Organisers at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival have today (Tuesday 17 March) announced this year’s Festival will be cancelled in light of social restriction guidelines in response to the global Coronavirus pandemic.

Now in its 21st year, the six day celebration of Speyside’s distilling prowess was planned to take place from 29 April – 4 May 2020. The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival welcomes international and domestic visitors to Speyside – the global epicentre of distilling – each year to be immersed in the region’s whisky mastery.

The decision to cancel the 2020 Whisky Festival reflects the quickly-evolving situation as a result of the Covid-19 virus and recommendations from the Scottish Government to restrict public gatherings as a preventative measure.

Ticket holders will be contacted as soon as possible by the Whisky Festival Team and refunds will be at the discretion of individual event providers.

James Campbell, Chairman at The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, said:

“In response to the escalating situation with Covid-19, the Board of Directors have decided that this year’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is cancelled as a preventative measure. Our Festival welcomes visitors from across the globe to the region each year and it is our priority to keep both our visitors and the local community safe. We very much regret the inconvenience that this will cause our visitors, event providers,
members, partners and local communities, and trust that everyone will fully understand why we have had to make this decision.”

Notes 

About the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival

First launched in 1999, the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival’s annual celebration of Scotland’s national drink has developed into one of the largest events of its kind anywhere in the world. With a programme of over 700 whisky-inspired events over 6 days, the Festival is a mecca for the curious beginner and the whisky connoisseur alike. Festival events take place throughout Speyside, the biggest whisky producing
region in Scotland, located in the Moray area in the North-East of the county between Aberdeen and Inverness.

Over the years, the Festival has developed close links with many Speyside businesses and communities who help to fund the festival. It is a true team effort to deliver an ever-improving range of events and services to make the six days of the Festival a truly unforgettable experience.

www.spiritofspeyside.com

There’s no doubt we’re living through troubled times, and we’re all trying to keep up-to-speed with a fast-moving and extremely challenging set of circumstances relating to Coronavirus (Covid-19). Here’s what we can tell you right now:

–        Sadly, our Members’ tastings won’t be going ahead as planned. If the situation changes, we’ll let you know immediately. We will also soon inform you about our refund policy.

–        Our online shop is open for business as normal and our shelves are well stocked. We don’t anticipate any issues right now with online orders and deliveries. Grab some comforting drams and share them in the comfort of your own home – you can print out your own Society home tasting kit here.

–        Our Members Services team is ready to help with any questions or emails you may have. Bear in mind they may be busier than usual, so we ask for your patience while they deal with enquiries.

–        We’re looking at how we can continue to bring members together in an online environment to share your love of Society whisky and good company. More on that to come.

–        Expect to hear more in the days ahead – we don’t want to overload you with information but we’ll keep you up-to-date as the situation develops.

Look after each other, and if you’re stuck at home, at least make sure you’re well stocked with Society whisky to see you, your friends and families through.

Good health,

David Ridley – MD and Chief Member Champion
Tuesday, 17 March 2020

WE’RE HERE TO HELP:

Call or email us if you have questions about the Outturn, events or your membership, the Member Services Team will be delighted to help you.

+44 131 555 2929
memberservices@smws.com

Our last After Hours event featuring two distilleries from the West was such a success ~ we’ve decided to go East.  Way east. On March 25th (like we said, soon!) we’ll be hosting two American Whiskey Distilleries who’ll be sharing an exciting array of spirits. We hope you can join us as Frank Maher of New Liberty Distilling and Efrain Olivia of Breuckelen Distilling pour staples and stars from their stables. (Say that 5 times, fast) There may even be a surprise appearance…   

Please Contact the store for additional information.

Wednesday, March 25th at the store. 7:15 ~ 9:30-ish. $100 per-person ~ Limited Seating. Includes extensive whiskey sampling, Kosher bites & lots of laughs (depending on your sense of humor). RSVP:

whiskyconn@gmail.com ~ Marlon or  eric@parkaveliquor.com ~ Eric or via 212-685-2442

Seating for this event is limited so please have your RSVP confirmed. We are not responsible for typographical errors or the rumor that we’ll be teaching how to make homeade Purell out of Everclear. If virus concerns cause the event to be cancelled we will contact you. Be sure to contact us with any questions.  And please, no “East Coast” gang signs when attending the tasting.

The Park Avenue Liquor Shop | 212-685-2442 | 212-689-6247 |  parkaveliquor.com

Well, that was quite the week!

Please keep reading for an update on this year’s Spirit of Toronto…

Tickets now go on sale Tuesday April 7 at 10am

On the recommendation of Public Health Ontario, Roy Thomson Hall has cancelled all events to March 31.

As a result, ticket sales for Spirit of Toronto will now go on sale Tuesday April 7 at 10:00am through Roy Thomson Hall’s box office.

While Spirit of Toronto continues to be scheduled for Saturday April 25, please know that our duty of care is to the guests, exhibitors, staff and other participants who have made the show a success every year.

Roy Thomson Hall will be monitoring the COVID-19 situation on a regular basis, and contingency plans are in place to reschedule Spirit of Toronto to a later date if their on-going consultation with the health authorities deems it prudent.

With this in mind, we are still looking forward to welcoming you back on Saturday April 25 – no doubt many of us will need a drink by then!

Masterclasses now online

A note to our customers about the Coronavirus

Over the past couple days, it has become evident that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is picking up across the country and in our tristate area. As always, our customers, as well as our staff, are our top priority here at The Party Source. Much like other retailers and businesses, we are here to notify you that we will continue to take pride in our well-run store in terms of cleanliness and safety.

We have instructed all staff members to clean their work areas before, during, and after each shift. We have upped our stock of cleaning products and they are readily available for all staff members as well as customers at our check out lanes. With this, we have decided to cancel all tasting events until further notice. Our tasting library will also be closed. We will not offer samples or fill outside containers from the Crowler Station. We will fill crowlers upon request while wearing protective gloves. Tasting products and sharing that experience with our customers is a crucial part of our business, but the health and safety of all is more important. We will continue to verbally educate our guests on any product they may be interested in. We are here for you.

This is a fluid situation and we are staying aware of all current information as it develops, and we will be constantly evaluating the situation on a daily basis. We will continue to adapt our response as the situation changes and dictates.

We thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

Jon Stiles

President and CEO

The Party Source

Special Announcement:
K&L Temporarily Closing All Retail Locations

K&L Friends and Customers,

We would like to announce the following steps that we are taking in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the community. The well-being of our staff, customers, and the community remain our top priority, and we will continue to adapt and adjust these measures due to the evolving circumstances.

• Effective immediately, we have closed walk-in retail business at the stores until further notice. We plan to remain open online at www.KLWines.com and via phone at 800-247-5987
• We continue to have a delivery option available in all the zip codes where we are lawfully allowed to ship.
• Will call pickups are paused temporarily until further notice. We will hold will call orders on your behalf, but we would suggest you have them delivered to you through our online tools or postpone pick-up until a later date. K&L will not be handing off will call orders at the stores until we can determine an orderly method of distributing them while still acting in a way that considers the county, state and federal guidelines on social distancing.
• Cleaning and safety measures are taking place at all the locations to help protect and support our staff members and the community.

Thanks for your understanding during this difficult period. Our thoughts are with all those impacted by the virus. We will continue to keep you updated.

Sincerely,

The K&L Team

From the sun kissed and occasionally wind swept coasts of Melbourne, we present, Starward! A distillery proud of its locality and heritage of the wine making in the area. Two Fold is a wheat influenced malt whisky – distilled and ageing two separate spirits in wine casks, vatting together at the end of their maturation cycles to create Makers Mark but from Melbourne? If you’re an experimenter with whisky and enjoy something different, look no further! Cheers!

https://youtu.be/zU2Xzqq2mt8

JAMESON TAKES ST. PATRICK’S DAY TO NEW HEIGHTS

AT THE WORLD’S HIGHEST IRISH BAR 

Jameson Irish Whiskey, the world’s favourite Irish whiskey, could be the drink of choice this St Patrick’s Day, at the world’s highest Irish bar.

Taking the Irish tradition to new heights, Jameson set out with a group of adventurous Jameson fans to make sure the world’s most remote Irish pub in Nepal has everything it needs to pull off an unforgettable St. Patrick’s Day.

The Irish Pub at Namche Bazaar is located at a breath-taking 3,440m above sea level, in the Himalayan Mountains. The last stop before Everest base camp, this welcoming spot is the embodiment of true Irish spirit, as adventurers settle in and share their travel stories over a well-earned drink.

Pictured here: a group of Jameson fans at The Irish Pub, whose expedition to the Himalayas was part of a larger “Join In” campaign by the world’s favourite Irish whiskey.

NOTES 

About Irish Distillers

Irish Distillers is one of Ireland’s leading suppliers of spirits and wines, and producer of some of the world’s most well-known and successful Irish whiskeys. Led by Jameson, our brands are driving the global renaissance of Irish whiskey. Jameson is the world’s bestselling Irish whiskey, experiencing 30 years of consecutive growth and hitting sales of 8m cases in 2019. Our brands are exported to 130+ markets, with over 70 of those experiencing double or triple-digit growth.

Irish Distillers was formed in 1966, when a merger took place between John Power & Son, John Jameson & Son and Cork Distilleries Company. In 1988 Irish Distillers joined Pernod Ricard, gaining access to unprecedented levels of investment and an extensive global distribution network. Since 2012, we have invested over €400 million to double our production and bottling capacity to meet global demand for our products.

We employ over 600 people across our operations in Cork and Dublin.

About Pernod Ricard

Pernod Ricard is the No.2 worldwide producer of wines and spirits with consolidated sales of €9,182 million in FY19. Created in 1975 by the merger of Ricard and Pernod, the Group has developed through organic growth and acquisitions: Seagram (2001), Allied Domecq (2005) and Vin&Sprit (2008). Pernod Ricard, which owns 16 of the Top 100 Spirits Brands, holds one of the most prestigious and comprehensive brand portfolios in the industry, including: Absolut Vodka, Ricard pastis, Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin, Malibu liqueur, Mumm and Perrier-Jouët champagnes, as well Jacob’s Creek, Brancott Estate, Campo Viejo, and Kenwood wines. Pernod Ricard’s brands are distributed across 160+ markets and by its own salesforce in 73 markets. The Group’s decentralised organisation empowers its 19,000 employees to be true on-the-ground ambassadors of its vision of “Créateurs de Convivialité.” As reaffirmed by the Group’s three-year strategic plan, “Transform and Accelerate,” deployed in 2018, Pernod Ricard’s strategy focuses on investing in long-term, profitable growth for all stakeholders. The Group remains true to its three founding values: entrepreneurial spirit, mutual trust, and a strong sense of ethics. As illustrated by the 2030 roadmap supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “We bring good times from a good place.” In recognition of Pernod Ricard’s strong commitment to sustainable development and responsible consumption, it has received a Gold rating from Ecovadis and is ranked No. 1 in the beverage sector in Vigeo Eiris. Pernod Ricard is also a United Nation’s Global Compact LEAD company.

Pernod Ricard is listed on Euronext (Ticker: RI; ISIN code: FR0000120693) and is part of the CAC 40 index.

Uncovering the turbulent history of Irish Whiskey this St. Patrick’s Day

by Irish whiskey expert Jay Bradley, founder of The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and Whiskey & Wealth Club

With the Emerald Isle’s St Patrick’s Day on the not-too-distant horizon, thoughts inevitably turn to iconic festivities to be enjoyed. For many this involves toasting a taoscán of Irish whiskey.

The day and drink are synonymous with each other. It is said St. Patrick himself, when short-changed on a shot of whiskey, berated a local innkeeper. Declaring his cellar possessed by a devil that fed off his dishonesty. Returning later he found the innkeeper filling every glass to the brim with whiskey after vowing to change his ways.

Cut to today, the Irish whiskey industry is on the up. With the number of distilleries across the country hitting a 120-year high in 2019 and sales expected to grow to 14 million cases this year. It is also gaining global recognition, with an Irish whiskey winning the highly coveted accolade of the world’s best single malt last year.

This comeback comes after a turbulent twentieth century which saw Irish whiskey fall from grace, losing 99% of its market share. Going from the biggest selling spirit globally to near collapse. Production went from 12 million cases to less than 100,000.

The industry, however, has since picked itself up and like the phoenix is rising from the ashes and beginning to spread its wings on a global scale.

The fall

Irish whiskey sailed into what turned out to be a perfect storm of disasters and shocks, which brought the industry crashing down to its knees. Back in 1914, Ireland was under British rule and the First World War broke out on the continent. To help the war effort, barley, crucial to making Irish whiskey was re-directed from distilleries to support the war effort and feed soldiers on the western front. This was coupled with the fact that German U-boats were patrolling the waters around the British Isles, making it far too dangerous for global exports.

It doesn’t stop there, during the First World War, the Easter Rising led to many large Dublin distilleries closing as they were taken over by rebel forces. After the war, production and exports were able to continue. Then in 1919 came the Irish War of Independence.

Just as things couldn’t get worse for the industry prohibition came into force in the US. Shutting off one of the major markets for Irish whiskey. Looking to make headway in the global market, the British then offered a parting gift to the new Irish Free State. Banning exports of Irish whiskey to the Commonwealth, eliminating much of what was left of the global market. In turn allowing Scotch whisky to flourish. 

Then there were four 

After all this turmoil, only four distillers survived (John Jameson, John Powers, Cork Distillers and Bushmills). Hundreds had gone bankrupt.

The remaining four Irish distilleries stayed local and avoided going global again and so, not actively challenging to reclaim the lost global market share. Merging the remaining few distilleries in Ireland, into Irish Distillers (IDL) created a monopoly for over three decades. This gave them total control of every single drop of whiskey produced across all of Ireland. Production remained grow to two million cases per year by the late 1980s.

Back to prominence 

The Irish whiskey industry slowly began to build its way back up when Pernod Ricard bought IDL in 1988. The new owners were eager to expand and invested in on the ground salespeople that helped boost the Irish whiskey market by double digits annually. 

The Irish whiskey industry is now primed to continue its growth to help reclaim much of its lost market share. As demand rises amongst consumers. With drinkers increasingly choosing whiskey as their spirit of choice.

I’ve always thought of Irish whiskey as liquid gold, and so it is great to see consumers and investors around the world turn their heads to it.

 Long may this continue, for should it disappear St Patrick’s day in the future would be a diminished spectacle: for the loss of one of its most iconic elements, which should always be served in a full measure!

Sláinte!

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