• 1990 Glenfarclas K&L Exclusive Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Pre-Arrival) ($149.99)
  We’ve always loved Glenfarclas. As you may or may not know, this distillery is one of the last independently owned in all of Scotland. It’s owners are the Grant family. It also happens to be on most knowledgeable peoples’ list of top distilleries and has consistently provided us with excellent sherried speyside offerings at incredible prices. We’ve had success finding single casks in their vast warehouse system, but found that current market conditions have made purchasing a single cask from the Grants rather cost prohibitive. Negotiating the price down on those casks is also out of the question as wholesalers worldwide are privy to the price structure and the Grants are very loyal and fair. With that option off the table we decided to get creative. Those single casks have a set price list, but picking multiple casks for one bottling afforded us some flexibility. We knew we were onto the next crazy value, but we never imagined how versatile a multicask bottling could be. So, into the warehouse we went. George bragged about the quality of the 1990 vintage, but we had no idea how special they were until we were standing in front of the barrels. These casks are from a sequential lot of first fill oloroso sherry butts at 24 years old. Without a doubt, ‘Farclas fans will be pleased, but this bottling is approachable enough for even the most novice whisky lover to appreciate. ETA 12/1/14

• Glenfarclas “The Faultline Casks” K&L Exclusive First Fill Oloroso Sherry Casks Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Pre-Arrival) ($99.99)
  When George Grant offered us the opportunity to take multiple casks for a special exclusive bottling, we were over the moon. The creative juices began flowing. We talked about doing an ultra-aged expression, but we didn’t feel we could match the outrageous cask from the 1970 vintage, which we’d acquired a couple of years back. Instead, we decided to focus on a NAS (no age statement) mixture of casks from earlier vintages. The goal was to create a high proof, heavily sherried ‘Farclas that we could sell for around $100. After tasting multiple vintages from 8-15 years of age, we settled on three of our favorite casks in the 9-10 year range. At no other distillery is vintage so important and the importance of their vessel was clear when tasting these younger expressions. We’ve ended up with a mixture of young casks that surpasse even our own high expectations. This is full fledged and powerful, yet tempered by the strong influence of that special wine of Andalucía. If you love Sherry, if you love high proof single malt, if you love powerful flavors and massively textural whisky, than this bottling is for you. Even better, if you love not spending a ton for a bespoke offering from one of the world’s best distilleries, don’t wait to order. We’ll have more than the standard single barrel, but this bottling is still highly limited. Expect this to arrive in time for the Holidays, hopefully by early December.

Johnnie Walker Private Collection 2014 limited edition

This 2014 Johnnie Walker Private Collection edition is a tribute to one of Johnnie Walkers signature flavours –– Smoke.

A bold 46.8% ABV blend of incredibly rare, smoky whiskies from 3 regions of Scotland, each possessing their own, unique smoky style: Highland, Island & Islay.

Highland –Subtle sophisticated smoke, contains extra layers of complexity through sweet and vibrant notes.

Island – Maritime character, fresh, oily, sea-salt, smoke.

Islay – Bold smoke – dry, medicinal and phenolic.

These blends are married with a worthy body carrier: the fruits of the J.W. & Sons innovative ‘Calculus’ experiment, an in-house spin on the finishing process started in the 1980’s. Only 8,888 numbered bottles available worldwide

Simply click here to reserve one of these rare expressions – £500

Cadenhead’s Small Batch Collection
Caol Ila 22 Year Old 52.2%
One Week Special on a Federal wine Exclusive

The William Cadenhead Company has claim to being Scotland’s oldest independent bottler, making fine handcrafted spirits since 1842. They have been owned for the last forty years by the family that owns the famous Springbank Distillery. Cadenhead made a brief appearance in the American market in the ‘90s but we haven’t been able find it since.

Caol Ila is the largest of all the Islay distilleries. Malt lovers prize Caol Ilas because because they have a softer, subtler smoke than many others on the island.

Aged for 22 years, this cask strength bottling is one of the oldest Caol Ilas we have been offered in quite some time. It’s is a wonderful peaty whisky for the warmer months (or the colder ones!) as it shows very little oak but has very nice depth. Like other Cadenheads it is all natural, not chill-filtered and with no caramel coloring.

We took all we could. There is no more at Cadenhead. We have only 18 bottles of this rare old malt. Our sale will go for only a week or until they are sold, whichever comes first. 

Cadenhead Caol Ila  22 Y.O. 52.2%

Nose: Fruity and malty, dark fruits, black currants followed by rhubarb and custard.
Palette: Toffee, hints of peat /smoke, peanut butter, oily, mellow and soft smoke.
Finish: Dry Finish

Regularly 199.99 — On Sale 169.99  –  one week only

Joe Howell

Federal Wine & Spirits

Phone: 617-367-8605

Web: http://www.federalwine.com

The Single Malts of Scotland – new look and new whiskies

Our sister company, Speciality Drinks Ltd, has unveiled a stylish new look for its Single Malts of Scotland (SMOS) range, as well as – count ‘em – FIVE new bottlings. 

The two previous SMOS incarnations, with the new look pictured on the right

The new whiskies comprise a trio from Speyside, one from the Northern Highlands, and one from the Isle of Mull, but the overall spectrum of flavour is vast: one displays fresh, zingy citrus notes, another heads down the waxy, fruity and peppery route, while a third brings dried meat and spicy barbecue notes to the party.

As with all previous SMOS bottlings, none of the whiskies are chill-filtered, and no colouring is added. So, let’s get on to the fantastic five new bottlings:

Glenrothes 1990 23 Year Old

Nose: Zingy! Aromas of lemon sherbet and bitter orange dominate, with a touch of fruit-cake richness and subtle spiciness lurking in the background.

Palate: Beautiful balance between the refreshing lemon and ginger notes and the rich spiciness, and dried fruits and nuts. Lemon meringue pie in a glass. Doesn’t need water.

Finish: Clean, zesty and moreish, with that sweet spiciness hanging on in there.

Clynelish 1995 18 Year Old

Nose: The freshness of cut green apple, then that classic Clynelish waxiness takes hold, with honeyed peachiness, a little peppery spiciness and an appealing leathery note.

Palate: Much fuller than expected, with pink peppercorns and burnt sugar taking charge. The addition of water brings out lighter, cleaner flavours, as well as malty, biscuity notes. A lot going on here.

Finish: Powerful and spicy – but clean and precise – and long lasting.

Glen Grant 1992 22 Year Old

Nose: An unexpected but delicious whack of barbecue sauce, with smoke and smoked-meat notes wafting out of the glass, softened by lemon, red-fruit and floral notes.

Palate: The meaty, smoky flavours persist – treacle-and-mustard-glazed ham with star anise and some spicy fruitiness. Hold the ketchup; this is the perfect accompaniment to a burger.

Finish: Rich, warm and satisfying.

Longmorn 1992 21 Year Old

Nose: Fruity and spicy: cinnamon, Seville oranges, cherries and cocoa powder, balanced by refreshing citrus and ginger notes, then a curiously dusty/leathery note, like an old library.

Palate: Restrained Christmas cake flavours, then notes of malt loaf, treacle toffee and Black Forest gateau all fighting for attention.

Finish: An enveloping blanket of warming autumnal spice.

Tobermory 1994 19 Year Old

Nose: Boozy Dundee cake with spicy Maya Gold chocolate. Fruitiness comes through with the addition of water.

Palate: Intense chocolate notes – The River Café’s Chocolate Nemesis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNWTpsNa0oc , with bags of dried fruit and spice. Very rich and mouth-filling, and definitely one for after dinner, or with pudding.

Finish: Rich and intense, with the spicy chocolate notes persisting.

All in all, a fantastically diverse bunch.

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – The Single Malts of Scotland – new look and new whiskies

The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15yo – My Sherry Amour

Ears certainly pricked up at TWE HQ when news came in of a new release from The Balvenie. There will be those still mourning the loss of the bourbon-matured 15 Year Old Single Barrel (officially discontinued, but we still have a few bottles left). Well, cheer up, because we have good news: it’s been replaced by The Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old. 

This new Balvenie follows on from last year’s Single Barrel First Fill 12 Year Old, which we rather liked. David Stewart (we’re still impressed by the coolness of his job title, ‘Malt Master’) and his team drew 650 bottles from each oloroso sherry butt. Our sample was from butt number 4440 – obviously, each cask is different, so flavours will vary, but note that this is an ongoing release, not a limited edition.

So, how does this new sherrified 15YO compare to its younger brother? Well, as expected, it doesn’t pussyfoot around. There’s much more depth and richness compared to the lightly honeyed, floral notes of the 12YO First Fill. It feels more grown up, like that buzz you get when you’re get in to see a 15-certificate film for the first time, leaving the 12s behind – from Spiderman to Final Destination, if you will.

The dried-fruit elements are more pronounced on the nose, with more obvious oak influence, too. On the palate, real swathe of sherry influence, with rich dried fruits and nuts, burnt sugar and a hint of milk chocolate, finishing with a creamy flourish. 

The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old

Nose: Rich aromas of candied fruit and mixed peel, slight creaminess, with notes of almonds, Christmas cake and Toffifee, countered with some soft fruits – green apple and pear.

Flavour: Obvious sherry influence: concentrated dried fruits, toasty oak, milk chocolate and burnt sugar, with some biscuit in there.

Finish: The creaminess mingles with the rich fruit. Very precise.

In all, a good crowd-pleaser, and Balvenie fans will not be disappointed. And towards the end of the year – hey, just in time for Christmas – The Balvenie will be releasing its third Single Barrel release: a 25 Year Old drawn from refill American oak.

The Balvenie 15 Year Old Single Barrel Sherry Cask is now available on the TWE website for £77.95.

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15yo – My Sherry Amour

Stock Image

Arran Premium Sherry Single Cask 1997 2014 Release

Cask number: 217
Bottled date: 02/05/2014
Distillation date: 02/17/1997
53.2% alc. by vol.
562 bottles total.

Stock Image

Ardbeg Auriverdes with Dr Bill Lumsden – liquid football!

It’s almost that time of year again – Ardbeg Day, with events happening all around the world.

Each year the distillery releases a limited-edition whisky to commemorate the day (click here for our post on last year’s Ardbog or here for 2012′s Ardbeg Day).

This year’s bottling, being a World Cup year, is named Auriverdes (the nickname of the Brazilian football team) and I was given the opportunity to speak to the Ardbeg (and Glenmorangie) Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky Stocks, Dr Bill Lumsden, about the latest release.

A Scot holding aloft the World Cup? Er, no, it’s Dr Bill Lumsden with the new Ardbeg Auriverdes

While it is being released just before the start of the World Cup, the original inspiration for the bottling was nothing to do with it. ‘I wanted to create a particular flavour,’ he told us, ‘the target image in my mind was a basket of soft fruits.’ The whisky was distilled back in 2002 and is 10-11 years old. Its tweak on the regular Ardbeg 10 year old is that it was matured in second fill ex-bourbon casks, each fitted with a specially toasted head – specially toasted in a secret manner.

It slots quite easily in to the general Ardbeg line-up, being inspired by some of the other whiskies that Dr Bill has created over the years, but it is still its own animal. ‘I’m not just doing another Alligator,’ he said, ‘those barrels were unbelievably charred. Auriverdes is altogether more gentle; it is almost my beloved 1977, almost Airigh Nam Beist. It’s a cross between Airigh Nam Beist with a bit of Alligator thrown in.’ Switching from a heavy char to a toast really makes a difference.

Despite not starting out as a World Cup tie-in, it has certainly now become one. Ardbeg Day is now celebrated around the world, and this year’s they will be focusing on football-related events.

Here in the UK, there’s the Ardbeg Peat Football Championship, for which St Andrew’s Square in Edinburgh will be turned into a peat-bog football pitch – all the Ardbeg embassies have been invited to take part, and we will have a TWE team up there on the day (hopefully) doing us proud.

One thing we couldn’t pass up the chance to ask about was the recent auction sales of the special-edition gold bottles of Auriverdes, sent out to a few lucky writers and retailers. While Dr Bill isn’t a big fan of limited editions and single casks, as there are so many loyal fans that won’t get the change to taste them, he understands that certain bottlings will always be collectable. His view on the £2,500 auction prices for the gold Auriverdes bottles was clear – ‘…it was absolutely inevitable that it would happen.’ Ardbeg will certainly be thinking twice about doing something similar again in the future.

Stuart and I were then offered a chance to taste the Auriverdes for ourselves:

Ardbeg Auriverdes. 49.9%. £79.95

Rocky:

Nose: Notes of dark chocolate, mocha, tar, peat and vanilla.

Palate: A creamy texture, with the mocha notes continuing, being joined by liquorice, tropical hints of pineapple and mango, and a whack of vanilla from the bourbon barrels. The peat is on the lighter side for an Ardbeg and isn’t overpowering.

Finish: Pretty long finish with the fruity notes slowly dissipating to leave spicy liquorice and peat smoke.

Comment: The peat is nowhere near as strong as I was expecting, with the toasting balancing it elegantly. This Ardbeg Day release is certainly very different in style to the previous editions, but is just as intriguing.

Stuart:

Nose: Hang on, this is Ardbeg? Much lighter than expected, with the peat fighting for survival against the toasty oak, mocha and peppery notes.

Palate: Creamy coffee to the fore, joined by dark chocolate and mocha, then a refreshing peachy character kicks in alongside peat and black pepper.

Finish: The creamy fruitiness gives way to the trademark (if subdued) Ardbeg peat.

Comment: After some of Ardbeg’s recent big-hitting releases, this is an intriguing, pastel-shaded malt.

It will be available in our shop on Saturday 31 May and online the following day. Bottles are available for pre-order on the website.

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – Ardbeg Auriverdes with Dr Bill Lumsden – liquid football!

We have received our second Private Weller Antique 107 7 Year Barrel. We will not see any more Weller Antique Private Barrels until the fall. After selling through Ridgemont Reserve 1792 Barrel 17 in under a week we are releasing Barrel 22. Both of these offerings are exceptional; we don’t expect to have them very long. We also have a new barrel of Elijah Craig 12 Year non-chill filtered #689. There are a still a few more barrels we are waiting on: Four Roses, Buffalo Trace and Masterson Rye.

The Balvenie Single Barrel 15 year old sherry cask is now available to order via The Whisky Shop. This unique expression follows up the highly popular first fill 12 year old that was launched last year.

If you only drink one more whisky this year make sure it’s this stunning new release from Balvenie.

Each Balvenie 15 year old is a product of just one single cask with unique, unrepeatable qualities which vary from one cask to the next – no more than 650 hand numbered bottles are drawn from each sherry butt.

It has been matured exclusively in a single European oak sherry butt for at least 15 years. Held in an Oloroso sherry cask, this single malt is characterised by dried fruit richness, nuttiness and spice.

Curated by the nose of our Malt Master David Stewart, Scotland’s longest serving Malt Master with over 50 years service at The Balvenie.

Bottled at a natural cask strength of 47.8% volume.

Simply click here to buy – £80

A note from the folks at Echlinville Distillery;

Echlinville Distillery is the first licensed Irish whiskey distillery in Northern Ireland in over 125 years. The distillery is set in the magnificent grounds of the Echlinville Estate located within the Ards Peninsula. We are blessed with perfect surroundings & a unique micro climate, making the location perfect for whiskey production.

Our current range of maturing stock will allow us in time to release Pot Still & Malt Irish Whiskeys from August 2016. In the meantime we are lovingly taking care of the barrels we have filled with the finest distillate casked between 63.5% & 70% abv.
 To celebrate the founding of the Echlinville Distillery, we present you with the Patron’s Promise, an inaugural distillation of only 144 casks of the finest Irish Whiskey.

Selectively available to collectors and connoisseurs, each cask of this strictly limited edition distillation will be individually and expertly matured by our distilling team, creating a Single Malt or Pot Still Irish Whiskey uniquely tailored to your individual taste.

To mark this momentous occasion, all purchasers will be cited as distillery ‘Patrons’ & will appear on a commemorative celebratory wall for evermore.
Please find attached a list of current cask options and pricing with more options to become available soon. In order to find out more details please contact Echlinville Distillery at: info@echlinville.com

*For full terms and conditions please visit www.echlinville.com*