Kavalan Amontillado Cask Matured
Released as part of the Kavalan Solist range from King Car distillery is this Amontillado sherry cask matured single malt whisky from Taiwan. Bottled in 2016, 521 bottles were filled from cask at 55.6%.
Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 148: Caol Ila 9 Year Old 2006 for MMM
Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, together with his buddy Imanuel, founded MMM in May 2016. MMM – short for Mark & Manny’s Malts – launched their fourth and final bottling in the Animal Series. It was dubbed The Elephant because this Caol Ila truly is a mighty animal with its cask strength of 59,8% ABV. Mark and Imanuel are quite happy with the discovery (and acquisition!) of this cask. You should have seen their faces when they first tried it. Without a word they looked at each other and immediately had a big smile on their faces. ‘Sold!’ they shouted in unison, followed by a huge guffaw and a high five.
Angel’s and Demons Cinnamon Whiskey – Forget the big brands, this is the new kid on the block. It’s sugar sweet and cinnamon spicy and goes down so smooth. Keep a bottle in the freezer and enjoy it with all your angelic and demonic friends this weekend.
Backbone Bourbon – Skeletons beware, this will tickle your ribs and warm your spine! It’s a great young bourbon that will warm you on a cool Halloween night. Cheers, -The Party Source Liquor Department.
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Part 4/7 in the Beginners Guide to Whisky – Balblair 2005 & GlenDronach 12 Year Old.
If you made a list of the all the Scotch whiskies to try before you die, it’s a fair bet that Black Bowmore would be on it. And for those in The Whisky Show’s 2016 Bowmore masterclass, not only did they tick that particular whisky off their list, they also got to try it in the presence of Eddie MacAffer (master distiller) and David Turner (distillery manager), who have a staggering 75 years’ experience of Bowmore between them.
Edide MacAffer (left) and David Turner of Bowmore (© Simon J Hanna)
Eddie has just retired, and has passed the baton to David, so this could have been the final time the duo sat down to talk about the whiskies they have made together. ‘This will go down as a legendary tasting,’ began our host, whisky writer Dave Broom. He wasn’t wrong.
Eddie: ‘They used to give us a bottle of Bowmore Deluxe a month, rather than a few drams a day. But they must have decided it was too good, because they started giving us bottles of Rob Roy instead’
David: ‘When Bowmore gets to 17 or 18 years sold, the smoke tends to die out, and you get a lot more stewed fruit’
E: ‘Our No.1 vaults are right by the sea, almost below sea level. The whiskies are at peace in there – there’ll be ghosts in there, drinking drams’
D: ‘Dave Broom did an apprenticeship with us for two nights; he didn’t turn up on the second one!’
E: ‘The 1980s were difficult [for Bowmore] because it was push, push, push, and that affected the quality. Our fermentation was short – about 44 hours – the still was running hot and we were getting all those unwanted flavours in there. You could tell from the smell in the distillery’
E: ‘In the 1960s, there’d be a queue about 100 yards long to try the new-make; in the late 1980s, you’d be lucky to have two or three people waiting!’
D: ‘Suntory had a big impact; from 1989, they invested heavily in good wood’
E: ‘You can hear the roar of the ocean when you taste Sea Dragon. It has a lovely flowery fruitiness’
E: ‘The water [source] doesn’t have any effect on the end product’
D: ‘Our reputation was really made with [the 1964] bottling of Black Bowmore. It was one of those whiskies that changed people’s mindsets about what single malts could become’
Bowmore Tempest 10 Year Old Clean and refreshing – fresh lemon peel mixed with coal embers and grilled pineapple.
Bowmore Deluxe (Bot. 1970s) Gorgeous notes of salted caramel and woodsmoke, then a big hit of lemon and apple. Delicious!
Bowmore 25 Year Old More coal and bonfires but the fruit is drier and richer, adding complexity.
Bowmore 30 Year Old Sea Dragon Fruity and aromatic, with pineapple and grapefruit to the fore, along with Earl Grey tea, sea spray and a whiff of smoke.
Black Bowmore 1964 30 Year Old (2nd edition) Big sherried nose upfront, with raisins, mocha, stewed fruit and Christmas-cake spices. Even richer on the palate – Maya Gold chocolate, tobacco, cardamom, nutmeg and clove. Stunning.
Bowmore 1964 Fino Sherry Cask (46 Year Old) So fruity! Aromas of grilled pineapple and Starburst sweets along with grilled peaches and the merest suggestion of peat. Saltier and brinier on the palate, but waves of generous fruitiness quickly take hold – apricot, lemon, orange.
The final two whiskies were sensational and lived up to the hype – not something you can always say when trying something with such a big reputation. But I’m going for the NAS Deluxe bottling from the 1970s, which summed up Bowmore for me: tropical fruit with an undercurrent of smoke.
Having not tried many of these whiskies before, I understand know why Bowmore fans are so passionate about this distillery. The no-holds-barred fruitiness of the whiskies was amazing, as was the way the peat played its part but never took over. Thanks to Eddie and David for a wonderful masterclass.
Hi folks. We’re live with the 67th auction – the biggest ever. Enjoy and #dontloseyourbottle
Kind regards from Glasgow
The SWA Team
Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 147: Auchentoshan 18 Year Old 1978 Signatory
Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries another one from his favorite Lowland distillery. An 18 Year Old Auchentoshan distilled in 1978 and bottled in 1996. This means it has spent 20 years in the bottle, which is longer than it did on the cask. Might this be a golden oldie from Signatory? Oh, yes indeed!
The second in an annual series of limited editions, this Speyside Single Malt is a the fruit of a creative partnership between Bob Dalgarno, Whisky Maker at The Macallan, and the Roca brothers of restaurant, El Celler de Can Roca, in Catalonia. The nose has layers of vanilla, tropical fruit and subtle green wood with treacle, ginger toffee apples and rich fruit. The palate brings cracked black pepper, chocolate, nuts, cloves, oak, brown sugar, liquorice and brandy snaps, before a full, slow and warming finish.
Kilchoman: Sanaig
“Sanaig, a small rocky inlet North West of the distillery, is the name given to this continuously available release. Sanaig has a predominantly sherry cask influence owing to the significant time spent in oloroso sherry Hogsheads. These aged oloroso casks contribute a drastically transformed depth of color and character compared to Kilchcoman’s mostly Bourbon cask matured ‘Machir Bay’. “A beautiful marriage of bourbon and sherry maturation balanced with classic Islay peat smoke and light citrus sweetness” – Anthony Wills, Founder. Sanaig was awarded Best Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Non Age Statement at the IWSC 2016. $73/btl
Inchmurrin: Madeira wood finish
Loch Lomond Distillery
Master Distiller Bill White selects individual casks matured exclusively in traditional American oak whisky barrels before marrying them together for further maturation in casks that have previously been used for making fortified Madeira wine. This finish enhances the orchard fruit character of peach and pear with marzipan and nutmeg and gives a dry nuttiness to the long, oak finish.
Nose: Fresh citrus orange bursts on the nose giving way to almond marzipan comes through with nutmeg.
Palate: Velvet smooth and welcoming on the tongue. Fruity character of peach and fig is overlaid with rich butterscotch and delicate walnut.
Finish: Long finish, dry grape tannins and oak, lingering nuttiness.
$85/btl
Due to ever-changing inventory – we cannot guarantee bottle availability. We are not responsible for any typographical errors or the poor performance of your Fantasy Football team. Please contact the store with any questions.
The Park Avenue Liquor Shop | 212-685-2442 | 212-689-6247 | parkaveliquor.com
GOLDEN DECANTERS LAUNCHES FIRST COLLECTION OF THE
FINEST SINGLE CASK SCOTCH WHISKIES
London – October 18th, 2016. Julia Hall Mackenzie-Gillanders and Ann Medlock, Owners, today announced the launch of Golden Decanters, independent curators of exceptional and distinctive single cask whisky, bottled for collectors globally.
By leveraging its status as an independent bottler Golden Decanters is able to explore Scotland’s exclusive and finest distilleries, tasting some excellent casks of single malt. It acquires only a small number of the best tasting casks, to bottle a limited edition collection of distinctive and singularly great single malt whiskies.
Golden Decanters’ inaugural collection is diverse in age, flavour and hue, taken from four of the finest casks of single malt Scotch whisky. The casks are from the distilleries of Glenlivet in Speyside, Bowmore in Islay, Ben Nevis in the Highlands and Auchentoshan in the Lowlands.
“Our two year journey has taken us across Scotland, tasting hundreds of the best single malt whiskies,” said Ann Medlock, Owner. “As independent curators we were able to select the finest casks from each distillery, basing our decisions on what tasted exceptional. Not just our own taste, but also that of industry experts to corroborate the selection.”
“Once the whiskies were selected we commissioned iconic Scottish designers Timorous Beasties to design the etched bottles and carved oak presentation boxes, creating works of art, both inside and out,” said Julia Hall Mackenzie-Gillanders, Owner. “The result is a collection of four single cask whiskies that looks and tastes spectacular. This is proving extremely attractive to collectors and investors around the world, with pre sales already accounting for nearly 10 per cent of this first release.”
“The first Golden Decanters’ selection showcases outstanding single cask malts from Scotland’s four leading whisky regions,” said Charles MacLean, the well-known independent whisky expert. “I enjoyed all of them hugely and can say without hesitation that they all merit their place in this exclusive collection.”
The cask in which the whisky matures is recognised as the single most important factor in terms of the final aroma and taste. Single malts seemingly identical on paper have different tastes and Golden Decanters has embraced this fact, conducting extensive sourcing and tasting of single cask whiskies over a two-year period, to deliver some of the finest Scotch whiskies available today. The collection is less about the age of the whisky or which distillery is in fashion, rather each bottle combines exceptional taste from four different Scottish regions with a striking and elegant design.
Golden Decanters has created something unique which portrays the traditional icons of Scotland in a modern and refreshing manner, which is reflected in all aspects of the collection, from the names of individual whiskies through to the bottle and presentation box designs. The collection comprises:
– The Tight Line (34 Year Old, 41.8%) from the Glenlivet distillery in the River Spey Valley, famous for its fishing.
– The High Drive (26 Year Old, 46.8%) from the Bowmore distillery in the Isle of Islay, an area with a long history of stalking and shooting.
– The Golf Widow (22 Year Old, 59.8%) from the Auchentoshan distillery in the golfing country of the Scottish Lowlands.
– The Highlander (19 Year Old, 55.5%) from the Ben Nevis distillery in the Scottish Highlands, the home of Highland cattle.
The first release from Golden Decanters is limited to 180 sets of four bottles. The set is available to purchase at The Conran Shop, Hedonism and direct from Golden Decanters.
This is what is being said about Golden Decanters –
“An excellent assembly of whiskies representing the major distilling areas of Scotland, presented with style. A must for the serious collector.” Private Client, Edinburgh.
“The Golden Decanters set gives the buyer a wonderful opportunity to experience four very individual and above all, excellent-quality whiskies whilst being immaculately presented.” Hedonism.
“An exquisite collection of the finest single malt Scotch whisky, with each individual bottle capturing the essence of Scotland’s finest regions. The passion for whisky behind Golden Decanters is evident in the detail and dedication to this limited edition collection. Each bottle has been incredibly hand etched and the collection is truly a work of art. The ultimate gift, a unique sensory experience, and it tastes great too!” The Conran Shop.
About Golden Decanters
Launched in 2016, Golden Decanters is an independent curator and bottler of some of the finest single cask Scotch whiskies, continually exploring Scotland’s oldest and most exclusive distilleries to offer limited edition collections to collectors, connoisseurs and investors globally. The first collection comprises four individually selected single malt whiskies, representing the finest flavours sourced from four different Scottish regions.
Golden Decanters plans to release future limited edition collections, once further sourcing of single cask malt whiskies has been completed.
