Win A Trip To The Open Championship With
Loch Lomond Whiskies

How would you like to be at The Open 2019?

The Open returns to Royal Portrush this year and together with Loch Lomond Whiskies, we’re giving you the chance to be there!

Experience the thrill of the 148^th Open at Royal Portrush as golf’s oldest, most international and one of the most prestigious championships in the world returns after 68 years with the world’s greatest players competing for the Claret Jug.

To be in with a chance of attending the sold out Open Championship 2019, buy either Loch Lomond 12 Year Old, Loch Lomond 19 Year Old Royal Portrush, Loch Lomond The Open Special Edition, Inchmoan 12 Year Old or Inchmurrin 12 Year Old, between now and Sunday 30^th June. You’ll then be entered into our prize draw.

The full prize package includes:

Top Prize

• Two tickets for the Saturday 20^th July of The Open at Royal Portrush
• Prize includes two entry tickets to The Open and access to the Loch Lomond Whiskies Hospitality Suite
• £500 spending money

Second Prize

• Win a Limited Edition bottle of Loch Lomond 19 Year Old Royal Portrush, part of The Open Course Collection

Third Prize

• 6 runners-up winning a 3 x 5cl Loch Lomond Miniature Set

Scroll down to take a closer look at the best of Loch Lomond Whiskies…

Loch Lomond 12 Year Old 

Aged in three types of cask – bourbon, refill and re-charged – this 12 year old Highland Single Malt is perfectly balanced with a deep fruity character of peach and pear and the characteristic hints of peat and smoke found in Loch Lomond Whiskies.

The nose offers crisp green apple, ripe pear and refreshing citrus lemon with notes of golden cereal lurking underneath. The palate is deeply fruity with lemon meringue, pear and orchard fruits leading to citrus lemon, vanilla and light biscuit. The finish is medium with gentle wood smoke and a lingering peaty tang.

‘…so succulent! Never before seen spice like it, or such sublime balance with the fruity malt…’ – Jim Murray, Whisky Bible 2017

Loch Lomond 12 is one of our customer favourites!

70cl / 46 % abv

Loch Lomond 19 Year Old Royal Portrush

Part of The Open Course Collection from Loch Lomond Whiskies, the official Spirit of the Open, this Highland single malt has been matured in American oak casks from the distillery’s own cooperage for at least 19 years. This expression was created in collaboration with 2011 Open Champion golfer, Darren Clarke, whose signature it bears. Bottled at 50.3% abv, this expression has the characteristic fruitiness of Loch Lomond Whiskies, with a rich mouth-feel and sweet notes of honey and tropical fruits.

70cl / 50.3% abv

Buy Now

Inchmoan 12 Year Old

Part of Loch Lomond Whiskies’ peated Island Collection, Inchmoan, this 12 year old Highland single malt is born of a unique combination of whisky from a traditional swan neck pot still and whisky from a straight neck pot still.

The result is an unconventional peat character with great depth, marrying smoke and spice. Sweeter vanilla aspects from re-charred America oak and refill bourbon casks complement the soft peat style of Loch Lomond’s unique still set up.

The nose has smouldering peat with vanilla syrup and cracked black pepper. The palate is sweet with medicinal peat notes, smoked bacon, roasted coffee beans, cloves and star anise, before a fruity green apple and pear character develops. The finish is long with waxy peat and gooseberry citrus.

Inchmoan 12 Year Old is another of our Customer Favourites.

70cl / 46% abv

Buy Now

Inchmurrin 12 Year Old

As unique as the “grassy isle” for which it is named, this 12 year old expression from Loch Lomond Distillery is aged in bourbon, refill, and recharred casks, married together to create this fruity and sweet Highland Single Malt. The nose is distinctively fruity with pear drops and toffee sweetness, light notes of freshly cut hay emerging. The palate builds in intensity with seville oranges before mellowing to peach and apricots, giving way eventually to creamy vanilla fudge, before a medium and peppery finish.

70cl / 46% abv

Buy Now

Loch Lomond The Open Special Edition Glass Pack (Coming Very Soon)

Loch Lomond Whiskies have released their very special “Distillers Cut” edition to celebrate their partnership with The Open. Loch Lomond Master Blender Michael Henry has hand selected a combination of spirits from Loch Lomond’s unique straight neck pot stills,

Matured in three types of American oak casks and managed by Loch Lomond’s own onsite cooperage, this is a beautifully balanced whisky with hints of peaty smoke.

The nose has soft fruits, peach and pear, with vanilla syrup. The palate; Sweet and fruity. Honey and peach, some orange citrus and creamy vanilla with a medium length finish.

To be in with a chance of winning two tickets to the sold out Open Championship, purchase either Loch Lomond 12 Year Old, Loch Lomond 19 Year Old Royal Portrush, Loch Lomond The Open Special Edition (coming soon), Inchmoan 12 Year Old or Inchmurrin 12 Year Old, between now and Sunday 30^th June. You’ll then be entered into our prize draw. Winners will be drawn shortly after and notified. 

Good luck!

Old Malt Cask Bowmore 17 Year Old – Feis Ile 2019

Selected by & bottled exclusively for Loch Fyne Whiskies in celebration of the 2019 Islay Festival

Part of the famed Old Malt Cask series from family-run bottler Hunter Laing & Co., this single cask expression was distilled at Bowmore on Islay in December 2001. Matured for 17 years in a single refill barrel, it was bottled in May 2019 at a natural cask strength of 55.6% abv – higher than the usual preferred strength of Old Malt Cask bottlings. Limited to only 120 bottles get your hands on this Loch Fyne Whiskies exclusive and celebrate the Islay Festival in a richt good fashion!

70cl / 50% abv

£199.00

Buy Now

Welcome to this weeks episode of the show in which I’ll be taking a look at the Antiquary range of blended whisky from Tomatin along with a few new releases. These new releases include the yet to released UK exclusive 12 year old French Oak finish.

https://youtu.be/yKjx2XutxDI

Merchants of Pleasure and La Maison Du Whisky start partnership for Hong‐Kong.

Hong Kong based Merchants of Pleasure announce strategic partnership to develop key Asian
markets of Hong Kong and shortly after Thailand with Paris based La Maison du Whisky.

May 14, 2019 – PARIS/HONG KONG

The partnership will include, the exclusive distribution of the following La Maison du Whisky brands portfolio in Hong‐Kong: LMDW exclusive whisky bottlings and annual special editions. Additional brands will soon be integrated as part of this partnership for which the announcement is yet to be done.

Mr. Thierry Benitah, CEO of La Maison du Whisky “‘’We are delighted to start a partnership with Merchants of Pleasure in Hong‐Kong. They believe in our brand philosophy and the strength of our company name La Maison du Whisky. We are confident that our company and our brand exclusivities will have a powerful platform in the future upon which to grow in the Asian markets.’’

Merchants of Pleasure Founder Mr. Stephane Michel “We are extremely excited about this new venture and are proud to join forces with a group with the prestige of La Maison du Whisky. Their amazing products and years of experience in the industry combined with our in‐depth knowledge of the Asian markets, contacts and infrastructure will result in a very strong offering for the regional scene of our industry.”

About La Maison du Whisky (LMDW) :

La Maison du Whisky was founded in 1956 by Georges Benitah in Paris and today under his son Thierry has grown to be regarded as one of the finest international distributors of premium spirits. Their yearly releases of limited‐edition products in several categories, as well as their private collections, are highly sought after by collectors and aficionados around the world. LMDW organizes Whisky Live in Paris every year, one of the world’s most recognized whisky events.

About Merchants of Pleasure (MOP):

Merchants of Pleasure was formally launched in Hong Kong by the Michel Brothers in 2014 and specializes in premium distribution across all channels of the supply chain throughout the Asia‐Pacific region. Today MOP represents over 60 brands across many categories and its portfolio is continuously evolving as a platform to promote special and unique products from around the world…always with a passion.

Inquiries: pr@merchantsofpleasure.com (Merchants of Pleasure), export@lmdw.com (LMDW)

Campbeltown Malts Festival 2019

Full Schedule

The Campbeltown Malts Festival 2019 will commence in a few days time and staff here at J&A Mitchell & Co are looking forward to welcoming our visitors from across the globe to our distilleries next week. Preparations are well underway in Campbeltown as all hands are on deck to get the place looking its best ahead of all the fun which will take place.

As well as the events which will be held by Springbank, Glengyle and Cadenhead’s, a wide range of other local businesses will also be hosting events. The below information aims to include all events which will be taking place over the festival week. Please see the day to day break-down below:

Monday 20th May 2019

11am & 2pm: Historic Walking Tours

Campbeltown Heritage Trail Group will be conducting historic walking tours of the town as part of the Campbeltown Malts Festival celebrations on Monday and Tuesday next week. These tours give a great insight into Campbeltown’s fascinating history and rich heritage. The tours will be free of charge and conducted by local volunteers, Alex McKinven and John Bakes. Lasting approximately 1 hour, the tours finish off with a wee dram at Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop. Booking in advance is essential – please email festival@springbank.scot to book your place asap.

5:30pm: Whisky Impressions Davaar Island Dramble (FULLY BOOKED)

Tuesday 21st May 2019

11am & 2pm: Historic Walking Tours

As mentioned above, Campbeltown Heritage Trail Group will be conducting historic walking tours of the town in collaboration with the Campbeltown Malts Festival celebrations on Monday and Tuesday next week. These tours give a great insight into Campbeltown’s fascinating history and rich heritage. The tours will be free of charge and conducted by local volunteers, Alex McKinven and John Bakes. Lasting approximately 1 hour, the tours finish off with a wee dram at Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop. Booking in advance is essential – please email festival@springbank.scot to book your place asap.

4pm: Whisky Impressions Liquid History Tour

Discover Campbeltown’s distilling past and present on this guided walking tour around the town. There will be pit stops at a local hostelry or two for some liquid refreshment along the way! There are limited places left for this tour so be quick in booking your place by following this link – whisky impressions

5:30pm: Cadenhead Club Member Tasting in the Malt Barns at Springbank Distillery (FULLY BOOKED)

8pm: Campbeltown Picture House presents the film ‘Scotch: The Golden Dram’

To celebrate the Campbeltown Malts Festival, Campbeltown Picture house are showing “Scotch: The Golden Dram” on Tuesday. A member of the Springbank & Kilkerran Sales Team will be on hand from 7:15pm to serve some complementary drams from both distilleries before the film starts. A great way to round off your Tuesday evening! For the film synopsis and booking information, please click here

Wednesday 22nd May 2019

10am – 6pm: Glen Scotia Open Day

Glen Scotia Distillery will be hosting their annual Open Day at the distillery on Wednesday and will also be hosting other events throughout the week. For the most up to date information of events taking place, visit www.glenscotia.com.

11:30am: Springbank Society Member Tasting in the Malt Barns at Springbank  Distillery (FULLY BOOKED)

7pm: The Glengyle Distillery Dinner (FULLY BOOKED)

Evening: Hotel Dinners & Whisky Tastings

Those of you who missed out on a place at our Distillery Dinner on Wednesday evening may be interested to learn that we have teamed up with the Craigard House Hotel and the Ardshiel Hotel to offer a special whisky dinners and tastings on Wednesday evening. As you may know, people at our Distillery Dinner each receive a bottle of whisky chosen from a selection of casks by the guests themselves. While we can’t offer all attendees at the hotel dinners a bottle, a member of the Springbank/Kilkerran Sales & Marketing Team will be on hand to let you taste the same whiskies that are being enjoyed at the distillery. As a further bonus, all attendees at both hotels will be entered into a prize draw and one lucky person at each dinner will win a bottle of the whisky chosen by the group at the Glengyle Dinner, making these a very interesting alternative option.

Spaces at both dinners are limited so if you would like to book a place please call them ASAP on the below telephone numbers:

Craigard House Hotel: +44 (0) 1586 554242

Ardshiel Hotel: +44 (0) 1586 552133

Thursday 23rd May 2019

The Springbank Open Day will take place on Thursday 23rd May. Events begin at 10:30am when the sale of our special Open Day bottles will commence and the day will feature a range of attractions including:

• Free tours of Springbank at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
• Free tours of Glengyle at 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, 2:30pm & 3:30pm
• A selection of over 20 stalls from local businesses
• Food from Argyll Bakeries, Food For Thought, Ifferdale Lamb & Kintyre Smokehouse
• Delicious cakes from Muneroy
• Three special Springbank Open Day bottlings (more information below)
• Warehouse Whisky Bar & Festival Bar
• Fyne Ales Bar
• Live music
• Various Tastings, including some only bookable on the day (more information below)

From 4pm-9pm, we will have a range of local musical artists performing in the yard. This will kick off at 4pm with Hope Strang followed by young local band Western Sound who will play from 4:30pm-6pm. Around 6pm, Kintyre Schools Pipe Band will entertain the crowd with their talent and then to finish proceedings from 7pm-9pm, Rhuvaal will perform. In addition to the music, from 6:45pm, we will see the return of the ever popular Spooks Tour through the haunted warehouses at Springbank! Food and drink will also be available throughout the evening. Events at Springbank will conclude at 9pm.

Bookable on the Day Tastings  

Unfortunately all our advance booking tastings are already fully booked but please don’t fret! We will be hosting 3 events which will be bookable on the day, details of which can be found below:

12:30pm & 2:45pm: Malting Demonstrations – Free

Watch a member of our production team demonstrate our traditional malting process while enjoying a dram of one of our most popular whiskies. These free events serve as an excellent opportunity to learn about Springbank and maybe even try turning the barley yourself! Tickets are only available to book on the day so make sure you head straight for the ticket point (located in our main marquee) to book and collect your tickets.

1pm: Springbank Tasting – £30.00

Only available to book on the day, you can join one of our Sales Team in enjoying a selection of drams from across the Springbank range, from old favourites to the most recent releases. Whether you are new to Springbank or an old hand, this tasting has something for everyone. Tickets can be purchased from our ticket point (located in our main marquee) on the day.

Information on Pre-Booked Tastings – Venues and Times

If you were successful in purchasing tickets via Eventbrite, please bring proof of purchase with you (print the information or show confirmation email on your phone). Below is a reminder of the tastings with their start time, venue and entry time. Please take note of this so that you know where to go on the day.

*** Warehouses 3 and 4 are located just behind the main distillery office at Springbank. There will be signs to direct you to both warehouses on the day.

Springbank Open Day Bottlings

As mentioned above, we will have three bottlings which will be bottled especially for the Springbank Open Day 2019.

The first is a very special Hazelburn 21 year old which has been matured in a Refill Sherry Hogshead. This will be bottled at 46% ABV with only 222 bottles available. This will retail at £250.00 on the day and will be limited to 1 bottle per transaction.

The next is a Springbank 8 year old which has been matured in Fresh Sherry casks. This will be bottled at 56.8% ABV and there will be 1100 bottles available. This will retail at £65.00 and will be limited to 2 bottles per transaction.

Our third special Open Day bottling is a Longrow 15 year old which has been matured exclusively in First Fill Rum casks. This will be bottled at 52.4% ABV, with 911 bottles available. The retail price will be £75.00 and will be limited to 2 bottles per transaction.

Campbeltown Picture House Tours

In addition to our busy schedule on Thursday, Campbeltown Picture House will also be hosting free tours of the cinema on Thursday morning at 10am and 11:30am. If you’ve not seen it before, this is a great chance to see the refurbishment work that has been carried out on the cinema (back before its reopening in 2017).

Friday 24th May 2019

The final day of the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2019 will be dedicated to Mitchell’s Glengyle Distillery, home of Kilkerran Single Malt, and Wm Cadenhead’s Independent Bottler.

Our Friday events will mainly take place at Glengyle Distillery where the gates will open at 10:30am when the sale of our Kilkerran Open Day bottling will begin. This special bottle is a 15 year old Kilkerran which has been matured in Refill Bourbon casks. This will be bottled at 57.1% ABV with only 630 bottles available. This will retail at £75.00 and will be limited to 2 bottles per transaction. Throughout the day there will be:

• Free tours of Glengyle at 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, 2:30pm & 3:30pm
• A selection of craft and food stalls from local businesses
• Activities from Wee Toon Warriors from 12:30pm
• The famous Cadenhead Lucky Dip Bar
• Cocktail Bar & Festival Bar
• Live music
• Various Tastings (tickets still available for The Evolution of Kilkerran Tasting – more information below)

Events at Glengyle will conclude around 5pm.

Tastings   

Most of our advance booking tastings are already fully booked but there are still some limited spaces left on our Evolution of Kilkerran Tasting at 11:30am.

During this tasting you will get the opportunity to experience the evolution of Kilkerran. Be part of the journey, sampling some of the earliest Work in Progress bottlings, present day releases and a glimpse into the future with the headline Kilkerran event of the day.

Tickets for this are £30.00 and can be purchased from our ticket stand in the yard on Friday. They will also be available to buy in advance on Thursday from the Springbank marquee ticket point.

Information on Pre-Booked Tastings – Venues and Times

If you were successful in purchasing tickets via Eventbrite, please bring proof of purchase with you (print out your ticket or show the confirmation email on your phone). Below is a reminder of the tastings with their start time, venue and entry time. Please take note of this so that you know where to go on the day.

 *** Warehouses 7 and 9 are located at Springbank Distillery. Please meet at the Springbank Distillery Office and a member of staff will guide you to the warehouses.

*** For tastings taking place in the Glengyle Filling Store, Glengyle Bottle Store and Glengyle Malt Barns, signs will help direct you on the day.

Other Notable Information

Traffic Delays

We know that many of you will be travelling to the town by road over the next 7 days.

Please be aware that there are roadworks scheduled to be taking place during this time so please consult the Traffic Scotland website for full details. However, at the time of writing it appears that all works that may affect visitors travelling south to Campbeltown are minor in nature and are unlikely to cause any great delay. Specifically, there are minor works planned at Inverary, (just south of) Lochgilphead and between Clachan and Tayinloan – none of these are expected to significantly add to your journey time, however please continue to check with Traffic Scotland in case this changes. Nevertheless, it is advisable that you leave a little extra time to account for unforeseen delays – we don’t want you to miss out on anything!

Collecting bottles from the Cadenhead Shop

The staff at the Cadenhead Shop have asked that if you have bottles stored with them, then please make an effort to collect them as soon as possible – preferably as soon as you arrive.

As the shop will be incredibly busy at times throughout the festival, the team would like to do what they can to make everyone’s festival experience enjoyable and this includes any time you spend in the Cadenhead shop. We appreciate your cooperation.

Collecting Society and Cadenhead Club bottles

Members that have Society or Cadenhead Club bottles to collect can pick them up from the Distillery Shop (not the Cadenhead shop on Union Street). Please let us know if you intend to collect your bottle(s) so we can make sure they are ready for you!

Society: society@springbank.scot

Club: club@cadenhead.scot

Whiskyopolis Exhibition

Campbeltown Heritage Centre will be open Monday – Friday from around 11am-4pm each day (times may vary slightly). Following the launch of their special Whiskyopolis exhibition last year, they would love to welcome visitors to see their display and teach people about the history of distilling in Campbeltown.

Doors Open Day

The Lorne & Lowland Church are having an Open Doors Day on Thursday 23rd, Friday 24th and Saturday 25th May and all visitors to the town are welcome to pop in.

We think that is all for now…anyone who managed to read that deserves to pour themselves a large dram!

For more information on any of the above events, please email festival@springbank.scot or call +44 (0) 1586 552009.

Slainte,

The J&A Mitchell Team

Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel “#17-399” (Rick House D, Floor 4, Row 30, Level 1) K&L Exclusive Kentucky Bourbon (750ml )$64.99 View

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

Welcome to this week’s episode of the show in which I’ll be re-visiting  Bunnahabhain’s core range along with a couple of new additions.

https://youtu.be/jg7gcFmGJlM

Auchentoshan 21 Year Old

Single cask 1997 vintage from the Glasgow distillery. Bottled March 2019 by Hunter Laing & Co. for the Old Malt Cask series. Nose: Sweet leafy plums, raspberries and chocolate. Palate: Smooth red plums, butterscotch. Finish: Long, lingering, fruity sweet.

Auchentoshan Distillery was built by John Bulloch around 1800 and originally licensed in 1823 as Duntocher Distillery but renamed Auchentoshan Distillery during the 1830s. Auchentoshan is situated just north of Dalmuir, close by the northern bank of the River Clyde. Then it was in the countryside and now hugging the north western fringe of Glasgow yet not far from Loch Lomond. Auchentoshan is now one of the few distilleries in Scotland to produce malt whiskey using a full triple distillation process. Expressions released by Wemyss, Hunter Laing and Cadenheads prove very popular.

Flavours of red berries, toffee, custard and a fruity, spicy finish. Just 149 bottles.

Buy – Auchentoshan 21 Year Old – $97.73

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 254: Arran 12 Year Old 2006 Private Cask for Whisky Shop Zammel

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries a single cask of Arran for Belgium. Lucie Stroesser is well known to most whisky lovers. Until recently she was the Brand Ambassador for Arran. One of the last tastings she hosted, before returning to her native France, was in Belgium. Shop owner Jan Vissers asked her to bring some cask samples to select the next private cask for his Whisky Shop Zammel. He selected a 12 years old sherry hogshead, distilled on 26^th July 2006 and bottled on 14^th January 2019. And it blew Mark away!

https://youtu.be/z4I5-yQ9aBg