Welcome to 2018

So 2017 has dribbled away, have all the drams run out? Not by any chance, in fact so many new distilleries opened in ’17 here in Scotland,and more are planned. In October Ian Macleod Distillers announced it is to reopen Rosebank in 2019, Diageo to reopen Port Ellen and Brora by 2020. In 2017 – 10 new whisky distilleries opened. August; Twin River distillery, at Deeside Brewery became the first whisky distillery to open locally for almost 200 years. Friends of ours and very local, Aberargie opened November, GlenWyvis began distilling on St Andrew’s Day (30 November). BrewDog’s Lone Wolf, started the first rye spirit seen in Scotland for a hundred years or so, unsure on rye whisky myself. This year 10 new whisky distilleries could follow on.

The 2018 Islay Festival (25 May – 2 June) could also include a visit to Hunter Laing Ardnahoe distillery, I took a few folks there last year, just to see the start … the first Borders distillery for almost 200 years is running schedule, possibly to start producing in January, in Hawick, the £10m distillery is said to aim at 1.8m litres of spirit, for both single malt whisky and gin. Why is everyone producing gin? OK easy, fast money but – come on whisky producers, stay with whisky please. Burnbrae Distillery in East Kilbride, one to keep an eye on maybe. J&G Distillers, who also own Hart Brothers, has been extending bottling warehouses in East Kilbride, a malt whisky distillery is expected operational early this year, is not expected to open to visitors. Douglas Laing & Co.’s £10.7m distillery opens at Pacific Quay, Glasgow, city’s fourth whisky distillery, joining the Strathclyde grain plant, Glasgow and Clydeside malt distilleries. Meanwhile in the capital; Liverpool drinks company Halewood Wines & Spirits (I had family living in Halewood 40 odd years ago), will produce 165,000 litres of spirit each year, bringing the John Crabbie & Co. name back to the capital. Now owned by Halewood (Liverpool), John Crabbie & Co was one of the six founding partners of Edinburgh’s North British distillery in 1885, with John Crabbie the conglomerate’s first chairman, today a ginger beer, John Crabbie & Co was a distilling and blending Scotch whisky. This summer, the Granton Harbour development will finally see the company return to its roots. “crabit” When some one is in a bad mood. (Scots Slang) as in, God, I’m feeling crabit today, we look forward to the Crabit drams! Edinburgh’s Engine Shed malt whisky distillery and visitor centre at Holyrood Park is expected to open, and will produce about 100,000 litres of spirit each year we are told, making it among the smallest distilleries in Scotland. Meanwhile a whisky fact; Scotland has built only two grain distilleries in the last half century – Loch Lomond in 1993, and Starlaw in 2010. This year, the eighth grain distillery is looking to open in the borders. Reivers is the first distillery complex being built by Mossburn Distillers, near the River Jedwater, Reivers is a small, distillery designed to produce a range of spirits, including malt whisky in pot stills and grain whisky in columns. Looking forward to this one also, is expected to be open by June. Meanwhile, its sister distillery, the larger Mossburn complex, won’t be here until at least 2020.

Up in the Highlands – Toulvaddie distillery is thought to be nearing completion, near Tain, it will be the first whisky distillery to be founded solely by a woman – television producer Heather Nelson – and will produce 30,000 litres of a whisky once running. Toulvaddie is entering all Friends of the Distillery into a prize draw to win the first bottle of single malt whisky produced by the distillery, FAB! More should be doing this rather than some crazy price for bottle one, as we have seen recently. With all this new distillery talk, don’t forget all the existing distilleries, aye we shall be taking our tours at the usual, the unusual and some new ones – look out for news.

One of my favourites bands Runrig, are to take a final bow after 45 years, the Skye-born band (originally) are to create a whisky to commemorate their last stand. Runrig’s Final Mile farewell tour this year will end in August with The Last Dance concerts at Stirling City Park. They have partnered Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky in Huntly to produce several special bottles of whisky for different tours in the past, so they called for one more Runrig whisky called – One For the Road. Calum dropped by Duncan Taylor’s to oversee production, it will be distributed alongside their merchandise on their final tour. Moji Shand, chief executive of Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky, said: “When Runrig announced they were pulling down the curtain on their 45 years in music, it was only apt that we would collaborate with them again on a whisky. The whisky is on sale at £69 from The Spirits Embassy website www.thespiritsembassy.com “my favourite band and good pals DT are collaborating, Liz, we should get in here!”

What put Perth on the whisky map? As you may know, we are based here in Perth, so here are a few Perth dramfacts; Bell’s, Dewar’s, Famous Grouse and, for a time, Beneagles, were all blended and bottled in the town before being exported and enjoyed across the world. John Dewar & Sons was based at Inveralmond. Its bonded warehouse was on the junction of Glasgow Road and Glover Street, now the Dewar’s curling rinks. Nowadays whisky has gone fae Perth, but should you wish to recollect or delve into the past, try a bottle of Old Perth – Old Perth Scotch Whisky was originally created in the early 1900,s by the Thomson family, well known grocers in the City. By late 1970 the brand disappeared. Brought back to life as a blended malt in 2013 by Morrison & MacKay, the brand is the only whisky now blended in Perthshire. I wholly recommend these drams of Old Perth, easy to find and easy to drink.

Have a dram happy 2018!

Paul and Liz, mcleanscotland.com and whiskytours.scot

Check Out These Fantastic Whisky Advocate Reviews!!

If you thought the previous email had all the achievements we received this year, you were mistaken. 

This year, Whisky Advocate compiled a list of their Top 20 Whiskies of the year.  Below are a couple of really distinguished highlights from that list which we’re especially proud of.  

Earning 93 points, Tamdhu Batch Strength #002 came in at #8!!

Check out Susannah’s tantalizing description below the tantalizing image.

“Historically used for blending, Tamdhu flies under the radar of many scotch aficionados. But this underappreciated Speyside whisky compares well with more famous sherry bombs by offering a sweet, savory, slightly funky depth. At first sniff, Tamdhu seems like it might knock you out with one blow—but this gentle giant is a lover, not a fighter. Viscous and meaty, this cask-strength stunner reveals dried fruit, dark chocolate ganache, ginger spice, and saline minerality, thundering softly into a long finish.” ~ Susannah Skiver Barton

Coming in at #20 with 90 points, Fukano Japanese Whisky – 2017 made the list! 

In fact, this is the only Japanese whisky to make it to the list!! If you like Japanese whiskies you must try Fukano; it’s unlike anything else!  If you haven’t tried Japanese whiskies yet, you must; it’s unlike anything else!   Check out Jonny’s mouth-watering review below the image. 

“Japanese rice whiskies enjoy a cult following for their delicate flavors. This Fukano stands out with its ethereal fruity delights, the result of meticulous vigilance to preserve the spirit’s subtle nature. It brings a supple nose of lychee, ripe peaches, Smarties, watermelon, allspice, and white pepper. A light, slightly syrupy texture is underscored by watermelon and raspberry as it unwraps peach, nectarines, rhubarb, and custard candy, fruit Life Savers, stewed fruits, red berries, and light citrus. Fukano promises to broaden our whisky horizons.” ~ Jonny McCormick

Thanks again for being part of our family and enjoying these fine whiskies with us. We look forward to bringing you more excellent whiskies in 2018!

Happy New Year!

Please feel free to reach out for more details on the bottlings: office@impexbev.com

1983 Port Ellen 32 Year Old “15th Edition Special Release” Cask Strength Scotch Whisky (750ml) SKU #1235921

Whisky Advocate

Matured in refill European oak sherry butts, this year’s Special Release has more weight than many previous expressions and a fascinating smokiness that comes across like a just-lit fire: fire lighter, burning paper, fire grate, and wood smoke. The more active oak adds walnut skin notes and rich dried fruits before the smoke returns. All very sophisticated with enough sweetness to balance. Excellent, but, ouch, that price! (DB, Winter 2015)

K&L Notes

The exceptional Port Ellen distillery has recently been tapped to be reopened, but it’s unlikely that the new facility will replicate the incredible heights that were achieved there before the closure in the year that this special whisky was distilled. One of the most celebrated modern bottlings of Port Ellen, the 15th release is also the year Diageo really jumped the shark. Suggested retail for this bottle was well above $4000 when it was originally offered to us. It continues to trade world wide for around $3000. We are extremely lucky to get a small amount at this unthinkably low price. It’s still very expensive, but it’s easily the best price for any Diageo-bottled Port Ellen in the United States and perhaps even the world. This legendary whisky has garnered praise from critics and cognoscenti and represents some of the final stocks distilled before the tragic closure of this special distillery.

$2100

POETIC PAIR

Wax lyrical with this poetic pair of single casks, the unique character of each whisky is sure to spark conversation and debate. Be transported to a lunch beach party with 10.136 West coast feast or enjoy some medicine for the soul with the deep, rich and dried fruit flavours of 63.44.

60 Available – £ 109

DISCOVER MORE

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

Ring in the New Year with WhiskyFest Tickets

What’s on your 2018 bucket list? Attending WhiskyFest in one of four great cities (Chicago, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, New York) should definitely be on it! Don’t miss out of this one-of-a-kind experience to taste fantastic whiskies, chat with the best in the business, attend unique seminars, and enjoy a fabulous buffet. Early bird pricing is in effect, while supplies last.

Buy your tickets today at WhiskyFest.com.

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Johnnie Walker celebrates the Chinese New Year with limited edition Year of the Dog Blue Label bottle

Ringing in the festive gifting season, Johnnie Walker celebrates the traditions of Asian culture by introducing the fifth installment from the annual limited edition series for Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

Feature 22 DEC 2017

This year’s Chinese New Year design is inspired by the precious bond between man and dog, created in collaboration with multi-award winning Taiwanese artist, Page Tsou.

In 2018 the Chinese New Year Design will follow the Striding Man around the world as he celebrates with lanterns, fireworks and dancing dragons. Man’s best friend will be woven throughout the design in honour of the Year of the Dog.

Page Tsou, award winning artist said “It is an honour to have been commissioned to create the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Year of the Dog bottle. The precious design consists of a total of four dogs all chosen for their special meaning in Asia.

“This unique design tells the story of Johnnie Walker’s Striding Man and a loyal companion as they journey around the world bringing prosperity and rejoicing in the arrival of the New Year. The design also contains various symbols of wealth and prosperity making this bottle extremely unique and the perfect gift to give this Chinese New Year.”

“During this festive period it’s wonderful to be able to provide whisky consumers with a gift that is luxurious and unique from such an iconic whisky brand. The exquisite design of the Chinese New Year bottle will help to engage new consumers and reward existing ones with a limited edition collectable from Johnnie Walker Blue Label to mark this special time of year”

Dayalan Nayager

Managing Director, Global Travel at Diageo

2017

AT THE WHISKY EXCHANGE

We take a look back over the past 12 months at The Whisky Exchange – a year filled with wonderful whiskies, celebrity guests and sold-out events. Here are our highlights of 2017.

2017 In Numbers
5,000 NEW PRODUCTS

We added a whopping 5,000 new products to our website in 2017, covering all manner of things, as well as hundreds of delicious new whiskies.

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2017 In Numbers
4,750 GUESTS

As well as our two Whisky Shows, we also invite our customers to join us for our regular shop tastings in London. We’re delighted that so many of you – nearly 5,000, in fact – took the time to attend our special events in 2017.

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2017 In Numbers
7,500 CUSTOMER REVIEWS

We’re always keen to know what you think of the products we sell, especially as it helps our customers make choosing what to buy even easier.

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2017 In Numbers
101,937 VIEWS

We were the first to bring you the results from Jim Murray’s latest Whisky Bible, and with Jim’s forthright views on the world of whisky, it’s no surprise that this blog post was by far our most popular of the past 12 months.

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2017 In Numbers
1,112 LIKES

2017 saw a host of diverse photos on our Instagram page; our most-liked image was this shot of our extensive old and rare whisky range in our Covent Garden shop.

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2017 In Numbers
5,637 VIEWS

Our most popular YouTube video of the year was launched just before Father’s Day, when we asked members of the public to pronounce various whisky distilleries – with varying degrees of success!

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2017 In Numbers
SIX-STAR WHISKY REVIEW

‘This, to me, is the most astonishing whisky ever. It ticks all the boxes. I’ve tried the American Wood, the Three Wood, but this is absolutely remarkable. A true 6-star whisky’ – totters

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SEE YOU NEXT MONTH

Next month, we’ll look back on how we welcomed in the New Year, and we’ll share our head buyer Dawn’s hot tips for 2018. Thank you for your support and here’s to a great 2018!

THE WHISKY EXCHANGE TEAM

Lagavulin 8 Year Old Limited Edition Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) SKU #1267217

Whisky Advocate

Light in color it may be, but this is no wimp. The nose goes straight to the shore with mineral and salt, but it’s also sweet, which allows it to be fresh, lively, yet balanced. The palate delivers some menthol, bay laurel, more brininess, a hint of malt, and Parma violet. Everything remains very breezy, with peat smoke being blown from a kiln into salt-laden air. I prefer it to the 12 year old and the price is fantastic. (Summer 2016, Dave Broom)

K&L Notes

The 200th anniversary bottling of Lagavulin is finally here! A limited edition eight year old single malt whisky that packs all the peat, smoke, salt, and classic Islay flavor of the beloved distillery into a younger, brighter, more assertive expression. Sure to sell fast and sure to be one of the more popular whiskies we sell this year! The special edition celebrates a visit to the distillery be Alfred Banard (author of the classic “The Whisky Distilleries of Scotland”), where he recollected tasting a delicious eight year expression.

$59.99