Tullibardine takes whisky fans on flavour journey with new Tasting Collection

Tullibardine is set to take fans on a ‘stunning flavour journey’ with the launch of its very first Tasting Collection Set.

The pack of four miniature bottles offers the perfect way for whisky lovers to discover Tullibardine’s award-winning Signature range.

The set features 4 x 50ml bottles of the distiller’s Sovereign, Sauternes Cask Finish, Burgundy Cask Finish and Sherry Cask Finish Single Malt Scotch Whiskies, packaged in a stylish grey and gold case.

Starting with Tullibardine’s Sovereign, matured in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks, drinkers will be treated to sweet barley notes and subtle hints of vanilla, finished with fudge, pear drops and soft spice. The 225 Sauternes Cask Finish then provides a hint of citrusy lime on the nose, with a touch of tropical pineapple and zingy orange zest on the palate, finished with a creamy edge.

The 228 Burgundy Cask Finish features red cherries and vanilla with hints of chocolate and Turkish Delight on the nose, while on the palate, there’s a hint of red summer fruit, more chocolate and a sweet spice note on the finish. Drinkers can complete their flavour journey with the Tullibardine 500 Sherry Cask Finish, which offers intense toffee apple notes on the nose with a hint of oatmeal. These then combine beautifully with a spicy feel and sweet dates on the finish.

Keith Geddes, Master Distiller at Tullibardine Distillery, said: “We’re proud to launch our new Tasting Collection Set to the world.

“It provides a great way to discover the Tullibardine Signature range and will take whisky fans on a stunning flavour journey.

“The single malt miniatures in the set are all packed full of beautiful flavour combinations, handpicked to complement each other perfectly. It’s the ideal gift for whisky lovers, or those who are new to whisky but don’t want to commit to buying a full bottle.”

Tullibardine is a family-owned, independent distillery and handcrafts its Highland Single Malt Scotch whisky.

The distillery uses the finest first fill casks to impart maximum flavour and colour and with the addition of its bottling plant, it is now one of the few distilleries in Scotland to distill, mature and bottle all on site.

TyndrumWhisky.com

Scallywag

Munro Bagging Edition

Scallywag is on his travels, and this time, Scallywag is Bagging some Munro hills in Scotland. Really pertinent to here, we have many of them within walking distance of Tyndrum. As usual with Scallywag, you’ll find the nose opening with a big blast of sherry, coffee and an inviting sweetness. 1 of only 600 bottles. Strictly limited to just 600 Bottles worldwide. Proudly without colouring or chill-filtration. Carrying a big Sherry influence.

About Munro Bagging:

Scotland’s Munros are a collection of almost 300 mountains, each over 3,000 ft tall. Some adventure-seekers (both from Scotland and further afield) relish the challenge to ‘bag’ all 280 Munros in their lifetime, whilst others enjoy a casual approach to Munro Bagging – conquering one or two a year. Regardless, there’s no greater feeling than a rewarding dram of Scallywag after an arduous climb!

Tasting notes:
The nose opens with a big Sherry blast, a hint of coffee and an inviting sweetness. On the palate, anticipate warming spices followed by rich chocolate cake and juicy dates, running to a satisfyingly long finish, replicating all that went before.

From Douglas Laing.

Order Now Limited Stock >

Hello from A. D. Rattray

Over the past few months we have been continuing to create our delicious whiskies. We have been selecting and bottling single casks for our Cask Collection and have new editions from our Casks of Scotland range arriving soon. This means we have lots to tell you about and lots for you to look forward to over the coming months.

Firstly, we are very pleased to announce that our online shop is back open.

You can order from us for home delivery or collection from a safe contactless collection point within the entrance area of our Whisky Shop. We would like to thank you for your patience and support by offering you FREE delivery until the end of August so you can continue to enjoy our whiskies in your own home.

FREE UK DELIVERY

Free standard UK delivery available on all orders until end of August.

SHOP NOW

Free whisky sample and tissue wrapping with every order…Please note that at present our Whisky Shop is NOT open to visitors and we are not able to offer our Tasting Experiences for the foreseeable future. This remains under review so if this changes we will make another announcement.

Arran Cask Finishes

Sauternes, Port and Amarone casks finishes from Arran whisky. Now packaged in the fantastic new branding. All bottled at 50% ABV. Natural Colour. Non Chill-filtered.

Arran Sauternes Cask

Double matured with a finish in iconic Bordeaux wines casks. A very fruity ans zingy expression.

Arran Port Cask

Finishes in Portuguese Port casks bringing a lovely spiciness with chocolate, cherries and citrus

Arran Amarone Cask

Italian Amarone red wine casks used to finish. Dark chocolate, cherries, honey and Turkish Delight!

Arran Sherry Cask 

Bottles at 52.8% natural cask strength after maturing in sherry hogsheads.

BUY NOW – ARRAN WHISKY

Arran Distillery was commissioned by the Isle of Arran Distillers in 1995 and lies amid stunning scenery just to the south of Lochranza on the northern tip of the Isle of Arran. This distillery has four stills, dunnage warehouses, a visitor centre offering distillery tours and a distillery café. Arran distills both un-peated and peated malt spirit and matures its whisky in sherry, bourbon, port and wine casks in order to produce an ever-evolving and expanding range of whiskies including Arran single malts such as Arran Machrie Moor and The Illicit Stills, and Arran blended scotch.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 330: Caol Ila 16 Year Old Fèis Ile 2020

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky vlogger, got hold of the Caol Ila for Feis Ile 2020. No Feis Ile this year because of Corona, but luckily we do get a Feis Ile release. This Caol Ila, limited to 3.000 bottles, was sold out in less than three hours. The malt first matured on refill bourbon hogsheads and then got a finish on Amoroso treated hogsheads (BTW: this is the type of cask that Diageo uses for the Distillers Edition of Talisker). Let’s hope – although Mark is fairly confident – that it’s tasty.

https://youtu.be/ZtBK0mnyheI

VIRTUAL GREAT BUFFALO CHASE 5K

HOSTED RECORD NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS

More than $21,000 raised for local VFW, $15,000 donated to local food pantry 

        FRANKFORT, Franklin County, Ky (July 28, 2020) – Runners from all 50 states and seven countries participated in Buffalo Trace Distillery’s 19^th annual Great Buffalo Chase 5k which was held virtually for the first time over July 4^th weekend. This was also the first time this race, which has historically attracted top runners from across the United States and the world, received runner participation in all of the 50 states, and the most participants to ever run the race in a single year. In total, 1,124 people participated in the virtual race.

Registrations for the race raised more than $21,000 for the city of Frankfort’s VFW Post 4075’s annual fireworks show which has been rescheduled for this fall.

The race kicked off the morning of July 3 with the singing of the National Anthem, performed by Christina Kaloyanides, a soprano opera singer from Chicago. Then, runners and walkers participated in this year’s virtual race in their hometowns and local neighborhoods wherever they were located during the period of July 3-5 instead of running at the Distillery as in the past. Participants were mailed a commemorative T-shirt and race bib and had the option to record and submit their personal race time.

Due to the nature of this being a virtual race, and in the spirit of fairness, prizes were not awarded to top runners this year. On behalf of all participants, and in commitment to supporting others, Buffalo Trace Distillery is donating $15,000, which would have been prize money for top runners, to God’s Pantry Food Bank to support the local Franklin County community.

All registrants were entered into a raffle for the chance to receive a hand-made American Flag made from bourbon barrel staves, to be donated to the charity of their choice for fundraising. The recipient of this raffle was Chris German who donated the hand-made barrel-stave flag to the SJ5K Foundation, which supports local, Plymouth-Canton, Michigan families facing crisis situations. This nonprofit, which was started by members of German’s family, will use the barrel-stave flag to raise funds for the foundation.

Participants also were encouraged to take part in the virtual patriotic attire costume contest on the Buffalo Trace Distillery Facebook Page and by using #ChaseTheBuffalo for the chance to win a prize from the Gift Shop.

A full listing of submitted race times can be found on the Buffalo Trace Distillery website, here.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich tradition dates back to 1775 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee.  Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site and is a National Historic Landmark as well as is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Distillery has won 35 distillery titles since 2000 from such notable publications as Whisky Magazine, Whisky Advocate Magazine and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Its Col. E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon was named World Whiskey of the Year by “Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible 2018” and its William Larue Weller and Thomas H. Handy Sazerac were named 2^nd and 3^rd finest whiskeys in the world, respectively, in the “Jim Murray Whiskey Bible 2020.”  Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 1,000 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com

EAT OUT to HELP OUT 

Both Whiski Rooms on the Mound and Whiski Bar and Restaurant on the Royal Mile are excited to be taking part in the government’s EAT OUT to HELP OUT initiative during August. There is nothing not like about it – dine with us during August on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and get 50% off all food and non-alcoholic drinks up to a maximum of £10pp. There is no vouchers to collect or any restrictions on how many times you can dine with us – simple really.

Whiski Rooms

Fresh Scottish food, amazing whisky list, great cocktails and the best views over Edinburgh to princes Street guaranteed.

Reserve a Table at Whiski Rooms

Whiski Bar & Restaurant

Great Scottish produce, award winning whiskies, quirky ambience guaranteed and the Royal Mile on your doorstep.

Reserve a Table at Whiski Bar

Keeping you Safe

We are committed to operating with the highest standards of safety to protect the health and wellbeing of guests and our team.  We look forward to serving you soon.

• • STAFF HEALTH – we will perform daily health screenings of our team members
  • SOCIAL DISTANCING – tables will be spaced apart to maintain a safe environment
  • PPE – face masks, gloves and visors will be available for team members
  • HAND CLEANLINESS – all staff will use hand sanitiser alongside frequent hand washing
  • ENHANCED CLEANING – we will adhere to strict cleaning regimes and disinfect high touch areas
  • HAND SANITISER – available for all customers around the venue

WHISKY TASTINGS

Join us for a whisky tasting in Whiski Rooms  – due to the size of our venue, numbers are greatly reduced but that doesn’t stop us having fun and trying some great scotch whiskies in a fun environment – no experience necessary !

See our Whisky Tastings

2008 Highland Park 10 Year Old “K&L Exclusive” Cask #7774 Refill Sherry Hogshead Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) ($139.99)

Another gorgeous cask of Highland Park that was bottled exclusively for K&L Wine Merchants. This one is equally special to the European oak hogshead that we also received this year, but completely different in character. The excellent malt coming out of Kirkwall is renowned worldwide for its quality, but many don’t realize that Highland Park is one of a handful of Scottish distillers that continue to utilize the wildly inefficient floor maltings. The tradeoff for losing capacity to floor maltings is a malt of great character and complexity. In addition, the extremely unique Orkney peat is used to dry that barley, which one of the main reasons for Highland Park’s distinctive flavor profile. Between 20% to 30% of the hand-malted barley goes into every batch of Highland Park, resulting in a lightly peated whisky that, when coupled with the high quantity of active sherry casks, means the whisky isn’t perceived as particularly peaty to most palates. And while Highland Park does produce small amounts of whisky that are 100% hand malted, mostly as blending components for special releases, it’s rare to find a single cask that exhibits the qualities of that special Orkney peat more clearly, despite it being blended with at least 70% of unmalted barley. This refill hogshead almost certainly held malt in it for a very long time before being refilled in 2008. Very dark for a refill, and the resulting spirit is the closest we’ve come to the “old” style Highland Park that we love so well.

Andrew Whiteley | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: July 14, 2020

This is the sexiest example of Highland Park we’ve ever seen. Power and grace abound. While the word’s “First Fill Sherry” adorning the title of our other HP cask gets a lot of blood pumping – it’s the elegance of this refill cask that stands out. It’s certainly not lacking in power – it’s a beastly dram at 61.6% ABV – but it’s supple and balanced beyond belief. The rich mahogany meets burnt amber color looks like it should be a first fill sherry cask, but “refill hogshead” is printed right on the label. The nose is a cornucopia of orange peel, cocoa nibs, fresh cut heather, crisp apple slices, fig marmalade, and a hint of smoky bacon. The palate has what you get when elegance and balance meet power: tension. It’s alive and kicking ass, but holding it on your mouth is a serene experience. The finish last for minutes. At first the smoke fills your senses and that gives way to much more floral and candied notes. After a good long while it resolves into the finest of dark chocolate and fresh citrus zest with a touch of coffee. A beautiful performance that you can repeat every night. At least until it’s gone. The cask yielded just 299 bottles.

David Othenin-Girard | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: July 09, 2020

It’s extremely infrequent that we find a cask at this age that shows so much complexity. While the 12 year old cask that we also bottled this year had density and power unlike any we’ve seen previously, this cask has a depth and nuance that isn’t at all available in the 12 year. This cask is much more in line with the way I remember Highland Park once was, rather than the more bold and forward offerings we regularly see today. With that in mind, this is by no means a subtle whisky. It’s got character to burn and it’s DEFINITELY on the smokey side of HP. Let’s taste! Color: Tawny. Nose: The nose isn’t at all peaty per say, but it’s definitely smoke-y. A perfect example of the distinction of those two flavors. Leather, mesquite, bacon, hints of diesel engine, old cigar box and roasted cloves. Behind a touch of black fruit and pepper. Palate: Here is that AWESOME Orkney peat! Right up front and travelling straight through the palate. It’s not the iodine peat but the flaming heather and earthy peat, framed perfectly with nutty sherry, dark fruit and woodsy spice. With water the nose transforms and offers a big burnt orange peel and candied citrus. Subtle mossy notes allude to the smoke coming on the palate. Now we’re talking! It’s very sweet and smokey now. Softening on the spice and bringing more dried fruits. This one is awesome right out of the bottle, but comes together perfectly with a splash of water. WOW, I’m so in love with this style.

Welcome to this weeks episode of the show in which I’ll be taking a look at some new releases from Morrison & MacKay in their Celebration of the Cask and Strictly Limited ranges.

https://youtu.be/ZCvGMyWJ9VQ