Whisky Wednesday Reviews Glen Garioch Renaissance 15 Year Old – Scotch Whisky News
This week Joe Ellis starts 2016 with a whisky review of The Glen Garioch Renaissance 15 Year Old.
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This week Joe Ellis starts 2016 with a whisky review of The Glen Garioch Renaissance 15 Year Old.
Whisky Dinner Tuesday, January 19th @ 7pm
How exciting is this ! ? !
We’re hosting our first Bruichladdich Whisky Dinner on Tuesday January 19th!
Established in 1881 Bruichladdich is situated on Lochindaal across from the village of Bowmore on my favourite Scottish Island; Islay. Reed Pettit is Canada’s Bruichladdich Brand Ambassador and he will be on hand to guide you through the 5 whiskies and the history of this great distillery. We’re not gonna tell you what we’re pouring but we’ll give you a hint: we’re starting with The Classic Laddie at 50% and moving along from there and they just keep getting bigger and bolder until . . . which is the finale. So grab one of our limited tickets and join us on Tuesday January 19th for another Whisky Pairing Dinner here at The Kitchen, our very talented kitchen team will once again be pairing 5 of these stunners with 5 incredible dishes.
As always there are only 25 tickets available and I can assure you they sell out fast.
Be sure to plan for a safe ride home!
The cost for this event is only $80 including GST and gratuity and is open to only 25 people! click here to register

Fort Knox, Ky. – (Whisky Intelligence is playing catch up!) December 14, 2015 – Jim Beam® Bourbon, the world’s No. 1 bourbon, proudly salutes military men and women with a $100,000 donation to Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit that provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors. The donation, which was presented last weekend by seventh generation Jim Beam Master Distiller Fred Noe in support of Operation Homefront’s Holiday Meals for Military program, underscores Jim Beam’s ongoing commitment to America’s service men and women.
“At Jim Beam, we’re honored to support our military heroes and call them part of our family,” said Noe. “As America’s native spirit, Bourbon is engrained in the history of our great country. We proudly salute those who defend our freedom each and every day.”
The Holiday Meals for Military program began at Thanksgiving in 2009 following a chance encounter in a supermarket in Utica, N.Y., near Fort Drum. A soldier, his wife and infant had a handful of grocery items they could not afford, so a Jim Beam employee picked up the $12 cost. The first Holiday Meals for Military Families event was held weeks later, providing 500 meal kits to military families, and the program has since expanded to 8,500 meals kits on 25 bases this holiday season and will include items such as pumpkin pie mix, stuffing and cut green beans. In addition to Ft. Knox, participating bases include Fort Campbell, Fort Bragg, Fort Hood and Illinois’ Scott Air Force Base among others.
“Our military members work tirelessly to protect the freedoms we enjoy daily in an increasingly complex world,” said Brig Gen (ret) John I. Pray, Jr., president & CEO of Operation Homefront. “Thanks to the active support of Jim Beam and other incredibly supportive sponsors, we have been able to greatly extend the reach of our holiday meal program and make the holiday season brighter for our military families.”
Jim Beam has donated more than $2.5 million to Operation Homefront through a variety of charitable programming efforts since 2008, including partnership on this year’s Holiday Meals program and hosting a local fundraising dinner at the company’s flagship distillery in Clermont, Ky., this fall. The company is also proud to employ numerous veterans and active military personnel.
About Beam Suntory Inc.
As the world’s third largest premium spirits company, Beam Suntory is Crafting the Spirits Brands that Stir the World. Consumers from all corners of the globe call for the company’s brands, including the iconic Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark bourbon brands and Suntory whisky Kakubin, as well as world renowned premium brands including Knob Creek bourbon, Yamazaki, Hakushu and Hibiki Japanese whiskies, Teacher’s, Laphroaig, and Bowmore Scotch whiskies, Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, Sauza tequila, Pinnacle vodka, and Midori liqueur.
Beam Suntory was created in 2014 by combining the world leader in bourbon and the pioneer in Japanese whisky to form a new company with a deep heritage, passion for quality, innovative spirit and commitment to Growing for Good. Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, Beam Suntory is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Limited of Japan. For more information on Beam Suntory, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility, please visit www.beamsuntory.com and www.drinksmart.com.
About Operation Homefront
A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront leads more than 2,500 volunteers with nationwide presence who provide emergency and other financial assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors. Operation Homefront has provided assistance to thousands of military families since its inception in 2002. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity watchdog groups, nationally, 92 percent of Operation Homefront’s expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net.
JANUARY OUTTURN PREVIEWS
HAPPY NEW YEAR! We’re celebrating by offering an early release from January’s Outturn. Early birds can grab the first few preview bottles before the main release on Fri 8 Jan. Only a small number are available online now, or at our three Members’ Room (ask at the bar for more details).
January Previews: Limited release
77.40 New carpet in a sweetie shop
Our first impressions of the nose were floral, grassy, fresh, bright and perfumed (including lemongrass and hessian) – quickly followed by fruit (pineapple chunks, lemon), sweet vanilla, custard creams, Turkish Delight and rainbow drops.
Age: 12 years
Flavour: Young & spritely
Cask: Refill ex-bourbon hogshead
Price: £50.20
48.69 Folly from France
The nose neat had an enticing combination of lemon sweetness; syrup and lemon sponge pudding, lemon icing, lemon sorbet, lemon sherbet. One Panel member was also reminded of his childhood favourite French boiled sweets called ‘Bêtises de Cambrai’.
Age: 13 years
Flavour: Juicy, oak & vanilla
Cask: First-fill ex-bourbon barrel
Price: £51.60
3.255Genie in a bottle
This was like a genie in a glass, from clean perfumed smoke and a well-used wooden pipe rack to sun scorched hay and heather, moving on to stem and crystallised ginger and finishing with seared scallops.
Age: 21 years
Flavour: Peated
Cask: Refill ex-sherry butt
Price: £107.20
Only 15 preview bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ
Contact:mailto:sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm).
Visit the Society here for membership information
This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!
Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video
​A BIG HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYBODY FROM ALL OF US AT SCOTCH WHISKY AUCTIONS.
We’d like to thanks all our sellers and buyers for helping make 2015 a record-breaking year. As a thank you for your support we will herald the start of 2016 by offering sellers a one-off commission-free sale for the 58th auction, which runs from Friday, January 29, to Sunday, February 7
That’s right, all bottles in the next auction will attract zero commission for sellers. All you need to pay is the usual £3 listing and £4 reserve fees.
Bottles need to be in by January 15, so give us a ring or drop us an email. We collect from all over Scotland, England and Wales.
There has never been a better chance to sell your bottles through Scotch Whisky Auctions, the country’s leading online whisky auction site.
Kind Regards from Glasgow – The SWA Team
www.ralfy.com reviews his “Whisky Of The Year 2015” with Whisky Review 567 – Old Pulteney 17yo re-reviewed

Louisville, KY, December 17, 2015 – To help everyone to have a safe holiday season, Brown-Forman is providing up to $10,000 of safe rides to encourage people to plan ahead and keep drunk drivers off of the roads.
The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety (KOHS), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Brown-Forman joined other Louisville Highway Safety Committee team members from highway safety and health-related agencies on Thursday, December 17, to kick off the holiday “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign at Fourth Street Live in Louisville.
Brown-Forman is partnering with safe ride companies CityScoot, Taxi 7, Yellow Cab, and Uber to provide $15 discounts to legal drinking age consumers effective December 17, 2015, through January 3, 2016. This is the fourth year that Brown-Forman has helped offer safe rides home through this program, and the first year it has had four different safe ride partners involved.
“Brown-Forman is proud to partner with the ‘Drive Sober’ campaign to encourage planning ahead, using a designated driver and not driving drunk,” says Taylor Amerman, North America region responsibility manager at Brown-Forman. “As a company committed to responsibility, we’re excited to work with our safe ride partners and help our neighbors in Louisville make their holiday season a safe one.”
Consumers can go to the website www.saferideky.com and use the code: SAFERIDEKY to qualify for the discount.
For more information, visit the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Campaign Headquarters at www.nhtsa.gov/drivesober.
For more than 145 years, Brown-Forman Corporation has enriched the experience of life by responsibly building fine quality beverage alcohol brands, including Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel’s & Cola, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, Finlandia, Southern Comfort, Korbel, el Jimador, Woodford Reserve, Canadian Mist, Herradura, New Mix, Sonoma-Cutrer, Early Times, and Chambord. Brown-Forman’s brands are supported by nearly 4,400 employees and sold in approximately 160 countries worldwide. For more information about the company, please visit http://www.brown-forman.com/.
VANCOUVER WHISKY FESTIVAL
6PM to 9:30PM
January 18th, 2016
TERMINAL CITY CLUB
837 W Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 1B6
MASTER CLASSES
WHISKY COCKTAIL
CHOCOLATE, FOOD, AND WHISKY PAIRING
BOUTIQUE WHISKY FESTIVAL IN VANCOUVER
6:00pm – 6:30pm Walk through and sign up for tours. Guests will arrive and be able to walk around the floor at their own leisure and see which brands are being represented as well as sign up for any of the three guided tours. Space for each tour will be limited to 10-15 people per session.
6:45pm – 7:15pm Tullibardine tasting session: This session will be hosted by James Robertson, International Sales Manager at Tullibardine Distillery. This session will showcase Tullibardine Sovereign, Tullibardine 228 Burgundy Finish, and Tullibardine 20 year old.
7:30pm – 8:00pm Amrut tasting session: This session will be hosted by Ashok Chokalingam, Head of International Operations for Amrut Distilleries. This session will showcase Amrut Naarangi, Amrut Fusion, and Amrut Peated.
8:15pm – 8:45pm Springbank tasting session: This session will be hosted by Ranald Watson, Sales and Marketing Manager at Springbank Distillery. This session will showcase Hazelburn 12 year old, Springbank 10 year old, and Longrow Peated.
8:45pm – 9:15pm We will be presenting a classic cocktail using Canadian Rockies 21 as the base spirit.
www.vancouverwhiskyfestival.com
Legacy Liquor Store is the official onsite liquor store of the 2016 Vancouver Whisky Festival
JANUARY TASTINGS AND EVENTS
January Outturn Preview Tasting – The Vaults, Thu 7 Jan More >
New Outturn Tasting – 19 Greville Street, Sat 9 Jan More >
FREE DROP-IN: Speyside & Lowland Lovers – The Vaults, Mon 11 Jan More >
Steak & Whisky Tasting – 19 Greville Street, Mon 11 Jan More >
Burger & Whisky Tasting – 28 Queen Street, Thu 14 Jan More >
Steak & Chips Tasting – The Vaults, Fri 15 Jan More >
FREE Poker Night – The Vaults, Mon 18 Jan More >
Whisky and Italian Delicatessen – 19 Greville Street, Tue 19 Jan More >
Aberdeen – The Caledonian Hotel, Thu 21 Jan More >
Aberdeen – The Caledonian Hotel, Fri 22 Jan More >
Dunfermline – Garvock House Hotel, Fri 22 Jan More >
Glasgow Burns Tasting – Radisson Blu Hotel, Fri 22 Jan More >
Cambridge – Best Western Plus, The Gonville Hotel, Fri 22 Jan More >
Burns Tasting & Supper – The Vaults, Fri 22 Jan More >
Burns Tasting & Supper – 19 Greville Street, Mon 25 Jan More >
FREE Live Music Night – The Vaults, Mon 25 Jan More >
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ Contact:mailto:sales@smws.comor call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information
This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!
Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM WHISKY.AUCTION – GET BIDDING!
Happy New Year to all of you!
We hope that you have a happy and prosperous 2016, and what better way to start the year than by taking a look at our selection of lots from our latest auction.
We expect a high level of interest – don’t miss your chance!
This auction ends January 7th, 2016