It’s whisk(e)y season, folks! We’re less than three days away from Thanksgiving and I know a number of you finicky drinkers out there are getting your selections together for the big holiday feast. I’ve got four new ones for you today that might be of interest. The first two are fresh from Scotland’s Speyside region, while the second pair are single barrel exclusives from none other than Dickel. First off, a new single cask of 22 year old Miltonduff; a gristy malt that packs quite the punch.

Miltonduff 22 Year Old “Old Particular” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky $89.99 – If you’re tired of the same sweet vanilla and soft stonefruit profile of your typical Highland malt, I invite you to check out this 22 year old single barrel release from Miltonduff: a Speyside distillery that sees most of its malt go into the Chivas Blended portfolio. At 57.6% ABV cask strength and with a malty, gristy note, this is a robust and heavy whisky that very much tastes like malted barley smells, but with added notes of dark chocolate and cacao that carries over from the malting process. Intermixed with the malt and mocha notes are hints of toasted nuts and new oak with a classic Scotch whisky finish that is again accentuated from the huge proof. Mixed nuts and roasted cocoa flavors are the calling card of Miltonduff and this 22 year old cask offers both of those profiles with a bold and assertive character. It’s definitely not your typical gentle, graceful Highland malt. This is big time stuff.

Then there’s the new Macallan “Classic Cut” 2017 Limited Edition, a 58.4% ABV distillery release that drinks much like Macallan’s version of the Aberlour A’Bunadh: big sherry, big proof. This is dark and unctuous on the finish. Sherry heads will be pleased.

Macallan Classic Cut “2017 Limited Edition” Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky $79.99 – This limited edition Macallan harkens back to an older and much lauded regular release, The Macallan Cask Strength. Adopting the royal crimson colored label -a color made famous by its predecessor – a warning of the impending intensity of this exceptional Highland Single malt whisky. The Macallan Classic Cut is aged exclusively in sherry seasoned oak from Jerez and bottled without the addition of any water prior to bottling. This preserves the extraordinary character of this most exalted of Highland malts. The higher proof adds texture and depth, highlighting the quality sherry and bold malt flavors produced at the Macallan. Like all Macallan single malt, the Classic Cut is bottled without the use of color additives.

You have to understand, when someone offers you nine year old single barrels of 100+ proof Bourbon that you can sell for around forty bucks, you say YES! You say yes as many times as they’ll let you. You take as much of it as they’ll sell you and you ask for seconds, thirds, fourths, and fifths.

Sure, Dickel is Tennessee whiskey, not officially Bourbon, but there are plenty of people out there buying it independently and selling it as Bourbon (Belle Meade, Barrell, etc.) because technically it is Bourbon. Just don’t tell that to anyone in Tennessee.

Back to my original point: these single barrels of Dickel are older, richer, tastier, and sweeter than any whiskies available in any other distillery-direct single barrel program right now. Yet, somehow, they’re around $20 less expensive per bottle than similarly-aged casks from Four Roses or the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.

I dare you to do a comparison, side by side, of our latest Four Roses barrel with one of these two new arrivals from Dickel. I did it blind for fun this past week and I had a rough time figuring out which was which.

George Dickel “K&L Exclusive” 9 Year Old Single Barrel #L7233K1008″ Tennessee Whiskey $44.99 – Barrel #1008 is like a big bag of toasted caramel corn with power and intensity from the bold proof. Those who love the sweetness of classic Tennessee whiskey with the punch of cask strength Bourbon will be elated with a finish of sweet vanilla and hearty baking spices.

George Dickel “K&L Exclusive” 9 Year Old Single Barrel #L7234K1004″ Tennessee Whiskey $44.99 – Barrel #1004 has strong aromas of herbaceous, peppery spices on the nose with heavy pencil shavings and toasted oak. It’s decidedly less sweet than all of the other Dickel barrels we’ve featured in 2017 with a robust richness that finishes like a fine bottle of Four Roses. Basically, if you’re looking for a 9 year old bottle of cask strength OBSV for $20 less than what it normally would go for, this is a fine substitute for serious bourbon fans. For serious Bourbon fans.

That covers it for this week. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving. We’ll be back with another Whisk(e)y News after the holiday, until then be sure to check out The Spirits Journal for updates on other exciting spirits hitting our shelves.

– David Driscoll

https://youtu.be/Phd8bzzFxqs

Perfect is an overly used word. It’s used to describe films, albums, people and isn’t always used in the correct way, however, THIS WHISKY IS PERFECT!!! PERFECT! I’ve never ever used that word to describe a liquid ever before. Cask strength, bourbon cask Lagavulin – too good to say no, i’m buying this bottle and it is without doubt one of the greatest purchases that I will ever make in my whisky drinking life to date. That’s that, by one, open it, enjoy it and thank me in the comments! Cheers!

It’s all systems go at Wolfburn distillery, with new expressions being bottled as fast as we can manage – and half the staff away on road trips at whisky shows and exhibitions all around the globe (Paris, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Zurich to name just four)! But we can’t complain – Wolfburn has had more visitors than ever in 2017, and the distillery has just been graded a three-star tourist attraction. We’ve made lots of new friends and we’re having a ton of fun making whisky. What’s not to like?

In this edition of the Laydown:

• Looking ahead: Kylver#3 is just around the corner…

• Morven is Launched! Wolfburn’s third permanent expression is finally here – a beautiful, lightly peated dram.

• Photo comp: Win a Wolfburn “three pack” (Northland, Aurora and Morven). Send us a pic of you or your friends/family enjoying a drop of the wolf somewhere fun or unusual.

Sláinte

The Wolfburn Team

PS: If you’re in the Thurso area, we’re holding an open day on Saturday 9th Dec, 10am-3pm – and we’ll be unveiling our Christmas special edition bottle. Hope to see you there.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 186: Ledaig 9 Year Old 2007 for MMM

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, announces the fourth and final release for 2017 in the MMM’s series of single casks. It is a young and dirty peated whisky from the Tobermory Distillery on the Isle of Mull. Mark and Manny selected a Ledaig 2007 as the conclusion of their bespoke Galaxy Series. It is bourbon cask matured and bottled at 52.3% ABV. The release is limited to only 50 bottles.

https://youtu.be/XVeDIeHRVjw

Old Pulteney’s famous stills

In Their Own Words – Malcolm Waring, distillery manager, Old Pulteney

Malcolm Waring is the distillery manager at Old Pulteney, until recently the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland. He tells us how Old Pulteney got its name, his reaction to winning the most coveted award in the whisky world, and his approach to whisky-making.

Malcolm Waring, distillery manager at Old Pulteney

The distillery is named after Sir William Johnstone Pulteney who was quite a vocal guy. People would go round saying “Did you hear that Old Pulteney was talking about this and that?”’

‘When we won the top award in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible – well, Jim Murray is a Marmite guy but it really opened things up for us. A lot of people hadn’t heard of Old Pulteney before that. You can take his Bible with a pinch of salt but he’s clearly got a very educated palate because he thinks that Old Pulteney 21 Year Old is the best whisky in the world!’

‘When the 21 Year Old won the Whisky Bible award, if people couldn’t buy it, they’d buy the 17 Year Old. And if they couldn’t buy the 17yo, they’d buy the 12 Year Old! In three days we sold what we would normally sell in three years’

‘Eighty per cent of what you taste you get from the cask’

‘We take from the land. It gives us what we want in spirit and we return it. Everything taken from the land is returned’

‘A longer fermentation gives a more fruity character; shorter ferments bring out the cereal notes’

‘The DNA of Pulteney is coastal, briny and floral with a banana note – but it’s not salty’

‘The coastal note is easy to explain: look out through any window on a stormy day and you’ll see that it’s salted up. It’s salt city round here; we’re only 200 yards away from the North Sea’

‘The story about our [famously shaped] stills? We got our calculations wrong and we couldn’t get the roof back on…’

‘Distilling is all about experience. You make it with your senses, not with a machine’

Click here to see our full range of Old Pulteney whisky.

Ralfy ‘ralfy-recommends’ with Ralfy Review 697 – Glen Garioch 12yo @ 48%vol

Why we love Glen Moray Distillery

It’s not a hard answer, because it is easy to get to, the drams are excellent, a good tour – and the people.

Let me start with the people. Graham is friendly and easy going, Iain is a gem and who I would call a friend, known him for years, Emma is a grand lass, the centre staff are all good, the workers are always saying hello! Are you getting the idea? The visitor centre is always clean and tidy – sometimes a wee bit busy, but that explains a lot. A good shopping selection, drams – believe me when I say good value, I certainly mean it, exceptional value and a good range with a few gems to be found, bottle your own fae the cask is always good. They also serve teas/coffee drinks and good food, a newspaper if you wish to wait for someone, the visit is always pleasant.

Select Tasting – A tasting of 4 drams including our Heritage Range – £10, or Exclusive Tasting – A tasting of 4 drams including limited editions and distillery exclusive bottlings – £20, cheaper than a pub, certainly a hotel and fantastic value, I would go for the exclusive every time, it has happened often. In the shop; Glen Moray 25 Year Old Port Cask Finish £150.00 – come on where can you buy superb whisky like this at this price? Individually numbered, each bottle is unique. Finished in authentic Port Casks imported from the best port houses in Portugal.

As Graham says “With a great, long serving team working on the creation of the spirit, I am always delighted with the quality of the new make produced at Glen Moray. It is then up to me to pick the optimal time to remove the matured whisky from the oak to ensure the highest quality Single Malt makes it into the bottle.” – Graham Coull, Master Distiller, and can I tell you, HE KNOWS HIS JOB!

We have taken, oooh hundreds of people here for tours and tastings, has anyone ever been let down? NO. I recall wanting to take our pals from Finland here for the first time, they were reluctant as it was not a big name in Finland, we took them, we had to physically pull and push them out, they liked it so much, and aye, they have returned!

So in summing up, great staff, a friendly place to be, good tours, great drams on offer and the wallet takes a pounding aye, but compared to other distilleries, you are let off lightly. Come and join us on a tour there.

PAUL and LIZ

www.mcleanscotland.com/ www.whiskytours.scot/

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Christmas is fast approaching and with it comes the impending panic of Christmas shopping, but there’s no need for the stress this year, The Whisky Shop has your back! With our range of fantastic gifts from Advent Calendars to 12 Drams of Christmas, we have something for every whisky lover to last from December 1st to January 6th – what more could you wish for?

Next day UK delivery available International Shipping

12 Drams of Christmas Deluxe Edition

Looking for something a little bit extra special for your true love this Christmas? Fresh off the first sleigh from the North Pole, the 12 Drams of Christmas Deluxe Edition has a 3cl bottle of premium whisky for each day of the festive season. Featuring some rare and old whiskies including limited edition Scotch, Japanese whisky and a single cask exclusive to The Whisky Shop, you can find the full list of drams by clicking the link below.

£125 Buy Now

We hope this quarterly newsletter finds you in rude health.  The clocks have turned back, the nights have drawn in and the last ferry of the season has long since departed here in Campbeltown as we batten down the hatches for what will surely be another wet and wild Kintyre winter. We’ve had an industrious few months here at Springbank so grab yourself a healthy measure of something wet and Springbanky and make yourself comfortable while we bring you up to speed.

Distillery News

Our beloved Springbank distillery is currently undergoing an extensive program of refurbishment works, some of which you may have seen on social media.  These works will ensure we can keep producing our whisky in the manner that is unique to Springbank for many more years to come and also enhance our visitors’ experience. For the cynics amongst you, this is not corporate PR talk for overhauling Springbank into a ‘Disney Distillery’ with VR Malting and conveyor belt tours, but rather includes work such as surfacing the car park and installing drainage so we do not need to provide visitors with welly boots and plans to install an onsite shop to save visitors from the ‘Longrow dash’ to pick up their tour tickets and pay for warehouse bottles from the Cadenhead shop. Recent and ongoing works include;

Malt Barns – Local contractors McFadyens have worked tirelessly over 9 weeks to replace and renew the crumbling concrete floors of our malt barns to ensure we can continue with 100% floor malting for many more years. The Malt Barns which were closed during refurbishment are now open again to tours.

New Boiler – Our trusty distillery boiler, designed by Chairman Mr H G Wright and installed in 1962 was finally retired last month and replaced with a brand new Cochran boiler manufactured in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway.  The old boiler certainly earned its  retirement having being converted from coal, to heavy oil and latterly light oil.  Rest easy  old friend.  We all held our breath as the old 24 ton boiler was delicately manoeuvred by crane out of the boiler house and over the newly refurbished malt barns, but the transition passed seamlessly and Director of Production Findlay Ross can sleep easy once again.

Below we have a picture of the boiler being carried over the malt barns,

Staff Facilities – A swelling work force (not talking about waistlines) means bigger and better staff accommodation is required.  McFadyens are currently renovating the old stable next to warehouse 7 to create a new canteen, changing rooms and showers.

Distillery Shop – Once the new staff facilities are complete the old staff canteen will be turned into a distillery shop where visitors will be able to buy tour tickets and pay for warehouse purchases without the need to do the Longrow dash down to Cadenhead’s.   The Cadenhead shop and tasting room on Union Street/Bolgam Street will continue to run as our flagship store.

Aesthetic improvements – Flagpoles flying the flags of our three malts have been erected on the corner of the recently surfaced car park, which are visible from the distillery lane ensuring visitors from afar can locate us with ease. Once they disembark they will enjoy a walk across the recently surfaced car park to a decorative Springbank cask feature which provides another photo opportunity to remember their pilgrimage down the A83.  Benches and raised flower beds mean visitors can even choose to sit outside in the driving Campbeltown rain while they wait for their tour to start.

Kilkerran Award

We are delighted to announce that the Kilkerran 12yo was the winner of the gold medal in the Scottish Field Whisky Challenge 2017 Grand Final – under £40 category. The Scottish Field Whisky Challenge has been running since 2000 and receives acclaim for its  independent and unbiased award process. The whiskies are nominated by a group of independent retailers before being blind tasted by an industry panel. Fantastic recognition for one of Campbeltown’s finest!

Society News

Longrow 9yo Fresh Sauternes 

All society members should be aware of the recently released society bottle; Longrow 9yo Fresh Sauternes. Orders have been coming in thick and fast so if you would like a bottle and have not yet ordered please do so immediately. Orders are being taken by email only; society@springbank.scot.

Society Membership Gift Packs

New members will soon start receiving their membership packs in a presentation box which is a step up from the usual jiffy bag and perhaps more appropriate for those of you who want to purchase memberships for friends and family as gifts.  So, struggling to think of the perfect Christmas present for a fellow Springbank lover…hint hint 😉  Drop us an email for more info society@springbank.scot

Upcoming releases

December 2017

Springbank 10yo Local Barley 

The third release in the iconic Local Barley series will be available to purchase from early December.  Keep an eye on social media and for society newsflashes for further info.

Kilkerran 8yo cask strength 

Last year’s popular cask strength whisky from Glengyle is being followed up again with a limited number of bottles from a fresh batch to be released in early December. Again, make sure you follow us on social media for updates and look out for society newsflashes.

February 2018

Springbank 12yo cask strength 

The latest in the biannual 12yo cask strength series is scheduled for release in February.  As always, the maturation recipe is 70% sherry, 30 % bourbon.

Springbank 25yo 

The 5th annual release of the extremely limited Springbank 25yo will be available worldwide in limited quantities.

Longrow Red 11yo

The eagerly awaited annual Longrow Red release which we can exclusively reveal here is partially matured in South African Cabernet Franc casks supplied by De Toren winery, the same supplier of the recent Malbec casks.

Sales team events

As usual, the Sales Team are travelling far and wide earning their airmails to promote Springbank and Kilkerran across the globe.  Here’s where you might be able to track them down over the next few months;

November

4-5th November – Whisky Messe, Villingen, Germany (Ronan)

11th November – Glasgow Whisky Festival, Hamden Park (Grant)

17-18th November – Malta Whisky Festival (Ronan)

18th November – Drambusters Whisky Festival, Dumfries (Ranald and Grant)

25th November – Dublin Whisky Live (Grant)

30th November – 3rd December – Whiskyschiff, Zurich (Melanie & Ronan)

January 2018

12-13th January – Harrow Whisky Festival, The Grim’s Dyke Hotel, London (Grant)

15-21st January – Canada Tasting Tour (Melanie)

15-16th  Edmonton retailer visits and tastings

17th Edmonton Whisky Festival plus MC

18th Calgary Whisky Festival

19th Victoria Whisky Festival plus MC

20th Vancouver Whisky Classique MC

21st Vancouver Whisky Classique

Social Media 

Lastly, a quick reminder that you can follow us online through a variety of websites and social media channels.  This will help you keep up to date with daily goings on at the distillery and where the Sales Team are popping up next.

Facebook

Twitter – @Springbank1828

Instagram – @springbankwhisky1828

WeChat –  You can find us under the name “Springbank Distillers” or by searching for SpringbankWhisky.

And, of course, you can always find us on the Springbank website www.springbank.scot

We hope you’ve enjoyed the latest newsletter.

If you have any questions, queries, concerns or comments please contact society@springbank.scot and we shall do our very best to get back to you as soon as possible.

Slainte,

The Springbank Society.

Please contact society@springbank.scot to join

Maker’s Mark 46 “K&L Exclusive – #2” Private Select Kentucky Bourbon (750ml) $69.99 View

Macallan Classic Cut “2017 Limited Edition” Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $79.99 View

Wathen’s Special Release “Barrel Proof” K&L Exclusive Cask Strength Single Barrel Straight Kentucky Bourbon (750ml) $79.99 View