Archive for December, 2018
Season’s Greetings from Gordon & MacPhail
Happy Holidays from Sullivans Cove
Dear Supporters,
It’s been an incredible year for us at Sullivans Cove, so we’d like to take the chance to say thank you for all your support, and to reflect on our achievements in 2018.
Topping this list was winning “World’s Best Single Cask Single Malt” for a 16 year old bottling of our American Oak (Cask HH0351) at the World Whiskies Awards. Following this, we broke the record for the highest price ever paid for an Australian whisky, just under $12,000, and were able to donate all of the proceeds to charity. As our second major global award after being named “World’s Best Single Malt” in 2014, this year’s win solidifies Sullivans Cove’s position as one of the most highly-awarded whisky distilleries in the world.
Our other major milestone was our Head Distiller Patrick Maguire’s induction into the global Whisky Hall of Fame. This was a huge moment both for him personally and for us as a distillery. Pat is only the second Aussie ever inducted, and it places him among a small group of the most influential whisky personalities in the world.
Sullivans Cove successfully launched two new products with our XO Single Cask and XO Double Cask brandies that are already winning international awards both for taste and design. We’ve also launched a new series of limited edition whiskies beginning with our American Oak Tawny release, and we’ve made an incredible collaboration whisky with Melbourne bar Whisky & Alement, all of which were huge successes.
We’ve also had fantastic events and tastings across Australia, the UK and Singapore, partnering with some of the most respected whisky bars and retailers in each country. Our friends in the industry have been making good use of Sullivans Cove barrels, too, with barrel-aged beer from Last Rites, cider from Willie Smiths, and even chocolate from Loving Earth hitting the market in 2018.
At the distillery, our Cellar Door team have done an amazing job making our tours and tastings more interactive and engaging, and we continue to see more visitors from Australia and overseas every day. If you’ve never been to the distillery, or if it’s been a couple of years since you’ve had a chance to visit, we’d love to have you around for a whisky or two in 2019.
There’s even been a few new additions to the Sullivans Cove family with several of our team welcoming new babies this year, so huge congratulations to them. We’re building the next generation of distillers both figuratively and literally around here!
Next year is the 25th anniversary of the founding of Sullivans Cove, another incredible milestone both for us and the Australian whisky industry as a whole. You can expect to see big celebrations and a couple of very special whisky launches, as well as plenty of fun projects, events and improvements.
Wishing you all the very best this holiday season, and from all of us to you, thank you!
Sincerely,
The Sullivans Cove Team
Maclean Scotland 2019 Tours – Whisky News
For whisky lovers who have a second love … we offer you Scotland with monsters, golf, history, wildlife in and out of water, Vikings and Scots. We have a passion for our country and it shows in all of our tours, why not look us up? Click a link, then drop us a line, happy to hear from you. Paul at www.mcleanscotland.com here in Scotland.
A six night tour golfing in the island of Ireland to co-incide with The 148th Open in Northern Ireland.
http://mcleanscotland.com/open-2019-ireland/
This exclusive golfing package includes five superb rounds and two whisky distilleries, six nights accommodation (en suite), 6 fully cooked Scottish breakfasts, lunch at Cullen, all transfers. Fully driven/guided with your own Tour Director.
http://mcleanscotland.com/highland-golf-package/ these and more; http://mcleanscotland.com/golf-tours/
THE MCLEANSCOTLAND STAG WEEKEND Where is the weekend? Northern Scotland, Caithness to be exact, with a few droplets of the highlands thrown in. Bring your camera, this will be one of those weekend trips where cameras are a must. There is some walking involved so bring the correct footwear and clothing. Our guide is a man who took this image, he lives in the area and knows where to go for shots like this. Aye, in fact we will be shooting the deer! With lenses and mobile phones.
http://mcleanscotland.com/special-offer/
VIKINGS AND SCOTS bloody mayhem tour. The Vikings were nervous about sailing up the west coast sea lochs they referred to as the “Scottish fjords”. The only places the Norse could have expected a safe reception was Orkney, where the people were basically the same as them and where they would be greeted as kin. http://mcleanscotland.com/vikings-scots-bloody-mayhem-tour
Cadenhead’s London “A Year Of Taste”- Scotch Whisky News
CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR 2019
A Year Of Taste
Before we sign off for the year we have one final newsletter for 2018. We don’t really have anything new for you, just wanted to have a quick catch up before you all settle down for the holiday season with your selected drams.
2018 has been an incredible year, in which we had the opportunity to share some amazing whiskies & rums with our old and new customers. It was a year of surprises and lessons, as time after time we learnt to look beyond the label.
We were particularly proud to release several stunning young whiskies, which showed us how much wood treatment has improved over the years. Of course we should not forget about the older drams, which as expected, made people excited and thirsty for more mature flavours.
We were glad to see how our world whisky range expanded with numerous excellent drams. One of the really interesting ones was the English 8, which completely caught us off-guard, imagine, in our very own homeland.
There were several favourites over this year, such as Mortlach 29, Ben Nevis 21, Linkwood 30 and Ledaig 20, giving wonderful older expressions from these distilleries. For us, bottling such whiskies is a calling and dedication, which we happily share with our customers.
TOP 2018 DRAMS ACROSS THE BOARD
Where we have a few bottles left, we have linked to them…
STAFF SELECTION
- Creations 10.
- Macduff 29.
- Paul John 6 SB / Kilkerran 12 (Yes 2 at No 3)
- Ledaig 20
- Mortlach 29
TASTING ROOM SELECTION
- Kilkerran 12 46%
- Paul John 6 SB
- Cameronbridge 29
- Speyside 23
- Fettercairn 29
CADENHEAD CLUB & SPRINGBANK SOCIETY
- Kilkerran 11
- Paul John 6
- Laphroaig 20
- Springbank 21
- Cameronbridge 29 (London Label)
GRAND FINAL SELECTION
The top whiskies chosen by the people in 2018 – the best of the best, or assumed maybe?
In reverse order…
No 10. Springbank (Any and all)
No 9. Dailuaine 13 46%
No 8. Kilkerran 8 Cask Strength
No 6. Fettercairn 29
No 4. Linkwood 30
No 3. Speyside 23
No 2. Paul John 6 S/Batch
No 1. Cameronbridge 29 (London Label)
So, what do you think?
Let me point out first, why the almighty Springbank range is No10 in the list. It was due the pressure on the supply on demand.
On the other end we had the amazing (and controversial) Cameronbridge 29, which caused tears of joy, mostly. The Cameronbridge 29 was selected by one of the London Tasting Panels, and it even visited a few of the Vintage 21+ tastings and private events leading to those who tried it to love it. For some club members Cameronbridge was a dram of some controversy because it was NOT and Islay or Littlemill. Given it was tasted by a lot of people and liked by over 75% of those on the panels, it was also one of the most popular whiskies of the year.
A FEW FINAL THINGS
This year consisted of numerous tastings, which we did in and outside of the shop. It seems that the demand for such tastings is getting higher and next year looks thirstier than ever for our organised tasting sessions. We will be introducing a new type of tasting, which will provide people with a whole set of new flavoursome adventures in the world of spirits.
We here at the London shop were really impressed by the great work done in our Campbeltown office and it seems that success is continuing next year as well. If you want to be part of this and jump on the train of the winners, keep yourself updated by joining the club, we have the Cadenhead Club and Springbank Society packs available in the store right now, for more info call us on 0207 935 6999
Shop opening hours December 24th To January 5th
- Monday 24th Christmas Eve 10:30AM – 4:00PM, orders can be collected until 6:30PM
- Tuesday 25th Closed
- Wednesday 26th Closed
- Thursday 27th 11AM – 5:30PM
- Friday 28th 11AM – 6:30PM
- Saturday 29th 10:30AM – 6:30PM
- Sunday 30th Closed
- Sundays as normal
- Monday 31st 10:30AM – 4:30PM
- Tuesday 1st January 2019 Closed
- Wednesday 2nd 11AM – 6:00PM
- Thursday 3rd 11AM – 6:00PM
- Friday 4th 11AM – 6:00PM
- Saturday 5th 10:30Am – 6:30PM
Regretfully, we will not be sending anymore web orders until December 27th.
We at Cadenhead’s Whisky shop London, would like to wish you a merry Christmas and Happy new Year!
Merry Christmas from Springbank Distillery
Springbank Society
Today is the last day at work of 2018 for the Springbank team. Before we leave for a couple of weeks we wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for your continued and unwavering support of Springbank.
2018 was another highly successful year for our proud distillery and we couldn’t have done it without our amazing fans and customers, especially the members of the Springbank Society.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us to all of you.
See you in 2019!
The Springbank Team
Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year from Whisky Auction
Johnnie Walker: The Gift to Give Since 1820 at The Whisky Shop – Scotch Whisky News
From a tea blender in Kilmarnock to a global phenomenon, Johnnie Walker and the iconic Striding Man is a symbol of quality Scotch Whisky the world over. Discover the range at The Whisky Shop today.
Unique | Different | Interesting
John Walker & Sons
Private Edition 2018: The Midnight Blend
This fifth and final release in the John Walker & Sons Private Collection has been created with whiskies aged at least 28 years from distilleries including Cambus, Strathmillon, Caol Ila and Clynelish for a rich and warming whisky, limited to just 3,888 bottles.
The nose has rich citrus and toffee to the fore, with Islay smoke and vanilla emerging slowly. The palate has creamy vanilla and butterscotch with tropical and fresh fruit notes, before a long, sweet and warming finish with hints of spice.
Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch
Directors Edition 2016

Limited to just 501 sets, this collection of two 50cl bottles features Blenders’ Batch Experiments #5 and #6, entitled Major Peat and Bacchus respectively.
Major Peat has Island smokiness from Talisker and Caol Ila combined with smooth grain from Cameronbridge and Port Dundas, giving ripe autumnal fruit flavours and a vanilla sweetness. The Bacchus has delicate layers of Speyside fruitiness from Roseisle matured in wine casks, married with aged grain whiskies to give a sweet honey vanilla flavour.
MORTLACH 20 YEAR OLD COWIE’S BLUE SEAL at Loch Fyne Whiskies – Scotch Whisky News
70cl / 43.4% abv
The WHISKY TOKEN introduces itself – Whisky News
The WHISKY TOKEN introduces itself
How do you bring whisky the liquid gold to the blockchain — And how do you create perfect synergies?
Individual whisky bottles are now traded for € 1.000.000. Interest in high-quality bottling aged for a long time in noble barrels is growing worldwide, especially in Asia. New fillings are becoming smaller and more expensive. As can be seen on pages like whiskystats.net, annual double-digit returns are not uncommon.
Most people are unlikely to be able to participate in this growth. Single bottles often cost more than 2.000€ and are sold out very fast. In addition, many bottlers bring hundreds of new bottlings onto the market each year, not all of which are a good profitable line.
The German WHYTOKEN GmbH wants to use the attractive secondary whisky bottle collector market to bring more stability to the crypto market. Currently, almost all crypto currencies are threatened by high volatility. The WHISKY TOKEN (WHY) is different! The innovative Asset-Back Mechanism limits the risk for investors.
On 01 December 2018 the ICO starts and 95% of the money raised is invested in a high-performance whisky bottle portfolio. Should the market capitalization of the WHISKY TOKEN fall below the value of the portfolio for more than one month after the WHISKY TOKEN is traded on the crypto exchange, then WHYTOKEN GmbH will start with the buyback of WHISKY TOKEN. These are repurchased at the current and fair market value of the portfolio until the market capitalization of WHISKY TOKEN again exceeds the value of the portfolio. Tokens purchased by WHYTOKEN GmbH are permanently destroyed (burnt). Investors thus have a very low risk.
The location Germany offers a high legal security. The ICO is advised by the Winheller law firm, which has already advised well-known names in the crypto world. BaFin agrees with the expert opinion of Winheller and sees no security token in WHISKY TOKEN.
WHYTOKEN GmbH uses statistical models as well as the concentrated and long-standing expertise of the various and independent consultants in compiling the portfolio. Relationships with various distilleries and bottlers ensure optimal and extremely exclusive market access.
The WHISKY TOKEN ICO starts on 1 December and is divided into three phases. Each phase is limited and has only a small number of WHISKY TOKEN. The first phase starts with an attractive 33% discount. A WHY costs 0.80€ and can be purchased with Ether, Bitcoin or Fiat. The minimum investment is only 30€, so everyone can participate in the WHISKY TOKEN.
Further information can be found in the Whitepaper and in the Explainer-Video.



































