www.ralfy.com gets a bit Speysiderish with Whisky Review 375 – Tamdhu 10yo

Old Pulteney Maritime Malts Available at Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits (E. Setauket, New York)

The Old Pulteney distillery in Wick is one of the most northerly distilleries on the Scottish mainland. It is a windswept location, where the uncompromising landscape of the Highlands meets the North Sea, and the waves crash against the granite walls of the harbor. The extreme location and unique stills have resulted in a distinctive flavor, bursting with the power and subtlety of the sea. It is the Genuine Maritime Malt.

Old Pulteney 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch 92 Proof – $152.99 (5 bottles in stock)

“Old Pulteney 21 Year Old has been voted 2012 World Whisky of the Year by the prestigious ‘Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.’ Scoring a record-equalling 97.5 points out of 100, it is only the third time that a single malt has ever won the prestigious award, and we are just the second Scottish distillery to do so. As with the 17-year-old, with this expression we marry together Old Pulteney matured in ex-bourbon wood with spirit from ex-sherry wood casks. The crucial difference, however, is that the ex-sherry wood in this case is made from American Oak (mostly Fino sherries). This adds yet another layer of complexity, depth and character to this truly superb malt whisky.” -The Distillery

Old Pulteney 17 Year Old Single Malt Scotch 92 Proof – $95.99 (13 bottles in stock)

“Our 17-year-old predominantly features ex-bourbon maturation, with the addition of spirit that has been wholly matured in Spanish wood ex-sherry casks, predominantly Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso. This adds a subtle depth and complexity to the whisky, making for an outstanding after-dinner drink. Red amber color with a rich autumnal hue. Sweet on the nose with traces of apples and pears: slightly woody with a hint of butterscotch. Full bodied, with hints of vanilla and floral notes in the background; a long-lasting memorable finish.” -The Distillery

Old Pulteney 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch 86 Proof – $35.99

“Matured wholly in air-dried, hand-selected ex-bourbon casks, the ‘unashamedly excellent’ Old Pulteney 12-years-old is the definitive expression in the Old Pulteney family. Traditionally crafted using techniques that other distillers have long abandoned, this winner of numerous gold medals at the most prestigious international competitions is a high water-mark of quality spirits. Deep amber color with a slight pink hue. Medium to high aromatic intensity, dry with a hint of sea air. Dry, medium bodied and smooth with a clean finish: faintly salty with a slight sherry note.” -The Distillery

Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits

www.moraswines.com

631-941-4458

sev.clemens@moraswines.com

STRATHEARN DISTILLERY

Paul McLean was talking to Tony Reeman – Clark.  A totally new distillery for Perthshire, just 20 minutes from MCLEANSCOTLAND/angels whisky club offices. Paul McLean went along to meet the team and see what they have on offer …
Once there Paul was shown around by Tony Reeman – Clark, Director.

A few questions while touring the site – didnee take long! What will be the annual volume of whisky? Tony; around 20,000 litres.

Paul; is that all! Tony; aye, the plans are small but quality distilling, we aim only to use octave casks (approx. 70 bottles worth per cask) and most of these we see selling to private buyers – in fact Angels are looking at obtaining one! We will also produce and market our own Gin.

Paul; so when do you expect the first dram to be ready? Tony; lets say 3 years, maybe September 2016. ALL casks will be cask strength approx. 64%. A light unpeated dram, or we may offer a lightly peated version. Our barley and water are local, we use brewer’s yeast, angels share in our casks will be around 6% annually. We will also have 30 litre casks further down the line.

Paul; why did you do it? “Tony; it was one of those conversations (with David Lang, fellow Director and David Wight our Brand Ambassador), we all had the same ideas and well, it happened!”

Paul; Why Perthshire? Tony; we also looked at Falkirk, Stirling and even the old Rosebank distillery. I was here on a corporate team building experience and saw the empty buildings, the rest as they say is history! Might I add, Perth & Kinross Council went out of their way to assist us, really helpful and we wish to express our thanks.

Paul; I was amazed when I saw the stills and the actual size of the “distillery”! Tony; we like to think we are “pushing the whisky boundaries”. Aye it is small, a micro distillery, but good things come in small packages.

Paul; we can bring our guests here for a tour and taste you say? Tony; yes, pre booked is not a problem, we would welcome your guests anytime, in fact, we can also offer whisky experiences for 1 – 5 days, assisting us making the water of life! Note; full details from Paul at mcleanscotland.

Paul; have you completed the label design and bottle shape? Tony; we have most of this ready, just still to decide on end colours – Paul saw these designs, was impressed, the branding will include the Kite design.

Tony; all bottles will be labelled and bottled by hand, with a directors signature on each one, numbered and cask number.

Chatting further on the casks; with a really good selling cost, these casks are good value, a good investment and a grand way for individuals and small whisky clubs to obtain some unique bottlings. Obviously these casks will need remain here 3 years minimum, but 50 at least are already pre sold, so get in there sharpish! So what finishes are available? Sherry, port and others to follow. Now here’s an idea; get together with family of friends, maybe buy two casks, upon maturity, bottle maybe half from each cask, then blend the remainder from each cask, giving you yet another whisky! By this method, say a sherry and a port finish, plus the blend of the two gives you 3 different whiskies! Dram-tastic!

Some wee notes; Strathearn is now probably the smallest distillery in Scotland. Later, a maltings may be added to the site. The brainchild of Tony and two Davids (David Lang and David Wight). Based in a 160 year old farm building, in addition to whisky, a Caledonia Classic gin

http://www.mcleanscotland.com/  http://www.angelswhiskyclub.com/  http://www.strathearndistillery.com/

Pipes & Drams. Once again a fantastic blend of pipes and drams, this time up in Forres, Moray in the Scottish highlands.  2013 European Pipe Band Championships The event sponsors are Forres’ own Benromach Whisky . Over 100 pipe bands from all over Europe competed in the natural amphitheatre of Grant Park, a beautiful highland setting.

 Paul and Dave drove up on the Friday 28 June, evening from Perth, staying in Elgin – a dangerous thing, as their hotel had over 100 whiskies behind the bar! Afraid not enough time to sample them all, but some notables were BeRiach, Glendronach, Oban, Ardbeg and a very nice wee Caol Ila 12 years. Fresh Islay whisky –  complex flavour, a fruity nose, salty and a peaty kickback. Favourite of the Friday night.

Saturday, “headed doon the road to Forres into the event grounds, as they do, made right for the Benromach”,  as Paul said;  “Benromach Cask Strength Distilled 2002, Strength 60.3%  Matured in first fill Bourbon barrels, bottled at cask strength and unchillfiltered, a burst of black pepper, white chocolate and hints of lime zest. We allowed it to slide doon! Benromach 30 Years Old, Strength 43%  Matured in first fill and refill Sherry casks. Single Malt from Speyside’s smallest working distillery. This was awarded the Best Single Malt Scotch Whisky 28-34 Years (Multiple Casks), scoring 95.5 points out of 100, in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2012 (but then again, everyone knows what I think about Jimmie’s book!). Dave and myself loved this one”.

“Back to the piping; great bands on of all grades, even a band From Oman and another from Australia (er, are they in Europe?), overall winners grade 1; Field Marshall Montgomery from Ireland. Re  – enter the drams! And I may say a few good real alebeers!” Paul.

Saturday at the hotel; eventually reached our hotel, could we manage another dram? Daft question really. But first we headed the wee way to the Highlander Inn, so many whiskies here, spolit for choice.

Sunday, sleep in late (9.30) before heading back to Perth, good trip!  See all the bands – and more – at Glasgow 3^rd Saturday in August for the World pipe band champs!

Paul and Dave represented Angels whisky club at Forres.  www.angelswhiskyclub.com   www.mcleanscotland.com

A blend of whisky and golf.

Two American couples for a Scottish tour of golf and whisky, a fine blend to be enjoyed here in Scotland. Starting with Oban and Tobermory  distilleries, Tobermory golf course, Paul then set about collecting the special Maclean 18 year old Adelphi (Tobermory) whisky at Duart Castle, moving on later to Ballachulish, to Dragons Tooth golf course.  On the way east to Inverness came the Ben Nevis distillery and a tasting at Spean Bridge woollen mill (whisky shop), ending the day at Inverness, where once again the nectar was sampled in the local pubs.

Golf at Nairn next day for the 4 golfers while Paul called into Benromach and Dallas Dhu.  News that Benromach will increase production tempted Paul to call in, no new stills but aye, production rising this family owned distillery is doing really well and increasing supply due to demand. The also were the majo sponsor of the European Pipe Band Championships in Forres, end of June 2013,  G&M/Benromach single malt. By the way, we attended that one also, grand whisky!

Dallas Dhu, owned by Historic Scotland; we have all seen the PR about reopening and re starting distilling, chatting to the manager, no firm agreement has yet made, they are still in the “shall we or won’t we” meetings and financial reports.

As the guests were not dining with us (Paul and Liz in Inverness) we gave them a bottle of mcleanscotland SPECIALLY BOTTLED Mortlach to enjoy!

Paul and Liz departed this tour once St Andrews was reached, nae more whisky for a while, though Lynn and Jim will be going for a day visit to Edinburgh – whisky experience included.

A brief encounter with golf for the angels!

www.mcleanscotland.com

www.angelswhiskyclub.com

Mackmyra Swedish Single Malt Whisky

The story of Mackmyra, Sweden’s first whisky distillery, famously began with a ski trip in 1998, when eight friends from Stockholm’s Royal Institute of Technology went on holiday together and all brought bottles of whisky to share. In conversation during … Continue reading >>

Select Scotch Whisky – 21YO Gran Reserva by Glenfiddich review. 

Simon has a look at The Gran Reserva by Glenfiddich. Bitter, yet sweet packing a punch of spice.

The Link

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• Aberlour 16 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 12 available ($64.99)

• Glenmorangie 18 year old Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($84.99) Whisky Advocate: “43% abv. When compared to the 10 year old, this one’s richer, with darker fruit and more caramelized sweet notes, paired with accentuated dried wood spice, while the 10 year old is more vibrant and floral. Like the 10 year old, there’s good balance here. (Vol. 17, #2) ” K&L Notes: If I had to pick my favorite whisky from the LVMH line up, including all the Ardbeg expressions, I’d easily choose the 18 year old from Glenmorangie. It’s the best whisky they make for the price and everybody likes it: beginners, casual sippers, experts, whisky geeks. It’s so gentle, supple, rich, and full of flavor. The problem for me at K&L was getting a competitive price. I’ve got plenty of $115-$140 options that are more exciting to many of our serious whisky fans, but at $84.99, now we’re talking! Removing $32 from the price tag makes a world of difference. All of a sudden we’re talking serious deal! It’s not that the Glenmorangie isn’t worth $115, because it is. It’s just that it’s really worth $84.99. Kyle and I both agree that this is currently the hottest deal in the store. Soft stone fruit, caramel, creme brulee, vanilla, all the way to the finish. We won’t be able to sustain the pricing past this order, so when we sell through we have to raise it back up. (David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer)

Irish Whiskey

• Bushmills 10 Year Old Irish Whiskey 750ml ($29.99)

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

www.ralfy.com suggests a good value option with Whisky Review 374 – Isle of Arran 14yo

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #53

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, wishes all his American friends a Happy Independence Day and raises a glass of the 1792 Ridgemont Reserve in salute. It is the official toasting bourbon at the yearly Kentucky Bourbon Festival. And a fine bourbon it is. Enjoy!

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