This month, we place the spotlight on Speyside, and the new releases from some of its most loved distilleries.  Glenfarclas, The Glenlivet, Glenfiddich and Tomintoul are all featured.

If you can make it to London for mid-June, please do pop in to Milroy’s of Soho to taste the latest Compass Box whiskies.  Please read on for further details.

MAY WHISKY OF THE MONTH – GLENFARCLAS 15 YEAR OLD

Glenfarclas 15 year old takes the spotlight as our whisky of the month for May.  This cultured Speysider matured in a combination of American and European oak.  Bottled at 46% ABV without chill-filtration, the whisky pours mid-amber in colour.  The nose suggests a generous Sherry influence in the form of toffee, caramel and wood-spice, reflected on the palate, which is full bodied, voluptuous and silkily textured.  Glenfarclas 15 year old is a mighty fine malt, especially for those that like their whiskies packed full of flavour.

£39.95 per bottle

Free miniature of Glenfarclas 15 year old with every bottle

GLENFARCLAS 40 YEAR OLD

Kudos to George Grant and the team at Glenfarclas distillery.  In an era when greedy brand-owners seem to be outdoing themselves to produce the most expensive mature malt whisky, Glenfarclas has release a new 40 year old expression that is just about affordable to the ordinary whisky lover. 

This new addition to the Glenfarclas line-up is bottled at 46% ABV and is everything one would expect of this distillery.  Deep amber in colour, the whisky yields a distinctive spice laden, rum-like nose, with hints of demerara sugar. In the mouth, it is sweet, rich and full bodied.  The dark rum characters follow through, together with dried fruit, roasted spices and a hint of wood.  A drop or two of water brings it to life.

£295 per bottle

Exclusive Newsletter Offer – receive a free bottle of Pol Roger Vintage 2000 with every bottle of Glenfarclas 40 year old.

GLENLIVET TRIUMPHS – THE GLENLIVET NADURRA TRIUMPH 1991

The Glenlivet Nadurra was an extremely welcome addition to the distillery’s core range when launched a couple of years back.  Following the success of the cask strength Nadurra bottling, the folks at The Glenlivet distillery have announced the releases of a new expression, Nadurra Triumph 1991.

What makes this new expression different you may ask?  Nadurra Triumph is based solely on spirit distilled in 1991, using the Triumph barley variety.  In the early 1990’s Triumph barley was highly regarded for its ability to boost alcohol yield.  Unlike the cask strength non-vintage Nadurra (which undergoes maturation exclusively in 1st fill Bourbon casks), Glenlivet Nadurra Triumph 1991 is matured in a combination of American and European oak casks.

How does it taste?  In response to the most important question, our answer is an unquestionable “Mighty fine!”  As always with Glenlivet, the nose is lively and fruity (peaches, pears).  The European oak lends a touch of sweet caramel and toffee, reflected on the palate, which is at one elegant and full flavoured.  Barley sugar, orange zest and sweet vanilla lead to a long and satisfying finish.

£47.95 per bottle

Exclusive newsletter offer price – £44.50 per bottle

TOMINTOUL STEALS THE SHOW AT WORLD WHISKY AWARDS – TOMINTOUL 33 YEAR OLD

We have a bit of a soft spot for the much under-rated Tomintoul distillery.  It is elegant, subtle, gently fruity with a slightly floral edge; perfect as an aperitif for warmer weather drinking or when one wants something lighter. 

We were therefore extremely pleased to hear that at the 2010 World Whisky Awards, Tomintoul 33 year old was recognised the Best Single Speyside Malt – 21 years or over.  With 30 plus distilleries in Speyside this is no small achievement.

The whisky is very much in keeping with the Tomintoul house style – elegance takes centre stage.  In the mouth, the whisky is supple and round, with a touch of toffee and rum-like sweetness, balanced by cedar-wood, vanilla and a touch of spice (cinnamon, nutmeg).  It is a great malt, and the price is more than reasonable.

£125 per bottle

Exclusive newsletter offer price – £115 per bottle

GLENFIDDICH RICH OAK

On the back of the very successful Distillery Edition 15 year old Cask Strength, Glenfiddich has launched another new bottling, Glenfiddich Rich Oak.  As the name would suggest, Rich Oak is finished in new oak casks, a combination of new American and European oak.  Bottled at 40% ABV, Glenfiddich Rich Oak boasts a supple palate of spicy oak, sweet vanilla, dried fruits and roasted nuts.  It is very much in the Glenfiddich house style, but is elevated from partial maturation in new wood – a real crowd pleaser.

£31.50 per bottle

Exclusive Newsletter Offer Price – £28.95

ENGLISH WHISKY HAS LANDED – ST GEORGE’S CHAPTER 6, ENGLISH WHISKY COMPANY

We are delighted to welcome to Milroy’s of Soho the only English whisky.  Distilled, matured and bottled at the St George’s distillery in Norfolk, this highly anticipated arrival is a fascinating insight into an evolving malt.   On tasting St George’s, my colleague and I were mightily impressed by the quality of the spirit.  We look forward to following its progress over future releases.

£37.95 per bottle

COMPASS BOX WHISKIES IN-STORE TASTING – MONDAY 14 JUNE

Gregg Glass of whisky innovator Compass Box whiskies will be joining us during the afternoon of Monday 14 June to taste through the range of Compass Box whiskies.  This is a great opportunity to taste some of their wonderful distinctive whiskies and perhaps buy a bottle or two.  Any purchases from the Compass Box range on the day will be eligible for a 5% discount.

Until next month, slàinte!

Best regards

Philip Shorten

Milroy’s of Soho

3 Greek Street

London, W1D 4NX

T: 020 7437 2385

F: 020 7437 1345

E: philip.shorten@milroys.co.uk

W: www.milroys.co.uk

£20,000, VERY RARE BOTTLE OF 1937 GLENFIDDICH AT BONHAMS WHISKY SALE

ONLY 11 BOTTLES MADE

An exceptionally rare bottle of Glenfiddich distilled in 1937 is for sale at Bonhams Whisky sale in Edinburgh on 16 June.

It is one of only 11 bottles of the 1937 produced by the distillery and is the first to appear at auction.  Having matured for 64 years it is also one of the oldest whiskies ever released onto the market.  It is estimated to make between £15,000 – 20,000 and is likely to be keenly sought after.

Bonhams Whisky consultant, Martin Green, commented, “It isn’t very often that such a rare bottle comes along and it’s a privilege to be handling it.  As soon as I recognised the significance of the bottle I got in touch with the distillery to let them know that we were including it in the auction.”

Libby Lafferty speaking for Glenfiddich said, “We were very excited when we heard that the 1937 was going into the sale and immediately invited Martin Green from Bonhams to bring the bottle back to its home distillery to photograph for our archives.  It really is that special.”

ends

For further sale information please go to www.bonhams.com/whisky

Notes

Bonhams

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com (February 2010).

Bonhams, 101 New Bond Street, London,  W1S 1SR United Kingdom

NEW BRAND CONTROLLER FOR CUTTY SARK

The Edrington Group announced today that Jason Craig has been appointed brand controller with the newly-acquired Cutty Sark blended Scotch whisky brand.

Jason, previously global controller with Highland Park single malt, has 20 years experience in advertising and marketing, specifically the Scotch whisky industry.

Following his appointment, Jason commented: “This is an exciting time for Edrington and Cutty Sark. Having the opportunity to steer the future of a premium iconic brand with such a long and prestigious blended heritage is going to be a brilliant challenge.”

Ian Curle, Edrington’s chief executive, commented: “I would like to congratulate Jason on this appointment and wish him future success. Edrington has been working with the Cutty Sark brand since 1936 and we are delighted to own it outright. The Cutty Sark brand is an important part of our history and it will be an important part of our future.”

Visit the Cutty Sark at www.cutty-sark.com/

The nice folk at Whisky Magazine always have the best interests of whisky lovers at heart. Each issue features whisky tastings, history, production and interviews as well as the best bars and hotels in which to enjoy a dram.

Clearly, they know what they are talking about as their recent World Whiskies Awards pronounced Highland Park Earl Magnus the World’s Best New Release and yours truly as Whisky Ambassador of the Year. So how about a special offer? You are entitled to claim your very own complimentary trial copy of Whisky Magazine and have them send a copy as a gift to a person of your choice.

Visit www.whiskymag.com/free/highlandpark to complete a form and the next available issue of the magazine will be sent direct to your door. You will also receive an offer for a further 8 issues at just £29.50 (a 30% discount on the regular subscription price of £42.00). Obviously, you have no obligation to take up the subscription offer and can just choose to keep your complimentary copy.

Allow up to eight weeks for delivery; this offer closes at midnight on Sunday 27th June 2010.

We would never share your details with anyone else so and the only way that Whisky Magazine can send you a complimentary copy is if you complete the form and opt in to their offer.

For more information on the Best Spirit in the World visit www.highlandpark.co.uk
 

Gerry
Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year, 2010

Small print – One copy per household. Offer ends at midnight on Sunday 27th June 2010. Offer subject to availability. You will receive the next available edition of Whisky Magazine, which will be mailed by regular post.

Announcing our triumphant new all-natural vintage

The rich mouth feel of our innovative Nadurra range has already caused a stir in the whisky world. That’s why we are delighted to announce the launch of a new Limited Edition vintage, Nadurra Triumph 1991. Available online from The Whisky Exchange.

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-11884.aspx

Matured in a mixture of American and European oak casks, Nàdurra Triumph 1991 is a limited release bottled at 48% and is the first Nàdurra expression based on a vintage statement.

This new expression has been selected from stocks that were distilled in 1991 using Triumph, a variety of the barley that is no longer used in the production of The Glenlivet. Keeping in line with the Nàdurra range, the Nàdurra Triumph 1991 is non-chill filtered, which better retains its natural flavours with an additional richness and a creamy mouth feel.

The additional resting time and a broader selection of casks provide a layer of complexity, and results in a whisky that is more fruitful and has a mildly sweeter flavour; sure to be appreciated by whisky lovers everywhere.

With only 2,500 bottles available in the UK, Nàdurra Triumph is a real collector’s item. You can purchase it now online at The Whisky Exchange.

The single malt that started it all

MALT Versus GRAIN: Vive la Single Cask 

Make a difference this May, cast your vote in the SMWS Vive la Single Cask Campaign.  Will it be the time-honoured Malt in the RED corner or the Grain newcomer in GREEN that tickles your taste-buds.

VOTE: RED (SINGLE CASK MALT) via sales@smws.com
“Goes against the grain”

10.71 Onions Spring Enternal
Islay
£44.70 inc. Free P&P
A vote for RED promises:
A sweet and sour nose evoking oriental cuisine; crispy duck, plum and teriyaki sauce, celery, spring onions; grilled fish and fresh wood smoke.
Age: 11 years            Cask:  Refill ex-sherry butt

VOTE: GREEN (SINGLE CASK GRAIN) via sales@smws.com
“Can’t wait to taste it”

G1.7 Flamed Christmas pudding
Single Cask Grain
£46.70 inc. Free P&P
VOTE brown sugar, dried fruit (dates, recently flamed Christmas pudding) kumquat, chocolate limes and salty buttered toast, with a white pepper heat. VOTE Daddies brown sauce, Boston baked beans and sweet sweet coconut..
Age: 19 years            Cask:  Refill ex-sherry butt

Riding the Wave?

Who says red and green must never been seen. Ride the campaign wave, buy 10.71 & G1.7 together and SAVE £5 OR buy 10.71 & G1.7 together and BUY 121.33 for ONLY £29.50

121.33 Gunpowder on lemon meringue pie
Highland Island
£39.50* or £29.50 with 10.71 & G1.7 inc. Free P&P
The nose had sweetness (Caramac, custard, barley sugar, white chocolate) and tropical fruit (pineapple, orange, lemon, Juicy Fruit)
Age: 9 years                    Cask: Refill ex-bourbon hogshead
                                                                                                    

Offers end: Thu 6 May

SIX May Outturn Previews 
                                                                               
@ Aberdeen Mal & Birmingham & Brighton Hotel du Vin
From Mon 3 May, SIX new May Outturn bottles will preview at our SMWS Snuggles at Aberdeen Malmaison and Birmingham and Brighton Hotel du Vin.  Join us at any of the hotels Mon 3 – Wed 5 May  and sample our First Friday flight of drams with our in-house Society experts. 

We’re not telling you what numbers they are yet, we wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise but we can promise there will be some tasty offers available.   Take me to the SMWS Snuggles

SMWS Whisky Tasting & Events

Ladies Only Pampering Night – 28 Queen St, Wed 5 May
New Outturn Tasting – London, Sat 8 May
New Outturn Sunday Roast tasting – The Vaults, Sun 9 May
Birmingham Preview Tasting – Brighton Hotel Du Vin, Fri 14 May
Cafe Spice Nameste – Cafe Spice London, Tue 18 May
Cardiff Preview Tasting – Novotel Cardiff Centre, Fri 21 May
Islay and Island Tasting – 28 Queen Street, Sat 22 May
Cafe Fish & Dram Tasting – The Vaults, Mon 24 May
All things Japanese Night – The Vaults, Thu 27 May
Liverpool Preview Tasting -Malmaison, Thu 27 May

Visit the Scotch Malt Whisky Society at www.smws.co.uk for an opportunity to join.

In this issue, we showcase new product arrivals, including the 2010 batch of Springbank 18 year old, Duncan Taylor NC2 whiskies, and Hazelburn 12 year old. These are available nationally.
 
You will also see some pictures from our Preiss Imports Scotch Whisky Road Show that toured through the mid-west in March 2010.
 
Cheers,
 
Ken Young
Preiss Imports
ken@preissimports.com

Springbank 18 Year Old

Available Once Again
 
“To use the most technical term I can think of: wowee-wow-wow-wow.”
 
5 Stars, Highest Recommendation F. Paul Pacult’s, Spirit Journal

The packaging of this 2010 batch has been aligned with the flagship 10 and 15 year old products. This 18 year old was aged in a mix of bourbon and sherry casks and 46% ABV.
 
As with all Springbank bottlings, the malt is dried for 6 hours over a peat fire then a further 24 hours over hot air. Distilled two and a half times.    
 
Tasting Notes

Color: Rusty Copper
Nose: Full of authority. Rich and creamy at first, the nose develops to reveal vanilla, ripe fruits and marzipan before hints of sherbert, almonds and strawberries tempt you onwards to the first mouthful.
Palate: A classic full-bodied dram. Thick and oily in texture with an extremely fruity and mellow taste which gives way to a sweet liquorice and aniseed flavour as it opens up. Hints of liquorice and aniseed.
Finish: Sweet and chocolatey with some coconut, the finish is long and consistent with a pleasant smokey tingle.

New Duncan Taylor NC2 Arrivals

These NC2 whiskies just arrived from the UK and are limited to 300 bottles for the US
 
DT NC2 1993 Aberlour 16 yr old
DT NC2 1999 Auchroisk 10 yr old
DT NC2 2000 Balmenach 10 yr old
DT NC2 1990 Ben Nevis 19 yr old
DT NC2 1998 Ben Nevis 11 yr old
DT NC2 1997 Bunnahabhain 12 yr old peated
DT NC2 1987 Glen Grant 21 yr old
DT NC2 1987 Glenlivet  22 yr old
DT NC2 1988 Glen Moray  21 yr old
DT NC2 1991 Glen Scotia  18 yr old
DT NC2 1991 Macallan 18 yr old

Hazelburn 12 Year Old

Springbank’s Triple Distilled, non-peated Single Malt 
 
First distilled in 1997, and every year thereafter. The malt is dried over hot air only, no peat at all is used. These are aged in Sherry Casks, 46% ABV, and annual worldwide output of only 1,200 bottles.
 
Tasting Notes

Nose: Incredibly rich, the influence of the sherry casks is immediately apparent. Sweet and chocolatey, there are also notes of apricot, orange marmalade, almonds and marzipan.
Palate: Malty, fruity and elegant. A very well-balanced and rounded dram with hints of oak, figs and nuts.
Finish: A long, lingering fruity sweetness.

Visit Preiss Imports at http://www.preissimports.com/

EASTER AT BLADNOCH

Compiled by Sue

Two weeks ago Kevin, Mabel and myself loaded the car to the roof, filled the top-box and set off for Bladnoch.

It was a beautiful sunny day in Ulverston and we enjoyed the very scenic drive North through the lakes and into Scotland. We were looking forward to spending a fortnight in the mild climate of Galloway – doing a bit of sight-seeing and fishing while the sun shone gently down on us! I thought I’d pop into the distillery now and again – just to catch up on the gossip and lend a hand if needed.

Our holiday accommodation at Bladnoch is Raymond’s caravan – situated behind the old maltings with wonderful views of the distillery and the River Bladnoch. It’s very well appointed and has served us well since we left for Southern climes!! Though I did turn rather green with envy when stillman Hugh gave us a guided tour of his new 5 star luxury caravan parked next to ours…… However, once we had unloaded the car, got the heating on and the fridge stocked it was home from home. Mabel settled in her bed in the corner of the caravan and we settled down with a cold beer to watch the River Bladnoch flowing fast and deep past the distillery gardens. It was quite a sad sight – the prolonged bad weather had taken its toll on Raymond’s carefully tended gardens. The range of spectacular palm trees had not fared at all well, and were shedding leaves throughout the grounds. However , we tackled the garden on Saturday afternoon while Raymond and Florence were “Spring Cleaning” in the Distillery.

We very soon realised that dreams of “semi-tropical” weather were just that…. it rained, and rained, and rained, then just when we thought the sun was going to shine – it rained again, driven by gale force winds!! So the fishing was reduced to one unsuccessful afternoon and I popped into the distillery every morning at nine and popped out again at five – or six!!

The crew are Bladnoch were working at full stretch – the afternoon we arrived Hugh & John were unloading casks from a lorry that arrived a day late. The day before, the driver had ignored the “low bridge” signs on the A75 at Dunragit and wedged his vehicle under it and lost part of the load….. Chaos and road closures ensued when a replacement lorry was brought in – along with fork-lifts, and the load of palletised casks was transferred then kept in secure storage overnight in Stranraer. When they finally arrived at Bladnoch it was clear that a number of the casks had had a lucky escape being rather battered and muddy from their off-road experience!!

One memorable day was the one where we lost power at 3:30 in the morning…………I’ll let Raymond express his thoughts on that one………..

Despite the adverse weather forecast Florence and I went up to Glasgow yesterday morning in very squally conditions to pick up the Benriach. There was slushy snow in the Galloway Hills. We hadn’t had a great nights sleep. The electricity had gone off about 3.30 am and came back on again but this had set off the distillery alarms which required me to go walk about over to the shop in my pyjamas in the middle of a cold night to stop the alarms and re-set the system. They went off again just after 4 am and unfortunately this time the electricity remained off. It’s amazing how everything seems to be dependent on electricity.

While we were up in Glasgow a tanker lorry arrived down from Arran but without electricity John and Hugh were unable to pump the new-make spirit into the spirit tank. The unfortunate driver had been delayed on Arran on Monday during a power cut and couldn’t get off the island on Tuesday because of high seas and was fairly disconsolate when I arrived back from Glasgow. The unfortunate thing was that in times like this the electricity authorities usually decide not to be available on the phone for information purposes, so you are left wondering if and when the supply will be re-connected soon.  I decided we’d better hire a 3 phase generator but this was easier said than done as the emergency covered nearly all of Dumfries and Galloway and hospitals, schools and other businesses had snapped up everything. Eventually after a forty mile round trip I managed to hire one which unfortunately turned out not to powerful enough to drive the very large pump on the back of the lorry. So we ended up disconnecting the distillery worts pump and after some make shift plumbing and with the use of the generator we managed to get the tanker emptied of 27000 litres of Arran new-make and the driver headed for home. An hour later the electricity came on.

Of course this had to happen on one of the coldest March days in Bladnoch!The rest of us did what we could throughout the day – the boys working in the warehouses where they could in the very dim light. As you know – we do all our labelling by hand so that carried on in the gloom of the old tearoom and also used the time to catch up on the packaging of forum orders. The hot soup from the Brig-End at lunchtime was very welcome….. Even so the visitors continued to arrive at the Visitor Centre – tours were not practical and the till and card machine weren’t operating so cash sales and promises of tours later in the week were the order of the day.

As I mentioned earlier we have been very busy with our Forum Bottles. Raymond sourced a number of casks that were bottled just before Easter and offered to Forum Members. They are all now available in our Webshop and in the Distillery Shop. We would normally only have one Forum Bottling at any one time – this time we had Caol Ila, Glenburgie, Benriach, Glen Elgin, Linkwood, Longmorn and Cambus!!!

The Easter Weekend was very busy – in spite of the atrocious weather. There’s nothing like Galloway rain for sending visitors running for cover in the distillery from the deluge…. People travelled to Bladnoch from Germany, Sweden, Canada, Ukraine, the USA, Netherlands and Newton Stewart. Raymond delighted folk with his “extended” tours and even Kevin was called in to take a group of Belgian visitors around who required a French speaking guide. As always we like to hope they all left Bladnoch with great memories – and a bottle of Bladnoch – as so many of you have done in the past….

 To our many friends all over the world we would like to say “Thank You” for your continued support of The Spirit of the Lowlands

Slainte!

Sue

BLADNOCH DISTILLERY

BLADNOCH

WIGTOWN

DG8 9AB
01988 402605

www.bladnoch.co.uk

bladnoch@talktalk.net

What a fantastic newsletter! Well done! WI

Hi All,

Hope you are all enjoying your Bank Holiday weekend – shame about the weather!

I needed to let everyone who is thinking of coming to the London event in May know that there have been a few changes…

First of all we are focussing purely on the Saturday May 15th now as Sunday wasn’t proving popular.

Secondly, we are now hosting a full day event rather than split sessions as we wanted to make it as good value and as simple as possible.

Thirdly, we have reduced the price permanently to £18 – amazing value!

Fourthly, we have moved! The new venue details are as follows…

The Hilton Tower Bridge
Tooley Street
London SE1 3BY

Still a fantastic venue and even more convenient for many! Nearest tube stations are London Bridge and Tower Hill.

If you haven’t yet signed up and would like to come along, I am prepared to offer the first 50 people to reply to this email saying they would like to come an additional £3 discount, making tickets only £15!

It is going to be a great day with lots of new things going on during the day, plus a fantastic band (www.timhain.com) to play between 6 and 7pm.

Miss it at your peril and keep the whisky revolution moving onwards and upwards! To view more details on the event, please visit http://tinyurl.com/Whisky-Lounge

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Cheers,

Eddie Ludlow
Whisky Evangelist

thewhiskylounge
www.thewhiskylounge.com
eddie@thewhiskylounge.com

IWSC Spirit Panel Judge 2009-present

WIN A TRIP TO DUFFTOWN

We are pleased to announce a new and exciting benefit to membership of Warehouse 24… a prize draw exclusive to you and your fellow members.

If you win, we will fly you and a friend to Scotland from wherever you are in the world and put you up at The Castle Hotel in Huntly.

We’ll arrange a VIP tour of the distillery for you, which will end with a generous nosing and tasting of our range. You’ll also get to leave with a bottle of The Balvenie Rose.

The Balvenie Rose is a special expression that’s only available when you visit the distillery – making it quite a rare malt in enthusiast’s collections.

You don’t have to do anything. Our winner will be randomly selected from the membership of Warehouse 24 in mid-October. For details, watch my short film here, http://tinyurl.com/347cewo or see the terms and conditions of the draw here. http://tinyurl.com/3y8ew24

Good luck to you, and slainte mhath,

David Mair
The Balvenie Ambassador

PS. We will be introducing a way to increase your chances of winning the prize in the near future, but more of that another time… 

THE BALVENIE DISTILLERY COMPANY LIMITED
Registered in Scotland. Registered Number SC138003
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire, Scotland AB55 4BB
www.thebalvenie.com

Visit the  Balvenie soon to join Ware House 24 and you chance to win.