Lots of amazing new Signatory whisky including Glenallachie, Old Pulteney, Benriach, Mortlach, Strathmill, Royal Brackla, Caol Ila and more! Andrew and Brian Symington established their bottling business in 1988. They were based at Newhaven on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, to the north and within shouting distance of Edinburgh. Having taken over the business in 1997 and purchased Edradour Distillery near Pitlochry in Perthshire in 2002 Andrew Symington move his bottling business into new premises next to the Highland distillery. Brands include Cask Strength and Unchillfiltered.

Shop – Latest Signatory Vintage

ralfy review 870 – Mortlach 13yo @ 47.5%vol (Carn Mor)

BILLY WALKER RETURNS TO HIS BLENDING ROOTS AS GLENALLACHIE

UNVEILS FIRST BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY

The iconic whisky distiller reverts to his career origins in blending to recreate White Heather as a premium aged small batch blend 

With more than 50 prestigious awards in three years, and a Master Distiller with almost 50 years’ experience at the helm, The GlenAllachie Distillers Company is renowned for its exceptional single and blended malt whiskies, and now launches its first-ever Blended Scotch Whisky: the limited release White Heather 21-year-old.

With only 2,000 bottles available worldwide, and a particularly high single malt content, White Heather 21-year-old (UK RRSP £120) is a premium small batch blend, expertly crafted by industry icon, Billy Walker.

White Heather sees Walker call upon his first forays into the industry as a blender whilst taking inspiration from a whisky brand which was discontinued in the 1980s as the industry consolidated. White Heather was acquired by The GlenAllachie Distillers Company, led by Walker, in 2017, along with The GlenAllachie Distillery and MacNair’s Lum Reek Blended Malt brand.

Walker has put his own unique spin on White Heather, elevating the favour profile with skilful wood management and a watchful eye on the maturation process.

To create this rare and luxurious small batch blend, Walker first sourced some of the finest single malt and grain whiskies from the Highlands, Islay and Speyside. The whiskies spent 18 years maturing in a combination of first fill American barrels, sherry butts and second-fill barrels and hogsheads.

In the GlenAllachie Distillery lab, Walker expertly crafted a unique recipe with an unusually high single malt content, including vintage GlenAllachie. The blend was then laid down for an additional maturation period, highlighting Walker’s acclaimed wood management skills; spending three years in a carefully selected mix of Pedro Ximénez puncheons, Oloroso puncheons and Appalachian Virgin Oak casks to let the flavours marry together and take on additional layers of depth and complexity from the wood.

The resulting whisky, which is presented at 48% ABV with no added colouring or chill-filtration, perfectly balances gentle peat from the Islay contribution, archetypal Speyside fruity notes, the heather honeyed sweetness of the Highlands, and a rich and rounded foundation from the grain components.

Commenting on the landmark release, Walker said: “This whisky is particularly close to my heart. Creating this blend took me back almost 50 years to when I started my career at Hiram Walker. It was there I started to learn the art of blending and the specialist skills required to select whiskies that when interfaced with each other ultimately amplified the overall flavour experience.

“With White Heather, I poured everything I’ve learned on my whisky journey into crafting a truly memorable small batch aged blend that sits proudly alongside even the very best single malts. I wanted to honour the original blend whilst recreating it in a much more premium form with exceptional wood.  It’s a fine balance bringing together the character of such different whiskies and cask types, but I’m incredibly proud to now unveil the end result.”

White Heather is being unveiled in the same week that The GlenAllachie’s Master Distiller Billy Walker is inducted into Whisky Magazine’s prestigious Hall of Fame. In 2022, Walker will celebrate a remarkable 50 years in the whisky industry.

White Heather 21-year-old is available from specialist retailers globally, with a UK RRSP of £120.

Further information on the brand can be found at www.WhiteHeatherWhisky.com

Instagram – @WhiteHeatherWhisky

TASTING NOTES

White Heather 21-year-old – 2,000 bottles, 48% ABV

• Colour: Natural Gold-Bronze.
• Nose: Beautifully soft background with heather honey, butterscotch, peat reek and hints of tannins.
• Taste: Rich notes of heather honey, butterscotch, orange peel, and soft tannins, with a wonderful presence of peat and smoke.

For more information on The GlenAllachie Distillers Company, please go to theglenallachie.com

What’s New?…

Long time no see! Literally…

I hope you are all safe and well and staying sane.

I wanted to update you on where we are in terms of physical and virtual events, as it has been some time since I last emailed you.

With the government’s easing of lock-down, and the ‘end-game’ date of the 21st June approaching, we are keen to get out and about again, as I am sure you are too.

We have some ideas of what we would like to do, but it matters not a bit if it does not fit with what you want and need.

To this end, we would love it if you can help us shape what the future of our events looks like. We want you to come and see us, but we want you to feel safe in doing so.

Therefore this email is all about research and getting your more valuable than ever feedback. We would be massively grateful if you could take a look at the 10 question survey in the ‘Survey Monkey’ by clicking the button below.

Please take the survey!

Bristol, London & Edinburgh 2021

If you have tickets for any of these events, you should be receiving a separate email from us via Eventbrite, our ticket platform, today.
It is not, unfortunately, possible for these events to go ahead in their current form or date, so we have given you some possible options that hopefully will satisfy.

Festival in a Box 2021

On the back of the success of our first virtual whisky festival last October, we are planning our follow-up on the weekend of the 18th, 19th and 20th June. Whilst I cannot give you too much detail right now, plans are well in motion and we hope that as many of you will join us for this fantastic event.
Plus, if you have a festival ticket to Bristol, London or Edinburgh, you can put the value of this towards the festival pack.

We will also be re-starting our regular online tastings, so there will be plenty for you to go at whilst we are still in this limbo!

Keep an eye out for more details soon…

Autumn 2021 Festivals

We have plans and dates in place for Liverpool, Manchester and York in September, October and November. We will be releasing more info on these in due course, but just to say that we will be honouring tickets bought for the 2020 festivals that were postponed.

That’s it. No sales patter, no ‘click here to buy’, just a genuine catch-up and appeal for you to give us your thoughts.

Don’t forget to catch up on the latest whisky news from Connas HERE and we look forward to seeing you – on-line – soon!

In the meantime – Stay Safe. Stay in. Have a dram.

Sláinte and best wishes,
Eddie, and the whole Whisky Lounge Team

Want to sell your whisky in our next auction? With no sellers fees?

We’re offering a FREE personal courier collection service (UK)

From Monday 19th April, the TWSA team will be on the road from London to Glasgow (and everywhere in between!) to pick up your bottles from your doorstep. It can all be carried out contact-free, and we’ll take care of the cost.

Looking to sell your whisky before April 19th?

We can organise a courier to pick up your bottle(s) free of charge and get you booked in the next available date.

To find out more or book your free collection:

✉️ Email auctions@whiskyshop.com

📞 Phone +44(0)141 427 2950

Please note that our offices are shut on weekends, but we’ll answer your query as soon as we reopen on Monday at 9am.

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”.

Shop All Tomintoul Whisky

 Welcome to this weeks episode of the show in which I’ll be taking a look at the new make spirit and the different cask types that are being used at Lindores Abbey Distillery.

https://youtu.be/BD54Lag3tsU

A very warm welcome to all of you from far and wide. The daffys are blooming and spring is finally on its way! As to be expected, we’ve got a packed selection in our liquid treasure trove so let’s get stuck in and show you a mere taster of the goods.

If you’re looking to take your palate on a journey of Japanese discovery, then we’ve got the perfect starter kit for you. This Nikka Six Pillars Gift Box is packed with 6 Japanese malt titans including Nikka From The Barrel, as well as their Taketsuru Pure Malt 17 Year Old.

Striding back over to Speyside we have some biiig age statements from our most loved distilleries including a Glen Grant 50 Year Old from Gordon & MacPhail and a Macallan 72 Year Old Lalique Genesis decanter.

A true heavyweight in every sense of the word, the whisky as well as the hand-blown crystal decanter and handcrafted bespoke wooden case!

FREE UK COLLECTIONS

We continue to offer free doorstep collections for over 10 bottles or collectively worth a minimum of £1000. Contact us to find out more and check availability.

Label under Ambient Light Source

APRIL FOOLS WHISKY: A SURPRISE REVEAL

The Whisky Exchange introduces an exclusive, extra special whisky for April Fool’s Day. And like the best jokes, it may look simple upon first glance, but there’s a lot going on underneath…

The famed spirits retailer is keeping key elements of this limited edition whisky hidden until 6.00am on 1 April when all will be revealed to its customers. Maintaining the mystery, the label of the bottle has been printed with an ink sensitive to UV light, hiding details until a torch, included with every purchase, reveals the hidden text.

A visible statement declares ‘Extremely young, I wish I were older’ as a tactic to retain the illusion of the whisky’s true age which is really 30 years old. (Embargoed until 6am on 1^st April)

Details 

• 7% ABV
• Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Available to purchase from thewhiskyexchange.com on Thursday 1^st April, 6am-12pm, while stocks last
• https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/feature/aprilfools
• 30 years old
• Priced at £150
• Just 869 bottles are available to buy
• Matured in first-fill Bourbon casks
• Tasting notes from Billy Abbott, Brand Ambassador at The Whisky Exchange: 

Nose: A complex cake to start: layered lemon drizzle and victoria sponge, filled with butter cream. Notes of gummi bear and mint imperial float in around the sides, accompanied by growing pineapple and pear. Spicy notes of black pepper and nutmeg build through the middle, leading to sweet, butterscotch-and-orange-studded sugar cookies.

Palate: The lemons are back and lead the way – lemon drizzle cake topped with candied lemon slices. The gummi bears sit alongside the citrus, joined by spiced spongecake and white chocolate. Sweet cream and milk bottle sweets follow, with slowly developing mint fondant. The leafy and spicy notes round things out, with hint of aniseed and a handful of herbal lozenges.

Finish: Sweet and buttery to start, with aniseed and nutmeg building before fading to leave vanilla butter cookies and a hint of mint cream.

Comment: Don’t let the date fool you – this whisky is not only real, but it shows its true colours in the glass.

Label under UV Light Source

Website link : https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/feature/aprilfools

Introducing video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNrJxnRztWQ

ABOUT THE WHISKY EXCHANGE

Founded in 1999, The Whisky Exchange is the leading global retailer of whiskies and fine spirits, with an award-winning online shop and three shops located in the heart of London at Covent Garden, Great Portland Street and London Bridge.

As a family company, The Whisky Exchange believes in excellent products at competitive prices and exceptional service. The company’s philosophy is simple – never rest on your laurels. The team, led by founders and brothers Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh and buyer Dawn Davies MW, is constantly trying to find new products with genuine heritage and quality in all drinks categories, while continuing to innovate and ensure its website and shop are the best in the business. Above all, the company is built on its amazing range and its people, and is responsible for the loyal and ever-expanding fan base from around the world.

The Whisky Exchange in numbers: 4,000 whiskies including 3,000 single malt Scotch whiskies; 500 Cognacs and Armagnacs; 600 rums; 300 gins; 200 bourbons; 150 Tequilas; three shops.

London Shops

2 Bedford Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9HH / Tel: 020 7100 0088

90-92 Great Portland Street, Fitzrovia, London W1W 7NT / Tel: 020 7100 9888

(New) 88 Borough High Street, London Bridge, London, SE1 1LL / Tel: 020 7631 3888

Online

www.thewhiskyexchange.com / Tel: 020 8838 9388

Beam Suntory to Invest in £6 Million Restoration and Upgrade of Glen Garioch’s Distillery in Oldmeldrum