Scotch Whisky Auctions “The 47th Auction” – Scotch Whisky News
February 21st, 2015
News
This Weekend Only….Savings on Talisker 10YO & Blair Athol 12YO at Single Malts Direct – Scotch Whisky News
February 21st, 2015
This Weekend Only!
Talisker 10 Year Old 45.8% ABV | 70cl
Save £5.00 (RRP £43.99)
The Talisker 10 Year Old is a single malt Scottish whisky from the Talisker distillery on the west coast of the Isle of Skye. This Talisker scotch has won many fans around the world as well as awards. The whiskey is variously described as peaty and smoky and is credited by many as being the finest 10 year old island single malt. The Talisker 10 year old is well worth a try.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Powerful peat-smoke with seawater saltiness, the liquor of fresh oysters and a citrus sweetness.
Palate: Rich dried-fruit sweetness with clouds of smoke and strong barley-malt flavours: warming and intense. At the back of the mouth.
Finish: Sweet malty flavours that blend into a smoky climax.
Price:£32.49 ex VAT £38.99 inc VAT
Blair Athol 12 Year Old Flora & Fauna 43% ABV | 70cl
Save £5.00 (RRP £51.99)
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Creamy, nutty, lightly peaty.
Palate: Full-bodied. Decidedly silky-smooth. Spiced cake. Candied lemon peels. Lots of flavour development.
Finish: Smoky, rooty, treacly. Impeccable balance between sweetness and dryness.
(Tasting Notes by Whisky Magazine)
Tasting note by whiskyfun.com
Colour: amber. Nose: starts very nutty and caramelly, with a big maltiness and hints of liquorice, developing more on notes of sherry, Seville oranges and a little peat, leather and tobacco. Rather concentrated and oily on the nose, despite the slightly ‘blendish’ character. Pleasant for sure. Mouth: the attack is even more sherried, not exactly bold but certainly satisfying. Classic fruitcake, coffee-schnapps, liquorice and orange liqueur, with hints of cherry stem tea in the background and maybe just faint hints of rubber and walnuts. An assertive dram, half-sweet, half-dry. Finish: medium long, very balanced, with an added spiciness (spices for mulled wine, cloves, Chinese anise and cinnamon.) Comments: perfect balance and profile at 43%, excellent cask selection I think. SGP:443 – 85 points.
| Price: | £39.15 ex VAT £46.99 inc VAT |
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Top Picks at K&L California – Whisky News
February 20th, 2015
TOP PICKS
Scotland – Single Malt Scotch
- 1989 Balmenach 25 Year Old Cadenhead’s Small Batch Cask Strength Collection Single Malt 750ml – 3 available ($239.99)
- 1992 Clynelish K&L Exclusive 21 Year Old Cadenhead Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($139.99)
- 1985 Glenburgie 29 Year Old Cadenhead’s Small Batch Cask Strength Collection Single Malt 750ml – 1 available ($299.99)
- Glenmorangie Túsail Limited Edition Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($99.99) Tùsail is non chill-filtered and is made with floor-malted Maris Otter barley, the older (1960s) variety that’s also favored by craft breweries like England’s Black Sheep Brewery for its rich, malty flavor.
- 1992 Ledaig 22 Year Old Cadenhead’s Small Batch Cask Strength Collection Single Malt 750ml – 4 available ($179.99)
- 1992 Littlemill 21 Year Old Cadenhead’s Small Batch Cask Strength Collection Single Malt 750ml – 3 available ($224.99)
- 1983 Ord 31 Year Old Cadenhead’s Small Batch Cask Strength Collection Single Malt 750ml – 1 available ($399.99)
- Springbank 12 Year Old “Green” Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 6 available ($109.99) Organic barley from local farms around Campbeltown.
- Springbank 25 Year Old Campbeltown Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 2 available ($799.99)
- 1989 Strathclyde 25 Year Old Cadenhead’s Small Batch Cask Strength Collection Single Malt 750ml – 6 available ($199.99)
United States – Bourbon and Rye
- FEW K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon 750ml ($59.99) Our first barrel from the hot little distillery in Illinois is a monster. We don’t usually go for the small barrels that most of the craft distillers are using, but FEW is making it work in a big way. This spicy little meatball comes from one tiny cask that’s aged for an indeterminate amount of time. I would contend it is the best small cask bourbon I’ve tasted. It’s lacking the typical cardboard/dampwood notes we expect. It also doesn’t have the astringent underseasoned oak quality that many other craft distillers are finding in their small barrel aged products. FEW is super hot right now and we’re lucky to have had cream of the crop selection of their first release of single casks. Only 60 bottles available!
- Woodford Sonoma Master’s Collection Cutrer Pinot Noir Barrel Finish Kentucky Staight Bourbon 750ml – 4 available ($99.99)
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
Sullivans Cove French Oak – Australian Whisky News
February 19th, 2015
Tired of waiting for French Oak? Maybe we can help.
Imagine 20 litres of Sullivans Cove French Oak Single Malt maturing in your own personally crafted oak cask… Named the World’s Best Single Malt at the 2014 World Whiskies Awards, you can’t go wrong with this one.
How does it work?
1) We offer the Cellarmaster in 20 litre casks (these reach maturity in 2 years). You choose from either French Oak, American Oak or Double Casks (Combined American and French).
2) We fill the barrel with 20 litres of new make spirit at 63.4%ABV and store it in optimal conditions here in our dunnage.
3) After 2 years your whisky will be ready for consumption. At that point we bottle it for you in Sullivans Cove packaging and send it off to your home. Your cask yields approximately 36 bottles at 47.5%ABV, our standard bottling strength for American and French Oak.
4) The spirit and casks are identical to those that we use for our whiskies.
5) You can refill your empty barrel or take it home.
6) In the two years while it is maturing you can visit and “test” your whisky as often as you like.
Sound good? Click here to make it happen!
Tasmania Distillery
Lamb Pl
Cambridge, TAS7170
Australia
Back in Stock at K&L California – Scotch Whisky News
February 19th, 2015
Back in Stock
Scotland – Single Malt Scotch
- Glengoyne 21-year-old Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 11 available ($119.99) The Glen Goyne 21 year is one of the biggest deals in the world of Scotch. A splendid distillery in the lower highlands, producing whisky of this age from Oloroso Sherry Casks, would normally sell their 21 year for atleast $170…and they usually do! But we have a crazy deal with the distributor to get the price way way down. We’ll have this price until current stocks run out so get it while the gettin’ is good. (David Othenin-Girard, K&L Spirits Buyer)
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
Joe Ellis Reviews Pike Creek 10yo Canadian Whisky – Canadian Whisky News
February 18th, 2015
This week Joe Ellis reviews Pike Creek 10 Year Old Port Aged Canadian Whisky.
Whisky Lounge Newsletter February 2015 – Whisky News
February 17th, 2015
Is that the date already?
Apologies first of all that you received nothing from us last month. Please don’t blame us – blame Burns! Well we have been busy, working on a whole new raft of events for you to get your teeth into. That and hosting our biggest ‘Burns-a-thon’ ever, plus a visit to a couple of the UK’s newest distilleries… However, we are now ready to unleash our latest events on you so hold tight!
IT’S BACK!
The series that in many ways defined us as a company before we were even a company! This is a tasting that we always love putting on – almost as much as you seem to love coming to it. Put simply, a blind tasting of three Japanese whiskies vs three Scotch whiskies. We do it blind so you pick what you truly think is best, denied the fripperies of packaging. This time we are excited to be partnering with the Nikka Whisky Company – founded by the ‘Daddy’ of Japanese whisky himself – Masataka Taketsuru. Their whiskies are extremely well-respected and are normally to be found with sparks flying off the medals they are dragging around…
JAPAN Vs SCOTLAND DATES & VENUES
WEDS. 11th March SHEFFIELD, The Tap, Sheffield Station, 7pm
WEDS. 18th March LONDON, Salt Bar, Seymour St., W2, 7pm
WEDS. 18th March LIVERPOOL, Jenny’s Bar, Fenwick St., L2, 7pm
FRIDAY 20th March NEWCASTLE, Blackfriars, Friar St., NE1, 7pm
FRIDAY 20th March MANCHESTER, Britons Protection, Gt. Bridgwater St, 7pm
SAT. 21st March YORK, Brigantes, Micklegate, YO1, 7pm
THURS. 26th March LEEDS, The Cross Keys, Water Lane, LS2, 7pm
THURS. 26th March BRIGHTON, Hilton Metropole, Kings St., 7pm
All of the above tastings are ready to book and are only £20 per person. Of course, if you are not able to attend for whatever reason, but would still like to take part, you can pre-order the relevant ‘Tasting from Home’ pack at £25 that can be found HERE.
FESTIVALS!
After our relatively ‘quiet’ year of only 6 Whisky Festivals in 2014, we have ramped things up again for 2015. We are returning to all of the cities of 2014, plus 2 that we did in 2013 – Aberdeen and Bristol. Hopefully this means that even more of you can make it to these cracking events this year.
NEWCASTLE, 7th MARCH
Newcastle is always our first festival of the year and as such, we are always keen to kick things of with a bang! Now in its 7th Year, the festival has become an absolute must attend for local whisky-lovers and the whisky-curious alike. We have secured a fantastical variety of exhibitors from Scotland, England, Wales, the USA and Japan, so there is more than ever to go at. Tickets for both sessions are nearly sold out so if you do want to come, be quick and click HERE or on the banner.
LONDON, 11th & 12th APRIL
Our ‘Whisky Weekender’ in London returns for a second year. A slight departure from our Whisky Festival ‘template’ with more in the way of food, music and other enticements. However, at the core of it is still our mission to bring you the best the industry has to offer. Along with the usual range of fantastic whiskies, this year we are focusing on ‘craft distilling’ so we will have an area dedicated to this, featuring the best small distillers from the UK and the US. Further details and tickets can be found HERE
ABERDEEN, 25th APRIL
After a 2 year absence (well, more like 18 months to be fair), we are returning to the ‘Granite City’. We loved our first outing in 2013 but decided to ‘rest’ the show (and ourselves) last year. As always we are aiming at bigger and better, and with this in mind we are housing ourselves this year at the AECC. Added to this, more exhibitors and more whiskies, this should be a great day of dramming near the heart of whisky-making Scotland. Details and tickets can be found HERE.
BRISTOL, 13th JUNE
The second returning event of the year, Bristol was another festival we loved doing in 2013 but couldn’t stretch to in 2014. Once again we are the beautiful Coniston Hall and will be bringing a whole host of the great and the good of the distilling world. More whiskies than you can shake a stick at! We have an early-bird special (2 tickets for £40) for the first 100 people to book, so if you want to get involved in that, head over to the booking page by clicking HERE.
ISLAY FESTIVAL 2015
We have sold all but one ticket for our Finlaggan House legs of this fabulous time of a lifetime. However, we do still have places available on the beautiful tall ship Irene. Not only do you get to soak up the world famous Islay festival you get to sleep and sail around this beautiful island on a genuine tall ship. If you have some time in May and would like to join us on Islay, click HERE to find out more. Remember you can always ask us any questions about this or any other event by emailing us here
FINAL CALL
At the end of this month we host the inimitable Colin Dunn of Diageo for 3 special ‘Ultimalt’ tastings at three venues in the UK. London and Manchester are sold out but there are still places in Newcastle on Saturday 28th February. Click HERE to find out more and for tickets.
Eddie’s ‘Mini-Tour’ of new distilleries
Completely spontaneously – because thats the kind of guy he is – Eddie decided to set off on a mini-tour of three of the UK’s newest distilleries. Starting two Mondays ago and finishing on the Wednesday, Eddie travelled to The Lakes Distillery, near Cockermouth, Penderyn in South Wales and finally to The Cotswolds Distillery. Needless to say, he had an amazing time and the trip seems to have ‘fed his soul’, particularly in regards to new distilleries. You can read about his trip over at the website where he has written up each visit individually. Click HERE then go and visit these worthwhile and brilliant ventures. The Lakes will be at least one of our UK Festivals this year, with Penderyn appearing at no less than 6 in 2015. We are hopeful that the Cotswolds will join us too.
JOE’S BOOK!
Our very own Joe Clark has written his first whisky book! Under the title ‘The Ultimate Book of Whisky’, in his own words, ‘this project ate up my life in ways I can’t even begin to describe.’ We are obviously incredibly proud of Joe and we are only to happy to offer his book for sale on our website. It is a fantastic reference book for the novice and budding whisky enthusiast with loads of facts and information on distilleries old and new. It is a beautifully presented item. It comes in a slipcase and has an ‘archive’ notebook included for people to make their own notes. A lovely gift! The cost to you is £30 which includes next day UK delivery. Click HERE for more details and to buy!
News from The Whisky Belle – Scotch Whisky News
February 16th, 2015
Feeling lucky
This January, I received a few tempting invitations, which would see me venturing out after the festivities. I’m now features editor for a new luxurious magazine called Whisky Quarterly and you’ll be able to read the full version of Timberyard and Restaurant Mark Greenaway online in a few weeks. I wanted to pay due respect to the chefs that work in these kitchens, as the dishes that were presented were some of the best I’ve eaten in a while. How lucky was that?
My first outing was to Timberyard, courtesy of Georgie Bell, who has been keeping me informed about development at Mortlach for the last few months. I remember visits to the original yard to collect wood for various projects that my father would be working on at home. As a surgeon, he was skilled at mending people, as well as things. The space has retained its rustic feel, and was full on a cold Tuesday night in January, so felt snug. A tasting of the new make from the distillery, was followed by the matured spirit which is exceedingly good. The ensuing four courses that made their way to me were both artful and studded with flavour. A triumph.
The second equally enticing invitation was to celebrate the opening of The Balvenie Room at Restaurant Mark Greenaway. The space is a den-like haven creating the perfect showcase for Mark and his ingenious dishes, and we delighted in them. James Buntin, in the Balvenie camp, looked after us generously with a few delicious drams. It was one of those evenings that could have stretched into the wee hours except that we all had flights to catch the next day.
Mine was longer than the others, as I was flying to British Columbia, for the annual Victoria Whisky Festival as an ambassador for The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The festival was celebrating its tenth year, drawing whisky lovers from near and far to enjoy whisky. This year it raised $25,000 for local charities, who will benefit in a very different way to the show goers. This year the Thursday night opened with Alwynne Quilt, aka Miss Whisky, who had impressed her all female audience so much from last year with her chocolate pairing evening that a second round was demanded with men included! Friday night saw a succession of masterclasses, for which the audiences sleep out to ensure they get their tickets. Kelly and Rob Carpenter who run the SMWS branch in Canada, and I had carefully poured over the whisky lists to choose the bottlings for the various classes over the weekend. One of my classes involved active participation with attendees having to nose their whisky blind and build a visual tasting note from a table laden with props. One for those with a sweet tooth! The festival concluded with The Distillers Dinner which was a feast of beautiful whiskies paired with a five course dinner prepared by the team at the Hotel Grand Pacific. My highlights were a Glendronach 1993, with velvet like sherry richness and a Society bottling of 117.5, beautifully described as ‘Smouldering, brooding and alluring’.
My final evening was spent in Calgary at the Brasserie Kensington, where our Society members were told to expect Burns, the alternative. The welcome drink was a hard choice, would you choose the bottling of bourbon, B3.1, ‘A little box of treasures’ or 39.95, ‘Caressing, warm and friendly’? Our main course was Brasserie-style lamb ‘crepinette’ with pomme puree and five spice mash, paired with 76.93, ‘Magic from the wee witchie’ and was stunning. For those of you who know your Society numbers, you’ll see I came a full circle. So seven events in eight days, pretty lucky I think.
Annabel
Ralfy Publishes Whisky Review #522 – Whisky News
February 16th, 2015
www.ralfy.com joins in the bidding with Whisky Review 522 – Advice on buying whisky at auction
St. Andrews Distillery – Future Scotch Whisky News
February 15th, 2015
Paul Miller; Hi Paul and Liz, I thought it was 12.30? Sorry Paul we were delayed (by an hour!!! Liz says it was Paul’s fault, usual story), anyhow it was fine. A quick show round was called for, it had been a good few months since I was there (Paul) so high time to see the updated story. Things have been happening, not quite finished but it is a lot bigger/better than last time. During our tour with Paul (M) – this is getting confusing here with two Pauls, so Paul Mc will become Sean for this story. During our tour with Paul, there was a group in taking a tour with Kevan (manager) and a lot of beers were set up for the tasting, gin too (Shona set these up). Paul talked us through new developments and things to come, eventually getting to the office for a sit down and a taste – love gin! Aye, a new gin, pink, aimed at Valentines day I think, but very different. And so to some questions;
Sean; Casks; can anyone buy one? Paul; yes they can, anyone can be a private owner of their own cask, what happens, they come along, make the spirit with us and fill their own cask, standard casks are Octave French/USA oak @ 50 litres, approx. 80 bottles. They can finish how they wish and the cask will mature a few miles from the Old Course in St Andrews. Sean, anyone wanting details email me at paul@mcleanscotland.com
Special new make releases; The team have distilled and will be distilling using 3 very different malted barley types to create 3 unique single malt spirits on 3 very important Scottish dates. Each of these batches of 396 bottles will be released under the headings of the Eden.Mill St Andrews Day Single Malt Spirit using pale malt, Hogmanay Single Malt Spirit using pale malt and chocolate malt, Robert Burns Day Single Malt Spirit using pale malt, crystal malt and brown malt. Each release of just 320 – 346 bottles will guarantee the purchaser the opportunity to by the same malt as a 1 year old, and as a 2 year old, and ultimately when it first becomes single malt scotch Whisky as a 3 years and 1 day old. With bottles released at just £35 per 50cl bottle at 50 abv strength in unique numbered ceramic bottles, we imagine the first and second releases will be sold out very quickly. ANY LEFT TO BUY? Very few! Although I have one (Sean) of the Burns bottles, a Christmas pressie from Shona.
Tour the craft distillery and brewery and you´ll see: guys crafting the best beer, gins and whisky. By the end of your tour, you´ll have had an inside track of why and how they do what they do. And you´ll see parts of the brewery not normally available to the public. Want a tour – ask Liz to set it up lix@mcleanscotland.com
Pretty soon they will be up and running with the whisky room, and the gin room. Plus many more great inspiring ideas yet to be developed. A new website is coming soon, join the beer club, the spirits club, get a gold card, buy a cask.
Liz & Paul are the owners of http://www.mcleanscotland.com/ Paul Miller is a Director of Eden.
Paul
