NEW TO THE PARTY

Widow Jane 10yr Bourbon – The 8 year was excellent, and this 10 year is even better. We’re excited to see a new product from this great NY distillery.

Sonoma County Cask Strength Rye and 2nd Chance Wheat Whiskey – Sonoma County Distillery works from grain to glass using direct fire pot stills. It’s an old school way to make delicious traditional whiskey.

11 Wells Prototype Bourbon 375ml and Rye 375ml – The founders of 11 Wells are keeping true to their origins in Minnesota. The Prototype line is unique in that different types of wheat and rye will be used and market tested. They want to hear what you think, so help them make good whisky great!

Redemption Rye 8 Year Barrel Proof – It’s back and as big as ever. This is the limited top-shelf selection from Redemption and comes in at full cask strength.

Wild Turkey Forgiven – Be sure to stock up if this is one of your go-to Wild Turkey whiskies. We are told Wild Turkey will be discontinuing Forgiven as a regular item, and it will become a once a year limited time offering from here on. Get it while the gettin’ is good!

Jack Daniels Honey and Fire Combo Set – What a convenient way to try JD Honey and JD Fire. One combo pack, a couple mixers, and some friends and you have a party.

Jack Daniels Glass Set – For the same price of a fifth of Jack, you can get two designated JD drinking glasses!

Ardbeg 10 Year Glass Set – The packaging looks like a bottle of Ardbeg and two glasses were the original test products to be frozen in carbonite on Cloud City, right before Han Solo. It’s a cool package and the Scotch is the same awesome Islay malt it’s always been.

Rosebank 23 Year Gordon & MacPhail – You are reading that correct, TPS has some Rosie in stock. Ok, so it’s not Port Ellen, but it’s also not $2,500 either. Here’s one of the greats. Keep it in mind for your best client, or chip in with some friends and taste a bit before it’s gone forever.

Gordon & MacPhail Arrivals – See here for our replenished stock of G&M bottlings.

Arran – We restocked these awesome single malts from the lesser known Isle of Arran. Check out what’s back.

Glenmorangie w 50ml – This is a great scotch to keep on hand, and in doing so you get to try a 50ml of two of their higher end selections. One is the sherry cask finished Lasanta, and the other is the port cask finished Quinta Rubin

Benromach 10yr 50ml – If you’re heading on a flight, love scotch, and don’t want to pay $8 for a 50ml of Dewars, fear not. Take as many of these Benromach 50mls, in a quart sized plastic bag, in your carry-on as you wish. You can buy toothpaste anywhere, pack minis to make your flight a little smoother.

John Barr Blended Scotch – Here’s a historical label of blended scotch. Now owned by the master scotch blenders of Whyte and McKay, it’s a super smooth blend that is good on its own, or will undoubtedly make a great scotch and soda.

www.thepartysource.com

95 Riviera Drive, Bellevue, KY 41073  (859) 291-4007

Quintessentially Canadian Magazine launches Canada’s newest Whisky magazine: QC Relish and Whisky.

A quarterly publication devoted entirely to the excesses of fine food and heavenly spirits. 

QC Relish and Whisky highlights the best of distilleries, expert advice for the whisky connoisseur, product innovations, and stories and details from the lives beyond the glass. Filled with recipes from the master chefs of the culinary world and new perspectives to open your eyes on spirits near and far. With a setting for all to enjoy, a comfortable visual escape, where questions are answered and curiosity is evoked. Local gastronomic to the Angels’ share.

Read online here

As we are settling into our new premises we would just like to make you aware of the parking facilities that are available to our customers. There is free parking available directly outside our premises and across from us in the visitors parking area. Please refrain from parking in the spaces outside of the Plumb and Drain Centres which are either side of ourselves. If there is no available parking outside the auction please use the on street parking which is very reasonable.

Thanks,

SWA Team

Singleton of Glen Ord 15 Year Old – Malt of the Month

I’ve been intrigued by Glen Ord for years. Back in the dim and distant past, I became aware of the distillery when I was asked to write about them in 1001 Whiskies to Try Before You Die – I tried a few drams and really liked them. However, it’s only more recently that I’ve managed to visit and learn about more about the distillery first-hand.

Situated a short drive away from Inverness – and easily accessible by train for those like me who shouldn’t be in control of a motor vehicle – on the edge of the village of Muir of Ord, the distillery has been operated without much interruption since 1838. It sits on the south-western edge of the Black Isle, a fertile peninsula well known for its grain production, and when it opened it was one of almost 20 distilleries operating in the area. Times have changed, and these days it’s the Black Isle’s only distillery and one of the most important in Diageo’s malt portfolio. Add to that the large maltings a few minutes walk away – a facility that provides malt to a some of Diageo’s best-known distilleries – and you have site that’s involved in the production of a lot of whisky.

The Ord maltings are impressive – a cathedral dedicated to malting barley

Until 2015, the distillery had a capacity of 5 million litres of alcohol per year, putting it in the top 20 malt producers by volume in Scotland. But a major distillery expansion has now bumped that to 11 million, pushing it into the top five, at about the same level of production as Glenlivet and Macallan. However, unless you go behind the scenes at the distillery, you can’t tell – the buildings are still the same as before for the most part, with the expansion mostly happening in the disused buildings that once housed the on-site saladin maltings.

The plan was simple: double production by doubling the number of stills and washbacks and adding an extra mash tun, while keeping all the original buildings in place. As the project progressed, they found some more space and added in a couple of extra washbacks, removing a pinch point in production and kept the complex jigsaw of spirit production running smoothly. Along with the extra washbacks and mash tun, they also needed to find space for some stills. This is actually a new building, hidden behind the old site and filled with seven new copper pot stills.

Seven new stills – still shiny

The spirit they produce is classified – using Diageo’s internal definitions – as ‘grassy’. One of the key parts of getting that character is how they condense the spirit vapour into liquid. The distillery uses shell-and-tube condensers: wide pipes filled with small tubes full of water, which cool the spirit vapour as it flows through, turning it into liquid. While we usually think of the water used for cooling the vapour as being cold, Glen Ord uses warm water. This allows the vapour to stay as vapour for longer, increasing its interaction with the copper of the condenser and producing a lighter, grassier spirit.

My first introduction to Glen Ord was a double-bill tasting of the now-discontinued 12 and 28 Year Old, but further exploration was hampered by an annoying sales decision – Glen Ord’s whisky was only available in Asia. As the third distillery in Diageo’s Singleton range – along with Dufftown and Glendullan – Ord was confined to shops on the other side of the globe. However, Diageo has now decided to open up the range to the whole world, and to celebrate, Singleton of Glen Ord 15 Year Old is our Malt of the Month – we’ve knocked £8 off for the whole of March.

Singleton of Glen Ord 15 Year Old

Nose: Soft and waxy with orchard fruit – apples and pears – backed up by soft spicy notes and a hint of the tropical. As it sits in the glass, honeysuckle and butterscotch develop, along with a touch of buttery pastry.

Palate: Slightly oily texture with the fruit from the nose complemented by orange zest and a touch of bitter citrus oil. Spice is more noticeable on the palate, with ginger and nutmeg sitting on top of vanilla and creamy notes.

Finish: Quite long, with sharper fruit softening to a spicy end.

Comments: A rounded and waxy dram with richer flavours providing a solid background for lighter and sweeter notes.. A great every day sipper.

While the lack of easily findable Ord has given me an excuse to visit the distillery a couple of times, the extra-availability will hopefully make it easier for everyone to grab a bottle and find out why it’s my favourite in the Singleton stable.

Punxsutawney Phil says an early spring, but baby it’s still cold outside.

Here are some warming whiskies.

Compass Box 10th Anniversary Peat Monster Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

Scotch Vatted Malt of the Year: Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2015.$119.99

High West Double Rye D&M Barrel Select Whiskey

This right here is an interesting beast!$49.99

D&M, 2200 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Step into Spring with Scotland’s Oldest Working Distillery

There may still be a drop of snow in the air but here at The Famous Grouse Experience we’re getting ourselves excited for Spring! With lots going on and Easter just around the corner, now is the perfect time to pop up to our home at Glenturret Distillery. We’ve got some new releases in our Famous Shop, some delicious dishes on our Wilde Thyme menu and some great tours to be had!

Find out what’s going on at Scotland’s award winning, five star visitor attraction this month…

The Famous Shop New Arrivals

The newest addition to The Famous Grouse family has landed in our Famous Shop. Carefully crafted by our Master Blender to deliver a subtly sweeter, mellow flavour, The Famous Grouse Mellow Gold has been matured in sherry and bourbon casks to deliver a smooth, well rounded whisky.

Spring Menu at Wilde Thyme

With the new season comes new fresh, local produce. We’ve got some tasty dishes on our lunch menu, incorporating some of the best of Spring. Served daily between 12pm and 3.30pm, click here take a peek at the menu on the website.

Famous Blending Experience

Fancy yourself as a Master Blender? With our Blending Experience, enjoy a tour of the most traditional distillery in Scotland and a guided whisky tasting followed by an in-depth blending session where guests create their own blended whisky to take home. Find out about our Blending Experience here.

Opening Hours

The evenings are getting lighter and we’re open later! Tours now run hourly from 10.30am, with the distillery closing at 6pm. We’re open 7 days a week and you can book your tour online on our website here.

Cragganmore 30 Year Old 1985 Old & Rare

Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
$355.92

Cragganmore 30 Year Old 1985 vintage Speyside single malt Scotch whiskey. Single cask refill hogshead bottled October 2015 by Hunter Laing & Co. for the Old & Rare Platinum Selection. 180 bottles. This golden coloured whisky has a delicate mellow nose sweet vanilla initially then an assortment of fruit aromas appear banana peaches blackcurrants with butter shortbread adding weight .a creamy buttery mouthfeel on the palate with red berries cinder toffee and dark chocolate giving sweetness and complexity .The finish is long satisfying sweet pleasant slightly dry with a touch of oak. Cragganmore Distillery was established by John Smith in 1869 on a site close to Ballindalloch Station in the heart of Scotland’s Speyside whisky region. Cragganmore Distillery is a malt whisky distillery equipped with four very short stills and is one of the few Scottish malt whisky distilleries which continue to cool their new spirit in traditional worm tubs. Visitors are welcomed at the Cragganmore Distillery visitor centre where distillery tours are available. Cragganmore is a participant in the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.

This week Joe Ellis reviews the Highland Park Dark Origins Single Malt Whisky.

https://youtu.be/iSApWTSSDYg

http://Twitter.com/whiskytube

https://www.facebook.com/whiskytube

Rare and delicious Kilchoman now available to order

Don’t forget free postage on all orders over £75

Kilchoman Madeira Cask

Collector Item Alert Introducing the first ever first-fill Madeira cask release from Kilchoman. Bottled at 50% ABV, and limited to only 6100 bottles, it is without a doubt one of our favourite ever Kilchoman releases! A lifetime in first-fill Madeira barrels has allowed the whisky to develop flavour packed full of rich, fruity and peat smoke notes. Heaven!

£84 Click to buy

Kilchoman 2008 Limited Edition

To quote Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder and Managing Director: “The 2008 Vintage is a classic bourbon barrel aged Kilchoman, however the additional maturation has added layers of soft fruit and sweetness not seen in previous releases.”. Need we say more?

£65 Click to buy

Kilchoman 100% Islay

The 100% Islay embodies the spirit of Kilchoman perfectly. The distillery itself is based on a farm, and 100 tonnes of Barley is grown in the fields surrounding it. This, in turn, means that whole process of producing the Kilchoman 100% Islay – from barley to the bottle – is done at the distillery and its farm. A lighter and fresher whisky with citrus notes, this expression exemplifies the flavours distinctive to Kilchoman’s new make.

£63.95 Click to buy

Kilchoman Machir Bay

This is the core expression from the farm distillery, and named after one of Islay’s most beautiful sandy beaches which lies only half a mile to the west.  Matured in both ex-bourbon and sherry casks, the 2014 release is a vatting of five and six year old Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrels and Oloroso Sherry Butts. Machir Bay is a heavily peated malt, but at the same time it is intensely sweet.

£39.95 Click to buy

Lagavulin 200th anniversary – new 8 Year Old whisky

There aren’t many distilleries that have universal appeal. Some people adore rich, sherried whiskies; other people despise them. Some love lean, medicinal styles; others run a mile. But there is one whisky distillery that gets praise from all quarters: Lagavulin.

Lagavulin distillery, as viewed from Lagavulin Bay

Part of the big-hitting trio of distilleries on Islay’s southern coast, Lagavulin celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, and is about to launch a special limited-edition bottling: Lagavulin 8 Year Old. This new bottling honours the work of whisky writer Alfred Barnard, who visited Lagavulin in the 1880s: ‘No prettier or more romantic spot could have been chosen for a distillery,’ he said, describing an eight-year-old whisky he tried there as ‘exceptionally fine’.

We were lucky enough to try a sneak preview of the whisky before it goes on sale in a few weeks’ time – and it didn’t disappoint. Lagavulin’s distillery manager Georgie Crawford told us: ‘I grew up in a pub in Port Ellen, and I was always of the opinion that Lagavulin was the premium single malt. When I started out, I wanted to be able to drink Lagavulin, but I had this perception that it was too powerful and smoky, so I started with Rosebank, then went on to Mortlach and Dailuaine.

Georgie Crawford, Lagavulin’s distillery manager, with Jock

‘With this new 8 Year Old, we were trying to create something as a tribute to Alfred Barnard, and I think the team has absolutely knocked it out of the park. It doesn’t have the big bite of the 12 Year Old; it’s more refined. I find it challenging and serene at the same time. It’s incredibly smooth for an eight year old, but it has that robust character.’

So, how does it taste? This is what I thought:

LAGAVULIN 8 YEAR OLD, 48% ABV

Nose: Cracked black pepper and aromatic woodsmoke at first, then fresh notes of orange and lemon peel. Appealing aromas of bonfires, hot shells and a touch of smoked meat. A little water brings out aromas of peach and green apple.

Palate: More woodsmoke, plus crunchy oatmeal and honeyed fruit. Rich mouthfeel, with notes of tobacco, bonfire embers and a peppery, spicy note.

Finish: The soft peat and characterful woodsmoke lingers for a long time.

Comment: Classy and complex, this has less fruit than the regular 16 Year Old, but adds a delicious extra layer of smoke and bite.

This special bottling of Lagavulin 8 Year Old will be available to buy from The Whisky Exchange in a few weeks’ time, and we’ll be getting plenty of it, so do not worry. The price is not confirmed yet, but we expect it to be around £5 cheaper than the 16 Year Old.