Hi everyone, Happy New Year and sorry to disturb you. I was wondering – if you had 5 mins to spare – if you could please take part in this little survey about whisky and social media/online.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/whiskyonline

There’s a couple of prizes as part of a random draw as a thank you for taking part.

Thanks again – and feel free to spread the survey. The more answers the better and I’ll be making the results public, so it should benefit us all.

Craig

Craig McGill
MD & Creative Guy www.Contently-Managed.com
Digital and Social Media PR

Well, not quite yet. Since the people that deliver whisky news to the world continue their extended Christmas break Whisky Intelligence has decided to publish the annual Whisky Intelligence 2010 ‘Tasting Notes/Whisky Reviews’ Score Compilation a little earlier than scheduled this coming Sunday, January 16th, 2011.

Check back on Sunday and see which whiskies topped the list…

Since Christmas, the distillery equipment has been given a thorough clean and polish, the warehouses have been inspected and tidied up (a little bit of tasting has been done at the same time). This week will see the shop having a lick of paint, so hopefully by the morning of Thursday 13th January we will be open for business again. We are not distilling until about the 27th – so if you want a chance to look inside the stills, etc., now’s the time. 

The Chapter 6 & 9 are in stock, as are the 30ltr casks for those of you who want a barrel of whisky to take home.

In the early spring we will launch a Prince William and Kate whisky. I am finding this difficult to do as it seems most of the wedding memorabilia is rather cheap and nasty, I promise you our bottle will be lovely and the contents better still! If you are interested in this (it will be in our engraved decanter bottle and cost around £60, I think) click on this link to register your details. http://forms.emailtextexperts.com/signup.php?fid=235&pid=14885 (Please note you will receive an e-mail from E-MailTextExperts.com to confirm you would like your details added.) Obviously this is one whisky release that will not be repeated, so there are no second chances of getting any. We don’t want payment at the moment, but if you tell us you want a bottle or two, we can make sure you have some.

Finally, in light of the fact that VAT has increased, fuel will soon be worth more than gold and a loaf of bread must surely end up costing twice what it does today, fairly soon in the future – we are bringing a little relief to the party. There will be NO increase in price on English Whisky for the time being. I hope this helps a little.

I sincerely hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that 2011 will be fun for you.

Kind regards

Andrew

Visit The English Whisky Company at http://www.englishwhisky.co.uk/

Happy New Year!
Don’t forget about…

The Wemyss Malts Tasting Today
Come & Try Some Awesome Drams with Susan from Wemyss!

Get yer tickets from the AUSA reception in Butchart Centre!

Have a break from revision and come for a dram!
 
Location: Butchart Centre University Rd, Aberdeen
When: 7pm, Wednesday 12th January 2011
What to Bring: Ticket + Membership Card + Raffle Money!

University of Aberdeen Malt Whisky Society
The Butchart Centre
University Road
Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire AB24 3UT
aberdeenwhisky@googlemail.com

JANUARY WHISKY SALE

10% OFF absolutely everything – Limited Time Only.

We thought as this is our first ever January trading online as www.SpecialistWhisky.com we would bring you 10% off all our Whisky online, this offer is ONLY available online.

Customers in all our delivery countries can take advantage of this offer – it will not last long, and subject to removal without notice.

Visit us soon!

Craig

www.Specialistwhisky.com

Ralfy wishes all the merry maltsters around the World a happy New Year’s Vlog with the first of a mini-series about Springbank Distillery and it’s Malts.

Beginning with WhiskyReview 176 – Introducing Springbank Malt Whiskies  with a seven part comprahensive Tour of Springbank Distillery happening in review 177…… hooray for ralfy.com, the most eccentric whisky-stuff on the internet.

 Visit Ralfy at www.ralfy.com

Hello everyone,

I know I run the risk of sounding like somebody who only speaks about the weather but I just got back to work today and saw the pictures below in our internal magazine. They are far better than the ones I shared with you back in December.

The pictures show Warehouse 28 in Dufftown and…(check out the rest of the post and pictures via the link below)

http://blog.grantswhisky.com/2011/01/warehouse-28/

Kind regards,
Ludo

For the first time ever (it would seem) The British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch has heavily discounted (& one must ignore the ruinous price to start with) a narrow selection of premiumwhiskies:
 
Balvenie 30 year old: Now $318.49 down $136.50 from $454.99
 
Chivas Regal 25 year old: Now $223.43 down $95.75 from $319.18
 
Tullibardine 1966: Now $574.18 down $143.54 from $717.72

Spanish Twist for New Benromach Wood Finish

Speyside’s smallest distillery has introduced a Spanish flavour to its range of award-winning Single Malt Scotch Whiskies, with the addition of Benromach Pedro Ximenez Wood Finish.

Benromach’s latest offering –  a soft, fresh single malt with a pronounced malty character and a rounded sweetness – was ‘finished’ for 30 months  in Spanish oak casks from the Pedro Ximenez soleras of Williams & Humbert, one of the world’s most prestigious wine producers.

David Urquhart, Joint Managing Director of Benromach Distillery owners Gordon& MacPhail, said:

“We’re delighted to unveil the latest addition to the Benromach range, which has been finished in casks from Bodegas Williams & Humbert, a wine producer with a history going back nearly 130 years. The end result is a golden malt with hints of delicate spice and almond.

“Benromach is Speyside’s smallest distillery and as a ‘boutique’ distillery we are keen to embrace innovation and try new and different things – in this case, we found that the richness of the Pedro Ximenez casks perfectly complemented the complex style of Benromach. We are confident that fans of other Benromach products will love this expression.

Benromach Pedro Ximenez Wood Finish will be available as a limited release in 70cl (for selected markets), bottled at 45% from whisky specialists and fine wine and spirits retail specialists with a suggested UK retail price of £29.50.

About Benromach

Established in 1898, Benromach distillery changed hands many times and was virtually derelict when bought by Gordon & MacPhail in 1993. Drawing on generations of whisky expertise, the company carried out a painstaking refurbishment and the distillery was officially re-opened by Prince Charles in 1998.

Tasting notes – Pedro Ximenez Wood Finish

UNDILUTED

Nose: A subtle ash note is followed by a fruity edge with hints of ripe peaches. Some delicate fresh mint notes linger.

Palate: Defined spices – cinnamon. Hints of almond are infused with sweet influences and creamy textures.

WITH WATER

Nose: Fresh with toasted malt notes. Hints of ripe banana and delicate esters emerge. A defined Sherry influence develops.

Palate: Creamy and sweet with delicate spices. The palate is well rounded and balanced.

Body: Medium.

Finish: Long.

Cask Type: The whisky is matured in 1st fill Sherry and bourbon casks. Finished in Pedro Ximenez casks.

www.benromach.com

www.gordonandmacphail.com

Whisky lovers take their passion into all sorts of areas. Shai Gilboa decided to look into the history of a fairly obscure blended Scotch whisky after coming across an old bottle of Stewart’s Cream of the Barley during a tasting in Israel. He not only studied the history, but tracked down a current bottle of Stewart’s and sent samples of the old and new bottlings to friends around the world to compare. In the news, Ralph Erenzo’s condition improves, Skye loses one of its champions, and Early Times brings out a new bourbon in the U.S.

Visit WhiskyCast at www.whiskycast.com