WhistlePig Unveils 15 Year Whiskey Finished in Tight-Ringed, Home-Grown Vermont White Oak

New Custom-Charred Barrels Crafted From Trees Sustainably Logged On the WhistlePig Farm

SHOREHAM, VT – (May 3, 2016) – WhistlePig announced today the launch of its 15 Year rye whiskey, marking the next step in the company’s vision of becoming entirely farm- to-bottle. Aged for 15 years and finished in Vermont White Oak from the WhistlePig Farm and surrounding area, this whiskey combines rye spice with wood sugar, earth, and allspice, delivering a flavor and texture only accessible after long, long years in a barrel.

Kentucky oak trees are fat, Vermont ones are tight. Tight wood rings deliver more flavor and depth into whiskey. To fully accentuate the unique flavor profile of the oak, WhistlePig developed a Custom-Charring Initiative for the 15 Year. The barrels receive a long toast and heavy char designed to draw out a rich sweetness that complements the natural spice of aged rye, and ultimately provides a most exquisite mouthfeel.

“Since day one, our vision was to create a fully farm-to-bottle operation, and with the release of the 15 Year, the public can now enjoy a top-notch whiskey aged in barrels made from wood right here on our farm,” said Raj Peter Bhakta, Founder and CEO of WhistlePig. “Tight is better than fat, and old is better than young. In whiskey at least.”

With the opening of its distillery on the WhistlePig Farm in Shoreham, Vermont in the fall of 2015, WhistlePig became one of the few whiskey companies to house every aspect of the whiskey production process in one place, from harvesting the rye fields to distillation, barreling, aging, and bottling the liquid. The 15 Year is the first WhistlePig release aged in barrels constructed from oak grown on the farm, and rounds out WhistlePig’s portfolio as the most premium offering, accompanied by the 10 Year and 12 Year Old World Series. WhistlePig also plans to release additional innovative products matured in Vermont White Oak moving forward.

The 15 Year comes from a mash of 100% rye and is hand bottled at 92 proof. The whiskey is aged in three separate whiskey barrels: #3 Charred New American Oak, used bourbon barrels, and finished for six months in custom #4 charred Vermont White Oak.

The 15 Year is a highly limited release and is available in select markets.

Flavor Profile of the 15 Year

Nose: Deep and rich, dominated by caramel, vanilla, and oak with hints of allspice and burnt orange.

Taste: Warm, rich, and slightly creamy; loads of butterscotch and baking spice with leather and a hint of tobacco

Finish: Ultra-long and rich, warm, and inviting

About WhistlePig

WhistlePig is the premier aged rye whiskey, featuring the bold and often untapped flavor of rye. Founded by Raj Peter Bhakta with the help of legendary master distiller Dave Pickerell, WhistlePig is leading a surge of innovation in the emerging field of North American whiskey. As the most decorated rye whiskey – having received a record 96 points from Wine Enthusiast – WhistlePig is widely viewed as the world’s finest rye. With the opening of its distillery on its 1,300-acre Vermont farm in the fall of 2015, WhistlePig has become one of the leading farm-to-bottle rye whiskeys in the world.

GLENFARCLAS NAMED “BEST DISTILLERS’ SINGLE MALT” AT SAN FRANCISCO WORLD SPIRITS COMPETITION

Glenfarclas whiskies win six top medals, including two Double Gold

Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky was distinguished as “Best Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch – No Age Statement” at the 16th annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition where a record-breaking 1,899 entries were submitted for a blind tasting.

Thirty-nine of the industry’s finest spirits experts reviewed each entry before ultimately awarding Glenfarclas whiskies a total of six top medals, including two Double Gold Medals and the designation of “Best Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch Whisky.”

Medal winners:

Double Gold

• Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 21 Years

Gold

• Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years
• Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 17 Years

Silver

• Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 10 Years
• Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 25 Years

Director of Sales, George Grant said ““It is a great honor to be recognized among the best of this competition and we feel very proud and could not be any more pleased with these results.”

Aberlour 16 Year Old First-Fill Sherry Cask #4738 – TWE Exclusive

Last week saw the end of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival – five days of events across Scotland’s most densely packed whisky-producing region. We watched enviously as tweets, Facebook posts and the occasional bragging text message told tales of great whisky, music, food and general shenanigans. So as not to feel left out, we’ve been having our own minimalistic Speyside whisky festival at TWE HQ, with one very special new bottling.

Announcing our latest exclusive: Aberlour 16 years old, single first-fill sherry cask #4738.

It’s a hard life as a whisky tester for Aberlour…

Sat at the southern end of the town of Charlestown of Aberlour in the heart of Speyside, Aberlour has been producing whisky since 1879. A classic Speysider, it’s best known these days for sherry-matured drams – including the category-defining small-batch cask-strength sherry monster A’Bunadh – and when the distillery offered us the chance to select an exclusive single cask, the choice was clear: first-fill sherry.

While we love bourbon-cask-matured whisky – and our last exclusive was a first-fill-bourbon-matured 16-year-old Highland Park 1999 – the opportunity to grab a whole sherry cask for ourselves was too good to miss. It’s not chill-filtered and the colour is all natural – it looks amazing and the taste doesn’t disappoint:

ABERLOUR 16 YO. SINGLE FIRST-FILL SHERRY CASK #4738. TWE EXCLUSIVE. 53.5% ABV

Nose: Rich and sticky, with cinder toffee, caramel sauce and vanilla-rich milk chocolate to start. Weighty and fruity notes of spiced raisins, warm leather, molasses, stewed plums, dates and flamed orange zest develop, with spicy cloves and hints of autumn forest.

Palate: Initially softer than the nose suggests, but after a burst of sweet berry fruit, prickly intensity rolls in. Spice – nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, anise and liquorice root – is joined by stewed fruit and rich Christmas-pudding sweetness. Savoury notes develop: charcoal, dark leather, tobacco and damp oak, but behind everything is a butter-and-brown-sugar sweetness, with flashes of marzipan-iced fruit cake.

Water: It can take water well, evening out both the sweet and savoury notes, leaving liquorice, blackcurrant jam and fruit cake.

Finish: Long and rich, with sweet stewed fruit and black liquorice slowly becoming savoury and revealing earthy dunnage warehouse notes and ashy barrel char.

Comment: An intense but well-balanced sherry-matured dram, marrying Aberlour’s weighty spirit with a punchy cask. It’s a bit of a beast, but the years of maturation have helped it mellow, dropping the strength to an eminently manageable 53.5% ABV and rounding off the rougher edges sometimes found in A’Bunadh to reveal the distillery’s fruity character.

This one’s a must for sherry heads and is available now from our website and London shop.

Ohishi Single Sherry Cask Whisky – A K&L Direct Import Feature

While the quality of Japanese whisky has never been a secret amongst our colleagues and customers, the popularity of the genre has skyrocketed over the past few years thanks to some major awards and accolades from some of the industry’s biggest publications. What was once a niche market has become the obsession of the entire world, which has been great for Japan’s whisky industry, but not so great for fans of the spirit. Not only are the shelves rather bare here at K&L, we’ve heard reports that even Tokyo is sold out of major labels like Yamazaki, Hibiki, and Nikka, leaving even the most dedicated whisky tourists in the lurch. But we know that our customer depend on us to find the latest, greatest, newest, and most exciting spirits in the world, which is why we recently set our sights on finding more Japanese whisky and-the good news is-we think we’ve found the next big thing. We tried an experiment a few months ago, buying a single cask of pot-distilled rice whisky from a distillery named Fukano. It was so soft and mellow, very much like classic, delicately-flavored Japanese whisky and we snagged all that we could immediately. While we thought the whisky was fabulous, we weren’t sure how the market would react to rice whisky, so we sent out a small promotional email to some of our most-rabid whisky customers to test the waters. Many people were skeptical when they first noticed that we were selling malted rice whisky. Some assumed it was nothing more than glorified Shochu. It is indeed made in a very similar process, but the product qualifies as neither Shochu nor whisky in Japan, but it does fit the definition of whisky in the United States, which is why it can only be sold here. The results of that offer were off the charts. Not only did we sell through every single bottle that day, our customers sent us endless emails requesting MORE, MORE, MORE! So we went back to our source to find more and the second time around we found an even more impressive rice whisky specimen from a distillery called Ohishi, located in the foothill Mountains of Kumamoto near the small village of Mizukami-the source of the Kuma River, one of Japan’s fastest flowing. Tragically the island of Kyushu, where both Fukano and Ohishi are positioned, was recently hit by a massive earthquake and the region’s infrastructure was devastated. While thank goodness no one at either distillery was harmed, It will take quite a while for the roadways to be completely repaired, so we’re not sure if and when we’ll ever get another cask like this. It may be that our next great discovery is a one-time affair and that would be unfortunate, but it’s a reminder to enjoy life’s great pleasures while they’re available. We think this latest cask of Ohishi sherry-aged rice whisky definitely qualifies. -David Driscoll & David Othenin-Girard, K&L Spirits Buyers

Ohishi K&L Exclusive Single Sherry Cask #653 Japanese Whisky (750ml) ($74.99)

The special Ohishi distillery is located on the banks of the Kuma River one Japan’s fastest flowing rivers. The distillery was founded in 1872 and produces some of the most exciting whisky coming out of Japan. Ohishi grows at least 30% of the rice that they distill and thanks to the fertile soils and exceptional growing climate make for some of the finest base ingredients available. The strain of rice is call “gohyakumanishi” (meaning 5 million stones) and utilizes an organic method of cultivation which requires the use of koi carp for weed control. The rest of the grain is procured from local farms in Kumamoto prefecture and is of the short grained Mochi varietal. The grains are partially malted and then distilled on the traditional Japanese stills before being filled into ex-sherry and brandy casks and aged for long periods of time in the high altitude warehouses. This cask brings in a great balanced sherry influence and definitely feels more like Scotch than our single cask from the Fukano Distillery. This cask will likely be the only one we get for a while considering the recent events in Kumamoto prefecture. Our cask of Fukano sold out in a flash, so we can expect this special cask to go very quickly as well.

David Driscoll | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: May 07, 2016

Wowee wow. A slam dunk sherry-aged whisky for those who like that pure sherry flavor. Because the Ohishi is distilled from rice you obviously lose the inherent maltiness normally present from a barley-distilled single malt whisky, but what you get instead is a cleaner canvas onto which the sherry itself can paint its masterpiece. This is soft, supple, and rich on the palate with loads of that caramel, fudge, chocolate, and rancio character I associate with whiskies like Glendronach or Glenfarclas, but with more of that Glenmorangie or Macallan finesse. If you like sherry-aged whisky, this is a must buy. If you like Japanese whisky, buy six of these. You’ll be sorry when it’s gone, and seeing as this is a single cask, it will likely be gone very fast.

Andrew Stevens | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: May 09, 2016

For the many who missed out on our last round of K&L exclusive Japanese whiskey, and those who snagged a bottle and already regret not buying another, here is a new one for you. Richer and more full bodied than the Fukano due to the sherry casks, this whiskey delivers like a beautiful marriage between amazing Highland distilleries. Toasted vanilla and caramel play on the rich toffee notes that are present. Despite the richness, because this is distilled from rice it gives it a more elegant and lighter body. Smooth butterscotch and vanilla notes end it. Super small production so get it while we have it.

Ryan Woodhouse | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: May 09, 2016

I had no idea what to expect from this…Rice-based whisky? Will it taste like Sake…nope…Scotch…kind of…top-quality, rich, soft, sherry cask…YEP. This is just one of the most exotic, supple easy-drinking whiskies I’ve come across. Decadent sherry flavors, silky texture, rancio tones that go on forever. Bravo to our Spirits department for tracking something unique like this down…a really intriguing bottle that definitely delivers on the palate.

Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: May 06, 2016

This rice whiskey is soft and creamy and very easy to drink. The sherry cask aging added richness and some subtle dried fruit notes. It is very supple and should please any fan of the Nikka Coffey Grain Whiskey.

Daniel Maas | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: May 07, 2016

“Now Sherry my love for you is real.” Yeah – that’s a lyric from the IMMORTAL BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’S hit, “Sherry Darling,” but aside from being profound truth, it also sums up exactly how I feel about this exclusive bottling of EXCELLENT Japanese Whiskey. That I loved this was pleasant surprise (as a lover of the PEATY malts of ISLAY), as I found the sherry influence here to be immensely balanced. This is the absolute perfect entry point for a scotch lover into the exciting world of Japanese whiskey!

K&L Wine Merchants http://www.klwines.com/

Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)

Email: wine@klwines.com

San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Dufftown Whisky Tastings

May is Whisky Month and Dufftown kick-off the season of Whisky Nosings & Tastings with 5 single malts from Dufftown on the 18th May followed by a Masterclass of Glenfarclas on the 25th May.

After a break in June we start the Summer season that runs from 6th July till 14th September with excellent single malts from all the distilleries around Speyside.

This is followed by the Speyside Autumn Whisky Festival that runs from 22nd Sep. to 26th Sept. which falls in line with the end of the Summer and closure of some of distillery visitor centres for the winter months.

Details of the whisky tastings are on the www.dufftown.co.uk website or you can book a place on dufftown@dufftown.co.uk or phone +44 (0)1340 820507

Welcome to Dufftown

A vibrant and thriving Highland community that invites visitors to participate in a wide range of traditional Scottish activities and entertainment throughout the year.

Set in the heart of Speyside in north eastern Scotland, Dufftown is situated on the banks of the rivers Fiddich and Dullan at the foot of the Conval Hills.

Like other villages of its period, Dufftown has spacious streets laid out in a regular plan. The four main streets converge at the Clock Tower, which was completed in 1839. The Clock Tower was originally the town jail but is now home to the Tourist Information Centre.

Whisky making is the life blood of Dufftown. It involves every one from barley farmers to the Customs officers who ensure there are no irregularities with the duty due on the town’s spirits.

Whether you already know the north-east of Scotland or are just thinking of visiting, we are sure you will find Dufftown and the surrounding area a beautiful part of the Highlands and a unique opportunity to escape from the pressures of 21st century living.

Whatever the reason you come here, enjoy your visit and, as we say in Scotland: “Haste ye back!”

Nickolls & Perks Ltd

37 Lower High StreetStourbridge

West Midlands DY8 1TA UK

We Applaud Ontario’s First Baby Steps on Road to Recognizing Value of Distilling Industry

Ontario Minister of Finance, The Honourable Charles Sousa announced support for micro distillers in his recent budget.

In a move as surprising as it is welcome, Ontario Minister of Finance, Charles Sousa recently announced that the province will be implementing new measures to help nurture Ontario’s growing artisanal distilling industry.

Digging deeper, we learn that these changes were long in the making and that much of the credit for raising government awareness of small distillers must go to Gary Huggins who has been labouring quietly behind the scenes since 2014. Formerly of Dillon’s distillery in Beamsville, Ontario, Huggins’ work with the Premier’s Advisory Council (PAC) helped government officials and politicians understand the benefits of a healthy micro-distilling sector.

This, along with his presence at the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) laid the groundwork for these changes. We salute Huggins’ tireless efforts and quiet diplomacy.

According to the Ministry of Finance, “The government will allow craft distillers to deliver directly to bars and restaurants, replace the current markup/commission structure at on-site stores for all distillers with a consumer tax, provide craft distillers with improved margins at their on-site stores, and provide an exemption on a limited volume of spirits for promotional distribution at on-site stores. Acknowledging that spirits are subject to the highest markups of the three major categories, the government is not increasing spirits mark-ups at this time.”

The prestigious U.K.-based Icons of Whisky Awards recently named Toronto’s Still Waters distillery one of the best small distilleries in the world. Ontario distillers are making a name for themselves globally, and we applaud the government’s move to support them. It is a positive first step to a more profitable distilling industry. Still Waters is not the only Ontario distillery, small or large, crafting spirits worthy of global recognition. A boost from the government can only help a homegrown industry that is bringing favourable notice to the province.

The next logical step would be to equalize taxation on the three main beverage alcohol categories. The vast majority of what Ontario consumers pay for their favourite bottle of spirits is tax with most of that taken by the provincial government. Consumers currently pay four times as much provincial tax on spirits as they do on wine, and twice as much as they do on beer, even when they contain exactly the same amount of alcohol.

The Government of Ontario takes 15.1% of the price of a bottle of wine, 29.2% on beer and a whopping 59.4% of the price of a bottle of spirits.
Graph courtesy of Spirits Canada.

Asked to explain this discrepancy last year, a representative of the LCBO said the difference exists because the government does not want to encourage distilling. Minister Sousa’s initiative would seem to dispute this, and that is good news for the province. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food has declared that Ontario’s large distillers contribute about $1.5 billion to the economy and provide good, full-time jobs for some 6,000 Ontario families.

The locavore movement has raised consumer awareness of the value of purchasing local produce. Nothing could be more local than spirits purchased right at the distillery. Where possible, Ontario’s distillers strongly favour local grains, fruits and roots as the base for their spirits. When you drink Still Waters’ globally acclaimed spirits, you are drinking something two Toronto men made with their own hands.

Lost in our locavore euphoria though, is another reality. If you live in Toronto, Collingwood Whisky is 100-mile whisky. Similarly, in Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara, Forty Creek Whisky is 50-mile whisky. In Southwestern Ontario, nothing is more local than Canadian Club, Wiser’s, Gibson’s and half a dozen other whiskies made at the Hiram Walker distillery in Windsor. We tend to forget that the large distilleries have their own locales too and that their whiskies are made by skilled local people from grains grown by Ontario farmers. Their whiskies too, are every bit as well crafted as those made by the small distillers.

The government seems to be warming to the idea of supporting distilled spirits as an Ontario agricultural product. Unfortunately their retail arm, LCBO still has some catching up to do. In its three-year Strategic Plan released March 25, LCBO sets growth targets for VQA wines, “International Canadian Blends” which are wines made with up to 75% imported content, and Ontario craft beer. It pays meagre lip service to Minister Sousa’s reforms in a single non sequitur: “Promote the development of Ontario produced craft spirits.” It sets no growth targets for Ontario spirits of any kind.

LCBO has set growth targets for Ontario beer and wine sales while ignoring spirits, despite the potential to increase their already enormous contribution to Ontario’s economy.
From the LCBO three-year strategic plan, March 26, 2016.

Minister Sousa, thank you for taking this first step. Supporting artisanal distillers will go far to increase the selection of high-quality spirits available to Ontario consumers. Independent foreign experts have already declared our distillers, small and large, as world class.

Canadian whisky is poised to be the next big thing in the world of whisky, but it is not a sure thing. Adjusting the tax on spirits down, to give parity to all three major categories of beverage alcohol will provide all distillers more funds to invest in promoting their products abroad. Imagine, a Minister of Finance who by levelling taxes on competing categories at home, increases government revenues from abroad AND gives consumers a break. But don’t take my word for it; ask your people to crunch the numbers.

The Role of Symbolic Value in Canadian Whisky Industry

Brock University business professor, Maxim Voronov PhD invites Canadian whisky makers to participate in a study of how to endow your brand with symbolic value.

“I am contacting you to invite you to participate in an exciting research project entitled “The Role of Symbolic Value in Canadian Whisky Industry”. The purpose of this project is to investigate how distilleries can benefit from endowing their brands with symbolic value in the eyes of the consumers and opinion leaders. Research shows that consumers purchase whisky not only because of their objective features, like taste profile, but also for the symbolic characteristics of the whisky, such as compelling story that is tied to tradition, history and national identity and that resonates with consumers emotionally. However, little is known about how distilleries endow their brands with symbolic value. This research project seeks to shed light on that process.

The research team consists of business school professors at Brock University, University of Alberta and University of Victoria. The research will involve gathering insights from distilleries, retailers, and opinion-leaders (bartenders, sommeliers, restaurateurs, bloggers, etc.) – both in Canada and internationally. The findings are likely to generate important insights of relevance to Canadian whisky brands, especially as the distilleries are increasingly focused on enhancing the value of their existing brands and on launching more premium ones. Thus, I intend to share our findings with you, as the research progresses.”

Canadian whisky producers who are interested may reach Dr. Voronov by e-mail at MVoronov@brocku.ca.
More…

Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert

The world’s first in-depth book about Canada’s national spirit.

WINNER, GOURMAND BOOK AWARDS
BEST SPIRITS BOOK CANADA 2012

WINNER, 2013 IACP BOOK AWARDS
WINE, BEER AND SIRITS

Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert is published by McClelland & Stewart and distributed by Penguin Random House. It is available from most book shops and on-line book sellers.

JACK DANIEL’S SINGLE BARREL ANNOUNCES NEWEST ADDITION TO COLLECTION WITH LAUNCH OF SINGLE BARREL RYE

‘Whisky for the Gods’ arrives in the UK

Langatun Single Malt Whisky, from Switzerland, of which the Old Bear Cask Proof expression has been described by Jim Murray in his renowned guide The Whisky Bible, as ‘Whisky for the gods…’, is now available in the UK for the first time.

With a history dating back to the 1860s, Hans Baumberger, grandson of the original founder Jakob Baumberger, reopened the Langatun Distillery in 2007. Imported by Angels’ Nectar proprietor Highfern Ltd, initially four triple distilled single malt bottlings from Langatun are being offered.

Old Deer is the distillery’s classic single malt, distilled from un-peated barley, fermented with an English stout yeast, and matured in sherry and chardonnay casks. Bottled after six years maturation, Old Deer is offered at sipping strength of 40% and cask proof of ∼62% Vol.

Old Bear, named as a tribute to the family’s former brewery, which had a bear as its emblem, is the distillery’s smoky offering. Distilled from peated malted barley and intriguingly matured in former Chateauneuf-du-Pape casks, again for six years. Like Old Deer, Old Bear is offered at 40%, and cask proof of ∼62.5% Vol. For a chance to taste Langatun, Robert Ransom, from the importer Highfern Ltd, will be sampling at The Whisky Exchange’s Covent Garden store on the afternoon of Friday the 13th of May. Langatun is also available from Drinkfinder, Hedonism Wines, Lincoln Whisky Shop, Master of Malt, and Shop4Whisky.

Notes:

1. Quote from Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, published by Dram Good Books, with regard to Langatun Old Bear

Cask Proof, which was awarded a score of 96.

2. Sampling at The Whisky Exchange, 2 Bedford Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9HH 3pm to 7pm on Friday 13th May 2016.

3. Web: www.langatun.ch www.twitter.com/langatunwhisky www.facebook.com/langatun

4. Highfern Ltd are proprietors of Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, and importers of Smögen

Svensk Single Malt Whisky, Strane London Dry Gin and Langatun Swiss Single Malt Whisky.

5. For more information please contact; Robert Ransom, Highfern Ltd, robert@highfern.co.uk Mobile: 07811 640778

It’s an exciting time here at Just Whisky Auctions. The 2016 Speyside Whisky Festival just ended and some quality releases have already made their way to our shelves for our 30th (and biggest) ever auction.

Macallan 1957 – 25th Anniversary Rinaldi Brothers Inc

While we’re delighted to bring you some of Speyside’s finest whiskies, we’re also excited for the forthcoming Islay Feis Ile – which kicks off at the tail end of next week. As always, there will be huge selection of the latest Feis Ile bottles at Just Whisky – and we are happy to be the first auction to go live after the festival has ended. To enter your bottles from the festival please be quick – the auction cut-off deadline is the 1st June.

Cadenhead’s Bottles

Back to the bottles this month, and as the mercury rises outside with Summer finally making an appearance, the heat is rising inside with Matteo getting hot under the collar about some of the most interesting bottles on offer.

Bidding Ends from 8PM on Sunday 22nd!

`View The Auction Here