BENROMACH DISTILLERY WINS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD AT THE WORLD WHISKIES AWARDS 2018

The Benromach Distillery Company Ltd. has been crowned the winner in the Speyside category for the Benromach 15 Years Old at the World Whiskies Awards 2018 presentation held at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel in London.

Benromach 15 Years Old won Best Speyside Single Malt Scotch, helping Benromach to add to its growing awards collection. The accolade comes just as the distillery celebrates its 20th anniversary year, marking 20 years since it was extensively refurbished and reopened again in 1998.

Benromach 15 Years Old captures the classic character of Benromach Speyside single malt Scotch whisky – beautifully balanced with a light touch of smoke. This touch of smoke was almost lost forever from the region before the distillery reopened.

The World Whiskies Awards are held annually and aim to showcase the very best whiskies in each global category. The Benromach winning expression fought off fierce competition throughout several stages by world-renowned, expert judges and tasters.

Benromach Distillery Manager, Keith Cruickshank, said: “We are so pleased to have been awarded this prestigious accolade at the World Whiskies Awards for our Benromach 15 Years Old. We are proud of our core range of hand crafted single malts, which provide whisky lovers from across the globe a chance to discover a lost taste of Speyside.

“The award also comes at an important time in our history, as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of production at the distillery since it was reopened in 1998. We look forward to producing many more award-winning whiskies in the years to come.”

With a distinctive golden amber colour thanks to its long maturation in sherry and bourbon casks, the award-winning Benromach 15 Years Old is beautifully balanced. Sherry aromas lead on the nose followed by vanilla and spicy ginger, complemented by delicate chamomile and menthol notes.

The Benromach 10 Years Old was also recently honoured Gold in the Speyside 12 Years and Under category at the World Whiskies Awards.

To view the award-winning range of Benromach whiskies, please visit: www.benromach.com/whiskies

Notes 

Benromach Distillery

Originally built in 1898, Benromach Distillery was brought back to life when the Urquhart family realised a lifelong dream to own a distillery and purchased it in 1993. The distillery was extensively re-equipped over a five-year period before it was officially opened by HRH Prince Charles in 1998.

In reopening Benromach Distillery, the Urquhart family decided to create a classic Speyside single malt – a style that draws its influence from Speyside whiskies pre-1960s.

Benromach Distillery is located on the outskirts of the ancient market town of Forres. A four-star visitor centre is open to the public throughout the year for tours and tastings. Benromach Distillery is a member of the world-famous Malt Whisky Trail.

In April 2017 we brought you an exclusive bottling of Springbank Sauternes, this was followed in November with a Longrow Sauternes. Now, we are pleased to complete the trilogy with the launch of;

Hazelburn 10yo Sauternes 53.9%

Available to order from Monday 9th April 2018

Limited to one per member

No pre-orders will be taken.  Only email orders from 9th April will be accepted.

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide you with information on the forthcoming release and how and when you can order it.  You will receive a newsflash on the release day to let you know that you can place an order.

Hazelburn 10yo Sauternes 53.9%

Cask type;    Refill Sauternes Hogsheads

Distilled;    December 2007

Bottled;     March 2018

Strength;    53.9%

Outturn;    846 bottles

Price;         £50.00

Tasting notes

Nose : Orchard fruits; fresh juicy green apples and pear skins. Rich and creamy; creme brûlée, hints of toffee and Seville Oranges.

Palate : Syrup engulfs the mouth. Honeycomb emerges with milk chocolate, prunes, vanilla sponge cake alongside oak and nut notes.

Finish : Raisins and pecan pie develop, followed by liquorice root, coffee bean and blueberries.

Purchasing and delivery/collection 

The bottle is available to purchase for £50.00.  Given the limited number of bottles available, this release is limited to one bottle per member.

We will only process email orders.

When you place your order, please supply the following information;

• If you would like to collect it from one of our Cadenhead shops

• If you are based in Canada

• If you have any other delivery preferences (not covered by the points above) then it may be helpful if you include them in your email order.

Once you place your order you will receive an email back letting you know that your order has been received and that a bottle has been reserved for you.
This may take several days. Please do not be alarmed if you do not hear back immediately.

If you wish for your Society bottle to be sent to a Cadenhead shop for collection only (Edinburgh, London, Berlin, Baden, Cologne and Odense) payment is required before your bottle is despatched to the shop.  The shops are not obligated to send bottles on to another address within their country although if this arrangement has been agreed with a shop there will be a delivery charge from the nominated shop.  We will contact you when your bottle is available to pick up.  There is no delivery charge for sending your bottle to a Cadenhead shop.

Similarly if you wish to pick your bottle up from the Campbelltown shop (we’re sure some of you will be in town for the Malts Festival!) payment is required when you have been notified that a bottle has been reserved for you.  Please also let us know if the Campbeltown shop is holding other bottles for you which you intend to collect at the same time.

Once again and finally we will only process email orders from Monday 9th April after the newsflash has been sent out.  No pre-orders will be taken. 

Slainte!

Springbank Society

Contact the Society at society@springbank.scot to join!

A True Gem from and Underrated Islay Distillery
2005 Bunnahabhain 12-Year-Old “Old Particular” Whisky ($49.99)
“Pure unadulterated goodness.” – Andrew Whiteley, K&L Assistant Spirits Buyer

The newest edition to our “Old Particular” program hails from the long underrated Islay distillery Bunnahabhain. Bunnahabhain is a bit of an outlier which it comes to Islay malts, as unlike some of its neighbors, it doesn’t lean on an abundance of peat to get its point across. On the contrary, Bunnahabhain plays more on its subtle oiliness and sea-side influence. The resulting scotches are slyly seductive offering up delightful notes of stone fruit, fresh cereals, sea-salt, and vanilla. Today’s featured bottling, the 12-Year-Old “Old Particular” Single Barrel, is no exception with an elegant and graceful approach that belies cask strength potency.

For those who are inclined towards refinement above bombast, this 12 Year-Old is a sure-fire winner. As with all of the bottlings in our “Old Particular” program, the value here is pretty impressive. The standard Bunnahabhain 12-Year-Old will set you back over $50 and is watered down to 46.3% ABV. Our exclusive single cask version clocks in at an impressive 58.4% ABV and is priced at only $49.99. Add all this up and you have a value that will have scotch mavens running. When it comes to classically-styled Scotch that harkens to the days of old and shows the mild side of Islay, you won’t do much better than this delightful single malt.

2005 Bunnahabhain 12-Year-Old “Old Particular” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) ($49.99)

Islay’s mysterious unpeated whisky (although peated versions do exist) is Bunnahabhain, the oft overlooked and underappreciated distillery just north of Caol Ila near Port Askaig. Having changed hands once again recently, now owned by the South African group Distell, Bunnahabhain has been long overdue for a makeover, but it appears that time is here with excited new releases like the 13 year old PX edition coming down the pike in 2018. We’re always on the hunt for a good cask of fruity, salty, easy-to-drink Bunnahabhain and when we can get 12 years of maturity at full proof for fifty bucks, we’re going to take that deal over and over again. Brimming with fresh stone fruit on the nose, pears and peaches, this light and airy malt packs plenty of punch on the palate at 58.4% ABV. The oak spices come through on the malty finish, bookending a classically flavored malt from front to back. The price and provenance should be enough for most malt lovers to take the plunge, but if you still need reassurance, let us help you: it’s really good!

Andrew Whiteley | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: March 22, 2018

Not a sherry bomb like the 14-Year-Old that blew us up earlier this year, but a fruit bomb instead. Classic malty notes and brimming with apples and stone fruits, this gem has it all for the bang up price of $49.99! This is the kind of deal that makes me excited to come to work everyday. There is an awesome honeyed complexity to this that makes the nose more intriguing than I would have expected for what seems like such a straight forward whisky. No peat on this Islay expression, just that lovely sea spray, a long finish thanks to the full throttle cask strength. Pure unadulterated goodness.

David Driscoll | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: March 22, 2018

We bought this Bunnahabhain barrel when the pound/dollar ratio was a bit stronger than it is currently, hence why we can offer something from Islay at 12 years old, full proof, for a hair under fifty. Those looking for something smoky or out of the ordinary, this one’s not for you. There’s nothing more than classic Scotch whisky goodness to be had in this bottle, lots of creamy vanilla, fruity malt notes, and a lot of pop on the finish due to the bolder proof. The deal is what makes it so compelling. The regular Bunnahabhain 12 is over $50 when it’s watered down, so to get a full-throttle, single cask version for less is a rare treat indeed!

Kilkerran 12 Year Old

Our Malt of the Month for April is the utterly fantastic Kilkerran 12 year old… We can’t say enough good things about this Campbeltown malt, already extremely well priced, we’ve got limited stock available for this month’s offer… Lightly peated, double distilled and created from 70% bourbon casks and 30% sherry casks; a dram that everyone should have within their collection!

BUY NOW

https://youtu.be/efzy3LeRSxI

I really, really, really like Dailuaine 12yo Single Cask.

Enjoy!

………Phil.

KINGSBARNS DISTILLERY’S SPIRIT REACHES 3^rd BIRTHDAY

Kingsbarns Distillery is delighted to reveal that the first casks it filled on March 23^rd 2015 came of age on Saturday and can now  be called Scotch Whisky.

The Wemyss family’s fledgling Fife distillery visitor centre was opened to the public on St Andrews Day 2014, with spirit distillation beginning in January 2015.  After a few months perfecting the spirit style, the distillery manager, Peter Holroyd,  proudly filled the first casks  on March 23^rd 2015.

Initially, all the casks selected were first fill ex Bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill Distillery in Kentucky.  The very first cask filled is on display for visitors to see  in the oldest part of the farm steading visitor centre called the doocot.  Scotch whisky has to be matured in oak barrels for a minimum of 3 years and a day in a bonded warehouse in Scotland, so sadly unlike all the other casks of maturing spirit, this first cask will never be able to be called Kingsbarns Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

However, to give a preview of what is to come, Peter  Holroyd took the chance to take a sample from this first cask to celebrate its 3^rd birthday: “I was very proud to fill this first cask from the spirit I distilled three years ago and am delighted to see the impact that it has had on the colour. On the nose I get custard and apricot Danish pastry, but you still get the Kingsbarns light fruity character. On the palate, there is a wonderful balance of spirit and wood and you can really taste the Kingsbarns signature style.”

William Wemyss on behalf of the family owners stated: “This is a very exciting time for us at Kingsbarns Distillery uniting the excellent quality barley from local Fife farms, the attention to detail in distilling and the great effort dedicated to acquiring the finest casks for maturing our precious spirit.  Now that we have reached the minimum legal age, we can move forwards to sample whisky from our early casks and make some choices regarding the first bottling of our new Lowland malt.”

The first release of Kingsbarns Single Malt Scotch Whisky will be exclusively available to Kingsbarns Founders’ Club members and expected in summer 2018.  Membership is still available either at the Visitor Centre or on https://www.kingsbarnsdistillery.com .

Watch Peter Holroyd tasting from the first cask here.

For all media enquiries, image and interview requests, please contact:

Steven Shand: steven@wemyssmalts.com 0131 240 5717

www.kingsbarnsdistillery.com

Twitter: @KingsbarnsDistFacebook: Kingsbarns Distillery & Visitor Centre

Notes to Editors:

• Kingsbarns Distillery was officially opened on St Andrews Day 2014, 30th November.  Since opening, the Visitor Centre has been awarded a 5 star visitor attraction award by VisitScotland.
• The Wemyss family owners are from Scotland and their historic family seat is Wemyss Castle in Fife where they’ve lived since the 1300s.
• The family already own Wemyss Malts which is an independent bottler with a whisky range including the blended malts: The Spice King, The Peat Chimney and The Hive; single malt single cask bottlings and the blended Scotch named Lord Elcho after one of the Wemyss family’s ancestors; all of which are available for tasting and sale at The Kingsbarns Distillery.
• The Wemyss family also owns Darnley’s Gin which has a new distillery in the cottage beside the whisky stills at Kingsbarns, and is also open for tours daily.

Limited qty back in stock! 

Springbank 12 Year Old Cask Strength – 56.3%

BUY NOW

Saturday, April 21st  11AM – 6 PM

Scotch Tasting: 

Edradour & Signatory Vintage 

Treat yourself to a traditional single malt at our all-day scotch tasting! Traditional Scotch distillery Edradour and legendary independent bottlers Signatory Vintage will be featured, with new and rare releases presented by scotch experts throughout. Click the RSVP link for more information about both distilleries, plus pourlist as it’s revealed.

Click Here to RSVP

ralfy.com visits a pal with Ralfy Review 720 – Mike’s malt bar !

INTRODUCING THE MACALLAN 50 YEARS OLD:

A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY IN THE MODERN ERA

March 27th, 2018 (New York, New York) – The Macallan, the world’s most admired single malt Scotch whisky, unveils a new and remarkably rare limited edition single malt whisky – The Macallan 50 Years Old – 2018 release. A peerless single malt that has slowly matured over five extraordinary decades, The Macallan 50 Years Old reflects The Macallan’s journey of discovery in the modern era. It is a whisky defined by years of dedication and craftsmanship which reveals the unrivalled commitment to the mastery of wood and spirit for which The Macallan has been known since it was established in 1824.

The Macallan 50 Years Old was created at a time when the distillery had the future in mind. By increasing the number of curiously small stills that help to concentrate the ‘new make’ spirit, the foundations were established all those years ago to ensure the full-bodied, rich and fruity flavors that are characteristic of The Macallan today. Acquiring a robust elegance from these curiously small stills, the spirit was then laid down in a single European oak Sherry butt from Spain and left to mature slowly and quietly for fifty long years. During these decades of slumber, the ancient wood shaped the spirit – delivering the greatest contribution to the character, natural color, distinctive aromas and full flavors at the heart of this single malt.

The Macallan 50 Years Old is testament to the exceptional oak casks, which have been sourced, crafted, toasted and seasoned under the watchful eyes of The Macallan’s masters of wood and delivered through the years to the exacting specifications of generations of master distillers.

A rich and complex whisky presenting sweet oak vanilla and blackcurrant characters with a beautiful, vibrant amber natural color. Wood vanillas open on the nose with a hint of spice before ripe blackcurrants and an earthy tone combine, with a background of subtle peat. The palate leads with flavors of sweet oak vanilla, fudge and toffee, soon making way for black peppercorns to provide a gentle warming, with deep sweetness joining from orange peels and figs. The finish is an incredibly viscous mouth coating, which is long and slightly dry from the subtle peat notes.

Nick Savage, Master Distiller at The Macallan, said: “After being left to mature for half a century, this wonderfully rare single malt is full of rich flavor and beautiful natural color. Coveted by whisky connoisseurs and collectors around the world, The Macallan 50 Years Old is an incredible addition to our expanding range of unique, mature whiskies and marks another pinnacle of The Macallan whisky makers’ art. With a finite volume of only 200 individually numbered bottles worldwide, this highly limited 2018 release will likely be in very high demand.”

Bottled at an ABV of 44% The Macallan 50 Years Old is presented in a solid oak box featuring an etched face inlaid with a matte gold badged age statement. The bottle label is reminiscent of the 50 and 25 Years Old bottling’s of yesteryear. This 2018 release will be available starting in April 2018 and is limited to 200 bottles worldwide, with only 35 bottles allocated to the USA, at a suggested retail price of approximately $35,000.

For further information visit us.themacallan.com

Whisky Makers Notes:

Color: Vibrant amber

Nose: Wood vanillas open with a hint of spice. Ripe blackcurrants and an earthy tone combine, with a background of subtle peat

Palate: Sweet oak vanillas, fudge and toffee coat the mouth from the start. Distinct black peppercorns follow to provide a gentle warming, with deep sweetness joining from orange peels and figs

Finish: Incredibly viscous mouth coating, which is long and slightly dry from the subtle peat notes

About The Macallan

Founded in 1824 in the heart of Speyside, The Macallan was one of the first distilleries in Scotland to be legally licensed. Since then it has built a reputation as one of the world’s finest single malt whiskies.  The story of The Macallan is built on the Six Pillars, each influencing the whisky in its own distinct way.  From the spiritual home of Easter Elchies House; curiously small stills giving richness to the pure spirit; finest cut of the distillation, to exceptional oak casks which account for up to 80% of the final flavor in the whisky; natural color and finally peerless spirit, The Macallan itself.

Wood sits at the heart of The Macallan. The vital contributing influences of Spain, North America and Scotland, together with true mastery, set it apart from the rest. For more information on The Macallan, visit us.themacallan.com. The Macallan can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.