Whiskey Obsession Festival Presents the Pappy Van Winkle Flight and Dinner

with Whiskey Expert Tom Fischer

The Whiskey Obsession Festival in conjunction with Spirit Guide, Inc. is thrilled to announce the Pappy Van Winkle Flight and Dinner with Tom Fischer of the Bourbon Blog, Friday, November 2, 2018 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Francis in downtown Sarasota, Florida. This is the first time on the Gulf Coast of Florida that the entire range of these rare and expensive American Bourbon whiskies will be available to sample. For the whiskey fan, it’s a once in a lifetime event.

The Van Winkle line is composed of five fine Bourbon whiskies – Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year, Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year, Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year, Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year, Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year – and the Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 Year Rye. Cost is $295 per person and includes four course dinner. Tickets are limited to 35 guests.

Our speaker is whiskey expert Tom Fischer, founder of BourbonBlog.com, the country’s premier resource for American Whiskey and Bourbon commentary. He is the creator of the world’s first ever Whiskey Sommelier Program with students from around the globe. Tom was one of the first to report on the intense interest in Pappy Van Winkle bourbon that began over a decade ago and he continues to follow this premier brand. Tom is also a Kentucky Colonel, an honor bestowed on him by the governor of the state.

The Seventh Annual Whiskey Obsession Festival (WOF) will be held April 10 to 13, 2019 in Sarasota, Florida. Whiskey Obsession is the largest world whiskey festival in the U.S., with four days of classes, tastings, lunch and dinner pairings, expanded bartender academy, interactive panel discussions, cigars, VIP pours, a fabulous grand tasting with hundreds of whiskies and cocktails to sample, plus free live music street party in the heart of downtown. A portion of festival proceeds is awarded to a qualified 501c3 annually.

Tickets and information are available at whiskeyobsessionfestival.com.

For more information contact Turner C. Moore, 941.400.9889

Email: Turner@WhiskeyObsessionFestival.com

Video: https://youtu.be/5yeO5p3Vfl0

Whiskey Obsession Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhiskeyObsessionFestival

The Diageo 2018 Special Releases are only a click away

This year the 2018 Special Releases include mouth-watering expressions from Talisker, The Singleton of Glen Ord, Pittyvaich, Oban​, Lagavulin​, Inchgower, Carsebridge, Caol Ila​ and Cladach, ranging from 8 years to a whopping 48 years old.
Welcome Cladach (Gaelic word for shoreline) a debut appearance in the series. This spectacular whisky is a blended malt designed to “capture the character of Scotland’s coastline”. It has been created with spirit from the Caol Ila, Clynelish, Lagavulin, Oban, Inchgower and Talisker distilleries.

Click here to view the full range: 

Available while stocks last!

Don’t let your favourite flavours slip away this September Outturn. With our birthday whiskies taking flight fast, click over to our online shop now to catch hold of your bottles. If you’re looking for some celebratory recommendations, we’ve selected five memorable drams fit to mark any occasion.

NEW OUTTURN

Join us on 24 September as we unite members from all around the world, in our first ever global Virtual Tasting, streamed live from our home at The Vaults.

Simply order an exclusive Discovery Pack, which includes five specially-selected whiskies, and join us on www. facebook.com/thesmwsuk at 7pm (UK time) September 24th, 2018, where master brand ambassador John McCheyne will be hosting this
once-in-a-lifetime tasting.

BUY NOW

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

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Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 5th edition 

It makes the perfect gift for the scotch lover in your life that has everything (or a gift for yourself). The only way we can guarantee you a calendar is through our pre-order program.  Available online only www.spirits.jwebb.net, we are offering a special price of $374.95 (regular price $399.95) until November 12.

The scotch whisky Advent Calendar was born in 2014 when Jonathan Bray travelled to Scotland and sourced 25 entirely unique whiskies that would take whoever tasted them on a journey of

discovery through all the Scottish whisky regions. This tradition remains today, with all whisky’s being hand selected and carefully curated for the ultimate whisky experience in one box.

Included in the calendar

 25 x 50ml bottles of Single Cask and limited Edition Scotch Whiskies (all independently bottled)

• 5th edition unique whisky tasting glass• Keepsake tasting note booklet

  • Feature distillery postcard

  • Collector’s lapel pin

Follow the journey with Jonathans tasting notes at http://www.singlemalting.com and the magnificent bastards of whisky tribe on youtube

The Whisky Barrel releases their latest exclusive bottling, an Orcadian Blended Malt Scotch Whisky. 

Specialist online whisky shop, TheWhiskyBarrel.com, is proud to release a very limited Orcadian Blended Malt Scotch Whisky from the parish of St Ola.

The Orkney Islands, located off the north coast of Scotland, are full of mystery and intrigue. The island was in many ways shaped by the Vikings who settled in Orkney over one thousand years ago. There are age-old tales of Viking settlers, the striking St Magnus Cathedral (or ‘Light of the North’) and even Pictish ruins.

As well as the striking ‘Light of the North’, St Ola is home to both Highland Park and Scapa Whisky Distilleries. In other words, St Ola is the home of Orcadian whisky.

TheWhiskyBarrel.com could not possibly pass up the chance to take the very first St Ola Scotch Whisky. This blended malt might only be eight years old but it is full of flavour and certainly a credit to Orkney.

With an ABV of 66.2%.  There are 82 numbered bottles available so there will be a limit of two bottles per customer.

Available exclusively from The Whisky Barrel, shipping to customers Worldwide including the United States of America, Canada and Japan. 

St Ola® Orcadian Blended Malt 8Year Old Exclusive |2010| TheWhiskyBarrel.com| 66.2%

Tasting notes 

Colour: Light golden straw.

Nose: A lovely sweet nose, accompanied by notes of Crème brûlée and heather honey. 

Palate: There are traces of light peat smoke, along with traditional leather and burnt orange. 

Finish: Long and oily. 

Price: £58.00 GBP / $62.60 USD (+ P&P) 

The Whisky Barrel E: info@thewhiskybarrel.com Visit www.thewhiskybarrel.com T: +44 (0)845 2248 156

Find us on: Facebook, Twitter & Instagram

The Whisky Exchange BLOG

Cladach – Diageo Special Releases 2018 #10

It’s time to reveal the final bottle of the Diageo Special Releases 2018 – Cladach.

What is Cladach

For the second year in a row, Diageo have dropped a secret bottle into the line-up, only revealing it on the day of the launch party. It’s a blended malt whisky.

While last year’s Collectivum XXVIII was a blend from all of Diageo’s operating malt whisky distilleries, Cladach is a bit more selective. The name means ‘coastline’ in gaelic and it was created using whisky from Diageo’s coastal distilleries: Inchgower, Clynelish, Talisker, Oban, Caol Ila and Lagavulin.

Like Collectivum, Cladach was created by Keith Law, a veteran of Diageo’s blending team. It marks a milestone for Keith, as it was his final project before retirement. Fortunately, it’s a fitting swansong.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Pink shrimp sweets and leather to start, with smoke slowly building behind. Fresh sea air and crashing waves sit alongside earthy peat and maritime-tinged smoke. Meaty barbecue notes develop.

Palate: Peat leads but is quickly pushed to the back. The whisky is built around a sweet centre of boiled sweets and apple sauce, surrounded by salt and freshly-ground black pepper. A tingle of sherbet leads to zesty waxed lemons and sweet orange.

Finish: Sweet peat and grass with a touch of char.

Comment: An incredibly well-balanced dram, pulling out the distinctively coastal characteristics of the component whiskies without allowing smoke to swamp the more delicate flavours. However, Talisker and Clynelish are definitely doing the heavy lifting.

Diageo Special Releases 2018

With Cladach revealed, we now know the full line-up of 2018’s Diageo Special Releases:

They should be arriving any day now and will be available for preorder shortly. In the meantime you can sign up to receive an email when they go live on each bottle’s page:

Talisker 8 Years Old
The Singleton of Glen Ord 14 Years Old
Pittyvaich 28 Years Old
Carsebridge 48 Years Old
Caol Ila 35 Years Old
Oban 21 Years Old
Inchgower 27 Years Old
Caol Ila 15 Years Old Unpeated
Lagavulin 12 Years Old
Cladach

When they’re available for preorder, you’ll be able to find them all on our Diageo Special Release 2018 page.

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – Cladach – Diageo Special Releases 2018 #10

Maltstock 2018

Thank you & see you in 2019!

All good things must come to an end! Even relaxed good things. One minute you sit relaxedly in a speed tasting, the next you’re sitting in the sun, relaxedly enjoying a great dram. And then, as quickly as it all started, it’s gone. Maltstock 2018 is over and, judging from your reactions on social media, the messages and the e-mails, it was a blast! Our anniversary is over but we’ll keep on celebrating all of the coming year!

We would like to take the opportunity to thank all our guests, industry support and sponsors for making this great edition possible! You people rock! And last, but not least, a great big thank you to all our volunteers of course!

We hope to see you all next year at Maltstock 2019 or sooner at a festival or tasting near you! Just follow us on Facebook and these newsletters, and you’ll know where to find us.

Annette, Bob, Klaas, Stan and Teun & our super relaxed volunteer crew!

Early bird

To show our appreciation for all our guests we offer an early bird discount shortly after Maltstock. Even if you did not manage to join us this year, please feel invited to join the next. If you order your ticket(s) before the 1st of October 2018 you get a relaxed € 25 discount. Just use the  couponcode “earlybird2019” at the end of the order process.

Maltstock 2019 is 6-8 September

Relaxed and (a bit more) sustainable

We ran an experiment this year to try and reduce the amount of plastic water bottles used during Maltstock, while keeping up the availability of water. So we arranged for Bottle clips and Relaxed Drinking Water Refill Points.

And… it worked! By doing this we reduced the amount of plastic bottles used by 50%!! That is over 1000 bottles less! So thanks for relaxedly refilling!

Pictures of Maltstock 2018

Below are some random pictures of Maltstock 2018. If you have any to share with us, please do so on Facebook or send them to us, (info@maltstock.com) preferabely as a link to WeTransfer or Dropbox for example. We will then share the pictures with the rest of you via Facebook and our website.

https://www.facebook.com/Maltstock/

Bunnahabhain Moine Bordeaux Red Wine Cask, 58.1%

Limited stocks

For the first time Bunnahabhain have fully matured their whisky in red wine casks from the famed region of Bordeaux. Not only this but this new limited release is also peated, which has created a wonderful combination of sweetness, spice and smoke. A cask strength delight that we’d be sure to recommend to any whisky lover.

The Good Dram Show – Episode 282 ‘Gordon & MacPhail‘

In this weeks episode of the show I’ll be looking at some new releases from the Independant bottler Gordon & MacPhail.

https://youtu.be/kszJpR1eMzQ

STEEL BONNETS RECOGNISED WITH PROMINENT WHISKY AWARD

Steel Bonnets, The Lakes Distillery’s blend of English and Scotch malt whisky, has been awarded a Gold Medal in the World Whisky Ultra-Premium category (whiskies priced over £51) by the prestigious Spirits Business Awards.

The Luxury Masters competition aims to reward the finest luxury spirits on the global stage.  Chaired by The Spirits Business and assessed by a panel of leading spirits specialists, Steel Bonnets was the only World Whisky in its category to secure a Gold Medal award.

Speaking following a blind-tasting, the panel of whisky experts from across the globe commented that Steel Bonnets was ‘full and warm’ with ‘green apple, slight wood smoke’ and a palate of ‘cinnamon and plum.’ 

Created with the highest quality malt whiskies from both sides of the border, Steel Bonnets is a combination of The Lakes Single Malt from England and some of the most respected malts from Scotland.  It is the world’s first blend of English malt and Scotch malt whisky.

The name pays homage to the memory of the English and Scottish people who lived in the Border Marches from Berwick-upon-Tweed in the East to Carlisle in the West during the 13^th – 17^th centuries.

Paul Currie, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of The Lakes Distillery said:  “I’m incredibly proud that Steel Bonnets has been recognised by some of the world’s leading whisky experts for its excellence. Our Master Whiskymaker Dhavall Gandhi has created something very special.

“This is the third year of the competition and the excellence demonstrated in our category confirms the emphasis leading whisky makers are putting on taste and quality.  With the growing trend for customers to spend more and drink less this is an increasingly important award for premium spirits.

“Our ambition is to establish The Lakes Distillery as a luxury global whisky brand and this recognition is another significant step towards this. Steel Bonnets now sits alongside world brands including Sullivan’s Cove of Tasmania and Chivas Regal Ultis, both Gold award winners and I’m absolutely thrilled.”

The Lakes Distillery Master Whiskymaker, Dhavall Gandhi, said: “I’m honoured that Steel Bonnets has received a Gold Medal. It is very rewarding that the knowledgeable tasting panel appreciated this unique whisky.”

For more information, please visit: www.lakesdistillery.com 

Notes:

The Lakes Distillery employs 85 people and is led by a team of four: 

Paul Currie, Founder and Chief Operating Officer, as one part of the father-son team behind the Isle of Arran Distillers, Paul has whisky in his veins!

Nigel Mills CBE, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, was the driving force that saw the Mills convenience store brand grow from 11 newsagents to a chain of 77 convenience stores and eight supermarkets.

Dhavall Gandhi, Operations Director and Whiskymaker, joined the Distillery after fine-tuning his skills at Macallan and is instrumental in crafting the Lake District’s only single malt whisky.

Alan Rutherford OBE, Chairman, a leading figure in the whisky world, as testified by his OBE for services to the Scotch Whisky Industry and as the former production director at Diageo.