Join the Glengoyne Family  

They say you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. With Glengoyne you can with the official launch of a new online loyalty program – the Glengoyne Family.

Following the re-launch of the brand last October and a new dedicated website, the Family is a way for likeminded Glengoyne enthusiasts to benefit from exclusive promotions and regular offers. The launch coincides with Glengoyne’s 10-year anniversary since being acquired by Ian Macleod Distillers, one of Scotland’s leading, independent, family owned distillers.

As well as receiving a regular e-newsletter, Family members will also benefit from early notice of new releases (in particular limited editions), exclusive special offers and promotions with affiliate partners as well as Family member bottlings and the opportunity to be part of the selection panel.

Iain Weir, marketing director for Ian Macleod Distillers, said: “It is an exciting time for the brand and we are delighted to officially launch the Glengoyne Family on the 10 year anniversary of welcoming Glengoyne to the Ian Macleod Distillers portfolio.

“The Family is something we have been developing for some time and it is an opportunity for us to offer on-going benefits whilst developing a long term relationship with both new and existing members. The past decade has been an exciting one for Glengoyne and we look forward to the next 10.”

To celebrate the official launch of the Family, the Distillery is marking the occasion with a special competition. Any new members who sign up to the Glengoyne Family from today will be entered into a prize draw to win an outstanding decanter of the Glengoyne 35 yo, a rich malt with a tropical fruit intensity and a liquorice and dark chocolate finish. The winner will be announced in 2014.

Iain continued: “The Glengoyne 35 yo will be officially released in June and is an exceptionally rare whisky and we are excited to be offering this prize to one lucky Family member from our reserves of rare single malts. We look forward to presenting this extra-special decanter to the winner in 2014.”

To find out more about Glengoyne visit www.glengoyne.com

or follow us on Facebook and Twitter – https://www.facebook.com/GlengoyneSingleMalt  https://twitter.com/theglengoyne.

SULLIVANS Cove Named Best Australian Single Malt 

Tasmanian whisky brand Sullivans Cove has been named “Best Australian Single Malt” at the World Whiskies Awards in London last week. This prestigious award comes on the back of scoring 90 points out of 100 at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge held in March in the USA.

Sullivans Cove is Tasmania’s top selling and most decorated single malt. Last year Sullivans Cove was named World Whisky Grand Master at the annual Spirits Masters in London, whisky guru Jim Murray named it his Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year in the 2013 Whisky Bible and Dominic Roscrow named it Australasian Distiller of the Year.

Speaking from the distillery in Cambridge, Sullivans Cove distiller Patrick Maguire said: “Once again we have had a fantastic result. It is 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, a fact that is borne out by some fantastic export sales over the past year”.

Speaking about the awards, Whisky Magazine editor and World Whiskies Awards chairman Rob Allanson said: “This is one of the hardest whisky competitions in which to win a medal. This is mainly down to the rounds that the whiskies have to go through to qualify…there cannot be enough praise heaped upon those whiskies that win a sub category, you have to be an outstanding drop, showing great balance and character.”

A limited amount of the winning whisky (French Oak cask HH434), described by World Whiskies Awards judge Jim Anderson as “Graceful and balanced” is available from the distillery. Please enquire online at www.sullivanscovewhisky.com

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.

Tasmania Distillery Pty Ltd

http://www.tasmaniadistillery.com.au/

Ka Va Lan Whisky in Canada – arriving in BC!

Sitting on the east coast, Ka Va Lan is the largest single malt whisky distillery in Taiwan. (See Mark Gillespie’s Whisky Cast on Ka Va Lan: http://youtu.be/WVIHFPFONB0). The Ka Va Lan Distillery is owned by one of the largest food group “King Car” in Taiwan. With the ambition to craft the best whisky from Taiwan, the whisky team spent one month in 2003 in Scotland in search of the perfect distill shape and variation in whisky making.

See Malt Advocate on Ian Buxton’s visit at Ka Va Lan in Taiwan.

Ka Va Lan obtained consultation from Dr. Jim Swan on crafting the whisky flavours fitting for a hot and humid tropical weather in Taiwan. They utilized the bio-chemical lab King Car company owns to produce a special yeast that will yield tropical flavours. To date, there are four single casks variation and four core range malts. In addition, there are mystery casks such as ex-Laphroaig casks, peated malt, etc. aging in the warehouse. Since 2011, single cask purchases are being offered to the public.

The whisky distillery was built in 2005 with a purpose to be a tourism destination. The current visitor center can easily accommodate two thousand people, and a cafeteria serving their award winning coffee, snacks and delicious hot lunches. There is also an in-house shop showcasing the King Car group variety of products. Currently there are 45,000 barrels in the aging process, separately housed in two warehouses.

Some virtual reality 360 view of the distillery
Lobby: http://vr.17high.com.tw/Entertainment/Yilan/Kingcar_Whisky/vr-03.html (this sure looks like a hotel grand lobby)
View of the warehouse and column distills: http://vr.17high.com.tw/Entertainment/Yilan/Kingcar_Whisky/vr-09.html
Outside the distillery: http://vr.17high.com.tw/Entertainment/Yilan/Kingcar_Whisky/vr-06.html

Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, has started the awards season in style, scooping an impressive total of 25 top accolades at two of the world’s most prestigious spirits competitions, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the Ultimate Spirits Challenge.

The awards highlight the outstanding quality of the Chivas Brothers’ range, with seven brands including Chivas Regal, The Glenlivet and Beefeater Gin all receiving some of the highest accolades awarded by the judges, which included leading industry experts F. Paul Pacult and Steve Beal.

Royal Salute, the world’s leading luxury Scotch whisky, picked up two double gold medals for its 21 Year Old and 38 Year Old Stone of Destiny expressions at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Both expressions were shortlisted for the Chairman’s Trophy in the blended Scotch whisky category at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, which the 21 Year Old was eventually awarded along with an Ultimate Recommendation.

Chivas 18 and Chivas 25 won double gold medals in the San Francisco World Spirit Competition, which represents the third double gold in a row for the pinnacle of the Chivas range, and were both shortlisted for the blended Scotch whisky Chairman’s Trophy in the Ultimate Spirits Challenge.

There was further success for Chivas Brothers with its malts portfolio as The Glenlivet 18 Year Old triumphed at both competitions; the USC judges endorsed the expression with its Ultimate Recommendation and shortlisted it for the single malt whisky Chairman’s Trophy, while it received a double gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The result marks the 10th time in 11 years that the expression has won the double gold award and reinforces its exceptional quality and consistency,  Aberlour 18 Year Old was given the fifth Ultimate Recommendation and was also shortlisted for the Chairman’s Trophy for single malt whisky at the USC, while Something Special, an expression from Chivas Brothers’ range of standard, blended whiskies won the eighth double gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

FULL RESULTS

San Francisco World Spirit Competition

Double Gold

Chivas 18
Chivas 25
Royal Salute 21 Year Old
Royal Salute 38 Year Old Stone of Destiny
Something Special
The Glenlivet 18 Year Old

Gold

Aberlour 12 Year Old Non Chill-Filtered
Aberlour 16 Year Old Double Cask Matured
Aberlour 18 Year Old
The Glenlivet 12 Year Old
The Glenlivet 15 Year Old French Oak Reserve
The Glenlivet 21 Year Old

Ultimate Recommendation [Shortlisted for Trophy]

Aberlour 18 Year Old – 95 points [Single Malt Scotch]
The Glenlivet 18 Year Old (95 points) [Single Malt Scotch]

Highly Recommended – [Shortlisted for Trophy]

Royal Salute 38 Year Old Stone of Destiny (94 points)  [Blended Scotch]
Chivas 18 (92 points) [Blended Scotch]
Chivas 25 (92 points) [Blended Scotch]

ABOUT CHIVAS BROTHERS

Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard – the world’s co-leader in wine and spirits. Chivas Brothers is the global leader in luxury Scotch whisky and premium gin. Its portfolio includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater Gin, The Glenlivet, Royal Salute, Aberlour, Plymouth Gin, Longmorn, Scapa, 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport. In July 2010, Chivas Brothers launched The Age Matters campaign to help consumers understand the importance of Scotch whisky age statements.

Ballantine’s, the No.1 whisky in Europe, is reaching out to the online whisky community with the launch of ‘The Story of Taste’; a new digital campaign that aims to take consumers ‘Beyond’ to discover the flavours of Ballantine’s 12.

The new initiative will take visitors on a journey through the tasting notes of Ballantine’s 12 via animated illustrations, introducing them to a new Ballantine’s 12 typeface inspired by the expression’s core flavours. Reached online at www.ballantines.com or at the Ballantine’s Facebook page, the application can also be installed onto various blog sites, offering bloggers around the world the opportunity to introduce their readers to the flavours of Ballantine’s 12 in a unique and innovative way.

Produced in collaboration with Ballantine’s Master Blender Sandy Hyslop, The Story of Taste is an animated sequence which invites consumers to discover Ballantine’s 12 tasting notes following the classic whisky tasting process. Step-by-step, users will unveil honey and berries by smell, and cream, vanilla and pear by taste, finishing with subtle clementine and oak flavours.

In the sequence, each of the first letters within the tasting notes is represented by an illuminated letter, created exclusively for Ballantine’s 12. At the end of the animation, viewers will be able to create an ‘iframe’ with their name in the new Ballantine’s 12 typeface, then publishing it on their Facebook profiles and sharing it via social media platforms.

Peter Moore, Ballantine’s Global Brand Director, says: “Innovation is at the heart of Ballantine’s philosophy and we wanted to show our customers what makes Ballantine’s 12 different from other whiskies in a way that is both unique and engaging. ‘The Story of Taste’ uses digital mechanics to take consumers beyond the traditional boundaries of Scotch whisky, introducing whisky drinkers who might be new to the category, or are yet to discover Ballantine’s 12, to the spirit via a creative and distinctive digital platform. We hope that our fans all over the world will enjoy the animation and their personalised pieces of interactive typographical art”.

The Story of Taste is the latest in a range of innovations launched by Ballantine’s with others including the award-winning* social media platform Ballantine’s Loud Blue.

To explore Ballantine’s 12 ‘Story of Taste’, visit:  www.ballantines.com or www.facebook.com/ballantines

Notes: 

*Ballantine’s Loud Blue won The FWA Mobile Award of the Day on January 7^th 2013 

The code for the Story of Taste application can be provided to media wishing to upload the content directly onto their website. Contact details are listed below. 

About Ballantine’s

Ballantine’s is the No 2 ultra-premium Scotch whisky in Asia, No 1 Scotch whisky in Europe and the range sells over 70 million bottles a year worldwide. Ballantine’s has won more than 120 trophies and medals at international competitions in the past 10 years for quality, as a result of its unique richness of character and perfect balance. The range, from Ballantine’s Finest to the exclusive 40 Year Old, is the most extensive in the world of Scotch and is maintained by the latest in a tradition of Master Blenders that dates back to 1827. 

About Chivas Brothers

Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard – the world’s co-leader in wine and spirits. Chivas Brothers is the global leader in luxury Scotch whisky and premium gin. Its portfolio includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater Gin, The Glenlivet, Royal Salute, Aberlour, Plymouth gin, Longmorn, Scapa, 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport.

In July 2010 Chivas Brothers launched The Age Matters campaign to help consumers understand the importance of Scotch whisky age statements.

TALISKER INTRODUCES NEW PORT-FINISHED SINGLE MALT WHISKY

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the rebirth of the Jura Distillery in 1963, and we’re welcoming you to the island to help us celebrate this milestone on the 29th and 30th of May at the Jura Whisky Festival.

Get involved in our Whisky Masterclasses, presented by Willie Cochrane, Willie Tait & Richard Paterson. Spend some time in the cooperage savouring a dram at our new dramming bar whilst listening to live music and sampling some local venison burgers.

We’ll also be releasing a unique festival bottling. These 663 bottles will be available only during the festival, with a limited number being released online exclusively for Diurachs on our online shop.

We’ve got loads more planned, even if you’re just coming for a wee visit, so check out the festival programme for more info on what’s happening.

We look forward to seeing you there! BOOK NOW VIEW THE FESTIVAL PROGRAM

If you can’t make it to Jura this May, join us on Facebook to win 1 of 10 vials of a secret future release. You can also join in on Twitter by signing up to our live tweet tasting on the Wednesday 29th. Head to @jurawhisky to sign up.

April 2013, Islay: Islay’s independent farm distillery, Kilchoman, has added a new range to its award winning Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky collection, Loch Gorm.

Named after the famously peaty loch near the distillery, the Loch Gorm range will be the only sherry cask-matured release from Kilchoman. Only 10,000 bottles of the inaugural five year-old bottling will be available worldwide and is expected to sell quickly.

Aged in Oloroso sherry butts and finished in Oloroso sherry hogshead casks for six weeks, Loch Gorm adds a new dimension to Kilchoman’s portfolio, bringing depth of colour and fresh character to the Islay Single Malt.

Anthony Wills, Managing Director of Kilchoman, said: “Over the years we have released a limited number of sherry-matured Kilchoman bottlings, all of which proved very popular with our customers. Loch Gorm shows wonderful balance between the peat smoke and spicy rich flavours, typical of sherry cask maturation.”

As with the two other ranges in Kilchoman’s portfolio, Machir Bay and 100% Islay, a new bottling of Loch Gorm will be periodically released as the whisky matures, with each bottling differentiated by distillation and bottling years printed on the label.

Founded in 2005, Kilchoman is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland and the first distillery to be built on Islay for 125 years. A working farm distillery, it is one of only a handful of distilleries still practicing floor malting. Kilchoman also grows its own barley, and completes all parts of the production process, from barley to bottling on the island.

Loch Gorm is bottled at 46% ABV (70cl) and is now available from specialist drinks and whisky stores, priced at RRP of £56.

For further information on trade distribution information visit www.kilchomandistillery.com

UK Stockists include Royal Mile Whiskies, The Whisky Shop at www.kilchomandistillery.com and The Whisky Exchange.

www.kilchomandistillery.com
facebook.com/pages/Kilchoman-Distillery
twitter.com/Kilchoman05

NEW CANADIAN SINGLE MALT WHISKY TO BE RELEASED

Vaughan, Ontario, April 2013 – Still Waters Distillery announces the release of the first Single Malt Whisky to be distilled, aged and bottled in Ontario. STALK & BARREL SINGLE MALT WHISKY will be released on Saturday, April 27, 2013, exclusively at Still Waters Distillery’s on-site distillery retail store.

All STALK & BARREL SINGLE MALT WHISKY will be bottled as single cask offerings in individually numbered bottles. The whisky is made by hand from 100% Canadian two-row malted barley in small batches in a custom built copper pot still. It is bottled with no chill-filtering or artificial colouring. The initial release will be from the first few casks of whisky made in 2009 and will be offered at full cask strength. A limited number of bottles will initially be available directly from the distillery, which will also start selling to Ontario residents online. However, the bulk of the product has already been allocated to markets outside the province, including the US and Sweden. Future casks will be bottled and offered for sale as they mature.

Distiller and company co-founder, Barry Bernstein, said, “We set out to restore the tradition of small batch craft distilling in Ontario that goes back centuries. This is the culmination of four years of hard work and patience.” Barry Stein, co-founder and fellow distiller remarked, “We are already seeing incredible interest for our single malt whisky and have increased our production to meet future demand”.

Still Waters Distillery is Ontario’s first grain-to-glass micro-distillery. Their focus is on handmade whiskies, with their STALK & BARREL SINGLE MALT WHISKY being the first release. A rye whisky will be released in the future to extend the product line. They also produce an award-winning blended Canadian whisky, an award-winning single malt vodka, and a brandy.

Still Waters Distillery www.stillwatersdistillery.com

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival’s campaign to legalise the dram as a measure for Scotch whisky gathers support

A campaign to have the dram legalised as a measurement for the sale of Scotch whisky is gathering momentum.

Organisers of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival say they have been inundated with messages of support for their effort have the 25ml measurement renamed as a dram.

They believe that public support is weighing down heavily in their favour, and hope that a final push from the thousands of international visitors who are expected to attend the Festival next month will help them reach a successful outcome.

Organisers wrote to the National Measurement Office to ask for the dram to be reinstated so that revellers would be able to walk into any bar and ask – legally – to be served a dram.

But when officials said alcohol could only be sold in metric measurements and they could not support a dual measurement system, the Festival launched its bid to have the 25ml and 35ml measurements renamed a dram and large dram respectively.

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival manager Mary Hemsworth says the campaign has sparked an important debate about a word which is synonymous with Scotland and Scotch whisky.

She says, “We have had messages of support for what we are trying to achieve from as far afield as California and Australia. People do genuinely feel a huge affinity for the dram and they are telling us that they would like to see the dram gain official, legal recognition.

“It has been clear from the debate being generated that people have very different ideas about what size a dram should be. Some people are saying the 25ml measure should be a nip and the 35ml measure should be a dram, while others are telling us that to limit the dram to a 25ml measure may seem a little stingy.

“The people who visit the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival come from all over the world, but they all have one thing in common – an incredible passion for Scotch whisky. We intend to listen to their thoughts during the Festival and if they truly do support this campaign, we will go back to the National Measurement Office to ask them to listen to the will of the people.”

In olden days, the dram measurement was about the size of a teaspoon. Mrs Hemsworth says the Festival is not advocating a return to that measurement as it would undoubtedly be unpopular with whisky lovers.

She adds, “The most important thing is to have a legally recognised measurement called the dram because the very word is so important to the Scotch whisky industry and synonymous with Scottish hospitality.”

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival takes place from May 2-6 and is a celebration of everything connected to Scotland’s national drink. It takes place annually in Speyside – a region home to more whisky distilleries than any other part of Scotland – and this year almost 400 events are on the programme.

Visitors will be able to tour distilleries including several not usually open to the public, nose and taste classic malts, learn how to pair the amber nectar with food, and dance the night away at ceilidhs.

There’s also the opportunity to enjoy the stunning scenery with ‘drambles’ across the countryside, take a trip on the whisky train and gain a unique perspective of the region’s distilleries on a canoe tour of the River Spey.

Tickets for this year’s Festival are on target to break records, with a huge rise in the number of visitors coming from the USA, Canada and Scandinavia. Further information about the programme and where to get tickets are available at www.spiritofspeyside.com

Notes:

The Save Our Dram Facebook page can be found at www.facebook.com/SaveOurDram and on Twitter @SaveOurDram

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is committed to promoting responsible drinking. Visitors needing to travel to and from festival events can take advantage of a range of transport options including a taxi voucher scheme (sponsored by Diageo) providing festival goers with a 25% reduction on fares with participating operators, various pre-bookable dedicated bus shuttles and even a “Dram Line” off-road Argocat taxi for a day long distillery tour.

The Festival also runs several competitions and awards including the prestigious Spirit of Speyside Whisky Awards as well as the Benromach Spirit of Speyside Whisky Photographic Competition

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has received funding from EventScotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and is also financially supported by many other private and public partners

EventScotland: EventScotland is the national events agency. EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit www.EventScotland.org

About the Year of Natural Scotland 2013: Year of Natural Scotland 2013, the third of four focus years, is a chance to highlight Scotland’s great natural assets. It provides an opportunity to celebrate our reputation as a land of outstanding beauty, and encourage responsible tourism in Scotland. The aim of Year of Natural Scotland 2013 is to promote Scotland’s stunning natural beauty and biodiversity, and promote ways in which visitors can enjoy our beautiful landscapes, wildlife and heritage responsibly. More information about the programme can be found at: www.visitscotland.org.uk The Year of Natural Scotland is a Scottish Government initiative led in partnership by EventScotland, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland and VOCAL.