MILROY’S OF SOHO APRIL NEWSLETTER

Forget the Oscars and the BAFTA’s, April’s newsletter places the spotlight on the Annual Malt Advocate Whisky Awards.  We have highlighted some of the big winners in this year.  There is also an exclusive offer for mailing list members.  Act fast, as the offer applies during April while stocks last.

16TH ANNUAL MALT ADVOCATE WHISKY AWARDS

We have a lot of time for the team at Malt Advocate and its editor, John Hansell’s excellent blog (whatdoesjohnknow.com).  Readers of the Malt Advocate will know that winners of the 16th Annual Malt Advocate Whisky Awards have just been announced.  We have highlighted some of the big winners below, together with an exclusive 10% discount for Milroy’s of Soho mailing list members.

DISTILLERY OF THE YEAR – COOLEY DISTILLERY

“…the most compelling reason justification for selecting Cooley for this award isn’t just the variety of whiskeys they make.  It’s the quality. They are now putting out the best whiskey they have ever produced. The three different Tyrconnell 10 year old “finished” whiskeys (finished in port, madeira and sherry casks), are excellent examples.  Some of the Connemara releases have rivalled those from the West Coast of Scotland.”

Last years masterclass in the Milroy’s of Soho cellar with Noel Sweeney, Cooley distillery’s Master Blender, demonstrated in no uncertain terms that this is a distillery that is operating at the top of its game.  A bottle of Tyrconnell 15 year old Single Cask opened just before Christmas blew a group of Scotch malt whisky drinkers away.

Exclusive Newsletter Offer Price – save 10% off any whiskey in the Cooley distillery range including:

Tyrconnell, Tyrconnell 10 year old Port Finish, Tyrconnell 10 year old Madeira Finish, Tyrconnell 15 year old Single Cask, Connemara, Connemara Cask Strength, Connemara 12 year old, Kilbeggan 15 year old and Greenore 8 year old…

SCOTCH WHISKY – BLEND OF THE YEAR – COMPASS BOX PEAT MONSTER

“If you love smoky whiskies, then you must try The Peat Monster.”

Peat Monster is one of the great standards in the whisky world.  It represents excellent value and over-delivers in terms of complexity and interest.  It’s great to see it receiving yet another award.

£30.95 per bottle

Exclusive Newsletter Offer Price – save 10% – £27.85 per bottle

SCOTCH WHISKY – SINGLE MALT OF THE YEAR – ARDBEG CORRYVRECKAN

“Powerful, muscular, well textured and invigorating.  Even in the realm of Ardbeg, this stands out.  Quite stunning!”

We think that the latest effort from Ardbeg is rather good too.  Partial maturation in French oak has lent a subtle spicy edge to the robustly peaty and complex Ardbeg spirit.

£65 per bottle

Exclusive Newsletter Offer Price – save 10% – £58.50 per bottle

ARTISAN WHISKEY OF THE YEAR – STRANAHAN’S COLORADO WHISKEY

“It’s smooth, too, with layered sweetness (honeyed caramel, English toffee, maple syrup), tangerine, roasted nuts and peppered with spice (warming cinnamon, glazed ginger).  A good grip of tobacco and polished leather on the finish balance the sweetness that comes earlier. This is an example of the right way to do artisan distilling.”

Stranahan’s is an interesting all malt whiskey distilled and matured high up in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.  The American microbreweries have done great things with artisanal beer, now whiskey has its turn.  This is a great chance to explore American whiskey beyond Bourbon.

£70 per bottle

Exclusive Newsletter Offer Price – save 10% – £63 per bottle

HIGHLAND PARK VINTAGES

The much loved Orcadian Highland Park distillery has launched two new prestige releases. 

HIGHLAND PARK 1964

This is a very rare 45 year old release of just 285 bottles at 42.3% ABV.  The darker than usual colour for Highland Park suggests a notable Sherry cask influence.

£3,750 per bottle – very limited availability

HIGHLAND PARK 1968

The second of these two vintage bottlings is 41 years of age, and is bottled at 45.8% ABV.  As one would expect of a release of this rarity and age, it is presented in a stunning wooden presentation box.

£2,250 per bottle – very limited availability

GLENDRONACH

The (new) team at Speyside’s Glendronach distillery wowed us with an impressive set of hand selected single cask releases last year.  They have followed up these single cask releases with a new limited release 31 year old expression.

GLENDRONACH 31 YEAR OLD GRANDEUR

Bottles at 31 years of age, this limited release expression (just 1,013 bottles) captures the essence of Glendronach.  Matured exclusively in Oloroso Sherry casks and bottled at cask strength (45.8% ABV), it offers a rich and full bodied palate of spiced orange, roasted almonds, coffee and treacle.  It is at one voluptuous and velvet-textured.  This premium Sherry-matured whisky is stunningly presented in a sleek wooden gift box.

Recommended retail price – £374.99

Exclusive Newsletter Offer Price – pre-order now – £350

Until next month, slàinte!

Best regards

Philip

 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

Lebanon is the Heart of Kentucky and the Heart of Bourbon Country…

Maker’s Mark Distillery is Lebanon, Kentucky’s most recognizable attraction and is located a few miles outside of downtown near Loretto, right in the Heart of Bourbon Country.

Maker’s Mark is the only operating distillery in America to be designated a National Historic Landmark. Originally built in 1805 as a gristmill distillery, it became the home of Maker’s Mark in 1953. Today, it is the oldest operating distillery on its original site.

It wasn’t until 1840 that the T.W. Samuels family got serious about whisky distilling. And that’s when Robert’s grandson, T.W. Samuels, built the family’s first commercial distillery at Samuels Depot, Kentucky. The “secret” family recipe was passed from generation to generation, six to be exact.

When the Civil War was supposedly over, William Clark Quantrill’s band of Confederate irregulars, including Jesse and Frank James, had other ideas. They continued to attack Union sympathizers throughout central Kentucky. Eventually, Quantrill was shot and his irregulars were chased to the hamlet of Samuels, Ky. and took refuge at the home of T.W. Samuels, Jesse and Frank’s stepfather.

The 1920s brought American Prohibition and distilleries were shut down until 1934.

In 1943, Bill Samuels Sr. decided to create a distinguished style of bourbon whisky. So he left the T.W. Samuels Distillery and began his new venture by burning the 170-year-old family recipe.

In 1951, Bill Samuels Sr. developed a new recipe based on locally grown corn and malted barley coupled with gentle winter wheat, not the traditional and harsher grain, rye. He did this without a distillery. He baked bread in the family kitchen, experimenting with different grains to come to this conclusion.

The following year, Marge Samuels, Bill’s wife, designed the bottle and named the whisky. As a fine pewter collector, she had always searched for “the mark of the maker.” She was also a collector of bottles of cognac, many of which were sealed in colorful wax. It was these two things that lent themselves to the Maker’s Mark packaging still used today.

In 1958, the first bottle of Maker’s Mark was dipped, sealed and introduced at $7 a bottle. The popularity of the bourbon has grown continuously since, as has the popularity of the distillery as a tourist attraction.

In 1980, the distillery was declared a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Cecil Andress.

Due to the increased popularity of Maker’s Mark, the distillery expanded in 2000 and 2001, duplicating, in exact detail, the distillery as it had been restored in the ‘60s. This doubled the capacity to make whisky.

Lebanon’s other bourbon attractions include Kentucky Cooperage, a bourbon barrel-making factory, and The Oak Barrel, a fine dining restaurant with a bourbon flair. Both are located right on Main Street. Kentucky Cooperage gives free tours Mon.-Fri. at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

You can have a free tasting of Maker’s Mark right at the distillery and you can register to win a free Heart of Kentucky Bourbon & Barrels Getaway right now at www.VisitLebanonKy.com. The drawing is April 2 and you can enter every day. No purchase is necessary but a discounted package can be booked online.

Lebanon’s other attractions include Historic Penn’s Store, Lebanon National Cemetery, Scott’r Ridge Lookout, Cecil L. Gorley Naturalist Trail, Heart of Kentucky Marketplace, Sisters of Loretto Motherhouse, to name a few, and Lebanon is within 30 minutes of other bourbon attractions, My Old Kentucky Home, Lincoln Homestead State Park and many other great Kentucky sights!

 The Maker’s Mark Distillery is closed Aug. 16 through Sept. 11 but access to the stillhouse, barrel warehouse and bottling plant is still offered.

 Tours are conducted every hour on the half-hour from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. On Sundays, tours are conducted at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m., March through December. All times are Eastern Time.

The distillery is closed on Sundays in January and February. The distillery is open on holidays except Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

 A visitor must be 21 or older to dip his or her own bottle.
For even more information, call 270.692.0021 or go to www.VisitLebanonKy.com.

NEW GLENDRONACH VISITOR CENTRE OPENS THIS EASTER WEEKEND

 
AFTER suffering two damaging floods last year, the new GlenDronach Distillery Visitor Centre at Forgue opens this Easter weekend.
 
And for fans of Scotland’s richly-sherried single malt, there’s a treasure-trove of phenomenal GlenDronach expressions, branded clothing and whisky-related items to enjoy as winter gives way to spring.
 
Marketing Manager Kerry White said: “We’ve overcome numerous setbacks to open at Easter. We’ve had to cope with not one but two floods, which was immensely frustrating, but we’re now open for business after spending a considerable amount of time and money on the Visitor Centre and we’re looking forward to a busy spring and summer.”
 
Established in 1826, GlenDronach is one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries. Visitor numbers have been growing over the last couple of years and are set to hit 5000 this year, Kerry says.
 
“If you’re looking for something to do over the Easter weekend, GlenDronach is just fifty minutes north of Aberdeen. It’s a fun and educational place to visit where you can gain first-hand experience of the workings of a traditional Highland malt distillery.
 
“We have a devoted following all over the world, and we’re looking forward to welcoming people from as far afield as Australia, Japan and the USA. In addition, we are getting more and more bus tours as well as local Aberdeenshire people, so it’s great to see the distillery site so busy.”

 
Pride of place in the Visitor Centre goes to the classic hand-crafted 12, 15 and 18 year-old malts.
 
“The twelve-year-old is a sweet, creamy, silky-smooth dram with hints of ginger. The fifteen-year-old is a sherry monster which, to me, tastes of chocolate orange and even treacle scones! And the eighteen-year-old is incredibly complex with wonderful flavours of stewed fruits and spices!”
 
There are guided tours of the distillery – daily at 10.00am, 11.00am, 1.00pm, 2.00pm and 3.00pm. They cost just £3 and all visitors receive a dram of the GlenDronach twelve-year-old at the end.
 
Our three pictures show different aspects of the distillery.
 
INFORMATION – Kerry White, 01324 682220

Maltstock – Newsletter 2

new additions!   
  
Fellow whisky enthusiasts,

We are very busy preparing Maltstock 2010. From 3 to 5 September whisky enthusiasts from all over the world will gather again for a weekend of relaxed whisky fun.

New additions!
Over the past few weeks more people and distilleries have confirmed their presence at Maltstock 2010. We are very pleased to announce:

Balvenie & Glenfiddich
Tomatin distillery
Amrut distillery (Ashok Chokalingam)
BenRiach distillery (Stewart Buchanan)

This of course in addition to all the independent bottlers and people who already announced to be at Maltstock 2010. For the up-to-date list please check www.maltstock.com.

Blending competition with Whisky Passion

The Dutch whisky magazine “Whisky Passion” will be hosting a blending competition. Combine the passion for whisky of you and your friends and create your own unique blend. There will be a special price for the winner. Chosen by a (of course totally impartial) jury.

Meet the Maltstock team

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us via info@maltstock.com. You can also meet us in person. We will be present at:
– whisky festival Noord-Nederland, Groningen, the Netherlands (26-28 March)
– whiskyfair, Limburg, Germany (24-25 April)
– spirit of speyside festival (29 April – 4 May)
– wild west whiskyfest, Kortrijk, Belgium (5-6 June)

Looking forward to meet you at one or more of these events!

Tickets

Tickets are already being sold online in our webshop, so buy your Maltstock ticket now to avoid disappointment. We only have a limited number of bunk beds available. Tickets are 150,- euro per person. This includes: two nights accommodation including breakfast, diner, BBQ and a midnight snack, free participation in the whisky quiz a chance to win great prizes, free tastings, plenty of whisky, a campfire, meet people from the industry and most importantly a very relaxed weekend with fellow whisky enthusiasts.

Any questions? info@maltstock.com

See you in September, see you at Maltstock!

Slainte!

Arthur, Bob, Eline, Rogier & Teun
www.maltstock.com

Back in April 2008, we launched Highland Park 40 Year Old, at the time the oldest whisky ever bottled by the distillery. The response was terrific and the critics adored it; Highland Park 40 Year Old was named World’s Best New Release at the World Whisky Awards and Jim Murray described it as “sheer poetry” in his Whisky Bible 2010.

I am now delighted to announce the release of Highland Park 40 Year Old as a 5cl miniature.

The 40 year old has been largely matured in refill casks, that is to say casks that have previously been used to mature whisky; every time a cask is used, its ability to impart an influence on the spirit is diminished. When laying down a whisky for extended maturation, we don’t want the cask to dominate the spirit; 40 years allows time for the perfect balance to be achieved.

The colour of Highland Park 40 Year Old, as with all our whiskies, is entirely natural; its delicate coppery paleness is down to the judicious use of refill casks. The strength is relatively high at 48.3% abv to deliver maximum flavour.

On the nose it is spicy and aromatic with a background of rich dark fruits, nutmeg and darkest chocolate. The palate has a beautiful balance of sweet toffee notes, dark chocolate, sun-dried orange zest and aromatic heather peat smokiness. It is rich, long, elegant, smoky and surprisingly sweet on the finish.

Highland Park 40 Year Old is available as a 5cl miniature in a wooden box at £75 through our secure on-line shop. It would make an ideal 40th birthday present; it is five years until I reach that landmark so start saving…

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

Gerry
Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year, 2010

www.mcleanscotland.com

Scottish Whisky Tour Specialist

MCLEANSCOTLAND are recognised as one of the best (if not the best) whisky tour companies in Scotland. With vast experience and untold knowledge of the whisky industry, they design whisky tours to suit the client and then add a wee bit more fun into the blend! 

PERTHSHIRE WHISKY FESTIVAL 2011

PERTHSHIRE WHISKY FESTIVAL

DEWAR’S  EDRADOUR  GLENTURRET  TULLIBARDINE 

BLAIR ATHOLL

Come and join us in a superb whisky festival held in the County of Perthshire, Scotland in 2011. With a complete itinerary that includes all our Perthshire distilleries… what more could a whisky lover ask for?
This 5 day whisky festival is based in Perth, with daily visits to all local distilleries, whisky dinners, tastings and special  bottles being exclusive to the festival! Upon arrival at your hotel, a welcome pack will be waiting including; The Whisky tasting glass courtesy of Glencairn Crystal engraved with your name. Complimentary copy of Whisky Magazine. Miniatures from various brands. A special full size bottle of exclusive single malt. A full colour printed tour itinerary. Your own personal schedule of chosen events at the festival. 

With a 5 day itinerary, many master classes, gifts, distillery visits and whisky dinners, this is an outstanding festival ready now taking  enquiries.
www.mcleanscotland.co.uk/perthwhiskyfestival2011.asp

Abhainn Dearg Distillery is proud to announce that the The Spirit of Lewis, New Spirit, is available to buy online in the *UK today!  Abhainn Dearg is a new distillery, this is our first sale of ‘The Spirit of Lewis’ and the first bottling of an Outer Hebridean spirit in almost 170 years.

This is a limited release where every bottle has been filled, labeled, corked and sealed by hand. Each bottle is signed by Mark Tayburn, who’s dream it was to build a distillery on Lewis and create a Single Malt, the dream goes on. Thank you all for your continued patience.

Peter Harris, the last Distillery Excise Officer retires this month, he was based in Elgin, convenient for the Speyside Distilleries, soon the team at Regional HQ will be in charge.  Although the days of Excisemen patrolling the hills are part of history, it’s still the end of another era.  What of this era?  Is it to be one where technology creates bulk quantity and in reality well matured whisky is just awakened to run the gauntlet of the bottling plant?  CCTV watching over, Big Brother, security for both men and machinery.

As we start our journey we hope to be joined by new distilleries, where wood, barley and water can be seen, touched and tasted. Those distillers who will take the road back to where it began, with a passion for the real dram, produced in Scotland.

Our first release, The Spirit of Scotland can be found here;

http://tinyurl.com/ylzagpw

* Customers from Mainland Europe please contact us for information.

http://tinyurl.com/yhs836s

The Abhainn Dearg Distillery Team

www.mcleanscotland.com

Scottish Whisky Tour Specialist

MCLEANSCOTLAND are recognised as one of the best (if not the best) whisky tour companies in Scotland. With vast experience and untold knowledge of the whisky industry, they design whisky tours to suit the client and then add a wee bit more fun into the blend! 

WHISKY and WATER

Whether you are a whisky connoisseur, or an amateur wishing to learn more about Scotland’s traditional tipple, our Whisky Trail Cruises are the ideal way to visit some of the West Coast’s finest distilleries. Setting off from Dunstaffnage Marina, we will make our way to Isla, stopping off at either the Jura or Bunnahabhain Whisky Distilleries. After spending the afternoon in the distillery, sampling and learning about the whisky made there, we will head further south to Port Ellen where we will spend the night. The next day we will visit the Lagavulin and/or Laphroaig Whisky Distillery en-route north to Crubgh Haven where we will spend the night before returning to Dunstaffnage the following afternoon. 

This Cruise Tour is available to groups of a maximium 6 adults, sharing twin and double cabins.  Your transport; Shingleback, a Fairline Phantom 46 a magnificent 46 foot vessel – generous accommodation for six (plus 2 crew) in a practical four-cabin layout. Boasting a huge saloon with six-seat dining area all on the same level. The fly bridge of Shingleback has a lounging area with its own wet bar and griddle where evening meals can be cooked and served, allowing you to enjoy some of the most picturesque scenery that Scotland has to offer while enjoying your meal.  We can design any cruise and whisky tour to suit your requirements, any of Islay’s distilleries, stay on board overnight or stay on the island. Many more water ideas available.

A fun whisky tour they have available in October 2010; www.mcleanscotland.com/2010whiskycurlingcomp.asp

Monday 22nd March 2010, Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh Whisky Shop Attains Top Ecommerce Awards

Scotland’s online whisky shop TheWhiskyBarrel.com has been awarded two of the most highly regarded internet customer service accreditations. The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) promotes retail industry standards and best practices and has awarded the company Internet Shopping is Safe (ISIS) and Internet Delivery is Safe (IDIS) accreditations.

TheWhiskyBarrel.com is judged by the leading global e-retailing body to have met the same high standards for customer service as provided by major high street brands.

Alastair Brown, Managing Director of The Whisky Barrel says, “Our approach to online whisky shopping is to invest in a very secure and easy to use website. Customer satisfaction is our priority and the IMRG accreditations reinforce our service and our catalogue of fine and rare whiskies.”

TheWhiskyBarrel.com shop launched in 2008 and has quickly established itself as one of the world’s leading retailers of fine whiskies. The company ships mail-order single malt and blended whiskies to connoisseurs, collectors and businesses worldwide directly from Scotland.

TheWhiskyBarrel.com has been shortlisted for Whisky Magazine’s Online Retailer of the Year award in 2009 & 2010.

———————-

Contact:-
Alastair Brown
The Whisky Barrel (Scotland) Limited

alastair@thewhiskybarrel.com
iPhone: +44 (0)7771 900082
twitter: @whiskybarrel

Links:
 www.thewhiskybarrel.com
www.IMRG.org

Press Release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bob Townsend 307-332-0248, bandb@minersdelightinn.com
Scott Greenig 307-332-5376

Caption: Bob Townsend pours a dram of Laphroaig 15 year old whisky. Wyoming’s widest selection of single malt scotch whisky lines the backbar at the Two-bit Cowboy Saloon in Atlantic City, Wyo.

Whisky Dinner features 7 single malt scotch whiskies in Lander on April 16.

Atlantic City, Wyo., – The Two-bit Cowboy Saloon in the Miner’s Delight Inn Bed and Breakfast offers a growing selection of single malt scotch whisky and has been hosting monthly tastings for almost two years. Now, in collaboration with Scott Greenig at the Cooking Crow in Lander, Barbara and Bob Townsend will co-host a Whisky Dinner on April 16, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. The Cooking Crow has planned a gourmet five-course event that will be paired with seven single malt scotch whiskies. Dinner guests will sip their whisky from a complimentary Glencairn Whisky Glass imported from Scotland.

Greenig will kick off the evening with a proscuitto-wrapped shrimp hors d’oeuvre, which the Townsends will pair with two malty aperitif whiskies, a 1993 vintage from the Tullibardine distillery in the southern Scottish Highlands and Bruichladdich (Brook-laddie) 12 year old from the Isle of Islay. A Lowland whisky, Glenkinchie 12 year old will pair with a garden salad with Balsamic vinaigrette, blue cheese crumbles, candied walnuts, and dried cranberries. The cauliflower soup with mushrooms and pepitas, accompanied by baskets of rye and wheat dinner rolls will be paired to another coastal Islay whisky, Bunnahabhain (Boon-a-hah-vun) 12 year old.

Guests may choose from two main course dishes that will be paired with a 14-year-old whisky from the west coast’s Highland distillery of Oban. The entrée choices are braised short ribs and braised greens, roasted carrots and mashed potatoes or salmon served with kale, white beans and bacon.

The Townsends will pour The Macallan 18 year old whisky to accompany Greenig’s chocolate ganache tart. This Macallan was distilled in 1989 and matured in specially selected casks that previously held Oloroso sherry in Jerez, Spain.

After dessert, guests will enjoy a rare treat from the Edradour distillery in the southern Highlands. The after-dinner expression is named Ballechin, the Discovery Series # 4. Only 6,000 bottles of the whisky were distributed in late 2009, and 900 of them made their way to the United States. Edradour is Scotland’s smallest distillery, producing only 90,000 liters of whisky each year, just enough to be considered a commercial operation by the Scottish government. The Glenlivet distillery, by comparison, produces more than two and a half million liters of whisky annually. Andrew Symington bought the Edradour distillery in 2002 and began distilling his heavily peated Ballechin Discovery Series that year. A different type of wine cask was chosen for each expression in the series, with one being released each year beginning in 2006. Ballechin # 4 was matured for seven years in Oloroso sherry casks.

Scotland’s distilleries suggest scotch should be shared among friends. So round up your friends, buy your tickets, and plan to attend this special dinner at the Cooking Crow at 228 Main Street in Lander on April 16, 2010. Whether you’re a single malt connoisseur or novice, here’s the chance for your palate to compare seven half-ounce drams as you savor a delectable meal. Your hosts, one a single malt scotch connoisseur-in-training, will lead you on this epic tour to taste uisage beatha (OOSH-ki baah), Scots Gaelic for “water of life.”

 The Townsends will have a limited number of bottles of each of the evening’s expressions available for purchase.

Visit the Inn’s Web site, http://www.minersdelightinn.com or call 307-332-0248 for more details. You must be at least 21 years old to attend, and you must purchase tickets in advance from either Miner’s Delight Inn B&B or the Cooking Crow, 307-332-5376. Fifty seats are available for the event, and the $70 ticket price includes tax and gratuity.
  -end-