SMOKEHEAD TWISTS TRADITION THIS VALENTINE’S DAY WITH NEW LIMITED-EDITION STOUT CASK EXPRESSION

STILL PACKS A PEATY PUNCH: SMOKEHEAD UNLEASHES BOLD & UNEXPECTED FLAVOUR COMBINATION WITH RELEASE OF TWISTED STOUT 

Smokehead Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, one of the fastest growing single malts in the UK and globally, is once again twisting tradition with their latest release, Twisted Stout. The brand-new limited-edition expression has been part finished in stout casks, priced at RRP £49.99 and with an ABV of 43%, it is only available to purchase exclusively from www.smokehead.com

Still packing that unmistakably Smokehead peaty punch, Twisted Stout brings a smoother, sweeter, and silkier experience with this delicious and different whisky.

Intertwined with the intense smack-in-the-tastebuds smoke you’d expect from Smokehead, the creamy, malty stout flavour adds unfamiliar notes of rich chocolate and treacle toffee, vanilla ice cream, roasted nuts, and toasted biscuits.

Wrapped up in a striking new pack design, the ever-courageous brand’s new and innovative release is available to buy now only from www.smokehead.com

Commenting on the launch Iain Weir, Smokehead Brand Director said “Our unique  and disruptive Smokehead thinking has led to some convention challenging, trail blazing, rule breaking whiskies over the years that don’t follow the usual traditions and rituals.

“We’ve clearly struck a chord with those who do things their way, live life on their own bold terms, and pick a whisky that’s as disinterested in the status quo as they are. Twisted Stout is as far away from a standard single malt as the combination of tastes, aromas and flavours inside the bottle.

“So, while all our releases come with an original twist, our latest might just be our most twisted yet. Which is just how we like things.”

SMOKEHEAD TWISTED STOUT TASTING NOTES:

THE FIRST IMPRESSION

The usual island intensity of Smokehead comes cloaked in sweet aromas of chocolate and treacle toffee. Maritime air meets a decent pint on the shore. Unexpected. Unusual. And unsettling for the senses.

THE FULL-ON FLAVOUR

You’re past the point of no return now. Hot and soothing at the same time. Salty smoke weaves its way around dry roasted nuts, toasted marshmallow, vanilla ice-cream and… is that someone putting a pot of fresh coffee on?

THE FINALE

New flavours unlocked. Old favourites reunited, wood smoke and spices. Malty, toasted biscuits. Zingy citrus. Dark and delicious. A fitting sign-off from the twisted lovechild of whisky and beer.

Smokehead also grabbed the headlines recently with the launch of the first-ever pre-mixed single malt in a ready to drink can serve. Kick-starting the brand-new ready to drink range with two eye-popping serves: ‘Smokehead mixed with Cola’ and ‘Smokehead mixed with Ginger and Lime’, both available to buy online via Amazon, Smokehead.com and other UK selected retailers.

The Smokehead core range (see below) is also available globally via online and instore. 

CORE SMOKEHEAD EXPRESSIONS:

SMOKEHEAD

Smokehead Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky is the original expression, an intensely rich yet subtly sweet dram. With immense smoke and notes of sea salt and spice, this is a vigorous whisky that stands out from the crowd.

HIGH VOLTAGE

If Smokehead is an assault on your senses, then High Voltage is an all-out attack. The breath-taking intensity of the peat and smoke is a red light for the faint of heart.

RUM REBEL

The rich, smoky, salty Islay whisky rebel is finished in spicy, sweet Caribbean rum casks creating culture colliding carnage and a melding of mouth-watering tastes.

SHERRY BOMB

Smokehead Sherry Bomb is a peaty Islay single malt that has well and truly earned its name. Blasted by rich, sweet and spicy Spanish sherry casks, it had emerged as a fiery, explosive, heavy hitting dram that has even turned our skull red. 

*Smokehead always encourages responsible drinking* 

www.smokehead.com

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NOTES:

About Smokehead:

• Smokehead is an Islay Single Malt Whisky and has been given a bold new look by Ian Macleod Distillers.
• Smokehead has been labelled the wild one of Single Malt Whisky.
• Award-winning premium Scotch whisky that has an attitude-led positioning and smoky sweet taste. 

About Ian Macleod Distillers:

• Established in 1933, Ian Macleod Distillers is one of Scotland’s leading independent, family-owned distillers, blenders and bottlers.
• Ian Macleod Distillers is the world’s 10th largest Scotch Whisky company, producing and selling over 15 million bottles of spirits every year.
• Ian Macleod Distillers has built up an enviable portfolio of premium quality spirits and is proud brand proprietor of Glengoyne, Tamdhu, Rosebank and Smokehead Scotch whiskies and Edinburgh Gin to name but a few.

Benromach Cara Gold (2022)

Cara Gold barley is typically used for brewing golden ales. Bottled 2022, Benromach Cara Gold is a one off expression of 6,300 bottles distilled in 2010. Matured in first fill bourbon barrels the resulting whisky is bursting with tropical fruity notes along with toffee and caramel flavours and intertwined with peat smoke.

Nose: Perfumed and sweet with passionfruit, lychee and lime complemented by a hint of malted biscuit.

Flavour: Smooth and sweet flavours of pineapple, apricot and subtle pepper lead to toasted malt and a hint of butterscotch.

Finish: Vibrant and fruity with sweet smoke.

Buy – Benromach 11 Year Old 2010 Cara Gold >>

Benromach Distillery was designed by Charles C. Diog and constructed at Forres in the Speyside whisky region for D. McCallum and F.W. Burickman in 1898. Following numerus periods of closure, it was purchased in 1993 by Gordon & MacPhail who charged up its single pair of stills in 1998 and have nurtured Benromach ever since. Striking new labelling combined with an increasing range of single malts is forging a very popular brand of single malt whiskies which includes Benromach Organic, Benromach Peatsmoke and Benromach 10 Year Old.

FALL IN LOVE WITH FLAVOUR 

They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder – and when it comes to our whisky, as in life, there’s a perfect match out there for everyone. This First Friday we’re falling head over heels with a new selection of diverse drams from across our flavour spectrum. Make an instant attraction, click over to our website now to explore the range ahead of release on Friday, 4 February (9am).

OUTTURN BOTTLES

ALL WHISKY

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

Benriach The Thirty 30 Year Old

This four cask matured single malt has spent 30 years quietly slumbering at the Speyside distillery. The result is a delectable dram full of rich, smoky flavours. As a recent Double Gold Medal winner at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, we are dealing with some of the best of the best right here!

Benriach have pulled it out of the bag yet again! This four cask matured single malt has spent 30 years quietly slumbering at the Speyside distillery. The result is a delectable dram full of rich, smoky flavours. Still needing more convincing that this whisky is the best of the best? It was a recent Double Gold Medal winner at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits competition. You better get your hands on a bottle before it’s gone for good!

£650.00
Buy Now

Nose: orange peel, roasted nuts, cinnamon infused hot chocolate.

Palate: fruitcake, honey, raisins.

Finish: long, smokey, honeyed

We are continuously adding new and exciting whiskies to our range of independent bottlings, where you can discover great value, high-quality drams.

Our recent releases include well-aged whiskies from the Connoisseurs Choice and Old Particular series by leading independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail and Douglas Laing. There are also plenty of gems from less well-known bottlers worth discovering, such as a fruity Penderyn and a smoky 11-year-old Ardmore from Dumangin, both finished in sweet Ratafia Champenois casks, and an 11-year-old Highland Tullibardine from That Boutique-y Whisky Company.

SHOP INDEPENDENT BOTTLINGS

You’ve worked hard to find those allocated bottles.  Isn’t it time you displayed them in a cabinet worthy of such a collection?

Introducing the Whisky Vault – MINI,  a secure bulletproof display for 10-15 bottles.  Compact and perfect for the bar or countertop.  The handcrafted, bulletproof and patented luxury safe was built exclusively with the whisky and bourbon collector in mind.  If you have a larger collection, that’s fine, we have the original Whisky Vault for 42 bottles and also custom Whisky Vaults to hold up to 180 bottles.  The Whisky Vault is perfect for that home or office bar, restaurant, whisky bar, game room or just something super cool for the living room.  Keep those top shelf unicorns safe from accidentally being opened by drunk friends.  The Whisky Vault – MINI offers serious protection with a 19 mm bulletproof window and weighs 50 kg (110 lb).  You can rest assured your expensive bottles are protected.

Currently available through https://uncrate.com/whiskey-vault-mini/

The individually numbered Whisky Vault – MINI will retail for US$3680 (price includes shipping / import duties may apply).

(23” (L) x 12” (W) x 18” (H) / 110 pounds)

(58 cm x 30 cm x 46 cm / 50 kilograms)

Patented: US, EU, TWN, JPN, CN

Aberlour A’Bunadh “Batch #71 123 Proof” Cask Strength Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $84.99  View

BenRiach 11 Year Old “K&L Exclusive” Peated Rye Barrel #13467 Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $119.99 View

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

ImpEx Beverages and Women Who Whiskey Announce Two Exciting Releases Celebrating the
10th Anniversary of Women Who Whisky

Membership in Women Who Whisky (wWw) provides the opportunity to learn about spirits and cocktail culture, and to join a worldwide network of like-minded people with a taste for curiosity and delicious drams.

In 2021, Women Who Whiskey celebrated 10 years of uniting whisk(e)y lovers around the globe by collaborating with ImpEx Beverages on Two Special Bottlings, Fukano Chizuru and Penderyn Legend wWw 10th Anniversary Edition.

Fukano Chiruzo celebrates the career of Chizuru Fukano, the former Managing Director of Fukano Distillery in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, Japan. She started at the distillery in 1990 as a volunteer tour guide and retired in 2018 after 28 years of service to the distillery.

A limited release of 3,000 bottles, this expression was matured in refilled Oak, Manzanilla Sherry and Red Wine casks is a seasonable sipper with complexity and backbone that would also work well in a refreshing cocktail.

Label art on this bottling is by Linh Do, who left a career in social work to pursue her passion in whisky. She uses alcohol as muses for her art and is respected in both the artistic and whisky communities. After all, whisky making really is an art isn’t it?

Penderyn Legend wWw 10th Anniversary Edition celebrates the heart and skill of the women of the Penderyn Distillery. An all-female distilling and blending team set Penderyn apart from other Distilleries and the tutelage of Dr. Jim Swan makes the expressions they offer even more special and unique.

This special release of 3,000 bottles is matured in specifically reserved ex-Bourbon casks made from American Oak, before receiving further maturation in Oak Barriques that have previously held Madeira wine, to develop a harmonious Single Malt whisky with a subtle but sophisticated character and soft golden hues.

wWw Founder & Principal, Julia Ritz Toffoli said of the partnership, “The Fukano Distillery Chizuru Fukano Limited Edition Bottling represents everything that Women Who Whiskey stands for: the vision and leadership of an incredible woman who dedicated her career to her passion, not only breaking the mold of what was expected for women in her position, but crafting a unique and exquisite whisky that she single-handedly brought to the global market.

Penderyn Distillery has partnered with us on several popular events, so when the opportunity presented itself to co-launch a commemorative bottling of award-winning Penderyn Legend to celebrate Women Who Whiskey’s 10th Anniversary, we jumped at the chance to partner again with their amazing all-woman production team, to bring our members a memorable and delicious limited release whisky A special thank you to Linh Do (who designed the bottle art for Fukano Chizuru), Gabrielle Dion & The Mixing Glass (our retail partner), and Chris Uhde, Vice President of ImpEx Beverages for introducing wWw to these amazing teams and expressions, and for working tirelessly to import our bottling run in the midst of a global pandemic and supply chain crisis. Without them none of this would have been possible”

For more information on where to purchase these amazing expressions please email Office@ImpExBev.com

About Women Who Whiskey
Both for amateurs and connoisseurs, wWw is a global women’s networking and educational organization, dedicated to creating a space where our members can cultivate their passions for community and whiskey. With a focus on inclusion, wWw aims to create an educational and experimental environment for those who have all-toooften been left out of the traditionally male-dominated world of whisk(e)y.

About ImpEx Beverages
In 2008, ImpEx Beverages was founded with the vision to import premium and rare spirits from around the world, with a special emphasis on the best of what Scotland has to offer. Today, ImpEx boasts an impressive portfolio, including some of the most notable small to medium sized distilleries and independent bottlers; importing Whisky, Gin, Rum, and Mezcal from Scotland, Belgium, Wales, Japan, Israel, Mexico, and England with future anticipated additions from unexpected destinations. ImpEx also features a fine line of Liqueurs and Cordials produced in the US.

Creativity is one of the many joys of whiskymaking. Our limited editions allow us to indulge our creative urges to explore and expand on what Scotch whisky can be, and we love sharing our discoveries with you. So, we’re thrilled to reveal three new releases to kick off the year. Each delicious in a different way. Stay tuned, as we’ll be sharing more about these whiskies on our social channels and upcoming news.

Vellichor 
The nostalgic one

Imagine the warming aroma and wistfulness of an old bookshop. Now imagine it bottled. That’s Vellichor – made from impressively mature whiskies, each one a different character in the story.

Available from our web shop and select rest of world regions from early February.

Arriving in the US from April 1^st.

Experimental Grain Whisky 
The deviant one

A fascinating discovery, borne from the pursuit of unusual flavour and a grain whisky that’s only a pot still away from being a single malt. Smoky, sweet and curiously delicious.

Available from our web shop and select rest of world regions from early February.

Arriving in the US from April 1^st.

The Circle No. 2 
The long-awaited one

A whisky brought to you by synaesthesia. The Circle’s Sherry-aged warmth and bright tropical aromas perfectly capture the taste of the colour coral. Made in collaboration with The Circle 2019 winner, Mannie Monaghan.

Coming June 2022.

To check the availability of any of these releases, please reach out to your local specialist spirits retailer. Alternatively, you can contact us and we will help locate your nearest stockist.

Share & Enjoy!
The Compass Box Team

GLENLIVET 1986 33YO CONNOISSEURS CHOICE CASK #16601801 47.5%

£795.00

This release is from Glenlivet Distillery. Coming in the ‘Cask Strength’ range of Connoisseurs Choice.

Distilled: 1986
Bottled: 13th March 2020
Batch number: 20/002
Cask number: 16601801
Cask Type: Refill Sherry Hogshead
Aged for 33 Years
One of only 303 bottles

Notes: Sweet aromas of stewed pear lead to cinnamon spice with a hint of oak. Fresh flavours of strawberries and raspberries combine with liquorice. A medium-bodied finish with lingering summer fruits.

Bottled by Gordon & MacPhail