This week Joe Ellis reviews Larceny Bourbon Whiskey

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JANUARY AUCTION ENDS TODAY!

The latest auction at whisky.auction ends today from 7.30pm GMT. There are a host of Japanese whiskies to look out for, including Hibiki 30 Year Old. In addition, there are still plenty of great bottles sitting at good prices, so take a look at our selection and don’t miss your chance to place your bids

Malt of the Month – Craigellachie 13 Year Old

Craigellachie Distillery is located in Speyside

A new month means a great whisky deal to tell you about, and for February, we’re spreading the word about Craigellachie 13 Year Old – and we’ve knocked £4 off the price.

Distillery bottlings of Craigellachie were few and far between until 2014, but then three new age-statement releases appeared for the first time: the 13 Year Old, a 17 Year Old and a 23 Year Old. All three received critical acclaim and all three share Craigellachie’s robust, meaty character.

I visited Craigellachie two years ago and the Dewar’s team were proud of the full-flavoured spirit that this Speyside distillery produces, describing it as the ‘bad boy of Speyside’. The 13 Year Old is the baby of the range, but it still delivers a full-flavoured, punchy style that is a world away from the more genteel whiskies you can find in the region.

This is what I thought:

CRAIGELLACHIE 13 YEAR OLD, 46%

Nose: Big tropical-fruit aromas at first – mango and pineapple – followed by sweet and savoury notes of ham glazed with Demerara sugar and a whiff of barbecue smoke.

Palate: More sweet fruit, tempered by savoury smokiness. Punchy and full-flavoured, with the meaty smoke balancing well with the refreshing tropical fruit. Mouth-filling texture; makes a statement!

Finish: The smoked-meat notes gently fade, along with a hint of spent match.

Craigellachie 13 Year Old is our February 2016 Malt of the Month, and is £4 off, priced at £37.95. Buy a bottle today!

Scotland

1982 Port Ellen 22 year old “The Plowed Society Bottling” Old Malt Cask Single Malt Whisky (wax dipped top) (750ml) $1,299.99

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

February Whisky of the Month

It’s a new month which means a new special whisky offering from The Famous Grouse Experience. This month, its the turn of The Glenturret Triple Wood Edition. A combination of American sherry oak, European sherry oak and American bourbon oak casks have been used to create the distinct oaky flavour of the Triple Wood Edition. Available to buy here.

Tastings of The Glenturret

As well as our fantastic half price deal, visitors to Glenturret Distillery this month can also enjoy a special tasting of The Glenturret whiskies. For just £10, experience a tutored tasting of the newly launched range of The Glenturret, tasting our Sherry, Triple Wood and Peated whiskies made By Hand and By Heart. Available daily at 2pm.

Whisky News from Scotland’s Oldest Working Distillery

It’s February and we’ve got some exciting things going on at The Famous Grouse Experience at Glenturret Distillery this month. For the whole of February, we’re offering half price Distillery Experience Tours.

That means for just £5 you’ll get the chance to see exactly how Glenturret Single Malt is made at Scotland’s oldest working distillery, using traditional methods and equipment. You’ll also get a tasting of The Famous Grouse and The Glenturret range. Tours run hourly and last an hour. You can book online here.

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

United States – Kentucky

Angel’s Envy 100 Proof Rye Whiskey (750ml) (one bottle limit) $74.99

Blanton’s Original Single Barrel Bourbon (750ml) $49.99

Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection “1838 Style” White Corn Kentucky Straight Bourbon (750ml) $99.99

Scotland

Balvenie 14 Year Caribbean Cask Single Malt Whisky (750ml) $65.99

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Canadian Whisky Awards 2016 – Results

 Lot No. 40 is Canada’s best whisky

Lot No. 40 is Canada’s best whisky

Corby’s Master Blender, Dr. Don Livermore accepts the award for Best Canadian Whisky of 2015 from Davin de Kergommeaux and Dave Broom at the Canadian Whisky Awards, held January 14 at the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria B.C.

This is the second time Lot No. 40 has been named best whisky.

VICTORIA, Jan. 15, 2016 The jury has decided. A whisky distilled in Windsor, Ontario, is the best Canadian whisky of 2015.  A panel of ten independent whisky experts named Lot No. 40 the Canadian Whisky of the Year at the sixth annual Canadian Whisky Awards. They announced the results of this annual blind tasting competition Thursday evening, January 14, at the Victoria Whisky Festival in Victoria, B.C.

Chairman of the judges, Davin de Kergommeaux, described Lot No. 40 as: “A rye whisky sensation. Interest in rye is surging globally and here is proof that Canada makes the best all-rye whiskies in the world.”Other top winners include Canadian Club 100% Rye, Gooderham & Worts, Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye, Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel, and Masterson’s 10-Year-Old Rye.

“Canada’s whisky makers have responded to skyrocketing interest in Canadian whisky with a wealth of new high-end releases,” said de Kergommeaux as he revealed the winners. “For example, for the first time ever, a major legacy brand, Crown Royal, has bottled single barrel Canadian whisky at high proof.”

Canadian distillers released more small-batch and luxury whiskies in 2015, than ever before. Corby Distillers, for instance introduced four new whiskies including the highly innovative Wiser’s Hopped Whisky.Forty Creek, Centennial, and Sortilège continued to maintain a strong presence for flavoured whiskies as well.

The Winners:

Canadian Whisky of the Year – Lot No. 40

Sippin’ Whisky of the Year – Canadian Club 100% Rye

Award of Excellence – Best New Whisky – Gooderham & Worts

Award of Excellence – Innovation – Wiser’s Hopped Whisky

Award of Excellence – Canadian Whisky Profile – Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye

Award of Excellence – Line Extension – Canadian Rockies 21

Award of Excellence – Artisinal Distillery of the Year – Still Waters

Connoisseur Whisky of the Year – Domestic – Gooderham & Worts

Connoisseur Whisky of the Year – Export – Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel

Connoisseur Whisky of the Year – Multi-market – Lot No. 40

Sippin’ Whisky of the Year – Domestic market – Canadian Club 100% Rye

Sippin’ Whisky of the year – Export – Crown Royal XO

Sippin’Whisky of the Year – Multi-market – Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve

Value Whisky of the Year – Domestic – Alberta Premium

Value Whisky of the Year – Export – Canadian Mist

Value Whisky of the Year – Multi-market – Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky

Flavoured whisky of the year – Domestic market – Forty Creek Cream

Flavoured whisky of the year – Multi-market – Sortilege Maple Cream

Does Ontario Have A Secret Plan to Eliminate Over 6,000 Jobs?

A news story in the National Post last Friday quotes a lawyer representing the Ontario Government’s agency, the LCBO, as confirming “Government policy does not want to proliferate distilleries.”

In oral arguments before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Post says LCBO’s legal counsel, Ms. Margaret Jill Dougherty, went further and explained the policy was due to perceived health risks associated with higher bottling strength Spirits versus either wine or beer.

The public revealing of the Ontario Government’s objective also may help explain previous decisions that imposed excessive LCBO mark-ups on Spirits and excluded Ontario-made spirits from wine sales in farmers’ markets and beer sales in grocery stores.

“The Government appears to have embarked on a systematic strategy to further squeeze Ontario Spirits manufacturers and shrink the Industry’s Ontario footprint”, explained Jan Westcott, Spirits Canada President & CEO. “We reached out to numerous senior officials in the Government but, to date, there has been no public denial of the statements attributed to Ms. Dougherty”, added Mr. Westcott.

The Government’s view of potential higher health risks associated with distilled Spirits is totally inconsistent with the best medical evidence available and with the consensus of health and alcohol policy experts, including the findings of Canada’s National Alcohol Strategy.

Modern, progressive alcohol harm-reduction policies are largely anchored on the basis of a standard drink, defined as any alcoholic beverage containing 17.05 ml of pure alcohol. Examples of standard drinks include a 341 ml of 5% a.b.v. beer, a 5 ounce glass of 12% a.b.v. wine, and a Spirits Cocktail containing 1½ ounces of 40% a.b.v. spirits. When asked whether beer and wine are safer to drink, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention categorically answered “No.”

A 2010 OMAFRA study concluded that the local manufacturing of Spirits in Ontario supported over 6,000 full-time jobs and contributed $1.5 billion to the economy annually. Relying on imported spirits to serve Ontario consumers will lead directly to the elimination of all this manufacturing-based economic activity.

The Ontario Government’s apparent decision to target Spirits manufacturing facilities follows the closing of nearly 60 food processing plants shut down in Ontario between 2006 and 2014 and the loss of thousands of hectares of land dedicated to agricultural production.

In addition, elimination of Ontario’s Spirits manufacturing capacity will undermine the Ontario Government’s goal of doubling exports of Ontario agri-food processors as well as adding 120,000 new jobs to the sector by 2020, since Spirits annually fully account for over 2/3 the value of all of Ontario’s beverage alcohol exports.

Ontario Spirits manufacturers source 100% of its grain from local farmers. In addition, thousands of small and medium-sized Ontario businesses providing critical goods and services are dependent on Spirits manufacturing for their livelihood.

“We hope Ms. Dougherty was freelancing, or was misquoted, but given the silence emanating from Queen’s Park for 3 days”, we must assume that Ontario is shifting from its historic slow strangulation of Ontario Spirits manufacturers to one of expediting the demise of the remaining plants in Amherstburg, Brampton, Collingwood, Grimsby, and Windsor and, consequentially, converting tens of thousands of acres of corn fields to other non-agricultural uses”, said Westcott.

Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert

The world’s first in-depth book about Canada’s national spirit. 

WINNER, GOURMAND BOOK AWARDS 

BEST SPIRITS BOOK CANADA 2012 

WINNER, 2013 IACP BOOK AWARDSWINE, BEER AND SPIRITS 

Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert is published by McClelland & Stewart and distributed by Penguin Random House. It is available from most book shops and on-line book sellers.

FEBRUARY TASTINGS

New Outturn 19 Greville Street, Sat 6 Feb  More >

Valentines Champagne & Whisky Tasting – 28 Queen Street, Sat 13 Feb  More >

Whisky & Sushi Valentines Tasting  – 19 Greville Street, Sat 13 Feb More >

Greenock Preview Tasting – The Tontine Hotel, Fri 19 Feb  More >

Panel Beaters – The Vaults, Thu 25 Feb  More >

6 Nations Wine v. Whisky Dinner – The Dining Room, Thu 25 Feb  More >

Birmingham Preview Tasting – Hotel du Vin, Fri 26 Feb  More >

Manchester Preview Tasting – Malmaison, Fri 26 Feb  More >

Newcastle Preview Tasting – The Caledonian Hotel, Fri 26 Feb  More >

Stirling Preview Tasting – The Golden Lion Hotel, Fri 26 Feb  More >

FREE EVENTS

6 Nations on the Big Screen – The Vaults, Feb & Mar 2016   More >

The Vaults Poker Night – The Vaults, Tue 9 Feb   More >

Strathearn Distillery Tasting – The Vaults, Mon 15 Feb  More >

Browse All Events & Tastings >

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm).

Visit the Society here for membership information

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Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Despite it’s relatively young age, Benromach Distillery has had quite a troubled life. Since opening in 1898 it has changed owenership three times and been mothballed twice, the last of which was 1983. Happily, Benromach is now well and truly established again thanks to the great efforts put in by the Urquhart family, owners of the renowned scotch whiskey experts and independent bottlers, Gordon & MacPhail (G&M). Since 1993 when, when they took control of the distillery, they have been restoring their distillery and carefully crafting its spirit to put Benromach scotch back firmly on the whiskey map. And today, sees the launch of a brand new scotch expression that aims to highlight the historic past, present innovations and a bright future for Benromach Distillery and its malt scotch whiskey. We are delighted to welcome the brand new Benromach 35 year old scotch whiskey.

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