This week Joe Ellis reviews Glengoyne 18 Year Old Single Malt.

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International Beverage scoops gold again with multiple IWSC medal wins

International Beverage is adding to its extraordinary 2016 medal haul with the announcement of 31 wins at one of the world’s toughest and most established industry challenges – the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC).

The biggest winner was Balblair Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, the company’s premium single malt which is released exclusively in vintage format. Balblair Vintage 1990 won the IWSC Trophy for a single malt Scotch whisky over 15 Years Old, plus there were Gold Outstanding medals for both Balblair Vintage 1983 and Balblair Vintage 1990.

In a year in which IWSC organisers have seen a record number of entries to the competition, there were also impressive Gold medal wins for Old Pulteney 21 Year Old, anCnoc 12 Year Old, and for the premium blend Hankey Bannister for both its Heritage Blend and 12 Year Old expressions.

A further eight Silver Outstanding medals were awarded across the portfolio – with Old Pulteney taking four for its 12 Year Old and 17 Year Old malts, the Noss Head travel retail exclusive and the delicious Old Pulteney Stroma Malt Whisky Liqueur. The remainder were awarded to Speyburn Arranta Casks, anCnoc 24 Year Old and two Balblair travel retail exclusives – Vintage 1999 and Vintage 2004.

An additional fourteen Silver and two Bronze medals completed this remarkable IWSC medal haul – which follows in the wake of big wins for International Beverage at the International Spirits Challenge, Global Spirit Masters, World Whiskies Awards and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition earlier in the year.

International Beverage Marketing Director Karen Walker commented: “Our medal total for 2016 now sits at over 80 and counting, which is really something to celebrate and a huge achievement for the teams at our distilleries. This has been a very special year for our business and the success of our whiskies and gin, however we take nothing for granted and will continue to work hard to craft the very highest quality spirits for our consumers to enjoy.”

IWSC / International Beverage 2016 medals in full

 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.

Tim Harfield and Sarah Bartholomew, lighting designer, apply the finishing touches to new features at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Queen Street venue after a £300,000 refurbishment. The venue opens in time for hosting Fringe shows Project Flavour Behaviour (Tickets here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/project-flavour-behaviour-personality-test) & At the Illusionist’s Table (Tickets here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/at-the-illusionist-s-table). (Full venue images to follow later this week). 

OUR AUCTION ENDS TODAY!

The latest auction at Whisky.Auction ends tomorrow from 7.30pm BST. 

A fantastic opportunity to revive the superb taste of the past. There are plenty of intriguing bottles at excellent prices, so have a good rummage through and don’t forget to place your bids.

Get bidding, and good luck! The Whisky Auction team.

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ImpEx Cask Evolution Currently Available: 02/2016 Bourbon Barrel Cask Number: 470/2011   Strength: 60.1% ABV Distilled: 11.8.2011   Bottled: 16.5.2016

ImpEx Cask Evolution series celebrates the quality maturation process of a fantastic Scotch whisky.  The Kilchoman Bourbon Barrel is first fill and craftily chosen by Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder & MD.  It is truly a rarity, from its traditional floor malting to its sea flavor, and it is exclusively available in the US.  Highlights include:

• Kilchoman receives all their Bourbon Barrels whole directly to Islay.
• All of their Bourbon Barrels are sourced exclusively from Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky allowing for uniquely efficient and consistent maturation.
• Bourbon Barrels are used to mature whisky and enhance it with a flavor that can range from vanilla sweetness to Christmas cake, evoking a sense of nostalgic longing for the holidays; each person’s experience is different!

“Single Cask Single Malt is the purest representation  of any Scotch whisky, it is an unfiltered and undiluted representation of distillate and cask type.”  Anthony Wills, Founder & MD.

Tasting notes

Nose:  Peat smoke with citrus, vanilla and floral sweetness

Palate: Butterscotch, caramel, citrus sweetness and light smoke

Finish: assertive with smoky sea salt and tropical fruit

Springbank Local Barley 16yr – Springbank Distillery, located in the lesser known area of Campbeltown, is near and dear to our hearts here at The Party Source. This is the first release of two new expressions from Springbank this year, and the first general release of Local Barley since 2001. All the barley was grown just outside Campbeltown, and only 9,000 bottles were released worldwide. Showing flavors of vanilla, lemon, and honey, hints of smoke and classic Springbank earthiness, and all with a kiss of peat, this bottle is sure to impress.

www.thepartysource.com 95 Riviera Drive, Bellevue, KY 41073  (859) 291-4007

Highland Park 2007 Cask Strength

Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky

2005 VINTAGE LIMITED EDITION CÙ BÒCAN RELEASED

Highland-based Tomatin Distillery have launched a limited 2005 vintage edition of their peated Cù Bòcan single malt.

Bottled at a strength of 50%, the whisky is stronger than its core range counterpart, and is matured in ex-Bourbon and Sherry casks. Described as having aromas of butterscotch and toffee apples with flavours of candy floss and a gentle touch of peat smoke, typical of the Cù Bòcan range, there are only 11,400 bottles of this limited edition available worldwide.

The Cù Bòcan brand is named after a mythical Highland hellhound which was rumoured to haunt the village of Tomatin and was launched in 2013 as a lightly peated alternative to the traditional fruity flavours of Tomatin single malt. The distillery has been producing peated malt for the last week of every year since 2005.

This latest release follows previous limited editions including the 1989 vintage in 2014, along with the Virgin Oak, Sherry and Bourbon expressions in 2015 with the latest release the 1988 vintage launched in May 2016.

Stephen Bremner, Sales Director commented:

‘When we started distilling peated whisky in 2005 it was intended to be used for our on-site blending activities. However when it became of age we recognised it had to be released as a single malt and so Cù Bòcan was born. Three years down the line, we are constantly looking for ways to develop the brand and experiment with new expressions. This vintage release celebrates how our light, fruity flavours when combined with peated barley make for a sensational smoky spirit.’

The vintage creation is currently being rolled out worldwide and is expected to retail at £49.99. A list of stockists can be found here: www.tomatin.com//shop.

Notes

1. The Tomatin Distillery Co Ltd is a producer and blender of Scotch whisky, boasting a strong core range of single malt whiskies along with a range of popular blends.
2. Website: www.cu-bocan.com   and www.tomatin.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cubocan www.facebook.com/Tomatin1897

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Tomatin1897

3. The distillery was established in 1897, and while historically the whisky produced was primarily sold for use in other brands of blended whisky, the company is now very focussed on growing the Tomatin single malt brand in its own right.Tomatin Distillery produces Cù Bòcan Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Tomatin Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
4. The company’s most popular blends are The Antiquary, The Talisman and Big ‘T’.
5. The distillery is owned by Japanese company Takara Shuzo: http://www.takarashuzo.co.jp/english/index.htm

Whisky is for summer – not just for Christmas

Being a dedicated Scotch whisky drinker, I normally don’t do that well in summer. Traditionally, Scotch whisky is associated with cooler weather, and the past month here in London has not provided me with a suitable environment to sit around in a comfortable armchair with a dram, unless I’ve had a large fan pointed at my face. However, Scotch whisky is much more versatile than it’s given credit for – here’s how I’ve been surviving the summer in three easy steps:

1) Long Drinks

It may be blasphemy to some, but whisky is a great ingredient in long drinks. When it’s summer outside, you want something to slake your thirst and cool you down, and as long as you choose a whisky with a punchy-enough flavour, you can stretch things out without hiding its character.

My summer drinking kicked off on the summer solstice on 21 June. It was the longest day of the year and after an afternoon of rain, the clouds cleared and we had a long evening of summer sun. In true, decadent whisky-blogger fashion, I was on a Dalston rooftop drinking Highland Park cocktails. My favourite of the night was the simplest:

Simmer Dim 50ml Highland Park 12 Years Old 25ml elderflower cordial 25ml lemon juice Soda water

Fill a tall glass with ice, add the whisky, cordial and juice and stir. Top up with soda water and garnish with a lemon slice.

The sweetness of the elderflower and sourness of the lemon cancel each other out, and the soft smokiness of the Highland Park peeks out around the edges. One for warm evenings and hot afternoons.

2) Classic Cocktails

While the Prohibition-style cocktail obsession is (thankfully) starting to die down, I’m still a fan of the classics – simple, short drinks developed and popularised around the time that showcase a spirit rather than hiding it under layers of fruit juice or cream. American whiskeys are the most commonly used in my favourite recipes but Prohibition opened the door for illicit spirits imported from overseas, including Scotch whisky.

The simplest of the classics, although a drink that’s easy to make badly, is the Old Fashioned. It’s just three ingredients – spirit, bitters and sugar – but from those humble origins there’s a huge range of drinks you can create. Sticking with Scotch whisky, you want one that will stand up to being both chilled and diluted, as well as not get overtaken by the addition of sugar and bitters. I generally look for a punchy blended whisky, without the subtlety that will disappear when cooled and without too much spice, so the bitters add a flavour rather than amplifying something already present in the drink. Cutty Sark Prohibition fits the bill perfectly, beefing up Cutty’s regular easy-drinking style with more weight and a higher bottling strength of 50% ABV.

Everything in moderation – including ice.

Rather than spending hours stirring an Old Fashioned – the standard way of making the cocktail and the reason why asking for one in a busy bar will earn you death stares from the bartender – I go for a much simpler approach. While I claim it’s because I like the way the drink changes as you work your way through the glass – starting strong and whisky-heavy, ending with rich spice – it’s really because I’m lazy…

Lazy Old Fashioned 50ml Cutty Sark Prohibition A few dashes of Angostura bitters A pinch of sugar

Add the sugar and bitters to a tumbler with a little splash of whisky and stir it up until you get bored or the sugar dissolves. Fill the glass with ice, add the rest of the whisky and give it a quick stir. Drink slowly.

3) Chilled

Cooling down whisky has a bad reputation. It does massively change the flavour and can kill the more subtle notes in a dram, but sometimes a cold whisky really works. While filling a glass with ice will cool things down, it will also dilute your dram and wreak havoc on single malt – many of them can take a good slug of water, but too much will ruin your whisky. Using a really large ice cube will reduce the amount of dilution, but that’s also not always what you want. Whisky stones (small rocks that you keep in the freezer and add to your drink) don’t dilute but they also don’t cool very well. This leads to a simple solution:

Keep your whisky in the fridge.

Freezing a whisky is going a step too far for me, but chilling a bottle down in the fridge before an evening of warm-weather dramming works perfectly. You need to choose the whisky well and one that’s been working for me this month is the recently revitalised Inchmurrin 12 – it’s very fruity and chilling doesn’t diminish that character, instead quietening the weightier notes. Here’s what I found when tasted straight from the fridge:

INCHMURRIN 12 YEARS OLD

Nose: Creamy and fruity, with apple sauce, mango, pineapple and vanilla.

Palate: All of the fruit: sultanas, grapes, apples, pears, candied lemon, sweet mango and dried papaya. Hints of spice build as it warms in the mouth.

Finish: Short, with a hint of fruity sorbet.

In short: experiment. Scotch whisky can be great all year round, as long as you look outside of the more traditional approach to drinking it. Ignore the people who complain that you are destroying your dram – it’s your whisky, do what you want with it.

Evan Cattanach: 1935-2016

August 2, 2016 – Evan Cattanach was one of the giants of the Scotch Whisky industry, in size and in stature. Standing well over six feet tall, with a piercing stare counter-balanced by a large laugh, he knew more about Scotch Whisky than almost anyone and generously shared that knowledge with everyone. Even in his final years after a stroke forced him to use a wheelchair to attend whisky festivals, his smile and spirit never waned as he greeted longtime friends and whisky newcomers alike. The 80-year-old Cattanach passed away Sunday (July 31) in Mount Kisco, New York, where he had settled after relocating from Scotland……..please click here to read the remainder of the article by Mark Gillespie of WhiskyCast.