Buffalo Trace Distillery Releases

15^th Batch of Stagg Jr.

Celebrate the Holidays with 131.1 proof Bourbon 

FRANKFORT, Franklin County, Ky (Dec. 15, 2020) Buffalo Trace Distillery is releasing its winter allocation of Stagg Jr, just in time for the holidays.  This is 15^th release in the series and weighs in at 131.1 proof.  Like previous versions, Stagg Jr is uncut, unfiltered, aged over eight years, and with a taste profile similar to its elder statesman, George T. Stagg.

Tasting notes describe this barrel proof whiskey with vanilla bean and salted caramel front and center on the nose, cherries, cinnamon and oak on the palate, and a long finish of toasted vanilla, pepper, coffee and hints of sweet mint.

Introduced in 2013, Stagg Jr. quickly became a favorite of whiskey reviewers, and won a double gold medal in this year’s San Francisco Worlds Spirits Competition.  Previous accolades include being named “tried and true,” and “great value,” from competitions such as Los Angeles International Spirits Competition, New York World Spirits Competition, World Whiskies Awards, and others.

Only two batches of Stagg Jr. are produced each year. This 15^th batch is headed to retailers now.  The next release will be late spring 2021.  Suggested retail pricing for Stagg Jr. is $49.99; state taxes will vary per market.

About Stagg Jr. Bourbon

The Stagg line is named after George T. Stagg, one of the legendary craftsmen of Buffalo Trace Distillery, who was responsible for building the most dominant American distillery of the 19^th century on the banks of the Kentucky River, now known as Buffalo Trace Distillery.  Like the man it honors, the Stagg line is bold and robust, consisting of uncut, unfiltered whiskies –  Stagg Jr. and George T. Stagg, part of the Antique Collection. 

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 for 2018 and its William Larue Weller and Thomas H. Handy Sazerac were named 2^nd and 3^rd finest whiskeys in the world for 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.  To download images from Buffalo Trace Distillery visit http://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/media

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Laphroaig Quarter Cask

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About Laphroaig Quarter Cask:

A must-try release from Laphroaig distillery, offering a vibrant twist on the 10 year old Islay classic we all know and love.

This expression was first aged in ex-bourbon casks, then finished in American Oak ‘Quarter Casks’ – barrels only 45 litres in size which offer intense impact on wood to spirit.

The combination of zesty citrus, creamy toffee and toasted vanilla with Laphroaig’s signature medicinal peat smoke works beautifully, resulting in a powerful and layered whisky which just keeps giving.

Contrasting flavours arrive layer upon layer, with more charred BBQ, nougat, liquorice, coastal brine, seaweed and TCP leading to a refreshing and savoury finish.

A wonderful release from Laphroaig, bottled at 48% and non chill filtered.

Seasons Greetings from TWL HQ!

Well what an extraordinary year 2020 has been! Never before in human history have those of us over the age of 18 been in need of a dram! Friday 18th December is the deadline for ordering from us, in time for delivery before Christmas Day, so if you haven’t already, please don’t dilly-dally! For those waiting for orders, please accept our apologies, we are just waiting for more tasting pack boxes, which are due tomorrow. Your order will therefore leave on Friday or Monday for a Monday or Tuesday delivery, many thanks for your patience!

We really do rely on, and appreciate, your custom, particularly at this time, so if one of our packs can fill a space in your Xmas list or otherwise, we would be massively grateful!

What follows is a reminder of what is available…

The Asian Whisky Tasting Pack 

As many of you will know, whiskies from Asia have taken off in a big way. First, Japan led the way, now India and Taiwan have joined the fray with some incredible whiskies to show for their efforts.

Buy Asian Whisky Tasting Pack Now (£30)

Buy Asian Whisky Gift Pack Now (£35)

The Peated Whisky Tasting Pack

As the nights continue to draw in and the weather turns colder, sometimes the only thing to turn to is a hearty, peated dram. This pack explores the smokier side of Scottish single malts.

Buy Peated Whisky Tasting Pack Now (£30)

Buy Peated Whisky Gift Pack Now (£35)

The World Whisky Tasting Pack

It’s not just Asia that is enjoying an unprecedented level of quality whisky-making and deserved interest in it. Distilleries are opening all over the world and this pack and tasting celebrates that fact.

Buy World Whisky Tasting Pack Now (£30)

Buy World Whisky Gift Pack Now (£35)

Scotch Single Malt Tasting Pack

Where most believe it all started for single malt whisky, this pack focusses on some of the most interesting and tasty variants.

Buy Scotch Single Malt Tasting Pack Now (£30)

Buy Scotch Single Malt Gift Pack Now (£35)

The Indie Whisky Tasting Pack

Probably the best way to taste rare or unusual whiskies, Independent – or Indie bottlers – buy and bottle casks when they feel they are ready themselves.

Buy Indie Whisky Tasting Pack Now (£30)

Buy Indie Whisky Gift Pack Now (£35)

English Single Malt Tasting Pack

Not bound by the same rules as Scotch whisky, this is fast becoming one of the newest and most exciting whisky categories, not to mention multi award-winning.

Buy English Single Malt Tasting Pack Now (£30)

Buy English Single Malt Gift Pack Now (£35)

Packs are available to order now, as 6x20ml ‘tasting packs’ with the whiskies alone (£30 plus delivery), OR 6x20ml ‘gift packs’, with a Glencairn whisky tasting glass, a can of Larkfire ‘Wild Water for Whisky’ and a TWL 2020 pin badge (£35 plus delivery).

All of the packs will be accompanied by a YouTube taste-along video with Eddie Ludlow. Details of how to tune into these will be included in each pack.

As mentioned above, as long as you order by FRIDAY 18th DECEMBER, we will be able to get your pack/s to you before Xmas day (courier willing!)

NOT SURE WHICH TO GET?
introducing…

TASTING PACK VOUCHERS!

We know, the choice is bewildering, so why not make it easy and buy a tasting pack, or gift pack, voucher? That was you get the gift faster and you pass on the choice to your loved one! These are available now, and can be emailed to you anytime up to the 23rd December, so are not limited by the order deadline above. The ‘Tasting Pack Gift Voucher’ is £36.95, which includes any one £30 tasting pack and delivery, whilst the ‘Gift Pack Voucher’ is £41.95 and includes any one £35 gift pack and delivery.

Buy Tasting Pack Gift Voucher (£36.95)

Buy Gift Pack Voucher (£41.95)

Gateshead Whisky News!

Latest Whisky Reviews!

READ HERE

That’s it!
We hope you have a great rest of the week and we look forward to hearing from you through social media and the normal methods!
Slainte!

Eddie

The Whisky Lounge Team

1997 Hebridean Mulligan (Ledaig) 23 Year Old “Old Malt Cask” K&L Exclusive Single Hogshead Cask Strength Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $119.99 View

The Isle of Mull’s only distillery was originally founded as Ledaig back in 1798. It has had a rocky history ever since with many repeated closures, sometimes decades long. But in 1993, Burn Stewart Distillers saved the day and the distillery. They rechristened it Tobermory and established today’s practice of distilling unpeated malt for half of the year and heavily peated malt for the other half. In its modern incarnation, the Tobermory name applies to the smoke free spirit and the Ledaig name for the peated variety. Here we have a gorgeous expression of the Ledaig at 21 years old aged in a hogshead that allowed all that peat to mature without being overpowered by the wood. While we had hoped to teaspoon all of the years blended malt casks with a nearby distillery, there aren’t any. Using Tobermory spirit wouldn’t technically declassify Ledaig because it’s the same distillery and therefore still a single malt. We had to look to the other Hebridiean Isles for mature spirit that could sustain this 21 year old age statement. In the end, our second shot landed on the Isle of Skye and we were able to eye-dropper a tiny amount of 23 year old Talisker into the barrel before bottling and save everyone a huge chunk of change.

Doc Swinson’s 15 Year Old “Rare Release Batch #9” K&L Exclusive Exploratory Cask Series Nonchillfiltered Small Batch Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) (Pre-Arrival) $149.99 View

Doc Swinson’s has become an absolute sensation in the bourbon world. The skeptics have been silenced and countless bourbon lovers have fallen in love with their exceptional exploratory cask 15 year. It would be negligent not to mention that for those paying attention the first batch of 15 year old (batch #6) has now become a serious collectors item. It’s successors, batch #7 & #8, sold at record speeds and have been received with equal gusto by aficionados and amateurs alike. Amazingly, our friends at Doc’s have secured this new batch of 15 year. It’s the same exact bourbon as the first three batches. As the supplier for this bourbon is extremely concerned with the preventing its source from being disclosed, the 29 barrels that went into this excellent small batch bourbon were dumped in KY before being truck in inert containers to Washington for bottling. This batch was slightly larger than the last three at 4200 bottles, an increase of 240 bottles/two barrels. The gorgeous truth about these awesome bourbons is that each batch has its own amazing character built around an amazing core of classic bourbon flavors. Except a richly textured mature bourbon character with aromas of leather, baking spice, brandied cherries, chocolate and fresh wintergreen. Perfect balance between sweet and savory on the palate with a long warming finish. Sadly, according to the bottler, this is the last of these 15 years, although they assure us they’re pushing for more. We’re prayin’ they succeed.

1993 The Road to Elgin (Linkwood) 27 Year Old “Old Malt Cask” K&L Exclusive Single Hogshead Cask Strength Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $149.99 View

Teaspooning this exceptional whisky was a very nerve-wracking endeavor. While we inherently believe that the innocuous act of adding the tiniest possible quantity of another malt to a single barrel of Scotch does nothing to diminish the quality of a particular whisky, there is an intellectual argument to be made for keeping the sanctity and purity of a single cask intact. In the end, we’ve made the decision that in almost every case the more important factor for our customers is value over image. So while we had wanted desperately to be able to name this excellent distillery and could have likely sold every bottle for much more than the 25% premium that avoiding tariffs would have afforded us, we believe that it is in the best interest of our customers to offer them the very best whiskies at the best possible prices regardless of perception. That is indeed what this special cask represents. Even years ago, when whisky was plentiful and comparatively cheap, we would have been lucky to find a deal as sweet as this one. At this advanced aged, this famous old Speyside exhibits all the finesse and elegance you’d expect. A nose of creamy malt, Seville orange peel and honey candies. Sweet rich malt and stewed fruit on the palate with kisses of toasted vanilla, caramel tuiles and touches of warming wood spice on the finish. While some would’ve paid an extra $50 to show off the famous Linkwood name, we prefer mystery and affordability. We think most of our customers do too.

GO EXPLORING

Few things are more exciting about drinks than comparison, experimentation and contrast – whether that’s simply sitting down to look at the differences and similarities in flavour between whisky and rum, or tasting several drams from one distillery to find the common threads that define that spirit’s character.

To help you and your loved ones get the same experience without forking out for several full-sized bottles at a time, we’ve put together a huge spread of Perfect Measure Tasting Sets, all of which focus on a particular spirit, country, region, producer, flavour or other theme to help you explore your favourites, or discover something new.

For instance, to celebrate blender and bottler Compass Box’s 20th anniversary, we’ve compiled six of their whiskies – Hedonism, Hedonism Felicitas, Rogue’s Banquet, Spice Tree, Peat Monster and Peat Monster Arcana – into a single pack, so you can compare and contrast, all at a single sitting. Give a loved one the gift of discovery, or maybe just treat yourself!

SHOP ALL PERFECT MEASURE SETS

Be there in (Christmas) spirit…

Let us transport you to the beautiful banks of Loch Fyne this Christmas, with a little help from some of our best-selling spirits.

From spectacular single casks to brilliant blends, our original range of drams can help you find the ultimate gift for the whisky lover who already has everything.

🔔 Get free UK shipping on all orders over £75!

Completing your Christmas shopping list is one click away…

Shop The Loch Fyne range ›

Let’s be honest, Christmas is going to be very different this year but to get into the festive mood, we’re embracing the spirit of Christmas past and the comfort of a holiday season with a retro vibe. Today we’re bringing you five seasonal casks that will fill you with the warm memories of Christmases gone by. Each one conjures the rich, sweet and spicy flavours that are synonymous with the festive season, ready to uncork a sense of merriment this year.

VIEW ALL WHISKIES

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

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 354: Ballechin 10 Year Old 2010 Signatory for McShelfie

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky vlogger, gets a taste of Pitlochry. Belgian Whisky Club of the Year McShelfie selected a single cask of 10 years old Ballechin that matured on a sherry cask. Indeed, it’s another heavily peated malt from the Edradour distillery.

https://youtu.be/BKl07ue_jSQ

Isle of Arran Distillers raise £2,100 for The Waverley Appeal

In partnership with WhiskyAuction.com, Isle of Arran Distillers have raised £2,100 in funds to continue to maintain the boiler of the historic Waverley – the last sea-going paddle-steamer in the world.

Earlier this year Isle of Arran Distillers produced a Distillery Exclusive Single Cask which was specially chosen and bottled in support of the Waverley Paddle Steamer’s Boiler Repair campaign.  This was an exclusive bottling sold only though the Arran Whisky web site and in the Lochranza Distillery shop.

In partnership with WhiskyAuction.com, the island distillers donated Bottle Number 1 from this very special cask to the December auction, with the intent that the proceeds raised would go towards raising funds for the Boiler Appeal of the iconic Waverley paddle-steamer.

Listed as a “vessel of pre-eminent national importance”, the Waverley has a special place in the hearts of Scots and, more recently, the whole of the British Isles. The current Waverley was built in 1946 as a replacement for an earlier paddle-steamer of the same name which served in both wars.

Until 1973 it reliably carried passengers from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long, becoming a familiar sight for generations of Scots, before it was sold to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society to operate excursions around the British coast.

The idea for this Private Cask came from local Arran Tour Guide Campbell Laing. As a surprise for Campbell, his colleagues in Lochranza contributed towards buying bottle number one for him to keep, as a reminder of the bottling that he helped bring to life. Rather than keep it himself, Campbell was willing to donate this exclusive bottle towards the auction to raise further funds.

The special whisky sold at auction was Bottle Number One of just 225 bottles of 12-year-old single malt aged in a single Bourbon Barrel and bottled at 59.6% ABV.

This precious bottle came packaged along with a hipflask and mini glass decanter with matching glasses.

On the close of the auction, the winning bid came to £2,100 and the full amount will be donated towards the appeal.

For further information on the Isle of Arran Distillers, including how to purchase their award-winning whiskies, please visit www.arranwhisky.com

The Society is here for all your magical moments this Christmas, sharing joy and happiness with our unique selection of whisky and gifts.

TIME FLIES AND FRUIT FLIES

CASK NO. 39.194

CASK:  Refill hogshead

AGE:  13 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Juicy, oak & vanilla

WITH AN UNBATTERED EDGE

CASK NO. 6.37

CASK:  2nd fill barrel

AGE:  10 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Light & delicate

A KRAFTWERK ORANGE

CASK NO. 89.11

CASK:  1st fill hogshead

AGE:  7 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Spicy & sweet

DEEP AND COMPLEX, SWEET AND EARTHY 

CASK NO. 10.192

INITIAL CASK:  Ex-bourbon hogshead

FINAL CASK:  2nd fill moscatel hogshead

AGE:  9 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Juicy, oak & vanilla

FORMIDABLE CHOCOLATE

ONE BOTTLE PER MEMBER

CASK NO. 1.215

INITIAL CASK:  Ex-bourbon hogshead

FINAL CASK:  1st fill Oloroso hogshead

AGE:  15 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Deep, rich & dried fruits

BURNT HEATHER AND HONEY

CASK NO. 66.136

CASK:  Refill hogshead

AGE:  12 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Lightly peated

A THIGH-SLAPPING DRAM

CASK NO. 33.138

CASK:  2nd fill Oloroso butt

AGE:  12 years

FLAVOUR PROFILE:  Peated

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