Elijah Craig Bourbon Launches Old Fashioned Week in Partnership with PUNCH

Inaugural celebration pledges up to $100,000 to Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation

BARDSTOWN, Ky. – Elijah Craig and the Old Fashioned embody the centuries-old histories of Bourbon and classic cocktails. Today, the two pair together not only for a great cocktail, but for an even greater cause. In partnership with PUNCH, Elijah Craig Bourbon is launching the inaugural Old Fashioned Week from Oct. 16 – 25, 2020.

In 1789, Rev. Elijah Craig did not set out to become the Father of Bourbon when he first charred oak barrels, but his ingenuity proved a pivotal moment for Bourbon. Less than twenty years later, a spark ignited with what was first known as ‘the whiskey cocktail,’ paving the way for cocktail culture. The renaissance of classic cocktails over the last two decades rejuvenated desire for spirit-forward cocktails that are both balanced and complex, a setting ripe to celebrate an Elijah Craig Old Fashioned. Two classics in their own right, Elijah Craig Small Batch provides a 94-proof Bourbon canvas with a signature warm spice and subtle smoke flavor that complements the sweetness and spiciness of the Old Fashioned’s key ingredients.

“We are inspired by the lengths at which the hospitality industry is joining together to support each other,” said Max Stefka, Elijah Craig Senior Brand Manager. “For ten days we are raising a glass for the greater good by celebrating one great cocktail to lift up one great community through Elijah Craig’s Old Fashioned Week.”

The initial philanthropic goal for Old Fashioned Week will be donating up to $100,000 for the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation (RWCF), an advocacy and action nonprofit created by and for restaurant workers. Donations will go toward direct financial assistance, grants to non-profit partners, and to a zero-interest loan program for small businesses. Starting on Oct. 16, Elijah Craig will host a lineup of live activations designed to be both educational and entertaining in support of RWCF. In partnership with PUNCH, Elijah Craig will also highlight bartenders’ unique stories and signature Old Fashioned cocktails on www.punchdrink.com.

A national sweepstakes that offers a chance to win one of 500 home bar kits will also run from Sept. 1 – Nov. 15. Elijah Craig will match $1 for every online submission at OldFashionedWeek.com or match $5 for every social media submission by posting an image of a ‘virtual cheers’ using the hashtags #OldFashionedWeek or #Sweepstakes and tagging @ElijahCraig. To get involved, donate, or enter to win, consumers are encouraged to visit OldFashionedWeek.com for more information.

To enjoy the Old Fashioned in its purest form, start with the below cocktail recipe:

Ingredients

2 oz. Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon

.25 oz. Simple Syrup
3 Dashes of Bitters
Orange Swath
1 Brandied Cherry (optional)

Instructions

In a mixing glass add bitters, simple syrup, Elijah Craig Small Batch, and ice. Stir until well chilled. Strain cocktail over a large ice cube in a double old fashioned glass. Garnish with a swath of orange and an optional brandied cherry.

ABOUT ELIJAH CRAIG BOURBON: Elijah Craig Bourbon bears the name of the Reverend Elijah Craig, known as “The Father of Bourbon,” who established his distillery in 1789 on the banks of Elkhorn Creek in modern day Georgetown, Kentucky. He is credited with being the first distiller to age his wares in charred oak barrels. The clear, unaged corn liquor became transformed into a bold amber liquid with a distinctively smooth flavor that makes Bourbon what it is today. Produced by Heaven Hill Distillery, the family of whiskeys includes Elijah Craig Small Batch, Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey, Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and Elijah Craig Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

First brought to market in 1986, Heaven Hill Distillery’s Master Distillers were selecting a small number of barrels of the finest Bourbon to make Elijah Craig Small Batch long before the term “small batch” even existed. It is this attention to detail and superb craftsmanship that give Elijah Craig an ideal balance of age, robust body, and rich flavor. Elijah Craig accolades have included Whisky Advocate’s Whisky of the Year, Best Small Batch Bourbon and Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and Excellent Highly Recommended honors at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. For more information, please visit www.elijahcraig.com.

ABOUT HEAVEN HILL DISTILLERY: Founded in Kentucky by the Shapira family in 1935, Heaven Hill Distillery continues its legacy as one of the foremost American Whiskey producers. Heaven Hill has cultivated the traditions and history of America’s Native Spirit with its fierce independence, passionate family ownership, dedication to quality, and thoughtful innovation. Today, Heaven Hill Distillery maintains over 1.7 million barrels aging in 60 warehouses throughout Nelson and Jefferson Counties. It is home to an award-winning collection of American Whiskeys including Elijah Craig Bourbon, Larceny Bourbon, Evan Williams Bourbon, Pikesville Rye Whiskey, Rittenhouse Rye Whisky and Parker’s Heritage Collection. Heaven Hill Distillery currently holds the title of 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition Distillery of the Year, Best in Show Whisky, and previously held the titles of 2018 San Francisco Spirits Word Spirits Competition Best Bourbon, 2017 Whisky Advocate Whisky of the Year, 2016 Whisky Magazine Distillery of the Year, 2016 Whisky Advocate American Whiskey of the Year and 2016 Rye Whiskey of the Year from “Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.” For more information, please visit www.heavenhilldistillery.com.

RARE FINDS WORLDWIDE EXPANDS WHISKY INVESTMENT SPECIALIST TEAM WITH RECENT APPOINTMENT

HONG KONG, September – Global whisky expert and spirits writer, George Koutsakis, has been appointed as Rare Finds Worldwide’s new Investment Specialist and Marketing Director. Based in Taiwan, Koutsakis will spearhead Rare Finds Worldwide’s industry webinars, influencer partnerships and branded content.

As a half-Greek Scotsman who previously worked in Japan’s whisky industry for years, Koutsakis is involved in most sectors of the whisky and spirits industry, from social media and marketing to product development and rare whisky trading. He has hosted and launched several expressions for Highland Park in Hong Kong and written for over 20 world-renowned spirits and lifestyle publications. His in-depth features have been published in top lifestyle publications such as Forbes, Financial Times, Wine Enthusiast, Japan Times, and South China Morning Post.

Among his accomplishments in written works, George also collaborates with renowned organisations; he worked as a spirits specialist with Spink Auctions Hong Kong and hosted the opening ceremony at Whisky Live Hong Kong 2019, while also hosting a masterclass. Koutsakis shared more insights as a TEDxTalk Speaker in 2019, and was featured in “The Most Expensivest” TV Show alongside 2Chainz.

Acting as Whisky Expert for the brokerage, George will share his wealth of experience in the whisky industry to effectively cater to the business’ growing clientele, and also be involved in the fund’s expansion across Asia. With Hong Kong as its headquarters, Rare Finds Worldwide comprises a team of experienced banking and alternative investment professionals with a passion for whisky, serving a unique customer journey from sourcing and building premium collections to providing exit strategies, which includes bottling.

For a one-on-one consultation with our whisky investment specialists or to find out about our rare whisky casks and collections, please fill in this form.

About Rare Finds Worldwide

Rare Finds Worldwide is a tailored whisky brokerage that offers collectors and investors the opportunity to increase wealth with rare Single Malt Scotch Whisky. We offer our private client’s exclusive access to some of the oldest and most prestigious single malts in the world as well as taking advantage of ultra – premium cask procurement from Tier 1 distilleries such as Macallan, Dalmore and Bowmore to name a select few. Our team comprises of experienced investment banking professionals and alternative investment specialists, whose passion for whisky has evolved into a consultancy that focuses on delivering only best in class product, with authentic provenance to our family of whisky investors and collectors.

Hand-Selected Exclusives from the Inimitable Charles Medley

NOTE: Our walk-in retail locations are currently closed. We have curbside pickup and low cost (often free) delivery options available in ZIP codes where we can ship lawfully, including anywhere in California. We can also include any new or existing will call orders in your delivery batch. Choose local delivery at checkout to learn if you qualify.

If you’ve enjoyed our past offerings from Wathen’s then you must give these two new exclusive barrels a spin. Charles Medley—the man behind the Wathen’s label—is one of the most respected names in Kentucky bourbon. His long-standing relationships in the business allow him access to some of the best barrels in all of Kentucky, only he won’t tell you where they are from. It matters little who is making the juice, as what’s in the bottle is proof enough of its excellent pedigree. We’ve been asking for barrels at cask strength and, at long last, Medley has obliged. This pair is a bourbon lover’s dream come true. Done in a full, rich, and potent style, they count among the better barrel proof bottlings we’ve encountered this year. That we are offering them for only $80 per bottle is almost unheard of nowadays. Cask strength exclusives are never around for long and that certainly holds true for ones this affordably priced. We are proud to be the sole representatives of these remarkable casks.

Wathen’s Barrel Proof “Barrel #89 NorCal Barrel” K&L Exclusive Cask Strength Single Barrel Straight Kentucky Bourbon (750ml) ) ($79.99)

Prepare your taste buds for a party as we continue to celebrate our members with six new flavoursome whiskies, available online today. ‘Scent with love’, from us to you.

VIEW ALL NEW WHISKIES          VIEW ALL WHISKIES 

*Please be aware, our queue system will be in place for the sale of these bottles. Members on the bottle pages or the Latest Outturn page of the website will be randomly placed in a queue five minutes before the sale starts at 1.55pm

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

https://youtu.be/uIM6eC4Xuiw

With all of this talk of non-chill filtering and natural colour going around, I’d like to talk about Dalmore 12. Which despite being chill filtered and coloured is still a great whisky. Aged in ex-American Oak for nine years and finished in Matusalem Oloroso Sherry for the last three. Dalmore 12YO is a consistent best seller around the world and has, from experience, one of the best runs of consistency in the sherries single malt world.

Just because something is NCF and natural colour, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll like it? Does it?

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SLIABH LIAG DISTILLERS TURNS THE SOD ON THE ARDARA DISTILLERY SITE 

Tuesday, 15^th September: Members of The Ardara Town Traders’ Association gathered in the Showfield today with the founders of Sliabh Liag Distillery to turn the sod on the site of the new Ardara distillery, which will open in 2021. The turning of the sod culminates in a busy period for the Donegal distillery, which over the last two weeks has raised €1.5 million via crowdfunding to fuel the next phase of its expansion.

James Doherty, who founded the distillery with his wife Moira, said, that following the huge response to the investment raise, plans for construction are full steam ahead: “We’ve been a little overwhelmed by the response to our crowdfund with over 800 new investors becoming part of the Sliabh Liag Distillers’ family in the past two weeks. Our funding took yet another giant leap forward this week with the announcement that three of our existing shareholders have committed an additional quarter of a million euros to the business; seeing existing investors of such industry standing confidently expand their stake in our company is a fantastic endorsement of what we are aiming to achieve by reclaiming Donegal’s distilling heritage.”

Moira Doherty, co-founder, went on to say: “It feels like this day has been a long time coming and we wouldn’t have got here without the support of our architects, Gavin and Michael of Corner Stone Associates, Hugh Gavigan for the land and the enthusiastic welcome of the Ardara community. So, we say a big thank you to all our supporters near and far for helping us get to this momentous point.”

Demand for the distillery’s brands is gathering international momentum, says James: “Over the past week, we’ve taken a raft of new orders from existing customers for products across our range. Russia, Finland and Germany have submitted orders with Italy and Australia expected this week – Dark Silkie and An Dúlamán are proving particularly popular and make up 90% of the volumes ordered. Production at our Carrick Distillery has stepped up another gear and the bottling line is busier than ever.”

Stephen McCahill is Chairperson of the Ardara Town Traders’ Association and he says the community in Ardara is delighted that Sliabh Liag Distillers has begun construction of its new distillery: “This is an exciting day for the town and we look forward to supporting founders, James and Moira Doherty, as they seek to reclaim the distilling heritage of Donegal and make the Sliabh Liag peninsula to Irish whiskey what Islay is to Scotch. James tells me his grandfathers were poitín men, so it’s in his DNA, but his and Moira’s passion for sharing Donegal’s distilling heritage with the rest of the world has driven this project forward time and again! Sliabh Liag Distillers’ new state of the art facility will offer an industry-leading visitor experience to sit alongside all that Ardara town has to offer on Donegal’s Wild Atlantic Way, placing Ardara at the centre of Donegal and Ireland’s growing and vibrant whiskey tourism scene.”

Gavin Shovelin one of the architects said: “this is an iconic project for Donegal and to be able to design these buildings for my hometown is really special. We have designed the still house to be modern, practical and sympathetic to the area reflecting the vision Moira and James had and I am looking forward to the benefits that this project will bring to our local community”.

In August, Sliabh Liag Distillers reclaimed Donegal’s whiskey heritage with the first legal distillation of whiskey in nearly 200 years. The company also bridged the Atlantic and 200 years of history with the arrival of its spirts in the United States last month, marking the first time in almost 200 years that a batch of spirits from Donegal was dispatched to the United States.

Summerton Virtual Whisky Festival to return in 2021

The whisky event that brought whisky drinkers together during Lockdown is to return in 2021.

The first Summerton Virtual Whisky Festival was the first full-scale whisky event to adapt to the challenging circumstances we currently face, and in the process created a fantastic new event, uniting whisky fans around the UK & Europe to take part in the largest whisky show of the year so far.

The response to the first virtual festival has been so positive that the Summerton Whisky Club have been convinced to hold a second, which will take place March 2021.

This second festival will build on strengths of the first event, creating a day of digital entertainment and most importantly the festival pack for everyone to take part, as well as adding new elements that will see it become a three-day affair.

Speaking of the Virtual Festival, Summerton Whisky Club Founder Dan Humphrey said, “It’s been a very difficult year for the entire whisky industry and wider community, and we have already seen the benefit of having some whisky fun to look forward to.

The response to our first virtual whisky festival was fantastic and it’s wonderful to see the industry and community all coming together to raise our spirits. With the turmoil set to continue this Winter, we wanted to do our bit again.

The Summer Virtual Whisky Festival aims to create not only an event that we can all look forward to, but one in which the attendees can actively participate in, engaging directly with whisky makers whilst still enjoying a dram”.

Due to take place in March 2021, with more details to follow, the Summerton Virtual Whisky Festival main event will once again combine a whole-day live stream with a home-delivered pack (containing drams, mixers and snacks) to create an event which whisky enthusiasts can not only look forward to, but also actively take part in whilst in the comfort of their homes.

In addition to brand presentations, cocktail masterclasses, Q&A sessions and insightful talks from prominent industry insiders are also scheduled to take place during the event. The festival will be supported by live entertainment and a wide variety of well-known industry figures, whisky writers and presenters.

Dan again, “This new format of festival has presented some interesting opportunities, such as every attendee can now visit every brand at the event, attendees can return the festival afterwards by re-watching and we get to talk in-depth to the people who make the whisky, something that doesn’t normally happen. Instead of thinking this as a replacement to our normal activities, I feel that the virtual event is something that we can add to our diary to offer different experiences to drinkers”.

Notes  

About Summerton Virtual Whisky Festival

Ticket details and brands attending will be released December

Key Stats from Summerton Virtual Whisky Festival 2020:

• 1,074 viewers on the day
• 3% Satisfied, 77.7% Very Satsifeid
• 9% wish to participate in our next event
• 33% of attendees had not been to a whisky event before
• Attendees were from:
  UK, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden

Exclusive Apollo 8
“Earthrise”

‘Oh Man, That’s Great!’ Caol Ila 10 Year Old 2010

Fifty-two years ago Apollo 8 became the first crewed voyage to reach the moon, orbit the moon and return home.

Pilot William Anders photographed Earthrise. Regarded as the most influential environmental photograph ever taken.

To mark this occasion, TheWhiskyBarrel.com has bottled a single first fill Oloroso hogshead distilled in 2010 at the Caol Ila distillery on Islay. Just 294 numbered bottles at cask strength 56.4%.

In the interest of fairness ‘Oh Man, That’s Great!’ Caol Ila 10 Year Old is limited to 2 bottles per customer (but you don’t have to be an astronaut to buy it!)

Shop – Caol Ila Oh Man, That’s Great! – £120 / €131.08 / $129.36

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 338: Waterford Ballykilcavan Edition 1.1

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky vlogger, tries the new releases from the Irish Waterford distillery. Waterford is the new Irish distillery from Mark Reynier, which we all remember from his years at Bruichladdich. His search for terroir – or Tèireoir as he very cleverly put on the label – continues undiminished for his new bottlings, of which the very first releases sold out in a flash. This Ballykicavan matured on a combination of American oak, French oak and French Vin Doux Natural casks. The barley, as the name suggests, comes from one single farm: Ballykilcavan. Hence the moniker Single Farm Origin.

https://youtu.be/8qO42CNT7hY

Experience one of the most awarded Japanese Whisky releases, the iconic Hakushu 18 Year Old.

Discover the famous whisky from one of Japan’s most renowned distilleries.

Dekanta

2-49-7 Minamiikebukuro Toshima-ku, Tokyo,