Holidays Spirits

Here at K&L Wines, we’re gearing up for the holidays, a celebratory time that gives us the excuse to imbibe some special bottles of wine and spirits. We’re excited to share these special selections with you as our definitive holiday picks for this special season. This super-sized newsletter is jam-packed with recommendations from an array of our wine and spirits experts. We’ve pulled out all the stops to ensure you can celebrate with the very best from our extensive selection.

2007 Glenlivet 12 Year Old “Signatory Unchillfiltered Collection” 1st Fill Single Sherry Butt Cask Strength Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $99.99 View

1998 Orkney (Highland Park) 20 Year Old “Thompson Bros.” K&L Exclusive Single Refill Hogshead Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $149.99 View

2005 Laphroaig 13 Year Old “Chieftain’s” K&L Exclusive Single Sherry Butt Cask Strength Unchill-filtered Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $159.99 View

Clynelish 23 Year Old “Signatory Vintage Black Label” K&L Exclusive Single 2nd Fill Sherry Butt #11239 Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $249.99 View

1979 North British 40 Year Old “Old Particular” Single Refill Barrel Cask Strength Single Grain Scotch Whisky (750ml) $299.99 View

Glendronach 1993 26 Year Old #7434
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🥇 Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2020 – Liquid Gold 🥇

94.5 points

This Speyside single malt was distilled at GlenDronach in July 1993 and laid down in a single Oloroso puncheon to mature for more than a quarter of a century. Bottled in 2019 at a natural cask strength of 54.2% abv, this 26-year-old expression has been specially selected for The Whisky Shop customers. Only 665 bottles have been filled, each one individually numbered.

£249.00

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🌍 FREE Standard UK Delivery On All Orders Over £99.00 🚚

Today (Nov 21st) marks five weeks to Christmas and in the excitement to the countdown, we’re releasing four outstanding casks from distilleries we don’t see so often. Like meeting an old friend, these bottlings bring warmth, comfort and excitement – embrace them now before they are gone.

VIEW WHISKIES

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

SAZERAC HOUSE NOW BOTTLING LIMITED QUANTITIES OF SAZERAC RYE

Bottling is part of new Sazerac House guest experience, giving visitors an in-depth look into the process of bringing Sazerac Rye to the shelves

NEW ORLEANS, La (Nov. 19, 2019) – Sazerac House, which opened on October 2, 2019, is now bottling Sazerac Rye Whiskey in the heart of New Orleans, mere blocks from the historic original Sazerac House. Sazerac Rye, an iconic rye whiskey long associated with New Orleans, is being bottled as part of the Sazerac House guest experience, which opened last month and includes complimentary tours with sampling opportunities, guided tours and tastings, as well as production of Sazerac Rye and Peychaud’s Bitters on-site. Sazerac Rye that is bottled at the Sazerac House is available for sale in the Sazerac House retail shop adjacent to the distillery exhibit.

“We are so excited to put our bottling line to work. Sazerac Rye is the most awarded American Rye Whiskey and an integral ingredient in the Sazerac Cocktail,” said David Bock, distillery operations manager at Sazerac House. “Now guests visiting the Sazerac House who have explored our exhibits and learned about the illustrious history of the Official Cocktail of New Orleans, the Sazerac Cocktail, can bring a bottle of Sazerac Rye from the Sazerac house home with them to make their own cocktails.”

The bulk of Sazerac Rye Whiskey is currently produced and bottled at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky, and now a small portion of Sazerac Rye Whiskey produced and aged at Buffalo Trace will be bottled at the Sazerac House. In the coming months, the Sazerac House will be producing Sazerac Rye on its own 500-gallon capacity still, which will then be bottled on-site at Sazerac House following aging at Buffalo Trace Distillery.

The bottling line at the Sazerac House was manufactured by US Bottlers Machinery, a family-owned business which started in 1906 in Charlotte, N.C.

The bottles from the inaugural bottling at Sazerac House will be specially-marked and available for sale in the Sazerac House gift shop for $27.00 for a 750 mL

About Sazerac

Sazerac is one of America’s oldest family owned, privately held distillers with operations in the United States in Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Maryland, California, and global operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, India, Australia and Canada. For more information on Sazerac, please visit www.sazerac.com.

About Sazerac House

Standing proudly in a historic building at the corner of Canal and Magazine, and just a short stroll from the original 1850s era Sazerac Coffeehouse, the Sazerac House is an immersive exploration of the spirited culture of New Orleans. Featuring three floors of interactive exhibits across 48,000 square feet, including private event venues, an on-site Sazerac Rye distillery, and Peychaud’s Bitters production facility, the Sazerac House welcomes visitors to experience New Orleans history through the stories of its cocktails. For more information on the Sazerac House, please visit www.sazerachouse.com

Our friends across the Atlantic may be raising a toast to celebrate Thanksgiving this week but don’t fear, we’re not leaving out our members in the UK and Europe. Instead, we’re bringing America to you in the form of a brand-new distillery bottling for the Society, all the way from the Lone Star state of Texas.

Cask No. 140.1: Cornography is a Spicy & Sweet little number which, as the name alludes to, is matured in a second-fill ex-blue corn whiskey barrique and delivers some big American flavours; hot BBQ sauce, Tabasco-spiced popcorn and smashed Oreo cookies.

We expect this release to be in huge demand so we’re selling bottles via ballot only. To enter the draw, please submit your details before midnight tomorrow (Tuesday, 26 November). You’ll be thankful you did!

MORE INFO

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

WHISKY FOCUS: THE HIVE AGED 12 YEARS

Until the 30th of November we are offering £10.00 off The Hive Aged 12 Years 70cl bottle and the first 12 orders will be hand signed by our founder and director; William Wemyss.

THE HIVE AGED 12 YEARS is a carefully considered selection of malty rich Highlands, citric Lowlands and sweet fruity Speyside malt whiskies all combined together to create a smooth and honey-sweet Scotch malt whisky.

All casks selected for the The Hive Aged 12 Years have been matured for at least 12 years in oak casks allowing for a clean flavor with a gentle and mellow mouthfeel.

THE HIVE AGED 12 YEARS TASTING NOTES:

AGE: 12 years old
COLOUR:  Golden bronze

NOSE: Rich and luscious, with heather-honey and dried fruits marinated in orange liqueur.  Warm woodiness and orchard fruitiness develop.

PALATE: Honey glazed spiced apples.  Dessert spices intensify with water, then sweeter notes are revealed , creamy with orange infused honeycomb coated in chocolate.

FINISH:  Rounded spice gently mellows into waxy smooth finish.

ABV: 40%

“The texture is divine and carries a ridiculous number of oaky layers, seemingly glued together with beeswax. Mixing different malts whiskies is an art form, whoever is responsible really is the bees-knees…”

93/100 – JIM MURRAY’S WHISKY BIBLE

Why wait for Black Friday?!

Black Friday is fast approaching but we’re offering savings across some of our favourite whiskies already!

Save on stunning whiskies from all across Scotland, one of our favourite Japanese expressions, some incredible gin along with some great value gift packs!

🌍 Free UK Standard Delivery On All Orders
Over £25 for a limited time! 🚚

✈️ We also ship to the USA! 🌎 

Scotch Season Starts with a Bang:
Mature Sherry Cask at a Remarkable Price
1991 Cameronbridge 27 Year Old “Old Particular” Single Refill Sherry Butt Cask Strength Single Grain Scotch Whisky (750ml) ($79.99)

We’ve said it before, but it is well worth stating again, the best values in terms of Scotch are the aged single grains we are bringing in directly from the region’s top distillers. King among them is Cameronbridge, one of the largest producers in Scotland. The 27 Year Old “Old Particular” featured here is among the more intriguing and irresistible single grains we’ve encountered. Aged in a Sherry cask, it is delightfully complex, offering up subtle tones of citrus, Christmas spice, and a pleasant creamy texture. Similar bottlings we’ve seen cost upwards of $200, making the value here incontestable. Aged single grain expressions like this one are increasingly capturing the attention of collectors, as they deliver a classic Scotch profile while costing a fraction of the price of their single malt counterparts. We’ve had some incredible single grain finds over the years, but this one might be the best yet. This would be an excellent addition to any Scotch collector’s arsenal. We can’t think of a better conclusion to a holiday meal than this satisfying dram from Cameronbridge, and with an age statement like this, it’s an impressive gift as well.

1991 Cameronbridge 27 Year Old “Old Particular” Single Refill Sherry Butt Cask Strength Single Grain Scotch Whisky (750ml) ($79.99)

The Cameronbridge Grain Distillery is one of the largest alcohol producing facilities in Scotland. The site has been active since 1824, when the Haig Distillery opened. Just six years later, it would install the first “patent” column still and begin producing grain whisky. This was the beginning of a revolution that made Scotch the world’s bestselling whisky. The distillery has produced a significant quantity of the world’s Scotch whisky since its expansion in the 1960s. After a third column still was added from the closed Carsebridge distillery in 1984 and renovations in the ’90s, it was able to produce upwards of 140 million liters of spirit per year. We know a grain spirit is more a function of quality of the cask and time rather than the actual character of the spirit, so this rare refill sherry butt was immediately intriguing. This is the very first single grain we’ve ever bottled coming out of a proper sherry butt. We’ve seen other bottlers sell similar casks for more than $200. While it’s not impregnated with intense sherry like a first or second fill would be, it definitely has much more cask influence than most single grains we’ve bottled at this age. The theme here is sweet grain, creamy fruit, toasted spice and complex citrus peel. Creamy, spicy, complex and satisfying, there’s no reason this nearly 30-year-old whisky should be so inexpensive. We’ve had plenty of great old grain, but never has one been so good and cost so little.

Andrew Whiteley | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: November 19, 2019

Single grain whisky occupies a fascinating spot in the drinking world. Rarely though about, often entirely unknown, yet utterly delicious and hugely appreciated by those in the know. Typically grain whisky is just regarded as the bulking agent in blended Scotch to stretch the flavorful malt farther. The grain for this purpose rarely reaches age statements that excite anyone. Young grain, while indeed quite tasty (think Nikka Coffey Grain), isn’t typically super compelling. When a cask reaches a ripe old age that could be talked about in decades, something magical happens. The soft grain starts to show cream and fruit notes. It develops tons of complexity in its own right. Add to that a well-matched cask, and you’ve got a cheap but wonderful whisky. This sherry butt—a rarity in the grain world—is the perfect partner for this 27 year old Cameronbridge. A first or second fill cask would frankly be too overpowering for the more subtle grain, this refill barrel complements the whisky perfectly. It adds just enough spicy kick and dried fruits to take this grain from merely tasty to exquisite. Pepper hits upfront, and cinnamon mingles in the finish. In this dram, cream envelopes singed orange peel and sultanas while caramel and vanilla abound. Similar casks hover around $200 bucks per bottle. Once again, there is simply no contest when compared with K&L’s ability to offer whisky direct from Scotland.

Alex Schroeder | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: November 19, 2019

It’s hard to argue with a deal like this. This has the kind of complexity and richness only whisky that has spent two and a half decades in a refill sherry butt can provide. On the nose, you’ll find cracked wheat, banana flambé, and even hints of tangerine fruitiness. The palate is creamy with soft toasty oak underlying a rich honey and fruit melange. The finish is long and lasting with fruits and toast. This is FULL flavored, complex, and utterly smooth.

THE PARTY SOURCE BOURBON HARVEST

We have just been informed by our distributor the Pappy Van Winkle allocation and delivery dates have been delayed. The allocation will not be arriving in time for the Bourbon Harvest. At this time there is not enough information available to commit to the raffle time slots as originally planned. An alternate date for the in-store raffle for Pappy Van Winkle and Buffalo Trace Antique Collection will be announced as soon as we receive all of the necessary information. Tentatively we are expecting this date to be Saturday, January 4 th, 2020.

Due to this unforeseen development, we are modifying the requirements for attendance on the alternate date. If you are selected to be included in the in-store raffle and cannot attend personally you may designate a stand-in to take your place. In order to do so you must notify us, and receive our approval notice in advance of the day, with your stand-in’s information. Your stand-in will need to present valid ID as well as a copy of your email voucher.

The deadline to sign up for the initial PVW/BTAC raffle is fast approaching. The sign-up period officially closes at midnight this Saturday 11/23/19. If you want a chance to be selected for the in-store raffle opportunity to purchase a bottle from the Van Winkle or Buffalo Trace Antique Collection be sure to get in before then. Once we receive our allocation and delivery information, we will begin notifying the initial winners regarding the date and time slots of the in-store raffle.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

The Party Source’s 2nd Annual Bourbon Harvest is Still On for Saturday, November 30^th from 11am to 5 pm, and we will be featuring all things Bourbon. We will have tastings that will highlight selected Bourbons, Bourbon barreled wines and beers, and so much more. We will also have an exciting selection of rare and highly allocated Bourbons available for purchase throughout the day.

Roasted chestnuts. Pine trees. Mulled cider. Signs that the holidays have made their grand entrance! As you plan your holiday spirits stories, please remember the below picks that are perfect cold weather sippers and cocktails.

Some of our new favorites include:

• An aged Irish whiskey unlike any other currently available, from The Tyrconnell
• A Suntory TOKI Whisky Holiday Highball Gift Box to give the gift of a perfect Japanese highball

IRISH WHISKEY: THE TYRCONNELL 16 YEAR OLD OLOROSO & MOSCATEL CASK FINISH LTO           *NEW

The Tyrconnell 16 Year Old Oloroso & Moscatel Cask Finish Single Malt Irish Whiskey is unlike any other Irish whiskey currently on the market. It is aged for 16 years in American White Oak ex-bourbon barrels before extra maturation in Spanish wine casks, which were initially seasoned with Oloroso sherry before a second seasoning with Moscatel wine.

SRP: $100 | ABV: 46%

JAPANESE WHISKY: SUNTORY WHISKY TOKI HIGHBALL GIFT SET                            *NEW HOLIDAY SPECIAL

Teach friends how to make the perfect Japanese Highball with the Suntory Whisky TOKI Highball Gift Set – complete with a 750ml bottle of Toki, custom Japanese highball glass, wooden bottle glorifier and Toki Highball recipe card. Crafted in Japan by the legendary House of Suntory, Toki is a unique blend of whiskies that is ideal for making a traditional Japanese highball – 3 parts soda water, 1 part whisky, clear ice in a tall glass. Available in select markets, please inquire for specifics.

SRP: $35 | ABV: 43%

IRISH WHISKEY: KILBEGGAN SMALL BATCH RYE                                                                               

Kilbeggan Small Batch Rye is the only modern Irish whiskey of record to feature such a high quantity of rye within its mash. It is also the first whiskey 100% distilled and matured at the Kilbeggan Distillery to be released since its restoration was completed in 2010.

SRP: $35 | ABV: 43%

SCOTCH WHISKY: BOWMORE 12 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT                                                            

Bowmore is known as one of the most balanced Islay whiskies (which are typically very smoky). With its citrus, salt and smoky notes, Bowmore 12 Year Old is the ideal partner for the Bowmore Oyster Luge (raw oysters + Bowmore on the half shell), a ritual rolling out on restaurant menus nationwide in cities including New York City, Boston, Portland, and Washington D.C. (Inquire for full list of restaurants/bars offering the program in the U.S.).

SRP: $52 | ABV: 40%