Four Roses, Yeasts and Mashbills
The Britons Protection, Manchester 
Friday July 30th 2010, 7.30pm 

The Britons Protection

 
£20.00 / ticket
 
Julian Howard from Inspirit makes a first visit to the ‘BP’, arguably the Lancashire home of Bourbon. He is going to introduce a fascinating tasting of not only ‘bottled’ products, but also cask samples that demonstrate the amount of forethought and research that goes into putting Four Roses Bourbons together. The distillery uses a unique recipe of not only yeasts, which most Scottish distilleries could learn a thing or two from, but also mashbills. A mashbill, basically, is the recipe of grains that will make up the Bourbon – the proportion of corn, rye and barley used.

YOU are going to have a unique insight into the world of a Kentucky distiller and his secret recipes. This is bound to be a fantastic evening and tickets as always are limited.

As always each tasting is designed to be fun and enjoyable for all levels of whisky drinker, and is not a lecture. You will almost certainly learn something new every time, but if you don’t walk out with a smile on your face then we have done something wrong!

You will not be sent a ticket through the post. Your details will be added to the event register and all you need to do is print the payment confirmation page and bring it with you to the event.

 
http://www.thewhiskylounge.com/

Glenrothes Tasting at The Whisky Exchange,  in Vinopolis
Monday 12th July, 7:00pm
Tickets £25.00 each

For this month’s regular tasting, we have the illustrious Ronnie Cox from Berry Bros. & Rudd coming to share his knowledge and passion for the Glenrothes Speyside Malt. Berry Bros. & Rudd have been the official bottler for Glenrothes since 1987, hence the connection between the two companies. Ronnie is one of the most knowledgeable and entertaining individuals we’ve had the pleasure to work with in this business of whisky. Having grown up in a family of distillers, he found greater pleasure in discussing, promoting and generally making a big fuss about malt whisky, a sentiment we very much share.

For those of you unfamiliar with Glenrothes, it is perhaps the epitome of the Speyside style of malt whisky. Rich, fruity and elegant, with subtle spices and often matured in ex-sherry casks, Glenrothes is released as single malt in batches from select vintages that are felt to stand out amongst their impressive range of casks. At this tasting, we will be sampling:

– Glenrothes Select Reserve in a bespoke cocktail
– Glenrothes Alba Reserve
– Glenrothes Robur Reserve
– Glenrothes 1998 (brand new)
– Glenrothes 1991
– Glenrothes 1985
– Glenrothes 1978
– And something very special indeed.

Tickets for this event are on sale as of 5:00pm, Monday 5th July. They’re priced at £25.00 each, limited to 2 places per booking and sold on a first come, first served basis.

Open invite to Glenfiddich Brand Ambassador story telling evening

This is a quick message and open invite to a story telling event with the Glenfiddich brand ambassador, Jamie Milne on July 15th in London.

As a quick introduction, I’m Richard Galbraith, I work for a communications agency in London called Ditto, we help brands tell their story through multiple mediums both offline and online.

Each month we hold a story telling event called Campfire in our own studio in north London, called the Lighthouse. So far this year we have played host to a number of different people, from Dr Barry Gibb, originally a molecular biologist and neuroscientist before leaving academic research to eventually become Science Multimedia Editor at The Wellcome Trust, through to Agents of Change a group of renegade artists who’s art is in changing space itself.

Jamie

This time around, Thursday July 15th, as mentioned, we have Jamie Milne, brand ambassador for Glenfiddich in the UK and as you can imagine, a passionate whisky lover. We thought you and your readers may be interested in coming down to the Campfire event where Jamie will talk on how he went from an aeronautical engineering degree to travelling the UK helping people learn about whisky on behalf of the worlds most popular single malt.

There will be (some) samples, food, and generally a good evening to be had by all. A short video introduction we did with Jamie is on our video channel here:

http://www.ditto.tv/campfire/category/storyteller/jamie-milne-storyteller/

If you are interested in coming, or think you may blog about the event to let your readers know, can you let me know, and if you have any other questions, feel free to get in touch.

The event will start at around 7:30 with people taking their seats around 8 for the experience, there is no need for a ticket or to book, only to come down with a relaxed attitude with the intention of meeting some interesting people and having some fun.

The address of our studio is: The Lighthouse, Canonbury Yard, 190 New North Road, London N1 7BJ – just around the corner from the New North Star pub.

Thanks for your time, looking forward to hearing back from you and if you have any other questions or comments then please let me know.

Regards,
Richard

A HIGHLIGHT OF OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS!

Jim McEwan Special Tasting & Dinner

The Fern Resort, Orillia Ontario Canada

 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 2010

Registration  6 pm       Dinner  7 pm

Enjoy an evening of mirth, music and malts with Bruichladdich’s Master Distiller plus a three-course dinner & coffee/tea

Members  $60      ~      Guests  $70

Book now — seating is limited

First come, first served — NO payments at door

All inquiries to Ed Patrick, president@thequaich.com

Visit the Companions of the Quaich at http://www.thequaich.com/

Maltstock – Newsflash

Camping  
 
For those of you who prefer to camp close to Maltstock, instead of staying at the venue in small dorms, we now are able to offer you that possibility. Opposite of the Maltstock venue is a campsite, “Dennenbos”. There’s no discount for camping instead of staying at the Maltstock venue. If you would like to camp we need to know well in advance. There’s a limited number of camping spots available.

When you book you Maltstock tickets, just mention in the reamrks field that you would like to camp. If you already have bought your Maltstock tickets, just send us an e-mail.

The campsite is not part of the Maltstock venue. The Maltstock venue will close it’s gates between 01.00 and 09.00. There are facilities near the campsite. There will be no Maltstock crew present on the campsite.

Hope to see you all in September. If you haven’t bought your Maltstock tickets yet, just go to our online webshop, register first and than get your tickets. We already have people coming from Holland, Belgium, Germany, UK, Czech republic and Slovenia. For the full program and the free tastings please check our website.

See you in September, see you at Maltstock!

Arthur, Bob, Eline, Rogier & Teun
info@maltstock.com

www.maltstock.com
the relaxed whiskyweekend

GoLite Utopia 2 Person Tent

Maltstock – Newsletter 4

Book your free tastings now

Fellow whisky enthusiasts, 

At Maltstock we will be offering several free tastings again.  Due to the limited availability of each tasting (max. 30 persons) is it advised to book in advance. The tastings are bookable online now at www.maltstockcom.

This years tatsings are:

New make tasting – Ap Dijksterhuis
A chance to compare about 15 different new makes. Ap Dijksterhuis wrote an article for a Dutch whisky magazine (Whisky Passion) about a new make tasting in which we compared 40 different new makes. Very interesting to do.

Four Roses – white dog and…? – Hans Offringa
This will be a very unique tasting. At Four Roses they produce ten different white dog (new make). No other distillery in the world does this. We have all ten available. And something extra (which we will announce as soon as it is confirmed). Believe me, it will be something special. Never done before in the world.
Hans Offringa is a very active whisky writer. Internationally known for (amongst others) “the Legend of Laphroaig” and “Whisky and Jazz”. His new book “Bourbon and Blues” will be coming out later this year. Hans spends a lot of time in the US and knows a lot about Bourbon.

BenRiach – Stewart Buchannan
The operational manager, Stewart Buchannan, will be at Maltstock to tell you all about BenRiach. He will bring some interesting samples for you to taste. BenRiach distillery is well known for its great many and many great bottlings.

Amrut – Ashok Chokalingam
Amrut distillery from India has been a very pleasant surprise to many whisky enthusiasts over the last few years. They do know how to make quality whisky in India, which can compete with the great Scottish whiskies. Ashok Chokalingam, the European sales and marketing manager will prove it to you.

Glenglassaugh – Stuart Nickerson
Last year he had to cancel at the very last minute, but this year he will definitely be at Maltstock, the managing director of Glenglassaugh himself, Stuart Nickerson. Who better to tell you all about the resurrection of this great distillery of which we dare without blushing to speak it’s name: Glenglassaugh

Tomatin – Douglas Campbell
We are honored that Douglas Campbell, the managing director of Tomatin distillery is coming over himself. He has been with Tomatin for 49 years. So no one can tell you more about Tomatin than Douglas.

Balvenie – Tony van Rooijen
Brand ambassador Tony van Rooijen will take you through the excellent range of Balvenie distillery.

Blending with Whisky Passion
During the day Saturday everybody will have an opportunity to create their own blend. Whisky Passion will have a competition to see which whisky club is best at blending whisky. Come and try yourself, and find out how difficult it is. An independent jury will judge the blends. There will be a nice price for the best blend.

Maltstock program

The full Maltstock program is also online. We have some great independent bottlers present, like Adelphi, Berry Brothers, Dewar Rattray, Daily Dram, David Stirk’s excellent exclusive Malts, Douglas Laing, Single Malts of Scotland and more. Almost all the whisky will be available without extra charge. Except for the collection of old and rare whisky from the Dutch Whisky collectors “Full Proof”. Another highlight is the big campfire, as well as the BBQ, the whisky quiz and much more. There’s the bottle share table where all the guests can put the bottle they brought to share with the other guests. We also will be having a raffle this year. Your chance to win some great prizes.

Maltstock starts Friday afternoon and ends Sunday afternoon. We eat, drink, sleep (small dorms with bunk beds) and have a great time on the same location. So unlike the many whisky fairs, at Maltstock there is plenty of time to enjoy a great whisky in a very relaxed setting with great company.

Costs

Maltstock costs just 150,- euro’s for a whole weekend. A lot of money, but not expensive, because almost everything is included. Two nights accommodation, BBQ, whisky quiz, free tastings, plenty of whisky, campfire en a real Scottish breakfast. We are very proud the people from the Highlander Inn in Craigellachie will travel from Scotland to Maltstock to prepare a real Scottish breakfast for us. What better way to start the day.
Maltstock is 3 to 5 September just south of Nijmegen in Overasselt, the Netherlands. There’s a bus stop right in front of Maltstock. For directions, please check our website.

We can tell you so much more about Maltstock. But who better to hear from than the people who were there last year? On our website you can read their comments and reviews. We also have a lot of pictures online.

We hope to meet a lot of you at Maltstock. If there are any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact the organisation through: info@maltstock.com

Hope to see you at Maltstock!

Arthur, Bob, Eline,Rogier and Teun

www.maltstock.com
The relaxed whisky weekend

Brandy Library Islay Brunch: A spirited trip to Scotland’s finest…

A pile of…peat! Come get smoked-out! Have you ever tasted all distilleries’ productions yet? Well, if you’re a Whisky Fan, you probably have…But all in one afternoon? And with your loved one being cool about it? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. All 8 active Islay distilleries represented in one room.

Walk around tasting and spirited brunch food:  Calling all peat freaks!

This Sunday, June 27th at 1pm (until 4pm), Brandy Library is hosting its first ever Islay Brunch, a celebration of Smoke.  Join us for an exceptional and dizzying array of brunch style food, and stories, peated fellowship and inspiration from the mighty island of Islay.  Samples from every distillery will be on hand for your enjoyment, as well as, beer and wines for those folks who do not yet understand the glory of these malts.

Hors d’oeuvres passed and stationed: filet mignon (peppercorn sauce and liquid smoke), smoked salmon toasts, lamb chops, smoked white fish spread canapes, legendary gougeres burgers, guacamole cones, bacon wrapped prunes, bouchee a la reine, steak tartare parmesan cups, lambs in a blanket, spicy tuna rolls, gougeres (of course!), roast-beef wraps, pear and blue cheese peated bacon rolls, sponge cake lollipops, macarons, madeleines, mini eclairs, panna cotta…

$85/person all inclusive. Call now to book your seat: 212-226-5545
 
 …look out for a special contest during the afternoon…

Discover the Secrets of The Glenrothes

Join us for a very exclusive tasting led by Ross Hendry, Brand Development Manger and sample a select range of the Glenrothes award winning expressions including the Select Reserves and Vintages.

Date: Tuesday, July 6
Time: 2:30—4:00 p.m.
Venue: Veneto Tapas Lounge – 1450 Douglas Street, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
RSVP: Richard Cmajdalka
rcmajdalka@chartonhobbs.com 250.889.9957

Sip Smoke Savor travels to St. Andrews Restaurant & Bar in New York City for an evening of Scotch & Chocolates on Monday, June 28, 2010.  Join us at 6:30 p.m. to enjoy five single malts paired with fine artisan chocolates for a most indulgent taste experience. Light nibbles will also be available.  Tickets are $45.00 per person + tax and gratuity.  Advanced reservations are required by calling 212-840-8413.  Addition information about the venue can be found in the events section of our website www.sipsmokesavor.com.

Hi all,

Hope all is well with you all.

With summer now upon us we have some what I would call summer-orientated whisky tastings for you…

Isle of Arran Distillers
With the Newcastle and Manchester legs of these tastings having taken place, we have three more to complete – all of which take place this week! Celine Tetu is due to be with us for these so a good evening for all is guaranteed! We are going to be sampling some superb whiskies from this young distillery including some rare cask finishes and a couple of brand new bottlings.

The dates remaining are…

Friday 25th June – Leeds – City Inn, Granary Wharf
Sunday 27th June – York – Meltons Too, Walmgate

For tickets and info please click here to be taken directly to the events page. Tickets are £20 each

Bourbon – Four Roses, Yeast and Mashbills
Most people when they think of Bourbon think of a fairly one-dimensional affair in comparison to single malt whisky. I was privy to a tasting by Four Roses earlier this year which opened and blew my mind all at the same time! I have invited Julian Howard from Inspirit to come along to Newcastle and Manchester only – for the time being – to do the same for you. You will be tasting cask sample bourbons from Four Roses demonstrating the difference between using different yeasts and ‘mash-bills’ (grain recipe). This is a fantastic tasting and I hope to roll this out into the other venues later in the year. The dates are…

Friday 30th July – Manchester – The Britons Protection, Gt Bridgewater Street
Friday 6th August – Newcastle – Blackfriars, Friar Street

Tickets and info will be on the website in the next few days so please either email me if you would like me to reserve your places, or check back with the website very soon. Tickets are £20 each.

Sheffield and Newcastle Whisky Lounge Festivals
Lastly, I would like to thank everybody who turned out for these fantastic events. For our first ‘attempt’ in Sheffield I thought it was a great show and as for Newcastle…

If you would like to have a look there is a great video of the Newcastle event and also some nice photos from the Sheffield event on our Facebook page. Follow this link to find them –

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Whisky-Lounge/117227954967292?ref=ts

or you can go to YouTube if you don’t do Facebook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2jKTYPelEI&feature=related

York Whisky Lounge Festival – 18th September 2010
The date is now announced and you can now buy tickets for this, the oldest and most established of our festival events. Tickets cannot purchased through our website, but through the York Food and Drink Festival site of which we are part. It is a two session event this year due to the popularity of the event and the exhibitor roster is as impressive as ever…
More a little later in the year!

Manchester Whisky Lounge Festival – 2nd October 2010
Not yet ready for full take-off, I can reveal to you the date for this final festival event of the year. It is looking like being the biggest festival yet for us, both in terms of exhibitors and customers so watch this space for updates – or follow me on Twitter.

Autumn/Winter Program of tastings
I am working on this as we speak and will have info for you very soon!

Well that’s it for now, but I am looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you all soon!

Cheers,

Eddie Ludlow
Whisky Evangelist

thewhiskylounge
www.thewhiskylounge.com
eddie@thewhiskylounge.com
Twitter me up
Facebook Group

07515 854210
01904 466227
IWSC Spirit Panel Judge 2009-present