To celebrate the launch of London Beer Week 2017, Jane takes a look at the boilermaker, a classic pairing that is now a sophisticated serve in the capital’s best bars.

Existing in dive bars as a shot and a beer for generations, a boilermaker used to be the all-American male choice of beverage, gaining its name from industrial metalworkers who were quite possibly in need of a boilermaker after a hard day’s work.

The boilermaker – the perfect serve of whiskey and beer

Today, the boilermaker has evolved beyond its typical confines to become a drink that encompasses craft lagers, ales and stouts and all types of refined spirits and liqueurs. With each sip (beer in one hand, whiskey in the other) the flavour combinations get better and better – a boilermaker with the added finesse of a bartender’s touch.

In fact, as The New York Times put it, a shot and a beer has entered ‘today’s hushed temples of the craft cocktail, where complexity and creativity are often prized over a belt and a brew’.

As the boilermaker has grown up, so has its flavours and varieties, thanks in part to the craft-beer movement and finesse in spirit making. From the many possibilities just within the whisky world – Scotch, Irish whiskey, bourbon, Japanese whisky, rye whiskey, grain whiskey, peated whisky and moonshine – to pairing beer with bracing amaros, liqueurs, gin, Tequila and rum, the humble boilermaker has truly outgrown its origins.

This year at The Beer Edit, the highlight event of London Beer Week, you’ve got the chance to try some truly unique and tasty combinations of boilermaker. At the craft beer bar in the Beer Edit, you can order your choice of beer (and even mead, cider, and ginger brew) and spirit and sample this age-old serve. Here are six spirits to sip with your beer:

1. The Classic: Old Forester

Bourbon is the traditional spirit to sip alongside beer, and this silky American bourbon pairs well with just about anything you drink it with. Sharp at first, Old Forester softens quickly, with hints of oak, sweet corn, soft vanilla and light orange notes.

2. A SpicY Twist: Bulleit Rye Whiskey

Bringing astringent spice into play, rye whiskey boosts hoppy flavours, making them burst forth on the palate. This particular rye, Bulleit, is russet in colour, with rich oaky aromas and combines hints of vanilla, honey, and spice.

3. The Single Malt Scotch: Auchentoshan

Known for being more challenging and less sweet, Scotch brings a whole new side to boilermakers. Auchentoshan is great whisky which serves as a benchmark for Lowland single malts and has a smooth palate with hints of tangerine and lime, finished with a gingery and slightly drying pleasant lingering nuttiness.

4. A Beer Experiment: Glenfiddich IPA and Jameson Caskmates

Some whiskies are born to sip alongside beer, designed right from the moment of their conception to work in the beer world. Glenfiddich IPA is a Scotch whisky aged in barrels that have previously been home to an overly-hopped IPA, giving the barrel bold and zesty notes. Jameson Caskmates, on the other hand, has been aged in barrels that have been finished with a stout from Cork’s Franciscan Well brewery. This has added notes of cocoa, coffee and butterscotch to this classic Irish whiskey.

Ralfy explains the complex side of single malts with Ralfy Review 634 – Clynelish 14yo @ 46%vol (2017)

Glenlivet 12 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) (Elsewhere $37) $29.99 View 

Glenlivet 18 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $89.99 View

Aberlour 12 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $39.99 View

Aberlour 16 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $59.99 View

Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)

Email: wine@klwines.com

K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA

San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

BUSHMILLS® IRISH WHISKEY CALLS ON WHISKEY FANS TO HONOUR ST. PATRICK WITH NEW TOAST

Bushmills, Northern Ireland – Monday 13th March 2017: The oldest licensed distillery in Ireland is calling on whiskey fans to toast to St. Patrick in a bid to honour the world’s most popular saint.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by millions of people globally on 17 March and this year Bushmills® Irish Whiskey has released a compelling toast to give people a different way to celebrate the true spirit of St. Patrick.

The ‘Bushmills Toast’ is inspired by the ancient ritual of honouring someone with a drink and is the first official toast in the brand’s 400 years of distilling history. The toast gives people a true way to honour the legacy of St. Patrick, a man who lived in County Antrim where Bushmills Irish whiskey is also distilled.

The toast has been brought to life through a 40 second emotive video voiced by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery, who’s singular sound has racked up over 65 million plays on Spotify. A frenetic montage of bold imagery contextualising modern Ireland is juxtaposed by the voice of Lavery who is set to release his third studio album and embark on a tour of Europe, the UK, US, Ireland and Canada later this year.

Ciaran Lavery said: “I come from County Antrim where the Old Bushmills Distillery is located so it’s a real honour to provide the voice for the first official toast in the history of Bushmills Irish Whiskey. I‘ve been fortunate enough to have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in many countries whilst touring, but time and time again it’s all about Irish folklore and the colour green, rather than St. Patrick the man. I approach my music with great honesty so it’s refreshing to see this honesty at the heart of the new ‘Bushmills toast’, which perfectly captures the modern attitude towards our patron saint.”

Colum Egan, Master Distiller at Bushmills Irish Whiskey, adds: “At the Old Bushmills Distillery we’ve always done things our own way and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is no different. We pride ourselves on our unwavering character – doing what’s right rather than what’s popular and the new ‘Bushmills toast’ captures our ethos by creating a moment to celebrate the true spirit of St. Patrick.”

To watch the ‘Bushmills Toast’ and have your own Bushmills moment on St. Patrick’s Day, visit https://youtu.be/WA-1vWwpbzk

The Bushmills Toast

THIS IS FOR THOSE WHO AREN’T AFRAID TO STAY THE SAME

AMONGST THE FACE OF CHANGE.

WHEN EVERYONE ELSE SWAYS ONE WAY

THEY STRAY AGAINST THE GRAIN.

THERE’S LEVELS TO THIS MALTY STORY

IDEAS DISTILLED THROUGH GENERATIONS

A LEGACY OF CRAFT AND SKILL

THAT FUELS THESE CELEBRATIONS.

THIS IS TO THE HEALTH

OF THOSE WITH THE SPIRIT OF ST. PATRICK HIMSELF

WHOSE STORY’S WRITTEN ON THE ROCKS OF THE NORTH COAST SHORE

A DIFFERENT KIND OF IRISH, WHO LIVE BY ‘LESS IS MORE.’

SO HERE’S TO THE WILD AND HERE’S TO THE FREE

HERE’S TO YOU AND HERE’S TO ME

HERE’S TO THOSE WHO QUIETLY DO

THIS BUSHMILLS MOMENT GOES TO YOU.

About Ciaran Lavery

Coming from the tiny village of Aghagallon in County Antrim, Ciaran Lavery has racked up an impressive 65 Million plays on Spotify to date. He released his debut album “Not Nearly Dark” in 2013 , the “Kosher” EP in 2014, his second studio album “Let Bad In” in May 2016, a Spotify live session recorded at SXSW 2016 was released in August 2016 and he releases a live album, “Live at The Mac”, in December 2016. In 2016, he won the coveted Northern Ireland Music Prize and he is fast becoming one of Ireland’s most in demand exports. Ciaran has appeared on German radio and television, Spotify television in USA and was selected to play at Willie Nelson’s BBQ at Luck Ranch in Texas by the man himself. In 2017 Lavery is set to release his third studio album with his biggest tour to date taking in most of Europe, the UK, US, Ireland and Canada. Visit www.ciaranlaverymusic.com/ for more information.

About Bushmills® Irish Whiskey

Bushmills® Irish Whiskey is crafted in small batches at The Old Bushmills Distillery – Ireland’s oldest licensed distillery – at Bushmills, Country Antrim, Northern Ireland. The brand portfolio includes a range of quality blended and fine Single Malts. Bushmills is the only distillery in Ireland to make triple-distilled malt whiskey. This is at the heart of all Bushmills® Irish Whiskey and creates a unique combination of smoothness and richness. Within Ireland, Bushmills Irish Whiskey is the only distiller to produce both blended and single malt whiskeys.

WORLD’S LARGEST COLLECTION OF RARE JAPANESE WHISKY UP FOR AUCTION

The world’s largest known collection of rare and collectable Karuizawa whisky from Japan will go under the hammer in an online auction held by Whisky Auctioneer (www.whiskyauctioneer.com/).

The collection of 290 bottles, which had been built up over the last 10 years by a European collector, has an estimated value of more than £500,000.

Karuizawa whisky has become one of the world’s most coveted whiskies since the distillery stopped production in 2000.The collection being auctioned by Perth (Scotland) based Whisky Auctioneer covers almost every expression created by the renowned Japanese distillery. It is the first time such an extensive collection has been made available for auction anywhere in the world.

Amongst the lots on offer will be a bottle of Karuizawa 1960 which last sold at auction in Hong Kong for £96,000 in 2015 setting a new record for a Japanese whisky. Over 230 of the bottles are single casks and include some exceptionally rare bottlings such as the 1963 50 Year Old and the 1964 48 Year Old bottled for Wealth Solutions, Poland.

Excluding the highly rare bottle of 1960, the average price paid for each bottle within the collection is expected to top £2,000, although some of these bottles are likely to sell for considerably more.

Whisky Auctioneer will open bidding for the 290 lots at 11.00am (GMT+1) on Wednesday 5th April and close the auction from 7pm on Monday 17th April.

The sale is a coup for Perthshire firm Whisky Auctioneer which specialises in auctioning fine, old, rare and collectable whisky. In recent years, collectors have flocked towards Japanese distilleries, whose reputations and values have rocketed in the booming secondary market. According to rare whisky experts and analysts Rare Whisky 101, the RWK (Rare Whisky Karuizawa) Index, which tracks the performance of a select collection of bottles from this silent Japanese distillery, shows an increase in value of more than 300% since July 2013.

Karuizawa is not the only Japanese distillery to benefit from such a rise in stock. Last year, the most expensive bottle of whisky to sell at an auction in the UK was a bottle of Yamazaki 50-year-old which sold for £62,600.

Iain McClune, founder and owner of Whisky Auctioneer, collected the bottles personally and transported them back to Scotland.

Iain McClune, founder and owner of Whisky Auctioneer said: “A collection of this size from one of the world’s most collectable distilleries has never previously been seen at auction, so we’re absolutely thrilled to have fought off some stiff competition to lead the sale.

“While we’ve seen a lot of our business come from within the UK and Europe, this particular collection is likely to have global appeal. We expect to see some significant interest from rare whisky collector hotspots such as the US, Taiwan and of course, Karuizawa’s homeland of Japan.” www.whiskyauctioneer.com/

Iain McLune ~ Whisky Auctioneer Owner

Rare whisky expert Andy Simpson from Rare Whisky 101 said: “Over the past few years, we’ve seen the availability of Japanese whisky at auction continue to increase led by the highly sought-after Karuizawa. These low volume but high value bottles impact the market significantly with many bottles fetching in excess of £2,000, most frequently coming to market as individual bottles or small collections. However, in this case, with such a large collection up for grabs at the same time, it’s going to be fascinating to see exactly how much demand is out there for one of the world’s most coveted rare whiskies!” www.rarewhisky101.com

Ralfy swaps Irish tat for Irish culture with Ralfy Review 635 – Redbreast 21yo pot still for St Patrick’s Day 2017

Win a bottle of Springbank Local Barley

#whiskyromance

If you missed out on purchasing a bottle of the recent Local Barley release from

Springbank, don’t worry, here’s another chance to grab a bottle!

Head across to our blog for more details…

WIN A BOTTLE OF SPRINBANK LOCAL BARLEY

Springbank 21 year old single cask

Looking for your new favourite whisky? This might just be it, introducing a single cask Springbank expression distilled on 18th December 1992 at Campbeltown’s most famous distillery. Aged for 21 years in cask no. 326 before bottling in March 2014 at a natural cask strength of 51.6% abv!

Notes from Hamish: Rich sweetness with notes of cinnamon, soft fruits, banana with a slight hint of smoke.

£220 Click to buy

MARCH AUCTION NOW LIVE (ends Sunday 26^th March)

…place your bids at http://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!

Taste of Scotland arrives in New Brunswick for first Canadian judging session in major Scotch whisky awards

Frank and Jackie, who is originally from Scotland, have accompanied many Canadian groups across the Atlantic to visit the Festival and as well as enjoying all that the fun-filled five-day event has to offer, they also visit many other of Speyside’s attractions. The region boasts stunning landscapes, wildlife, castles, visitor attractions and is renowned for its golf courses.

The couple always cast their votes in the whisky awards when they visit the Festival, and they know exactly what they are looking for in a dram. Frank is a member and past president of The Whisky Tasting Society of New Brunswick – founded in 1982 and believed to be the oldest in Canada – and has chaired the organising committee of the group’s own Raise your Spirits Festival held each November, since the Festival began 22 years ago.

Frank says, “Scotch whisky interest in Canada is growing and there are many, many whisky tasting societies right across the country. I have helped many get started in the past 15 years.

“We have a great affinity with Speyside whiskies in Canada. Names such as The Glenlivet, Glenfiddich and The Macallan – these were the first names of Scotch whiskies that we recognised and were the first available in liquor stores. These whiskies led the way for the hundreds of brands that followed.

“The selection of the best whiskies in four categories will be extremely difficult decision for most whisky aficionados. The judges have done an amazing job just paring the list down to two in each category. No easy task and I suspect the voting will be extremely close. We think that Canadians are up for the challenge and think will embrace the opportunity to be involved.”

In the non-age statement category Aberlour a’bunadh is up against Tamdhu Batch Strength 002; while in the category for malt 12-year-old and under, the Aberlour 12-year-old will battle it out with Cragganmore 2004 Distiller’s Edition.

In the 13-20-year-old section it is a head to head between The Glenlivet 18-year-old and Glenfiddich 15-year-old. The two shortlisted whiskies in the 20 years and over category are Mannochmore 25-year-old Special Release and The Macallan 30-year-old Sherry Cask.

James Campbell, chairman of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, says, “When we discussed the idea of taking the judging sessions to international destinations, Canada was an obvious choice for us, not least because we knew it would be in Frank and Jackie’s capable  hands.

“The Lunar Rogue has built up an impressive reputation and is held in very high regard by whisky drinkers. I hope they will enjoy the chance to sample some exceptional Speyside malts, enjoy hearing more from Frank about what the Festival has to offer.”

The judging session for the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Whisky Awards takes place on Sunday, March 26 from 2-5pm at the Lunar Rogue. Tickets are available from the bar from March 16, either in person or calling 506-450-2065.

The international awards sessions have been supported by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.

Stuart Turner, head of EventScotland, says, “The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is a fantastic event and we are delighted to be supporting to take the Festival to the world. It is constantly finding innovative ways to engage with whisky enthusiasts. The global judging sessions are a great addition to the Festival and are the perfect stage for people to connect with this unique event while enjoying a wee dram of Scotland’s national drink.”

Based in the heart of Scotland’s malt whisky country, the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival takes place over five fun-filled days from April 27 to May 1, 2017. It comprises almost 500 events, taking place from Kingussie in the south to Forres in the west and Buckie in the east.

More information about the event is available at www.spiritofspeyside.com/ and tickets are also available to buy on the website. The Festival is active on social media – facebook.com/WhiskyFestival and @spirit_speyside on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #dram17

Captions: Whisky lovers from Canada will be able to vote in the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Whisky Awards as the scheme holds an international judging session in Canada for the first time this year.

Frank and Jackie Scott (right) are pictured being presented with the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival International Ambassador Award by renowned French whisky writer, Marine Nouet.