UMIKI WHISKY is awarded with “SILVER” Medal from 2020 San Diego Spirits Competition!

Osaka, JAPAN, 23th November 2020- Umiki Whisky is awarded with SILVER Medal from San Diego Spirits Competition 2020, which has been ranked as one of the top cocktail festivals in America by Fodors and the major cocktail culinary and cultural extravaganza celebrated each summer on San Diego Bay.

About.Umiki Whisky

UMIKI is “World’s first Japanese Pine barrel aged” and “World’s first ocean water fused whisky brand” that uses only renewable water source for blending” This sustainable process brings an exceptional smoothness with sea-breeze on the nose, rounded floral taste on the palate and a soothing freshness in the finish to UMIKI.

For further information please visit: www.umikiwhisky.com

About San Diego Spirits Festival

San Diego Spirits Festival is a destination event that targets industry insiders, consumer cocktail and culinary lovers alike, it’s a nationally acclaimed celebration of cocktail culture and it is the premiere West coast spirits festival held on the beautiful San Diego bay. With bartender competitions, tastings, seminars and parties, the festival offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity for brands to be supported and gain recognition among San Diego’s cocktail and culinary community and beyond. For further information please visit www.sandiegospiritsfestival.com

Whisky of the Year – and the winner is…

It is the first day of December, so, as promised, we would like to announce The Whisky Exchange Whisky of the Year. Drumroll please…

Port Charlotte 10 – The Whisky Exchange Whisky of the Year

It’s a well-deserved win for the team at Bruichladdich. We’ve been big fans of Port Charlotte 10 since it came out back in 2018, and we’re very pleased to see that you are fans as well. Here are my tasting notes:

Nose: Toffee and vanilla fudge jump out before we dive  into a bucket of singed raisins and smouldering peat bricks. Green grass and leafy notes poke out around the edges along with candied lemons and flamed orange peel.

Palate: A sweet creamy hit up front leads into lemon boiled sweets. black-pepper spice and a thick layer of peaty smoke. The green edges from the nose are back, with richer notes of stewed apples and sultanas, and a touch of vanilla toffee.

Finish: Menthol throat sweets and sweet smoke slowly fade to leave grilled apples and buttery pastry.

Comment: Sweet, smoky, fruity, complex? A whisky that rewards you more each time you go back to it? This is what we want from our Whisky of the Year – excellent work by the judges.

You can find out more on our Whisky of the Year page.

The ShortList Blind Tasting Pack

Now for the thing which everyone’s been asking me – what were the whiskies in the blind tasting pack?

This year’s competition went entirely online, and started with nominations. We asked you to choose your favourite whiskies of the year, and added the top three to a list of three put together by The Whisky Exchange’s co-founder Sukhinder Singh and head buyer Dawn Davies. We then made up tasting packs listing the drams only by letter and asked you to tell us your top two in order of preference. We use a two-round instant run-off methodology to count up the votes, and came up with a first place and a runner up.

It was a very close race, especially between second and third place, but in the end Port Charlotte 10 came top, with whisky D coming second. Here’s the complete line-up for the tasting pack:

Whisky A – Nikka Coffey Malt
Whisky B – Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 Year Old
Whisky C – Kilkerran 12 Year Old
Whisky D – Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 14 Year Old
Whisky E – Port Charlotte 10
Whisky F – Lagavulin 16 Year Old

Congratulations to Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 14 Year Old. If you want to have a try of the whole shortlist yourself, then you can – we have tasting packs of all six now available: The Whisky of the Year 2021 tasting set

DISCOVER

December is here and we’re ready to fully embrace the festive season with our latest Outturn. We’re spreading Christmas joy with 28 sensational new casks, as well as a sack full of bundle and cask offers and an array of gifting ideas. The Outturn is ready for you to read over on the website ahead of its full release at 9am on Friday, 4 December. Time to start making your list.

READ THE OUTTURN

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

Edradour 10 Year Old 2010

Bottled November 2020 – a new sherry cask #132 release from the Highland distillery in Pitlochry. Bursting with notes of spices, sherry and oak. Edradour 10 Year Old 2010 vintage Highland single malt Scotch whisky. Single sherry cask #132 bottled November 2020 by Signatory Vintage for the Un-Chillfiltered series. Edradour Distillery was formed in 1825 by a group of eight local farmers. Situated at Milton of Edradour near Pitlochry and still just a farm sized distillery equipped with a Morton refrigerator to cool the worts and two wee stills with their spirit cooled in a single worm tub. Whilst ranked amongst the small working distilleries in Scotland its owners Signatory Vintage have plans to increase its size and output. Official distillery releases include the Edradour 10 Year Old, Barolo Cask and Sherry Cask Ibisco decanters.

Shop – Edradour 10 Years 2010 – £57.34 / €62* / $62*

A warm welcome to our November auction and it’s a whopper. That’s right: our biggest to date! Never mind Black Friday or Cyber Monday we have a cyber maltweek and it’s a fantastic opportunity to grab some boozy bargains before your festivities begin.

View Auction

Ardbeg Committee Set! 

 Recherché translating to ‘sought after’, this bottle is a perfect drinker for those dark winter nights.

Tis’ the season to be sherry so go and fill yer boots with some fantastic new releases.

There is, as always, of course so much more to pick from so get stuck in, stay safe and have a fantastic festive period and happy St Andrew’s Day!

Get Bidding!

LABEL SHOP

Looking for a special gift to wrap up a tough year? You can create a personalized label to add to a bottle of The Glenlivet.

Completely free and unique.

CREATE LABEL

ralfy review 854 Extras – Discovering Irish Whiskey

SCARABUS ISLAY SINGLE MALT

LAUNCHES TWO BRAND-NEW EXPRESSIONS 

Hunter Laing & Co. reveals the latest additions to their newest brand from the famed whisky island,

Scarabus 10 Year Old and Scarabus Batch Strength, will join Scarabus Specially Selected

The family owned Scotch whisky distiller, blender and bottler Hunter Laing & Co. introduces two brand-new bottlings to the Scarabus Islay Single Malt Whisky range. Scarabus 10 Year Old and Scarabus Batch Strength will be available to buy worldwide from 26^th November 2020. 

Scarabus 10 Year Old is priced at £45 for 70cl, bottled at 46% ABV and Scarabus Batch Strength is £49 for 70cl, bottled at 57% ABV. Both expressions will join Scarabus Specially Selected, available to buy at Ardnahoe Distillery and online at https://ardnahoedistilleryshop.com/.

The Scarabus 10 Year Old has the distinguished Scarabus profile of sweet Islay peat smoke but with extra complexity; every drop of Scarabus 10 Year Old is aged for a minimum of ten years in refill, ex-bourbon and virgin American oak casks.

To create the Scarabus Batch Strength edition, a small selection of Scarabus Islay single malt casks are chosen to be bottled at a higher strength of 57% ABV. The result is the signature sweet, peaty profile found in Scarabus, but with extra intensity, mouth feel and an even more lingering finish.

Scarabus, meaning ‘rocky place’ in Nordic, is named after a mystical area of Islay and is a whisky range for those with a curious mind and an eye for detail. The brand is bold and honest about its origins, and just a little mysterious about everything else.

Commenting on the release of the new expressions, Stewart Laing, Managing Director, said: “Following the success of the brand’s launch at Feis Ile 2019, it’s very exciting to add two brand-new expressions to the range. Scarabus is a brand which we are incredibly proud of, and to see Scarabus grow and develop like this is really wonderful.”

Adding to his father’s comments, Scott Laing, Business Development Director, said: “It’s always exciting when a new Islay expression launches and we are particularly proud of our Scarabus brand.

The flavour is unmistakable, the Islay peat, smoke and sea salt on the nose, followed by warming leather notes and a delightful vanilla sweetness in the mouth, leads to a rich, lingering finish, culminating all the elements which Islay whisky enthusiasts adore.

We’re very excited to see our ever-loyal Islay whisky fans react to both Scarabus 10 Year Old and Scarabus Batch Strength.”

The Scarabus range will be available to purchase online at https://ardnahoedistilleryshop.com/ from Ardnahoe Distillery, which is currently open to the public and hosting socially distanced tours.

Facebook: @Hunterlaingwhisky / @scarabuswhisky

Notes :

• Hunter Laing & Co is an independent distiller, blender and bottler based in Glasgow and run by the Laing Family – father Stewart with sons Andrew and Scott
• Hunter Laing has been operating since May 2013 and owns a portfolio of much-loved whisky brands including Kinship, Old Malt Cask, Old & Rare, Hepburn’s Choice and Sovereign.
• It distributes to 65 markets around the world in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australasia.
• The Laing family are the owners of Ardnahoe Distillery on Islay, which began distilling in 2018.
• Ardnahoe Distillery has welcomed over 34,000 visitors to the distillery since 2018.

OUTSTANDING MACALLAN LALIQUE GENESIS-72 YEAR OLD LEADS BONHAMS WHISKY SALE IN EDINBURGH

The Catalogue 

The Macallan Lalique Genesis 72 year old. Estimate: £65,000-80,000.

A crystal decanter of The Macallan Lalique Genesis-72 year old leads Bonhams Whisky Sale in Edinburgh on Wednesday 9 December. It is estimated at £65,000-80,000.

The Genesis decanter was released to celebrate the opening of The Macallan’s newly finished, award-winning distillery in 2018. One of only 600 bottles ever released, the 72-year-old spirit comes in a Lalique crystal decanter, and a wooden presentation case that reflects the architectural features of the new distillery.

Distilled in the 1940s and matured for 72 years, this spirit is one of the oldest expressions ever released by The Macallan. Nick Savage, Master distiller at the time, said: “For its 72 years of maturation, the deceptively light colour hints that this is not an ordinary single malt. Reminiscent of a time gone by, it carries an exquisite balance of strong, sweet oak with the peaty spirit shaping its refined character”.

Bonhams Whisky specialist in Edinburgh Martin Green said: “In the two years since its release, The Macallan Lalique Genesis-72 year old has already proved its worth as one of the world’s great and most desirable whiskies. I am expecting a lot of interest from collectors.”

Other highlights include:

·         Three bottles of The Macallan Select Reserve-52 year old 1946. Estimate: £10,000-14,000 each.

·         A bottle of Brora 22-year old 1972. Estimate: £6,000-7,500.

·         A bottle of Hanyu Ichuro’s Malt-7 of Clubs.  Estimate: £5,000-7,000.

Sale: The Whisky SaleLocation: Queens Street EdinburghDate: Wednesday 9 December at 11 am

The Catalogue 

NOTES

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest and most renowned auctioneers, offering fine art and antiques, motor cars and jewellery. The main salerooms are in London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, with auctions also held in Knightsbridge, Edinburgh, Paris, San Francisco and Sydney. With a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams offers advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full list of forthcoming auctions, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com. bonhams.com

YOSHINO SPIRITS CO. has been awarded with “Most Unique Premium Alcoholic Beverages – Supplier in Japan” from Global Excellence Awards by LUXlife.

Osaka, JAPAN, 23th November 2020, Global Excellence Awards is subject to LUX Life’s rigorous internal vetting procedure and given after an extensive judging process which is driven by merit and centered around an in-depth evaluation of skills and services on offer.

Yoshino Spirits Co is so proud to share that it has been received “Most Unique Premium Alcoholic Beverages – Supplier in Japan” award from Global Excellence Awards, as a result of Yoshino Spirit’s unique range of premium alcoholic beverages brands from Japan offered in its portfolio.

About Yoshino Spirits:

Yoshino Spirits (headquarters located in Osaka) is a private company exporting finest Japanese whisky, wine and spirits to the world placing the highest priority on building relationships of trust between domestic manufacturers and customers all over the world.

For further information please visit www.yoshinospirits.com

About Global Excellence Awards 2020:

Global Excellence Awards, is hosted by LUX Life Magazine , whereby LUXlife is part of the AI Global Media publishing group, a UK based company which was established in 2010 and dedicated in ensuring quality & maximum value for every reader, subscriber