WHISKY SCHOOL: FINISHING WHISKY
An Inside Look at the Virginia-Highland Whisky Series

Want to learn more about our Virginia-Highland Whisky Series?  Join us for “Whisky School” at our Visitors Center in Lovingston, Virginia on Saturday, March 10th from 4-6pm.

This behind the scenes experience will showcase how we finish our Virginia-Highland Whisky series and the impact individual barrels have on color, aroma and flavor. The experience will also include a trip to our warehouse to pull whisky samples and a blending session where each attendee will be able to analyze various finishes, including a sneak peek at our upcoming Chardonnay Cask Finished Whisky.

Each ticket ($35 per person) will also include an entry into a raffle for a Virginia Distillery Company barrel head (a $50 value).  A welcome cocktail and light refreshments will also be provided.

PURCHASE TICKETS

Kensington Wine Market will celebrate International Women’s Day

with its First Annual Lassies Only Whisky Festival

Calgary, AB (Feb.13, 2018) – On Wednesday, March 7, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., the Lassies Only Whisky Festival will take place at Kensington Wine Market (KWM). Owner of KWM, Andrew Ferguson, will honour International Women’s Day with making this a ladies only event, in support of the Brenda Strafford Society, a local non-profit organization that helps to prevent domestic violence and to provide emergency shelters for women in need. Guests can look forward to trying over 80 whiskies from a variety of whisky vendors, shopping The Bamboo Ballroom pop-up store and enjoying bites from Peasant Cheese and Brasserie Kensington.

With over 15 years experience working in the whisky retail industry, Ferguson has noticed a common misconception of women often associating whisky drinking as a man’s business. The goal of this festival is to make whisky more accessible to women, and give them the opportunity to learn about and taste a variety of styles.

“We struggle with the stereotype that whisky is a man’s drink, because it’s not. But we can also appreciate how some women are intimidated by whisky because of the male dominated culture surrounding it,” says Ferguson”.

Ferguson explains that the the idea of putting on the Lassies Only Whisky Festival came from the idea of giving women an opportunity to explore the world of whisky on their own terms. The entire KWM team are thrilled that the event will go toward supporting the Brenda Strafford Society.

“We are delighted to be participating at the Lassies Only Whisky Festival. Hundreds of women and their children call the Brenda Strafford Society their home each year and the need in our city and at our Centre has never been greater,” says Maeghon Reid, Executive Director of The Brenda Strafford Society. “This festival is great opportunity for us to connect with like-minded women on the issues our clients face and to discuss how important this community support is in supporting women and children to leave domestic violence and live a life of hope and prosperity.”

The Lassies Only Whisky Festival is open to the public and tickets are available online for $40 plus GST at www.KensingtonWineMarket.com/Tastings/Tasting-Schedule/. 100 percent of the ticket proceeds will be donated to The Brenda Strafford Society.

About Kensington Wine Market:

Kensington Wine Market opened its doors in May 1992. Twenty-five years later it has evolved from a modest neighborhood corner store into one of the most dynamic and unique stores in the country. Kensington Wine Market has received a number of local, national and international awards. Recently, they were the recipient of Metro Calgary’s Community Choice Awards for Best Wine Store in 2016 and the only Canadian store to be considered Whisky Retailer of the year, by Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky in 2015 and 2016. Kensington Wine Market hosts on average three tastings per week and are regularly involved in local and regional charity events and art events that give back to the less-fortunate and elevate the Calgary community.

• KWM was Established 1992, one of Canada’s Oldest Private Liquor Stores and has more Than 25 years serving Calgary
• KWM has the largest collection of single malt whisky, the most interesting, eclectic and exclusive wine selections and one of the best curated beer sections in Canada
• KWM was voted FFW Best of Calgary Reader’s Choice “Best Wine Shop” 12 years in a row
• KWM is the only Canadian retailer ever shortlisted by Whisky Magazine, Icons of Whisky, World Whisky Retailer of the Year (5 Times) and twice runner up
• KWM has helped raise over $250,000.00 for the MS Society over the past seven years

Follow @KensingtonWM on Twitter and Instagram and @KensingtonWineMarket on Facebook for updates.

About The Brenda Strafford Society:

The Brenda Strafford Society for the Prevention of Domestic Violence has 34 Second-Stage Shelter apartments where our families can stay for up to 6 months in safe, secure shelter. Individualized counselling for women and their children helps them heal from the effects of domestic violence and child care and parenting support is provided to assist with this. While in Second-Stage Shelter, women are at the greatest safety risk. Nearly half of all spousal homicides occur within two months of leaving their abusive partner, making safe affordable housing, specifically for women and children impacted by domestic violence, essential. In addition we have 51 Progressive Housing apartments where the women and their children can stay up to an additional two years while working on their goals with individualized counselling support provided. Our state of the art facility has been designed to enable women and children to move from Second-Stage Shelter apartments into Progressive Housing, our longer term apartments, all in the same security focused building. We believe that the cycle of violence can be broken by providing women and children with supportive programs and services that support healing, build self-confidence and self-awareness that enable long-term stability for families.

BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY AND FRANKFORT PARKS AND RECREATION TO HOST EASTER AT THE TRACE

Registration is required for participation in complimentary event

FRANKFORT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, KY (Feb. 20, 2018) – Buffalo Trace Distillery is making some egg-citing changes to its annual Easter event! This year, the Distillery and the City of Frankfort Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites will host “Easter at the Trace,” which will be more of a festival-like event than in years’ past.

New this year, all families interested in participating must register online ahead of the event and present a printed ticket at the check-in. As in previous years, this will be a complimentary event for children and families to attend, however registration will now be required because of growing interest in this event, and in order to manage crowd size and ensure a safe event for everyone.

Easter at the Trace will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday, March 25 in the Buffalo Trace Distillery gardens and conclude at 2 p.m. The three hour event will be comprised of music, refreshments, and other Easter activities. Children will also have an opportunity to have their photo taken with the Easter Bunny as well as search for thousands of treat filled eggs on the Distillery lawn.

This year, children will have more room to hunt for eggs, as the Distillery lawn will be divided into two larger hunt areas to allow for more hunting space, rather than four smaller hunt areas. At noon, children ages 0-2 will hunt in one marked area, and then at 12:15 p.m. children ages 3-4 will hunt the second hunt area.

Following those two hunts, the two areas will be replenished with eggs and then at 12:45 p.m. children ages 5- 8 will hunt in the first hunt area, followed by the final hunt at 1 p.m. for children ages 9- 11 in the second hunt area. Registration for Easter at the Trace is complimentary and begins Feb. 25th. To register, visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com/events and click on the “Register Now” link in the Events Stampede Calendar. All participants must register online and bring a printed ticket to check-in at Easter at the Trace. Early registration is recommended as space is limited for this event.

Buffalo Trace is located at 113 Great Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Ky. Visitors are asked to enter at the main Distillery entrance. Event parking signs will be posted. In the event of rain, the Easter Bunny will greet the children for photos and pass out treats in the Buffalo Trace Clubhouse.

Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times. No pets please, except for service animals.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich tradition dates back to 1773 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee. Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site and is a National Historic Landmark as well as is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Distillery has won 21 distillery ttitles since 2000 from such notable publications as Whisky Magazine, Whisky Advocate Magazine and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Its Col. E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon was named World Whiskey of the Year by Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible 2018. Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 500 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com.

TICKETS GO ON SALE FOR THE 2018 WORLD WHISKY FORUM

The Cotswolds Distillery in England will host the second World Whisky Forum in June, following the Forum’s highly successful first year at Box Distillery in Sweden.

Created by Jan Groth of Box Distillery in conjunction with Ingvar Ronde of the Malt Whisky Yearbook and acclaimed whisky writer Dave Broom, the aim is to bring together key figures in the whisky world to foster cooperation and knowledge exchange across the industry. By bringing together small producers and much bigger players, from the established whisky-producing nations and the new ones, ideas can be shared and progress made – both in terms of the industry and the product itself.

Founder and CEO of the Cotswolds Distillery, Dan Szor, attended the first conference and was struck by the spirit of cooperation and curiosity that fuelled the Forum.

Szor said: “The 2017 Forum was an eye-opening experience that demonstrated that, unlike many industries today, the whisky world is one filled with passionate individuals keen to share ideas and cooperate, irrespective of national borders or corporate allegiances. With the World Whisky movement in full flight, we are thrilled that we’ll be able to host some of our friends and heroes, and show them our own perspective on bringing something new to the whisky world. Our Cotswolds Single Malt has only just been released, so this recognition of our place in the World Whisky community makes us incredibly proud.”

The theme for this years Forum is ‘Whisky 2020’, with guest speakers addressing innovation in whisky and the future direction of the industry. The 12 speakers this year include Jota Tanaka of Fuji Gotemba distillery in Japan, Tristan Stephenson of Fluid Movement/Black Rock, Miika Lipiäinen of Kyrö Distillery in Finland and the Cotswolds Distillery’s own head distiller, Nick Franchino. Returning as moderator is Dave Broom, editor of ScotchWhisky.com and author of The Way of Whisky: A Journey around Japanese Whisky.

There are a limited number of spaces available to attend the Forum, and these are open to anyone working in the whisky industry. For more information on how to book and the full speakers schedule, please visit www.worldwhiskyforum.org

NOTES:

The WORLD WHISKY FORUM was founded in 2017 by Jan Groth of Box Distillery in Sweden. It is a stage for the new wave of distillers and whisky stakeholders around the world who put innovation, rethinking and, of course, craftsmanship first. It is a recurring event that takes place every eighteen months.

The COTSWOLDS DISTILLERY was founded in 2014 and is the first full-scale distillery in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It was recently named Craft Producer of the Year in the Rest of World category of the Icons of Whisky Awards, and in the UK category of the Icons of Gin Awards.

For more information, please visit www.worldwhiskyforum.org and www.cotswoldsdistillery.org, or contact Jan Groth, Head of the World Whisky Forum +46 (0)70-494 18 01 jan.groth@worldwhiskyform.org or Zoe Rutherford, Communications Manager at the Cotswolds Distillery zrutherford@cotswoldsdistillery.com +44 1608 238 533.

Saturday, March 10th 1-3PM:

Scotch Tasting: 

Benriach, Glendronach, and Glenglassaugh 

One of our most popular scotch tastings, Benriach, Glendronach, and Glenglassaugh will be tasted at this event. Presented by distillery representatives and our own in-store whisky experts, scotch connoisseurs and newcomers to the the world of traditional scotch are sure to enjoy this tasting.

Pour list will be revealed as the event approaches – RSVP to be notified.

Click Here to RSVP 

Friday, March 9th, 5-7PM

Scotch Tasting: Compass Box 

Start your weekend with a whisky tasting, courtesy of the award-winning Compass Box Distillery! Lavishing care on both their whiskies and the bottles they’re presented in, Compass Box is well known for the quality of their drams, as well as their dedication to transparency.

Click Here to RSVP

Saturday, March 3rd, 12-3 PM:

Scotch Tasting: Bruichladdich

Trickle Distilled from 100% scottish Barley, Bruichladdich distillery’s methods date back to the 19th century – including some of the original Victorian machinery still used today. The process is both time and labor-intensive, but the results are well worth it.

Guests will be treated to a variety of Bruichladdich’s highly-rated catalogue, presented by whisky ambassador Trent Simpson. Pourlist to be revealed as event approaches – RSVP to find out soonest.

Click Here to RSVP

Diploma in Single Malt comes to London

The Edinburgh Whisky Academy is expanding and hosting the first Diploma in Single Malt Whisky course in London on Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th March. The venue is the Caledonian Club near Hyde Park Corner and there are only a few places left.

The Diploma course will teach candidates on

The History of Whisky
The Business of Whisky
Raw Materials
Batch Distillation
Maturation
Sensory
World Whiskies

As the course is accredited by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, there is an exam on the second afternoon to ensure candidates have understood the material.

Comments from previous candidates:

“Fantastic opportunity to develop complete knowledge about single malts” 
“Detailed information given by an authoritative and experienced lecturer”
“A ‘must attend’ for any aspiring brand ambassadors”

SIGN UP HERE

St. Patrick’s Whiskey Shenanigans!

Our next tasting series will be a bit of a departure from the usual sit-down, serious whisky tasting stuff. We wanted to bring a bit of fun into your March, and what better excuse than around St. Patrick’s Day? We will have whiskey for you of course, but we will also be feeding you some delicious Irish Stew, playing some traditional music and turning the Craic up to 11! Whiskey-wise, we will have some really interesting drams from some of the new distilleries that have been popping up in recent years, alongside a few established ones…

All of this for just £35! You really can’t say fairer than that!

16th March
York – Brigantes

17th March
London – Marlborough Arms
(plus Rugby – its gonna get lively!)

20th March
Leeds – The Northern Monk

22nd March
Birmingham – The Edgbaston

23rd March
Manchester – The Britons Protection

26th March
Sheffield – The Sheffield Tap

We hope to see you soon!

Slainte!
Eddie
Amanda, Guy, Rupert, Vicky, Connas, Chris
The Whisky Lounge Team

We turn 10 years old in 2018
Come and help us celebrate in style at one of our nationwide festivals or tasting events.