Port Ellen 1982 40YO

This is the second release in the Eidolon Trilogy, bottled by Hunter Laing in anticipation of the distillery being brought back to life. Matured for 40 years and one of only 403 bottles produced. Bottled at 56.5% abv.

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£4,600.00

Port Ellen Distillery closed in 1983, making this some of the last stock they produced before closing their doors. Unfortunately Port Ellen’s original stills and some of the buildings are gone but the maltings remain and continue to supply Islay’s many distilleries. Due to its closure, little of this single malt whisky remains.

This is the second release in the Eidolon Trilogy, bottled by Hunter Laing in anticipation of the distillery being brought back to life. Matured for 40 years and one of only 403 bottles produced. Bottled at 56.5% abv.

Caskshare Pairs Its One-Off Whiskies With Adventures In Art

Driven by a passion to share the magic of incredible rare whiskies, the team at Caskshare are embarking on a series of collaborations with bright young visual artists.

Specially created artworks will feature on the labels of Caskshare’s releases from January 2023, showcasing the designs of a collective of talented illustrators, the first of which are Martha Duncan, Phoebe Phillips and Evie Grace.

Each of their labels incorporates a different element reflecting the enjoyment of special whiskies – and offers an adventure for the senses.

Caskshare’s single-cask-to-glass service invites adventurous drinkers to sample a share of a truly unique whisky from a one-of-a-kind cask before it’s even bottled.

Making owning single cask malts accessible to everyone from collectors to the whisky curious, the premise is simple: one share = one bottle and single-bottle shares start from as little as £40.

Collaboration .1 – ‘Home’ by Martha Duncan, Blended 9 Year-Old Malt (for Collective members only)

The Glasgow School of Art graduate’s fun, colourful designs take inspiration from human quirks, overheard conversations, architecture and animals and she works mainly using the linocut printmaking technique and digital art.

Martha’s design for Caskshare depicts the beautiful Edinburgh New Town townhouse which is home to Caskshare.

Martha said: “I often use Scottish motifs, including tenement buildings, in my own illustrative work which makes the piece a perfect collaboration between myself and Caskshare.”

@marthaduncan.studio

www.marthaduncanstudio.com

Collaboration .2 – ‘Out of this World’, Phoebe Phillips, Agitator, £75

(a second work by Phoebe also features on Agitator’s Swedish Four Grain Whisky, £75)

Phoebe Phillips is an illustrator and screen printer based in Somerset. Drawing on inspiration from pop culture – past and present – she reimagines nostalgic curiosities with an unmissable vibrancy through illustration and hand-crafted screen printing.

Her love of the weird and wonderful pours through in her custom designs for these sister Caskshare labels. Depicted in her distinctively retro style of illustration, the labels combine to show a space robot and astronaut enjoying an out of this world whisky in an out of this world setting, together.

Phoebe turned to the pages of her vintage comic book collection to seek other-worldly inspiration which she realised initially in pencil. With the concept defined, she moved into Illustrator, selecting a bold and beautiful colour palette that reflects the tasting notes of the whiskey itself. The pieces were then finished with an intricate stipple shading to add depth and dimension to the artworks.

www.phoebephillips.co.uk.

Collaboration .3 – ‘Bothy’, Evie Grace, Daluaine, £85

Scottish freelance illustrator and designer Evie is currently based in Bristol and shares stories through bold, honest and witty concepts.

Evie’s inspiration comes from what’s going on in the world whether linked to the environmental or social, and from the stories she collects through life experiences and conversations.

A keen outdoor and cold-water swimming enthusiast, Evie said: “Whisky and adventures are one and the same for me – a Scottish bothy with a whisky is the perfect combination. I wanted to show both the magic of Scotland and the magic of adventures by adding mystical twists to the starry bothy scene.”

www.eviegraceillustration.com

@eviegraceillustration

Amy Macrae, Marketing Manager at Caskshare, said of the collaborations: “For us, whisky is about community, individuality and craftsmanship, and we’ve invited artists to help us convey this by sharing their work on our bottles.  Their designs are bright and beautiful expressions of what’s inside, taking elements from Scottish culture, myth and the feeling of ‘home’, along with playful takes on the experience of drinking whisky.

“We can’t wait to embark further on this journey, amplifying up-and-coming talent and sharing this range with the world.”

Further artists and label designs will be announced and updated over coming months, with full details at www.caskshare.com.

About Caskshare

It’s not just the angels who take a share of every cask, with Caskshare now everyone can. Offering a ‘cask to glass’ service, Caskshare makes it simple for anyone to have a share of fine and rare single malts. The premise is simple. One share = one bottle and single-bottle shares start from as little as £40.

Selling one-of-a-kind whiskies by the bottle opens up a world of possibilities – bottle shares can be bought for one cask, across a portfolio of malts or distilleries meaning buyers can stick to what they know and like or embark on a journey of flavour exploration, to enjoy for themselves, to keep or to gift.

How Caskshare works

Lowering the barrier of entry to cask ownership opens up a world of possibilities – bottle shares can be invested in one cask, one distillery, across a portfolio of malts or distilleries meaning buyers can stick to what they know and like or embark on a journey of flavour exploration, to enjoy for themselves, to keep for a long-term investment or to gift.

What are we drinking?

Since 2019, the stable of new-wave Scottish distilleries represented by Caskshare has grown to twelve: Annandale (Lowland), Arbikie (Highland), Ardnamurchan (Highland), Benriach (Speyside), Caol Ila (Islay), Cambus (Lowland), Glen Moray (Speyside), Glenwyvis (Highland), Holyrood (Lowland), Isle of Raasay (Highland), North Point (rum) and Tullibardine (Highland).

Caskshare also acts as an independent bottler, buying rare single malt casks direct from distilleries to enable people to get a taste of one-of-a-kind whiskies that can’t be found anywhere else. Its expanding range includes the oldest Port Charlotte on the market and GlenWyvis 3YO Pedro Ximenez (£95) and 7YO First-Fill Rum Cask (£85).

www.caskshare.com

@thecaskshare (Twitter)

@caskshare (Instagram and Facebook)

The first outrun of 2023 is here! 

Our first outrun for 2023 contains 6 exceptional single casks.

On the back of snapping up the Icons of Scotland Independent bottler of the year for the second year in a row and winning the National Whisky Awards Independent Bottler of the Year it is now back to the business of releasing tasty drams!

QTR 1 2023 is a slightly smaller outrun this year but no less interesting. We have decided to focus on slightly more obscure cask styles and present a broad range of spirit from different vintages. In this outrun we cover Speyside and Highland but we still have peat, full on rich fruity character and big vanilla Bourbon style treats!

All releases were bottled at our site in Dalgety Bay by hand.

If the bottle you want is sold out don’t worry as we have sent orders to various independent shops and traders across the UK!

Outrun 1 2023

Below are some selected highlights from our new outrun.
There are 6 casks in this outrun.

You can check them all out on our shop here.

2006 Old Pulteney 15 Year Old “K&L Exclusive” Single Cask No. 2061 First Fill Ex-Bourbon Cask

Strength Highland Single Malt Whisky 750ml (ships as 1.5L)

$119.99 View

Located on the northern shores of Scotland, Old Pulteney is renowned for its “maritime malt” – the distinct character that comes from aging and distilling their signature Scotch whisky near the Atlantic ocean. This single-barrel is a K&L exclusive, slowly aging for 15 years in ex-bourbon barrels which gives the whiskey a sweet, salty and spicy irresistible character. The old distillery in Wick was founded in 1826 and was once completely unavailable in the town during their decades long localized prohibition era. A popular fishing village, the town was mostly inaccessible unless by boat. Now Pulteney is producing a very classically styled north coast malt which is typified by a subtle salinity. This first fill ex-bourbon barrel was filled at the beginning of 2006 and bottled just before its 16th birthday at full cask strength of 53% abv. Uncolored and not chillfiltred, it’s one of the few distillers still selling single casks directly to K&L, although only a handful of barrels made it stateside in the last year. Considering the quality, we believe this malt is exceptionally undervalued and represents a rarely seen opportunity to enjoy this special distillery in its own label as a single barrel without the addition of any water or other additives. Incidentally, it will absolutely love a drop of water added to the glass, opening both the malty sweetness and the gorgeous maritime character.

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

HUNGARIAN OAK AMID NEW ADDITIONS

TO GLENALLACHIE’S VIRGIN OAK SERIES

The Speyside-based distillery introduces three new single malts

finished in Scottish, Hungarian and Spanish virgin oak 

Independent Scotch whisky distillery The GlenAllachie today reveals a new trio of limited-edition single malts joining its Virgin Oak Series.

The next tranche of whiskies includes the 8-year-old Scottish Virgin Oak Finish (UK RRSP £65.99), the 7-year-old Hungarian Virgin Oak Finish (UK RRSP £62.99) and the 10-year-old Spanish Virgin Oak Finish (UK RRSP £69.99).

‘Virgin oak’ refers to wood that has not previously been used to age any other wine or spirit; thus, the influence it has on the whisky is that of the oak alone.

The GlenAllachie’s Virgin Oak Series sets out to explore the impact of oak provenance, terroir and genus on flavour development during the whisky maturation process.

The three unusual cask types were adeptly obtained by Scotch whisky industry stalwart Billy Walker who has built a reputation, during his half-century-long career, for peerless wood innovation.

To create the triad of new whiskies, the spirit was first matured in American Oak (Quercus Alba) ex-Bourbon Barrels before undergoing a finishing period of approximately 18 months in the different oak varieties.

The 8-year-old Scottish Virgin Oak Finish enjoyed secondary ageing in Sessile Oak (Quercus Petraea) sourced from the Atlantic coast of Scotland.

Scottish oak is rarely used for cask production due to its tendency to knot as it grows, creating challenges in crafting staves; its porosity, boosting the chances of leakages; and its pronounced scarcity, commanding an eye-wateringly high price.

Before being filled, the wood was naturally air-dried for 36 months, allowing for further development of flavour characteristics, then toasted and charred to a medium level.

The 7-year-old Hungarian Virgin Oak Finish underwent an 18-month-long stint in Quercus Petraea from the Zemplén forest in the mountains of northeast Hungary.

A highly unusual oak type for Scotch whisky maturation, The GlenAllachie are among the first producers to experiment with the use of virgin Hungarian wood.

The rocky volcanic soil, along with the colder climate and higher altitude in which it grows, means trees in the area grow very slowly, developing tighter grain: a desirable trait for ageing spirit.

The 10-year-old Spanish Virgin Oak Finish used hogsheads made of Quercus Robur from the Spanish Cantabrian mountains with a cool yet humid climate.

The oak was dried in open air for 18 months, then subsequently toasted and charred, to open up the pores for flavour extraction by the whisky.

All three of the single malts were bottled at a high strength of 48% ABV, without added colouring or chill filtration.

Reflecting on the new product innovations, Walker comments:

“Virgin oak of varying provenance presents endless possibilities to me as a whisky maker. Exploring a variety of oak types, toasting and charring the casks to particular levels, and then closely observing the spirit development over time has been a truly joyful experience.

“These three new bottlings embody the range of flavours offered by oaks of different origins. From the Scottish, expect notes of biscuit, pear and gingerbread; the Hungarian boasts waves of lemon juice, cinnamon and raisins; and the Spanish oak has imparted bursts of toffee sauce and ripe banana. Each is as uniquely enticing as the last.”

The launch coincides with the release of Batch 9 of The GlenAllachie 10-year-old Cask Strength (UK RRSP £68.99); an expression which was previously crowned World’s Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards in 2021 for its fourth iteration.

With UK RRSPs starting at £62.99, The GlenAllachie’s new Virgin Oak Finishes and the 10-year-old Cask Strength Batch 9 will begin hitting shelves from today, with global specialist retailers receiving stock in the coming weeks.

ABOUT GLENALLACHIE:

One of Scotland’s few independently owned and managed distilleries, The GlenAllachie is led by industry veteran, Billy Walker, who boasts over a half-century’s tenure in whisky. With an emphasis on wood policy, The GlenAllachie’s cask budget for 2023 stands at an eye-watering £2.7m/$3.3m. With 16 on-site warehouses holding over 50,000 casks, we have complete control of the end-to-end maturation process.

The GlenAllachie focusses on quality over quantity, which is why we chose to reduce our production capacity from 4million to around 800,000 Litres of Alcohol and increase our fermentation period to 160 hours for an ester rich, fruity spirit.

We believe age and integrity matter, which is why all our whiskies carry an age statement, and are bottled at a minimum of 46% ABV, natural colour and non-chill filtered for maximum flavour experience.

Our other brands are MacNair’s Boutique House of Spirits – encompassing Lum Reek Blended Malt Scotch Whisky and White Heather Blended Scotch Whisky.

Further information on the distillery and company can be found at www.theglenallachie.com

Facebook – @TheGlenAllachie    |    Twitter – @TheGlenAllachie    |    Instagram – @theglenallachie_

TASTING NOTES

The GlenAllachie 8-year-old Scottish Virgin Oak Finish – 48% ABV

Colour: Golden Sunset.

Nose: Bursting with baked oats, butterscotch and toffee, with notes of cinnamon, gingersnaps and heather honey.

Taste: Lashings of heather honey, orchard fruits and lemon zest, followed by white chocolate, cinnamon and ginger, with toffee and butterscotch on the finish.

The GlenAllachie 7-year-old Hungarian Virgin Oak Finish – 48% ABV

Colour: Golden.

Nose: Bursting with butterscotch, citrus and milk chocolate, with cinnamon, raisins, orchard fruits and ginger.

Taste: Lashings of heather honey and cinnamon, followed by chocolate, lemon drops and caramelised brown sugar.

The GlenAllachie 10-year-old Spanish Virgin Oak Finish – 48% ABV

Colour: Mahogany.

Nose: Lashings of orchard fruits, baking spices and sticky toffee pudding, with notes of brown sugar, glazed cherries and citrus.

Taste: Bursting with chocolate, coffee and heather honey, followed by notes of pepper, ginger and molasses, with banana and sultanas on the finish.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS:
FIVE DECADES OF WHISKY

Though The Whisky Exchange was founded in 1999, the journey began in the 1970s when Sukhinder and Rajbir’s parents opened an off-licence in West London called The Nest. In honour of their family’s 50th anniversary in the drinks business, we are releasing a range of exclusives, including a whisky from each decade of the family’s history, from the 1970s to the 2010s.

Featuring a poem about the whisky industry and the family’s role within it on each label, the five-bottle series includes single malts from Caol Ila, Clynelish, Ardbeg and Linkwood, as well as a sherry cask-matured Speyside blended malt, all aged for between 21 and 50 years. Bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange by Elixir Distillers, this series of collectible and drinkable whiskies is a result of delving into casks they had been nurturing for a special occasion just like this.

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KILLOWEN CASK #024

Following on from our wonderful cask 001 & 002 releases, we can now confirm that Cask 024 is about to be released. It will be sold through our traditional Killowen retail channels. Many independent retailers across the Island will be receiving stock for sale, for online purchasing please visit Irish malts and Umbrella Project for mainland UK – be sure and check out the other Killowen in these spots while in store or online.

Killowen Barántúil Cask 024 – Irish Whiskey – Mixed Mash Bill & Peated

Release Date 22^nd March – Some stores may receive stock later in week

This bottling does not comply with the requirements of the GI governing Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey which allows for 5% adjuncts of oat, rye and wheat. Instead the mash bill has around 30% , the way Pure Pot Still was made in the heyday of Irish whiskey. The remaining mash bill consists of malted and unmalted barley – you will have to check out the packaging for the mash specifics. We look forward to the correction of this legislation and it’s alignment with historical accuracy. Until then we will continue to make this beautiful whiskey the way it should be made.

The quality of the distillate and distillers’ cuts is evident in this young whiskey and is further proof that Killowen does not need many years to become whiskey, it simply is, in of itself beautiful. We understand that this traditional whiskey should be smoked – only aged in an ex-bourbon cask, in an attempt to pair back the spirit to it’s simplest form. As Killowen is a ‘distillate led’ whiskey, the bourbon cask allows the consumer to enjoy a more paired back whiskey that is confident of its complex and balanced character and therefore does not need a heavy cask to dress it up. Sometimes whiskey enthusiasts understand there are too many whiskeys out there that are ‘all fur coat and no knickers’. That said plenty of our future releases will sport the most brilliant fur coats.

As standard this bottling follows all the Killowen ethos, cask strength, no chilled filtration and no added colours, therefore this is an integrity bottling so please open and share.

RRP: £99.95 / €120.00

Sláinte

The Killowen Distillery Team

I.W. Harper 15 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml)

$89.99

View

 Silky and smooth, this Bourbon is scented with dried apricot, almond extract and vanilla. On the palate, expect lots of caramel and vanilla up front, followed by orange peel and nutmeg. Sherried notes come through on the finish, along with plenty of spice. (KN)  (9/2016)

Whisky Advocate

 Diageo has ‘brought I.W. Harper home’ after years of absence from the U.S. market with this bottling and a base bottling (see below). The source is ‘new’ Bernheim, but with a different mashbill from the base; this is 86% corn. Nose is warm corn and oak, with some spicy clove and cinnamon notes. Great medium-weight body and balance, palate repeats the nose, oaky-sweet finish; well-integrated whiskey. But my eyes pop at the price. (LB, Summer 2015) 

K&L Notes

Despite being bottled at Diageo’s Cascade Hollow, TN facility (a.k.a. George Dickel of 13 year Bottled-in-Bond fame) the I.W. Harper 15 year is all Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. A high corn content lends itself to a sweeter style of whiskey — rich and grain forward. But after 15 long years in new charred American oak — the caramel, vanilla, molasses, and dried fruits really show up in a big way. This is one of the best values for age stated Kentucky Bourbon still on the market.

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Our Vaults Collection offers members the chance to journey back into whisky history – and we are delighted to offer you these exceptional bottlings from Islay which are AVAILABLE NOW to buy (Membership info shown below).

These drams will not only transport you to another place, but to a different era. We’ve delivered timeless twins, with a split oloroso sherry butt from Distillery 53 which we divided into an ex-bourbon barrel and an ex-rye barrel after 27 years, for a further four years of maturation. From Distillery 29, prepare to find a tropical flavour paradise, with elegant perfumed spice and ripe tropical fruits finding perfect harmony after 27 years of maturation in bourbon wood.

Keep scrolling to learn more about each of these bottlings, or WATCH our introduction below.

WATCH THE TASTING

VIEW ALL THE BOTTLES

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 here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

COMPASS BOX INTRODUCES

THE PEAT MONSTER CASK STRENGTH: ORIGIN STORY

The whiskymakers celebrate the smoky blended malt Scotch with a 20^th anniversary limited-edition release

March 2023: Scotch whiskymakers Compass Box celebrates the 20^th Anniversary of one of its most popular expressions with a limited-edition, blended malt Scotch whisky; The Peat Monster Cask Strength: Origin Story (RRP £105, ABV 56.7%).

The latest release from the award-winning Scotch whiskymakers will see 9,126 bottles available worldwide. The new Cask Strength bottle celebrates the origin story of The Peat Monster, which was first created thanks to Jonathan Goldstein of Park Avenue Liquors joining forces with Compass Box founder John Glaser for an exclusive release in 2003. The heavily peated whisky was so successful that it was released to the worldwide market in 2004 and has gone on to become one of Compass Box’s most popular expressions.

Today, The Peat Monster Cask Strength: Origin Story is comprised of Williamson Islay Malt, aged in refill American oak hogsheads (35%); malt whisky from the Caol Ila Distillery, aged in refill American oak hogsheads (34.2%), American oak bourbon barrels (17.9%), and refill puncheons (11.8%); and Highland Malt Blend aged in custom French oak barrels with a heavy toast (1.1%).

The resulting blend boasts “big blasts of smoke, cinnamon and tobacco notes,” according to the whiskymaking team. On the nose, find sooty barbecue smoke, green apple and powerfully aromatic citrus oils, all underpinned by warming cinnamon (the higher ABV heightens this expressiveness). On the palate, enjoy tarry, smoked almond, with the seasoned virgin oak delivering added richness and vanilla notes, plus seaweed, cayenne pepper and saltiness.

Compass Box further celebrates The Peat Monster’s U.S roots by recognising American coopers through a partial finishing of this blend, putting around half of the whisky in special barrels made from American white oak for three-to-four months. These grain-seasoned casks, created by the independent Stave Company, have been air-dried for two years and toasted using a highly technical process before being sent to Scotland and filled with grain spirit for one year.

Another nod to The Peat Monster’s American origin story appears on the label, which was designed by acclaimed American artist, Mark Burckhardt, featuring Dali-esque depictions of the monster against skyscrapers, subway steam grates belching smoke, and a hint of Central Park.

“It’s always been our mission at Compass Box to create compelling whiskies, even if it means breaking moulds – or creating new ones!” says Compass Box whiskymaker and founder John Glaser. “Thanks to the early collaboration with Jonathan Goldstein, we created a quintessential peated whisky that has gone on to become one of our core expressions, still beloved by whisky drinkers two decades later and one that we’re proud to be celebrating with this Cask Strength Limited Edition”.

Curious whisky lovers can find out more about The Peat Monster Cask Strength and other Compass Box whiskies at compassboxwhisky.com or follow @compassboxwhiskyco on Instagram.

Compass Box whiskies are available to purchase at compassboxwhisky.com, masterofmalt.com and thewhiskyexchange.com. 

ABOUT COMPASS BOX

Compass Box are Scotch whiskymakers. The word ‘whiskymaker’ is their word – it does not appear in a dictionary. For over 20 years they have been relentlessly focused on reinventing Scotch whisky, with every new blend designed to help make the world of whisky a more interesting place. They have not done it on their own and have collaborated with some of the world’s most visionary bartenders and designers to really push the boundaries of what is possible. They are always experimenting, always looking for sparks of creativity that will deliver something totally compelling, yet completely surprising. This vision motivates them as whiskymakers. 

ABOUT COMPASS BOX LIMITED EDITIONS

Compass Box’s Limited Editions allow them complete creative freedom, often using smaller parcels at greater ages. Each Limited Edition is one-off in nature. Every year, Compass Box creates a number of Limited Editions from very rare releases of a few hundred bottles to more accessible runs of several thousand bottles. Each one boasts a different identity, each expresses deliciousness in Scotch whisky in a different way.