Dear Whisky Enthusiast, The San Jose Whisky Pairing Dinner at Hayes Mansion was a great success! Thanks so much to all who participated. Our next dinner is July 27th, and tickets can be purchased here. He are still working on the menu so expect to see an announcement about that soon! We sell out these dinners so be sure to buy your ticket today! Here are some photos from the June Whisky Dinner!

The menu for the evening included: Grilled fois gras on toast with caramelized and smoked pearl onions; A salad of heirloom tomatoes, baby frisee and mache, pistachio, goat cheese crumble with a mango and white balsamic vinaigrette; Charbroiled Mediterranean rubbed lamb chops, accompanied with grilled duo-diver scallops served with fennel and mashed sweet peas, and port wine porcini mushroom sauce and pancetta béarnaise; Chocolate marquise with a sauce made of wild berries. And these fabulous whiskies were paired with this incredible menu: Do  Good Distillery Cherrywood Smoked Malt Whisky Glengoyne 18 Single Malt Spirit Works Straight Wheat Whiskey Lost Spirits Abomination – Sayers of the Law Malt Redemption Rye Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon Mosswood Sherry Barrel Aged Irish Whiskey

Early bird tickets are now on sale for Texas and Atlanta events!

Early bird prices are in effect through July 31st! Buy your ticket now for substantial savings. VIP tickets are limited, so don’t delay if you want an extra hour with a selection of exclusive whiskies. Whiskies of the World Houston (#WOWHOU) will take place on Thursday, September 14th, at the JW Marriott Galleria Whiskies of the World Austin (#WOWAUS) is Saturday, September 16th, at the JW Marriott downtown. Whiskies of the World Atlanta (#WOWATL) is Saturday, November 4th, at the Westin Buckhead Lets talk about it! Be sure to use the hashtags when talking about the all the WOW shows on social media!

Whiskies to Talk About

We always have so many wonderful whiskies that are available for you to sample at one of our shows. Every newsletter we like to highlight a few distilleries and some of the whiskies that you can taste at the next show!

High West

High West Distillery was founded by David Perkins in 2006 after David left a career in biochemistry to make whiskey! He established the distillery in Park City Utah, the first legal distillery in Utah since 1870, and is the world’s only “Ski In Gastro Distillery”! From very small beginnings, the distillery now has four locations in Utah and is an internationally known brand!  Much of their whisky is sourced from other distilleries, a fact that High West has been transparent about from the start. They are very innovative in the whiskey they offer, for example creating a fusion of Bourbon and Rye in one bottle, dubbed, of course, Bourye! Another very popular product, Yippee-Ki-Yay, is a straight whisky finished in French Oak barrels that used to hold Syrah and Vermouth. Other products include a whiskey made form oats, barrelled Manhattans, and the ever popular Campfire, which is a combination of Bourbon, Rye and peated Scotch whisky! David attends Whiskies of the World and loves to share his whiskey with you! Stop by and say hi!

Connemara Peated Irish Whiskey Kilbeggan Single Grain Irish Whiskey (Greenore)

One of the only peated Irish Whiskeys you will find, Connemara is made from malted barley that is smoked with peat from the bogs of Connemara in West Galway, Ireland. In the 17th and 18th centuries, this part of Ireland was full of people distilling whiskey, and using peat! When John Teeling first thought of creating this, he wanted to pay tribute to these original distillers with this whiskey. It is double distilled in pot stills and aged in ex-bourbon barrels. It is made at the Cooley distillery, and part of Kilbeggan Distilling Company, which is a part of the Beam Suntory group. Also made at the Cooley Distillery is an Irish Single Grain whiskey originally called Greenore, after the port where corn was originally imported for this whiskey. It is now known as Kilbeggan Single Grain Irish Whiskey. The mashbill for this is 100% corn, though some older bottles under the Greenore name may have a 95% corn and 5% barley mix. This whiskey, as are most grain whiskies, is distilled in a continuous column still. These whiskeys will both be available to try at Whiskies of the World in Austin this September.

Tomatin Scotch Whisky

Tomatin Distillery in the Highlands of Scotland was founded in 1897 and is one of the top 10 producers of whisky by volume in Scotland. Much of what it makes is put into blends, particularly blends that Tomatin owns like The Antiquary and Talisman. But they also make a delicious Single Malt, and more and more of their malts are making their way to whisky drinkers around the world. The fortunes of Tomatin, the community, and Tomatin, the distillery, are intertwined. Tomatin is one of the few distilleries who still provides a home for its employees at the distillery. When Tomatin Distillery was first founded, it raised the economy of the town and to this day they are both an integral part of each other. There are 7 whiskies in their core range, including some non age statements as well as a 12, 14, 18 and 36 year old expressions.

Collingwood Canadian Whisky

Collingwood whisky is made in Ontario at Canada’s longest continuously owned and operated distillery. Taking corn, rye, and barley, their own proprietary yeast and triple distilling, Collingwood is then aged in oak barrels which have been mellowed by other spirits. The most unique part of the process, and no other Canadian whisky does this, is that toasted maplewood staves are added to the barrels near the end of the aging process. The result is a sweet whisky with scents and flavors of maple, malt, and, surprisingly, a floral, rose like, note! This is one of the many delicious whiskies that will be available to try at Whiskies of the World in Houston in September.

Old Forester Bourbon

When American whiskeys were first being sold, unscrupulous sellers, and even competing brands, could sneak other items into barrels causing the whiskey to taste bad, and even cause illness! In 1870 George Brown sold his Old Forester Bourbon in sealed glass bottles to ensure its quality and consistency. This was the first bourbon to sold this way, and today Old Forester carries the honor of being America’s First Bottled Bourbon. Old Forester Bourbon is among only a handful of American distilleries who can claim continuous distilling through prohibition, having received special permission to keep making distilled products like rubbing alcohol and alcohol for medicinal purposes. Today they are the only distillery that can claim their bourbon is made and marketed continuously by the founding family before, during, and after prohibition. To celebrate the birthday of their founder, they released a Birthday Bourbon on September 2, 2002. This has proven to be so popular that every year a limited amount of Birthday bourbon is released and a few lucky people get a chance to own a highly allocated bottle! This is always a unique 12 year old vintage dated expression. In addition to this, Old Forester has more delicious bourbon for you to try, like the 1870 Original Batch, the 1920 prohibition style, or the most popular 86 proof classic Old Forester! At Whiskies of the World this fall, you will find the Old Forester that suits your taste.

This is just a small sample of the hundreds of whiskies from which you can choose to try at a Whiskies of the World event. There is something for every taste, and it all comes together in one great evening! Don your kilts, your dinner jackets and party dresses and come on out for an unforgettable night of whisky!

Cheers, Douglas Smith

Event Director Whiskies of the World