We wish you a very relaxed and happy 2024!!

Just a short message to wish you and your loved ones a very relaxed and happy 2024!! We are looking forward to this one, since it will be the year of the 15th anniversary of Maltstock! We hope you will be joining us in celebrating!

Annette, Bob, Klaas, Stan, Teun

Maltstock Anniversary Monthly Prize Draw

Just like five years ago we have a treat for you! Our sponsors and supporter have given us some relaxed goodies which we can give away! We will do so by organizing a monthly Prize Draw! Entering this prize draw is very simple! The only thing you need to do is to buy a Maltstock ticket! All ticket holders that have bought tickets, during or before the Monthly Prize Draw will be eligible and entered into the draw. A monthly winner will receive a very special Maltstock goodie box full of… ehrm… ‘relaxed goodies’! Every month we will announce both the winner through social media and this newsletter, and feature one of the sponsors in this newsletter!

Of course terms and conditions apply, click here to find out about them. We’ve put all of you lovely ticket holders into our wheel of fortune and pressed start.

And this months winner is:

We will be in contact with you about your prize!

SMWS is relaxed club of passionate whisky enthusiast and proud sponsor of the Maltstock Monthly Prize draw! Become a member now and receive 20% discount with the coupon code PASSION20. For more information on the Scotch Malt Whisky Society go to www.smws.eu

So feel free to join the relaxed fun. Simply get your ticket here:

https://www.maltstock.com/shop

Grand designs

Glenfiddich Grand Collection blends invention and tradition through flavour

Worlds collide with remarkable results in this innovative single malt whisky collection. 

Glenfiddich 23 Year Old Grand Cru 40% 70cl

£280.00

Speyside’s Glenfiddich distillery might be steeped in tradition, but its whisky-making is as inventive as it comes. Take The Grand Collection. The innovative series spans four expressions, each one an amalgam of flavour.

As groundbreaking as it is delicious, the collection draws on Japan, France and Spain, imparting regional influence through exacting cask management. The results are impressive.

First up is Glenfiddich 23 Year Old Grand Cru. This vibrant bottling was made using French oak casks that previously held a very special type of sparkling wine. A luxuriously complex release, apple, honey and soft spices on the nose give way to a brioche-like velvety palate. An exceptional whisky indeed.

Find out more about The Glenfiddich Grand Series

Shop now

Nikka “From The Barrel” Blended Whisky (750ml) $74.99 View

94 points Whisky Advocate  For Nikka From the Barrel, it’s been a long road to Whisky of the Year. This Japanese blend made its U.S. debut in 2018, but its inception dates back more than 30 years. In 1985, Nikka Whisky Distilling Company’s blending team, led by Shigeo Sato, designed this whisky using both malt and grain whiskies produced at Nikka’s Yoichi and Miyagikyo Distilleries. When taking into account the full array of casks—bourbon barrels, sherry butts, refill hogsheads, and more—over 100 different constituent whiskies are enlisted. “From the Barrel” suggests barrel proof, but that’s not the case. The blenders made a conscious decision to bottle at 51.4% (derived from 90 British Proof) to deliver maximum flavor impact. They succeeded. Notably balanced and elegant, the colorful palette of whiskies combines for tremendous depth of flavor. Soft, sweet butterscotch and orange peel meet poached pears and stone fruits. Earthiness appears as dried autumn leaves, coffee, old oak, and tobacco. Among the tangle of spices, tasters identified chili pepper, allspice, cloves, and universally adored its ginger note. Finally, wisps of smoke and sea salt. Overall, it feels generously malty, with the grain whisky lending broad sweetness and supple mouthfeel across the long finish. Beyond its delightful flavors, Nikka From the Barrel presents some paradoxes worthy of contemplation over a glass. It is a classic, yet new to the U.S. It is typically Japanese, yet singularly magnificent. Jeffery Lindenmuth 

K&L Notes. The #1 Whiskey of the Year on Whiskey Advocates Top 20 list in 2018 is now being offered without an allocation limit for the first time thanks to our special relationship with the importer. The wonderful Nikka From the Barrel has been one of the most sought-after offerings from this special distiller based outside of Sapporo. It’s previously not been available in the US due to the USA restriction on the 500ml bottle size, but thankfully the owners designed a 750ml version for the US market. This is a blend of many of the Nikka whiskies we know and love dumped and mingled for further marrying in a large vat at the distillery, hence “from the barrel.” It’s one of the few higher proof offerings available from any Japanese distiller and has a unique character. While the Hibiki Harmony might be the most popular blended Japanese whisky available in the US, From The Barrel is easily the most flavorful. This is nicely aged Yoichi, Miyagikyo, Coffey Grain and Imported Malt further aged post blending and bottled at 102.8 proof. No wonder people are going rabid for the stuff, it’s absolutely delicious!

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Killowen Single Malt Rum & Raisin Wins Double Gold

Straight into 2024 with another win!

On 22nd December, The Fifty Best held an Irish Whiskey tasting in New York, where 25 Irish whiskies were tasted and evaluated to choose the ‘Best Irish Whiskey’ award of 2023.

We are very pleased to announce that Killowen Rum & Raisin 100% Single Malt Irish Whiskey was awarded a double gold medal. 

As our Rum & Raisin Whiskey has recently upgraded its bottle size from 500ml to 700ml, it was important that this was quality tested also – remember the 500ml was double gold for 2022. Due to its competitive price, it is the best value cask strength single malt on the market and is now in stock in Belfast International airport and all quality stores around the country.

What is Killowen single malt ‘Rum & Raisin?’

It’s everyone’s favourite PX sherry finish vatted with a Killowen rum cask finish, providing full bodied notes of rum and dried fruits. 

We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and want to wish you all a Happy New Year, from everyone at Killowen Distillery 🙂

2002 Caol Ila 20 Year Old “Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseur’s Choice” K&L Exclusive Cask #8378 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel Nonchillfiltered Cask Strength Islay Single Malt (750ml)
$170.00 View

2003 Glenlivet 20 Year Old “Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseur’s Choice” K&L Exclusive Cask #800366 2nd Refill Ex-Bourbon barrels Nonchillfiltered Cask Strength Highland Single Malt (750ml)
$170.00 View

Click the Image Above to see Sam Filmus’ Message for 2024

6 of the Best – Our Top Sellers of 2023

As we come to the end of 2023, here are 6 of the best sellers in the year. From the Isle of Harris to Speyside; from Scotland’s Lowlands to Highlands; we have it covered!

Sláinte

Free Next Day Delivery for 12 Months For just £14.95 you can enjoy free next day delivery on all your orders for a whole year! Geographic restrictions apply, see full T&Cs. Find out more ❯

OUR BIGGEST GOLDEN DRAM EVER!
WIN £15,000 JOHNNIE WALKER BOTTLE 

This January, we are holding a spectacular Golden Dram, with a prize worth £15,000! One lucky winner will take home a prestigious bottle of Johnnie Walker Master’s Ruby Reserve, which is one of just 398 in the world.

All you have to do to enter is simply purchase a bottle from our curated selection of distilleries often used by Johnnie Walker in blends, including Mortlach 12 Year Old, Lagavulin 16 Year Old and Johnnie Walker Blue Label. You can find all the selected bottles, here

Johnnie Walker Masters Ruby Reserve

An exceptional limited edition release from Johnnie Walker. Masters Ruby Reserve combines eight 40-year-old casks that have been personally selected by Master Blender Jim Beveridge OBE.

£15,000.00

Free Next Day Delivery for 12 Months For just £14.95 you can enjoy free next day delivery on all your orders for a whole year! Geographic restrictions apply, see full T&Cs. Find out more ❯

Suntory “100th Anniversary – Hakushu” 18 year old Japanese Single Malt Whisky (700ml) $2,500.00 View

While the Hakushu distillery came a bit later than Yamazaki, The House of Suntory is celebrating its centennial with these limited edition special releases from their two single malt distilleries. Both Yamazaki and Hakushu have 100th Anniversary offerings, featuring an understated label and supremely delicious 12-year-old whiskies from their respective distilleries. The unique Japanese style utilizes a wide array of barrel types, peat levels, and still shapes and sizes to produce many different malts at each distillery. The blend of all of these makes for single malt of unmatched complexity and elegance, and the limited supply makes for fanatical following and collectability, envied by nearly every other producer in the world.

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Interview: Angel’s Envy’s Owen Martin & Cask Strength 2023 Releases (Bourbon & Rye)

In December 2023, Angel’s Envy Distillery released two new limited additions to its Cask Strength offering — a rye finished in Sauternes and toasted oak casks and a bourbon finished in ruby port casks. We visited the distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, and caught up with master distiller Owen Martin to learn more about these new releases, his whiskey-creation philosophy, and the special finishing casks used to craft these fantastic spirits.

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