Friday, June 15th, 5-7 PM

SIA Scotch

Two Scotches in one day! Stick around after our Glen Grant tasting to sample SIA blended scotch whiskey. Ever since it’s uniquely crowd-funded release, SIA’s reputation as a a smooth, distinctive scotch whisky has garnered praise from whisky newcomers and connoisseurs alike.  

Click Here to RSVP

THE MACALLAN RELAUNCHES PORTFOLIO TO CELEBRATE A NEW ERA FOR THE BRAND

New York, May 30, 2018 – The Macallan, the world’s most admired single malt Scotch whisky, has unveiled a bold new look across its portfolio in celebration of an exciting new era for the brand – marked by the opening of its innovative new distillery in Speyside, Scotland this summer. The revamped bottle design draws inspiration from luxury expression The Macallan Rare Cask, modern design cues reflected in the new distillery, and consumer feedback around making the whisky ranges easier to navigate. The refined new look also coincides with the core portfolio being redefined into three ranges that simply reflect the types of cask used to mature The Macallan – Sherry Oak Cask, Double Cask and Triple Cask Matured.

A BOLD NEW DESIGN

The exciting new product design includes:

• A proprietary broad-shouldered bottle with a distinctive chevron cut that tapers toward the neck
• A clear color-coding system and icons to identify different ranges based on cask make-up
• Amplified collectability on the core premium ages by enhancing the wooden boxes for all expressions 25 Years or older by using real oak, reflecting The Macallan’s exceptional oak casks
• Expressions 18 Years or older feature new, elevated packaging and a heavier glass weight bottle with wider shoulders and larger base
• An anti-refill enclosure and anti-counterfeit technology to ensure that consumers are protected at the point of purchase

Sam Leotta, Senior Brand Manager at The Macallan said: “With this bold new design, we are highlighting the extraordinary whisky inside the bottle as we show off its unmistakable characteristics, like all-natural color, which we at The Macallan and every whisky enthusiast worldwide really value. While the whisky remains unchanged, the new bottle can be displayed anywhere from a world-class bar to a bar cart at home, making the same lasting impression. ”

The new bottles will be available across the US from May 2018.

CORE PORTFOLIO REDEFINED

The core portfolio will now be broken into three distinct ranges, clearly identified to consumers by cask types’ signifiers on each bottle:

• Sherry Oak Range: A rich and intense range of single malt whiskies matured in hand-picked Sherry-seasoned oak casks from Jerez, Spain. The European oak reveals an intensely rich character and style of whisky with complex flavors of dried fruits and sweet spices.
• Double Cask Range: Maturation in hand-picked Sherry-seasoned American and Sherry-seasoned

European oak casks delivers a range combining the classic Macallan style with the unmistakable

predominance of American oak. The result is an approachable yet complex style of the Macallan, rich in flavor, with a viscous mouth feel.

• Triple Cask Matured Range: Matured in Sherry-seasoned European, Sherry-seasoned American oak casks and ex-bourbon American oak casks. The Macallan Triple Cask Matured range offers an extraordinarily smooth, delicate yet complex character.

As part of this, the Fine Oak range – launched in 2004 – will be renamed Triple Cask Matured. Fine Oak has always been matured in three different cask types, so renaming it Triple Cask Matured puts it in line with Sherry Oak (one cask type) and Double Cask (two cask types), making it easier to navigate and giving fans a whisky perfect for every occasion.

Sam Leotta commented, “We want to make it easy for our consumers to select a whisky that’s right for them and for the many whisky moments they are experiencing. By consolidating our core ranges to Sherry Oak, Double Cask and Triple Cask Matured, we’re able to highlight the unique and rich diversity of whisky styles coming out of our distillery and also encourage new and existing fans to try The Macallan across a variety of flavor profiles suitable for many different occasions.”

For further information visit www.us.themacallan.com.

For further information, please contact:

M Booth: themacallan@mbooth.com

ABOUT THE MACALLAN:

Founded in 1824 in the heart of Speyside, The Macallan was one of the first distilleries in Scotland to be legally licensed. Since then it has built a reputation as one of the world’s finest single malt whiskies.  The story of The Macallan is built on the Six Pillars, each influencing the whisky in its own distinct way. From the spiritual home of Easter Elchies House; curiously small stills giving richness to the pure spirit; finest cut or the best of the best of the distillation, to exceptional oak casks which account for up to 80% of the final flavor in the whisky; natural color and finally peerless spirit, The Macallan itself.

Wood sits at the heart of The Macallan.  The vital contributing influences of Spain, North America and Scotland, together with true mastery, set it apart from the rest. For more information on The Macallan, visit www.us.themacallan.com. The Macallan can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

UNVEILING THE GENESIS DECANTER

The Macallan 72 Years Old in Lalique is a celebration of the collaboration of masters from across the fields of whisky, crystal, architecture, construction and craftsmanship, and marks a new beginning in The Macallan’s story. Inspired by and honouring a new dawn, The Genesis Decanter is defined by a truly magnificent architectural masterpiece.

For its seventy-two years of maturation, the deceptively light colour hints that this is not an ordinary single malt. Reminiscent of a time gone by, it carries an exquisite balance of strong, sweet oak with the peaty spirit shaping its refined character.

EXPLORE

Early Bird Tickets for Austin, Houston and Dallas end June 30
Early Bird Tickets for Atlanta end July 31st

Austin (#WOWAUS) happens Thursday, September 20, 2018 at the Vault Space.
Early Bird Tickets are available here.

Dallas (#WOWDAL) happens Friday, September 21, 2018 at Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas Love Field. Early Bird Tickets are available here.

Houston (#WOWHOU) happens Saturday, September 22, 2018 at Silver Street Studio.
Early Bird Tickets are available here.

Atlanta (#WOWATL) happens Friday, November 2, 2018 at The Intercontinental Buckhead.
Early Bird tickets are available here.

Lets talk about it! Be sure to use the hashtags
when talking about the all the WOW shows on social media!

Saturday, June 9th, 2:30 – 5:30PM 

Bourbon Tasting: 

Wright & Brown and Wyoming 

A treat for American whiskey lovers, this tasting features whiskies made in the Big Basin of Wyoming as well as our own Bay Area! Expand your whiskey knowledge with a  variety of bourbons, whiskey, and rye from Wright and Brown and Wyoming distilleries, presented by our in-store whisky experts.

Click Here to RSVP

https://youtu.be/p_WHJ7qCzRo

We all like, Balblair, don’t we? Well, I do, most of you folks do, so check this one out! The Whisky Shop has picked a barrel from the glorious distillery – twenty years old, cask strength, natural colour, no filtering – ALL THE GOOOOOOOD STUFF. Aged in a single Bourbon barrel, this thing is deep with white chocolate, fudge and toffee, the mouthfeel is super creamy with just the smallest hint of dryness form twenty years in oak and an ABV above 50%. Happy to have bought this when it came out at Christmas, 249 bottles from the one barrel, an awesome little gem from both Balblair and The Whisky Shop. Cheers.

Whisky Reviews every Wednesday ~ Facebook.com/whiskytube ~ Twitter.com/whiskytube ~ Youtube.com/whiskywednesday

Black Mountain unveils sea-matured limited edition

French whisky bottler Black Mountain reveals its newest addition – Spirit of The Sea – Voyage #1, a unique expression limited to 460 bottles from their sea maturation experiment.

Back in May 2016, a cask of Black Mountain whisky was embarking with sail transport company TOWT, as a unique experiment to experience the effects of several months at sea on a merchant ship. The 280-litre cask (previously containing French brandy), travelled for 6 months between the French and British coasts, breathing sea breeze and navigating through waves and tides of The Channel and the North Sea.

 The cask returned to its warehouse in South-western France late 2016 for a further 12 months of maturation. It has now been bottled without further reduction nor chill-filtration at 42.7% ABV and boasts delicious notes of plums, apricots, demerara sugar, oak and bitter dark chocolate.

Cédric Leprette, co-founder of Black Mountain says – “The effect of nature and climate on maturing whisky is fascinating and unexpected, you cannot predict how the whisky is going to turn, in fact, it could have been a total disaster, but that’s also this unknown factor that makes this kind of experiment very exciting.

With Black Mountain, we’re trying to bring something more, it’s not only about importing and bottling whisky, it’s about going the extra mile and bottle something interesting, something that we love, something that excites our senses and minds!”

Maturing a whisky at sea aboard an old English vessel such as The Grayhound Lugger isn’t the most natural move for a company deeply rooted in the heart of Occitania. It was a wonderful adventure shaped by enriching encounters, stunning scenery and in the end… A whisky that encompasses all this ».

Black Mountain organised a special contest over its social media to find a name for their #BarrelAtSea, that’s how “Spirit of The Sea” was chosen, encompassing the idea behind this whisky.

Black Mountain is actually conducting a larger experiment scheme with sea-maturation, as another cask of their whisky is currently flowing somewhere in the ocean, while some of their spirit is also sleeping in a sea-matured rum cask.

Spirit of The Sea will be availble from May 29 in selected retail shops at a RRP of 79€ (50cl). 

FURTHER INFORMATION

Black Mountain Compagnie

The story of Black Mountain begins in 2011, when 4 passionate friends came up with the idea to use the exceptional waters of a high altitude spring (1000m) located within a natural wonder, the national park of Haut Languedoc, which will be the location of the future distillery.

Before the distillery starts operating, and with the aim to demonstrate its know-how, the founding team at Black Mountain Compagnie has launched three blended whiskies, finished in the best French spirits casks and named “Black Mountain Selection”.

BM N°1 was named Best European Blended Whisky at the 2015 edition of The World Whiskies Awards.

BM N°2 wax awarded with a silver medal at the IWSC 2016.

BM Notes Fumées is the last addition to the permanent range, bringing a smoky take to the classic Black Mountain profile.

To find out more, please visit www.blackmountain.fr 

TOWT – TransOceanic Wind Transport

TransOceanic Wind Transport is a sailing freight transport company that offers a concrete and alternative solution both to climate warming and to the energy challenge.

Guillaume Le Grand, founder of TOWT, is an energy specialist and has a significant experience on sailing boats.  He holds a degree in Sustainable Development, Energy and Environment. After having lived in Berlin and in London, he founded TransOceanic Wind Transport in 2009, so as to prove the viability of cargo sail-shipping

To find out more, please visit www.towt.eu  

Mark the date for 2019!

A big thank you goes out to all the staff, exhibitors and guests who made this year’s Spirit of Toronto a night to remember!

This year’s show boasted our biggest selection yet of whisky and premium spirits alongside the Taste of Italy and the Canadian launch of the incredible Double Dutch mixers, as well as sneak previews of a number of upcoming releases.

Once again masterclasses were fully subscribed and we extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our esteemed presenters who shared their samples and knowledge with our guests. This year’s line-up featured an embarassment of riches and variety that spanned the worlds of absinthe, r(h)um, Italian spirits and liqueurs, as well as Dutch, Canadian, Scotch and Irish whiskies!

But a picture is worth a thousand words so please check out our photo gallery to relive the good times for yourself:

Spirit of Toronto 2018 Photo Gallery

We look forward to welcoming you back in 2019 on Saturday May the Fourth for Canada’s premiere tasting event – Spirit of Toronto turns fifteen next year so rest assured that plans are already in the works for our big birthday bash!

Until then have a great summer!

Johanna Ngoh
Executive Producer
www.spiritoftoronto.ca

UK Single Casks

We are delighted to announce the release of 2 new UK Single Casks that will be available for purchase from today – Tuesday 5th June 2018.

Longrow 16Y/O 54.3%

Distilled 2001 – Bottled May 2018,

7 years in Fresh Bourbon & 9 years in Fresh Chardonnay Barrique.

360 Bottles.

The Campbeltown Cadenhead shop will be selling this bottle for £85.00 – limited stock available via phone from 10 AM.

Hazelburn 10Y/O 53.9%

Distilled December 2017 – Bottled May 2018,

Fully matured in a re-charred Bourbon Hogshead.

270 Bottles.

The Campbeltown Cadenhead shop will be selling this bottle for £60.00 – limited stock available via phone from 10 AM.

These whiskies are available in the UK from today – for more information please contact your local Springbank retailers and stockists, details of whom can be found by visiting: http://springbank.scot/distributors/.

Please be aware that stocks are very limited.

Slainte 

Springbank Society

Springbank Distillers Ltd.

To join the Springbank Society contact them at society@springbank.scot

I’m thrilled to announce that we’re ready to launch our annual Cairdeas release. Mark your diaries for Monday 11^th June at 5pm BST when the 2018 Laphroaig Cairdeas Fino will be available to purchase at www.laphroaig.com.

Those who were lucky enough to attend this year’s Fèis Ìle celebrations had the chance to share a dram of this unique whisky with myself and the distillery team. With Cairdeas meaning ‘friendship’ in Gaelic, it was certainly a fine way to welcome friends old and new to our home.

Maturation

Laid to rest in Warehouse 8 and 10, Cairdeas Fino showcases a special double maturation in first fill bourbon casks then Fino Sherry Casks.

Tasting Notes

Notes of toasted almonds, dried fruit and sea salt perfectly complement Laphroaig’s signature peaty flavour.

Serve

Barrier filtered and non chill filtered, no matter how you drink your whisky, this unique expression is best enjoyed with dear friends.

John Campbell
Distillery Manager