The Party Source Bourbon Harvest has finally arrived and we couldn’t be more excited. A big thank you to all those that participated in the raffle and congratulations to those that were selected. The Bourbon Harvest will have something for everyone and we hope to see you there.

Cheers,
-The Party Source Liquor Department

Bourbon Harvest

The Bourbon Harvest will begin at 11:00 am, Saturday, November 24^th. Everyone is invited to take part in the day’s activities as we celebrate all things Bourbon. For those that weren’t selected – not to worry there will be plenty of opportunities to go home with something special. The Bourbon Harvest isn’t just for raffling off Old Rip Van Winkle (ORVW) or Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC), we will also be releasing other rare and sought after Bourbons throughout the day, in addition, we’ll have some amazing Bourbons samples on hand, and Braxton will have food to offer. Come down and make a day of it.

Bourbon Harvest

Here are a couple of reminders to those that have been selected to participate in the ORVW and BTAC raffle.

• Each raffle participant has been emailed with a specific time slot, stand-ins will not be accepted
• Failure to show up for your time slot will mean forfeiture of your opportunity, no exception
•  To enter the raffle you’ll need to have printed your email verification that was sent with your time slot. Please note, time slots are not transferable in any way
• You must have your valid ID present at check-in and that ID must match with what we have on file when you signed up

Check-in will start at the beginning of each time slot. During each time slot names will be drawn at random for an opportunity to pick one bottle and one bottle only of either ORVW or BTAC from whatever selection remains when your name is drawn.

Custom Barrel Heads and Barrel Staves

Just in time for Christmas, we’ll be taking orders for Custom Barrel Heads and Barrel Staves. These make perfect presents for birthdays, weddings and, don’t you know, Christmas. If you have Bourbon enthusiasts on your list, these are a must. There are two options for customing Barrel Staves and eight options for customizing your Barrel Head.

Private Barrel Selection

For over a decade we have scoured the rickhouses of our favorite distilleries, home and abroad, for single barrels that we think best represent those distilleries. We currently have a selection of over 30 unique expressions from all over the world that include Bourbon, Rye, Single Malt Scotch, Tequila, Brandy, and Rum. These unique expressions are hand selected with care and each selection is unique to the barrel it was selected from. Sampled next to a distillery’s selection – that uniqueness stands out. Each Private Barrel has a fitting place on your bar.

The Party Source Private Barrel Selection

Holiday Gift Sets

As you head out to friends’ and families’ this season, don’t forget to take something special to show your appreciation for the season and hospitality. One great way to show your appreciation is to bring a special Spirit Gift Set, which are beautifully packaged and often include a little something extra that makes these gifts even more appreciated. We currently have 70 available gift sets that are great for the host with the most, secret Santa, or a reward to yourself for getting through the holidays.

Holiday Gift Set Selection

Australian craft whisky with Bill Lark ~ the Godfather of Australian whisky

The event is a Facebook Live Event that will be presented by Bill Lark and he will be joined by 2 guests. During the event 2 competitions that we are running will drawn.  Who better to give you an insight into the craft whisky industry through his personal journey than the legendary Bill Lark, also known as the Godfather of Australian whisky. Bill will be joined by Ryan Gavin, National Bar Manager at Rockpool Dining Group and Gavin Gillin, Whisky Enlightenment Instagram Influencer.

Please see the below links that outline the event.

Here is the Facebook Live Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1124623967696793/

Pre-registrations for event competitions: https://www.nantblog.com.au/livestreaming

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 225: Glen Keith 22 Year Old 1995 Lads of Lobland

Mark Dermul, Belgian whiskyblogger, sips an atypical Glen Keith. This is the 8th and final release in the Lads of Lobland series by the Belgian Bring Your Own Bottle Club – or BYOB-C (‘biopsy’). It was bottled in collaboration with Liquid Art. They chose a Speysider: Glen Keith 1995, matured for no less than 22 years.

https://youtu.be/zfoVk0bhDos

Ex-Chief Executive of Cadbury Schweppes joins board at Cotswolds Distillery

Sir Dominic Cadbury, previously Chief Executive and Chairman of Cadbury Schweppes, has joined the board of directors at Cotswolds Distillery. Sir Dominic, who lives locally to the distillery, is their second key appointment to the board, following the addition of Richard Watling, former CEO of Justerini & Brooks.

Dan Szor, Founder and CEO of Cotswolds Distillery, said, “We are delighted to welcome Sir Dominic to the board. He brings a huge amount of experience and will add enormous value to the board as the distillery moves into its next chapter.”

Sir Dominic joined Cadbury Schweppes in 1964 and was appointed to the board there in 1975. He was Group Chief Executive from 1983 to 1993 and then served as Chairman until his retirement in May 2000. His previous non-executive positions include serving as Chairman of The Economist Group and the Wellcome Trust. He held the position of Chancellor of the University of Birmingham for 11 years and is currently a trustee of the Heart of England Community Foundation, which helps to fund community projects across the West Midlands.

Sir Dominic

Sir Dominic said, “I am delighted to be joining the Cotswolds Distillery Board and look forward to contributing to their plans to grow this exciting young business.”

The Cotswolds Distillery, which was named World’s Best Craft Whisky Distillery 2018, has seen rapid growth in the past year, completing a funding round which raised £3 million in April. The funding has allowed the company to break ground this month on the construction of a new visitor centre at the distillery. It has also seen the company expand their senior management teams; in October Stan Owen join the distillery in the newly created position of Finance Director and Debs Carter joined the company as Head of Marketing in August.  

Notes 

The Cotswolds Distillery:

Located in Stourton, Shipston-on-Stour, the distillery has become a premier local attraction, offering tours and tastings daily, and now receives 30,000 visitors a year.

Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky was launched in October 2017. Each bottle lists the barley variety, harvest year and local Cotswolds farm it was grown on. It recently won Gold at the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition and took 2 stars (one of only two whiskies to do so) in the 2018 Great Taste Awards.

Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky is available nationally and in 12 countries across the world. Key UK retailers include Majestic Wine, The Whisky Exchange and Laithwaites.

The distillery also produces Cotswolds Dry Gin, which was named Best London Dry at the 2016 World Gin Awards and received the top Gold Outstanding award in the 2017 International Wine and Spirits Competition. Difford’s Guide recently ranked the Gin as one of the top 20 Gins available in a survey of 450 brands.

Cotswolds Dry Gin is on sale nationally and in over 23 countries.  Key national accounts include Waitrose & Partners, Majestic, Oddbins, Laithwaites, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, and Fortnum & Mason.

For more information, please visit www.cotswoldsdistillery.com.

BONHAMS SMASHES YET ANOTHER WHISKY RECORD

American Hogshead Cask from Macallan Distillery, 1996- 22 year old sold for HK$3,430,000 (US$437,861 / £342,271 

Hong Kong – Bonhams once again set a world whisky record at its Rare and Fine Wine and Whisky auction on Friday 16 November in Hong Kong with the sale of an American Hogshead Cask from Macallan Distillery, 1996-22 year old, which sold for HK$3,430,000 (US$437,861 / £342,271) to an absentee bidder against active bidding in the room, surpassing the original estimate of HK$2,200,000 to HK$2,800,000.

The new benchmark was set against the previous sale of a Sherry Hogshead Cask from Macallan Distillery, 1987-30 year old which sold for HK$2,928,000 (US$373,800 / £292,200) at auction in October 2017.

“Not only has this 22 year-old cask reached the highest record price realised at auction, but it is also the most valuable per bottle cask sold in auction worldwide and is expected to produce 310 bottles valued at HK$11,064 per bottle,” explains Daniel Lam, Director of Wine & Whisky, Asia.

During 2018, Bonhams has broken the world record for the most valuable bottle of whisky sold at auction on three separate occasions, and set a new world record for the most expensive bottle of Japanese whisky ever sold at auction.

The Hong Kong sale, Bonhams largest to date with more than 1,100 lots, concluded with a robust total
of HK$41, 219,168 (US$5,263,862/ £4,099,553) with 77% sold by lot and 87% sold by value.

Alongside the leading lot, impressive prices were also achieved throughout the whisky category of the auction including:

• A bottle of Karuizawa-1960-52 year old-#5627 the oldest expression, which was sampled and kept by Mr. Osami Uchibori, the former malt master of Karuizawa Distillery which sold for HK$1,837,500 (US$234,568 / £ 183,359) against an estimate of HK$1,000,000 – 1,400,000

• A bottle Laphroaig-1970-14 year-#4367 from one of the most legendary Italian independent bottlers Samaroli sold for HK$ 490,000 (US$62,551 / £48,895), against an estimate of HK$20,000 – 26,000

Within the wine category, the single owner collection from an esteemed Hong Kong collector presented across some 500 lots of fine wine purchased between 1980s and 2003 was well received amongst bidders. Immaculately preserved and aged in Hong Kong over the past 15 years, this was a truly “Made in Hong Kong” collection, featuring mature Bordeaux, multiple vintages of Penfolds Grange, Hill of Grace and other matured Australian wine, and Cult California wines from the 1990s.

Highlights in this sale include:

• Château Mouton Rothschild 2000 (1 jeroboam – 5 liters); bottle number 5 of 5000 and autographed by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and sold for HK$171,500 (US$21,893 / £17,113)
• Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 2004 (12 bottles) sold for  HK$147,000 (US$18,765 / £14,668)
• Domaine de la Romanée Conti 2000 (6 bottles) sold for HK$ 306,250 (US$ 39,094 / £30,559)
• Château Petrus 2002 (12 bottles) for HK$ 220,500 ( US$28,148 / £22,003)

Upcoming auctions at Bonhams globally include Fine and Rare Wines on 29 November in London (https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24606/); Fine and Rare Wines on 7 December in San Francisco (https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24854/); and Whisky on 12 December in Edinburgh (https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24762/).

Full details of the Fine and Rare Wine and Whisky auction available at https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24779/

About Bonhams Contact

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest and most renowned auctioneers, offering fine art and antiques, motor cars and jewellery. The main salerooms are in London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. With a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams offers advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full list of forthcoming auctions, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com.

The creation of the Greek Whisky Association “GWA”

The Greek Whisky Association was a great dream of a group of friends with a common passion and love of whisky, all whiskies although we do profess a soft spot for Scottish Single Malt.

The Greek Whisky Association is an non profit organisation, in aim of bringing together all people that share our passion and love for the king of spirits. Our vision is the creation of an organisation that in due time will be able to put Greece squarely on the map of world whisk(e)y lovers through the creation of a series of Single Cask bottlings and various whisk(e)y events and activities.

Activities like seminars, tastings, visits to distilleries, exchange of ideas and samples with other whisk(e)y fans not only in Greece bur throughout the whisk(e)y loving world and  in general explore and discover more of the magical world of whiskies and make new friends.

For us whisk(e)y is a great pleasure, an instant journey in a Glencairn that invites you to travel the path of experiences and memorable moments so we invite you in our little but very passionate community we are open to ideas and collaboration but more importantly we are looking forward to share a dram and make new friends. If you are planning to visit our lovely country check our pages for the best places to enjoy good whisk(e)y in Greece or drop us a line.

Lastly we would like to remind all our friends and visitors our principle values:

We consume alcohol responsibly and with respect to the law and our fellow human.

Alcohol and driving NEVER together  and this group, it’s page and all its content is aimed solely for the pleasure of adults of the legal age of alcohol consumption in their country of residence. Contact the GWA at greekwhiskyassociation@gmail.com

Dumbarton 31 Year Old 1987 Exclusive

From the lost Dumbarton distillery we’ve lined up a single refill barrel selected by Hunter Laing & Co. for the Sovereign series. Sweet nose of apples and blueberries with a soft palate of salted caramel and forest fruits. Dumbarton 31 Year Old 1988 vintage Lowland single grain Scotch whisky. Rare example of the lost Scottish distillery. Single cask refill barrel #15477 distilled March 1987 bottled September 2018 by Hunter Laing & Co. for the Sovereign series. Selected and bottled exclusively for The Whisky Barrel. 207 numbered bottles. This golden whisky has a nose of apples, blueberries, and molten toffee. The palate is soft and sweet with notes of salted caramel, forest fruits and marzipan. The finish is medium length, with a hint of lingering pepper.

Dumbarton Distillery is a lost Lowland grain distillery opened by Hiram Walker in 1938 on the site of the former McMillan shipyard. The distillery sat on the banks of the River Leven and River Clyde in Dumbarton and was equipped with one continuous still manufactured in Cincinnati. It was one of the largest grain distilleries in Scotland however it closed in 2002 with most of its buildings demolished by 2008. Spirit was produced primarily from maize with water originating from Loch Lomond with spirit destined for Ballantyne’s blends. Single cask bottlings have been released by Hunter Laing & Co.

Shop – £119.08

2006 Croftengea 12 Year Old “Hepburn’s Choice” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $59.99 View

Macduff 21 Year Old “Hepburn’s Choice” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $79.99 View

1996 Ardmore 21 Year Old “Old Malt Cask” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $89.99 View

1998 Tamdhu 20 Year Old “Old Malt Cask” K&L Exclusive Single First Fill Hogshead Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $89.99 View

1995 Blair Athol 23 Year Old “Old Malt Cask” K&L Exclusive Single Sherry Butt Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml )$109.99 View

1997 Hector Macbeth (Glenfiddich) 21 Year Old “Hepburn’s Choice” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml )$109.99 View

1991 John McCrae (Balvenie) 26 Year Old “Hepburn’s Choice” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $139.99 View

1996 Bowmore 22 Year Old “Old Malt Cask” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $149.99 View

1965 Carsebridge 52 Year Old “Sovereign” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Grain Scotch Whisky (750ml) $349.99 View

1995 Springbank 22 Year Old “Hunter Laing Old & Rare” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky (750ml) $399.99 View

Hi folks, that’s us live with the 92st auction! Happy bidding!

Happy Bidding!

THE MACALLAN LAUNCHES ITS FIRST GLOBAL BRAND ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 

Monday November 19, 2018 (NEW YORK, NY) – The Macallan, the world’s most precious single malt, is launching its first ever global advertising campaign across television, cinema and digital channels. In the USA, the campaign will roll out nationally across digital and social. The focus of the campaign, a 90-second hero film titled “Make The Call”, will launch today, Monday November 19, 2018.

Focusing on key markets including the USA, Mexico, Taiwan, China and the UK, “Make The Call” offers encouragement to a new generation of consumers who are faced with increasingly complex and often daunting life decisions. Concepted by leading global creative agency, J. Walter Thompson, the new long-term integrated brand campaign features a fantastical visual metaphor to bring the brand’s messaging to life.

Paul Condron, Global Brand Controller, The Macallan, said: “The launch of our first ever global advertising campaign marks a new chapter in the long and illustrious history of The Macallan. The ‘Make The Call’ campaign has been developed with the highest level of quality and craft that is truly fitting for the brand and it will be launching in key markets around the world. “2018 has already been a momentous year for The Macallan, having opened our world class new Distillery and Visitor Experience in June. We look forward to building on that and to seeing the reaction of audiences around the world to this fantastical tribute to people who make the call to choose a bigger life.”

Creative Director for creative agency J. Walter Thompson, Paul Rizzello, said, “The pressure of a big decision often makes us hesitate just when success is within reach. We’re so afraid of getting it wrong, we end up avoiding those decisions altogether. This story is about someone who decides to go for it. He makes the call.”

Executive Creative Director, J. Walter Thompson, Lucas Peon said, “One of the most refreshing things about this campaign is that it avoids category clichés so often seen in whisky advertising around the world. To get the attention of people who wouldn’t necessarily drink single malt, you have to be ready to do something more provocative yet authentic.”

The “Make The Call” film was directed by Juriaan Booij out of RSA Films and shot by John Mathieson, the twice Oscar-nominated Cinematographer behind Gladiator and X-Men. The production has pioneered new techniques from the first use of motion capture in a wind tunnel, to 3D matte paintings created using VR headsets. Creative and strategic work was led by J. Walter Thompson London, with support from network offices including Moscow and Shanghai, and sister agency Hudson Rouge in New York.

NOTES 

About The Macallan

Founded in 1824, The Macallan is one of the world’s’ most admired and awarded single malt whiskies. The reputation of The Macallan is based on a product of outstanding quality and distinctive character. An obsession with excellence has been the hallmark of The Macallan since its founding, by Alexander Reid, on a plateau above the river Spey in northeast Scotland.

In May 2018, The Macallan unveiled its new $186 million distillery and visitor experience on its Speyside estate, increasing investment in whisky, warehousing and in The Macallan’s signature sherry-seasoned oak casks.  The striking contemporary architecture, cut into the slope of the land, takes its cues from ancient Scottish hills.  It stands nearby Easter Elchies House, the Highland Manor built in 1700 which has been The Macallan’s spiritual home since 1824.  The new distillery marks an important milestone, recognising the significant journey of The Macallan since 1824 and marking an exciting new chapter in the evolution of the luxury single malt.

For more information visit www.us.themacallan.com. The Macallan can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

About J. Walter Thompson London

J. Walter Thompson London is a communications agency which creates pioneering ideas that build brands and businesses. The agency offers creative expertise across all channels, delivering creative, insight-led and integrated branded content.

The business includes Mirum, global digital innovation technology agency, Colloquial, middle weight social content solutions, JWT Live, the most awarded experiential agency in the UK, Geometry@JWT, shopper insight, strategy and activation, JWT 1-2-1, CRM and customer journey marketing, JWT Inside, employee engagement and JWT Entertainment.

J. Walter Thompson London is part of a global network, with more than 200 offices in over 90 countries, consistently ranks among the top agency networks in the world and continues a dominant presence in the industry by staying on the leading edge.

For more information, please visit http://www.jwt.co.uk and follow us @JWT_London.