WAREHOUSE DISCOVERIES

We’ve been spring cleaning our warehouse and discovered the last few bottles from some exceptional casks. These sparkling single casks whiskies are limited in numbers and only available online.

Order now before they are gone forever.

SHOP THE REPLENISHED STOCK NOW

Browse on smws.com

SHOP

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

WHISKY FIRM MARKS FOURTH BIRTHDAY WITH NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH

Whisky giftware firm Angels’ Share Glass is marking its fourth anniversary with the launch of a series of birthstone angels.

The Stirling-based family company, founded on April 9, 2013, has created a new version of its signature line of whisky-filled glass angels featuring precious gemstone jewels.

The angels are each holding a real gemstone representing months of the year – Diamond for April, Emerald for May and so on.

The firm’s latest innovation was developed by co-founder Karen Somerville.

She says: “People have always liked the Angels which are holding something – like the Thistle and the Saltire which represent Scotland.

“We had some feedback asking if there was anything else we could use and decided gem stones would be a great fit and look lovely.

“And with our own fourth birthday coming up it seemed the perfect time to launch a new birthday product!

“Pre-orders of the Angels are already proving popular as birthday gifts while many – including July’s Ruby and June’s Pearl – will also work for wedding anniversaries.”

Angels’ Share Glass is also marking its fourth anniversary with the start of work on a new glassblowing studio which gets underway later this month.

The move follows a successful crowdfunding campaign which saw generous supporters pledge contributions to help the firm raise funds to create the state-of-the-art studio at its headquarters.

Angels’ Share Glass has come a long way since its beginnings as a home-based business run by co-founders Karen and her father, world-renowned glassmaker, Tom Young.

It now employs three other staff members plus a host of freelance workers in the glassmaking, marketing and sales industries.

The firm has also won a series of honours including Entrepreneur of the Year for Karen Somerville.

And last year it was named Best Micro Business at the Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce Awards as well as winning the Most Innovative Product Award for its unique whisky water dropper.

Meanwhile, Tom Young is due to receive an MBE for his services to glassmaking during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in mid-April.

Karen says: “We’ve seen phenomenal growth since setting up as a home-run operation four years ago and I’m very proud of everything we’ve achieved since then.

“We’ve gone from a small firm selling one product to a global organisation which sells a host of different gifts to people all over the world.

“It’s great that we’re getting the new studio up and running this year as it will mean a lot to us in terms of increasing production and growing the firm further.

“It also means my dad can train up more apprentices who can help keep glassblowing alive in the heart of Scotland.”

Karen and Tom established the firm after capturing the spirit of a whisky producers’ legend, known as the Angels’ Share, through the creation of handmade glass angels.

The myth claims the small volume of whisky lost to evaporation while it matures is taken away by angels.

And in tribute to that legend, the glass angels are filled and sealed with 30ml of single malt – a measure of the Angels’ Share – in a secret process.

In the past four years, the firm has gone from strength to strength expanding its giftware range and exporting to retailers and online customers all over the world.

For more details, visit the website www.angelsshareglass.com

Notes:

Angels’ Share Glass is a family-run business based in Bridge of Allan, near Stirling. The firm is co-directed by Karen Somerville and her father Tom Young – a world-renowned Master Craftsman who has been glassblowing and making lamp-work glassware for nearly 60 years. More information about the company can be found on the website at www.angelsshareglass.com

Spirit of Hven Alioth is the fifth in the Spirit of Hven Seven Stars series. It is a moderately peated single malt whisky, made from grain to bottle in the small family owned distillery situated on the island of Hven in the strait of Öresund between Denmark and Sweden.

Described as “Taste & Scent with Sustainability”, Spirit of Hven produces a diverse range of oak matured distillates, with the heart and soul of the distillery being the production of world acclaimed single malt whiskies. In fact, their single malt whisky was Sweden’s first ever island whisky. Handcrafted using only certified organic ingredients, distilled in unique copper pot stills, matured in French Petraea, French Robur and American Muehlenbergii before being finished off in 500L marrying casks made of Spanish Quercus Robur. These have previously held a unique dry Oloroso Sherry, providing a dry nutty, almond character with notes of raisins, new cut fruit and citrus all in an enticing harmony.

Spirit of Hven Alioth is named after the star Alioth in the asterism Ursa Major (the Plough). The name derives from the Arabic, alyat, meaning “the tail of a sheep” referring to the position in the asterism. Alioth is the brightest star in the constellation.

Spirit of Hven is distributed in the UK by Amathus Drinks PLC. For more information, please visit www.hven.com or contact holly@amathusdrinks.com.

Springbank Society

How are we all doing?

Not long until the Campbeltown Malts Festival – I am sure we will be seeing quite a few of you there.

My bombardment of your inboxes continue and, if anything, is gaining momentum because this is one of the best newsletters that has been sent to members during my time at the helm of the Society.

However, this email is very information heavy so please take the time to read it through to be sure of all the details below.

As I am sure you already suspect, I am delighted to confirm that that the purpose of this newsletter is to announce the release of 2 distillery releases from Springbank and remind you all of the Kilkerran 8yo Cask strength release from our sister distillery, Mitchell’s Glengyle. So let’s get started…

The following bottlings will be available in the UK from tomorrow (Wednesday 12th April 2017) and in other countries/markets in the coming weeks. Please contact your local retailers and stockists for more information, details of whom can be found by visiting www.springbankwhisky.com/distributors.

Hazelburn 13yo Sherrywood – 47.1%

We’ll start with this lovely HB release, distilled in October 2003 and matured in Oloroso casks;

Nose – Initially raisins, marzipan, Demerara sugar followed by treacle, sticky toffee and wood shavings.

Taste – Homemade strawberry jam, sugary and filled with cream, orange zest, brandy snaps and a white chocolate creme brûlée.

Finish – Chocolate orange, crazy coffee liqueur, buttered popcorn, cocoa beans and mocha coffee with a delicate finish of sweet orange marmalade.

There will be approximately 12,000 bottles available worldwide and they will retail at around £55.00.

Need to know

This is not a Society bottle. This is not considered a core product and as such the Society discount does not apply.I will not be taking orders for this bottle as I am not aware of any shop’s stock or allocation.

Longrow 18yo  – 46.0%

Nose – Very sweet; pear drops and light marshmallows. Roasted pine nuts and creme brûlée followed by a very buttery cheesecake base with a soft liquorice note.

Taste – The sweetness continues on the palate; with hard boiled toffee sweets, caramelised sugar, sticky toffee pudding, nougat and fresh cream with hints of charred embers.

Finish – Lovely and rich: dark chocolate followed by coffee beans, liquorish, viennese whirls. This is rounded off with the signature Longrow notes of coastal sea salt flavours and a gentle smokiness.

Matured in 60% refill sherry casks, 40% bourbon casks. There will be approximately 4,500 bottles available worldwide and they will retail at around £89.00.

Need to know

This is not a Society bottle. This is considered a core product so the Society discount will apply. I will not be taking orders for this bottle as I am not aware of any shop’s stock or allocation.

Kilkerran 8yo Cask Strength – 56.2% 

From Mitchell’s Glengyle

Most of you will have some of the information below but just incase any of you missed it I thought I would include it in full this time as well.

Nose – The aroma from the lightly peated barley is apparent from the off and some of the green apples which are becoming a feature of Kilkerran are also present. This whisky is like a favourite dessert, rhubarb crumble, with scents of stewed rhubarb, vanilla and all butter shortbread.

Taste – There’s an earthiness and saltiness, exactly what you want to taste in a Campbeltown dram. This is combined with icing sugar and puff candy which gives a sweetness to the whisky, along with milk chocolate and walnut flavours.

Finish – The peat remains, along with a sootiness, pencil shavings and a liquorice-influenced maltiness.

Matured in 100% bourbon casks, the KK 8yo CS will retail at around £48.00 and there will be approximately 9,000 bottles available worldwide.

Once again, these bottlings will be available in the UK from (Wednesday 12th April 2017) and in other countries/markets in the coming weeks. Please contact your local retailers and stockists for more information, details of whom can be found by visiting www.springbankwhisky.com/distributors.

Some of you may not see this email until Wednesday, in which case these bottles will be available by the time you read these words.

And finally, work on the next Society exclusive bottling is gathering pace and I will hopefully be releasing some information to you in the next few weeks.

Until next time,

Slainte

Nathan

Nathan Currie

For the Springbank Society 

society@springbank.scot

Bunnahabhain Ceòbanach

The latest release of the small batch peated single malt from Islay’s Bunnahbhain distillery. Although famed for its very lightly peated whisky, the distillery does produce some small amounts of heavily peated spirit. Ceòbanach takes its name from the Gaelic for smoky mist.

£55 Buy Now

April Outturn brings a feast for the senses with 7 adventurous single casks to spark conversation and imagination.  Get cracking on our Easter drams!

CASK No. 36.118  CAVORTING IN FLOWER MEADOWS

12 years old; 1st fill barrel; 59.9%; Sweet, fruity & mellow

The nose suggests strawberry marshmallows, Jelly Tots and candy necklaces in flower meadows – also dessert wine for the adults. The palate is fantastically fruity – tropical, exotic and citric – but with toffee sweetness and nice woody spice to round it off.

CASK No. 48.82  VIVACIOUS, ZESTY AND PENETRATING

12 years old; 1st fill barrel; 57.5%; Sweet, fruity & mellow

The fresh lively nose (white pepper, sanded wood, stewed rhubarb, lemon balm) turns lightly floral with water (candied angelica, dandelion milk). The palate is zesty, vivacious and penetrating – bitter-sweet fruitiness (pear, grapefruit, dried pineapple) with chili, pepper and clove heat.

CASK No. 7.157  CLEOPATRA MEETS ROBIN HOOD

12 years old; 1st fill barrel; 60.9%; Spicy & dry

‘Yesterday when I was young’ – I opened a pot of almond-scented ‘Cleopatra glue’ and made a bow out of rosewood. Very ‘grown-up’ flavours with chipotle chili powder and beurre noisette. Diluted, salt and pepper ribs with a chili honey sauce.

CASK No. 7.148  WICKED VISCOSITY

26 years old; refill hogshead; 61%; Old & dignified

Hot chocolate cake with toffee sauce and freshly brewed coffee were followed by apple pie in a hot vanilla sauce. With a drop of water; a walk through blossoming orange trees, and on the palate; coconut orange raspberry swirl muffins.

CASK No. 85.42  PUT YOUR FEET UP

16 years old; refill sherry butt; 57.9%; Spicy & sweet

Dark sweet aromas like a mocha cake with balsamic strawberry whipped cream filling. On the palate more like spicy oven-roasted plums seasoned with cloves. Water released bitter orange and liquorice on the nose and we all enjoyed our mug of Jagertee.

CASK No. 41.83  SHERRY, SHERRY BABY

9 years old; 1st fill Oloroso butt; 58.7%; Spicy & sweet

The nose neat certainly could not hide its provenance. Aromas of dark sour cherries, blood oranges and bacon frazzles – but wait until you’ve tried it! Diluted, spicier and herbal, and how about goat cheese blended with mascarpone, roast beetroot and walnuts?

Cask No. 42.27  SMOKED, AGED RIESLING

9 years old; refill barrel; 59.4%; Lightly peated

Off-dry, with a balance of fruity, earthy, slightly mineralic aromas and a hint of petrol made way to briny olives, salted caramels and ‘smoked’ jelly beans on the palate. Diluted, Riesling-poached peaches with tarragon and peat smoked grilled sardines.

SMWS Canada

Now taking orders for Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2017 Release!

Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky ~ Distillery Bottling

£67.50

Bruichladdich Black Art 5

The 5th in the series of cuvees personally selected by the Head Distiller from all corners of the Bruichladdich warehouse, Black Art 5 is an unpeated Islay single malt originally distilled in 1992 and matured for 24 years. Only 12,000 individually numbered bottles have been produced, non chill-filtered at a cask strength of 48.4%.

A rich and complex nose with fruity cherry, mango and orange notes, oaky vanilla and brown sugar. A velvet smoothness on the palate with mango, plum, melon and strawberry weaving through honey, tobacco and vanilla, before stone fruits and floral notes on the finish.

£255 Pre-Order Now

Orders will be dispatched w/c 10th April

Method and Madness – the new face of Irish whiskey

The Irish whiskey industry is in fine fettle. Many new distilleries are planned across the country, and there’s an exciting new project from the biggest name in the business: Irish Distillers. I visited Ireland to get the lowdown on the project – Method and Madness – which uses three very unusual cask types.

Last week, we looked at the most common ways of maturing whisky, but this new project features cask types rarely seen: French chestnut, virgin Spanish oak and French Limousin oak. The name refers to the collision of careful tradition from the old hands at Irish Distillers and the rip-up-the-rulebook experimentation encouraged by their young apprentices. The range comprises a single grain, a single malt and a single pot still – and they’re available to buy now.

Master blender Billy Leighton said: ‘The whole Method and Madness concept is designed to be disruptive and non-conformist. The apprentices are learning from us but they’re not afraid to ask questions, which is great. Curiosity is the keyword here – our micro-distillery is their playground, and it’s going to be a key feature for Method and Madness in the future.’

The Midleton micro-distillery opened in 2015 and can produce just 50,000 litres a year – miniscule compared with the main plant whose capacity is more than 1,000 times greater. Its size is similar to the company’s original distillery in Bow Street, Dublin, and thanks to Irish Distillers’ archive department, the apprentice have access to some original recipes from nearly 200 years ago. Some documents even had a few stray barley grains trapped between the pages – these have been sent for analysis so that the strain of barley can be identified, to help make any recreations even more authentic.

Midleton’s micro-distillery, designed for trials and experiments by the Irish Distillers apprentices

Kevin O’Gorman, Irish Distillers’ master of maturation, explained more about the choice of casks: ‘The Irish Whiskey Act gives us the freedom to push the boundaries when it comes to using different types of wood,’ he says. ‘The chestnut we use is sweet chestnut, part of the same family as oak and beech. It’s completely unrelated to horse chestnut. It’s actually a very durable wood; in France, they use it to make avalanche huts, it’s that strong.

‘The Limousin oak has a wider grain structure, so it’s more open and the whiskey matures faster. We felt that a full finishing would have been too much [in the single malt bottling], so we say the whiskey has been “enhanced” – it’s more like a partial finish.’

These are my notes on the new range:

Single Grain Nose: Plenty of that classic toffee-popcorn aroma I find in grain, along with a touch of black pepper, floral notes and a hint of pencil shavings.

Palate: Rich, sweet and spicy – very easy drinking. Butter popcorn this time, joined by clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and mint. Delightful!

Finish: The creamy grain and spiky spice balance out well.

Single Malt Nose: Very fresh and fruity, with notes of aromatic peach and fresh melon, with floral notes and a biscuity sweetness.

Palate: Richer on the palate, with the fruit now softened with golden syrup and honey, with notes of cinnamon toast.

Finish: Overall, clean and fruity, with some lingering spice in the background.

Single Pot Still Nose: Rich and warming, with Christmas spices, honey and dried orange peel.

Palate: Initial blast of sweet fruit – intense candied fruit and stewed apple. Lovely mouthcoating texture with fragrant citrus and spicy cinnamon.

Finish: Rich and long-lasting; lovely balance of fruit and spice.

It’s good to see Irish Distillers innovating and trying new things – it used Irish oak to finish its Dair Ghaelach whiskey, and this new range is sure to evolve and showcase even more lesser-known woods to give a new slant to its whiskey range. For more information on the Method and Madness range, click here.