Woodrow’s Blended Highland Malt 30 Years Old 

1994 Warehouse Reserve

 This exquisite blended malt combines four single malts from the Highland region of Scotland. They were vatted together in 1994 and put to rest in a sherry cask, where they matured together for 30 years. The end result is a citrusy malt with notes of berry fruits and wax It was bottled without chill-filtration or artificial colouring.

£160.00

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THE REVIEW

Living Souls 18YO Tobermory/Ledaig, 41%.

I don’t think I’ve ever tried a combination of Tobermory and Ledaig in the same bottle before. Folks of Tobermory distillery should be paying strong attention to this bottle. This wasn’t the most complex whisky of the Living Souls releases that I’ve tried, but what it did, it did very well. The combination of sharp green apple, cheddar cheese, Parmesan and a little hint of something soft and sweet has really brought this profile together as a wonderful dessert alternative liquid.

To be fair, this is cheaper than most standard, older releases of Tobermory and Ledaig, maybe with the exception of Ledaig 18YO. However, despite this being a joint scare with the 40YO release, it is still a wonderful example of west coast distillery style, and a showcase of how both single malts from one distillery can be radically different, yet complimentary.

Prize Whisky: The Newly Launched Stocking Filler Whisky Lovers Will Adore This Festive Season

Perth, Scotland – Just in time for the festive season, Prize Whisky is making its debut as the ultimate stocking filler for whisky enthusiasts. Combining the thrill of discovery with a taste of Scotland’s finest, this newly launched blind whisky-tasting experience is the perfect gift for anyone with a passion for single malts.

Each beautifully designed pouch contains a mystery Scottish single malt whisky, carefully selected to challenge the senses and inspire whisky lovers of all levels. Whether it’s for a seasoned connoisseur or someone just beginning their whisky journey, Prize Whisky offers an experience unlike any other.

Adding even more excitement, every pack includes multiple chances to win exceptional rare and old bottles of whisky, the first guaranteed prize being the Glengoyne 25 yr old but with plans to increase the value of the prize pool in line with the amount of entries received. Simply enter the unique pack code on the Prize Whisky website, answer a series of questions related to your mystery whisky, and gain entries for every correct answer. The perfect gift could turn into the ultimate win.

Why Prize Whisky Makes the Perfect Gift

New and Unique: Launched just in time for Christmas, this innovative whisky-tasting experience is guaranteed to be something they have never had before.

Mystery Meets Mastery: Each pouch contains a different single malt scotch whisky, keeping the contents a surprise until tasted.

A Gift That Keeps Giving: With multiple chances to win, the excitement continues long after Christmas with the grand prize winner being announced in January.

Expertly Curated: Selected from Scotland’s finest distilleries, each whisky highlights the diversity and richness of single malts.

Perfectly Packaged: Compact and stylish, the pouches are designed to fit neatly into any stocking.

“Whisky lovers are notoriously hard to buy presents for; they all have too many whisky glasses and multiple sacks of unused whisky stones in the freezer, so with Prize Whisky, we’re delivering a unique experience that combines discovery, fun, and the chance to win incredible prizes,” said Michael Howe, founder of Prize Whisky. “As a newly launched product, it’s exciting to bring something fresh to the whisky community this Christmas.”

Prize Whisky is available for purchase now at www.prizewhisky.com, with shipping across the UK in time for Christmas if ordered by 2pm on the 20th. Each pouch is affordably priced at £10, including P&P, making it an ideal stocking filler for any whisky lover.

This Christmas, celebrate the season of giving with Prize Whisky—a brand-new gift that offers mystery, flavour, and the promise of unforgettable prizes.

Elijah Craig Debuts New Holiday “Craig Nog,” Elevated Eggnog Cocktail Made for Elijah Craig Bourbon

The Father of Bourbon is inspiring a new holiday tradition by making Craig Nog available to order direct to your door this December

BARDSTOWN, Ky., December 3, 2024 – Elijah Craig, a leading family of premium American Whiskeys, is putting an elevated twist on a beloved holiday tradition with the launch of “Craig Nog,” a new limited-edition, luxury eggnog cocktail designed for its award-winning Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon. Craig Nog takes the nostalgic flavors of eggnog and raises the bar with superior ingredients like Madagascar Vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, and is topped with gold glitter adorned star anise and a Bourbon barrel aged stir stick. The decadent ingredients are anchored by the proof and bold flavor of Elijah Craig Bourbon to create a deliciously well-balanced holiday cocktail.

The Craig Nog cocktail kit, available to order nationwide, provides an opportunity to slow down and enjoy the season while handcrafting your new signature holiday drink at home. It also makes the perfect gift! Each cocktail kit features a 375ml bottle of Elijah Criag Small Batch Bourbon, premeasured portions of each of the Craig Nog eggnog ingredients and a limited-edition etched Elijah Craig pitcher, the perfect keepsake for remaking your Craig Nog for seasons to come. Enjoy Craig Nog while hanging ornaments, opening presents or cheersing to the New Year.

Throughout December, those based in New York City and Chicago can also enjoy Craig Nog in prebatched and ready to enjoy cans by ordering through the Doordash app or website. Each order will be delivered in a limited-edition Craig Nog tote bag, perfect for transporting Craig Nog to and from holiday gatherings.

“One of my fondest holiday memories is of my grandmother whipping up a batch of her famous eggnog– the adults would always spike their cup with a little Kentucky love! While nostalgia inspired the creation of Craig Nog, we wanted to breathe new life into the beverage. The complexity of flavors found in Elijah Craig Bourbon were the perfect upgrade to begin with,” said Lynn House, National Spirits Specialist and Portfolio Mixologist at Elijah Craig Bourbon.

“Elijah Craig was the first distiller to age his whiskey in new charred oak barrels starting in the late 1700s, right around the time that eggnog as we know it was first invented. With the launch of Craig Nog, we’re bringing two iconic flavors together to elevate holiday drinking while maintaining the integrity of a tradition so many of us hold near and dear,” continued House.

Often fortified with brandy, eggnog is a popular seasonal beverage dating back hundreds of years that has firmly planted its roots in American culture. In the U.S., we consume more eggnog than any other country in the world, drinking more than 15 million gallons, or 240 million cups annually*. Elijah Craig recognized eggnog is easily elevated with the introduction of Bourbon as the spirit adds a welcomed punch of refined flavor. The brand created Craig Nog to redefine eggnog as a premium holiday beverage suitable for both Bourbon aficionados and Bourbon explorers who are newer to the spirit – inspiring a new holiday drinking tradition this year.

Craig Nog is available for preorder beginning December 3. If you’re 21+, visit www.elijahcraig.com/CraigNog to learn more and order Craig Nog direct to your door. For more holiday inspiration follow @ElijahCraig on Instagram.

ABOUT ELIJAH CRAIG BOURBON: Known as “The Father of Bourbon,” Elijah Craig is credited with being the first distiller to age his wares in charred oak barrels to make Bourbon. The clear, unaged corn whiskey became transformed into a bold amber liquid with a distinctively smooth flavor that makes Bourbon what it is today. Elijah Craig’s community impact continues through Elijah Craig Old Fashioned Week, providing total donations of half a million to date to organizations supporting the hospitality industry. Produced by Heaven Hill Distillery, the nation’s largest independent, family-owned and led distillery and the world’s second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon, the Elijah Craig lineup includes: Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey, Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Elijah Craig Toasted Rye Whiskey, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Elijah Craig’s accolades have included Whisky Advocate’s Whisky of the Year, Best Small Batch Bourbon and Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and World’s Best Small Batch Bourbon and Best Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon at Whisky Magazine’s 2023 World Whiskies Awards. For more information, please visit www.elijahcraig.com.

BONHAMS SKINNER PRESENTS SPIRITS FROM THROUGHOUT HISTORY IN DECEMBER SALE

View Catalogue

Six bottles from the Springbank Millennium Collection, estimated at $36,000 – 48,000. 

Boston – Bonhams Skinner’s Wine and Spirits department will close out a successful year of sales with Highly Spirited: The Legacies of Scotch and Whiskey, a perennial selection of over 500 lots each steeped in heritage. This theme is exceptionally showcased in the highlight of the sale – six bottles from the Springbank Millennium Collection. Founded in 1828 and one of the only distilleries in Scotland to oversee the full distillation process, Springbank released this set in 1999 to commemorate the new millennium. Ranging in age from 25 to 50 years old in five-year increments, the Millennium Collection has seldom appeared on the market. It is estimated at $36,000 – 48,000.

From the turbulent history of American Whiskey, the sale will offer a bottle of 16 Years Old Colonel Randolph, estimated at $16,000 – 20,000. This extremely rare bottle is the only cask strength and highest proof bottling of the legendary spirits still available from Pennco Distillery. Also of note is a beautiful five bottle set of Van Winkle expressions, estimated at $7,500 – 9,500, which includes the Van Winkle Special Reserve Lot B, Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year, Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year, 20 Year and 23 Years. Based in Kentucky, the esteemed Van Winkle distillery has led the premium bourbon market for four generations, establishing themselves as the benchmark for quality.

The sale will also feature bottle 788 of the 1,812 Black Bowmore, 1964 produced in 1995 as part of the third edition of this remarkably limited series. It is estimated at $10,000 – 15,000. Additionally, a single bottle of Karuizawa 31 Years Old from Cask #8775, distilled in 1981 and bottled in 2013, is estimated at $10,000 – 13,000.

About The Bonhams Network

Bonhams is a global network of auction houses, with the largest number of international salerooms, offering the widest range of collecting categories and selling at all price points. Bonhams is recognised for its bespoke service, and a dedication to local market relationships, enhanced by a global platform. With 14 salerooms, Bonhams presents over 1,000 sales annually, across more than 60 specialist categories, including fine art, collectables, luxury, wine & spirits, and collector cars.

Founded in 1793, Bonhams has representatives in more than 30 countries and operates flagship salerooms in London, New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. In 2022, Bonhams added four international auction houses to its network: Bukowskis, Stockholm; Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen; Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris and Brussels; and Skinner, Massachusetts. The success of Bonhams’ global strategy is a result of recognising the shift in growing intercontinental buying and increased digital engagement.

Recent important auctions and landmark single-owner collections, include the white glove sales of Sir Michael Caine: The Personal Collection, Alain Delon: Sixty Years of Passion; Sir Roger Moore: The Personal Collection; Personal Property of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and The Robert & Jean-Pierre Rousset Collection of Asian Art: A Century of Collecting. Other notable single-owner sales included The Estate of Barbara Walters: American Icon; The Alan and Simone Hartman Collection; The Crown Auction: Props and Costumes and The Claude de Marteau Collection.

Top lots for 2023 include 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta, Sold at Quail Lodge, US for US$30,255,000. Tipu Sultan’s Bedchamber Sword (sold in London for £14m – a world record for both an Islamic and an Indian object); Paul Signac (1863-1935), Sisteron, 1902. Sold for US$8,580,000 (estimate US$4-6 million), and Claude Monet (1840-1926), La Seine près de Giverny, 1888. Sold for US$6,352,500 (estimate US$4-6m), both from the Alan and Simone Hartman Collection; A Gilt Copper Alloy figure of Virupaksha, Central Tibet, Densatil Monastery, Early 15th century. Sold for HK$37.9m (£4,060,326) in Hong Kong. Yoshitomo Nara (born 1959) Three Stars. Sold for HK$36,754,000 (£3,930,914), also in Hong Kong.

More information and highlights can be found here. For a full list of forthcoming auctions, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com

Invergordon 50 Years Old 

Single Grain

This single-grain whisky was distilled on the 28th of November 1974 at the Invergordon Distillery, the Northmost grain distillery in Scotland, known for producing whiskies with a uniquely smooth and creamy profile. Aged in a single barrel for half a century, this whisky bursts with notes of ripe peaches, nectarines, and delicate vanilla cream with hints of almond, coconut, and oak. Bottled by Finn Thomson at natural cask strength, without chill filtration or artificial colouring.

£375.00

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Descriptors for the aroma came fast and furious – gravadlax sauce, beech-smoked trout, black peppercorn-infused rye whisky and homemade sweet ploughman’s pickle. The taste was like smoked brisket pastrami prepared in a brine of pink curing salt, sugar and spices, alongside mild goat’s cheese on Jamaican gingerbread – intrigued? You should be! And what a change after the addition of water. Initially we stayed in the Caribbean with a warm Jamaican-style coffee and walnut cake followed by the sweet scent of cherry wood- smoked marshmallows. On the palate, we now found a mixture between a smoked battenberg cake and tiramisu with smoked cocoa powder.

Moments like this are why being a member of the SMWS is so special. In just a few hours (now long past- WI) we’ll release our first offering from a Hebridean distillery located on the Isle of Harris.  This is also the first release by the distillery from an independent bottler. This whisky will also be available to enjoy by the dram at our Members’ Rooms.

Cask No. 163.1: Smokin’! 

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

ralfy review – THREE Great Independent Bottlers of 2024

Douglas Laing introduces Fourth Bottling within its Exclusive Old Particular Red Wine Cask Collection

Douglas Laing & Co. today announces the release of a Girvan 16-Year-Old Single Grain Scotch Whisky. This special edition, finished in a single Merlot Red Wine Cask, is the fourth bottling in their exclusive Old Particular Red Wine Cask collection.

Each pairing in this collection is said to have been “meticulously selected to enhance the inherent qualities of the chosen Malt and Grain Scotch Whiskies, elevating the complexity and depth to introduce new and exciting taste experiences.”

The journey takes us to France with this exquisite 16-year-old Girvan, finished extensively in a single Merlot Red Wine Cask from sunnier regions. The well-structured, bold characteristics of Merlot harmonise beautifully with Girvan’s complexity, bringing tasting notes of “hard candy, honeyed cereal, and rich dark toffee with smooth ganache.” The influence of French oak allows the grain to shine, offering a powerful finish filled with “cinnamon spice and ripe red fruits.”

Bottled at 48.4% alcohol strength and proudly without artificial colouring or chill filtration, this limited edition is expected to retail at £85.00 / €101.00.

 Key Bottle Details:

• Finished in a Merlot Red Wine Cask.
• Premium red wax dip finish.
• Bespoke design and showcased in a black bottle.
• Neck tag included with QR code to bottle tasting.
• 4% ABV. 

ABOUT DOUGLAS LAING & CO.

www.douglaslaing.com

Douglas Laing & Co. is a leading independent Scotch Whisky distillery, blender and bottler specialising in the selection and release of Single Cask Single and Small Batch Malt Scotch Whiskies.

The company was founded by Fred Douglas Laing in 1948 and is still owned and run by the Laing family – Fred Laing Jr and his daughter Cara Laing.

The company philosophy is to bottle the way the distiller intended – at a high strength and without chill filtration to preserve the robust and unique character of the Whisky. Douglas Laing’s industry reputation and many awards are a testament to this ethos.

Douglas Laing’s Exceptional Single Casks are an award-winning family of four distinct brands that carry Single Cask Single Malt and Single Grain Scotch Whiskies from a vast range of Scotland’s Distilleries. Each offered proudly without colouring or chill-filtration and at high alcohol strength, for ultimate and natural liquid quality.

HOST A WHISKY TASTING.

We’re firm believers that whisky is best served when in good company, so gather your nearest and dearest and host a tasting of your favourite Laphroaig expressions. We’ve included a few helpful tips below to get you started.

1. Prepare a tasting sheet to record the expression, age and proof of each whisky.

2. Starting with the lightest whisky and finishing with the most robust, approach each dram and take a short sniff. Make sure to note down the initial aromas you detect.

3. Now take a deeper sniff by nosing at the top of the rim of the glass and again at the bottom, your dram should resemble the 12 O’clock and 6 O’clock positions when doing this. You should find slightly different aromas come through when in each position.

4. Take a small sip, hold the whisky in your mouth and coat the tongue before swallowing. Write down your first impressions and the flavours you pick up.

5. You can also try adding a few drops of water to the liquid. Watch as the oils in the whisky untether as you swirl the glass. Take a sniff and note any new aromas you pick up.

6. To finish, sit back and sip up with your favourite dram – and remember, this one is for you!

Laphroaig Distillery, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay, Argyll & Bute Scotland, PA42 7DU, United Kingdom