Alan Anderson : Whisky Fir Dummies

Venue: Just The Tonic @ The Tron (Venue 51) Hunter Square, Edinburgh
Time: 9pm (55mins)
Dates: 4th – 28th August

‘Impressive… amusing… bargain of a night out’
Adelaide Advertiser

‘Hilarious… not just for whisky drinkers’  Talkfringe.com  Glaswegian comedian Alan Anderson loves Single Malt Scotch Whisky and he wants you to love it too. Anderson is trying to dispel the stereotype of the cheap Scot by giving away high quality booze. During his show there are six whiskies to be tasted and many laughs to be had.

A former architect, DJ and tour guide, Alan Anderson has been one of the most in-demand comedians in Scotland for over a decade, with six years of sell out shows at the Glasgow Comedy Festival. Whisky Fir Dummies is his Edinburgh Fringe debut.

Whisky Fir Dummies premiered at Australia’s Adelaide Fringe Festival in February 2011. Alan Anderson performed Whisky Fir Dummies for 18 nights, receiving rave reviews and sell out audiences… probably something to do with the free whisky he hands out during the show to his favourite audience members.

There is no denying that Scotland has a drink problem. That problem is that too many Scots drink poor quality cheap alcohol such as alcopops, methadone and Buckfast. Whisky however is Scotland’s greatest export, 2010 was a record year with over £3Billion’s worth of Scotch being exported around the world. This helped HMRC rake in over £1Billion in tax. Anderson asks what whisky – compared to golf, Sean Connery or Nessie – says about the Scots, and will minimum pricing kill the golden goose?

Hae a dram, some cheeky banter and learn about Scotland’s greatest export with Glaswegian comedian Alan Anderson. Every show a new, unique whisky sodden tale.

‘delivered in boisterous and friendly manner… Anderson educates his audience… keeping them rolling with laughter…. a warm and hilarious get-together.’ Chortle

‘Excellent show. Excellent whisky. Excellent chat.’ Talkfringe.com

‘Scottish Comedy Veteran’ Daily Record

‘Festival institution’ Evening  Times

‘There was whisky to be had. And laughs too, of which there were many. I can find no other way to describe Whisky Fir Dummies other than to say that it is the best way to have a dram of whisky in a room with strangers. ’ Adelaide Art Beat

For more information please visit www.whiskycomedian.com Alan Anderson is managed in-house and is represented by Ha Ha Comedy. www.hireacomedian.co.uk For further information email alan@hahacomedy.co.uk or call 07930312135

Dear Famous fan,

We are getting very excited about our brand new upcoming Festival and wanted to update our loyal friends.

The very first Famous Grouse Festival takes place on Friday 12th & Saturday 13th August 2011. Set outdoors at Scotland’s oldest and most visited distillery; Glenturret, an eclectic blend of music and whisky is set to transpire.

There are only 1,200 tickets available for each day and they are on sale now and selling fast.

Rocking the stage on Friday evening is the legendary Donnie Munro and Eric Faulkner with supporting acts including Jill Jackson, formerly of Speedway, Michael Marra and The Gospel Truth Choir.

Saturday 13th will see the Celtic band Skerryvore headlining with blazing bagpipes, fiddle and accordion fused with funky rhythms and soulgripping songs. Piperactive, Manran, Mike Lee and Jill Jackson will also be making an appearance.

We are also running a battle of the bands competition in conjunction with Radio Tay (www.radiotay.co.uk) to find the final up and coming Scottish band or artist that will complete the Saturday line-up.

Festival goers will be treated to three free drams of whisky with every ticket and learn about The Famous Family (The Famous Grouse, The Black Grouse & The Snow Grouse). Gordon Motion, The Famous Grouse Master Blender will be running master classes and TV celebrity mixologist Andy Gemmell will be shaking up some whisky cocktails.

Tickets are £30 per day and are on sale from www.ticketmaster.co.uk, until stocks last. We are expecting the event to sell out in advance.

Tickets are restricted to those aged 14 and above and all over 18s will be treated to three free drams (25ml measure). Disabled access and parking is available on prior request.

For all the latest festival news please visit: www.thefamousgrouse.com/festival.

We hope to see you there!
 
Yours famously,
The Famous Grouse Team

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

For the main July tasting event here at TWE Vinopolis, our good friends at The Balvenie Distillery in Speyside have offered to host an evening of malted merriment, purely in the name of education. And, of course, who better to present such a tasting but the incredibly knowledgeable and superbly qualified Dr. Andrew Forrester (Head Honcho for all things Balvenie in the UK), and TWE alumnus Sam Simmons, aka Dr. Whisky – famous for his wonderful blog… and we understand he now does something or other for Balvenie, too.

The Balvenie Whisky Academy Tasting,
with Dr. Forrester and Dr. Whisky
Monday 11th July, 7:00pm

The chaps will be pouring a few select gems from The Balvenie range and are also currently liberating a few samples from Warehouse 24 at the distillery for our enjoyment. They will be including elements from their recently launched Balvenie Whisky Academy, which aims to bring a better understanding of our favourite spirit with Charles MacLean, Gavin D. Smith, David Stewart and others discussing the history, science, and enjoyment of Scotch whisky. Check out the intro on youTube

Whether you are a complete novice or have been drinking Balvenie for years, this is a great chance to learn a lot about whisky in general and a rare opportunity to spend an evening in the delightful and engaging company of the fine gentlemen mentioned above.

In a slight change to our usual Monday arrangement, places for this evening will be released from 3:00pm, Wednesday 29th June. As always, they are limited to 2 per booking and sold on a first come, first served basis. You can reserve a place by calling us on +44 (0)207 403 8688 with payment details to hand.

Sláinte,

The Team

JIM MURRAY’S WHISKY BIBLE TASTING TOUR OF THE ISLE OF ARRAN 
 
Mon 19 – Fri 23 September 2011
New two night tour – only £869 per person www.arenatravel.com 

——————————————————————————–

Due to popular demand, International whisky guru and author Jim Murray will be leading a two night whisky tour, specially arranged by Arena Travel.

Whisky lovers from all over the world have the rare opportunity to join him on a two night tour of Arran which includes the whisky distillery at Lochranza, home of the award-winning Arran Single Malt whisky.

Jim Murray’s Whisky Tour presents a unique opportunity to witness whisky-making at its very best and will give guests an unparalleled opportunity to explore the specially selected distilleries, meet the men behind the labels and sample some truly rare and exclusive drams. Jim will be on hand, offering a personal insight into each distillery and the whisky they lovingly create.

The whisky trail starts in Glasgow before boarding a ferry to the Isle of Arran and the Arran Distillery in Lochranza. A new and dynamic force in Scotch whisky, the distillery started distilling in the 1990’s producing the first Arran malts in 150 years. After a tour of the facility and a special visit to its Bonded Warehouse, Jim will lead a tutored tasting of personally selected single malts.

The tour then moves back onto the Scottish mainland, where on your way back to Glasgow you will visit an additional distillery. You’ll find a full tour itinerary here.

Guests will be treated to luxurious accommodation at the Auchrannie House Hotel and Spa in the pretty coastal village of Glencoy on Arran. Jim will also host two dinners and will be on hand to share his knowledge with his fellow whisky enthusiasts at all key points during the tour.

The first ever Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible Tourof The Isle of Arran takes place on 19-21 September 2011 and costs £869 per person (twin share room) and £929 per person (single).

The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza® is held in 14 major markets around the United States, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington, DC.

Both Novice & Enthusiasts

The Extravaganza was the first and is the only tasting event that offers both the novice and most discerning enthusiast the opportunity to properly sample the participating whiskies in a sophisticated and elegant environment, with an array of sumptuous foods that greatly enhance the attendees’ enjoyment.

Single Malt & Scotch Whisky

The Extravaganza provides our attendees an unusually wide range of the most prestigious single malt, premium Scotch and Irish whiskies in joyous camaraderie. Presented by whisky professionals, our goal is to educate our attendees in the discerning consumption of the finest spirits known to mankind. Unlike any other “whisky event”, the Extravaganza focuses exclusively on single malt & Scotch whiskies. No other category of alcoholic beverages is included in our events.

Unique Whiskies From Scotland and Around the World

The gala evening event features a sampling of over 100 of Scotland’s most prestigious single malt & Scotch whiskies as well as unique single malts from Ireland and Japan. At evening’s end, a selection of premium, imported cigars are presented for the attendees’ enjoyment after the event. Please note – smoking is not permitted within the confines of the venue.

 
Chicago
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Union League Club of Chicago
65 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60604
Jackets Required
(No Denim or Athletic Attire)

——————————————————————————–

Boston
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Taj Boston
15 Arlington Street
Boston, MA 02116

——————————————————————————–

Washington, DC
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
JW Marriott Hotel
1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20004

——————————————————————————–

Philadelphia
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Union League Club of Philadelphia
140 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Jackets Required
(No Denim or Athletic Attire)

——————————————————————————–

San Francisco
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The Intercontinental San Francisco
888 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

——————————————————————————–

Los Angeles
Friday, November 11, 2011
Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel
1700 Ocean Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90401

 ——————————————————————————–

Fort Lauderdale
Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel
& Casino
1 Seminole Way
Hollywood, FL 33314

Maltstock news

Whisky Antique at Maltstock + Discount whiskysamples

Fellow whisky enthusiasts,

Less than 3 months to go until Maltstock! I know a lot of you are waiting to book your seats at the Maltstock Masterclasses. It will be another two or three weeks though, sorry. We’re still working on the schedule. We’re hoping to be able to add one or two more masterclasses very soon.

Booking your masterclasses will be the same as last year: you can e-mail us your order of preference and we will do our very best to divide all the available places as fair as possible. As soon as we have all masterclasses online we will notify you by e-mail.

5% discount at whiskysamples.eu (until 29 June)

Whiskysamples.eu is offering a 5% discount to all Maltstock newsletter subscribers. This discount is valid until Wednesday 29 June only! Simply enter “MALTSTOCK” when buying your samples. Check out the excellent range at www.whiskysamples.eu

Whisky Antique and Silver Seal

We are very happy and proud to have Whisky Antique at Maltstock. Max Righi will bring some really fine bottles from his amazing collection for you to try. And since Max is now also the world wide distributor for the excellent Silver Seal whiskies, he will be bringing a few of those as well.

Maltstock hotel

For those of you who would really like to come to Malttsock, but prefer not to stay in small dorms, we have a solution. There’s a nice little hotel just 4 kilometers from the Maltstock venue. We’re curently negociating a special Maltstock discount for you. More on this in the next newsletter. But if you are interested in staying in a hotel you can already let us know by sending us an e-mail.

Maltstock tickets

As mentioned before, all tickets have to be purchased in advance. There will be no ticket sales at the Maltstock gates. Also there’s only limited availibilty. And we’re filling up fast. So to avoid dissapointment, get your tickets now. They can be purchased either through the Maltstock webshop (click here), or if you want to pay by credit card, through The Whiskyshop Dufftown (click here). And remember you still get a 10% discount at all the whiskies in The Whiskyshop Dufftown if you have bought a Maltstock ticket. Delivery of the bottels is possible at Maltstock, since Mike from the whiskyshop will be at Maltstock.

Any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Hope to see you all in September, see you at Maltstock!

Arthur, Bob, Eline, Rogier & Teun
www.maltstock.com

JOHN CAMPBELL INTRODUCES LAPHROAIG CAIRDEAS

Monday, June 27, 5:00-8:00pm

Meet Laphroaig master distiller John Campbell as he introduces his newest hand selected release. The new Laphroaig Cairdeas is a range of ages from fresh bourbon wood and bottled at cask strength.

Call 312-664-4394 for more information.
Chicago – Lincoln Park Store
1720 N. Marcey St. | Chicago | 312-664-4394

Visit Binny’s at www.binnys.com

 
 
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Malmaison Aberdeen is pleased to be hosting on the 29th of june what promises to be a truly unforgettable evening of outstanding whisky and stunning food. Come along and join Olaf Meier the Brand Ambassador for four courses partnered with a carefully selected Whisky for only £65 (£50 for SMWS members). Allow Olaf excite and enlighten you with his knowledge and answer every question you may have during the evening.

Love Whisky?

Please ask any of our bar staff or contact us on: asteel@malmaison.com

Bernd Staber
Bar Manager
Malmaison Aberdeen
49-53 Queens Road
Aberdeen
AB15 4YP
T: 01224 327 370   
www.malmaison.com

JOHN CAMPBELL INTRODUCES LAPHROAIG CAIRDEAS

Monday, June 27, 5:00-8:00pm

Meet Laphroaig master distiller John Campbell as he introduces his newest hand selected release. The new Laphroaig Cairdeas is a range of ages from fresh bourbon wood and bottled at cask strength.

Call 312-664-4394 for more information. Chicago – Lincoln Park Store 1720 N. Marcey St. | Chicago | 312-664-4394

Visit Binny’s at www.binnys.com

The Tweeddale Blend Batch 2 Launch Event – 25/06/11
—————————————————————————–
A new specialist spirits store in Glasgow will host the official launch of the second batch of The Tweeddale Blend scotch whisky. The Good Spirits Co. in Bath Street have barely been open a couple of weeks but are already lining up an exciting array of exclusive tastings and events to promote quality drink products in the city.

Alasdair Day, the creator of the blend, discovered his Great Grandfather’s recipe book and decided to recreate the whisky for the modern market. The first batch has since sold out and he has now put together a new version which this time is 12 years old, two years older than the original.

On Saturday 25th June, visitors to The Good Spirits Co. will be able to sample the whisky as well as talk to Alasdair himself about his lastest creation. The event will run from 1pm-5pm.

www.thegoodspiritsco.com
http://www.stonedean.co.uk

The Good Spirits Co.
23 Bath Street
Glasgow G2 1HW