MACHIR BAY CASK STRENGTH 2021

“Machir Bay at cask strength has such intense flavours, the tropical fruit on the nose jumps out of the glass, and the citrus sweetness on the palate is so concentrated and powerful. Cask strength whiskies are such a pure representation of a distillery and maturation, they are hard to beat.” 

~Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder.

Back by popular demand, the Machir Bay Cask Strength is set for its latest edition, With new look packaging!

Delayed from its scheduled release last year, the 2021 Machir Bay Cask Strength is finally here (in 2022). This limited edition is made using the same vatting recipe as the regular Machir Bay bottling however, rather than reducing the strength to 46% abv, this one is released in a limited number of bottles at cask strength; of 58.3% abv. The higher abv allows for the quality and intensity of the Kilchoman spirit to shine.

Only 18828 bottles were produced.

NOSE: Opens with light, fruity notes influenced by the distillation. Intense waves of fresh green apples followed by candied tropical fruits. Lasting hints of dry, earthy peat smoke become the backbone for this release.

PALATE: Powerful, combining citrus notes of lemon and orange peel. Dominant honeycomb sweetness that makes way from a profile driven by milk chocolate.

FINISH: Slight cracked black pepper spice and nutmeg. Oily rich texture delivers an increasingly smoky influence. Nice balance of heavy peat, slow distillation and oak character.

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WOW… time flies when your having whisky fun, we’re now only FOUR WEEKS to Christmas. In sheer anticipation and excitement, we’ve released some fantastic feel-good flavours to get us in the mood for the festive season. Warming with real depth and a sense of mischief – these whiskies are ideal for sharing with loved ones.

Keep on scrolling to discover more or click on over to our website to browse our new November Outturn bottling list. For the ultimate festive feast, our Christmas Collection brings an exceptional selection of specially priced whiskies to enjoy, buy now before they are gone forever.

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CHRISTMAS COLLECTION

ADVENT CALENDAR

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/kzYEwN0DEAc

It’s back.

After what has felt like longer than a year, GlenDronach 18 has returned with all of its dark and mysterious allure. But, and luckily, I’ve been able to compare it to an older release form 2016…will it stand up?

That is quite a loaded comparison, granted. But I don’t feel we’ve ever really got to grapple with a regular bottle of GlenDronach 18YO. Billy Walker spoilt us with his insane selection of casks and vatting it all with much older stocks. Was that something still viable with this product? Is the current range still doing that? The stocks are still there, I presume.

But let me know your thoughts about this new bottling of what can only be considered a modern classic by all who have tried it in the past.

Glen Scotia Christmas Gift Guide 2022

Double Cask, 15YO and Victoriana miniatures set; RRP £23

The ultimate discovery pack for whisky newbies and whisky aficionados alike. Give the gift of a sensory experience with Glen Scotia’s classic Campbeltown single malt whisky trio gift box, featuring three award-winning whiskies that perfectly capture the spirit of Glen Scotia. The gift pack (3 x 5cl) is an introduction to whisky made by history, influenced by people, and enduring in every way.

Available at www.glenscotia.com and specialist whisky retailers.

Glen Scotia Victoriana, RRP £73

 Winner of the ‘Best in Class’ award at the 2022 World Spirit Competition, Victoriana is a modern interpretation of a classic Victorian style Campbeltown Malt Whisky. Ideal for an introduction to the classic Glen Scotia style that will surprise and delight whisky explorers and connoisseurs alike.

Matured in a combination of first and second fill bourbon barrels and finished in a combination of Pedro Ximénez and heavily charred oak casks. It is a delicious drink to enjoy over the festive period and winter months with a comforting and indulgent nose of Crème brûlée, melted sugars, caramelised fruits and oak, tasting notes of roasted sugars, blackcurrants and spice, with a finish of cocoa, dark chocolate and dark fruits.

Personalised engraving also available for an additional £5. Available at www.glenscotia.com and specialist whisky retailers.

Glen Scotia Limited Edition Seasonal Release 2022 – launching 1st October 2022 worldwide, RRP £80

The annual Glen Scotia Seasonal Release is a toast to the tight-knit Campbeltown community that has helped Glen Scotia to prevail. This is the ultimate dram to be enjoyed during a celebration with great food and exceptional company.

This 12 year old unpeated spirit has been matured in first fill Bourbon barrels before a final twelve month finish in Amontillado Sherry Casks. The result is a warm, nutty dram with long lingering vanilla notes and a mildly dry finish. Subtle maritime nuances on the nose and palate transport you to Campbeltown, as if walking along on our harbour at Christmas time. Natural colour and bottled at cask strength, it’s a true taste of Glen Scotia’s home.

Personalised engraving also available for an additional £5. Available from 1^st October 2022 at www.glenscotia.com and specialist whisky retailers.

Glen Scotia Double Cask Rum Finish – launching 10th October 2022 worldwide; RRP £49

As one of Scotland’s most internationally connected ports in the nineteenth century, Campbeltown enjoyed access to some of the finest produce from abroad. Records as far back as 1815, before Glen Scotia’s founding, show casks of rum present and for sale in the town.

The Glen Scotia Double Cask ‘Rum Finish’ showcases the quality and versatility of Glen Scotia’s no-aged-statement single malt whiskies. The alternative finish in guyanese demerara rum barrels for a minimum of eight months gives an exotic and mouth-watering dram for those not afraid to explore and who will be wonderfully surprised.

This rich and exotic whisky is matured in the finest American oak barrels and has tasting notes of cooked sugar, molasses and tropical fruit notes.

Personalised engraving also available for an additional £5. Available at www.glenscotia.com and specialist whisky retailers.

About Glen Scotia: 

Distiller Glen Scotia has been producing single malt whisky in Campbeltown since 1832 and is one of three surviving distilleries in Campbeltown. The distillery still maintains much of its original design, including the fermenters, the stillroom, and the dunnage warehouse dating from the 1830s.To this day, the distillery team follow in the footsteps of their founders, using traditional methods, carefully creating the unique Campbeltown maritime style the brand has become world-famous for.

In 2021, Glen Scotia’s 25-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch whisky was awarded ‘Best In Show Whisky’ at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Over 3,800 entries across 31 categories were judged with Glen Scotia being awarded the overall winner across all countries and styles, making it ‘Best Whisky in the World’. Later that year, Glen Scotia was named Scottish Whisky Distillery of the Year at the Scottish Whisky Awards. It is the first time a whisky distillery has received both accolades.

In 2022, Glen Scotia’s Victoriana won Best In Class in the Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch – No Age Statement category at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Laphroaig is located on the Southern coast of the Isle of Islay and has operated from the same location since it was founded. Known as the “Queen of the Hebrides”, Islay is Scotland’s southernmost Inner Hebride just of the mainland’s west coast. In order to access it, a ferry must be taken from the Port of Kennacraig, which sails for an hour and forty five minutes until arriving at Port Ellen. Milroy’s of Soho will be hosting an incredible tasting with the Laphroaig releases below:

Laphroaig 10Years Old
Laphroaig 10Years Old Cask Strength
Laphroaig Lore
Laphroaig 16Years Old
Laphroaig 25Years Old

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The south coast of Islay, Ardbeg Distillery was established by local farmers and distiller John MacDougall, beginning commercial production in 1815. Today it is one of the island’s fastest growing distilleries and prides itself upon using entirely traditional methods of production. Using malted barley sourced from the maltings at Port Ellen , Ardbeg claims to produce the peatiest whisky in Islay. Boasting several official bottlings, Ardbeg has garnered an array of accolades in recent years from Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible and at international spirit ratings competitions.

Joe Gunner the incredible Spirits Ambassador for Moet Hennessy UK will be coming down talking us through an incredible smoky line-up:

Ardbeg 5yo Wee Beastie
Ardbeg 10yo
Ardbeg An Oa
Ardbeg Uigeadail
Ardbeg Corryvreckan

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James Eadie established in 2016, is a company which is constantly innovating, especially with cask finishes. For those of you unfamiliar with James Eadie, this independent bottler specialises in Single Cask and small batch bottlings as well as their own superb blens: Trade Mark X. In this particular evening we will be having Hugh Barron talking us through the fantastic line-up below:

Trade Mark X
Glentacuhers 8Years Old
Glenlossie 10Years Old – Small Batch
Linkwood 12Years Old – Single Cask
Teaninich 11Years Old – Malaga Finish
Call Ila 11Years Old – Paolo Cortado Finish

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Compass Box Whisky was established by John Glaser in 2000. It’s first commercial release was the blended grain Hedonism, offered the same year. Peat Monster was launched four years later, comprising heavily-peated Islay and medium-peated Highland malts, which went on to become the company’s best-seller. The original version of The Spice Tree blended malt was marketed in 2005, but withdrawn the following year, being replaced by a variant with heavily-toasted cask heads instead of the staves disapproved of by the SWA. The Great King Street range of blended Scotch whiskies was inaugurated with Great King Street Artist’s Blend in 2011, followed by Glasgow Blend in 2014. The Team of Compass Box will be down in Milroy’s of Soho in this particular evening talking us through the line-up below:

Compass Box Artist Blend
Compass Box Hedonism
Compass Box Orchad House
Compass Box Pest Monster
Compass Box Spice Tree
Compass Box Flaming Heart

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BENROMACH 40 YEAR OLD (2022 RELEASE)

Laid down in the highest quality oak casks for four decades since 1982, this rare single malt is a beautiful deep amber colour, left at a cask strength of 57.6% abv. Presented in a stunning black stained solid oak wooden box, this single malt is a batch of only 1,132 bottles. A stunning example of a classic Speyside malt!

Nose: baking spices, Seville oranges, toasted hazelnuts.

Palate: apple pie, dark chocolate, juicy cherries.

Finish: aged oak and dark fruits.

£1,799.00
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Due to be bottled in January, and shipped in February 2023. Special owners card from Master Blenders will be shipped following purchase. Our iconic first release represents a historical moment in Wolfcraig’s history.

This luxurious Blended Scotch Whisky is unique, not only because of the complexity and finesse that 30 years of maturation brings, but because of the partnership that has collaborated on it’s finishing touches.

£425.00

IAN MACMILLAN

“Between Richard and I, we have almost 100 years of experience. I don’t think there’s ever been another project like it”

It is very rare that two Master Blenders work together on one project, with each bringing their individual style. Richard Paterson and Ian Macmillan have utilised their long friendship and combined their peerless knowledge to become the ultimate partnership of Master Blenders under the Wolfcraig banner.

RICHARD PATERSON

“This is a rare and luxurious whisky that really is something out of the ordinary. It is impeccably groomed and polished as a unique experience for the true whisky connoisseur”

Read the full tasting notes below to be taken on a sensory journey by the first expression of Rare Aged Blends from Wolfcraig.

Colour: Rich mahogany gold with dazzling copper highlights.

Nose: Bold & majestic as a veil of exuberance immediately arouses your senses with tantalising aromas of Seville orange marmalade, creamy caramel, Manuka honey and hints of lemon drizzle cake. Another wave of enticing nuances quickly follows on with freshly baked banana bread, sweet pineapple, Devonshire fudge and caramelised pear. A whisper of Ogen melon and sun kissed raisins completes this panoply of sensory pleasure.

Taste: This noble 30 Year Old Premium Blended Scotch Whisky has been specially selected from the Highlands of Scotland, in particular from the Speyside Valley to provide an additional level of pure elegance and refinement. However to take our Premium Blended Scotch to the peak of perfection, we finally married this icon in Aged Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks from Bodega San Andres in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain before we finally bottled it.

This meticulous wood enhancement programme has ensured the exceptional quality of the whisky is unsurpassed. Since it has remained in the finest casks for 30 long years, this masterpiece must be given all the respect and reverence it richly deserves by holding long in the mouth to fully tease out all these wonderful flavours of maple syrup, bitter chocolate, Pontefract cake and sweet sultanas.

A divine decadence of Cara Cara orange, crushed almonds and Napoleon cake drenched in Madagascan vanilla custard leads on to enrich the palate even further. A finale of creme brûlée, cape gooseberries and toffee apple completes this compelling portrait of pure beauty. A pleasing aftertaste of aged balsamic, espresso coffee and ginger drifts slowly away in the background.

Impeccably groomed and polished for the true whisky connoisseur.

Diageo Special Releases 2022: Elusive Expressions

Diageo’s much-anticipated Special Releases are back for a 21st year and so is our annual tasting of the famed collection. During the evening, attendees will have the chance to try all eight of the recently released drams and, even more exclusively, learn about these exceptional whiskies from one of the UK’s top whisky ambassadors, Diageo’s Colin Dunn himself!⁠

THE DETAILS
Venue: The Whisky Exchange Great Portland Street, London W1W 7NT⁠
Date: 7 December
Time: 7.30-10pm
Price: £55

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James Eadie was a brewer born in Scotland in 1827. James Eadie established his company in 1854 and alongside brewing beer and owning as many as 200 pubs in his lifetime, also developed his own blended Scotch whisky. Today the company is run by his great-grandson and is known as an independent bottler of Scotch whisky under their small batch and single cask range.

Shop ALL new James Eadie HERE