Steel Bonnets Blended Malt Whisky

Created to honour the ‘Steel Bonnets’ or Reivers of the Borders Marches in the Late Middle Ages, this blended malt has been created by The Lakes Distillery using The Lakes Single Malt and some of the finest Scotch malt whiskies. Bottled at a strength of 46.6% abv, this is the first whisky of its kind. The palate is creamy and full bodied with notes of vanilla, ginger, nutmeg and dried fruits, all held together with sweet wood smoke.

£65 Pre-Order Now
(£58.50 for W Club Members)
Orders will be dispatched w/c 9th July

JULY OUTTURN ALERT

July Outturn sees us celebrating our 35th anniversary with some distinguished characters – taste and explore 19 rare breeds featuring each of our 12 flavour profiles. Whisky guru Charlie MacLean has also hand-picked a collection of his favourite single casks this First Friday, look out for our special ‘moustache and monocle’ stamps.

Don’t miss out on your favourite bottlings, click over to our website now and get yourself familiar with the full listing ahead of the release on
Friday, 6 July at 9am.

 READ OUTURN

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

MILROYS TASTING EVENTS

Milroy’s public tasting events are held every Monday evening at 6.30pm until approximately 8pm.
Women’s Whisky Night is held the first Tuesday evening of every month.

Book a ticket to come and learn something new about a favourite distillery, try a few drams from somewhere unfamiliar, or just because the nights are always a fine time!

Head over to our website to keep an eye out for current future events.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE

First core range release from The GlenAllachie Distillery 

Independent, boutique Scotch whisky distillery, The GlenAllachie has unveiled its first core range of aged single malts, which have been specially selected by Master Distiller and industry icon Billy Walker.

The release from the Speyside distillery all feature age statements ranging from 10-year-old cask strength, the flagship 12-year-old alongside 18 and 25-year-old bottlings.

This is the first core range release from the new company – Billy Walker acquired The GlenAllachie Distillery, with business partners Trisha Savage and Graham Stevenson, from Pernod Ricard in October 2017 in a multi-million-pound deal.

Billy Walker GlenAllachie Managing Director and Master Distiller explained: 

“The first release of our GlenAllachie core range has been a culmination of months of hard work and a passion to turn GlenAllachie into a very popular and much sought after single malt whisky.  It is an honour to be its custodian and to develop this range of single malts. 

“The range of casks we have warehoused is tremendous with nearly 50,000 maturing at our distillery, some of which date back to the 1970’s. Our aim is to nurture this tremendous spirit and for these single malts to be admired both home and abroad.”

Each release is natural colour, non-chill-filtered and bottled at a minimum of 46% ABV:

• The 10-year-old expression reflects Walker’s desire to showcase a taste of The GlenAllachie Distillery bottled straight from the cask at natural strength. The 57.1% whisky was matured in American oak, Pedro Ximinez, Oloroso and virgin oak casks, and is described as tasting of honey, vanilla, toffee, marmalade with a layer of rose hip and Caribbean spices.

• The 12-year-old single malt is described by Walker as “the heart of our range.” Matured in Pedro Ximinez, Oloroso and virgin oak casks, the whisky imparts sweet Butterscotch notes on the nose, and a taste of honey, marzipan and bananas, plus further lashings of Butterscotch.

• The Glenallachie 18-year-old exemplifies the signature style of GlenAllachie – a combination of rich and robust spirit with heather and butterscotch notes, along with subtle hints of dark chocolate.

• The pinnacle of the range, the 25-year-old, is a beautiful beaten copper colour following its quarter of a century maturing in Pedro Ximinez, Oloroso and American oak casks. This regally rich single malt whisky delivers lashings of sultanas, pineapples and dark chocolate, followed by layers of Christmas cake, marmalade and sweet spices.

The GlenAllachie now has distribution in more than 28 countries including strategic markets – the USA, Germany, Taiwan, China and France. In the UK The GlenAllachie is available from specialist retailers.

All the bottles bear the words ‘From the valley of the rocks’, translating from the original Gaelic name “Gleann Aileachaidh.”

Notes

Recommended Retail Selling Price (RRSP):

• The GlenAllachie 10 YO 57.1% cask strength – £57.00
• The GlenAllachie 12 YO 46% – £43.00
• The GlenAllachie 18 YO 46% – £92.00
• The GlenAllachie 25 YO 48% – £232.00

The GlenAllachie Distillery was designed by William Delme-Evans – the architect behind Jura, Macduff and Tullibardine – and was built in 1968 by Mackinlay McPherson, the distilling arm of brewers Scottish & Newcastle.  It sits within a 20-acre estate and uses water sourced from Hangman’s Craig and Black Banks on the slopes of Ben Rinnes. It has four stills but unusually it also has two separate spirit safes, one for each set of stills.

Walker has converted existing buildings on site to dunnage warehousing bringing total to 16 warehouses holding almost 50,000 casks of GlenAllachie. An additional 2 dunnage warehouses will also be built at the distillery along with a bottling line.

Further information on the distillery and company can be found at www.theglenallachie.com

Facebook – @TheGlenAllachie

Twitter – @TheGlenAllachie

Instagram – @theglenallachie_

KILCHOMAN PORT CASK MATURED

NEW PRODUCTS FROM 
BENRIACH DISTILLERY CO.

BenRiach Single Cask:

2008 / PEATED / PORT CASK
Batch 15. 9 years old, 61.7%, Cask #2048
£69.95
BUY NOW

2007 / PEATED / OLOROSSO SHERRY CASK
Batch 15. 10 years old, 58.3%, Cask #3071
£79.95
BUY NOW

2007 / OLOROSSO SHERRY CASK

Batch 15. 10 years old, 58.5%, Cask #3236
£75.95
BUY NOW

GlenDronach Cask Strength:
OLOROSSO & PEDRO XIMENEZ CASKS
Batch 7, 57.9%
£59.95
BUY NOW

GlenAllachie 2018 First Release

The first core range from Billy Walker’s (formally of GlenDronach & BenRiach) Speyisde distillery has landed. Sherry cask matured and bottled non-chill-filtered. This first release is tightly allocated, when it’s gone, it’s gone!

Shop – GlenAllachie 2018 Release

THE LOWLAND DELIGHTS OF AUCHENTOSHAN

Often overlooked, the Lowlands have a tremendous experience to offer. Specifically – an elegant drinking experience for those that actually love to drink their whisky, not just watch it collect dust on the shelf. Featured here is one of our favorite Lowland distilleries: Auchentoshan. The only Scottish malt to be 100% triple distilled, the entire lineup screams elegance and harmony. That’s not to say the whiskies are all light, which is often the notion regarding lowland malts. The base of all Auchentoshan expressions, the unpeated new malt spirit, is light and fruity with a beautiful character reminiscent of a fresh farmhouse ale, complete with a full complement of stone fruit notes and lovely baked-bread aromas. This is the DNA of Auchentoshan – a clean, bright, and fruity malt. This lighter bodied spirit plays very well in a wide variety of casks, but has the intensity of flavor to stand up to even boldest of sherry casks and still hold its character.

Auchentoshan Three Wood Single Malt Whisky (750ml) ($56.99)

One of the most impressive bottlings in Auchentoshan’s line up is the humble Three Wood. Filled in three different barrel types, this dram showcases American Bourbon casks, Spanish Oloroso butts, and unctuous Pedro Ximenez casks. This cask regimen does several things. The bourbon highlights the inherent fruity, vanilla cake, and creme brulee character of the spirit. The Olorosso adds gobs of cocoa, nuttiness, and toffee. And of course, the PX dials up a beautiful sweetness, intensity, and raisined fruits. While this triple casks regime adds layers of complexity, body, and richness, it also belies the notion that Lowland whisky is light and simple. At just $56.99 this is a shameless sherry dram for everyday enjoyment. While the Lowlands does have some highly coveted bottles, it’s this kind of easy enjoy-ability that makes it such a special place for whisky.

Auchentoshan “Bartender’s Malt – Edition 1” Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) ($44.95)

Equally as noteworthy is the “Bartender’s Malt – Edition 1.” Auchentoshan named this whisky the “Bartender’s Malt” because it was designed and blended by a team of twelve different bartenders from all over the world who helped to select the barrels. Here’s the really compelling part: they used single malt whisky from the 1970s, ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s, and current decade in the blend, from ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry, ex-wine, and even German oak barrels! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: innovative blends like this are what’s going to drive the business forward, especially in a market where single barrel pricing is proving to be cost prohibitive and access is getting more and more difficult. For a very affordable price, this is a drinker’s whisky. It is absolutely jam-packed with sweet barley flavor, loads of vanilla, spicy ginger, candied orange peel, and a symphony of oak and baking spices on the finish that light up your mouth for minutes with distinct and supple flavors of milk chocolate. Bottled at 47% ABV, it’s got punch as well.

ARRON GRENDON PROVIDES A MASTERCLASS IN TEAM SPIRIT TO RECEIVE THE 2018 CHIVAS MASTERS CROWN

THAILAND BARTENDER WINS THIS YEAR’S CHIVAS MASTERS GLOBAL FINAL BY SHOWCASING THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY IN BARTENDING

Chivas Regal has crowned Arron Grendon from Tropic City in Bangkok, Thailand, the 2018 Chivas Masters Global Champion. The five-day final returned to Chivas’ roots at the Strathisla distillery in Speyside, the home of Chivas, before culminating at Oval Space in London, where Arron demonstrated exceptional leadership and collaboration to overcome immense competition from the world’s best bartending talent and lead his team to victory.

The fifth Chivas Masters Global Final required the 21 national winners to showcase Chivas’ core values of community, collaboration and generosity. Arron impressed the expert panel of judges throughout the five days and the final challenge saw him working alongside a team of 6 bartenders to establish their own sustainable pop-up cocktail bar and menu to excite the senses of their most important judge – the everyday public – with their community-inspired cocktails.

Starting off as a Food & Beverage trainee at a hotel in Phuket, Arron fell in love with hospitality and the passion showcased by the bartenders he worked alongside. This led him to do a month of training in the bar and he has been in love with bartending ever since.  His winning signature serve, The Grind, means to push oneself to work harder and to achieve one’s goals. It was inspired by his mother and the stories she used to tell about how hard the farmers in Thailand would have to work to provide rice and food for people to eat – just like John and James Chivas, who grew up on a farm themselves.

Arron’s team created the winning bar One Night in Bangkok at the Chivas Masters Global Final event in London, and was honoured as the 2018 Chivas Masters Collective – awarded for blending exceptional individual skill with an infectious sense of team spirit.

As the newly crowned 2018 Chivas Masters Global Champion, Arron has won an all-access trip to Tales of The Cocktail 2018 in New Orleans, the chance to travel the world with Chivas to inspire bartenders of the future and joins the exclusive, close-knit community of previous winners. The winning Chivas Masters Collective team led by Arron comprised Angel Solorzano Chumpitaz (Peru), Martin Suaya (Argentina), Kentaro Wada (Japan), Yuta Inagaki (Hong Kong), Rick Marson (Netherlands), and Louis Marcpherson (Australia).

Upon being crowned champion, Arron commented: “We wanted to bring Bangkok to London for just one night with our bar, so One Night in Bangkok was born. I love the community in the market in Bangkok that brings together people from all around the world through food and drink – and that’s what I wanted to recreate. My team spent five days together in the run-up to the global final, so I got to know what everyone was good at and how we could work best together. When you have a good team and a good connection, you can achieve anything.”

Richard Black, Global Marketing Director at Chivas Regal, comments: “It was another fantastic year for bartending talent at the Chivas Masters Global Final in London, with an unrivalled display of creativity and teamwork on a global stage. Arron demonstrated originality, skill, leadership and, most importantly, a real sense of community throughout the final week. This really shone through when he successfully blended all of the attributes of his supporting team to create a bar experience none of the attendees will forget in a hurry. For the first time in the competition’s five-year history we also made our consumers part of the competition, giving them the chance to try Chivas cocktails made by some of the world’s best bartenders and then cast their vote to help crown the winner.”

The 2018 Chivas Masters Global Final was hosted by Rhys Wilson, 2017 UK Chivas Masters winner. He was supported throughout by a distinguished panel of internationally acclaimed judges: Matt Whiley, pioneering London bartender and founder of award-winning bars including Worship Street Whistling Shop; Laura-May Coope, Co-founder of Social Life and social media superstar; JJ Goodman, Founder of The London Cocktail Club bar group, Craft Cocktail Co. bottled cocktails, and Keystones Cocktail Club; Bea Bradsell; storyteller and daughter of Dick Bradsell (creator of the Espresso Martini and the Bramble). Each not only scored the contestants, but also shared their insights and expertise through a series of inspirational masterclasses over the course of the week.

Arron’s winning drinks ritual:

The Grind

50ml Chivas Extra

15ml Fino Sherry

30ml Coconut & Black sticky rice cream

5ml Sugarcane shrub

10ml Banana Syrup

The Chivas Masters Collective teams:

Bar: One night in Bangkok

Leader: Arron Grendon (Thailand)

Team members:

Angel Solorzano Chumpitaz (Peru)

Martin Suaya (Argentina)

Kentaro Wada (Japan)

Yuta Inagaki (Hong Kong)

Rick Marson (Netherlands)

Louis Marcpherson (Australia)

Bar: #Brotherhood1801

Leader: Filip Jančárek (Czech Republic)

Team members :

Valentino Longo (USA)

Alex Godfrey (U.K)

Bartosz Konieczny (Poland)

German Gochev (Bulgaria)

Alex Sepulchro (Brazil)

Oscar Jesus Armenta Garcia (Mexico)

Bar: Broken Bench

Leader: Louis Lebaillif (France)

Team members :

Michael Chen (China)

Stefano Ruocco (UAE)

Fabián Ramos (Cuba)

Julio Ruiz (Dominican Republic)

Houssam Bennani (Morocco)

Chloé Merz (Switzerland)

About Chivas Regal

Launched in 1909, Chivas Regal is the world’s first luxury whisky and is considered to be a timeless classic, renowned for its benchmark quality and taste, style, substance and exclusivity. A truly global brand, Chivas Regal has been integral to the growth of the Scotch whisky category worldwide and today sells 4.5 million 9L cases annually in more than 150 countries across the globe. With generosity, entrepreneurship and integrity at the heart of Chivas Regal, the brand launched its successful Win the Right Way campaign in 2014, which aims to inspire a new generation whilst making a positive impact on the lives of others. The Chivas Regal range includes Chivas Regal 12, Chivas Regal Extra, Chivas Regal Mizunara, Chivas Regal 18, our first blended malt Chivas Regal Ultis, Chivas Regal 25, the pinnacle of the range and ultra-prestige blend Chivas Regal The Icon, and the Global Travel Retail exclusive Chivas Brothers Blend.

www.chivas.com

An experiment in innovation… The A. D. Rattray Octave Project 

The A. D. Rattray Octave project involved taking a cask of matured whisky from a single distillery, and dividing it between four different Octave casks. The 50 litre Octave casks were crafted from oak staves taken from a larger cask that had previously contained either PX Sherry, Oloroso Sherry, Rioja or Rum. The aim was to investigate the effect of the amplified wood-to-spirit interaction during a short burst of second wood maturation.

Having carefully monitored the Octaves over time, at five months they decided the wood finishes were ready to bottle. One portion of whisky from the original cask was retained to enable a point of comparison.

The experiment, as detailed above, was conducted with an Arran 2011 Bourbon Barrel, Pulteney 2007 Bourbon Hogshead and Bunnahabhain 2002 Bourbon Hogshead.

The Results

The results have been presented in sets containing 5 x 30ml samples including the original Bourbon cask and the 4 Octave finishes – PX Sherry, Oloroso Sherry, Rioja and Rum.

The 3 sets, Arran (£25), Pulteney (£30) and Bunnahabhain (£35), are available to buy exclusively from A. D. Rattray on their new online shop – shop.adrattray.com. Limited numbers of 700ml bottles of each cask finish can also be purchased.

A. D. Rattray have chosen not to comment on their results or to publish official tasting notes, as they want to know what the whisky community think.

So get your samples and join the conversation #theoctaveproject

Notes:

Shop online for UK delivery at shop.adrattray.com or contact A. D. Rattray to enquire about international shipping.

For a limited time you can book a tasting of the Bunnahabhain Octave Project in the tasting room at the A. D. Rattray Whisky Experience in Kirkoswald, Enjoy a hosted tasting of the original Bourbon Hogshead and the 4 Octave finishes for £35 p.p. – book online at adrattray.com

About A. D. Rattray

A, D. Rattray, an independent whisky company established in 1868, are renowned for selecting and maturing Scotland’s best casks of single malt whisky for their Cask Collection single cask range. Their whisky portfolio also includes the award-winning single malt brands Cask Islay and Stronachie and the premium blend, Bank Note. Based on the West Coast of Scotland, you can visit their 5 star visitor attraction and home of their brands, the A. D. Rattray Whisky Experience and Shop in Kirkoswald, Ayrshire.