Mulberry Bank Auction

Summer arrived with a bang, and then seemed to deflate somewhat…but that is Scottish weather for you!

We are now safely ensconced in our new premises in sunny (yet windy) Hillington and are ready to get sales going again, so here is the first Whisky & Wine sale from the new premises.

As with our previous auctions, we have both the traditional 1 day affair and the timed online auction, so don’t forget to bid on both.  The traditional auction will take place on 9^th August from 10am, and viewing is by appointment on Friday 5^th & Monday 8^th August.

For the second auction in a row we have a cask of Whisky available for sale in this auction, details are included in the accompanying document to this catalogue.  It is a cask of Da Mhile Organic Springbank 1992, Cask no. 241, a sister to the cask sold in Hong Kong last year for £50000 and the last one maturing in Scotland.  (Lot 100)

Other great whiskies to watch out for are the Macallan 18 year old 1967 bottling in pristine condition (Lot 5); the Kilkerran First cask collection of malts – all matured in different casks, from Madeira to Bourbon to Rum (Lot 108).  There is also the lovely Signatory bottlings of Littlemill and Dunglas distilled in 1967 (Lot 24).  There are also a number of Flora & Fauna bottlings in the wooden cases so watch out for them.

www.mulberrybankauctions.com

Welcome to new and improved Whisk(e)y News, fresh with a new banner, a better server, and a more professional look! Since we’re now reaching a bigger audience than ever before, we figured it was time to up our game. We’ve already had an eventful month with the arrival (and quick departure) of the Compass Box “5th & Harrison,” as well as the new Michel Couvreur whiskies, but July isn’t over yet and we’ve got a few more surprises before we launch into August and the arrival of our Scottish single casks.

Lagavulin Celebrates its 200th Anniversary!

We know you’ve been reading about the limited release of Lagavulin 8 year for months now, but California always seems to get its allocations last when it comes to major market releases. We’re happy to report we’ve finally got our allocation, albeit not much! Sink your teeth into this lovely Islay expression: Lagavulin 8 Year Old Limited Edition Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky $59.99 The 200th anniversary bottling of Lagavulin is finally here! A limited edition eight year old single malt whisky that packs all the peat, smoke, salt, and classic Islay flavor of the beloved distillery into a younger, brighter, more assertive expression. Sure to sell fast and sure to be one of the more popular whiskies we sell this year! The special edition celebrates a visit to the distillery be Alfred Banard (author of the classic “The Whisky Distilleries of Scotland”), where he recollected tasting a delicious eight year expression. There’s a lot to love with this whisky-the fruitiness on the palate, the malty mouthfeel, and the price! It’s nice to see a coveted whisky release for well under a hundred bucks.

The Return of the Orphan Barrel!

Diageo’s Orphan Barrel program is back, to the delight of many of us who like to drink old Bourbon. We’ve pleasantly surprised by the drinkability of these bottlings and the reasonable prices considering the market right now. There are plenty of 10-15 year old Bourbons selling for far more than this. Enjoy it while it lasts (which won’t be long). Orphan Barrel “Rhetoric” 22 Year Old Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey $119.99 Maxim called the Rhetoric 22-Year-Old a “top-shelf triumph,” saying, “The mash bill for Rhetoric Whiskey is 86% corn, 8% barley and 6% rye. Beginning with hints of toasted grains, cherries and oak wood, Rhetoric 22-Year-Old tastes of toasted oak and dark chocolate with ripe banana and baking spices of clove and anise, while the finish is long and woody ending with dark chocolate notes. In other words, you’ll want to sip this one slowly….” (JPS, 05/2016)

Another K&L Exclusive Barrel of Russell’s Reserve…

Our time spent with Jimmy and Eddy Russell in Kentucky a while back continues to have been well spent. We just got in another one of our single cask Wild Turkey selections and it’s a breath of fresh air-a Bourbon full of spice and life! Russell’s Reserve K&L Exclusive Single Barrel #175 Kentucky Bourbon $59.99 Everything we love about Wild Turkey Bourbon is alive and well in this 2016 release of K&L exclusive single barrel Bourbon. The sweet baking spices and bright vanilla tones on the nose carry over to the palate that pops at 55% and lifts the richness beyond just the standard toasted oak profile. There’s a flurry of cinnamon, creme brulee, and vanilla bean on the initial sip and that harmony carries through to the finish. It’s always easy to tell a bottle of Russell’s Reserve from the other Bourbons we feature for that reason. There’s a freshness to them, a certain joyfulness, and it’s alive and well in this whiskey: K&L Exclusive single barrel #175. 55% ABV

Loch Lomond Revamp

Let’s talk about Loch Lomond distillery for a minute, one of the weirdest and most mysterious distilleries in all of Scotland. David and I have driven by the facility a number of times. We’ve even pulled over and tried to peek through the gates. Loch Lomond is like the creepy haunted house on the hill on your way to Springbank. They don’t allow visitors and much of what they sell goes into weird blends. As a group, the company also owns Glen Scotia and Littlemill, although the latter is no longer in existence, and lately has decided to invest a bit more money into their operation. I have to be honest here: anyone not utilizing mature stocks of single malt whisky right now has to be crazy. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Loch Lomond was back in the states, with all new packaging, and a new line of whiskies.

Changes at Loch Lomond first started in 2014 when a new management group bought into the company and began the restructuring. Since then, they’ve released a single grain, a blended reserve, and a new single malt expression, while also revamping the Glen Scotia offerings. Loch Lomond is also a bit of an anomaly in Scotland because it’s an entirely self-sufficient distillery. They have two traditional copper pot stills, along with an additional six that have rectifying columns like what you see at distilleries like St. George. Then they have a Coffey still where they make grain whisky (like the Nikka Coffey still releases) , then they also have Lomond stills on which they make the single malt Inchmurrin. They’re like the DDL of Scotland, utilizing a number of different production methods to make a variety of different whiskies with which they can blend. Personally, I’ve always been interested in the distillery, but the quality was never there for me until recently. After having tasted through the new expressions, I was practically jumping at the chance to bring them in; namely, because they offer something we don’t see too often these days in the Scotch whisky world: VALUE!

Loch Lomond Lomond Reserve Blended Whisky $16.99 – A soft and gentle blended Scotch whisky made entirely in house with creamy barley notes and classic vanilla. This isn’t some nameless blend in a bottle, it’s a whisky made entirely at one distillery for a hot, hot price!

Loch Lomond Single Grain Whisky $27.99 – Imagine all the sweet character of the Nikka Coffey Still for less than half the price! This is loaded with caramel and candy corn, round on the palate, and soft on the finish. It’s nothing to revel in; it’s for enjoyable drinking, plain and simple.

Loch Lomond Original Single Malt Whisky $32.99 – Rich and round on the palate with classic malted barley and sweet vanilla tones. Think of this as an upgrade to Glenlivet 12. Technically a Highland, but located just outside Glasgow north of Dumbarton. Rather than continuing to build new micro-distilleries that sell more young whisky for boutique prices, it’s nice to see an older operation get refurbished and use that size and scale to bring some value back to the market. I’m very happy with what’s happened so far to Loch Lomond and I hope to see more good stuff from them down the line.

That’s it for today everyone! Until next time,

David Driscoll

K&L Spirits Buyer daviddriscoll@klwines.com

650.556.2736 http://spiritsjournal.klwines.com/

Blair Athol 27 Year Old 1988 Signatory

Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

This week Joe Ellis reviews Glengoyne 16 Year Old Distillery Cask Single Malt.

https://youtu.be/uciFc5PBwpg

http://Twitter.com/whiskytube

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anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky wins Gold at the International Wine & Spirit Competition 2016 with 12YO

Single Malt Scotch whisky brand anCnoc is proud to announce the 12 year old from its core collection has won Gold at the International Wine & Spirit Competition 2016.

anCnoc’s 12 year old is renowned the world over as a must-have in any whisky drinkers’ collection. Soft and aromatic on the nose it has hints of anCnoc’s signature flavour notes of honey and lemon, resulting in a long smooth finish. The gentle amber colouring comes from its maturation in American oak ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso casks, which deliver a fantastic flavour profile with a surprise at each twist and turn.

Stephanie Allison, Brand Manager for anCnoc says “We’re thrilled to announce that our 12 year old has been recognised within the industry as a Gold winner at the IWSC Awards. Creating the finest whisky possible is at the heart of everything we do at anCnoc, so winning such a prestigious award within a global competition is a great way to share our achievements and reward our dedicated distillery teams for all their hard work.”

Now in its 47^th year, the International Wine & Spirit Competition aims to award excellence to wines and spirits across the world and sets the international benchmark for quality. This year, the competition received entries from over 90 countries which were judged by over 400 global experts judging products for 7 months of the year.

For further information, please visit http://www.ancnoc.com/

Released from the vault!

If you haven’t heard – there’s a craze called ‘Pokemon Go’ that’s taking the country by storm. The general goal of it and Pokemon overall is to….’Catch’em all‘. Obviously some are harder to ‘catch’ than others. With that in mind – we are releasing into the wild – some of Park Avenue Liquor Shop’s classic exclusive single malt scotches. You do not need an App or smartphone to ‘catch’ these – You just need contact us. There are different quantities of these bottles available – so act fast if you see something you need for your collection. Please contact the store with any questions.  Cheers!

Jonathan & Eric & Marlon

The Park Avenue Liquor Shop 270 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 212-685-2442

jonathan@parkaveliquor.com

eric@parkaveliquor.com

whiskyconn@gmail.com  (Marlon)

www.parkaveliquor.com

Some of the Park Ave Liquor Shop’s ‘Exclusives’ from long ago have escaped.

The following items are recent escapees from the Park Avenue Liquor Shop’s ‘Vault of Exclusives’.

Each item listed is very limited so please contact us to make sure it is still available. 

Compass Box: “Monster” – Cask Strength Non-chill filtered.

$160/btl

With a name like “Monster” – this one could actually BE a Pokémon!

When the Park Ave collaborated with CB Master Blender John Glaser on an exclusive – we repeatedly sent back concept samples with the direction to make it peatier each time. That is, until we received a sample that John labeled as, “Monster”. The store loved it ~ as remarked on the back label  ~ and the bottling served as inspiration for the brand’s current “Peat Monster’ statement.
Gordon & MacPhail: SPEYMALT from Macallan 1993, 9Year Old – Oak Cask

$125/btl

These exclusive bottles are marked as being Speymalt’s very first importation into the USA.

“Speymalt” is the special name created by Gordon & MacPhail for all of its Macallan private bottlings. Only Macallan whisky can be used under the Speymalt moniker. So this is your chance to get the first Speymalt to come to the United States.

Gordon & MacPhail: Tomintoul 40 Year Old 1967, Cask #644 (Oak)

$1,000/btl

If our exclusive bottlings had an All-Star team – the one would be the starting pitcher…and clean-up hitter.

This one first hit our shelves in 2008 and has a finish that is still lingering. Perhaps that’s why no other bottle gets asked about like this one. We’re still amazed we got our hands on this cask. (Only 240 made) 

Montgomeries: Macallan 13 Year Old 1989, Bourbon Cask

$95/btl

“One of the best examples of a Bourbon cask Macallan I’ve ever tasted.”

– Jon Goldstein (Guy who really likes scotch and has opinions)

Old Malt Cask: Ardbeg 27 Year Old 1972, Matured in Sherry Cask, No chill

$2,500/btl

Full disclosure: THIS IS NOT ONE OF OUR EXCLUSIVES.

How it snuck into the vault no one remembers. That being said, this is our LAST BOTTLE is probably one of the oldest Ardbegs you’ll find in the market right now.

If you want one you’ll most likely need to jump into your DeLorean and push the Flux Capacitor until you hit 88mph. (Only 144 made)  

Four Roses: Single Barrel – Private Selection

OESQ = 10 Year Old ~ 120.4 proof OBSQ = 8 Years & 6 Months Old ~ 107.2 proof OBSO = 10 Years & 1 Month Old ~ 110.4 proof

$150/btl each

Once again this offer is while supplies of each item listed lasts. We cannot guarantee bottle availability. We are not responsible for any typographical errors. Please contact the store with any questions. PS: Hi Russia!

The Park Avenue Liquor Shop | 212-685-2442 | 212-689-6247 |  parkaveliquor.com

www.ralfy.com re-visits a trusty old friend with Whisky Review 594 – Springbank 10yo scotch (re-reviewed 2016)

Blog; whisky tour in the Highlands & Speyside –

We took two whisky loving Canadians on tour, starting from the Edinburgh hotel at 08 am on Saturday morning. Och another early start, but that’s fine, am used to it. We drove north over the Forth Road Bridge and on into highland Perthshire, taking our time, but hurrying up, to Inverness. Still a way to go, as our first appointment was with a few Dalmore drams. A distillery tour and tasting was happily received by our two whisky fans, even though it was no in production – but this meant photos allowed anywhere! King alec is my favourite dram there, but as driver … say no more, it hurts! Lunch was taken at the Storehouse doon the road, a meeting with some drams at Glenmorangie came next. I do need point out, the young guide got a few things wrong, but here main problem came when asked how they clean the stills out, she said they were sent away to be cleaned by power jets, oh dear! From here we headed back at an easy pace, to Inverness, where we all stayed overnight. I did introduce them to an excellent whisky bar here by the river, a good local pub and another – Irish bar. I left them to enjoy the city while I went away to my hotel and did some work (thanks Liz). Even on tour I cannee get away from work, Liz see’s to that.

Sunday, a day of rest? Don’t think so. Leave Inverness and call in to Culloden Battlefield, walk the moor that Bonnie Prince Charlie and his troops did, discover the “well of the dead”, take time to tour the museum and watch the provocative movie. From here to Clava Cairns, or the Prehistoric Burial Cairns of Bulnuaran of Clava – a group of three Bronze Age cairns dating back about 4,000 years. The cemetery was used in two periods. At around 2000 BC a row of large cairns was built, three of which can still be seen today. Cawdor castle, Macbeth was born about 1005. Macbeth was crowned High King of Scots at Scone outside Perth, with his Queen. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth during the spring of 1606. Although the murder of Duncan takes place in Inverness Castle, it is often associated with Cawdor Castle. The truth is, Cawdor Castle was not built until the late 14th century, therefore it is impossible for King Duncan to have lost any blood or Lady Macbeth much sleep in this particular house.  Whisky today? To be sure, we always have excellent drams in the car for our stops during the day, I drove long the Loch Ness to Drumnadrochit and called in at Fiddlers, met John whom I know (owner) told him my guest had a birthday, we (I was a driver again, damn!) enjoyed almost 2 hours of personal attention, many drams including a 40 year old, gifts and presents courtesy of myself and John, she went away happy and – tiddly! Returning a final time to Inverness.

Monday: We left Inverness at 10am, driving south to Tomatin. The  Taste of Tomatin tour – an in-depth tour, a tutored nosing and tasting of 6 different whiskies, including two distillery exclusive single cask expressions. I think they enjoyed that!  While they toured I enjoyed the “drivers share” a cup of tea and shortcakes, I did enjoy my chat’s with the girls here, especially young Nicole, whose whole family work here, including cousins, uncles, dad, granny used to. 2 hours later they appeared looking really happy. From Tomatin to Aviemore for lunch picking up Liz at the station.  We departed for Glenfarclas Distillery. This is one of the few privately owned distilleries and one of 3 Grant Family distilleries in Speyside. It’s hard for us to say, but it’s one of our favourites, as most of them are!  They produce excellent drams and bottles. From here around 35 minutes’ drive to Cardhu where we all fed the hairy coo’s.  Another great whisky day ends, guests happy and smiling, Elgin overnight. Liz and myself stayed up in Lossiemouth as usual, we use a nice wee apartment there as a base (office away from home).

Tuesday: We left Elgin at 9.15 heading south to Dufftown, booked on the 10am Balvenie Distillery tour, superb, we know, we have done it many times. The best way to get to know The Balvenie is at the distillery. Tours are very personal each is limited to a maximum of eight people. Bottling your own Balvenie in Warehouse 24 costs £25 (is not a full size bottle, but it is worth it). Only 6 people were on the tour and as usual, it was excellent, thank David (Muir) for your help and see you next month. We took lunch locally at Glenfiddich Distillery, this allowed our guests to see the fabulous ladies bathrooms at the distillery. The Macallan Distillery called our names at 3pm for the 6 Pillars Tour. After a thorough immersion into the world of The Macallan, they enjoyed an experience/nosing and tasting of Macallan whiskies as well as the rich new make spirit. We did call into a fab whisky bar en route to the hotel, where we met up with our other tour that was in, Derek was driving this one, great – we had everyone in the bar on tour with us, a mcleanscotland bar! Elgin again that evening. Liz and myself enjoyed some great food in Lossie and at the apartment a good selection of drams were consumed.

Wednesday: We departed Elgin at 9am to Dalwhinnie Distillery to call in for drams (tour not included), 6 Dalwhinnie drams including a dram from the £350 bottle, then down to Pitlochry for free time, lunch and Edradour Distillery. We saw Andrew wandering doon so hailed him, all hello’s and intro’s, as he guided us to the shop/bar, then introduced us to several drams (not me!!!) and spent maybe 40 minutes with us, before back to the shop for purchases, an good Edradour for Liz, an Imperial for Gary. Thanks Andrew.

From here we take a scenic route back to Edinburgh, dropping our guests at their Edinburgh hotel. Took Liz home and got back myself into the second half of the Euro Cup Final, Liverpool lost out! Another good whisky tour done and dusted.

Written by Paul McLean, http://www.whiskytours.scot/

Irish Whiskey Appreciation Course – CHQ

Wednesdays at 7.00pm from 5th October 2016 The CHQ Building, IFSC, Docklands, Dublin Tel: 01 612 5540 Email: chq@mitchellandson.com €160 per person

The aim of our ’Irish Whiskey Appreciation Course’ is to explore and understand the vast array of Irish Whiskeys on offer today in Ireland. The course will provide an opportunity for whiskey drinkers of all levels to explore Irish Whiskey with a strong emphasis on tasting, so as to gain an appreciation for the vast array of flavours available in the Irish Whiskey Industry today. We will taste 6 whiskeys per class, with the possibility of a few special extras.

Course Content:

Session 1 (Wednesday October 5th) Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Session 2 (Wednesday October 12th) Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Session 3 (Wednesday October 19th) Single Grain Irish Whiskey/ Independent Bottlers

Session 4 (Wednesday October 26th) Blended Irish Whiskey

To reserve your place on this course or for more information, please contact our CHQ shop on 01 230 2301, send us an email at mark@mitchellandson.com or click here to book online.

Distillery Focus Glengyle Distillery home of Kilkerran Part 1

This is the first part of the main release whisky due on August 12th 2016

KILKERRAN 12 YEAR OLD 46%Vol

What we call Campbeltown today was indeed called Kilkerran, and if my history is correct the Loch was also named Kilkerran town loch.

While the stock is not due in the store for sale until August 12th we wanted to give you a little more information about the distillery ahead of the open day tasting here in London, Campbeltown and Edinburgh.

Glengyle distillery was founded in 1872 by William Mitchell who’s family was well known in the town for another distillery you might have on your radar; SPRINGBANK, anyone know it?! Between 1872 and 1919 the distillery like so many others operated quite well as a private concern until it passed into the hands of West Highland Malt Distilleries Ltd who ran the site until it closed a few years later in 1925.

The distillery became a garage around 1929/30 not quite what the founders had in mind but this did protect the site in many ways. In 1941 the site was purchased with a view to return the site into a fully operational distillery, sadly it never happened even when it was purchased again in 1957 when talk of distilling emerged, still no sign of a distillery.

After a while talk of distilling stopped until Hedley Wright the owner of Springbank decided to purchase the land and buildings with the view to opening the distillery once more, this seemed only fitting given it was his own family’s distillery back in 1872. Once the site was in the hands of the family again no time was wasted in planning the new oldest distillery in Scotland the first to open this millennium.

First things first, where will they get the stills from? The answer came via a now defunct distillery called Ben Wyvis. The stills arrived in Campbeltown then it was a case of some re-shaping before installing, more equipment was installed until finally the work was done for the rebuilding.

The first distillation of the new spirit took place on March 25th 2004 with a plan to release a series called ‘Work In Progress’ when the liquid reached 5 years old.

Check back with the next Newsletter due August 12th for the rest of the story behind Scotland’s oldest new distillery.

Cadenheads Whisky Shop & Tasting Room 26 Chiltern Street, London, W1U 7QF