ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLYROOD:

SMWS KICK OFF VIRTUAL FESTIVAL BY OFFERING CASK OF WHISKY TO ONE LUCKY MEMBER 

The world’s most colourful whisky club is partnering with Holyrood Distillery to offer a hogshead cask to one lucky member 

To celebrate The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s (SMWS) annual Gathering, it is offering one lucky member the chance to win a whole cask of whisky from Holyrood Distillery.

This is the first time SMWS has offered members the chance to win an entire cask of whisky from a partner distillery. The coveted prize is worth approximately £10K and includes all associated costs including production of spirit, maturation for up to 10 years, bottling and duty, surely the ultimate prize for any whisky-lover.

A CASK IN DEMAND

Holyrood Distillery, Edinburgh’s first city centre single malt whisky distillery for nearly a century, offers the widest breadth of flavour of any distillery in the country.

As part of their Custom Cask Programme, they allow a unique fully customisable option, where people can select flavour options to tailor their cask of whisky to their flavour preference.

The two Edinburgh-based leading whisky organisations have paired up for this special project, with the lucky SMWS member being able to select their own bespoke cask of whisky from Holyrood Distillery.

The competition will go live on Monday 7^th September, all SMWS members have to do is enter here: https://unfiltered.smws.com/win-a-cask

WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY OF WHISKY LOVERS

This year’s Gathering is taking place throughout September. Building on the success of its inaugural year last year, The Gathering 2020 will focus on the SMWS global community of over 27,000 members, uniting them in exceptional single cask whiskies.

A series of tastings (both virtual and in-person), whisky webinars, global ambassador at-home tastings, virtual pub sessions with global guests and a Twitter Tasting will take place throughout the month.

In a year where many whisky events and festivals have been forced to move online, SMWS are encouraging members to host their own Gathering events at home, with home tasting kits available to download. Tickets can be purchased for the full calendar of events here: www.smws.com/events

There will be a Virtual Tasting streamed live from The Vaults on 6^th September. All members need to take part is a limited-edition Discovery Pack, including five exclusive Gathering bottlings, which can be purchased here: https://www.smws.com/the-gathering-discovery-pack-2020

As well as these virtual events, there will also be events taking place at the Society’s spiritual home in The Courtyard at The Vaults on 4^th and 5^th September, bringing members together while adhering to all necessary social distancing guidelines.

The SMWS is now a truly global membership organisation, with members and partner bars across the world. Each SMWS branch around the world will have its own market-exclusive Gathering bottle.

The September SMWS bottling outturn will see The Gathering special releases available from Friday 4^th September. The Gathering Discovery Pack will be available with five exclusive bottlings for the virtual tasting element of the global Gathering festival.

Helen Stewart, Head of Marketing and Membership at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, said: “Can you imagine owning your own full cask of single malt whisky? That’s the incredible prize that is up for grabs to all the member of the SMWS.

“Without doubt it’s the biggest prize we’ve ever offered to our members and with our global festival The Gathering beginning on 31st August, it’s the perfect time to show the world what we do at SMWS – but you have to be in it to win it.

“It’s been tough for everyone in different ways, but nothing can stop us from celebrating our amazing membership. We’re encouraging members to join in on their own or organise their own Gathering at home and take part with friends. We’ll be celebrating all things Society at The Gathering from 31st August.”

For details on all The Gathering events, visit: www.smws.com/events

Notes:

About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society 

• The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and now has more than 26,000 members and branches around the world
• The SMWS bottles rare single cask, single malt whisky, and a range of other spirits
• The Society bottles single malts, unique single casks and exclusive blends
• The Society has bottled whisky from more than 138 distilleries from Scotland and beyond
• The Society offers a new batch of around 20 single cask, single malt whiskies every month
• The Society offers a variety of membership packages which can be tailored. Please seehttps://bit.ly/2uqKanT
• For more information about the Society, visithttps://bit.ly/2HHiNyC
• Twitter: @SMWSUK Facebook: @thesmwsuk Instagram: @smws_uk

Virtual Tasting Week

from Springbank, Kilkerran and Cadenhead’s

We are delighted to officially announce details of our upcoming week of virtual tastings as Springbank + Kilkerran + Cadenhead’s join forces to bring you 5 exciting evenings of online dramming.

Between Monday 26th – Friday 30th October 2020 there will be a tasting each night featuring Springbank, Longrow, Hazelburn, Kilkerran or Cadenhead’s whisky that will be presented by members of our sales teams and broadcast via our social media channels.

There will be tasting packs to accompany each event and, perhaps most excitingly of all, there will be a special bottle released alongside each tasting. That means there will be an opportunity to purchase 5 exclusive, limited bottles to celebrate our virtual tasting week.

The bottles and packs will be sold approximately 3 weeks before the event and we are currently working on a method to allow pre-orders for everyone who bought tickets for this year’s (sadly cancelled) Campbeltown Malts Festival.

We will be announcing more details in the coming weeks – we can’t wait for you to see what we have been working on.

Springbank Society
The Springbank Team

For information on how to join the Springbank Society please contact them at  society@springbank.scot

This month we’re entertaining our global family of members with a feast of flavour and unique whisky experiences. We’d love for you to be involved in our whisky club celebrations, whether you join us online, at a tasting event or by raising dram with us throughout the month.

Celebrate the spirit that unites us with some exceptional bottlings from September Outturn. We’re releasing 24 new casks for you to taste and explore, including some hand-picked Gathering bottlings. Click over to our website to buy now or stay tuned for some highlighted recommendation from our spirits manager Euan Campbell.

READ THE OUTTURN      ALL OUTTTURN WHISKIES

READ FULL GATHERING PROGRAMME

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

Local Distilleries Virtual Tasting:
Friday, September 4 at 7:00pm PST

Let’s start off the well-deserved Labor Day weekend with a drink to celebrate our local, California work force. We have a plethora of local liquid artists, but we can only give you ten at a time.  Although we like to focus on whisky, we have varied a little with local distilleries that deserve a mention.  (Don’t make assumptions of what you think a liquor will taste like).

A bourbon that smells like chocolate? It is a limited release and can only be purchased on Treasure Island. What about a Rum /Whisky hybrid that is actually tasty?  What is a molecular whisky? How about Sweet Potatoes and Rye whiskey?

We will provide a tasting kit with samples of each product listed below that are available for pick up from our friends at Haberdasher and Shovels Bar. Then you can join us on Zoom as the brand reps, owners or distillers guide you through the tasting. A zoom registration link will be sent the day before the tasting.  A recorded version of the tasting will also be made available.

Your Social Bubble

Use this as a time to get together with your social bubble! (We can get you extra tasting kits. Email us for pricing and availability)

POUR LIST 
10th Street Coastal Blend (San Jose)
Corbin Cash Blended Whiskey (Merced)
Glyph Whiskey (San Francisco)
Spirit Works Four Grain Bourbon (Sebastopol)
Alley 6 Rye (Sonoma)
Wayward Bourbon (Santa Cruz)
Wright and Brown Single Malt (Oakland)
“Lawless Liqueurs” Apple Liqueur (San Jose)
“Lawless Liqueurs” Black Cherry Liqueur (San Jose)
Tree Craft Chocolate Bourbon (Treasure Island)
Reed and Lacey: California Gold (Richmond)

Tasting Kits can be purchased online at Shovels Bar in San Francisco and Haberdasher in San Jose. Pre-purchase kits  are now available for pick-up at the locations below. Order your kits today by clicking the link below.

Still available from Shovels (San Fran) and Haberdasher (San Jose):

American Single Malts:  A discussion with industry experts and highly respected distillers on the category of American Single Malts and why it is important to create this standard as we will also taste through and delight our palates.  Watch the recorded tasting at your leisure.

POUR LIST:

Balcones Single Malt
Colkegan Single Malt Whiskey
St. George Baller
Westward Single Malt
Alley 6 Single Malt
FEW Single Malt
Del Back Single Malt
10th Street  STR
Stranahan’s Single Malt Whiskey
Corsair Triple Smoke

Shovels Bar – San Francisco

Haberdasher – San Jose

September 12th, 5:30PM: 

Wyoming Whiskey with co-founder David DeFazio

Distillery Co-Founder David DeFazio presents this virtual tasting of Wyoming Whiskey’s award winning bottlings!

Wyoming Whiskey are an independent, family-owned whiskey makers with a world-class distillery in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming. The Big Horn Basin has everything needed to make great bourbon, and all ingredients are sourced locally – from non-GMO grain to water from the Madison limestone aquifier. The consistency and uniqueness of these whiskey elements make for a better bourbon that stands apart from all others, and a true contender for best Whisky of the West.

Tasting Pourlist:

(click to purchase)

OutRyder

Double Cask

Small Batch Bourbon

 Click Here to RSVP

10% Off all Wyoming Whiskey bottlings

with coupon code ‘VIRTUAL‘ at checkout

Irish Distillers Launches Grow Your Own Cocktail Web Series for Bartenders 

Global bartender platform ‘Jameson Hosts’ brings to life their global ‘Grow Your Own Cocktail’ web series with new videos and cocktail inspiration from around the world  

Bartenders are encouraged to join the global movement and combine local resources and ingredients with Jameson for the chance to win a cash prize    

Jameson Irish Whiskey, produced by Irish Distillers in Midleton Distillery, has launched a Grow Your Own Cocktail web series to promote local sourcing, collaboration and discovery among bartenders and local producers around the world.

Last year, the Jameson team brought bartenders, local farmers and producers together in communities across the globe to encourage mixologists to create locally inspired cocktails. The Jameson team captured all of their adventures, which fans can now enjoy as a six-part web series. The series will feature episodes from Dubai, Tel Aviv, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Stockholm and Cork, home to Irish Distillers’ Midleton Distillery, to educate and inspire the global bar community to use local and uniquely sourced ingredients.

Since the Grow Your Own Cocktail concept was born, Jameson has encouraged meaningful human connections between bars and their community through foraging, hosting masterclasses, and partnering with local expert craftspeople. This has inspired participants to embark on a journey of collaboration with local producers on a truly global scale.

Alongside the web series, Jameson is encouraging bartenders to proactively support their local community by joining the Grow Your Own Cocktail movement. Jameson is offering a €1,000 cash prize to be split equally between bartenders and producers who work in collaboration to create a Jameson cocktail using locally sourced ingredients. The competition will encourage bartenders to leverage their local environment by creating a signature drink with ingredients sourced from a farm, corner shop or local market and winners will be encouraged to invest their prize back into their community through further local sourcing.

Entrants simply post their cocktail on Instagram, outlining the local ingredients used, background to the collaboration, and explain why Jameson should support them, along with the hashtag #GrowYourOwnCocktail. The contest will judge each Bartender’s fresh new cocktail. How their new serve celebrates and supports both the local community and the smooth taste of Jameson –will also be rewarded.

Irish Distillers’ International Marketing Director Brendan Buckley explains, “The Grow Your Own Cocktail web series is integral in encouraging collaboration between the bar industry and their local craftspeople. The bar community has faced serious challenges in 2020, so now, more than ever the industry needs solidarity, creativity and innovation to help it through these times. It’s Jameson’s mission to support this creativity and encourage bartenders to use their own environments in truly innovative ways.

“The bartending community is at the heart of Jameson as the first advocates of our whiskey many years ago.  We can’t wait to see what bartenders and their wider communities come up with.”

Episodes of the web series are being released throughout August and September via @JamesonHosts on Instagram and the Jameson Irish Whiskey YouTube channel.

For more information on how to enter the competition, bartenders should head over to the @JamesonHosts Instagram page. All posts must tag @JamesonHosts and the deadline for entries is the September 14^th 2020.

Drinks with…Maltstock!

Saturday evening 12 September we have our online “Drinks with…Maltstock”.  All the tubes have now been filled with some very relaxed whiskies and will be send out in the next few days.

Join us!

But even if you haven’t got a tasting pack, you are still more than welcome to join us! We’ll be live on our Facebook page and our Youtube channel starting 8pm CET.

We are really looking forward to virtual meeting you all. And if you would like to join us live on air please do! If you have a question or a good story, don’t be shy. Or if you would just like to say hello, we would love to see you. Let us know and we’ll send you a link so we can connect.

Click here for our YouTube channel

Click here for our Facebook page

Drink Maltstock!

Many of you have already bought the very relaxed blended malt that Passion for Whisky will be bottling for Maltstock. Thank you, because not only are you getting a relaxed dram, you’re also supporting us, making sure we can continue Maltstock.

ORDER HERE

Get your bottle while you can!

It’s a beautiful 18-year-old blended malt. All details and tasting notes can be found on the Passion for whisky website. Please remember it is a single cask, so obviously limited availability. But please note that we won’t be keeping stock. Everything ordered before this Saturday will be bottled for Maltstock. And probably only a few extra. So if you don’t want to miss out, and you don’t because that is not relaxed, order your bottle(s) now.

Belgium

Delivery to Belgium is also possible, even though it seems like it’s not when ordering. But please contact the very relaxed owners of Passion for Whisky and they will make it happen.

And it’s available for a very relaxed price: € 99,95.

Blended malt
18 years old
Bottled by: Boogieman Import for Maltstock
Distilled: 08-2001
Bottled: 03-2020
Cask type: Butt
ABV: 46,2%
70 cl

It has been tried and approved by the knowledgeable and passionate Stefan and Michel. Who by the way own a very relaxed whisky shop that you should definitely check out:

www.passionforwhisky.com

Their tasting notes:

Nose: Malt, raisins, some coffeebeans, milk chocolate, but also some dry roasted nuts. Typical sherry notes ans some Belgium chocolate praline with hazelnut

Taste: First impression is some bitter sweet caramel. Not too sweet, but in great balance. The nutty chocolate ‘Nutella’ gives this dram its strength. But there is much more to discover in this glas. Honey, dark fruits, toasted bread, Masala Chai Tea.

Finish: Long with more toasted bread and tea leaves and a hint of cocoa

ORDER HERE

We hope to see many of you Saturday 12 September for the “Drinks with… Maltstock”. And please share and enjoy The Relaxed Dram. I know we will!

Annette, Bob, Klaas, Stan, Teun

Relax! We’ll be back in 2021!

Dates for next year are

10-12 September 2021

Ticket sales will start in September 2020.

We hope to see you all next year. That would be very relaxed!

A cocktail meant for the winner’s circle.

Celebrate the Derby at home with a cocktail meant for the winner’s circle. Serve it up for your guests or for yourself. Grab everything you need right from The Party Source, including the 2020 commemorative Kentucky Derby bottle of Woodford Reserve.

The Woodford Reserve Spire:

1 ½ oz Woodford Reserve

2 oz Lemonade

1 oz Cranberry Juice

Buy your commemorative bottle here!

What’s New?…

The wind is playing havoc here at TWL Lockdown HQ – feels like whisky weather is on its way…

Lots to talk to you about this week, with news of our next tasting pack and tasting, our long-awaited TWL Virtual Festival, plus information on our ‘real’ festivals.

So without further ado…

The Single Malts of Scotland
PACK & TASTING
Very excited about this one…

As you know, we are very keen on Indie bottlers, as they often present whiskies from distilleries you rarely see bottled and/or bottle at unfashionable age statements, when they deem them to be ready.

The Single Malts of Scotland (or SMOS as we affectionately call them) are the product of our friends at Elixir Distillers/Speciality Drinks. You can therefore be assured that the whiskies bottled are done so by geeks like us, who care more about the liquid than the packaging.

For the tasting itself, on Friday 4th September, we are delighted to announce we have none other than Elixir Brand Ambassador and good friend, Julie Hamilton presenting these whiskies for us. If you haven’t been at a tasting with Julie, you are in for a real treat, as she is one of the most engaging and ‘real’ people in the industry.

Not able to make the ‘live’ tasting? No problem, you can watch it anytime after it has taken place on our Facebook page…

The list of bottlings on tasting;

Clynelish 8 years old

Glen Elgin 12 years old

Benrinnes 13 years old

Linkwood 12 years old

Orkney 12 years old

Caol Ila 10 years old

Nice line-up right?

Once again, we will be giving £5 for each pack sold to The Drinks Trust, to help those in the drinks and hospitality industries in need during this time. There are only 90 of these packs, and places on the Zoom tasting, available. So hit ‘BUY’ below to secure your pack and place! Just to note that these packs do take a little while to get together, so please be patient. You will receive it before the tasting, but do not expect it within days of ordering it. Thanks!

Buy SMOS Tasting Pack Now

VIRTUAL FESTIVAL NEWS
GAME ON!

Introducing a brand NEW way to get your fix of Whisky Lounge, Whisky-Love – while staying safe and as socially-distanced as you like – The game-changing TWL Festival in a Box!

This live event in October will be a first for us – and you – as we engage with makers and ambassadors from all over the world, in new engaging ways, which we are unashamedly super-excited about.
This will not be just another online presentation, with tasting sessions, an interactive quiz and a special Desert Island Drams appearance from Eddie himself…

The festival will be broadcast on Facebook Live, so regardless of whether you have purchased a TWL Festival in Box you will be able to take part. And if you cannot make it on the day, you will be able to watch it back at your leisure.

And what about the whisky itself?

Well, we have thought of that too! Starting next week, we will be offering our exclusive ‘Festival in a Box’ packs. These boxes will have different themes, such as Scotch whiskies, English whiskies and World whiskies. Each one of these will contain whiskies and goodies relating to its relevant festival session.

If you have tickets for one of our 2020 festivals, you will be able to put the value of these tickets towards any of the packs. Bear in mind you may have to pay a little excess, but just think what you will save in un-needed Taxi or Uber costs!

(REAL) FESTIVAL UPDATE

So far we have had to postpone Bristol, London, Edinburgh and Liverpool festivals. Heartbreaking quite honestly, and it probably won’t stop there.

However, we have to remain positive and look forward to these later in the year, or in 2021, when we can hopefully put them on – safely of course.

So to reiterate, if you have a ticket for any of our 2020 festivals, and fancy taking part in the Festival in a Box, or one of our Virtual Tastings instead, you can!

Just send us an email to info@thewhiskylounge.com and tell us that’s what you’d like to do. There may be a small additional amount to pay (for the postage of the pack/s) but it won’t be much. You may also wish to hang on until the various ‘Festival in a Box’ packs are online next week.

Equally, if you are happy for us to simply move your booking to the corresponding session and event in 2021, you need do nothing. We will do this automatically if we hear nothing from you to say otherwise.

And finally…

But let’s make the most of it!

Don’t forget to catch up on the latest whisky news from Connas HERE and we look forward to seeing you – on-line – soon!

In the meantime – Stay Safe. Stay in. Have a dram.

Sláinte and best wishes,
Eddie, and the whole Whisky Lounge Team

2020 FESTIVALS

Current/Old Dates ~ New Dates
Bristol   18th April  TBC
London 15th-17th May  4th-6th September
Edinburgh 6th June  27th-29th Nov

Liverpool 19th September
Manchester 23rd-24th October
York 31st October
Nottingham 14th November

September 5th, 5:30PM: 

Virtual Israeli Whiskey Tasting: 

Milk and Honey Distillery w/Joshua Hatton

Milk & Honey Distillery is Israel’s first whisky distillery. They are dedicated to only genuine artisan manufacturing and committed to maintaining the highest standards following Scottish tradition. Although a young whisky, the hot and humid climate of Tel Aviv ensures a fast maturation giving the whisky a complexity of a much older whisky.

This tasting will be presented by whisky expert & “Keeper of the Quaich” Joshua Hatton.

Tasting Pourlist:

(click to purchase)

Milk and Honey Classic

Milk & Honey, Elements Sherry

Milk & Honey, Whisky In Bloom, Lightly Peated

We will also talk a little about M&H Elements Israeli Red Wine, a unique whiskey not yet available for purchase.

Click Here to RSVP 

10% Off all M&H whiskies

with coupon code ‘VIRTUAL‘ at checkout