Scotch Whisky Auctions 89th Auction Now Live – Whisky News
August 27th, 2018
Archive for 2018
Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 212: Yamazaki Limited Edition 2017 – Japanese Whisky News
August 27th, 2018
Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 212: Yamazaki Limited Edition 2017
Mark Dermul, Belgian whiskyblogger, tastes the coveted Yamazaki Limited Edition 2017. It is Suntory’s yearly returning NAS-whisky that showcases what Japanese whisky is all about. Beautifully layered, mouth coating and flavorsome, it is a liquid delight. Tasting it in the ancient French city of Avignon only adds to the experience.
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SPIRITED PERFORMANCE AS CHIVAS BROTHERS FACE PERNOD RICARD CHINA IN INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL FRIENDLY – Scotch Whisky News
August 26th, 2018
SPIRITED PERFORMANCE AS CHIVAS BROTHERS FACE PERNOD RICARD CHINA IN INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL FRIENDLY
World-leading Scotch whisky producer, Chivas Brothers yesterday battled it out on the football pitch with sister company Pernod Ricard China in what was arguably the second most important tournament of the summer.
Teams from the two businesses went head to head at Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC’s Stadium, overseen by none other than Douglas Ross MP – an accomplished referee who has previously officiated in the Scottish Cup Final and Champions League.
With 44 footballers making up four teams, the players came from all areas of the business – from warehouse operations to marketers and distillers to site engineers. The chance to play on a Scottish Premiership pitch fired up both teams, with 10 goals scored in four games, in what was a fun and relaxed afternoon. The final score was a draw, with Team Scotland presenting its guests with the coveted tournament trophy.
The match was an important part of an itinerary of activities arranged as more than 750 Chinese guests from Pernod Ricard China visited Scotland for an immersive Scotch whisky experience. The visitors have also enjoyed several Speyside distillery tours, internal conferences and a traditional Highland dinner, all designed to build an even stronger working relationship between the two affiliates.
Alex Robertson, Whisky Ambassador and Education Manager at Chivas Brothers, said: “Scotland and China unfortunately didn’t qualify for the World Cup, and so we took matters in our own hands by organising a friendly tournament during our guests’ stay. I would like to thank Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. for hosting us at their club.
“Over the last few days we’ve had a wonderful time entertaining our colleagues and showing them everything that Scotland has to offer. The trip has been hugely rewarding for both parties and has helped cement our already strong working relationship, something we’ll continue to benefit from long into the future.”
Douglas Ross, MP for Moray and referee of the match, said: “I was delighted to referee yesterday’s tournament, all teams were very sporting and seemed to have a lot of fun – what better way to build bonds across the business than play in a few friendlies? It has been encouraging to welcome such a large delegation of guests to our country and this visit is testimony to the global nature of the Scotch whisky industry and its significance to the Scottish economy.”
Team Scotland member Graeme Gardiner said: “The match was certainly very spirited, and it was great fun for everyone involved – it’s not every day you get to play a friendly international at a Scottish Championship Club! Football may not have come home for England, but today the spirit of the game was certainly alive in Scotland!”
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Build an advantaged route to consumer: China Premium scotch brands leading the way to consumers in South China – Scotch Whisky News
August 26th, 2018
Build an advantaged route to consumer: China Premium scotch brands leading the way to consumers in South China
We want spirits consumers in China to choose our premium and super premium scotch brands. To achieve this, we identified two provinces in China, Guangdong and Fujian, to further build our route to consumer capabilities in liquor stores.
Guangdong and Fujian have the highest penetration of foreign spirits consumption in China. Focusing on Johnnie Walker Blue Label, The Singleton and our malts portfolio, we trained our sales team and worked with local distributors and liquor outlets to set minimum activation standards for our premium scotch brands. Using data and insights, the sales team is now able to make real-time decisions to ensure we are reaching the right consumers with the right products and that our brands are presented at their best at point of sale. During sales calls, our team is able to take images of displays. Our system logs the images and our central team is able to evaluate and better determine the best sales drivers.
Additionally, during occasions such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year, we are recruiting and re-recruiting Johnnie Walker Blue Label customers through personalisation and gifting.
This year, we have seen sales of scotch in mainland China grow strong double digit driven by Johnnie Walker and The Singleton.
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Isle of Arran Distillers claim four top prizes at international competition – Scotch Whisky News
August 25th, 2018
Isle of Arran Distillers claim four top prizes at international competition
The team at the Isle of Arran Distillers is celebrating four coveted awards at this year’s International Wine & Spirits Competition. The independent whisky maker picked up two gold medals for its Arran 10 and 18-year-old Single Malts. The Bothy Quarter Cask and Lochranza Reserve claimed silver outstanding medals.
The International Wine & Spirits Competition is now in its 49th year and sets the international benchmark for quality. Entries are received from nearly 90 countries and each product is sampled by the judging panel, which consists of over 400 global experts.
The gold medal for the 10-year-old Single Malt at the International Wine & Spirits Competition is another in a long list of sought-after accolades that the classic expression of Arran has received. Earlier this year the dram collected the Double Gold accreditation at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, a Gold medal at the World Whiskies Awards and an impressive 91 points out of 100 at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, where it also received a cocktail commendation for the ‘Rob Roy’ cocktail.
Expert judges from across the world have been impressed with the 10-year-old’s initial rush of rich vanilla sweetness that gives way to a touch of cinnamon that adds a spicy edge to the soft and sweet texture. The citrus notes have rounded with age and reveal new depths of character against a background of sweet oak.
The 18-year-old Single Malt, that claimed a gold award at the International Wine & Spirits Competition, following a Gold Medal at the World Whiskies Awards earlier this year, is a favourite among whisky lovers for its renowned depth of character. Caramelised citrus and tropical notes on a background of toasted oak have created an intense, well rounded dram with charm and personality. This Single Malt also utilises a balanced mix of the finest aged ex-Sherry and ex-Bourbon casks to offer a full and unique maturation of the classic expression of Arran.
Speaking about the awards, Euan Mitchell, Managing Director of Isle of Arran Distillers, said: “It’s always exciting to see our whiskies perform so well on the international stage, and there aren’t many more prestigious than the International Wine & Spirits Competition.
“Our whisky represents much more than just a great taste, they also characterise the heritage of our island. The local water, microclimate and air quality all influence the spirit as it’s distilled and matured. The whisky we create couldn’t come from anywhere else but the Isle of Arran. Everything we make reflects a range of regional influences yet achieves a rare and unique personality all of its own.
“We look forward to the next stage of the company’s growth with the opening of our Lagg Distillery in Spring next year. The whisky produced at Lagg will be a heavily peated Single Malt in contrast to the unpeated style produced at Lochranza and it will remain true to our ethos as an independent whisky maker. It will continue exploring the incomparable characteristics of our home island that has seen our whisky acclaimed across the world.”
The most recent milestone for the Lagg Distillery is the completion of the steelworks. With the structure now in place, the Distillery has begun to take on its distinctive shape, overlooking the south coast of Arran and the Firth of Clyde. The new distillery has been positioned next to fields of barley that provide a portion of the malt currently used in distillation at Lochranza.
Come this autumn the copper pot stills will be installed, followed in early 2019 by the first production run of the new heavily-peated (50ppm) spirit that will become, in time, the flagship Lagg Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
The Isle of Arran Distillers has released 700 of the first casks of this whisky for purchase. Each of casks, priced at £6,000, will remain at the distillery for a minimum of ten years of maturation under the careful eye of the Lagg Distillery team. The casks owners will then have the opportunity to bottle the spirit, complete with a limited-edition Lagg Cask society label, or pay an annual fee to continue the maturation process until the desired age is attained. It is expected that the casks will be laid down in early 2019. No further casks will be made available for sale to the public during the first ten years of production at Lagg.
Notes:
For more information visit www.arranwhisky.com and www.laggwhisky.com
Accolades for Isle of Arran Distillery include Winner for: Best New Exporter (2004), Queen’s Award for International Trade (2005), Scottish Distiller of the Year (2007) and Scottish Drinks Producer of the Year (2007)
Scottish Field Visitor Experience of the Year 2014 & 2015
Drinks Business Best Contribution to Wine and Spirits Tourism (2017)
Best Brewery/Distillery Tour – Scottish Outdoor Leisure Awards (2017)
Product Awards include:
Arran 10 year -old: San Francisco World Spirits Competition Double Gold Medal (2018). International Wine & Spirits Competition Gold Medal (2018). Category Winner and Gold Medal ‘Best Scotch Under
12 Years’ Islands Non-Islay at the World Whiskies Awards (2018). International Spirits Challenge Silver Medal (2018). Ultimate Spirits Challenge 91 points (2018). Ultimate Spirits Challenge Cocktail Commendation for the Rob Roy (2018). Double Gold Medal China Wine & Spirits Best Value Awards (2014)
Arran 18 year-old: International Wine & Spirits Competition Gold Medal (2018) Category Winner & Gold Medal ‘Best Scotch 13-20 Years – Islands (Non- Islay) World Whiskies Awards (2018). International Spirits Challenge Silver Medal (2018)
Quarter Cask ‘The Bothy: Category Winner & Gold Medal ‘No Age Statement Single Malt’ for The Bothy Batch 3 World Whiskies Awards (2018). International Wine & Spirits Competition Silver Outstanding Medal (2018). International Spirits Challenge Silver Medal (2018)
Arran Lochranza Reserve: International Wine & Spirits Competition Silver Outstanding Medal (2018), International Spirits Challenge Silver Medal (2018)
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WHISKY AUCTIONEER AUGUST 2018 AUCTION LIVE! – Scotch Whisky News
August 25th, 2018
Port Ellen 12 Year Old / Queen’s Visit 1980
Thought to be the only official bottling of Port Ellen released while the distillery was active, this expression was produced to commemorate the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the island on 9th August 1980. We are honoured to present at auction one of the most iconic whiskies ever produced.
Macallan 50 Year Old 2018 Release 75cl / US Import
Like all the great Macallan before it, this 50 year old was matured in only the finest handcrafted, hand-selected, sherry-seasoned European oak casks, all the way from the bodegas of Spain. Allowed to interact for five decades with this wood, it is sure to have an incredible rich and full flavour.
Bowmore 1964 ‘Black Bowmore’ Trilogy
An icon of the whisky world, it’s hard to fathom where whisky collecting would be today without the Black Bowmore. This month we have each of the three releases of the renowned series combined as one lot. What a great chance to own some of the most important spirit to ever grace our beloved industry.
Karuizawa produced outstanding whiskies, many of which have received international acclaim. They have released almost 300 single casks which are becoming increasingly rarer and rarer as demand soars. This month we have a fantastic selection of some of their best bottlings.
Genesis is a special and highly limited release from the recently revamped Macallan distillery. Released in August 2018, the special edition bottling commemorates the unveiling of the brand new Macallan distillery just two months prior
A.H. Hirsch 1974 Reserve 16 Year Old Bourbon
This month we feature two special lots which are the same spirit bottled under different owners at different times. The blue wax seal indicates the original bottling in the early nineties by Julian Van Winkle III. The other is a Buffalo Trace bottling done in 2003.
Teeling Celebratory Single Pot Still Exclusive Auction
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society “Say hello to the Peat Faerie” – Scotch Whisky News
August 25th, 2018
A SPRINKLING OF FAERIE DUST
The wait is finally over! We’re continuing our month of bold discoveries with a new release from our collection of blended malts, and it’s a little piece of magic, for members only. Our journey into blended malt started with two batches of Exotic Cargo and, after resounding approval from you, we’ve arrived at a new flavour frontier of peat and smoke with our latest bottling, Peat Faerie.
A harmonious marriage between first-fill Speyside casks and a collection of hand-selected Islay casks, Peat Faerie showcases a perfect balance of earthy peat smoke, farmyard muscle and coastal freshness. Spirits manager Euan Campbell produced separate regional recipes before combining them in different proportions and strengths and putting them all in front of the Society’s Tasting Panel. The Panel assessed the samples blind and we bottled the highest scoring recipe, reduced to 50% abv to achieve the perfect drinking strength.
We’ve created only 2,948 bottles of this special blend, so intrepid whisky explorers should grab one fast, before they’re all gone (maximum two per member).
Peat Faerie
£50.00
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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From Speyside to Shimamoto at The Whisky Shop – Scotch Whisky News
August 25th, 2018
From Speyside to Shimamoto!
Scotland is known as the home of whisky, and Speyside has to be its heart with more than half of the distilleries in the country found there. Of course the Scots are fiercly proud of their national drink – and rightly so! – but on the other side of the globe, a nation is beginning to mount a challenge to the dominance of Scotch in the whisky world.
Japanese whisky is still a relatively new category, with the first distillery founded in the 1920s, but the Land of the Rising Sun is home to multi-award winning brands from Suntory and Nikka, not to mention younger up and coming distilleries like Chichibu.
Fortunately, whether you favour Scotch or Japanese, you can enjoy some delicious whisky from both camps at The Whisky Shop!
Next day UK delivery available
International shipping
The Macallan 18 Year Old
Sherry Oak 2018
Milroys September / October Tastings – Whisky & Whiskey News
August 25th, 2018
MILROYS TASTING EVENTS
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER
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.
IN PURSUIT OF THE GRAIN
Book Now
WOMEN’S WHISKY NIGHT
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PERNOD RICARD IRISH RANGE
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PAUL JOHN
Book Now
NIKKA
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MICHTER’S
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GLENFIDDICH
Book Now
BRUICHLADDICH
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GLENDALOUGH
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Tastings and Tickets
Our mailing address is:
Milroy’s of Soho
3 Greek Street
London, EnglandW1D 4NX
United Kingdom
COMPASS BOX WHISKY CO. ANNOUNCES THE WINNER OF ITS INAUGURAL GLOBAL BARTENDER COMPETITION, THE CIRCLE – Scotch Whisky News
August 24th, 2018
COMPASS BOX WHISKY CO. ANNOUNCES THE WINNER OF ITS INAUGURAL GLOBAL BARTENDER COMPETITION, THE CIRCLE
Rosey Mitchell was revealed as the winner of The Circle after competing against
5 leading bartenders in a three-day final.
London, Thursday 16 August 2018. Compass Box, the Scotch whisky blending house announced Rosey Mitchell as the winner of The Circle at a reveal party in London last night.
The Circle launched earlier this year and encouraged the most inventive bartenders from around the world to compete for a one-of-a-kind opportunity – a place to work side-by-side with Founder and Whiskymaker, John Glaser to create a Compass Box Limited Edition blend, which will be sold internationally.
THE CIRCLE FINALISTS
Bartenders from Argentina, France, USA, Spain and the UK competed in regional heats, which saw the following six leading bartenders secure a spot in the final.
- Adriano Marcellino | BrukBar, Buenos Aires
- Baptiste Etcheverry | Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos, Barcelona
- Charlotte Pederson | Little Red Door, Paris
- Max Venning | Three Sheets, London
- Meredith Barry | Vol 39, Chicago
- Rosey Mitchell | Three Sheets, London
THE FINAL
The three-day final was designed to encourage the bartenders to cross-boundaries with a series of blending, cocktail and design challenges.
The finalists worked closely with Compass Box Whiskymakers John Glaser and Jill Boyd, experimenting with different aromas and flavours before creating their own bespoke blend.
The bartenders got creative behind the bar, building their own signature serves inspired by their home city and bespoke highball serves featuring their very own blend.
The programme of challenges culminated in a final pitch, which was presented to and judged by a panel of experts including Ryan Chetiyawardana of Super Lyan, Matt Whiley of Scout, Sandrae Lawrence of The Cocktail Lovers, Ivan Dixon of Enotria & Coe and Compass Box’s John Glaser.
THE WINNER
The final pitch saw the bartenders present their blend and signature highball serve as well as a design inspiration for their whisky, with Rosey receiving top-marks and the title of The Circle winner 2018.
Rosey Mitchell from Three Sheets, commented of her win: “It’s been an incredible couple of days, something I am so excited to be a part of. I have never been in a competition quite like it, John Glaser and everyone involved have truly changed the game and I can’t wait to start blending and see where the future holds.”
Commenting on Rosey’s win John Glaser, said: “I’d like to congratulate Rosey and welcome her to the Compass Box circle. The Circle is all about finding like-minded creators who aren’t afraid to do things differently, if it means doing things better, and we’ve certainly found that in all our finalists. Rosey created a blend and serve that I would be proud to put a Compass Box label on, and I’m excited about what we can create together.”
The Circle judge and Founder of Super Lyan, Ryan Chetiyawardana said: “This was such a personal competition and it covered so many different aspects of the craft; all the bartenders should be incredibly proud. Rosey did an amazing job and I’m super excited to see what she will create with John. Compass Box has always been a brand close to my heart, and it’s great to see that The Circle competition is a fittingly progressive challenge to bartender’s passion and creativity.”
The Compass Box Limited Edition blend, created in collaboration with Rosey will be available worldwide from Spring 2019, coinciding with the launch next year’s competition.
About Compass Box
Compass Box is a leading independent Scotch whisky blending house, which is kind of a workshop for whisky. Its whiskies span the flavour spectrum of Scotch, including blended malt whiskies, blended grain whiskies and blended Scotch whiskies. They are not bound by one single style of Scotch and the only limit is their imagination.
In 2000, John Glaser set up Compass Box from his kitchen with the idea to explore where others wouldn’t, to create flavours that others weren’t. John wanted to push Scotch forward rather than maintaining the status quo and fifteen years later he’s still doing the same thing with no plans to change.
Compass Box is six-time Whisky Magazine Innovator of the Year and in 2015, John Glaser was named by Whisky Advocate as one of the most influential figures in the history of Whisky – and one of only three still alive today.
The Circle
The Circle is the Compass Box global bartender competition, which launched in 2018. The competition encourages the most inventive bartenders from around the world to compete for a chance to create a limited edition Compass Box blend with Founder and Whiskymaker, John Glaser.
The Circle is made up of like-mined creators, boundary crossers and experimenters.
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