LIMITED EDITION BUNNAHABHAIN 30-YEAR OLD RELEASED

Whilst one of the most exciting decades in world history unfolded back in 1980, the Bunnahabhain Distillery on the Isle of Islay, off the west-coast of Scotland, gently prepared the casks for what today can be enjoyed as the Bunnahabhain 30-year old Islay single malt.

According to South African spokesperson for Bunnahabhain, Brian Glass, there are only 357 bottles, each hand-numbered, available world-wide. And only 17 South Africans will be able to purchase a bottle here locally. Quite uniquely this exceptionally rare whisky also bears the 1980 vintage year on the label, proudly acknowledging the whisky’s undisturbed maturation for 30 years at the Bunnahabhain distillery’s shore-side warehouse.

“This limited-edition single malt whisky is truly one of the finest examples of the craftsmanship and distilling traditions of the Bunnahabhain Distillery. It is a pity there are so few bottles available of this extraordinary whisky but then again, if it wasn’t the case, it wouldn’t have been such a rare find. This is the kind of whisky you keep, savour on special occasions and treat with the utmost love and admiration.”

The whisky is un-chillfiltered, with a natural cask strength of 45.4% alcohol by volume, and released in its most pure form, the way whisky would have been produced at the hands of Bunnahabhain’s distillers many years ago. According to master distiller Ian MacMillan by un-chillfiltering the whisky, nothing is taken away or added so whisky lovers can enjoy the whisky at its very best, giving them a better whisky experience. “The whisky retains its depth of flavour, allowing the gentle, subtle notes of the malt to come through, providing a purer taste, nose and appearance.”

Only a select few of the Bunnahabhain casks that reached the gracious age of 30 have been selected for this whisky.  After careful, ongoing selection over the years, and much deliberation, MacMillan selected two ex-sherry hogshead casks which reflect the finest qualities and superior characteristics one would associate with a vintage whisky from Bunnahabhain.

MacMillan says the whisky holds a rich, aromatic nose with a sophisticated balance of oak, gingerbread, moist fruit cake, prunes, old leather, roasted nuts and a hint of sea air. “The palate opens up to produce a creamy, silky taste with sweet oak, liquorice and nutmeg intertwined with citrus, vanilla, eucalyptus and a hint of coconut. The finish is long and elegant with flavours of digestive biscuits, soft vanilla, a tinge of ginger and sea salt coating your mouth.”

To celebrate its release, the whisky comes beautifully packaged in a natural un-dyed leather case and includes a pewter Quaich, a historic drinking vessel that is one of the most symbolic elements portraying friendship, sharing and trust. A small leather tag, embossed with the Bunnahabhain seafarer on the label and the bottle number, is attached to the handle of the case.  The set also includes a small glass tube containing a parchment scroll commemorating the release of this limited-release whisky.

Bunnahabhain, known for its single malts with a gentle taste profile due to the use of unpeated barley, is crafted by MacMillan, a master blender and distiller with over 40 years’ experience. The distillery produces a 12-, 18- and 25-year old, which are available in South Africa from leading liquor outlets.

There are only 17 bottles of the limited-edition Bunnahabhain 30-year old available in South Africa from selected liquor outlets and it is expected to retail for around R3 800 per bottle. If you are interested in finding out the nearest outlet stocking the Bunnahabhain 30 year old or would like to order a bottle, please send an email to AvanRooyen@distell.co.za.

       Clynelish 21yo         
                    £79.99 inc VAT                   

Craigellachie 14yo
£55.00 inc VAT

Fettercairn 13yo
£44.99 inv VAT   

        Glen Ord 21yo           
         £59.99 inc VAT          

         Littlemill 19yo          
£67.99 inc VAT
        
Lochside 21yo
£94.99 inc VAT

    Miltonduff 12yo       
    £44.99 inc VAT       

         Mortlach 13yo         
        £49.99 inc VAT       

      Strathisla 18yo        
              £59.99 inc VAT                

          Tamnavulin 18yo       
£59.99 inc VAT

Tobermory 14yo
£48.99 inc VAT

Port Ellen 30yo
£304.99 inc VAT

Visit Single Malts Direct at www.singlemaltsdirect.com

June Previews: 121.46 & 28.23 only £93.50 (save £16.30)

Our June Outturn preview bottlings bring two distinct woody characters. Buy 121.46  & 28.23 together for £93.50 and save £16.30

121.46 Exotic fruit and scented wood
Highland Island
£45.30 inc free p&p
The palate was tasty (if you like apricot) verging on decadent – lovely texture, decent length – a slightly tannic, scented wood mouthfeel – the Whisky Scientist was humming ‘Norwegian Wood’

28.23 Attention-grabbing spicy wood
Highland Southern
£64.50 inc free p&p
The nose had hay, grass, wood-sap, sawdust, some delicate floral notes, peppery spice, blackcurrant jam and lots of nuts. The palate had toffee, chocolate and treacle, but it was the spicy wood that grabbed our attention

June Outturn Released: Thu 2 June

Society Tastings & Events

York Preview Tasting – Bedern Hall, Fri 27 May
Liverpool Preview Tasting – Malmaison, Fri 27 May
Cardiff Preview Tasting – Novotel, Fri 27 May
Champions League Final – Queen Street, Fri 27 May
‘Classic’ Malt Tasting – Queen Street, Sat 11 Junee
Whisky Dinner  – Bistro du Vin, London, Sat 18 June

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ
Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm).

Visit the Society at http://www.smws.co.uk/memberships for your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers. 

Society Cask Ends Sale: Only a few parcels left!

Cask End Parcels are dwindling fast – we expect to sell-out today or tomorrow.  Top-up NOW to avoid disappointment. 

Cask Ends Parcel A: Ex-sherry casks
£95.oo inc free p&p 

Cask Ends Parcel B: Ex-bourbon casks
£95.00 inc. free p&p

Cask Ends Parcel C: Ex-sherry & bourbon casks
£95.00 inc. free p&p

Additional Bottle Offer: Buy 2.78 for only £49.00 instead of £69.10 when you buy ANY Cask Ends Parcel

2.78 Kissed up by sweet promises
Speyside Spey
The nose had some seconds of spikiness, with pine resin and potato schnapps, but quickly settled to delicate aromatics of plum blossom, cherry wood shavings, lilac and candied angelica; then lovely sweet promises kissed up – vanilla, honeycomb, Ferrero Rocher

Society Tastings & Events (43 Society tastings online)

Dunfermline Preview Tasting – Garvock House Hotel
Guildford Preview Tasting – Manor House Hotel, Thu 26 May
York Preview Tasting – Bedern Hall, Fri 27 May
Liverpool Preview Tasting – Malmaison, Fri 27 May
Cardiff Preview Tasting – Novotel, Fri 27 May
Champions League Final – Queen Street, Fri 27 May
New Outturn Open Tasting – London, Sat 4 June
New Outturn Tasting – The Vaults, Sun 5 June
‘Classic’ Malt Tasting – Queen Street, Sat 11 June

Society Whisky Tastings

Whatever and wherever our tasting or event, the main focus is to give members an informal, enjoyable and relaxed night out..with a taste of the single cask good stuff!

Events range from step by step instruction in how to get the most from tasting single cask, single malt whisky to more adventurous couplings of whisky with food.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ
Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm).

Visit the Society at http://www.smws.co.uk/memberships for your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers. 

Loch Fyne Whiskies reports that some new  Auchentoshan, Bowmore &  Glen Garioach are arriving soon:

Bowmore Vintage 1982 RRP £300

Auchentoshan Valinch RRP £40

Auchentoshan 1975 RRP £350

Glen Garioch 1994 RRP £60

Visit Loch Fyne Whiskies at www.lfw.co.uk

Description

Single cask #85074. 28-year old Bowmorefrom the award winning Duncan Taylor, Rare Auld series. Distilled October 1982 and bottled April 2011. 184 numbered bottles.

Distillery: Bowmore

Founded 1779. 228 years of fine tuning and we have deep and complex whiskies with fabulous Bowmore reek, salt, spices, dried fruits, smooth and lasting.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Smokey ash, cream and honey sweetness. Palate: spicy with fruit and smoke emerging followed by crème catalan. Finish: Smokey and mouthcoating with touch of lime.

Product Details

Age: 28 Years Old, Vintage: 1982, Volume: 70cl, ABV: 53.5%, Bottler: Duncan Taylor.

£94.99 (£79.16 ex VAT)

Visit The Whisky Barrel at http://www.thewhiskybarrel.com/

ISLAY FESTIVAL 2011 – DIAGEO ANNOUNCES SPECIAL BOTTLINGS

Two limited edition single-cask bottlings of Lagavulin™ and Caol Ila™ Single Malt Scotch Whiskies will be released for the 2011 Islay Festival, Diageo has announced.

Like previous Festival bottlings, it’s anticipated that they will be much in demand from enthusiasts.  Often selling out within hours of going on sale, they will be available to personal shoppers at the distilleries only.

13-Year Old Lagavulin™

The Lagavulin Festival bottling comes from a Refill Butt filled in February 1998, selected from Warehouse Number 1 by Iain McArthur, long-time warehouseman at the distillery. It has been bottled in an edition of 588 bottles at its natural cask strength of 51% ABV.

Lagavulin Feis Bottling 2011

One of Diageo’s tasters commented on its “approachable fruit tones and late, cleansing anise-like notes, against a backdrop of appetising smoke”.

Bodega-cask Caol Ila™

The Caol Ila single cask bottling – hand selected by Billy Stitchell, long-standing distillery manager, whose family connections with Caol Ila distillery go back many generations – has been drawn from a bodega cask filled in February 2000. It enjoys a high natural cask strength of 64.3% ABV, in an edition of 600 bottles.

Caol Ila Feis Bottling 2011

“A lean and precise whisky at cask strength … altogether longer and more structured with water. Complex and provocative throughout …” were some of our taster’s comments.

Sale conditions

The Lagavulin single-cask bottling will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis at the distillery, starting on the distillery’s open day, Saturday 21 May. The Caol Ila bottling will be sold with effect from Monday 23 May which is the Caol Ila open day.

Both bottlings are priced at £79.95 UK RRP per bottle.

Nick Morgan, Diageo’s Scotch Knowledge and Heritage Director, said: “Whisky lovers travel from all over the world to visit the Islay Festival.

“These two carefully chosen single cask bottlings are both outstanding examples of Islay whiskies, conveying something of the island’s magic for those lucky enough enjoy them on their return home.”

During the Festival, a series of special events (now all fully booked) will be held at both Lagavulin and Caol Ila distilleries, including tastings with the distillery manager and warehouse demonstrations. There will be also be tours of the Port Ellen Maltings.

Access to Caol Ila Distillery

Diageo has announced that, as in previous years, due to limited space there is no parking at Caol Ila distillery, except for cars with a registered disabled badge. A regular complimentary shuttle bus service will operate from Ballygrant Hall at Keills.

Notes

Festival website: http://www.theislayfestival.co.uk/ . See also www.malts.com and www.discovering-distilleries.com .

“A Dewar Rattray has had another great year with sales up 20% and we are now distributing in 17 countries worldwide.  Our Blended (vatted) Malt named Rattray’s Selection has been very well received. 

Demand for good single casks is increasing at an unbelievable rate and our single malt  brand Stronachie is now achieving significant volumes in many markets.  The introduction of the 18 year old Stronachie has enhanced the product further (and indeed Benrinnes !).

Our new releases available in May are shown below with the tasting notes attached.”

Nick White
Managing Director, 
A. Dewar Rattray Ltd

The Spirit of Unity Blended Whisky.

As sent to the Royal Mile customers who ordered specifically from them;

The response to this initiative to aid Japanese Disaster Relief has been overwhelming and as such all stock has been completely pre-sold.

This is the first time that there has been this level of cooperation between different independent distilleries to produce one bottle of whisky and due to the complex nature of the project there has been a delay.

Please rest assured that as soon as we receive the stock, your order will despatched as swiftly as possible.

Here is the latest information we have available:

“As the Spokesperson for the Spirit of Unity Project I would like to bring you up to date with regards to the availability of the bottles.

In bringing together such a unique bottling there are inevitably going to be a few hitches along the way and unfortunately this has been the case. As a result of some issues with the packaging we are now looking at bottling the whisky on May 18th with the stock available for despatch to Royal Mile Whiskies and then onwards to actual consumers/customers as soon as possible. Your patience in this matter is greatly appreciated and rest assured we are pulling out the stops to ensure you get your hands on the bottles as quickly as we can.

In terms of the objective of the project we are collaborating with an organisation called Refugees International Japan to put the funds to the best use possible. The CEO of RIJ, Jane Best, has recommended funding a number of long-term projects in the affected Tohoku area to assist with the rebuilding of this shattered community. More information on how the money is being spent will follow in due course.

Thank you once again for your terrific support of this very worthwhile cause” (Euan Mitchell, MD Isle of Arran Distillers)

We would hope that the inconvenience of this delay can be put into perspective and seen as relatively nothing compared to the hardship still being experienced in Japan. The most important thing is that the money raised by your generosity is already being used to get the disaster hit areas back on their feet. Here is a brief report from David Kroll who visited the affected areas late last month;

“Both Jane (from RIJ) and I have been up to the affected areas in the past couple of weeks and came back with very similar conclusions, namely that the first-aid stage is over. People have shelter and food, but haven’t even started to rebuild houses or livelihoods. If anything, there is too much short-term aid – people no longer need blankets and bottled water and indeed many places are now refusing to take any more.

Jane’s advice therefore, with which I concur, is to continue to make contacts locally and just wait a while for things to develop. Once the rebuilding starts for real, it should be a lot easier to identify projects that will make a real and long-lasting difference to people’s lives.”

For each bottle sold through Royal Mile Whiskies £40.94 (retail price, less VAT and Duty) per bottle has gone towards the relief effort. This equates to a grand total of £29,231.16 raised.

Thank you all for your great contribution.

The seven distilleries involved; 

THE ARRAN MALT
THE BENRIACH
BLADNOCH
THE GLENDRONACH
GLENGYLE
KILCHOMAN
SPRINGBANK

“The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention.”

Japanese proverb

Slainte!
Royal Mile Whiskies
Whisky Magazine’s ‘Retailer of the Year 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011’
379 Royal Mile
Edinburgh EH1 1PW

3 Bloomsbury Street
London WC1B 3QE

info@royalmilewhiskies.com

May Outturn: Malts of the Moment

May’s mesmerizing malts have got you all feeling thirsty, only just unleashed and they’re already spell-binding members

Top 5 Malts of the Moment:

1)    77.22 Plentiful sweet delights
2)   39.79 A lush chameleon
3)   53.150 Beachcombers’ convention dram
4)    44.49 Lamb chops, mint sauce and blueberries
5)    4.152 Hay bales in a limestone cave

Order now, before they disappear

Society Recommendations:

Perceptive Pair:
Buy 77.22 & 39.79 together for £88.50 (save £20.10)

Count to 1..2..trio:
Buy 4.152, 44.49 & 53.150 together for £132.50 (save £27.00)

Six Scents: Take the Perceptive Pair, the Count to 1..2..trio and add *121.45 – six bottlings for only £260 (save £53.40)

121.45 Beautifully clean and tasty
Highland Island
£45.30 inc. free p&p
The nose was bursting with Black Forest gateaux, Danish pastries and custard creams…also geranium, lemon balm, maple syrup, fudge…

*121.45 replaces sold-out 1.157

Society Tastings & Events (37 Society tastings online)

New Members Tasting – London, Mon 16 May
A Crash Course in single malts – The Vaults, Tue 24 May
Dunfermline Preview Tasting – Garvock House Hotel
Guildford Preview Tasting – Manor House Hotel, Thu 26 May
York Preview Tasting – Bedern Hall, Fri 27 May
Liverpool Preview Tasting – Malmaison, Fri 27 May
Cardiff Preview Tasting – Novotel, Fri 27 May
Champions League Final – Queen Street, Fri 27 May

Society Whisky Tastings

Whatever and wherever our tasting or event, the main focus is to give members an informal, enjoyable and relaxed night out..with a taste of the single cask good stuff!

Events range from step by step instruction in how to get the most from tasting single cask, single malt whisky to more adventurous couplings of whisky with food.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ
Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm).

Visit the Society at http://www.smws.co.uk/memberships for your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers.