Ralfy analyses the prices in the U.K. of malts and has a very good experience with Ralfy Review 623 – Glenlivet 18yo @ 43%vol

Our second year of release is upon us! 2016 was a truly remarkable year – Wolfburn is available in 21 countries around the world and, with a lot of help from our friends and colleagues, we managed to smash our Year 1 forecast. Our whisky was warmly received by, well, pretty much everyone! Northland, Aurora and the first of our Kylver series all received excellent reviews. We love making it, and seems people everywhere love drinking it. So now it’s onwards and upwards into 2017.

In this edition of the Laydown:

• Success! Wolfburn’s Northland expression cleans up in two prestigious competitions.

• Kylver explained – the history and background of the collectible Wolfburn series.

• Win! We were deluged with entries to the last competition – so we’re repeating it. Here’s your chance to test your knowledge of Wolfburn and win a box of delicious Aurora-infused Caithness chocolates.

The early part of the year is always a busy time. Here’s where you’ll find us out and about:

Viking Line Whisky Cruise and Festival – 16-20th February

WhiskyLive New York – 1st March

WhiskyLive Washington DC – 11th March

Whisky Festival Noord Nederland (Groningen) – 24/25/26th March

WhiskyLive London – 31st March

Slàinte

The Wolfburn Team

Morning all! Right, Littlemill, not a common place distillery in anyway at all. Triple distillation up until the 1970’s, three different spirits being produced again until the 1970’s and then a very sad end, being shut down in 1997 and later burn down in the early part of the naughties. A good friend of the channel has donated this sample to me and I’m more than happy to get my teeth around it, this is the first Littlemill that I’ve ever tried and I can’t wait to share the results of it with you. Enjoy! 

THE REVIEW

Extraordinary Complexity Defined

In our latest collaboration, we threw down the gauntlet to one of the most technically advanced and luxurious timepiece creators in the world – URWERK.

The challenge was to take the ubiquitous whisky flask and transform it far beyond the expected.

The result? An extraordinary masterpiece in luxury design and one of the most intricate and technical whisky flasks ever made. A statement of what can be achieved when whisky mastery meets obsessively engineered horology.

Intricately composed of over 150 individual parts, The Macallan x URWERK Flask brings together the art and science of both whisky making and horology.

A machined aluminium, titanium and stainless steel work of art, features include dual chambers which allow you to carry two of your favourite whiskies, switching easily between them.

Limited to 500 worldwide, each flask embodies an exquisitely creative and technical process, where the obsessive pursuit of perfection is evident in the final product.

FRESH CATCH

February’s First Friday brings a bountiful catch of new single casks that are crisp, fresh and mouth-watering.  Cast you net wide and discover the perfect whisky for you, there are 19 unique whiskies to hook from a broad range of flavour profiles.  Need some help reeling in?  Read this month’s reviews on our blog »

READ THE NEW OUTTURN ONLINE

19 fresh and mouth-watering single casks.

OUTTURN

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

What makes a great whisky tasting?

I’ve been lucky to attend plenty of whisky tastings. The latest was a tour through the new batch of Diageo’s Special Releases hosted by whisky educator Colin Dunn – and it was superb. But as it came to an end, it got me thinking: what are the key elements for a great whisky tasting?

Diageo whisky ambassador Colin Dunn (‘Everywhere you look, whisky is coming at you’)

1. Get the audience involved

The best tastings go beyond the standard teacher-pupil set-up, because the audience aren’t sat in a classroom waiting to be lectured to. They are as much a part of the event as the host, something Colin is aware of. The whiskies were all lined up from one to seven. Which one did we start with? Number four, naturally. Colin picked an audience member at random, they chose the first whisky, and off we went.

The Diageo Special Releases poured on the night

2. Pour great whisky

We tried seven of the 2016 Special Releases, including bottlings from Auchroisk, Brora, Cambus, Cragganmore, Lagavulin, Linkwood and Port Ellen. The highlight for me was the Linkwood, an exceptionally classy 37-year-old bottling that oozed notes of oranges, cloves and black pepper. It was subtle and elegant; a real standout. My other pick was the Cambus, a 40-year-old that was impossible to dislike with its rich, toffee-like character and notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and toast.

The 12-year-old Lagavulin we tasted was wonderfully smoky and oily

3. Throw in some memorable one-liners

Soundbites and gags are always a safe bet for a whisky educator, and Colin had a few up his sleeve. Here are five of his best one-liners on the night:

‘I used to use Rosebank as air freshener in my house… ah, those heady days!’

‘The Lagavulin warehouse is the eighth wonder of the world!’

‘This Port Ellen is full of minerally peat. It’s the kind of whisky I’d clean my teeth with’

‘The Cambus is almost like perfume’

‘Laphroaig is dirty peat; Ardbeg is sweet peat; Lagavulin is oily peat’

4. Share your knowledge

Colin talked about the last days of Port Ellen, which was mothballed in 1983 (never to reopen). To illustrate how differently it was viewed at that time, he explained that on the day before Port Ellen closed, Andrew Symington of independent bottler Signatory Vintage went to the distillery and snapped up five casks. In hindsight, this looks a smart move. But was it a get-rich-quick plan? Not exactly – Andrew sold them the following year for just £35 a bottle…

5. Don’t just talk about your own products

At the end of the tasting, Colin revealed his four desert-island whiskies. Refreshingly, he didn’t toe the party line, as three of them were not from his employer, Diageo: ‘I’d have a 5-year-old Clynelish from the 1960s,’ he said, ‘as well as a 1965 Auchentoshan, a 1965 Springbank and a bottle of Black Bowmore.’

This was a great whisky tasting, upbeat and engaging, and packed full of delicious drams. It even ended with a song courtesy of Colin’s friend Tim Hain. Colin has hosted Whisky Exchange events for us many times in the past, and it’s obvious why we keep asking him back. If you’ve never seen the man in action, you’ll find him at our Whisky Show in the autumn.

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog

Malt of the Month

Our Malt of the Month for February is the superb Springbank 10 year old. A great introduction to the Springbank range, created from whisky matured in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, bottled at 46% vol.

Springbank 10 Year Old Tasting Notes

Nose: Orchard fruit (pear) with a hint of peat, vanilla and malt.

Palate: Malt, oak, spice, nutmeg and cinnamon, vanilla essence.

Finish: Sweet, with a lingering salty tingle.

BUY NOW!

SPRINGBANK 15 Year Old  Exclusive Web price £58.45!

Springbank 15 year old has an almost bewildering array of flavours: dark chocolate, figs, marzipan, brazil nuts and vanilla are just some of the notes on show. Absolutely top-class! Take advantage of our web exclusive price while stocks last.

BUY NOW

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

Meet Kindred Spirit Iain Burnett, The Highland Chocolatier

Highland Perthshire: it’s about as close as you can get to Scotland’s bounty of natural ingredients. So where better for Iain Burnett to spend years perfecting his truffles – and win his reputation as one of the world’s finest chocolatiers? A true Kindred Spirit, his pursuit of exceptional flavour has earned him some of the highest accolades a master chocolatier could wish for – including the World’s Best Dark Chocolate Truffle.

It’s not only Iain’s guiding principles that make him a Kindred Spirit. His chocolates and our whisky are a perfect match: just ask anyone who’s been on our whisky and chocolate tasting tour.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Personalised whisky. Exceptional chocolates. Valentine’s Day, sorted.

Forget bashful teddy bears. Leave out the heart-shaped balloons. Nothing quite says ‘I love you’ like a bottle of Glengoyne and a box of perfectly matched chocolates. It’s quite a romance: a sip of single malt, a bite of Dark Velvet Truffle. An intensity of flavour rolling across on the palate. How do you make it happen? Order a bottle of the Glengoyne 15 Year Old or 21 Year Old, and we’ll include award-winning chocolates from the Highland Chocolatier. You can even add something a little special to the label with a personalised bottle of Glengoyne 15 Year Old. Slàinte! Free UK delivery. Just order in time for Valentine’s Day.

Last order date for UK delivery: 9 February

Last order date for international delivery: 6 February

BUY THE PERSONALISED 15 YEAR OLD

Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1990

The first release in the Bond House No.1 Collection from Glenmorangie, this Highland Single Malt has been nurtured for a quarter of a century in ex-bourbon and a small parcel of ex-sherry casks to produce a floral, fruity expression with an extraordinary level of finesse and vibrancy.

£500 Buy Now