RAISE A TOAST TO

BURNS NIGHT

A traditional Burns Night calls for haggis, pipers and formal dress. But we feel that if you have good company, good whisky and a selection of the Ploughman Poet’s works to hand then you have everything you need to celebrate. This is why we’ve assembled a few of our favourite drams for toasting with with while you recite Address to a Haggis, Scotch Drink or Tam o’ Shanter.

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A London, Ontario Distillery claims WHISKY OF THE YEAR honours at the 2024 CANADIAN WHISKY AWARDS

More than two dozen accolades were presented at the prestigious 14th annual event

VICTORIA, B.C. (January 19, 2024) – Paradigm Spirits’ 2022 Heritage Collection was named Canadian Whisky of the Year at the 2024 Canadian Whisky Awards, held Thursday, January 18, in Victoria, B.C. The 19-year-old blended whisky was awarded top honours by a panel of 10 judges, who tasted and scored nearly 200 competing whiskies in blind tastings.

Made from 100% Canadian corn, 2022 Heritage Collection spent 19 years maturing in new American oak barrels. The whisky-makers at Paradigm then blended in a touch of classic Oloroso sherry, a recognized practice under Canada’s whisky-blending regulations.

“This is remarkable whisky,” says Davin de Kergommeaux, chair of the judging panel and author of Canadian Whisky: The Essential Portable Expert. “Long maturation in oak imbues it with sublime complexity and elegance, while meticulous blending animates its fresh, fruity top notes.”

Canadian Whisky of the Year was just one of more than two dozen awards handed out at this year’s 14th annual edition of the Canadian Whisky Awards. Other honours included:

• Corn Whisky of the Year – J.P. Wiser’s 18-Year-Old
• Wheat Whisky of the Year – LMD Whisky Release no.0005-Straight Wheat
• Rye Whisky of the Year – GrainHenge Arrowwood
• Single Malt Whisky of the Year – Two Brewers Release 41
• Blended Whisky of the Year – Wayne Gretzky Distillery No.99 Maple Cask Whisky
• Mixed Mash Whisky of the Year – Crown Royal Aged 30 Years
• Whisky Spirit of the Year – DEVINE Distillery Ancient Grains ‘Young Whisky’
• Alternative Grain Whisky of the Year – Last Straw Distillery Rice Whisky
• Flavoured Whisky of the Year – Crown Royal Golden Apple Aged 23 Years
• Cream Whisky of the Year – Forty Creek Original Cream

Held annually since 2010 at the Victoria Whisky Festival, the Canadian Whisky Awards recognizes the very best Canadian whiskies. An independent panel of experts scores each whisky in blind tastings, based on ranking criteria that reflect the industry’s highest standards.

The Canadian Whisky Awards is fully independent of the Canadian whisky industry. In order to qualify for competition, all whiskies must be distilled and matured in Canada.

For more information and the full results of the 2024 Canadian Whisky Awards, visit canadianwhiskyawards.com.

For images, please see: canadianwhiskyawards.com/media.

Media Contacts:

Davin de KergommeauxLaura Chair, Canadian Whisky Awards media@canadianwhiskyawards.com

Our January auction is now LIVE!

Place your bids from 7pm (GMT)  Friday 19th January until 3pm (GMT) Sunday 28th January.

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!

Hibiki – 30 Year Old (Aritayaki) Limited Edition

Springbank – 30 Year Old (Millennium Limited Edition)

Karuizawa – 31 Year Old (1981) Single Cask #3555 (TWE Geisha Label)

Strathisla – 1965 (Gordon & MacPhail)

Aberlour – 25 Year Old (1964) 75cl

Bowmore – 34 Year Old (1971)

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.com.

16 Year Old American Oak Second-Fill

Our first ballot for 2024 is 16 years in the making. Allow the warm embrace of TD0116 to welcome you back to the new year with bursts of stone fruit, caramel popcorn, halva and honeycomb.

 American Oak Old & Rare Second-Fill TD0116

“A harmonious dance of creamy richness and texture, TD0116 seamlessly weaves together the nuances of its long maturation in refill American oak.”

– Sullivans Cove Sensory Team

Matured for 16 years in a 300L second-fill American oak cask, yielding just 414 bottles of Sullivans Cove single cask Whisky.

READ THE FULL TASTING NOTES HERE

The Final 2023 Limited Edition from Cult-Favorite Booker’s
Booker’s “Storyteller Batch” #2023-04 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

(750ml) ($99.99)

The final release of 2023 from a connoisseur’s favorite, Booker’s “Storyteller Batch” is master distiller Fred Noe’s tribute to his father Booker Noe’s famous ability to spin a riveting yarn about almost anything. Delivering all the cask-strength opulence, power, and punch that all the Booker’s batches are known for, it’s another absolute classic from one of Kentucky’s most esteemed bourbon families.

Booker’s “Storyteller Batch” #2023-04 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) ($99.99)

K&L Notes: The Storyteller batch is made up of barrels from four production dates aged in different warehouses. The Storyteller is the fourth release of 2023 and an homage to 6th-generation Booker’s distiller Booker Noe. According to current, 7th-generation distiller Fred Noe, “The color of ‘Storyteller Batch’ is a rich amber with a golden shine. Sitting in your glass, the scent of a great bourbon fills the room and invites you to further explore the brown sugar aroma. The taste is delightful and well-balanced, with notes of vanilla and wood. I tasted this batch on a drizzly September day. There was a slight chill in the air, and it reminded me that fall is just around the corner, and this bourbon has the perfect warm finish for the days to come. A little bit of water further opened the tasting experience for me, but you can enjoy it any way you please. Storyteller Batch is just the way Dad would have wanted it when he created this brand over thirty years ago—I can almost hear him telling one of his great stories while he sips a glass of his own. I hope you enjoy this batch as much as I do!”

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

TyndrumWhisky.com
The Green Welly Stop
Tyndrumwhisky, Tyndrum
Crianlarich, Perthshire FK20 8RY
United Kingdom

Beam Suntory France Begins Operations

One-of-a-Kind, Limited-Edition Bourbon at Best Pricing
Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Sonoma Triple Finish Series No. 19 Wine & Brandy Finished Kentucky Straight Bourbon
“…a thought-provoking whiskey that tastes excellent and is the perfect combination of new flavors/feels without straying too far from a classic bourbon profile.”
— Andrew Whiteley, K&L Spirits Buyer

One of the most intriguing bourbon profiles we’ve seen recently comes from the visionary pioneers at Woodford Reserve. The 19th edition of their Master’s Reserve is a master class in blending skill, utilizing three different barrel profiles to create one of the most harmonious and artfully constructed wine cask-finished bourbons on the market. Adding to the appeal, our spirits team worked out a superb deal that brings it to you at the best available price.

Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Sonoma Triple Finish Series No. 19 Wine & Brandy Finished Kentucky Straight Bourbon (700ml) (Elsewhere $195) ($134.99)

K&L Notes: In 2004, with the launch of Woodford Reserve’s Master’s Collection, Woodford stepped squarely into the era of ‘whiskey innovation.’ That first release was a four-grain whiskey. Some of the innovations, like four-grain mashbills, have become staples in the whiskey landscape, while others have turned out to truly be one-offs, but the one commonality with Woodford’s releases is they’re all incredibly well done. While most releases focus on the impact of one specific thing, like an unusual mashbill or a new type of barrel finish, the latest release, No. 19 in the series, combines multiple previous innovations into one cohesive blend. Blending is the true heart of the artistic side of whiskey making. It’s the human touch that cannot be easily outsourced to complex chemistry equipment and technical distlling specs. It is where the Master’s Collection—and Elizabeth McCall (the Master Distiller for Woodford)—shine brightest. The blending skills at Woodford differentiate these releases from many of the craft whiskey innovations we’ve seen over the last 20 years. This release perfects the marriage of red fruit with bourbon in a way that many have tried before, but it succeeds where others have muddled through. The formal regimen is a mouthful: Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon that has been finished in Sonoma County Pinot Noir, brandy, and former bourbon barrels used to age red wine. Fortuantely, the whiskey itself is also a mouthful, in the best way possible.

Andrew Whiteley | K&L Spirits Buyer | Review Date: January 09, 2024

The latest Master’s Collection not only avoids the pitfalls of wine cask-finished whiskey, it excels where so many fail. While many can become overly tannic and wind up a disjointed array of fruit and whiskey notes thoughtlessly mushed together, here we have impeccable balance and harmony. The key, I believe, lies in the careful blending of similar but different wood/wine/whiskey profiles rather than hoping a single wine cask will just get lucky and work. The brandy barrels in particular provide a bridge between grape and grain that allows the Pinot barrels and the bourbon/wine cask to come together. Let’s taste. At first blush, I was nervous as a blast of red fruits came jumping out of the glass. With a few extra minutes to open up, the incredible spice, caramel, and vanilla that wrap around those red fruits caught up and provided the structure on which the tart Pinot Noir red fruits could really shine. With a proper undertone of classic bourbon notes, the elusive red cherry aromas really pop and feel like they come out of the bourbon itself, not the wine cask—a sign of harmonious integration. Freshly dried vanilla pod, warm caramel, and sweet ground cinnamon bark play peacefully with a little tropical pineapple and toasted coconut that really make this bourbon stand out in a good way from the others on my shelf. On the palate, it’s texturally dusty, feeling old and proper, but flavor-wise it is a fun mix of youthful and mature—lithe fruit bounces over deep oaky notes. Vanilla pudding and cigar box meet in the middle. The ABV, a seemingly low 45.2%, is actually perfect as it allows the wine tannins enough room to provide grip without overtaking the whole profile. The finish is lengthy due to that tannin, feeling more like a fine wine finish than a bourbon finish, but hinting at sweet corn. This unusual barrel regimen gets a 10/10 for execution in my book. The end result is a thought-provoking whiskey that tastes excellent and is the perfect combination of new flavors/feels without straying too far from a classic bourbon profile.

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

Johnnie Walker Blue Label
Year of the Dragon

£220

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Celebrate Lunar New Year in style with a limited-edition whisky. Made in collaboration with contemporary artists from China and beyond, the bottles and their packaging feature vibrant and distinctive designs of the 2024 zodiac: the wood dragon.

Dailuaine 2012 11 Year Old
Year of the Dragon

£89.95

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Glenfiddich 21 Year Old
Chinese New Year 2024

£199

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We’ve welcomed luxury spirits from Glenfiddich, Johnnie Walker and Courvoisier, as well as an independent bottling from Douglas Laing’s Xtra Old Particular series: a 35-year-old sherried Bunnahabhain. Discover more one-of-a-kind whiskies to welcome the Year of the Dragon, curated by our buying director Dawn Davies MW.

Bunnahabhain 1988 35 Year Old
XOP Year of the Dragon

£510

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