WHISKY EXPERTS WELCOME VISITORS TO AUGUST EVENTS 

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society prepare for Edinburgh’s busiest month with an array of experiences 

As Edinburgh welcomes visitors from around the world in August, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) is putting on a number of special events, making it the perfect location for whisky-lovers in the city.

Throughout the month, SMWS are hosting the ultimate Edinburgh Fringe whisky tasting events at their Kaleidoscope venue at 28 Queen Street.

Hauf ‘N’ Hauf

They will also be celebrating the Hauf ‘N’ Hauf, a traditional Scottish serve of a dram and a half-pint, by pairing Society whiskies with specially selected craft beers.

As the world’s leading authority on single cask whiskies, the Society have paired their rare drams with complimentary beers in order to enhance the flavours of both drinks. Their experts will guide drinkers through the best beer pairings for their drams and have created a specially crafted menu of pairings.

The menu includes; ‘Ester Fest’, a Young & Spritely whisky served with a wheat beer to bring out the estery flavours of bananas and pineapples and ‘Sweet Dreams’, an IPA to be enjoyed alongside a Juicy, Oak & Vanilla SMWS whisky, where the dram’s refreshing sweetness will bring the best out of the bitter ale.

Edinburgh Fringe events 

All Senses Ahead! 

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/all-senses-ahead 

28 Queen Street, Edinburgh

7pm – 9.45pm

Throughout August, every day except Sunday and Monday

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society will be bringing a true taste of Scotland to the Fringe, with an all-encompassing sensory feast that celebrates the best of Scottish culture.

Within their beautifully restored Georgian building, guests will be treated to an unforgettable evening of a three course Scottish meal with three-dram whisky tasting, storytelling and music.

A truly immersive virtual reality experience will set the scene as guests explore romantic Scottish landscapes before Will Marshall, the real-life host for the evening, offers the audience the occasion to learn historic facts, participate in songs and indulge in Scottish culture.

A Dram is Worth a Thousand Words 

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=whisky&start=10 

28 Queen Street, Edinburgh

Tastings at 1pm, 4pm and 7pm

Every day throughout August

Home of the largest single malt, single cask collection, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society invites whisky enthusiasts to explore their vast collection of single cask, single malts. Experience a three dram tutored whisky tasting like no other, in the company an SMWS brand ambassador.

The full list of Hauf ‘N’ Hauf pairings:

ESTER FEST – YOUNG & SPRITELY & WHEAT BEER

Savour the complementary estery flavours of bananas and pineapples from the wheat beer with a feisty young bourbon-matured dram.

FULL & FUNKY – SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW & BELGIAN KRIEK LAMBIC

Pair the funky flavours of this fermented lambic brew from Belgium with the full-on fruity notes from this flavour profile.

LIGHT & LOVELY – SPICY & SWEET & PALE ALE

Easy-drinking and lightly hopped pale ale is the perfect counterpoint for the whisky’s prickly spiciness.

THIRST SLAKER – SPICY & DRY & LAGER

Quench your summer thirst with a lower strength lager paired with the strong aromas of our Spicy & Dry drams.

FOR ALL SAISONS – DEEP, RICH & DARK FRUITS & BELGIAN SAISON

A bold pairing of fruity, spicy Belgian saison beer with this deep and indulgent flavour profile.

DARK & DARING – OLD & DIGNIFIED & DUNKEL

Savour our oldest and most distinguished drams along with a smooth, malty dark German lager, to complement the whisky without overwhelming it.

ENTRY LEVEL – LIGHT & DELICATE & PILSNER

Waken up your palate with a Light & Delicate dram alongside a refreshing, hoppy pilsner.

SWEET DREAMS – JUICY, OAK & VANILLA & IPA

The whisky’s refreshing sweetness brings the best out of a more bitter and hoppy Indian Pale Ale.

SUMMERY SEASIDE – OILY & COASTAL & CITRUS BEER

Explore how a sharp citrusy beer cuts through the oily mouthfeel and marine notes from this flavour profile.

DARK AND SMOKY – LIGHTLY PEATED & STOUT

A deep, rich stout with a creamy head that’s light on the hops allows a Lightly Peated dram to shine.

THE DOUBLE P – PEATED & PORTER

Dive into a robust pairing of higher strength dark porter with a good blast of peaty goodness.

FULL SHILLING – HEAVILY PEATED & 80/- HEAVY BEER

A full-flavoured old school combination with an 80 shilling that’s lighter on the hops and heavier on cereal to stand up to our most heavily peated drams.

Ask us at the bar for more details and pairing prices.

Notes:

About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society 

• The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and now has more than 26,000 members and branches around the world
• The SMWS bottles rare single cask, single malt whisky, and a range of other spirits
• The Society bottles single malts, unique single casks and exclusive blends
• The Society has bottled whisky from more than 138 distilleries from Scotland and beyond
• The Society offers a new batch of around 20 single cask, single malt whiskies every month
• The Society offers a variety of membership packages which can be tailored. Please see https://bit.ly/2uqKanT
• For more information about the Society, visit https://bit.ly/2HHiNyC
• Twitter: @SMWSUK Facebook: @thesmwsuk Instagram: @smws_uk

ROYAL DORNOCH SETS THE BALL ROLLING ON NEW WHISKY

 

For golfers who love whisky, it’s the perfect shot.

The world-renowned Royal Dornoch Golf Club has for the first time licensed the use of its famous crest and tartan on a unique Highland single malt.

The exclusive dram has been created for the Carnegie Whisky Cellars, in partnership with the golf club, and can be purchased only from the specialist shop in the centre of Dornoch.

Carnegie Whisky Cellars’ own whisky club members tasted the new malt and voted it ‘top dram’ in a blind tasting against five other well-known single malt whiskies.

Full bodied and sherry cask matured, it is described as marvellously mellow, with warming hints of spice and a long lingering finish.

Bottles come in 70cl or 20cl sizes and are adorned with Royal Dornoch’s iconic wildcat emblem and its officially registered tartan.

Neil Hampton, the club’s general manager, said: “Whisky and golf are two of Scotland’s greatest assets and go naturally together.

“We are delighted to partner with Carnegie Whisky Cellars in the first licensing deal of its kind involving the club’s crest and tartan. We hope it will be popular with golfers, whisky lovers and anyone with an interest in such a unique product.”

Michael Hanratty, general manager, the Carnegie Whisky Cellars, said: “We are proud to be associated with Royal Dornoch Golf Club in creating this specially- labelled single malt Scotch whisky, which will be a notable attraction for our customers.”

Golf has been played in Dornoch for more than 400 years. The golf club was formed in 1877 and was granted a Royal charter in 1906.

Isle of Arran – Lagg Distillery

Since it first opened in 1995 the Arran Distilling Co has operated out of its distillery in Lochranza, on the northern coast of the Isle of Arran off Scotland’s south-west coast. As the distillery slowly filled its warehouses and grew in popularity it became clear that more space was needed and in 2016 a request for planning permission was submitted for a new distillery on the south side of the island, near the village of Lagg.

Lagg Distillery, complete with welcoming piper

After three years of planning, hard work and anticipation, the Lagg Distillery and visitor centre opened its doors on the 12th of June 2019.

New and exciting

The construction of a new distillery on the Isle of Arran’s south coast was initially prompted by the need for more warehouses in which to store casks as they matured. Isle of Arran Distillers acquired a piece of land, near the village of Lagg, and, deciding to think bigger than just new warehouses, began working on plans for a new distillery and visitor centre.

Smaller than the original distillery at Lochranza, Lagg Distillery has been created as a more artisanal distillery, experimenting with both casks and peat. While production has begun at Lagg, it will be a few years until we see any single malts from it, however, the distillery’s new make is available to buy now from the visitor centre.

Nose: Freshly-mown grass, white peppercorns, heather honey and earthy smoke are instantly apparent. The smoke softens, bringing out aromas of summer flowers, garden herbs and seaside bonfires.

Palate: Straight off there are sweet, grassy notes, fresh hay, meadow flowers and rich wood smoke. There’s an earthier edge underneath the light, fresh notes – peat smoke wrapped around rich spices and sharp citrus.

A winning recipe

Using cloudy water from local stream, Lagg Distillery is able to produce malty, sweet spirits with a distinctive sulphur character. This is helped by a 72 hour fermentation, which produces the earthy, floral flavour profile that Master Distiller James MacTaggart is looking for.

Arran Distilling Co. have opted to use traditional Douglas fir wash-backs, due to their self-regulating properties removing the need to manage temperature and yeast-activity.  The distillery has two stills, each designed slightly differently to create a light spirit that maintains a heavily-peated character.

Wash still on the left, spirit on the right

The wash still is wide and bulbous, with a steep downwards gradient to the lyne arm that prevents large amounts of copper contact, preserving the heavy peat flavour in the first run. The spirit still has a lamp-glass shaped neck to promote reflux, creating a lighter spirit than if it had the same plain necked shape as the wash still. Currently Lagg are distilling to 63% ABV before filling into a variety of different types of cask.

Looking to the Future

Isle of Arran Distillers have designed Lagg Distillery with people in mind as much as whisky. Employing locals from the south of the island, Lagg is focused on the visitor centre, aiming to provide information on the history of Arran’s whisky trade, and the history of the island itself.

As the two distilleries lie at opposite ends of the island travelling between the two is difficult, especially after a tour and tasting. Isle of Arran Distillers have been looking into a shuttle bus service between the distilleries which will hopefully be up and running soon, allowing you to see both distilleries in a single trip.

Would you look at these absolute units

Already, the team at Lagg is looking further into the future – the distillery has been designed to grow and evolve over time and they’re already putting in the groundwork for projects that might appear further down the line. As a more artisinal distillery than Lochranza, there’s much more scope to play with the distillery’s whisky, and they’ve also planted an orchard behind the distillery – plans of making cider are already being made and apple brandy won’t be far behind.

Arran’s whisky-making project has impressed us since its early days at Lochranza, and the new distillery at Lagg and the possibilities it opens for whisky production (and more) on the island is very exciting. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

While waiting for Lagg’s whisky to mature, check out the rest of the Isle of Arran range.

Our newest exclusive!

WhistlePig 12 Year Old Straight Rye

Old World ~ Bespoke Blend

This ‘Pig’ will fly!

We’re always trying to make sure our ‘exclusives’ – are exactly that. ‘Barrel picks’ are nice but do not always afford the ability to offer something truly unique. For our ‘Old World’ WhistlePig bottle ~ Jonathan and Marlon developed a recipe from 3 different finishes of 12 year that they deemed worthy of the phrase, ‘Bottled for the Park Avenue Liquor Shop”.

Bottled at 86proof –

Our WhistlePig 12 year Bespoke Blend is a marriage of

75% Madeira Cask Finish, 20% Sauternes Cask Finish & 5% Port Cask Finish.

Oh, and 100% delicious.

Notes:

NOSE =  Fresh stewed peaches, dried dark fruits & some leather
PALATE = Decadence! Mint, creamy chocolate & spicy ginger cookies
FINISH = Medium with clove, toffee & more dried fruit

Limited to only 132 bottles!

(we are already close to just 100 bottles left)

Click on the image for link to site.

 PRICE: $15o

  
Cheers!
Jonathan, Eric & Marlon
The Park Avenue Liquor Shop
270 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212-685-2442
jonathan@parkaveliquor.com
eric@parkaveliquor.com

whiskyconn@gmail.com
www.parkaveliquor.com

New Releases at Loch Fyne Whiskies 

The latest batch of The Living Cask series is available to order now. Plus, explore our favourite new releases.

The Loch Fyne The Living Cask Batch 8

Nose: fruity and clean with notes of lemon, lime and kiwi atop a sweet white chocolate and vanilla note.

Palate: light and grassy with sweet fruits and some of Batch 7’s coastal notes emerging amid a warming spice.

Finish: smooth, gentle and long lasting.

£45.00 (£55.00 with personalised engraving)

https://youtu.be/0vJizfpOVPY

. . . ralfy.com uncovers a less-known malt !

FINLAGGAN RED WINE MATURED WINS IWSC SILVER

The Vintage Malt Whisky Company are thrilled to announce their new release Finlaggan Red Wine Matured Islay Single Malt Whisky has been awarded a silver medal by The International Wine & Spirits Competition 2019.

Andrew Crook, MD said of the award “we are delighted to add another award from the prestigious IWSC to our collection!  Even more so, that it is our new release Finlaggan Red Wine Matured.  The Rioja red wine cask maturation of this quality Islay single malt has given it a delicious sweet smoke and red berry nose, along with strawberries and plum notes on the palate and a long lingering sweet smoke finish.  Our customers are very excited by this new product in our portfolio and feedback has been very positive”.

The IWSC scored Finlaggan Red Wine Matured a 92 and described it as a fresh and vibrant whisky, with nettles, apples, pears and an elegant peatiness.  Spiciness builds, ending with a ginger-led, well rounded finish.

“This is great news for our Finlaggan brand – not only is it a great indication of the quality of Finlaggan Red Wine Matured Islay Single Malt, but the IWSC name and medal is internationally recognised by trade and consumers, who seek out the winners” said Brian Crook, Chairman.

ABOUT THE VINTAGE MALT WHISKY COMPANY

Founded 27 years ago by Brian Crook with a vision to make iconic Islay Single Malts available and accessible to smaller independent retailers throughout the world, The Vintage Malt Company has done all this and more.  Now, under the leadership of Brian’s son, Andrew Crook, this family company has gone from strength to strength supplying malts and building brands globally in over 35 countries.

For more information on all our products visit www.vintagemaltwhisky.com or contact andrew@vintagemaltwhisky.com

MALTSTOCK 2019

And then there was only one month before Maltstock 2019! Icredible how relaxed time moves on and brings us back together again!

We are in full ‘prep mode’ now and can’t wait to meet you guys! And look at our relaxed program! It’s one of the most relaxed ones we’ve ever had! With a campfire hosted by Dave Broom, Sam Simmons and Mark Watt, a new set-up for the whisky quiz, and a Saturday filled with all new set-up for tastings. No less than 30 ‘Drinks with…’ sessions to make you even more relaxed! And of course meeting old and news friends sharing drams and stories. If you haven’t got a ticket yet… haste ye back to our shop, in a relaxed way of course 🙂

Annette, Bob, Klaas, Stan and Teun

Retox walk

11 years ago it started as a detox walk. That all changed when Jan & Dennis took over. It’s now a retox walk…

Saturday morning we have a relaxed walk, enjoying the beautiful scenery surrounding the Maltstock venue. It’s made all the more relaxed by sharing a few drams. Dennis and Jan are Irish Whisky Ambassadors, so no prizes for guessing where the whisky will come from.

But we do know that there will also be one rather nice and surprising whisky during the walk. So definitely not to be missed!!

Relaxed Masterclass reminder

If you have tickets to Maltstock but (for any reason) haven’t let us know your Masterclass preferences yet, please let us know before the 25th of august. If you did not get your invitation e-mail, please let us know at info@maltstock.com A.R.A.P. (As Relaxed As Possible).

Wanna win?

Win a relaxed trip to Schotland

How about this for a relaxed prize? Three nights in the best whisky bars in Scotland: Fiddler’s Loch Ness – Dornoch Castle Hotel and Highlander Inn – Craigellachie
And it can be yours! It’s our relaxed grand prize in the Maltstock raffle.

Big thank you to Jonny Fiddler, Tatsuya Minagawa and Phil Thompson & Simon Thompson for the continuous relaxed support!

Tickets are still available

Make sure you don’t miss out on what promises to be a very special edition of Maltstock! We’ll get the full program online soon, but what a line-up it is, wow!!

So if you haven’t done so already, get relaxed and get your Maltstock ticket here

Click here to go to our webshop

PRELUDE: COURAGE & CONVICTION

Here’s To Courageous Beginnings: Fall 2020

Ahead of the launch of our Flagship release of Courage & Conviction, our American Single Malt, we’ll be introducing an early look into this new line with a limited release of
Prelude: Courage & Conviction.

Be one of a few to experience this sneak peek. Prelude will be available for purchase this September in Virginia followed by other markets across the country in October. The Flagship offering of Courage & Conviction will be available in April, 2020.

Tasting Notes: 

Prelude: Courage & Conviction, an American Single Malt whisky, is made from 100% malted barley and aged a minimum of three years in Sherry, Cuvée and Bourbon Casks. The combination of these results in notes of caramel, butterscotch, fig, barrel spice and bright red fruit.

Countdown to the Flagship release with us by signing up for launch details