Highball Part One: HOW TO MAKE AT  HOME.

In the 1950s, Shinjiro Torii, the founder of Suntory, helped cement highballs as an authentic way to enjoy whisky cocktails in Japan. The Japanese praised this simple, stylish cocktail as a refreshing way to drink whisky. Since then, Suntory has played an important role in reestablishing the highball as a popular cocktail for a new generation of whisky drinkers and today, if we were able to move out and about, you could walk into 100+ bars across the country that feature the Suntory Toki Highball Machine. Whether from the machine or made by hand, the recipe is simple:

• Fill a tall glass to the brim with ice cubes and add 1 PART SUNTORY TOKI WHISKY
• Stir to cool the glass and the whisky
• Add 3 PARTS CHILLED SUPER-PREMIUM SODA WATER down the side of the glass to not burst the bubbles
• Add citrus garnish and enjoy

To note – a ‘highball’ is defined as a spirit + carbonated beverage, so think of whisky & soda.

Highball Part Two: HOW TO CELEBRATE AT HOME. #SuntoryTimeAtHome

The House of Suntory is promoting a special moment of the day to ‘take a moment, take a sip, relax and enjoy.’ On Thursdays and Fridays, starting at 5pm ET, we’re asking you (and everyone!) to post a picture or video on your Instagram Story featuring a Toki Whisky or Haku Vodka Highball with #SuntoryTimeAtHome. Your post which will then be shared on the Suntory Instagram channel later that night. Our venerable Japanese colleagues have also participated – check out Shinji Fukuyo’s first toast HERE for Toki and Kazuyuki Torii’s first toast HERE for Haku.

Every Thursday starting at 5pm ET = #SuntoryTimeAtHome TOKI Highball Happy Hour

• Pour yourself a Toki Highball or neat
• Take a picture or video of you toasting to virtual happy hours and staying home
• Post to your IG Story and tag @SuntoryWhisky AND use #SuntoryTimeAtHome
• The brand IG channel will repost your image/video to help encourage and spark others to do the same

Hopefully we can get a swell of posts and encourage our fans to join in. Consider it a little morale boosting and fun way to (distantly) connect all across the globe!

Highball Part Three: HOW TO GET AT HOME.

Many acclaimed bars and restaurants across the country have shifted gears and are now offering Toki and Haku Highball Kits for takeout and/or delivery. Please inquire if you’re interested in learning more about these establishments and their offerings. The cities we currently have account lists and ‘how to buy’ info for include: New York City, Seattle and San Francisco.

KINDNESS. COMMUNITY. CREATIVITY.

We launched our fundraising initiative to support the hospitality industry just over a month ago and have been overwhelmed by the response we have received so far. Thank you to all who have donated or purchased an item. Please know that all your contributions will help to make a difference to those in need.

Our first orders have been dispatched and we would love to see photos of the items in action, so reach out to us at hello@compassboxwhisky.com or message us on our social channels.

We have also launched a dedicated European fundraising page at compass-box.teemill.com to make it even simpler to buy our limited edition Compass Box tops and totes in that region.

Our page at bonfire.com/store/compass-box is still live and welcoming support from our friends and fans within the US and the rest of the world, so please do continue to get involved.

We’re all in this together, and we’ll get through this together.

So be kind. Have hope. Look after each other.

And please support creatively.

Thank you.

John & the Compass Box team

SHARE A DRAM FOR WORLD WHISKY DAY

Saturday 16th marks World Whisky Day, and we’re inviting you to celebrate with us for a bit of an online get together. Social Media Mads will be hosting the festivities, featuring a fantastic line up of guest presenters, cocktail demonstrations and live DJ sets with DJ and Ambassador Knud Scheibelt. The party starts at 8pm over on our UK Facebook page and the SMWS Silverscreen YouTube channel. We look forward to seeing you there – and remember to bring a dram!

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

Relaxed Whisky Shop Dufftown Virtual Whisky Quiz by Maltstock

We really hope you and all your loved ones are staying healthy and relaxed.

One of the relaxed things to happen very soon is The Whisky Shop Dufftown Whisky quiz, hosted by Maltstock! It would be really great if many of you can join us for a bit of relaxed fun. It will be a quiz in the style of the quiz at Maltstock last year. Not über-geeky, more black cab geeky 😉

You can join either as individual of you can get a team together and play as a team. The quiz has five rounds. And there will be a winner and a prize after each round. And a very nice prize for the overall winner.  Check the Facebook page of The Whisky Shop Dufftown to see some of the amazing prizes.

And for a bit of extra fun, there also will be a league of professionals. They will be playing for eternal fame and honour. It will be fun to see if you can better than the professionals.
More info and signing up here: https://www.whiskyshopdufftown.com/the-whisky-shop-dufftown-relaxed-whisky-quiz/

Relaxed tip: If you like to join as team you can create a meeting at https://meet.jit.si That way you can easily chat and confer with each other and one person sends in the answering form.

Hope to see you all online Sunday 17 May!

Stay healthy stay relaxed

Annette, Bob, Klaas, Stan, Teun

When?

Sunday May 17th, 4pm CET/ 3pm BST through the Facebook page of The Whisky Shop Dufftown. 

ADD TO BASKET

Usually only available from the distillery, we’re delighted to have stock of the latest Glengoyne Teapot Dram. A hark back to the whisky which flowed from the copper teapot in the distillery canteen, this un-chillfiltered tribute dram was matured in first fill Oloroso Sherry casks. The whisky boasts swathes of sweet red apples, subtle Demerara sugar and tangy Seville marmalade.

Inspired by the days of tea breaks with a difference, when the workers at Glengoyne would receive a thrice-daily whisky ration, the cask strength Teapot Dram Batch No. 007 has been lovingly recreated by men with a hazy recollection of those times. And because the daily dram would never be taken from an old cask, this is a deliberately young, bold whisky.

CHECK OUR FULL RANGE OF GLENGOYNE HERE

Welcome to this weeks episode in which I’ll be looking at some new and auld releases from the independent bottling company Duncan Taylor.

https://youtu.be/TI5Y8snWp6M

Glenallachie Distillery.

IMPEX BEVERAGES WILL BRING THE GLENALLACHIE TO MORE WHISKY FANS ACROSS THE USA

The award-winning Speyside whisky company is teaming up with ImpEx Beverages to distribute its whiskies across the United States

The multi award-winning GlenAllachie Distillery is extending its reach across the USA with the news that it has appointed ImpEx Beverages as its new exclusive importer.

The appointment, which begins on May 1st, will see California-based ImpEx Beverages as the new exclusive US Importer for the brands and The GlenAllachie becoming available in more states in the US.

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. ImpEx has been importing and distributing whiskies and spirits across the US since 2008.

David Keir, Sales & Marketing Director at GlenAllachie, said: “We’re very excited about 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.”

Sam Filmus, President of ImpEx Beverages, noted: “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.”

The news follows a sustained period of growth and success since Master Blender and 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.

In addition, The GlenAllachie also 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.

Prior to this, in September 2019, The GlenAllachie was voted Scottish Distillery of the Year at the inaugural Scottish Whisky Awards.

The GlenAllachie has a number of new products in the development pipeline, including a new batch of Wood Finishes, with the US release expected to be in early 2021. In May, its Visitor Centre also reaches its 1st Anniversary.

Notes 

The GlenAllachie Distillery, sitting in a 20-acre site in Speyside, was designed by William Delme-Evans – the architect behind Jura, Macduff and Tullibardine – and was built in 1968. It has four stills and, unusually, two separate spirit safes, one for each set of stills.

In 2008, a new chapter began for Sam Filmus, after years in the business captaining JVS Wines Import. With ImpEx Beverages, his vision was to import premium and rare Spirits from around the world, with special emphasis on the best of what Scotland has to offer.

Further information on the distillery and company can be found at www.theglenallachie.com

Facebook – @TheGlenAllachie

Twitter – @TheGlenAllachie

Instagram – @theglenallachie_

MacNair’s Facebook – @macnairs

ImpEx Facebook – @ImpExBev

ImpEx Twitter – @ImpExBev

ImpEx Instagram – @ ImpEx_Bev

 Exceptional Whiskies

Including the Dalmore 62 Year Old and a Collection of Samaroli

Distilled | Iconic Samaroli & Dalmore 62

Samaroli Collection

The sale features an important Italian collection of Samaroli of a magnitude that is truly rare. Silvano Samaroli’s bottles are widely regarded as the greatest whiskies ever produced and as a result they are now extremely scarce. The most valued bottles, such as the Bowmore Bouquet and Laphroaig 67, are rarely seen more than once a year at auction. Comprising 55 bottles, the collection boasts three bottles of Bowmore Bouquet 1966 (estimated at £40,000-55,000 per bottle). The ultimate trophy for whisky collectors, Bowmore Bouquet is considered by many aficionados to be the greatest whisky ever bottled: listed #1 on Whiskybase.com’s list of the Top 1000 Whiskies, it has also received a staggering 98-point score from Serge Valentin, a well-known name on the whisky scene. Other highlights include Laphroaig 1967 (est. £24,000-30,000) and Ardbeg 1976 (est. £5,000-7,000).

The Dalmore 62 Year Old

The Dalmore 62 Year Old is one of the oldest whiskies to have been released from the Dalmore Distillery, with only 12 bottles made available. The sale will present Bottles #2, “The Mackenzie” and Bottle #5, “The Cromarty”, estimated at £75,000-100,000 per bottle.

Introducing WhistlePig HomeStock Whiskey Created by WhistlePig Whiskey In Collaboration with Flaviar

Blended Together, While Apart

Limited edition WhistlePig expression crowd-blended by whiskey lovers during lock down released to raise money for U.S. Bartenders 

[May 11, 2020]: Shoreham, Vermont. WhistlePig Rye Whiskey is pleased to announce the introduction of WhistlePig HomeStock Whiskey, a whiskey blended together, while apart.  The limited edition whiskey was created via a virtual crowd blending experience in collaboration with Flaviar, a leading online spirits club. WhistlePig will donate 20% of online sales via Flaviar & Caskers from HomeStock to the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild (USBG) Foundation’s Emergency Assistance Program, which provides COVID-19 Relief Grants to bartenders. HomeStock is the first variant from WhistlePig’s award-winning portfolio that stretches outside of the Rye category, also using Wheat and Barley whiskeys.

WhistlePig HomeStock Whiskey is a result of an innovative, multi-faceted immersive crowd-blending experience designed to lift spirits and raise vital funds for the U.S. bar industry community. The collaboration between WhistlePig & Flaviar and the entrepreneurial nature of both companies ensured this concept went from idea to reality in just a matter of weeks. An engaging exclusive content program was created and hundreds of WhistlePig ‘Blend Your Own’ whiskey kits were dispatched to a combination of Flaviar’s membership of whiskey enthusiasts and industry professionals, who were asked to experiment at home before submitting their preferred recipe. The at home blending kits included samples of WhistlePig Rye, wheat and barley whiskeys, along with blending tools and instructions, were universally welcomed by whiskey lovers stuck indoors.

Pete Lynch, WhistlePig’s Master Blender, is no stranger to crowd-blending, which has formed the basis of WhistlePig’s award-winning FarmStock range, but he would usually host sessions around the country in person. Adjusting to the times, he shared his expertise via a video from the WhistlePig Farm and distillery in Vermont and written instructions. With the submissions received, Lynch analyzed the data and determined the three most popular styles of whiskey submitted.

Thousands of consumers tuned in to Flaviar’s social media pages to take part in a live blending session, hosted on April 28 by spirits industry veteran, Dan Dunn and Lynch. During the live stream, all three whiskeys were blended, tasted and then voted upon to decide which should be bottled as WhistlePig HomeStock.

Despite over half of the submissions being Rye dominant, the surprise winner, with 44.1% of the votes on the night, was Blend Number 3, which involved 45% Rye, 30% Wheat and 25% Barley.

Jeff Kozak, CEO, WhistlePig Whiskey, adds “HomeStock is a truly special blend for us, not only due to how it was made but it’s the first time we’re releasing a whiskey that features something other than Rye. We’re thrilled that this blend got voted as the winner, it could be a sign of things to come from us in the future as a natural extension of our famed FarmStock range.”

Grisa Soba, Co-Founder of Flaviar, comments: “We’re going to be talking about this period in history for a long time, and what we all did to stave off cabin fever. Instead of saying they learnt how to make sourdough or banana bread like some kind of quarantine cliché, Flaviar members will be able to brag about learning to blend whiskey during lock down and being part of a piece of liquid history that they can now own and savor. Exclusive content and experiences like this have always been a big part of Flaviar and we’ve just taken it to another level.”

On the nose, HomeStock is sweet and fruity, with pipe tobacco, vanilla and orange vest.  Upon tasting, one will experience a big hit of baking spice with toffee, with nutmeg, roasted nuts, ripe berries and a great mouthfeel. The finish on HomeStock is long, spicy and lovely.

WhistlePig HomeStock Whiskey is now available for pre-order via Flaviar and Caskers, priced at $72.99 per 750ml.  

ABOUT WHISTLEPIG RYE WHISKEY

Founded in 2008, WhistlePig Rye Whiskey is the premier aged Rye whiskey, featuring the bold and often untapped flavor of Rye. WhistlePig Whiskey is leading a surge of innovation in the emerging field of North American whiskey. As the most decorated Rye whiskey – having received the coveted ‘Best in Show Whiskey’ title from the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, WhistlePig is widely viewed as the world’s finest Rye. With the opening of its distillery on its 500-acre Vermont farm in the fall of 2015, WhistlePig has also become one of the leading farm-to-bottle Rye whiskeys in the world. For additional information please visit whistlepigwhiskey.com. Please enjoy WhistlePig Rye Whiskey Responsibly.

ABOUT FLAVIAR

Founded in 2012, Flaviar is the world’s largest premium spirits club, with operations in the US and Europe. Flaviar offers a better way to experience fine spirits. Flaviar members enjoy a full suite of benefits including quarterly tasting boxes and full-size bottles sent directly to their home, invitations to exclusive spirits events, access to rare and original spirits available only to members, free shipping, over 200K member reviews and more.

Flaviar is here to help more people try more new things more often.

Flaviar membership is $300 per year, or $95 a quarter.

For more information visit www.flaviar.com

You’ve got to try this!

Thursday, May 14th 5:30PM:

GlenDronach Single Malt Scotch 

presented by Rory Glasgow

Established in 1826, Highland distillery GlenDronach was one of the very first licensed distilleries in Scotland. The award-winning GlenDronach range marries the best of Highland and Spanish skill and heritage to offer whiskies of elegant, complex character and tremendous depth of taste. Masters of Sherry Maturation, Glendronach scotches are recognized for their deep color and rich flavor profiles, ranging from sweet fruity Pedro Ximenez sourced single malts, to the dry and nutty Olorosso expressions.

 Click Here to Reserve your  $0 Ticket

Tasting experiences are held over Zoom and allow a limited number of participants, so please do not wait until the last minute to reserve your ticket! After purchasing and shortly before the tasting, an email will be sent to you with instructions to access the tasting via Zoom.