A. Smith Bowman Master Distiller Joe Dangler to Retire Oct. 1st

Fredericksburg, VA. (Sept. 2011) – Joe Dangler, a longtime fixture at A. Smith Bowman Distillery, will be retiring as Master Distiller effective Oct. 1st, 2011.

Dangler spent 33 years at A. Smith Bowman, starting as bottling plant superintendent in 1978 before being promoted to assistant plant superintendent and next plant superintendent. The A. Smith Bowman board of directors then elected Dangler vice president, production, where he remained until assuming the role of master distiller in 2003.

While training for the master distiller role, Dangler had the pleasure of learning under Tom Leahy, who had a wealth of knowledge gained from working at a distillery in Louisville, Ky. Leahy remained a mentor and close friend of Dangler until the end of his life.

Under Dangler’s reign, Virginia Gentleman Bourbon won a double gold and was named “Best American Whiskey” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2003, an honor of which he is most proud.

Another of Dangler’s career highlights as master distiller was the creation of the A. Smith Bowman collection, an assortment of six spirits, consisting of three whiskeys, one rum, one vodka and one gin.

Dangler has been very active in the community, serving as board member and eventually chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation, served two three year terms on the Chamber of Commerce board, and was a co-founder of the Leadership Fredericksburg program where he currently serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board. He also was a member of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) technical committee and was part of the early development of the George Washington Distillery.

Upon his retirement, Dangler plans to spend time with his wife Emily, travel, learn to play the mandolin, and buy a share of a race horse.

About A. Smith Bowman Distillery

A. Smith Bowman’s distilling roots date back to the years before Prohibition. In 1935, after the Repeal of Prohibition, Abram Smith Bowman and his sons continued the family tradition of the distillation of bourbon. The original distillery was located on the Bowman family homestead in Fairfax County, Virginia called Sunset Hills Farm. In response to the rapid growth of Northern Virginia, the distillery was moved in 1988 and is now nestled in Spotsylvania County near the city of Fredericksburg, 60 miles away from the original location.

As a small and privately owned company, A. Smith Bowman Distillery continues the time-honored traditions on which it was founded. Considered a micro-distillery by today’s standards, A. Smith Bowman produces an assortment of hand-crafted spirits distilled from only the finest natural ingredients and using the latest technology. This micro-distillery focuses on the production of premium spirits honoring the legacy of Virginia’s first settlers. For more information on A. Smith Bowman, please visit www.asmithbowman.com

Amrut single malt unites two continents

Amrut Distilleries is doing its bit for international relations with the release of its latest limited edition single malt whisky.

Amrut has always been about uniting the traditions of Europe with the best ingredients of Asia. This approach has created the golden single malt which we now love. Throughout this international partnership, Amrut Distilleries has pushed the boundaries, introducing innovate – and imaginative – maturation techniques to produce award-winning malt whiskies. Now, Amrut has returned to one of its early successes and is issuing a second edition of the highly popular Amrut Two Continents Single Malt Whisky.

“The demand and appreciation from the consumers after the First Edition led us to go for the Second Edition,” says Ashok Chokalingam of Amrut Distilleries Ltd, which is releasing the new whisky in October 2011.

Using the finest barley from India’s fertile North West provinces, the single malt whisky is created at Amrut’s distillery in Bangalore, the vibrant city which sits at 3,000 feet above sea level in the tropical heat of Southern India. Four casks of Amrut Single Malt Whisky were shipped from Asia to a secret location in the temperate climate of Europe and matured for a further period of two years. Very much a product of the two continents, this whisky captures characteristics from the contrasting climates of both tropical Bangalore and the temperate European lands.

The Second Edition, however, is not just a replica of the first: different casks have been used for the maturation. Instead of ex-grain casks, second-fill bourbon casks have been used this time. The Amrut Two Continents Second Edition has also been bottled – in individually numbered bottles – at 50% abv, not 46% abv.

“The changes are immediately noticeable,” notes Dominic Roskrow, the Editor of International Spirits Magazine. “The nose is honeyed, with key lime pie and strawberries and cream. The taste is spikier, spicier and feistier than of old, with dark cherry, blood orange and unripe banana.” Danish whisky blogger Steffen Brauner agrees the Second Edition is “quite different”. He explains: “There’s a lot more of India than Europe in this. I would describe this as vanilla infused Amrut.”

Only 360 bottles of this limited edition Amrut Two Continents Second Edition will be released in the United States, while 900 bottles will go to Europe, Canada and rest of the world. “It is a slightly larger bottling than the first,” admits Ashok, but he underlines that already the feedback is that it will be highly sought-after. He also confirms that Amrut will return to the Two Continents theme in the future. “We will continue with this concept, introducing subtle variations from one bottling to the other. But it will only be released once every two or three years.” The good news is that in Bangalore, the next casks for Amrut Two Continents have already been earmarked for their voyage to a second continent.

Amrut Distilleries

Amrut Single Malt Whisky from India was launched officially in Glasgow in 2004. Since then its reputation has grown, with its range of innovative whiskies using Indian barley from the Punjab distilled in the tropical garden city of Bangalore at 3000ft.

Amrut Distilleries was named a Distiller of the Year in the Icons of Whisky 2011 and was crowned in the Rest of the World category by the independent judges of the prestigious awards, which are organised by Whisky Magazine. The award was made to Amrut “for raising the profile of Indian whisky across the globe and its innovations in the production process”. The Rest of the World title meant the Bangalore distillery was also one of the four contenders for the Icons of Whisky Distiller of the Year title.

In The Whisky Bible 2010, leading whisky expert, Jim Murray awarded Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky the title of World’s Third Best Whisky. Murray said Fusion “has to be one of the great whiskies found anywhere in the word this year”. Admitting his No 3 choice could come as a surprise to some people, he said: “The fact that it is Indian? Irrelevant, from distillation to maturation this is a genius whisky from whichever continent.”

Fusion – which brings together two barleys: Indian and Scottish, with the latter being peated – was named the Best Natural Cask Whisky in the Daily Drams Category at the Malt Maniacs Awards 2009. It picked up the award for the best whisky matured exclusively in “untreated”, regular cask(s) in the category for whiskies with an average street price of up to 50 euros. It was also awarded a silver medal.

One of the Amrut Single Malt Whisky bottlings by Blackadder International won “The Best Daily Dram” category of Malt Maniacs 2008 Awards. All the Amrut brands entered into the same competition won silver and bronze medals.

Amrut Peated Malt Cask Strength Whisky won Silver and Amrut Single Malt Cask Strength Whisky Bronze at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in 2008.

Amrut is now sold widely in Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Spain), Canada, South Africa, Australia and the United States.

MCLEANSCOTLAND whisky tour company … have had their best year ever for whisky tours of Scotland. Working on tours all year round, the first whisky tour was back in January, Speyside in the snow, a grand trip with Dutch clients.

From then each month saw them take tours all over Scotland, visiting Speyside, Orkney, Highlands, west coast distilleries including Mull, Skye and Islay.

May was the busiest month of the year, with 8 whisky tour groups (all over Scotland).

At the end of September they travel to Arran, before another tour with Russian clients in early October, with two more trade shows whisky festivals; Manchester Whisky Lounge Festival, and Chester Whisky Festival, both in October. They will be happy to see you at either show!

It doesn’t end there, November sees more tours and even December they have a whisky tour from South Africa in conjunction with Diageo.

Their guests came from Germany, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Canada, USA, Holland, England, plus the SA trip as above.

Each guest (or couple) receive a specially made wallet with brochures, excellent tour notes, maps and many suggestions where to eat, drink etc whilst on tour.

Their tours are mostly designed with the client, to give exactly what is needed, then they go that wee bit further and add in some historic sites, castles, fantastic scenery and above all … fun!

To contact them; whisky@mcleanscotland.com

www.mcleanscotland.com

They also run the worldwide whisky club, with Patron Charles Maclean (keeping it in the family).
www.angelswhiskyclub.com  

Sazerac Company Announces The Purchase of Selected Brands and Manufacturing Facility

Strategic Acquisition Marks Further Expansion in Canada

Louisville, KY (Sept. 2011) – Sazerac Company, Inc. (“Sazerac”) announces that it has entered into an agreement to purchase from Corby Distilleries Limited (“Corby” or the “Company”) (TSX:CDL.A, TSX:CDL.B) certain Corby-owned brands as well as the shares of its subsidiary that owns the manufacturing and bottling facility in Montréal, Québec, for a purchase price of $32.9 million, plus the value of inventory on hand at closing. The transaction is expected to close on October 31, 2011.

The transaction involves the purchase of 17 brands, including De Kuyper Geneva Gin, De Kuyper Peachtree Schnapps, Red Tassel Vodka and Silk Tassel Canadian Whisky, as well as the Montréal-based manufacturing facility where a significant portion of the brands are produced. On closing, all employees of the facility will be employed by Sazerac, and a number of Corby-owned brands will continue to be blended, bottled and warehoused in the facility through a contract manufacturing agreement entered into with Sazerac.

“Canada has become an important market for Sazerac over the past decade and we are delighted to be able to further increase our presence in the market. We are particularly pleased at the prospect of being able to develop the De Kuyper brand in Canada,” added Mark Brown, Sazerac president and chief executive officer.

“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement on this strategic divestiture,” commented Patrick O’Driscoll, Corby president and chief executive officer. “We had some brand overlap in certain spirit categories and this transaction helps us streamline our portfolio with a more focused and targeted collection of brands, as part of our brand prioritization strategy. It also frees up more of our resources to create growth opportunities for our priority brands including Wiser’s Canadian Whisky, Lamb’s Rum, Polar Ice Vodka and McGuinness Liqueurs; resulting in increased shareholder value.”

The large majority of Corby’s remaining brands will continue to be manufactured in the Hiram Walker & Sons Limited facility located near Windsor, Ontario, which is managed by Corby on behalf of Pernod Ricard S.A.

“Corby is committed to a strategy of value growth and a focused brand portfolio that positions us for long-term growth in key categories with premium spirits and wines,” added O’Driscoll. “This divestiture is an important step in moving that strategy forward.”

About The Sazerac Company

Sazerac is based in New Orleans, Louisiana and is one of New Orleans’ oldest family owned, privately held companies. The company has operations in New Orleans, Louisiana; Frankfort, Bardstown, Louisville and Owensboro, Kentucky; Fredericksburg, Virginia; Carson, California; Baltimore, Maryland; and Montreal, Canada. For more information, please visit www.sazerac.com.

About Corby Distilleries Limited

Corby’s portfolio of owned-brands includes some of the most renowned brands in Canada, including Wiser’s Canadian Whisky, Lamb’s Rum, Polar Ice Vodka and McGuinness Liqueurs. Through its affiliation with Pernod Ricard S.A., Corby also represents leading international brands such as ABSOLUT vodka, Chivas Regal, The Glenlivet and Ballantine’s Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Beefeater gin, Malibu rum, Kahlúa liqueur, Mumm champagne, and Jacob’s Creek, Wyndham Estate and Graffigna wines. The existing Voting Class A Common Shares and Non-voting Class B Common Shares of the Company are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols CDL.A and CDL.B, respectively.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements concerning possible or assumed future results of Corby’s operations. Forward-looking statements typically are preceded by, followed by or include the words “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “intends”, “plans” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and, as such, the Company’s results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

HEAVEN HILL DISTILLERIES ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF THE FIFTH ANNUAL EDITION OF “PARKER’S HERITAGE COLLECTION” AMERICAN WHISKEY SERIES

Alain Royer & Parker beam

10-year-old Bourbon Finished in Cognac Casks Represents Joint Effort Between Industry Legends Parker Beam and Alain Royer

BARDSTOWN, KY—Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., the country’s largest independent family-owned and operated spirits producer and marketer, announces the September release of the fifth edition of Parker’s Heritage Collection, a limited annual series of rare, aged American Whiskeys that pays tribute to 6th Generation Master Distiller Parker Beam. This 2011 release represents a bold new direction for the series and for the company, being the first “wood-finished” Bourbon produced by Heaven Hill, a two-time Distiller of the Year winner. It also represents a collaboration between two industry giants—Parker Beam, the legendary grand-nephew of Jim Beam who has practiced his craft at Heaven Hill for more than 50 years; and Alain Royer, 6th Generation Cognac Master Blender, founder of A. de Fussigny Cognac, now working for the Cointreau family within the Renaud Cointreau group.

This year’s release of Parker’s Heritage Collection promises to be a worthy successor to the previous four releases, which stand as some of the most critically lauded American Whiskeys in recent memory. Last year’s highly acclaimed 10-Year-Old Wheated Cask Strength Bourbon captured Whisky Magazine’s “World’s Best North American Whisky” at the World Whisky Awards. The prior release, the “Golden Anniversary” Bourbon, was Malt Advocate Magazine’s “American Whiskey of the Year” and Whisky Magazine’s “Best New Release of the Year”. And the 27-Year-Old Bourbon edition released in 2008 was the first American Whiskey to ever win “Best of Show, Brown Spirits” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

The new release marks the first in the Parker’s Heritage Collection to utilize the practice of “wood finishing”, whereby a mature whiskey is dumped out of its original cooperage and transferred into another barrel that had previously contained a different type of spirit. Commonly used in Scotland, where the newly made spirit may age in any type of barrel (typically Scotch is aged in used Bourbon barrels, but some Scotch producers use Sherry, Port or other types of used barrels), wood finishing is less common in American Straight Whiskeys partly because by law an American Straight must spend a minimum of two years specifically in a newly charred American White Oak barrel, typically much longer. There have been other American Whiskeys finished in other types of spirit barrels over the past few years, as US producers look for a way to differentiate a very tightly defined and regulated product to meet growing connoisseur demand.

In an interesting historical twist, the very first nationally released wood-finished American Bourbon was produced in 1999. Called Distiller’s Masterpiece, it was also a Franco-American collaboration between Alain Royer and Parker Beam’s first cousin, the late Booker Noe, long-time Master Distiller at Jim Beam.

This latest edition of Parker’s Heritage Collection utilized as its base select barrels of a 10-Year-Old Bourbon that had aged in high storage on the 6th floor of Rickhouse “V” in Bardstown. Last February, 15 French Limousin Oak barrels that each held 350 liters (92.5 gallons) of 3-year-old Grande Champagne Cognac from the Frapin cellars were emptied, the barrels were then wrapped to keep them wet and leakproof, and three days later they were shipped to Kentucky. There the oversized (by Kentucky standards) casks were filled with the aged Bourbon and transferred to the 6th floor of Rickhouse JJ, where they rested for 6 months to extract the delicate floral notes that permeated the Cognac barrels. On August 22, when Royer and Beam deemed them ready, these large Cognac barrels were dumped by hand (they were too big to fit the standard 53 gallon Bourbon barrel equipment), yielding 6000 750ml bottles of a spicy, yet slightly floral and sweet whiskey.

This fifth edition of Parker’s Heritage Collection is bottled at a robust 100 proof and is not chill-filtered prior to bottling, which helps maintain the natural esters and compounds that provide a rich texture and mouthfeel. It will be distributed nationally, albeit in limited, allocated quantities, and available at fine whiskey retailers in major US metro markets as long as supplies last.

Packaged in the same upscale 750ml bottle as the previous four editions, the Parker’s Heritage Collection Cognac Finished Bourbon is available in a three bottle case that should start hitting retail shelves and back bars in early October, in time for the cooler weather that traditionally signals “whiskey season”. And while several of the past Parker’s Heritage Collection annual releases have been priced in excess of $100, including the 27-Year-Old Bourbon that carried a $200 national average retail price, this year’s Cognac Finished edition will retail for an average of $80 for the 750ml bottle, welcome news for whiskey lovers in these still-unsettled economic times.

“All the previous editions of my Parker’s Heritage Collection have been very special products” noted Heaven Hill’s Parker Beam. “And this one may be the most unique of them all. It has been a real pleasure to work with Alain in selecting the kind of Bourbon to use, the kind of barrels to finish this with, and the length of time and location in which to finish this Bourbon. And it has turned out to be a really great and different type of whiskey. It’s nice to know that even after 50 years here at Heaven Hill, this old dog can still learn some new tricks.” Alain Royer added “Parker and I have really enjoyed this entire process. From looking at different ages of Bourbon to use, rye versus wheated mashbills, different ages and proofs, to deciding on Cognac versus Armagnac barrels, and how long the Cognac should remain in the barrels…all these factors and variables were analyzed, discussed and tested. And what has emerged is truly emblematic of the whole collaborative process—well structured, integrated, and thoroughly enjoyable to drink.”

Founded in 1934, Bardstown, KY-based Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. (www.heavenhill.com) is the nation’s largest independent, family-owned and operated spirits producer and marketer and the world’s second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon. Heaven Hill’s diversified portfolio of brands includes The Christian Brothers Brandies; Evan Williams and Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskeys; Burnett’s Vodkas and Gin; Hpnotiq Liqueur; PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur; Lunazul and Two Fingers Tequilas, and Dubonnet Aperitif.

Whisky Exports Drive Portfolio Success

Burn Stewart Distillers, producers of Scottish Leader, Black Bottle, Bunnahabhain, Tobermory, Deanston and Ledaig whiskies, have announced its financial results for the year ended 31st December 2010.

The main highlights of the announcement are:

• Strong performance by all brands in their key markets

• Gross profit £18.3m (2009: £17.2m)

• Net profit £3.7m (2009: £1.2m)

The company which employs 250 people across its distilling, blending, bottling, commercial and administration activities in the UK, and sales administration internationally has seen continued growth across its core brands with particularly strong performances in Taiwan, South Africa and the UK.

The key drivers for this success include the 13% growth of flagship brand Scottish Leader, coupled with the growth of Scottish Leader’s market share across all key markets. Overall, cased export revenue is also on the increase – achieving 11% growth on 2009 with notable success in Taiwan, US, and Baltics.

The company continues to invest in capital expenditure, allocating £0.4m in 2010, taking the investment for the last 3 years to £2.4m. The company has also invested in a new leadership staff training programme which has reached over 20% of the company’s workforce. Over the next three years a multi million pound capital investment programme is planned to further enhance the capability of the business. Included in this plan, is the creation of a new visitor centre at Deanston Distillery, opening during Spring 2012, which aims to significantly enhance the retail and consumer experience of the brand.

The entire malt portfolio – Bunnahabhain, Tobermory, Deanston and Ledaig whiskies – enjoyed an extremely successful re-pack in 2010 with new packaging, labelling and bottle design. Furthermore, presenting un-chill filtered malts creates exciting opportunities to position the malt portfolio as niche players in the industry. Future plans for the malt portfolio include further tapping into growing markets in Taiwan, USA and Europe, coupled with a strong investment focus on Russia.

Markets providing the key focus for Scottish Leader will be Taiwan, South Africa and The Baltics. In addition, the flagship brand will also be looking to build upon and strengthen existing distribution partnerships in the Ukraine, Poland and Russia to allow for further penetration into these emerging markets, and providing the backbone for growth.

The company’s portfolio of brands was strengthened in 2010 when a partnership deal with Angostura Holdings Ltd was signed. The deal announced that Burn Stewart Distillers would be responsible for distribution and marketing of the world renowned Aromatic Bitters and premium rum range across EMEA. This addition to the company portfolio compliments future plans for growth within the Scotch market and a growing rum category.

Commenting on the results, Fraser Thornton, Managing Director, said:

“It is very pleasing to note the sustained improvement in the financial performance of the company. Our primary focus is to develop and grow the strong portfolio of brands we have and, in so doing, continue to consolidate the relationships we enjoy with key retail partners, selected overseas bulk customers and our global distributor network. We have enjoyed another year of growth and have opened up new markets as well as continuing to build our brands in existing markets. Our bold move to un-chill filtered malts has excited our consumers and the trade and has allowed us to provide a niche offering to those consumers who want to explore. The investment at Deanston will allow us to develop a new brand experience for consumers and invest in the heritage of the Deanston brand. We believe the future is very positive for the Scotch Whisky Industry and we look forward to continued growth across our entire brand portfolio.’

Notes

• Burn Stewart Distillers Limited is a fully integrated Scotch whisky producer and brand owner with three single malt whisky distilleries and a strong portfolio of Scotch whisky brands.

• The company’s head office and bottling hall are based in East Kilbride, with blending and warehousing facilities at Airdrie, both near Glasgow. The three distilleries include, Deanston in Doune, Perthshire; Bunnahabhain on the Isle of Islay and Tobermory based on the Isle of Mull.

• Burn Stewart produces and markets a well balanced range of Scotch Whisky brands to appeal to every type of Scotch consumer and distributes to over 60 markets worldwide.

GLEN GARIOCH AND EDINBURGH AIRPORT LAUNCH EXCLUSIVE VINTAGE CASK WHISKY

Only 195 bottles of the world exclusive Glen Garioch 1988 available for Edinburgh airport travellers

Glen Garioch and Edinburgh Airport’s World Duty Free have teamed up to launch an exclusive single malt whisky for Edinburgh travellers.

The Glen Garioch 1988 Vintage Single Cask was specially selected by staff from the airport’s World Duty Free team after they won a competition to sell more bottles of Glen Garioch malt whisky than any other World Duty Free airport retailer in the UK.

The winning team from Edinburgh Airport visited Scotland’s most easterly distillery at Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire last year to hand select its own exclusive Glen Garioch cask.

Just 195 bottles of the £200 23-year-old malt are available to purchase at Edinburgh Airport’s World Duty Free store, making it a sure fire collector’s item in years to come.

The Edinburgh airport team chose the cask for its deep, sweet Seville orange notes that fuse with a hint of fragrant highland heather, leaving a long, sophisticated finish.

John Mullen, Glen Garioch brand manager said, “We’re delighted to partner with Edinburgh Airport’s World Duty Free. The team sampled many casks on a particularly bracing Highland morning and got behind the flavours to personally select their own vintage.

“The 23-year-old is an elegant and truly memorable dram with a wonderful combination of floral and sweet notes.

”The team were so passionate about the whisky they chose. It’s already flying off the shelves and is set to be sold out by Christmas”

The Glen Garioch 1988 Vintage Single Cask comes in a specially crafted oak wood box, lined with hessian. Each bottle is individually numbered and marked as Edinburgh Airport’s World Duty Free special edition. It is exclusively available at Edinburgh Airport, retailing around £200.

NOTES –

· Glen Garioch, pronounced Glen Geery, founded in 1797 is one of the oldest remaining distilleries in Scotland

· The distillery lies on rising ground at the picturesque town of Oldmeldrum, just 17 miles north-west of Aberdeen

Glen Garioch was relaunched in October 2010 with a core range of two single malt whiskies – the Glen Garioch 1797 Founder’s Reserve, a non chill-filtered single malt bottled at 48% ABV and the Glen Garioch 12 Year Old, non chill-filtered single malt bottled at 48% ABV after maturing in bourbon and sherry casks.

Glen Garioch is owned by the Morrison Bowmore Distillers Limited who also produce Bowmore and Auchentoshan.

Glen Garioch is distributed by Cellar Trends in the UK, tel: 01283 217 703.

LIMITED EDITION LALIQUE DECANTER CELEBRATES THE MACALLAN’S LEGENDARY SMALL STILLS

The Macallan and Lalique are once again drawing upon their prestigious collaboration to create the latest addition to The Macallan in Lalique Six Pillars Collection. The Macallan in Lalique Curiously Small Stills decanter follows on from the overwhelming success of the first three stunning decanters. This time around sees the decanter filled with an exceptionally rare 60 years old Macallan single
malt whisky.

Designed and created by the legendary French crystal house Lalique, exclusively for The Macallan, the Curiously Small Stills edition is limited to 400 individually numbered decanters, making it a highly collectable and desirable item.

David Cox, Director of Fine & Rare Whiskies for The Macallan commented, “Our relationship with Lalique goes from strength to strength and this fourth collaboration further reinforces our very strong partnership. The Six Pillars, those elements which combine to give this great single malt its distinctive quality and character, continue to provide the inspiration for these stunning decanters. The addition of the Curiously Small Stills decanter continues this fascinating journey through the heart of The Macallan. The stills themselves are the smallest on Speyside, concentrating the spirit to create The Macallan’s rich, fruity, full-bodied flavours.”

“Over the years, we have drawn on the some of its oldest and rarest stocks to create extraordinary examples of this great single malt for connoisseurs and collectors alike; such is the lineage of this 60 years old Macallan, which was drawn from five sherry butts, made from a mix of Spanish and American oak, filled on 9th and 10th November 1950.”

Inspired by the artistic genius of Rene Lalique’s legacy and The Macallan’s curiously small stills, Lalique’s designers have interpreted the riveted entry hatch feature on The Macallan’s spirit stills as a circle of raised “cabochons” on the face of the decanter, creating an overall structure which is distinctly compact yet reflecting the smooth curves of the spirit stills themselves. Other defining design features of the decanter mirror the specific shapes and aspects of the still: the ‘satiné’ effect up the sides and shoulders to the stopper simulates the shape of the hatch handle, while the copper cap atop the crystal stopper has been made from an old Macallan copper spirit still.

Commenting on the new project, Silvio Denz, President and CEO of Lalique said,“It is once again a pleasure to team up with one of the world’s finest single malts and together create the fourth decanter in this prestigious collection. Working with The Macallan continues to allow us strong creative freedom to produce decanters grounded in the highest quality and most intricate craftsmanship.

“The Curiously Small Stills decanter has been designed by our team in Paris and crafted at Lalique’s crystal making facility in Wingen-sur-Moder, Alsace. Each piece was worked on by up to 15 craftsmen, many of whom have attained the ‘Meilleur ouvrier de France’ – the Finest Craftsman of France Award. Each decanter bears the esteemed ‘Lalique France’ signature, which symbolises authenticity and over 100 years of creativity, heritage and craftsmanship, and comes in a beautifully designed lacquer presentation box, with a crystal stopper and a collectors guide, detailing the craftsmanship that has gone into producing this beautiful object d’art.”

The Macallan and Lalique have been working in partnership since 2005. During this time they have collaborated to produce an exclusive series of limited edition decanters based on The Macallan’s Six Pillars. The first three decanters in the series have proved hugely popular with both whisky consumers and connoisseurs, as well as collectors of Lalique crystal. In 2010 the relationship was taken to new heights with the creation of the Cire Perdue decanter containing the oldest ever Macallan ever released, at 64 years old. This unique decanter and its rare contents was auctioned by Sotheby’s New York in November 2010, raising a staggering US $460,000 for charity: water, an innovative charity dedicated to providing clean and safe drinking water for people in developing countries, as well as smashing the world record price for a bottle of scotch whisky.

The Curiously Small Stills decanter is valued at USD$20,000 and is available from September 2011.

NOTES

The Macallan 60 years old in Lalique – tasting notes:

· Colour – Cherry

· Aroma – Complex; cinnamon, toasted apple & lemon, intertwined with blackcurrant leaf and polished oak, all encompassed by peat

· Taste – Mouth-coating, sweet, citrus, dark chocolate, smoldering peat

· Finish – Succulent, lightly fired malt caressed with peat

· Alcohol Strength – 53.2%

The timeless reputation of The Macallan is founded upon Six Pillars:

The Spiritual Home

Easter Elchies House proudly watches over The Macallan distillery in Speyside, Scotland. Built in 1700, this Jacobean manor house is The Macallan’s spiritual home.

Curiously Small Stills

The Macallan’s curiously small and uniquely shaped copper stills help to concentrate the flavour of the ‘new make’ spirit.

The Finest Cut

The ‘cut’ is the amount of distilled spirit collected from the stills as ‘new make’ spirit. The Macallan takes one of the finest ‘cuts’ of any distillery in Scotland; typically just 16% goes forward to fill or our casks.

Exceptional Oak Casks

The Macallan’s selection of the finest and most expensive maturation casks fundamentally influence the product’s final outstanding quality and distinctive character.

Natural Colour

The Macallan insists upon Natural Colour. It is the interaction of spirit and wood alone which delivers the rich variety of colour, aroma and taste evident through out the range.

Peerless Spirit

The Macallan remains the single malt against which all others must be judged. It is celebrated far and wide by experts and discerning drinkers as the world’s most precious whisky.

REDBREAST ADDS FIRST CASK STRENGTH EXPRESSION TO ITS REPUTED RANGE

Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard is adding to its collection of Single Pot Still Whiskeys of Midleton* this weekend at Whisky Live Paris**, with the launch of Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength – the portfolio’s first permanent cask strength bottling. This latest addition to the Redbreast range forms part of the company’s ongoing commitment to promote the provenance and quality of this unique Irish whiskey style.

Produced at Midleton Distillery, Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength is Redbreast in its natural full-flavoured state – straight from the cask, non-chill filtered and without the addition of water. Bottled at 57.7% ABV, this first batch will be available from September 2011 in Ireland, France and Germany and in the US from February next year.

Brendan Buckley, Global Category Development Director for Irish whiskey at Irish Distillers, said: “Over the years, we’ve had great encouragement from whiskey enthusiasts and fans of the renowned Redbreast range to launch a cask strength expression, and we’re delighted to be finally releasing this incredible single pot still whiskey in response. It comes during what has been an exciting year for the range, having recently undergone a packaging revamp to freshen it up and reinforce its quality cues. We are confident that this latest development will be enthusiastically received by Redbreast fans around the world.”

Barry Crockett, Master Distiller at Midleton Distillery, added: “This is a very special single pot still whiskey, full of dried fruit flavours, with an exceedingly long finish. It is the perfect addition to the Redbreast range – representing the expression in its purest state. I’m confident that this will become the whiskey that all whiskey lovers will want to own and savour – myself included!”

Redbreast represents a style of whiskey that is unique to Ireland in general and to Midleton Distillery in particular. Single pot still whiskey is made from a mash of malted and unmalted barley, which is then distilled in traditional copper pot stills. Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength, and all single pot still whiskeys from Midleton, is triple distilled.

Notes

*In May 2011, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard announced plans to underline the rich heritage of Irish whiskey with the launch of a new initiative – Single Pot Still whiskeys of Midleton. Aimed at promoting consistent communication on the provenance and quality of Single Pot Still whiskey, the launch heralded an increase in investment in Irish Distillers’ existing portfolio, ahead of a planned roll-out of innovative extensions. Additionally, the initiative marked the adoption by the industry of new terminology for this unique style of whiskey – moving from ‘pure pot still’ to ‘single pot still’.

** Whisky Live
Paris is now in its eighth year and the 2011 show will take place on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th September (26th September for trade professionals) at Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild. The ‘Single Pot Still Whiskeys of Midleton’ will host a stand at Whisky Live, and Master Distiller, Barry Crockett, will be in attendance.

Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild
11 rue Berryer, Paris 8 e
Metro: Line 1, 2 or 9 – Charles de Gaulle Etoile, Ternes or Saint Philippe du Roule

About Redbreast
The origins of Redbreast whiskey date back to 1887 and was originally the brand name given to the whiskey supplied by the Jameson distillery to the Gilbey whiskey bonders, before bottling at the distillery became the norm in 1968. As the practice of selling whiskey to bonders ended in the late 1960s, brands such as Redbreast all but disappeared, until Redbreast 12 Year Old was relaunched by Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard in the 1990s as a single pot still whiskey.

Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength joins the original Redbreast 12 Year Old and Redbreast 15 Year Old in the range. Full to the rafters with aroma and flavor, Redbreast displays the hallmark influence of whiskey matured in combination of first fill Spanish Oloroso sherry casks and American bourbon whisky barrels.

Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength Tasting Notes
Nose: A fruit explosion: figs, dates, ripe banana, sultanas, red apple and lime. Pot still spices combine with the sweet vanilla and pine from the casks.

Taste: Deep full dried fruit, a touch of citrus with aromatic oils and spices. Vanilla sweetness leads to toasted oak and barley.
Finish: Exceedingly long finish with a rich complexity of spices and fruit, slowly fading through sweet butterscotch to barley.

About Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard
Irish Distillers Limited, part of Pernod Ricard Group, distils and distributes a range of Irish whiskey, gin and vodka brands globally including Jameson, Powers, Paddy, Midleton Very Rare, Redbreast, Cork Dry Gin, Cork Crimson Gin and Huzzar Vodka.

Sazerac Introduces R&R Reserve To Fast-Growing Rich and Rare Line Up

The Way Great Canadian Whisky Used to Taste

NEW ORLEANS, lA. (Sept. 2011) – Sazerac has introduced its new R&R Reserve product in select U.S. markets, which strives to give consumers a more flavorful whisky experience. The brand extends from Sazerac’s impressive Rich & Rare brand, which has posted the largest case growth of any U.S. bottled Canadian Whisky brand over the past three years.

R&R Reserve comes from a full-bodied blend of hand-selected reserve barrel whiskies from Sazerac’s stock in Canada of more than 200,000 barrels of Canadian Whisky. The nose starts off with a velvety depth. The initial sip shows the complex intermingling of mocha and caramel followed by a wonderful merger of wood and rye grain blending with tangy dark fruits. The finish is lively with a zing of rye.

“We wanted to introduce a product that had nice depth and complexity and felt like some of the great Canadian Whiskies of twenty and thirty years ago,” says Drew Mayville, Sazerac’s master blender and Canadian Whisky expert.

R&R Reserve is the third recent new Canadian Whisky product from the Sazerac Company. Caribou Crossing Single Barrel and Royal Canadian Small Batch debuted in early 2010. “Our continued development of new Canadian Whisky concepts is an indication of how strongly we feel about the opportunity to re-invigorate the Canadian Whisky category with consumers. We feel R&R Reserve will prove to be an attractive option for consumers who want a full bodied whisky that can stand very well on its own straight, but can also work really well mixed,” according to Kevin Richards, Sazerac’s brand manager for Canadian Whisky.

R&R Reserve retails for between $9.99 – $13.99 for a 750ml.

About The Sazerac Company

Sazerac is one of New Orleans’ oldest family owned, privately held companies and has operations in New Orleans, Louisiana; Frankfort, Bardstown, Louisville and Owensboro, Kentucky; Fredericksburg, Virginia; Carson, California and Baltimore, Maryland. For more information, please visit www.sazerac.com