HUNTER LAING UNVEILS Six EXCEPTIONALLY RARE islay whiskies & NEW SHOP at feis ile  

The Kinship range will be exclusively available at Hunter Laing’s new shop on Islay and marks the start of work on Ardnahoe Distillery on the island 

Hunter Laing has unveiled ‘The Kinship’, a range of six bottlings of exceptionally rare Islay whiskies, which will only be sold at their new shop on Islay during and after the Feis Ile whisky festival.

The six single cask Islay whiskies in the Kinship collection have a combined age of 181 years and were hand-picked by iconic whisky distiller Jim McEwan. The legendary master distiller was recently appointed Production Director of Hunter Laing’s Ardnahoe Distillery, which will become the ninth whisky distillery on Islay when it opens early next year.

The Kinship range has been bottled for the Festival as a tribute to Ardnahoe’s neighbours on Islay and to herald the start of the construction of Ardnahoe on the island. The whiskies will only be available at Hunter Laing’s new shop at Islay House Square, Bridgend from 10am on Friday 26^th May, the first day of Feis Ile, and will be on sale during the Islay Festival of Music and Malt while stocks last. The shop, which will remain open for at least a year until the build of Ardnahoe Distillery is complete, will also sell a range of Hunter Laing bottlings.

The Kinship range, which has labels representing different aspects of the Scotch whisky production process – harvest, malting, fermentation, distillation, maturation and bottling – will also be sampled at two Ardnahoe tastings hosted by Jim McEwan during the festival on 30 May and 1^st June.

The cask-strength whiskies are among the rarest casks Hunter Laing has ever released. The range comprises of a 34-year-old sherry cask Port Ellen (£1800), 33-year-old sherry cask Caol Ila (£375), 30-year old sherry cask Bowmore (£495), 30-year-old Bourbon cask Laphroaig (£720), 28-year-old sherry cask Bunnahabhain (£310) and a 26-year-old Bourbon cask Ardbeg (£720). As each whisky is bottled from a single cask, they are available in limited quantities with, for example, fewer than 210 bottles of the Ardbeg in existence. Each bottle comes presented in an individual jute bag.

The Port Ellen whisky is noted by McEwan as being like “a tidal wave in a glass” whilst the Bunnahabhain is described as “without doubt the best sherry-matured Bunnahabhain I have tasted”.

Of the Kinship, Jim McEwan said: “I knew before I joined the Hunter Laing family to embark on the journey to create Ardnahoe that they had an amazing array of casks. So having the chance to search through their whisky stocks for exceptional examples of Islay whisky was an incredible experience.

“The whiskies in The Kinship range are a tribute to the brotherhood of Islay distilleries, of which I’ve been fortunate to be a part for most of my life, and now once again with Hunter Laing as we extend the Islay family with the establishment of Ardnahoe.”

Stewart Laing added: “With the world’s whisky fans looking towards Islay for the festival, and our distillery build getting under way, we wanted to release a truly special collection of whiskies that fitted the occasion. We’re hugely proud to be adding a new chapter to Islay’s whisky story and The Kinship is a fitting tribute to celebrate this exciting time for us and whisky fans all over the world.”

In addition to releasing The Kinship range, the Hunter Laing team are staging daily visits to the Ardnahoe Distillery site. The visits are free, with a shuttle bus taking groups from Persabus Farm to the site on the north-east coast of the island.

The Kinship range is available during Feis Ile from 10am Friday 26^th May at the Ardnahoe shop, Islay House Square, Brigend, PA44 7NZ. 

To buy tickets (£150) for the Ardnahoe tasting events with Jim McEwan, click here: https://billetto.co.uk/users/hunter-laing-co-ltd 

https://hunterlaing.com/

https://ardnahoedistillery.com/ @ardnahoe @hlaingwhisky

Notes

Hunter Laing 

• Hunter Laing & Co is an independent bottler and blender based in Glasgow run by the Laing Family – father Stewart with sons Andrew and Scott
• Hunter Laing has been operating since May 2013 and owns a portfolio of much-loved whisky brands including Old Malt Cask, Old & Rare, Hepburn’s Choice and Sovereign.
• It distributes to 65 markets around the world in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australasia.

• Hunter Laing & Co reported pre-tax profits of £1.4m on a turnover of £6.4m for its last full year of trading (end 30 April 2015).
  

Ardnahoe Distillery 

• Ardnahoe is being built on the north-east coast of Islay and will become the ninth distillery on the island. It expects to start distilling whisky in early 2018.
• It will be the first distillery to be built on Islay for more than a decade.
• The distillery, which will include a shop and tasting room, will produce traditional peated Islay single malt

BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY RELEASES ORGANIC 6 GRAIN WHISKEY EXPERIMENT

FRANKFORT, Franklin County, Ky (May 9, 2017) Buffalo Trace Distillery has experimented with a variety of grains in their latest Experimental Collection release, six grains in one bourbon to be exact. The latest release is named Organic Six Grain Whiskey.

Distilled in early May 2010, this whiskey mash bill contains an assortment of grains; corn, buckwheat, brown rice, sorghum, wheat, and rice. These grains were milled, cooked and made into sour mash before being distilled on Buffalo Trace’s experimental micro-still to 130 proof white dog. The white dog was then entered into eight new charred white oak barrels that had received Buffalo Trace’s standard number four char. After resting in Warehouse H for seven years and one month, the whiskey was chill filtered and bottled at 90 proof.

This is a certified organic whiskey, as all six grains received organic certification, and the production method at Buffalo Trace Distillery, including distillation, processing, and bottling was organically certified.

While it may be uncommon to come across bourbons made with more than typically three grains, this six grain product still meets all of the requirements to be called bourbon, made with at least 51 percent corn, with the other five grains comprising the rest of the mash bill. Buffalo Trace observed that these six grains created a flavor profile that is different than the typical bourbons produced at the Distillery. For this reason, Buffalo Trace has elected to refer to this experiment as a whiskey in name.

Tasting notes for the Organic Six Grain Experiment describe it as being very complex, with slight herbal tones, heavy wood tannins, and earthy notes, accompanied by a spicy aftertaste that rounds out the comprehensive flavor.

These barrels are part of more than 14,000 experimental barrels of whiskey aging in the warehouses of Buffalo Trace Distillery, the largest number of experimental barrels ever held in inventory at the National Historic Landmark Distillery and most likely the world. Each of them has unique characteristics that differentiate them in distinct ways. Some examples of experiments include unique mash bills, types of wood, and different barrel toasts. In order to further increase the scope, flexibility, and range of the experimental program, an entire micro distillery, named The Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. “OFC” Micro Distillery, complete with cookers, fermenting tanks, and a state-of-the-art micro still has been constructed within Buffalo Trace Distillery. Buffalo Trace has increased its commitment to experimentation with the recent addition of its Warehouse X. Although small in size, Warehouse X is designed to explore the extent of environmental influences on the flavor profiles of whiskey.

The Experimental Collection is packaged in 375ml bottles, and each label includes all the pertinent information unique to that barrel of whiskey. These whiskeys retail for approximately $46.35 each and will be available in late May, 2017.  Experimental Collection releases are generally quite small and have limited availability. For more information on the Experimental Collection or the other products of Buffalo Trace Distillery, please contact Elizabeth Hurst at ehurst@buffalotrace.com.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich 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.  Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site and is a National Historic Landmark as well as is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Distillery has won 17 distillery titles since 2000 from such notable publications as Whisky Magazine, Whisky Advocate Magazine and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. It was named “Brand Innovator of the Year” by Whisky Magazine at its Icons of Whisky America Awards 2015.  Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 300 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit http://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/.

THERE’S A GOLD RUSH FOR TAMDHU 10 AND BATCH STRENGTH #002!

Following the annual Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, Tamdhu Batch Strength #002 was Crowned Winner in the Non Age Statement category of the highly-anticipated Whisky Awards. At the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, widely considered America’s most prestigious international spirits competition, Tamdhu Batch Strength #002 was awarded a Double Gold Medal.

And the esteemed International Spirits Challenge has awarded Gold Medals to two of the core expressions from Tamdhu Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Tamdhu 10 Year Old and Batch Strength #002, recognizing the outstanding quality of both sherry-matured malts.

TASTING NOTES

 Tamdhu Batch Strength #002

 NOSE: Warming golden syrup, brown bread with peanut butter, cinnamon, white pepper  and  cocktail  cherries.

 PALATE: Mouth coating sherry oak, lightly heated berries and creamy vanilla, – adding  water  brings  out cookie dough, gentle spice and fresh fruit.

 FINISH: Spicy notes continue long into the finish with dried fruits, hazlenuts and vanilla.

 Tamdhu 10 Year Old 

 Nose: Very appealing and fragrant; sugar syrup with delicate Peach and Orange,  mixing with fresh oak, cinnamon and leather, sugared almonds and vanilla.

 Palate: The Fruitiness and spice blend brilliantly with a pleasing toffee and sherry  richness building as it is held on the palate.

 Finish: Fruit and vanilla linger becoming pleasantly drying with a hint of distant peat  smoke.

CATTLECREEP – NEW ENGLISH WHISKY 

Cattle Creep Whisky is the creation of Dan Bonner of Concrete Cow Brewery – Milton Keynes’ first micro brewery – and Laurence Conisbee of Wharf Distillery and Wharf Cider (formerly Virtual Orchard) – Milton Keynes’ first cider makers and craft distillers.

By combining their expertise – the brewer’s art of blending different malts with the distiller’s skill in taking the perfect cuts – then matching the output with a serious piece of oak, they believed they could create a distinctive English whisky unlike any other.

This uncommon collaboration has taken the conventional then added a number of twists to bring tradition into the 21st century. While the end result will be whisky, the journey from selecting the malt to filling the cask has been far from what might be expected of this age old spirit.

The Cattle Creep spirit was put into a Madeira cask on 28th October 2015 and will be available from 1 December 2018. Initially there will be a limited release of 50 certificated 70cl bottles in presentation boxes at £110 per bottle. Later there will be a special release, a distillers cut of possibly just 20-30 bottles.

To secure your bottle of the first limited release you can pay a reservation fee of £55 now using the button on the right, with balance due on collection in 2018. There is a limit of 1 bottle per customer. A reservation/gift certificate will be sent upon receipt of deposit. Postage can be arranged as required.  

Check it out at – http://cattlecreep.uk/

English Whisky wins two highly prestigious awards at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition was held at the Hotel Nikko, San Francisco, April 20th through April 23rd. 43 spirits experts convened to judge a record-breaking number of entries – over 2,100!

The English – Original Winner of the highly prestigious Gold award at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition The English – Original. Aged to perfection in specially selected Bourbon Casks. An unpeated single malt whisky. A great easy-drinking classic single malt. Taste: A gentle aroma with hints of vanilla and tropical fruits. Like a soft whipped vanilla ice cream. Melts on the palate. Slightly nutty with a long malty finish. Finish is clean, dry and slightly salty.

The English – Smokey Winner of the highly prestigious Silver award at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition The English – Smokey. Aged to perfection in specially selected casks. A peated (45ppm) single malt whisky. A lovely waft of smoke on the palate, ideal alternative for the Islay fan. Taste: A gentle aroma with hints of vanilla, aniseed & ginger, a creamy palate, a little peat initially and then the smoke bomb! Finish is long, spicy and smokey.

Call 01953 717939 or email info@englishwhisky.co.uk

WHATEVER IT MAY BE, MAKE IT ENGLISH.
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Highland Park Valkyrie

The first in the Viking Legends series from the Orkney distillery, this Island single malt dials up the Orkney peat to give a richer honeyed sweetness than the 12 year old. Matured in a combination of first-fill American sherry oak, bourbon and Spanish sherry oak casks as well as a selection of refill casks, the packaging has been created by Danish designer, Jim Lyngvild, who is of Viking lineage himself.

£55 Pre-Order Now

Orders will be dispatched week beginning 29th May

All Aboard for Whisky Month with Caledonian Sleeper 

An education in whisky was on order for guests travelling with Caledonian Sleeper as they celebrated Whisky Month on Tuesday (16 May).

As Scotland commemorates one of its most popular exports, the overnight rail service linking London and Scotland marked the annual celebration by welcoming The Whisky Shop on board.

Whisky Month honours Scotland’s national drink during May, with a host of distillery tours, whisky tasting events and other activities taking place up and down the country.

As the latest in a series of on board experiences, whisky experts from the popular drinks retailer were on hand in Caledonian Sleeper’s Inverness and Edinburgh Lounge cars to provide guests with a guide to tasting the ‘water of life’.

As well as having an opportunity to sample three very special malts from the Glenkeir Treasures Range, those on board were also gifted a goodie bag courtesy of The Whisky Shop and Caledonian Sleeper containing a whisky miniature with tasting notes showcasing The W Club whisky subscriptions, along with a copy of the retailer’s magazine, Whiskeria.

A brand known for ‘Unlocking the Mystery of Whisky’ for its customers, the sessions were well received by guests heading north to both Edinburgh and Inverness.

Ryan Flaherty, Serco’s guest experience director at Caledonian Sleeper said: “What better way to celebrate Whisky Month than with a tasting of some of the finest drams on board one of Scotland’s iconic rail services.

“We always seek to provide our guests with experiences that showcase the best of Scotland, whether it be locally sourced food or unique whiskies. We hope our guests enjoyed the experience, which was courtesy of The Whisky Shop.”

Scott Dunn, manager at The Whisky Shop in Inverness and one of the experts who joined guests on board added: “Whether it’s light and delicate or a more powerful dram, we thrive on bringing the story of whisky to life, and helping people decide which to taste next.

“We very much enjoyed sharing our knowledge with those travelling with Caledonian Sleeper from London during Whisky Month, and hope that guests enjoy continuing their whisky adventure when they get home.”

The Whisky Shop has stores across the UK, including London, Edinburgh and Inverness. For more information and to see the full range of whiskies available online, visit www.whiskyshop.com

For more information on The W Club and to sign up for a membership or whisky subscription, visit www.thewclub.co.uk

For more information and to book your journey of a night time with Caledonian Sleeper, visit www.sleeper.scot. 

Notes

Caledonian Sleeper 

• The Caledonian Sleeper service is an overnight rail journey between Scotland and London which is operated by Serco on behalf of Transport Scotland.
• Scotland’s Caledonian Sleeper service has been hailed as one of Lonely Planet’s ‘Super Sleeper Trains’ and the London to Fort William service made the world’s best-selling travel guidebook’s top ten list.
• Every night, apart from Saturday, guests are transported both north and south between Inverness, Aberdeen, Fort William, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London Euston.
• Travel bookings can be made up to 12 months in advance on www.sleeper.scot.
• The Caledonian Sleeper service currently offers a range of ways to travel – comfortable and affordable seated carriages, shared rooms and first-class private accommodation – with a dining car offering an extensive locally-sourced menu.
• Caledonian Sleeper is committed to supporting local communities and suppliers:
• 92% of food produce is sourced within 50 miles of the food production operation in Dingwall.
• All guests are provided with a Sleep Kit which includes a sleep mask and ear plugs. First and Standard Class guests also receive Arran Aromatics toiletries.
• The Head Office and Guest Services Centre are located in Inverness employing around 30 people from the locality.
• Brand new trains will be launched in 2018, which will offer innovative ways to travel in comfort on the Caledonian Sleeper service with double and en-suite rooms as well as a redesigned Lounge Car for dining, serving the best of Scottish produce in the on board menu.

The Whisky Shop 

The Whisky Shop constantly searches for the different and the special, whether it is a personal treat or a gift for someone else. At the Whisky Shop they stock a vast range of different whiskies covering all mainstream brands as well as independent bottling.

Whether it’s the raging debate about no-age-statement releases, or questions about how old a whisky I’m pouring at a festival around the world is, age is currently a hot topic. Something I’m often asked is how older whiskies compare to younger ones.

George Grant, sales director at Glenfarclas, recently hosted a tasting of six bottlings from The Family Casks series, one each from the 1950s through to the 2000s. It inspired me to find out more about if older whisky tastes better – or is it just different?

Production methods have changed since the 1950s, and there are three main factors that have influenced the evolving flavour of whisky.

Springbank is one of the few distilleries that still does its own maltings

Maltings

Fifty years ago, many distilleries had their own maltings. This gave them full control over the whisky-making process and allowed them to develop their own character by determining the length of the germination period, peating level and yield. However it is incredibly labour intensive and not particularly efficient, hence a lot of money was saved when most distilleries ceased to do it themselves and ued commercial maltings instead. It also allowed distilleries to have standardisation within the process, for example using air to dry to barley, rather than whatever was readily available on that day. Some distilleries which still use their own maltings include Springbank, Highland Park, Kilchoman and Laphroaig. The first two whiskies we tried on the night were from pre-1972, when Glenfarclas closed its maltings. They were noticeably different to the rest of the line-up in having hints of smoke, partly due to the fact that small amounts of peat were used to dry the barley at the time.

Heat source

Prior to the 1980s, most distilleries used directly-fired stills, where the heat source (typically coal, peat or wood) is placed underneath the still and lit. Most moved to internal heating, which saves both energy and money, but this also changes the character of the whisky, so many whiskies you try from the 1970s will differ from the same expression from the same distillery made in the 1980s. One recent example to move from direct firing by gas to internal steam heating was Macallan, which changed in 2010, so keep an eye on releases in the coming years and you can decide for yourself. Glenfarclas tested internal heating in one still for three weeks in 1981 but the character of the spirit completely changed. And it wasn’t just the opinion of the distillery itself. A sample was sent for chemical analysis, and it was sent back with three options for the original distillery – none of which was Glenfarclas! As a result it is one of a handful distilleries that still uses direct-fired stills (albeit with gas as a more-efficient heat source), a list that includes Glenfiddich and Springbank.

Casks

The cask used has a big effect on the final whisky. The size, age and number of times it has been used are all factors. A first-fill cask will impart lots of flavour within the first decade, so is better suited to younger whiskies, while spirit aged in a fourth-fill cask will cause less reaction between the wood and the spirit. The quality of the cask is also important – with sherry casks costing up to £750, you don’t want to have a cask that leaks. Production methods and knowledge of the ageing process have improved greatly over the past 20 years, with Glenmorangie the pioneer with its use of different casks and also sending its head of distilling, Dr Bill Lumsden, to America to select trees for its casks.

Other (more technical) changes include new strains of yeast, changing fermentation times to produce different styles of spirit, and replacing manual jobs with robots. The big one for sherried whiskies is the banning of paxarette by The Scotch Whisky Act 1988, which considered it as an additive. Widely used to season sherry casks up until the 1980s, this blend of Pedro Ximénez grapes and essences was added to the cask before it was filled with spirit, added a richness and sweetness to whiskies aged in otherwise ‘tired’ casks.

Five of the whiskies we tried, to see if older is better:

We tried six releases:

• a rich, sherried and spicy 1959
• a dried-fruit-led 1966
• a fresh and pure example of the distillery style from 1974
• 1983
• the 2015 release of 1992 vintage, which had lots of tropical-fruit notes and
• a soon-to be released 2001, which had similar hallmarks to the 1959.

For me, the oldest and youngest were too full-on for my palate. The 1983 was interesting, but very un-Glenfarclas (due to the recession at the time, the distillery ‘gambled’ by using cheaper casks) with a more malty style. My favourites were the 1974 and 1992, both different styles but with the classic Glenfarclas fruity character.

So is older whisky better? Not neccessarily – it’s just different.

The Pride of Glenmorangie

We’re getting the ladders out today to climb up to our Collector’s Loft and make some room for a very special bottle from the Glenmorangie distillery in the Highlands. The latest release from “The Glen of Tranquility” is the oldest single malt the distillery has ever bottled – rightly deserving of a place in our loft!

Next day UK delivery available We ship worldwide

Glenmorangie Pride 1974

Distilled on 30th October 1974, this Highland Single Malt is the oldest ever released by Glenmorangie to date. Laid down in two parcels, one in bourbon refill casks and another in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, the spirit matured for 41 years before being filled to just 503 crystal decanters, crafted by celebrated glassware designer Laurence Brabant.

£7,200 Buy Now

MAY AUCTION NOW LIVE (ends Sunday 28^th May)

…place your bids at www.whiskyhammer.co.uk

With an incredible selection of whiskies and other fine spirits there is certainly something for everyone – whether you are looking to collect, invest, enjoy!