Smokehead is on fire at Ambrosia Awards 2015

Smokehead Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky is celebrating after picking up a duo of Gold awards at this year’s prestigious Ambrosia Awards, held during IndSpirit on 16 January, 2015.

Amongst hugely esteemed company, the rich and powerful malt scooped gold in the Product of the Year category and another in the Excellence in Packaging (Graphics) category.

The annual awards are held as part of Asia’s biggest trade event, IndSpirit, which took place this year at Leela Ambience, Gurgaon, India. Both events are coordinated by Ambrosia Magazine, India’s only AlcoBev publication.

Commenting on the awards, Iain Weir, Marketing Director for Ian Macleod Distillers (who own Smokehead), said: “We are delighted that Smokehead has won in these prestigious categories, especially as we were up against such tough competition. Smokehead is vigorous and unapologetic about its big, intense and peaty flavours ensuring that it stands out from the crowd.”

He continued: “India is one of the fastest growing and most exciting markets for whisky and we are very grateful to get this high profile exposure.”

IndSpirit is a trade event aimed at bringing together the opinion leaders of the spirits, beer and wine world to discuss issues about this emerging market and share knowledge with the trade. It offers the best platform to national and international spirits, beer and wine producers to showcase their products and culminates with the awards ceremony.

Smokehead is a fiercely independent, mysterious and boisterous malt of the highest quality. Shunning traditional whisky packaging, Smokehead’s tactile metal presentation tin demands attention and maximises its impact using embossed and debossed techniques to heighten the 3-D ‘reality’ of the pack design, creating a premium tactile feel.

Bottled at 43% ABV, Smokehead is a rich, seaweedy and intensely peaty Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, not for the faint hearted.  With immense fresh and fruity flavours that burst with notes of sherry, iodine, toffee, smoke and sea salt, Smokehead hits the palate like a cannonball!

The BenRiach Distillery Company has been named Global Whisky Distiller of the Year at the 2015 Icons of Whisky Awards.

The announcement was made last night during a ceremony at London’s Waldorf Hilton on the eve of Whisky Live London.

This latest award follows hard on the heels of BenRiach winning the “Icons of Scotland” Whisky Distiller of the Year earlier this year.

First held in 2007, the World Whiskies Awards are Whisky Magazine’s awards, searching for the very best whiskies in the world.

And BenRiach had double cause for celebration last night, as it won Best Speyside Single Malt for the BenRiach 16 years old produced at its Elgin distillery.

The winners were decided in online voting by writers, whisky producers and other industry leaders along with the editorial staff of Whisky Magazine.

They were selected from three regional rounds of Icons awards covering Scotland, the US, and the Rest of the World.

This year’s competition saw more than 300 whiskies put through their paces during three rounds of rigorous tastings to win the coveted titles of the ‘World’s Best’

Founded in 2004 under the leadership of whisky veteran Billy Walker and his South African investors Wayne Kieswetter and Geoff Bell, the Edinburgh-headquartered company has grown with impressive speed, acquiring BenRiach that year and turning it into one of Scotland’s most admired distilleries.

It acquired GlenDronach Distillery in 2008 and Glenglassaugh Distillery in 2013 as well as a bottling plant at Newbridge outside Edinburgh. All three distilleries produce unique award-winning whiskies with extraordinary depth, balance and character.

Billy Walker said: “It’s a pretty amazing achievement for a small privately-owned independent company to win this prestigious global award. I’m especially proud that it highlights the innovations we’ve created at our three distilleries and it also quite properly recognises the high-quality, committed team we have built at our four locations.

“We’re currently trading in some 40 countries worldwide with other emerging markets entering the negotiation stage, so I believe the future for all our brands is tremendously exciting.”

In August the company posted record pre-tax profits of £8.9m for 2013 boosted by unprecedented demand for its high-end whiskies in Asia, North America, Russia and Europe.

2015 Rare Life Award Presented to Alana Miller of Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary

Miller Awarded $50,000 Donation; Supporters Rallied Record-Setting Number of Votes

St. Pauls, NC (March 10, 2015) — Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey has named Alana Miller of St. Pauls, North Carolina, as the winner of the Grand Prize 2015 Rare Life Award.

Eagle Rare will donate $50,000 to Miller’s charity, Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary, and host an awards ceremony in St. Pauls on March 14.

The Rare Life Award is an annual recognition program created to honor individuals who exhibit courage, leadership, survival, devotion, character and heroism. Candidates are nominated by friends, family and colleagues. Their stories and photos are posted online at www.eaglerarelife.com, where many people vote for their favorite inspirational stories.

The 2015 award received 259 nominees and a record-setting 1 million votes were cast, 11 percent more than for the 2014 award. Miller garnered nearly half the votes, with 467,721, a testimony to her active social media presence, including more than 1 million Facebook fans.

Miller opened Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary in 2005 after volunteering for a local animal shelter and seeing blind cats immediately euthanized. “There were no resources or support for blind cats, but I decided I needed to do something,” Miller said. Blind Cat Rescue is a cage-free, lifetime care facility for blind cats and cats with feline versions of leukemia and FIV. Cats are not up for adoption into homes, but supporters have “adopted” them online – pledging financial support to cover expenses, which run about $230 per month per cat. Blind Cat Rescue provides full medical care including vaccinations and dental exams.

There are currently 91 cats at Blind Cat Rescue, which is about their maximum capacity. “We are not hoarders,” Miller said. “We are a responsible shelter, but we can’t save them all. However, 90 percent of the cats we put on Facebook get adopted.”

Part of Miller’s mission is educating the public, including potential adopters or those whose cat goes blind due to an illness. Miller said, “A blind cat doesn’t know it’s blind. They will act like a normal cat. They climb on top of things, scale the curtains … We have several big hamstertype wheels that the cats run on and they can’t see the wheel, but they can jog like nothing you’ve ever seen.” Cats, like humans, are vulnerable to a number of diseases that can cause them to lose vision, including cataracts, glaucoma, traumatic injury, and viral and bacterial infections. Blind Cat Rescue features a live web stream of the cats 24/7 and a live tour of the shelter on the stream daily. Miller strives for transparency and also enjoys letting her supporters see her opening boxes of food or toys they have sent, so they can see where their donations go.

Eagle Rare spokesman Kris Comstock said, “Alana Miller has selflessly committed herself to helping a whole population of domestic animals that the rest of the world has written off. She has shared their stories and educates the public about caring for these creatures, while dedicating her own life to making sure they have safe shelter and lifelong care. We congratulate and thank her, along with our other winners and nominees, for sharing their rare lives with us. In addition to the cash award, we hope this greater visibility assists them in securing long-term support for their invaluable work.”

Eagle Rare also will donate $5,000 to the charities of choice of the six runners-up, each one embodying a distinct characteristic of a Rare Life: Courage, Leadership, Heroism, Character, Devotion and Survival. Eagle Rare’s prize donations for 2015 total $80,000. This is the fifth year for the Rare Life campaign, and the 2015 awards will bring total grants to date for charities to $240,000.

The six 2015 runners-up are:

Rocky Bleier of Pittsburgh, Pa.: Heroism Award for The Beating the Odds Foundation

Ashley Boyd Gann of Lexington, Ky.: Character Award for Sweet Blessings

Howard Garrett of Palm Harbor, Fl: Leadership Award for Orca Network

Karen Good of Trail, Minn.: Courage Award for Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue

Brooke Pennypacker of Berlin, Wisc.: Devotion Award for Operation Migration

Melissa Phelps of Warsaw, Ky.: Survival Award for Dystonia Medical Research Foundation

For more information on the Rare Life Award or Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, visit www.eaglerarelife.com.

About Eagle Rare Bourbon

Eagle Rare Bourbon Whiskey is part of the award-winning Buffalo Trace Distillery, an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, (Franklin County), Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich distilling tradition dates back to 1773 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee. Eagle Rare Bourbon is a 10-year-old bourbon that has won multiple awards, including five double gold medals from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. To learn more about Eagle Rare visit www.eaglerarelife.com

Moray Golf Club toasts links with new packages

Visitors to Scotland now have the opportunity to combine the thrill of links golf with the pleasure of sampling the very best malt whiskies through a new range of exclusive golf packages. For the first time, Moray Golf Club has introduced a range of special offers designed specifically for visitors to the club, which will host one of the UK’s most prestigious amateur championships in May.

Moray Golf Club has launched the three new experiences following the success of its ground-breaking sole-supplier agreement with one of Scotland’s most respected suppliers of wines and spirits. Along with the launch of a limited edition 15-year-old Speyside single malt, the formalisation of the club’s relationship with Gordon & MacPhail was one of the highlights of the club’s 125th anniversary celebrations last year and has now been extended to a new three-year contract.

The interest it generated also led to the creation of the new packages, as John Thomson, captain of Moray Golf Club, explained. “The link between Moray Golf Club and whisky has always been celebrated by the club, but the new packages take this connection to another level. The combination of championship links golf and whiskies from every distillery in Morayshire and Speyside is a big draw, and now our tailored packages give us the means of delivering a very special Scottish experience.”

The link between Moray Golf Club – which will host this year’s Carrick Neill Scottish Open Stroke Play Championship – and whisky cannot be overstated. The club claims to have the longest association with its own malt whisky of any golf club in the world with its own malt being created when the club was founded in 1889. Indeed, many of its founders were distillery owners who collectively laid down hogs heads of whisky for the club’s members to enjoy. The club’s own current malt is a 10-year-old Glen Moray from nearby Elgin.

Within living memory, the club whisky was bottled on site with the practice only being abandoned after committee members were overcome by fumes emanating from the bottling process. The new experience packages have been designed to celebrate this link between golf and the ‘water of life’ with the first incorporating a round of championship golf on either the Old or New Moray course followed by a whisky tasting experience created by Gordon & Macphail. Hosted in the club’s Heritage Room which overlooks the sparkling waters of the Moray Firth, The Whisky Experience includes an exhilarating round of golf with a tasting session incorporating five specially selected drams.

The second package embraces the skills needed to tackle Moray’s celebrated championship links courses by playing six holes alongside the club’s pro John Murray. What better preparation could there be than picking the brains of one of Scotland’s finest coaches and an expert in links golf? The Links Experience is a unique opportunity to get some handy links tips and to test them out on the sandy turf before a full round.

The third option combines both The Whisky Experience with The Links Experience creating a full day of learning, fun and indulgence. The experience begins with either a one-to-one or group session with Moray’s resident pro followed by a round on the magnificent Moray Old and then a visit to the Heritage Room to taste some of the finest whiskies Scotland has to offer.

“The Moray Experience brings together the very best of Moray in a fantastic day of golf and whisky,” explained Thomson. “It has been devised to cater for individuals, pairs and groups, and provides a structure around which visitors can experience a day like no other.”

The new Moray experiences have been launched to coincide with the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival and Homecoming Scotland’s Whisky Month in May which form part of the Year of Food & Drink Scotland in 2015.

Notes:

About Moray Golf Club

1) Founded in 1889, Moray Golf Club is situated in Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland. The club has two 18-hole courses appropriately called the Old Course and the New Course.

2) A classic layout designed by Old Tom Morris, the Old Course is one of the finest links courses in Scotland with one of the most memorable closing holes you’ll find in golf. At 6,572 yards, it has a par of 71. It is No 37 in Golf World’s Top 100 Scottish Courses (2013).

3) The tighter New Course was masterminded by Henry Cotton, whose preference for precision golf can be seen in the shorter layout and smaller greens. At 6,068 yards and a par of 70, it is every bit as challenging as the Old Course.

4) Closely associated with whisky, many of the club’s founders were distillers who collectively laid down various malts for the members of the club. In fact, the club has its own cask-strength collection called Founder’s Legacy which started with a 15-year-old Miltonduff. The second in the series is the current malt; the 14-year-old Mortlach (Dufftown’s oldest distillery). 5) The club’s first malt was Dailuaine before moving on to Glen Grant which lasted nearly eight decades before being replaced by The Macallan. Today, the club malt is a 10-year-old Glen Moray from nearby Elgin.

6) For more information about Moray Golf Club, visit http://www.moraygolf.co.uk/

7) For more information about the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, visit http://www.spiritofspeyside.com/

8) For more information about Whisky Month, visit http://www.visitscotland.com/ 

About Gordon & MacPhail 

Established in 1895 the family owned firm of Gordon & MacPhail has a number of business interests. It is as a retailer in Elgin; a wholesaler of wines and spirits in the UK; a bottler of Scotch whiskies, an exporter to over 60 international markets; and a distiller, owning Benromach Distillery in Forres.

Gordon MacPhail is one of the UK’s leading independent specialist wholesalers and distributors, stocking over 4,500 products, including an extensive portfolio of wines, spirits and UK specialist beers and ciders.

For more information about Gordon & MacPhail, visit http://www.gordonandmacphail.com/

SULLIVANS Cove named Best Australian Single Malt third year running 

Top Tasmanian whisky Sullivans Cove was named “Best Australian Single Malt” at the 2015 World Whiskies Awards in London last night (8:30am this morning in Australia). This is the third year running that Sullivans Cove French Oak has won this prestigious award.

Sullivans Cove is Tasmania’s top selling and most decorated single malt. Last year Sullivans Cove French Oak went on to claim the ultimate title at the 2014 World Whiskies Awards when it was named the world’s best single malt. Earlier this year the distillery’s American Oak single malt was awarded a coveted Liquid Gold Award by whisky guru Jim Murray in the 2015 Whisky Bible.

Speaking from the awards ceremony in London, Sullivans Cove General Manager Patrick Maguire said: “I’m thrilled to be here with the rest of the industry and once again we have had a fantastic result. It’s still quite unbelievable that we keep winning these incredible international awards and it just goes to show the quality of Sullivans Cove as a truly world class single malt whisky.”

20l casks of the famous French Oak single malt whisky are available from the distillery. Please visit http://www.sullivanscovewhisky.com to secure one.

About Sullivans Cove Whisky

Tasmania Distillery produces Sullivans Cove Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky. Sullivans Cove Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky is double distilled using only Tasmanian barley with only the purest wilderness water from local mountains and forests. Matured in hand selected oak casks and allowed to settle and clear naturally, the whiskies retain full, creamy and lingering flavours that are winning fans the world over. Each cask is bottled separately, yielding only around 450 bottles, making each bottle a rare item to own and enjoy.

Wemyss Malts new Single Cask releases

Family-owned Wemyss Malts is delighted to announce the release of a new selection of single cask single malt Scotch whiskies.  This mouth-watering collection is named after the unique natural taste and aroma of each one and includes cask strength “The Rockpool” from Islay.

The full cask list of this release comprises:

“The Rockpool” 1995 single cask from Bowmore Distilery, Islay, Cask Strength “Foraged Fruit Fool” 1991 single cask from Blair Athol Distillery, Highlands “Toffee Tuile” 1999 singe cask from Aberfeldy Distillery, Highlands “Kumquat Cluster” 1993 single cask from Glenrothes Distillery, Speyside “Stem Ginger Preserve” 1995 single cask from Mortlach Distillery, Speyside “Rhubarb Royale” 2001 single cask from Benrinnes Distillery, Speyside

Each cask has been selected and named by the Wemyss tasting panel, under the watchful eye of industry aficionado Charlie Maclean.   There are only a few hundred bottles from each cask and the suggested retail prices range from £60 to £120. These bottlings will be available in selected retailers in the UK, EU and key Asian markets.

William Wemyss, Founder and Managing Director at Wemyss Malts, commented: “We’ve had an excellent start to 2015 and are already releasing our second parcel of single casks. As always, the tasting panel has come up with names evocative of these whiskies’ natural tastes and aromas and I’m sure they will delight our customers .”

Notes:

• Wemyss Malts is exhibiting for the first time at Whisky Live London 20/21 March 2015 where some of the new single malts will be available to taste
• Edinburgh based Wemyss Malts is owned by the Wemyss family and their family seat is Wemyss Castle in Fife where they’ve lived since the 1300s.
• Wemyss Malts has an ongoing blended malt whisky range comprising: The Spice King, The Peat Chimney and The Hive; single malt single cask bottlings and blended Scotch range, Lord Elcho.
• The Wemyss family premium wines and spirits brands also include boutique gin Darnley’s View, together with the premium wine estate of Rimauresq Cru Classé in Cotes de Provence.
• The family has opened a single malt distillery at Kingsbarns, near St. Andrews in Fife www.kingsbarnsdistillery.com

Wemyss Malts wins another World Whisky Award

Edinburgh based boutique Spirits Company Wemyss Malts is delighted to announce that it is celebrating a third World Whisky Award from Whisky Magazine as Best Blended Malt Scotch Whisky 2015.

This year’s winner is “Velvet Fig”, a limited edition launched in late 2014. Only 6000 bottles were available and the whisky was bottled at 46% abv and non chill-filtered.

Like the rest of the Wemyss Malts blended malts selection, “Velvet Fig” is named after the whisky’s natural flavours and aromas. The natural mahogany colour has a depth and richness that comes from the quality sherry casks selected. The generous nose is abundant with rich fruits bound with sweet mead and warm leather. The palate has luscious golden sultanas, soft fig and Medjool dates, spiced with nutmeg and ginger and yielding sweet chestnut and toasted walnuts in the finale.

Wemyss blended malts have collected World Whisky Award for best blended malt Scotch twice before: “The Hive” in 2012 and “Spice King” in 2013. “Peat Chimney” collected the bronze award in 2014.

Speaking after his presentation at yesterday’s Whiskies and Spirits Conference in London, William Wemyss, Founder and Managing Director at Wemyss Malts, commented: “This award for “Velvet Fig” is a great start to Wemyss Malts’ 10th anniversary year. “Velvet Fig” has been enormously popular for us and bottles can still be found in specialist retail and online whisky stores.”

Notes

 Wemyss Malts is exhibiting for the first time at Whisky Live London 20/21 March 2015 where Velvet Fig and some new single malts will be available to taste

 Edinburgh based Wemyss Malts is owned by the Wemyss family and their family seat is Wemyss Castle in Fife where they’ve lived since the 1300s.

 Wemyss Malts has an ongoing blended malt whisky range comprising: The Spice King, The Peat Chimney and The Hive; single malt single cask bottlings and blended Scotch range, Lord Elcho. Velvet Fig

 The Wemyss family premium wines and spirits brands also include boutique gin Darnley’s View, together with the premium wine estate of Rimauresq Cru Classé in Cotes de Provence.

 The Wemyss family has opened a single malt distillery at Kingsbarns, near St. Andrews in Fife www.kingsbarnsdistillery.com

Jack Teeling – Teeling Whiskey Company (Ireland)

CLASSIC 75 YEAR OLD BEECHCRAFT USED IN NEW THREE SHIPS TV COMMERCIAL

The new Three Ships Whisky television commercial (TVC) features a 1959 BE 18 Beechcraft, the only one remaining airworthy in Southern Africa and one of only six in the world. The commercial is the second in the brand’s Journey of Discovery theme, this time following the voyage of three Irish adventurers as they trek across Africa in the plane to discover who makes the world’s best whisky.

According to the director Greg François from Fresh Eye, using a vintage aeroplane visually captures the exotic drama and romance of the great explorers. “In the mass-produced, synthetic world we live in, this low-tech, mechanical masterpiece, which took years to restore, harks back to the days of honest, hand-crafted excellence. In this it reflects the exceptional quality of the whiskies produced today by Three Ships.”

In its heyday the BE 18 was the equivalent of today’s executive Learjet. The aircraft came to South Africa in 1994 and received star status in 2008 in the Hollywood movie “Amelia”, based on the life of Amelia Erhard, and staring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.

The current TVC follows on from the first in the series aired in 2012 featuring a group of Scottish explorers as they set off in finding the world’s best and discovering the Three Ships 5 Year Old Premium Select Whisky awarded as the World’s Best Blended Whisky by blind taste-test at the 2012 World Whisky Awards.

The TVC series was conceptualised by 140 BBDO and according to copywriter David Williams, the aim of the campaign is a reminder to South Africans that making whisky is not only reserve for the traditional whisky-making countries such as Scotland and Ireland. “In a category obsessed with its own traditions, the challenge was telling South Africans that we too can create a whisky to rival the best the world has to offer – and even better.

“We wanted to create a storyline that would engage South Africans and create a sense of pride in the whiskies produced here through the extraordinary journey and discovery that awaits the three Irish adventurers as they cross Africa and arrive at their final destination, The James Sedgwick Distillery where Andy Watts, master distiller, crafts the award-winning range of whiskies.

“As the Irish explorers travel from country to country to refuel, braving rocky deserts and WWII era jungle runways, they find that Africa is not at all what they had expected. Instead, it is an assemblage of cultures, harsh natural beauty and bustling modern metropolises. And even after all they had experienced on their travels, arriving at the distillery, they discover that the best things in the world don’t always come from where you’d expect.”

The TVC launches today (18 March) on DSTV, SABC and eTV and will roll out to cinemas on 20 March.

CLASSIC 75 YEAR OLD BEECHCRAFT USED IN NEW THREE SHIPS TVC 

The new Three Ships Whisky television commercial (TVC) features a 1959 BE 18 Beechcraft, the only one remaining airworthy in Southern Africa and one of only six in the world. The commercial is the second in the brand’s Journey of Discovery theme, this time following the voyage of three Irish adventurers as they trek across Africa in the plane to discover who makes the world’s best whisky.

According to the director Greg François from Fresh Eye, using a vintage aeroplane visually captures the exotic drama and romance of the great explorers. “In the mass-produced, synthetic world we live in, this low-tech, mechanical masterpiece, which took years to restore, harks back to the days of honest, hand-crafted excellence. In this it reflects the exceptional quality of the whiskies produced today by Three Ships.”

In its heyday the BE 18 was the equivalent of today’s executive Learjet. The aircraft came to South Africa in 1994 and received star status in 2008 in the Hollywood movie “Amelia”, based on the life of Amelia Erhard, and staring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.

The current TVC follows on from the first in the series aired in 2012 featuring a group of Scottish explorers as they set off in finding the world’s best and discovering the Three Ships 5 Year Old Premium Select Whisky awarded as the World’s Best Blended Whisky by blind taste-test at the 2012 World Whisky Awards.

The TVC series was conceptualised by 140 BBDO and according to copywriter David Williams, the aim of the campaign is a reminder to South Africans that making whisky is not only reserve for the traditional whisky-making countries such as Scotland and Ireland. “In a category obsessed with its own traditions, the challenge was telling South Africans that we too can create a whisky to rival the best the world has to offer – and even better.

“We wanted to create a storyline that would engage South Africans and create a sense of pride in the whiskies produced here through the extraordinary journey and discovery that awaits the three Irish adventurers as they cross Africa and arrive at their final destination, The James Sedgwick Distillery where Andy Watts, master distiller, crafts the award-winning range of whiskies.

“As the Irish explorers travel from country to country to refuel, braving rocky deserts and WWII era jungle runways, they find that Africa is not at all what they had expected. Instead, it is an assemblage of cultures, harsh natural beauty and bustling modern metropolises. And even after all they had experienced on their travels, arriving at the distillery, they discover that the best things in the world don’t always come from where you’d expect.”

The TVC launches today (18 March) on DSTV, SABC and eTV and will roll out to cinemas on 20 March. YouTube link, Facebook link, Twitter Link

COCKTAIL-MAKING AND ‘WEE-JAUNTING’ WITH BLACK BOTTLE MIXOLOGY EXPERT, MAL SPENCE

Expert Scottish mixologist Mal Spence, global ambassador for blended Scotch whisky Black Bottle, was in South Africa recently to host a series of events in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Conceived to showcase Spence’s skills as an internationally recognised mixologist and winner of multiple awards, as well as to highlight Black Bottle’s versatility, the events were an inventive way of reminding bartenders of the virtues of blended scotch and Black Bottle in particular.

The Johannesburg events, held at venues in the trendy Maboneng Precinct, included a cocktail master class at Pata Pata, as well as a Scottish ‘wee-jaunt’ with special entertainment and tastings at Living Room Eco Café and Pata Pata. Guests were also treated to an inner city walk, with a surprise Pantsula performance delighting guests along the way.

In Cape Town he demonstrated tea-infused cocktail-making for an exclusive media group at The Black Bar, situated in the basement of the historic Cape Town Club.

Commenting on his new Black Bottle global ambassador role, Spence said: “We’re telling the story of Black Bottle creator, Gordon Graham, who has been a truly inspiring figure in Scotch whisky history. His uncompromising, daring spirit has informed many of the drinks menus we are developing for the brand.

“I’m confident we can encourage bartenders and drinks enthusiasts to put Black Bottle into their speed rails.”

Black Bottle has been globally relaunched and is back in a black bottle as its name suggests. It also features a blend far closer to the original, first launched in 1879 by tea blender, Gordon Graham. Its fresh, floral nose with traces of new-sawn oak and smoke opens onto a silky palate with delicate smoke and peat, balanced by sweet oak and honey.

With more than 15 years’ experience tending, managing and building up the reputation of some of Scotland’s best bars, Spence has a wealth of knowledge. He is the only Scottish bartender ever to reach the Havana Club Grand Prix World Final; a Scottish Licenced Trade News (SLTN) Mixologist of the Year Award winner for two years running; winner of Maxxium’s Liquid War competition; and in 2011, industry bible Class Magazine bestowed Spence with the Best Bar Menu Award for his work at the Blythswood Square Hotel in Glasgow. Spence is also the director of the Kelvingrove Café in Glasgow, winner of the Best Cocktail Bar at the 2013 Scottish Bartenders Network Awards.

The new Black Bottle, retailing for between R240 and R260 per 750ml bottle is available from liquor outlets countrywide.

Try Black Bottle neat with a dash of water, with your favourite mixer, or in a cocktail such as:

Caro Verde (Dear Green) by Mal Spence

This drink comprises Black Bottle whisky, Amaro Nonino, jasmine green tea syrup and Angostura bitters. The Italian name was inspired by the green tea and the inclusion of an Italian liqueur.

Glass: Wine glass

Garnish: None 

Ingredients:

40ml Black Bottle whisky

20ml Amaro Nonino

2-3 dashes Angostura bitters

15ml jasmine green tea syrup

Method:

Add ingredients to mixing glass filled with ice, stir for 15 seconds or until chilled, strain into pre-chilled wine glass.

Go to www.theblackbar.co.za and enter your details in order to be invited to exclusive Black Bottle events.

Follow Black Bottle on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BlackBottleSA) and/or Twitter (https://twitter.com/BlackBottleSA).

Join the conversation using: #BlackBar

 This article in a Tweet:

Scotch whisky @BlackBottleSA back in black bottle with revised blend, true to 1879 Aberdeen original. #BlackBar