Black Bowmore® 1964 – The Last Cask To Be Rediscovered – Arrives To The U.S.

Islay, Scotland (June 2017) – Bowmore® Islay Single Malt Whisky, the oldest licensed distillery on Scotland’s isle of Islay, announces the U.S. release of the fifth and final edition of the exclusive Black Bowmore® 1964 distillation. The last cask rediscovered of Black Bowmore 1964 has spent an astonishing 50 years maturing in Bowmore’s legendary No.1 Vaults, the world’s oldest Scotch maturation warehouse, making this captivating whisky the most aged expression of the Black Bowmore series. A mere 159 bottles were produced and released globally. This July, a portion of these bottles will be available stateside as part of the Bowmore 50 Year Old VAULT LEGENDS collection at a suggested retail price of $25,000 (750ml/40.9% ABV).

Black Bowmore 1964 50 Year Old is the second expression in the Bowmore 50 Year Old Collection, a series honoring the rare single malts that were first distilled and began aging in the No. 1 Vaults during the 1960s, an era known for producing some of Bowmore’s most collectible bottlings. The first in the series, Bowmore 1961 50 Year Old was introduced in December 2016 and is no longer available due to extremely high demand.

Black Bowmore was distilled on November 5, 1964, and over the years, has become one of the most rare and sought-after single malt whiskies ever created. With four acclaimed releases – in 1993 (29 Year Old), 1994 (30 Year Old), 1995 (31 Year Old) and 2007 (42 Year Old) – one last cask was rediscovered in the darkest corner of the No.1 Vaults. Having been carefully nurtured by Bowmore’s master craftsmen, the last cask of Black Bowmore has all the hallmarks of a collector’s whisky.

Distillery Manager David Turner, whose Grandfather worked on the original bottling over 50 years ago, said “Black Bowmore is one of those whiskies that are spoken about in hushed tones by collectors and aficionados around the world. To have the opportunity to try Black Bowmore now – at the ripe old age of 50 years – is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

The unique environment of Bowmore’s No. 1 Vaults has ensured that this sequestered last cask of Black Bowmore has developed a rich and intense yet perfectly balanced flavor of exceptional depth and quality. After 50 years of meticulous maturation in the vaults, Black Bowmore offers a sublime elegance with flavors of tropical fruit and honeyed black truffle complemented by Bowmore’s signature peat smoke notes. With its exquisite deep black pearl color imparted from the Oloroso sherry casks that it was matured in, Black Bowmore 1964 50 Year Old is beautifully rounded and complex.

A refined whisky that is as beautiful inside as out, Black Bowmore 1964 is presented in a beautiful hand-blown bottle created by renowned sculpting studio Glasstorm with cork tops made by Scottish Silver. Each bottle is filled and sealed by hand and encased in a handmade Scottish oak cabinet created by John Galvin of John Galvin Design.

About the Last Cask of Black Bowmore

The tale of the 159 bottles of the half-century-old last cask of Black Bowmore is as beguiling as it is complex.

On November 5, 1964, seven first-fill Oloroso sherry hogshead casks (3708, 3710, 3713, 3714, 3715, 3716, 3717) were filled to mature meticulously in the No. 1 Vaults.

Every cask and liquid has a special aging relationship and, in October 2002, it was discovered that casks 3708 and 3714 were quickly losing their liquid to the angel’s share. As such, on October 23, 2002, these casks were combined into a single cask to preserve this precious liquid.

In 2007, 827 bottles of Black Bowmore 42 Year Old from casks 3710, 3713, 3715, 3716 and 3717 were released. Fortuitously as it turns out, the previously married cask was overlooked and was left undisturbed in the coolest, darkest corner of the No. 1 Vaults to continue its magical aging process.

There the story ended, or so it was thought, until this last cask of Black Bowmore was rediscovered when trawling through the stock ledgers in 2014.

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

AUCHENTOSHAN THE BARTENDER’S MALT

A limited edition from Auchentoshan distillery in Scotland’s lowlands, this single malt is the first in a series created in collaboration with 12 of the world’s most innovative bartenders. With whiskies from 5 different decades and a variety of cask types including sherry casks, red wine barriques and German oak, this limited edition is the first of its kind.

Dried apricots, milk, chocolate, honey and green tobacco leaf on the nose. The palate brings a zest with cherry blossom, brioche and ginger, before an expanding warmth on the long lasting finish.

£49.99 Pre-Order Now

Loch Fyne Range

Here in our workshop on the shores of Loch Fyne we do just one thing, and we do it very well. That’s to know what people like in a whisky. You’ve told us everything we need to know and we’ve heard you, because, like whisky, the skill of listening improves with age. 

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https://youtu.be/TULlraAV_2o

Part 1/4 – Auchnagie. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to a new series for, Whisky Wednesday. The Lost Distillery Company are setting their focus on recreating some of those long lost distilleries that we were never able to enjoy. I’ve included a link to their website below, please do check it out and see what you think of their very interesting and diverse range. Cheers!

http://thewhiskeyjar.com/

http://www.flagtimefilms.com/

https://www.facebook.com/whiskytube/

http://www.lost-distillery.com/

A Pair Of 1993 Macallan Hogsheads Casks – UNDER THE HAMMER

 With the seemingly insatiable appetite for aged stock of single malt these days, prices of mature bonded stock have risen considerably – especially for those blue chip distilleries and names everyone wants. Those lucky or smart enough to buy some casks in the 1990s or earlier when they were – by today’s standards – astonishingly cheap (one day I’ll tell you the story about the 1965 hogshead of Lagavulin that someone thought was too expensive at £250 in 1990) are now reaping hitherto unimagined rewards.

Perhaps the most glaring example of this is the price now paid for privately owned casks of Macallan. Most are traded privately by brokers, bottlers and individuals for reportedly serious sums in the upper end of the five figure range. So, it’s rare that one, let alone two, mature casks of Macallan make it into a single auction. Auctioning casks is not something we’ve gone out of our way to do here at Whisky Online, but it’s always exciting when one turns up. So, needless to say, we were pretty thrilled to have a pair of 1993 Macallan hogsheads.

However, there’s always an element of risk involved in buying these kinds of casks if you aren’t able to check the liquid yourself. So, with this in mind, we thought we’d offer some tasting notes from the samples drawn at the time of the casks most recent gauging in April 2017 and sent to us by the vendor.

Macallan 1993. Cask 4130. Hogshead. 55.6%. 

Colour: Gold

Nose: It’s a fresh and pretty classical, ‘naked’ style Macallan. Biscuit, varnished wood, a plush assortment of green fruits and even something tropical like a little passionfruit. Plenty typical notes of cereals, muesli – it’s quite savoury in fact – and a little green fruit compote. With water: becomes more mineral and gravelly. Notes of paprika and freshly ground white pepper. Again more very elegant tropical fruit notes linger in the back. Quite an intriguing nose for a Macallan – but the natural weight and heft of the distillate shines through well.

Palate: A little hot on delivery but gives way nicely to tobacco leaf, gingerbread and muscovado sugar. Also some nice leathery notes follow along with a pleasant leafiness. I suspect this is a refill sherry hogshead. It’s also quite diverse from the nose but in a pleasantly surprising way, the sherry components were not so evident on the nose. With water: more spicy with water along with added notes of treacle, plum wine and a little camphor as well. Again quite sturdy, classical Macallan.

Finish: Good length. Medium sweetness from the residual sherry influence along with some nutty and earthy notes which lift the whole thing nicely. Good balance between sweet and savoury throughout.

Comments: This is a quality Macallan. In my opinion, it would benefit from approximately another 5 years ageing. Although it is already of good character with some lovely idiosyncrasies such as these wee tropical touches on the nose and the more sherry-driven palate.

Macallan 1993. Cask 4131. Refill sherry hogshead. 53.3%.

Colour: Amber

Nose: Pow! Now this is Macallan! Beautifully resinous, mineral and nervous sherry. Ridden with nuts, wet earth, wax jackets, dundee cake, treacle and various dark fruit compotes. A wonderful throwback to style of Macallan that’s long disappeared from most contemporary bottlings. It feels like you could be nosing an old Anniversary Malt from the early 2000s. Goes on with some green fruit, black pepper, a little graphite perhaps – some dried mushrooms. With water: broader and more earthy with a beautiful and gentle streak of something medicinal like gentian. Some green peppercorns, aged pinot noir and furniture oil. Quite complex and compelling.

Palate: A wonderful continuation of the nose. Many dark fruits: dates, fig jam, damsons, sultanas and raisins stewed in cognac. Pepper, black tea, molasses, a touch of old rum and some old Vin Juane wine and walnut oil. Many classical flavours such as aged Balsamico and rancio all make appearances as well. With water: again its earthier and drier. The sherry is a little more ‘free and easy’ not quite as taught and nervous as to begin with. More notes of various red and dark fruit jams, some coal hearth notes and more chewy walnut notes.

Finish: Long, earthy, nicely drying, herbal and with resurgent notes of old balsamico, camphor and a little rancio.

Comments: An excellent and truly classical Macallan in the way the sherry and distillate integrate beautifully and with great deft and balance. This one you could bottle straight away or leave for perhaps another 2-3 years. But my feeling is that this one is really approaching its zenith.

Auction Ends Wednesday 5th July from 8 pm.

Any further queries please do not hesitate to ask.

Call: 01253 620 376 | Mobile: 07767 22 22 00 | Email: auctions@whisky-online.com

Link – CLICK HERE

The Exclusive Malts & Tipperary

Come by for a tasting of Tipperary and The Exclusive Malts whiskies! We’ll be sampling some rare drams as well as new and best selling releases from both distilleries, with distillery representatives and whisky experts will be present to answer all your whisky questions.

Click Here to RSVP

Glen Scotia 25 Year Old

Matured in the finest American oak barrels and married in first-fill bourbon casks before bottling, this Campbeltown single malt from Glen Scotia distillery has spent a quarter of a century coming of age. The nose brings maritime notes akin to a bracing Atlantic breeze. The palate offers red apple, orange peel and vanilla syrup with a sweet caramel note, before a long lingering finish with spicy ground ginger.

£275 Buy Now

Auchentoshan The Bartender’s Malt

Welcome to the New Malt Order

With their tag line “Distilled Different”, lowlands distillery Auchentoshan is on a mission to shake up the world of the single malt. A bespoke collaboration of whiskies from 5 different decades, matured in a variety of casks and selected by 12 of the world’s most innovative bartenders, this limited edition single malt is the first of its kind.

£49.99 Buy Now