GLEN LUSS DISTILLERY CROWD-FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT FOR LOCH LOMOND PROJECT

Glen Luss Distillery has announced an initial round of crowdfunding. Investors will become members of the Founders’ Club and receive a range of benefits including private tours, distilling masterclasses, early access to new products, inaugural first releases, and an invitation to an annual private members’ event.

The micro distillery, which plans to open in May 2021, will be the first distillery and brewery on the shores of Loch Lomond and the first within the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. Using existing vacant premises in the village of Luss the distillery will provide a year-round visitor experience.

“We are excited to develop a sustainable visitor experience for the estimated million tourists who visit Luss each year,” said Trystan Powell, Director of Visitor Experience for Glen Luss Distillery.

Glen Luss Distillery will produce a range of premium drinks. These will be available through the visitor attraction, as well as wholesaled to on-trade and off-trade domestically and through the export market. Initial product development is underway for a single malt Scotch whisky and other products,

“The Scottish food and drink industry is world renowned for its focus on quality and provenance. At the distillery we will utilise locally sourced ingredients to create a range of drinks inspired by Luss’ history and heritage,” said Daniel Lewis, Director of Operations for Glen Luss Distillery.

Glen Luss Distillery has held initial positive consultations with several groups and stakeholders in the development of the business plan including local community representatives, politicians, tourism bodies, local businesses, and the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.

It is estimated that twenty-six jobs will be created, and the aim is to draw a significant number of these personnel from the local community. Modern Apprenticeships will be provided to support the development of skills within this local workforce.

“With community benefit at the heart of our vision, the distillery will also commit 5% of profits annually, for an initial period of ten years, to a Community Development Fund for projects in the Luss and Arden area,” said Patrick Colquhoun, Sales Director at Glen Luss Distillery.

The initial round of crowdfunding closes on the 4th May 2020. Glen Luss Distillery are inviting interested parties to become part of their exclusive Founders’ Club. Further details can be found at www.glenluss.co.uk

NOTES

Glen Luss Distillery has been founded by Trystan Powell, Patrick Colquhoun and Daniel Lewis, graduates of the University of Strathclyde MBA. They bring together over forty years of combined industry and business experience to this project across operations management, customer experience and sales.

Luss is a picturesque village in the heart of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, in the Highlands of Scotland. Luss is the historic home of the Clan Colquhoun and the Glen Luss range will take inspiration from the history of the area and the heritage of the clan. Glen Luss itself rises to the west of the village of Luss and is surrounded by six bens, most of which are over 600m high. These are Beinn Eich, Beinn Lochain, Cruach-An-t-Sithein and Beinn Mhanaich. The Glen is one of the sources of freshwater flowing into Loch Lomond. Loch Lomond itself is the largest body of freshwater (by surface area) in the UK.

RELATED LINK: www.glenluss.co.uk

The Largest Spirits Online Sale Presented by Sotheby’s Hong Kong

Open for Bidding Today Through 5 May

Fine Selection of Sought-After Spirits from The Macallan, Ardbeg,

Springbank, Glenfiddich and Samaroli’s Legendary Independent Bottlings, and

Elegant Classics from Karuizawa and Ichiro’s Hanyu Bottlings

Distilled | Whisky

Opening for Bidding: 21 April – 5 May

Comprising over 130 lots, Distilled | Whisky + Moutai + More is the largest online sale for spirits ever  presented by Sotheby’s Hong Kong. The sale focuses on the most sought-after names in both Scotch and Japanese whiskies as well as Chinese spirit Kweichow Moutai. Leading the sale is Karuizawa Aqua of Life 50 Years 1968, which is one of an incredibly limited release of only 248 bottles from 2018. The Mortlach 75-Year-Old Gordon & Macphail Generations (1 BT70), the oldest whisky ever bottled, is a trophy piece for any serious collector and not to be missed.

The Macallan Duncan Taylor The Rarest Collection 42 Year Old 1969 (1 BT70) Est. HK$170,000-220,000

As one of the oldest independent bottles of The Macallan at 42 years, this decanter set is a celebration of single cask expressions. Not only Is the whisky accompanied by cut crystal Glencairn glasses and adorned with a hallmarked silver stopper, but its presentation case is made out of its own cask #6860.

Mortlach 75 Year Old Gordon & Macphail Generations (1 BT70) Est. HK$130,000-180,000

A must-have for any serious collector for one simple reason: this is the oldest whisky ever bottled. Originally established in 1895, Gordon & MacPhail is one of the oldest and most revered independent bottlers in Scotch Whisky’s history. Gordon & MacPhail previously set the record for the oldest age statement whisky ever with their 70 Year Old Mortlach under the same Generations series.

Coleburn Samaroli Flowers 12 Year Old (1 BT) Est. HK$24,000-32,000

Silvano Samaroli’s whiskies are known to be among the best in the world, with Laphroaigs and Bowmores achieving the highest scores on Serge Valnetin’s WhiskyFun.com. Silvano began his independent bottlings in earnest with the Samaroli Flowers series. These whiskies were carefully selected and the label designs were drawn by Silvano himself. This Coleburn is one of this inimitable series, and to increase its desirability, Coleburn itself is a closed distillery, so very few of its bottles exist.

Karuizawa Aqua of Life 50 Year Old 1968 (1 BT70) Est. HK$280,000-400,000

Since March 2020, a 52 Karuizawa has held the record for the most valuable Japanese whisky ever sold when it achieved £636,000 at Sotheby’s in London. This 50 Year Old from cask #6223 known as “Aqua of Life” is one of an incredibly limited release of only 248 bottles released in 2018. Since Karuizawa’s closure in 2011, no new whisky has been distilled and existing stocks are becoming more and more limited as time goes by.

Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Card Series Ace of Clubs cask #9523 2000 (1 BT70), Est. HK$110,000-160,000

After Hanyu ceased production in 2000, Ichiro Akuto, grandson of Hanyu’s founder, purchased 400 whisky casks from the closed distillery. He bottled his first few casks, each identified by a different playing card, which proved to be highly successful. Ichiro went on to complete the set with 58 cards produced in total, and his Malt Card Series became one of the most iconic series in the world of whisky. The ‘Ace of Clubs’ is particularly interesting as this was bottled from a Mizunara Puncheon – made from a very rare and valuable hardwood with aromatic properties.

ABOUT SOTHEBY’S

Sotheby’s has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby’s became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby’s has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris. Sotheby’s offers collectors the resources of Sotheby’s Financial Services, the world’s only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection, artist, estate & foundation advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby’s also presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby’s Global Fine Art Division, and three retail businesses: Sotheby’s Wine, Sotheby’s Diamonds, and Sotheby’s Home, the online marketplace for interior design.

We’re living in strange times just now, where unfortunately we’ve seen the cancellation of our member tastings and the doors closing on our partner bars and Members’ Rooms. However, the Society is all about coming together so we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to bring our members together and enjoy a whisky tasting….virtually!

We’re delighted to bring you the details of our first round of virtual tastings, which will be held on 9th and 10th May, over on our YouTube channel, Facebook or Zoom.

These will be hosted by brand ambassadors from the UK and across Europe, so you can choose an event local to you and join in with nearby members.

To get involved, all you need to do is purchase the special Discovery Pack we have curated for these events, which includes the five 25ml drams the ambassador will be sharing during the tasting. Then simply sit back, have your glassware and water ready and log on to the correct channel for your chosen event to enjoy this experience with us.

We look forward to seeing you all then!
#alltogethersmws

VIEW ALL VIRTUAL EVENTS                                     BUY VIRTUAL PACK

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Whisky Works is an independent arm of one of Scotland’s oldest whisky companies – Whyte & Mackay. Created by whisky-maker Gregg Glass (formerly of Compass Box), Whisky Works is a boutique blending and bottling house that seeks to find the balance between pioneering new practices and the traditional art of whisky making. So far, they have released two batches of whisky, each containing a “classic” bottling of rare, aged whisky, alongside an experimental blend that pushes the boundaries of whisky making and maturation.

BROWSE OUR FULL WHISKY WORKS RANGE HERE

Millburn and Linlithgow – One distillery is northern and not particularly well known at all. It’s now a restaurant and hotel, no signs of it’s whisky heritage apart from the building that once made and stored the stuff. The other is a treasured lowland distillery with two different names: Linlithgow and St. Magdelene. The site was an leper colony, a convent, a hospital and a distillery before its closure in 1983. Two long lost to history but beyond contrasting and extremely different whiskies.

https://youtu.be/yoyesXk6P-4

OURWHISKY LAUNCHES VIRTUAL WHISKY FESTIVAL TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CHARITY

OurWhisky is set to launch its first virtual whisky festival, connecting lovers of a good dram with their favourite distillers and blenders around the world while raising money for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Running online over four consecutive Thursday evenings from 30th April-21st May, the festival will welcome some of the world’s greatest whisky makers as they guide visitors through a curated selection of drams.

Each week ticket holders will be sent a pack containing five unmarked whisky samples and invited to join a live-streamed tasting hosted on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. To retain the element of surprise, the style, region and age of the whiskies be kept a secret until the tasting itself.

Becky Paskin, co-founder of OurWhisky and Icons of Whisky Communicator of the Year 2020, said: “We wanted to recreate the curiosity and excitement you get with real life whisky festival masterclasses. While our guests won’t know the identity of their whiskies, or the personalities who will be introducing them until the tasting, we promise they’ll be in for an unforgettable experience.

“We’ve approached some of the biggest names in whisky, who will be joining us direct from their own living rooms to share some of the liquid they’ve created.

“This is a rare chance for whisky lovers to discover new bottles they may otherwise have overlooked, while connecting with the whisky makers themselves.”

Guests will be given the chance to ask questions in a live Q&A compered by Becky Paskin.

Tickets will be available to purchase for £30 each from ourwhisky.com, with just 50 tasting packs available for each session.

All proceeds from the festival, which is also being sponsored by the featured brands, will be donated to The Drinks Trust, formerly known at The Benevolent.

Paskin added: “The hospitality industry is on its knees. We wanted to find a way to support the bartenders and other professionals who are personally struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This is also a way for whisky lovers to support the industry – by continuing to try new expressions, communicate with each other and buy bottles, they will be helping distillers and blenders navigate this period of uncertainty.”

Ross Carter, CEO The Drinks Trust, said: “We have been so impressed by the diversity of the fundraising initiatives set up during this difficult time by all our supporters and this one emphasises exactly what The Drinks Trust is all about; championing education and community whilst raising money for the charity. We are very grateful to OurWhisky for setting it up and hope it is a great success.”

The festival also marks the start of a new phase for OurWhisky. Launched in 2018 as a social media movement to challenge the outdated perception that whisky is a ‘man’s drink’, OurWhisky is evolving into an educational platform.

While continuing to represent the face of the modern whisky drinker, OurWhisky’s new website and social channels will also be dedicated to helping curious consumers navigate the world of whisky in an accessible, easy-to-follow and fun way, providing all the tools and knowledge they need to find whiskies they’ll love.

The new website is set to launch later this year.

The OurWhisky Virtual Whisky Festival will run at 6pm GMT on 30th April, 7th, 14th and 21st May. Due to current logistical challenges, tasting packs can only be sent to UK addresses.

The festival will be live streamed on OurWhisky’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels, as well as at ourwhisky.com.

Notes:

About OurWhisky

OurWhisky was launched in March 2018 as a global campaign to highlight the diversity of the whisky industry, its inclusiveness and the variety of its drinkers through a photographical social media series. Co-founded by leading whisky writer Becky Paskin and global whisky ambassador Georgie Bell, OurWhisky aims to inspire people all over the globe to explore whisky further. In 2020, OurWhisky will evolve to become an educational platform designed to help all curious drinkers navigate the world of whisky in an accessible, easy-to-follow and fun way, providing all the tools and knowledge they need to find whiskies they’ll love.

About Becky Paskin

Becky Paskin is a well-known whisky writer and former editor of online magazine Scotchwhisky.com. She was named 2020 Icons of Whisky Communicator of the Year, and was the first journalist to gain a General Certificate in Distillation with the Institute of Brewing and Distilling – a qualification usually reserved for distillery operators. Becky has been writing about drinks for over 10 years, is a member of exclusive society Keepers of the Quaich, and is an expert in all manner of spirits. She regularly presents educational whisky seminars at global drinks shows including Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans and The Whisky Show in London.

About The Drinks Trust

Since 1886, The Drinks Trust (formerly The Benevolent) has provided care and support to the people who form the UK drinks industry workforce, both past and present. The Drinks Trust is managed by drinks industry professionals, funded by drinks industry partners and supported by thousands of drinks industry fundraisers, volunteers and contributors. The Trust provides individuals with services across vocational, well-being, financial and practical support. These services are intended to assist with and improve the circumstances of those who receive them, to help its community thrive, to upskill, to broaden their knowledge, to network and learn from one another.

Since the beginning of March, demand for the Trust’s services has increased significantly and many individuals are now in desperate need. In response, the Trust has launched the Covid-19 Emergency Fund. Find out more at drinkstrust.org.uk/coronavirus.

‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful*’

William Morris (1834 – 1896)
*especially your drinks cabinet

We’re delighted to announce the launch of our limited edition Hearts & Crafts Sauternes Cask Single Malt Whisky, which is now available to purchase on our website. As one of our Cotswolds Distillery Club members, we are offering you the chance to buy a bottle before it is made available to the general public.

Our Sauternes Cask Single Malt Whisky is the first whisky in our new Hearts & Crafts series. This yearly limited edition series celebrates the Arts & Crafts movement which flourished here in the Cotswolds and stood for the importance of traditional craftsmanship – the same values upon which our beautiful rural distillery was built.

For this release, we selected a small parcel of premium French Oak casks seasoned with sweet Sauternes wine, resulting in a honey-coloured malt with a vinous quality and notes of peach, sweet raisin and oak wood spice. 

700ml | 55.2% ABV | £74.95 

Free UK delivery on orders over £25 using discount code FREEDELIVERY.

SHOP NOW

THREE GREAT BOURBONS THREE GREAT PRICES

All reviewed by our own fantastic Katie Groves

Eagle Rare: is one of those bourbons that stays with you for life – it has a huge personality and charm that stays with you from the first sip. Aged for a minimum of 10 years and selected with top attention to cask quality, this is an unbelievably smooth sip with rich notes of toffee, leather, tobacco, orange peels and the complex herbal style home to the Buffalo Trace distillery.

Order for £35

American Eagle: is a stand-out Tennessee Bourbon distilled from a mash bill of corn, rye and malted barley and aged for 12 long years. It has a beautiful balance of fresh, zesty fruits on the nose and a creamy, smooth palate packed full of vanilla and dried fruits. An easy, highly satisfying bourbon ideal for long summer evenings.

Order for £50

Stagg Junior

A mention of Stagg Junior to any bourbon aficionado brings a sparkle to their eye and a wry smile, as this is an unforgettable beast of a whisky. Bottled at a borderline scary 63.2% and aged for 10 years in charred American oak casks, this bourbon has serious attitude – think spicy cloves, brown sugar, dark chocolate and roasted smoky chestnuts. An amazing whiskey named after the famous distiller George T. Stagg.

Order for £75

Founded in 1823 during the age of great achievement, Mortlach was the first legal distillery in Dufftown, located in the heart of Speyside. Mortlach has a unique distillation process, distilling the spirit 2.81 times. The resulting whisky, nicknamed “The Beast of Dufftown”, is renowned for its rich, robust, muscular character. In a region known for smooth and gentle whiskies, Mortlach really stands out from the crowd. This heavily sherried, decadently full bodied single malt is one of the hidden gems of Speyside.

BROWSE OUR FULL MORTLACH RANGE HERE

In this weeks show I’ll be taking a look at Glenfarclas. Is it just a one dimensional sherry monster? Have a look and find out my conclusion.

https://youtu.be/L0cElDySYM0