, bottled at 101 proof and aged a full seven years for a buttery long finish and deep, rich taste.

n  Ezra Brooks Bourbon Cream, bottled at 25 proof and offering a rich caramel and toffee flavor with a smooth, creamy finish.

n  Ezra Brooks Blended Whiskey, bottled at 80 proof and offering a genuine Kentucky sour mash recipe with a light, warm finish.

Lux Row Distillers – a new distillery experience currently being built in Bardstown, Kentucky – will be the future home of Ezra Brooks, along with other Luxco bourbon brands. To follow the progress of the construction and for more information, please visit http://www.luxrowdistillers.com/, as well as Facebook and Instagram pages.

For more information about Ezra Brooks, please visit http://www.ezrabrooks.com/

*Source: NABCA 9L R12 through September 2016.

For more information, please contact:

Pia Reinhold at preinhold@commongroundpr.com

Kelsey Arends at karends@commongroundpr.com

About Luxco

Luxco, Inc. is a leading producer, importer and marketer of beverage alcohol products. Our mission is to meet the needs and exceed the expectations of our consumers, associates and business partners. Founded in St. Louis in 1958, where it is headquartered, it is owned and operated by the Lux family. Its portfolio of brands include: Juarez Tequila & Triple Sec, Pearl Vodka, Everclear Grain Alcohol, Arrow Cordials, El Mayor Tequila, Ezra Brooks & Rebel Yell Bourbons, Lord Calvert Canadian Whisky, St. Brendan’s Irish Cream, Salvador’s Cocktails, Yago Sant’ gria and other well-recognized brands. For more information about the company, visit http://www.luxco.com/.

A Colossus Of Deal On One Of The World’s Most Coveted Scotches

1993 Macallan 23 Year Old “Old Particular – K&L Exclusive”

($299.99)

“We’ll always take older casks of Macallan if there’s a reasonable price attached to the barrel. In this case, $299 is beyond reasonable. It’s downright unreal.” – David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer

This single cask of barrel strength Macallan 23 represents our biggest coup yet in the post-Brexit Scotch era. We’re living in whisky world where Macallan 25 now costs $1700 per bottle. If the distillery even offered a cask strength edition of that expression it would easily be over $2000. Yet somehow, someway, we’ve managed to secure a single barrel of 23 year old Macallan at full proof for a shocking $299.

One of the main differences you’ll find in the Old Particular offering is the lack of sherry influence, which would normally be the calling card of the distillery version. Rather than toffee and cakebread, this single hogshead cask highlights the finesse and fruitiness of the Highland legend. With ample vanilla, dried apricot, oak spice, and plenty of sweet malted barley on the finish, the flavors are dialed up at 110.2 proof, so a bit of water is recommended. Macallan is one of the most graceful and effortless whiskies in the world, qualities that have cemented its status as the elite Scottish single malt distillery. We have to imagine this will be the last time we’re able to offer a whisky of this status at this price. Having just gone back to find more this past month, prices were upward of $800 per bottle for casks of the same maturity.

1993 Macallan 23 Year Old “Old Particular – K&L Exclusive” Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) ($299.99)

David Driscoll | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: February 07, 2017

Come and get it while you can! That’s pretty much all I can add to the above tasting notes. This is classic Highland whisky that showcases everything Macallan is famous for (other than the sherry). It’s elegant, complex, easy to love, full of Highland flavor, and it tastes expensive. I would never pay $2000 for a bottle, but of course we’re not asking you to. We’ll always take older casks of Macallan if there’s a reasonable price attached to the barrel. In this case, $299 is beyond reasonable. It’s downright unreal considering the market.

Glenrothes 9 Year Old – 2007

An indie Glenrothes, aged for 9 years in a sherry butt! Distilled in 2007 and left to mature in cask until 2017 then bottled by Scotch whisky bottlers, Càrn Mòr for their Strictly Limited whisky series.

£42.60

Bunnahabhain Moine Oloroso

This limited edition from Islay’s Bunnahabhain distillery takes its name from the Scots Gaelic for peat, Moine, and the seven Oloroso sherry casks in which it was matured. Revealing a side of the distillery not often seen, this rich and complex single malt is presented non chill-filtered at a cask strength of 60.1% abv.

The nose is rich in raisins, sultanas and toffee before a peppery smoke. The palate is rounded with sweet sherry and dried fruit, salted toffee and a syrupy feel developing into smoke layered over oak and citrus. Sweet smoke lingers in the finish.

£74.99 Pre-Order Now

Ralfy examines means, motive and opportunity with Ralfy Review 624 – Fake Whiskies in 2017