Yamazaki Bourbon Barrel
Limited Edition

Yamazaki Bourbon Barrel is a superior single malt whisky made from carefully selected Yamazaki malts. The whisky is cradled in bourbon barrels and stored in aging cellars located in Japan’s Yamazaki and Oumi regions until it reaches the peak of maturity. It is here that nature paints a changing backdrop with a palette of seasonal colours and provides a warm moist climate to slowly nurture the whisky within the barrel.

Colour – Dark Amber. Aroma – Vanilla, honey, caramel. Taste – Robust, woody. Finish – Slightly sweet, pleasantly lingering.

Available to buy Click here

exclusive launch with the whisky shop

Hakushu Bourbon Barrel
Limited Edition

Hakushu Bourbon Barrel is a superior single malt whisky made from carefully selected Hakushu malts. The distillery where these malts are crafted lies nested deep within the Hakushu forest, 700 meters above sea level, in the shadow of the southern Japanese Alps’ Mt. Kaikomagatake. The area’s cold climate is an essential ingredient that gives Hakushu malts their mild refreshing taste and crisp citrus aromas with a distinctive vanilla flavour that can be found only in a bourbon barrel-aged whisky.

Colour – Gold. Aroma – Tropical Fruits, citrus and vanilla. Taste – Light, smooth. Finish – Refreshing clean.

Available to buy Click here

BENRIACH AND GLENDRONACH LAUNCH UK EXCLUSIVE SINGLE CASK BOTTLINGS

THE BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd. is delighted today (October 10) to announce UK EXCLUSIVE bottlings from two single casks – one from BenRiach and the other from its sister distillery at GlenDronach.

These limited release 1995 expressions, both bottled in August this year, were both matured in Pedro Ximinez sherry puncheons. These were originally used to store the characteristically sweet, full-bodied Spanish sherry that confers its distinctively rich and complex characteristics on the whisky.

The result in both cases is fruit-laden heaven!

First, the GlenDronach. From cask 4681, distilled in November 1995, this is a 15-year-old single malt bottled at cask strength – 56.2% vol.

Its striking appearance is cherry-wood and russet mahogany. On the nose, there is chocolate orange and stewed plum while the palate delivers chocolate, toffee, spiced fruits, figs, raisins and dates.

The cask out-turned 725 bottles, each of which is individually numbered.

Complementing this monster GlenDronach is an equally substantial offering from BenRiach. From cask 7164 distilled in May 1995, this is aged 16-years-old and bottled at a cask strength of 58.3% vol.

Its appearance is bright amber with a late autumnal glow. On the nose, bananas, citrus fruits and oregano while the palate brings melons, bananas and lychee.

The out-turn on the BenRiach was marginally smaller, at 695 bottles. Again, each bottle is hand-numbered.

Sales Director Alistair Walker said: “GlenDronach and BenRiach are both renowned for their idiosyncratic single cask bottlings, and we release a number of these each year. They have proven to be very popular, but with our ‘batch’ single cask releases being divided amongst all of our export markets as well as the UK, allocations can be quite tight. For that reason, we decided to select a couple of casks just for the UK to give our home-based retail clients the chance to get their hands on a reasonable quantity of each bottling.”

Both expressions are pictured.

Hello Fellow Scotch Lovers –

This weeks’ email is about another rare whisky (do I have to remind you about how fast these rare whiskies disappear?) bottled by one of Scotland’s great independent bottlers, and produced by one of Scotland’s last remaining Independent distilleries:

Douglas Laing & Co is a Glasgow based independent bottler which was established by Fred Douglas Laing in 1948, and today is in the hands of his sons Stewart and Fred. The company started seriously bottling single malt whiskies in 1998 to cater to the increasing interest in single malts. They have now released thousands of single malts and are considered one of the top independent bottlers in the industry offering an excellent portfolio of single malts which have been bottled in small batches or from single casks. They offer an very extensive portfolio of varying ages from 10 up to 45 years of age.

The Benriach distillery, located near Elgin in the ‘Lossie’ part of Speyside, was built in 1898 by John Duff, who had constructed the Longmorn distillery a year earlier. Unfortunately, financial problems forced him to sell both distilleries soon afterwards.

After remaining silent for more than half a century, Benriach was eventually sold again and rebuilt by new owners; The Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd. in 1965. Chivas bought Benriach in 2001, but closed the distillery again in 2002, almost immediately after they acquired it. Fortunately, Benriach was reopened again in 2004 by yet another new owner – Scotsman Billy Walker and two South African partners. They did a remarkable job and turned Benriach into one of the ‘hottest’ distilleries in Scotland today.

Douglas of Drumlanrig Benriach 18 YO Single Malt Whisky is one of those whiskies that you cannot find anywhere (go ahead and try…), and the lucky few that have a bottle hide it when friends come over…unless of course they’re good friends…very good friends.

Fortunately for us (and you) or man Nicky The Neck has “connections”, who have friends, who know a guy….who has friends. And so we are able to offer you insider access to Douglas of Drumlanrig Benriach 18 YO for $125 / bottle.

I hope you will take advantage of this exceptional opportunity, and do it it fast….because as always, once our limited supply is gone, its gone.

Until next Wednesday….

Doug Stone
Founder
www.ForScotchLovers.com

______________________________________________________________________

DOUGLAS OF DRUMLANRIG BENRIACH 18 YO SINGLE MALT WHISKY

___________________ TASTING NOTES – Courtesy of Paul Paccult’s Spirit Journal

Pale straw/9-carat gold/American chardonnay color; excellent purity. Lightly smoked and toasted grain aromas kick off the inhalation stage in fine form and there’s even a trace of saline, which is interesting since Benriach is an inland distillery; the smoky grain blows off after seven minutes in the glass, leaving in its wake a mineral/ cement/stone aroma that’s dry, though not as thought-provoking as the opening bouquet. Entry is grainy sweet, gentle, and rounded off at the edges by the oak influence; mid-palate is direct, no-nonsense, and composed within a sweet grainy bubble of taste that extends well into the finish. An underrated malt distillery whose time has come in the US – Spirit Journal December 2009: * * * * /Highly Recommended

The long awaited 2nd Edition of Machrie Moor will be released at the beginning of September and as usual, the first bottles will be available from our own web shop. Bottled only once a year, the 1st Edition sold out in record time last year and we have had many requests from people who missed it first time around. Click here to read the tasting notes for the 2nd Edition.

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

Highland Park 25 year old, Isle of Orkney Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Previously $299.99) ($289.99)

Macallan “Fine Oak” 15 Year Old Single Malt 750ml ($79.99)

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

GLENDRONACH ADDS NEW 21 YEAR-OLD “PARLIAMENT” TO CORE RANGE

GlenDronach is augmenting its award-winning range of Highland single malts today (October 7) by unveiling its new 21 year-old “Parliament” expression.

Matured in a combination of the finest Oloroso and Pedro Ximinez sherry casks, the “Parliament” both complements the distillery’s core range and continues the great GlenDronach tradition of offering fruit-laden intensity in its single malts.

The 21-year old – in appearance deep amber with a cherry wood sheen – joins the Aberdeenshire distillery’s existing 12, 15, 18 and 31 year-old expressions.

The new expression is named “Parliament” after the colony, or “parliament” of rooks that have been nesting in the trees overlooking the GlenDronach distillery for almost 200 years.

At 48% volume, the “Parliament” offers an incredible concentration of aromas. On the nose, appropriately for an October launch, it’s a delicate mix of ripe autumnal fruits – notably blackberries and red plums with rich Oloroso sherry and candied orange segments. Spiced oatmeal biscuits and toasted oak fragrances add excellent weight and balance.

And on the palate, the taste is sublime. Billy Walker’s tasting notes detect flavours of fine Oloroso sherry and bitter chocolate sauce “which has been spread liberally over homemade plum pudding”.

He adds: “This is all infused with fabulous spicy notes – cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.” Full-bodied with smooth tannins, the finish, he notes, is characteristically long and lingering.

Sales Director Alistair Walker said: “The “Parliament” was released after listening to our customers, who identified the opportunity for a premium GlenDronach positioned somewhere between our 18 year-old “Allardice” and our iconic 31-year old “Grandeur”. It’s a major release for the distillery – as well as being another hugely aromatic GlenDronach, it’s a perfect addition to our range of smooth, complex and full-bodied single malts.”

He added: “The mood of the “Parliament” is definitely end-of-year. It’s a bracing breath of Aberdeenshire – best savoured in the warm while looking out over Highland snow-clad hills, magical lochs and deep frost-laden glens. Satisfyingly long and, like all GlenDronachs, the complex flavours linger on the palate. It’s destined to become a classic.”

(From Isle of Arran Distillery)…Joining our core range of 10 & 14 year-old Arran Malts is our 12 Year -Old Cask Strength which will be released at the end of September. Bottled at 54.1%, this is a rich and rewarding addition to our family and displays all the original fruity island character we have come to expect of Arran, in all its intensity. A smaller batch bottling, this one is sure to go down a storm. Click here to read the tasting notes.

Bruichladdich 10 Year Old

 
THE TRUE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA.

DISTILLERY NOTES:
 
. OUR FIRST 10-YEAR-OLD, LANDMARK BOTTLING. THE DEFINITIVE STATEMENT OF OUR ELEGANT BRUICHLADDICH SPIRIT. THE ONLY 10-YEAR-OLD SPIRIT TO BE DISTILLED, MATURED AND BOTTLED ON ISLAY.

. 100% SCOTTISH BARLEY.

. AMERICAN OAK MATURED.

. BOTTLED AT 46% WITH OUR OWN ISLAY SPRING WATER. HIGH-VISIBILITY SATURATED BRUICHLADDICH AQUA PACKAGING. NATURAL WHISKY: NON-CHILL-FILTERED AND COLOURING FREE
 
£32.99 inc VAT

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW
 
Port Charlotte – PC9

 
AN ULTRA-LIMITED-EDITION RELEASE AND THE FINAL STEP ON THIS FASCINATING JOURNEY BEFORE PORT CHARLOTTE COMES OF AGE WITH NEXT YEAR’S FULL-RELEASE 10 YEAR OLD.

Character – The strong pulse of Islay is unrestrained and inextinguishable. The heat, the peat and the power are fabulous. Your heart pumps harder, your eyes light up like Roman candles, and by now your anticipation of a unique experience is about to be realised…

£69.98

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW

Dear Client

We have nine (9) new PROVENANCE bottlings this month, whose Tasting Notes follow –

PRV 0747 Glen Ord 7 Year Old Opens clean and fresh with a sweet, lightly perfumed, gristy quality and runs to macerated pears and peaches. The palate is sweetly spiced with more fruit (now on syrup) plus vanilla. The finish is long – still fruity – with an orange pith tang. (J)

PRV 0724 Dalmore 10 Year Old On the nose detect an early strawberry jam character – plus sweet spices and a dry barley gristiness. Initially toasted – now honeyed – on the palate – it warms to a real vanilla fudge quality. It then heads to a long spiced finished – with a liquorice tail. (F)

PRV 0737 Royal Lochnagar 10 Year Old The nose is fresh, gristy and fragrant carrying a vanilla infused fruit salad character. The palate is light, elegantly sweet, still fruity and runs to a sweet liquorice trait. The finish is short but attractively fruited and remains sweet throughout. (J)

PRV 0734 Allt-a-Bhaine 11 Year Old Sherry The nose is fresh and softly spiced carrying an attractive toffee sweet character. The palate is mouth coating and richly spiced with a barley and caramelised nuts style. Still nutty, the finish is long and now runs drier with late cloves. (J)

PRV 0735 Glenburgie 11 Year Old Opens fresh & fruitily/barley sweet on the nose carrying a honey & peach cereal bar style. Even sweeter on the palate with macerated fruit and caramelised banana plus a tangy orange and marzipan trait. The finish is long – still sweet, replicating nose and palate with a particular orange zest quality. (J)

PRV 0736 Inchgower 12 Year Old Sherry Its nose opens big, “beefy” and honeyed, heading to a (dry) Sherried and gently spiced style. On the palate detect now really dry(ing) spices – quite interestingly desiccating – with a lemon cough drop quality. The finish will still “ease your throat” with its now sweeter spices and its trail of smoke. (F)

PRV 0728 Craigellachie 12 Year Old Sherry Warmly spiced from the Sherry cask as it opens on the nose – it moves quickly onto macerated and alcohol marinated dark fruits – plus late toffee. Palatewise – the toffee dominates sweetly and roundly, building to citrus then to dark molasses and camphor. The finish combines spice – malt, muscavado sugar – dark fruits and vanilla. (F)

PRV 0739 Tamdhu 12 Year Old Initially dry on the nose, it then warms to autumnal fruits and maraschino cherries. Honey hits the palate sweetly with juicy barley backing it up – then its finish is softly (cough drop in style) spiced – smoked – and barley sugared. (F)

PRV 0740 Strathisla 12 Year Old So spicy and fruity on the nose! – then detect a tobacco and espresso style. A dark macerated fruity flavour is evident on the big chewy palate – so big to almost run to molasses – then its finish is lightly smoked, still spiced with a camphor hint. (F)

With less than 3 trading months before Christmas and with our “Summer offer” still applicable, we hope there will be something useful here, for you and your clients.

Best Wishes

Fred

Visit Douglas Laing & Co. Ltd. at www.douglaslaing.com

The wait is over. Johnnie Walker ‘Double Black’ has arrived at the Park Avenue Liquor Shop.

“Double Black?

I’ll drink to that!”

For years we’ve been getting phone calls from customers asking us if we carry Johnnie Walker ‘Double Black’. Each time we had to explain that it was strictly a Duty-Free item. So unless you were planning a trip – No Double Black for you.

As demand grew brand owner Diageo realized that Johnnie Walker Black fans wanted this whisky without having to buy a plane ticket.

This past Spring, we received word that ‘Double Black’ was coming to retail. We were skeptical but began to spread the word that the bottle might soon be available.

Well, now it’s here and it is moving fast. Double fast. See blow for details and for information on a couple other new items that we greatly anticipated.

Contact us with any questions.

Cheers!
Jonathan & Eric
The Park Avenue Liquor Shop
292 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
212-685-2442 – PH
212-698-6247 – FAX
info@parkaveliquor.com
www.parkaveliquor.com

Johnnie Walker: Double Black

Johnnie Walker Double Black is the newest addition to the Johnnie Walker family of Scotch whiskies. Double Black starts with the Black Label template, and from there, it adds peatier malts and malts aged in heavily charred oak barrels – the result being a smokier dram than the original. While the Black Label is aged for 12 years, Johnnie Walker Double Black carries no age statement. On the nose, Double Black offers aromas of peat smoke, oak and dried fruits. You’ll notice more smoke, plus some pleasant tropical fruit notes, vanilla and spice. It’s quite drinkable, with an easy-going mouthfeel and a dry finish, but it’s a bit heavy-handed on the oak, with lots of char coming through.

Our Price: $50