1993 GlenDronach 19 Year Old “K&L Exclusive” Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($139.99)

Located in an isolated portion of the Aberdeenshire, amid rolling green hills and sinister shadows, GlenDronach is churning out sherry-aged single malt that simply destroys many of its competitors. This 19-year-old selection smells of Armagnac and rich caramel, with roasted fruits and big sherry aromas. The palate is soft, integrated and very smooth, even at full proof. The richness is powerful, but unlike some of their older selections, it is completely in check and balanced by the spice and alcohol in the malt. This is a bigger, more expressive version of Macallan 18. It’s going to be a huge hit!

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

Milroy’s of Soho Bottlings

We are pleased to have been featured as one of ‘London’s Best Shops 2013′ by TimeOut, thanks to a long tradition begun by brothers John and Wallace Milroy in the 1960s of travelling to Scotland, selecting choice casks from the distilleries themselves, and bottling under the Milroy’s of Soho name. We choose the casks with an aim to bottle unusual or particularly outstanding examples of single malt whisky for our discerning whisky lovers back home, and have become rare collectibles in their own right.

So to celebrate our recognition by TimeOut, this February we’re discounting our Milroy’s of Soho Bottlings for you to enjoy; buy any two and receive 10% off!

Milroy’s of Soho Single Cask, 46% ABV, Cooley 2001,
11 Year Old, Cask 3440

We are able to offer you what has become an increasingly rare independent bottling of Irish whiskey; until recently Cooley was the only privately owned distillery in Ireland. It was sold at the end of last year to multinational Beam for about £60 million – you can pick up a bottle from us for just £55! Those of you with a sharp eye will notice that this is an Irish whiskey bottled in Scotland. Just 394 bottles were produced from this single cask.

We recently held our first ever live Twitter Tasting in which our Cooley’s bottling won new fanatics, detecting notes of “Creamy lime & coconut, herbal & rye, even some coriander.” A highly unusual dram!
 
Milroy’s of Soho Single Cask Bottling
Triple distilled lowlander, which is smooth, mellow and easy going. Ideal introduction to Scottish Single Malts in a handy 5CL format.
£6.00
 
Glen Garioch 1978, Single Cask Cask Strength, Exclusive to Milroy’s of Soho
An extremely rare limited edition of just 146 bottles exclusively for Milroy’s of Soho. An elegant Glen Garioch with fruity finesse. Notes of fine eau de vie, dusty melon candy fuses with traces of wood-smoke, leaving a gentle finish of heather honey and clean powdery icing sugar.
£300.00

Our mailing address is:

Milroy’s of Soho
3 Greek Street
London, England W1D 4NX
United Kingdom

Early February 2013 Outturn Offerings 

Sweet versus savoury 

Cask No. 33.114                                           $105

Islay 

Bacon, maple syrup and waffles vie with Black Forest Gateaux and sticky toffee pudding, while fried seaweed, spare ribs and black pudding tussle with lint bandages, and smoke. Sweet, rich, smoky, ashy, thick and herbal on the palate lent weight to the meatiness (pork covered in caramel). The addition of water brought forth aromas of smoked goose, salty scallops, toffee, Seville orange marmalade and fresh minty notes. The taste was chewy and rich but this time with scorched heather, burnt citrus, barbecued lamb & mint sauce, violet ice cream and caramelised onions. This distillery’s mascot is Shortie the Jack Russell. 

Drinking tip: A definite foodie dram – while spit roasting a suckling pig perhaps? 

Colour: Burnished gold                              Date distilled: August 1999

Cask: Refill ex Sherry butt                          Alcohol: 56.3%

Age: 11 years                                               USA allocation: 168 bottles 

Coconut shy 

Cask No. 1.161                                             $160

Speyside, Spey 

Strawberry jam and vanilla brings to mind Victoria sponge dusted with icing sugar, with Cornish ice cream, but soon light bosky notes emerge: dried grasses, high-summer dustiness, gorse flowers. The latter come through strongly in the taste, now as full-blown coconut; sweet to start, and tannic dry in the finish, with a light aftertaste of cottage cheese. It drinks well straight; with a dash of water, the aroma is lightly woody before the coconut returns, with sugared almonds and some Fruit & Nut chocolate. A creamy texture, with more coconut, and a return of the Fruit & Nut in the finish. The distillery is still owned by descendants of its founder. 

Drinking tip: To accompany a Jilly Cooper novel 

Colour: Pale amber                                     Date distilled: December 1986

Cask: Refill hogshead                                 Alcohol: 49.2%

Age: 24 years                                               USA allocation: 114 bottles 

Mon Chérie 

Cask No. 7.71                                               $135

Speyside, Lossie 

A profound, very dark chocolate, nose, reminiscent of Mon Chérie cherry-liqueur chocolates, a hint of wild mint and creamy coffee. A creamy mouthfeel at full strength, with the bitter chocolate theme continuing, joined by light coconut and sultanas: lively but pleasant. Water reveals its Speyside origins – acetone and warm vinyl, creamy and buttery; vanilla ice cream with desiccated coconut. A soft and gentle texture; not as sweet to taste as previously, with traces of orange bitters and later, canvas or hessian; a long finish, with dry coconut in the aftertaste. The distillery used to be connected to BenRiach Distillery, which supplied it with malt, by a railway line. 

Drinking tip: At dusk with a loved one and a box of hand-made chocolates 

Colour: Deep gold towards amber                     Date distilled: April 1992

Cask: Refill hogshead                                             Alcohol: 53.0%

Age: 19 years                                                           USA allocation: 138 bottles 

Moselle and nasturtiums 

Cask No. 121.52                                           $90

Highland,Island 

Soft and gentle, with vanilla sponge, tart apples (or sour apple chews), hard pears, skins of peaches and nectarines, then a sharper note, like lime, with traces of jasmine. Water sweetens it – ‘poached pears in Moselle’ – and raises estery notes of warm vinyl and ‘leaky BIC biro’, with ladies face powder, developing to warm apple pie. At natural strength the taste is hot and simple, with traces of apple and flour; water makes it sweet and spicy, with a spritzich fizz and a slightly bitter finish, like eating nasturtiums. The island on which this distillery is located is known as ‘Scotland in miniature’. 

Drinking tip: A lunchtime aperitif 

Colour: 9CT gold, white wine                                Date distilled: July 2002

Cask: Refill barrel                                                    Alcohol: 59.9%

Age: 9 years                                                             USA allocation: 60 bottles

Please visit the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America at http://www.smwsa.com/ for further information on their single cask bottlings.

January 2013

We offer two (2) new bottlings under the OLD MALT CASK label with two (2) ADVANCE SAMPLES – four (4) from PROVENANCE together with one (1) CLAN DENNY Grain release.

Tasting Notes for OLD MALT CASK follow:

OMC 2225 Arran 15 Year old –

Nose: Rich spices +honey -fruit& barley + a home baked doughy quality

Palate: Carries barley + macerated dark (raisiny)fruit + treacle toffee

Finish: Sweetly spiced (camphor style) plus molasses & herbs +light oak (F)

OMC 2224 Dufftown 30 Year Old

Nose: Clean, fresh & fragrant – runs to a floral style with a hint of anise

Palate: Llight & spicy – carrying a sweet herbal character + light liquorice

Finish: Now running drier to a spicy, slightly oaked style + subtle smoke (J)

Advance Sample 20 cls.

SMC 0435 Glengoyne 12 Year Old

SMC 0437 Fettercairn 10 Year Old

Tasting Notes for PROVENANCE:

PRV 0948 Miltonduff 7 Year Old Sherry

Opens with spiced oranges and cloves on the nose (mulled wine style) and develops to polished wood plus a chili & caramel mix. For its age, the palate is surprisingly rich and distinctly mouth coating with a real chocolates-with-orange-filling style. The finish is medium long, lightly oaked running drier with a leather and dark chocolate quality – now with black cherries. (J)

PRV 0959 Fettercairn 10 Year Old

Despite being so blond – opens with an attractively crushed sugar sweetness and develops to a candied fruit quality. The palate is light and fresh, still sweet, carrying soft spices and orange zest. The finish is spiced,sweetly toffee’d, remaining fresh and light. (J)

PRV 0958 Glengoyne 12 Year Old

Clean, fresh, and sweetly sugared plus juicy barley tones – all warming nicely on the nose. Palatewise it carries a distinctly chewy Maltiness before soft spices, toffee and a light oakiness gather – all being rather neatlyreplicated on the finish. (F)

PRV 0957 Caol Ila Young and Feisty

The nose opens distinctly Islay in style, balanced with a malt mash and a sweetly vanilla’d quality. This sweetness continues on the palate and develops to a sweet liquorice and soft warm tar character. Sweet smoke plus honey on distinctly burnt toast linger on the long finish. (J)

Tasting Note for CLAN DENNY Old Grain:

DEN 0089 Invergordon 46 Year Old

Lightly oaked initially on the nose – with burnt sugar – then citric fruity tones appear till vanilla custard and sweet baking ease in later. The palate is sugary sweet then vanilla from its Bourbon cask (plus some of its oak)is released – with more candied citric flavours – all running to a finish that carries a syrupy sweet set of fruit-inthat- custard flavours. (F)

We hope you have a good start of 2013, which we hope will be happy – and above all HEALTHY, for you and your family.

Yours faithfully

Fred Laing

www.douglaslaing.com

CSN Wine & Spirits
1716 Centre St N
Calgary, Alberta
T2E 2S4
p (403)296-0240

Longrow 11 Year Old Rundlets & Kilderkins

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep amber
Nose: Smoke is easy to identify from the beginning and is soon joined with medicinal notes and subtle burning embers. On returning to nose, sweetness such as toffee apple is more pronounced.
Palate: Both peat and smoke are detected yet it is simultaneously sweet, particularly toffee and fudge. This is followed with the taste of liquorice. Rich and oily from its maturation in small casks, it gives an impression of being older than its 11 years.
Finish: Long, smooth and sweet. Slow and lingering hint of peat with peat reaching a crescendo with a strong peaty aftertaste.

For the most part of the 17th and the 18th centuries Campbeltown was a smuggling centre, an occupation that was supported by the area’s geography, topography…. and the local gentry. One famous story tells of an old woman living in the town who was up before the Sheriff for smuggling. She had been found guilty and before passing sentence the Sheriff told her:

£58.99 inc VAT

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW

Springbank 21 Year Old

Tasting Notes:

Colour: Rich gold
Nose: Sherry is the dominant aroma, accompanied by classic Christmas cake ingredients of raisins, sultanas, almonds and marzipan. You could nose this all night, the possibilities are infinite.
Palate: Rich and creamy, bursting with flavour. Great oily texture like the previous edition. Concluding with a hint of treacle and salt. A whisky full of rich flavour that will not let you down.
Finish: Goes on and on, deliciously sweet. Develops on the tongue for eternity, evolving continuously.

£199.00 inc VAT
CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW

We hope everyone had a nice Holiday season and Happy New Year. Here are a few exciting new bottles that have made their way to our store. Cheers to your 2013. May it be happy, healthy and filled with great spirits.

Please feel free to contact us about these items or anything else we carry.

All the best,

Jonathan & Eric

Park Avenue Liquor Shop

292 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10017

212-685-2442

info@parkaveliquor.com

www.parkaveliquor.com

Bruichladdich: Islay Bere Barley 2006

“Kynagarry Farm Achaba, Achfad Fields”

The following is taken from Bruichladdich:

“It is possible that this is the barley that produced the original “usque-baugh”, the water of life. It is also possible that this grain, and the knowledge of how to distil it, was carried to the hebrides by Norse invaders in the 9th century from its ancient origins in the “fertile crescent” of mesopotamia.
1,200 years of distilling history in a bottle?”

Tasting notes. Also compliments of Bruichladdich.

The bouquet is totally disarming. A dash of water to tease the shy aromatics and a bouquet of water lily, marsh marigold, buttercup, gorse (fragrant shrub) and fern ascends. The floral notes are interlaced with sweet malt sprinkled with brown sugar. They are joined by fresh fruit notes of gooseberry, pear, apple and lemon. The malted barley notes slowly rise in harmony with the vanilla-rich oak.
The texture is so very succulent. Lemon meringue laced with warm honey, then the tidal surge of slow-distilled spirit that floods the palate with wave after wave of soft fruits. A super sweet butter-kissed flavor, with just a hint of wild summer flowers. The mid-palate introduces the oak character which brings glazed hazelnuts. It’s very impressive for a spirit so young, from a grain so old.

Our Price: $70/750ml bottle

Bruichladdich: The Laddie 22-Year Old

This spirit, stowed away in loch-side warehouses, has slumbered for over two decades, respiring the invigorating marine air of the wild Atlantic. This is classic spirit, with the “laddie” 10 and the 16, it shares a genealogy, a lineage and a philosophy that is the very essence of Bruichladdich.

Tasting notes,compliments of the modest folks at Bruichladdich.

“A disarming and elegant bouquet of sweet yellow fruits, drizzled with honey and crushed almonds, intertwine wonderfully with freshly picked summer flowers; together they rise serenely on the first pass. Then, with a little aeration, it’s custard cream and toasted barley, banana bread and vanilla fudge. Marzipan continues to rise, now mingling with a citric twist created by the big sleep beside the Atlantic ocean. The final notes are of the malt and oak, evolving together over 22 years,

The harmonious aromatics have merged superbly to give a mouth-feel that is the absolute single malt taste experience. Vanilla oak and lemon and honey lead on the first sips, with the soft, yogurt-like fruit flavors a heartbeat behind. Then it’s a vanilla wafer, and then sparkling like a firecracker all around the taste buds comes that marine citrus meringue flavor. This is truly a rare spirit of exceptional quality. There is no terminal, no finish. This will remain with you long after the bottle has gone.”

Our price: $200/750ml bottle

Colonel E.H. Taylor: Straight Rye

Straight Rye Whiskey has experienced a strong resurgence in the American whiskey landscape, yet Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. was making this style more than 100 years ago. This small batch, Bottled-in-Bond 100 proof straight rye whiskey pays tribute to the former Distillery owner with a unique rye whiskey reminiscent of days long past. This recipe contains just rye and malted barley, no corn. The result is an aroma full of dried fruit, black pepper, and touch of fresh dill. A small sip brings an array of flavors both sweet and savory with a terrific balance of dark spices and subtle caramel overtones. The finish is especially pleasing with an oaky dryness that lingers just long enough.

Our Price: $80/750ml bottle

George Dickel: Rye

George Dickel Master Distiller, John Lunn, brings us the newest addition to the Rye category that is sure to please consumers, mixologists and bartenders alike. Created the George Dickel way – at 90 proof, it has been chilled and then charcoal filtered for a smoother taste.

“The initial aroma of George Dickel Rye delivers a fresh, grainy scent with a pleasant note of fruit on the finish. Those fruit notes maintain upon first taste and the liquid finishes with a long, composed spiciness.”
– F. Paul Pacult, American spirits expert and author

Color: Amber/Old Gold Hue
Nose: Toasted oak, spicy rye grains, grapefruit and sweet caramel.
Taste: Initially sweet, hints of fruit, spicy and dry at the finish.

Our Price: $34/750ml bottle

Bruichladdich: PC 10 ~ Tro Na Linntean

This PC Edition celebrates the next generation at Bruichladdich. Allan Logan is the youngest distillery manager in Scotland, and has been learning the trade at Jim McEwan’s right hand for 10 years. “Tro Na Linntean”: Through the generations.

This is a limited release of just 6,000 numbered bottles.

Notes courtesy of Bruichladdich:

“The opening is one of peat smoke and lemon juice. On the second pass the malted barley and sweet, nutty, oak aromatics rise as one. The over-lapping fragrances are inter-mingling with marine freshness deep in the spirit lies the ripe guava, pineapple, gooseberry & honey-dew melon. They’re all cocooned within smoke. Subtle notes of peppermint, pine and anise pop up like champagne bubbles. Aromatically, it’s absolute heaven for peat fans. The briny aspect is with you throughout, blowing in on the westerly slipstream – peated malt, sea air, succulent fruit, mellow oak, sun kissed barley, and soft demerara sugar. The power surges onto the taste buds, detonating across the palate in wave after wave of flavor. Then the combination of oak & barley take the middle ground & vanilla-dipped fruits hold fast on the front palate. With a second sip, the flavors integrate into a harmonious, vibrant taste experience, with the sweet, biscuity taste of the malt shining through to bring balance to the mid- palate. The natural oils hold all the components together giving a smooth- ness that chill-filtered spirits lack. The citrus, marine, moorland freshness is a perfect foil for the peat flavors, giving a taste that can only be… Islay.”

Our Price: $154/750ml bottle

Bunnahabhain: 18 Year Old

This beautiful golden spirit’s nose releases honeyed nuts and a slightly sea-induced salty tang. Rich toffee and leathery oak aromas can be sensed upon further inspection. The palate is influenced by mellow sherried nuts and shavings of the finest natural oak wood.

The voyage ends with dry notes that are interspersed with mixed spices fading magnificently into a light salt and sherry finale. It is non-chill filtered and natural colored.

All of that being said ~ The 18 year-old is being discontinued. What we have left is what is on our shelves. So if the 18 is a favorite of yours – get it while you can.

Our Price: $110/750ml bottle

High West: American Prairie Reserve Bourbon

High West is dedicated to preserving and promoting the American West. The American Prairie Reserve is superb premium bourbon whiskey dedicated to one of the greatest land preservation projects of our time. The Reserve in Montana is a 5000 square mile land tract the size of Connecticut restored to what Lewis and Clark would have seen. Go to americanprairie.org to learn how to visit and support this worthy cause.

What’s in High West: American Prairie?
Whiskey #1:
6 year old Bourbon distilled and aged at the old Seagrams plant in Lawrenceberg Indiana. Mashbill from 75% Corn, 20% rye, 5% barley malt.

Whiskey #2:
10 year old Bourbon distilled by Four Roses. Mashbill from 60% Corn, 35% rye, and 5% barley malt

Our Price: $45/750ml bottle

Loch Fyne Whiskies Stocks Longrow 11yo Rundlets & Kilderkins

Longrow 11yo Rundlets & Kilderkins

51.7% abv

£56.90 inc vat

£47.42 ex vat

Loch Fyne Whiskies

david@lfw.co.uk

The Claymore Times

~ All The News That’s Fit To Drink ~

Dunkeld Atholl Brose
Strength 35% LCBO # 303230 $49.95

Winner of the World’s Best Whisky Liqueur!

More than 300 whiskies and liquors battled during three intensive blind tasting rounds to be crowned the World’s Best Whisky. Judges for Whisky Magazine’s independent editorial panel were drawn from some of the best drinks journalists and retailers across the world, with industry representatives made up of master blenders, distillers and brand ambassadors in the final round. Ref: whiskyintelligence.com. This is an absolute delight “nectar from the gods” and one I’ll be sharing at the LCBO event at the National Club on Wednesday and the ScotchBlog event at Quinns restaurant on Thursday.

Its story begins in 1475, when the Earl of Atholl foiled a rebellion against the King by the Lord of the Isles, Iain MacDonald, by filling the well he drew water from with honey, oatmeal and whisky.

The mixture was so enticing that MacDonald, rather then flee his pursuers, stayed to enjoy the concoction, giving the Earl time to catch him.

To this day, the exact recipe that he found so beguiling remains unknown, but Gordon & MacPhail has brought its essence to life in a captivating, contemporary liqueur.
Perfectly-balanced, silky and smooth, Dunkeld Atholl Brose delights the palate. It combines the finest Speyside Single malt Scotch Whisky with sweet and aromatic notes and a hint of toasted oatmeal to create an easy-drinking and versatile drink that can be enjoyed all year round.

Don’t forget “The Spirits of Kingston Whisky Festival”

by Sylvain Bouffard 

On Saturday evening, February 23^rd 2013, between 7 and 10 pm, the Museum will be transformed into a whisky exhibition hall and over twenty Vendors will be dispersed amidst the museum’s displays. The Spirits of Kingston Whisky Festival promises to be a fantastic Night Out:  Sample whiskies, visit a local Museum and support a local charity!

Other whiskies arriving soon

1998     Coal Ila

1997     Blair Athol

1989     Tomatin

1994     Clynlish

1996     Glen Grant

1993     Ledig

1997     Glendullan

Springbank 12 Year Old Cask Strength

In Brief… Age 12 YO, Casks 70% sherry, 30% bourbon, ABV 53.1%, Availability Worldwide

Colour – fiery red
Nose – Rich and sweet with hints of toffee and fudge. As the whisky breathes sherry, vanilla and chocolate notes are revealed. Toffee pudding in a glass.
Palate – Initially the sherry influence is apparent, followed by vanilla and oak flavours. A lovely smooth and creamy feeling on the palate.
Finish – Dry, smooth and complex with a hint of smoke that lingers in the finish.