The Party Source Private Barrel Program has undergone some changes. In January of 2014 we formed a panel of whiskey and spirits experts to taste and select our future private barrels. Heather Johnson, John Hughes, Eric Brown, John Owen, Jon Overman and Marty Holland have been hard at work tasting and selecting new private barrels. We have recently selected “Private Barrels” coming from the following sources that will be appearing in the near future.

1792 RIDGEMONT RESERVE Single Barrel (Two Selections)
ANGEL’S ENVY Private Blend
JEFFERSON Ridiculously Small Batch
FOUR ROSES OESV Barrel Strength Un-Chill Filtered
FOUR ROSES OBSK Barrel Strenght Un-Chill Filtered
FOUR ROSES Single Barrel (Two Selections)
OLD FORESTER Single Barrel
W.L WELLER 107 Antique Single Barrel (Two Selections)
WOODFORD RESERVE Double Oak

In the last year we have seen many supply chain shortages in very popular Bourbons such as Elmer T. Lee, Blanton’s, Eagle Rare and lately the Weller Brand. The selections of these “Private Barrels” will give our customers superior options during this time of scarcity for bourbon. Stop by and see our current private selections or try a sample at the Spirits Library.

NEW PRODUCTS

We are very pleased to announce the arrival of our very own Old Forester Private Single Barrel. Don’t wait to pick up the Old Forester Single Barrel; they won’t last long! American Craft Distillery of California ha s released a very nice Low Gap Bavarian Hard Wheat Whiskey (coming soon) aged for two years. With the purchase of Bruichladdich by Remy Cointreau some products produced at Bruichladdich are headed for the chopping block. Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 Year Heavily Peated Single Malt has just arrived; it’s a fuller bodied smoky version of last year’s Port Charlotte “Peat Project”. Get this one while it lasts folks!

The Glenturret triple wood Whisky Shop exclusive and the brand new award winning Patent Still bottlings are now available to order! We offer a free click and collect service on all orders and also free shipping on all deliveries over £60 delivered to the UK.

Tasting note: Deep gold, with amber lights. The first impression is of rice pudding, with a brown skin; husky porridge with double cream. After a while a faint note of strawberry jam. The taste is sweet and lightly meaty (roast chicken), with some spice and general acidity towards the end and a warming finish. Water increases the meaty note and introduces dry herbs.

Click here to buy – £45.00

Girvan Patent Still Number 4 Apps

Sensory Highlights: Light and Delicate, Candied Fruit, Cream. Balance of crisp fruit against oak. Bottled at 42% volume. Grain whisky is made in a totally different way to single malt whisky – through a continuous or column still, called such because unlike the pot still method, which makes spirit in batches, you can continually feed the column still, almost like a factory line, and the alcohol is extracted by forcing the grain mash up columns and against pressurised steam at extremely high temperatures.

Simply click here to buy – £45.00

Girvan Patent Still 30 year old

Sensory Highlights: Deep and intense. Vanilla Spicy Tannin. Zesty fruits and Banana. Bottled at 42% volume. Today, the Girvan Patent Single Grain Whisky delivers a taste sensation that truly reflects their pioneering distillation heritage. It is a rare spirit, mellowed and matured in American Oak and bottled without the addition of caramel. Being non chill filtered the natural golden colour shines through. Woody spiced finish.

Simply click here to buy – £375

EASTER INDULGENCE FOR THE SENSES

Hunt carefully through the garden and under a broad, protective leaf you’ll catch a glittering glimpse of a BRAND NEW PEATY PAIR to complement the weekend’s feasting…

Easter Peaty Pair – £130

3.212 Anti-aphrodisiac

A peated, 19 year old whisky from Islay, matured in a refill ex-sherry butt

53.108 Espresso in a mechanic’s workshop

A peated, 20 year old whisky from Islay, matured in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead

BUY

The Bee’s Threes – £185

76.115 ‘Glamping in a yurt’

A spicy & sweet, 18 year old whisky from Speyside (Spey), matured in a refill ex-sherry butt

9.82 Breathe in long!

An old & dignified, 25 year old whisky from Speyside (Spey), matured in a refill ex-sherry butt

66.50 Weird but wonderful

A peated, 11 year old whisky from Highland (Eastern), matured in a refill ex-bourbon barrel

BUY

Pollination Pair – £119

73.62 Magical, mellifluous marvelosity

An old & dignified, 24 year old whisky from Speyside (Deveron), matured in a refill ex-sherry butt

66.50 Weird but wonderful

A peated, 11 year old whisky from Highland (Eastern), matured in a refill ex-bourbon barrel

BUY

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

Arran Single Cask #815
Spring 2014 Release / Vintage 1998

The 2014 Spring release from Arran distillery is single sherry cask #815. A limited edition release, distilled in 1998 and aged for 15 years.

Bottled in 2014 at 55.3% vol, 269 bottles filled.

£66.95
(£55.79 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Arran Single Cask #815

Arran 17 Year Old

A limited edition release from Arran distillery produced from un-peated malted barley and aged for 17 years in casks that previously held Spanish sherry.

This bottling is the second in a series marking the countdown to the launch of The Arran Malt 18 year old in Spring 2015.

£62.95
(£52.46 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Arran 17 Year Old

Arran Machrie Moor / Fourth Edition

The fourth edition of Machrie Moor from Arran distillery, named after a peat bog located on the west coast of the Isle of Arran where bronze age stone circles and standing stones are strewn across the terrain… Bottled at 46%, this fourth release has been released at a peating level of 14PPM.

£39.95
(£33.29 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Arran Machrie Moor 4th Edition

Arran Single Cask #538
Autumn 2013 Release / Vintage 1996

The 2013 Autumn release from Arran distillery is single bourbon cask #538. This limited edition release was distilled in 1996 and aged for 17 years before being bottled in 2013 with only 141 bottles filled.

£78.25
(£65.21 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Arran Single Cask #538

Arran Single Cask #1968
2013 Release / Vintage 1996

A single sherry cask from Arran Distillery, distilled in 1996 and aged for 15 years before being bottled in 2012.

Only 263 bottles filled from cask #1968.

£118.00
(£98.33 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Arran Single Cask #1968

Arran The Devil’s Punchbowl
Chapter II / Angels & Devils

The Devil’s Punch Bowl is a series of limited edition drams named after a stunning landmark on the Isle of Arran, the glacial hollow of Coire na Ciche (The Devils Punchbowl) whose sinister presence dominates the north-east coast of Arran.

The foundation of this release is two ex-oloroso Spanish oak casks from 1997 & 1998, blended along with barrels from 2002 and also some of Arran’s oldest ever peated casks from 2004.

£118.00
(£98.33 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Arran The Devil’s Punchbowl Chapter 2

New Arrivals: Port Ellen & Friends

Spring is upon us and Soho is coming out of hibernation. People are starting to mass outside the cafés and bars, the red lights are shining brighter, and, as I write this, the Square bustles with people escaping the office for lunch. If you need a reason to venture into the West End before sundown we have a host of exciting new releases all for your delectation!

Port Ellen 1982 – Mackillop’s Choice – £650
56.2%abv – Single Cask Yield of 306 Bottles

Closed in 1983, the Port Ellen distillery continues to hold its fans in rapture. As we inevitably inch closer to the bottling of the final cask, we have got our grubby mitts on this delicious little number. Bottled from Cask 1511 after 31 years and 10 months of cask ageing, this is classic Port Ellen. Plenty of lemon zest and chamois leather on the nose with additional driftwood and charcoal. A sweet syrupy mouth feel and a long briny finish. Simply superb.

The first person to buy one of these online will win a free sample of the whisky, because we’re good like that!

Springbank 21 Year Old – £195.95
46%abv – Strictly limited to 1 bottle per customer

This is the third release of the 21 Year Old that we’ve received in as many years. A fruit forward whisky with less of the oiliness of the noble 18 Year Old. Masses of nectarine and peach flavours with a stupendously long finish. This may be a whisky that will nestle comfortably into any collection but makes for an excellent drinking whisky if you’re looking for something that offers age and quality in tandem.

Arran 17 Year Old – £69.95
46%abv – Limited Release of 9000 bottles

Port Ellen may be the Knightsbridge of the whisky world: expensive and desirable in Louboutin heels, but the Isle of Arran distillery is the up-and-coming borough where people roll their trousers up and don’t wear socks. Established in 1995, Arran has gone on to produce a top quality single malt, and this year they have released their first 17 Year Old. This whisky is all about the orchard fruits: cox apple, conference pear followed by crème fraiche and a hint of parma violet. With a delicate mouth feel and a relaxed finish.

Tomatin Releases Cù Bòcan 1989 Vintage Limited Edition

NEW PRODUCT RELEASE

Following on from the launch of our standard batch release Cù Bòcan Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky at the end of last year, we are delighted to announce the release of our first limited edition expression for the range.

Casks 37470, 37471 and 37472 have been lurking quietly in Warehouse 9 at Tomatin Distillery since a rare and unintentional production of peated whisky at the distillery on 7th June 1989.

Now the beast has been unleashed in this sweet and smoky rare edition of Cù Bòcan. 

VITALS

Available: 1080 bottles available worldwide except USA from 14th April 2014

Price: RRP £199.99 per 70cl bottle

Cask Type: Matured in a Bourbon casks

Strength: Cask strength; 53.2% 

TASTING NOTES

This limited edition has been released at cask strength, non chill filtered and natural colour. The smoke is more prominent than in the standard edition but retains the instantly recognisable sweetness.

NOSE:

The initial smoke is light, like distant burning kindling and has a heathery character which quickly gives way for fresh fruits – pear accompanied by citric lime zestand sweet pineapple. After time in the glass it becomes much sweeter with honey, vanilla, coconut and custard. Herbaceous notes of basil and rocket.

AROMA: The smoke and the floral heather notes are more prominent on the palate. Sweet abundance of fresh fruits;  orange and grapefruit followed by blackberry and blueberry. Some ginger and clove spice is also hidden in the background.

FINISH: Very smooth with a long lasting earthy, yet sweet smoke.

APRIL UPDATE: A HIVE OF ACTIVITY

April’s bottlings stirred up a hornet’s nest: of the original fourteen keepers, only nine are still flying free. Here are your top five queen bees – catch one quick before the swarm moves on…

No.1: Young & spritely

36.74 Whiter than white

A 9 year old whisky from a first fill ex-bourbon barrel

BUY £44.00

No.2: Spicy & sweet

76.115 Glamping in a Yurt

An 18 year old whisky from a refill ex-sherry butt

BUY £71.70

No.3: Peated

3.215 Weird but wonderful

An 18 year old whisky from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead

BUY £68.10

No.4: Heavily peated

29.152 Chapter and verse

A 23 year old whisky from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead

BUY £95.90

No. 5: Old & dignified

73.62 Magical, mellifluous marvelosity

A 24 year old whisky from a refill ex-sherry butt

BUY £84.90

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

The Glenlivet Gallow Hill Single Cask Whisky Shop exclusive is now available to order! We are still running with free delivery on all orders over £60 delivered to UK addresses!

The Whisky Shop is proud to present another exciting exclusive distillery bottling. Limited to less than 300 bottles this expression is one of the most limited releases ever to come out of Glenlivet. We expect demand to be high and all orders will be processed on a first come first served basis.

The Glenlivet Gallow Hill 16 year old Single Cask tasting notes:

Nose: Bursting with concentrated fruit flavours. Sweet clementine orange and fruity pear complemented perfectly with a sensation of toasted almonds and moist gingerbread.

Taste: Coats the mouth with wonderful sweet orange flavours intermingled with rich milk chocolate and a hint of sweet treacle toffee.

Finish: Long and refreshing.

Bottled at a natural cask strength of 51.8% volume

Background

With spectacular views across Glenlivet, Gallow Hill slopes gently above the distillery. The rugged and remote landscape has hardly changed since George Smith, The Glenlivet founder, first started distilling his whisky all those years ago.

Pre Order today to secure your bottle. Stock arriving on 1st May – £235

Simply Click here to buy

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

TOP PICKS

• 1988 Littlemill 25 Year Old K& ;L “Exclusive Malts” Single Barrel Cask Strength Lowland Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($139.99)
  In the pantheon of closed distilleries, Littlemill definitely falls short of top-tier status. Collectors see names like Port Ellen or Brora and they get excited, even reverent about the possiblity of tasting Scotch whisky royalty. Littlemill, however, has never seen its reputation balloon in the new age of romanticism. It’s maintained a more working class status, while other lost distillery bottles continue to double and triple in price. This is fitting, however, when you visit the site where the distillery once stood. The hamlet of Bowling, where Littlemill once operated, has built affordable housing on the ghostly grounds. A bit of ruins still remain, but there’s nothing left to let you know of their importance other than a street sign that reads “Littlemill Place.” You would drive right by it without noticing if you weren’t looking for it, which is exactly the case with this 25 year old cask of Littlemill whisky. If you weren’t lo oking for delicacy and subtle nuance, you could drink this single malt down quickly and think it was cask strength Jameson. But the drinker who appreciates the pure malt flavors on the palate, the little hint of vanilla on the back, and the burst of richness that tickles the finish, will understand its merit. Littlemill will never be recognized like Port Ellen because its flavors and attributes aren’t obvious. This cask is a last gasp at greatness from a name soon to be forgotten; a good-bye gift to whisky lovers who long for the past.

Glenglassaugh releases first batch of single cask bottlings

GLENGLASSAUGH has released its first batch of single cask bottlings. 

Revived from the dark and hand-selected by Managing Director and Master Distiller Billy Walker, there are eight phenomenal malts in Batch 1 which range from 45 to 28 years. 

All are crisp, fresh, sweet Highland malts that hit the palate with the power of complex fruit bombs – from apples, bananas, pineapples, grapefruit, prunes and plums to lime, cantaloupe melon and caramelised orange! 

The oldest, cask # 1601, 45 years old, was distilled in May 1968. Bottled at 44.3% vol, this autumn gold veteran is long and luxurious. On the nose, heady red candy apples balance with delicate spiced orange softening to distant pineapple juice. And on the palate, crisp oak spices soften to reveal elegant waves of fresh green apple and wisps of ripe banana. Delicate hints of passion fruit, cedar wood and lime zest bring a fantastic depth to the long finish. 

As a contrast, the youngest in the batch is a 28 year old distilled in February 1986.

This rich amber beauty, cask # 2101, was bottled at 43.7% vol. On the nose, gentle heather honey holds warm cigar box spices. Crisp, freshly-ground barley surrounds soaked raisins and sultanas. And on the palate, a toasted white oak spice runs through Demerara caramelised orchard fruits which mellow to dried apricot and hints of vanilla in the long subtle finish. 

Sales Director Alistair Walker said: “We took over Glenglassaugh last year and were thrilled to discover a treasure trove of old and rare spirits slumbering in the warehouses. Revived from the dark, selected by Billy Walker for their excellence and personality and bottled last month, this is an extraordinary collection of rare casks which will be warmly welcomed by connoisseurs worldwide. Taken together, they are stunning examples of Glenglassaugh at its finest.” 

All eight are presented in a beautiful golden box. 

The batch details are: 

1968 cask # 1601 / 45 years old / Finished in the finest Sherry Hogshead / 44.3% vol

1972 cask # 2114 / 41 years old / Matured in the finest Sherry Butt / 50.6% vol

1973 cask # 6801/ 40 years old/ Finished in the finest Manzanilla Sherry Puncheon/ 52.1% vol

1975 cask # 7301 / 38 years old / Finished in the finest Oloroso Sherry Hogshead / 40.7% vol

1975 cask # 7801 / 38 years old / Finished in the finest Moscatel Hogshead / 42.4% vol

1978 cask # 1803 / 35 years old / Finished in the finest Sherry Hogshead / 41.6% vol

1978 cask # 1810 / 35 years old / Finished in the finest Port Hogshead / 42.9% vol

1986 cask # 2101 / 28 years old / Finished in the finest Hogshead / 43.7% vol