MEET HEAD BREWER
NICK BLAKE

We want to introduce a special guest joining our next Adventure in Deliciousness. Head brewer Nick Blake from Big Smoke Brew Co. is a fountain of knowledge on the subject and the creator of award-winning beers, as you’ll discover when you come along to our online event on June 27th.

You could say whisky actually starts out life as beer before additional processes take them in different directions, and as distant cousins they get on marvellously. Nick, our founder John Glaser and our whiskymaker James Saxon will be exploring the exciting reactions when the two are sipped together.

Grab your drinks ready for the adventure

In the UK, you’ll be able to pick up the beers we’ll taste direct from Big Smoke Brew Co. – shop for their Shadowlands, Pilsner and Secret Machine. They’re offering a special pack for the occasion too. For those outside the UK, stock up on a stout or porter, a hoppy pilsner and an IPA or double IPA. No strict rules though – go for what you fancy!

Wherever you are, you can buy our Malt Whisky Collection gift pack at our web shop. With Father’s Day around the corner, why not order one for Dad and invite him to the event too?

Not signed up yet?

Registration for the event is free – just head over to:
pleasedrinkcreatively.com

Nick is as passionate about beer as John and James are about whisky, so it’s going to be a great conversation.

Share & Enjoy!
The Compass Box Team

L – R back row: Ben White, Nick Ravenhall, Nick Stagg, Alex Ravenhall L – R front row: Francesca Roffe Ridgard, Tamsin Gayle

On Wednesday 16th June, New Zealand brothers Alex and Nick Ravenhall, commonly coined the Whisky Smugglers, swam across the Channel from Dover to Calais with a team of four other swimmers to raise money for Sea Shepherd New Zealand. Partnering with London’s Bimber Distillery, each swimmer transported a dram of whisky, which was then blended back into a cask and will be sold as limited-edition whiskies later this year.

The team completed the arduous swim in an amazing 12 hours and 58 mins, the second fastest team this season, alongside swimmers Ben White, Tamsin Gayle, Francesca Roffe Ridgard and Nick Stagg. The Maori brothers founded Whisky and Waves, an ocean awareness campaign, to call attention to how vulnerable the earth’s beautiful waterways are. The pair felt a special calling to work with Sea Shepherd on this project, whose charity work includes protecting Maui’s dolphins, endemic to New Zealand.

The brothers now based in the UK both work in the new world whisky scene. Nick is the Managing Director for Edinburgh’s innovative Holyrood Distillery, whilst Alex is Head of Events for Atom Brands which includes the famous independent whisky bottling brand Boutique-y Whisky Company.

Ewelina Chruszczyk, Director at Bimber Distillery commented: “Bimber are delighted to be collaborating with Whisky & Waves on their latest charity swim. Whilst our distillery has its historical roots in mainland Europe, our home is very much England – and as such, crossing the channel with our single malt in tow is a perfect expression of both our journey and of the universal language of the shared love of whisky.” 

This Summer, the pair will undergo at least two more swims in some of the UK’s most treacherous waters, including the The Corryvreckan. Both swims will be completed with smuggled whisky with the intent to release further fundraising bottlings for Sea Shepherd.

New Single Cask Single Malts from the Highlands to the Islands

Because of the excellent relationship we’ve built over the years with the world’s best bottlers, we get access to some of Scotland’s greatest casks and continue to find incredible barrels that blow away the competition in terms of value and quality. Our access to these casks is aided by expanded regulations which allow for the importation of the ever-so-slightly smaller European-style bottles. This has allowed us to access more bottled stock, which we are able to offer at a significant discount from where you’d see these exceptional malts on the European market.

Hunter Laing Old & Rare

Old Malt Cask

Redacted Bros.

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Laphroaig 16 Year Old

A limited release of the iconic Islay single malt aged for 16 years in ex-bourbon barrels. Pre-order now available. Over time, the whisky’s smoky flavour softens on the senses and is beautifully married with sweet vanilla notes enhanced with ageing in American Oak.

Preorder Now

Tasting notes:

Colour: Deep Copper

Nose: Sweet leather, oaky spices, vanilla and wood character with gorse flowers and heather fragrance, roasted chestnuts with rich maple syrup, a touch of black pepper.

Palate: Sweet with treacle and caramel, Manuka honey and thyme but also intense wood smoke, creosote, lots of floral notes of heather and bergamot, and a chili mouthfeel.

Finish: Long lasting, smoky, sweet and salted seaweed, medicinal character.

A Virtual Tasting of Murray McDavid with Dean Jode, Head of Whisky Creation 7pm Saturday 26th June

£30.00

A Rare chance to try these hand selected cask releases from some of Scotlands finest distilleries from Murray McDavid Independent Bottler.

During the event Dean Jode of Murray McDavid, alongside Inverurie Whisky Shop owner Mike Stuart, will guide you through 6 wonderful, hand-picked whiskies from the range, including a cracking 30 Year Old from the now closed Cambus Distillery

Dailuaine 12 Year Old Sauternes Finish

Blair Athol 12 Year Old Oloroso Finish

Craigellachie 12 Year Old Tawny Port Finish

Cambus 30 Year Old Limousine Oak

Safe Haven 6 Year Old PX Finish – A Mystery Malt!

Peatside 6 Year Old Blended Malt

Our packs can be collected in store or sent across to certain European countries so that you and your friends can join us from your own home, using the Zoom platform. Join us on a voyage of extraordinary discovery as we welcome this fantastic range to Inverurie Whisky Shop.

SIX WHISKIES FROM SAZERAC COMPANY RECOGNIZED AT 2021 SAN FRANCISCO WORLD SPIRITS COMPETITION

Mister Sam Tribute Whiskey Named Gold Medalist

Montreal (Jun 8, 2021) – Judges at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition awarded a Gold medal to Sazerac Company’s Mister Sam Tribute Whiskey in the taste category of the competition. Spirits awarded the Gold medal in the judging process are described as exceptional spirits that are near the pinnacle of achievement; these products set the standard for their categories. A total of five Canadian whiskies and one blended whiskey were awarded medals at the competition out of a record-breaking 3,500 entries.

Silver Medals

• Canadian Mist Blended Canadian Whisky
• Royal Canadian Small Batch Blended Whisky

Bronze Medals

• Caribou Crossing Single Barrel Canadian Whisky
• Collingwood Blended Canadian Whisky
• High River Canadian Whisky

The Gold Medal winning Mister Sam Tribute Whiskey, named after the legendary Sam Bronfman, was introduced as a limited-edition blended whiskey in 2019 to honor the founder of the modern-day distilled spirits industry. Sazerac’s Master Blender, Drew Mayville, created this exclusive blend as a tribute to Mister Sam. The individual barrels for the other medalist, Caribou Crossing Single Barrel Canadian Whisky, were hand-selected by Mayville himself.

Each entry was subject to rounds of blind tastings and individual evaluation on both taste and design by judges. For more information on the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a full list of results, visit sfspiritscomp.com.

About Sazerac

Sazerac is one of America’s oldest family owned, privately held distillers with operations in the United States in Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Maryland, California, and global operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, India, Australia and Canada. For more information on Sazerac, please visit www.sazerac.com.

Scotch Whisky The Whisky Magazine Annual

Have you seen our new Scotch Whisky annual?

Packed with interviews, distillery focus features and blind tasting reviews, Scotch Whisky turns the spotlight on distilleries old and new, large and small. Curated by Whisky Magazine’s editor, Christopher Coates, Scotch Whisky is a valuable addition to any whisky lover’s bookshelf.

• 132-page ‘bookazine’

• Available in print and digital editions

• Includes six in-depth interviews with the great and good of whisky

• Distillery features on Highland Park, GlenAllachie, Macallan, Rosebank, Raasay, Glenturret, and many more

• More than 100 blind tasting reviews of the latest whiskies

• Tasting notes and progress reports on unreleased spirits from some of Scotland’s newest distilleries

BUY NOW

Whisky Presentation Box Humidors by Dave

Humidors by Dave!

Have your favourite scotch whisky presentation box upgraded to a cigar humidor!

US$220

Contact Dave at daveswhiskyhumidors@gmail.com

Price does not include shipping or the presentation box. 

Back for just the second year ever, Exploring English Whisky is proud to announce that the ENGLISH WHISKY FESTIVAL 2021 will be taking place on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th September (online).

With 5 more distilleries & independent bottlers taking part than last year (19 in total), and an entirely new line-up of products, the two day event promises something special for those returning for their second year, or anyone joining for the first time.

Replicating the same accessible, informative and entertaining format, there will be 6 sessions, as well as entertainment and cocktail making masterclasses in between. Attendees will hear directly from each distillery or bottler as they take us through their product & story, focused on the theme of each session.

11 products in the line-up are completely new releases, some of which won’t be available until after the festival (or available at all as they’re cask samples drawn exclusively for this event). Many of the distilleries are now multi-award winners, including World Whiskies Awards, San Francisco World Spirits Competition, International Spirits Challenge and Icons of Whisky.

Tickets are available from £27.50 for a standard session (10% off for members of Exploring English Whisky) for UK residents only, and £31.50 for the chocolate and whisky pairing session. Or why not go for The Full English and save £9 (and multiple postage charges) when you buy all 6 packs together? 

Ticket Link: https://exploring-whisky.sumup.link/collection/festival2021

Membership Info: www.exploringenglishwhisky.co.uk

When: Friday 3rd & Saturday 4th September 2021

Where: Online (secure link sent out to attendees a couple of days before the event)

What: 29 samples of English Whisky, maturing spirit and new make spirit from established and new distilleries – each bringing something new and exciting to the line-up.

Who: List of participating distilleries (below)

Distilleries

Session hosts this year include:

• Amy Seton (Birmingham Whisky Club)
• Felipe Schrieberg (Forbes / Rhythm & Booze)
• Fiona Shoop (Whisky writer)
• Stephanie Jordan (Avallen Calvados / Drinking Out Loud)
• Tim Etherington-Judge (Avallen Calvados / Healthy Hospo)
• Glassmates (Ortis Deeley, Jimmy Harris, Nigel Mark)

Our snack partners this year include:

• Sekeforde Botanical Mixers (sekfordedrinks.com)
• Love Corn (https://lovecorn.co.uk/)
• Simpleas (https://www.simpleas-snacks.co.uk/)

And the chocolate for our Chocolate & Whisky pairing session will be coming from a bean-to-bar producer of ethical, sustainable chocolate – Lucocoa (https://www.lucocoachocolate.com/aboutus)

 EVENT SCHEDULE

FRIDAY 3rd September

6.00pm – Festival Welcome

6.30pm – Session 1: New Horizons

Forest Distillery – New Make spirit

Henstone Distillery – Whisky Release No.2

The Lakes Distillery – Whisky Makers Reserve No. 4

Wharf Distillery – Solstice Whisky

White Peak Distillery – First Release Whisky

8.00pm – Session 2: Expert Blind Tasting

SHH! IT’S A SECRET

9.30PM – Entertainment

10.45pm – END

CONTINUED…

SATURDAY 4th September

3.00pm – Session 3: Whisky & Chocolate Pairing

Bimber – new Small Batch release

Cooper King – Maturing Spirit

The English Whisky Co.  – Rum Cask

The Lakes – new Editions release

4.30pm – Session 4: Bottling It (Independent bottlers)

Gulliver’s 47, Ex-Bourbon Cask

Gulliver’s 47, 10yo Quarter Cask

The Boutiquey Whisky Company – Cotswolds 3yo Whisky

The Boutiquey Whisky Company – White Peak 2yo maturing spirit

The Single Cask – Peated 12 years old whisky (cask 106RR)

6.00pm – Break

6.30pm – Session 5: Heart & Graft

Cotswolds – Hearts & Crafts release

Copper Rivet – new Column Malt

Ludlow – new Whisky release

Mercia – Rye spirit

Dartmoor – Sherry Cask

8.00pm – Session 6: Against the Grain

Adnams – Rye Whisky

Circumstance – Mixed Grain Spirit

East London – Rye Whisky

The English  – Parched (Grain Whisky)

The Oxford Artisan Distillery – Anniversary Rye Whisky

9.30pm – Entertainment

10.45pm – END

Our June auction is now LIVE!

Place your bids from Friday 18^th June until Sunday 27^th June.

www.whiskyhammer.com

Every month, we present an incredible selection of whiskies and other fine spirits to our members right across the globe. You will find everything here from limited edition releases and vintage bottles to whole casks of rare whisky. There is certainly something for everyone – whether you are looking to collect, invest or enjoy!

Midleton – Silent Distillery Collection (1^st & 2^nd release)

Ichiro’s Malt – Seven of Clubs “Card”

Brora – 40 Year Old (1972) Cask Strength

Macallan – 1988 (Fine & Rare)

Selling whisky? Why not arrange the pick-up of your bottles using our global courier service? If you’re based in Scotland, you might want to arrange the personal collection of your bottles. Wherever you’re based in the world, we will make getting your bottles into our monthly auction as simple as possible. Get in touch with the Whisky Hammer team now by dropping them a message at sales@whiskyhammer.co.uk.