Christmas is saved!

If you’ve missed the Christmas delivery deadlines and are frantically pulling your hair out worrying what you can possibly get the whisky lover in your life, then take a deep breath and relax. Hamish has you covered! Buy one of our Online Gift Vouchers and we’ll instantly send you a voucher to print off at home or to forward on to that special someone to get whatever their heart desires on our website. No postal strike worries here!

BUY NOW!

Available in £10, £30, £50 and £100

Next minute delivery Worldwide electronic shipping Order right up until the turkey is on the table!

CASK END PARCELS: SAVE UP TO 25%

A very Merry Christmas to all our members far and wide. As a special thank-you for all your support this year, we’ve created three special Cask End Parcels and are offering them at a fantastic festive price. Save up to 25% on these hand-picked parcels but be quick, they are limited in availability. Don’t miss out, buy our Cask End Parcels online now »

The Perfect Measure to share – whisky with friends

When it comes to drinking whisky, one of the greatest pleasures is sharing a dram. While there is joy in solitary sipping, teasing apart the flavours in a glass with others adds another level to the enjoyment of whisky. There are few other drinks where enthusiasts so regularly meet up to share bottles.

We organise regular tastings here in London, but that’s not all that helpful for folks who live farther afield. So, we are very pleased to introduce The Perfect Measure Tasting Sets:

A range of tasting sets put together by our team here at The Whisky Exchange, each examining a different aspect of the world of whisky, from cask influence to pairing drams with chocolate. The samples in the sets are 30ml, just the right size for a couple of drams as part of a tasting – the perfect measure to share, or come back to for a second taste…

Each box consists of the whiskies and any paired goodies, as well as a glass and a set of tasting notes written by me and the team to get you started. We’ve got five sets available at the moment but are already planning more – if you have any suggestions, let us know in the comments below.

The Perfect Measure chocolate pairing set – four drams and four matched bars of chocolate

So far, our selection consists of:

Whisky and Chocolate – four drams from around Scotland each paired with a bar of chocolate from Prestat.

Around the World – five drams covering a wide range of styles: bourbon, Indian peated, sherried Taiwanese, bourbon-matured English and weighty Japanese whisky.

Cask Expressions – the oak maketh the dram for these five whiskies: bourbon, PX, oloroso, Sauternes and port cask maturation.

Tour of Scotland – the traditional whisky regions are a great place to start an exploration of Scotland, and this set includes drams from the Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, Islands and Islay.

30 Year Old Whisky – while age doesn’t make a whisky great, there are some great old whiskies. This set rounds up four fantastic 30-year-olds and one 35-year-old for good measure.

This is just the start of a whole new range, so keep an eye on the website for more in the new year.

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – The Perfect Measure to share – whisky with friends

 EXTENDED DECEMBER 2016 AUCTION NOW LIVE!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, our Special Extended December Auction is now live and is packed full of festive delights for you! We’ve pulled out just a few crackers below, be sure to check them twice before heading over to our website to see the full auction!

SPRINGBANK MILLENNIUM COLLECTION

Topping our Christmas tree of whisky treats is the stunning Springbank Millennium Collection! An incredible and very rare set, bottled for the Millennium, each bottle comes with a wooden presentation case and matching miniature. Rarely appearing at auction, this is definitely one to watch!

BOWMORE 1964 SINGLE CASK 35 YEAR OLD

A stupendous whisky bottled exclusively for Oddbins in 2000. Taken from the same batch of casks as the legendary Black Bowmore series, this is one of only 99 released making it extremely rare indeed!

KARUIZAWA GEISHA COLLECTION

Released in very limited numbers this is a beautiful and very desirable collection from one of Japan’s greatest lost distilleries. Bottled from single casks exclusively for the Whisky Exchange.

MURRAY MCDAVID SIGNED COLLECTION

A magnificent selection of over 40 whiskies released by one of Scotland’s most highly regarded bottlers, Murray McDavid. Featuring a stunning range of vintages from some legendary distilleries!

HIBIKI 35 YEAR OLD ARITA TAKUMI AND KUTANI DECANTERS

Created to celebrate the 400th anniversary of porcelain production in Japan these fantastic 35 year old blends are fittingly presented within beautifully decorated handmade ceramic decanters!

BRUICHLADDICH COLLECTION

We are delighted to bring to auction one of the most comprehensive collections of Bruichladdich you will see anywhere! As one of Scotland’s most innovative and experimental distillers they have produced an incredibly diverse range of releases since they reopened in 2000. From the unpeated Bruichladdich to the peated Port Charlotte to the heavy weight peated Octomore, the December Auction has it all!

Auction runs Monday 19th December to Monday 2nd January.

There is no registration fee, our commission structure is very competitive and we offer worldwide shipping. For our terms and conditions please click here.

CHRISTMAS OPENING HOURS

If you are planning to contact us or pop in for a visit then please note we will be closed on the following dates –

Friday 23rd December

Monday 26th December

Friday 30th December

Monday 2nd January

 “Whisky from Around the World.” 

Sunday January 8th, 2017

Featuring whisky from India, Japan, and the Americas. 

$50 admission, includes sampling of 10 different varieties.

Light appetizers included. 

Dundee Dell

5007 Underwood Avenue

Omaha, Nebraska 68132

U.S.A. 

www.dundeedell.com

Day 23 of the Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 3rd Edition Day 23 Blog #158 – Samaroli Peaty 20 Year Old

Welcome to the night before Christmas Eve. Something warming this evening to help with the persistent chill that has settled over Alberta for the entire month of December. Coldest that I can remember for a while for this long without one of those lovely Chinook winds that keep us sane.

Today’s lovely blended malt from Samaroli consists of 17% 1995 Laphroaig, 28% 1995 Highland Park and 63% undisclosed Speyside Single Malt. We should be in for a treat here if past Samaroli blends are anything to go by.

Highland Park is a distillery that has some mystery surrounding it’s founding. As the gate says though they have hung their hat on 1798. Highland Park does it’s own malting and mixed heather into the peat before malting begins. They use 20 parts per million phenol which is a fairly heavy peat infusion. The distillery is on the island of Orkney and is at the moment the most Northern Whisky Distillery in operation (this will all change once Stuart Nickerson gets the Shetland Whisky still up and running). Owned by the Edrington Group Highland Park is seldom seen as an independent bottled whisky. No doubt this is one of the reasons why Samaroli are using this rare resource to add some interesting Island complexity to their Peaty expression.

Samaroli Peaty Blended Malt aged together in a refill Sherry Butt # 54 for 20 Years. Islay (Laphroaig), Island (Highland Park) and Speyside (undisclosed). Bottled with no caramel or chill filtration at the Samaroli strength of 45%.

Color: Even being a refill Butt there is a nice antiqued golden age to this after 20 years.

Nose:   Sweet and savory BBQ sauce on a side of Ribs. The fabulous part of this nose is that there is instant peat recognition but no smoky overtone. Heavily char grilled Cinnamon crusted Pineapple slabs. Earthy sweetness here reminding me of Manuka Honey.

Palate: The earthy peaty notes carry the weight of this whisky that now throws in bitter citrus and roasted turnip. The sweetness was certainly more about the nose as there is oily coating brined beef jerky making a play and the sweetness is all but gone.

Finish: The bitter citrus lingers, floating on a layer of slowly dwindling meaty flavor. Really full and palate filling for 45%. Even a touch of spark that numbs the sides of the mouth would make me think that this is more like cask strength.

This is a delicate slowly warming dram that gets larger as you get more into it. I would like to spend more time with a full bottle of this just to get to know it a lot better. I’m still tasting more on the finish…

The good news for the whisky hunters among us is that this will be available in very limited quantity and you can find out where from jonathan@secretspirits.com.

Lets see how Whiskylassie unraveled this Samaroli puzzle.

In the 2nd edition on this day we had the A.D. Rattray Bunnahabhain 27 Year Old.

Tomorrow we have the second installment in the 3rd edition from those awesome boys at Single Cask Nation. Make sure you get your Christmas Eve spirit going as we enjoy the excitement and family time and also say Happy Hannukah to Joshua and Jason at the Jewish Whisky Company.

Really looking forward to joining you tomorrow night

Cheers

Jonathan – taster of secrets

http://www.singlemalting.com/category/whisky-advent-calendar-2016/

Wolfburn Distillery Achieves Record Annual Production

Wolfburn Distillery is today delighted to announce that it has reached its annual production target – and in doing so has laid down more whisky than ever before.

“It has been an incredible year,” commented Shane Fraser, distillery manager. “We increased our workforce by taking on two apprentices, and we commissioned a fourth fermentation vessel. Combined, this means we have been able to increase our rate of production whilst maintaining excellent quality control.”

The team set itself a production target of 130,000 litres of alcohol – roughly the equivalent of 400,000 bottles of whisky. They reached the target during the first week of December, leaving valuable time for equipment maintenance before the Christmas shut-down.

“We filled a record 1,162 casks during 2016,” says Shane, “The volume is great of course, but equally important is that we have consistently managed to acquire really top-notch casks. Maintaining quality is the key to producing first-class whisky, and we have managed to do this very well throughout the whole year.”

2016 is Wolfburn’s first year of sales and the demand for its single malt scotch whisky has been much higher than expected. “We’re going to need these increased production levels to keep up with demand,” adds Shane. “Producing this volume now ensures we will have great quality single malt scotch to sell in years to come.”

Photographs:

1. Shane Fraser and Iain Kerr filling casks at Wolfburn Distillery
2. Wolfburn cartons and bottles studio image

ABOUT WOLFURN:

The original Wolfburn Distillery was founded just to the west of Thurso by William Smith in 1821. In its day it was one of the largest distilleries in Scotland, producing, according to HMRC records, 28,056 “gallons of proof spirit” in a single year. Taking its name from the stream that provided the water – the Wolf Burn – the distillery operated until the 1860s. The reasons for its closure are lost in time, but by the 1870s the newly produced Ordnance Survey maps showed it being in ruins.

In 2011 plans were laid to resurrect the old distillery. Construction began in mid-2012 and in January 2013 the new Wolfburn Distillery commenced production, thereby becoming the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland. Situated 300m from the site of the original distillery, the new Wolfburn operates in much the same way as the old: craftsmen use traditional methods to produce fine spirit, which is laid down in best quality oak casks to await the day when it is bottled as single malt scotch whisky. Wolfburn’s first expressions were launched globally in 2016.

Wolfburn Distillery, Henderson Park, Thurso, Caithness KW14 7XW

www.wolfburn.com

www.facebook.com/wolfburn

As the weather turns colder, we find ourselves drawn to warm and inviting spaces – such as peacefully overlooking the bay from our Island lodge nestled in the grounds of our distillery, or tucked away in our one and only hotel bar raising a glass with fellow islanders.

That’s what the festive season is all about to us Diurachs. Enjoying a special dram in a unique setting.

To ensure that seasonal drop is all the more special wherever you choose to escape, your favourite Jura expression is once again available to give – or receive – in our crowd-pleasing and collectable festive gift tins.

Carefully sourced ingredients and our hand-crafted approach to whisky making means that every bottle of Jura is exceptional, and with a variety of delicious flavours in each expression, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Westland “Peat Week” Limited Edition Single Malt Whisky (750ml) SKU #1285213 $99.99

Westland’s 2016 edition of “Peat Week”–a limited-edition malt made in celebration of an annual week-long event dedicated to the joys of peated whisky–was a originally a prize for whisky pilgrims who made the voyage to the Seattle distillery this past fall. Luckily for us, we have friends in high places at the distillery. We managed to get our hands on an exclusive allocation of the 100-proof, smoky, single-malt delight, and we think fans of Westland and Islay both are going to be pleased. The 2016 Peat Week commemorative bottling drinks like a smokier version of Talisker in that it’s equally as fruity as it is peaty. There are gobs of creamy banana on the palate that blossom into peaty and smokier notes of campfire, all framed in sweet barley and vanilla. Think of Caol Ila with less intensity or Kilchoman with more finesse. Or maybe put the Peat Week into its own category as a whole. We’ve certainly never tasted a peated American single malt this delicious. The finish is a flurry of cinnamon, cloves and oak spices that come into focus as the peat begins to fade. Westland continues to impress with its precocious line-up of single-malt whiskies, and the 2016 edition of Peat Week is one of the best releases yet.

Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637) Email: wine@klwines.com

K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA

San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Andy at Malt Box reviews Aldi’s Glen Marnoch 28yr Old @maltbox 

https://youtu.be/VYu9FdKvMwc