Ralfy delivers some weird lighting with Ralfy Review 660 – Glen Garioch 22yo @ 68.2%vol (Adelphi)

Ardbeg Kelpie

A limited edition bottling celebrating Ardbeg Day at the 2017 Islay Festival, Kelpie is the distillery’s first whisky with a heart matured in virgin oak from the Black Sea coast. Only a handful of whiskies have ever been matured in Black Sea casks, renowned for their deep flavour influence. When married with ex-bourbon cask matured Ardbeg spirit, the resulting Islay single malt tells of its ties to the Black Sea and the waves of flavour its casks have created.

Intense aromas of oily peat, chocolate, smoked fish and a curious herbal note dance on the nose with waves of spicy black pepper. The palate is rich and peppery with treacle, coffee, smoky bacon and dark chocolate before a burst of peach, hickory and black olives. The finish has deep flavours of clove, tar and rich toffee, seemingly lasting forever.

Available while stocks last…

£96 Buy Now

KILCHOMAN’S NEW LOCH GORM ARRIVES

The 2017 edition of the Kilchoman Loch Gorm marks one of the oldest editions we’ve seen from the distillery yet. Distilled in 2009 and bottled in 2017, it’s rare to see a Kilchoman whisky weigh in at over six years, let alone seven!

Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2017 Edition Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) ($89.99)

ROYAL SALUTE UNVEILS EXCLUSIVE 30 YEAR OLD THE FLASK EDITION

Bespoke flask offers whisky connoisseurs the best of British luxury on the move

19th June 2017, Royal Salute, the exceptionally crafted and aged Scotch whisky, has unveiled an exclusive bespoke collector’s item – Royal Salute 30 Year Old The Flask Edition, offering whisky connoisseurs a luxurious way to drink Royal Salute on the move. The collector’s item houses a precious, rich and silky 30 year-old liquid, crafted exclusively by Royal Salute’s Director of Blending, Sandy Hyslop, and is presented alongside a bespoke porcelain flask, and other elegant accessories, from London’s award-winning designer, Afroditi Krassa.

A distinctive, full-bodied blend, Royal Salute 30-year-old The Flask Edition has been expertly crafted with some of the finest Scotch whiskies, aged for a minimum of 30 years. Providing the perfect vessel to house this unique blend, the edition is accompanied by a custom-made porcelain flask complete with funnel and wooden serving tray designed to provide the ultimate whisky drinking experience at home or while travelling. Afroditi Krassa, who created the refined accessories, has taken inspiration from one of the most ancient and elemental of art forms – the crystalline glazing process – and given it a contemporary twist.

Peter Moore, Global Prestige Brand Director at Chivas Brothers, commented: “The Royal Salute 30 Year Old The Flask Edition is a unique collector’s item that represents the perfect travel accessory for those on the go and celebrates our brand’s long history of crafting and refining luxury. The Flask Edition was first exclusively released in China and sold out immediately. Given this success, we are delighted to release limited quantities of this extraordinary product globally and give whisky aficionados the chance to enjoy Royal Salute at home or on the move.”

London-based Afroditi Krassa said of the collaboration: “I have a simple motivation each time I start a new project: I want to challenge the status quo. That’s why I was so inspired by Royal Salute – while all other whisky brands are content with glass, Royal Salute houses its whisky in precious porcelain. I wanted to apply the same attitude to a flask and create something that is beautiful while also turning tradition on its head. Ceramics has a rich history and this project presented a really interesting contrast of ancient techniques crafted for a modern audience.”

A true collectors’ item, only a limited number of Royal Salute 30 Year Old The Flask Edition will be released. Initially available exclusively in China, a limited number can now be purchased at select, prestigious retailers across the globe, with a RRP of $790.

Notes

About Royal Salute 

Royal Salute is a careful blend of matured malt and grain whiskies – with its youngest whisky matured for a minimum of 21 years. Created to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, which was honoured with a traditional 21 gun salute, Royal Salute is steeped in tradition, while still firmly engaged in the modern world by constantly pushing the art of blending into new, creative and ambitious forms. Royal Salute is deeply involved in polo – the world’s oldest surviving team sport and a game that’s expanding in the modern era. The brand sponsors more than 15 international tournaments from the UK and the USA through Argentina and China to Korea.

www.royalsalute.com

About Chivas Brothers 

Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, the world’s n°2 in wines and spirits. Chivas Brothers’ award-winning portfolio features some of the world’s most revered Scotch whisky brands including Chivas Regal, the world’s first luxury whisky and the No.1 Scotch whisky in China; Ballantine’s, Europe’s No.1 Scotch whisky; The Glenlivet, the single malt whisky that set the standard; and Royal Salute, the world’s only exclusively prestige Scotch whisky range. The portfolio also includes two of the world’s leading English gins – Beefeater, the world’s most awarded premium gin, and Plymouth gin – plus a selection of highly acclaimed single malt whiskies, including Aberlour, Longmorn, Scapa, Strathisla and Tormore. The range is completed by a collection of blended Scotch whiskies operating in many of the world’s key whisky markets which includes 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport Scotch.

www.chivasspirit.com

About Pernod Ricard 

Pernod Ricard is the world’s n°2 in wines and spirits with consolidated Sales of € 8,682 million in FY16. Created in 1975 by the merger of Ricard and Pernod, the Group has undergone sustained development, based on both organic growth and acquisitions: Seagram (2001), Allied Domecq (2005) and Vin&Sprit (2008). Pernod Ricard holds one of the most prestigious brand portfolios in the sector: Absolut Vodka, Ricard pastis, Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin and Malibu, Mumm and PerrierJouët champagnes, as well Jacob’s Creek, Brancott Estate, Campo Viejo and Kenwood wines. Pernod Ricard employs a workforce of 18,500 people and operates through a decentralised organisation, with 6 “Brand Companies” and 85 “Market Companies” established in each key market. Pernod Ricard is strongly committed to a sustainable development policy and encourages responsible consumption. Pernod Ricard’s strategy and ambition are based on 3 key values that guide its expansion: entrepreneurial spirit, mutual trust and a strong sense of ethics.

Pernod Ricard is listed on Euronext (Ticker: RI; ISIN code: FR0000120693) and is part of the CAC 40 index.

The Whisky Exchange masterclass

Distillation exploration with Loch Lomond Master Blender Michael Henry

Tuesday 27^th June 2017

7.30pm – 9pm

Tickets now on sale

Book here

Loch Lomond is renowned for its innovative ways of distilling and its wide range of styles of whisky. The Whisky Exchange will be joined by master blender Michael Henry and brand ambassador Ibon Mendiguren to examine their award-winning range.

With four types of still at the distillery, they can make a huge range of whiskies. Guests will have the rare chance to try different types of new-make spirit as well as a range of great drams:

Loch Lomond Single Grain

New make from a straight-neck pot still

New make from a swan-neck pot still

Loch Lomond Inchmurrin 12 Year Old

Loch Lomond 12 Year Old

Loch Lomond Inchmoan 12 Year Old

Loch Lomond Inchmoan 1992 Vintage, 25 Year Old

Loch Lomond Group master blender Michael Henry first became interested in the drinks industry while studying for his A-levels, when he would brew his own beer at home. He is now responsible for the Loch Lomond range, working with the distillery managers at every step of production to create the spirit he needs to craft the finished whiskies.

VENUE

SMITH & WOLLENSKY

THE ADELPHI,

1-11 JOHN ADAM ST

LONDON WC2N 6HT

Whisky Special  Save £7.50!

BUY NOW

SUMMER CLOSEOUT SPECIAL

While it’s typical to see things like Pinnacle Cinnabon flavored vodka on the usual sale sheet, we’ve got some great deals to show you today. Grab ’em while they last:

I’ve got too much Double Cask! Nothing wrong with it, just too much. Help me, so I can continue to help you!

Macallan “Double Cask” 12 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) (Previously $55) ($39.99) – Macallan’s latest release is a 12-year-old “double cask” malt, meaning the whisky spent time in both sherry-seasoned new American and European oak. The result is a rich and cocoa-laden malt that encompasses the sweeter and more decadent flavors of the sherry while still maintaining the malt’s inherent flavors at the core with the spice of two different woods. The result is quite splendid. Macallan fans will revel in the Double Cask’s richness, its intensity and weight, and the creamy goodness of its palate. The flavors are dark and supple with plenty of cakebread, dark chocolate, and toasted oak. Fans of fine Scotch whisky will appreciate the price and the age statement, especially given the current trend of young whisky being sold at higher costs.

Ditto with the West Cork 12 year olds. These are great whiskies, I just need space for more whiskey. MORE! There’s always more!

The West Cork distillery started as a pet project by John O’ Connell, Denis McCarthy and Ger McCarthy in 2003 in Union Hall, West Cork. In 2013 after much expansion WCD moved to a larger distillery in Skibbereen, West Cork where it now resides. It now operates as only one of the few independent distilleries in Ireland. A trio of limited 12 year old releases has just trickled into the U.S. and we’ve been told this will be it as far as inventory until late in 2018. Each finished in a different type of cask (port, sherry, and rum), the soft and creamy Irish whisky takes on just a bit of the character from the barrel it was matured in.

West Cork 12 Year Old “Port Cask Finish” Limited Edition Single Malt Irish Whiskey (750ml) (Previously $60) ($39.99) – The port cask release offers a subtle tinge of red fruit and sweet dessert flavor on the finish, but the influence is very delicate and refined.

West Cork 12 Year Old “Sherry Cask Finish” Limited Edition Single Malt Irish Whiskey (750ml) (Previously $60) ($39.99) – The sherry cask finish takes the subtle sweetness of Oloroso and melds it into the easy-drinking character of the whisky, adding just a bit of chewy richness to the soft vanilla.

West Cork 12 Year Old “Rum Cask Finish” Limited Edition Single Malt Irish Whiskey (750ml) (Previously $60) ($39.99) – The rum cask release has a creamy and textural palate of sweet grains with just a bit of that sweet molasses that you would associate with a Caribbean rum.

And, believe it or not, I pulled a few more cases of this out of our import warehouse and I don’t feel like explaining these all over again. Let’s just let ’em fly!

1964 Sovereign 51 Year Old “K&L Exclusive” Single Barrel (44.6%) Cask Strength Blended Grain Scotch Whisky (750ml) ($199.99) – While it’s commonplace today for a Scotch distillery to blend their whiskies together and then re-barrel the resulting recipe, it’s rare to find a marriage of whiskies that were blended and barreled from day one. You’d have to go back to the 1960s to find an example of such a process, which is exactly what we did one morning in Glasgow when we came upon three mystery casks at one of our favorite suppliers. “No one knows for sure what’s in them,” our agent told us, “all we have is the date: December of 1964.” It was exactly this uncertainty that helped these barrels fall through the cracks, year after year. No one knew what was in them, or what to do with them, so they sat in the warehouse, getting older, and older, and older until we gave them a home. This 51 year old blend is comprised of various grain whiskies, but drinks like one singular entity working in complete harmony. As grain whisky ages it becomes soft, mellow, mild, and creamy in nature, so after five decades in wood this mystery blend is as smooth as they come. There’s not much of a noticeable difference between the two casks we’re currently offering, but tasting them side by side this particular blend has a bit more wood and more of a pure grain flavor, almost like you can taste the husks in between the sweetness of the oak. There’s a flurry of spice on the finish that tingles your taste buds just before the soft wave of texture washes away. What this whisky lacks in complexity, it makes up for in pure grace.

Auchentoshan American Oak Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) (Previously $33) ($25.99) – One of my favorite mid-priced single malts, so easy to drink and enjoyable with the Bourbon cask aging. Now sub-$30! Are you kidding me? Buy a case!

Wild Turkey “Master’s Keep – Decades” Bourbon ($129.99)

The second release in the Master’s Keep series, the Wild Turkey “Decades” is a marriage of casks aged between 10 to 20 years that, in my opinion, is a huge step up from the previous 17 year old release for a number of reasons. The first: it’s bottled at a higher 52% ABV that really adds lift and vigor to the richness and spice of the whiskey. Whereas the 17 year was quite mellow and soft having been aged in a brick warehouse off-site, the Decades is bold and quite lively. Second reason: whereas the 17 year was a marriage of similar casks, the Decades is a marriage of whiskies between 10 – 20 years old, carefully constructed so that the best parts of each barrel highlight one another. Think of this as Wild Turkey’s version of the Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition – mature casks, blended with skill to create a whiskey greater than the simple sum of its components. Everything about the Decades tastes fantastic. There’s plenty of sweetness, a roundness of fruit, loads of baking spices like clove and cinnamon, and a bold, mouthwatering finish. There’s no need to add water, but you can if you like. Perhaps the whiskey’s greatest strength is its immediate accessibility and gorgeous bottle, making it the perfect gift for any Bourbon lover. As someone who’s tried pretty much every Bourbon in the book, I’m planning on adding the Decades to my collection. But I can just as easily imagine the casual whiskey drinker being absolutely wowed by this. – David Driscoll, Assistant Head Buyer

Wild Turkey “Master’s Keep – Decades” Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) ($129.99)

David Othenin-Girard | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: June 15, 2017

It’s no secret that I love Wild Turkey. Whether it’s the incredible commitment to quality, the wonderful people, the gorgeous new distillery (sentimentality for Old Ripy aside it’s truly a masterpiece of modern engineering), but of course the real reason we love the Kickin’ Chicken is the whisky is fabulous. And it was fitting that I got to sample Wild Turkey’s new Decades release along side the youngest member of the Russell family to join the WT team, Bruce Russell. The decades contains the oldest whisky ever released by WT and is a mile stone for Jimmy, Eddie, and Bruce (I’m going with Brucey). Bruce will soon begin learning from his Father and grandfather the art of bourbon, after several years of learning to sell whisky in Texas and I was glad to have finally met over a glass of his predecessor’s the legacy. I immediately knew that the Wild Turkey name would be in good hands for decades to come, no pun intended, and look forward to many years of tasting great whisky with this man despite however big the shoes he must fill are. Bruce is down to earth and fun, but this whisky is serious as hell. Apparently it was originally going to be a blend of 20 and 15 year old – as these old stocks had been located at some offsite warehouses. Campari only managed to digitize their whisky inventory in 2010 and experimental batches where hidden all over Kentucky. The original blend would have been made up of these old casks but for the protests of Mr. Jimmy Russell. He likes that whisky at 10 years old and felt the older stocks lack the distinctive flavor profile he expected from his bourbon. So they added a bit of 10 year (apparently about as much 10 as 20) and most of the blend is 14-16 year old whiskies. The result is something wonderfully complex and full of deep dense bourbon spice, a twinge of herbaceous mint and nutty roasted vanilla. A big bold classic WT in a way that last years 17 was distinctly not. Tons of texture at 104 proof and sweet caramel finish. I’m not surprised to love this but I absolutely do!

Andrew Stevens | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: June 15, 2017

Finding both rare and extremely good bourbon that can be a gift (for you or if necessary someone else) has become a difficult task. Good, aged bourbon is increasingly scarce in the market, and while I love just good everyday bourbon sometimes you need that bottle that will catch the eye and the imagination. Enter the Wild Turkey Decades, the new expression from Master’s Keep collection. Essentially this is a blend of carefully selected barrels of older Wild Turkey, the nose is warm, sweet and inviting with vanilla and candy corn notes. The palate shows a soft richness with rising heat and spice from the 104 proof. This bottle showcase the depth and breadth of Wild Turkey that few other places can boast, a supple smoothness that speaks to craft.

Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: June 15, 2017

This Bourbon offers what a mature whiskey should. It has concentrated flavors that are subtle and delicate . It is mellow and easy to drink with caramel and honey notes that are harmonious. This Bourbon is about nuance and flavor. What really stands out is the long delicious finish.

Gary Westby | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: June 15, 2017

I feel strongly that this Decades bottling from Wild Turkey is the best Bourbon in the store, and I haven’t tasted anything this good in a long time. Instead of doing a series of single barrel releases to go after collectors money, Eddie Russell has put together a masterpiece by blending some of the best stuff in the vast Wild Turkey stocks. The synergy of these whiskeys is obvious at first sniff, and I have to pinch myself when I get to taste something this good at work! This has cream, caramel, and a hint of something savory that makes it beguiling to return to. If you want to treat yourself to an unforgettable bottle, look no further!

The Glenrothes UK Exclusive Single Cask Series

Three UK exclusives released in 2017 as part of the 1st batch of The Glenrothes UK Exclusive Single Cask Series… A 1976 vintage Glenrothes, aged in single cask #2677 for an incredible 39 years and two big sherry bombs, from 2000 & 2006..  Proving to be very popular, we’re struggling to keep these in stock…

Buy Now

https://youtu.be/_izrL08-c8c 

Welcome to Texas! Where what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger! That’s certainly how I feel about this absolute monster of American whisky making. 

Balcones have always been very cool, in my eyes. Ever since the first time I tried the regular, True Blue and the Brimstone, it’s a distillery that has always had a nurturing attitude towards it’s products and when nothing is bottled at less than 50% ABV, you really get a feel for that.

This whisky is a wash with some of the most splendid and exotic dessert smells, all backed up by a rodeo of spice and a finish that’s drier than a Texas scrub fire. All of this combined makes for a true American adventure on the pallet, it’s something that you won’t forget in a hurry and I don’t intend to let this bottle out of my sight! Cheers!

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