www.ralfy.com makes a good suggestion with Whisky Review 311 – Your Solera Bottle.

. . .  it works for everyone.

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #24

Mark Dermul, Belgian whiskyblogger, is also known as A Toshan Man, aficionado and collector of all things Auchentoshan. It should thus not come as a surprise that he wants to present to you the new duty free range. And while he is at it, he puts the Springwood and Heartwood head-to-head. Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/gMGsjxvXE20

New Glengoyne Collection Worth The Wait

An exclusive new range of Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky has been unveiled by Ian Macleod Distillers to reinforce this unique award-winning brands premium position in the malt category.

The repackaged and enhanced collection from Scotland’s leading independent family owned distiller truly reflects the malts’ outstanding sherry credentials. In addition to the 10yo, 12yo and 21yo, Glengoyne has introduced three new malts to complete the line-up – a new premium Glengoyne 15 year old malt, a new formidable cask strength expression to replace the current 12 year old cask strength and a stunning new world-class 18 year old replacing the 17yo. Each new expression has been crafted from some of the finest sherry casks within Glengoyne’s warehouses.

Read the full article here

Competition – ‘Worth the wait’

To mark the launch, one lucky person will win the new Glengoyne range. Nine runners-up will also receive a specially selected bottle of malt from the collection. We won’t tell you which one, it will be a surprise but we can promise it will definitely be well Worth the Wait. To enter, all you have to do is describe in no more than 50 words what has been your best ‘Worth the Wait’ moment in life and why? Full details on how to enter at www.glengoyne.com

Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible Awards 2013

One of the first signs of autumn, along with The Whisky Show, is the thud on the doormat as the latest edition of Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible arrives. Often controversial but always influential, Jim has yet again spent the last year … Continue reading >>

Big Peat pays a visit with a haul of new Douglas Laing Director’s Cut Scotch.

Read the article HERE

Grant’s in the Arctic 

‘The only equipment in his rucksack was dehydrated food, an axe, fishing tackle, compass, light cooking equipment and a bottle of Grant’s.’

I love our old company magazines. I probably spend too much time reading them – but it’s hard to put them down when they contain such great stories. This particular one was published in the…(please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article)… 

THE LINK

Kind regards,

Ludo

A Most Wonderful October To You Fellow WhiskyLover

Four weeks to go until we choose our next President and, if you’re like me, you’re sick and tired of the insipid bickering over who’ll serve our country better. This weeks Whiskey Wednesday email is about a true American Hero, who served our country in more ways than one.

After serving in World War II, Clyde May returned to Alabama to farm his land and raise a family. For hundreds of years, Alabama farmers took their excess produce and turned it into liquid gold to help supplement their income. It was a time-honored tradition, and the Conecuh Ridge where May lived is an area that was renowned for its illegal whiskey-making. At one point, Federal agencies said it had the heaviest concentration of stills in the US.

Though Clyde reared eight children, his farming endeavors were not as successful. Following in the well-worn footsteps of many before him, he turned to the illegal trade of whiskey-making, or “branch- farming” as he liked to call it, to help supplement his income. Mr. Clyde had a reputation for honesty, integrity and for producing the finest whiskey in the area.

From the 1950s to the 1980s Clyde managed to produce around 300 gallons a week in a still of his own design. His whiskey, then called Conecuh Ridge Whiskey, was known for its high quality relative to typical moonshine. According to his son, Kenny, the reason was his painstaking insistence on using the best equipment he could fabricate and taking extra steps during production to maintain the purity and quality of the product.

While much of it was sold unaged as corn liquor, a certain amount would be casked and aged for about a year in charred barrels with a couple of dried apples for flavor. Clyde claimed that the hot Alabama summers accelerated the effect of aging, requiring only one year instead of the minimum of two given to Kentucky Bourbons. This would be bottled and given to friends and valued customers as “Christmas Whiskey”.

When Clyde May died in 1990 his son Kenny began looking for a way to honor his father’s memory by producing legal whiskey from his recipe. Careful planning led to a production run of 4000 bottles of Conecuh Ridge Whiskey in 2002 overseen by master distiller Even Kulsveen of Kentucky Bourbon Distillers.

In April 2004, both houses of the Alabama Legislature voted to adopt a resolution naming “Conecuh Ridge Alabama Fine Whiskey” the “official state spirit”. For a few months it was sold in Alabama’s 147 ABC State Liquor Stores and privately-owned package stores in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida.

In December 2004, state liquor agents charged Kenny May with misdemeanor violations in two counties. He pleaded guilty and the Control Board immediately moved to revoke Conecuh Ridge’s distribution license, meaning that once stores sold out of their existing stock, the state’s official spirit could no longer be sold in Alabama. May’s stock was held in trust pending the outcome of his trial.

Spirits industry veteran Wes Henderson assumed interim leadership of the company and led the company through turbulent times. Under Henderson’s leadership, distribution was expanded to additional domestic and international markets.

This is a small batch, limited production whiskey. But thanks to our man Nicky The Neck, who has a cousin who lives along the Conecuh Ridge, we’ve been able to secure more than our fair share of this wonderful bourbon-like Alabama whisky.

And so we’re excited to be able to serve our country the opportunity to purchase a bottle of Clyde May’s Whiskey for $36.95/ bottle. But as always, the supply is extremely limited…and once its gone, it’s gone.

Until next week…I wish you high spirits!

Doug Stone
Founder
www.ForWhiskeyLovers.com

CLYDE MAY’S CONECUH RIDGE WHISKEY

TASTING NOTES

Color: Deep, the glimmering bronze color with perfect clarity.

Aroma: The generous aromatics are loaded with rich caramel, dried orchard fruits, toffee, butterscotch, nutmeg, spicy rye notes, maple, and candied orange peel.

Taste: The palate is harmonious and seamless. The flavor profile bursts open with dried fruits, sage and black pepper offering enough viscosity to give the whiskey length and depth.

Finish: Silky finish with a complex black pepper accent and hints of anise and toasted oak.

Announcing Great Whisky Bars of the World 2012

I’m not one for new fangled technology but Whisky Magazine’s online app, Great Whisky Bars of the World 2012, might just be the perfect blend of whisky and digital innovation. Launched this week, subscribers for the first time, will be able to search for their favourite whisky bars and lounges at the touch of a button. This treasure trove of information, and a life-saver for the whisky lover, will tell you where to sample the finest drams across the globe.

As one of the official sponsors, Jura has been offered exclusive access to the app before its global launch at the end of the month. This means all my fellow Diurachs will be able to discover some of the best, quirky, remote and exclusive whisky bars in the world before anyone else.

To gain your exclusive first access, please click here.

Better be quick though.

Slainte

Willie Cochrane
Jura Distillery Manager

Loch Fyne Whiskies Stocks ‘Octomore 5.1, PC10 and more from Bruichladdich’ 

Now in stock the new releases from Bruichladdich:

Octomore 5.1

Port Charlotte PC10 Cask Strength

Port Charlotte The Peat Project

Bruichladdich 16 The Laddie Sixteen

Bruichladdich 22 The Laddie Twenty Two

Loch Fyne Whiskies

david@lfw.co.uk