Chivas Brothers
06/05/2009
Region : All

The Glenlivet Nàdurra, the 16 Year Old non-chill filtered expression from The Glenlivet, has been selected as the best 13 to 20 Year Old Single Malt Whisky at the annual Spirit of Speyside Festival for the second year running. The award is the latest in a series of medals already won by The Glenlivet range this year.
 
As the brand that defined the Speyside style of whisky, The Glenlivet has enjoyed spectacular success in the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Awards, winning a category award every year since the creation of the awards in 2005. Known as ‘the single malt that started it all’, The Glenlivet boasted the first licensed distillery in Glenlivet in 1824.
 
Neil Macdonald, Brand Director for malts at Chivas Brothers, comments: “Whilst we have enjoyed great success at all the major international awards, it is especially gratifying to win at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Awards as the region is the home of The Glenlivet. The fact that the awards are decided by whisky lovers who travel from all over the world to the Festival is testament to the enduring popularity of the single malt that started it all.”
 
The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Award winners were voted for by visitors to the 10th annual Spirit of Speyside Festival based on a shortlist selected from more than 40 Speyside whiskies by a panel of leading whisky experts and members of the Scottish Parliament.
 
Introduced at the 2005 Festival with the support of Whisky Magazine, the
Spirit of Speyside Awards have developed into a prestigious feature of the Spirit of Speyside Festival over the last three years. Celebrating its 10th anniversary and the Year of Homecoming, this year’s Festival is the most successful to date with a record number of whisky enthusiasts coming to the region.
 
The Glenlivet Nàdurra (Gaelic for ‘natural’) 16 Year Old single malt is non-chill filtered and is a smooth and fruity Speyside single malt with a softly rich, floral aroma combined with added richness and creaminess devolved from maturation in first-fill ex bourbon casks.
 
– ends –
 
Note to editors:
The Glenlivet Nàdurra was named Best 13 – 20 Year Old Single Malt whisky at the 2009 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Awards.
 
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 with a portfolio that includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater Gin, The Glenlivet, Royal Salute, Aberlour, Longmorn, Scapa, 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport.
 
The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival
The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is one of Europe’s largest whisky festivals. Speyside lies between Inverness to the west and Aberdeen to the east and is home to over 50 distilleries. With almost 400 events, the Festival programme capitalises on its location at the heart of Scotland’s whisky country, the area’s culture and heritage, outdoor activities, food and drink and landscape.
 
Photography
Download the latest print quality photography from Chivas Brothers, free of charge, from Chivas Brothers’ Online Image Library by logging on as follows:
1.                  Click onto www.scotchnet.com
2.                  Type in the user name/login – pernodricard
3.                  Type in the password – drink
4.                  Browse the thumbnail images. To download, select image and follow the   instructions
 
Image shows Hamish Proctor, Operations Manager for The Glenlivet (left) and Gavin Hewitt, Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association (right)
 
For further information or images:
Kaye Rawlings/Jo Dalley                                                        Lynn Bannatyne
Richmond Towers Communications                                     Chivas Brothers
26 Fitzroy Square                                                                 
London W1T 6BT                                                                 
Telephone: 020 7388 7421                                                   
Email: kaye@rt-com.com
            
Contact: Kaye Rawlings
Phone: 0207 388 7421
Email: Kaye@rt-com.com

It’s an exporting coup for the Larbert-based BenRiach Distillery Company.

Formerly part of USSR but now independent, Kazakhstan is one of the new but unexpected export markets identified by BenRiach that’s ripe for development.

The republic, the most economically advanced of the “stans”, is in Central Asia, to the south of Russia and extending east from the Caspian Sea to the Altai mountains.

It’s largely known, not for whisky consumption, but for launching rockets, its oil and the antics of the pseudo-Kazakh Borat Sagdiyev created by Sacha Baron Cohen.

In the new consignment, worth some £60,000, are malts ranging from twelve to forty years.

Billy Walker, the industry veteran and MD of The BenRiach Distillery Company, explained: “Kazakhstan, the world’s ninth-biggest country, appeared on our radar because it’s a commodity-rich country with a secular government and a population of some twenty million amongst whom is a significant percentage of wealthy citizens.

“They’re interested in both the standard range and our de-luxe items. In addition, it acts as a distribution hub for its neighbours Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kurgyzstan and Tajikistan.

“Parts of the country have an almost European feel with smart hotels, chic boutiques and lots of BMWs and Mercedes.

“We’ve found there’s a strong but relatively unstructured independent retail presence. Wholesale is developing, mainly in Almaty and Astana, and we have an excellent importer in MPCC Aldi Ltda – incidentally there’s no relationship with the supermarket of the same name.”

The first order was for 500 cases and three months ago BenRiach arranged a formal launch of its offerings in the old capital Almaty.

“They liked the first batch so much they wanted more,” said Billy. “When you consider the growing number of clubs and restaurants and both young and old people with increasing disposable income you start to see the potential and why it and other former Soviet states become very interesting territories for us.”
May 6, 2009   INFORMATION – Billy Walker, 01324 682220

“Picked up 5 casks of Bladnoch today at Blackgrange near Stirling. Not the most cost effective way if you put much value on your time but I had bought them quite a while ago and they were incurring rental charges. It was a nice day and unusually for me, I was happy to have a wee drive and I also wanted to see what must be Diageo’s largest warehouses.
When you enter these warehouse complexes you stop at the gatehouse and read the instruction sheet and sign that you’ve read it, leave your mobile phone and put on a high vis vest. You are given a road layout map…. a large grid pattern of warehouses and roads that seem as wide as motorways. If there are no workmen in sight at the warehouse you’re uplifting from, each warehouse has an outside wall telephone and you can phone the gatehouse and they send a forklift truck operator. These are racked warehouses and the casks are racked 10 or 11 high, a lot of alcohol and a lot of angels share floating around and certainly Diageo gives the impression of being well run and very security conscious. They use a sort of bar-code reader to identify casks being dispatched off the premises and this is entered on to the computer at the end of each day. I was interested in these instruments, apparently they cost about £4,500. Apparently they have to be very low voltage to avoid sparks, but you obviously need the very expensive computers that accompany them. You can see why they don’t permit photography, if Diageo is paying out considerable sums to prevent it’s own staff causing potential accidents, they are certainly not going to allow any member of the public, (or white-van men like me) to take photos.

Interestingly, as with the entire industry, there has been a considerable slow down in warehouse removals during the last 6 months. They usually are working flat out and have between 60 and 80 part time staff all of whose jobs have gone now.
The very friendly lady at the security gatehouse has a holiday caravan at Creetown (pronounced Creeton) near Bladnoch, so has promised she’s going to drop in and visit us one of these days. It’s always wise to keep in friendly terms with the key work force and that’s not always the boss.

It was a lovely warm day here in S.W.Scotland and we stopped at the seafront at Girvan for a bacon roll and a cup of tea. The recent heavy seas have deposited long rows of seaweed about two foot high which gave it a real seaside smell. Looking out to sea at Ailsa Craig, the extinct volcano which is known as Paddy’s Milestone because it’s a prominent obstacle in the sea between Ireland and Glasgow … really beautiful and relaxing”.                                                                     

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. 

BLADNOCH DISTILLERY

BLADNOCH, WIGTOWN, DG8 9AB, 01988 402605

www.bladnoch.co.uk   or  bladnoch@talktalk.net

From our friend Ian Buxton of Classic Expressions;

Dear Supporter,

First of all, thanks for your support of Classic Expressions; it’s much appreciated.  For those of you who have reserved a copy of Nettleton, it is coming soon.  Real progress is being made.

I’m writing this quick email just to make you aware of a new title we’ve published.  Beer Hunter, Whisky Chaser is not a limited edition facsimile, rather it’s a volume of exciting new writing on beer and whisky to honour Michael Jackson.

It’s available now from our website at £12.99 + p&p and all publishing profits will go to help the Parkinson’s Disease Society of the UK.

I’m not going to bang on about it.  Just check it out at www.classicexpressions.co.uk/cart.cgi?action=search&pageid=34

Thanks.

 Ian Buxton

Scapa reborn thanks to precious Chivas Brothers stocks

Neil Macdonald, Brand Director for Malts at Chivas Brothers, explains: “Scapa has long held a special place in the whisky drinker’s heart and this new expression represents another opportunity to experience the beguiling whisky which is Scapa. Like the natural harbour of Scapa Flow where the distillery is located, this malt is a ‘safe haven’ for those wishing to explore the intriguing world of island malts thanks to its light, unpeated, approachable style.”

He adds: “Since Chivas Brothers acquired Scapa in 2005, we have taken great care to improve the stock profile which means we are now in a position to release this very rare, precious new expression that perfectly showcases Scapa’s unique personality.”

While the stunning new packaging is inspired by the natural beauty and colours of the Orcadian landscape, the brand name has been carefully crafted to add a sense of movement and strength that is evocative of the island itself. As Scapa means ‘boat’ in Norse, a traditional Orcadian ‘yole’ is used as the brand icon.

The tall elegant bottle conveys the graceful and alluring nature of the whisky inside and will appeal to both a younger, more style-conscious consumer as well as traditional malt aficionados and experts who have long espoused the virtues of Scapa.

Master Distiller Stuart Pirie is passionate about Scapa and immensely proud of the new 16 Year Old creation: “There are just three other people who work at the distillery with me and we are all thrilled at the opportunity to launch Scapa as a 16 Year Old. The malt is very limited and therefore we expect huge demand for this special whisky which tastes even better as an older expression. The new Scapa remains true to its roots but will appeal to an even wider audience.”

Scapa 16 Year Old is the ultimate expression of provenance and is indelibly linked to the remote Orkney isle where it is made. The island boasts an awe-inspiring landscape and a bounty of some of the country’s most delicious fresh ingredients including excellent seafood and cheese.

The Scapa distillery was founded in 1885 and uses a rare Lomond pot-still. Scapa has won seven top industry awards in the last three years including an International Wine and Spirits Competition gold medal – best in class in 2007.

The new expression will initially be available in the UK, Scandinavia, France, the US and Travel Retail with a price point of £50 (circa €60, US$70-80).

Neil Macdonald concludes: “Drinking Scapa is the whisky equivalent of a walk along the beach on a bright summer’s day – a delight for all the senses.”

DADS WOULD BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO GET YAMAZAKI SINGLE MALT WHISKY ON FATHERS’ DAY

London, – International award winning Yamazaki Single Malt Whiskies from Suntory have a habit of creating pleasant surprises with their smoothness, flavours and consistently high quality. They would certainly surprise most dads who are given a bottle on Father’s Day.

Yamazaki whiskies are among the most honoured single malt whiskies in the world with fifteen gold, silver and trophy awards won since 2003. Whisky experts like Dave Broom and Neil Ridley have long recognised the excellence of Japanese whisky and as whisky judges have singled out Suntory whiskies like Yamazaki for top honours.

With intriguing flavours and a smoothness true whisky lovers can appreciate, Yamazaki will open new horizons for dads who know and like their whiskies and help make this a memorable Father’s Day.

Yamazaki 12 year old is Japan’s leading single malt whisky, much prized for its delicate and elegant taste. The nose of green apple, pine, cedar, honey and orange peel becomes spiced wood, orange marmalade and honey on the palate. The finish has a lingering woody character. This whisky won a Gold Award at the recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2011.

Topping this is the Double Gold Award and the title Best Other Whisky (non Scotch) in the World won by the Yamazaki 18 year old single malt whisky.

The premium Yamazaki 18 year old is all richness and depth. The nose of sherry, raisins, maraschino cherries and coffee cream chocolate rewards the palate with dark chocolate, rum, raison toffee and dark coffee beans. As you might expect, the finish is long, rich and dark. 
    
While the inspiration was Scotland, Yamazaki single malt whiskies have developed their own unique style and position within the world of whiskies over the years.

Long maturation in wood such as the local Japanese oak called Mizunara – it imparts aromas of incense – and American oak help to create complex aromas and tastes much sought after by whisky connoisseurs.     

Yamazaki is a whisky with a long heritage which dates back to the 1920s when Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii built Japan’s first and now oldest distillery. Using copper pot stills the Yamazaki distillery was the first of its kind outside Europe. The distillery is situated in the green and wooded Vale of Yamazaki on the outskirts of Kyoto in a calm and natural environment with an exceptional source of pure water.

Yamazaki is the most popular malt whisky in Japan and is now increasingly appreciated in Europe and the USA as reflected in its international honours.

Yamazaki single malt whiskies are available from:  Selfridges, Harvey Nicols, The Whisky Exchange, independent specialist retailers and drinkon.com priced from:

Yamazaki 12 year old – £42
Yamazaki 18 year old – £105.00

The Yamazaki range of single malt whiskies from Suntory is distributed in the UK by Cellar Trends. For all sales enquiries contact: sales@cellartrends.co.uk