WEEKLY SPIRIT SPECIALS

$27.99 Dewar’s  White Label 1.75L

Cutty Sark  Scotch 1.75L $19.99

Canadian LTD 1.75L…$10.99
Chivas Regal…$17.99
House Of Stuart Scotch 1.75L…$14.99
Jim Beam Bourbon 1.75L…$21.99
Laphroaig 10 Year Old Scotch…$38.99
Macallan 12 Year Old Scotch…$39.99
Seagram’s Crown Royal…$18.99

*Prices valid w/Binny’s Card June 16 through June 22, 2010. Not responsible for misprints or typographical errors.  Sizes 750ml unless otherwise stated. Advertised items limited to quantities on hand.

Visit Binny’s at www.binnys.com

Tullamore Dew launches Black 43 Irish whiskey- with pot still character and higher strength –

C&C International has launched a new premium Irish whiskey blend – Tullamore Dew Black 43 – that will be released in limited batches to the brand’s key markets.

The new product makes its world debut in the Czech Republic where distributor Stock has already achieved brand leadership for Tullamore Dew in the overall whiskey category. It will them be launched in other leading markets.

Crafted by Ireland’s eminent Master Blender Barry Walsh, Tullamore Dew Black 43 is a triple distilled blend, enriched by spicy full-flavoured pot still whiskey aged in old Oloroso sherry casks.  The ‘43’ in the name indicates its higher-than-usual alcohol strength.

Black 43’s distinctive pot still character is blended to appeal to Tullamore Dew drinkers interested in extending their drinking repertoire without moving to the more exclusive aged variants.

“The new Black 43 is packaged in the standard Tullamore Dew bottle as an everyday drink, but the deep matt black labelling and silver foil give it a strongly masculine and sophisticated personality – in line with our target audience expectations” says C&C International’s Marketing Manager, Benoit Batard.

“The extra strength and more complex flavour really add to the drinking experience and make a great addition to the award-winning Tullamore Dew range.”

Black 43 will increase Tullamore Dew’s range of consumer choice which already comprises Tullamore Dew, 10 Year Old Reserve, 12 Year Old Special Reserve and 10 Year Old Single Malt.

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Tullamore Dew Black 43 tasting notes:

Colour: Medium amber gold.

Aroma: Mellow spicy, fruity, slightly herbal. Malty, sherry notes, vanilla, toasted wood, faint citrus.

Taste: Medium bodied, fruity mellow, good complexity.  Spicy oily pot still flavours, sherry wood influence apparent, nutty, malty. Nice sweetness, some Christmas cake notes.

Finish: Mellow, spicy, sweetish.

Comment: More intensely flavoured than standard Tullamore Dew, with distinctive sherry notes and pleasantly spicy oily pot still whiskey flavours nicely balanced.

BALLANTINE’S TEES UP WITH BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN FOR FURTHER THREE YEARS

Ballantine’s, the world’s No 2 range of blended Scotch whisky, is reinforcing its commitment to international golf with a three-year extension of its official sponsorship of the Barclays Scottish Open.

The new deal, which sees Ballantine’s as the Official Supplier to the Barclays Scottish Open until 2012, will build on the success of the brand’s ongoing association with the tournament which began in 2007. 

Support of international players such as Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, a global Ballantine’s Brand Ambassador, will continue, as will a range of established promotional activities.  These include on-course visibility, VIP hospitality, private whisky education seminars and the Ballantine’s 12 birdie hole.  Players will also be awarded a Ballantine’s 21 Year Old for the lowest round of the day and the champion will be presented with a bottle of rare Ballantine’s 30 Year Old.

Peter Moore, Ballantine’s Global Brand Director, said: “We are really looking forward to our fourth successive year at The Barclays Scottish Open, where some of the best players in the world are set to leave an impression. We are immensely proud to be strengthening our links with golf over the next three years at this prestigious tournament, particularly because we have also committed to hosting The Ballantine’s Championship in Korea until at least 2013.”

The Barclays Scottish Open, which takes place from 8th – 11th July at the iconic Loch Lomond Golf Club, offers Ballantine’s a unique opportunity to build on the brand’s Scottish heritage.

The Ballantine’s Championship, sanctioned by The European, Asian and KPGA Tours, takes place annually on the picturesque island of Jeju.  It is Asia’s fourth biggest golf tournament and the largest sporting event in Korea. 

Notes

About Ballantine’s

Ballantine’s, the world’s No 2 range of blended Scotch whisky, has won over 60 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 iconic 30 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.

• Ballantine’s is an official sponsor of the Barclay’s Scottish Open, held every July at the exclusive Loch Lomond Golf Club

• Ballantine’s has been title sponsor of the Ballantine’s Championship since 2008 and has committed to the event until 2013

• Ballantine’s was a of sponsor of The Omega Mission Hills World Cup, held in China in 2009

• The first Ballantine’s sponsored golf tournament was played in 1960 at Wentworth Golf Club, England

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.

Smokehead Duty-Free Workshops in Malaysia

Smokehead has just successfully completed its first Duty-Free workshop in Malaysia.

Taking place in Kuala Lumpur, the comprehensive and entertaining masterclass provided an overview and tastings of Ian Macleod Distillers Travel Retail offering, focusing on its award-winning Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Smokehead Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Led by Ian Macleod Distillers’ Director or Travel Retail, Andy Lane, the one-day seminar was held in conjunction with local Malaysian Duty-Free business partner, J Brands, bringing together 43 staff from Kuala Lumpur International Airport and customers from the Kuala Lumpur region.

Andy Lane commented:

“We are delighted with the response to our inaugural workshop in Malaysia. Staff training is an integral part of developing sales of Malt Whisky, especially Glengoyne and Smokehead whiskies in this region. The staff and customers who attended contributed to a memorable and successful day.”

Kuala Lumpur International Airport is one of South East Asia’s busiest aviation hubs, with over 25 million passengers passing through the airport every year.

The new Duty-Free staff training workshops are the latest development in Ian Macleod’s comprehensive Travel Retail marketing strategy which began in 2007 with the launch of new TR exclusives Glengoyne Burnfoot and Smokehead Extra Rare. With an ever-growing Duty-Free portfolio and increased presence at events such as Cannes and Singapore TFWA, Ian Macleod Distillers is already ahead on sales projection for its five-year Travel Retail strategy.

Visit www.smokehead.co.uk

EARLY TIMES KENTUCKY WHISKY LAUNCHES “REEL IN A MILLION” CONTEST

Winner Will Fish With Professional Angler Kevin Wirth for One Million Dollars

Louisville, KY – Early Times Kentucky Whisky has announced the popular “Reel in a Million” contest will return for 2010. The winner will receive a dream fishing trip to Lake Erie in Buffalo, New York for a chance to catch a tagged bass worth one million dollars.

Early Times will lend the help of Team Early Times’ Kevin Wirth, one of the world’s top-ranked anglers, as his or her fishing partner for the day. Together they will try to reel in 25 tagged bass connected to great prizes including the “Big Cash Bass” worth one million dollars. 

“Not only is there a million dollars on the line, but this is one of the only fishing promotions that we know of where a consumer will have the opportunity to work side-by-side with a world class angler to win great prizes,” said Joe Murray, brand manager for Early Times Kentucky Whisky.

Starting June 1, 2010, consumers 21 years of age and older can enter Early Times’ “Reel in a Million” contest on-line at www.earlytimes.com, or by mail using entry forms available in-stores. Early Times will select a winner in early August and the “Reel in a Million” event will take place on September 25. The winner and one guest will be provided with travel to Lake Erie along with two nights accommodations. Entries must be received by July 31, 2010.

In addition to the million-dollar tagged bass, the lucky angler is eligible to pull in the other 24 tagged fish all which are connected to prizes including a Triton VT17 bass boat and various gift certificates. Whether it is Wirth who catches a tagged bass or the sweepstakes winner, Early Times will give all prizes and money to the winner of the contest. For full sweepstakes details visit www.teamearlytimes.com.

About Team Early Times

Early Times Kentucky Whisky, is enjoyed in 28 countries around the world and the Early Times Mint Julep is the “Official Drink of the Kentucky Derby™.” For more information visit www.earlytimes.com. Brown-Forman Corporation, Louisville, Kentucky, is a diversified producer and marketer of fine quality alcohol brands, including Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, Tequila Herradura, el Jimador Tequila, Canadian Mist, Old Forester, Fetzer wines, and Korbel California Champagnes.

A ‘Smoke’ for Dad?

With Father’s Day fast approaching, get your Dad ‘smoking’ with a bottle of our finest Smokehead or Smokehead Extra Black.

Visit www.smokehead.co.uk to find your nearest stockist.

Buy Smokehead at the Glengoyne Online Shop

Visit the Smokehead website for Smokehead drinking suggestions, Screensavers and to find out more about Smokehead. www.smokehead.co.uk

New Filling Store at Glengoyne

It was a momentous day for the distillery team last month when the very first cask was filled in the new Glengoyne filling store. The brand new filling store has been built as part of the new warehouse expansion.

Currently we can store up to 6000 casks, however when complete, the new warehouses will allow us to mature up to 50,000 casks at the distillery.

Wanted … Whisky Lovers to Choose Single Cask Bottling

Cask Idol – the search for the perfect dram – is a once in a lifetime opportunity to become part of the Glengoyne selection panel and help choose the first ever Glengoyne Distillery exclusive single cask whisky, to be bottled in 2011.

For £70 visitors are able to join the hunt on a tour of the distillery and warehouse no.8, as well as a tasting of Glengoyne’s previous three single cask releases. Guests then judge three mature samples drawn from the cask and are asked to write their own tasting notes for each. The most popular cask will be announced in April 2011 and released with one lucky fan’s name and tasting notes displayed on the label.

Joining the already highly popular and acclaimed selection of Glengoyne tours, along with the new Cask Idol tour, is A Century of Whisky.  A Century of Whisky (£150 per person) includes a tutored tasting of Glengoyne Distillery’s oldest, most valuable, and finest Highland Single Malt: the Glengoyne 40 Years Old, worth £200 per dram, as well as the exceptionally rare Isle of Skye 50 Years Old blended Scotch whisky. These two unparalleled whiskies, along with the Glengoyne 10 Years Old, represent a century of maturation.

Each dram will be tasted in its own bespoke crystal ‘copita’ glass, which guests take home as a memento of the day.  This is a truly unique opportunity to taste rare and expensive, top quality whiskies. Only 400 bottles of the Isle of Skye 50 Years Old blended Scotch Whisky, and 250 crystal decanters of the Glengoyne 40 Years Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky were produced, costing £1,000 and £3,750 respectively.

Visit Glengoyne at www.glengoyne.com

Glengoyne Distillery has launched a brand new personalised bottle shopping area at http://shop.glengoyne.com, completing the final stage of redesign for the online store.

With the aim of making the process of buying the award-winning whisky simpler, quicker and more enjoyable, all available Glengoyne products can now be purchased online, from the core range and special limited edition single cask bottlings, up to the super premium Glengoyne 40 Years Old.

One of the most popular elements of the online store, the exclusive personalised bottles and tubes of the 10, 17 and 21 Years Old Highland Single Malt Whiskies, has undergone a radical transformation.

The new, easy to use section allows customers to upload their image and type a unique message directly onto their personalised labels. A special new feature brings the design to life, allowing shoppers to preview an accurate depiction of the final label that will appear on the bottle and tube. As well as being more accessible to consumers, it is hoped that the completion of the personalised bottles section will also aid in boosting sales.

Glengoyne has offered an on-line shop since 2005, but decided to create a completely new shop platform, utilising the most advanced technology available in order to exceed customer expectations. Created by award-winning web design agency, The Weather Digital, the new online store provides a much more intuitive and richer experience to the visiting whisky fan. One of the key changes was improving the all-important checkout process.

Charlie Cutler, Managing Director of The Weather Digital explained: “The new process moves away from a multi-page “effort”, to a single page checkout. This is a much friendlier experience, reducing the number of would-be customers leaving the site before completing the purchase. Now users can choose whether to check-out as a guest or alternatively can register their details to review previous orders and make future purchases even quicker.”

Fiona Richardson, Retail Manager for Glengoyne commented: “We are delighted with the improvements to the online store, especially the new personalised bottle feature. As well as improving the customer experience, the new system makes the logistics of managing the personalised bottles sales much simpler and ensures an even better level of customer service. Since we commenced the reinvigoration of the online shop at the end of last year, it has already proved incredibly successful, increasing sales by over 53%.”

Other enhancements the new shop provides include:

– High quality photography allowing users to view products in much greater detail

– Newsletter sign-up to receive special offers from Glengoyne

– Email to a friend – to let your friends know about a product

– Build a wish list – keep a track of items you would like in the future

– Reviews – allow users to post up their reviews of the products

The new shop provides a powerful reporting tool, allowing the retail team to analyse who is buying products and what they are buying, ensuring the distillery is meeting all of the needs and demands of its customers. The shop also supports a range of special offers including voucher codes which can be used in future promotions by Glengoyne.

For more information on the new Glengoyne online store visit:

http://shop.glengoyne.com

Contacts:

Iain Weir, Marketing Director
Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd
T: 01506 852 205
E: iain@ianmacleod.com

Glengoyne Around the World …

It has been a busy few months for the Glengoyne team around the world. Here are some of the events that have been taking place over the last few months ….

Cannes Film Festival

The 63rd Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 May to 23 May 2010 and as the official malt of the Canal Plus tent and gala dinner, Glengoyne was there to make sure all the stars and film producers celebrated with a dram of our finest.

Limburg

The Glengoyne team enjoyed a busy few days at the Limburg Whisky Fair at the end of April.  Limburg is one of the biggest whisky fairs in Europe and it certainly didn’t disappoint!

During the fair, we introduced the Glengoyne 40 year old and guests of our Masterclass had the pleasure of seeing Glengoyne’s Valerie Marsh dressed as a German police officer with Klaus Maier, Brand Ambassador, handcuffed to the Glengoyne 40 year old…..

Kuala Lumpur

At the end of May we launched our first Duty-Free workshop in Malaysia. Taking place in Kuala Lumpur, the comprehensive and entertaining masterclass provided an overview and tastings of our award-winning Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Led by Andy Lane, Director of Travel Retail, the one-day seminar was held in conjunction with local Malaysian Duty-Free business partner, J Brands, bringing together 43 staff from Kuala Lumpur International Airport and customers from the Kuala Lumpur region.

Andy Lane commented: “We are delighted with the response to our inaugural workshop in Malaysia. Staff training is an integral part of developing sales of Malt Whisky, especially Glengoyne whiskies in this region. The staff and customers who attended contributed to a memorable and successful day.” 

Kuala Lumpur International Airport is one of South East Asia’s busiest aviation hubs, with over 25 million passengers passing through the airport every year.

Further Travel Retail training seminars are currently being planned for later this year, in the Middle East.

Singapore

Last month we unveiled a dramatic new look for TFWA Asia Pacific (9-13 May), launching an innovative bespoke stand, designed to showcase our range of fine whiskies and travel retail exclusives which are enjoying great success around the world. Key expressions on display included the ultra premium Glengoyne Highland Single Malt 40 Years Old, Glengoyne Highland Single Malt 14 Years Old ‘Heritage Gold’ litre and the stylish, award-winning Glengoyne Burnfoot, redesigned last year in litre and new 50cl PET variants.

Moving away from the original shell scheme and traditional, standard glass displays, the new open design uses clean sharp lines with bespoke laminate white cases and custom-built lightbox. Combined with high impact branding and an informal meeting area, the new stand gave Glengoyne higher visibility at the show, projecting our dedication and investment in travel retail.

Iain Weir, Glengoyne Marketing Director commented: “We are delighted with the finish of our new exhibition stand, which perfectly reinforces our strong and growing commitment to our global travel retail offering. Over the past three years, our travel retail sales and marketing strategy has focused principally on developing exciting new premium travel retail exclusives. We are now in a position to offer an enviable portfolio with global appeal, which our new stand shows off to maximum effect.”

Hong Kong

Reinforcing Glengoyne’s continued and growing success in the East, Ian Macleod Distillers attended Vinexpo Asia at the end of May.

As well as welcoming existing customers, we also introduced Glengoyne to a host of potential new customers from around Asia. Look out for us again in 2 years time … we will definitely be back!

Visit Glengoyne at www.glengoyne.com