www.ralfy.com presents …Whisky Review 206 – Spirit of Unity… enjoy!

The whisky festival is now over for another year and once again it was a roaring success. Despite the weather’s best efforts, everyone who attended had a wonderful time!

We’ve now updated the festival section of our website, where you can find all our video highlights and best bits. Those of you who made it along can relive your favourite moments, while those of you who couldn’t join us can enjoy the festival experience from the comfort of your own home.

As a Diurach you can enjoy exclusive access to our footage, where you’ll be taken on the same tasting journey with Willie T and I, that everyone else was able to experience on the day. The only thing you won’t experience will be the howling winds! Be sure to watch all the way to the end of the video to see what I mean! Click here to enjoy all the content (and remember to print your own tasting mat  here  and join in!)

We hope all of you enjoy experiencing the festival as much as we enjoyed hosting it!

Slainte

Willie Cochrane
Jura Distillery Manager

P.S. If you have friends or family who also share your passion for Jura whisky and might like to become Diurachs send them to www.isleofjura.com where they’ll discover more about our mystical isle.

It’s a busy summer at Balblair Distillery in the Scottish Highlands. Not only are they making whisky, but the distillery is also a movie set this week, the site of a wedding next month, and two days after the wedding…construction starts on the distillery’s first-ever visitors center. Distillery manager John MacDonald tells us about his hectic summer in this week’s episode. In the news…plenty of new whiskies, including two charity bottlings, and dueling boycotts over the conflict in the Middle East.

Visit WhiskyCast at www.whiskycast.com 

Hello Fellow Scotch Lovers – 

I have a VERY special treat for you this week….and it doesn’t come from Scotland.

In the state of Colorado, in downtown Denver sits a small brewery started by a fellow named Jesse Graber, called Flying Dog Brewery.  But don’t let the name or the location fool you…in addition to producing some wonderful beers, over the years Jesse has developed a reputation for producing one of the finest whiskies available anywhere: Stranahan’s Colorado Small Batch Whiskey.

Stranahan’s is “old school” whiskey….the kind cowboys drank in saloons across the American West, during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  Each bottle comes with its own tin shot glass as well.

This is one of the most delicious whiskies I have ever tasted, and is one of my “Desert Island 5” whiskies, along with Ardbeg Corryvreckan which was the feature of last weeks Whisky Wednesday email.  Stranahan’s is delicious neat, but throw a few ice cubes in a glass, and you’ve got the perfect summer drink, or the foundation for some amazing summer cocktails. 

I just cannot say enough about this whiskey.

Now the bad news: Stranahan’s was purchased by a “big dumb company” about six months ago and, in their infinite wisdom, they’ve eliminated distribution and any access to Stranahan’s Small Batch Whiskey outside of Colorado….good luck finding some, anywhere.

But the good news: I know Nicky “No Neck”…who knows a guy…who knows a guy…which allows us to offer you Stranahan’s Colorado Small Batch Whiskey for $69.95/ bottle, while our supplies last.  But as always, the supply is extremely limited…and once its gone, it’s gone. So if you want a bottle or two to get you through the summer, order it fast.

I implore you…if you are looking to shake up your summer cocktailing, but want to stay “close to home” with whiskey,  get a bottle or two of Stranahan’s.  Your summer BBQ will never be the same.

Doug Stone
Founder

www.ForScotchLovers.com

STRANAHAN’S SMALL BATCH COLORADO SINGLE MALT WHISKY

THE STRANAHANS STORY   

This whiskey glowed amber from the start. When volunteer firefighter Jess Graber responded to a neighbor’s barn fire down the road, he never imagined any good could come of it. But the barn he made effort to save belonged to George Stranahan, long-time liquor connoisseur. When the fire settled, the two discovered a shared passion for the Colorado outdoors and a good pour of fine whiskey. And so Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey was born.

They developed a recipe for the smoothest, most flavorful whiskey in the world using the purity of their mountain surroundings to their advantage. Well, to your advantage. They say from each thing bad comes something good. For Jess, George, and fine whiskey drinkers alike, it’s amazing just how good it can be.

TASTING NOTES

NOSE: Honeycomb, maple, and raspberry with a scotch-like profile. 

TASTE: Hot and spicy pecan, oak, oatmeal, and barley. There is a slight smokey oak finish and hot long warm feeling felt almost immediately. Feels like higher proof than 94, but not harsh, just strong. Opens up wonderfully after the large cube melts. The residual alcohol burn is tamed, leaving a fuller grain bouquet. As the cube melts, even more mineral, dirt flavors come out as well as cinnamon, allspice, and aged vanilla from the minimum aging time of two years spent in charred American white oak casks. 

See you in 2012 on May 12!

Thank you to all our exhibitors and guests for making this 7th Spirit of Toronto Whisky Gala such a spectacular evening!

From whisky to cognac to rum… from the Blind Whisky Challenge to hand carved ice balls and cocktails… from the Whisky Shots! video stand to the cheese trays and beef tenderloin… this truly was a night to remember.

Masterclasses were once again fully subscribed and highlights included special guests Willie Tait from Isle of Jura, John Glaser from Compass Box, John Hall from Forty Creek Whisky and Michael Urquhart from Gordon & MacPhail who surprised and astounded his class with a rare sample of The Glenlivet 70 Year Old.

For those of you frustrated at not being able to attend a masterclass, please know that every effort will be made to ensure that as many of you as possible will be able to take part in a tutored tasting in 2012.

Once again it is time to say goodbye, but thankfully much of Spirit of Toronto 2011 has been recorded for posterity on Flickr and on Spirit of Toronto’s YouTube channel at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/spiritoftoronto

See you in 2012 on Saturday, May 12… and between now and then, have a great summer!

Our Oldest Blending Book

Good afternoon everyone,

I could tell Paul, our archivist, was on to something when I received an enthusiastic email from him one morning. The subject said – ‘Grant’s Blending Book’ and what I quickly realised as I skimmed over the superlatives and exclamation marks was that Paul had uncovered our company’s oldest blending book and the……(please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article)…

http://blog.grantswhisky.com/2011/06/our-oldest-blending-book/

Kind regards,
Ludo

Bushmills Irish Whiskey…$15.99
Canadian Club 1.75L…$16.99
Canadian LTD 1.75L…$10.99
Canadian Mist 1.75L…$16.99
Chivas Regal Scotch…$17.99
Crown Royal 1.75L…$37.99
Cutty Sark Scotch 1.75L…$19.99
Dewar’s White label 1.75L…$26.99
Early Times 1.75L…$16.99
House Of Stuart Scotch 1.75L…$14.99
Jack Daniels Black 1.75L…$32.99
Jim Beam Black 8 Year…$18.99
Jim Beam Bourbon 1.75L…$21.99
Johnnie Walker Red Label 1.75L…$27.99
Johnnie Walker Black Label …$24.99
Maker’s Mark Bourbon…$22.99
Seagram’s 7 Crown 1.75L…$15.99
Seagram’s VO Canadian ..$17.99
Seagram’s Crown Royal 1.75L…$13.99
Southern Comfort 1.75L…$19.99

GREAT FATHER’S DAY IDEA!

FREE CUSTOM BOTTLE ETCHING

Truly a one-of-a-kind gift for Father’s Day…or any day! Purchase a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label and have your personalized message etched for free into the bottle while you wait. Blue Label represents Johnnie Walker’s highest achievement, a unique blend of their most exceptional, rare Whiskys, produced in limited quantities. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Valid W/Binny’s Card – Quantities limited to stock on hand. Selection varies by location. All bottles 750ml unless otherwise stated. No rain checks. Shop early for best selection. Prices valid June 8, 2011 through June 30, 2011 or while quantities last.

I’m sorry to badger you but I need your help…

There’s some right mince on eBay isn’t there? I received an email the other day asking about a valuation for a bottle of whisky on eBay (as always, with valuations, you are far better going to the likes of McTears or these guys than me).

But then I spotted something, so incredibly… tat… that I just had to have it.

And that’s where you come in. What can I do with the Whyte & Mackay badgers I’ve just bought?

I’m seriously open to all and any ideas – trying to post them around the world, sending them to you guys to send to each other – so let me know your thoughts. At least one of them’s got to be a winner – and I need to get rid of them before Margaret comes back from her holidays! (And no, I don’t think the wife would welcome them either!).

www.ralfy.com receives and shares a special delivery!

Whisky Review #205 – Special Delivery

Pour a dram and watch maltsters!

In the last episode, I mentioned the Balcones Brimstone blue corn whiskey from Balcones Distillery in Waco, Texas…and how the corn was smoked over Texas scrub oak. Turns out I was wrong, and there’s an even more interesting story behind this whiskey and the distillery. In the news, Jack Daniel’s neighbors want to tax the distillery’s whiskey barrels, Ireland could have a fourth distillery two years from now, new whiskies from Glen Garioch and The Macallan, and tasting notes for craft whiskies from Arkansas and Washington.

Visit WhiskyCast at www.whiskycast.com