Auction Ends Soon!

Time is nearly over for the bottles on this month Just Whisky Auction. Don’t leave it too late to place your bids! In amongst the selection of bottles are some real gems – here are some below:

Killyloch 1967 – 2003 Limited Edition

Having started out life as a paper mill, Killyloch was purchased and transformed in 1965 into Moffat Distillery, also home to the Garnheath and Glen Flagler Stills. Killyloch fell silent in 1986, however, several casks were set aside and warehoused until they were judged to be at their best for release by the Master Blender. This bottling is the result of the vatting of the casks – the last 6 of the proprietary stock available. The whisky has been bottled at natural cask strength and unchill-filtered to allow the genuine characteristics of this stunning malt to be enjoyed. As the QE2 was being launched in Clydebank in 1967 the American Oak Barrels at Moffat Distillery were being filled with Killyloch Single Malt Scotch Whisky, to be warehoused until their best for bottling. Killyloch was originally intended to be named Lillyloch which was the source of the water. The cask stencil received, however, contained a misspelling that was never corrected. Distilled in 1967 then bottled in 2003. Limited to only 371 bottles.

Kinclaith 1963 – G&M Private Collection

This is an incredibly hard to find bottle of Whisky from Kinclaith. The distillery operated for as little as 18 years and was situated within the Strathclyde Grain Distillery. This particular bottle is one of only 64 which was distilled on the 05/12/1963 then matured in cask 10052. The rare whisky was bottled around 33 years later in February 1996.

Glendronach 1968 – Re-opening of Glendronach Distillery 2002

A very rare 1968 Vintage release from Glendronach Distillery, This stunning whisky was specially bottled from a vatting of 2 Sherry casks (2640 & 2641) to commemorate the re-opening of the Glendronach Distillery on the 14th of May 2002.

The Auction Ends Sunday 21^st February from 8PM GMT.

View Auction Now

YUMI (CHICHIBU DISTILLERY CONFIRMED)

At Maltstock 2014 we had a Japanese Whisky Battle Masterclass between Tatsuya (then Suntory brand ambassador, now owner at the Highlander Inn) and Yumi (Chichibu brand ambassador ). The battle between Japanese biggest and smallest distillery was a fierce one and certainly one to remember. Tatsuya is still licking his wounds but Yumi will be back with a relaxed Japanese Masterclass this year.

www.passievoorwhiskyy.nl Stefan thank you very very much for sponsoring our international promo tour again!

Are you browsing for a relaxed dram? Try passievoorwhisky.nl or visit them in their shop in Rijswijk.

MALTSTOCK IN THE PRESS
Articles:
– Hans Offringa (Whisky Mag. 128 – 2015)
– Whisky Speller
Film:
– Nederland Whiskyland

Agenda (Maltstock visiting other festivals):

Hielander Whisky Festival Alkmaar 12-13 Feb. 2016 International Whisky Festival Gent 12-13 Mar. 2016 Whisky Festival Noord Nederland 18-20 Mar. 2016 Whisky Weekend Twente 9 Apr. 2016 Whisky in Leiden 16 Apr. 2016 Limburg Whisky Messe 23-24 Apr. 2016 Speyside Whisky Festival 28 Apr. – 2 May 2016

Single Malt Scotch Tasting Gordon & MacPhail February 18th, 2016 4:30 P.M.  OR  6:00 P.M.

Next Thursday, we will host a tasting of Scotch single-malts from independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail with Chris Reisbeck (a familiar face to those who’ve attended the last few G&M tastings) and Joe Swanson, who, going forward, will be the presenting Gordon & MacPhail in the New England region. We will taste some very nice whiskies including two from the Glenburgie distillery. Most of the single-malt produced at Glenburgie goes into the Ballantine’s blend (you may remember that Ballantine’s 17 year-old won Whisky of the Year from from Jim Murray’s popular Whisky Bible in the 2011 ed.). Because of this, Glenburgie is not known by many and those that know it do not see it enough. We will also taste lowlander Bladnoch, which should delight. We will have a couple of Cask Strength scotches: Tormore, Highland Park as well as Benromach’s Peat Smoke With winter upon us it’s a fine time to come in and taste some malts, most of which will be very limited and all of which are wonderful scotches. The tastings will run for about one hour, please try to be prompt at either 4:30 P.M. or 6:00 P.M. and let’s give Joe Swanson a warm Federal Welcome and enjoy some fine whisky. Prices listed as: regular price – sale price Glenburgie 15 Y.O. 43% $ 84.99 – $74.99 Glenburgie 21 Y.O. 43% $179.99 – $164.99 Tormore 13 Y.O. 58.4% $114.99 – $99.99 Highland Park 15 Y.O. 56.8% $149.99 – $134.99 Bladnoch 21 Y.O. 46% $199.99 – $174.99 Benromach Peat Smoke 9 Y.O. $74.99 – $66.99

Joe Howell

Federal Wine & Spirits

Email: info@federalwine.com

Phone: (617) 367-8605

Web: http://www.federalwine.com/

MON 29 FEBRUARY AT 7.30PM
£50 PER TICKET

Tickets on sale now
BOOK YOUR TICKET

ELEMENTS of ISLAY TASTING WITH OLIVER CHILTON

Join us for an evening of Islay whisky, tasting some of the latest releases from the Elements of Islay range as well as a brand-new release – Elements of Islay Peat!

Launched in 2008, the Elements of Islay are a collection of great small-batch bottlings of Islay single malt whisky. With their distinctive look and excellent pedigree, they’ve been hugely popular, selling out quickly every time they hit the shelves. Speciality Drinks are now adding a new entry to the range – Elements of Islay Peat. A blended malt, it combines single malts from across the island to create a punchy ‘full-throttle’ dram. Our host for the evening will be Oliver Chilton, TWE shop alumnus and head of cask management at Speciality Drinks – he selected the casks and small batches for all of the whiskies we will be trying, including Peat. He’s promised to tell us how he chose and created the whiskies, from cask types to age statements, and why none of those details really matter. After starting with a cocktail, we’ll taste our way through eight whiskies – seven single malts and the new Peat.

MON 29 FEBRUARY AT 7.30PM
£50 PER TICKET

Tickets on sale now
BOOK YOUR TICKET

VENUE

The Judges Court, Browns, 82-84 St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4AG

Please arrive at the venue from 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start

FEBRUARY UPDATE: RUMBLING, REVERBERATING RESONANCES

FEBRUARY TASTINGS

Greenock Preview Tasting – The Tontine Hotel, Fri 19 Feb  More >

Panel Beaters – The Vaults, Thu 25 Feb  More >

6 Nations Wine v. Whisky Dinner – The Dining Room, Thu 25 Feb  More >

Birmingham Preview Tasting – Hotel du Vin, Fri 26 Feb  More >

Manchester Preview Tasting – Malmaison, Fri 26 Feb  More >

Newcastle Preview Tasting – The Caledonian Hotel, Fri 26 Feb  More >

Stirling Preview Tasting – The Golden Lion Hotel, Fri 26 Feb  More >

FREE EVENTS

6 Nations on the Big Screen – The Vaults, Feb & Mar 2016   More >

Live Music with Main street Blues – The Vaults, Tue 23 Feb   More >

Browse All Events & Tastings >

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm).

Visit the Society 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

Glenfiddich Promises Whisky Festival-goers a Dram Impressive week

in 130^th Anniversary Year.

The Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown will host its most diverse programme to date for this year’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival (28 April – 2 May).

The distillery, still owned by William Grant & Sons, the family company that founded it 130 years ago in 1886, will offer festival goers an enticing calendar of one-off -events ranging from BBQs and dinners to an in-depth technical tour of the distillery, the opportunity to create their own blend and put their noses to the test to discover if they have what it takes to be a whisky malt master.

The schedule caters for all interests and budgets with a number of free opportunities including a horticultural tour of Glenfiddich’s grounds guided by the Distillery’s head gardener.

Peter van Peborgh-Gooch, General Manager, Visitor Centers, William Grant & Sons said: “Glenfiddich Distillery is 130 years old in 2016 and we have put together a programme for this year’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival that highlights our heritage, showcases the fabulous whiskies we have on-site and gives a never seen before insight into how they have been created. There will also be the opportunity through a special Innovations Tasting to try some special and very exclusive whiskies from William Grant & Sons including Kininvie, Girvan Patent Still and Rare Cask Reserves.”

Tickets for the Festival go on sale from February 2^nd and can be purchased from the Spirit of Speyside whisky festival website www.spiritofspeyside.com.

Peter continued: “The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is growing in popularity and stature year on year and attracts thousands of whisky enthusiasts from around the globe to this region each Spring. Ticket sales are likely to be brisk and so I’d urge local people interested in attending any events to make sure they book quickly.”

In addition to its 130^th anniversary, Glenfiddich is also celebrating being the first Distillery to have its whiskies shortlisted in all three categories of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Awards.   Glenfiddich has been shortlisted in the 12 years and under and non-age statement category and the 13-20 years category with its 12 years old and 18 years old respectively, while the distillery’s 21 year old is a finalist in the category for malts over 21 years.  Judging of the Awards will take place throughout the Festival at various locations via blind tastings with the final winners being revealed on May 1^st.

Picture

William Grant & Sons Global Whisky Specialist Kevin Abrook will be amongst the experts hosting sessions at the Glenfiddich Distillery during the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.

DIAGEO WHISKY TASTING – WEDNESDAY 16TH MARCH 2016

We’re starting off the new tasting year in style with Colin Dunn, Whisky Brand Ambassador for Diageo, who has always been a whisky hero to us and was recently named Scotch Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year in Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky Awards 2016.  Passionate, knowledgeable and with his own inimitable style, an evening with Colin is always something special – and you never quite know what’s going to happen…

Colin will be selecting whiskies from Diageo’s large portfolio to present, and as this includes distilleries from the Highland, Speyside, Coastal, and Islay regions this is a great chance to taste and learn about a wide variety of styles.  Also in the line up will be a real treat in the form of two whiskies from Diageo’s very limited Special Releases of 2015 – the Caol Ila 17 year old (a more unusual unpeated version) and the Lagavulin 12 year old cask strength (an absolute beauty).  Plus Colin has promised to bring along something a little bit different for us all to try…

Tickets are £15 per person and will be available from 1.15pm on Tuesday 16th February via the website.  Please note, no bookings will be taken before this time and the maximum number of tickets per booking is 6.

See below for all the details and if you have any queries just contact us.

Sláinte!

Fran and Ken

Arkwrights Whisky and Wines

www.whiskyandwines.com

UPCOMING EVENT

Name DIAGEO WHISKY TASTING

Date Wednesday 16th March 2016

Time 7.00 for 7.30pm

Venue Stanton House Hotel, Stanton Fitzwarren SN6 7SD

Details

Admission to the tasting is by ticket only, and the whiskies tasted will be available to purchase on the night.  Tickets are £15 per person, and this also entitles you to a discount of £3 against a bottle of one of the featured whiskies if bought or ordered on the night of the tasting.  Tickets are very strictly limited, and allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.  Arkwrights reserve the right to restrict the number of tickets per customer and as these tastings usually sell out within hours it is best to book as soon as the tickets are released.  To buy tickets just log on to www.whiskyandwines.com from 1.15pm on Tuesday 16th February and place an order for the number you require (up to a maximum of 6). Please note that tickets can not be reserved without payment and are non-refundable. N.B. We have negotiated special rates at Stanton House Hotel for anyone who wants to stay overnight after the tasting – just quote ‘Arkwrights- whisky tasting’ when booking by ‘phone or email.

Single Malt Scotch Tasting Gordon & MacPhail February 18th, 2016 4:30 P.M.  OR  6:00 P.M.

Next Thursday, we will host a tasting of Scotch single-malts from independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail with Chris Reisbeck (a familiar face to those who’ve attended the last few G&M tastings) and Joe Swanson, who, going forward, will be the presenting Gordon & MacPhail in the New England region. We will taste some very nice whiskies including two from the Glenburgie distillery. Most of the single-malt produced at Glenburgie goes into the Ballantine’s blend (you may remember that Ballantine’s 17 year-old won Whisky of the Year from from Jim Murray’s popular Whisky Bible in the 2011 ed.). Because of this, Glenburgie is not known by many and those that know it do not see it enough. We will also taste lowlander Bladnoch, which should delight. We will have a couple of Cask Strength scotches: Tormore, Highland Park and one more to round it out. With winter upon us it’s a fine time to come in and taste some malts, most of which will be very limited and all of which are wonderful scotches. We will have the full list and pricing which will go out in the email Monday or Tuesday.  The tastings will run for about one hour, please try to be prompt at either 4:30 P.M. or 6:00 P.M. and let’s give Joe Swanson a warm Federal Welcome and enjoy some fine whisky.

Joe Howell

Federal Wine & Spirits

Email: info@federalwine.com

Phone: (617) 367-8605

Web: http://www.federalwine.com/

February Auction *LIVE*

Ends Sunday 21st February 8PM (GMT) Just Whisky is proud to present its 27th auction, and in fine fashion, they have some of the oldest bottles that have gone through the doors, including lots from as far back as 1937. In complete contrast to the large selection of old whiskies on the shelves, they have some brand new releases from the likes of Springbank with their Local Barley 16 Year Old, the final instalment, Milsean in the Private Edition Series from Glenmorangie and even Yamazaki with their 2016 Sherry Cask Release. Without further ado – here are some auction highlights! Bidding will end from 8PM on Sunday 21st February.

Yamazaki Sherry Cask – 2016 Release

This is the hotly anticipated 2016 release of Yamazaki’s Award Winning Sherry Cask matured whisky. Famous for the 2013 release which was described as ‘near incredible genius’ by Whisky Guru Jim Murray, the 2016 edition promises more of the same magic. Supply for this bottle was extremely limited, and the rumour mill suggests less than 200 bottles made their way to UK shores.

View Now on The Auction

Johnnie Walker Excelsior

Limited Release Anno: MCMXCVII Blended and bottled by John Walker & Sons, Kilmarnock. Distilled 1947, Double matured in Port seasoned oak casks and released in 1997. A very nice rare bottle from Johnnie Walker.

View Now on The Auction

Talisker 100° Proof (26 ⅔ Fl Ozs)

An ultra-rare bottle from G&M; a fantastic 100° Proof Talisker. Very hard to find for the Talisker collector. We believe this to have been distilled in the late 50’s to early 60’s with bottle code SC295.

View Now On the Auction

The Celtic Whiskey Shop, renowned as one of Ireland’s premiere whiskey retailers, has announced that they are expanding with the development of the Irish Whiskey Experience, Celtic Bar and Larder. The premises, located on New Street in Killarney, will focus on whiskey appreciation and education by hosting extensive classes and tours. The Irish Whiskey Experience will be a prime destination for whiskey experts, novices, and anyone interested in learning the Distillery process. Private tours, tastings, and corporate events will also be catered for. An experienced team will lead a series of masterclasses, workshops, and tasting events focused on promoting Irish distilleries. A variety of classes will run daily, Introduction to Irish whiskey, Premium Irish whiskey tasting, cocktail-making, and Irish whiskey and food pairing.  Working with a local cheesemonger, the food and Irish whiskey tasting class will highlight the flavour dynamic of Irish whiskey and the best Kerry cheeses.

www.celticwhiskeyshop.com