One of the last remaining family-run distilleries, Glenfarclas is renowned for their independence and wonderful whisky. The Family Collector Series has celebrated each of the generations of Grants who have had a hand in producing this fine malt since the family purchased the distillery in the 19th centruy, and the latest 40 year old release is the final bottle in the collection.

Free delivery on UK orders over £100 Worldwide delivery available

Glenfarclas 1976 40 Year Old VI

The final limited edition release in the Family Collector Series, this 40 year old Speyside Single Malt from Glenfarclas represents the 6th generation of the Grant family, current Sales Director, George S. Grant, as he reaches his own 40th year.

Distilled in 1976 and matured in the finest sherry casks, only 1,500 bottles have been produced to bookend the series that began with the 1966 Fino Cask bottling honouring John Grant, who purchased the distillery in 1865.

£1,495 Buy Now

Ralfy buys another Clynelish because it’s tasty! For Whisky Review 612 – Clynelish 15yo(2000) @ 46%vol (G&MacP)

Day 15 of the Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 

SCOTCH WHISKY ADVENT CALENDAR 3RD EDITION DAY 15 BLOG #149 – MALT WHISKY COMPANY MACDUFF 16 YEAR OLD

Back in the drivers seat today is Stuart Nickerson from Malt Whisky Company with a bit of a favorite distillery for me. I have had some really good MacDuff whisky over the years and one single cask in particular from A.D. Rattray always stands out for me. Knowing how good Stuart is at picking great casks I have been anticipating this for quite a while.

MacDuff is a Highland Distillery that was originally known as Glen Deveron. You can still find whisky bottled under this name but mostly older casks as even independent bottlers have embraced MacDuff. It was founded in 1962 and is now owned by Bacardi who used the bulk of its Single Malt Whisky for their blends like Dewar’s.

It seems to me that a lot of the independent bottler’s that I work with are finding the merits of using good quality refill casks to allow all of the delicious distillery character to shine through. Today’s whisky is no exception with Stuart choosing a refill cask for this 16 year old MacDuff.

Malt Whisky Company MacDuff 16 Year Old aged in a Refill American Oak Hogshead # 500720 and bottled at the cask strength of 54.9%. No shenanigans involved like caramel coloring or chill filtration here.

Color:   Another extremely light whisky which is the norm for refill casks especially American oak. After 16 years however it is a touch darker than the other refill casks we have seen so far. A nice light wedding ring gold.

Nose:   Hot buttered rum tropical notes. Pineapple and papaya over vanilla bean sorbet.

Palate:   Crunchy fresh breakfast waffle with hints of chunky pineapple and strong Seville orange marmalade sauce dusted with white chocolate flakes. This should be a thing…

Finish: The orange marmalade comes through more strongly than the hint of tropical once we get to the finish. Very fresh and mouth watering. 54.7% is warming and long with just the right amount of bitter orange rind to bring the marmalade note to a delicious conclusion.

Yummo Stuart I know that you guys in the UK love your marmalade but sprinkling in some tropics as well is just crazy. Enough of this frilly Highland nonsense I hear some of you peat inclined saying. Well just because I love you too we will be heading to Islay tomorrow for a dram from those beloved Italians Samaroli.

We can see just how much Johanne loves this MacDuff at whiskylassie.

For those of you that enjoyed this MacDuff, I have good news. We will be getting a very small amount and it will be available for those that act quickly. Please email me at jonathan@secretspirits.com for details.

On this day in the second edition we had the A.D. Rattray Invergordon Single Grain that you can read about here.

I hope you have enjoyed the variety so far as we head into the last 10 days of the calendar which as some of you know is perhaps the best part of the whole experience counting down to Christmas day and hopefully getting more and more family time and fun in along the way.

I look forward to our Islay encounter tomorrow

Slainte

Jonathan – taster of secrets

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

Malt Maniacs Awards 2016

This is the 14^th edition of MMA and this year has seen The Malt Maniacs receive an astonishingly high quality of entries which have broken all records in its 14 years of existence.

MMA has three categories which are based on high street price and are as follows:

Daily Drams – Whiskies with a retail price up to €50

Premium Whiskies – Whiskies with a retail price between €51 and €150

Ultra Premium Whiskies – Whiskies with a retail price over €150

Within each category we offer five Awards; Supreme Winner, Best Sherried Whisky, Best Peated Whisky, Best Natural Cask Whisky and a “Thumbs Up” Award for a whisky we believe deserves a special mention.

The competition is judged 100% blind, using only numbered samples and also judged only by a panel of our amateur members.

This year’s Supreme Champion is Kavalan Solist sherry cask S060821035, OB for Drink Fun 

Our other Award winners are:

Daily Drams category

Supreme Winner – Nantou “Omar” virgin cask No. 011200006

Best Sherried Whisky – Nantou “Omar” sherry cask No. 21090758 57.6%

Best Peated Whisky – Zuidam “Millstone” cask No. 2627 52.56%

Best Natural Cask Whisky – Nantou “Omar” bourbon cask No. 11090148 56.2%

Thumbs Up – Speciality Drinks “Port Askaig 100 Proof” 57.1% (Awarded for always giving solid performance and this is no exception.)

Premium Whiskies category

Supreme Winner – Kavalan Solist sherry cask No. S090306015 (OB for SWFS) 59.4%

Best Sherried Whisky – Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask No. S090608021A (OB for HNWS) 57.8%

Best Peated Whisky – Port Charlotte 12yo 2003/2016 (61.1%, Blackadder Raw Cask, C#622, Sherry Cask, 284 Bts.)

Best Natural Cask Whisky – Amrut virgin oak & peated barley cask No. 958 (OB for Hot Malt) 60%

Thumbs Up – Zuidam “Millstone” Oloroso sherry cask No.2530 (Awarded for very strong result(s) this year from a mainland EU distillery)

Ultra Premium category

Supreme Winner – Kavalan “Solist” sherry cask No. S060904050 (OB for red on Tree 4^th Ann.) 57.8%

Best Sherried Whisky – Glendronach Oloroso sherry butt No.38 (OB for Beija-Flor & Silver Seal) 59.6%

Best Peated Whisky – Laphroaig 10y PX sherry butt (TWE “Masterpieces” IB range) 50.6%

Best Natural Cask Whisky – Chichibu ex-Hanyu hogshead (OB for LMDW) 61.3%

Thumbs Up – Jura Amoroso Oloroso butts finished in Tawny Port Pipe (OB for LMDW 60^th Anni.) (Awarded for top performance from Jura and for stunning quality from LMDW in their 60^th Anniversary year).

In an unprecedented situation 11 gold medals have been awarded for overall average scores of 90 points or more. Here’s the list of Gold Medal winning distilleries:

Kavalan 6 Gold Medals

Glendronach 2 Gold Medals

Amrut 1 Gold Medal

Inchgower (Adelphi IB) 1 Gold Medal

Chieftain’s Speyside 1 Gold Medal

Full details and scores for MMA 2016 can be found on the Malt Maniacs website http://www.maltmaniacs.net/ and also our Malt Maniacs & Friends (MM&F) facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaltManiacs/

The Arran Malt comes of age

Isle of Arran Distillers release 21^st Anniversary bottling

To celebrate the end of the 21st Anniversary celebrations at Lochranza, the Isle of Arran Distillery has released a limited edition anniversary bottling.

Master distiller, James MacTaggart, handpicked a selection of finest ex-sherry hogsheads from the first three years of production at the distillery to create a complex spirit which epitomises the iconic flavours that have carried ‘The Arran Waters’ around the world.

Notes of pears and honey combine with a hint of basil and black pepper spice. Water reveals the much-loved citrus character of the Arran Malt whilst a hint of marzipan follows a warming finish of ginger and lemongrass.

James MacTaggart said of this special expression: “I have chosen a selection of our oldest ex-oloroso Sherry Hogsheads. Over the years, the fresh notes of citrus and malt in our delicate new spirit have integrated beautifully.

“The nose is rich and fruity with a luxurious palate leading to a long and satisfying finish. It has been a pleasure to nurture the maturation of this precious spirit and see it become the most fitting dram with which toast our 21st Anniversary.”

Euan Mitchell, managing director of the Isle of Arran Distillers, added: “When the first spirit ran from the stills in June 1995, it set in motion the start of a two-decade journey for the Arran Malt.

“We are tremendously proud of what the distillery has achieved. Our focus on crafting high quality whisky has to lead to many successes from award-wins to record exports to territories across the world.

“For this anniversary expression, we wanted the bottling to be totally different from our core range. The decanter style adds a tactile and luxurious element to the pack and distinguishes it as landmark in the maturation of the Arran Malt.”

Bottled at 52.6%, this exclusive expression has no artificial colouring and is non-chill filtered. It will be released as a limited edition bottling of only 5,988 bottes worldwide.

It will be available from specialist whisky retailers and from the Visitor Centre shop at Lochranza.

For more information, please contact Megan King at Inside Media on megan@insidemedia.uk.com or 01179 066 526.

Please note that due to the limited nature of this bottling samples are extremely limited.

RRP £150 

Notes:

For more information visit http://www.arranwhisky.com/

* Accolades for Isle of Arran Distillery include Winner for: Best New Exporter (2004), Queen’s Award for International Trade (2005), Scottish Distiller of the Year (2007), Scottish Drinks Producer of the Year (2007.) Distillery Visitor Experience of the Year (2014, 2015)

Product awards include: Best Whisky Liqueur (2007), ‘Best Single Malt Scotch 12 Years & Under’ for The Arran Malt Amarone Cask Finish (2008) ‘Best Single Malt Scotch 11-15 Years’ for The Arran Malt Sherry Single Cask 1998 (2010) and ‘Best Single Malt Scotch 11-15 Years’ for the Icons of Arran Peacock (2011.) ‘Double Gold Award’ for Arran’s 14 Year Old Single Malt and ‘Gold Award’ for Arran’s 10 Year Old Single Malt at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (2012). Double Gold in FiftyBest.com awards (2012). Double Gold Medal for the 12 year-old Cask Strength in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (2013). Double Gold for both the 10 year-old and 12 year-old Cask Strength at the China Wine & Spirits Best Value Awards 2014.

International Beverage celebrates Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky Scotland award in record-breaking year

International Beverage, producer of some of the global drinks industry’s most acclaimed premium spirits, is celebrating a momentous win in Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky Scotland 2017 awards, after being crowned Whisky Distiller of the Year.

It caps a phenomenal year for the business in which its whisky brands have scooped over 80 medals in international competitions. At the World Whiskies Awards earlier this year, Old Pulteney 1989 was named ‘World’s Best Single Malt’ and anCnoc 18 Year Old ‘World’s Best Whisky’ in the Highland 13 – 20 year old category, whilst Balblair Vintage 1990 won the IWSC Trophy for a single malt Scotch whisky over 15 years old. And last month, Speyburn was named Speyside Distillery of the Year at the New York International Spirits Competition as well as its 10 year old expression being awarded a silver medal.

Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky invites the industry elite to nominate the finest companies and individuals throughout the whisky world. From these entries the Whisky Magazine editorial panel then choose the winners. The lavish Icons of Whisky Scotland Awards ceremony took place on the 2^nd December at Surgeons Hall in Edinburgh, and was attended by leaders of the Scottish whisky world.

The International Beverage team is thrilled to have been recognised in such a prestigious competition, amongst so many of their industry peers. There were further celebrations for the business with Gordon Bruce, Distillery Manager at Knockdhu taking second place and an honourable mention in the Scotch Distillery Manager of the Year category.

Marketing Director Karen Walker commented: ‘Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky is one of the industry’s most credible awards and so it is an enormous honour to have been recognised by our peers and by judges as Whisky Distiller of the Year. This is a historic win for our business, coming at the end of a year in which we have surpassed all previous records at international competitions for the quality of our whisky. Our single malt brands Old Pulteney, anCnoc, Balblair and Speyburn, and our blend Hankey Bannister, have all won a glittering array of trophies, gold and silver medals. Our years of experience in crafting premium Scotch whisky have also gone into the production of Caorunn Gin which is made at our Balmenach Distillery and has also enjoyed a tremendous year in terms of its success in markets around the world. 

‘All of this is the result of so much hard work and dedication from the producers at our five distilleries and from our brand teams around the world, and our thanks and congratulations go out to all of them. This accolade from Whisky Magazine is the perfect way to end the business year and to fuel our ambition and passion for further success in 2017.’

About International Beverage Holdings

International Beverage Holdings Limited is one of the industry’s most dynamic global drinks businesses. Established in 2006 as the international arm of ThaiBev, the company specialises in developing distinctive, premium local brands for global growth, with a portfolio that is led by a range of high quality Scotch whiskies and includes some of the fastest growing and most prestigious beers, spirits and whiskies on the market today. These high quality brands are enjoyed by consumers in over 85 global markets and include:

• Chang, Thailand’s iconic global beer brand
• Single Malt Scotch Whiskies: Old Pulteney, Balblair, anCnoc, Speyburn
• Blended Scotch Whiskies: Hankey Bannister, Catto’s, MacArthur’s
• Caorunn, a super premium small batch distilled Scottish Gin infused with 5 Celtic botanicals
• Thai spirits: Phraya, Mekhong

International Beverage’s international operation is headquartered in Hong Kong, with two major bases in China and Scotland and a growing number of regional hubs around the world. The business is focused on the delivery of winning investment, sales and marketing strategies and is committed to producing brands of character, representing the care and craftsmanship of the people that make them – from the brewers of Chang Beer in Thailand, to the distillers of the fine single malt Scotch whisky Old Pulteney in Scotland. Crucially, the global development of every brand continues to be rooted in its home territory, supporting the company’s mission to build authentic brands of outstanding character.

International Beverage is investing in ambitious growth across its global operation, employing over 850 highly skilled people across production, sales, marketing and finance, together forming an effective and expert international team.

COLLECTORS LOFT

Climb the ladder

If you come and visit us here in Loch Fyne and lift your eyes to heavens, you’ll be able to have a gander at some very special bottles that we keep overhead in our Collector’s Loft. If you can’t make the trip to Inveraray then there’s no need to feel left out – just take a look at some of the collectable bottles we have online!

Next day delivery available on UK orders Worldwide shipping

Loch Fyne Whiskies tel: 0141 427 2919 info@lochfynewhiskies.com www.lochfynewhiskies.com

WhiskyFest Tickets Make a Great Holiday Gift!

ORDER TICKETS

More than 350 whiskies • Seminars by whisky experts • Gourmet buffet

Welcome to you all on this wonderful winter Wednesday. Balvenie, a single malt producer who are known around the world for a luxurious and rich style of honey’d whisky, truly fabulous. However, within their range, as indeed with many other whisky distilleries, there are always a few stranger bottling’s, this is one of those. 

Not very typical in anyway that we really know, Balvenie for. Spicy wood notes, lemon peel, angelica root and hints of eastern spices. Single barrel, all sherried delight aged for fifteen years in one of the finest sherry casks that I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning part of. Enjoy!

—

Whisky Reviews every Wednesday

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Day 14 of the Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 

SCOTCH WHISKY ADVENT CALENDAR 3RD EDITION DAY 14 BLOG #148 – AINNEAMH SPEYSIDE 18 YEAR OLD

Whisky Wednesday today, also known as hump day for a lot of people as you climb that hill and then speed toward the weekend. Well no need to be afraid of not having fun every day of the week as we get to dip into the 3rd edition for yet another enticing dram.

A second expression from the boys at Ainneamh (remember its pronounced an-yoov). We are certainly getting a great pendulum swing from delicate to peaty so far in this edition. Are you keeping up with this roller coaster ride?

So another mystery dram from Ainneamh. I do love these fun whiskies where you get to decipher clues and see if you can figure out the originating distillery.

Ainneamh Speyside 18 Year Old Single Malt, Cask number 14432 refill American Oak Hogshead. Banffshire bottled at the cask strength of 54.7% with no caramel or chill filtration.

Color: Yep another light whisky in a refill cask. Makes you really think about the massive amounts of artificial color added to whisky in the industry. Why does a whisky have to be dark to be perceived as quality? Only because that’s the line that has traditionally been pushed on you all these years. As we know even a gorgeous 30 year old single malt can be very light and massive on flavor.

Nose:   Flora in spades on this one with oats and honey like top quality steel cut oatmeal freshly drizzled with honey and topped with cream.

Palate:   Candy apple toffee, the red sort (not caramel apples). Crunchy apple acidity like Jonathan apples (yep my namesake fruit). A zesty creaminess like cream stirred with sherbet.

Finish:   Tingly and long, coating and fresh. This is a fantastic aperitif whisky as a palate freshener before dinner. Perhaps between courses instead of the high end ball of shaved lemon ice. I could see a serving of this kind of whisky really taking off in some white table restaurants. I know I would be making my reservation.

If you were in doubt that there is a whisky for every occasion then doubt no more. Fantastic little Speyside here Ainneamh team and amazing freshness for an 18 year old. I do love quality refill casks for this reason. Almost emulates what Samaroli do with their lightly toasted new oak casks.

On this day in the second edition we had the Samaroli Blended Malt comprising of Glenallachie, Glentauchers and MacDuff. You can re-read all about it here.

Whiskylassie is having quite the journey and you can continue to follow her in-depth experiences by visiting here.

If you love this whisky then I unfortunately have bad news for you. Nothing left for us after filling our calendar bottles. We had an unusually high amount of whiskies that ended up being done and dusted once the mini’s were filled this edition. We will try hard to make sure that there is more of each delicious whisky next time around.

Tomorrow we are heading back to my mate Stuart at the Malt Whisky Company for another one of his amazing casks. Highlands here we come.

Slainte

Jonathan – taster of secrets

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