Whiskey Tasting
Texas’s Balcones Distillery
with Winston Edwards
Thursday, May 16th.
4:30 P.M. – 6:30 P.M.

Joe writes,

This Thursday we will host Winston Edwards from Balcones Distillery in Waco, Texas. We will taste the line of malt and blue corn whiskies. Bourbon – it is not. Good – It certainly is — Very Good. Professional and amateur critics alike, the world over, go so far as Excellent, Genius, and Cornographic. Will you find your new drink? We will taste four very different whiskies from their line and let you be the judge. Do let us know what you think! Winston will be on hand to answer any questions you may have. The micro distilleries have been popping up all over, come in and taste why. Bring a friend or co-worker and see why this is the hottest micro distillery!!!!!

We Will Taste:

Baby Blue Corn Whisky $49.99 On Sale at $44.99
True Blue Corn Whisky $59.99 On Sale at $54.99
Brimstone Smoked Corn Whisky $59.99 On Sale at $54.99
American Single-Malt $59.99 On Sale at $54.99

Joe Howell
Federal Wine & Spirits
Email: info@federalwine.com
Phone: (617) 367-8605
Web: http://www.federalwine.com/

While the history of whisky is long and proud, with legend telling of Saint Patrick bringing the craft of distillation to Scotland, the history of the Quaich is no less long or illustrious.

 The word Quaich comes from the gaelic “cuach” which means cup and they have been used for centuries to welcome or bid farewell to guests, or as a mark of comradeship or friendship. Sharing a dram of whisky from a Quaich has long been symbolic of binding people together in love, friendship or comradeship or to welcome or bid farewell to favoured guests. Today quaichs are often given as a gift to someone held dear.

This two handled Scottish drinking cup may have originated with the practise of drinking whisky from a scallop shell and progressed to forming these shallow cups from wood, stone or horn. Over the years the cups became more elaborate and highly skilled craftsmen fashioned wooden quaichs with beautiful celtic designs. From the 17^th century, as metals came to be more commonly used, quaichs have been made of  brass, pewter, silver or a combination of all three. The original outer shape was retained but the thick bases were thinned to reduce the the weight.

Quaichs originated in the Highlands and weren’t used in Lowland Scotland until the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie when the quaich travelled south in the canteens of the Prince’s army. The quaichs of the army were reputed to have glass bottoms enabling the drinker to keep an eye on those around him; a sad reflection on treacherous times.

Alex Scott & Co Ltd, a long established Aberdeen based company would like to offer you the chance to win a beautiful quaich so you may sup your dram in the traditional way and our gift set even provides a miniature of MacAllan Gold single malt whisky for the first filling.

To enter simply email the answer to the following question along with your name and address to sales@kiltmakers.co.uk using the subject line Quaich Competition, and we will draw the winner, at random, from the correct answers. Closing date June 19th, 2013…….. Please don’t forget to title your email Quaich competition.

What is the Centenary Quaich?

1. Quaich which resides in the Scottish Parliament building and is used for ceremonial occasions.
2. An international rugby union trophy contested annually by Ireland and Scotland.
3. A annual flat race run at Ayr races each September with the Centenary Quaich also being the name of the trophy.
4. A quaich presented to Queen Victoria by her loyal Scottish Subjects at the turn of the twentieth century.

Terms and Conditions:-  The winner will be notified of their win by email and the prize sent by post. No further correspondence will entered into and the judges decisions are final. The prize cannot be substituted or exchanged for cash. The competition is open to all except employees or relatives of Alex Scott & Co (kiltmakers.co.uk) or employees and relatives of Red Evolution. Important – entries will only be accepted from those who are 18 years old or over. This contest will run until Wednesday June 19th, 2013.

This coming Friday, 17th May

Jameson Irish Shindig…

Stephen Carberry looks after Jameson brands for Pernod Ricard and is eager to share both his knowledge and expertise with us down in the tasting cellars of Stourbridge.

Featuring this selection of amazing whiskeys from Pernod Ricard’s Chief Ambassador:

Jameson Green Spot
Jameson Yellow Spot 12year old 46% abv
Jameson Limited reserve 18 year old
Jameson Powers JL
Jameson Redbreast 15 year old 46% abv
Jameson Select reserve
Start times: 7:30 pmTickets £20.00

For further details, email david@nickollsandperks.co.uk or phone 01384 394518

Call or email to reserve your tickets

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Sláinte!

The Nickolls and Perks Team

Nickolls & Perks Ltd
37 Lower High Street
Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 1TA
www.nickollsandperks.co.uk

Federal Wines & Spirits

The Whisky Cruise
As Put on annually by The Whisky Guild
Saturday, May 18th
Aboard the Spirit of Boston Cruise Ship
200 Seaport Blvd., Boston, MA
VIP Hour – 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Main Boarding – 1:00 – 1:30pm
Sail Time – 1:30 – 3:30pm
20% Discount with the code: federal
For Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/event/5010646980

Joe writes, Join us once again for a cruise around Boston’s harbor and some great whisky drinking. Chances are too few and far between to taste the full line-ups of so many brands and independent bottlers. We’re proud to be pouring some of our favorite whiskies alongside some of the best in the industry. Visit www.whiskyguild.com for regular updates to the pour-list. Price of admission includes a buffet lunch and those who join us for the VIP hour will have free acess to (though space is limited, contact us quickly to sign up) a Masterclass as hosted by yours truly. This will be a first for me, so details to come as I think of them.

 Federal Wine & Spirits
________________________________________
Email: info@federalwine.com
Phone: (617) 367-8605
Web: http://www.federalwine.com/

 NIKKA POPS UP AT SMITHS OF SMITHFIELD WITH LONDON’S

BIGGEST ARRAY OF JAPANESE WHISKY
May 21-31, 2013 

London, May 7, 2013 – Award-winning Nikka Japanese whisky opens a pop up bar at Smiths of Smithfield* in May – with a promise and a secret.

The promise is that Nikka will display 17 of its premium single malt and blended whiskies for sampling. This is the biggest line-up of quality Japanese whiskies ever assembled in a bar in London. 

Among the 17 whiskies from the Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries is the award-winning Taketsuru 17 year old pure malt. It is named in honour of Masataka Taketsuru, Father of Japanese whisky, who established Nikka whisky following studies into Scotch whisky distillation in the 1920s.

The secret is the culture of Omakase –  to be revealed to visitors by Tiziano Tasso, Smiths’ bartender and cocktail mixologist and Nikka Ambassador Sayumi Oyama.

The newly-refurbished Smiths of Smithfield First Floor Cocktail Bar will open as Nikka’s pop up bar from May 21-31.

Smiths of Smithfield, First Floor Cocktail Bar

       67-77 Charterhouse Street, London EC1M 6HJ

Tel: 020 7251 7950 Opening hours: Mon – Sat 5pm til late

www.smithsofsmithfield.co.uk

Inspired by the highly anticipated release of Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic ‘The Great Gatsby’, Harrods have recreated the lavish entertaining and unmistakable glamour of the Roaring Twenties, with the launch of their Great Gatsby Cocktail Bar. Harrods has transformed their Tasting Room and Wine Shop into an opulent art-deco pop-up experience, inviting customers to revisit the Jazz Age and reinvent some of the classic pours from this glitzy era, including The Macallan Blood and Sand made with Amber from the new 1824 Series.

The luxurious underground cocktail pop-up lounge area can be visited throughout the day (9^th – 20^th May) and theatrical cocktail-making sessions will take place from the main bar of the Harrods Wine Shop.

Tennants Whisky Auction May 11th, 2013 (phone bids via reception on 01969 623780 or bid live )

With all of this talk about London, its important to remember we have, as always, plenty going on in the North!

With this in mind, tickets have been on sale and moving well for sometime for the 2nd Leeds Whisky Festival on Saturday 1st June. However there are still tickets available at £30 for a full day or £20 for a half day.

The usual Whisky Lounge fripperies are there, including free tasting glass, beginners workshops and Under The Counter Drams, all in the funky 02 Academy Leeds. Click here for more. Nuff said.

We always like to try and take whisky to parts of the country yet to be versed in the ‘Whisky Love’.

Bristol has been high up on the list for a while and we are very excited that we have finally set a date and venue for our first festival in the west country.

To celebrate we are offering an ultra-special early bird, with a 2 for £30 ticket deal for the first 100 lucky punters… To take advantage of this click here to get straight to the right page.

There are still tickets left for our current series of tastings in Brighton, Leeds and York. A tremendous line-up of single cask drams from the SMWS which have already set the rest of the country alight! Click here for more…

We’re all off on a peaty holiday… And there are still a few places remaining if you would like to join us on this ‘Backstage Tour of Islay’. We have special distillery visits, dinners with distillery personnel and a lot more going on… Click here for more.

Whisky School is out! We have dates for our special one-day whisky courses available in London and Newcastle. More to be announced very soon in time for Father’s Day! In the meantime, have a look here for more detail…

Don’t forget it is Father’s Day in just over a months time (June 16th) and needless to say, most of our offerings would make tremendous gifts for the old man… We can email you personalised PDF tickets for any and all of these events that you can then pop in a card for a superb gift. Simples!

That’s pretty much it from us for now but I think that is enough to be going on with! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter – @thewhiskylounge – and like and share our Facebook page to keep bang up to date with the latest news about our events and more. There are photos and more of previous festivals on the FB page too…

We look forward to seeing you over a dram or two soon.

Sláinte!

If you haven’t got your tickets yet, you’d better get in quick as we ramp up The Whisky Lounge PR machine and look to sell out soon!

And given that we like to give you, our loyal and regular customers something a little extra, hows about this…

For the first 50 customers booking onto either of the Saturday sessions on the back of this article, we will give you an ‘Under The Counter Drams’ black token FREE with each ticket booked. These are normally priced at £5 and give you access to a whole host of hidden lovelies at the stands of many of our exhibitors.

A few of the black token drams that have featured this year so far at our festivals:

Port Ellen 32 Year Old 12th Release
Talisker 35 Year Old
Brora 30 Year Old
Macallan 30 Year Old Fine Oak
Dalwhinnie 25 Year Old
Grant’s 25 Year Old
Glenmorangie Signet
Berry Brothers Glen Grant 1974

Now we are not guaranteeing any or all of these, but it does give you an idea of what to expect, and we are looking to get London’s Black Drams up on the website shortly…

As always, your ticket price includes:

• FREE Glencairn Crystal Tasting Glass
• FREE Festival Guide
• FREE Bottle of Water
• FREE Access to sample ALL ‘On The Counter’ Drams for no extra cost
• FREE 2 WHITE Under The Counter Dram tokens
• FREE Guided tour of the festival – for newbies and the uninitiated (see website for details)
• FREE Cocktail demonstrations
• ACCESS to The Whisky Exchange shop within the festival

Workshops are being added as we speak for the Saturday, so keep checking back on the website over the coming days. Don’t forget we are also offering half-session tickets at just £20 per person!

Special mention needs to also go to ‘Jam and Dram’ which is coming together very nicely indeed. For only £25, you get most of what you would get on the Saturday, with the exception of the Under the Counter Drams, plus…

• 20 minute bursts of live music from bands that include industry personnel you may well recognise…
• The chance to blend your own whisky as we try to break the record for the most people blending whisky under one roof in the UK!
• Cutty Sark Goodie Bag
• A miniature of your very own blend that you will name and enter in to our ‘best named blend’ competition.

Now, due to the nature of what we are trying to do and the size of the venue, we are limiting tickets to only 200 lucky people. That means there are going to be some disappointed folk and we don’t want you to be among them. Click here to get booking and to avoid the devastation of not being at possibly the whisky event of the year!