Dear Society Members,

Hope you have all had a lovely week and starting to wind down for the weekend! We’ve been very busy here and have just finished sampling some delicious food from Donald in The Tasting Room which may end up on the menu for the Malts Festival Dinner – it’s a hard job but somebody’s got to do it!

With that being said, Mairi has passed me the line up for the festival – here’s what she has to say…

As you may know, the Campbeltown Malts Festival will take place from Wednesday 18th – Friday 20th May 2016 and for the third year running, Campbeltown’s three distilleries will team up to host events in celebration of the whiskies produced at Springbank, Glengyle and Glen Scotia. Please find further details below including the bookable events for each day of the festival:

Wednesday 18th May 2016

On the first day of the festival, there will be a range of events taking place including an exclusive Springbank Society Tasting, the Glen Scotia Open Day and a dinner at Mitchell’s Glengyle Distillery, with additional events to be confirmed.

Springbank Society Tasting (11:30am)

For the fourth year running, we will be holding an exclusive tasting for Springbank Society Members to attend, for free, on the Wednesday. To ensure this does not clash with any of Glen Scotia’s Open Day tastings, the Society Tasting will take place at 11:30am in the Malt Barns at Springbank Distillery.

The format will be similar to the 2013 and 2015 tastings with Society Members getting the opportunity to chose what the Autumn Society bottling will be this year. The Society Tasting will be limited to a maximum of 60 people and places are likely to fill up very quickly so please email mairi@springbankwhisky.com or call +44 (0) 1586 55 2009 asap to book your spot and make sure you don’t miss out.

Glen Scotia Open Day – Start time TBC

For the second year, Glen Scotia Distillery will be holding their Open Day on the Wednesday of the Campbeltown Malts Festival. The distillery will be hosting tours and tastings as well as launching their 3rd Distillery only Single Cask on the Open Day. They are planning other activities for the day and also over the other two days of the festival so please look out for regular announcements on the Glen Scotia website (www.glenscotia.com) and their Facebook / Twitter pages.

Dinner at Mitchell’s Glengyle Distillery

To celebrate the upcoming official 12 year old release of Kilkerran Single Malt, this year our special dinner will be held at Mitchell’s Glengyle Distillery on Wednesday 18th May 2016 at 7pm.

On arrival to Glengyle Distillery, you will sample a selection of whiskies, hand drawn from the cask. You will be asked to vote for your favourite sample and, at the end of the evening, you will receive your own 70cl bottle from the most popular cask.

Following this, you will be greeted with a champagne reception alongside a range of locally sourced canapés.

You will then be led to our dinner location to enjoy a four course meal with a specially selected wine to accompany each course.

To conclude your unique evening, each guest will be presented with their own exclusive 70cl hand drawn bottle, chosen earlier in the evening from a selection of casks sampled.

During the evening, staff from Springbank, Glengyle and Cadenhead’s will be present to chat to and enjoy a few drams with.

The cost of the dinner is £250.00 per person and payment is required upon booking to secure your place.

Numbers are limited to 40 people so please book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

There will be a set menu so please advise us of any dietary requirements you have when booking.

To book your place, please email mairi@springbankwhisky.com or call +44 (0) 1586 55 2009.

Thursday 19th May 2016

Springbank Open Day (from 11am)

As always, the Springbank Open Day will take place on the second day of the Campbeltown Malts Festival and will include a range of activities including free distillery tours, a range of tastings and masterclasses, local craft and food stalls, exclusive bottlings and the popular warehouse whisky bar, among lots of other activities including live music in the Malt Barns in the evening.

The tasting and masterclasses for the day are now available to book and details of each can be found below:

11:30am: Springbank Intimate Tasting: How wood influences our spirit (1 hour / 30 people max / £25 per person, includes Glencairn glass)

12:30pm: The Distillery Manager’s Springbank Warehouse Tasting (45 mins / 25 people max / £20 per person)

12:45pm Kilkerran Mini Masterclass: Trio of Single Casks (30 minutes / 60 people max / £15 per person, includes Glencairn glass)

1:30pm: Springbank Masterclass: New and Forthcoming Releases (1 hour / 60 people max / £25 per person, includes Glencairn glass)

2:30pm:  The Distillery Manager’s Springbank Warehouse Tasting (45 mins / 25 people max / £20 per person)

2:45pm:  Springbank Intimate Tasting: Favourites from the past (1 hour / 30 people max / £25 per person, includes Glencairn glass)

3:45pm: Cadenhead Masterclass: Cask Samples & Current Bottlings (1 hour / 60 people max / £25 per person, includes Glencairn glass)

4:30pm: The Distillery Manager’s Springbank Warehouse Tasting (45 mins / 25 people max / £20 per person)

The 12:45pm Kilkerran Mini Masterclass, 1:30pm Springbank Masterclass and 3:45pm Cadenhead Masterclass will take place in the Malt Barns at Springbank Distillery (meet at the Malt Barns 10 minutes before tasting begins).

The 11:30am and 2:45pm Springbank Intimate Tastings will take place in Warehouse 10, Springbank’s newest warehouse (meet at the Distillery Office 10 minutes before tasting begins).

The 12:30pm, 2:30pm and 4:30pm Distillery Manager’s Springbank Warehouse Tastings will take place in Warehouse 3 at Springbank Distillery (meet at the Distillery Office 10 minutes before tasting begins).

To book any of the above tastings or masterclasses or for more information, please email mairi@springbankwhisky.com or call +44 (0) 1586 55 2009. Please note that payment will be required to confirm booking.

Friday 20th May 2016

The final day of the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2016 will be dedicated to Mitchell’s Glengyle Distillery and Cadenhead’s Independent Bottler.

To celebrate the first official 12 year old release from Kilkerran Single Malt (which will be released in August 2016 and unfortunately not available to purchase beforehand), we are holding a few events at Glengyle Distillery to mark the occasion, where the first official tasting of this product will take place. In addition, we will also have some Cadenhead tastings and a ‘Lucky Dip Bar’ during the day.

Friday events will kick off at 10am with the first Cadenhead Warehouse Tasting of the day. This will be hosted by Mark Watt and take place in one of the traditional warehouses at Springbank Distillery. The cost will be £30 per person and will include a Cadenhead glass.

At 11am we will open the gates to Glengyle Distillery where there will be hourly free tours of the distillery, local food stalls and local musicians providing a background sound to the day. We will also have a Cadenhead ‘Lucky Dip’ bar set up with lots of Cadenhead

whiskies available to taste (Mark already has some samples looked out which take up half his office!!)

At 12 noon, we will be holding a Kilkerran Masterclass where we will look back and taste a selection of 6 whiskies from the Work in Progress series, concluding with the EXCLUSIVE FIRST TASTE of Kilkerran 12yo whisky. The cost will be £25 per person and will include a Kilkerran glass.

At 2pm, we will have a Question & Answer session with an expert panel who are, or have been, involved with the build, running or promoting of the distillery. The panel will be ready to answer any questions you have and it will be the ideal opportunity to ask any questions you’ve always been afraid to! You will also be treated to 3 drams throughout the session, including an EXCLUSIVE sample of the upcoming Kilkerran 12yo whisky. The cost of the Q&A session is £10 per person.

Events at Glengyle, including the Cadenhead Lucky Dip Bar, food and music will conclude at 3.30pm and at this time, there will be a second Cadenhead Warehouse Tasting taking place back at Springbank Distillery. Again, this will cost £30 per person and will include a Cadenhead glass.

Additional features may be added to the Friday events including something in the evening but more information will be available on this as soon as we have it finalised.

As a summary, the events now available for booking on Friday 20th May 2016 are:

10am: Cadenhead Warehouse Tasting with Mark Watt (1 hour / 30 people max / £30 per person, includes Cadenhead glass)“

12 noon: Reflection on the Kilkerran Work in Progress series (6 whiskies), including EXCLUSIVE FIRST TASTING of Kilkerran 12yo whisky (1 hour / 60 people max / £25 per person, includes Kilkerran glass)

2pm:  Question & Answer Session with expert panel, including EXCLUSIVE FIRST TASTING of Kilkerran 12yo whisky (1 hour / 60 people max / £10 per person)

3:30pm: Cadenhead Warehouse Tasting with Mark Watt (1 hour / 30 people max / £30 per person, includes Cadenhead glass)

If you would like to book onto any of the tastings or events listed above then please let me know as soon as possible. You can email me to mairi@springbankwhisky.com or call me on +44 (0) 1586 55 2009. Just a reminder – payment will be required upon booking so please be aware of this when emailing or calling and I look forward to hearing from many of you soon!

Local Barley & Springbank 12yo Cask Strength

I am now taking reservations for the Local Barley & Springbank 12yo Cask Strength. It goes without saying that these will sell out fast so e-mail me quickly to make sure you don’t miss out. As usual, one bottle per person on a first come, first serve basis.

Springbank 16Y/O Local Barley 54.3% £95.00 – no discount applicable

Nose; Initially Sweet and briny before notes of butter shortbread, vanilla, pear drops and raisin develop.

Palate; Sweet and rounded with a very subtle peat influence combining with butter tablet, soft fruit and mineral notes.

Finish; A long evolving finish with notes reminiscent of our earthy dunnage warehouses. The peat is slightly more prominent and integrates well with lighter notes of candy and lemon zest.

Springbank 12Y/O Cask St 54.1% £47.00 – £42.30 with discount

Nose; Classic Springbank with aromas of our damp dunnage warehouses alongside parma violets, vanilla and cocoa. Plenty of fruit too with prominent notes of pear and candied fruits.

Palate; Bold and beautifully rounded. Vanilla and pepper notes are present alongside stewed apples, pear drops, orange marmalade and tropical fruits.

Finish; Peaty embers influence this characteristically long finish which also reveals notes of liquorice, oak and salted caramel.

Blog updates

If you’ve logged into the society blog recently, you’ll notice that I’ve been putting a post up on Friday afternoons. So, if you haven’t done so already, please sign yourself up to become a member. Just incase you don’t have them to hand, here are the steps of joining the blog 

• Click on the ‘Society’ tab along the top of the page

• Click on the ‘Confirm Log-In Details’ orange tab

• Please enter all the information that is required

• Once you have submitted this information, a notification should be displayed to tell you that an email has been sent to your given email address and it will ask you to verify this email address

• Please open this email in your email account and click the link to verify your email • Once you have done this, I will receive a notification informing me that a new member has signed up to the website so I will then activate your account for online use

• When your account has been activated, you will be able to read all news stories in the Society section. To log in, just click the ‘Log-In to Society News’ tab where you will just be asked to enter your username and password for access.

Previous Society Bottles available

There are some previous Society bottles available, please see the list of what’s on offer below. Get in touch with me if you would like purchase any of the bottles – society@springbankwhisky.com.

Slainte,

Julie

For Springbank Society

To join the Springbank Society please contact Janet at society@springbankwhisky.com

Over the last decade LVMH, the company that owns both Ardbeg and Glenmorangie distilleries, has earned a stellar reputation for its annual limited releases. The Ardbeg Alligator, Supernova, and Rollercoaster releases were all met with immense customer excitment, as were Glenmorangie’s Artein, Tusail, and Ealanta editions. The track record of LVMH’s head of whisky creation Dr. Bill Lumsden is pristine and each time one of his new single malt creations shows up at K&L we sell out within days, if not hours. We’re happy to announce the arrival of 2016’s Glenmorangie Private Edition: the Milsean. Aged in special wine-treated casks, the flavor profile is based entirely on Dr. Bill’s childhood love of candy. It’s a nostalgic attempt to recreate that fruity, slighty-rich character of old time sweets, and it’s extremely limited. Grab a bottle while we still have them!

Glenmorangie “Milsean” Private Edition Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) ($99.99)

From the distillery: “Glenmorangie Milsean (Scots Gaelic for ‘sweet things’ and pronounced ‘meel-shawn’) is a single malt whisky full of intense candied fruit flavours and mouth-watering sweetness. It has been created from Glenmorangie, matured in ex-bourbon casks, and then extra-matured in former wine casks, re-toasted for the purpose. This distinctive cask preparation replicates something of the moreish sweetshop flavours in a single malt whisky. It is the seventh annual release in our multi-award-winning and always intriguing Private Edition range. And Glenmorangie Milsean, with its remarkable sweetshop allusions, may be the most intriguing of them all.”

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com/
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

TPS PRIVATE BARRELS

Knob Creek TPS Barrel #1726 ($34.99) – Here’s a big, rich, oily barrel of Bourbon. Heather and Tiernan chose this pick for its richness and depth, but also the fact that it’s not a heat monster. Add a little ice and sip it neat on a cold winter day.

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked #1425 ($57.99) – Woodford has officially suspended its Private Barrel Program ☹. However, this is the first of our last three Double Oaked Private Barrels we were able to sneak in! It’s a particularly delightful bourbon; full bodied, rich caramel and brulee flavors abound, it’s oh so smooth going down and the finish just keeps on going.

Four Roses OBSF #81-15 ($59.99) – Five of us went down to Four Roses to taste ten barrels blind (meaning we didn’t know ages, recipes, or warehouse locations for any of the barrels prior to tasting). This was the last barrel we tried, and after we did, all of our eyes locked, there was a soft glow of sunlight that filled the room, and somewhere in the distance an other-worldly choir sang joyfully. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but we did agree unanimously that this barrel was going home with us. It’s 11 years 6 months old, 104 proof at full cask strength, and atypical for an OB (read high rye) recipe. This is a light, elegant, and floral bottle with a lot of finesse and grace.

While we’re waiting for our next round of barrels to show up, we thought you might enjoy these pics from our recent visit to Jim Beam.

FEBRUARY PREVIEWS ON SMWS.COM:  AMAZING TECHNICOLOUR DRAMS

With only a few bleak January days left it’s time to wrap yourself up in a rainbow of flavour with February’s early releases. Pick An amazing technicolour dram for a vibrant start, an Old Fashioned Manhattan for a classy, low-lit drop or Sea breezes over the vernal machair for a sparkle of beach brightness. They’ll be gone in a twinkle so beat the rush and order now on our new website: smws.com It’s proving very popular with members; thank you for all the kind compliments!
Have a nosey >

Young & spritely

48.71 An amazing technicolour dram
Homemade pink lemonade, pink wafer biscuits and ‘Pink Charm’ mountain laurel on the nose neat followed red hot chili peppers on the palate. Water added brown sugar vanilla ice cream, blueberry millefeuille, and in the finish, green sugar coated fennel seeds.
Age: 13 years
Cask: First fill ex-bourbon barrel
Price: £49.10

Spicy & sweet

46.36 Old Fashioned Manhattan
From musty old books to grapefruit juice and a spicy chorizo rocket sandwich the nose neat offered plenty to talk about over a pair of classic cocktails. Diluted, let me ask ‘have you ever had a beer marinated moose steak?’
Age: 23 years
Cask: Refill ex-bourbon hogshead
Price: £99.80

Young & spritely

10.87 Sea breezes over the vernal machair
The nose, notwithstanding honey, sherbet straws and ice-cream is dominated by floral fragrances and sea breezes over the machair. The palate, intense at first, mellows with water to light smoke, lots of citrus, Parma violets and salt; fresh, sharp and pleasing.
Age: 10 years
Cask: Refill ex-bourbon barrel
Price: £59.40

Please note: This is a limited release from February’s Outturn, full release on Fri 5 Feb.

Browse Current Outturn >
Browse All Bottlings >

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm).

Visit the Society 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

Clynelish 18 Year Old

Clynelish 18 Year Old 1997 vintage ‘The Highland Mariner’ Highland single malt Scotch whiskey. Single cask hogshead bottled 2015 by Wemyss Malts. 341 bottles. The hardy Highland Mariner enjoys a costal walk beyond this hogshead. Clynelish Distillery is a malt whisky distillery situated at Brora on the Sutherland coast in Scotland’s Highland whisky region. The original Clynelish Distillery was founded in 1819 by the Marquis of Stafford and a new Clynelish Distillery was built in 1967 close-by the original. The new distillery has been enlarged in recent years and is now a major contributor to the Johnnie Walker range of blended Scotch. Visitors are welcomed at Clynelish Distillery Visitor Centre which offers tours around the new distillery and the opportunity to view parts of the original Clynelish Distillery. ‘The Highland Mariner’ 1997 single cask expression of the Highland distillery bottled by Wemyss Malts.

Buy – $99.87

“Grain whisky?” our customers ask scratching their heads, “What is that exactly?” Good question because it’s never really been a topic of clear discussion in the Scotch whisky business. Single malts are obviously made from single malt whisky – 100% malted barley distilled in copper pot stills. So what’s grain whisky? Grain whisky is what’s added to single malt whisky to create “Blended Whisky” like Johnnie Walker or Dewars. It’s usually made from corn, wheat, or rye and distilled in a giant column still much like Bourbon. Until recently, however, you rarely saw grain whisky sold on its own, independent from the blended genre. Our buyers have been doing their darndest to bring grain whisky out of the shadows and into the spotlight, forming a relationship with the Sovereign whisky company out of Glasgow and purchasing single casks with serious age to facilitate that mission. The result has thus far been incredible (as have the prices).

For a deeper look into the specifics of grain whisky, check out our article here about grain distilleries from our On The Trail blog.

For a look at our latest K&L Exclusive grain whisky arrivals, check out our most recent arrivals below:

1989 North British 25 Year Old Sovereign K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Grain Whisky (750ml) ($109.99)

Just outside of Glasgow sits the North British grain distillery, a facility that uses unmalted grains like corn and wheat and distills them on a column still to produce grain whisky–one of the more misunderstood personalities of the whisky universe. Most of you have had grain whisky before, you’ve just had it in conjunction with single malt whisky in expressions like Johnnie Walker or Chivas. Grain whisky is what’s ultimately combined with single malt whisky to create “blended” whisky (hence the name). What hasn’t been clear to most drinkers until rather recently, however, is how wonderful grain whisky can be on its own, especially when aged twenty years or more. This 25 year old North British cask of goodness brings a mouthful of cereal sweetness, rounded fruit flavors, and a biscuity butteriness that pleases the senses in a way that only something that straightforward can do. At 57.5%, there’s plenty of heat behind all that dessert-like flavor, allowing you to toss in a few ice cubes without really diluting the flavor whatsoever. If you’re new to the grain whisky game, this is a great place to start.

David Driscoll | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 26, 2016
Anyone out there enjoying the amazing Nikka Coffey Grain Japanese whisky? Anyone? Consider this North British expression to be a 25 year old version of that. Two and a half times the age, two and a half times the flavor, and two and a half times the concentration of oak, but for less than double the price. That’s the power of direct purchasing, folks. Hot whiskies for hot prices.

1988 Cambus 26 Year Old Sovereign K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Grain Whiskey (750ml) ($119.99)

Whereas comparable single cask of editions of the now-closed Cambus distillery have sold for $200 or more, our direct import program continues to provide incredible value to customers interested in cutting out the middleman. This 26 year old beauty of a grain whisky is tailor-made for fans of the Nikka Coffey Still expression, albeit this one is much, much older and at full proof. The fruit and vanilla have never been richer, the palate has never been smoother, and the whisky never more drinkable than it is in this 26 year old Sovereign edition of Cambus. The whisky is practically begging to be consumed over ice and tossed back with reckless abandon. But that would probably do a disservice to the complexity that looms underneath all that obvious deliciousness. This is liquid butterscotch. It’s a cookie biscuit distilled into whisky form and put into a beautiful bottle, exclusively for K&L customers.

David Driscoll | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 26, 2016
The defunct Cambus grain distillery has been a great source of great whisky for us over the years. Finding these 25+ year old barrels of superb softness with enticing drinkability has helped to re-craft the image our customers previously held concerning grain whisky. This is a beautiful Scotch whisky, gentle and pleasing in its inherent nature, but complex with subtle stonefruits and lithe accents of oak. From a closed distillery to boot.

1988 Invergordon 27 Year Old Sovereign K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Grain Whisky (750ml) ($129.99)
Fresh off our most recent delivery are two new single barrels of Invergordon, a Whyte & Mackay Highland grain distillery that sits along the waters of the Cromarty Firth north of Inverness. For those of you who still can’t wrap your heads around grain whisky, just imagine Bourbon distilled to a higher proof and aged like single malt in various types of refill barrels. It’s basically high proof, column still whisky made from corn, wheat, or unmalted barley that’s pumped out in mass quantities to mix into blended Scotch. Because of that rather dubious reputation for quality, prices for grain whisky remain low. But because of our extensive tasting and sampling in the genre, we’ve learned that very old grain whiskies. This 27 year old is textbook grain whisky, nothing more and nothing less. It’s fruity and round on the entry with a soft mouthfeel and a lovely note of vanilla on the finish. It’s no frills, no fuss whisky. It’s just flat out delicious.

David Driscoll | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 26, 2016
To Scotland’s far north, between Inverness and Brora, lies the Invergordon distillery, along the waters of the Cromarty Firth. This 27 year old single cask of Invergordon whisky is like Scotch Bourbon in a sense–distilled from corn on a column still, but aged in used oak rather than new charred oak, and matured in a cool climate, rather than the flux of hot and cold experienced in Kentucky. This Invergordon has bold flavors of vanilla and toasted nuts with an accent of spice on the finish that rises with the glow from the higher proof. It’s a whisky that’s practically begging for ice (and a glass, of course).

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Glendronach 24 Year Old Grandeur Batch #6

Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Glendronach 24 Year Old Grandeur Highland single malt Scotch whiskey. Batch #006 matured in Oloroso sherry butts. Limited release. A truly memorable and captivating GlenDronach expression.

Nose: A magnificent combination of honey-drenched dates and succulent raisins which gently ebb and flow with waves of delicate orange blossom, mint and cracked black pepper. Hints of glazed cherries and toasted almonds perfectly complement the seductive nose. A nose to be appreciated slowly and often.

Palate: A fabulously full-bodied, vibrant palate captures a multitude of classic sherry cask characteristics. The delicate sweetness of rum-soaked golden sultanas refines rich espresso, dark chocolate and treacle toffee. Zesty orange oil softens to a deep clove spice and prolongs the ever changing palate. A sublime example of understanding the relationship between cask and single malt perfectly.

Finish: The Grandeur 24 years old encapsulates the perfect harmony of exquisite sherry oak casks, masterful maturation and traditional, crafted Highland single malt. A dram to be savoured in order to reveal the depth of dramatic flavours held in the glass. A truly memorable and captivating GlenDronach expression.

Glendronach malt whisky distillery was established north east of Huntley in Scotland’s Highland whisky region by James Allardice in 1826. The malting floors at Glendronach Distillery closed in 1996 and it was the last distillery in Scotland to heat its stills directly with flames from a coal-fired furnace, until it had to comply with new regulations in 2005. Glendronach Distillery is resplendent with a traditional cask iron mash tun, wooden washbacks, four stills matures its malt whisky in top quality sherry casks. Glendronach Distillery has a distillery visitor centre offering a range of distillery tours and the distillery participates is the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.

RARE BENROMACH 35 YEARS OLD SINGLE MALT WHISKY UNVEILED

The Benromach Distillery Company Ltd. today reveals one of their rarest expressions to date, Benromach 35 Years Old, an exclusive whisky crafted at the distillery before the Urquhart family, owners of leading whisky specialist Gordon & MacPhail, revived it in 1998.

Handcrafted using the finest natural ingredients at the Forres distillery, Benromach 35 Years Old is an exceptional whisky with real heritage and an original tale or two, having been laid down to mature in the 1980’s.

Golden amber in colour, Benromach 35 Years Old (ABV 43%) is a most satisfying Speysider with cinnamon hints and beeswax polish, stewed pear and a delicate charred Oak edge.

The bespoke decanter style bottle protecting the precious whisky is encased within a wooden presentation box, reflecting the various elements which have gone into making the whisky; the copper stills, the dark, grained wood of the original washbacks, and the white of the limewashed distillery walls.

This rare whisky, dating back to a time before Benromach was restored in the ‘90s, exudes the heritage of the Speyside distillery. Created under the watchful eye of Donald MacDonald, former Distillery Manager, the casks this whisky was matured in have long been a part of the Benromach history. Willie McArthur, former malt man and warehouseman, was one of the workers responsible for protecting the precious casks remaining in the bonded warehouses.

Benromach Distillery Manager Keith Cruickshank said: “Benromach 35 Years Old is a very special whisky for everyone at the distillery, as very few casks of Benromach remain from this time period.

“Benromach today is created respecting the traditional working practices of yesteryear and is lovingly handcrafted by sight, by sound, and by touch, using the finest natural ingredients.

“The 35 Years Old is the perfect dram to toast the past, present and future of Benromach.”

Benromach 35 Years Old is available to purchase at specialist whisky retailers with an RRP in the United Kingdom of £425. Prices may vary in international markets due to duty and import taxes. For more information on Benromach, and to explore the wide range of expressions available, please visit www.benromach.com.

Notes

Benromach 35 Years Old, 43% ABV

Colour: Golden amber

Aroma without water: rich sherry influences with orange marmalade, kiwi and grapefruit aromas, complemented by gorgeous cinnamon spice

Taste without water: initially, it is sweet on the palate with honey, fruitcake, ripe banana and melon flavours. Watch out for the smooth white chocolate edge as it develops, combined with a soft menthol note, giving a full body and long and smooth fruity finish

Aroma with water: sherry influences with honey, blackcurrant and beeswax polish aromas, complemented by a subtle hint of cloves

Taste with water: a fabulous combination of white pepper followed by dried tobacco, dewy stewed pear, raisin and zesty orange peel flavours, heightened by a delicate edge of charred oak… the result of lingering for over three decades in oak casks.

About Benromach

Originally built in 1898, Benromach Distillery was brought back to life when leading whisky specialists Gordon & MacPhail purchased it in 1993. The distillery was extensively re-equipped over a five-year period before it was officially opened by HRH Prince Charles in 1998.

In reopening Benromach Distillery, Gordon & MacPhail decided to create a classic Speyside single malt – a style that draws its influence from Speyside whiskies pre-1960s.

Benromach Distillery is located on the outskirts of the ancient market town of Forres. A four-star visitor centre is open to the public throughout the year for tours and tastings. Benromach Distillery is a member of the world famous malt whisky trail.

Since 1936, Ian Macleod Distillers, through its dedication to tradition and quality, has amassed an unrivaled cask stock from Scotland’s many distilleries. This enviable collection includes extremely rare malts, some from closed or mothballed distilleries. The Chieftain’s collection hallmark is that each bottling must be fit for a King, a Leader or,  in the Celtic world, a Chieftain. The small batch releases of Chieftain’s are selected for the Spring and Autumn collections each year with a variety of distilleries, vintages, wood maturations and strengths. Please welcome Chieftain’s Run #9.

1996 Fettercairn 19 yr, Highland (Oloroso Finish) 57.4%

Nose:  Cottonseed, green apple, marzipan nougat Palate:  Creamy, soft spice of cinnamon and nutmeg Finish:  Long with sweet toffee and light spice.

1997 Mortlach 18 yr, Speyside (PX Cask Finish) 46%

 Nose:  Heavy sweet sherry nutty Palate:  Creamy sweet sherry, hazelnuts, walnuts and tar Finish:  Sherry-ed malt moving to a creamy nutty finish

1996 Braeval 19 yr, Speyside (Beaune Cask Finished) 46%

Nose:  Toffee, nougat, wood tones with vanilla Palate:  Creamy, bright spicy anise, vanilla Finish:  Lingering with a blended mix of flavors and slight peat

1997 Linkwood 17 yr, Speyside (Oloroso Finish) 46%

Nose:  Light tar, sherry and wood tone Palate:  Sweet malt, nutty, some camphor Finish:  Spicy malt finishing sweet

1995 Glen Grant 20 yr, Speyside (Bourbon Finish) 55.1%

Nose:  Light and fruity, soft malt Palate:  Fruity, moving to a creamy toffee flavor with sweet malt. Finish:  Mouth-coating with a sweet, spicy malt finish

ImpEx Beverages Inc.

360 Swift Ave

Side B # 9

South San Francisco, CA 94080

Japan

Kikori Japanese Whiskey (750ml)  $42.99 

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA