Liz and Paul (owners of MCLEANSCOTLAND, WHISKY TOUR SCOTLAND & ANGELS WHISKY CLUB) spent their Christmas staff outing in Elgin and Kingussie, Scotland. 

The annual outing this year (2014) saw them driving up to Elgin, leaving Broughty Ferry at 07.45 on Thursday, via Aberdeen, Huntly and Keith, to arrive at Elgin approx. 11.30. Some local shopping (Liz) and lunch before dropping into Glen Moray distillery – as previously planned. Says Paul; A quick nose around the shop (for later), a cup of tea, then a wee chat with Iain, our friend and whisky man at GM. It was Iain who would take us both on a half day whisky school – I have to say, this was originally for the benefit of Liz, but I too learned a lot! Discovering all areas of the distillery, in depth knowledge flooded out of Iain, didnee know you were also a chemist Iain! It was a really grand time we had, both of us learning new things and some we hadnee come across before, superb! This was followed by a tasting, Iain did us proud here – as you can see by the photos, specially the one of Liz very content with a dram! There then followed what can only be called “a Liz shopping frenzy!” A nice bottle and glasses in a box (4 of these), a Chardonnay finish and two direct from the cask sherry finish, some wee goodies, all coming to a couple of hundred pounds lighter in the wallet! Paul’s wallet!!! “I’ll pay you back at home” says Liz, aye right, along with that other 14 grand you owe me!

Glen Moray Classic Single Speyside Malt – the aroma is fragrant with malty notes, butterscotch and shortbread.

Glen Moray 12 years Single Malt.

Glen Moray 10 Year Old Chardonnay Cask Single Malt. This is the brand new expression from Glen Moray. A 10 year old malt matured using Chardonnay Casks.

Glen Moray 16 Year Old Single Speyside Malt – fruit, chocolate and barley sugar, rich and mature with character.

Glen Moray – The Highland Light Infantry 12 year old Distillery Bottling –

Glen Moray Port Cask Finish This new small batch release uses Port Cask to finish the whisky in – a lovely richness, full-bodied, vanilla and subtle hints of oak, dried fruits and leather, dark chocolate and blackberries. A FAVOURITE OF OURS

GM use ex bourbon barrels sourced from North America to mature Glen Moray and these produce a rich and spicy whisky. These casks deliver a superior product that has a smooth and well-rounded taste. Being in the Laich O’Moray the distillery benefits from the milder climate as it is afforded protection from the Cairngorm and Monadhliath Mountains. The distillery’s geographic location and also sitting in a hollow below the water table, means that the warehousing has the perfect conditions to allow for the Angels to take more of a share of our whisky than they will of others (and, being Angels whisky club we did take a fair swish of the drams Liz and I). Glen Moray is available in a range of ages and vintages that will appeal to new malt drinkers as well as connoisseurs looking for something a bit more special. Readers, you just cannee believe how low cost GM bottles are, for a bloomin grand dram.

I must point out here, we were NOT driving, we left the car (and goodies) overnight at GM and took a taxi to our hotel. Where, a half hour later we started Christmas – in the bar. Drinks were followed by dinner, more drinks. To be honest, at 9.15pm I stopped drinking – new laws came into effect Friday, you could not have even ONE drink on your breath – so a bottle of non-alcoholic wine came oot – horrible, so bad after one glass it went down the pan. We laughingly tried to do some work – paperwork on forthcoming tours, 5 minutes in, we left it alone.

AFTER GLEN MORAY we called in at SPEY distillery, another story! to follow

PAUL CALLED INTO FAMOUS GROUSE SATURDAY …………………

Paul’s visit to Crieff – Saturday. 3 days, 3 distilleries. A big haul of whisky!!! Stopped in at whisky/grocery shop, bought Hepburn’s Choice Daluaine 8 year old, single cask @ 46%, one of only 393 bottles, 2005 bottling. Before calling in at Glenturret distillery, here I seem to come away with Black Grouse Alpha and a bottle of Black Diamond blend, these can be seen on the “December booty” story. to follow…

http://www.mcleanscotlandd.com/   http://www.angelswhiskyclub.com/

I hope you are enjoying the festive season, we will soon be putting up our Christmas tree from the old part of the ‘Friends’ plots. My feet have hardly touched the ground having visited both America and Germany for a series of tastings and Friends events. Firstly may I say a big thank you to the fantastic hospitality I received from all the ‘Friends of Laphroaig’ that I met on the way.

Online shopping deadlines. As every year, I have been asked to give you this year’s e-commerce shopping deadlines for parcels and presents to arrive before Christmas. They are: UK: 19th December Europe: 15th December

2014

Its been a fantastic year. Once again Laphroaig® has become even more popular and a record number of new Friends joining our club all over the world. Of course we launched our new expression Select this year and I am pleased to say it has been very well received around the World. Our ‘Laphroaig Live’ 2014 from Stockholm got an even bigger live audience than last year and I did give away some unsubtle hints at the end about what is to come for next year! – if you did not watch it live you can see the recorded version. Also thank you for so many warm words I received for this year’s Cairdeas that had enjoyed its secondary maturation in Amontillado sherry casks. Once again it sold out very quickly so apologies to those who did not manage to get one – but then there is always the special 2015 Cairdeas – that will be something I can tell you! We also launched our advertising campaign ‘Opinions Welcome’ which has been very well received, and of course it was inspired by you the friends when describing your impressions of ‘your first Laphroaig’ on the website.

2015

Or should I say 1815 – 2015! Yes of course it’s our 200th anniversary next year. The first thing you will notice is a ‘change’ to our No1 warehouse sea wall. The painter is ready to start. But throughout the year we have some fantastic events lined up. It is of course a double celebration as ‘The Friends of Laphroaig’ is also 21 years old. I will leave you to guess what whisky we have lined up for that later in the year. But first, there will be a one-off return of an old favourite that so many of you have been asking for over the last 5 years – I think you can guess. I can’t tell you about next year’s ‘Cairdeas’ but it will be one for ‘The traditionalists’ amongst you. (I have tasted it recently from a barrel and I think it’s wonderful). There will also be a final special expression later in the year at Laphroaig Live which of course will be held at the distillery. I won’t say what it is, other than to say that it was tasted a few years ago in one of the Laphroaig Live broadcasts when it was somewhat younger…

Returning to this Season of goodwill We have once again had some amazing local successes during 2014 and these include our double award winning visit experience here at the distillery. This is a fantastic achievement from our visitor centre staff and the whole site. We really hope that one day you are able to make it to Islay, so we can show you our award winning welcome here at Laphroaig®. We will, with the demand for our whisky, deliver another production record in alcohol and malt produced in our floor maltings in 2014. We are making it as fast as we can, but taking care to keep to the traditions of our past.

Thank you for your support, your emails and letters to us all at the site; it’s amazing to receive these personal accounts and what Laphroaig® means to you and the joy it brings. I get immense pleasure in being able to share them with the team at the distillery.

Distillery Choir We recently had a fantastic choir here singing some of the most popular ‘Opinions’ that you sent in after transforming them into Christmas Carols! It really sounds great, so thank you for everyone who has sent in their opinions. I will sign off with my own Seasons greetings to all of you, and look forward to writing again early in the New Year.

To sing me out please enjoy watching our Distillery Choir singing the opinions of Alberto Mora, Ted Murena, Kim Jeffers and James Mylett!

Slàinte,

John Campbell Distillery Manager, Laphroaig

Join the Friends of Laphroaig

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

1997 Bowmore 17 Year Old A.D. Rattray Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 5 available ($149.99)

Laphroaig Select Islay Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($54.99)

Longrow “Red” Port Matured Campbeltown Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 6 available ($99.99)

SMWS 36.82 Benrinnes 17 Year Old “Rare Release” Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($149.99) We’re continuing our relationship with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society with this 17 year old cask of Benrinnes; a Speyside distillery that we’ve grown quite fond of here at K&L. Bottled at cask strength, this whisky is a bold blast of rich vanilla and toffee. Perhaps the Society’s own notes say it best, however: “Warm velvet, dusty carpet and oil paintings. A rhumptof of red apples and rhubarb. Pea shoots and tomato leaves in a greenhouse. Juicy sultanas then liquorice and cola cubes. Rhubarb and custard chews with cinder toffee. Lemon posset and cookie dough to finish.” That’s exactly what we were thinking when we picked out this delicious cask! In all seriousness, this whisky is to die for. One of only 198 bottles from this fantastic cask.

United States – Bourbon and Rye

Jim Beam Signature 11 Year “Brown Rice” Straight Bourbon 375ml (1 bottle limit) ($44.99)

Jim Beam Signature 11 Year “Red Wheat” Straight Bourbon 375ml (1 bottle limit) ($44.99)

Jim Beam White Label Straight Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey 750ml ($12.99)

Bourbon and Rye

Old Potrero Single Malt 18th Century Style Whiskey 750ml – 9 available ($69.99)

Ireland

Bushmills 10 Year Irish Whiskey 750ml ($26.99)

Bushmills 21 Year Irish Whiskey 750ml ($79.99)

Green Spot Single Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey 750ml (1 bottle limit) ($44.99)

Japan

Suntory Yamazaki 12 year old Japanese Single Malt Whiskey 750ml ($59.99)

Scotland

Arran 12 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 6 available ($64.99)

Arran Devil’s Punchbowl Chapter III Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 4 available ($119.99)

Glengoyne 21-year-old Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($119.99)

Glenrothes Triple Pack Gift Set 3-100ml Bottles (CANNOT BE SHIPPED) ($36.99)

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

Here is a quick update on some very cool TPS Private Barrels that have just showed up.

OLD FORESTER Single Barrel Bourbon TPS Private Barrel – $34.99

BUFFALO TRACE Bourbon TPS Private Barrel – $23.99 T

he Party Source has a variety of one of a kind Private Barrel Selections for your last minute gift ideas. Make sure to get these rare and hard to find Single Barrels before they’re gone!

>>>Click HERE to shop TPS PRIVATE BARREL SELECTIONS

The A.H. Hirsch Reserve 16 Year Old Bourbon with Cigar Humidor is here in very limited quantity. Don’t miss out on this one… It may very well be the last opportunity to acquire this very rare bottle. A.H. HIRSCH Reserve 16 Year Old Humidor Collector’s Edition – $1,259.99 Available for in-store purchase only

Don’t panic…

….However, today (Friday 19th December) 12pm is the deadline for ordering physical products such as bottles or gift-packs. After this deadline passes we can definitely not guarantee any deliveries pre-Xmas. The good news is you can still order tickets for events and have PDFs emailed to you to print out right up to Xmas Eve. So if you want any items such as Salty Sea-Dog or the extremely popular ‘Tasting From Home’ packs, you’d better get ordering now!

Click here to go straight to the shop.

Slainte, Eddie, Amanda and Joe The Whisky Lounge Team

The Whisky Exchange Tasting Book – chapter and verse

If you’re a whisky fan, it’s highly likely you jot down the occasional tasting note or two. Tasting notes are the perfect way to keep track of the whiskies you’ve tasted and when. And keeping a record of them is a very handy thing to have.

For example, if you’re struggling to decide on a particular whisky to buy, then a quick scan over your tasting notes could help you make up your mind. Or if you’re choosing a whisky from a favourite distillery, then your notes will refresh your memory on the expected flavour and style. You can also see how your tastes have changed over the years, and how your whisky repertoire has grown.

So, to help you keep all of your treasured tasting notes in one space, we’ve designed our very own tasting book – a perfect Christmas stocking filler, either for you or the whisky lover in your life.

Our TWE Tasting Book lets you keep a thorough record of all your whisky tasting notes

Each book has space for 100 tasting notes, as well as sections allowing you to add as much technical information as you need, whether it’s the cask number, bottling date, style, and score.

We’ve also included a stack of useful information at the front of the book, such as the history of whisky in quotes, a guide to the main Scotch whisky regions, advice on how to taste, and a glossary of popular whisky terms – all good stuff.

We’ve made the books look and feel great, too. They’re chunky, but not too big, and we hope that whisky drinkers will keep them on their bookshelf and refer to them for many years to come. And if you’ve never written a tasting note in your life – what are you waiting for? Once you get into the habit of doing it, you’ll be hooked.

You can buy The Whisky Exchange Tasting Book here, with more pictures of the book and its contents. Happy tasting!

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – The Whisky Exchange Tasting Book – chapter and verse

GlenDronach Grandeur Batch 6

24 year old Highland single malt matured in Oloroso Sherry casks. A favourite with connoisseurs and collectors. Limited release of 1,180 bottles.

Grandeur Batch 6 $392.84

www.ralfy.com explores an eccentric but very rewarding little peat-monster with Whisky Review 509 – Longrow 11yo Port casks @ 51,8%vol

Sherry casks part three: what goes into a sherry cask?

[You can find the first two parts of this series at: What was a sherry cask? and What is a sherry cask? ]

In the last post, I talked about how the type of wood that makes up a cask has a large effect on the spirit that goes into it. However, if the cask has already had a liquid stored in it, then that too will obviously have some influence as well. In the case of a sherry cask, that liquid will either be sherry or another similar fortified wine.

Palomino grapes, fresh from the vines, ready for pressing

It starts, as you might expect, with grapes. The most common grape used to make sherry is Palomino, which produces a low-sugar, low-acid, generally uninteresting wine. While that’s not a good combination for table wine, it’s perfect for sherry – the complexity of flavour will come from the maturation process. The grapes are pressed, with the results each pressing being set aside for a different grade of sherry, and the juice is left to ferment. Once it’s reached around 12-13% abv, it’s racked into casks and choices are made as to the type of sherry it will become.

With a thick layer of flor on the surface of the sherry, it looks a little murky

Firstly, fino. This is a dry style that’s very light in colour, with a zingy, nutty and yeasty character. To make it, you fortify the wine up to about 15% using a high-strength grape spirit, which strengthens the wine but is still low enough in alcohol to keep alice the yeasts suspended in the liquid. They clump on the surface to form a protective layer known as flor, which helps digest any sugars remaining in the wine as well as keeping the colour light, by preventing contact with the oxygen in the air. American oak casks are almost always used to mature fino and it’s not often seen in the whisky world, with recent exceptions like the Glenfarclas 1966 Fino Cask, Kavalan Fino and the legendary Bowmore 1964 vintage fino bottlings.

Secondly, oloroso. This is the style that’s most commonly associated with whisky casks, and is a rich wine with some residual sweetness. The style varies quite a lot, as you’ll often find that olorosos sold in the UK are sweetened to better match the sugar-loving British palate. By contrast, Spanish olorosos will often be quite dry, with a nutty character. Either way, the process starts by fortifying the wine to about 17%, which kills the yeasts, and allows the wine to mature while exposed to the air. It will darken in colour and change in flavour over time, increasing in complexity and losing any rough edges.

When it comes to whisky making, a third wine is becoming increasingly important – Pedro Ximénez, aka PX. It starts out as a regular white grape, but is dried to an almost raisin-like level before being pressed, concentrating the sugars. The juice that you do get from the shrivelled grapes is very sugary, and when it’s made into sherry it remains sweet. While you can find it on its own, and is great poured over vanilla ice cream, it’s also used to sweeten other wines, such as UK-bound olorosos.

In one of the Martin warehouses – lots of sherry

 At this point the wine is ready to be drunk, and traditionally it would have been filled into a cask to be transported to where it was to be sold. As export regulations no longer allow that, the bodegas creating whisky casks try and replicate the process on site.

At Bodegas José y Miguel Martin, they first fill their new casks with sacrificial young oloroso, to draw out some of the oak’s intensely woody flavour. The wine is left in the cask for a few months before being decanted and filled into another cask. After seasoning four casks, the wine is too oaky to drink and will be turned into sherry vinegar.

The casks are not done yet, and are filled with more oloroso and left for between months and years to further season. Once the cask is deemed ready, the sherry is decanted and used to fill the first cask of a solera. The solera casks are old and perfect for maturing the oaky wine, allowing the woodiness to fade over time, becoming part of the character of an old oloroso.

The cask, now empty, is shipped to Scotland, where it will start a new life: maturing Scotch whisky.