Announcing our favourite whiskies of 2015. We’re very proud of our 40 year old and reviews confirm it’s a wee beauty. Ditto the exclusive and rare Single Cask Old Pulteney. The Royal Brackla surprised a lot of us – is it really ‘only’ 16 years old and 40% abv? Then there was the return of the wonderful Flaming Heart (better than the ‘This Is Not A Luxury Whisky’ in our humble opinion). Glendronach Peated and the limited release cask strength Arran ‘The Bothy’ are both deliciously rewarding malts that really show how good reasonably priced NAS whiskies can actually be. What were your favourite drams this year? Let us know by tweeting #RMWBestDram

OLD PULTENEY 1997 Single Cask £99.95

RMW 40 Year Old Blended Malt £199.95

FLAMING HEART 15th Anniversary £99.95

GLENDRONACH Peated £37.95

ARRAN The Bothy £54.95

ROYAL BRACKLA 16 Year Old £69.95

ROYAL MILE WHISKIES

379 High Street The Royal Mile EDINBURGH EH1 1PW

Tel: 0131 225 3383

There is no time of year as convivial as the festive season. And of course, nothing breeds conviviality quite like a great drink, well prepared. So this year, why not use your whisky creatively to give your guests a taste they’ll remember?

We believe there is nothing quite like a refreshing Grapefruit Mamie Taylor to start things off. Simply pour 10ml of grapefruit juice into a glass filled with ice and add 50ml Great King Street Glasgow Blend. Top with 100ml good quality, spicy ginger beer then stir briefly and garnish with a zest of lime. Sharp, smoky, fresh – a memorable twist on an old classic. After dinner, The Peat Monster will pair perfectly with cheese in place of wine or port – the higher alcohol of the whisky cuts through the fat content of the cheese, while the smoky character provides a beautiful foil to all rich flavours. And nothing works better served alongside warm spiced puddings than the intense, clove-like character of The Spice Tree.

Last order dates for Christmas

We hope you have a friendly local whisky retailer who can take care of all your Compass Box needs. However, if you don’t, please pop in to our UK online shop – fulfilled by our friends at Speciality Drinks.  Order deadlines for delivery before Christmas are as follows: USA: 16th December 9.00 am (EST) Europe: 16th December 2.00 pm (GMT) UK: 18th December 2pm (GMT) For most other countries, the deadline for guaranteed delivery is 11th December.

Time for something new! Time for something old!

Before we give you a few gentle clues about the next few months we should update you all on the releases of small batch and authentic collection malts.

We have taken delivery of a few more cases of the amazing Caol Ila 20 a nice full replenishment of the Glen Grant 20 year old also back in stock along with many others via the web shop and in store. Below you will find some of our top tasting whiskies we think you should consider.

We have a number of Small batch malts in back up stocks though this range is greatly depleted in some areas we will do our best to get the odd bottles in stock over the next week or two and with time add them to the web shop assuming they don’t sell out as soon as they arrive.

LONDON Christmas & New Year Opening Times 2015:

DECEMBER 2015
Saturday 19th 10:30AM to 6:00PM
Sunday 20th Closed
Monday 21st to Wednesday 23rd 10:00AM to 6:30PM
Thursday 24th 10:00AM to 3:30PM
Friday 25th to Monday 28th Closed
Tuesday 29th 11:00AM to 6:00PM
Wednesday 30th 10:30AM to 6:30PM
Thursday 31st 10:30AM to 4:00PM

JANUARY 2016
Friday 1st Closed
Saturday 2nd 11:00AM to 6:00PM
Normal hours resume from Monday January 4th

LOOKING BACK AND FORWARD

So what a year that was for Cadenhead’s & Springbank products with some ranges selling out in a matter of hours such as the last release of Authentic single casks, I can’t recall a time when every single bottle from a release was sold with-in 1 hour. We thought the last release would take us nicely to mid December!

Thankfully we managed to get a few cases from other releases to fill the shelves otherwise it would have been a rather ordinary looking whisky shop when people visited the London store. (More than enough stores selling the same products in this city we did not want to be one of them)

2016 is the lead in year to mark Cadenhead 175th anniversary and of course our own 21st birthday in London. Not that many single malt whisky specialists can say they are still run by the same owners in a city like London.

So with such a special year ahead what will we be doing? Quite a lot as it happens starting off with a new range named after the founder of the company William Cadenhead.

First off the block will be a new 12 year old cask matured sherrywood 46%vol then a rather big peaty Islay single malt for all those who love a big peat beast then this one aged to 7 years old bottled at full cask strength of 59.1% is for you.

Next we head off to Ireland for a new 13 year old smooth Irish at 46% this one is rather special so grab one if smooth and sweet is you’re thing.

The new range will be a mix of blended malts and unspecified single malts, each bottle will carry a picture of the founder himself on the label.

Next up some general news on the 12th small batch release due again early in the new year. 10 – 12 new products start us off in this now iconic range, ages will range from 10 to 37 year olds with regions like islay and the islands featuring alongside some amazing Speysiders and highlands. Three of the new single malts will be in the single cask gold range. I am sure I will be able to predict one of them will fly off the shelves given its great age and coming from one of the islands?

I am not going to go on and on about the new range just yet…that will be in the next newsletter.

BENRIACH 1986 29y/o 50.1%-70cl Small Batch
A stunningly smooth malt that one should never share.

GLEN SPEY-GLENLIVET DISTILLERY 1995 19Y/O 58.5% 70cl Small Batch
A classic rich Speysider malt that goes on and on.

CRAGGANMORE 1993 22Y/O 56.3%-70CL Small Batch
One of the best I have ever tasted

TOBERMORY Distillery 1994 20y/o 57.8% 70cl – Sherrywood
This is a real gem of a whisky that changes constantly in the glass. (One of the top rated in the tasting room)

CAOL ILA Distillery 1995 20y/o 57.7% 70cl
Another fantastic Islay that will be a much treasured dram in the
future

FETTERCAIRN Distillery 1993 22y/o 53.7% – 70cl Sherry since May 2008
Simply elegant and smooth

BEN NEVIS Distillery 1998 16y/o 51.2% 70cl
Refreshing fruity west highland malt that is second to none

STRATHMILL 19Y/O 55.1% – 70cl Chateau Lafitte cask since 2009
Smooth creamy with lot of rich tones inc orange notes

SPEYSIDE distillery 24Y/O 53.3% – 70cl
This little distillery makes a huge rich malt at any age. Well worth a place in anyone’s collection. Elegance in a bottle

CAOL ILA 31 year old Islay London Special Edition 1984 70cl/ 54.3%
And finally one last champion whisky that will sell out very soon the last few Caol Ila 31 London special 2015. A rich smoke and peat with a lot of rich cream and vanilla notes can be found in this amazing Islay Single cask.  Dare I say the best vintage islay we have had for 2015. Bottled at 10:30am May 5th exactly 20 years to the day and the hour we opened the first Cadenhead’s shop outside Scotland.  When the London store opened a few of us thought would it work without selling wines and other spirits after all thats what everyone else did. No need to worry about being like everyone else doing what we do best has worked just fine.

Springbank will have a few new products in January early February 2016 again more about them soon, the big clues to what is coming are the clocks on the newsletters recently “all about turning back time”  As i am working on this newsletter the Springbank 15 bottled in October 2015 has sold out from the bonds. Another batch was bottled in October, the new batch is still 100% sherrywood but this time it has a more gold Amber colour than the dark offering back in August, the taste is all you would want and rightly expect with a little more smoke coming through in the October offering just a subtle amount though.

If you want the August bottling you can add a comment to the order or ask us over the phone to check if we still have the August stocks.

THE TASTING ROOM

Over 6024 people have attended the tasting room this year or will have done by December 30th, not to mention the several thousand we have seen during outside events, we added extra nights and employed a new team member to cope with demand, I doubt we can fit many more in next year indeed I know we cannot at this stage anyway.

To allow those with vouchers purchased last Christmas time to book in we are extending the redemption period until Thursday 31st of March 2016. So long as you call us before the extended date we can book you in with the voucher codes that will expire very soon.

I have been asked to run Rum tastings over the last year, due to so many advanced bookings we had trouble setting them up until now. Check the web site for the first Friday Night Rum session on Friday 1st of April 2016, we also have Irish Vs Scottish week with 2 evening sessions on March 15th & 17th again more info will be added to the web site soon alongside the dates already listed.

You can use the Trip Around Scotland vouchers for the new tastings listed on the web site now and any future additions to the events.

A limited Tasting Room Event: PERSONAL BLENDING NIGHT

The latest event that is very different has been added to the home page of the web site.

Friday 5th February 2015 starts at 6:15PM finishing by 8:00PM

 You will taste 6 single malts (Think of this as speed dating for whisky). You will then choose 3 from the 6 to add to a base whisky for the blend.  We will supply you with a selection of wood styles and regions to taste, a short informative talk about the wood styles and flavour notes to look out for when making the final choice for blending.

You will have a hydrometer to measure the ABV (% VOL) of your personal blend. We will have a note sheet so you can keep track of the tastes you discover during the tasting helping you record of how you have made the choices for your personal blend.  After you taste the blend corking will take place along with filling out a Chiltern street personal label. You will also have a signed certificate after completing the tasting. Light snacks are provided during this tasting nothing too heavy to keep your palate clear.  If you purchase this session on-line we will send you a confirmation email with a PDF voucher to the email address associated with the order. We can also send a voucher if purchased over the phone, email us with the unique code we will give you after purchasing via phone.
6 Spaces are sold on-line 4 spaces over the phone by calling 0207 935 6999 between 10:30AM and 6:00PM Monday to Saturday.  This session cannot be moved to another date only 10 spaces available. Now I have to do the boring bit! Due to heavy demand for the tasting room events its becoming difficult to keep moving people to another date. When booking we strongly advise you to be 100% sure you can attend the tasting.  We do allow people to move but sometimes we have groups or individuals seek to change several times, it’s unworkable and not very fair when we have turned people away only to have a last minute cancellation. We will only move people or groups once with the full notice given as per T&C’s when booking or purchasing vouchers on-line.

CADENHEADS WHISKY CLUB MEMBERSHIP

If you are new to this newsletter you will have missed the information about the Cadenhead’s whisky club. The club is for those who purchase our amazing single cask malts on a regular basis, if you buy 6 or more bottles per year then this is a great way to add to your collection.

When you join the club you will be eligible to receive special bottling’s that will not be released in the shops, the bottles are so exclusive I never get to see them until they arrive for customer collection. Every Time you purchase a bottle from the Cadenhead’s range we will stamp a card one stamp for every bottle you buy.

You will receive a welcome pack when you join in archive tasting notes and a leather wallet with the club logo, the cost for membership £50 for the first year then £30 renewal fee if you would like me to forward your contact details to head office to get more information email me at steve@whiskytastingroom.com or info@whiskytastingroom.com

BREAKING NEWS

Some breaking news arrived late tonight 4/12/15 via The Whisky Magazine…

Cadenhead’s whisky shops have won the best multiple retailer of the year award for 2016 this is once again an honor to first be nominated then to win again in 2016.

A huge thanks to Whisky Magazine and the award sponsors Loch ness water. Our biggest thanks must go to the 1000’s of customers who have found us through word of mouth then taken the time to visit our shops in the UK and Europe, subscribed to our newsletters and reviewed our products (both good and bad).

I would also like to thank the tireless work from our suppliers who constantly keep me up to date with new products for our London store especially Gordon & Macphail, Tomintoul & Glencadam distilleries, Maxxium UK, Marussia beverages, J & B (DIAGEO).

Our own teams at Springbank (J&A Mittchell) and Wm Cadenhead for the fantastic ranges they provide to us for our customers and Distil This our web shop developers who are now working on the new we site after all my interference they just keep going.

 Above all thank you for making 2015 the best year ever for the company, you guide us we try to deliver.

Have a great Christmas and a very happy and prosperous new year 2016

All the best from the team in London

Stephen W

Jack Daniels Holiday Select 2014 Limited Edition

2014 was the very first year in which Master Distiller, Jeff Arnett individually selected the Holiday Select barrels which were used to create this unique limited release. He has decided to showcase the depth and richness that a single barrel can offer and selected the most robust and complex whiskey he sampled.

Over 140 barrels stacked 8 metres tall. Bottled straight from the Barrel Tree just once every year, Holiday Select is one-of-a-kind, just like Mr. Jack himself!

£59 – Click to buy

The Japanese Whisky Gift Box Set

We know how important gifts are to our customers – especially at Christmas. This year we have developed a range of beautiful gift boxes containing some of your, and our, favourite whiskies. Whether you’re looking for traditional single malt for your Dad, or a fashionable Japanese whisky set – we’ve got it covered. The Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve is a wonderful balanced whisky. Full of soft, fresh fruits and Mizunara (Japanese Oak) aromas, this is a classic example of Japan’s number one whisky. Accompanied by The ice sphere mould to make the perfect ice ball and a stylish whisky tumbler.

£85 Click to buy

The Loch Fyne 1745 Gift Box Set

Winner of a Jim Murray liquid gold award 2016:

The Loch Fyne 1745 is named after the historic year in which the whisky’s home town, Inveraray, was founded. Inspired by its west coast location and the many tourists who pass through the town on the way to Islay. The Living Cask 1745 is a unique marriage of well aged single malts all from Islay distilleries and is fast building a reputation for its incredible flavours. This gift box also comes with a couple of award winning Glencairn whisky glasses – perfect for appreciating the finest malts.

£92 Click to buy

GLENFARCLAS 2000 GIFT BOX SET

This single malt Scotch whisky was specially selected for The Whisky Shop, and is an utter delight from start to finish – a juicy, fruity, playful, classic Speyside whisky. There is enough Glenfarclas character here for fans of the distillery to love it. But this is also a great way to start your exploration in to the distillery if you are not yet familiar with it. A great malt. Accompanied by two award winning Glencairn whisky glasses and housed in a luxurious presentation box.

£80 Click to buy

HAUF AN’ A HAUF Gift Box Set

This gift pack brings back a bit of Glasgow nostalgia. It pairs a whisky from Glasgow’s closest distillery, Auchentoshan 12yo single malt, with a premium beer that has been brewed in Glasgow, Tennents beer aged with whisky oak – a great Glasgow combination.

Pack Includes a 5cl miniature of Auchentoshan 12 year old, one bottle of Tennents whisky beer, a Tennent’s beer glass and a malt blender’s whisky glass. Bring on the nostalgia!

£25 Click to buy

www.ralfy.com re-acquaints with an old familiar friend after long three years with Whisky Review 564 – Bruichladdich 16yo (bourbon cask)

Christmas Orders – Last Delivery Dates

While we ship globally, unfortunately it takes time and Christmas is fast approaching. We’ve talked long and hard with the companies who carry our parcels all over the world, and have come up with the following cut-off dates. If you order before them, your parcel should be with you before Christmas. If you order afterwards, then we’ll do our best, but we can’t guarantee it. You can find full details over on our delivery information page, but here are the dates ordered by country, in one easy to read list:

TULLIBARDINE OLD MALT CASK 23 YEAR OLD

Looking for something different? Look no further – this Tullibardine single cask is almost completely sold out. Known for its soft, sweet and creamy notes this whisky is perfect for those who enjoy a gentle dram. One of only 319 bottles charged from a refill hogshead Distilled in September 1990 Bottled in April 2014 Bottled at 50% volume

Price Drop Was £136

£83 Click to buy

CRAGGANMORE OLD MALT CASK 24 YEAR OLD

For someone who likes Macallan or a Glenfiddich but is looking to try something different. This Cragganmore became one of our fastest selling single cask whiskies. Dont miss your chance to taste this rare Speyside gem. One of only 169 bottles charged from a refill hogshead. Distilled in November 1989 and bottled in March 2014. Bottled at 50% volume.

Price Drop: Was £177

£113 Click to buy

MACALLAN 25 YEAR OLD PLATINUM OLD AND RARE

Something Special:

This Macallan 25 year old has been distilled in April 1989 and bottled in July 2014. It is one of only 188 bottles that have been created. Bottled at a natural cask strength of 44.8% volume. Each bottle has been drawn from a Refill Hogshead cask – a superb expression. Presented in a highly distinctive squat bottle, each expression comes packaged in a specially crafted wooden box. It goes without saying that each cask remains unadulterated by excessive filtration or added caramel.

Price Drop Was £560

£476 Click to buy

Glendronach 2003 Whisky Shop Exclusive

Winner of the prestigious Liquid Gold award in the latest Jim Murray Whisky Bible – scoring 94.5 points: Limited to only 625 bottles this Glendronach 11 year old has been matured in a Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon. It was distilled in January 2003 and bottled in November 2014 from cask number 3568. Jim Murray: A little maple syrup and butterscotch tries to equal the spices; helped by a superb, entirely sulphur free butt, this malt is as clean as it rich as it is memorable as it is excellent. 53.3%. 625 bottles.

Find out the full review by clicking here:

£60 Click to buy

Glenfarclas 1994 Whisky Shop Exclusive

Winner of the coveted Liquid Gold award in the 2016 Jim Murray Whisky Bible – scoring an impressive 95.5 points: Bottled exclusively for The Whisky Shop and limited to only 1200 bottles. Bottled at 43% volume. Jim Murray: Very close in character and quality to the distillery’s latest official 1994 release. Which means it’s not far off God’s gift to present day sherried malt whisky…

Find out more about this award winning whisky and how to order some bottles by clicking here:

£84 Click to buy

The Loch Fyne Living Cask 1745

This new expression was created using a range of great Islay malts, some with considerable age,(but the exact numbers are kept secret.). Winner of the coveted Liquid Gold award in the 2016 Jim Murray Whisky Bible – scoring an impressive 94.5 points. Jim Murray: One of the best whiskies ever created at quarter to six in the evening….and one quite impossibe not to love.

Find out more about this award winning whisky by clicking here.

£75 Click to buy

Still unsure on what to get your friends and family for Christmas?

Dont worry, there’s still plenty time.

To view all of our New Releases click here

CHRISTMAS PARCELS: DIVINE DIVERSITY

Our Christmas Parcels collection boasts some of our most interesting and exclusive single casks of the year. It’s our selection of Panel picked presents with 4 mouth-watering parcels and 3 unique single cask stocking fillers, including an old spicy and sweet Campeltown malt, a powerful 2yo bourbon and a celestial cognac.

Heavenly Peaty Trio £269

This tasty trio has the kind of ‘grab you by the goulies’ peaty goodness that is sure to send our Islay lovers to a heavenly place – TCP, carbolic soap, barbecued shellfish and bacon.
29.171 Essence of Islay

10.84 Grabs you by the goulies!

33.132 Beauty and the Beast

BUY Heavenly Peaty Trio >

Soft & Sophisticated Couple £129

This delicate and elegant pair make excellent pre-dinner drams, although with notes of mixed melon salad, lamb tagine, baklava and white chocolate mints, you’d be forgiven for skipping your festive dinner.
1.199 The whole is greater than…

93.67 ‘Wine like the wind is sweet’

BUY Soft & Sophisticated Couple >

Sweet Supernova Set £129

Packed with out-of-this-world flavours, from the perfumed fruitiness and caramel sweetness of 121.82 to the bubbling meaty goodness of 50.73, prepare your taste-buds for a mouth-watering explosion.

121.82 Expanding supernova of flavours

50.73 Energizing, grounding and centring

BUY Sweet Supernova Set >

Tea & Cake Pair £99

Curl up by the fire and enjoy our Society high tea, 44.69 brings a soft tannin glow with Rooibos Chai with spicy cinnamon, while 85.34 brings a baked good sweetness with marzipan, almond cake and buttery stollen.

44.69 Tantalising tannins

85.34 Having arrived

BUY Tea & Cake Pair >

Browse Latest Outturn >
Browse All Bottlings >

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ Contact:mailto:sales@smws.comor 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

NOVEMBER AUCTION ENDS TOMORROW!

The latest auction at whisky.auction ends tomorrow from 7.30pm GMT.

There are some great bottles still sitting at good prices so take a look at our selection and don’t miss your chance to place your bids on our large selection of bottles.

We have more than 200 miniatures, including some rare single malts, as well as some very old blended whisky from the 1930s onwards.

Don’t miss your chance to bid on these great lots.