Linkwood 18 Year Old Blackadder
Only 1 or 2% of the production of Linkwood is marketed as single malt, which makes this D&M Exclusive bottling by Blacadder even more unique!
$119.99 Buy Now
JEFFERSON’S Ocean Aged at Sea Bourbon TPS Private Barrel – $72.99
ANGELS ENVY Port Finish Bourbon Cask Strength – $145.99
TOMATIN Single Malt Scotch Legacy – $52.99
BIB & TUCKER Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey 6 Year – $52.49
CROP ORGANIC Spiced Pumpkin Vodka – $27.99
GLEN GRANT Single Malt Scotch Five Decades – $104.99
JIM BEAM Signature Craft Quarter Cask – $41.99
KIRK AND SWEENEY Rum 12 Year – $26.99
REVEL STOKE Roasted Pecan Flavored Whisky – $15.99
Diageo Special Releases 2014 – they’re here….
It’s cold, it’s dark, people are starting to wear winter coats, and Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible has appeared. There’s still one thing missing: the Diageo Special Releases.
The full set of Diageo Special Releases 2014
While Rocky got a pre-pre-launch tasting a few weeks ago, the main launch party was on Tuesday night, and the bottles have hit our shelves today. If you’re in a rush, you can find the complete list of available bottles here. If you’re after the Port Ellen or Brora, I’d head over there immediately – they don’t usually last long.
In case you’ve not heard of the Special Releases, they are a range of whiskies released by Diageo, the worlds largest drinks company and owner of the largest portfolio of Scottish whisky distilleries. It’s a set of unusual drams, including closed distilleries, lesser-known names and different takes on the big brands, and its arrival each year causes a bit of a splash. There are 11 whiskies in this year’s release, so here goes… To start with, the latest release of the whisky that makes the most noise – Port Ellen 14th Release:
Port Ellen 1978, 35yo, 14th Release, 56.5%, 2,964, £2,200
The fuss about the Port Ellen is its price, which has been rising steeply over the past few years: £300 in 2011, £600 in 2012, £1500 in 2013 and now £2200 in 2014. We’ve not seen any slowing in sales despite the price, and we expect this one to disappear as quickly as usual. If you’ve read this far and want to buy one, then you should probably click through quickly – they won’t last long. This year’s bottling is their oldest yet, distilled in 1978 and matured for 35 years in a mixture of refill European and American oak casks.
Nose: Seashells and hazelnuts, ferns and menthol, all covered with a maritime air – sharp ozone and seaspray. Aniseed balls and fruity touches (pineapple and sweet apple) are joined by a touch of salty prosciutto.
Palate: Sweet and spicy, with a (pleasant) touch of rotting straw in the background. The spice comes from clove-studded oranges and the sweetness from dark chocolate. Behind that there are leafy notes, with forest floor, damp bark and pine joined by some sultana touches.
Finish: Rock pools, damp wood and old oak rancio, with sweet cinnamon butter and rich earth lingering.
Comment: A more maritime and zingy Port Ellen than many of the recent releases, and all the better for it. A good balance of dark and light.
Next, the other top-end staple – Brora 35yo 13th Release:
Brora 1978, 35yo, 48.6%, 2,964 bottles, £1,200
Brora is another bottle that’s gone up sharply over the years, but as the availability of whisky from the closed distillery has been shrinking at quite a rate, it’s understandable – other than the yearly Special Release and the impressive 40 year old Diageo released earlier this year, we’ve only had one new bottle of Brora through our doors in a while, and that sold out immediately. While we managed to get a cask sample of 1978 Brora for the Aurora Brorealis masterclass at The Whisky Show this year, we don’t think there’s much left and don’t see large amounts coming on to the market again.
Nose: Mulchy straw, cream and pineapple, with floral touches, honeysuckle, salted butter and damp hay.
Palate: Creamily textured, sweet and buttery to start, with spice and earthiness coming in behind. Sweet lemon, with bitter pith, and building woody spice are joined by pine needles, mint leaves and touches of chocolate.
Finish: Earth and pine, with a touch of fruit. Gentle smoke and oaky spice linger.
Comment: My style of Brora: not as farmyardy as some, but with the sweet fruit and smoke mixing with a little bit of mulch.
Now we’ve got the two immediate-selling bottles, on to the more intriguing middle of the range, starting with the Benrinnes 21yo:
Benrinnes 21yo, 1992, 56.9%, 2,892, £240
Benrinnes is one of Diageo’s quieter distilleries. It doesn’t get a lot of exposure and, like many in the porfolio, other than in blends only really sees the light of day in a Flora & Fauna release. Its heavy and meaty character lends itself well to sherry-cask maturation, which has started building popularity with a new generation of whisky geeks, looking for something a little different to the classics. It’s not the first time it’s popped up in the Special Releases, with 2009 seeing a 23yo heavily sherried bottling in the line-up, which split opinion thanks to its savoury and heavy character.
Nose: Chocolate tiffin to start – cocoa, cherries, raisins, oats and a touch of spice. That’s backed up with struck match and leather, along with rich riverbank earth and salty liquorice. As it sits (and my nose got used to it), some of the heavier notes roll away to reveal some fragrant leaves and pine needles.
Palate: Sweet cherry and liquorice up front, getting rapidly heavier, with chocolate fudge and cinnamon building. Leather sits in the background with baked apples, cinnamon and a touch of brimstone. Despite those dark flavours, it sits relatively lightly on the tongue, with some fresh apple zinginess.
Finish: Mineral touches, more cocoa, leather and sweet chocolate cookies.
Comment: I expected it to be a sherry monster, and it was. However, it avoided the Bovril/Marmite-like touches of the previous release, instead bringing in a fresher and more fruity character.
Sticking with the lesser known distillers, next is Strathmill 25yo:
Strathmill 25yo, 1988, 2,700 bottles, £275
Strathmill is best known as the core of Diageo’s J&B blended whisky and, like Benrinnes, is mainly known through its Flora & Fauna bottling. They go for a light, grassy and fruity style, which at 12 years old, the age of the F&F, is not that memorable. But with a bit of age, the spirit comes into its own. This bottling sits in the middle, age-wise, going for a balance of elegance and maturation.
Nose: Buttery and sweet to start, changing quickly from being zesty with sharp lemon, and then on to oatcakes, with spice and lemon-rind chunks. It doesn’t really settle down, jumping around and changing a lot, with touches of cinnamon sugar, white wine vinegar, butter icing and lemon sherbet also making an appearance.
Palate: Much more stable, with lemon sherbet, candy floss, barley sugar on top, and heavier notes underneath: brown cinnamon toast, Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (no milk) and sprigs of mint.
Finish: Long, with spicy oak, digestive biscuits and leafy mint.
Comment: The first Strathmill that I have notes for (or remember trying) and a good ‘un. The nutty and toasty notes give a solid base and the minty touches on the finish really work.
Next up, and the first I tried on the evening, is a welcome return from closed Lowlander Rosebank:
Rosebank 21yo, 1992, 4,530 bottles, £299
Rosebank has cropped up a few times in the Special Releases, with this year’s being very reminiscent of the appearance from 2011: a 1990 vintage 21yo with an outturn of almost 6,000 bottles. At the time, we mentioned that with the distillery closing in 1993, and casks rumoured to be in short supply, we didn’t think we’d see many more. This release may only be three quarters the size of the last one, but it’s good to see that they do still have some casks left in the Diageo warehouses. That said, it’s become even more rare in recent years, and yet again we wonder if this could be one of the last releases.
Nose: Sweet butter, honeysuckle and hay, with creamy grain. Pears and nectarines give a fruity centre, with grassiness, pear drops and citrus oil providing a sharper contrast.
Palate: Initially soft and sweet, but quickly developing elegant polished-oak notes, orange zest and toasted almonds. Bitter oak grows, but is balanced by sweet grass and meadow flowers. There’s some darker aniseed and liquorice notes hiding at the back with some woody spice, but it’s restrained and doesn’t overpower.
Finish: Long and warming, with anise and oaky spice. Candied lemons and sherbet develop.
Comment: Almost exactly what I was expecting, although with a bit more weight and richness. A classic Rosebank.
Now on to the better-known Speysiders, starting with the Singleton of Glendullan 38yo:
Singleton of Glendullan 38yo, 59.8%, 3,756 bottles, £750
Glendullan isn’t often seen in the UK these days, with it’s official bottlings being the US edition releases in the Singleton range – Europe get Singleton of Dufftown and Asia get Singleton of Glen Ord. At 38 years old, it’s this year’s oldest Special Release, and it’s also the first appearance from ‘Dullan. This was filled into cask at a punchy 68.5% abv rather than the more usual 63.5%, which has helped it keep its strength over the past three-and-half decades. However, high strength also changes the way it matures and the flavours that develop…
Nose: Oak, toasted grain and green ferns, with sweet toffee and fudge – flapjacks on a picnic? Nougat, Mr Sheen polished tables and marshmallow sit on top of a layer of elegant old oak.
Palate: Sharp apple edges, with toffee, white pepper, cinnamon sugar, lemon oil and damp oak. Damp leaves and old oak dominate, with layers of woody spice and elegant oak.
Finish: Light and sweet with golden sugar, tree bark and – surprise surprise – old oak.
Comment: This year’s wood masterclass, with layers of oak providing elegance, spice and some sweetness. Excellent lingering finish.
And another classic Speyside stalwart: Cragganmore 25yo:
Cragganmore 25yo, 1988, 51.4%, 3,372 bottles, £299
Cragganmore seems to get overlooked in Diageo’s portfolio, even though it’s one of the Classic Malts, and it’s one that I often like returning to – it’s earned its place in that range. This release shows some of Diageo’s 1980′s experimentation, with the whisky matured in refill American oak casks fitted with new wood heads, to add a bit of fresh-oak spiciness to the mix.
Nose: Candied hazelnuts, lime chews, squirty cream, pink marshmallows and Tunnock’s Tea Cakes to start, but with darker notes behind: glacé cherries, earthy touches, toasted grain and a hint of chocolate.
Palate: Soft and oaky, with vanilla cream, golden syrup, oaky spice, green leaves, aniseed balls and sliced apples, with menthol touches sneaking in at the end, with cloves.
Finish: Zingy Granny Smith apples, barley sugar, cocoa and rolled oats. Dark oak and toffee remains.
Comment: Just what I was hoping for – intense, with a balance of green, dark and sweet notes. The finish is immense.
The next on the list is the release in the list that has both dismayed and pleased me the most: Clynelish Select Reserve:
Clynelish Select Reserve, 54.9%, 2,964 bottles, £499
Not only is this the first time that geek-favourite Clynelish has appeared in the Special Releases lineup, it’s also the first no-age-statement whisky in the range. A combination of things that the outspoken whisky fans love and hate, all in one bottle, along with a not-inconsiderable price tag of £500. A whisky that I am almost certainly going to like, but presented in a way that will annoy the whisky geek in me – a dilemma. The story is that Diageo master blender Jim Beveridge was given a brief of producing the best Clynelish that he could, and given that he was behind the table pouring it at the launch, it sounds quite likely.
Nose: Lemon posset with seashells, sweet fruit and classic Clynelish waxiness. Honeysuckle and pink shrimps are joined by a zingy citrus note tingles the nose hairs. A drop of water adds cocoa, spice and a tiny hint of match.
Palate: Cream, tropical fruit and wax-polished oak, with a hint of brine and a stack of sweetshop notes: white-chocolate bobbles, milk gums, more pink shrimps and jelly tots. Darker oak sits behind, with menthol touches. Water smooths everything out into lemon cream with oaky spice.
Finish: Sweet and buttery, with candied apple, waxed fruit, lemon touches and spicy oak.
Comment: This was designed to be a show-stopping Clynelish and it succeeds – oaky where it needs to be, but zesty and showing off the classic distillery character. It also takes water very well, transforming it into something different, but still definitely Clynelish. My previous dilemma has been solved: I really liked it.
Despite most of the Special Releases being at the premium end of pricing, there are two regular entries that are more affordable. The first of those is Lagavulin 12yo 13th Release:
Lagavulin 12yo, 13th Release, 54.4%, 31,428 bottles, £79.95
While this is usually the most popular bottling in the Special Releases each year, with the number of bottles released showing the demand, it is also normally one of the best when it comes to price/value. However, there was a little but of rumbling after the preview tasting that it wasn’t necessarily all that.
Since then, there have been more positive reviews from subsequent tasters, and since it recently appeared in a few shops in mainland Europe the buzz has been good – this was one I was keen to try for myself.
Nose: Green and spicy, with lime pith and peel, cooling menthol, tarragon, clove and lots of sea spray ozone.
Palate: Rich earth, smouldering peat and mint chocolate, with cinnamon biscuits, freshly crushed grain and some green leafiness. It’s quite syrupy in texture with some woody spice.
Finish: Sour fruit, burning leaves and chocolate cookies, with a dry minerality lingering.
Comment: The dry finish turned off a few tasters, but I quite liked it. It’s not as sweet as some previous releases, but the smoke is more integrated, giving it a rounded flavour.
The other reasonably priced bottle in the range has usually been the one that’s ended up in my whisky cupboard. This year, a 1998 vintage: Caol Ila 15yo Unpeated:
Caol Ila Unpeated 15yo, 1998, 60.39%, 10,668, £76.95
While the unpeated Caol Ilas have varied a lot in their peatiness over the years, generally featuring a touch of smoke that belies the name, they’ve always been a different take on the distillery’s usual spirit. Oily, maritime spirit with fruit and a touch of smoke (left over in the distillery from previous batches?) is normally right up my street:
Nose: Punchy, with sea spray, green leaves and mint chocolate. Some mulchy apples and sweet fruit, along with candy floss.
Palate: Sweet, hot and intense, with candied fruit and leafy touches. A touch of dilution shows a syrupy mouthfeel, chocolate milk, cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s heavier than I expected, with dark oak spice and chocolate flapjacks.
Finish: Syrup, chocolate sauce, toast and damp oak notes.
Comment: Not the most complex whisky on display, and definitely in need of some water, but good for it.
Last, but not least, the (spoiler alert) best of the night: Caol Ila 30yo:
Caol Ila 30yo, 1983, 55.1%, 7,638, £425
While the young unpeated Caol Ilas are great, long-aged peaty whisky is something quite different. The peat smoke often disappears to leave an elegant fruitiness that I seek out in whisky, and the promise of a 30yo Caol Ila is something that I’ve been looking forward to:
Nose: Seashells, farmyards and old, damp straw – a combination of the bits of Brora and Port Ellen that I like the best. Green ferns and toffee apples develop, along with some dustiness, candle wax and orange oil.
Palate: Quite hot initially, although not overpowering, with oaky spice. Once you get through that initial barrier, liquorice builds in intensity, with lemon rind, anise and dark rye bread. Sweetness then comes through, thanks to dried mixed tropical fruit (mango and papaya), and a touch of cracked-black-pepper spice.
Finish: Spicy, with damp earth, liquorice and sweet grass. Bitter oak builds, with sweet aniseed balls and toffee apples.
Comment: My favourite of the night, as I expected from reading Rocky’s notes. A combination of the best bits of old peated drams with Caol Ila’s freshness, giving a fruity but spice and slightly farmyardy whisky.
All in all, a good crop with something for everyone. They are all now up for sale, although if you’ve read this far, at least a couple will have already sold out. You can find all of the whiskies we have in stock on our Diageo Special Releases 2014 page.
Update: The Glendullan and Rosebank are running late and will be available by early next week, but the rest are now up on the website.
Can’t find a bottle of Sullivans Cove French Oak at your local bottle shop? Maybe your own 20 liter cask will fix that…introducing the Sullivans Cove Cellarmaster!
Imagine 20 liters of Sullivans Cove Single Malt maturing in your own personally crafted oak cask… Named the World’s Best Single Malt at the 2014 World Whiskies Awards, you can’t go wrong with this one.
How does it work?
1) We offer the Cellarmaster in 20 liter casks (these reach maturity in 2 years). You choose from either ex-Port or ex-Bourbon casks and specify the level char
2) We fill the barrel with 20 liters of new make spirit at 63.4%ABV and store it in optimal conditions here in our dunnage
3) After 2 years your whisky will be ready for consumption. At that point we bottle it for you and send it off to your home
4) You can refill your empty barrel or take it home
5) In the two years while it is maturing you can visit and “test” your whisky as often as you like
Sound good? Click here to make it happen!
Our mailing address is:
Tasmania Distillery
Lamb Pl
Cambridge, TAS 7170
Australia
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
London, 24 October 2014 – Renowned London bartender, Myles Davies, of the recently opened Hixter Bankside has collaborated with Jameson Irish Whiskey, creating a cocktail over the last few months by ageing his creation in a Jameson-seasoned barrel.
The cocktail, Autumn Leaves is available for £9.50 and will be on sale at Hixter Bankside until the barrel runs dry.
The cocktail is created by mixing Jameson Irish Whiskey, sweet Vermouth and an apple aperitif from Somerset, and then ageing the mix for several weeks within a Jameson barrel from the distillery in Midleton, Cork. The maturation process in the barrels imparts additional vanilla and wood flavours into the drink, as well as creating a more rounded flavour profile.
Born in New York in the early 1900s, the practice of barrel-ageing cocktails has enjoyed a renaissance over the last few years, and has been led by renowned bartenders including Tony Conigliaro. These cocktails are typically aged in the barrel for six to eight weeks to allow the extraction of wood compounds, the evaporation of volatile compounds and the oxidation of cocktail components, which results in a softer, more rounded drink.
The barrel itself was originally a 200-litre Jameson barrel, which was dismantled and then painstakingly re-assembled by 5th generation Jameson Master Cooper, Ger Buckley, into a 15-litre barrel for Myles’ aged cocktail creation. The barrel will be on display in the bar at Hixter Bankside.
Autumn Leaves recipe and method:
3 parts Jameson Irish Whiskey
2 parts sweet vermouth
1 part Kingston Black (apple aperitif)
Mix through with ice, add a few drops of liquorice bittersand strain into coupe glass or similar.
Autumn Leaves is available now at Hixter Bankside, priced at £9.50.
For more information on Irish Whiskey including recipes, history and events, visit thejamesonworks.com or follow @Jameson_UK
The Devil’s Punch Bowl
”For Chapter III of the Devil’s Punch Bowl I have chosen a brooding selection of Arran’s finest aged Oloroso Sherry Butts which set the scene for the final performance. Notes of distinctive dark chocolate and dried fruits give satisfying depth and provide the ideal foundation for this last dram with the Devil. The inclusion of French Oak Barriques adds a rich layer of spice and toasted oak to proceedings while the Bourbon Barrels bring the sweetness of honey and vanilla. This final flourish of the Punch Bowl brings the curtain down in dramatic style”.
James MacTaggart
Master Distiller
The Devil’s Punch Bowl Chapter III is a limited edition expression of The Arran Single Malt inspired by the glacial hollow ‘Coire na Ciche’ whose sinister presence dominates the north-east coast of Arran. Our fiendish Distiller James MacTaggart has perused the darkest corners of our warehouses one last time to hand pick the finest casks for the third and final release of this infernal trilogy of devilish drams. Casks across a range of ages and types have been chosen to create perhaps the most distinctive Devil’s Punch Bowl yet.
Bottled at natural strength and without chill-filtration, the Devil’s Punch Bowl is a testimony to the consistent superior quality of the Arran Malt across each year of production.
Dare you be tempted by the Devil one final time?
Nose; Aromatic and floral, a delicate perfume of white peaches with a background of white chocolate
Palate; The influence of the barriques are evident almost immediately, the delicate floral notes give way to a rich and warming touch of spice which amplifies beautifully on your tongue. Chocolate raisin and cinnamon in the tail give this a creamy mouth feel. The fresh character of Arran prevails, the typical citrus notes always in the background, complimented with the light vanilla from the Bourbon Barrels which add a layer of sweetness.
Finish; Long, lingering and luxurious. The final curtain falls with long lasting notes of sweet spice and mandarin. A memorable performance, there’s no going back once you’ve been tempted by the Devil.
Lots of changes at the
Park Avenue Liquor Shop.
“Hello, yeah, it’s been a while.
Not much, how ’bout you?”
– Dan Seals
We realize we haven’t been in-touch with our e-mail promotion followers for some time. We hope to be more active in keeping you all up to date with new exciting arrivals and promotions at the Park Avenue Liquor Shop. Please see below for the first of many new exciting changes for the Park Avenue Liquor Shop.
Cheers!
Jonathan & Eric
Park Avenue Liquor Shop
292 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
212-685-2442
info@parkaveliquor.com
www.parkaveliquor.com *
*We are launching a whole new Website.
In the next day or so – parkaveliquor.com will have whole new look. It will still capture everything we carry (to the best of our ability) across all categories of wines and spirits.
What is important to know is that if you are already have a login and password for our site – You will need to recreate them for the new site to place future orders. So please make a note of your current information.
During the launch of the new site, we will be filling in information about upcoming tastings, making more announcements and continually adding photo images for the products we carry.
As always we are here to take any questions you have about this exciting change and will do our best to iron out any kinks as quickly as possible.
We hope to see you on our new site.
The new website is live!
Check out our new look and feel
We thank you all for your patience as we completely overhauled our online presence. Our new, beautiful www.vadistillery.com is up and ready for you to have a look around. We’ve incorporated some great new features and some beautiful photography to go along with our new email format and our invigorated social media presence. As things get more and more exciting around here, we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop every step of the way.
New Features
A new look for TWE – website updates
If you have a look at The Whisky Exchange website today, you may notice a few differences. By which I mean we’ve totally revamped the site.
Our new front page – isn’t it pretty?
We’ve been doing little tweaks over the past few years, but we decided that it was time to overhaul the site’s look and feel, as well as drop in a few new bits and pieces that you’ve been asking for. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new.
First up is the new look. The site is now mobile friendly, with a responsive design that will work on phones, large screens and everything in between – change the size of your web browser and things will resize so as to best to fit your screen. Here’s the same page on my phone, iPad and desktop; click to show them full size:
On desktop
On tablet
On mobile
We’ve also upgraded our tasting notes, with our product pages now telling you much more about what drinks taste like, with key flavours and styles now added. We’ve not filled those in for everything yet, but we’re adding more every day.
Guess the whisky… (click for the answer)
We’ve added more information all over the site, from the product pages through to our category, brand and distillery pages. If you want to know more about port or the difference between the types of American whiskey, then it’s all there – just click the ‘Discover more’ link.
More filters…
Behind the scenes we’ve also been adding information, and our searching and filtering is now even better. Typing into the search box will now offer more suggestions, as we’re tapping into much more information than on the old site. As one of the largest sellers of old and rare bottles online, we thought we’d make it easier for you to focus on either those or newer bottles – every product list on the site now has three tabs to help you quickly switch what you’re looking at: all, standard and old & rare.
Wishlists!
One of the most commonly requested features for the website has been wishlists, and we can now happily announce that we have them – just click the ‘Add to wishlist’ button that’s on every product page to start building one. This is just version one, and we’ve got lots of ideas on how to make them better that we’ll be rolling out over the coming months.
We’ll be continuing to add information and enhancements, so keep an eye out for more changes in the future. Any comments or suggestions, please drop them in a comment below – we always welcome feedback.
Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – A new look for TWE – website updates
