50% ABV Bourbon Barrel Matured
Kilchoman 100% Islay

Kilchoman, Islay’s Farm Distillery, is set to launch the 6th edition of its 100% Islay range. Every part of the production process takes place at the distillery from growing the barley to bottling. Kilchoman’s 100% Islay is a truly unique single malt. No other distillery can claim to complete all parts of the whisky-making process.

The folks at Kilchoman distillery, nestled in the outbuildings of Rockside Farm on the west coast of Islay, work throughout the year to grow, malt, distill, mature and bottle Kilchoman’s unique single malt using traditional farm distilling techniques not seen on Islay for generations:

“When we first set out to build Kilchoman, the ambition was to create a small-scale distillery producing exclusively for single malt using barely grown and malted on-site as was once the norm for many distilleries.”-Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder and Managing Director.

This, the 6th edition of the annually released limited edition, is a vatting of fresh and refill ex-Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrels filled in 2010 and bottled in 2016. This latest edition will be the most mature 100% Islay to have been released to date. Produced exclusively from barley grown at the distillery, the 100% Islay range has a lighter peating level compared to the rest of the Kilchoman range, creating a uniquely fresh and distinct style of Islay single malt.

Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder and Managing Director: “We expect Kilchoman fans will enjoy the 6th Edition, the 100% Islay expressions have come along significantly in recent years, sourcing our bourbon barrels from one US producer has a significant impact on the quality of the whisky at what is a relatively young age.”

Founded in 2005, Kilchoman is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland and was the first distillery to be built on Islay for over 124 years. Today, Kilchoman is the only independently owned Islay distillery.

Tasting Notes: Kilchoman 100% Islay 6th Edition
Colour: Straw.
Nose: Light, fresh and vibrant with soft peat smoke.
Palate: Fresh and light with citrus and lemon notes with sweetness on the finish.
Finish: Long, clean and sweet with graceful peat smoke.

Notes 
Kilchoman Distillery is a small, family run farm-distillery based on the rugged west coast of Islay. The distillery was established by Anthony Wills in 2005, the idea was to build a new distillery which took whisky production back to its roots. Anthony and wife Kathy have now been joined by their three sons: George, James and Peter.

Kilchoman produces its 100% Islay single malt from barley which is grown in fields surrounding the distillery and completes every stage of the whisky-making process at the distillery, including traditional floor malting. Kilchoman is the only distillery in Scotland to do this. Kilchoman is now very much a family affair:

Since the first bottling was released in 2009, Kilchoman has quickly established itself as a high quality Islay Single Malt Whisky with these notable awards:

• Kilchoman’s exceptional quality was recognised at the prestigious International Whisky Competition (IWC) when Anthony Wills was named Master Distiller of the Year 2013.
• Machir Bay was named best Islay Whisky under 12 years old at the 2015 Spirits Business Whisky Masters, 100% Islay and Loch Gorm also won Gold Medals in the same competition.
• Machir Bay was also recently awarded a Gold Medal at the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) with Loch Gorm being awarded a Silver Outstanding Medal and 100% Islay a Silver at the prestigious awards.
• Kilchoman won Malt Advocates Artisan Whisky of the Year 2011, only three years after the first bottling was released.

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

This September you and a guest can join a intimate group of Whisky Aficionado’s to honor Janet Sheed Roberts, the granddaughter of William Grant, the founder of Glenfiddich on this extraordinary five-day, Whisky -focused trip to Scotland. We hope you can all join us on this very rare and exclusive, ‘never to be repeated’ trip.

Read the latest Article in Robb Report By Richard Carleton Hacker featuring this once in a lifetime Experience

Take The Trip Of A Lifetime To Taste Rare Whisky In Scotland

Universal Whisky Experience, 1621 Central Avenue, Cheyenne, WY 82001

Ailsa Bay Bach #2

June 2016 bottling from the single malt distillery located within the Girvan complex near Turnberry resort on the west coast of Scotland.

Buy – $60.42

Springbank 22 Year Old – 1993

A rare vintage bottling of Springbank bottled by Hart Brothers for their ‘Finest Collection’. Distilled November 1993, this limited edition singe cask release has been aged for 22 years before being bottled June 2016 at cask strength, 50.7% vol.

£285.60

RAISING A GLASS TO THE MASTER

Craftsmen at The Balvenie Distillery in Dufftown held a special celebration to mark their Maltmaster, David Stewart , receiving an MBE at the Palace of  Holyroodhouse on July 5th.

Mr Stewart joined William Grant & Sons, family makers of The Balvenie single malts, in 1962 and has been the Distillery’s Malt Master since 1974.

With over 50 years service he is credited with a host of achievements including pioneering wood finished whiskies.

David Mair, The Balvenie Distillery Brand Ambassador said: “I have had the privilege of working with David Stewart since 1990. His pioneering spirit and dedication to his craft, coupled with his modest, unassuming manner has made him one of the best-loved and respected craftsmen in the Scotch whisky industry.  The whole Balvenie team and indeed all William Grant & Sons employees are so proud of him and it is wonderful to see him recognised through being awarded an MBE medal for his services to the Scotch Whisky Industry.”

The Balvenie’s Craftsmen were not alone in raising a glass to toast Mr Stewart’s achievements as whisky experts and enthusiasts around the globe have joined the celebrations. A video offering congratulations from leading whisky industry figures has attracted over 79,000 views on The Balvenie’s Facebook page.

DAYS OUT SUMMER 2016 Visit us for a tour of the Distillery. We run the St Georges Tour every hour on the hour (10am – 4pm) 7 days a week. This tour includes coffee or tea whilst you wait for the tour to start. A guide will then take you onto the distilling floor and explain how whisky is made. You then move onto Warehouse 1 to see the whisky in casks, and to breathe in the amazing aroma caused by the Angels Share escaping, before finally finishing with a taste of one or two of our wonderful malt whiskies. A full price adult ticket for just £10.00, comes with a £5.00 voucher to spend in the shop for any English Whisky over just £30.00.

Summer Nature Trail We will be hosting a fun Nature Trail from 19th July – 31st August 2016 in the grounds of St Georges Distillery. For children all ages, walk the nature trail and see how many of the animals and trees you can spot, then mark them off your sheet. Contributions to our charity box would be welcome. Open daily from 10am – 5pm

UNIQUE GIFTS Looking for a unique gift for a wedding, anniversary or special event, then perhaps we can help? From only £39.99, we can produce a personalised label with your whisky of choice. Alternatively we can produce an engraved bottle with the text, logo or image of your choice from only £54.99.

Sandringham Flower Show We will be exhibiting at the 135th Sandringham Flower Show in the Food Hall Marquee on Wednesday 27th July and would love you to join us for a little tipple. We look forward to seeing you there! Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival at Snape Maltings For the weekend of 24th & 25th of September, Snape Maltings will once again be filled with the finest local produce, celebrity chefs, and food and drink lovers travelling from far and wide. We will be in the main tent to showcase our range of whisky, liqueurs and giftpacks.

Klaas at Islay

Klaas, is on his way to Islay to make it even more relaxed. This is news of great proportion! His visit usually results in Islay entering the age of Aquarius. People can’t sleep because of the exitement. It’s not the Beatles, Michael Jackson or the Stones that make the heads of Islay woman spin. No, it’s Klaas in the maltstock car, just driving it in a very relaxed way.

Klaas will be traveling the island of Islay these two weeks. This is your chance, your opportunity to take a selfie with the Maltstock car and the true Maltstock Rockstar. Don’t let this once in a lifetime opportunity pass without asking Klaas for a selfie with him and the car. He might be seen as a legend on Islay, he sees himself as just a normal human being, and acts that way. Don’t be afraid, scared or shy and send your selfies with Klaas and the maltstock car to selfie@maltstock.com. The best selfie wins a relaxed bottle of whisky!

Only 6 weeks left to get your tickets.

Only 6 weeks left to buy a Maltstock ticket and register for the masterclasses. Until the 25th of August it’s possible to let us know which masterclasses you prefer. The program can be found at www.maltstock.com, we have a wooping amount of 10 masterclasses for you to choose from this year. Get your ticket(s) here: SHOP

Everyone with a Maltstock ticket should have had an email with a link to the masterclass preference form. If you didn’t receive this mail and you do have a Maltstock ticket. Please let us know at info@maltstock.com

New website

As some of you already have seen, we have a new website. the URL is the same (maltstock.com) but the website is has more pictures, more info and is more relaxed overall. But of course we value your opinion too, and would like to ask you if you have any feedback, positive or negative.

Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask

New Cask!

Bottled by Kavalan for their Solist series is this beautiful sherry cask matured whisky from Taiwan. 526 bottles have been filled at cask strength, without any colouring or chill-filtration.

£124.80

www.ralfy.com tastes and tries with Whisky Review 592 – F.E.W. Bourbon & Rock Town 4-grain Sour Mash

Announcing Whisky Connoisseur® – The Ultimate Travel Accessory for Whisky Lovers.

Whisky Connoisseur® Travel Kits allow you to Sip, Save and Savour while drinking responsibly. First conceived in a “Eureka moment” to save precious spirits from going down the drain at his club’s whisky tastings, Whisky Connoisseur® Founder and President, Ken Jaremco, developed the perfect way to bottle up the extra drams that were being left on the table.

“My wonderful wife generously drives us to events so I can enjoy the whiskies without worrying about keeping under the legal limit, but that means she can only have a tiny sip herself. And what about those folks who attend club events alone and live too far away to take a cab home? Then, the solution dawned on us: we need to bottle up the extra whisky that we are leaving on the table. Eureka! Whisky Connoisseur® was born.”

Using their fellow West Coast Whisky Club members as an eager focus group, the Jaremcos developed a series of prototypes and quickly discovered this was a unique niche that needed to be filled. The response was overwhelming. Most of the feedback was focused towards responsible drinking: sharing a dram at an event and packaging up the majority to sip in the comfort of home.

Ken and Lou worked painstakingly to develop a kit worthy of the concept of a whisky connoisseur and to pay homage to whisky history and its skilled producers. Each component was built on a central theme of connoisseur quality and how each subtle nuance would contribute to the overall feeling when tasting whisky with friends.

Finally, after fine-tuning the details over many shared drams, three unique Whisky Connoisseur® kits were perfected, each suited for different situations: the Travel Kit, which comes in Deluxe Leather or stylish and rugged Duck Cotton Canvas; the Share-A-Dram Kit, ideal for transporting spirits to share with friends; and the Master Class Kit, perfect for when you attend a tasting or distillery tour and don’t want to leave any of the special sips behind.

Feedback to the Whisky Connoisseur® kits has been extraordinarily positive. “Many folks say that the kits are such a simple idea yet so useful,” Ken Jaremco explains. “Whether at a club tasting event or a whisky festival with master classes, you can enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded aficionados without compromising your gentlemanly/ladylike ethics or behaviour. The kits are a godsend. Not a single drop of the precious spirit goes down the drain. Good for the environment, good for the pocket book, good for the conscience and good for the soul.”

Each kit includes pharmaceutical-grade glass bottles with stoppers, a self-venting, no-spill funnel, and a Sample Ledger Booklet with perforated pages. The travel kits feature imported Glencairn® tasting glasses, and the Deluxe Leather kit includes a handsome Whisky Connoisseur® Tasting Journal with handy “Tips to Tasting Whisky” written by Ken Jaremco, perfect for rookie whisky tasters as well as those with more experience.

With the launch of the Whisky Connoisseur® series, the Jaremcos’ original “simple idea” is now set to transform the niche whisky accessories market. It is the perfect travel buddy to pack along on a fishing trip, for the cabin après ski, after golf in your AirBnB, on a business trip, or even for a picnic in your own town. Bottle a dram of your favourite whiskies and tuck the kit into your luggage or travel gear—Whisky Connoisseur® kits are multi-functional, meant to be taken along anywhere and everywhere for a taste of home away from home.

Here are some testimonials that speak to Whisky Connoisseur®’s utility and convenience:

“I can’t imagine a better way to travel with, share and/or enjoy whisky than with my Whisky Connoisseur® kits. They really are ‘a Dram come true.’”

• Dave Mason, President, West Coast Whisky Society “Great idea and great kit – I never realized how much I needed this until I got one! It is now in regular use to swap whiskies with friends and family, allowing us to ‘try before we buy’ any new whisky or to trade some of the more elite whiskies from our collections. It also goes on distillery tours—very useful for when generous measures are on offer (e.g. Lagavulin Warehouse Tour) as it allows me to taste some and take some home—and, when taking my turn at the driving, I just bottle the full samples to enjoy later. The ledger and tags make it simple to ensure that nothing gets mixed up. This kit makes a wonderful present for any keen whisky drinker.”
• Ian R, North East England. Needless to say, these kits are the ideal gift for the whisky connoisseur in your life. Perfect for Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays or Christmas, or as a special gift for someone who is going on a “bucket list” trip to visit distilleries in Scotland, Whisky Connoisseur® solves that age-old dilemma of what to buy for “someone who has everything.”

PURCHASE DETAILS 

• For purchase details and sources of supply, contact: info@whiskyconnoisseur.ca
• For whisky clubs and societies, corporate orders, retail sellers, brand ambassadors and whisky distilleries, contact: info@whiskyconnoisseur.ca

Ken Jaremco is available to be interviewed about the Whisky Connoisseur® series. Please contact him by email to arrange a telephone or in-person interview. Photos are available upon request.

Email:  ken@whiskyconnoisseur.ca                Telephone: 1-778-552-5760

Sláinte mhaith!