1994 Glendronach K&L Exclusive 16 Year Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky ($115.99) While ensconced deep in the countryside of the Eastern Scottish Highlands, David OG and I sat at a small table in a low-lit guesthouse and marveled at the quality of the Glendronach single malts. I immediately blogged via the K&L Spirits Journal website that the 12 year old was the “best single malt that no one is drinking!” Very much like Springbank whiskies sans the peat smoke, Glendronach has an unctuous, chewy mouthfeel that isn’t overly cloying or too saturated with sweet sherry. We knew that if we could find a single barrel that tasted similiar to the amazing 12 year, we would have a real winner on our hands. The next morning we scoured the warehouses in search of the perfect expression and we found it in a 1994 barrel that had been briefly finished in PX sherry cask. Earthy notes from the warehouse aging permiate the rich, oily flavors of vanilla, raisined fruit, and cakebread. The cask strength proof really keeps the sweetness at bay and the result is a fabulously balanced malt that should appeal to just about everyone. This is the barrel everyone will overlook, but I’d bet my salary it’s the one that will get the best reviews. -David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer

1997 Springbank K&L Exclusive 14 Year Single Madeira Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky ($99.99) Upon our 2011 visit to Springbank, we knew we wanted to purchase a single bourbon cask, but we were open to other options were we to find another very special barrel. Of course, that’s exactly what happened. One of the most beloved whiskies in K&L customer history was a 2000 Springbank that was finished in Chateau d’Yquem barrels, giving a sweet highlight to the chewy textures of the malt. This 1998 Madeira-finished cask is bottled at cask strength, and is the more muscular, more mature cousin of that lovely 2000. Golden fruits, a rich, oily mouthfeel, and a long, supple finish all merge together and make this one of the easiest drams we’ve tasted in sometime. We can’t imagine anyone not loving this, so we decided to go deep and buy the whole thing. Like the 2000, we expect people to talk about this whisky for some time to come. -David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer
Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

Old Pulteney 12 year old Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 5 available ($44.99)

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 CA

Jura 1976 35 year old
Feith A’ Chaorainn Islands
70cl

£500.00 (£416.67 ex VAT)

One of only 500 bottles worldwide and 1 of 100 bottles available in the UK. Sensually complex with notes of lemongrass, vetiver, soft warm honey, sage and cinnamon. Soft rich bitter chocolate, coriander, liquorice and caramelised fruits stir the palate. Lingering sensations of glazed orange segments and crushed apples complete this sensory spectrum

Laid to cask in 1976, then matured in three bespoke American white oak ex bourbon hogsheads over the ensuing years, this noble spirit has been moulded by Mother Nature herself.

Jura 1976 35 year old Feith A’ Chaorainn Islands

The Whisky Shop

Balvenie 1401 Tun Now available to order via The Whisky Shop! – The Whisky Shop has received a very limited amount…

To produce it the Balvenie Malt Master, David Stewart selected 10 premium casks from his warehouses and these have been put together in a vessel called a tun. This is a large barrel/cask, which is traditionally made of oak, where different whiskies are allowed to ‘marry together’ for some time. In this batch, he chose to again use one of the finest tuns at Balvenie for this marrying process – tun number 1401 – which took three months. The range of the 10 casks selected is interesting – one from 1967, one from 1989 and the other eight from the 1970s, mostly the early part of the decade. Seven are ex-bourbon casks and three are ex-sherry casks. The Tun 1401 Batch 2 has an alcohol strength of 50.6% ABV and is available from the Whisky Shop for £149.99

Kind Regards

The Whisky Shop
www.whiskyshop.com

If you’re heading south for the winter, take us with you!

On Friday, November 4th The Scotch Malt Whisky Society will have seven great new bottlings available.

From light and easy-drinking breakfast whiskies to the heartier, smoky ones to nurse by the fire and everything in between, The Society has your tastes covered. But remember – only members can buy them, so if you haven’t already joined don’t delay; sign up now or you’ll miss out on these limited offerings.

Visit www.smws.ca for the full listing of November releases, but for now, here’s a teaser to whet your whistle:

39.76 Delish!

28 year old Speyside

The unreduced nose suggested vanilla, raspberry ripple, candy floss and banana, but it mostly conveyed scents from a lady’s dresser – citrus, floral perfumes (violet, lavender , lily of the valley) soft leather and sandalwood. This floral intensity continued with water and we also found carmalised onions and spices (white pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon). The unreduced palate was floral and woody (like chewing on charred heather stems, birch twigs or even hyacinth bubs). We also detected toffee and carmelised orange. With water it became syrupy sweet, with cedarwood and cloves in the finish – Delish! The distillery was built by Peter Brown in 1825.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada
104-1240 Kensington Road NW, Suite 160
Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 3P7
Email – curious@smws.ca

Loch Fyne Whiskies Stocks ‘Mortlach 21yo G&M’

Mortlach 21yo G&M
43% abv
£52.90 inc vat
£44.08 ex vat

 …’An absolute ace…’

A novel colour for a Mortlach, no iota of a dark over-sherry-wooded mahogany brown, this gem is pale gold, and reflects the superb disposition of the whisky. A nose of bananas, esters, custard creams, slightly tobacco, greengrocers, beeswax and much more. Away from the sherry mask Mortlach’s fruit complexity is revealed. What a beauty with a superb nose.

The mouth is cool with excellent balance; creamy fruit salad in a perfect fruit syrup, this is very good, a typical Speyside single malt Scotch Whisky. With a light tobacco-tar finish.

Be careful adding water, it’s explosive! A crossfire hurricane, elastoplasts, lemons, oranges, hot buttered toasted oak with honey,

An absolute ace and a pleasure to make its acquaintance at last.

H4 on the Flavour Map
Complex, Rich & Delicate.

Mortlach G&M 21yo 43%alc.

Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk

CASK ISLAY

Cask Islay is the latest addition to the A D Rattray portfolio of exceptional and different malt whiskies. Although officially a blended malt, the majority of the whisky in this Vatting No 1 comes from one distillery on Islay. Produced from a small batch of hand-picked casks it has been bottled as a very Limited Edition at 46% ABV and is uncoloured and unchill-filtered.

Young, and extremely smoky on the nose, Cask Islay Vatting No 1 has complex flavours of oats, caramel and honey on the palate – unusual for an Islay malt.

This furnace of Islay peat and smoke is available now.

For a list of stockists go to www.adrattray.com

TheWhiskyBarrel.com Stocks Scotland’s Newest Single Malt

Abhainn Dearg Distillery was established in 2008 by Mark Tayburn. A Scottish Islands distillery situated at Carnish near Uig in the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides.

The first single malt Scotch from the distillery was launched on 14th October 2011. Matured in ex-bourbon oak, this historic first bottling is limited to just 2,011 bottles each bottled by hand at the distillery. Now available to order from The Whisky Barrel online whisky shop.

Abhainn Dearg Single Malt / 3 Years Old / 46% £124.99 GBP ($160 USD)

Abhainn Dearg Single Malt / Miniature / 46% £6.66 GBP ($10.70 USD)

Order online at http://www.thewhiskybarrel.com

The Whisky Barrel
www.thewhiskybarrel.com
facebook.com/thewhiskybarrel
twitter.com/whiskybarrel @WhiskyBarrel
www.thewhiskybarrel.com/blog
E: info@thewhiskybarrel.com
T: +44 (0)845 2248 156

Loch Fyne Whiskies stocks a new item, ‘Knockando 1985 25yo’

43% abv
£135.00 inc vat
£112.50 ex vat
Knockando 1985 25yo 43%alc.

Very limited and so restricted to 1 per person

A fine sherry-wood matured Speysider.

A full sherry maturation is evident but it is not thickly-cloying. A distinct chocolate top with a nutty and slightly sulphury undertone. And some rosehips. (Forgive me; my tasting conditions were very agreeable but not ideal for considered reporting).

Grows with water. So much so we tried it with ice as well and thought the chocolate notes became very enjoyable!

Flavour Map square I3
on the Rich side of Rich & Delicate

Price excluding VAT: £112.50
£135.00 Including VAT at 20%

Best regards,
Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk

We are delighted to announce the arrival of our third release of Bowmore Tempest.

A violent windstorm, frequently accompanied by rain, snow, or hail.

Every year we release a small batch of Tempest to bring you a little taste of a wild, stormy Islay day. Each non chill-filtered batch is a little different one year to the next but will always reflect our raw spirit and is reminiscent of tasting a dram straight out of the cask in our legendary No.1 Vaults here on Islay… A first fill Bourbon cask that is.

Our newest release of Tempest has delicious notes of Seville orange zest coupled with Islay peat smoke, sweet vanilla and barley sugar. We suggest you try it with a piece of rich, dark chocolate to release the sweetness and depth of the spirit – magical!

Visit Bowmore Distillery at www.bowmore.com

I know that the recipients of these letters are whisky enthusiasts, many with a part-time involvement in the whisky industry. Those of you who are only interested in the actual product, whisky, can ignore this letter, or skip straight to the product list at the bottom.

My first year of making a living by buying and selling whisky is just over and I’m getting my accounts prepared for the Inland Revenue. Accounts can be a bit boring and don’t reflect the daily frantic action that goes into making the profit (or loss) that they show. Whilst it’s re-assuring to have my accountant refer to profits this is automatically followed by the words “tax liability”. A quick glance at my accounts indicates that I’ve had a good year … good … except, where, I ask myself, is the money to pay the tax? Payment of tax will of course require some planning of cash flow to make it possible, since over the past twelve months I’ve had a habit of spending every spare penny to expand my range of stock. I’ve learned that trying to make profit is not just a mad dash of buying and selling but it has to be controlled. With different UK tax rates being applied to a sole trader and a limited company, I can see that good advice is important and it may well be beneficial to operate through a combination of both. Corporation tax is lower than personal tax and running the business as a limited company might allow me to build up stock in the early years as the business grows. Even when operating at a very small level, one begins to see why businesses are attracted to low tax countries.

I managed to get a scholarship to university and worked in my spare time. As a result I finished university with money remaining from my student loan, essentially a debt which will have to be repaid but which at the moment has the benefit of being interest free. Having access to that money was critical as it was probably the only source of funding available to me. In these days of uncertainty, a bank would have been an improbable source of start-up finance, especially for a young person buying whisky. A year ago I was unmarried, and could eat and sleep in my parents’ home at no expense to myself. Now Jane and I are happily married and we have discovered the simple things in life, like rent, local authority Council Tax (for which we seem to get very little) and the need to own a lawn mower and buy food.

If you’re interested, please read more on my website by clicking here or by typing http://www.whiskybroker.co.uk/fileuploads/octoberupdate.pdf  into your browser.

Regards

Martin Armstrong

www.whiskybroker.co.uk
info@whiskybroker.co.uk

Current Stock includes:

Age Distilled at: Dist. Date Cask Type No. Sold No. Unsold Price

0 Tomatin 03/11 Hogshead 1 4 £850

3 Benriach 10/04/08 Barrel 3 3 £900

5 Balmenach 02/08/06 Barrel 6 1 £1100

8 Auchroisk 18/09/2003 Hogshead 0 2 £1850

8 Mortlach 12/05/03 Hogshead 0 2 £1850

8 Glenburgie 13/05/03 Hogshead 0 2 £1850

14 Macduff 14/10/97 R/f Sherry Butt 0 1 Coming Soon

14 Clynelish 14/07/97 R/f Sherry Hhd 6 1 £2488

14 Bowmore 23/06/97 Barrel 2 3 £1990-£2300

14 Dalmore 29/10/96 Hogshead 2 3 £1857-£2258

15 Auchroisk 02/02/96 Hogshead 0 2 £2210

18 Glen Grant 13/10/93 Hogshead 1 2 £4200

20 Cragganmore 08/03/91 Hogshead 4 1 £2684

20 Bunnahabhain 1991 Hogshead 0 2

20 North British 22/01/91 Barrel 3 2 £650, £1600

20 Port Dundas 31/01/91 Hogshead 2 3 £2000

20 Islay Malt 24/12/90 60litre 15 6 £1500

22 Blair Athol June 1989 Hogshead 0 2 £3730-£3995

22 Bunnahabhain 1989 Hogshead 0 3

Bottled Stock: (http://www.whiskybroker.co.uk/acatalog/shophome.html  )

14yo Bowmore, 70cl, 55% £36

14yo Clynelish (refill sherry hhd matured), 70cl, 53.7% £32

20yo Cragganmore, 70cl, 53.4% £37

14yo Dalmore, 70cl, 55.5% £32

17yo Glen Grant, 70cl, 55% £40

20yo Islay Malt, 70cl, 53.4% £40.50

20yo North British Grain, 70cl, 55.1% £36