‘Funky, feisty and youthful’, three words that a friend or loved one may be over the moon to hear. We’re offering Society membership plus this sweet, fruity and mellow 8-year-old whisky for only £80. The perfect gift for the fun-loving whisky enthusiast, especially with Father’s Day fast approaching

VIEW OFFER

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

Questions for Peter at our dram tasting in Perth

Age is but a number, a whisky tasting with Carn Mor in Perth

by Paul Maclean of Whisky Tours

Age is but a number, they must have been thinking about me! A whisky evening at Exel in Perth, with Peter MacKay (Morrison MacKay), Keron and Denise of Exel, with a number of whisky lovers, plus myself – dragged kicking and screaming at 6.15. Hello’s out of the way, why am I always first to arrive? Peter started us off right away with a dram of Original Old Perth; I have tried this many an occasion, do like it. It is a blend of malts, no grain here! Mainly an Aultmore and now up to batch 5. Says it all eh! We started the taste off properly with a Carn Mor Strictly Limited bottle of Glen Garioch, like my second wife, this had great legs, non chill no colour added, just a very good 5 yo, 46%, one of only 665 bottles from 2 Bourbon casks – obviously the Devil had bottle 666. Next along was a Strictly Benrinnes, hoggie casks, most of this distillery liquid goes to JW Black, so M&M have rescued it from a fate worse than death. Followed by another Strictly – Dufftown 7 yo, 46%, wood from an Austrian wine cask no less, I had to drink it, people were looking at me. Our final Strictly was a nice dram from a Sherry Shipper (butt) – Glenrothes, what I call a “kind whisky”, easy and even a novice would love it.

For world whisky day celebrations our dram list at Exel Wines

Then I was forced to accept a 21 year old Mortlach – they made me do it. The majority of this product ends up wasted in a JW, a real waste. One of my all time favourite drams, with a cult following. I certainly follow it, like a donkey after a carrot on a stick, by far the star of the night for me (and Keron). It’s no often I get my hands on a 21 year old these days, this was bottled only a week and a half ago, I should have bought a bottle! Oh well all good things come to an end, we ended with Big Strand, named after a beach on Islay, yup, an Islay single malt and a grand 5 yo. Peter is a great host, informative, humorous and knowledgeable, and human, unlike a certain bible person I could mention. This evening went down well, very well and it shows age is not everything. More about personal choice, experience and enjoyment of the drams, friends and surroundings, which leads me to a question often asked; what is my favourite dram? Answer; the one you buy me next of course. A good evening of fun and drams over 2.5 hours, many thanks to Peter, Keron and Denise, by the way, 4 August is a wine tasting and 19 August their own whisky festival – HEAD TO PERTH, DINNAE SPARE THE HORSES. Exel Wines, Perth.

Blogged by the happy drammer Paul McLean. The day before World Whisky day 2017, Perth is always first!

http://www.whiskytours.scot/

Sazerac Company Unveils New Southern Comfort Plans

New Packaging, Positioning, Bringing Whiskey Back and New 80 Proof Black Label Offering All Set To Drive Brand’s Global Acceleration 

New Orleans, LA (May 30, 2017) – Southern Comfort has officially found its way back to New Orleans with a revamped package and new positioning, tabbed “The Spirit of New Orleans,” a nod to the brand’s connection to the colorful city for 140+ years. In addition, the brand will once again include whiskey in the blend, which over time had been phased out prior to Sazerac’s purchase of the iconic brand in 2016. As a result, new label designs have been developed that better represent the brand’s whiskey credentials and New Orleans affiliation.

            Other improvements to the brand include the introduction of a robust, whiskey-forward 80 proof black label expression, in addition to the existing 70 proof and 100 proof bottlings. The bottles have been made taller and slightly narrower and will retain their longstanding iconic fluted shoulders plus the signature of the creator, M.W. Heron.  An upscale cap rounds out the packaging enhancements.

            “We believe the new packaging reinforces the brand’s authentic whiskey and New Orleans roots,” states Senior Marketing Director Kevin Richards. “New Orleans was an integral part of Southern Comfort’s positioning for decades. We’re excited to reinforce that critical connection into the future. Like Southern Comfort, New Orleans is adored for its uniqueness and spirited character.”

            Indeed, Southern Comfort’s roots run deep in New Orleans, as does brand owner Sazerac’s.  In 1874 creator and legendary southerner M.W. Heron created the first batch of his genuine smooth drinking Southern Comfort whiskey using his very own blend of fruits and spices. Around the same time the Sazerac Company was planting its roots in New Orleans at the Sazerac Coffee House on Exchange Alley in the French Quarter, home of the world famous Sazerac Cocktail.

            In the 140 years since its humble origins, Southern Comfort has become a highly successful global whiskey brand, selling in more than 100 countries. It has become a key ingredient in America’s drinking landscape and pop culture for generations. “We’re incredibly excited about our plans to strengthen Southern Comfort’s position as an iconic global whiskey brand for the next fifty years,” said Mark Brown, president and chief executive officer, Sazerac Company. “We believe Southern Comfort can be a 10 million case brand one day.”

            Southern Comfort’s new packaging and new 80 proof black label expression will roll out in Summer 2017 in the United States and by the end of 2017 across the rest of the world. Suggested retail prices are as follows in the United States for 750 mL: 70 proof $15.99; 80 proof $17.99 and 100 proof $19.99.

About the Sazerac Company

         Sazerac is one of America’s oldest family owned, privately held distillers with operations in Louisiana, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, New Hampshire, Maryland, California, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Australia and Canada. For more information on Sazerac, please visit www.sazerac.com.

EXCLUSIVE FEIS ILE 2017 AUCTION NOW LIVE!

Hot on the heels of last week’s festival is our Feis Ile 2017 Auction, featuring a range of bottles available during the week long celebration of all things Islay. 

If you couldn’t make it over to the Island here is your chance to pick up one of the many bottles you missed out on. A veritable feast for all you Islay devotees! 

Bowmore 27 Year Old Port Cask

Bowmore’s premium release for this year’s festival, you had to be queueing from first light in order to get your hands on one of these! Limited to only 200 bottles, which were sold on a first come first served basis during their open day. 

Laphroaig Cairdeas Cask Strength/Quarter Cask

The idea behind a quarter cask maturation is that more wood is in contact with the liquid resulting in greater flavour. We certainly thought so when we tried it last week! 

Big Peat Sherry Cask / Pals Edition

A blend of Islay single malts finished in sherry casks, the ‘Pals Edition’ was limited to only 1600 bottles that sold out within a few days of the festival starting. Here’s your chance to grab one! 

Hunter Laing Kinship Collection

These 6 incredible bottles were launched during the festival to mark the beginning of construction work at Ardnahoe distillery. Each one hand signed by Jim McEwan, we are delighted to feature the set in our Feis Ile Auction! 

Lagavulin 16 Year Old Feis Ile 2017

Lagavulin’s offering has been double matured in Moscatel cask wood. We didn’t get a taste on the island but we’re rarely disappointed by anything from this distillery! 

Ardbeg Ar9 Elements of Islay

A spectacular Ardbeg released by Elements of Islay for this years festival. A 16 year old fully matured in a 1st fill Oloroso sherry cask, just take a look at that delicious looking colour! 

There is no registration fee, our commission structure is very competitive and we offer worldwide shipping. Happy bidding! 

Upcoming Collection Dates

We will be hitting the road this month and making another round of free collections. 

If you have bottles that you would like to enter for auction take a look at the dates below and get in touch to book your pick up now! 

Not in your area? Let us know and we can try to set up another collection date for you or help arrange a courier collection for your bottles. 

Aberdeen – Monday 12th June

Inverness & Speyside – Tuesday 13th June

London & M6 – Thursday 22nd June to Sunday 25th June 

01738 245576 / info@whiskyauctioneer.com

Since we have now fully recovered from the 2017 Campbeltown Malts Festival, we thought it was time to share the 2018 date with you all. We are delighted to let you know that the 2018 Campbeltown Malts Festival will run from Wednesday 23rd – Friday 25th May. 

Once again, the festival will celebrate the quality malts produced and bottled here in Campbeltown and we will have a full programme of events planned throughout the 3 day festival.

More information will be released in due course (likely in January 2018) and you will be the first to know what we have planned.

Also, I thought I could use this email to give a small update on the progress on the Society bottles. A few of you have your bottles already I would like to thank all of you who are waiting for your patience. Lauren and I are working hard to ensure your bottles are with you as soon as possible. At this time we are particularly interested in hearing from people who are wanting their bottle(s) sent to the following shops.

Edinburgh and London: If you want your order sent to either of these shops but have not contacted me regarding payment please email me as soon as possible

Baden, Switzerland: We can now send Society bottles to this shop – if you would like your order sent there please contact me within the next few days. Email: society@springbank.scot For everyone else, I will be back in touch in the near future to give you an update.

Slainte Nathan society@springbankwhisky.com

For the Springbank Society

FAVOURITE FOODIE CHARACTERS

With members taking a massive bite from June Outturn, we’re recommending our top five foodie favourites still available to buy online. For those hungry for more, explore over 100 different single cask bottlings in our online shop.

BROWSE

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

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 165: Maverick 23 Year Old 1993 Blended Malt for MMM

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, releases another one of his own bottlings, together with his buddy Manny. The second release of 2017 in the Galaxy Series by MMM – Mark & Manny’s Malts – is a special one. A blended malt of 23 year old sherry cask matured malts that were put to sleep in 1993. Mark and Manny dubbed it their Maverick, which stands for non-conformist and daredevil. Another fantastic addition to the MMM series.

https://youtu.be/0RyXvnGxA9E

Jura 10, a Unique Island Whisky, Launches in U.S. Markets 

New York, NY (May 02, 2017) — Jura Whisky today announced the launch of Jura 10, an exceptional Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky and the first release in Jura’s new core line for the U.S. Hailing from one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, this whisky marries peated and unpeated malt with a Sherry cask finish to create a spirit that is a long way from ordinary.

Jura 10 is handcrafted on the Isle of Jura, a rugged, elemental island nestled a few miles off the West Coast of Scotland. Home to around 200 Islanders, one road, one pub and one distillery, Jura was once described by author George Orwell as the ‘most un-get-at-able’ place due to its remote location. Established in 1810, Jura whisky has been crafted on its island home for over two centuries.

“The launch of the new Jura 10 celebrates our heritage of whisky-making” said Graham Logan, Jura Distillery Manager. “The craft of producing great whisky has been at the heart of Jura’s close-knit community for hundreds of years and we look forward to sharing the long-standing traditions and unmistakable flavors of Jura 10’s island home with the world.”

While many distilleries create either peated or unpeated whiskies, Jura 10 marries together the best of both for a truly unique Island Single Malt that is subtly smoky with a sweet Sherry cask finish. It is matured for ten years in American White Oak ex-bourbon barrels with an aged Oloroso Sherry cask finish.

Copper gold in color, Jura 10 has aromas of fruit, cracked pepper and dark chocolate, followed by nectarines, ginger and freshly ground coffee on the palate with a subtle touch of smoke on the finish. With its rich and rounded balance of subtle smoky notes and sweet Sherry cask finish, Jura 10 serves as a beautiful welcome to the Island and its whisky for those new to Scotch.

Jura 10 is available at retailers nationwide with a suggested retail price of $54.99 per 750ml bottle. To learn more, please visit jurawhisky.com or follow @jurawhiskyus on Instagram and Facebook.

About Jura

Sometimes wild, yet always beautiful, Jura is a small island off the West Coast of Scotland. Rough, rugged and elemental, it’s only a few miles from the mainland, though to visitors it can feel like an entire world away. The island’s single road leads to the distillery and island’s only pub which lie at the heart of Jura’s small but passionate community of around 200 people.

Established in 1810, the distillery fell into disrepair and closed in 1901. In 1963, after years of economic depression, the islanders felt it high time to revive the economy by rebuilding Jura’s distillery from scratch; a monumental feat achieved through determination, endeavor and true community spirit.

On a mission to produce a spirit unlike anything else, the distillery manager William Delmé-Evans, went to extreme lengths to ship unusually tall stills to an island which has been called ‘the most un-get-at-able place’ (by George Orwell, author of 1984, written in a remote farmhouse on Jura). You see, the taller the still, the purer the spirit. It’s the reason why you can taste the difference in every drop.

Since then, the distillery has flourished, producing expertly crafted, award-winning whisky, as unique as the island it comes from.

Jura 10 – 750 ml / 40% ABV

A marriage of peated and unpeated malt aged for 10 years in American White Oak ex-bourbon barrels with a Sherry cask finish 

Colour: Copper gold

Aromas: Fruit, cracked pepper and dark chocolate

Taste: Nectarines, ginger and freshly ground coffee

Jura 10 was recently awarded 94 Points at the 2017 Ultimate Spirits Challenge and Gold at the 2017 World’s Spirits Competition.

Please enjoy Jura responsibly.

A bottle of The Macallan Millennium distilled in 1949, aged for 50 years in Spanish oak sherry casks, and bottled in 1999 sold for £21,250 at Bonhams Whisky Sale in Edinburgh on 7 June.  It had been estimated at £15,000-17,000.

The Macallan Millennium Decanter 50 year old-1949. Sold for £21,250.

Two bottles salvaged from the wreck of the S.S. Politician, in 1987 also sold well.  A bottle of Gilbey’s made £6,875, and a bottle of Peter Dawson made £4,750. The shipwreck was the inspiration for Compton Mackenzie’s famous novel, Whisky Galore, and two feature films of the same name.

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.

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. 

Father’s Day Gift Ideas

Glencairn Glass and Macallan Gold Miniature Gift Set – £16.99

Glencairn Glass and Glenfiddich IPA Experiment Miniature Gift Set – £18.99

Glencairn Glass and Dalmore King Alexander III Miniature Gift Set – £28.99

The Exclusive Dram

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