THERE’S GOLD – LIQUID GOLD – IN THEM THERE HILLS!

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival launches treasure hunt with a difference 

The liquid gold rush will come to Scotland’s most famous whisky producing region as treasure hunters gather to seek out bottles of exclusive single malt that have been hidden in the Speyside landscape. 

A group of distilleries known as The Famous Five – Glenfarclas, Tomintoul, Tamnavulin, The Glenlivet and Cragganmore – have teamed up to offer bottles of single malt whisky valued at over £600 as the haul for lucky scavengers. 

The grown-up treasure hunt has been organised as part of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, which will welcome thousands of whisky lovers from around the globe from May 1 to 5. 

Festival-goers will be able to take part in the hunt for free, simply by following the clues that appear at the Festival hubs in the towns of Elgin, Aberlour, Dufftown, and Tomtintoul on Festival transport and on Facebook and Twitter. 

Tomintoul and Glenlivet Development Trust – which operates in an area regarded as the beating heart of Speyside’s whisky production – is behind the Liquid Treasures event. 

Trust chairman Charlie Ironside says he hopes the treasure hunt will encourage visitors to spend more time in the Tomintoul and Glenlivet area during their trip to the region. 

He adds, “Our organisation was set up to help regenerate the rural economy, and working with large events like the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival – an event which is renowned with whisky lovers throughout the world – is key to that. 

“Thousands of visitors come to the area every year to visit our historic distilleries and learn more about the industry, and what we want to do is to encourage them to spend more time here. 

“They might come for the whisky, but we hope they will leave with a better knowledge of what else Tomintoul and Glenlivet has to offer – incredible walking and mountain biking trails, rich built and natural heritage, fantastic wildlife and some of the most breathtaking scenery in Scotland.” 

Each of the five distilleries have offered up some of their most exclusive bottlings for Liquid Treasures, which will run for the duration of the five-day festival. Details of the hidden malts will be announced nearer the event, but will be a worthy addition to any collection. 

Clues – which will test whisky knowledge rather than local geography – will be posted each day, and participants will be able to piece together the puzzle of the secret locations. Clues will also be posted on Twitter, and participants will be able to follow the latest news by using the hashtag #liquidtreasures. The hunt can be followed at facebook.com/TomintoulGlenlivet and on Twitter @TGDevTrust 

Mr Ironside adds, “This area of Speyside is where the Scotch whisky industry started, as The Glenlivet was the first licensed distillery in Scotland. The hills in these parts are alive with stories of smugglers and illicit stills, so it seems right that we should once again have people scouring the area trying to find some treasure of their own.” 

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival chairman James Campbell says that Liquid Treasures looks set to be one of the most popular events on this year’s programme. The Festival line-up includes more than 370 events, such as nosings, tastings, distillery tours, walks, art exhibitions and food pairing. 

It will also launch a brand new attraction this year – The Spirit of Speyside Sessions. A festival in its own right, the Sessions will feature performances by some of the leading acts in Scottish traditional music in venues closely linked to the whisky industry. 

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is one of the leading events for Year of Homecoming 2014 – a year-long celebration which showcases all that is great about Scotland. The Festival will also have the honour of kicking off Homecoming’s own Whisky Month in May. 

Mr Campbell adds, “Liquid Treasures is proving to be one of the most talked about events of the Festival, and I know that many, many people  are planning to take part. 

“The great thing about this event is that it is so accessible – it is open to absolutely everyone. I wish each and every one of our budding pioneers the very best of luck in their attempts to strike gold in Speyside.” 

Tickets for all events in the 2014 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival programme can be bought via the website – www.spiritofspeyside.com The Festival is also active on social media – facebook.com/WhiskyFestival and @spirit_speyside on Twitter. 

Picture caption: Treasure hunters will be on the search for liquid gold at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival. 

NOTES

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival runs from Thursday, 1 May – Monday, 5 May 2014.  Check out http://www.spiritofspeyside.com/ for up-to-date news and follow the Festival at www.facebook.com/WhiskyFestival  or www.twitter.com/spirit_speyside 

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is committed to promoting responsible drinking. Visitors travelling to and from festival events can take advantage of a range of transport options. Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has received funding from EventScotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and is also financially supported by many other private and public partners 

EventScotland: EventScotland is the national events agency. EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. 

Year of Homecoming Scotland

Scotland will welcome the world in the Year of Homecoming 2014- providing a year-long programme of events alongside the Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games . The Year of Homecoming Scotland will run from 31 December 2013 to 31 December 2014 throughout the length and breadth of the country.  Visitors from around the world are invited to join in a celebration of the nation’s food and drink, active pursuits, cultural heritage, nature and ancestral heritage. 

Homecoming Scotland 2014 is a Scottish Government initiative being led by EventScotland and VisitScotland, supported by numerous partners. To find out more visit http://www.homecomingscotland.com/

Whisky Cocktail Tasting – Thursday 1st May 2014

We’ve got a real treat in store to celebrate May day this year – and, no, there won’t be any Morris men or a maypole to dance round but there may well be some merry making by the end of the night as we will be welcoming along the extremely entertaining Bruce Perry, Sales Director of Eaux de Vie, to present an evening of delicious whisky cocktails.

Whisky cocktails have been around for many years, with the earliest recorded ones dating back to the late 1800s, but the rise in popularity of cocktails generally in recent times has lead to a renewed appreciation of the versatility and complexity that whisky can bring to mixed drinks. On the evening Bruce will talk you through the whiskies being used, which will be a selection from America, Sweden, Scotland and Japan, and an experienced mixologist will demonstrate how to make each of the cocktails so, with the help of the recipe cards that will be provided, this fun and relaxed evening will provide you with the basics of how to create your own fabulous concoctions.

This is a perfect way to spend a summer evening but there are only 34 tickets available so don’t miss out! Tickets are priced at £17.50 per person and will be available to buy from 1.30pm on Wednesday 2nd April. No bookings will be taken before this time. Due to the restricted number of tickets the maximum number of people per booking is 4.

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 Whisky Cocktail Tasting
Date Thursday 1st May 2014

Time 7pm for 7.30pm
Venue Stanton House Hotel, Stanton Fitzwarren SN6 7SD

Details Admission to the tasting is by ticket only, and the whiskies featured in the cocktails, plus most of the other ingredients, will be available to purchase on the night so come prepared. Tickets are £17.50 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 ASAP. To buy tickets just log on to www.whiskyandwines.com from 1.30pm on Wednesday 2nd April and place an order for the number you require.

Please note, we cannot accept provisional bookings and payment must be made when booking. We do not give refunds for tickets purchased for our events except in exceptional circumstances.

N.B. We have negotiated special rates at the hotel for anyone who wants to stay overnight after the tasting – click here for further details.

The Famous Feastival

The Famous Feastival, on Sunday 25th May, is a celebration of food, whisky, chocolate and music, held at Scotland’s Oldest whisky distillery, The Glenturret, at The Famous Grouse Experience in Crieff. This year’s Feastival is delighted to be working with world renowned British chef Tom Kitchin and we have a selection of exclusive, and very tasty, VIP events from which to choose.

BOOK NOW

Ardbeg’s Peat Hopper, this one-of-a-kind vehicle, kind of a cross between a chopper and tractor, was built by Paul Teutul, Sr. and team at Orange County Choppers, to help transform Main Street into Peat Street as they spread the love of the unforgettable, unique Ardbeg Islay whisky. The Ardbeg Girls will be on hand with discount coupons for the Ardbeg Ten and other swag!

Springbank Society 10th Anniversary Tasting 

at 7.30pm on Thursday 3rd April 2104 

at The Kilderkin, 65/67 Canongate, Royal Mile, Edinburgh

Springbank 17yo 12/90 – 02/08 refill port hogshead 570 bottles 51.5%

Springbank 14yo 06/92 – 03/07 Bourbon hogshead 265 bottles 55.3%

Hazelburn 8yo 07/98 – 07/06 refill sherry butt 600 bottles 58.7%

Springbank 9yo fresh rum butt 07/97 – 03/07 700 bottles 60.2%

Longrow 8yo 02/97 – 07/05 refill sherry butt 630 bottles 59.9%

Tickets – £26/23* see http://www.jollytopertastings.co.uk/ for tickets and further details.

*£3 discount for first timers and members, membership costs a mighty £10 and lasts for a nice round 13 months.

Mora’s Fine Wine Whiskey Tasting Event for World Whisky Day, May 17 

Come taste over 25 whiskies from around the globe and celebrate World Whisky Day with Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits at The Country Corner between 6-9pm on Saturday, May 17! 

$24 per person before April 19

$30 per person after April 19

BUY TICKETS NOW!

**space limited, ticket purchase required** 

Ticket purchase includes sampling of over 25 fine whiskies, Whisky friendly snacks, Glencairn tasting glass, door prizes for lucky winners. 

Some of our Featured Distillers: (check back for updates)

Amrut, Balcones, Benriach, Benromach, Breckenridge, Brenne, Corsair, FEW Spirits, Garrison Brothers, Glendronach, Glenrothes, Highland Park, Isle of Arran, Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Kilchoman, Koval, New Holland, Nikka, Smooth Ambler, Tamdhu, Town Branch 

About World Whisky Day: Now you may be thinking ‘isn’t every day a whisky day?’. Well kind of, however, World Whisky Day is about celebrating whisky/whiskey and about giving whisky global stage and global media attention for not just a day but for a considerable amount of time around this date. The purpose of this is to introduce whisky to people who have never tried it before and for those that already enjoy whisky to have something special. 

Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits

http://www.moraswines.com/

631-941-4458   sev.clemens@moraswines.com

Single-Malt Scotch Tasting
with Alastair Walker, Sales Director of BenRiach and GlenDronach
Tuesday, April 22nd
4:30 and 6:00

In 2004, Billy Walker and a group of investors bought BenRiach Distillery from Pernod Ricard and breathed a whole new life into it. It’s now regarded as producing some of the most characterful distillate in Speyside. In 2008 they bought the highland distllery GlenDronach, which produces a richly sherried single-malt. Billy’s son Alastair, BenRiach’s Sales Director, will be in the shop tasting us through some of the bottlings from both distilleries including some single-cask, cask-strength offerings. These casks represent great quality and fair value in a market where both are becoming increasingly rare. We’ll taste expressions ranging in character from classic speyside, rich sherry, peat, and combinations thereof. To complete the history, the group also purchased Glenglassaugh in 2013 but this sort of thing moves slowly, we hope to have some of their whisky in the near future. 

Joe Howell

Federal Wine & Spirits

Phone: (617) 367-8605

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

The Relaxed Whisky Weekend
5 – 7 September 2014

Can we have a little bit of your time to update you about Maltstock 2014? A couple of things we would like to update you about. First of all:

Maltstock in “the World’s top 10 whisky shows” list
The Spirits Business Magazine put Maltstock in a list called “the World’s top 10 whisky shows”. Of course we are very happy and proud of this and would like to send a BIG “thank you” to all visitors and volunteers!
http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2014/03/the-worlds-top-10-whisky-shows/

The Ticket Shop

We are very proud to have a the new Maltstock ticket shop up and running with 3 tickets you can choose from:

Maltstock 2014 + accommodation
Maltstock 2014 No accommodation
Maltstock 2014 + accommodation +bedding

Please visit http://maltstock.com and go to the ticket shop or click following link http://maltstock.com/index.php/en/online-shop/buy-your-tickets-here
to buy your tickets.

Banners and wallpapers
We recently updated the press and media page of maltstock.com. Banners and wallpapers for pc and phone are available to use and share for free!
http://maltstock.com/index.php/en/press-media/logos-banners-etc

Introduction of new members
With this newsletter we will start to introduce our new members in the organizational team.

Starting with Klaas:
– Hi my name is Klaas Steenhuis, a primary school teacher. After visiting Maltstock every year and being a loyal member of Whiskyclub ‘t Woest Genoegen in Nijmegen I’m a member of the organizational team now. I started to develop an interest in Whisky back in 2004 and visited quite a lot whisky festivals since. At whisky festival The Hague I love being one of the tour guides introducing people to whisky. Through my whisky hobby I have met lots of nice people and made whisky friends all around the globe, especially on Islay :). Because of the enthusiastic members in our team and good ideas I’m convinced that Maltstock 2014 will be a success again.

Hope to see you at Maltstock 2014!

Klaas

Maltstock promo tour

Whisky festival Gent was good fun! Friday 28/03/2014 we will be heading to Groningen, do we see you there as well?

Whisky festival noord Nederland – 28\29\30\March – http://www.wfnn.nl/
Spirit of Speyside Whisky festival – 1\2\3\4\5\May – http://www.spiritofspeyside.com/
Dramboree – 4\5\6\July – http://www.dramboree.co.uk/

Annette, Bob, Jeroen, Klaas, Stan and Teun
www.maltstock.com

5007 Underwood Ave, Omaha NE 68132 dundeedell.com 402.553.9501

Rye Whiskey Tasting

The 36th auction is now live. Enjoy!

We are also delighted to announce we will be able to step up our deliveries to the United States, thanks to a new arrangement we have with an internationally-renowned shipper. You may wish to continue using our friends at Mailboxes etc but we will now be able to offer an alternative which may prove to be more competitive.

We are also now offering the option to insure your bottles during shipment. The premium will be 3% of the hammer price and will be added to your totals at check out if you select that option.

Kind regards from Glasgow

The SWA Team

36th Auction