Arran Brodick Bay 20 Year Old Limited Edition 49.8%

£134.95

Buy Brodick Bay

Isle of Arran distillery is releasing a Sherried single malt called Brodick Bay as part of its new limited edition Explorers Series, which pays homage to the island’s natural charms.

A 20-year-old single malt, Brodick Bay has been matured in ex-Bourbon barrels and ex-Sherry hogsheads before being finished in oloroso Sherry butts from Bodegas Tradición in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

Bottled at a cask strength of 49.8% abv, the whisky is said to contain notes of ‘creamy toffee’ and ‘treacle-laced fudge’, resulting in ‘a memorable sweetness with rich layers of intense fruit’.

Brodick Bay is named for the picturesque bay on Arran’s east coast, located around 12 miles from the Isle of Arran distillery at Lochranza, and overlooked by Arran’s tallest mountain, Goatfell.

Limited Stock

£134.95

UK Delivery £7.95

(Customers outside the UK please contact the shop for shipping costs)

***1 PER CUSTOMER***

Special Whisky for Special Occasions

We’ve all been there: a big celebration is coming up but we have no idea what gift to give. That’s the beauty of whisky – as long as the recipient enjoys the water of life – there are so many new and wonderful whiskies to try!

Whether it’s a wedding, anniversary, retirement, birthday or new baby, you’ll find the perfect whisky to help celebrate at The Whisky Shop.

International shipping available

Macallan 26 Year Old Platinum Old & Rare

One of only 60 bottles filled from a single sherry butt on 25th May 2018 – the day the new distillery opened – this Speyside single malt was distilled at the original Macallan distillery in June 1991. Matured for almost three decades, this cask strength release from independent bottler Hunter Laing & Co. is presented at 55.2% abv.

Mellow on the nose with dried fruits and a clear sherry influence. The palate is smooth and sweet, with creamy sherried notes before a dry finish with a touch of oak spice.

£1,840 Buy Now

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT?

For those feeling bold, we recommend exploring 30.102 Not easy – but worth it! More a journey than a drink, this whisky constantly changes in the glass. Spend some time with this one and your patience will be rewarded. Only a limited number of preview bottles are available, the full August Outturn will be released on Friday, 3 August at 9am, order now before they’re gone.

BUY NOW

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

Drinking and eating on Islay

Talking of Islay, how many times have you heard people say “tasting an Islay dram is like sucking petrol”?  My first thought is, how many people have actually sucked petrol???  I did famously say Laphroaig reminds me of my grandads farm and tastes like a pirates boot! They labelled up a bottle and sent me it. I am reliably told that as a 4 year old in Kilkenny, I did lick my grandads boots!

Getting off Islay can be tricky at times, just this month our ferry was 2.5 hours late, due to Storm Hector, we had two hours to fill in Port Askaig, not easy! Managed it though, when the ferry did sail it was ok, as the storm was at our backs, pushing us into Kennacraig. Aye but upon landing the crew could not get the ramp down, took em 20 minutes fiddling. So what if you get stuck on the island due to bad weather, my advice, go back to your hotel and ask for another night, if you cannee get out, no one else can get in.

PAUL MCLEAN www.whiskytours.scot

What distillery offers the best food?

Having been to many, many whisky distilleries, which one has the best food on offer?

Ardbeg for me takes top dog, a fabulous menu, with tempting starters, mains and puddins! Their menu includes great fish plates, seafood, burgers, surf & turf and deserts. It reads like a big smile on a piece of paper! They also have excellent background music Creedence Clearwater Revival when I was there last. If I were Jim Murray (thank the Lord I am NOT) I would give them 99/100, and the girls are all pretty too! Glenfiddich has a lunch menu, small but perfect, especially the haggis and the cheese selection, soups are good and cakes to die for, very nice staff and a great bar. Glenlivet, easy going a wee bit limited choice but all is good – soups, baked tatties, sandwiches and cakes, lots of drinks. Really good but not in the same bracket as Ardbeg.  Edradour, they don’t have any facilities here for food, but as one of my favourite visits I must include them, Tunnock cakes and biscuits, crisps and shortbread, but, and it’s a big but, the bar drams far outweigh the lack of food! Macallan new distillery, café is a wee bit dark, havnee eaten here yet but will do soon, the fact that they have a café is good. Aberfeldy, limited menu, sarnies, cakes, drinks etc. They have facilities but not a large choice, but we have pals here so like going!

So the jury was not out long, the winner by a mile was Ardbeg. I will have eaten here three times in as many months, love the drams, the food, the craic and the girls are pretty! Do you, our readrer have anything to add?  Let Liz know  liz@mcleanscotland.co.uk

Dr Jim Swan – everyone’s favourite whisky expert?

Dr Jim Swan passed away February 2017, sadly missed by many.  “Jim was my mentor, he changed my life” Charlie Maclean.

The man was a legend, am told he was an expert particularly in all aspects of wood. I never met him, he was maybe best known for his work with Kavalan “It’s hard to put into wwords what Dr Swan meant to me” Kavalan’s Ian Chang. As mentioned, I never met Jim, he was Charlies mentor, Charlie is mine, we have met many times and indeed he is Patron of our whisky club and fellow Maclean Clansman. Most recently he had been working with the new Clydeside distillery in Glasgow and Lindores Abbey in Fife. Dr Swan was due to attend the opening of Lindores Abbey distillery this summer. Drew and Helen McKenzie Smith, founders of Lindores Abbey distillery, said: ‘We are immensely saddened by the passing of our great friend and champion, Dr James Swan. Jim’s passion for the return of Scotch whisky to Lindores Abbey was infectious, and his counsel to us as distillery founders inspirational. We worked together for 20 years, taking the vision for this special whisky landmark from a dream to a reality. We will forever be indebted to Jim’s contribution to the life of Lindores Abbey distillery.

Dr Swan graduated from Heriot-Watt University in 1979 with a PhD in chemistry and biological sciences. He worked with chemical analysis consultancy Tatlock and Thomson and established the Dr James Swan food and drink consultancy in 2002. He also managed UK Government and EU research programmes, and authored several scientific research papers, but he is also known among whisky enthusiasts as being one of the original authors of the Whisky Flavour Wheel in the late 1970s, still used today, while working with the Scotch Whisky Research Institute.

It is rare that one man can influence a whole industry, I think Jim did just that. Enjoy the Angels Share’s Jim, my dad will keep you company.

PAUL MCLEAN www.whiskytours.scot

Dr Bill Lumsden lauded as Distiller of the Year at prestigious ISC awards

STILL AUSTIN WHISKEY CO. FILLS 1,000^TH BARREL

Austin’s Grain-to-Glass Urban Distillery Hits Milestone within First Year of Operation 

(Austin, TX) –  Austin’s first grain-to-glass urban whiskey distillery, Still Austin Whiskey Co., hit a major milestone on Friday, July 20^th as they filled their 1,000^th whiskey barrel. Open as of September 23, 2017, the distillery is still in its first year of operation, but has shown considerable growth within the short time span.

One of the more recent distilleries to enter the new wave of craft spirits, Still Austin Whiskey Co. is a 100% grain-to-glass distillery and handles all milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling, barreling and bottling in house. Through their relationships with Texas farmers, Still Austin Whiskey Co. utilizes local grains, limestone-filtered water, and the Texas climate to make bold whiskey expressions unique to Austin.

Still Austin Whiskey Co. made the bold move of opening with three, fresh-off-the still new make whiskeys – the Signature New Make whiskey, Mother Pepper, a spicy rendition featuring local peppers, and Daydreamer, a citrus infused whiskey. All three whiskeys recently received medals at the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Still Austin Whiskey Co. was named “Best Whiskey Distillery” in Austin Monthly Magazine’s August “Best of ATX 2018” issue.

Still Austin Whiskey Co. has continuously strived to stand out from their craft distiller peers, including the June 2018 release of their newest spirit, a first-of-its-kind Texas Rye Gin. Barreling has been a consistent focus since the start of production and the anticipation for aged product is high amongst the Still team and the public.

The 1,000^th barrel marks a considerable milestone for the distillery. “We could not have accomplished this much so quickly without our talented team led by John Schrepel, the support from our local farmers, and the Austin community,” stated Andrew Braunberg, Co-founder and General Manager of Production.

Still hopes to release the first of its aged products, a Rye Bourbon, in the upcoming months.

About: Still Austin Whiskey Co. is a grain-to-glass distillery dedicated to transforming simple grains into amazing spirits. All spirits are made by hand in Austin, Texas from grains provided by Texas farmers. Still Austin Whiskey Co. is committed to creating Texas expressions of American Craft Whiskey; by making spirits from scratch, quality is ensured at every step. Spirits are sold and served in their tasting room and are available in bars, restaurants and liquor stores. The distillery is located at 440 East St. Elmo Road, Austin, Texas 78745. Tasting room hours are Thursday: 1pm – 9pm, Friday: 1pm – 11pm, Saturday: Noon – 11pm and Sunday: Noon – 6pm. Tours and tastings are available Thursday & Friday: 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, Saturday: 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm and Sunday: 1pm, 3pm, 5pm. For more information visit www.stillaustin.com. Visit on Facebook at Facebook.com/StillATX and follow on Twitter @StillAtX and Instagram @Still_ATX.

In support of the launch of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Rye, the brand has introduced new television creative which begins airing today across premium cable television networks such at AMC, Discovery, FS1 and TBS.

Every drop of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Rye is made in Lynchburg, Tennessee, charcoal mellowed and then matured in new American oak barrels crafted by its own coopers. Master Distiller Jeff Arnett and his team of whiskey makers have created a distinctive taste profile for a new rye whiskey like no other. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Rye has a grain bill of 70 percent rye, 18 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley and is carefully charcoal mellowed for a finish that’s distinctly Jack.

The two new spots are linked below.

The More Things Change :30

Not All That Different :15

Compass Box “Delilah’s XXV Special Edition” Blended Scotch Whisky (750ml)

SKU #1369000

Happy 25th Anniversary, Delilah’s! From John Glaser: “Behind the bar at Delilah’s, you will find hundreds of bottles of whisky from around the world, but not a trophy in sight. These are whiskies meant for drinking. Everything is open, or can be opened. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the legendary Chicago punk rock whisky bar this summer, we have once again created a limited edition Scotch whisky in collaboration with owner and whisky enthusiast, Mike Miller. The recipe for our second Compass Box homage to Delilah’s was built around a small parcel of the original Compass Box Delilah’s blend released in 2013 – a luscious, American oak-aged whisky that we aged in cask for a further five years. With this as a base, Mike suggested adding malt whisky aged in Spanish Sherry casks, also made of American oak. The result is a delicious Scotch whisky with notes of vanilla and spice, and rich Sherry character. It’s another incarnation of the shared vision Mike and I have for whiskies that everyone can appreciate and enjoy! You can drink your whisky any way you like, surrounded by a passionate community of people. And people from all over the world stop by to take up that offer.”

$99.99