Cask No. 2.88                         $180

Cinderella weeping over matchmakers

Speyside, Spey

The nose presented rich, fruity, cakey sweetness – black bun, Christmas cake, treacle tart, ginger snaps and maple candy – along with some oak and vanilla notes. The palate was intensely sweet, with muscovado sugar, dark chocolate and treacle, but with an Indian spice trick up its sleeve (cumin, clove, sugar-coated fennel seeds) – then some ash, dry wood and coffee on the finish. The reduced nose contrasted hints of burnt tyres with assorted chocolate matchmakers (mint, orange, coffee). The palate now had ginger and chocolate sweet heat, while cinders and salt evoked a tearful Cinderella. The distillery had a major expansion in 2010.

Drinking tip: With coffee as an after dinner treat

Colour: Deep honeycomb

Cask: Refill hogshead

Age: 20 years

Date distilled: September 1993

Alcohol: 47.1%

USA allocation: 120 bottles

Cask No. 7.101                               $105

Playing with Colours

Speyside, Lossie

To begin with all the aromas were white; chocolate, pepper, marshmallows, vanilla ice cream and natural yoghurt. Slowly colour was added; lemon and lime, bananas, strawberries as well as other fruits of the forest. The taste was hot and peppery, white chilli chocolate but at the same time sweet, fruity and sour like Haribo Tangfastics – quite an experience. With water the fizziness of a cream soda and carbonating fruits with dry ice appear alongside the creaminess of a pineapple milkshake and a key lime pie. The taste changed completely, extremely smooth like a dollop of rum and raisin ice cream with a hint of cinnamon.

Drinking tip: Enjoy the difference neat and with water

Colour: Winter sunshine

Cask: First-fill barrel

Age: 10 years

Date distilled: May 2003

Alcohol: 60.2%

USA allocation: 60 bottles

Cask No. 26.99                               $185

The Fisherman’s Friend

Highland, Northern

One of our panel members indulges in a spot of angling and instantly recognised the aromas of waxed jackets, wicker basket and oiled fishing reels. Crushed nettles and citronella candle, along with Autumnal orchards completed the riverbank scenario. The mouthfeel started with cooling starfruit and lemon drizzle cake, then slowly a honeycomb warmth crept over the tongue with stealth. Raisins plumped with cola, fruit salad sweeties and Black Jacks emerged when water was added, with some Springtime florals. A hint of flaxseed oil but overall deliciously juicy and distinctly moreish.

Drinking tip: The panel preferred this without the river water

Colour: Toasted waffles

Cask: Refill barrel

Age: 23 years

Date distilled: August 1990

Alcohol: 48.5%

USA allocation: 117 bottles

Cask No. 59.49                               $240

Celebration in a glass

Highland, Northern

Calming and relaxing were the first comments after a long silence in the Panel. One could literally hear the deep breathing – aromas of treacle sponge, roasted chestnuts, beeswax, roasted orange slices, and a tropical rum trifle. The taste has depth layers of flavour which are all subtle and harmonizing creating an experience that is hard to describe; tangy marmalade, Prosciutto ham served with melon balls soaked in brandy as well as a well-aged Riesling. With a drop of water now like a Trockenbeerenauslese, rich texture but also juicy, enormous weight and depth and an almost salty tanginess at the finish – you just have to experience that!

Drinking tip: Life in itself is worth one big celebration

Colour: Liquid centre of a Locket

Cask: Refill hogshead

Age: 30 years

Date distilled: November 1983

Alcohol: 49.2%

USA allocation: 90 bottles

Cask No. G7.7                        $160

Old Codger with a Jammy Dodger

Grain

An unusual old character brimming with rich honey, plums infused with cinnamon and saffron. The panel found wet wool along with earthy aromas. The taste neat was of Jammy Dodgers and melted stroopwafel, then slightly burned toast with sweet jam and hints of mint. The chair was reminded of the aromas of the shortbread factory in Aberlour High Street with bagfuls of vanilla pods, maple syrup and creme brulee. It remained lively with fig and peach giving out to toasted banana bread, and fruit scones. ‘Old Spice’ aftershave mingled in the finish, still plenty of pep in this pensioner.

Drinking tip: When you fancy something unusual

Colour: Buffed brass candlesticks

Cask: Refill hogshead

Age: 30 years

Date distilled: May 1984

Alcohol: 59.4%

USA allocation: 72 bottles

www.smwsa.com

HUNT FOR TREASURE AND FIND YOUR LIQUID GOLD

Join us on an epic adventure. Don your fedora and enter the gloomy cave. Mind the tarantulas! Duck under the beam of light. Swing over the gaping pit. Step carefully around the booby trapped paving. And there it is, glowing softly: a dram of liquid gold. We’ve found a few iconic bottlings good enough to stuff in your satchel and run – before the giant boulder is upon you…

Light & delicate
123.12

Treasure hunt
12 years old
Refill ex-bourbon hogshead
Only 38 left!

£46.10

Old & dignified
39.96

The Sultan’s Treasure Chest
29 years old
Refill ex-bourbon hogshead
Only 16 left!

£131.10

Light & delicate
24.128

Posh ladies on the prom!
29 years old
Refill ex-bourbon hogshead
Only 22 left!

£255.00

Spicy & dry
9.88

A heart-starter
25 years old
Refill ex-sherry butt
Only 25 left!

£99.00

Lightly peated
3.235

The happy camping holiday
26 years old
Refill ex-bourbon barrel
Only 27 left!

£114.20

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

LAPHROAIG 1991 23 Year Old £244.95

New official, limited, cask strength, 23 year old bottling of Laphroaig. Full of typical distillery and Islay character.

Winter’s chill is in the air so let our January whiskies warm you up. For complete tasting notes please visit http://www.smws.ca/ but for now be tempted by the bottle notes below:

Cask No. 39.95  Caressing, warm and friendly

9 years old; refill barrel; 61.2%; Young & spritely

An attractive, youthful nose with vanilla, gorse, sandalwood and scented candle aromatics plus toffee waffle, lemon puff and Edinburgh Rock sweetness. The palate’s friendly caresses come from butterscotch, brown sugar and toasted marshmallows, with marmalade, black tea and oak providing depth.

Cask No. 9.69  Turkish Delight and fragrant Thai rice

17 years old; refill hogshead; 56.9%; Sweet, fruity & mellow

An attractive, complex nose – green apple, kiwi, lemon, almond slice, apricot and Turkish Delight – with water apple strudel and rhubarb crumble. The palate has toffee, jelly beans and dates, blackcurrant and liquorice, cinnamon and Pernod –nicely balancing tart and sweet elements.

Cask No. 76.115  Glamping in a yurt

18 years old; refill butt; 56.5%; Spicy & sweet

Waking up in a yurt and watching the sunrise over the sea, eating a slice of Royal chocolate biscuit cake with maraschino cherries. Water adds the fragrance of sweetly intoxicating blooming magnolia trees whilst you enjoy your first sip of coffee.

Cask No. 31.27  Bold sailor’s dram

25 years old; refill hogshead; 52.4%; Lightly peated

The nose has sea-breezes, seaweed, oyster shells and beach barbecues, but also medicinal elements, good wood and reasonable sweetness. The palate’s maritime flavours are joined by citrus, oak, ash, white pepper, coal-dust, sweet tobacco, heather smoke and barbecued meat and shellfish.

Cask No. 3.202  Doctors’ surgeries and flower shops

15 years old; refill sherry butt; 57.4%; Peated

Geranium, bog myrtle, lavender, clove – an aromatic nose – also with bacon, lobster bisque, smoked chicken, doctors’ surgeries – and caraway later. The palate – huge and mouth-filling, has scorched heather dipped in honey, caramelized onions, sweet barbecued ribs, pistachios and tar.

Cask No. 66.47  Campfire character

11 years old; refill barrel; 59%; Heavily peated

The nose has hickory, campfire smoke and medicinal notes of honey Lockets lozenges, carbolic and Germolene, with jelly babies, gorse, vanilla and sea air. The mouth-numbing palate carries minty-menthol antiseptic mouthwash, ash, tar, soot, cigarettes and liquorice – a sweet and smoky intensity.

http://www.smws.ca/

NEW YEAR, NEW ADVENTURE

Come with us to new horizons… leave behind your preconceptions, open your mind and set your compass for a sensory adventure. 2015 is here, and what better way to start the New Year than with 14 bold new drams.

For the outdoor, masculine type, enjoy the boyish charms of 55.26 with its earthy, grassy and fruity notes. For those that like a spicy kick, then new distillery bottling G14.1 will have your tongue-tingling. And for the pirate in all of us, 39.105 with its deep, rich and dried fruits is sure to shiver the timbers!

Whatever your exploits this January, let flavour guide your journey…

Spicy & sweet

G14.1 £73.90

‘East meets West’ – Grain
NEW DISTILLERY!

35.115 £53.90

The Gentleman’s Private Club

55.26 £48.10

Outdoor, masculine dram

Spicy & dry

46.27 £46.10

Italian chestnut cake

Deep, rich & dried fruits

35.109 £48.10

Pirates puddings on the deck

Old & dignified

9.82

Breathe in long! *Exclusive to Offers

Light & delicate

24.128 £255.00

Posh ladies on the prom!

123.12 £46.10

Treasure hunt

Juicy, oak & vanilla

41.62 £45.00

A picnic at harvest time

48.53 £43.80

Big boots fruity bruiser

Oily & coastal

27.108 £53.00

A savoury experience!

Lightly peated

3.235 £114.20

The happy camping holiday

53.218 £53.00

Philadelphia cigar ‘perfection’

66.59 £46.10

Nieve de Leche Quemada

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

Caermory Whisky are delighted to announce the release of their 21 year old single malt. This single cask bottling was specially selected and is at cask strength (48.2%vol). Available directly from Caermory whisky or from selected retailers. The stockists are Blue Otter – Hitchin, Rollings  -Harpenden, Whisky.co.uk – York, The Vine King  – Reigate, Dram Shop – Sheffield, Milroys – London and The Blue Glass – Bedford.

www.caermorywhisky.co.uk

TOP PICKS

Scotland – Single Malt

• Oban 18 Year Limited Edition Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Elsewhere $150) ($109.99) 91 points Whisky Advocate: “Drier, less toffee and fruit, more dried spice and oak when compared to the standard Oban 14 year old. A beautiful combination of rich, nutty toffee balanced by polished oak, salt, pepper, seaweed, distant smoke, and dried fruit. Somewhat oily in texture. Wonderful depth, too! An improvement on what is already the biggest-selling Diageo single malt scotch in the U.S. Very exciting and dynamic. (Vol. 17, #4, by John Hansell)” K&L Notes: Always tough to find – this is a limited edition bottling for the US only. As the canister states, “only so much can be made, it is never enough.”

NEW ARRIVALS

United States – Bourbon and Rye

• Wild Turkey 101 Rye 1L – 11 available ($39.99)

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

Low Gap 4 Year Old K&L Exclusive Single Stitzel-Weller Barrel Wheat Whiskey $69.99 – Four years ago, when barrels of 18 year old Stitzel Weller Bourbon could be purchased on a whim, we began piling up more casks than we knew what to do with. When you buy a barrel of whiskey from a producer they usually send you the empty vessel with it. At that time we were working closely with Germain Robin on a number of new projects and when they mentioned they were experimenting with wheat whiskey, running it through their antique column still, I offered some of our ex-Bourbon casks for maturation. “Fill this old wheated Bourbon barrel with wheat whiskey,” I said, “and maybe we can buy it back from you in a few years.” Then I completely forgot about it. But a few weeks ago we got the call from the distillery; it had been four years. Did we want to see where the whiskey was at? You bet we did, and after tasting the sample we had Germain Robin bottle the whiskey immediately. It’s in an absolutely perfect spot. The nose is a mixture of fresh cut grain and oak spices. The first sip is like a handful of Wheat Thins that turns into a rich, stone crackery explosion on the finish. There is no doubt as to which grain this whiskey was distilled from. It’s just wheat all the way through. The SW barrel is really just a coincidence; a matter of what we had on hand at the time. Gimmicks aside, this is one fun new bottle I will be drinking lots of and a new step forward for California’s whiskey movement.

–David Driscoll

Late December Outturn Offerings 

Cask No. 53.200                             $155

A day at the beach

Islay

We found ourselves on the beach next to a fishing harbour and the boats are coming in landing their catch of scallops, crabs and langoustines. Aromas of fresh seaweed growing on the rocky shore and old overgrown wooden groynes are mingling with the harbour smells. The taste neat is like a ‘pick-me-up’, a sweet, salty and clean fresh sea breeze, oysters with Tobasco sauce and honey butter roasted scallops. With water warm like the engine room of a fish trawler or starting a barbeque at the end of a hot day.  The taste is now of slightly ashy toasted marshmallows, lightly salted macadamia chocolate and in the finish freshly cooked rhubarb with an agave syrup.

Drinking tip: In your beach duffle bag for a day at the seaside

Colour: Light olive oil

Cask: Refill butt

Age: 18 years

Date distilled: August 1995

Alcohol: 59.8%

USA allocation: 180 bottles

Cask No. 9.84                         $200

Playing ‘Sea Battle’ in the garden

Speyside, Spey

One Panel member found himself on the gun deck of an old wood-hulled warship with smells of ash, gun powder and spent cartridge, whilst others, more peacefully, are turning earth in their herb garden. The taste is hot and fiery – the battleship is in action – or we take a break from gardening on a sunny afternoon and enjoy rye bread dipped in olive oil. With water we take a rest sitting in a wicker chair on a warm cedar decking surrounded by pots of sage and heather. The taste now juicy, warm and pleasant like waffles with runny vanilla custard.

Drinking tip: Somehow obvious; whilst playing ‘Sea Battle’

Colour: Pirate’s golden earring

Cask: Refill butt

Age: 25 years

Date distilled: April 1988

Alcohol: 55.6%

USA allocation: 180 bottles

Cask No. 36.67                       $100

Intensely tasty

Speyside, Spey

A good example of whisky transformed by water – we didn’t know what to make of the nose – quite fruity (baked apple, fruit salad, watermelon, lemon curd, pear-drops) with an odd assortment of other aromas – Hawaiian pizza (pineapple, ham, pizza dough) pine forests and model kits. With water, suddenly the sweetness was released – caramel wafers, honeycomb crunch ice-cream and vanilla fudge. The unreduced palate seemed sweet and sour – pineapple dusted with chilli and salt, peppery Cream Soda and a slightly metallic finish – but water settled it down to zesty key lime pie and biscuity flavours – intensely tasty. Named after Speyside’s biggest mountain.

Drinking tip: As an aperitif or to awaken the senses

Colour: Fake gold

Cask: First-fill barrel

Age: 9 years

Date distilled: June 2004

Alcohol: 59.9%

USA allocation: 90 bottles

Cask No. 121.73                     $135

A layered sponge fruit cake

Highland, Island

Rounded and fruity: apple skin, orange zest and mandarin, with vanilla sponge and later apricot jam tarts, treacle scone, Garibaldi biscuits, toffee-flavoured bagels and  ‘toast with blackcurrant jam’. Smooth, rich  and sweet, the taste replicates the nose well, adding orange syrup, the orange and almond sponge. Water brings waxy pastry and scones, then Jaffa orange (without chocolate) and orange marmalade; slightly tart, but with a trace of butterscotch and ‘sweet black tea in a tool shed’. Smooth texture and fruity taste; Turkish Delight, Elizabeth Shaw orange chocolate, maple syrup and a hint of lavender  and chocolate-dipped strawberry in the finish.

Drinking tip: Tea-time treat

Colour: Peach gold

Cask: Refill hogshead

Age: 14 years

Date Distilled: December 1999

Alcohol: 55.6%

USA allocation: 150 bottles

Cask No. G3.8                        $185

Eccentric and Exotic

Grain

The panel found eucalyptus, earth, perfumed tobacco and hessian. Aromas of ripe nectarine and peach soaked in orange liqueur mingled with coriander. The flavours found were of figs rolls, dates and honey on a toasted crumpet with more damp sackcloth and a curious hint of celery. Water yielded more curiosities of hot dogs with tomato sauce, Benedictine liqueur and sauerkraut. The aromas of linen sheets fresh from the tumble drier had the panel raising collective eyebrows. The mouthfeel was rich with coffee and Fishermans Friends with a lick of balsa wood to disarm you completely. Very unusual and spectacularly different.

Drinking tip: For discussion and debate   Colour: Tarnished gold Cask: Refill hogshead Age: 35 years Date distilled: May 1979 Alcohol: 53.9% USA allocation: 84 bottles

Please visit the Scotch Malt Whisky Society at www.smwsa.com

Kentucky’s most popular wheated Bourbon that isn’t called “Pappy”

Maker’s Mark has long been famous for using winter wheat as the flavor grain (along with the majority of corn) instead of the ubiquitous rye. The only thing that ever kept Maker’s Mark from capturing the hearts of serious Bourbon aficionados everywhere was the low proof. In 2014, however, they released a tiny amount of cask strength whisky (in tiny bottles) to Kentucky residents and people went bananas. Seeing that landing a bottle of Pappy today is like winning the lottery, the Maker’s Mark Cask Strength is easily the next best thing (and, depending on who you talk to, it might even be better!).

Big richness, bold spice, and that classic, creamy wheated profile combine into one epic ride. Although these are here a little too late to end up in your stocking, you should load up while we have them because we don’t expect a shipment of this magnitude again.

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Bourbon 375ml ($39.99)

Whisky Advocate: “This is what I wish the standard Maker’s Mark would be: more mature, spicier, more complex, and with a richer finish. This was initially released in Kentucky only, but rumors are that it will get a wider distribution in the future. The best Maker’s Mark since the now extinct Maker’s Mark Black, which was released for export only. If you can track down a bottle, you won’t be disappointed. -John Hansell”

View recent emailed offers on our Email Archive page.

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