GlenDronach 26 Year Old 1992 Twin Sherry Butts

New & Exclusive GlenDronach 26 Year Old 1992

We’re delighted to be bringing you two more single cask expressions of sherry matured Highland malt whisky from GlenDronach distillery. Exclusive to customers of The Whisky Barrel. This time two sherry butts.

GlenDronach 1992 Sherry Butt #179
&
GlenDronach 1992 Sherry Butt #180

HOW TO ORDER

We appreciate the high demand for GlenDronach, especially single cask vintages.

SALES START

MONDAY 28 January 2019
5-AM EDT / 6-PM HKT / 10-AM GMT

As an existing TWB customer, we will email you a link to the product page at this time before the product is visible across the website.

On Sale – MONDAY 28 January 2019

We’re encouraging you to quench your thirst for knowledge and explore new experiences this month as you delve into our colourful collection of single casks. We’ve released five preview bottlings to whet your appetite ahead of our February Outturn. Only a limited number of bottles are available now, with the full Outturn coming your way on Friday, 1 February at 9am. Order now before they’re gone

BOTTLINGS

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

Welcome to this weeks episode of the show, in which I’ll be looking at a selection of bottlings by Gordon & MacPhail.

https://youtu.be/A8HcSFDA1c0

Havin a chat aboot my favourite drink …

Half dozing off at the King James (Christies pub in Perth) these points came up when doing my best to get some whisky virgins to commence their long career with the water of life. When you drink whisky, why do you only fill up a little bit in a glass? why not fill it up?  Whisky is strong, some will burn your mouth and throat, this can ruin the experience and wreck and numb your taste buds to the point you don’t want any more whisky, ever. Grand whiskies, aged drams and expensive drams maybe best enjoyed by pouring 1 or 2 drops of water  to “open it up” – to cut the alcohol enough to let the drinker appreciate the excellence of the craft that is whisky making. Not distilling you hear, but making! Distilling is just one small step in the craft art of delivering a whisky. Like art, a whisky in a glass is in the eye (and mooth) of the beholder. Let the whole whisky experience blend, experiment what works for you. A cheap blend whisky might be great for adding ice and making cocktails, but an expensive dram doesn’t deserve to be treated like any old cocktail mixer. Give it respect. If you want to just get drunk, then donder down to the pub and have a few shots of crap liquid enjoyed by the mass of younger idiots every Friday and Saturday nights.

Is the Glencairn glass the best way to enjoy a whisky? How often have you heard “it must be in the right glass”? Personally, that is pish, I am happy extracting a dram from any container, a Glencairn or a mug for tea. By adding a few drops of water you can open up different flavours that you previously had not found. Specially true when enjoying cask strength that have higher alcohol levels (can be over 60% ABV although illegal in Norway). With cask strength whisky the alcohol and burning in your mouth can overpower even the flavours. By adding water, this dilutes the alcohol and reduces its effect, giving the flavours a chance to come oot. Ice is slightly different. Rather than bringing out flavours, the ice makes the temperature drop rapidly. The aromas and taste will only start to open up and reveal their characteristics once the whisky starts to warm up to room temperature. Do you have all night?

On a bottle of whisky and the label says “non-chill filtered.” What does that mean?  it means your whisky may turn cloudy  if served on ‘the’ rocks. Chill filtering is a step most distillers take to remove chemical compounds such as esters, proteins and acids produced during fermentation and maturation. Whisky bottled at a typical alcohol content of less than 46 per cent will become cloudy if subsequently chilled, either during transport or in the presence of ice. In chill filtering, whisky is cooled to between -10° and 4° Celsius and passed through a fine adsorption filter. This is done mostly for cosmetic reasons – to remove cloudiness – rather than to improve taste or consistency, and tell me if I am wrong here, mostly this affects to USA market and drinkers. Hey guys, there is nothing wrong with a cloudy whisky. Get over it, try a stone in the dram maybe, or just learn the art of dramming like in Scotland.

Breaking a cork –  you pull out the cap of a whisky to find a handful of wood or plastic topper, while the cork remains wedged in the neck of the bottle?  What do I do?  carefully use a corkscrew to remove the cork, just like with a bottle of wine, if the cork falls into the bottle get another empty bottle or jug, with a sieve pour the whisky out into the empty vessel, then clean your original container and pour the liquid back into the original bottle. One wee tip from myself; when you finish a bottle of whisky that has had a cork, keep the cork top just in case!

DRINKING WHISKY is a pleasure not to be missed. But – so often have folks said to me “it burned my mouth, it taste horrible”, well, all I can say is, either you are not drinking it correctly, or – you havnee found the right whisky for you yet. There are so many whisky snobs out there, my advice, take your time, sample as many as you can – not all on the same day – find the one that suits your taste. Me? To all my Scottish friends and contacts in the whisky industry, I am NOT sorry, my drink of choice at the bar is Bushmills Black Bush, easy to drink, doesnee burn and is light, no peat. Aye but that doesnee mean I don’t drink other drams by the way. I do tend to stay away from cheap shite blended rubbish, that’s only good for cocktails, mixing with coke and for Campbells.

A personal blether from Paul McLean. www.whiskytours.scot

BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY BREAKS ANOTHER

RECORD FOR VISITATION

More than 230,000 Guests Visited Historic Distillery in 2018 

FRANKFORT, Franklin County, Ky (Jan. 22, 2019) – Buffalo Trace Distillery continues to see exceptional tourism growth, setting new records for visitation year over year. The Distillery ended 2018 having welcomed a record-breaking 231,523 visitors during the calendar year. This is a 15 percent increase in visitation over the previous year, and a 345 percent increase since 2010.

            This rapid increase in tourism is on trend with growing bourbon sales and is why the National Historic Landmark distillery is in the midst of a $1.2 billion investment to expand its distilling and aging capabilities, and again expand its visitor center to accommodate an increasing number of guests.

            “It’s exciting to be growing in all aspects, we are thrilled that so many people took their time to come and see our team at work” Meredith Moody, director of Homeplace development said. “Our growth in visitation has allowed us to expand our tour offerings to six different complimentary tours, and offer our guests a unique look at the Distillery with each visit. Having just completed an expansion of our Visitor Center in 2015, we are looking forward to again expanding our tour capabilities to accommodate even more guests as we continue to grow.”

            Planning is underway now for the second expansion of the Visitor Center. The Distillery anticipates construction to begin by this fall.

Also part of its Distillery expansion, Buffalo Trace just finished replacing its 1951 boiler, and will soon begin adding 12 additional fermenters and replacing the mash cookers. In order to make room, the existing bottling hall is in the process of moving to another area on site where the bottling lines will be modernized to allow for more efficiency and better capacity.

The Distillery is also building 22 new barrel warehouses on the farm it owns adjacent to the Distillery at a rate of one new warehouse every four months. Each warehouse will hold 58,800 barrels.

This is all part of the first large scale structural expansion at Buffalo Trace Distillery’s campus since the 1950s.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich tradition dates back to 1773 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee.  Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site and is a National Historic Landmark as well as is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Distillery has won 21 distillery titles since 2000 from such notable publications as Whisky Magazine, Whisky Advocate Magazine and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Its Col. E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon was named World Whiskey of the Year by “Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible 2018.”  Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 500 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com.

Celebrating our brand home

The Macallan Genesis Limited Edition is a complex and masterful whisky that reflects each painstaking step in The Macallan whisky making process and celebrates the creation of our iconic Distillery and Visitor Experience, with renowned architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. This release tells the unique story of the principal architect, Graham Stirk’s vision for the aesthetic of The Macallan Distillery and Visitor Experience. The Macallan Genesis Limited Edition is presented in a beautiful gift box featuring a lithographic print of the Distillery signed by Graham Stirk.

We are pleased to inform you that The Macallan Genesis Limited Edition will be available to purchase through an online ballot, opening for registrations in February 2019.

explore the whisky

The Macallan Genesis Limited Edition is priced at £495.00 (70cl) excluding delivery and the final price will be subject to local taxes and duties related to the delivery destination.

USEFUL INFORMATION

• Delivery of whisky products from The Macallan Online Shop is currently available to 27 countries.
• If your country of residence is not listed you are still eligible to enter the ballot and if successful you can choose to arrange delivery to one of the countries fulfilled by The Macallan Online Shop.
• We will inform you when the ballot opens for entries.
• Entries to the ballot will be open for one week.
• By entering the ballot you are not making a purchase and there is no obligation to buy, even if you are successful in the ballot.
• We aim to notify all successful entrants by email by the end of March 2019.

A Pair of 30 Year Old Single Grain Whiskies

Our spirits department keeps on finding one treasure after another! Fans of aged whisky won’t want to miss the 30 Year Olds from North British and Strathclyde. Exclusive to K&L, these single grains are both wonderfully complex and impossible to resist. While most 30 Year Olds cost a small fortune these days, this pair is very affordably priced and will make welcome additions to any Scotch collection.

1988 North British 30 Year Old “Old Particular” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Grain Scotch Whisky (750ml) $119.99 View

A co-op of sorts, the North British distillery was founded in Edinburgh in 1885 by a group of gentlemen looking to break into the grain whisky business. At the time there was a virtual monopoly on grain production controlled by a company called DCL. North British found great success and has grown its production over the years due to the tremendous quality and quantity of their primarily maize or wheat distillate. The knock on effects of this enormous production are incredibly inexpensive, yet quite well aged stocks of premium grain whisky on the blending and independent bottling market. Something of a wheel house for K&L, we are always excited to bring great old grain into California whenever we can. Even if you don’t believe you’ve tasted North British before, you almost certainly have. It’s sweet grain whisky finds its way into such notable blends as Famous Grouse, Cutty Sark, Chivas Regal, and J&B. In a great irony, these blends (and the North British distillery itself) are all owned by Edrington and Diageo, the direct outrgrowth and descendents of DCL; the company that North British was founded to compete with in the first place. No matter! The whisky is good, it’s inexpensive, it’s available, and it’s ready to drink!

1987 Strathclyde 30 Year Old “Old Particular” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Grain Scotch Whisky (750ml) $119.99 View

Personalised Whisky

Give the perfect gift with a personalised bottle of whisky. Each of our own Loch Fyne whiskies and liqueurs and a select few other bottles can be engraved with a personal message to add that special touch to your gift. Whatever the occasion, say it with whisky!

Buy Now

Hi folks, that’s us live with the 94th auction! Happy bidding!

Happy Bidding!

J&B Rare Re-launch

Author: Chadwick Delaney, Managing Director, Justerini & Brooks

1. Where was J&B Rare distributed before it was taken back?

From 1997 until April 2018, J&B Rare was distributed initially by Diageo Great Britain, and then subsequently through a third party. The decision was made to return distribution back to Justerini & Brooks as of 1st May 2018. A move that made perfect sense, given the heritage and association of the brand: Justerini & Brooks being the original creators of J&B Rare back in the 1930s.

2. Was it available in the UK during this time? If so, where?

Between 1997 and April 2018, it was available principally in Grocery and Convenience stores. Bringing the whisky back into the Justerini & Brooks wine and spirits portfolio made perfect sense: we maintain strong ties with both premium on and off trade clients, with the J&B Rare serves now being listed across Drake & Morgan and Darwin & Wallace groups.

3. Why now for its return?

As the creators of one of the world’s most distinctive whisky brands, Justerini & Brooks was delighted to welcome J&B Rare back to the family and introduce the blend to a new generation of whisky drinkers. We believe the timing is perfect: consumers are more and more concerned with provenance, heritage and brand stories. Originally enjoyed by maverick men and women and brought to eminence by the Hollywood rat-pack, J&B Rare has amassed a rich heritage, alongside delivering a quality blend that is enjoyed neat as a cocktail. J&B Rare’s return to Justerini & Brooks marks a pivotal moment in the company’s longstanding association with its house brand and are excited to introduce J&B Rare to a new whisky audience throughout Great Britain in 2018 and beyond.

4. Why Waitrose?

Waitrose and Partners is a company that we are delighted to be working very closely with: they provide the perfect platform to introduce new customers to J&B Rare. We were delighted to be part of the wonderful Waitrose Drinks Festival this year and invite their customers to sample J&B Rare. We had fantastic feedback on the quality of the liquid, especially its versatility and mixability.

5. Any plans to build further off-trade distribution?

Yes! We are very excited about the many, varied opportunities we have in 2019 and beyond to further elevate distribution of the brand in the GB on and off-trade.

J&B RARE SCOTCH WHISKY FACTSHEET

J&B Rare Scotch whisky is a blend of 42 malt and grain whiskies. It is one of the most popular blends in the world, known for its subtle, smooth and complex flavour. Created in the 1930s, its lighter style suited the palates of post-Prohibition America, rising to prominence from its public association with the Hollywood Rat Pack in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Since early 2018, Justerini & Brooks took back the exclusive distribution in Great Britain after 21 years.

Prior to this, J&B was distributed by Diageo via a 3rd party, and only available in the UK market from a small number of grocer and cash & carry’s. The whisky now sits alongside Justerini & Brooks’ existing portfolio of fine wines and rare malts.

Tasting notes:

Fruity and aromatic on the nose with notes of soft apple and pear. Naturally pale in colour with layers of rich vanilla, well balanced with a smooth finish. Matured in oak casks for a minimum of three years, the finer heart malts are aged for longer to add fullness and depth of flavour, creating the unique taste of J&B Rare. Lively and light, New Grain creates a subtle canvas for the blend. New Malts add body and aromatic notes of spice and fresh fruit. These are perfectly balanced by American oak and just a hint of smoke.

RRP: £22.50 (Currently available at £18.50, Waitrose & Partners nationwide until 1 January 2019)
Strength/size: 70cl, 40% vol
Distributer: Justerini & Brooks