The 17th annual Malt Advocate Whisky Awards will be presented in the Spring 2011 issue of  Malt Advocate magazine, due out March 1st. However, we will be announcing the award winners in advance on the Malt Advocate blog, “What Does John Know?” beginning February 16th.
 
As the awards are announced, they will automatically be published to Malt Advocate magazine’s Facebook page and Publisher & Editor John Hansell’s Twitter (@JohnHansell) account.
  
The advantage of publishing the awards on the Malt Advocate blog is two-fold:

The awards can be announced more quickly via social media than in print media, and it will help to reach a wider audience.

Announcing the awards in a blog platform allows for further discussion and interaction between whisky enthusiasts, press, and trade.

“We are always trying to be as progressive as possible,” notes Hansell. “We look forward to using social media more in the future to provide Malt Advocate readers with the best whisky experience possible — one that is complementary to Malt Advocate magazine.”

The dates the category winners will be announced are:

February 16th:  Best Buy Whisk(e)y of the Year

February 17th:  Artisan Whisky of the Year

February 18th:  American Whiskey of the Year

February 19th:  Canadian Whisky of the Year

February 20th: Irish Whiskey of the Year

February 21st:  Scotch Whisky Blend of the Year

February 22nd:  Scotch Whisky Single Malt of the Year

February 23rd:   World Whisky of the Year

February 24th:  Pioneer of the Year

February 25th:  Industry Leader of the Year

February 26th:  Distillery of the Year

February 27th:  Lifetime Achievement Award
 
February 28th: Top Ten New Whiskies

Be sure to tune in to What Does John Know? beginning February 16th.

Compass Box
‘A Tale of Two Decades’ Tasting
Monday 21-Feb, 7:00pm

We’re going to be kicking off this year’s tasting calendar with an evening under the tutelage of the esteemed John Glaser, Master of all things whisky in the world of Compass Box. John and his excellent team have a long history of making real headlines in the whisky world since they burst onto the scene a decade ago, and we felt it was high time they graced our humble little tasting evenings again. The last tasting we hosted with these Chiswick champions was, unbelievably, way back in 2008, and proved to be a roaring success. We’re certain that this event will be even more spectacular.
 
For this tasting, we shall be revisiting some of the company’s legendary past bottlings (most of which are now too rare or sought-after to even think about trying to buy), alongside a selection of the more recent stars from the Compass Box stable. We will be covering about 7 different expressions or so in total, including the highly acclaimed 10th Anniversary bottlings, a certain “illegal” release from a few years back, and a very Magical whisky indeed!

Tickets for this enthralling evening of entertainment and education are priced at £30 per person, and are strictly limited to 2 places per booking. As we suspect many of you will be very eager to join us for this first tasting of 2011, we expect tickets to disappear fairly sharpish. They will go on sale from 3:00pm on Monday 14th February, available by calling us with payment details on +44 (0)207 403 8688.
 
Sláinte,

The Team

Eades Double Malt and Great Cigars — Another Great Pairing for a Great Cause
 
For our Eades Enthusiasts in DC and Northern Virginia

We are very happy to invite you to join us at Signature Cigars in DC this Thursday, February 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. for an evening of Eades Double Malt whiskies, fine cigars and relaxation…all to benefit charity! We will be pouring our Eades Double Malt whiskies for free, and there will be specials on premium cigars such as the Edicion Limitada series by Romeo and Julieta, H. Upmann, Montecristo and Trinidad. The event is free; Signature Cigars only asks that you purchase cigar(s) meeting their daily lounge minimum.

Signature Cigars and the Virginia Distillery Company are joining together for the National Power Tool Drive to support the Second Annual Plumbing Brigade trip to Cuba. Bring a new or used tool, or sponsor a new tool with a  donation. These tools will be used to provide training, renovation assistance and general collaboration with the plumbers of Cuba.

We hope to see you Thursday!

Signature Cigars of DC
4835 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016
202.244.6040

Suggested Tools to bring:

– Pipe threaders (1/2″-2″)
– Galvanized Pipe cutters
– CPVC Pipe cutters
– Pipe wrenches (14″,16″,18″)
– Power Drills
– Chipping Hammers,
– Levels (8″,12″,18″)
– Tape Measures (3, 5, 7, 10 Meters)
– Basin wrenches (1/2″-2″ pipe)
– Pipe Vises
 
 Pat Jones
Virginia Distillery Company

PRESENTS

Whisky Tasting at Truxtons   

Thursday March 3, 2011 at 6:30pm Program starts promptly at 7:00pm   
    
8611 Truxton Avenue
Westchester, CA 90045
Phone 310-417-8789
www.truxtonsamericanbistro.com  

Whisky tasting paired with  Hors d’oeuvres   
 
Cragganmore 1997   13 yr
Signatory Vintage 92 proof

limited single cask release

Ripe & juicy honey dew with
nutty, savory swiss cheese

Mortlach 1997   12yr
Signatory Vintage  86 proof

Only available as an independent release!

Toasted french baguette topped with
vine ripe tomato brushetta

Glen Grant 1997 12yr
Signatory Vintage 86 proof

Limited Single Cask expression

Rich and creamy sharp cheddar cheese with sliced bread

Isle of Skye  8yr  86 proof

2010 Blended Scotch of the Year- about.com

Ripe tangerines with a hint of salt 

Eades Speyside Doube Malt  92 proof
Finished in Tempranillo and Madeira Casks

Margherita pizza – grilled thin crust pizza dough topped with marinara sauce, fresh ripe tomatoes, garlic, basil, and
smoked mozzarella cheese

Amrut Fusion  100 proof

97pts – Whisky Bible 2010, ranked 3rd best whisky in the World

Hand rolled taquitos filled with tender brisket, served with guacamole & topped with cilantro, chipotle cream and cotija cheese

Kilchoman  92 proof

First distillery built on Islay in over 100 years, reviewed in the Feb 2011 Wine Spectator, Marinated kalamatta olives served with fresh smoked salmon.

Hogshead Pure Malt  86 proof

1/3 Islay,  2/3 Speyside Pure Malt

Sliced prosciutto with creamy, soft blue cheese

Edradour 10yr,  86 proof

“Scotland’s Smallest Distillery” Reviewed in the Feb 2011 Wine Spectator Chocolate brownie slices smothered in dark chocolate sauce.   
 
 Only $55.00 includes tasting,

Hors d’oeuvres, tax and gratuity

Space is limited, so call us at 310-306-2822 or visit us at www.BeverageWarehouse.com to sign up.

Wine selection / vintages subject to change without notice. There is a 72 hour cancellation period without charge.
Must be 21 yrs of age or older to attend.

Millennium and Eleven Masters Tasting Series

Join us for a series of tastings featuring “The Masters” of wine and spirits as chosen by one of America’s foremost wine and spirits authorities, F. Paul Pacult, editor of The Spirit Journal.

Tuesday, February 22, 7:00 p.m.

Irish Whiskey Extravaganza:

Hosted by F. Paul Pacult

It’s never too soon to pledge your allegiance to the green! Please join us for our Irish whiskey extravaganza. Come discover why Irish whiskey has been the fastest growing spirits category for over a decade. Our leprechaun’s pot of gold will be filled with some of Eire’s most elegant and coveted whiskeys, including:

Paddy Blended Irish Whiskey
Powers 12 Blended Irish Whiskey
Jameson Blended Irish Whiskey
Jameson 12 Blended Irish Whiskey
Jameson Gold Blended Irish Whiskey
Jameson 18 Blended Irish Whiskey
Redbreast 12 Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
Redbreast 15 Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
Midleton Very Rare Blended Irish Whiskey

$95 per person

For reservations call Keens Steakhouse (212) 947-3636– Please register early as we expect this event to sell out –

http://www.keens.com/images/2011-Winter_Tasting_Letter-Form.pdf

Please fax back to us at (212) 714-1103

Fellow whisky enthusiasts,

Only seven more months until the third edition of Maltstock. And what a fantastic edition it promisses to be again. A lot of people already bought their tickets. So far we have people coming to Maltstock from six different countries.

Serious Request
In December the Dutch national radio station held a charity week called “Serious Request”. One of the ways to raise money for the Red Cross was by auctioning just about everything. A group of Dutch whisky Ambassadors decided to join forces and auction a unique whisky tasting with the Dutch whisky ambassadors. The Maltstock team decided to support this by offering two free tickets to Maltstock for the auction winner and 10% discount for everybody attending this special tasting. It proved to be a huge success. Over 1900,- euro was raised for the Red Cross. A fantastic result.

Maltstock program
We are very busy to put together a terrific program again for the third edition of Maltstock. So far we can confirm:

Master of Malt
They will host a tasting with whisky from closed distilleries.

David Stirk
The independent bottler David Stirk will be present and also host a tasting.

Highlander Inn
The Highlander Inn will again come over from Craigellachie Scotland to prepare a very tasty real Scottish breakfast.

Full Proof
Jeroen Koetsier will also be present again with his amazing collection of great and old whiskies.

Independent bottlers
The Dutch importers Bresser & Timmer and WIN will be at Maltstock, representing whisky from: Adelphi, Berry Brothers, Dewar Rattray, First Cask, Blackadder, Daily Dram, Single Malts of Scotland and Compass Box.

So already much to look forward to. But we hope to announce some more great additions soon!

Remember there is limited space at the Maltstock venue, so get your tickets now in our Maltstock shop.

If you have any questions, just contact us. Or meet us at the Maltstock promo tour:
– Whiskyfair Gent, Belgium this weekend
– Whisky Live London, England, 5 March
– Whiskyfestival Noord-Nederland, Groningen, Netherlands, 25-27 March
– Spirit of Speyside festival, Scotland, 28 April-2 May
– Whiskyfair Limburg, Germany, 14-15 May

If you would like to help promote Maltstock, we have posters, flyers and banners available. All help is appreciated!

Hope to see you in September!

Arthur, Bob, Eline, Rogier & Teun
Maltstock team

Maltstock
the relaxed whisky weekend
9-11 September, 2011

Visit Malt Stock at www.maltstock.com

Come and Taste a Wee Dram

Isle of Skye – Smokehead – Chieftain’s

SCOTCH TASTING / SEMINAR TO BE HELD AT:

Bin 604 Wine Cellar
604 South Exeter Street
Baltimore, MD  21202
410-576-0444

6:30 PM February 24, 2011

Malts to be presented:
1997 Aultmore, Speyside 12 yr
1995 The Cigar Malt, Speyside 15 yr
1997 Glen Grant, Speyside 13 yr
Isle of Skye, Island 8 yr
Smokehead, Islay

And introducing:

Kilchoman, the newest distillery    on Islay.
 
*Space is limited so please inquire about availability

…Only the worthy are chosen…Naturally!

Hello Fellow Scotch Lovers – 

This week, I am again thrilled to offer you the opportunity to pre-order another highly collectible whisky: Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix 2010.

The story about this incredible whisky is one of, shall I say, divine intervention.  This is an extremely limited edition whisky…it will absolutely not be availabe beyond March, and this may be your only chance to aquire a bottle (limit 2-bottles per customer, please). So if you want a bottle, please purchase your Snow Phoenix ASAP.
  http://for-lovers.com/store/scotch/glenfiddich-snow-phoenix-2010-non-chill-filltered-speyside-single-malt-750ml.html?sid=akae3t5vjfa9rt772u790f2494

Also, for those who live in California, or are looking for a great reason to visit San Francisco in March, I am excited as hell to tell you that ForScotchLovers will have a booth at this years Whiskies of the World Expo on March 26th.  This is a terrific show, and I’m thrilled we’ll be a part of it.  And because we are participating in the show, I’m able to offer you a great discount on tickets (see below).

These are two extremely exciting opportunities…I hope you’ll take advantage of both. And if you do attend the Whiskies of the World Expo, ya better stop by our booth and say hello.

I hope to see you all there,    

Doug Stone
Founder
www.ForScotchLovers.com

12th Annual Whiskies of the World Expo & Artisanal Spirits Fest

March  26th in San Francisco

The Whiskies of the World Expo gathers the world’s most fascinating distilled spirits along with their makers and ambassadors to give its guests an opportunity to sample, learn and experience a night of delicious spirited fun.

By popular demand, the 12th Expo will take place again on the San Francisco Belle Yacht (docked) with its three ballroom-size tasting decks, and an open roof Whisky & Cigar Pairing deck. Come on March, 26th to enjoy a full buffet dinner; meeting and learning from the world’s spirits producers; creators and experts; a live Pipe and Drum Concert; mixology demonstrations, Celtic craft  and whisky gear booths, artisanal food pairings with exclusive whiskies;  live music and more. Learn, celebrate, experience!

And of course, ForScotchLovers will be there too!

For details and to buy your tickets visit the Whiskies Of The World website. 

Enter discount code: WOW2011FSL on the checkout page for an 8% discount on tickets and Dram Club membership.

GLENFIDDICH SNOW PHOENIX NON-CHILL FILTERED WHISKY

THE SNOW PHOENIX STORY

Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix commemorates a moment of drama in the long history of the Glenfiddich Distillery. It all began in December 2009 when it started to snow – it kept snowing for several months. After weeks of record low temperatures and alternate freezing and thawing there were four feet of densely compacted snow on the distillery roofs.

On the evening of Thursday 7th January, in the most remote part of the snow covered distillery, some of the warehouse roofs collapsed, ripped open by the sheer weight of snow, leaving maturing oak casks of Glenfiddich exposed to the winter sky. It was as if some of the distillery angels had finished their ‘share’ and had come back looking for more.

Glenfiddich Malt Master Brian Kinsman selected a number of casks from the snow damaged warehouse, some of these casks had previously held Oloroso sherry and others were traditional whisky casks made of American oak.

This Glenfiddich is as they found it – a marriage of Glenfiddich single malt Scotch whiskies of different ages and finishes with the strength brought to 47.6% abv by the addition of the distillery’s Robbie Dhu spring water. It has not been chill filtered.

This is a limited edition bottling – one of a kind and only bottled and released in 2010. 
 
TASTING NOTES

Colour – Gold with bright copper highlights

Nose – Creamy vanilla aromas mingle with vibrant notes of apple and pear – the whole complimented by the scent of fresh blossom.

Taste – This is Glenfiddich in the wild – apples roasted in the embers of a campfire, sweetened with heather honey and accompanied by a piece of chocolate, rich and complex with a whiff of burned sugar, coffee and woodsmoke.
 
Finish – An exceptionally long finish – austere sherry notes mellow into a satisfying sweetness.

Tickets on Sale Monday, April 4th!

After an excellent start to 2011, Spirit of Toronto is excited to announce that tickets for this year’s show go on sale Monday, April 4th at 10:00am. As in years past, tickets will be available from Roy Thomson Hall’s box office online, by phone or in person. Tickets for the show are $129 HST included and a reminder will go out on April 3rd for those of you subscribed to this list.

Planning for this year’s Masterclass Series is well underway and will be published by mid-March. Last year’s scheduling of pre-show masterclasses at 5:30pm was a resounding success and will be repeated again in 2011. Updates will be emailed as new details for both the show and masterclasses are confirmed.

In the meantime, please read on to find out more about two very special guests for 2011.

Special Guest: John Glaser, Compass Box

I’m not sure what’s more incredible: that it’s been 10 years since John Glaser founded Compass Box Delicious Whisky… or that it’s been 4 years since he last graced Spirit of Toronto in person.

To commemmorate ten years of blending small batch Scotch whiskies, it seems only fitting to have John return to Spirit of Toronto and host a retrospective tasting of the Compass Box range from past to present.

John’s visit will also give him a chance to launch his latest magnum opus in person, The Spice Tree, a blended malt whisky being released in Ontario stores this month, not to mention a redux of the controversial whisky that found him at loggerheads with the venerable Scotch Whisky Association in 2005.

For those interested in learning more about John Glaser and how he breaks with convention to create fabulous Scotch whisky, an excellent video interview can be found online at www.connosr.com

Special Guest: Willie Tait from Isle of Jura

Spirit of Toronto is honoured to be welcoming one of Scotland’s most distinguished master distillers to this year’s show, the affable and inimitable Willie Tait from Isle of Jura. Fans of island whisky, distillery lore and devillish charm will not want to miss the opportunity to sample this growing range with one of Scotch whisky’s most respected statesmen.

Like the island itself, Jura’s whisky is singular and one of quiet appeal, “a Highland malt made on an island” according to Willie, and a whisky converting its accolytes one at a time without pomp or fanfare. In addition to the fantastic Jura Superstition, a few cases of the recently launched Jura Prophecy still remain on store shelves and provide an excellent counterpoint for those who enjoy gentle depth and complexity in their peated whisky.

Now I have yet to meet Willie in person, but am told that to know him is to love him. With this in mind, please continue for a brief introduction…

Q&A with Willie Tait

What is the first whisky you remember tasting?

Well, like most young people it was from my dad’s collection, sorry to say it wasn’t Jura!

What is your fondest memory from the distillery? Do you miss the hands on work of making whisky on a daily basis?

Fondest memory is walking home from doing a night shift—that walk along the sea shore was like heaven itself. And yes, I miss the chat from the boys every morning.

Where have your travels with Whyte & Mackay taken you so far and what has been your favourite location?

I have travelled all over Canada, the US and Europe, but my favourite location is where I am at the time.

Islay gets all the attention these days but what sets Jura apart from its Hebridean neighbour?

Well, I tell people the nicest thing about Islay is the view over to Jura—Jura is much more remote and I like it that way.

Have you ever actually climbed the Paps of Jura?

Yes, many times, and not always in the best of weather. Like all mountains they draw you to them.

Best whisky being made outside of Scotland at the moment in your opinion?

I love Bourbon and Forty Creek. I say to people we showed them how to make it and they still got it wrong!

If you had to choose: haggis or black pudding?

I like both but at different times.

New York or New Zealand?

Never been to New Zealand; I do love NY but my heart says New Zealand.

If you were stranded on a desert island and a case of Jura washed up on shore… which expression do you hope it would be?

Oh, I thought you said woman! I would love to find a case of Jura 16 Year Old… and a woman to help me drink it.

www.spiritoftoronto.ca

Newsflash!  Old and rare whisky tasting in Oxfordshire on Wednesday 16th February.

We are presenting a tasting of old and rare whiskies for the Portwell Cellar in Faringdon, Oxfordshire (http://www.portwellcellar.co.uk/) on Wednesday 16th February.  The event will run from 7.30pm to 9.30pm and there are going to be some great drams included.  The age of the whiskies will range from 18 to 45 years old and will include a single grain from a closed distillery, a Lowland, Speyside, Highland, Islay (clue – it might come from a late and lamented distillery…), and Orkney.

The Portwell Cellar is a small and intimate venue so places are very limited and will be on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.  The cost is £25 per head and to book for this tasting you will need to contact Sarah on 07845 932021 or email Portwellcellar@hotmail.co.uk.

Hope to see some of you there.

Slainte!
Fran and Ken
Arkwrights Whisky and Wines
www.whiskyandwines.com