Last Chance To Order Game of Thrones Complete Sets

Don’t miss out on the chance to own the complete Game of Thrones Single Malt Collection including the final release – Mortlach 15 Year Old Six Kingdoms!

Extremely limited full sets available to pre-order now!

Winter is here! With the seventh and final series of Game of Thrones released in 2019, this collection of nine limited edition single malts is a true celebration of the hit HBO series. Seven bottles in the collection are inspired by one of the seven Houses of Westeros, one by The Night’s Watch and one final release for the Six Kingdoms. Released by Diageo in collaboration with the makers of the series, each of the expressions features a unique design taken from the house sigils.

£518.00

Pre-order Now

Raise a toast of the Macallan

With the new year upon us, it is the perfect time to raise a toast of The Macallan with friends and loved ones.

This year, we are taking the opportunity to celebrate some Scottish New Year traditions. “Hogmanay” is the traditional Scottish term for New Year’s Eve and at midnight we sing Auld Lang Syne and go First Footing.

Auld Lang Syne

This traditional Scottish song is sung at the stroke of midnight. It is a call to celebrate longstanding friendships, saying goodbye to the year past, and welcoming the year to come.

First Footing

“First Footing” is a popular Scottish tradition, referring to the first person to enter a home after midnight in the new year.

Gifts, including a dram of whisky are traditionally bestowed, granting good luck for the year ahead.

From everyone at The Macallan, we wish you all the best for the coming year.

Explore Hogmanay Traditions

Whew… what a year it’s been! After years of patience and preparation, Prelude: Courage & Conviction was released this past September as an early look into our very first line of American Single Malt whisky.

And it’s off to a great start. Whisky Advocate recently awarded Prelude: Courage & Conviction 90 points, describing it as a whisky of superior character and style.

In addition, our Cider Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whisky was awarded 90 points as well. These scores are a testament to our team’s dedication to making great American whisky.

If you’re looking for that last minute gift for a friend or loved one (… or for yourself), you can check out your local store’s availability here.

As great as 2019 was, this is just the beginning. You can expect an even more exciting upcoming year with the launch of our Flagship release Courage & Conviction in the Spring of 2020. 👀

With the holidays upon us, please stop by our Visitors Center for a tour or tasting if you and your family find yourself in our neck of the woods. While we’ll be closed on New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day, we’ll be keeping normal hours of operation outside of that. We’d love to have you!

Thank you everyone for being a part of our journey as we help bring American Single Malt whisky into the spotlight. This season, we’ll be raising a dram to you.

Here’s to courageous beginnings. 🥃

Cheers,

– The Team at Virginia Distillery Company

A Very Relaxed 2020!

We’d like to wish you and your loved ones a very happy and relaxed 2020 and hope to meet you at Maltstock or anywhere else in good health!

Annette, Bob, Klaas, Stan, Teun and the relaxed Maltstock crew.

WORLD’S FIRST LIVE ONLINE WHISKY AUCTION DEDICATED TO CASKS

Cask Trade is to host the world’s first, live, online only auction dedicated to casks of whisky next month.

Sales of whisky have raised record-breaking amounts, most recently £7.6M was raised at a Sotheby’s auction in London including several casks and an auction in Hong Kong in November raised £441,000 for a Cask of Macallan 1989.

World First

In an historic, world first, Cask Trade will host the first ever live, online auction for casks on 22nd January 2020.

Auctionyourcask.com will allow private owners and investors to sell their cask to independent bottlers and other investors all around the world.

A passionate whisky collector for more than 20 years, Cask Trade’s owner Simon Aron, suffered many false promises from whisky investment companies and this drove his ambition to create a real and trustworthy market place for whisky collectors and investors, and bottlers.

“It’s a really exciting time for whisky sales as the recent Sotheby’s auction proved. I was in the room and the excitement was palpable and marked a historic moment for the spirits market. With the launch of auctionyourcask.com we offer a fresh approach to selling whisky by the cask, not just the bottle,” says Simon.

Whisky Price Growth

A mixed portfolio investment of 14 whisky casks purchased for £100,000 would appreciate at an estimated average increase of 13-18% a year (over 4-6 years), generating a target gross return of more than £214,000, an increase of approximately 114%.

Whisky, according to the recent Knight Frank Wealth Report, is 2019’s top performing luxury investment. With an increase of 40% on rare bottle values in the last 12 months, it far outstripped the more established alternative assets such as art, wine and cars.

auctionyourcask.com

The first auction on 22nd January will run until 2nd February (ending 8pm GMT) and include approximately 24 casks including an Aberfeldy 2005, Bruichladdich Chateau Margaux, Aberlour 1990 and Springbank 1995.

Those looking to register their interest in the auction should visit www.auctionyourcask.com

Two tastings of cask-strength whisky will be held for those who register their interest in the auction. The tastings will take place at Cask Trade’s offices on Regent Street on 15th  January at 12 noon until 2 pm and 5.30pm until 8pm. To attend one of the two tastings buy tickets on www.auctionyourcask.com/news-and-events (£10/ticket).

All casks will need to have had a recent re-gauge ready for auction and a full 70cl sample will be drawn so that bidders have the opportunity, wherever possible, to try the whisky before they buy. Cask Trade validate all the sellers and confirm proof of ownership and the history of the cask enabling bidders to safely buy. With complete transparency and no sellers’ fee Cask Trade can offer bidders the actual hammer price. Their low buyers’ fee of 15% + VAT will offer the opportunity to buyers, trade or private, to buy rare casks.

Cask Trade, the company behind of auctionyourcask.com, buys and sells exceptional cask whiskies. The company is unique because it only sells casks it owns outright, and it only sells whole casks: it is not a whisky cask broker and it does not offer fractional sales, as part of a fund.

Hosted four times a year the next auctions will take place in April, July and October 2020.

NOTES:

Founded in 2018 by Simon Aron in partnership with several of the world’s foremost whisky masters, including Keeper of the Quaich Sir Colin Hampden-White, Cask Trade buys and sells exceptional cask whiskies. The company is unique because it only sells casks it owns outright, and it only sells whole casks: it is not a whisky cask broker and it does not offer fractional sales.

A passionate whisky collector for more than 20 years, Simon Aron suffered many false promises from whisky investment companies and this drove his ambition to create a real and trustworthy market place for whisky collectors and investors, and bottlers:

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…

• Delivery orders from supplier to Cask Trade
• Invoices for transfer of ownership, storage insurance, re-gauging, sampling or movement
• HMRC-issued WOWGR (warehouse keepers, warehouse premises, owner of goods and registered consigners): a fully regulated and closely monitored license requiring due diligence on suppliers as well as customers.

Included in its extensive list of customer services, Cask Trade’s rigorous processes means that the company will guarantee to buy back from its clients the casks they buy from and have had managed by Cask Trade. It also offers…

• Regular sampling and re-gauging of casks
• Re-racking (sherry wine, port etc)
• Estimates of bottles and strength in cask (effects of angels’ share 0ver years of maturations)
• Financial modelling for each cask based on age and rarity with estimated % returns
• Costings for bottling, labelling and shipping (duty & tax)
• Regularly updated whisky investment guide which includes statistics from two authoritative third parties (independent of    Cask Trade)
• Cask Trade will arrange for clients to receive samples of their whiskies and visit their barrels(s), upon request – wherever possible.

Cask Trade has started the first live auction website dedicated to exceptional whisky casks: auctionyourcask.com.

Hosted four times a year and helping private owners/investors sell their cask to independent bottlers and other investors all around the world. All casks will be re-gauged ready for auction and a full 70cl sample will be drawn so that bidders have the opportunity to try the whisky before they buy. – Wherever possible. We validate all the sellers and confirm proof of ownership and the history of the cask enabling bidders to safely buy. With complete transparency and no sellers’ fee we can offer you the actual hammer price. Our low buyers’ fee of 15% + VAT will offer the opportunity to buyers, trade or private, to buy rare casks.

https://www.casktrade.com

https://www.auctionyourcask.com

Whisky Price Growth 

Whisky, according to the recent Knight Frank Wealth Report, is 2019’s top performing luxury investment. With an increase of 40% on rare bottle values in the last 12 months, it far outstripped the more established alternative assets such as art, wine and cars.

From page 78 – https://content.knightfrank.com/resources/knightfrank.com/wealthreport/2019/the-wealth-report-2019.pdf

Data collected by Rare Whisky 101 suggests the four-year growth from December 2014 in rare whisky has increased over 160%, compared to just 2.47% for the FTSE 100. https://www.rarewhisky101.com/indices

The same report by Rare Whisky 101 claimed via the BBC that they had performed a controlled test of 55 rare bottles, of which over a third were fakes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-46566703

New Rare Bourbon Allocations Now Available:
Very Olde St. Nick “Summer Rye” & Cream of Kentucky 12.3 Year Old

We just landed two last-minute allocations, a pair of unique and prized bourbon selections that will thrill any collector for a special gift or an addition to any well-rounded collection of Kentucky’s finest. First up is the cult-favorite Very Olde St. Nick “Summer Rye,” which came to fame under the stewardship of Julian Van Winkle, and now has a new home at the Preservation Distillery in Bardstown. We rarely have any quantity to offer from this label, and everything we’ve put on the shelves in the past week has disappeared in quick order. We’ve also had trouble keeping any bottling of Cream of Kentucky on the shelf and, considering the new 12.3-Year-Old bottling has the better part of a year over the previously sold-out release, the odds are low that it will last through the holiday. The demand for bottlings at this level is still unprecedented, so make sure to secure your allocation early.

Cream of Kentucky 12.3 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon (750ml) ($139.99)

A newly revived label being ushered back to market by a whisky legend. Jim Rutledge, a former master distiller at Four Roses, has come out of retirement for this one. 12.3-year-old bourbon, sourced by one of the best-connected and well-respected people in the bourbon industry. This is what we call a no brainer. From the producer: The Cream of Kentucky brand was initially introduced in 1888 by I. Trager & Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio. Just before the end of Prohibition, the brand was acquired by the famed Schenley Company and subsequently re-introduced in 1934. Through the 1930s and 1940s, Cream of Kentucky grew to become one of the leading bourbon brands, with renowned artist Norman Rockwell provided much of the award-winning artwork for the brand during its heyday. J.W. Rutledge now owns cream of Kentucky, and Jim has recently purchased a limited supply of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey he feels is worthy of the rebirth of Cream of Kentucky Bourbon as a premium whiskey.

Very Olde St. Nick “Summer Rye” Ancient Barrel Reserve Cask Strength Rye Whiskey (750ml) ($199.99)

The Very Olde St Nick brand has long been a cult favorite. Initially bottled by Julian Van Winkle and subsequently, by the Willett Family, VOSN now has its very own home in Bardstown—The Preservation Distillery. Of course, this old rye whiskey wasn’t distilled there but drawn from the brand’s oldest stocks. The distillery is committed to producing whiskey the old way and sources its grains from local farms, mills on-site, and always sour mashes. There’s no way of knowing just where this special old rye came from, but it’s widely considered one of the best bottles of rye coming out of Kentucky, and the first time we’ve ever been able to sell this incredible brand stateside. How they’ve secured these excellent old ryes remains a mystery, but what’s not a secret is how quickly they’ll sell out. Don’t miss it.

Cracking Hogmanay Deals!

Last minute savings on some outstanding whisky this Hogmanay including Highland Park, Lagavulin, Glenfiddich and more! Whether you’re having a party or a quiet night with friends, make sure you have the perfect bottle to share this New Year!

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