To mark International Women’s Day this month, here at the Society we find ourselves celebrating those who think differently. This First Friday, taste and explore a truly exceptional selection of casks BUT be sure to be bold in selecting your bottlings – now is the time to try something a little different.

Ahead of our March Outturn release on Friday, 3 March at 9am, Unfiltered editor Richard Goslan sat down for a chat with SMWS head of whisky creation Euan Campbell and spirits coordinator Julien Willems to discuss some interesting bottles to look out for.

Discover a taste of what to expect, sit back and listen to the conversation in full via the link below. OR click over to our website now to browse the new Outturn before the bottles go on sale.

DON’T MISS: In the meantime, don’t miss out on our new Maverick whisky, the first of our 40^th anniversary releases. AND with today being St David’s Day, a celebration of the patron saint of Wales, be sure to give the unique bottling Cask No. 128.29 Biscuit rose de reims a sample.

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READ 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

Friar John Cor

‘The Cask Strength Congregation Batch’

Chapter 1 

A new release from Lindores Abbey Distillery – The Friar John Cor – Chapter 1. It was matured in a blend of Bourbon, Monbazillac, STR, and Sherry casks. The introduction of the Monbazillac casks gives a sweetness and complexity that compliments perfectly the classic Lindores style. Lindores Abbey is the officially recognised site of the first recorded distillation of Scotch Whisky in 1494, when Brother John Cor, a Lindores monk, was commissioned by King James IV in 1494 to turn 8 bolls of malt into Aqua Vitae, Lindores is again taking its place in history with its, now commercially available, Friar John Cor ‘The Cask Strength Congregation Batch’ – Chapter 1.

NOSE

Mellow ripe banana, honeycomb, apricot, and fresh pastry aroma fills the nose. A beautiful combination of fruity red apples, peaches and layers of winey touches.

PALATE

Rich fruity dates, apricots and spicy cinnamon with figs, prunes, blood orange, nutty almonds and waves of vanilla. Extremely silky texture. Very well balanced and complex.

FINISH

Pleasant medium to long with sweet honey, subtle spices and nutty.

£67.00

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2009 BenRiach 12 Year Old K&L Exclusive Barrel #13467 Peated Rye Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml)

(Previously $120)

$84.70 View

The long and complicated history of BenRiach includes an optimistic vision, a long closure, a rebirth, a short closure, and finally, a modern renaissance – of which we are now in full swing. Built in 1897 by John Duff, BenRiach sits next door to Duff’s hugely successful Longmorn distillery. BenRiach boasts a huge floor malting facility and five on-site, traditional, stone-walled and earthen-floored dunnage warehouses. It is one of the most traditionally-styled distilleries in all of Scotland. Sadly, shortly after it was built, the market fell out of Scotch and it was shuttered for over half a century. When it was reborn in 1965, it was controlled by Seagrams for a time, then taken over by Pernod Ricard, then shuttered again in 2001. Fortunately for whisky fans everywhere, the inimitable Billy Walker purchased the facility in 2003 and with this change in ownership, BenRiach’s fortunes began to change. Walker had spent years blending whiskies and knew the magic that lied within BenRiach. Over his tenure the quality of their releases skyrocketed, and the popularity of the distillery soared. This grabbed the attention of Brown Forman, who took over in 2016. It is now under the watchful eye of one of Scotland’s finest Master Blenders, Rachel Barrie. This special K&L cask spanned both Mr. Walker and Ms. Barrie’s tenure. The peated distillate, laid down in 2009, drinks like a supremely old-school Speysider. Tropical fruit and intense spice mingle perfectly with the smoke.

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

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 483: Glentauchers 13 Year Old 2009 Buds & Barrels

Mark Dermul, Belgian whiskyblogger, tries a lesser known malt. Independent bottler Buds & Barrels launched this summery Glentauchers in its ‘sticky label’ range at the end of last year, from a refill sherry butt. I confess, when I first read it, I looked surprised for a moment, because Manny and I had also bottled a Glentauchers 2009 from the same cask type in May of the same year. And then a monkey on the label too? I won’t say anything else, but I’m going to taste it right away.

https://youtu.be/auElXK6Jn7g

CHIVAS BROTHERS HY ORGANIC NET SALES +23% AS PORTFOLIO ELEVATION AND PREMIUMISATION STRATEGY CONTINUES TO TAKE EFFECT

Chivas Brothers, the Pernod Ricard business dedicated entirely to Scotch whisky, today announced its half-year (HY23; July 2022 – December 2022) performance with organic net sales up +23% compared to HY22.

This strong performance is due to its strategic focus on portfolio elevation and premiumisation – two-thirds of the +23% growth is driven by price/mix — along with the strength of its global footprint. Its key strategic brands Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Royal Salute and The Glenlivet each experienced double-digit growth.

Chivas Brothers’ extensive and balanced global footprint has enabled this growth, with emerging and mature markets growing at +24% and +22% respectively, and expansion across all key regions. Consistent with recent years, performance in Asian and Latin American markets continues to be exceptional, with Korea, Japan and Taiwan up +59%, +53% and +37% respectively, while Brazil, Colombia and Mexico saw increases of +40%, +30% and +21%. In European markets, Spain rose +17% and Poland +7%, and separately North America +6%.

This heightened demand also supports its continued investment in the elevation of the Prestige portfolio (+28%). Specifically, Ballantine’s Prestige range grew +81% owing to increased demand across Asian markets and Global Travel Retail (GTR), while The Glenlivet’s top-line performance was driven by its Prestige expressions.

Chivas Brothers’ Chairman and CEO, Jean-Etienne Gourgues, commented:

“These positive results reflect the impact of our long-term portfolio elevation and premiumisation strategy. It’s a testament to the resilience of Scotch, its bright future and our continued drive to open up the category to new audiences.”

Performance across strategic brands

Chivas Regal

The continued popularity of Chivas 12 and 18, the brand’s emerging and mature market growth balance as well as the release of innovations such as Chivas Extra 13 have contributed to the positive brand performance of +34%.

Ballantine’s

As a result of the very strong pricing and premiumisation strategy, Ballantine’s global sales rose +17%, which was drawn from innovations such as Ballantine’s 7 and American Barrel 10 Year Old, as well as the growth of its Prestige portfolio.

Royal Salute

The globalisation of Royal Salute and its continued diversification has led to increased enthusiasm for the brand, resulting in a +37% sales growth. Key product drivers were the hero 21YO collection, alongside market and channel exclusives. Notably, Royal Salute grew within the key regions of Asia +39% and Americas +38%.

The Glenlivet

The Glenlivet continued to increase its value share with +12% global growth as a result of value strategy and pricing, coupled with the healthy performance of the Prestige range. Asia was its #1 growth contributor by region, with rest of world also accelerating.

Bruichladdich 30 YO

Connoisseur’s Choice 1990 Vintage

£650.00

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Bruichladdich [‘brook-laddie’] Distillery, ususually for an Islay distillery, focusses on non-peated whisky. This single cask 1990 vintage was distilled in the period before the distillery’s closure in 1994 and resurrection in 2001, so offers a rare chance to explore vintage Bruichladdich.

Matured in a single cask Refill Sherry Hogshead #3000 bottled March 2021 by Gordon & MacPhail for the Connoisseurs Choice series. Only 228 bottles at cask strength 51.9% . Bruichladdich 30 Year Old 1990 vintage Islay single malt Scotch whisky. Single cask Refill Sherry Hogshead #3000 bottled March 2021 by Gordon & MacPhail for the Connoisseurs Choice series. 228 bottles.

Nose: Stewed dates and fragrant orange zest compliment subtle ginger aromas.

Palate: Sweet baked apple flavours combine with marzipan and morello cherries.

Finish: A medium finish of toasted oak.

Bruichladdich Distillery was established in 1881 by the Harvey family of distillers based in Glasgow. Situated on the Rhinns peninsular on the island of Islay close and close to the sandy bays of Loch Indaal. Re-opened in 2001 with much of the original Victorian equipment restored to working order. The first release of Bruichladdich’s new whisky was the highly acclaimed PC5, the first release in the limited Port Charlotte range. Also producing very highly peated Octamore, Organic using Islay grown barley, and triple and quadruple distilled single malt and single cask releases. Bruichladdich distillery participates in Feis Ile, the annual Islay Whisky Festival.

NEW IN AT
THE WHISKY EXCHANGE

Not had a chance to explore our latest releases? Here’s a round-up of our popular new whiskies, featuring single malts bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange to celebrate our co-founders Sukhinder and Rajbir’s 50 years in the drinks industry.

We’ve also welcomed our exclusive smoky and sherried Bowmore 21 Year Old, bottled for us by Douglas Laing, a limited-edition Glenallachie finished in European oak wine barriques, and the 2022 Distillers Editions from distinctive distilleries Lagavulin and Talisker, each finished in ex-sherry casks and full of rich fruit, sweetness and peat smoke.

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LINDORES SINGLE CASK EXCLUSIVE – AWARD WINNER!

We’re absolutely delighted to report that our Lindores Abbey Single Cask Exclusive has won the prestigious ‘Recommended Award’ in the latest edition of Whisky Magazine (Issue 189).

Out of the 20 or so whiskies being blind tasted, our Lindores single cask received the second highest mark, missing out on top spot by 0.1 points. The standard was extremely high, making this achievement even better.

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https://youtu.be/syJ63A9uiug

Established in 1798, and still one of the oldest distilleries in Scottish history, the Tobermory distillery is home to peated and unpeated whisky. Ledaig is for those of you who prefer a distinctly west coast, peated, rugged, yet still sweet kind of whisky. Tobermory, I must say, it’s been a long time since I last tried it. It’s an ashamed thing to admit, but I know it has my full interest.

The label states ‘gentle, floral and unpeated’. This is true, no doubt about it. But inside this whisky are deeper, darker, more intense flavours than what I expected to find in a ‘lighter’ style of west coast single malt. This bottle honestly reminds me of salt, truffle, honey, candle wax, ginger, and vanilla. A very interesting and complex whisky for below £50 per bottle.

Meet The Maker: Phil Cleaver Sits Down With Mark Littler 

Professor Phil Cleaver gives insight into the creation of the Macallan Eight Decades of Sir Peter Blake in an exclusive interview with whisky broker and market analyst, Mark Littler. 

The Macallan Eight Decades of Sir Peter Blake is a piece of art as much as it is a whisky release. Containing one miniature for each decade of Sir Peter Blake’s life at the time of release, the miniature Macallans have vintages ranging from the 1930s until the 2000s. Some of the miniatures contain whisky from The Macallan Fine & Rare Selection.

This legendary artwork is highly sought after by both whisky collectors and art connoisseurs alike due to its association with Sir Peter Blake, a commanding figure in the British pop art scene who worked on iconic pieces such as the cover for The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. 

However, it may surprise you that the idea was not initially conceived to celebrate Sir Blake’s 80th birthday, but that his birthday coincided with the production of the set. And so, Peter Blake, David Holmes, Phil Cleaver, and a whole host of expert typographers, woodworkers, and Macallan whisky makers worked as a team to create one of the most impressive whisky bottlings ever made: a whisky release that is also a Peter Blake original artwork.

This is just one of the interesting revelations about the creation of this piece of art that you can expect from Mark Littler’s new YouTube series.

Whisky broker and whisky market analyst, Mark Littler, sits down with Phil Cleaver, an award-winning designer who played an integral role in creating the Macallan Eight Decades of Sir Peter Blake.

Episode 1 of Meet The Maker is now live on YouTube.

About Mark Littler Limited

Mark Littler is an independent whisky broker, market analyst and consultant with over a decade of experience in the industry. Each week he publishes new videos on his YouTube channel about topics such as cask investment fraud (and how to avoid it), the history of distilleries and bottles, debunking whisky investment myths and much more. For more information visit www.marklittler.com

If you are interested in the Macallan Eight Decades of Sir Peter Blake or would like to chat with one of the team about our services, please get in touch.

Email: whisky@marklittler.com

Telephone: 01260 218 718