Sagamore Spirit Distillery grand opening ribbon cutting. From left to right: Bill McDermond, Co-Founder Sagamore Spirit, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, U.S. Rep for Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District, Catherine Pugh, Baltimore City Mayor, Boyd Rutherford, Maryland Lt. Governor and Brian Treacy, President Sagamore Spirit

Solid Light and Sagamore Spirit Distillery Developers Create

a Love Story for Maryland

Baltimore — April 20, 2017 — Sagamore Spirit Distillery and Solid Light, a full-service firm that plans, designs and builds exhibits and visitor experiences, are leading a modern-day renaissance to restore Maryland’s forgotten heritage of crafting American whiskey. The new rye whiskey distillery opens on Friday, April 21 – complete with three tasting venues and a visitor center that makes guests part of the unforgettable stories of the people of Maryland’s past.

To bring Maryland’s whiskey history alive, Solid Light’s research team found historical documents and images, and spoke to historians to understand what distilling in Maryland looked and felt like in its prime – before Prohibition. This information became the foundation the team used to create interpretive graphics and interactive media elements, including a digital map of Maryland and Baltimore distilling throughout history. By blending the historical with the contemporary, the visitor experience tells the stories of Baltimore’s distilling pioneers in a way that resonates with today’s audiences.

Everything from the visual media components to the look and feel of the tables in the tasting venues were designed and created by Solid Light to virtually take visitors on the 22-mile journey from the spring waters at Sagamore Farm — trucked in daily to make Sagamore rye whiskey — to the distillery in Baltimore.

Beyond the exhibit design and build, Solid Light worked with Sagamore Spirit’s developers to bring the brand and visitor experience to life — taking the project from renderings to the fabrication and installation of each design element— while acting as a key driver for the many stakeholders, architects, and vendors to ensure a cohesive design and meaningful visitor experience.

“Sagamore Spirit is one of those milestone projects in a career,” said Solid Light Owner/President Cynthia Torp. “Everyone felt such passion and enthusiasm for this project, and the more stories we uncovered of Maryland’s history, the more our fascination grew. Helping to bring the Sagamore Spirit brand to life, driving and managing the project, and telling the stories of Baltimore’s distilling pioneers was exciting, challenging and fulfilling. This is spatial storytelling that visitors will remember long after they leave.”

“Sagamore Spirit commissioned Solid Light to design and create a unique and memorable experience at the distillery that would inspire all of our guests,” said Brian Treacy, President of Sagamore Spirit. “The team understood what we were trying to accomplish and helped us bring the Sagamore Spirit brand to life, as well as sharing Maryland’s rich distilling history.”

The result is a Sagamore Spirit love story for Maryland that inspires visitors to discover, return and be a part of the renaissance of Maryland whiskey.

To celebrate Baltimore’s rich tradition of glass artisans and craftsmen, Solid Light designed a custom bottle sculpture featuring real bottles from Maryland’s distilling and glass manufacturing past, demonstrating the history captured in every bottle of Sagamore Rye

About Solid Light

Solid Light designs and builds exhibits and visitor experiences that engage, enlighten, and inspire.  We are passionate champions of a client’s vision, bringing powerful stories to life through comprehensive, start-to-finish content, design, fabrication and installation services. www.solidlight-inc.com

May Outturn sees the launch of seven new single cask whiskies with a flavoursome bite, so dig in and start your exploration!

CASK NO. 64.84  SPRUCED-UP FRUIT SALAD

12 years old; 1st fill barrel; 58.7%; Juicy, oak & vanilla A spruced-up tropical fruit salad of grapefruit, kiwi and pineapple, exotically perfumed and slightly nutty, all ‘dressed up’ with watermelon, agave and Dijon vinaigrette. Diluted, a creamy iced coffee with vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate brittle. The finish, a Mexicana ‘café de olla’ with cinnamon and orange peel.

CASK NO. 85.45  THE LEMON ROCKET SHIP

8 years old; 1st fill barrel; 61.8%; Young & spritely

The giant lemon rocket ship with marshmallow seats and dials made of yellow wine gums was fuelled with bitter lemon, tonic water and cooling menthol and spearmint to prevent overheating. With a chili kick it soared into the stratosphere, destination… the twin planets of rhubarb and custard.

CASK NO. 37.83  AN ODYSSEY OF FLAVOUR

12 years old; virgin oak hogshead, heavy toast/medium char; 57.1%; Juicy, oak & vanilla

Ripe mango, quince jelly and tart black cherries integrating with liquorice cake, treacle tart with short crust pastry and custard. A French polishers toolbox, damp forest floor and sweet balsa wood. Water released dried herbs, fennel and coriander seed. This whisky previously inhabited an ex-bourbon hogshead.

CASK NO. G6.5  CHOCOLATE-COVERED JALAPENOS

35 years old; refill hogshead; 49%; Sweet, fruity & mellow

We entered a carpenter’s workshop with aromas of wood shavings, beeswax and French polish with the addition of the scent of vetiver fragrance. We were offered white chocolate-covered Jalapeno peppers and candied nuts all washed down with an Espresso Martini.

CASK NO. 46.47  MEXICAN BREAKFAST

14 years old; 1st fill Pedro Ximenez butt; 59.8%; Spicy & dry

A ‘huevos rancheros’ on the nose neat; chili tomato stew with fried eggs and cheese wrapped in tortillas whilst on the palate we added coriander and turmeric to the mix. This whisky previously inhabited an Oloroso sherry butt.

CASK NO. 3.245  BIG PERSONALITY (NO PUSSYCAT)

17 years old; refill sherry butt; 56.9%; Peated

A deep, rich nose – tar-covered ropes, wetsuits, sneakers, leather, antiseptic, syrup of figs, Branston pickle, seafood barbecue embers and struck match. The palate has a big personality – salty, smoky and sweet – burnt raisins, bonfire ash, treacle, sherry, anchovies and biltong.

CASK NO. 29.205  TWO-WHEELED BEACH CRUISER

17 years old; refill barrel; 58.8%; Peated

Cycling past an old shipwreck with tar-covered timbers, the smell of sticky pork ribs on a bbq, smoked rhubarb crumble and sweet smoked salmon.

SMWS Canada

Shackleton Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

Crafted from over 20 of the finest highland single malts, this blended malt is based on Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt, a whisky discovered under the ice of the Antarctic, left behind from Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1907 expedition to the South Pole.

£40 Buy Now

Clynelish 20 Year Old 1996

Distilled December 2016 and bottled March 2017 from a single cask refill sherry butt #11380 by Signatory Vintage for the Un-Chillfiltered series. This is a classic Highland single malt  bursting with ginger, biscuits, candle wax, dried fruits and pears.

SHOP – £61.28

https://youtu.be/ScuAI7RIA7Q 

It’s been a while since we spoke about Japanese whisky on the channel, well, here we are! The subject of today’s review is, Nikka White Label, a combination of both heavily peated Yoichi (Hokkaido 1934)  and heavily peated Miyagikyo (Sendai 1969) Matured for solely in ex-American white oak, it has flavours of BBQ smoke, salt, some peat, caramel, toffee and popcorn. A solid all rounder and something that should be taken advantage of while stocks last, it’s now discontinued. Buy it while you can! Cheers.—

Whisky Reviews every Wednesday

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Worldwide success for Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival as it welcomes 37 different countries to the party

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival continues to grow as a global phenomenon with visitors from dozens of international destinations taking part in the five-day celebration of Scotland’s national drink.

As the curtain fell on the 2017 event, organisers have revealed that bookings came from a total of 37 different countries around the world, making it one of the best on record in terms of international festival-goers.

Visitors from key markets including Europe and North America came in large numbers, but were joined by whisky fans from nations including Venezuela, Korea and Japan.

Data about the Festival, which came to a close yesterday (Monday, May 1), will be analysed over the coming weeks but organisers are confident that it will be one of the best attended on record. It follows a record breaking start to ticket sales in February, when 85 events were sold out in the first 24 hours and £99,000 worth of tickets were sold in just 60 minutes.

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, which has been taking place over the May Day bank holiday weekend for the past 18 years, comprised almost 500 events right across the region – recognised as the spiritual home of Scotch whisky due to the high concentration of distilleries.

Festival chairman James Campbell says, “It has been an incredibly busy five days on Speyside and the feedback we have received from visitors has been phenomenal. Newcomers have told us they cannot believe the scale and variety of the Festival, while repeat visitors have said they have been spoiled for choice in terms of the quality of events on the programme.

“We will spend the next few weeks looking at all the data and information to see where we go for next year. It is clear that our international markets are becoming ever more important, and next year we aim to really focus on growing those.

“For the first time this year we launched a series of international judging sessions for our popular Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Whisky Awards, with panels taking place in the Netherlands, Canada and Germany. We aim to stage even more judging sessions overseas in 2018.”

Festival manager Pery Zakeri adds, “It really has been a fantastic few days and we could not have wished for a better Festival. People now know that if they want to truly connect with Speyside whisky and have unique opportunities to meet the people who are involved in its production, then the Festival is the place to do it.”

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival was supported by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s director of events, says, “I am delighted to see so many people have travelled from around the world to attend the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival. Each year this wonderful Festival goes from strength to strength, continuing to develop its programme with new and innovative events for its ever growing audience.

“EventScotland is delighted to have supported the Festival, which is the perfect stage for celebrating our national drink.” 

The next major milestone for the organising team will be staging the second edition of the Festival offshoot, Spirit of Speyside: Distilled. The event, which brings together the region’s whisky, gin, beer and food producers under one roof, took place for the first time last autumn and was very warmly received.

Visitors will be able to enjoy samples of local products, meet key faces from the food and drink industry and take part in masterclasses on a range of different topics. Spirit of Speyside: Distilled takes place in Elgin Town Hall over the weekend of September 1 and 2. Tickets, which will go on sale in June, can be bought for four different sessions over the weekend.

For further information about the 2018 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, visit www.spiritofspeysode.com The Festival is also active on social media – facebook.com/whiskyfestival and on Twitter and Instagram @spirit_speyside

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 Event Scotland 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.

EventScotland

EventScotland is working to make Scotland the perfect stage for events. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit www.EventScotland.org. Follow EventScotland on Twitter @EventScotNews.

EventScotland is a team within VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, the national tourism organisation which markets Scotland as a tourism destination across the world, gives support to the tourism industry and brings sustainable tourism growth to Scotland. For more information about VisitScotland see www.visitscotland.org or for consumer information on Scotland as a visitor destination see www.visitscotland.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.

With Free Delivery For All UK orders over £100 and Worldwide Delivery Available there has never been a better time to shop at The Exclusive Dram.

Buy Now  £7.99

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The Exclusive Dram

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We have two brand new releases for you to get excited about this week. The first in the Viking Legend series from Highland Park, Valkyrie rides into The Whisky Shop today, while the latest Masters of Photography release from The Macallan, previously only available as a set of ten, is now available to buy individually.

Free Click & Collect at any of our 20 locations throughout the UK Next day delivery available on UK orders

Highland Park Valkyrie

The first in a new series of Viking Legend releases from the Orkney distillery, this Highland Park single malt is matured in a combination of first-fill American oak sherry, Bourbon and Spanish oak sherry casks as well as a selection of refill casks. Presented in packaging created by Danish designer Jim Lyngvild, with inspiration drawn from the ancient Hammer Stone of Gotland and a Viking pendant from Upland, Sweden.

An intense, sharp tang of sweet green apples opens the nose before ripening lemon notes. The creamy vanilla palate brings oriental spices, sweet preserved ginger, dark chocolate and hints of liquorice. The long, lingering finish has waves of aromatic smoke and richly ripened fruit.

£55 Pre-Order Now Online price only – limited availability

Macallan Masters of Photography: Steven Klein Edition

The 6th edition in the series, this Speyside single malt celebrates the work of Steven Klein in a limited edition of only 1,000 bottles. An awe-inspiring whisky, each component of Klein’s art is reflected in the master whisky maker’s vision, creating a very specific and unusual whisky that mirrors the art itself.

Presented in a black leather case with a signed Steven Klein print, a distinctive black horse’s head bottle stopper and a range of glassware including a dropper, an aroma still, an infuser, a cocktail class, a highball glass and a tumbler, all designed by Klein.

According to Charlie MacLean, “The whisky itself is superb! Bob Dalgarno, Macallan’s ‘Master Whisky Maker’ has excelled himself. My first – and probably, only! – 9 out of 10 this year… 10/10 is available only in Heaven!”

£2,750 Buy Now Highly limited availability

Edradour 14 Year Old 2002 vintage Highland single malt Scotch whisky. Single sherry cask #1422 bottled in a Ibisco decanter on 24th March 2017. 697 bottles.  Edradour Distillery was formed in 1825 by a group of eight local farmers. Situated at Milton of Edradour near Pitlochry and still just a farm sized distillery equipped with a Morton refrigerator to cool the worts and two wee stills with their spirit cooled in a single worm tub. Whilst ranked amongst the small working distilleries in Scotland its owners Signatory Vintage have plans to increase its size and output. Official distillery releases include the Edradour 10 Year Old, Barolo Cask and Sherry Cask Ibisco decanters.

£83.41

Bulleit Cask Strength Launch Party Featuring Tom Bulleit: – Thursday, May 25th at Hard Water

Join us for a sneak preview of the newest iteration of Bulleit Bourbon, the cask strength edition with brand founder Tom Bulleit himself. As an enjoyable exercise, we’ll be tasting the entire range of Bulleit whiskies to help out the new edition in context, while the ace Hard Water bartenders whip up a few Bulleit cocktails on the side. Per the norm, there will be a buffet of Southern-style cuisine from the Hard Water kitchen to snack on and of course the view of the water and the San Francisco Bay Bridge from our private dining room location. You’re going to get a whole lotta booze and food for your fifty dollars. Tickets are non-refundable once purchased so please check your schedule before committing. There are no paper tickets for this event as your name will be placed on a guest list. The event is not located in the Hard Water bar, but rather across from the entrance in the private room next door. Come join us for the best after work party the Bay has to offer: K&L’s private American whiskey events at Hard Water! The event is on Thursday, May 25th at Hard Water on San Francisco’s Embarcadero near the Ferry Building. Only 40 spots available!

Bulleit Cask Strength Launch Party @ Hard Water, May 25th, 7 PM – $50.00 per ticket

A paper tickets for this event, your name will be placed on a guest list. Donato is in Redwood City at 1041 Middlefield Road. Please come to the back door patio for the event, rather than enter through the dining room. Only 50 seats available for this private event, so check your calendar ASAP!