From Gerry Tosh at Highland Park Distillery
  
I’m not entirely sure but I suspect I sometimes suffer from indecision.

I know I always want a Highland Park but which one? Of course I have my favourites; I’m a big fan of the 1977 Bicentenary Vintage so was delighted when we found some additional bottles in Japan recently. The 21 year old is fantastic too.

The point is, if you ever have the same problem, I am delighted to offer a confusion solution; in the Tasting Collection we have packaged together five miniatures of the most popular expressions of Highland Park.

• 12 year old remains the heart of the Highland Park range.

• Highland Park 15 Year Old has a remarkably complex nose.

• Highland Park 18 Year Old has a prolonged, full, smoky aftertaste. The Best Spirit in the World*.

• Be brave and try Highland Park 25 Year Old neat to enjoy an immense vanilla sensation with the characteristic honey sweetness developing into complex aromas of cinnamon, nuts and dark fruit.

• The prolonged maturation of Highland Park 30 Year Old means it merits time and attention; you’ll discover the characteristic fudge sweetness together with complex aromatic spices and dark chocolate orange.
The Tasting Collection is great for sampling with friends and makes a perfect gift too. So, despite my indecision, I’m going to buy two. Or three.

The Tasting Collection comprises five 5cl miniatures and is priced at £42.50.

If you would like to purchase this you can either visit our secure online shop at www.highlandpark.co.uk or if you are in the UK you can call us on 0845 6501798 (local call rates apply) where we will take your order over the phone.

Gerry
Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year, 2010

Dear All,

It has been a while coming, but here it is finally!

Firstly the news: a mammoth, and unforgettable, 11 night tour of Sweden at the end of October, followed by a weekend at The Aquavitae Fair in Essen and the Whisky Show in London, then a few days of tastings in Holland culminating in the Whisky Fair of Leiden. Finally, a week in Switzerland, and back home to be barked at by the dog…

The 1st December heralded some great news – the Malt Maniac Awards 2009 were published. Every year this entirely independent, international, group of whisky aficionados invite all whisky producers (not just Scotch) to send in a maximum of 5 different whiskies for blind tasting and judging. This year we were thrilled to be awarded 1 of the 7 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 1 bronze medal, and even more delighted that 2 of our entries also won awards. Full details will shortly be posted on our website, but in the meantime, please see below, or check out the MM Awards page http://www.maltmaniacs.org/2009-whisky-awards.html

Bunnahabhain 1974, 35yr old Islay, 56.6% vol cask 4780, Gold Medal and the Ultra Premium Thumbs Up Award (Best Newcomer)…only 4 bottles left £180.00 each

Laudale 12yr old Batch 1, 46.0% vol, Silver Medal and the Daily Drams Thumbs Up Awards (Best Newcomer)…all sold

Breath of Speyside 1991 18yr old, 54.2% vol cask 5145, Silver Medal…about 12 bottles left £66.00 each

Glen Grant 1985 23yr old Speyside, 55.9% vol cask 10197, Silver Medal…in stock £83.60 each

Cameronbridge 1978 30yr old Lowland (single grain), 56.6% vol cask 5, Bronze Medal…5 bottles left £95.00 each

All in all, our best ever outing!

Now, on to the Christmas offer. Since I haven’t been in touch for a couple of months, this year you have 2 choices, in addition to any of the medal winners still available above:

1. Breath of Speyside 1991 18yr old, 54.3% vol cask 5142 (this was bottled 3 months after the one above) £62.70
1 of only 612 bottles from cask no. 5142

Hot on the heels of its sister cask (no. 5145), this is the 4th sherry butt in the Breath of Speyside range from Adelphi.

A rich amber hue, we were immediately struck by how clean this whisky was. A lovely nose of well-aged balsamic vinegar with marmalade, plums and Maraschino cherries in the background. The whisky keeps opening, now revealing prunes, marinated in Armagnac; then hints of Calvados and plenty of brown sugar.

To taste, the sugar is now more burnt and caramelized, with a thread of dark chocolate and Christmas cake wrapper. A rich, viscous texture to finish with Old English marmalade, and no tannins. Christmas in a glass.

2. Balblair 1990 18yr old Highland, 53.0% vol cask 739 £62.70
1 of only 158 bottles from cask no. 739

Balblair is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, and has recently been brought into a prominent role by its current owners, Inverhouse. From our records this is only the 2nd time we have bottled the make.

A rich, deep golden colour thanks to an active ASB maturation, this is a complex dram. Walnut fudge drying to fruit cake with a lovely set, flowery honey nose. Apples, pears and dried apricots follow, finishing with a delicate hint of Palma violet and kiwi fruit.

This perfume continues to the taste, now becoming more spicy with cinnamon and walnuts. Keeping it unreduced, the palate soon sweetens to marshmallow fudge with tinned fruit salad and melted marshmallows on the finish. A truly special pre-dinner whisky.

Please let me know if you would like anything.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year from us all at Adelphi.

Alex.

Alex Bruce

Sales & Marketing Director

Adelphi Distillery Ltd.

Tel/Fax: +44 (0) 1383 842 912

Mobile: +44 (0) 7795 424 838

Skype: alex.bruce

Email: alex@adelphidistillery.com

Web: www.adelphidistillery.com

Dear Society Member,

As many of you will know, we have been trying to find a way to work around the US customs and postal service restrictions to allow our members in the USA to enjoy the full benefits of their Society membership – essentially the opportunity to get your hands on our regular Society bottlings.

After a long period of wracking our brains – we have a very slow pace of life here in Campbeltown – and talking to potential partners we believe that we are on the way to a successful outcome.

Our US distributor Preiss Imports has agreed to help out by teaming up with selected retailers to import a batch of each Society bottling. At first, we will be working with retailers in California and Texas and if the partnership is successful we will roll the scheme out to other states. We appreciate that this plan might not be perfect for some of you but we hope you will agree that it is a lot better than the current situation. When we have full details of the retailers and timescales involved you will be the first to know.

We have also been working to expand our Society activities in the USA. In June of this year the first Society tasting in north America took place in Dallas, Texas, thanks to the input of members Mark Monfrey and Jeff Daniels and their friends. Ranald Watson from Springbank travelled to Dallas for the event and we had an excellent turnout of both existing and new members.

We were so impressed with the attendance in Dallas that we have agreed to provide a fantastic opportunity to anyone who attends the next “Texas Tasting” early in 2010 – the chance to choose the next limited edition Springbank Society bottling.

Mark and the gang in Dallas are hosting a tasting for Society members only at 7.30pm on 12th January 2010 at the Trinity Hall Irish Pub, 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, 250, Dallas, Texas. To take advantage of this one-off opportunity to have your say on the next Society bottle, telephone Mark Monfrey (214) 887-3600 or email monfrey@artisanal-beverage.com to book your tickets.

In addition to helping to choose the next bottle, you will also have the chance to try the latest Society whisky at the tasting, as well as a number of other whiskies from the Springbank range. We are also led to believe that Mark might even have a special gift to give to all members who attend!

Hopefully all this good news will provide some festive cheer for everyone and help to get 2010 off to an excellent Springbank start! If you have any queries about any of the above news, or any suggestions about how we can help to make the Society work for you, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Wishing you a happy Christmas and best wishes for 2010,

Janet
For the Springbank Society

J & A Mitchell and Co Ltd, The Tasting Room, 9 Bolgam Street, Campbeltown, Argyll, PA28 6HZ
Registered in Scotland, registration number 3582
Tel :   + 44(0) 1586 552009   Fax :  + 44(0) 1586 553232  website  http://www.springbankwhisky.com

SCOTLAND MIXES IT UP WITH  THE GLENROTHES ULTIMATE GENTLEMAN’S COCKTAIL CONTEST

Mix it, swirl it, zest it up – 17 of Scotland’s elite bartenders showcased their cocktail culinary skills last week as part of The Glenrothes Ultimate Cocktail Contest; the first national competition of its kind held at the award-winning Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh.

Using The Glenrothes Select Reserve as the base spirit the bartenders from well known drinking haunts including Bramble Bar, Tigerlily and Blythswood Hotel were tasked with creating a top class, top notch tipple.

Contestants were given only three minutes to create a cocktail which contains at least 30ml of The Glenrothes and a maximum of six other ingredients. They were marked on name, balance of flavour, simplicity of ingredients, taste, originality, creative presentation, delivery and performance.

Don’t Marry her and Fantastic Mr Fudge were just two of the more usual concoctions mixed by the contestants with the winning pour, The Last Gentleman Standing, coming from the established bartender, May Kongsrivilai at Bon Vivant on Thistle Street in Edinburgh. A mix of The Glenrothes Select Reserve, Green Chartreuse, 2001 Noval Tawny Port and Kirsch Vassser guaranteed the top prize that includes an all expenses paid VIP trip to The Glenrothes Distillery in Speyside, Mixxit Ultimate Bartenders Kit and a bottle of The Glenrothes Vintage 1985.

With flat caps, finest tweed and all things refined, cocktails from second and third place came from Treacle’s Adam Neal and Blythswood Hotel’s Dean Evans, both of whom won trips to The Glenrothes Distillery in Speyside and a bottle of The Glenrothes Select Reserve each.

Hosted by The Glenrothes’ own mixologist Andy Gemmell, the competition brought together a diverse judging panel including Simon Difford, editor of drinks industry publication CLASS; Tom Bruce Gardyne, independent whisky writer; Gaby Soutar from The Scotsman Magazine; and Ronnie Cox, Global Brand Ambassador for The Glenrothes.

Said winner May Kongsrivilai: “I love classic cocktails and mixing up new variations on old themes.  I was able to use my interest of the classic serves and my love of whisky to good effect creating something quite unique that I hope customers to Bon Vivant will make a special request for.  I look forward to mixing it up again with The Glenrothes.”

The Glenrothes, introduced in 2005, is a popular tipple amongst whisky connoisseurs. The Select Reserve is a versatile yet unique malt laced with notes of ripe fruits, juicy citrus, creamy vanilla and hints of spice – making it the perfect liquid to partner with cocktails.

1st Place: May Kongsrivilai’s The Last Gentleman Standing

40ml The Glenrothes Select Reserve

12.5ml Green Chartreuse

20ml 2001 Noval Tawny Port

1 barspoon (5mls) Kirsch Vassser (which was steeped with Morello cherries)

Stired and garnished with orange zest (discarded) and three Morrello cherries.

2nd Place: Adam Neal’s The Perfect Gentleman

60ml The Glenrothes Select Reserve

10ml dandelion and burdock reduction

10ml Mixed berry syrup

Dash Aztec chocolate bitters

Blazed into an antique Goblet without garnish.

3rd Place: Dean Evans’ Chevelier Sangaree

40ml The Glenrothes Select Reserve

5ml Creme de Poire

5ml Maraschino

5ml Simple Syrup (1 part water and 1 part sugar)

25ml Cinzano Bianco

Shaken and strained over cracked ice into a small toddy glass or goblet garnished with mint sprigs, small chunks of orange and nutmeg.

-Ends-

For further information please visit www.theglenrothes.com 

For press enquiries or photography, please contact:

Linda Edstrand / Sarah McDonald, The BIG Partnership

Tel: 0131 555 5522

Email: linda.edstrand@bigpartnership.co.uk; sarah.mcdonald@bigpartnership.co.uk

Notes to editors:

About The Glenrothes

·         The Glenrothes was founded in 1879

·         The Glenrothes is available from Sainsbury’s, Oddbins, Thresher and whisky specialists nationwide and on The Glenrothes website www.theglenrothes.com.

·         Little more than 2% of the distillery capacity is bottled as Single Malt to ensure exceptional quality

·         Of the 16 Vintages released to date, 12 have entirely sold out

·         It is matured in a combination of Spanish and American oak casks – the best of both worlds

·         The Glenrothes Select Reserve was voted Best in Class at the World Whiskies Awards 2008 and won two Double Golds at The San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2007

·         The Glenrothes 1978 Vintage was voted Best Speyside Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards 2008

·         The Glenrothes 1975 won a Double Gold award at The San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2008

·         “I have always felt that Glenrothes deserved to be more widely appreciated. Beautifully rounded, sophisticated after-dinner malt.” Michael Jackson’s Malt Whisky Companion

·         Jim Murray, in his Whisky Bible 2007, refers to The Glenrothes Select Reserve as; “One of the softest deliveries on Speyside, the silky barley and citrus caress the tastebuds with rare tenderness” and scores it 24 out of 25

Linda Edstrand
Account Manager

The BIG Partnership

Suite 4/3, Great Michael House, 14 Links Place, Edinburgh, EH6 7EZ

Tel: 0131 555 5522
Mob: 07717 875 227
Fax: 0131 554 3742
www.bigpartnership.co.uk

 
STAFF at GlenDronach are today (8 December) toasting two new awards achieved by its stellar 15 year old “Revival” single malt.
 
Last week, at the Dutch Whisky Awards 2009, it was voted Best Single Malt Whisky of the year in the Netherlands.
 
It also won a top accolade in the prestigious “Malt Maniacs” 2009 Awards.
 
GlenDronach’s Dutch agent Caecil Gerrits of importers Versailles Dranken Nijmegen explained: “On the awards’ website, visitors of the festival were ask to vote for “The Best Single Malt Whisky” out of a selection of three hundred different whiskies divided into three categories. We received over four thousand votes.
 
“Some 62% of the votes in the non-peated category went to the GlenDronach 15 yrs old.
 
“After that, in a blind tasting, the six-person tasting panel chose the four best whiskies in the three categories. Even in this blind taste the GlenDronach 15 yrs was the best.”
 
The second success for “Revival” was in winning the Malt Maniacs’ “Non Plus Ultra Award 2009” in the Daily Drams category.
 
The Malt Maniacs, founded 1997 by Johannes van den Heuvel and Serge Valentin, are the most well known of all web-based whisky communities. Their twenty-four members are scattered all around the globe – in Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Africa – and amongst them are whisky writers Martine Nouet, Dave Broom and Charles MacLean.
 
The Malt Maniacs’ Awards, sometimes called ‘The Formula One Grand Prix of Whisky’, have taken place every year since 2003. More than two hundred whiskies are usually preselected and submitted by more than sixty different distillers, bottlers or brands and tasted blind by independent international jurors.
 
Johannes said: “It was not a huge surprise that the Glendronach 15yo did so well – Serge and I both adored it when we got the chance to sample it earlier and many of the jurors share our love for heavily-sherried whiskies. So many congratulations.”
 
Earlier, on hisWhiskyfun website, Serge Valentin gave “Revival” 92 points and commented: “The fact that some distilleries still have such old-style sherried whiskies may well be the best of recent news from the whisky world. An adorable whisky.”
 
The GlenDronach “Revival” is a remarkable full-bodied malt which is matured for a minimum of 15 years in the finest Oloroso sherry casks. Bottled at 46%, the GlenDronach Revival is non chill filtered and of natural colour. Master Blender Billy Walker’s Tasting Notes are:
 
Appearance
Deep gold with a lovely mahogany heart.
 
Nose
Incredible concentration of aromas. Treacle toffee and chocolate orange.
 
Palate
A very dynamic and full bodied dram for its age. Chewy with coffee chocolate and treacle scones.
 
Conclusions
A veritable feast to enliven the senses.
 
For more information, go to www.glendronachdistillery.co.uk
 
Image of the bottle attached.
 
ends                                                           8 December 2009
 
INFORMATION – Kerry White, 01324 682220 or email kwhite@benriachdistillery.co.uk

Press release, issued date: December 2009
 
Indian malt named Best Natural Cask whisky by Malt Maniacs
 
Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky has picked up an award from a prestigious group of malt whisky lovers.
 
Fusion 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.
 
Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky gets its name from the fact that it uses two barleys: Indian and Scottish – with the latter being peated. It comes from Amrut Distilleries, the Bangalore-based company which introduced the first single malt from India to the UK in 2004.
 
This is the second important award for Fusion within two months: leading whisky expert, Jim Murray named it as the third best malt in the world in his Whisky Bible 2010 which was published in October 2009.
 
The Malt Maniacs are an international on-line collective of malt whisky lovers which have been spreading the gospel of single malt whisky since 1997. Each year members form a jury to sample – completely blind – hundreds of whiskies, in what is probably the only consumer-driven whisky competition.
 
The Maniacs’ comments about Amrut’s Silver-medal winning Fusion included: “All jurors agreed that this bottling from India deserved a medal, but opinions were divided about the colour. Robert loved [it] and gave it a score of 92 points [gold].”
 
Ashok Chokalingam, Amrut’s International sales manager, said: “This recognition for Amrut’s special East-meets-West whisky underlines the quality of our malt. We are delighted that such passionate whisky enthusiasts enjoyed our subtle fusion of Indian and Scottish barleys. It proves that Fusion, a whisky that has been highly rated by distinguished experts, is also a malt for armchair connoisseurs everywhere.”
 
In The Whisky Bible 2010, Fusion gained 97 points. Murray said it “has to be one of the great whiskies found anywhere in the word this year”. In his tasting notes, he adds: “It is one of those which command a big mouthful, a chair with a headrest … and silence. You will chew for seemingly hours and never quite get to the bottom of its mystical complexity. It is massive whisky, but its genius is that you get the feeling that there is some almost invisible element keeping the malt together so the proportions are never less than perfect.”
 
Amrut’s Indian barley comes from the Punjab and the distillation takes place in the tropical garden city of Bangalore at 3000ft. The barley from Scotland is also distilled in Bangalore and both are matured there separately. After they have reached their peak, the two whiskies are married in the bourbon casks in proportions which give both a subtle peat flavour and a rich fruity flavour from the Indian barley. This is bottled at 50% abv to reflect the depth and finish of the whisky.
 
This rare combination of Indian and Scottish elements means Fusion has a really excellent mouthfeel and palate, combining oak, a hint of vanilla, fruit and the sublime peat.
 
Notes to editors
Ashok can be contacted for further comment on 07838 229914
 
Further information:
Amrut Distilleries
Amrut Single Malt Whisky from India is relatively new to the global market, with it only launched officially in Glasgow in 2004. Since then its reputation has grown.
 
One of the Amrut Single Malt Whisky bottlings by Blackadder International won “The Best Daily Dram” category of last year’s Malt Maniacs 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 a Bronze at the IWSC in 2008. Amrut is now sold widely in Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Spain) as well as Canada and South Africa. In August it was officially introduced in Australia and it will be lunched into the United States this year.
 
Malt Maniacs
Although they do meet in real life, the Malt Maniacs, founded 1997 by Johannes van den Heuvel, are the most well known of all Web-based whisky communities. The 24 members of Malt Maniacs are scattered all around the globe: Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Africa. Amongst them famous whisky writers Martine Nouet, Dave Broom and Charles MacLean.
 
The Malt Maniacs are 100 per cent independent and only their amateur members are entitled to score whisky for Malt Maniacs. The three websites that make for the Malt Maniacs’ online platform are www.malmaniacs.org, www.maltmadness.com and www.whiskyfun.com. Together they gather around 300,000 single visits a month.
 
The Malt Maniacs Awards, sometimes called “The Formula One Grand Prix of Whisky”, are organised every year since 2003. More than 200 whiskies are usually preselected and submitted by more than 60 different distillers, bottlers or brands and tasted blind by from ten to twelve independent jurors from various countries (India, Taiwan, USA, Canada, Europe…) There are no fees involved whatsoever. The results, usually published on 1 December, are always eagerly awaited and commented on by the whole whisky community.
 
Should you like to know more about the Malt Maniacs and/or the Malt Maniacs Awards, please contact Johannes van den Heuvel at maltmaster@gmail.com
 
Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2010
A full account of the 2010 World Whisky Awards can be found in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2010, published on 5 October by Dram Good Books priced at £10.99 www.whiskybible.com
 
Images
high res images of Amrut Fusion and Ashok are available from Fiona Laing
 
Contact details
Ashok Chokalingam, General Manager – International Operations
The Grainger Suite, Dobson House, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE3 3PF.
Tel: + 44 191 233 6316.  Fax: +44-191 233 6346.
Email: ashok@amrutdistilleries.com
 
Issued on behalf of Amrut Distilleries
by Fiona Laing, Communications Consultant
0794 665 4451 or flaing@btinternet.com

Benromach Traditional 

WAS £21.99
NOW £15.99
SAVE £6.00
While Stocks Last

Distilled and matured at the smallest working distillery in Speyside,
Benromach uses spring water from the nearby Romach hills, the finest malted barley and hand selected oak casks. The result is a rich, mellow whisky with fruity and malty tones, balanced with a hint of smoke.

SOME OTHER SPECIAL OFFERS
Aberlour 16 YO Double Cask Matured SPECIAL OFFER: Save £10.00
Ardmore Traditional Cask SPECIAL OFFER: Save £5.00
Balvenie 12 Year Old Doublewood SPECIAL OFFER: Save £6.00
Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old SPECIAL OFFER: Save £5.00
Glenlivet 12 Year Old SPECIAL OFFER: Save £4.50
 Isle of Jura 10 Year Old SPECIAL OFFER: Save £6.00
Glendronach 15 Year Old SPECIAL OFFER: Save £4.00
Glendronach 18 Year Old SPECIAL OFFER: Save £4.00
Glen Moray Classic SPECIAL OFFER: Save £6.00
Macallan 10 Year Old Original SPECIAL OFFER: Save £5.00
Scapa 16 year old  SPECIAL OFFER: Save £5.00
Strathisla 12 year old SPECIAL OFFER: Save £4.00
Tobermory 10 Year Old SPECIAL OFFER: Save £4.50

 
From the Award Winning BenRiach Distillery, we have two holiday gift packs. These are quite limited, so see below for ordering information.
 
Some exciting news from Scotland – Springbank Distillery has won two prestigious medals for 2010. Whisky Magazine’s Distillery of the Year and Young Ambassador of the Year (for Peter Currie). The award cabinet for our Scotch brands continues to grow…you might recall in 2009 BenRiach won Whisky Magazine’s Distillery of the Year and Malt Advocate’s in 2007 as well as Mark Watt from Duncan Taylor winning Young Ambassador of the Year 2009.
 
GlenDronach is set to arrive next month. After some delays, the whisky is finally going to arrive around December 15th. We will miss the holiday season but you should start seeing it on store shelves in January. We are proud to represent this great line of whiskies! Keep an eye out for cask strength single barrel bottlings in 2010.
 
Duncan Taylor won Jim Murray’s Scotch Grain Whisky of the Year 2010!
 
Hazelburn 12 year old has arrived! This new bottling is from Springbank Distillers and has aged nicely since the last edition of the 8 year old was released.
 
Wishing everyone a warm holiday season.
 
Cheers,
 
Ken Young
Preiss Imports
ken@preissimports.com

 
BenRiach Mini Gift Sets
A Speyside treat for your loved ones
 
Classic Pack 4x50ml

 
Classic & Peated Pack 4x50ml
 
 
What a great gift from Speyside. Two packs are available this holiday, The Classic Pack featuring the “Heart of Speyside”, 12 year old, 16 year old, and 20 year old expressions; and The Classic & Peated Pack featuring their two peated whiskies, 10 year old “Curiositas” and 21 year old “Authenticus” along with the 12 year old and 16 year old regular Speyside malts.
 
These little packs are very limited, so order soon. They are available at the following retailers.
 
Beltramos
Binny’s
D&M Liquor
Hi Time Wines
K&L Wine
Wade’s Wines
Wally’s
The Whisky Shop
Wine Specialist
Wine and Liquor Depot

Springbank: Distiller of the Year 2010
Whisky Magazine declares J&A Mitchell as Distiller of the Year 2010

This is big news for Campbeltown’s oldest running distillery, and the same for their U.S. Importer, Preiss Imports, whose Scotch Suppliers now hold three novel Distillery of the Year Awards over the past 3 years (BenRiach has 2007 and 2009).

This award will quickly dispell rumors about the Springbank Distillery closing down. In 2008, they decided to cut back production due to the high cost of utilities and barley – a prudent step with the global economy the way it is now. After 180 years experience in distilling, they are confident in their decision making.

Be sure to get your hands on their newest release, Kilkerran Work In Progress.

Springbank: Young Ambassador of the Year 2010
Whisky Magazine awards Peter Currie with Young Ambassador of the Year 2010

Peter Currie has certainly made his mark during his tenure at Springbank Distillers. He has become respected throughout the Whisky Community as a Sales and Marketing Manager who has an in-depth knowledge of Scotch Whisky.
 
Congratulations Peter! 
 
Welcome Back A Sleeping Giant

GlenDronach is set to arrive in December, customers anxiously waiting

Back in August, we proudly announced we would be representing the GlenDronach Single Malt Brand for the United States. Since then we debuted these fine sherried whiskies at both WhiskyFest San Francisco and New York. The consumer and trade response has been sensational! We are looking forward to having full distribution of these products in 2010. States will start to receive inventory in Decemeber – sorry but most of you will miss Christmas, hopefully an IOU will do…

Scotch Grain Whisky of the Year
 
Duncan Taylor & Co have been awarded Jim Murray’s World Whisky Awards 2010 for best Scotch Grain of the Year!The winner of this prestigious award is our Rare Auld Grain bottling of
North British 1978, cask Q247, 54.7%alc/vol.
 
 
Jim’s notes and score are as follows:
Nose: The jackpot!! Well, nearly. Everything here I look for from this distillery at this kind of age: a complex, softly spiced layering to the usual corn field. Busy and gloriously three dimensional.
Taste: What a delivery! Canadian from the top drawer in so many aspects! A real fizz to this as the spices move in and break up any corn mafia that’s thinking about dominating proceedings: the starchy backbone also has light banana-vanillas and weak Demerara sugar to contend with.
Finish: Those soft spices spin on even as the corn oils begin to gain a belated foothold. The vanillas are faultless.
Comment: Golden proof that great grain is a match for anything.
Score: 95 points 
 
Hazelburn 12 Now Available 

Hazelburn is named after one of the old Campbeltown Distilleries. Hazelburn is made with unpeated barley, making the spirit light, fruity and very, very subtle. The Hazelburn 12 Year Old is the third release under this label for the U.S. The malt was first distilled in 1997 and every year since. It is triple distilled, and dried over hot air ONLY. No peat is added.

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 www.preissimports.com

Grand Scotch Whisky Master
Diageo’s Single Malt Scotch Whiskies win prestigious title again

The coveted prize of Grand Scotch Whisky Master has been awarded to Diageo for the success of their Single Malt Scotch Whiskies.

The announcement came at this week’s Spirits Masters Awards in London.
This is the second year that Diageo have won this award, decided by independent judges from outside the industry. The Spirits Masters competition is sponsored and organised by The Spirits Business magazine.
The Singleton™ of Glen Ord 12 year old and Cardhu™ 12 year old won Masters medals, as did Talisker™ 10 year old and Lagavulin™ 16 year old.
Talisker, Lagavulin and The Singleton of Glen Ord won the same top awards in last year’s competition, under a different set of judges.

Nick Morgan, Diageo Scotch Knowledge and Heritage, commented:
“We’re obviously thrilled to have earned this highly esteemed award again. Above all, it’s a tribute to those skilled people in Scotland who make our malts. Talisker, Lagavulin and our other well-established Whiskies from the Classic Malts Selection regularly score top marks in international competitions, but we never take this for granted.

“The increasing success of The Singleton™ in competitions like this is a great tribute to our colleagues who conceived, developed and produce these Single Malts. The Singleton is now celebrating being the world’s fastest growing  Single Malt Scotch Whisky in the Top 40, reaching 100,000 cases in just 3 years (Source: International Wine and Spirit Record).

“The Singleton™ of Glen Ord, in particular, is doing extremely well in Asia, and these awards confirm our faith in these new brands.”

The Grand Scotch Whisky Master award was announced at The Spirits Masters Awards dinner held on 1 December at Cinnamon Kitchen in the City of London.
ENDS

Notes
Further information from Pat Roberts • cognis.pr@zen.co.uk • +44 (0)7774 424 410

Awards details

Scotch Whisky Grand Master, The Spirits Masters 2009
Diageo plc

The Singleton

The Singleton is the world’s fastest growing Single Malt Scotch Whisky  in the Top 40, reaching 100,000 cases in just 3 years (Source: International Wine and Spirit Record)

In Taiwan, the campaign for The Singleton of Glen Ord received the accolade of ‘Best Marketing Campaign’ in the Asia Pacific Hero Awards.

Individual wins

The competition awarded four Masters and eight Gold Medals to Diageo’s Single Malts. Diageo Single Malt Whiskies took four of the ten Masters given out in the Single Malts category this year, and eight of the 14 Gold awards.

Cardhu™ 12 year old  Master
Lagavulin™ 16 year old  Master
Talisker™ 10 year old Master
The Singleton™ of Glen Ord 12 year old  Master
Clynelish™ 14 year old  Gold
Dalwhinnie™ 15 year old  Gold
Lagavulin™ 12 year old  Gold
Lagavulin™ Distillers Edition™ Gold
Oban™ 14 year old Gold
Royal Lochnagar™ 12 year old  Gold
The Singleton™ of Glendullan 12 year old  Gold
Talisker™ Distillers Edition™ Silver

The judges

The judges in this year’s blind tastings included Neil Ridley, caskstrength.net blog; Cris Maclean from The Whisky Shop; Sukhinder Singh, owner of The Whisky Exchange Company; Doug Mclvor, the well-known spirits buyer of Berry Bros & Rudd; Dominic Roskrow, former editor of Whisky Magazine; and Patience Gould, editor of The Spirit Business.

About Diageo

Diageo is the world’s leading beverage alcohol business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker® Blended Scotch Whisky, Guinness® beer, Smirnoff® vodka, J&B® Blended Scotch Whisky, Baileys® Irish cream liqueur, Cuervo™ tequila, Tanqueray® gin, Captain Morgan® rum, Crown Royal™ blended Canadian whiskey and Beaulieu Vineyard™ and Sterling Vineyards™ wines.

The Classic Malts Selection, Cardhu, Clynelish, Dalwhinnie, Lagavulin, Oban, Royal Lochnagar, Talisker, The Singleton and Distillers Edition words, the Quaich device and associated logos are trade marks. © 2009

Amrut Fusion named Best Natural Cask whisky by Malt Maniacs

Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky has picked up an award from a prestigious group of malt whisky lovers. Fusion 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.

Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky gets its name from the fact that it uses two barleys: Indian and Scottish – with the latter being peated. It comes from Amrut Distilleries, the Bangalore based company which introduced the first single malt from India to the UK in 2004.This is the second important award for Fusion within two months: leading whisky expert, Jim Murray named it as the third best malt in the world in his Whisky Bible 2010 which was published in October 2009.

The Malt Maniacs are an international on-line collective of malt whisky lovers which have been spreading the gospel of single malt whisky since 1997. Each year members form a jury to sample – completely blind – hundreds of whiskies, in what is probably the only consumerdriven
whisky competition.

The Maniacs’ comments about Amrut’s Silver-medal winning Fusion included: “All jurors agreed that this bottling from India deserved a medal, but opinions were divided about the colour.

Robert loved [it] and gave it a score of 92 points [gold].”
Ashok Chokalingam, Amrut’s International sales manager, said: “This recognition for Amrut’s special East-meets-West whisky underlines the quality of our malt. We are delighted that such passionate whisky enthusiasts enjoyed our subtle fusion of Indian and Scottish barleys. It
proves that Fusion, a whisky that has been highly rated by distinguished experts, is also a malt for armchair connoisseurs everywhere.”

In The Whisky Bible 2010, Fusion gained 97 points. Murray said it “has to be one of the great whiskies found anywhere in the word this year”. In his tasting notes, he adds: “It is one of those which command a big mouthful, a chair with a headrest … and silence. You will chew for seemingly hours and never quite get to the bottom of its mystical complexity. It is massive whisky, but its genius is that you get the feeling that there is some almost invisible element keeping the malt together so the proportions are never less than perfect.”

Amrut’s Indian barley comes from the Punjab and the distillation takes place in the tropical garden city of Bangalore at 3000ft. The barley from Scotland is also distilled in Bangalore and both are matured there separately. After they have reached their peak, the two whiskies are married in the bourbon casks in proportions which give both a subtle peat flavour and a rich fruity flavour from the Indian barley. This is bottled at 50% abv to reflect the depth and finish of the whisky. This rare combination of Indian and Scottish elements means Fusion has a really excellent mouthfeel and palate, combining oak, a hint of vanilla, fruit and the sublime peat.

2 December 2009

More information: Ashok Chokalingam, General Manager – International Operations

The Grainger Suite, Dobson House, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE3 3PF.
Tel: + 44 191 233 6316. Fax: +44-191 233 6346.

Email: ashok@amrutdistilleries.com

Malt Maniacs 101

Although they do meet in real life, The Malt Maniacs, founded 1997 by Johannes van den Heuvel, are the most well known of all Web-based whisky communities. The only 24 members of Malt Maniacs are scattered all around the globe: Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Africa. Amongst them famous whisky writers Martine Nouet, Dave Broom and Charles MacLean.

The Malt Maniacs are 100% independent and only their amateur members are entitled to score whisky for Malt Maniacs. The three websites that make for the Malt Maniacs’ online platform are www.malmaniacs.org, www.maltmadness.com and www.whiskyfun.com. Together they gather around 300,000 single visits a month.

The Malt Maniacs Awards, sometimes called ‘The Formula One Grand Prix of Whisky’, are organised every year since 2003. More than two hundred whiskies are usually preselected and submitted by more than sixty different distillers, bottlers or brands and tasted blind by from ten to twelve independent jurors from various countries (India, Taiwan, USA, Canada, Europe…) There are no fees involved whatsoever. The results, usually published on December 1., are always eagerly awaited and commented on by the whole whisky community.

Should you like to know more about the Malt Maniacs and/or the Malt Maniacs Awards, please contact Johannes van den Heuvel at maltmaster@gmail.com