I hope that you and your contacts are safe and well, and that you are able to manage disruption to your business as well as possible during these difficult days.

Like everybody, our priority is to ensure the wellbeing of our people, our customers, our clients and their families. To ensure this, we have taken the difficult but important decision to postpone our whisky Diploma courses in April and May and until such time as it is safe to run them again.

But, as we continue to navigate this challenge together, we at the Academy are reminded and inspired from all around us that now is the time to come together in other ways and support one another more than ever. To this end, we would like to offer you and all of your employees free access to our online ‘Focus on Flavour’ module in the hope that it provides a helpful and useful way of maintaining your whisky knowledge and education, wherever you are in the world.

If this offer can be of support, just follow (or copy and paste) this link  https://www.edinburghwhiskyacademy.com/online-courses/focus-on-flavour

From all at the Edinburgh Whisky Academy we send you our best wishes, support and spirit of togetherness until we can connect again,

Ian McKerrow

Edinburgh Whisky Academy

Coronavirus and TWL Events and Festivals

Greetings and Best Wishes from TWL HQ

We hope you are coping as best you can under these most challenging of times.

As we are sure you are aware, on Monday 16th March the UK Government gave the advice that we all avoid non-essential travel and public places such as pubs and clubs.

Whilst not an out-right ban, we feel the time is now to take decisive action in order to assist in delaying the spread of the Coronavirus.
Our highest priority has to be the health and well-being of you, our customers, our staff and venue staff.

Therefore we have taken the difficult decision to postpone and re-schedule all of our events with immediate effect, for at least the next 12 weeks.

We apologise if this causes any inconvenience but we feel sure you will understand and agree with our decision.

We are delighted to announce anyone booked onto a Guide to Whisky or an Asian Whisky tasting will be able to, if they wish, have a ‘taste at home’ pack, in place of their tasting booking. We will accompany these tasting packs with Facebook live taste-along sessions on Wednesday and Friday of each week, brought to you by one of our freelance presenters from the comfort and safety of their own home.

If you are already booked onto a tasting there is no charge for this pack. If you are not, this is a great way to have some fun and soothe your woes, whilst helping us help our freelance whisky experts continue to earn a living. For every 30 of these packs we send out we will be able to pay a presenter what we would normally pay them to do a physical tasting.
Please let us know, if you haven’t already, via email (info@thewhiskylounge.com), if you would like to have a tasting pack instead of a re-scheduled tasting.

In addition, please be assured that we will honour all current bookings at a future event, if you would prefer to see us in person!

We are currently confirming new dates with our venues for later in the year, and we will be in touch, with those already booked, in the coming weeks with a list of new dates for you to choose from.

We will be doing Facebook Live sessions two or three times a week, from 23rd March, and doing things like making hand-sanitiser, cocktail-making, whisky and food, chat and fun.

So make sure to follow us on social media – our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter handles are all below, in the footer of this email. If you don’t already follow us then, please feel free to tag us, and share you own handles with us so we can all help each other through this .

We appreciate, in advance, your understanding and we wish you, and your families, health and strength to get through this most challenging of
times.

We look forward to seeing you all soon and in the meantime hoping you all keep well.

Best wishes,

Eddie, Amanda and The Whisky Lounge Family

Buy Now

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 302: Glenfiddich 21 Year Old Winter Storm

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky vlogger, tries a hyped malt from one of the world’s most famous distilleries. The third release in Glenfiddich’s Experimental Series – the Winter Storm – took the shelves by storm (see what I did there?) and sold out in a matter of days. A second and even third batch had to be produced. What makes Winter Storm special is the fact that this Glenfiddich matured for 21 years on bourbon casks before getting a finish of three months on casks that previously held ice wine. Peller Estates from the Canadian Niagara-on-the-Lakes (that’s right, near the famous waterfalls) harvests the grapes for this wine at -10° Celsius in the moonlight. This is not just folklore, it’s when the grapes have their highest concentration of sugars. The Glenfiddich malt spend three months in these casks to become the subtle single malt that has proved so popular.

https://youtu.be/8cPRxD82v5Y

Douglas Laing Announces Old Particular Easter Limited Edition Bottling

Scotch Whisky specialist Douglas Laing & Co has unveiled an exciting new bottling exclusively for DouglasLaing.com. With only 155 bottles released, this very limited edition Old Particular Single Cask celebrates the arrival of Spring and (much needed) hope. 

The Single Cask selected for this special bottling is an Invergordon 22 Years Old Single Grain at a natural cask strength of 48.9%. The Whisky, bottled without colouring or chill-filtration, is said to pair perfectly with your Easter chocolate! 

The concept is brought to life by intricate illustrated labels featuring Springtime flowers, bees and bunnies. The packaging includes a hand wax-dipped bottle with wooden gift box.

Director of Whisky and third generation in the family business, Cara Laing, commented: “Our Old Particular Spring bottling celebrates the hope and green shoots that Springtime brings. With notes of cinnamon and chocolate, we selected this Single Cask for bottling many months ago on the basis it would be the perfect accompaniment to some Easter chocolate indulgences. It now seems particularly fitting that it also marks the coming of Spring and hopefully brighter days.”

Old Particular The Easter Edition is available exclusively on DouglasLaing.com, with delivery available across the UK, Europe and selected Asian markets. UK retail price is £85 + shipping, whilst other countries will vary due to local taxes. 

ABOUT DOUGLAS LAING:

www.douglaslaing.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/douglaslaingwhisky

Instagram: @dlaingwhisky

Established over 70 years ago, Douglas Laing & Co. is a leading creator and purveyor of the finest Scotch Whiskies, specialising in Single Cask Single Malts 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 non-chill-filtered to preserve the robust and unique character of the Whisky. Douglas Laing’s industry reputation and many awards is testament to this ethos.

In 2015, the firm announced the launch of its first “umbrella” brand – Remarkable Regional Malts – a collection that encompasses Timorous Beastie (Highlands), Scallywag (Speyside), The Gauldrons (Campbeltown), Rock Island (Islands), and Big Peat from Islay, offering the consumer The Ultimate Distillation of Scotland’s Malt Whisky Regions.  The firm’s second umbrella brand, Exceptional Single Casks, launched in 2015, with Provenance, Premier Barrel, Old Particular and Xtra Old Particular

Cask Trade lift the ‘spirits’ of the nation with witty whisky pronunciation video

Hands in the air, how many whisky distilleries have you been pronouncing wrong?

There’s no shame in it, unless you’re talking to James Russell of Cask Trade who’s always more than happy to correct you. This time, the team caught it on video giving you a chance to enjoy a little laugh and show off the next time you order a dram in Scotland.

Click here to view the video: https://youtu.be/rF_ibrU2WyQ

Help Cask Trade to lift the ‘spirits’ of the national by sharing this witty whisky pronunciation video.

To find out more about cask ownership visit: www.casktrade.com

#whiskywednesday #whiskybusiness #scotchwhisky

NOTES 

ABOUT CASK TRADE

Founded in 2018 by Simon Aron in partnership with several of the world’s foremost whisky masters, including Keeper of the Quaich Sir Colin Hampden-White, Cask Trade buys and sells exceptional cask whiskies. The company is unique because it only sells casks it owns outright, and it only sells whole casks: it is not a whisky cask broker and it does not offer fractional sales.

A passionate whisky collector for more than 20 years, Simon Aron suffered many false promises from whisky investment companies and this drove his ambition to create a real and trustworthy market place for whisky collectors and investors, and bottlers:

The company’s casks are held in the best HMRC bonded warehouses, regularly visited and approved by Cask Trade whisky masters. All stock holdings have a complete paper trail…

• Delivery orders from supplier to Cask Trade
• Invoices for transfer of ownership, storage insurance, re-gauging, sampling or movement
• HMRC-issued WOWGR (warehouse keepers, warehouse premises, owner of goods and registered consigners): a fully regulated and closely monitored license requiring due diligence on suppliers as well as customers.

Included in its extensive list of customer services, Cask Trade’s rigorous processes means that the company will guarantee to buy back from its clients the casks they buy from and have had managed by Cask Trade. It also offers…

• Regular sampling and re-gauging of casks
• Re-racking (sherry wine, port etc)
• Estimates of bottles and strength in cask (effects of angels’ share 0ver years of maturations)
• Financial modelling for each cask based on age and rarity with estimated % returns
• Costings for bottling, labelling and shipping (duty & tax)
• Regularly updated whisky investment guide which includes statistics from two authoritative third parties (independent of Cask Trade)
• Cask Trade will arrange for clients to receive samples of their whiskies and visit their barrels(s), upon request – wherever possible.

Cask Trade has started the first live auction website dedicated to exceptional whisky casks: www.auctionyourcask.com

Hosted four times a year and helping private owners/investors sell their cask to independent bottlers and other investors all around the world. All casks will be re-gauged ready for auction and a full 70cl sample will be drawn so that bidders have the opportunity to try the whisky before they buy. – Wherever possible. We validate all the sellers and confirm proof of ownership and the history of the cask enabling bidders to safely buy. With complete transparency and no sellers’ fee we can offer you the actual hammer price. Our low buyers’ fee of 15% + VAT will offer the opportunity to buyers, trade or private, to buy rare casks. The next auction will take place on 22nd April 2020.

https://www.casktrade.com

https://www.auctionyourcask.com

Hello, this is John, Compass Box Founder. I’d like to pass on a simple yet vital message of solidarity to our supporters, their families and our industry colleagues around the world. We’re in this together, and we’ll get through this together.

As you know, we work closely with bartenders and the hospitality industry, a huge and international group of people now trying to adjust to a world without customers to serve. We are hearing their stories and it’s heartbreaking.

As more governments announce lock-downs, we’re working out how best to play our part in the incredible efforts everyone is already making to look after each other. We’ll keep you updated on our plans, and in the meantime, we’re keen to hear what your local bars, restaurants and retailers are doing to raise spirits and support their communities.

Email us at hello@compassboxwhisky.com or share on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and we’ll repost where we can to get the word out.

Take care of each other,

John

We’ve taken the difficult decision to close our offices and postpone our auctions with immediate effect. We’ve been closely monitoring the unfolding Covid-19 situation and we don’t feel it’s right or appropriate to continue  with the auction at this time. Taking orders that may not be delivered or cannot be collected would be ethically wrong.

As a business we have always put people before profits and the health and safety of our team, customers and suppliers must be a priority. We would not feel right continuing with the auction where there was the possibility we would be unable to fulfil orders, letting down both sellers and buyers.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and operations will resume as soon as it is safe to do so. We will be back.

Please be assured if you have bottles here with us in our warehouse they are safe and insured in our dedicated facility.

Wishing everyone the very best in these challenging times.

Scotch Whisky Auctions

Spectacular Value

We’ve added more bottles to The Loch Fyne Sale. Order today for free UK delivery on all orders over £25. Let our couriers delivery your whisky straight to your door!

🚚 Free UK Delivery on all orders over £25 📦
🌎 We also ship worldwide! 🌍

Hibiki 17 Year Old

Was £560.00

NOW £395.00

ralfy.com meets ‘fiddich 18yo

https://youtu.be/-bvv6n5Mdvo

THIRD FIFE WHISKY FESTIVAL PROVES A SELL-OUT SUCCESS

The third Fife Whisky Festival proved a sell-out success with more people enjoying the event than ever.

Around 650 whisky-lovers attended the Festival which organisers, Karen Somerville and Justine Hazlehurst, have announced will return for a fourth outing in 2021.

Wendy Chamberlain, Lib-Dem MP for North East Fife, described the event as “impressive” and welcomed the economic boost it brings to the Kingdom.

She said: “The Festival was very busy once again and is an important event for Fife.

“What is really impressive is the representation of distilleries – not only do all the local distillers attend but the big players from all over Scotland come along plus the smaller, bespoke companies.

“The Festival is very important in terms of tourism for North East Fife and it’s great that it brings people into Cupar and to visit Lindores Abbey which is a fantastic setting for the Friday dinner.

“It’s wonderful to see how the Festival is growing in numbers and in the variety of events which are included and I would like to congratulate Karen, Justine and their team of volunteers.”

Fife Whisky Festival once again included a whisky-themed dinner at Lindores Abbey Distillery in Newburgh with author Ian Rankin as this year’s guest of honour.

Co-founder Karen Somerville said: “It was just a fantastic weekend which went really smoothly, and we’re delighted it was a huge success once again.

“We had 80 people for the banquet dinner this time which was double the number we seated last year and Ian Rankin was a great speaker.

“Everyone enjoyed his after-dinner talk about his love for whisky and the way he weaves that into his stories by making his main character, Inspector Rebus, a whisky fan too.

“He also talked about growing up in Fife and his memories of childhood walks near the Kingdom’s Cameronbridge Distillery which this year provided our exclusive Festival bottling.

“We’re now looking forward to returning to Fife for our fourth Festival in March next year.”

The Festival including two tasting sessions at the Corn Exchange in Cupar with an increased number of attendees – 325 at each gathering – compared to last year.

Whisky connoisseurs enjoyed drams from more than 35 distilleries and independent bottlers including Springbank, Tullibardine, Blair Athol, Glen Scotia, Glenfiddich and Eden Mill.

And on the Sunday, there was the chance to attend a special screening of whisky film The Amber Light at Kingsbarns Distillery and Visitor Centre near St Andrews followed by a tour and tasting.

The Festival also raised £650 for Age Concern in Cupar with a raffle.

Fife Whisky Festival was launched in 2017 by Ms Hazlehurst, founder of Kask Whisky, and Mrs Somerville, managing director of Angels’ Share Glass, with the first event held in March 2018.

The Festival, sponsored by Bruce Stevenson Insurance Brokers, legal firm MacRoberts LLP and global construction company ISG, aims to showcase the renaissance of whisky-making in Fife by bringing together the best whisky producers from the region and beyond.

Ms Hazlehurst said: “The Festival really has gone from strength to strength since we started out – getting bigger and better every year.

“We’ve had some great feedback from the distillers and festival-goers about how much they enjoyed the event and how well run it was.

“And we’ve also heard from local business owners who were pleased with just how busy the town was over the weekend and how that boosted their business.

“A lot of people came from outside Fife and stayed over on the Friday and Saturday nights which meant the local B&Bs and restaurants took lots of bookings.”

Dates will be confirmed for the 2021 event shortly with plans including the introduction of a merchandising stall where fans can buy Fife Whisky Festival glasses, aprons and whisky water droppers.

The organisers also intend to launch a new website for 2021.

For more details about the Festival, visit www.fifewhiskyfestival.com

Notes:

Fife Whisky Festival was launched in 2017 by Justine Hazlehurst and Karen Soerville and the first event, opened by endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont, was held at the Corn Exchange in Cupar on Saturday March 10, 2018. For more details, go to www.fifewhiskyfestival.com

Angels’ Share Glass is a family-run business based in Bridge of Allan, near Stirling. The firm is co-directed by Karen Somerville and her father Tom Young – a world-renowned Master Craftsman who has been glassblowing and making lamp-work glassware for nearly 60 years. More information about the company can be found at www.angelsshareglass.com

Justine Hazlehurst is the founder of Kask Whisky, a whisky events company based in Edinburgh. She has established the Fife Whisky Trail and the Leith Whisky Trail and works alongside Holyrood Distillery developing and leading the distillery’s Whisky Walking Tour. For more details about Kask Whisky, go to www.kaskwhisky.com

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