ralfy review 804 – Bowmore 12yo @ 40vol:

ralfy goes for a discounted Malt at the Supermarket !

https://youtu.be/NKdP1NmS_VQ

A new land snail species was named after Kilchoman Distillery. The new species was collected by researchers of The Natural History Museum, London during an expedition to northern Vietnam. The specimens were examined by land snail expert Barna Páll-Gergely, and were finally described as a new species of science. The snail was named Entadella kilchomani after the favourite whisky distillery of the author. Please see attached image. The publication is available here: https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/app/uploads/2019/01/RBZ-2019-0050.pdf

The Distillery (Not the Snail)

Fife’s Kingsbarns Distillery Toasts Five Year Milestone

Second Founders’ release celebrates success of Lowland dram

Kingsbarns Distillery, producer of the recently launched ‘Dream to Dram’ single malt, is toasting its fifth anniversary this week and the global success of its whisky to date.

Opened in 2014 after the three year renovation of a derelict farm steading in the East Neuk of Fife, owners the Wemyss Family will gather their dedicated distillery team, along with friends, family and fans to celebrate the realisation of their dream to produce fine single malt in their home county.
On the 29^th and 30^th of November the distillery will host a series of events for members of their Founders’ Club and showcase their new expression – Founders’ Reserve 2019. The second bottling in their series of five Founders’ Club releases, the whisky is matured in shaved, toasted and re-charred red wine barriques from Portugal.

Bottled at cask strength (61.1% ABV), on the palate notes of spiced marmalade and sultanas soaked in cider brandy lead to a long herbal finish. Just 3,000 bottles will be made available to Founders Club members (Kingsbarns Founders Club membership can be purchased online).

Whilst this landmark date is a time for reflection, the team at Kingsbarns is very much focused on the future and building on the success of their portfolio and their visitor centre in recent years.

Since its official opening on St Andrews day in 2015, Kingsbarns Visitor Centre has seen a 72% increase in visitor numbers, from 8.7k in 2005 to 15k in 2018. It has also retained a much coveted five star Visit Scotland rating and is on track to see a significant increase in visitors once again in 2019.

The distillery team has been dedicated to creating whiskies of the highest calibre with a distinctive Lowland style, and as a result, Kingsbarns’ flagship single malt ‘Dream to Dram’, which was launched earlier this year,  is now sold in 121 UK outlets and exported globally to 20 countries.

Speaking on behalf of the Wemyss family as they celebrate the anniversary, William Wemyss said:

‘We have been thrilled by the positive reception to our inaugural release in both the whisky industry and amongst whisky drinkers around the world. Some exciting and different casks continue to mature in our warehouse, none more so than this new Founder’s Club expression. Thanks to the passion and dedication of our staff and the great quality and character or our whiskies, we have much to celebrate when we gather at Kingsbarns – toasting everything we have achieved in the past five years and the exciting future that lies ahead for our distillery.’

The Wemyss family has lived and worked in Fife for generations and harboured a long held dream to make fine single malt whisky in the region. When approached by former professional Kingsbarns Golf Links caddy Douglas Clement in 2010 with the idea of converting the semi derelict B-listed farm steading at Kingsbarns into a new distillery for the ‘home of golf’, their dream began to take shape. After a three year restoration project which carefully retained the building’s ancient features and charm, the distillery was officially opened in 2014, with the first whisky laid down in March 2015.

www.kingsbarnsdistillery.com

Twitter @KingsbarnsDist / Instagram @kingsbarnsdist

Kingsbarns Distillery

Kingsbarns Distillery began life as a semi-derelict farm steading – built around 1800 by Thomas Erskine, the ninth Earl of Kellie, as part of East Newhall Farm to service the adjoining Cambo Estate.

Its centrepiece is a doocot, made with over 600 neatly formed terracotta nesting boxes which, at the time, would have housed pigeons to supply the laird’s kitchen with meat and eggs.

A three year restoration project involving specialist architects, engineers, designers and whisky specialists restored this historic building into the beautiful distillery and visitor centre that is now in place today – including the immaculately restored doocot in pride of place.

The distillery has 4 washbacks and 2 stills (wash still 7.5k litres, spirit still 4.5k litres) which have been designed to fit snugly into the low distillery space, using long lyne arms for maximum copper contact. The distillery has a capacity of 34 barrels per week and can produce 200k litres of alcohol per year.

The Kingsbarns team is aiming to make the distillery as green as possible and sustainability is at the heart of production. Waste water goes through reed beds and is returned clean into the local burn; local farmers use waste as fertilizer, and spent grain is used as cattle feed on neighbouring farms. Nothing is wasted and everything goes back into the local environment to the benefit of local businesses.

Distiller Peter Holroyd has been at the helm of distillation since the very beginning, sharing his passion for whisky and turning the Kingsbarns dream into a reality with the Wemyss family. A native of Glasgow, Peter graduated from the Heriot Watt Brewing and Distilling Course in Edinburgh, working in a number of small breweries before joining the Kingsbarns Team in his first whisky role.

The Kingsbarns Distillery Founders’ Club was launched on the first anniversary of the Distillery on 30^th November 2015 and is still open for membership.  Members enjoy a welcome pack with a small bottle of Kingsbarns New Make Spirit, a glass and membership badge, plus five exclusive bottles of cask strength single malt whisky, including the distillery’s inaugural Founders’ Reserve expression.

The Wemyss Family drinks portfolio

Wemyss Malts: Edinburgh based independent bottler, Wemyss Malts is owned by the Wemyss family. Their family seat is Wemyss Castle in Fife where they’ve lived since the 1300s.  Wemyss Malts is primarily known for its award-winning range of blended malt Scotch Whisky which uses names inspired by the natural flavours and aromas of the whiskies: The Hive, Spice King and Peat Chimney. www.wemyssmalts.com.

The Very Best of Macallan

One of the most highly revered whisky brands in the world, discover what makes Macallan so special.

Free UK delivery on all orders over £99 for a limited time

Buying as a gift? Make it extra personal with our bespoke engraving service on selected bottles….

Macallan Exceptional Single Cask 1950

An incredible release in the Exceptional Single Cask series, this Speyside single malt was distilled at The Macallan while rationing was still in force. Laid down in a first fill American oak sherry butt (#1683) on 9th November 1950, this single cask was left to mature in The Macallan warehouses for almost seven decades before it was chosen for bottling in 2018. Limited to just 336 bottles at a natural cask strength of 53.4% abv, this 67-year-old expression is truly magnificent.

70cl / 53.4% abv

£69,000.00

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GLENDRONACH TRADITIONALLY PEATED

Interwoven with robust Highland character, The GlenDronach Traditionally Peated is peated to those traditional levels and has all the full bodied richness of The GlenDronach.

Matured in the finest Pedro Ximénez, Oloroso sherry and Port casks, this rare peated expression of The GlenDronach presents notes of Highland toffee, treacle and smoked bramble, with a lingering, rich and earthy finish. As with all The GlenDronach expressions, all of the natural colour is drawn from the slow maturation in Spanish oak casks.

Tasting notes:
Colour – Vivid harvest gold.
Nose – Highland toffee and treacle meld with dark honey and coal smoked barley.
Taste – Sip burnt orange and treacle on a base of cloves and smoked bramble
Finish – Savour liquorice and dark fruit into the lingering rich, earthy finish.

Bottled at a fantastic 48%

From GlenDronach Whisky Distillery, Launched December 2019.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

MACALLAN SPEYMALT G&M 2005

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Nose – Sweet toffee, marmalade, banoffee pie.

Palate – Pear, glazed peached, orange zest.

Finish – Creamy milk chocolate, light sweet spices.

 EXCLUSIVE £69.95

Customers outside of the UK please call the shop for shipping quote.

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Is on vacation………..

EDEN MILL COLLABORATE WITH FIFE ARTIST FOR LATEST ST ANDREW’S DAY WHISKY RELEASE

Eden Mill, the award-winning Scottish distillers have today unveiled its 2019 Release Single Malt whisky, all in time for St Andrew’s Day.

Retailing at £79, the limited release of 3,000 bottles sees Eden Mill collaborate with Fife-based artist Hilke MacIntyre to create the art piece, titled ‘St Andrews’ for the presentation box.

Hilke MacIntyre, originally from Germany, has lived in Fife since 1995 and is known as a specialist in linocutting: a traditional and highly skilled craft, derived from woodcutting.

The artwork is inspired by pivotal moments in Eden Mill’s story and features famous landmarks of the St Andrews and Guardbridge coastline – a place Eden Mill is proud to call its home.

The 2019 Release Single Malt is the third single malt whisky by Eden Mill in two years, since the unveiling of the First Bottling in 2017, and will see just 1,500 bottles available in the UK.

Scott Ferguson, Eden Mill’s Head Distiller, said: “This limited release is one of the most exciting whisky offerings from Eden Mill in our five years of distilling.”

He continued: “Working with sherry flavours from the oloroso and the sweet sugary flavour from the pedro ximenez casks is something that has been present throughout our previous hip flask releases and we want to exhibit our ability to work with these flavours in our 2019 Single Malt release.”

Eden Mill’s 2019 Release delivers a balance of sweet, spice and light notes of toasted fruits and remains sweet and fruity, with hints of cocoa and caramelised biscuits beneath, with a malty-sweet towards the finish.

The 2019 Release Single Malt has incorporated a selection of Oloroso hogheads, pedro ximenez hogsheads, American bourbon barrels with a cask of chocolate malt spirits and crystal malt spirit to craft their latest liquid.

Eden Mill’s 2019 Release Single Malt Whisky (70cl, 46.5% ABV) is available to order via www.edenmill.com/2019

ABOUT EDEN MILL

Eden Mill were Scotland’s first single site brewery and distillery, making it their mission to revive the lost art of distilling and brewing gin, beer and whisky in St Andrews, Scotland. Based on the historic original site of the Seggie Distillery, run by the Haig family until 1860, Eden Mill are the first to make spirits in the region in 150 years. As well as gin the spirit the innovative brand are known for, Eden Mill have carved a formidable reputation with their award winning super-premium craft beers and are now bringing whisky distilling back to the region. In 2018, Eden Mill released the first Single Malt whisky to be distilled in St Andrews in over 150 years. The First Bottling was sold at auction and broke the world record for a first release at £7,100. Eden Mill was named Gin of the Year at Annual Scottish Gin Awards 2018. The brewery and distillery won the most awards, five in total, including London Dry Gin of the Year and Exporter of the Year.

Virginia Distillery Company Releases its Second Journey Cask with Britannia Whisky ~ produced by The English Whisky Co. in Norfolk, England

LOVINGSTON, Va. (Dec. 2, 2019) – Virginia Distillery Company recently released the second offering of its Journey Cask Collection, an eight year-aged, cask-strength whisky from England called Britannia. Britannia was produced by The English Whisky Co. in Norfolk, England.

The Journey Cask Collection is a whisky series that celebrates Virginia Distillery Company’s founder, the late Dr. George Moore, and focuses on mentor distilleries where the person, distillery, or region were inspirational to Moore during the development of Virginia Distillery Company.

The series showcases exclusive single malt whiskies from around the world and the traditional name of each region where the whisky originated from is used to identify the release.

“We’re thrilled to release the next series from our Journey Cask Collection,” said Gareth H. Moore, Virginia Distillery Company’s CEO. “The English Whisky Co. was born from a shared family passion, similar to our story here at Virginia Distillery Company.”

Bottled at cask strength, Britannia presents aromas of smoky maple, soft vanilla and orange zest as well as hints of milk chocolate, citrus, cinnamon and clove on the palate and a smooth and soft finish.

This limited release comes in a special collector’s box and decorated bottle. The whisky retails for $124.99 per bottle and is available for purchase at the distillery’s Visitors Center as well as online with shipping starting Dec. 10. 243 bottles were produced.

The inaugural Journey Cask release, an 11 year-aged cask strength Irish Single malt called Hibernia, was released in December 2018.

The Journey Cask Collection’s Britannia joins several other available offerings from Virginia Distillery Company, including a sneak peek limited release of the distillery’s ultra-premium American Single Malt called Prelude: Courage & Conviction as well as its Virginia-Highland Whisky series, which marries American Single Malt made onsite with whisky from Scotland.

The flagship offering of Courage & Conviction, made from 100% malted barley and aged in former Bourbon, Sherry and Cuvée wine casks, will be released in the spring of 2020. The name is a nod to a phrase founder Dr. George G. Moore was often heard saying: “Have the courage of your convictions”.

For more information, visit the distillery’s website at www.vadistillery.com.

About Virginia Distillery Company:

Virginia Distillery Company is currently crafting its ultra-premium American Single Malt whisky line, Courage & Conviction, at the distillery located in Lovingston, Virginia. These whiskies yield a complex taste, due to the influence of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains and maturation in former Bourbon, Sherry and Cuvée wine casks. The casks have been resting since November 2015 and the Flagship offering will be released in the Spring of 2020. A sneak peek pre-release product called “Prelude: Courage & Conviction” was release on October 1, 2019.

Glen Albyn 1979 | Private Collection

Another stunning single malt Scotch whisky from Gordon & MacPhail, released as part of the Private Collection series. Distilled in 1979 at the Glen Albyn distillery and matured for 40 years in a 1st fill sherry puncheon, only 142 bottles have been filled from single cask #3856. Beautifully presented as ever.

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