We visited the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown!

We visited the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown! In the first episode of Whisky Magazine and American Whiskey Magazine’s Kentucky tour, Christopher and Maggie take in the world-famous bourbon whiskey festival in Bardstown

Bardstown’s Kentucky Bourbon Festival was recently reinvented and now offers whiskey enthusiasts more than ever before.

From unlimited pours of a diverse range of whiskey styles to festival-exclusive barrel picks and masterclasses to live music, the festival is a true bucket-list event for whiskey enthusiasts, connoisseurs, and collectors.

Distillers old and new, commercial and crafty were all in attendance at the 2023 show, pouring for attendees who had flown in from all over the United States and beyond. Now a true destination event, we sent Whisky Magazine’s editor-at-large Christopher Coates and American Whiskey Magazine’s contributing editor Maggie Kimberl to learn more.

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Introducing Founder’s Highlights Regular update from Dan

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks, with two major trade shows last week providing a chance to speak with bartenders in Manchester and a pub/restaurant owners from around the country.  This was followed by surprise news from France, that King Charles had been offered a dram of Cotswolds Single Malt by our fantastic French brand ambassador Hugues during his appearance in Bordeaux – an amazing coup which was picked up by many British newspapers.  Immediately following that was a day spent on our stand at the London Whisky Show, one of the highlights of the autumn whisky calendar.

A few days later I spent two days on our stand in Cannes at the Tax Free World Association’s annual conference, the largest international gathering of the duty-free and travel retail business.  Lots of good meetings and we hope to be back in nearly all UK airports by year-end.  Then off to a whisky masterclass in Nice, a visit with our Italian distributor in Genoa, and back home in time to host over 60 investors for the first of our two Investor Days.  And finally an enjoyable Sunday showing the Alessandro Palazzi (the venerable head Bartender from Dukes in London) and his team around the distillery.

One of the things I am most excited about is the near-finishing of work on our new Wetlands ecological treatment system.  It should be ready for commissioning in a few weeks, and will use plants to naturally treat the effluent from our whisky distillery.  Our investors were given a preview the other week, and seemed to be very impressed – I cannot wait to show it to all of you soon. Last week marked the official launch of our new Harvest Series whisky, Flaxen Vale, with beautiful artwork from local painter Annabel Playfair.

We rolled out our new whisky advertising campaign, ‘English for Whisky’, celebrating our position as the UK’s top-selling English whisky and leader in New World Whisky

And it was also the kick-off for an exciting new ad campaign – our first – for our whisky, which we hope you will all see very soon.  Then it was off to Northumberland for a meeting of the English Whisky Guild, October is always a busy month, but this year has to be a record!

Cheers
Dan

Whisky Magazine issue #195
Be the first to get your hands on our latest issue!

The cover stars for this issue are the team behind Holyrood Distillery. Edinburgh’s first whisky distillery to open in recent times is drawing inspiration from the city’s brewing heritage, from malts to yeasts, to create one of the country’s most innovative spirit ranges.

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Dailuaine 25 Years Old Mission Gold Aberdeen Whisky Shop Exclusive

This unique malt was bottled exclusively for our shop. Distilled in 1997 at Dailuaine Distillery, known for its oily, orchard fruit-filled spirit and aged in a bourbon hogshead for two decades before finishing in a compact bourbon cask from Koval Distillery.  This is an unprecedented example of Koval cask maturation. Never before has an older single malt rested for so long in those small casks. Nearly six years in the bourbon cask resulted in a wonderful balance between elegant old spirit and vibrant American oak.  Bottled by Murray McDavid at natural cask strength without chill-filtration or artificial colouring.

NOSE Poached pears, grilled apple and baking spice.

PALATE Green orchard fruit, fresh nuts and mellow oak.

FINISH Warming malt, herbal, gentle sweet spice.

Only 137 bottles were produced.

£180.00

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A TALE OF TOKYO

70cl | 46% ABV

A Whisky born out of Master Distiller Dr Bill Lumsden’s obsession for the culture, fashion and food of Japan. The contradictory and multi-faceted nature of Tokyo inspired Dr Bill to reflect it into a Whisky.

After a decade of searching, Dr Bill finally managed to source some casks from one of Japan’s most sought-after trees, Mizunara oak. The result is a Whisky designed to bottle some of the wonders of Tokyo – multi-faceted, contradictory and always surprising!

Aged in Mizunara, Bourbon and Sherry casks. Dr Bill says: “This liquid is crazy. Its flavour notes are insane, dissonant and impenetrable.”

£74.95

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TASTING NOTES:

NOSE
Pungent and herbal, with hints of incense and toffee, along with a curious herbal top-note, like saddle-soap or beeswax, followed by wood resin and a touch of cedar wood.

TASTE
A peppery mouthfeel leads into the flavour of chewy oak, fennel or vetiver root, ground white pepper, tangy oranges, bitter cherries, almond and wood resin.

Over 60% Off a Historic Craft Irish Whiskey
Kilbeggan Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey (750ml)
(Previously $40) ($14.99)
“Sublimely good Irish whiskey.” — Whisky Advocate

For anyone who hasn’t thought about Irish whiskey lately, this stupendous deal should ignite your interest in quick fashion. Kilbeggan has been quietly turning out exceptional craft whiskeys that capture the perfect essence of the Irish style, and now at a mind-boggling Insider’s price of over 60% off.

Kilbeggan Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey (750ml) (Previously $40) ($14.99)

93 points Whisky Advocate: “The follow up to Small Batch rye, this single pot still is double-distilled at the historic Kilbeggan Distillery with a mashbill containing 2.5% oats, inspired by a Locke family recipe from the late 1800s. Pot still spices hit the nose first, with candied peel, baked peach, apricot, creamy vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground pepper. Flavors of orange, apricot, cake, and vanilla combat fizzing pot still spices. Sublimely good Irish whiskey. *Best Value* (JM, Spring-2020)”

93 points Wine Enthusiast: “Fresh cut apple and a hint of smoke lead the nose. The robust, flavorful palate offers a surprising plummy note, finishing long and drying with cayenne and clove heat. Altogether, the pleasing effect is like spice cake doused in whiskey. *Top 100 Spirits for 2021* (KN)” (04/2021)

K&L Notes: 100% distilled and matured at Ireland’s oldest licensed distillery. Kilbeggan closed in 1953 only to be refurbished and reopened by the king of Irish craft whiskey, John Teeling, the founder of the Cooley distillery, in 2010. This is the oldest expression to be released to date and represents the most traditional style of Irish whiskey, a first to be featured in the modern Kilbeggan era. Designed to be sumptuous and appealing to almost any palate, this new limited release bodes well for the future of the ever-expanding Irish whiskey category, not by offering innovation, but by returning to the category’s roots in the perfect way.

Andrew Whiteley | K&L Spirits Buyer | Review Date: October 11, 2023

The great correction that people have been waiting for in spirits pricing is finally here, and like all corrections, it is swinging farther than it needs to in some cases. Kilbeggan is a classic, old, single-pot Irish whiskey brand of impeccable pedigree. At $40, it was fairly priced for the quality, but suffered from a crowded field and a lack of focus from its corporate owner. At $15, it is a steal of a deal you cannot ignore. A textbook example of overcorrection. From the consumer side, it was lost without an age statement or big branding efforts to sharpen the focus on its quality and heritage. The fact is, Ireland’s unique single-pot style (a mix of malted and unmalted barley in the same mash and pot-distilled) is poorly represented in the whiskey world. Brands like Redbreast and Green Spot hold up the mantle, but other greats like Kilbeggan are available and worth your attention. Originally founded in 1757, Kilbeggan is Ireland’s oldest licensed distillery. With the demise of Irish whiskey in the early 20th century, it shuttered and wasn’t revived until 2010, well into the category’s resurgence. Mellow in texture and yet full and chewy Kilbeggan offers tons of fresh fruit ranging from juicy citrus to succulent stone fruit, sweet malt, grain tea, and gentle baking spices. It’s creamy on the palate, sweet, and easy-going on the finish. If you love the wares of the Emerald Isle, you’d be silly to not add at least one bottle to your bar at this wild price.

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

Benrinnes Distillery

Situated in the Heart of Speyside, Benrinnes Distillery is one of 7 that take their water from a source running of the areas most famous mountain. It is, of course, the only one that takes its name from the Corbet, and its striking red chimney can be seen from the road like a beacon announcing its location.

A favourite amongst blenders, the distillery is not shy of finishing, its robust spirit stands up to most cask styles and in particular, Sherry casks. While blenders love it and take the lions share of produce, it is also a regular choice for the finest independent bottlers around.

You can find a host of single casks available on our shelves, finished or matured in differing styles but all having the same core spirit at the heart of them.

See all our
Benrinnes Range

It’s official – we’ve really gone and done it!

We wanted to share the fantastic news that GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ has officially validated our world record attempt, so The Scotch Malt Whisky Society now holds the record for the most participants in an online whisky tasting event – the final number being 447, as some attendees had to be discounted due to the strict regulations.

We are absolutely delighted that our members from more than 15 countries including the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, South Africa, Hong Kong, Denmark, Switzerland, New Zealand, Mexico, Taiwan and Korea were able to achieve this during our 40th anniversary celebrations.

We want to extend thanks to each and every one of you who purchased the dedicated tasting pack, who registered for the event and who participated on the day.

For those of you who took part, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has ordered the winning certificate but there is also an opportunity to purchase a general certificate of participation directly from the Guinness World Records website should you wish to do so.

Congratulations!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Our Top 10s for October

Check out our favourite bottles this month selected by our head buyer Dawn Davies MW. For the whisky drinkers, our top picks feature special offers on single malts from Caperdonich, Highland Park and Arran.

TOP 10 WHISKIES

KARUIZAWA DISTILLERY 17 Year Old 1996 SMWS 132.4 (2013) Cask #132.4

KARUIZAWA 17
1996 Vintage

Sherry Butt

£4,800.00

Karuizawa 17 Year Old 1996 vintage Japanese single malt whisky. Single refill butt #132.4 bottled 2013 by the The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. 346 bottles. Karuizawa Distillery was established in 1956 to the north west of Tokyo, Japan but closed in 2001. Karuizawa Distillery sat at an altitude of 850m on the foothills of the active volcano Mount Asama and drew its water from the mountain’s slopes.