Welcome to this weeks episode of the show. Today it’s time for some American stuff, including my go to Bourbon for beginners!
23 March 2020: Diageo, maker of Johnnie Walker has today pledged to enable the creation of more than eight million bottles of hand sanitiser, by donating up to two million litres of alcohol to manufacturing partners, to help protect frontline healthcare workers in the fight against COVID-19.
The world’s leading distiller will provide Grain Neutral Spirit (GNS) – a 96% strength ethyl alcohol used primarily in production of vodka and gin – and make it available at no cost to hand sanitiser producers in multiple countries, to help overcome shortages in healthcare systems. This donation will enable the production of more than eight million 250ml bottles of hand sanitiser.
Diageo continues to engage with national and local governments across the many countries where the company has major distilling operations. The spirit will be made available in supply chains according to local circumstances, working with the relevant authorities and hand sanitiser manufacturers. This will ensure the donation is used for maximum impact in protecting health workers and patients and that sanitiser reaches the frontline as quickly as possible.
The plan includes:
“Healthcare workers are at the forefront of fighting this pandemic and we are determined to do what we can to help protect them,” said Ivan Menezes, Chief Executive of Diageo. “This is the quickest and most effective way for us to meet the surging demand for hand sanitiser around the world.”
About Diageo
Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits, beer and wine categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Buchanan’s and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Diageo is a global company, and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO). For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.
Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.
ImpEx Beverages Will Bring The GlenAllachie To Whisky Fans Across the U.S.A.!
The award-winning Speyside whisky company is teaming up with ImpEx Beverages to distribute its whiskies across the United States.
The appointment by GlenAllachie Distillery for ImpEx Beverages to be its new Exclusive U.S. Importer starts on May 1st.
Through the new commercial relationship, The GlenAllachie Distillers Company core range of Single Malts and MacNair’s Lum Reek Blended Malt will be distributed into around 20 additional states, including key markets such as Texas and Colorado.
“We’re very excited bout this partnership with ImpEx who have many years of experience building brands and I’m looking forward to working with their team growing The GlenAllachie across the USA”
~ David Keir, Sales and Marketing Director at GlenAllachie
The news follows a sustained period of growth and success since Master Blender Entrepreneur Billy Walker and his team acquired The GlenAllachie Distillery in 2017 and formed The GlenAllachie Distillers Co.
In March, Walker won the prestigious Icons of Whisky Global Master Blender / Distiller of the Year award at the Whisky Magazine Awards. At the same awards, the MacNair’s Lum Reek 21-year-old won World Whiskies Awards World’s Best Blended Malt. The GlenAllachie 10-year-old Cask Strength Batch 3 also won Best Scotch Speyside Single Malt.
Prior to this, in September 2019 The GlenAllachie was voted Scottish Distillery of the Year at the inaugural Scottish Whisky Awards.
“We have been following The GlenAllachie for a long time and are thrilled to now be a part of its future success in the US Market. The quality whiskies that Billy Walker and his team produce are a fantastic addition to our premium whisky portfolio.” ~ Sam Filmus, President of ImpEx Beverages
Recently, The GlenAllachie collected a remarkable hat-trick of Double Gold medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The prestigious Double Gold Medals were awarded to the 12, 15, and 25-year-old Single Malts. MacNair’s Lum Reek Blended Malt Scotch 12-year-old won a Gold Medal.
The GlenAllachie has a number of new products in the development pipeline, including a new batch of Wood Finishes, with the U.S. releases expected to be in early 2021.
For more information or details of your nearest USA retailers, please contact ImpEx Beverages at (650) 872-1113 or office@impexbev.com. Images and Product Information for both brands can be found at the ImpEx Media Resources page.
As we enter another week of lockdown, we’re starting to get into the swing of connecting together online as we all stay at home. To help all our members stay in touch with the Society, and each other, we’ve got another busy week coming up in our virtual Members’ Room. Check out what’s coming up.
BRINGING THE FESTIVAL TO YOU!
Normally in May we’d be out and about, meeting members from all over the world at the whisky festivals of Speyside, the Highlands, Campbeltown and Islay. Since we can’t be there in person, we’re bringing the festival to you. We have celebratory bottlings, virtual pub sessions, music, quizzes and special tastings – take a look at the full programme and see how you can get involved.
OUR FIRST VIRTUAL TASTINGS STAT THIS WEEK
If you bought one of our Virtual Tasting Discovery Packs last month, the wait is almost over – the live tastings start this week! We’ll be hosting screenings with local ambassadors across the UK and Europe, so you can join the one nearest to you. Remember to check the start time and platform for your chosen tasting, then get your glasses and Discovery Pack ready to join in. You can even download and print our exclusive tasting mat, and join in the conversation using #alltogethersmws
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
We had a great time celebrating the Spirt of Speyside Festival on Friday with the launch of our first virtual pub session. Streamed on our UK Facebook and YouTube page, members got together at the ‘bar’ to share a dram and chat with whisky writer Hans Offringa and Glen Moray ambassador Iain Allan, talk whisky and wildlife with expert Nick Baker, and enjoy music and a good old pub quiz.
If you missed out, don’t worry – you can join us this Friday, 8 May to raise a toast to the Highland Whisky Festival – featuring whisky legend Richard Paterson from Whyte & Mackay, and the Whisky Bard himself, Robin Laing. The festivities kick off at 8pm.
THE FESTIVAL FINALE REGIONAL SAFARI
We’re already looking ahead to our next virtual tasting, where we’ll be enjoying a flavour safari round Scotland’s whisky regions. If you were lucky enough to get your hands on a Festival Discovery Pack, with five 25ml drams from this year’s festival bottlings then join us online for an evening of untamed entertainment on 29 May
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
Nikka is one of the most iconic and highly awarded Japanese Whiskies. It was set up in 1934 by Masataka Taketsuru, the “Founding Father of Japanese Whisky” – who travelled to Scotland in 1918 to discover the secrets of whisky making. He married a Scottish lady called Rita and then returned to Japan to build the first Japanese whisky distilleries.
Today Nikka combines traditional Scottish whisky-making techniques with Japanese precision, using the art of blending to create a range of extra smooth, approachable and refined whiskies. The innovative range of Nikka products offers something for all whisky tastes.
BROWSE OUR FULL NIKKA RANGE HERE
SCOTCH BOTTLING PLANT AND FLEET VEHICLES REPURPOSED TO FACILITATE PACKAGING AND CONTACT-FREE DELIVERY BY CHIVAS BROTHERS EMPLOYEES.
24 April 2020: Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky business of Pernod Ricard, has distributed thousands of litres of hand sanitiser to frontline healthcare workers, social care providers and charities across Scotland.
In just one week, over 7,500 litres of hand sanitiser – produced at the Plymouth Gin distillery and by Chivas Brothers’ manufacturing partners, and packaged by the team at its site at Kilmalid, Dumbarton – have been donated to 166 organisations across the Central Belt of Scotland to help in the fight against COVID-19.
Contact-free deliveries have been made across West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Ayrshire by Kilmalid employees using Chivas fleet vehicles, with more scheduled next week and beyond. The company is also looking to expand its efforts by replicating this distribution model across its Scotch heartland of Speyside, with employees at its Miltonduff site commencing hand sanitiser deliveries to charities and organisations supporting the vulnerable from as early as next week.
Liam Donegan, Manufacturing Director at Chivas Brothers commented:
“It has never been more important to come together as a community, especially to help the most vulnerable and at-risk amongst us. I’m proud to see our teams working so hard to package and distribute essential hand sanitiser to those who need it most. We will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure we can keep providing for our communities during this difficult time.”
5,000 litres a week
Chivas Brothers has committed to package and distribute up to 5,000 litres of hand sanitiser every week until at least the end of June. The hand sanitiser will be produced at the Plymouth Gin distillery in England before being transported to Kilmalid, Dumbarton where it will be packaged and distributed to frontline healthcare workers and charities in communities across Scotland.
Chivas Brothers is also supporting the national effort more widely, having donated 100,000 litres of pure alcohol earlier this month to manufacturing partners to create over 120,000 litres of hand sanitiser for frontline NHS staff battling the pandemic across the UK.
Supporting local charities
Chivas Brothers is initially prioritising social care providers and charities in close proximity to its sites, as well as asking employees to nominate organisations close to their hearts to receive a donation of sanitiser. This includes the Lomond and Clyde Care & Repair charity which supports over 4,000 elderly, vulnerable, isolated and disabled members of the West Dunbartonshire community to remain independent and living in their own homes.
Elizabeth Eadie, Care & Repair Manager, commented:
“We were delighted to receive a gift of 10 litres of hand sanitising gel from Chivas Brothers. This will assist our Small Repairs Workers to maintain their own safety and also the safety of our clients. Care & Repair are working throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, assisting our clients with emergency works. Hand sanitising gel was hard to procure, so to receive this large amount has been fantastic.”
Supporting the Moray Emergency Relief Fund
Chivas Brothers has also pledged its support to the Speyside community in Scotland – home to the distilleries behind some of its best-loved Scotch whiskies, including The Glenlivet, Aberlour, Chivas Regal and Royal Salute – by donating £25,000 to the Moray Emergency Relief Fund and supporting efforts to drive awareness of assistance available to those in need. The Fund, which welcomes applications from individuals who are unable to secure Moray Council, Scottish or UK Government funding, is designed for those members of the local community facing financial hardship due to Coronavirus, providing vital support to those most vulnerable as a result of the pandemic.
Gordon Buist, Production Director at Chivas Brothers, commented:
“Speyside is home not only to many of our distilleries and brand homes, but also to many of our team and partners. We want to give a little something back to the community that has given us so much over the years.”
Coffee for NHS Nightingale London staff
In England, Chivas is providing support to frontline NHS staff in London by backing a crowdfunder by Change Please, the social enterprise that won the 2018 Chivas Venture competition. Change Please provides barista training and jobs for people experiencing homelessness, and Chivas’ donation will help them provide free coffees and hot drinks for the 2,000 NHS staff working at NHS Nightingale London.
This month we’re celebrating the wild diversity of both our whisky and our wonderful members. Partnering with leading UK naturalist and SMWS member Nick Baker, we’ve matched each of our flavour profiles to different forms of wildlife. Delve into your personality and taste preferences, and take our Find Your Spirit Animal quiz online at smws.com/hub. Share your discoveries with us on social media using the hashtag #spiritanimal.
Please note that we’re spreading the whisky love throughout May by staggering the Outturn; there are four releases now, and three more will follow in a couple of weeks – on Friday, May 15th – to coincide with World Whisky Day on May 16th!
SWEET AND JUICY – DRY FINISH
CASK: Refill hogshead
AGE: 11 years
FLAVOUR PROFILE: Sweet, fruity & mellow
SPIRIT ANIMAL: Elegant Trogon
CHARACTER TRAIT: Laid-back, soft and well-rounded, takes time to reveal its unique beauty
SWEETNESS AND SPICE – LACED WITH MYSTERY
CASK: 2nd fill puncheon
AGE: 18 years
FLAVOUR PROFILE: Deep, rich & dried fruits
SPIRIT ANIMAL: Binturong
CHARACTER TRAIT: Enigmatic with wisdom and depth, surprisingly dexterous and agile
EMANATING PETRICHOR
CASK: Refill hogshead
AGE: 13 years
FLAVOUR PROFILE: Lightly peated
SPIRIT ANIMAL: Fire Salamander
CHARACTER TRAIT: Soft and smooth with gentle beauty and fire in the belly
OLD FASHIONED
CASK: 1st fill barrels and hogsheads
AGE: 11 years
FLAVOUR PROFILE: Blended malt
SPIRIT ANIMAL: A wildcard! You tell us!
CHARACTER TRAIT: Give the Society’s latest blended malt a try and describe its traits to us in your own words on social media
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada
Suite 160
104 – 1240 Kensington Road NW
Calgary, AB T2N 3P7
403-969-8225
curious@smws.ca
www.smws.ca
One of only 102 bottles. Distilled at one of Scotland’s newest distilleries, and one of the very first independent releases of this spirit. Built on the land of the former Imperial Distillery, here are our tasting notes:
We’re definitely getting pear drops, and heather honey, but also apples and other fruits, the finish is still a candy shop flavour, with pepper, candied peel and fresh oak.
Be quick, limited stock.
Nab a bottle of Old Pulteney 17 Year Old for just £89.95. Now discontinued, this delicious expression won’t be around for long! Known as the ‘maritime malt’, Old Pulteney creates a delicious single malt influenced by the distillery’s coastal location and unique wash stills. This 17-year-old expression has been matured in second-fill ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. Enjoy sweet notes of of butterscotch, honey and chocolate, alongside signature Old Pulteney sea salt.
Old Pulteney 17 Year Old
£89.95
Limited to one bottle per customer and available at this price only while stocks last.
