First ever Distillery crowdfunding in Canada

soars past 90% subscription

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, February 5th, 2019.

Two months ago, the Victoria Caledonian Distillery & Twa Dogs Brewery launched the first equity crowdfunding for a distillery-brewery in Canada and is 93% towards its $500,000 goal. The business intends to continue crowdfunding beyond this target to accelerate its international exports and launch a N.W. Whisky Trail. This crowdfunding campaign allows regular Canadian residents to secure a front seat pass into the craft spirits and beer industries just as these sectors are experiencing explosive growth.

Graeme Macaloney PhD, President & Founder of the Victoria Caledonian, said; “From the beginning we wanted to build a community around our brewery and distillery. By setting the minimum investment at $250, we’ve been able to invite more passionate whisky and beer enthusiasts into the industry. The community we’ve built is so engaged and excited about what we’re doing that they’ve helped us grow the business significantly. Thanks to this support, we’re well on our way towards achieving our aims of demonstrating to the world that Canadian Single Malt Whisky can be just as great, or even better than, Scotch.” The brewery and distillery currently has over 300 Canadian investors with dozens more about to join the fold as the crowdfunding campaign reaches its target.

With a prior $2.4 million in funding from Agriculture Canada one of the largest craft distilleries in N. America has been established, and proprietary rapid maturation know-how transferred from the late-great Scotch maturation expert, Dr. Jim Swan. Since opening in 2016, their spirit at just 15 months old, and can’t be called whisky until later this year, has already been turning heads and scoring as high as 91 points (a score usually reserved for 17 year old Scotches). Also, their craft beers took two top awards at the prestigious BC Craft Beer Awards, placing them in the top 10% of local craft beers thanks to Head Brewer Nicole MacLean who previously apprenticed at BrewDog, Scotland.
Investments start at $250 with brewery-distillery ownership conferring a potential return on investment, product discounts, attendance to their 3-day brewing & distilling academy, and other perks which give Canadian investors behind the scenes access to a brewery and distillery! The early-bird pricing ends February 8th at 11:59 pm. Those considering a possible investment of $250 to $5,000 should check: https://www.frontfundr.com/Company/victoria-caledonian-brewery-distillery. For investments of $10,000 or more please contact Graeme Macaloney per contact details below.

Victoria Caledonian Distillery & Twa Dogs Brewery
Graeme Macaloney PhD, PEng.
Graeme@MacaloneyDistillers.com
www.VictoriaCaledonian.com

Old Perth 23 Year Old

Shop £151.88

1994 vintage blended malt Scotch whisky. Rare blended whisky consisting mainly of sherry cask matured Macallan. Bottled 2018 by Morrison & MacKay. 515 bottles. Blended Scotch whiskies are produced by blending whiskies distilled at two or more different Scottish distilleries and the whiskies may be single malt whiskies, single grain whiskies, or single malt and single grain whiskies.

Friday February 22nd, 5-7PM:

The Macallan & Highland Park

Treat yourself to some of the most popular whisky names in the world! We’ll be pouring a variety of new releases and highly-rated favorites, with distillery representatives and our own in-store whisky experts present throughout.

More Details & RSVP

Ralfy Publishes Ralfy Review #762

TOBERMORY 2002 MADEIRA CASK FINISH

https://youtu.be/IZzC3XITrNY

1883 FERMENTER FILLED FOR THE FIRST TIME

IN 100 YEARS AT BUFFALO tRACE

Distillery recommissions one of Col. E.H. Taylor, Jr.’s original fermenters

Click here to watch a short video

FRANKFORT, Franklin County, Ky (Jan. 23, 2019) – Having long been buried and forgotten, one of Col. E.H. Taylor, Jr.’s original fermenters is getting a new lease on life. For the first time in 100 years, the fermenter, which dates back to 1883, has been recommissioned and once again filled with Old Fashioned Sour Mash.

            Buffalo Trace Distillery made a historic discovery in 2016 when it uncovered Col. E.H. Taylor, Jr.’s intact fermenting vats dating to 1883, the original foundation wall Taylor built in 1869 and a second foundation built by Taylor in 1873. The distillery remnants and fermenters had been decommissioned, covered with a cement floor and forgotten, until the Distillery began work on the O.F.C. Building to turn it into more meeting and event space. With this historic find, the Distillery altered its plans and immediately began working to excavate and preserve this piece of distilling history with the help of a bourbon archaeologist. The space is now famously referred to by the nickname “Bourbon Pompeii.”

            Once uncovered, the National Historic Landmark distillery set forth to bring one of the fermenters back online. The top of Fermenter No. 7 has been lined with some of the cleaned-up bricks that were uncovered during the excavation, and was relined with copper like it would have been during Taylor’s tenure. After adding piping to connect the fermenter with the Distillery’s microstill, the fermenter was tested earlier this month and then filled with mash for the first time in 100 years on the morning of Jan. 10^th.

            As a testament to Taylor’s legacy at Buffalo Trace, the Distillery plans to use the fermenter to produce Old Fashioned Sour Mash, similar to how Taylor did nearly 150 years ago. The Distillery applied for a patent on this sour mash process and received patent pending status in 2017.

            The O.F.C. Building, including the recommissioned fermenter and other Distillery remnants can be seen on the Distillery’s complimentary E.H. Taylor Tour, which is offered Monday through Friday by reservation. The tour, which allows visitors to get up close with the now active fermenter, also makes stops at the Old Taylor House and Warehouse C.

            In the future, Buffalo Trace also plans to use the upper levels of the O.F.C. Building as event space as originally planned, offering another unique way to view the sour mash process and experience this unique discovery.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich tradition dates back to 1773 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee.  Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site and is a National Historic Landmark as well as is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Distillery has won 21 distillery titles since 2000 from such notable publications as Whisky Magazine, Whisky Advocate Magazine and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Its Col. E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon was named World Whiskey of the Year by “Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible 2018.”  Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 500 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com

January Newsletter 2019

Welcome back to our first newsletter of the year. It’s been a cold, cold month but we’re still working hard to make sure we get our goods out to you all!

What a week for our Single Malt Whisky 

Our Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky has been the star of the show this month, receiving some fantastic feedback from some of the biggest food and drink gurus out there.

We woke up on Saturday morning only to spot our whisky on ITV James Martin’s Saturday Morning show, where celebrated wine critic Oz Clarke and James Martin himself shared their thoughts – definitely worth a watch!

Elsewhere, The Evening Standard recommended our flagship whisky as the perfect alternative to a classic Scotch for Burns Night, and Phillip Schofield also had some good words to say in Waitrose Weekend.

With distilleries becoming increasingly popular south of the Scottish border, it’s brilliant to see us flying the flag for English whisky!

Not forgetting our cask strength…

Just as we were about to send out our newsletter, we received some fantastic news – our Founder’s Choice Single Malt Whisky has been named as Whisky of the Month over on Whiskyexperts.

Fortunately for the ‘translate page’ option, the review makes a great read. Our newest whisky has been described as having ‘great body’ and a ‘beautiful, harmonious balance’ of flavours – we couldn’t ask for more!

If you’d like to learn a little more about our Founder’s Choice, head over to our website.

Click here to learn more

A quick update on our visitor centre 

If you’ve stopped by the distillery recently, you’ll have noticed that our new visitor centre is very nearly finished.

The windows have been fitted, 65% of the Cotswold stone floor has been put in place, and the timber on the exterior is up.

The stairs are due to go up within the next couple of weeks, along with the interior timber cladding.

We’re hoping to unveil the new building in April – it won’t be long until we’re all settled in our new home!

A very warm welcome to the team

We’ve welcomed a few friendly faces over the past month or two as our brilliant team continues to grow.

In the office, Lucy has joined us as our new Sales Coordinator, keeping our accounts and sales team in order!

We’ve also had a couple of new additions to the production side of the distillery – Peter has joined our bottling team and Romy has helped lighten the load as our new Warehouse Operative.

Love is in the air

Chocolates and flowers are lovely, but why not surprise your loved one with one of our Outstanding Natural Spirits this Valentine’s Day?

If your other half prefers to sip on a good dram of whisky instead, our Founder’s Choice Whisky is perfect for that extra special someone.

We have lots to offer, so head to our online store for more ideas.

Click here to browse

Out and about next month

It’s a quiet time of year for events, with this cold weather making everyone want to curl up in front of the fire instead of heading off outside, but Edward will be out championing the Cotswolds cause at a couple of exciting international events in February.

First up, Ed will be attending the Uisge consumer fair in Helsinki, before jetting off to Mumbai for The Vault Biennale – a new premium spirits festival to arrive in the Indian city which will be showcasing some of the best luxury beverages in the world.

As always, keep an eye out on our social media for any upcoming events.

Cotswolds Distillery ~ Phillip’s Field, Whichford Road ~ Stourton ~ Shipston-on-Stour, CV36 5HG ~ United Kingdom

LAST CHANCE TO GRAB YOUR SATURDAY TICKETS
22-23 MARCH 2019
– Stourbridge Town Hall –

With just over six weeks to go, we’re counting down the days to our most exciting Show yet at The Stourbridge Town Hall. As always there are new additions each year; the luxury of the Fine & Rare Bar offering drams from a bygone era, a cigar pairing class and an introductory class for those who are new to the Show.

BOOK TICKETS NOW

NEW TO THE SHOW

If you’ve been keeping an eye on our lineup announcements on social media you’ll know things are already hotting up. So far we’ve announced the following brands:

Springbank / Kilkerran / Compass Box / GlenDronach / Bunnahabhain / Artful Dodger / Hunter Laing / Mars / Tobermory / Paul John / Sazerac / Glengoyne plus more than 30 TBA

AMERICAN WHISKEY

This year for the first time ever you’ll find a number of Buffalo Trace Antique Collection releases on taste at the Sazerac (Hi Spirits) stand, including George T. Stagg and William Larue Weller. Make sure you check these full-flavoured, high-strength whiskeys out.

CIGAR & WHISKY PAIRING

Cigar pairings have been a great addition to the Birmingham Show for the past couple of years so we thought it would be fitting to bring them to the Stourbridge Show, being on the doorstep of a cigar specialist.

We’ll be joined by Patrick from Hunters & Frankau, pairing a limited-edition aged H.Upmann cigar with two whiskies from Compass Box and Talisker.

Tickets are on sale now for just £15.

We are down to our last few Standard Saturday Tickets and we don’t expect them to last much longer. If you’re new to the Show and looking to find how you can make the most of your day, we’ve released a limited number of free tickets to an introductory class which starts at 12:30pm.

Early Bird Friday ticket £30
Early Bird Saturday ticket £35
Standard Saturday Ticket £40
Premium Saturday Ticket £75 TICKETS ON SALE NOW

BOOK TICKETS NOW

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN YOUR TICKETFIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE SHOW

– OPENING TIMES –

Friday 22nd 6pm – 9:30pm
(9:10pm last pour)
Saturday 23rd 12pm – 5:00pm
(4:40pm last pour)

Please arrive early to avoid potential queues

– VENUE –

Stourbridge Town Hall
(opposite Nickolls & Perks’ Shop)
Crown Lane
Stourbridge
DY8 1YE

Click HERE for directions

Bruichladdich Octomore
10 Year Old Dialogos

Octomore 10 Year Old 2008 3rd Release

Matured in a variety of casks including; Port, Cognac, ex-American whisky and Virgin Oak casks. Scottish grown Optic barley malted at 167ppm. 2019 limited release of 12,000 – maximum 1 bottle per customer! AROMA – There is a richness, chocolate, tobacco, bonfire smoke, leather. Vanilla custard, blueberry dry straw and pear drops. TASTE – Warming, spicy – mulled wine. Leather and tobacco, malt sugar, icing sugar. All wrapped in earthy peaty smoke. Dry on the palate. FINISH – Oak driven, coconut, tobacco, vanilla, then smoke. In balance the time in the cask has calmed the smoke, both through the phenols lowering naturally over time and the influence of the oak becoming greater.

Bruichladdich Distillery was established in 1881 by the Harvey family of distillers based in Glasgow. Situated on the Rhinns peninsular on the island of Islay close and close to the sandy bays of Loch Indaal. Re-opened in 2001 with much of the original Victorian equipment restored to working order. The first release of Bruichladdich’s new whisky was the highly acclaimed PC5, the first release in the limited Port Charlotte range. Also producing very highly peated Octamore, Organic using Islay grown barley, and triple and quadruple distilled single malt and single cask releases. Bruichladdich distillery participates in Feis Ile, the annual Islay Whisky Festival.

Shop – Octomore 10 Year Old 3rd Release – £162.00

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 236: The Picts 21 Year Old 1997 for MMM

Mark Dermul, Belgian whiskyblogger, bottles another single cask for MMM.  In 2019 Mark & Manny will again seek out 4 lovely single casks for their new Tribe Series and they are proud to present the first one to you: The Picts. The label was designed by a Flemish artist who was inspired by the tribes that shaped modern Scotland. And the whisky? Well, that remains a secret. Let’s just say that it was distilled at a world famous distillery – founded in 1886 – in the valley of the deer and matured for 21 long years on a bourbon cask. Nuff said.

https://youtu.be/PX_Un4gwLY0

BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY RELEASES

SEASONED STAVE BOURBON EXPERIMENT

FRANKFORT, Franklin County, Ky (Jan. 29, 2019) Buffalo Trace Distillery is releasing its latest round in its experimental whiskey collection, two bourbons aged for more than nine years in barrels made from oak staves seasoned for three and four years.

The bourbons, filled with Buffalo Trace’s mash recipe #1, were put away to age on October 27, 2009 in new barrels with staves that were seasoned for 36 months and 48 months. Most barrel staves air dry for six months, but these oak staves were allowed to season for much longer in hopes the barrels would offer a unique flavor, different than standard barrels.

“Although the taste difference is slight between the two experiments, these whiskeys taste different than our flagship Buffalo Trace bourbon. The 48 month seasoned stave barrels created a more mellow taste and holds less flavor from the wood. The 36 month seasoned stave bourbon is a little more flavorful with oak notes and caramel present,” stated Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley.

These bourbons will be sold in a two pack case, so consumers can evaluate the two and compare taste differences for themselves.  Each bourbon has been bottled at 90 proof.

This is the 22^nd experimental release from Buffalo Trace Distillery, having started with its first experimental release in 2006. In total, there are more than 22,000 experimental barrels of whiskey aging in the warehouses of Buffalo Trace Distillery, the largest number of experimental barrels ever held in inventory at the National Historic Landmark Distillery, and most likely the world. Each experimental barrel has unique characteristics that differentiate them in distinct ways. Some examples of experiments include unique mash bills, types of wood, and different barrel toasts. In order to further increase the scope, flexibility, and range of the experimental program, an entire micro distillery, named The Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. “OFC” Micro Distillery, complete with cookers, fermenting tanks, and a state-of-the-art micro still has been constructed within Buffalo Trace Distillery. Buffalo Trace has increased its commitment to experimentation with the recent addition of its Warehouse X. Although small in size, Warehouse X is designed to explore the extent of environmental influences on the flavor profiles of whiskey.

The Experimental Collection is packaged in 375ml bottles, and each label includes all the pertinent information unique to that barrel of whiskey. These whiskeys retail for approximately $46.35 each and will be available in late February 2019.  Experimental Collection releases are generally quite small and have limited availability.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich tradition dates back to 1773 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee.  Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site and is a National Historic Landmark as well as is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Distillery has won 21 distillery titles since 2000 from such notable publications as Whisky Magazine, Whisky Advocate Magazine and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Its Col. E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon was named World Whiskey of the Year by “Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible 2018.”  Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 500 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com