JULY OUTTURN ALERT

Get ready to ride a wave of flavour. July First Friday is the week, bringing with it 20 new Society cask bottlings perfect for summer sipping. With a wide variety of feel-good flavours, there’s something for all tastes and occasions. But if you’re looking for inspiration, our spirits manager Euan gives some recommendations and suggestions.

READ THE NEW OUTTURN

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

Virginia Distillery Company Whisky Receives Highest Score at Ultimate Spirits Challenge

The award is one of many the distillery has recently received from national and international competitions 

Lovingston, Va. (June 21, 2022) – Virginia Distillery Company whiskies have recently been recognized by a number of different national awards programs. One whisky in particular brought home top honors just this week from the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, an international competition that provides expert evaluation of spirits for producers, importers and marketers.

Virginia Distillery Company’s Cuvée Single Cask received the highest score awarded this year for all spirits with a 98-point rating and was ranked #12 in the Top 100. The whisky was the highest awarded American Single Malt Whisky in the competition and was one of only a select few American products. More than 1,400 spirits were entered into this year’s competition for judging.

“We are honored to be recognized by the prestigious Ultimate Spirits Challenge and these other notable industry competitions,” Virginia Distillery Company CEO Gareth H. Moore said. “Cuvée Single Cask Whisky was one of only two whiskies from craft independent producers that scored a 98 at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. I couldn’t be prouder of our team and the quality of whisky we are producing here in Virginia.”

In addition to the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, the distillery and its whiskies have been recognized recently with awards and positive ratings from the International Whisky Competition, the New York International Spirits Competition, American Spirits Council of Tasters (ASCOT) Awards, Los Angeles International Spirits Competition and Tasting Panel Magazine.

The International Whisky Competition is one of the most competitive whisky competitions to date, offering only three medals per category, designed to be like ‘The Olympics of whisky competitions.’ Virginia Distillery Co. won several medals, including ‘Best American Single Malt Whiskey’, ‘Best Micro Distillery Whiskey’, and ‘Best Virginia Whiskey’:

Best American Single Malt Whiskey

• 1st Place: Virginia Distillery – Courage & Conviction – American Single Malt – 91.69 Pts
• 2nd Place: Virginia Distillery – Courage & Conviction – American Single Malt – Cuvée Cask – 91.2 Pts

Best Micro Distillery Whiskey (Under 150,000 bottles)

• 1st Place: Virginia Distillery – Courage & Conviction – American Single Malt – 91.69 Pts

Best Virginia Whiskey

• 1st Place: Courage & Conviction – American Single Malt – 91.7 Pts
• 2nd Place: Courage & Conviction – American Single Malt – Cuvée Cask – 91.2 Pts
• 3rd Place: Courage & Conviction – American Single Malt – Cuvée Single Cask – 89.6 Pts

The NY International Spirits Competition is a New York-based competition that provides expert evaluation of spirits from a trade-only, blind judging panel. At the awards, Virginia Distillery Company was recognized as the Virginia Distillery of the Year. The four whiskies in the Courage & Conviction product line were also awarded:

• Courage & Conviction Cuvée Cask – Double Gold Winner
• Courage & Conviction Sherry Cask – Double Gold Winner
• Courage & Conviction – Gold Winner
• Courage & Conviction Bourbon Cask – Bronze Winner

The ASCOT Awards was created by author and veteran tasing judge Fred Minnick and aims to honor the best in spirits. All entries were tasted blind by a panel of judges made up of spirits industry and evaluated on appearance, aroma, taste and finish. Virginia Distillery Company’s whiskies earned the following:

• VHW Port Cask Finished Whisky – Double Platinum

• Courage & Conviction Cuvée Cask – Platinum

Virginia Distillery Company’s Courage & Conviction Cuvée Cask received a best of class gold medal and a 94-point rating at the LA International Spirits Competition, an awards competition bestowing medals to the best wines, spirits, olive oils and dairy products from around the globe.

Virginia Distillery Company’s inaugural Courage & Conviction Cuvée Single Cask Strength whisky earned a 96-point rating in Tasting Panel Magazine’s May issue.

Virginia Distillery Company recently reopened the doors to its Visitors Center to the public.  While visiting the distillery in Lovingston, Va., patrons can tour the distillery, taste the full Courage & Conviction product line and Single Cask offerings and enjoy a new Whisky Snack bar. The Visitors Center is open to guests Thursdays-Sundays from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome on a first-come, first-served basis, but reservations are encouraged and can be booked online.

For more information about Virginia Distillery Company or American Single Malt whisky, visit the distillery’s website and complete guide to American Single Malt whisky. More information on awards recognition for the distillery can be viewed here.

About Virginia Distillery Company
Staffed by a local Virginia team mentored by Scottish consultants with decades of experience, Virginia Distillery Company is the largest dedicated American Single Malt whisky distillery in the U.S. The distillery has a current annual production volume of 80,000 4.5L cases and growing. At full capacity, the distillery can produce over 8,000 casks yielding 350,000 4.5L cases annually. The distillery produces Courage & Conviction American Single Malt on-site using malted barley from North America and water from Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. In addition, the distillery offers the award-winning VHW series, made with 100% malted barley. Showcasing both Old and New World whisky-making, the award-winning line marries whisky made on-site in Virginia with whisky from Scotland. In 2020, Virginia Distillery Company was named among the top 10 winners of the Best Craft Whiskey Distillery category in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards, and in 2021, Courage & Conviction was awarded 96 points by Wine Enthusiast.

Our ‘Spirit of America’ auction is now LIVE!

Place your bids from Monday 4^th July until Sunday 10^th July.

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, investor enjoy!

Old Rip Van Winkle – 23 Year Old (1986) Signed

Old Fashioned Copper – 25 Year Old (1994) Vintage

WhistlePig – 17 Year Old (The Boss Hog VIII) LapuLapu’s Pacific

Michter’s – 20 Year Old (2015)

Black Maple Hill – Limited Edition

Old Fitzgerald – 10 Year Old (1849)

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.

Happy 4th of July to our friends in the United States of America!

Our picks

TOP 10 AMERICAN WHISKIES

With July 4th days today, our eyes have turned to the USA and our favourite whiskies from across the country. We don’t hold a grudge and love an excuse for a party, so have put together a list of our top bourbons, ryes and more. Whether you’re celebrating with fireworks or just looking for a great whiskey, you’ll find something that fits the bill in our top 10.

EXPLORE NOW

A K&L Exclusive Cask Debut from a Bourbon Powerhouse
Angel’s Envy “K&L Exclusive” Cask #2665 Private Select Port Finished Kentucky Straight Bourbon (750ml) ($89.99)
“This is it! This is the profile we want from Angel’s Envy.”
— Andrew Whiteley, K&L Spirits Buyer

Our latest epic exclusive cask comes from one of the hottest names in arguably the hottest spirits category in the market right now. This Kentucky distiller has found a fanatical following over the last ten years for crafting some of the biggest, boldest whiskeys out there, so we were ready to jump at any chance to get our hands on an exclusive single cask. When we finally thought we had one, a mix-up at the distillery resulted something unexpected in the form of Cask #2665. While it’s not what we originally selected, it’s most likely better, so count this as a big win. And although it’s not technically cask proof, its quintessentially boisterous nature makes it drink like a bigger whiskey than it is. More importantly, it’s everything Angel’s Envy fans are looking for. As spirits buyer Andrew Whiteley notes, “It’s big, it’s sweet, it’s intensely concentrated, and most importantly for anything finished in port barrels, it’s clean.” Profound bourbon spices and maple character ring across the entire profile, and despite it being “only” 110 proof, a few drops of water bring out the full kaleidoscopic panoply of flavors and aromas, resulting in a whiskey that defies individual descriptors. Our first go at an Angel’s Envy cask had some real twists and turns, but the story ends with a most incredible (yet highly limited) bourbon that every collector will want to get their hands on.

Angel’s Envy “K&L Exclusive” Cask #2665 Private Select Port Finished Kentucky Straight Bourbon (750ml) ($89.99)

K&L Notes: Mistakes happen. No one is immune. The real test comes down to what you do when you make one. Angel’s Envy showed the utmost in integrity after the mix-up here at K&L. Barrel #2665 is the glorious replacement for the infamous #4018 cask. If you weren’t involved from ordering one and the subsequent refund, you may not know, but #4018 was never supposed to enter the door at K&L—it wasn’t the type of cask we were looking for, and it most definitely wasn’t the cask we ordered. However, Angel’s Envy went out of their way to make things right. Unfortunately, our originally selected cask ended up in another store somewhere else in the country, so we weren’t able to get that one, but in the end things worked out in our (and our customers’) favor. Angel’s Envy rushed us an epic set of cask samples and scheduled a personal zoom with Kyle Henderson to walk through each barrel and make our selection. Despite all of the samples being superlatively good, cask #2665 stood out above the top-notch field. We bottled at the highest available ABV of 55% (they protect the cask-strength bottling for the highly limited official CS release), but in truth, it opens up dramatically with a few drops of water anyway, so be sure to add some!

Andrew Whiteley | K&L Spirits Buyer | Review Date: June 10, 2022

This is it! This is the profile we want from Angel’s Envy. It’s big, it’s sweet, it’s intensely concentrated, and most importantly for anything finished in port barrels, it’s clean. Robust, but not a fruit bomb. The spice of the bourbon stands proud, helped along by the maxed-out (and just a few points shy of true cask strength) 110-proof bottling. While we fought hard to leave it at full proof, it just simply wasn’t in the cards. The nose is a bit dusty in that beautiful old Kentucky way. It’s almost gummy on the palate, like a hard candy chew, as red fruits shine through, especially cherries and plums. There is a sweet bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup profile that threads from start to finish. If you add a touch of water (and for all my kvetching about proof point, I recommend you do anyway), the oils come out beautifully, and the whiskey opens in dramatic fashion. It becomes an integrated whole rather than a bunch of individual tasting notes. It’s now something to pick apart sip by sip and enjoy pour after pour. All in all, we won out in this quest to get our “first” Angel’s Envy cask here by winding up with Cask #2665 on our shelves.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 449: Cley Secret Islay

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries a Dutch malt. Paul and Maria from the Rotterdam Cley distillery have a special place in Mark’s heart. They make really nice whisky and they are also super sympathetic people. That’s always good for a nice story. And they are getting more and more acclaim – rightly so! – because after the special festival bottling for the whisky festival in Eindhoven – selected by The Barrel Baron – this time they bottled a very special malt for the Whisky Festival in Delft in May 2022. A Secret Islay! And triple distilled! After 4 years on a classic bourbon cask, this Dutch malt got an 18-month finish on a cask on which an Islay whisky previously matured.

https://youtu.be/iRuIYE5_UIY

White Peak releases next in the Wire Works Whisky series:

-Small Batch-

Following on from the runaway success of Derbyshire’s first ever single malt – Wire Works Whisky – in February this year, White Peak has a new single malt release – Wire Works Whisky Small Batch – due out on 23^rd June.

Derbyshire’s first full-scale craft Distillery released just over 5,000 numbered bottles of its long-awaited inaugural single malt, Wire Works Whisky, at the beginning of February. The whisky received an extraordinary response from the Distillery’s loyal followers and supporters, selling out in just a few hours.

This new release of Wire Works Whisky Small Batch is a recognisable sibling to the inaugural spirit, however with a lower ABV of 46.2%.  A lightly-peated single malt whisky from a small batch vatting of American and French oak casks, the spirit has been fully matured in predominantly STR casks (re-conditioned casks that have been shaved, toasted and re-charred) with a significant element of ex-bourbon. The use of these casks compliment the White Peak house style of fruit forward new make.

The resulting spirit is a complex, approachable single malt whisky with sweet popcorn, and orchard fruits on the nose, brandy baskets, banana and sandalwood on the palate, and a sweet vanilla finish, with a touch of nutmeg.

White Peak Distillery was founded in 2016 by husband-and-wife team Max & Claire Vaughan – both originally from Derbyshire – and continues to go from strength to strength, having won awards not only for its whisky but also for its Distillery visitor experiences.

Max Vaughan, Co-founder of White Peak Distillery said: “We were incredibly humbled by the fantastic reaction to our first release of Wire Works Whisky in February and would like to say a big thank you to our various communities of supporters.  Our first bottling sold out much more quickly than we could have ever anticipated, so we’re delighted to be releasing another small batch bottling and we’re looking forward to the exciting plans we have for the rest of 2022 and beyond.”

Just over 4,300 bottles of Wire Works Whisky Small Batch will be released in total and will be available on 23^rd June via the White Peak Distillery online shop and in-person from the Distillery’s shop from 24^th June, RRP: £60 (70cl). The release will also be available from selected trade retail partners, including various nationwide independents: Booths (leading food and drink retailer in the northern counties), Master of Malt, The Whisky Exchange, The Whisky Shop, Selfridges, Berry Bros, House of Malt and Hard to Find Whisky.

The Distillery is open Monday – Saturday for shop visitors, with tours available every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For availability, timings and to book, please visit www.whitepeakdistillery.co.uk

About Wire Works Whisky Small Batch

46.2% ABV

100% natural colour and non-chill filtered   

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Sweet popcorn, butterscotch, cloves, ripe banana, orchard fruit, vanilla slice, candied ginger, cherry pie filling, icing sugar, white chocolate, bergamot, nutmeg and cinder toffee

Palate: Chocolate orange, brandy baskets, Victoria sponge, liquorice all-sorts, cinnamon, cashews, marshmallow, vanilla, pink grapefruit and banana

Finish: Vanilla wafers, crème brûlée and nutmeg / mace.

About Wire Works Whisky

Wire Works Whisky from White Peak Distillery is Derbyshire’s very first single malt.

Provenance, heritage and flavour are at the heart of the Distillery ethos and whisky-making process, and it’s home at the dramatic former Johnson & Nephew Wire Works is celebrated within the whisky brand. The Distillery’s woodland home on the banks of the River Derwent has a long history of innovation and forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Wire Works Whisky celebrates its rich homeland and the brewing heritage for which the region is so renowned. Every aspect of production and maturation is done onsite at the Distillery to ensure that the unique location and environment can play their part in the provenance of the final spirit.

The lightly-peated single malt whisky has been created using a combination of English un-peated and peated malted barley. A flavour-focused four-day fermentation uses a unique yeast Blend incorporating live yeast sourced from a local Peak District brewery.

The Distillery’s traditional, bespoke copper pot stills have been hand-built by McMillan and are run slowly to help produce the desired flavour profile. The final spirit is matured in a variety of carefully selected first fill oak casks, including ex-bourbon, virgin and STR (re-conditioned casks that have been shaved, toasted and re-charred), adding the final rich flavours to the whisky.

The Peaks Whiskey Glass Set live on Kickstarter

The Peaks Whiskey Glasses Take Whiskey Drinkers to New Heights

Tour the world with friends on your next whiskey night. The Peaks Whiskey Glass set by Liiton introduces four new destinations to add to your collection. Whiskey lovers can visit Mont Blanc, Denali, K2 and Fuji while enjoying their favorite premium single malt or blend.

Whiskey fans are enthusiast about the news. Not only has The Peaks Whiskey Glass smashed through its Kickstarter goal in less than 24 hours, it has surpassed the same-day goal set by its predecessor, the Everest Whiskey Glass.”

You spoke and we listened,” says Liiton founder Peng Lin. “During our Everest campaign, you asked for more mountains and so we’re delivering four peaks in this collection. We couldn’t be more pleased to bring whiskey fans the glasses they have been clamoring for.”

With the Peak Whiskey Glass set, Liiton is offering whiskey fans who missed out on the Everest Kickstarter Campaign to be first to jump on board for their newest premium whiskey drinking experience. More than 13,000 whiskey lovers backed the Everest Whiskey Glass.

“If you thought our Everest project was ambitious, we went to new heights to design four new, true-to-scale replicas of these four iconic mountains.” says Lin of the collection.

Visit the four corners of the Earth with The Peaks Whiskey Glass Set

Here are just a few features of the Peaks Whiskey Glass:

Power in your Palm

Precision-crafted Peaks Whiskey Glasses are the only tumblers to feature a true-to-scale 3D glass carving of these breathtaking mountains.

Chill-Charge System™

The glass sculpture of each mountain embedded within the whiskey glass charges up with cold to chill your drink, evenly distributing it throughout the whiskey without watering down the beverage for the cleanest unadulterated whiskey experience.

Unlocks Aromatics

The Peaks Whiskey Glass offers the optimal expression of whiskey flavors by gently and naturally releasing the aromatic compounds of your whiskey through interaction with each mountain carving.

Stronger. Faster. More whiskey flavor.

Each glass in The Peaks Whiskey Glass collection is made from X1 Crystalline, a proprietary glass tested over hundreds of days. It chills drinks quicker, and it offers more durability and the most pristine aromatic whiskey flavors available.

The Peak Whiskey Glasses Set is live on Kickstarter now. Learn more now about it here.

http://liiton.com/thepeaks/presskit

ABOUT LIITON

At Liiton, we know every good whiskey deserves a trustworthy companion. A wingman who lifts you to greater heights and won’t let you down when it matters most. We named our company Liiton, the Finnish word for union, to bring people together through the enjoyment of whiskey. We’re on a mission to create the world’s best products for whiskey lovers. Spending an evening with Liiton is creating lasting friendships and lifelong memories.