• Aberlour – A’Bunadh Cask Strength Single Malt 750ml ($64.99)
  96-100 points Wine Enthusiast: “Intriguing and challenging bouquet of aromas of roasted nuts, old leather, black pepper, old oak and dried fruit. Palate entry is aggressive in spirit, but sweet and pruny; midpalate is drier and features tastes of leather and grain. Aftertaste teems with oak resin, hard cheese (meaning, rancio), candied nuts, candied fruit and dark honey. Add mineral water.” (12/2009) 90 points Whisky Advocate: “Amber, with shades of ruby. Notes of complex honey-drenched fruit (sultana, marmalade, peaches, apples), toffee, treacle, and hint of mint. Full, rich texture and lush body. Long, warming, moderately spicy finish. (Vol. 17, #2)” Wine Spectator: “Brave the cask-strength heat and be rewarded by a malt that’s welcoming and complex. Sherry and cherry dominate at first, but a cereal-granola-honey quality and a licorice note flirt from behind the curtain. The essential candy element returns on the finish. ” (02/2011) K&L Notes: Pronounced “a-boon-arh,” which means “the origin” in Gaelic. Made the way whisky was produced in the 1800s, A’bunadh from Aberlour is not chilled-filtered and is bottled at a cask strength 59.5%. Slowly matured in rare Oloroso sherry butts, this malt is filled with rich, smooth, complex flavors.

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

Arran 18 Year Old

The third and final release in the trilogy of malts released by Arran distillery to celebrate the countdown to the launch of the first official bottling of Arran 18 year old! This limited edition Arran has been produced from un-peated malted barley and matured in a selection of ex-sherry casks.

£70.00 (£58.33 ex vat)

Click here to purchase Arran 18 Year Old

Arran 17 Year Old

A limited edition release from Arran distillery produced from un-peated malted barley and aged for 17 years in casks that previously held Spanish sherry.  This bottling is the second in a series marking the countdown to the launch of The Arran Malt 18 year old in Spring 2015.

£61.95 (£51.63 ex vat) 

Click here to purchase Arran 17 Year Old

Special Offer! Arran Single Cask #893

Single cask #893 is the 2014 Autumn release from Arran distillery. Distilled in 1998 and aged for just over 16 years in a single sherry cask, 296 bottles have been filled at 54.3% vol.

Was £64.95

Now £57.50 Save £7.45 (£47.92 ex vat) 

Click here to purchase Arran Single Cask 893

www.ralfy.com double-reviews an official and indi malt with Whisky Review 528 – Glen Elgin 12yo + 17yo Indi cask

This month Cutty Sark is 92. Ninety-two years since its very humble beginnings in 1923, when the Cutty Sark blend was brought to life by the vision of two wine merchants and their illustrator companion, James McBey, who drew the image of the ship featured on the yellow label…

Cutty Sark’s popularity grew immensely during the Prohibition era of the 1920’s and 30’s, when cases used to be smuggled into the States from the Bahamas. It came to be known as a high quality, easy drinking whisky. By the 1960s, Cutty was the biggest selling whisky in the US. Part of its success was down to maverick advertising director, George Lois, who was responsible for the iconic Cutty Sark advertising during the 1960s and 70s. Some say that George inspired the character of Don Draper in the hugely popular TV series Madmen. Since then, the Cutty family has grown to include Storm and Prohibition Edition. Today, you can enjoy a Cutty in cool bars across the globe.

So, join us in a toast to this exciting history and an even better future!

Here’s a little cocktail inspiration,

That’s our kind of Cutty.

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #106

Poitin or poteen is sometimes also referred to as moonshine. It was a practice that was banned in 1661, but nowadays quite a few distilleries market their new make. This Teeling Poitin is a mix of 80% triple distilled maize spirit and 20% double distilled malt spirit. The result is quite astounding.

http://youtu.be/TKJu1W3yev4

Whisky sailing trips Tall Ship Thalassa 2015 and 2016

Make the once in a lifetime trip and sail with tall ship Thalassa! Sail along with us to the best single malt distilleries and visit the famous Islay Whisky Festival. During our whisky sailing trips you will discover Scotland’s coastal distilleries, enjoy the company of whisky lovers and learn from whisky professionals!

Do you prefer a rather unique combination of pure sailing pleasure with the most famous whisky distilleries of Scotland? Decide to join our whisky expeditions on board of tall ship Thalassa!

Would you like to experience such a special adventure in 2015 or 2016? Take your chances and make your reservation immediately!

Whisky sailing trips 2015 and 2016

For the third whisky trip the Thalassa will make in 2015, we still have some places available: Saturday May 30th till Saturday June 6th 

Price: € 995,- per person

The dates for the journeys in 2016 have been released:

Whisky trip 1: Saturday May 14th – Saturday May 21st 2016

Whisky trip 2: Saturday May 21st – Saturday May 28 th 2016 (during ISLAY-Whiskyfestival)

Whisky trip 3: Saturday May 28th – Saturday June 4th 2016

Sailing schedule:

Day 1: Embarkation in Troon, head towards Bruichladdich

Day 2: Sail to Port Ellen

Day 3: Leave to Bunnahabhain

Day 4: Visit distillery, sail to Port Ellen

Day 5: Port Ellen, in the afternoon sailing to Jura

Day 6: Visit distillery of Jura, leave for Campbelltown

Day 7: Visit Springbank distillery, sail to Arran, visit distillery, leave for Troon

Day 8: Disembarkation in Troon

Prices from € 995,- per person

Click here to book your journey online!  

Whisky expedition 2015 and 2016

Beside the popular whisky journeys mentioned above along the Westcoast of Scotland the Thalassa will sail a most unique whisky expedition in 2015 and 2016, starting from the rugged Westcoast, passing by the Northern treasures of Scotland and ending at the more quiet Eastcoast.

Decide to join our newest whisky expeditions and visit within one week not only the West of Scotland (Islay), but also the beautiful North (Skye and Orkney) to end this spectacular holiday at the Eastcoast, Buckie. A journey that cannot be made with regular means of transportation is within reach by ship for you.

Whisky-expedition 2015: Saturday June 6th – Saturday June 13th

Whisky-expedition 2016: Saturday June 4th – Saturday June 11th

Sailing schedule:

Day 1: Embarkation in Troon, leave for Islay

Day 2: Port Ellen, visit numerous distilleries, at evening head towards Bunnahabhain

Day 3: Visit distillery of Bunnahabhain, leave north to Skye

Day 4: Visit Tallisker distillery, sail towards Orkney

Day 5: Prolong journey to Orkney, sleep over in Stromness

Day 6: Orkney, visit distilleries of Highland Park and Scapa

Day 7: Sail to Buckie

Day 8: Disembarkation in Buckie

Price: € 995,- per person

NB: All definite sailing routes depend on wind and weather conditions. Because of this the ship’s captain has the right to change this schedule if necessary. 

The ship

During the trip the guests are facilitated on board of tall ship Thalassa in one of the 15 high quality double cabins, each with a priviate shower.

With her 14 sails, altogether 800 square metres, tall ship Thalassa makes an impressive appearance. Rigged according to century-old traditions and equipped according to the latest security regulations, tall ship Thalassa is extremely seaworthy.De Thalassa combineert uitstekende zeilprestaties met hedendaags comfort. De enthousiaste bemanning zorgt ervoor dat het u aan niets ontbreekt.

Information and online booking

More information about the whisky sailing trips and whisky expedition can be found on our special website: http://www.whiskyzeilreizen.nl/index_uk.php. For further questions please contact us by email or phone: +31 – (0)10 – 4156600

Welcome on board!

HOLLANDS GLORIE

Liesbeth Wammes – de Graaf

Brigitte Beckers

This week Joe Ellis reviews BenRiach 18 Year Old Albariza.

https://youtu.be/pGDptHyvcLA

http://Twitter.com/whiskytube

https://www.facebook.com/whiskytube

 Islay Blended Duncan Taylor Bottling Malt Scotch Whisky

This Islay Blend is a “teaspoon” of some of our favorite Islay malts. Distilleries use this method to keep independent bottlers from using the term Single Malt.

$174.99 Buy Now

Wathen’s Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon 

Made with a high corn, low rye and high malted barley mash bill, the D&M Wathen’s possesses aromas of soft caramel, cardamom spice and white pepper.

$36.99 Buy Now

High West Double Rye D&M Barrel Select Whiskey 

The first hit in the nose is of a younger rye with butter pickle, spice, and cinnamon. With time in glass notes of the Scotch barrel emerge with smoke and peat spice and light fruit. 

$49.99 Buy Now

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• Glenlivet 12 Year Old Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Elsewhere $37) ($27.99) 90 points Wine Enthusiast: “Vibrant gold with orange highlights, fruity scent of apples and pears plus a whiff of vanilla. Soft, velvety feel. This is a pleasant and drinkable Scotch, but the flavors are relatively muted. It mixes well with other flavors, making it a good contender for cocktails. Good value.” (12/2011) Whisky Advocate: “As with the ‘Fiddich (reviewed in this issue), here’s a malt where an improved wood policy has brought a dram to life and added complexity. The Glenlivet has always been about lightness, but the trick is to have sufficient solid base to allow its flower to blossom, so as well as lily, orchid, and pineapple, there’s a thick creaminess that gently beds all of these flighty flavors down. With water, there’s mandarin and rose petal, and a sneeze of white pepper. Simply lovely. Value Pick.” K&L Notes: The Glenlivet was the first legal distiller in Scotland (1824) and the only one allowed to be called “The Glenlivet.” What Grande Champagne is to Cognac, the glen of the river Livet is to Speyside–the most famous Speyside highland malts. For shipping orders these ship as a bottle only, no gift box or packaging will be included.

• Glenmorangie 12 year old Quinta Ruban Extra Matured Range Port Cask 750ml ($47.99) 91 points Wine Enthusiast: “While “extra finished” for two years in ruby Port casks, the impact on the spirit is minimal, imparting a rose-gold hue and a shadow of red berry flavor. Though it lacks the “wow factor” of the Nectar d’Or, it’s still quite good: Expect a warm, fruity scent with a hint of cedar and a smooth caramel-honey flavor with baking spices on the finish. ” (12/2011) Wine Spectator: “Pink in color from its ruby Port finish, this whisky is like biting into a chocolate-covered cherry. Deep, ripe, dark fruits announce themselves on the nose, with some spice, honey and cocoa. A blast of chocolate is followed quickly by creamy cherry notes and a snap of licorice on the palate, and the finish turns quite spicy with cinnamon. Finished in Port casks. Non-chill filtered.” (02/2011) Whisky Advocate: “Finished in port casks. Like the Nectar D’or above, this expression adds lushness, body, and a sweet complexity (but with darker fruit and spice than the Nectar D’or) while still allowing Glenmorangie’s complexity to shine through. (Vol. 17, #2) ” K&L Notes: A Double Gold Medal winner in the 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The Quinta Ruban is an intense, incredibly dark whisky in the extra matured range from Glenmorangie. It first spends 10 years in in American oak, then another two in Port pipes. A non chillfiltered bottling, the Quinta Ruban has a citrusy nose, with undercurrents of incense, walnuts, spice and Andes dark chocolate mint. The nose carries gracefully over to the palate, which is velvety, sweet and long.

United States – Bourbon and Rye

• Mosswood Espresso Barrel Aged American Whiskey 750ml ($39.99) Mosswood is a new line of re-casked MGP whiskies; a project started by Jake Chevedden and Therese Agnew who used to work booze retail in downtown SF. Unlike most non-distiller producers, however, Jake is actually going out and doing something unique with cask maturation. He’s reconditioning used barrels with apple brandy, cold brew coffee, and sour ale to make three different selections for Mosswood. The espresso is shockingly delicious. I don’t normally associate whiskey with coffee, but if it works in an Irish Coffee then why wouldn’t it work as a cask enhancement? What matters is that it does.

• Noah’s Mill Bourbon 750ml – 3 available ($54.99) Wine Spectator: “A fiery oak nose eventually yields sweet corn, herbal grass notes and light vanilla. Laser-intense flavors of mint, rye and eau-de-vie-purity corn spirit heat up the mouth. Break it with a bit of water and you’ll get corn pudding, boozy vanilla and a drying oak finish. It’s a great example of deep flavor hidden in overproof whiskey. ” (02/2012) K&L Notes: Noah’s Mill is a handmade, small-batch Kentucky Bourbon with unique character and a smoothness rarely found in young whiskies. Awarded a Gold Medal at the 2005 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. This received 91 points in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, with the following review: “Stunning small grain, the rye in particular starring…This is one of Kentucky’s most complex whiskies by far. Small grains, big heart.”

• Wild Turkey 101 Rye 1L – 12 available ($39.99)

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

Jack Teeling – Teeling Whiskey Company (Ireland)