SCOTLAND’S  BIGGEST WHISKY FESTIVAL GOES VIRTUAL IN APRIL

FULL FESTIVAL MOVED TO NOVEMBER SUBJECT TO COVID CONDITIONS

Spirit of Speyside festival has today (Thursday 28th January) confirmed that it is going to bring together some of the region’s most loved distilleries and whisky makers online instead of in person in April. With a full programme to be announced in the coming weeks, events confirmed so far include a tour of one of Scotland’s newest and most contemporary distilleries, Dalmunach Distillery, from Master Distiller, Alan Winchester; an exploration of Benriach’s World of Flavour and new portfolio with Global Brand Ambassador Stewart Buchanan and a whistle stop virtual tasting tour of Malt Whisky Country with The Malt Whisky Trail.

Festival organisers are hopeful that the event, which would have been celebrating its 21st year in April, will be able to go ahead in person on 3rd – 8th November 2021 providing it is safe for everyone to travel at that time, based on Scottish Government advice.

The decision to postpone original plans for the 2021 Whisky Festival reflects the quickly-evolving situation as a result of the new variant of the Covid-19 virus and current recommendations from the Scottish Government to restrict public gatherings and travel as a preventative measure.

James Campbell, Chairman at The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, said: 
 
“Given whisky lovers won’t be able to come to Speyside for our annual festival this April, we have decided to take the festival to them until it is safe for visitors to return to Malt Whisky Country hopefully later in the year.

We can’t wait to welcome new and returning visitors from the UK and further afield to this beautiful part of the world. In the meantime, we hope that our online programme of events in April will lift everyone’s spirits and give people a taste of what to expect from the festival in November. We will then revert back to our traditional date in 2022.”

The full programme of virtual events will be listed on www.spiritofspeyside.com and will be available for preview on 11th March 2021. Tickets will go on sale online on 16th March 2021.

Notes:

First launched in 1999, the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival’s annual celebration of Scotland’s national drink has developed into one of the largest events of its kind anywhere in the world. With a programme of over hundreds of whisky-inspired events over six days, the Festival is a mecca for the curious beginner and the whisky connoisseur alike. Festival events take place throughout Speyside, the biggest whisky producing region in Scotland, located in the Moray area in the North-East of the county between Aberdeen and Inverness.

Over the years, the Festival has developed close links with many Speyside businesses and communities who help to fund the festival. It is a true team effort to deliver an ever-improving range of events and services to make the six days of the Festival a truly unforgettable experience.

The company is limited by guarantee, it runs the festival with a voluntary board of directors drawn from key areas of the whisky industry along with other local businesses and tourism organisations. For further information please visit:

Website:  www.spiritofspeyside.com 
Facebook: WhiskyFestival
Instagram: spirit_speyside
Twitter:  spirit_speyside

A very warm new year’s welcome from us here in chilly Glasgow. We’re all hoping you’ve blown away the January blues and begun the new year with a fresh spirit. This month there’s a plethora of malt, malt and more malt that may tickle the fancy or warm the cockles of collectors, drinkers and anyone in between.

View Auction

We have a superb selection of mighty rare Taliskers so pick from your choice whether it’s to be a 1951 Connoisseurs Choice, a 1937 Berry Bros & Rudd, or a Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries edition.

A rare beast from The Macallan, is the Easter Elchies 1985 release. Not very often we see one of these passing through the doors.

Do you like games? Do you like whisky? Oh boy, you’re in for a treat. We have some truly unique arcade machine style bottles celebrating 30 years (I know, I feel old now too) since celebrated Japanese game developer SNK released the legendary NeoGeo console.  Bottled for Whiskyfest Takao 2020 the labels feature characters from the iconic NeoGeo title Fatal Fury!

Get Bidding!

Coming Soon – Society Bottle and Online Tasting

Our new Society exclusive bottling and Society online tasting are coming soon. We will make the Springbank 8yo bottle and the tasting packs – featuring four Springbank 28yo samples – available to members as soon as possible. Also, during the tasting members will have the chance to help us select a future Society release because we will be asking for your feedback to help us make that choice.—

We are unable to confirm a release date for the new bottling and tasting packs at this time as we have been forced to temporarily suspend shipping to Europe as a consequence of the UK’s exit from the EU. We are working very hard behind the scenes to get to grips with the new regulations and will resume as soon as we have everything in place. We will keep you updated over the coming weeks. —

Society Bottle – Springbank 8yo Fresh Oloroso Sherry 57.3%

£55.00

We are launching the new Springbank Society Bottling soon – a Springbank 8yo Fresh Oloroso Sherry bottled at 57.3%. There will be 1,830 bottles available.

Nose: Rich, fruity, sweet and spicy, a true sherry maturation for this Society release. With notes of dried prunes, dates and figs, a dusting of cocoa powder and aromas of warming spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg and clove characteristics with the citrus tang of orange marmalade.

Palate: Sticky ginger cake and zesty orange marmalade. Creamy and jammy but with a peppery, BBQ smoky edge. Enduring rich fruit and spice characteristics.

Finish: Lasting citrus fruit characteristics and sticky glazed gingerbread. There is a touch of delicate peat smoke, soft brown sugar, ripe black cherries and juicy blackberries.

Society Tasting Pack for Society Online Tasting

£35.00

We will be hosting an online tasting with four unique drams, carefully selected from our 1992 stocks. Society members will have the opportunity to watch our online tasting and provide their feedback on which of these casks they would like to be considered for a future Society bottling.

Each pack contains 4 x 2cl samples.

• Springbank 28yo – Bourbon Hogshead – 47.2% ABV
• Springbank 28yo Spirit Drink – Rum Barrel – 38.1% ABV
• Springbank 28yo – Oloroso Sherry Hogshead – 51.3% ABV
• Springbank 28yo – Oloroso Sherry Butt – 46.1% ABV

We will confirm the date and time for the tasting when we launch the Tasting Packs. There will be 600 Society Tasting Packs available for members.

Please Note:

• Both the Society Bottle and the Tasting Pack will be allocated via a ballot – further details will be provided closer to the time.
• Each Society member will be able to enter the ballot for a maximum of one bottle and one tasting pack.
• At the time of writing, we are not currently accepting any entries to the ballot, nor can we accept orders in any other way.
• If you need to contact us for any reason please email society@springbank.scot. Our team are currently working from home and therefore we will not be in the office to answer any phone calls.
• Although we will be able to deliver your order to your home address, due to the current Covid-19 situation throughout Europe, we will not be able to ship items to any Cadenhead’s shop. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

We will be back in touch in due course but if you have any questions in the meantime, please let us know via society@springbank.scot.

Slainte,

Springbank Society

The Springbank Team

To join the Springbank Society please contact them at society@springbank.scot

THE FIRST AND LAST WHISKY  DISTILLERY ON THE SCOTTISH MAINLAND

In 1821 William Smith founded a distillery on the outskirts of Thurso and named it Wolfburn after the watercourse it drew from, “burn” being the Scots word for stream or small river. Despite great success in its early years, the distillery suffered greatly after the war and by the 70s it was recorded on the first ever Ordnance Survey map in ruins.

In 2011 planning began to reinstate the Wolfburn brand and distillery. By 2013 Shane Fraser from Glenfarclas and Iain Kerr from Glenlivet have joined and the distillery is once again in operation. 150 years after its inception and just a short walk from the original distillery site. Since then, they have released  a number of well-received expressions and won a plethora of coveted awards.

SHOP ALL WOLFBURN WHISKY

Lady of the Glen New Release Focus

Quarter One 2021 Release

A great new line up from Gregor Hannah and his Lady of the Glen Range of whiskies. The first release of 2021 sees two fully matured Sherry casks, two full bourbon casks and a particularly wonderful Marsala finish. Fantastic Single Casks and hugely limited bottles available now from the Inverurie Whisky Shop.

View the Full Range

STAY-AT-HOME WITH CUPID:

CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY WITH THE WORLD’S MOST ENTERTAINING WHISKY CLUB

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society announces popular SMWS Home Dining experience is available for UK mainland delivery this Valentine’s Day

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) is bringing its first-class Home Dining experience to you, wherever you are. With the entire country being asked to stay at home once more, SMWS continue to share the Society experience with all members across the UK this Valentine’s Day.

Home Dining kits are available for delivery across mainland UK on 4^th – 5^th and 11^th – 12^th February, priced at £95 for 2 people or £165 for four. They are also available for click and collect from the 28 Queen Street, Edinburgh or 38 Bath Street, Glasgow Members’ Rooms on 4-6^th and 11-13^th February priced at £85 for 2 people or £155 for 4 people: https://smws.com/home-dining

The Feast of Saint Valentine was established in AD 496, to be celebrated annually on 14^th February in honour of Saint Valentine of Rome. This year, the award-winning SMWS team from Edinburgh’s 28 Queen Street will prepare an exceptional three-course menu, served alongside chef’s own chocolate truffles and a special Cupid’s Whisky Sour cocktail, and of course three expertly paired SMWS drams.

For the true SMWS experience, you will also receive videos from Executive Head Chef James Freeman and SMWS ambassadors, helping you skillfully plate your meal and appreciate your delicious drams.

SMWS have launched dedicated social channels along with the hashtag #smwshomedining to support the growing appreciation of their Home Dining experience:

F: https://www.facebook.com/smwsathome/

T: https://twitter.com/SMWSathome

I: https://www.instagram.com/smwsathome/

Unique whisky experiences that can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home are at the heart of this colourful whisky club, and annual membership starts from just £65: https://smws.com/whisky-club-membership

But being part of its ever-growing community of over 27,000 whisky fans goes beyond the Society’s outstanding single-cask spirits. Membership provides exclusive access to Members’ Rooms in Edinburgh, London and Glasgow as well as a calendar of UK-wide virtual tasting events. 

https://www.smws.com/

f: https://www.facebook.com/thesmwsuk

i: https://www.instagram.com/smws_uk/

t: https://twitter.com/SMWSUK

yt: https://www.youtube.com/user/SMWSsilverscreen/videos

#SMWS 

Notes:

About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society 

• The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and now has more than 27,000 members and branches around the world
• The SMWS bottles rare single cask, single malt whisky, and a range of other spirits
• The Society bottles single malts, unique single casks and exclusive blends
• The Society has bottled whisky from more than 146 distilleries from Scotland and beyond
• The Society offers a new batch of around 20 single cask, single malt whiskies every month
• The Society offers a variety of membership packages which can be tailored. Please see https://bit.ly/2uqKanT
• For more information about the Society, visit https://bit.ly/2HHiNyC
• Twitter: @SMWSUK Facebook: @thesmwsuk Instagram: @smws_uk

WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN ONE CASK MAKE?

Sometimes magic is most mesmerising when it takes you by surprise. We’d been searching for something to partner with a parcel of malt whisky from the closed distillery of Imperial, trying to make the most of its beautiful flavour. Then in 2019, the answer appeared out of nowhere. We realised that a remarkably precocious whisky from a Sherry cask experiment combined perfectly, and a new iteration of Magic Cask revealed itself. It was quite a revelation – one exceptional cask with such an extraordinary influence.

HOW THE MAGIC HAPPENED

After a year in ex-Bourbon barrels, we re-racked spirit from a heavyweight Speyside distillery into ten Oloroso Sherry-seasoned butts, prepared for us by José y Miguel Martín in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. Cask #2 had no right to develop such compelling character in so short a space of time, but then, careful methodology always benefits from a little luck. When combined with the parcel from the Imperial Distillery that had been hiding its true calling for years, we discovered an exceptionally rich and layered blended malt Scotch whisky that we just loved.

A KIND OF ALCHEMY

Magic Cask offers aromas of marmalade and chai tea spices with hints of plum. Ripe, golden dessert apples dominate the luscious palate, supported by an oaky richness. Savour this whisky neat as a digestif to appreciate its power and depth.

Of course, an article like this can only tell you so much, which is why we’re hosting a virtual tasting on March 21st where you can really get to know Magic Cask. Click the banner below to sign up.

If you can’t wait that long, please reach out to your local specialist spirit retailer for availability or pick up a bottle from our online shop now. For those based in the U.S., you can expect to see it on shelves from the beginning of February.

Whisky Auctioneer’s January Auction is Now Live!

Our January Auction presents over 5,500 diverse whiskies including a new offering from Pat’s Whisk(e)y Collection – the world’s largest private collection of whisky to come to auction. With thousands of whiskies to discover, we’ve whittled down some curated highlights picked by our in-house whisky experts for your attention…

SPECTACULAR BOTTLINGS FOR SCOMA

Our January Auction features two exceptionally rare releases from Islay bottled especially for SCOMA in Germany.

The cask strength Ardbeg is is one of the early Wm. Cadenhead “dumpies” from the early 1980s which are very rare and increasingly collectible. The ‘dark sherry’ Port Ellen bottled by James MacArthur remains one of the rarest and most sought-after of their bottlings, scoring a legendary 98 points from Serge Valentin on WhiskyFun.com.

REMARKABLE THE MACALLAN

Held over six dates in June and July 2014, The Ultimate Dinner was a series of charity events, co-hosted by The Macallan and the famous El Celler de Can Roca restaurant in Girona.

This exclusive single cask The Macallan was produced to accompany the eighth course of the dinner, and is one of no more than 12 bottled by the distillery, the majority of which would have been opened and poured at the dinner.

The events also featured charity auctions of rare, or again, exclusive bottlings of The Macallan. The latter is what we present here. A once in a lifetime opportunity, this single bottle of 1946 vintage The Macallan was drawn from cask #5 in 2014.

BOWMORE 12 YEAR OLD 1980s

Does rare Bowmore pique your interest? This unusual bottle of 12 year old whisky from the Bowmore distillery was exclusively produced for Japan. It bears the branding used by the distillery between 1979 and 1988 and is something of a curiosity.

BACK TO BACK BOURBON

American whiskey fans can rejoice at another extensive selection of rare novelties in our January Auction. Our top pick this month is the A.H. Hirsch Reserve 1974 15 Year Old, the second release of this legendary whiskey. Although stated as 15 years old, the whiskey was actually 16 years of age by the time it was bottled in 1990.

NOTEWORTHY NIKKA

One of just 1000 bottles, this incredibly rare vintage whisky from Nikka is sure to catch the eye of our Japanese whisky connoisseurs. Bottled in 1998, the whiskies in this blend were distilled in or before 1964 at Yoichi and Nishinomaya.

CASK OPPORTUNITIES

As we embrace a new year, there has been a lot of whisky in the news, including Bloomberg recently picking whisky casks as the hot alternative investment to watch for 2021.

If you are looking for a cask of whisky, our January Auction features some fantastic opportunities including casks distilled at Glenglassaugh, Ardmore and Dalmunach distilleries.

Tomintoul

Robert Flemming 1st Edition 30 Year Old Whisky

49.7% ABV | 70cl

This 30 Year Old Tomintoul Single Malt Scotch Whisky has been specially selected by Master Distiller, Robert Fleming, to commemorate his 30th anniversary as the custodian of Tomintoul Distillery, which began on 30th April 1990. Matured for twenty years in a Bourbon cask and ten years in an Oloroso Sherry butt, which yielded just 481 bottles, the First Edition is a rare and exceptional release.

Built in 1965 Tomintoul Distillery lies in the heart of the stunning Cairngorms National Park, located close to Tomintoul, the highest village in the Highlands of Scotland. Situated in the ancient Glenlivet Estate, the distillery takes its water from the pure, natural Ballantruan Spring, nestled in the Cromdale Hills. The natural environment, high altitude and exclusive use of the Ballantruan water source combine to produce the smooth and well balanced single malt that is Tomintoul, known as “the gentle dram”.

£499.95

Smokehead Whisky is not for everyone, but might be an ideal alternative whisky gift for Valentine’s Day! The bold Islay Single Malt Whisky brand has just released a Smokehead Skull Gift Tin, following the launch of Smokehead Rum Rebel, joining the original Smokehead expression.

Smokehead Rum Rebel, £54.99

Smokehead Original, £38.99

Smokehead Skull Gift Tin, £22.99