Brace yourselves – it’s the 50th anniversary of ‘The Sound of Music’. Expect a sing-a-along at a venue near you soon! The perfect Mother’s Day gift perhaps? Alternatively we have the usual fine range of whiskies!

Also on the horizon is St Patrick’s Day. While we are fully aware that this usually entails the sampling of a glass or two of the Black Stuff, it would be amiss of us not to highlight the strong growth (not forgetting the long history) of the Irish whiskey category of late.

Elsewhere the whisky year is shaping up very nicely with a plethora of exciting new releases becoming available. Last month we had some very short lived Springbank, Highland Park and Glendronach. This month we have the DOUGLAS LAING SELECTION

DOUBLE BARREL Highland & Islay £41.50

Definitely a ‘discussion’ whisky. Try to determine which distilleries went into this blended malt. Not that we know (or that Douglas Laing will tell!)

MILTONDUFF 1992 Old Particular £82.95

One of our favourite lesser known distilleries. This 22 year old cask strength sherry monster is superb and quite simply excellent value in today’s market.

MACALLAN 1993 Old Particular £199.95

It would be fascinating to compare how this single cask independent version compares with an official Macallan. Regardless we think it’s excellent stuff!

Brace yourselves – it’s the 50th anniversary of ‘The Sound of Music’. Expect a sing-a-along at a venue near you soon! The perfect Mother’s Day gift perhaps? Alternatively we have the usual fine range of whiskies,

Also on the horizon is St Patrick’s Day. While we are fully aware that this usually entails the sampling of a glass or two of the Black Stuff, it would be amiss of us not to highlight the strong growth (not forgetting the long history) of the Irish whiskey category of late.

Elsewhere the whisky year is shaping up very nicely with a plethora of exciting new releases becoming available. Last month we had some very short lived Springbank, Highland Park and Glendronach. This month we have Arran, Tomatin, Benriach and Teeling, to name but a few.

NEW FROM TOMATIN & ARRAN

TOMATIN Cask Strength £48.95

Very welcome addition to the core range. This is the first release of Tomatin Cask Strength and it’s a delicious fruit and nut cracker!

CU BOCAN Virgin Oak £49.95

Another limited release (only 6,000 bottles) of the Tomatin’s Cu Bocan stalks onto the shelves and our staff have been mightily impressed.

ARRAN 18 year old £72.95

.An actual age statement new release! The first ever 18 year old single malt from the Isle of Arran distillery. Long may it continue.

• Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 year old Blended Malt Whisky 750ml ($54.99) 94 points Wine Enthusiast: “This maple syrup-toned spirit is a blend of Islay and Speyside malts, with no grain whisky added. The result is an effortless mix of lightly smoky and oaky caramel notes, and a smooth, velvety feel. A splash of branchwater amps up the peat quotient.” (09/2011) 89 points Whisky Advocate: “Just as complex as Johnnie Walker Gold, but fuller and more richly textured. (Not surprising, given that there are no grain whiskies in Johnnie Walker Green.) This is one of the finer vatted malts on the market. Its flavors are well-integrated. You’ll find creamy toffee and nougat at its core, which is then layered with notes of vanilla, mint, fresh brine, and even a hint of mustard seed. Excitingly fresh and vibrant on the finish. A whisky for both the blend and single malt drinker. (Vol. 14, #2) ” K&L Notes: Top Blended Whisk(e)y – 2006 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The preliminary aromas are an interesting mix of paraffin, toasted cereal and dried tobacco leaf; more minutes resting in the copita stimulate fragrances of summer grass, vegetable oil, light toffee and oak. Palate entry is off-dry and a touch toffee/nougat-like; at midpalate the oiliness/oakiness noted in the latter stages of nosing come to the fore as tastes of sweet butter, oleo margarine and black pepper vie for flavor dominance. Finishes chewy and a tad honeyed.

• Faultline Straight Bourbon Whiskey 750ml ($39.99) We’ve been doing gin and single malt for years, and now rum, so why not throw our hat in the bourbon pool? One of the obstacles that kept us from making a Faultline bourbon earlier was availability: the current demand has made the extra barrel a thing of the past. One of the only distilleries that would sell us a cask for a private label was the old LDI distillery in Indiana, but with the already overcrowded LDI market (Bulleit Rye, Templeton Rye, High West, etc) we didn’t think our product would be different enough, or of the quality we desired, for the Faultline name. That’s when John Little from Smooth Ambler stepped in and said he’d be happy to help us do something special. If we were going to work with LDI casks, then we needed the capability to blend something special to taste – the specs wouldn’t sell this baby. John had some incredible 10-year-old low rye formula that we used in conjunction with some 7-year high rye. We kept tastin g and tasting until we found the sweet spot at 100 proof. It’s FAR better than I ever thought it would be. I hoped we could provide something fun and different, but the final whiskey is phenomenal. It’s rich, with sweet fruit right on the entry, a full-bodied mid-palate, and a long, rich, spicy finish. It tastes like it came from Four Roses or somewhere fancy and at 50% it pops in all the right places. I hope we can make another batch like this because this bourbon is the new king of K&L. Taste it if you don’t believe me. (David Driscoll)

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

Imperial 19 Year Old 1995

Hogshead cask matured expression of the lost Speyside distillery bottled November 2014 by Signatory Vintage.

Imperial 19 Year Old $64.70

Glenfarclas 60 Year Old launched in Taiwan, 5^th of February 2015

J.&G. Grant officially launched the Glenfarclas 60 Year Old in Taipei, Taiwan at the beginning of this year – a great start to the 2015 calendar for Glenfarclas! Preparations were underway for 2 days to make a spectacular Glenfarclas themed event for the 60 Year Old unveiling.

The interior of the events hall was decorated with a Glenfarclas style living room, including a cabinet full of Glenfarclas whiskies, artwork on the walls with Grant family pictures, warehouse photos, a collage of old whisky labels and even a Glenfarclas vinyl next to the family’s 175^th Anniversary book.

George Grant took to the stage to present the Glenfarclas 60 Year Old – a rich and full bodied whisky which develops full flavours of dried fruits, coffee, cinnamon and cloves. George explained the Grant family history and the momentous decision of his grandfather, also George Grant, to start putting stock aside during the late 50s & 60s for the future generations. Thanks to this foresight, Glenfarclas now presents an exceptional age statement from a first fill sherry butt which since late 2014 has been sold in over 20 markets and continues to be launched worldwide.

Grant says “It’s such a pleasure to see the Glenfarclas 60 Year Old reach so many corners of the globe, and achieve such high demand. Out of the 360 bottles available worldwide, the majority of these have been sold in Asia, principally in Taiwan and China, which makes this Glenfarclas product launch in Taiwan seem only fitting”.

Glenfarclas 60 Year Old reaches Bulgaria, 7^th of February 2015

Ian McWilliam, Marketing Executive, continues the worldwide Glenfarclas 60 Year Old Launch in Bulgaria at the Whisky Experience Festival. It was presented during the first Whisky, Rum & Wine Master Test held at Fabrica in Sofia attracting quite the sizeable crowd of whisky enthusiasts!

The Glenfarclas 60 Year Old was described as an incredibly rich & fruity whisky specially selected from a first fill oloroso sherry butt; it boasts a beautifully dark mahogany colour and intense flavours of sherried fruits, treacle, oaky tannins and roasted coffee beans. Presented in its Glencairn crystal decanter, with crystal base alongside a hexagonal box, the Glenfarclas 60 Year Old is designed to represent the 6 generations of the Grant family. The family signatures, from John Grant (1805-1889) to today’s 6th generation, George Grant, Glenfarclas Sales Director are inscribed around the crystal base.

This monumental Glenfarclas expression sincerely reflects the core character of Glenfarclas as a product, but also as a company. The Grant family’s commitment to sherry cask maturation and their exceptional history in stocking so many single casks reinforces the family vision of creating a Single Malt Scotch whisky which is unique and continues to stay true to the Grant values of independence, authenticity and quality.

Glenfarclas Email: info@glenfarclas.co.uk Website: www.glenfarclas.co.uk Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/glenfarclas/ Tel: +44 (0) 1807 500257 Fax: +44 (0) 1807 500234 Address: Glenfarclas Distillery, Ballindalloch, Banffshire AB37 9BD, UK

News from the Distillery Team

Our Distillery team have been making great use of our brand new Warehouse No.6 and have been carefully monitoring the maturation of our latest bottling of our Cask Finish Single Malts. The new batch of Amarone, Port & Sauternes Finish Arran Malt are now ready, and the packaging has been re-designed to fit in with our new core range of whiskies. We are delighted to introduce them to you. They have just been released and the new packaging will be available for sale on our web shop in June. These are stunning whiskies which offer a different dimension on the original Arran character and always perform brilliantly in tastings.

travel retail exclusive

There is only one thing more indulgent for the global traveller than a handcrafted leather accessory and that’s a handcrafted bottle of anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Click here to find out more

anCnoc 35 Years Old

anCnoc 35 Years Old shows a richer, more complex personality however the resemblance to the younger expressions is unmistakable. Click here to find out more

March is here and spring is quickly approaching. We sure hope this is the last winter storm for us. We really need a break! A few new Private Barrel Selections have made their way to The Party Source shelves, and more are on the way. We also have a few new products that might pique your interest.

Cheers, -The Party Source Spirits Department

PRIVATE BAREL UPDATE

New selections now in-stock:

FOUR ROSES Single Barrel Bourbon TPS Private Barrel – $34.99

RUSSELL’S RESERVE Single Barrel Bourbon TPS Private Barrel – $48.99

WHISTLE PIG Straight Rye Whiskey 10 Year TPS Private Barrel – $89.99

We are anxiously awaiting their arrival of the following barrels:

OLD FORESTER Single Barrel Bourbon TPS Private Barrel

WOODFORD RESERVE Double Oaked Bourbon TPS Private Barrel

KNOB CREEK Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon TPS Private Barrel

JEFFERSON’S Small Batch Bourbon TPS Private Barrel 1792 Barrel Select TPS Private Barrel (three selections)

The success of our Old Forester Private Barrels has been very impressive. We are expecting one more barrel arriving very soon. However, we probably won’t get any more samples to try until this fall. So make sure our Old Forester makes the list for your next visit.

>>>Click HERE to Shop TPS PRIVATE BARRELS 

NEW TO THE PARTY

CHARLES GOODNIGHT Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon – $37.99

COMPASS BOX Delilah’s Blend Scotch Whisky – $51.99

GLENMORANGIE Single Malt Scotch Tusail – $97.99

AMADOR Straight Hop-Flavored Whiskey – $89.99

HAIG CLUB Single Grain Scotch Whisky – $68.99

HAZELBURN Single Malt Scotch 10 Year – $136.99

HIGH WEST Bourye Whiskey – $79.99

HIGH WEST Valley Tan Utah Oat Whiskey – $58.99 

PRECINCT NO. 6 Kentucky Sour Mash – $31.99 Distilled from 50% corn and 50% cane

WHISKEY ROW Bourbon Whiskey – $37.99

First new release of 2015

Many of you will remember that we released a 16 & 17 year-old in 2013 and 2014 to mark the countdown to our first ever commercial 18 year-old. The final bottle in this trilogy is being released on our web site on 16th March and will be another limited release of 9,000 bottles worldwide. Once again, this is a bottling of exclusively ex-Sherry Hogsheads.  We will have a limited number available in our web shop and numbers are being restricted to two bottles per transaction. You can read more about this very special edition of Arran by clicking here, and enjoy the advance tasting notes! Our newly re-designed 10 year-old, 12 year-old Cask Strength and 14 year-old Single Malts have been proving extremely popular as a special choice of whisky that can’t be found on every supermarket shelf.

FIZZY NEW HEIGHTS

We’re bubbling with excitement. Spring is in the air and our heads are dizzy with thoughts of warm weather and being outdoors. Whether by the sea, camping or grilling there’s plenty fun to chase, March Outturn brings 15 single casks bursting with fizzling lip-smackingness.

With the weather warming it may be time for a refreshing beer too? Glance down the page for our springtime ‘hauf ‘n’ hauf ’ suggestions as part of our Spritzich whisky and beer celebrations…

Spicy & sweet

55.24 £73.20 Cherry pie moonshine

35.127 Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Exclusive to offers

Lightly peated

66.63 Yabba-Dabba-Doo! £45.00

3.239 Acrylic paints and petrichor £60.00

Juicy, oak & vanilla

36.83 Warm apple tart £45.00

85.30 Tropical Exotical £46.80

7.112 Gooseberry fool and biscuits £49.50

Old & dignified

 30.84 ‘To sit by the samovar’ £171.00

Peated

29.159 Anyone for cricket? £68.60

53.222 The Three Little Pigs £51.80

Young & spritely

4.203 Romantic tales, songs and whispers £59.60

Light & delicate

48.52 Teeing off £44.70

Sweet, fruity & mellow

84.16 ‘A beaker full of the warm south’ £48.70

41.60 Fun to chase £96.00

Spicy & dry

5.44 Fizzling, sizzling lip-smackingness £48.10

Browse New Outturn
Browse All Bottlings

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