Introducing a new whisky to our fleet

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of Old Pulteney 25 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

 Pulteney Distillery has released its eagerly anticipated 25 Year Old expression. Sheltered from a fast-changing world, this rare expression, mellowed for a quarter of a century, has matured in the invigorating sea air of Wick.

Aged at its own steady pace, the elegant whisky began its journey in ex-bourbon American oak barrels for 22 years. Its spicy sweetness was later granted depth and colour by ex-oloroso Spanish oak butts until it reached the premium age of 25.

With a glimmering bronze colour, Old Pulteney 25 Year Old contains mature and fragrant flavour notes. The expression opens with heavy spices and dark chocolate which effortlessly lead to rum-soaked raisins and lime honey, punctuated with clean notes of orange peel and baked apples.

The flavour is firmly anchored in bitter chocolate and creamy vanilla with hints of toffee sweetness and crisp overtones of fresh lemon and coconut. The finish is long and spicy with a glimpse of dried fruit cake and exotic wood, ensuring each dram reflects its expert craftsmanship with a rich and satisfying taste.

Taste OId Pulteney 25 Year Old

We’re offering guests at The Whisky Show from 30th September to 1st October 2017 the first opportunity for you, our fans, to enjoy a sample our newly released Old Pulteney 25 Year Old while stocks last! To request your sample simply show this email to the Old Pulteney team at the exhibition. Sláinte!

Venue: Old Billingsgate, 1 Old Billingsgate Walk, London, EC3R 6DX.

What’s On – Drams and Dining at Tor Na Coille Hotel

Event:                            Tor Na Coille Whisky Tasting Dinner

Venue:                           Tor Na Coille Hotel, Inchmarlo Road, Banchory, Kincardineshire, AB314AB

Date and time:          Friday 6th October 2017; 7 for 7.30pm

Price:                             £45 per person

Booking:                       info@tornacoille.com or 01330 822242

As the nights draw in, there’s nothing better than a good dram to keep you warm. So why not visit the Tor Na Coille hotel in Banchory for a night celebrating the amber nectar – alongside the region’s finest fare?

After a Bruadar whisky liqueur welcome drink, you’ll enjoy a delicious three course meal, cooked up by Tor Na Coille’s award-winning chefs. Drawing upon Deeside’s unparalleled larder, each course will perfectly complement the whiskies on offer.

Alongside your meal, you will sample three sumptuous whiskies: an Old Perth sherry cask blended malt, a Big Strand Islay single malt, and a Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask Speyside 1991 sherry butt cask-strength malt. And, of course, you’ll be free to peruse the hotel bar’s fantastic selection of malts after dinner.

At just £45 per person, this is a great opportunity to sample whiskies discovering the subtle – and sometimes not so subtle – differences between the regions. Call 01330 822242 or email info@tornacoille.com for more information and to book.

Lagavulin 16 Year Old Engraved

Make your Lagavulin that little bit more personal with our bespoke engraving service. Aged in oak casks for at least 16 years, this much sought-after single malt has the massive peat-smoke that’s typical of southern Islay – but also offering a dryness that turns it into a truly interesting dram.

£68 Buy Now

Ralfy meets up with the latest ‘version’ of a big peat-hitter with Ralfy Review 686 – Laphroaig 10yo @40%vol (2017)

BALLANTINE’S INVITES THE WORLD TO OPEN WHAT’S NEVER BEEN OPENED BEFORE WITH ITS NEW SINGLE MALT SERIES 

Ballantine’s, the No. 2 Scotch whisky in the world, takes an innovative move into the Single Malts category, with the launch of three new Single Malts.

Always known for doing things differently, Ballantine’s will give consumers a unique opportunity to experience the flavour of the three signature malts that form the heart of Ballantine’s whisky. The Glenburgie, Miltonduff and Glentauchers Single Malts are all aged 15 years old and stay true to the Ballantine’s brand whilst retaining their own distinct personalities:

• Glenburgie forms the heart of Ballantine’s whisky character, delivering concentrated fruitiness and honeyed sweetness. Perfectly balanced, with aromas of soft red apples and pears, this whisky has a full and velvety texture and a long, round finish
• Miltonduff is the foundation of Ballantine’s whisky character bringing warmth and power. Floral with a subtle hint of cinnamon spice, this whisky is extremely smooth with gentle liquorice flavours and a long, warm finish
• Glentauchers delivers the smooth and delicate lingering finish of Ballantine’s. With hints of delicate floral heather on the nose and soft berries and barley sugar sweets on the palate, this whisky has an incredibly long, luscious finish

Peter Moore, Ballantine’s Global Brand Director comments: “The Single Malts category is dynamic and continues to grow rapidly as more consumers become lovers of this iconic Scottish spirit.

“As a globally known brand, we are sure that consumers will have confidence in the quality and credibility of these new Single Malts as they are widely recognised as the signature malts that form the heart of Ballantine’s,” adds Moore. “Ballantine’s has never been one to pick the obvious route – we do things differently and create our own path to success. All of this is core to the Ballantine’s brand and our launch of three new Single Malts is yet another example of celebrating and staying true to our roots.”

As consumers taste the individual flavour profiles of Glenburgie, Miltonduff and Glentauchers, they will discover over 190 years of heritage and tradition born in the historic Speyside region of Scotland.

Taiwan, the 4th largest whisky market by value and the most vibrant Single Malt market in the world, is the first country to officially launch the Ballantine’s Single Malts Series. From 23 September to 1 October, consumers in Taiwan will be able to learn about its ‘stay true’ heritage and innovative spirit through an interactive experience in the heart of Taipei. Through this experience they will be among the first to taste the three unique flavours of the Ballantine’s Single Malts.

The Ballantine’s Single Malt Series is bottled at 40% ABV and available to purchase in domestic markets at an RRP of $56 USD and in Travel Retail Asia for 70cl bottle ($80 USD Litre equivalent).

 The release of the series is a testament to the spirit of George Ballantine and the remarkable people, places and events that have been part of the brand since 1827.

Tasting Notes: 

The Glenburgie Single Malt

• Nose: Perfectly balanced with aromas of sweet soft red apples and blackcurrant. Allied with this is wonderful honeycomb candy sweetness.
• Taste: Full and creamy with a velvety smooth texture (honey). This whisky is bursting with fruity sweet orange flavours.
• Finish: Very long, sweet and round.

The Miltonduff Single Malt

• Nose: Rich fruity and sweet. Flavours of peaches in syrup, juicy sweet orange and creamy soft toffee with a hint of toasted almonds.
• Taste: Sweet scented floral flavours. Extremely smooth with milk chocolate flavours and hints of cinnamon spice, cloves and liquorice root in the background.
• Finish: Very long, warm and sweet.

The Glentauchers Single Malt

• Nose: Bursting with sweet citrus fruit flavours (tangerine and sweet clementine) with hazelnut notes and a hint of delicate floral heather coming through the background.
• Taste: Coats the mouth with smooth, soft berry flavours of raspberry and blackcurrant, combined with a tantalising taster of barley sugar sweets.
• Finish: Incredibly long and luscious. 

About Ballantine’s

Ballantine’s is the No.1 Scotch whisky in Europe and the No.2 Scotch whisky in the world with the range selling over 70 million bottles a year worldwide. Ballantine’s has won more than 130 trophies and medals at international competitions in the past 10 years for its outstanding quality, as a result of its unique richness of character and perfect balance. The range, from Ballantine’s Finest to the exclusive 40 Year Old, is the most extensive in the world of Scotch and is maintained by Master Blender Sandy Hyslop, continuing the brand’s tradition of Master Blenders that dates back to 1827. In 2013, Ballantine’s continued its innovative approach by launching Ballantine’s Brasil, a spirit drink made from selectively cask steeping Scotch whisky with Brazilian lime peel.

www.ballantines.com

@Ballantines

About Chivas Brothers

Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, the world’s no.2 in wines and spirits. Chivas Brothers’ award-winning portfolio features some of the world’s most revered Scotch whisky brands including Chivas Regal, the world’s first luxury whisky and the No.1 Scotch whisky in China; Ballantine’s, Europe’s No.1 Scotch whisky; The Glenlivet, the world’s No.1 single malt whisky; and Royal Salute, the world’s only exclusively prestige Scotch whisky range. The portfolio also includes two of the world’s leading English gins – Beefeater, the world’s most awarded premium gin, and Plymouth gin – plus a selection of highly acclaimed single malt whiskies, including Aberlour, Longmorn, Scapa, Strathisla and Tormore. The range is completed by a collection of blended Scotch whiskies operating in many of the world’s key whisky markets which includes 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport Scotch.

www.chivasspirit.com

@ChivasNewsRoom

Just landed… Kings County Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey  

Voted by the American Distilling Institute as 2016 distillery of the year, Kings County Distillery is New York City’s oldest operating whiskey distillery, the first since Prohibition. Kings County is among the very first craft distillers to release a style of whiskey that can be considered the highest class of American whiskey.

Bottled-in-bond is a designation that refers to American whiskeys (and some brandies) that are distilled, aged, and bottled entirely at one distillery, from barrels filled in one season, by one distiller. Furthermore, the whiskey must be four years old and bottled at precisely 100 proof. In the old days, this was a way to protect the consumer from brands that were merely bottling up whiskey from other distilleries and blending or adulterating that whiskey.

In an era when consumers still sometimes have a hard time knowing exactly where their whiskeys actually come from, bottled-in-bond best expresses the advantages Kings County enjoys by making all their whiskey in-house from grain to bottle. Kings County Bottled-in-Bond was released to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897; it’s smooth, bold, spicy and complex with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper and vanilla.

Kings County is distributed in the UK by Amathus Drinks PLC. For more information, please contact holly@amathusdrinks.com.

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 casks and Spanish sherry oak as well as a selection of refill casks, the packaging has been created by Danish designer, Jim Lyngvild, who is of Viking lineage himself.

£54.99 Buy Now

Highly limited availability
Orders will be dispatched week beginning 2nd October

Great new whiskies from Blair Athol, Ben Nevis and Port Charlotte

10th Anniversary Releases

Last remaining bottles of the first three Whisky Barrel exclusives.

Dumbarton 30 Year Old 1987  – Buy £102.96

Irish Single Malt 13 Year Old 2003 – Buy £48.79

Laphroaig 6 Year Old 2011 – Buy £46.19

George Dickel “K&L Exclusive” 9 Year Old Single Barrel #7234K1002 Tennessee Whiskey (750ml) SKU #1323085

When you talk to passionate Bourbon drinkers today, most of them are looking for the rich, sweet, bold flavored, high proof editions that seem to have completely evaporated from today’s market. Part of the reason the Van Winkle expressions (and the Weller Bourbons by default) became so beloved, besides the pull of pop culture, has to do with their sweeter profile due to the lack of rye grain in the mashbill as a balance. While not technically categorized as Bourbon (Dickel does by Tennessee whiskey even though it qualifies as such), the distillery’s high corn, low rye mash of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley results in a whiskey brimming with sweetness with less of the peppery and herbaceous elements. The only thing that’s ever kept Dickel from becoming the next big thing in the American whiskey scene is the low proof, but that’s where the company’s single barrel program comes in: each K&L selected single cask of Dickel comes with a 9 year old aged statement and a 51.5% ABV, dialing up the sweetness and sending serious Bourbon fans into a frenzy. Barrel #1002 is for oak fiends who looked for the heaviest, most saturated single casks for their next needed fix. The profile begins with huge aromas of wood and polish and the oak simply explodes on the midpalate with the higher proof dialing it up on the finish. The corny sweetness does its best to penetrate the surface, but it keeps getting punched down by endless amounts of char and oak spice. It’s a monster!

VIEW

Glengoyne unveils latest Jolomo limited edition

One of Scotland’s most picturesque distilleries, Glengoyne, has revealed the second in a series of limited edition gift tin releases in partnership with one of the country’s best-loved contemporary artists.

‘Heavy Snow at Glengoyne Distillery’ by John Lowrie Morrison, also known as Jolomo, was unveiled today (27 September 2017). It’s the second in a collection of four seasonal paintings of the distillery commissioned by Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky. The artwork has been printed on limited edition whisky gift tins, available from today.

The original painting will be auctioned and the proceeds from this, along with a donation from Glengoyne, will go towards The Mackintosh Campus Appeal to help The Glasgow School of Art recover the tragic 2014 fire in the Mackintosh building. It is hoped that £50,000 will be raised for the cause over the course of the four-year project.

Katy Macanna, Brand Manager for Glengoyne, said: “We are delighted to have Glengoyne immortalised by such an esteemed Scottish artist. The artwork that Jolomo has created is simply unique, and captures the essence of Glengoyne perfectly.

“As a distillery in such close proximity to Glasgow, we’re proud to continue our collaboration with Jolomo, helping to secure the future of the Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh building, one of the city’s most important cultural landmarks. We’re pleased that the sale of this magnificent painting, and the limited edition whisky tins, will help to raise funds and international awareness of this very worthy cause.

“Given winter is the season portrayed on the artwork, we believe the Glengoyne 10 Year Old limited edition tins will be a very popular gift this Christmas – the perfect present for art and whisky lovers alike.”

Each limited edition tin contains a bottle of the Glengoyne 10 Year Old Highland Single Malt and a print of Heavy Snow at Glengoyne Distillery. They’re available to buy online for £35.49 from www.glengoyne.com, from the distillery shop and specialist and independent retailers.

One of Scotland’s most successful artists, and a former student at the Glasgow School of Art, John Lowrie Morrison’s history with the school makes him a passionate supporter of the Mackintosh Campus Appeal.

John Lowrie Morrison, said: “I am where I am today because of Glasgow School of Art. I am delighted to continue to help The Mackintosh Campus Appeal with this latest commission. I understand that the first tin in the series sold out very quickly, and I expect this one will do the same.

“My idea for this painting came from sketches I’ve done and photographs I have taken over many years around Glengoyne Distillery. My family had a hut at Carbeth and I used to come along here on my bike and sketch the distillery and the surrounding area. When I won a landscape painting scholarship from the Royal Academy Schools in 1971, I didn’t go abroad, I came to the hut at Carbeth and painted and sketched all around this area, particularly around Dumgoyne Hill.”

Alan Horn, Director of Development at The Glasgow School of Art, responsible for The Mackintosh Campus Appeal, said “The first Glengoyne 10 Year Old limited edition Jolomo tin was a fantastic boost to our £32m fundraising appeal, generating great publicity and much needed financial support. We are most grateful that Glengoyne and Jolomo have chosen to continue that support through a second limited edition. We are also delighted that this continues our amazing relationship with our alumnus John Lowrie Morrison OBE, who has consistently been a generous supporter, in a variety of ways since 2014, of our project to restore the Mackintosh building authentically and sympathetically.”

Nestled into Dumgoyne Hill with the mountains of Loch Lomond in the distance, Glengoyne is considered one of Scotland’s most beautiful distilleries. Just 14 miles north of Glasgow, Glengoyne sits on the border between Highland and Lowland whisky regions.

www.glengoyne.com

http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/ http://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/

Notes:

About Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky:

Glengoyne, uncompromising in its pursuit of excellence, runs its stills slower than any other distillery in order to create the complex, sweet flavours for which the malt is known. The Glengoyne Highland Single Malt range is matured in the finest sherry casks from within its traditional dunnage warehouses.

About Glasgow School of Art:

The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) was founded in 1845 as one of the first Government Schools of Design, as a centre of creativity promoting good design for the manufacturing industries of Glasgow.  However, the School’s lineage can be traced to 1753, when Robert Foulis established a school of art and design in Glasgow, described as “the single most influential factor in the development of eighteenth-century Scottish Art”.  Today, The GSA is internationally recognised as one of Europe’s leading university-level institutions for the visual creative disciplines.

The studio-based approach to research and teaching brings disciplines together to explore problems in new ways to find new innovative solutions.  The studio creates the environment for inter-disciplinarily, peer learning, critical inquiry, experimentation and prototyping, helping to addressing many of the grand challenges confronting society and contemporary business.

www.gsa.ac.uk

About Jolomo:

John Lowrie Morrison was born in Glasgow and trained at Glasgow School of Art. He worked in education for 25 years, taking up painting full-time in 1997. He lives and works in Argyll. He has been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of the West of Scotland and from the University of Abertay, Dundee. In 2011, he received an OBE for services to art and charity in Scotland. He was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at Clydebank Town Hall Museum & Art Gallery in summer 2013, and a major show in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, in November 2015. John and his wife Maureen are Vice Presidents of the charity Carers Trust, along with HRH The Princess Royal.