Ardnahoe 5 Year Old “Inaugral Release” Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky(700ml) $59.99 View

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

KENTUCKY DISTILLERS’ ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES 2026 LEADERSHIP ACADEMY CLASS

20-MEMBER COHORT ADVANCING BOURBON’S NEXT ERA

FRANKFORT, KY. — The Kentucky Distillers’ Association has announced the incoming class of its 2026 Leadership Academy, an immersive program designed to provide a comprehensive view of the global distilling landscape and the pivotal role KDA plays in shaping Kentucky’s Bourbon industry.

Launched in 2022, KDA’s Leadership Academy spans 10 sessions held January through November, giving participants from distilling and industry affiliated member companies hands-on exposure to every facet of the Bourbon industry. Session topics include Bourbon tourism, the KDA’s legislative priorities, technical safety standards, and more.

“As we welcome the fifth class of KDA’s Leadership Academy, I’m reminded once again of the talent that’s inspiring and fueling Kentucky’s signature industry,” KDA President Eric Gregory said. “The diverse perspectives and unity of our membership are essential to our success, and I look forward to working with this exceptional group in 2026.”

The KDA congratulates the 20 individuals selected for the Leadership Academy Class of 2026:

·     Corbin Arrasmith, Pensive Distilling Co., Newport

·     Nolan Boswell, Green River Distilling Co., Owensboro

·     Jasmine Clark, Lux Row Distillers, Bardstown

·     Grant Cobb, Stedman Machine Company, Aurora, Indiana

·     Emma Cochran, Blue & Co., Louisville

·     Ally Edgington, Heaven Hill Brands, Louisville

·     Nicky Edwards, Angel’s Envy, Louisville

·     Katherine Foley, James E. Pepper Distilling Co., Lexington

·     Dave Bob Gaspar, Town Branch Distillery, Lexington

·     Michelle Harrison, Castle & Key Distillery, Frankfort

·     Shawn Hughes, Bardstown Bourbon Company, Bardstown

·     Cole Irvin, Brown-Forman Corporation, Louisville

·     Dustin Letourneau, Campari America, Lawrenceburg

·     Sophia Markley, Dark Arts Whiskey House, Lexington

·     Jessie Martin, Larrikin Bourbon Co., Lawrenceburg

·     Hannah Melillo, Whiskey Thief Distilling Co., Frankfort

·     Haley Moloney, Augusta Distillery, Augusta

·     Marshall Rogers, Kentucky Artisan Distillery, Crestwood

·     Brent White, Jeptha Creed Distillery, Shelbyville

·     Maggie Young, Bluegrass Distillers, Midway

“As we welcome the fifth class of KDA’s Leadership Academy, I’m reminded once again of the talent that’s inspiring and fueling Kentucky’s signature industry.”

— Eric Gregory, KDA President

 Founded in 1880, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) is the Worldwide Voice of Bourbon™.

About the Kentucky Distillers’ Association:

Founded in 1880, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association is the legendary voice for Kentucky’s signature Bourbon and distilled spirits industry. Its diverse and growing membership produces the overwhelming majority of the world’s Bourbon, from historic, global brands to emerging micro distilleries that are fostering the next generation of the Commonwealth’s landmark economic engine and its thriving, timeless craft. Member benefits include media relations, international trade development, private sampling events, technical assistance, economic development support, networking, legal defense, marketing strategies, governmental and regulatory advocacy and innovative tourism experiences through the KDA’s world-famous Kentucky Bourbon Trail® and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour® adventures. A 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization, the KDA maintains an open membership policy, champions a strong commitment to the responsible and moderate consumption of spirits, and fights to curb underage drinking and drunk driving. Learn more at www.kybourbon.com and www.kybourbontrail.com.

KENTUCKY BOURBON TRAIL®, KENTUCKY BOURBON TRAIL CRAFT TOUR®, KENTUCKY BOURBON AFFAIR™, KBT®, BOURBON TRAIL™ and KENTUCKY BOURBON HALL OF FAME® are trademarks/service marks owned by the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.

First and most importantly, we’ve just launched our newest Creators Collection, Diptych: A work of liquid beauty in two parts, a stunning study in symmetry and contrast from distillery 96. These whiskies were filled to cask on the same day 28 years ago before taking separate journeys – one in American oak, the other in Spanish.

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The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Special Order

Special Order Only! Special order items are not in stock and subject to availability. All special orders are final and non-refundable. Will take 3-7 business days to receive this product before it can be shipped. From the coastal serenity of Portsoy comes this beautifully aged 49 Year Bourbon Barrel, a celebration of tropical richness shaped by time and sea air. The medallion gold color gives way to an exotic fruit elixir of guava, white peach, and coconut cream carried on a sultry breeze touched by gorse. The palate is silken and radiant, with papaya, guava, and passionfruit enveloping the senses in a sun drenched embrace. Bottled at 42.1 percent, this is a graceful, ethereal malt that channels nearly five decades of coastal maturation into pure sensory poetry.

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Bruichladdich 13 Years Old 

Micro – Provenance Cask 1447

This single malt is part of Bruichladdich’s Micro-Provenance Series, created to explore the small influences that shape the flavour, from barley type to age and location. Distilled in 2011 from Appaloosa barley and aged for 13 years in a single cask that previously held Pauillac red wine, imparting deep fruity notes and warm spice. Bottled at natural cask strength, without chill-filtration or artificial colouring.

£110.00

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The Whisky Lounge releases 20^th Anniversary Book

Saturday 25^th October, at York Whisky Festival, saw the release of The Whisky Lounge’s first book, to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of the company’s creation.

The self-published book contains excerpts from interviews with 23 key players in the whisky industry, covering subjects including, ‘do you believe the whisky industry has changed more in the last 20 years, than the previous 200?’, plus memories of their experiences with The Whisky Lounge.

The book includes interviews with friends of The Whisky Lounge, such as Dave Broom, Charlie MacLean, Dr. Nick Morgan, Dr. Bill Lumsden and many more, plus Whisky Lounge founders, Amanda and Eddie Ludlow.

It also contains dozens of photos from the last 20 years of Whisky Lounge events.

Isabel Graham-Yooll, writer, and ‘author’ of the book, came up with the idea, when she realised the importance of marking the occasion. She said;

“Happy 20th Birthday to The Whisky Lounge! 

Over the last twenty years, The Whisky Lounge has created opportunities for thousands upon thousands of new whisky enthusiasts across the UK to taste great whisky, and for whisky brands to connect with those customers. 

Bringing Whisky to the People Since 2005 is a collection of twenty interviews (one for each year of The Whisky Lounge), all with industry veterans. In each interview we discussed a range of whisky topics, including whether the whisky industry had changed more in The Whisky Lounge’s twenty years than the previous 200. Their answers were mostly knowledgeable, sometimes hilarious and often unprintable, but always fascinating.”

Eddie Ludlow, ‘Whisky Evangelist’, Founder and editor of the book, commented;

“When Isabel came to us with the idea, we loved it, yet we probably would not have considered doing it, without her suggestion. The final ‘product’ is way beyond anything we had expected, and is a genuinely fascinating read – we hope everyone will enjoy it. 

We love what we do, and work hard for the industry, and ourselves, and if we have had any kind of impact on the way whisky is perceived by consumers, over the last 20 years, then that makes us happy!” 

Amanda Ludlow, co-founder said; 

“When we started this business twenty years ago, we had one simple mission, which was to turn everyone onto whisky. It has been truly humbling and heart-warming to see the impact The Whisky Lounge has had on the industry and its consumers, over the years.

In a world of change we are proud that we have managed to stay true to our original vision“

The book is available, to buy, for £16.99, from The Whisky Lounge’s website  and at selected Whisky Lounge events.

About The Whisky Lounge

The Whisky Lounge is the UK’s leading whisky events company. It is a family-owned and run, independent business, that has been sharing their passion for whisky with enthusiasts—both seasoned and new—for two decades. Co-founder, Eddie Ludlow, is a Keeper of the Quaich, an IWSC judge, a livery-man for the Worshipful Company of Distillers, and author of the best-selling book, ‘Whisky – A Tasting Course’, published by DK.

For more information;

Product and sales: Eddie Ludlow – eddie@thewhiskylounge.com

Press: Amanda Ludlow – amanda@thewhiskylounge.com

For more information: www.thewhiskylounge.com

A NIGHT ON EARTH – THE FIRST LIGHT

Cask & Crust: Si King and Cask Trade Serve Up a Perfect Pairing of Whisky, Pies, and Purpose

Cask & Crust is a new, limited-edition whisky bottling collaboration between cask whisky specialist, Cask Trade, and one of the UK’s best-loved cooks and broadcasters, Si King.

Cask Trade’s team of passionate whisky experts have led Si through the journey of bottling his very own liquid, which has been expertly selected and paired with new recipes from PROPA! – Si King’s popular pie brand in Sunderland.

The unique collaboration sees a combination of Si’s passion for food, whisky, and charity, with bottle profits being donated to the Newcastle and Sunderland food banks.

Cook and broadcaster, Si King, says the collaboration embodies his lifelong passions, bringing true purpose to the end-product. “Whisky is such a remarkable spirit full of character, variety and tradition. I’ve had a lifelong love for it, so being able to hand-pick some unique drams with Cask Trade and use them in my PROPA! Pies has been a real joy. To then bottle those whiskies for others to enjoy has been fantastic. Both Scotch whisky and PROPA! Pies carry a strong sense of place and purpose, so bringing the two together in support of Sunderland and Newcastle food banks has been an absolute privilege.”

The three hand-selected, single malt whiskies are: Benrinnes 2013 (11 years), Pulteney 2013 (11 years) and Ben Nevis 2010 (15 years), bottled at 46% ABV.

Si has taken his love of the liquid and culinary genius one step further, creating three new PROPA! pie recipes which are infused with the very whisky he has bottled – Steak, Whisky & Green Peppercorn Pie, Chicken, Haggis & Whisky Cured Bacon Pie and Wild Mushroom, Blue Cheese Pie, Onion & Whisky Gravy.

Director of Cask Trade and Keeper of the Quaich, Colin Hampden-White, says: “Creating a bespoke bottling is always a joy, whether for our trusted independent bottlers, for fun, or, as in this case, for charity. Working with Si on his idea of pairing drams with his PROPA! Pies was truly special.”

Colin adds: “We were able to tailor every element of the journey to honour Si’s commitment to local talent and business, such as the bottle label design. The experience was truly rewarding and I hope people take as much delight in the end-product as we did making it.”

The trio of Cask & Crust whiskies will be available from https://casktrade.square.site/ as of 23rd October 2025. The price per 50cl bottle is: Benrinnes – £49.99, Ben Nevis – £59.99 and Pulteney – £39.99.

ABOUT CASK TRADE:

Cask Trade was set up by award winning entrepreneur, Simon Aron, in 2018, born from his personal experiences of buying casks as a passionate whisky collector for more than 20 years. Having found cask ownership difficult to navigate with few reputable companies operating, he envisioned creating a marketplace that made buying and selling casks transparent, open, and honest. Cask Trade has grown from strength to strength, building its success on several core values:

•    Stockists, not brokers – Cask Trade own all its stock, giving buyers a 100% transactional guarantee and the peace of mind that all casks have been through stringent quality checks.
•    Market-leading stocklist – since 2018, Cask Trade has represented over 170 distilleries across the world of whisky, rum, Cognac and Armagnac.
•    End-to-end support – Cask Trade nurtures client relationships beyond the point of sale and offers full cask management, sampling, re-gauges, and multiple exit options when customers come to sell on their cask.
•    Trust and transparency – The company’s casks are held in the best HMRC bonded warehouses, regularly visited and approved by Cask Trade whisky masters. All stock holdings have a complete paper trail.
•    Expert team – above all, the Cask Trade team are passionate about cask ownership and strives to help clients achieve their goals, whether they are looking to buy, sell or bottle their casks.

Alongside cask sale and ownership, Cask Trade offers other unique services which elevate client experience and cask exit when the time is right:

Cask Trade Warehouse
In 2025, Cask Trade opened its own bonded warehouse. The unit is situated in Speyside, Scotland, and has the capacity for up to 25,000 casks. Clients can now book onto open days to visit the warehouse, see where their cask is stored, and sample directly from their cask or taste an indicative sample in the custom-built tasting room.

Cask Trade Bottling
For trade clients and those looking to bottle and enjoy their cask, Cask Trade offers a comprehensive bottling service located next door to their warehouse in Speyside. From cask selection, bottle options, label design and printing, and shipping to your final location, Cask Trade Bottling looks after every element of the process.

Auction Your Cask
Auction Your Cask is the world’s first dedicated online cask auction site. With four auctions a year, clients as well as the public can either submit a cask to sell or bid on other casks with 0% seller fees and an agreed reserve.

Recognition
Acknowledgement for the achievements of Cask Trade has been recognised by the FT1000 when the business was ranked as one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe; listed in The Sunday Times Hundred fastest-growing private companies in Britain, and named among the UK’s most innovative new businesses’ by StartUps 100 Index. CEO and Founder Simon Aron and Director Colin Hampden-White have also been listed again in the Spear’s 500 Top Recommended Whisky Advisors 2025.

ralfy review 1099 – Arran 12yo @50%vol: (Duero Discovery).