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Douglas Laing Represents Two Iconic Whisky Regions with New Bottlings

Under Super-Premium XOP Black Brand

Douglas Laing & Co, award-winning independent Scotch Whisky firm, has unveiled two antique Single Cask releases under its Xtra Old Particular Black Series.

The family business, which recently announced its acquisition of Strathearn Distillery in Perthshire, says the two latest XOP Black bottlings “represent perhaps the two most iconic Whisky regions – Islay and Speyside – and are amongst the finest Single Casks bottled in our 71-year history”.

The first, a Single Cask distilled at Islay’s Caol Ila Distillery in 1979, is said to be “exceptionally herbal, pelagic and mouth-puckeringly salted”. The hogshead cask yielded just 160 bottles, at a natural Cask Strength of 51.2%.

Alongside the Caol Ila 40 Years Old offering is a hogshead from the Macallan Distillery, distilled in 1989 and bottled at 30 Years Old. Just 230 bottles of this XOP Black bottling are available, with tasting notes including “muscovado sugar, marzipan and oranges”. Offered at natural Cask Strength of 46% and without colouring or chill-filtration, Douglas Laing & Co proclaim that these new releases are “as close as some will come to experiencing that rarest of pleasures – sampling a dram, straight from its cask, in the hallowed surroundings of a distillery warehouse.”

Chris Leggat, CEO in the family business, remarks:

 “This is an exceptional duo unveiled at an incredibly exciting time for Douglas Laing & Co. From two of Scotland’s best known and loved distilleries, our new XOP Black Series releases represent the absolute pinnacle of antique Scotch Whiskies, from casks selected at their peak of perfection by Fred Laing himself. Only a tiny percentage of the Whisky-loving community will experience the decades of maturation and impact of quality wood on these two rare gems, and we truly hope those individuals savour every last drop”.

The latest XOP Black Series bottlings – Caol Ila Vintage 1979 and Macallan Vintage 1989 – are expected to retail at £1500 and £4000 respectively at specialist spirits retailers globally.

ABOUT DOUGLAS LAING:

www.douglaslaing.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/douglaslaingwhisky

Twitter: @dlaingwhisky

Douglas Laing & Co. is a leading independent Scotch Whisky blender and bottler specialising in the selection and release of Single Cask Single and Small Batch Malt Scotch Whiskies.

 The company was founded by Fred Douglas Laing in 1948 and is still owned and run by the Laing family – Fred Laing Jr and his daughter Cara Laing.

The company philosophy is to bottle the way the distiller intended – at a high strength and without chill filtration to preserve the robust and unique character of the Whisky. Douglas Laing’s industry reputation and many awards is testament to this ethos.

Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional Malts, the Ultimate Distillation of Scotland’s Malt Whisky Regions, encompasses The Epicurean Lowland Malt Scotch Whisky, Timorous Beastie (Highlands), Scallywag (Speyside), The Gauldrons (Campbeltown), Rock Island (from the Islands) and Big Peat (Islay). Beyond its Blended Malts expertise, the award-winning Douglas Laing portfolio also includes Provenance, Premier Barrel, Old Particular and XOP, collectively known as the firm’s “Exceptional Single Casks”.

Give the joy of discovery this Christmas: bring happiness and good cheer with our seasonal selection of gift ideas and single cask stocking stuffers.

A FRUITY FOOL

CASK NO. 112.28

CASK:  1st fill hogshead

AGE:  15 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Sweet, fruity & mellow

DONNING THE NIGHT CAP

CASK NO:  9.145

CASK:  1st fill barrel

AGE:  8 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Sweet & spicy

A REAL SHOWSTOPPER

CASK NO:  35.241

CASK:  Refill barrel

AGE:  13 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Sweet & spicy

KEPT IN THE DARK

CASK NO:  1.210

CASK:  Refill hogshead

AGE:  7 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Juicy, oak & vanilla

DEEP, RICH AND BURNT FRUIT

CASK NO:  66.138

CASK:  Refill hogshead

AGE: 20 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Lightly peated

IT’S PEAT JIM, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT

CASK NO. 122.26

CASK:  2nd fill hogshead

AGE:  7 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Lightly peated

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada
Suite 160
104 – 1240 Kensington Road NW
Calgary, AB  T2N 3P7
403-969-8225
curious@smws.ca
www.smws.ca

A Gloriously Crafted K&L Exclusive Barrel
Maker’s Mark 46 K&L Exclusive “Barrel #6” Private Select Kentucky Bourbon (750ml) ($69.99)

An impressive follow up to the much-adored barrel #5, we have another immaculately crafted Maker’s 46 exclusive. Through an innovative program, our spirits buyers are given the opportunity to blend their own unique K&L bottling based on the addition of different wood stave types to a barrel of Maker’s 46. The barrel is then stored in a specially designed warehouse carved into the side of a hill that allows the perfect aging conditions. The results carry the trademark characteristics of Maker’s Mark yet possess their own distinctive stamps. Barrel #6 is the result of the combined efforts of the Maker’s Mark team and K&L’s very own Neal Fischer. To achieve an extra toasty flavor Neal used a high proportion of seared French cuvée staves and toasted French spice staves. The result is nothing short of transcendent. A mesmerizing blend of baking spice, vanilla, brown sugar, and, of course, toasty oak, it is a phenomenal bourbon that’s big on flavor. Made in the vein of Pappy Van Winkle and Old Fitzgerald, it is destined to become an instant hit with the wheater crowd. $70 is a terrific price for an exclusive bottling of this caliber. If you’ve enjoyed the previous Private Select releases, you simply have to try this singular expression.

Maker’s Mark 46 K&L Exclusive “Barrel #6” Private Select Kentucky Bourbon (750ml) ($69.99)

The unique blending process for the Maker’s Mark Private Select casks offers a seemingly endless array of possibilities (it’s actually 1,001 possible combinations, but it’ll take us a while to do them all). The basic premise of the program is this – Maker’s Mark selects and vats 30 casks of the regular cask strength Maker’s Mark together, they then refill the barrels from that vatting with the now small batch whisky and add in a 10 stave recipe. No more, no less. The “recipe” of which 10 staves are added are selected by the buyer of the barrel and can be in any combination from their 5 unique wood/toasting regimes. The only additional rule is that you cannot do 10 of the same stave. Our 6th Maker’s Private Select cask is hung with one baked American pure 2 stave, four seared French cuvee, two Maker’s 46 (for the Maker’s 46 bottling, they hang 10 of these), and three toasted French spice staves. This recipe was created by Neal Fischer, Redwood City Spirits Liaison. It’s all Maker’s Mark, with a big French oak twist—the higher toned aromatics are clear and the added spice comes through on the palate.

Andrew Whiteley | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: October 12, 2019

Neal and I have a friendly rivalry going since we blended these casks side by side. While I may swear in good fun that “my” cask is better, the truth is they’re both excellent, but very, very different. Slightly darker in color and tone than cask #5, Neal’s cask #6 is more the bass, while #5 occupies an alto range of flavors. Much weightier on the palate, the heavier use of French oak creates a deep and varied array of chocolates, coffee, toffee, and hints of herbs that lay down the funky bass line for a Maker’s walk on the wild side. A perfect cigar bourbon if you will, or just a lovely sweet treat to cap off a glorious night.

Neal Fischer | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: October 12, 2019

Ahhh, the austere and amazing Barrel 6 (a.k.a. The Neal Barrel)! This was such a fun project, and I’m glad that Maker’s Mark invited Andrew and I to blend not just one, but TWO batches of Private Select for K&L. It was amazing how different the bourbon can be with slight changes to the stave additions. So, it isn’t too much of a surprise that my barrel is vastly different from Andrew’s. This blend that I concocted makes use of a high proportion of seared French cuvée staves and toasted French spice staves. The extra toast and focus on French oak more than American gives this bottling a truly robust woody snap and a big, spicy bite. If Andrew’s batch is like classic Maker’s Mark, brilliantly intensified, then the Neal barrel is like Maker’s Mark’s edgier older cousin who got kicked out of school as a teenager. Cinnamon cooked in butter, baked clove, and fresh pepper hit the nose first. The scents get darker and spicier with more nosing with additions of powdered cocoa. On the palate, there’s molasses and burnt sugar, then tannic oak spice. Toward the finish, coffee and more savory elements emerge. This bourbon is bold and beautiful.

Jackson Lee | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: November 08, 2019

Trying our two barrels side by side was a fun experience and clearly highlights the effects different staves can have on the whiskey. While barrel #5 had fruitier esters, #6 has more oak influence and baking spices, raisin box, umeshu, peanut brittle and demerara sugar dominate the nose. The palate is ridiculously soft as notes of brown sugar, orange peel, and rice crispy treats mix with a sweet herbal note and a slow burn building up to the finish.

Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: October 14, 2019

This barrel tastes better with a splash of water, which seems to open it up and to release the flavors and aromas that this barrel has to offer. The nose is sweet with a floral background. In the mouth it is a rich honey sweet with some subtle spice flavors. The finish is long and sweet.

Stefanie Juelsgaard | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: October 08, 2019

While Barrel #5 may play into a more classic, true-to-form style of American bourbon, this Barrel #6 hits you with a lot more exotic spice and lifted character. Pretty, with fewer American oak notes, this is a fun break from the classic Maker’s Mark profile. This is a phenomenal example of how much flavor the combination of staves can add to a whisky. A true one-off, single barrel that won’t be back once it’s gone.

We Have The Holidays All Wrapped Up!

TWB Top Whisky Picks This Festive Season

With our hand-wrapped festive gift wrapping and a huge selection of whiskies and rums, we have the Holidays all wrapped up!

SHOP TWB 10 FESTIVE GIFTS HERE

The Whisky Shop Dufftown Christmas Sale

We have selected a number of products to offer them to you with at least 25% off in our annual 25 Days to Christmas 25% Off Sale.  This sale goes live early on 30 November and ends on 26 December.  If you follow the link below you can have a sneak preview of the offers that will be in our sale.

Please note that:

• this is not a sale of all our stock, only the lines we have chosen;
• no other discounts available;
• the offers are not available until the sale starts;
• no pre-purchases or reservations are available;
• first-come-first served after the sale starts; and
• while stock lasts obviously.

SHOP SALE

Whisky Colours Festival 2020

The second Whisky Colours Festival will be held from 8 to 12 October 2020.  It is a celebration of all things whisky and is centred in Dufftown, the malt whisky capital of the world.  The festival will allow you to get up close and personal with some of the biggest names in the whisky industry.  Our website is the place to go for updates (www.whiskycoloursfestival.com).

THE GLENDRONACH INTRODUCES NEW TRADITIONALLY PEATED

The GlenDronach Distillery is pleased to announce the release of The GlenDronach Traditionally Peated; a rare peated expression of the Highland Single Malt, which is most well-known for its unpeated sherry cask maturation style.

At the time the distillery was founded by James Allardice in 1826, it was traditional practice in the Highlands to burn peat in the kiln towards the end of the barley malting, creating a rich and warm, earthy smoke. Master Blender Dr. Rachel Barrie has crafted The GlenDronach Traditionally Peated from a marriage of the finest Pedro Ximénez, Oloroso sherry and port casks, using the same principles laid down almost two hundred years ago.

Interwoven with robust Highland character, The GlenDronach Traditionally Peated is peated to those same traditional levels and has all of the richly-sherried, fullbodied character of The GlenDronach.

Master Blender, Dr. Rachel Barrie said:

“The GlenDronach Traditionally Peated offers connoisseurs a rare opportunity to explore the distillery’s rich depths of sherry cask maturation, whilst paying homage to the robust peat-smoked earthy character of the early 19th century, that James Allardice himself would likely have enjoyed. This wonderfully complex Single Malt presents notes of Highland toffee, dark honey and coal-smoked barley. Burnt orange and treacle glide over the palate, on a base of cloves and smoked bramble. Liquorice and dark fruits linger and intensify into the rich and earthy finish.”

This rare peated expression is bottled at 48% ABV and as is the case for all The GlenDronach expressions, is non-chill filtered and absorbs colour naturally over time from the Spanish oak in which it resides. It will be available to buy from specialist retailers worldwide from November 2019.

Visit: www.glendronachdistillery.co.uk
Facebook: /TheGlenDronach
Twitter: @Glendronach

TASTING NOTES THE GLENDRONACH TRADITIONALLY PEATED:

Appearance: 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.

ABV: 48%
RRP: £51.00

ABOUT THE GLENDRONACH DISTILLERY

Nestled in the valley of Forgue, deep in the East Highland hills, is The GlenDronach, one of the oldest licensed distilleries in Scotland. The GlenDronach is of true Highland style: a complex and full bodied spirit, perfect for slow maturation in Spanish sherry oak. At The GlenDronach Distillery, we have carried forth the tradition of our founder James Allardice since 1826, maturing our Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky in the finest Spanish Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks from Andalucía in Spain. Our richly-sherried Highland Single Malts are recognised for their deep colour and complex flavour profiles, which range from the sweet fruity flavours of the Pedro Ximénez casks we select, to the dry and nutty notes of our Oloroso casks.

Springbank Society

New Society Exclusive Release: Hazelburn 11yo Re-charred Bourbon, 54.2%

It is about time we released a new Society Bottling, don’t you think? Well, the long anticipated wait is nearly over and the next bottling for the society has been chosen, tasted, approved and bottled.

This Hazelburn 11yo Re-charred Bourbon bottling will be available in January 2020 and will be sold exclusively online –  we will provide a link via email to allow you to purchase a bottle when the web page goes live. There was a delay to the set up of our society platform which has meant we will miss final sailings before Christmas so we will be waiting until January to launch the bottling. Thank you for your patience!

Cask type: 4 x Re-charred Bourbon Hogsheads

Distilled:    December 2007

Bottled: November 2019

Strength:   54.2%

Outturn:    1,314 bottles

Price: £55.00

Tasting Notes :

Nose : Freshly baked rhubarb crumble, cinnamon, tablet and parma violets. Orange and clove pomanders with a hint of sandalwood.

Taste : Pear drops, marshmallow, caramelised brown sugar and simmering marmalade.

Finish : A chewy yet creamy feel followed by blackcurrants, cocoa powder, dates and black forest gateau

The Hazelburn 11yo, 54.2%, Society bottle is limited to one per member.  Should stock remain after initial orders have been processed, we will make a further announcement to alert members that they can purchase a second bottle.

Once again, the bottles will go on sale in January 2020, via our new online Society platform, details of which will be announced shortly.

If you have any questions in the meantime (or would like to join the Society), please email us: society@springbank.scot

Slainte,

The Springbank Team

Scotch Whisky Auctions · Unit C 139 Lancefield Street · Glasgow, Scotland G3 8HZ · United Kingdom

TOMATIN 11 YEAR OLD 2008
ARTFUL DODGER
50cl | 56.1%

Single cask Tomatin aged in an ex-bourbon
hogshead, with notes of honeycomb, ripe
peach and ginger.