Award-winning Cotswolds Distillery releases limited edition whisky to raise money for Lord Mayor’s Appeal

• Limited edition Lord Mayor’s Reserve Single Malt Whisky launches to the general public
• 700ml bottles available exclusively from Cotswolds Distillery online shop with an RRP of £64.95

The Cotswolds Distillery is set to release a limited run of its Single Malt Whisky in homage to the 691^st Lord Mayor, Peter Estlin. Named Lord Mayor’s Reserve, the special cask has been created to help raise money for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal – a charity that aims to make London a more inclusive city.

The current Lord Mayor of London, Peter Estlin, is a keen whisky fan and part owner of the first full-scale whisky distillery in the Cotswolds. To create this special bottling several of his personal casks have been blended with the first ever release of a sherry cask-aged whisky.

A blend of first-fill bourbon and red wine casks from the Lord Mayor’s private reserve, with a touch of Pedro Ximenez-cask aged single malt whisky. The new-make spirit is matured to 63.5% ABV in the Lord Mayor’s ex-bourbon casks and shaved, toasted and re-charred American oak red wine barriques.

These three casks were blended in roughly equal measures and then re-casked for an additional month. The addition of the sherry cask has added a different layer of spice and fruit to the flagship single malt. The special bottle has been diluted to 46%, non-chill filtered and without any additional colouring.

Daniel Szor, Founder of the Cotswolds Distillery, said: “We’re really proud to make such a fine whisky for such a worthy cause on behalf of a prestigious distillery family member. We began making this release the same way as our flagship single malt but have been able to experiment and create a distinctive blend that we hope will help the Lord Mayor’s Appeal.”

Tasting notes include Seville orange, warming cinnamon notes, hazelnut and barley sugar with a dry and nutty finish, and lingering oak spice.

The limited edition Cotswolds Distillery Lord Mayor’s Reserve Single Malt Whisky is available exclusively from the distillery website with an RRP of £64.95.

Notes 

The Cotswolds Distillery

Located in Stourton, Shipston-on-Stour, the distillery has become a premier local attraction, offering tours and tastings daily, and now receives 30,000 visitors a year.

Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky was launched in October 2017. Each bottle lists the barley variety, harvest year and local Cotswolds farm it was grown on. It recently won Gold at the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition and took 2 stars (one of only two whiskies to do so) in the 2018 Great Taste Awards.

In Jim Murray’s 2019 Whisky Bible, the Cotswolds Distillery received 5 ‘Liquid Gold’ awards. Three of Cotswolds’ whiskies scored 95 points, with all of the distillery’s samples scoring over 88 out of 100.

Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky is available nationally and in 26 countries across the world. Key UK retailers include Waitrose & Partners, Majestic Wine, The Whisky Exchange, Harrods and Laithwaites.

The distillery also produces Cotswolds Dry Gin, which was named Best London Dry at the 2016 World Gin Awards and received the top Gold Outstanding award in the 2017 International Wine and Spirits Competition. Difford’s Guide recently ranked the Gin as one of the top 20 Gins available in a survey of 450 brands.

The Cotswolds Distillery featured at number 8 in report compiled by independent research agency Beauhurst and Syndicate Room revealing the 100 fastest-growing private companies in the UK.

Cotswolds Dry Gin is on sale nationally and in over 25 countries.  Key national accounts include Waitrose & Partners, Majestic, Oddbins Laithwaites, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, and Fortnum & Mason.

For more information, please visit www.cotswoldsdistillery.com.

– THE RETURN OF GLENGOYNE 30 YEAR OLD –

Twelve sherry casks, three decades, one exceptional whisky​

The wait is finally over as the highly anticipated Glengoyne 30 Year Old is available once again. A testament to the time we take to perfect our Single Malt Whisky, the striking natural amber colour of this limited edition whisky has been crafted from 12 sherry casks, hand selected by our Malt Master, John Glass.

As a nod towards our traditional cask sampling method, each bottle is presented in a luxurious solid oak box, with a rose gold bung topper. Non-chill filtered and bottled at 46.8% ABV, pour a dram and you’ll discover notes of cinnamon, cloves and tangy marmalade.

Bursting with untold complexities, just 5,200 bottles are available globally from independent and specialist retailers, as well as direct from Glengoyne Distillery. Priced at £700 per bottle, please call +44 (0)1360 550 254 to place your order.

Sláinte!

Robbie Hughes
Distillery Manager

Glengoyne Distillery, Dumgoyne, Near Killearn, Glasgow G63 9LB
Tel. +44 (0)1360 550 254

Hi folks, that’s us live with the 95th auction! Happy bidding!

Happy Bidding!

Bowmore 26 Year Old

1992 vintage single cask Hogshead of the Islay malt whisky bottled by Wemyss Malts. 235 bottles. Bowmore 26 Year Old 1992 vintage Islay single malt Scotch whisky ‘Smoked Pico De Gallo’. Single cask hogshead bottled 2018 by Wemyss Malts. 235 bottles. A lime-like and peppery hogshead with mild smoke and fruit notes.

Bowmore Distillery was established by David Simpson in 1779 on the Isle of Islay. Situated by the shore of Loch Indaal it is amongst the oldest working distilleries on Islay and one of the oldest malt whisky distilleries in Scotland. Bowmore Distillery continues to produce a proportion of its malted barley on its own traditional malting floors and malt kilns. Bowmore Distillery is a participant in Feis Isle, the Islay Festival of Malt and Music during which special bottlings. Popular official bottlings include Bowmore 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old and 25 Year Old.

Shop £276.46

Macallan 26 Year Old Platinum Old & Rare

One of only 60 bottles filled from a single sherry butt on 25th May 2018, this Speyside single malt was distilled at the original Macallan distillery in June 1991. Matured for almost three decades, this cask strength release from independent bottler Hunter Laing & Co. is presented at 55.2% abv. Mellow on the nose with dried fruits and a clear sherry influence. The palate is smooth and sweet, with creamy sherried notes before a dry finish with a touch of oak spice.

£1,840.00 – Buy Now

Learn more here

Trip to Taiwan – part 2/3

By Mark Dermul, Belgium

Apart from being a whisky blogger and vlogger, Mark Dermul from Belgium also works part time as whisky expert for the auction platform Catawiki. In that capacity he was recently sent – together with two colleagues – to Taiwan on a whisky business trip.

This is his report.

Part 2 of 3.

The Kuva Spirits Collection

Taoyuan, a city south of Taipei, is the home of the five star Hotel Kuva Chateau. It’s claim to fame among whisky aficionados is their spirits collection (which as it happens consists about 95% of whisky bottles). If you’ve ever been to the Whisky Experience in Scotland and witnessed that fine collection of bottles, wait until you see this!

I’m not sure words can do this collection justice, but neither can photos. You have to be there and see it for yourself. I perused this collection for about an hour, taking hundreds of photos, while being discreetly shadowed by a security guard who kept smiling benignly and was very politely making sure I did not try to pry open any of the highly secured glass cabinets.

Every Scottish distillery is represented and every high end bottle showcased. Macallan 40, Talisker 40, Black, White & Gold Bowmore, Auchentoshan 1965, Springbank 50, the list goes on… There were also hundreds of independent releases – even a few released by people I know personally. Funny.

And if you are wondering where all that Japanese whisky with age statement went, look no further. I kid you not, there were no less than 6 shelves filled with Yamazaki 12 and Hakushu 12 and the likes. Amazing display around the faux still in the center of the… shop? Museum?

Our host had announced our arrival and none other than the assistant to the president of the hotel, took it upon himself to invite us to the whisky bar of the hotel. Well, with a whisky menu the size of a telephone book, it was hard to make a selection. Over 2.000 open bottles! After a couple of local Omar Single Casks, he opened up his very last bottle of Yamazaki 12 Year Old Pure Malt (as it was called when bottled in the late 1980s). Liquid history.

For those interested: the Kuva Hotel hosts Taiwan’s largest whisky festival in August.

For a whisky lover, a visit to the Kuva hotel is truly unforgettable.

High End Whisky Shops

It’s no secret that Taiwan has a whisky community that is hardly rivaled anywhere in the world. Taipei, the capital in the north of this beautiful country – has quite a few whisky shops. I could not resist visiting them and what I saw there was often pretty impressive.

In the heart of the city, we visited Whisky112. The shelves were stacked with very high-end limited bottlings. The whole range of Port Ellen, Chichibu, Black Bowmore, … you name it, they most likely have it. And while I was salivating over some bottles, trying to decide whether I should take one of them home, the credit card said no…

On the other side of town, in the suburbs of Taipei, we visited the shop One Whisky World. Again we were dumbfounded with what was on offer. While this shop had many more standard releases, they also had many Taiwan exclusives and special releases. The owner, Mrs Lin, was about to select a cask of GlenDronach and invited us to try the three cask samples she had received. One was a GlenDronach oloroso cask, the other two were Pedro Ximenez. The oloroso was clearly the more complex, the two PX were much more accessible.

I explained to Mrs Lin as follows: ‘The PX I would share with friends, the oloroso I would keep for myself.’ She nodded her understanding, but I secretly hope – and think – that she will bottle all three.

While it was running close to midnight, our host suddenly got a call. A befriended couple was about to open a new whisky shop the very next day and wondered if we might be interested in a sneak peek. Do bears shit in the woods (excuse my French)? Off we went.

Upon arrival, we noticed that the shop did not yet have a billboard with the shop’s name on the store front. And the people inside were still very busy with filling up the shelves. Wait? What?! The bottles there were putting on the shelves were flabbergasting. The shop will specialize (or by the time you read this: specializes) in Macallan, Karuizawa, Yamazki and Chichibu. I tried (and failed miserably) not to drool.

The next whisky shop we visited was in Taichung, a 45-minute ride on the high speed rail train. It was right next to a lobster restaurant where we were treated to a meal that was beyond delicious. Truth be told, every meal that I had in Taiwan was outstanding. Take out Chinese in my neck of the woods will never taste good again, I fear.

This whisky shop was rather ‘normal’ if you know what I mean. Mostly the standard releases that you find in Europe as well, but upholstered with many Taiwan exclusives, especially from Johnnie Walker and Glenlivet.

The whisky shop we visited after lunch – which was also the last whisky shop we visited – however, was again one that offered bottlings that would make your eyes pop out. The funny thing is, that the Spirits Salon’s storefront was so non-descript that you’d be forgiven for driving by without a second glance. How weird, considering what is on their shelves.

Recent bottlings? Hardly any. Old and rare bottlings galore! Almost all Rare Malts, lots of black labeled dumpy bottlings from Cadenhead, a whole range of old Connoisseurs Choice releases by Gordon & Macphail with those old and ugly brown labels. And what about that Karuizawa 28 Year Old 1984 for ANA Intercontinental? I doubled checked my insurance before handling the bottle, for the price tag was 6.000 euros. Boy, oh, boy… if it were not for another appointment with a Catawiki seller, we’d probably still be there.

The 1st part was published on February 17th and the final part 3 will be published on March 3rd.

Announcement – 6th Edition Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar on Indiegogo

This is the most important announcement we’ve ever made.

It’s been 5 years since Cindy and I created the first ever Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar.

To say that our journey has been a challenge would be understating it. Every step of the way we have had to push through

• Regulatory challenges
• Traditional retail industry apathy
• Hundreds of moving parts/logistics that make production always a hyper-stressful, last-minute affair

By the time everyone in the process gets their piece of the pie, we use the last Oliver-Twist-sized slice of cash to start the journey all over again.

We’re now at a point where we will NOT be able to make our 6th Edition Scotch Advent Calendar without help, so we are launching an Indiegogo campaign for 6th Edition orders (and other cool stuff too).

Every penny will help. If you want to join the Secret Spirits adventure in 2019, this will be the ONLY way to order the 6th Edition, and you will have ONLY 43 days to do so. We must receive enough orders to ensure we can actually get the Scotch and make the 6th Edition, and if we do, THEN we will only make as many as were ordered. So the 6th Edition will be sold out before it even gets made! And YOU will be part of a mighty exclusive club…

The 43 day campaign begins on March the 1st.

Even though we’ve always called our annual box of Scotch an “advent calendar”, presenting 25 days of Scotch from December 1st through Christmas Day, it is even more accurate to say simply each box has 25 doors.

As you know, our unique “packaging gamification” of rarer whiskies in larger bottles offers far more than just whiskies you’ve never tasted before and won’t taste again: they take you on an imaginative adventure.

The journey begins whenever you’re ready, and can last as long as you like. It’s the ultimate birthday, Christmas, anniversary and retirement gift for anyone who loves whisky.

We pack five years-worth of whisky tasting experience into every box, and every 50ml bottle has enough whisky in it for a few people to share the experience (or to just keep all for yourself).

Over the last 5 years, we have slowly built a community of people like YOU who have helped us continue to forge this brand new category in our industry. Through sheer passion for what we do and because of the happiness it brings people all over the world, Cindy and I have put everything on the line to continue to dream big and create magic.

We humbly ask for your help so we can continue that dream.

Jonathan and Cindy

Secret Spirits

www.secretspirits.com

*We will keep you in-the-loop when the campaign goes LIVE.
Mark March 1st on your calendar!

“Malt Assembly”, a Whisky Lovers’ Social Networking Mobile App

February 7, 2019

“Malt Assembly” was officially launched on February 7, 2019, it is a new social networking mobile application developed by a group of whisky lovers. It shall connect you with other whisky lovers around the world effortlessly at your fingertips.

There is no any unique, handy social platform or mobile App to get whisky lovers connected in the past. “Malt Assembly” is a social networking mobile application, which connects and encourages communications between whisky lovers, collectors and investors on an unique platform.

With “Malt Assembly”, you can exchange thoughts and share your precious moments of enjoying great whiskies with other whisky lovers. It assembles whisky lovers to join their preferred tasting events, create and update their tasting notes.

“Malt Assembly” shall also connect malt masters, brand ambassadors, whisky bar owners, bartenders, and spirits merchants with the whisky lovers around the globe.

Features of “Malt Assembly”:

Whisky Tasting Event Creation

You may create your own private whisky tasting events and invite your preferred invitees to join. Public tasting events can be created and featured to all users with “Malt Assembly”.

Whisky Bar Search & Create Your Favourite Whisky Bars List

You may search for whisky bars by your current locations or by selecting the city of which you are going to visit. Visited whisky bars shall be saved in your personalized whisky bars list.

Whisky Database and Personalized Tasting Notes

You may search the whisky database to create your own whisky collections. Upload photos of the whisky, create and maintain your personal tasting notes.

Whisky News

You may read the latest news articles published to stay abreast of the whisky news around the world.

Discover more about “Malt Assembly”, download it and get connected.

Website: http://www.maltassembly.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maltassembly/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maltassembly/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaltAssembly

Inchgower 25 Year Old

1989 vintage single cask Hogshead bottled by Hunter Laing & Co. for the Platinum series. 266 bottles. Inchgower 25 Year Old 1989 vintage Speyside single malt Scotch whisky. Single cask refill hogshead bottled October 2014 by Hunter Laing & Co. for the Old & Rare Platinum Selection series. 266 bottles.

Alexander Wilson established Inchgower Distillery in 1871 as a replacement for his Tochineal Distillery. Inchgower is situated just to the south of Buckie in Speyside and near the site of the former Inchgower coaching inn. Right on the mill lead which led water from the Burn of Buckie down to the Mill of Buckie thereby supplying the distillery with soft spring water. It was also conveniently sited by the road which ran to Buckie harbour and railway station. Inchgower’s still were increased from two to four in 1966 and most of its production is destined for blending.

Shop £151.78

Glenmorangie “Allta” Private Edition Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $99.99 View

Balblair 21 Year “The Macphail’s Collection” Gordon & Macphail Single Malt Scotch (750ml) (Elsewhere $160) $109.99 View

Linkwood 21 Year Old Gordon & Macphail Speyside Whisky (750ml) (Elsewhere $170) $109.99 View

Old Pulteney 21 Year Old “The Macphail’s Collection” Gordon & MacPhail Single Malt Whisky (750ml) (Elsewhere $170) $109.99 View

Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA