PERTH WHISKY FESTIVAL SATURDAY 2nd MAY 2015

Friday 1 May – arrive in Perth, a 3pm check in to The Mercure Hotel, a 3 star city centre hotel just minutes’ walk from the whisky festival location. This evening we meet for a meal, then decant to the pub to chat with locals and have a couple of complimentary drams of whisky.   Overnight Perth.

Saturday 2 May –  a full cooked Scottish breakfast then time to explore the city before the whisky festival.  Based on last year’s whisky festival, many drams will be available via tokens which are included, more can be purchased during the day.  Maybe try our pubs & restaurants this evening, no shortage of choice for more drams.   Overnight Perth.

Sunday 3 May; after breakfast we head to Edradour Distillery in the Victorian town of Pitlochry for a tour and taste of four drams.  Est 1825, it is renowned for being one of the smallest and most picturesque distilleries in Scotland. The distillery started life named Glenforres, changing to Edradour circa 1835, then briefly changing to Glenforres-Glenlivet in the 1920s. Andrew Symington’s Signatory Company purchased Edradour in 2002, with excellent bottles of whisky to purchase, from their vast cask stocks. Time for an early lunch in Pitlochry at the Old Mill (or elsewhere), before heading to Aberfeldy for the Dewar’s Connoisseur Tour – enjoy a short video before exploring the heritage centre, distillery tour, cask tasting in the warehouse and  a choice of four drams to taste in a complimentary glass.

Monday 4 May; – the tour ends after breakfast – or add on as many days and nights as you wish

COST:  320 pounds per person sharing, 90 pounds single supplement *The whisky package includes: 3 nights bed and fully cooked Scottish breakfasts in 3 star city centre hotel, 1 dinner, 2 complimentary whiskies in a local pub, Entry ticket to the Perth Whisky Festival and a whisky tasting glass, Fully guided day trip to 2 distilleries including tastings and tours, Complimentary drams en route (you drink, we drive!), Tour brochure.

Suggested ADD ON TOUR Monday 4th May  A fully guided day trip – after breakfast we go to St Andrew’s Eden Distillery/Brewery, quite unique as they are both at the same location.  Sample small batch real ales, gin and new make spirit before travelling a few mintues to see the coastal town of St Andrews itself.   We then head to the river town of Broughty Ferry (near Dundee) for a traditional pub lunch (not included) then to Glencadam Distillery in Brechin for a tour and taste a few drams. Return to Broughty Ferry where you stay overnight.  There is a good whisky pub attached to the hotel where we meet for drinks this evening.  A tour around some of the local pubs maybe tonight? Tuesday 5th May – the tour ends after a fully cooked Scottish breakfast.

COST:  149 pounds per person sharing, 15 pounds single supplement. Add on tour includes: 1 night bed and fully cooked Scottish breakfast in 3 star hotel, Fully guided day trip to 2 distilleries/brewery including tastings and tours, Complimentary drams en route (you drink, we drive!)

 Bookings of both tours by 6 March receive a complimentary bottle of whisky.

 * we require a minimum of four guests on tour, we welcome sole travellers.

Travelling from outwith Scotland? We can build this event into any tour plans, we would love to see as many worldwide visitors to Perth as possible. It’s where we live, so we can guide you really well!

A FULL LIST OF suppliers, distillers and other whisky industry people will be posted as soon as we can get it.  http://www.angelswhiskyclub.com/

TOP PICKS

• Michel Couvreur K&L Exclusive Overaged Peated Malt Whisky 750ml ($89.99) The chance to work with Michel Couvreur on a special K&L whisky project was something that David and I had been dreaming of for years. We had heard the stories. This crazy Belgian had moved to Burgundy in the 60s, carved out a wine cellar inside a mountain, only to fill it with Scottish single malt whisky instead of pinot noir. He set up camp in Beaune, ordered new-make spirit to be delivered by tanker, and drove down to Jerez himself; selecting his own sherry butts to insure only the finest quality casks for his contracted spirit. Unfortunately, Michel Couvreur passed away last year from pancreatic cancer, thus ending the career of one of the industry’s most courageous pioneers. Luckily for us, however, apprentice Jean-Arnaud has carried on after studying under Michel for more than a decade. When we visited the underground cave this past Spring, we were all in total awe. The tunnels of dripping stone go on forever, and the amount of whisky stored in this secret lair is jawdropping. We put our trust completely in Jean-Arnaud and are happy we did. Our peated version of the incredible “Overaged” sherry expression is a seamless creation that drinks like the best version of Johnnie Black ever, mixed with the most supple and soft expressions of Macallan. It’s a lush, creamy, caramel-laden dream of a whisky composed only of malts 12 years and older. There’s a bit of peat on the finish, but the soft sherry is the star. (NOTE: do NOT cut the hard wax seal, tap it so that it breaks)

• Macallan 25 Year Old Distillery Bottling Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 6 available ($1,099.99) Wine Spectator: “An intense candy treat of a whisky that announces itself with rose petal, honey and hard candy on the nose. On the palate this cycles through a number of candied notes-fruity for the most part, with cherry character, but including butterscotch and a slight pine forest flavor. The long finish serves as another tour of the palate, with a nutty element. Sherry casks.” (02/2011) K&L Notes: Extremely Limited! Macallan’s 25 year old sherry casks are a modern classic.

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

www.ralfy.com reads on an Aberlour label that non-chill filtering improves the experience with Whisky Review 519 – Aberlour 12yo un-chilled @ 48%vol

Nothing quite says ‘I love you’ like dead vegetation, saturated fat sugar products & cheap lingerie.

You may as well just stay in and have a drink.

Might we suggest a dram of good whisky perhaps?

GLENDRONACH 1971 43 Year Old £849.95

GLENDRONACH 1990 24 Year Old £134.95

GLENDRONACH 1994 20 Year Old £104.95

These Batch 11 single cask releases have been hand-selected by BenRiach’s Managing Director and Master Distiller Billy Walker who described them as “sensational” and added: “I believe Batch 11 makes a very simple point – the wood has a huge influence on the spirit. You immediately sense – and taste – the influence of the casks on these sublime single malts. The subtle interaction of the ex-sherry wood with the Highland spirit over long dark years in the warehouse creates a luxurious and amazingly complex raft of flavours. In these expressions you feel the pulse of our inventory at GlenDronach and the idiosyncratic personality of the casks coming through. That, plus the passion and craftsmanship of our people, is what produces these incredible whiskies time and time again.”

FOR ALL GENERAL ENQUIRIES PLEASE CALL: 0131 524 9380 or email: contact@royalmilewhiskies.com

Finalists Shortlisted for the Whisky Awards 2015

Six malt whiskies from Speyside distilleries will go head-to-head for the honour of being recognised as one of the region’s top tipples. The finalists in the 2015 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Whisky Awards have been shortlisted by a panel of judges – but the whisky-loving public will be responsible for crowning the overall winners.

Festival visitors will be asked to vote for their favourite drams at a series of judging roadshows taking place during the annual five-day celebration of Scotland’s national drink from April 30 to May 4.

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Whisky Awards remains the only whisky awards scheme in the world that places the power to determine the winners in the hands of the public.

The judging panel, which was made up of industry experts, whisky writers and specialist retailers, whittled down the eight finalists from an overall entry of 37 from distilleries across Speyside. There are three separate categories.

In the 12 years and under category and non-age statement category, Cardhu Gold Reserve will take on Strathisla 12 years. In the section for malts aged 13 to 20 it will be between Aberlour 18 and Glenfiddich 18. GlenSpey 21 and Benromach 30 will battle it out in the 21 years and over category.

The awards are sponsored by coppersmiths Forsyths of Rothes – the company responsible for building many of the pot stills in which the shortlisted single malts were distilled. The judging session took place at the Knockomie Hotel in Forres.

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival director Laura Sharp says that the judges blind tasted the entries, and only found out which drams made their shortlist after all the scores had been counted.

“We were very fortunate to have a highly skilled panel of judges who are all respected within the industry. I know that they were all very impressed with the overall quality of the entries, and the final scoring was very close. That makes a real statement about the quality of the whisky that we have here in Speyside,” she says.

“We feel very strongly, however, that the final say should rest in the hands of Festival visitors. Our judging panel may help to educate and form opinions about whiskies in their-day-to-day roles, but it could be said that consumers are the real experts as they ultimately have the power to make or break through their buying preferences.

“Whisky drinkers appreciate a fantastic whisky when they taste one – we have every confidence that visitors to the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival will once again select winners worthy of being crowned the best in Speyside.”

A number of judging sessions will take place across Speyside, with visitors asked to sample each shortlisted malt in a blind taste test. Tasting the malts blind ensures that consumers are not swayed by loyalty to or awareness of brands.The final judging session and awards prize-giving will take place at the Festival closing ceilidh on Sunday, May 3.

Tickets for all events in the 2015 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival programme, including the roving judging sessions, can be bought via the website – http://www.spiritofspeyside.com/ – from February 3. The Festival is also active on social media – facebook.com/WhiskyFestival and @spirit_speyside on Twitter.

Private Barrel Update – American Whiskey News

Our newest Private Barrel Selections have just hit the shelves:

KNOB CREEK Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon TPS Private Barrel – $34.99

Also, our Private Barrel of Whistle Pig Straight Rye Whiskey should be in-stock very soon. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the following:

RUSSELL’S RESERVE Single Barrel Bourbon TPS Private Barrel

Three barrels have been selected and are on their way.

SMOOTH AMBLER Old Scout Rye TPS Private Barrel

This barrel’s yield was very small. So we will be allocating this item in our glass case.

OLD FORESTER Single Barrel Bourbon TPS Private Barrel

The success of our Old Forester Private Barrels has been very impressive. We are expecting one more barrel arriving very soon. However, we probably won’t get any more samples to try until this fall. So make sure our Old Forester Private Barrel makes it on your next TPS shopping list before it’s gone.

>>>Click HERE to Shop TPS PRIVATE BARRELS

Greetings Society Members,

I have some good news to lead you into the weekend….our first three releases of 2015 will be on sale from Monday of next week (2nd February) and are available to order NOW!

The first is the latest release of the popular Springbank 12 year old Cask Strength. This time it has been bottled at 53.2% ABV and is made up of 70% Sherry & 30% Bourbon casks. The price of this will remain at £47.00 per bottle and Society Members will receive their 10% discount on this product making it £42.30 for members.

Our tasting notes for the Springbank 12 year old Cask Strength are:

Nose: A range of aromas: Marmalade – Orange zest, zingy, honeycomb and highland toffee, hints of liquorice and mint chocolates. Let it breathe to reveal a true Springbank style. 

Palate: Very robust & mouth coating, subtle hints of white pepper. Grassy and zesty as the nose suggests. Perfect balance of sherry and then vanilla and oak flavours. 

Finish: Salted pretzels & peat. Cocoa – Dark chocolate and coffee beans. 

The second is a brand new release – our Springbank 17 year old Sherry Wood. This has been bottled at cask strength of 52.3% ABV, matured in 100% Sherry casks and there are 9,120 bottles available for worldwide distribution. The price of this will be £85.00 and Society Members will not receive any discount unfortunately.

Our tasting notes for the Springbank 17 year old Sherry Wood are:

Nose: A sherry explosion with winter fruits, spicy gingerbread and a hint of peat. 

Palate: A winter warmer. Dark orange chocolate, Christmas cake and brandy snaps. Honey and spices develop over time. 

Finish: The finish is long and smooth. Espresso coffee, liquorice, marzipan and sherry conclude the tickling of the taste buds. 

The final new release is the 2015 edition of the famous Springbank 21 year old. As usual, this will be bottled at 46% ABV with 3,600 bottles available for worldwide distribution. The cost of this will remain unchanged and will retail at £180.00 per bottle. Society Members will receive a slight discount of £10.00 per bottle and will be able to buy the Springbank 21 year old from us for £170.00. This is literally being bottled as I write to you so unfortunately we do not have any tasting notes yet but once they have been written up then I will post them in the Society blog on the Springbank Distillers website.

If you would like to order any of the above bottles from us then please let me know and I will get this arranged for you as soon as I can. You can either email society@springbankwhisky.com or call me on +44 (0) 1586 55 2009.

Hope you all have a nice weekend!

Sláinte,

Mairi

Mairi Paterson

For the Springbank Society

To join the Springbank Society please contact them at

society@springbankwhisky.com

GlenDronach Single Cask Batch 11

Most of of our allocation of GlenDronach Batch 11 quickly quickly sold out but we do have a small amount left from the following casks…
Glendronach 1994 Cask #3201
Glendronach 1995 Cask #538

We also managed to acquire some extra stock of single cask 2920, the oldest expression from this latest batch of single casks. If you are looking for a bottle act quick as it’s been extremely popular.

Glendronach 1971 – 43 Year Old
Cask #2920 / Batch 11

The oldest release from GlenDronach’s batch 11 of single cask bottlings is this 1971 vintage, aged for 43 years in Pedro Ximénez Sherry Puncheon, cask #2920. Bottled in 2014 at 48.6% vol but not released until the early part of 2015. An out-turn of 523 bottles.

£849.95
(£708.29 ex vat)

Click here to purchase GlenDronach Single Cask 2920

Nickolls & Perks Ltd
37 Lower High Street
Stourbridge West Midlands DY8 1TA
UK

The new anCnoc 1975 Vintage is here

On February 1^st 2015 anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky will unveil its latest creation – anCnoc 1975 Vintage. Bottled late in 2014 this is the oldest expression ever released from Knockdhu Distillery and promises to be the ultimate treat for anCnoc fans and the most discerning whisky drinkers around the world.

The whisky comes from only three American oak and Spanish oak ex-sherry casks laid down in 1975. The release consists of 1590 bottles. The whisky comes in its most natural form, it has not been chill-filtered or coloured and is presented at the cask strength of 44.2% ABV.

The recommended retail price is £300. anCnoc 1975 Vintage will be available in several key markets around the world including the UK, USA, Russia and Canada.

In-keeping with anCnoc’s ethos of ‘Modern Tradition’, the 1975 Vintage is presented in a simple, striking bottle and encased in an elegant black tube.

anCnoc Assistant Brand Manager Stephanie Bridge sheds light on where the new Vintage fits within anCnoc’s recent string of acclaimed releases.

“The last 12 months have been a very ambitious and a very successful time for anCnoc. We unveiled the limited Peaty Collection to a global audience and launched two travel retail expressions as well as our popular 18 Year Old. The 1975 has been anticipated for a number of years, it’s distinctively anCnoc, a fantastic whisky and a superb addition to any whisky collection.”

Tasting notes

Colour: Ebony with amber highlights

Nose: Rich and inviting. Waves of spicy dried fruit and creamy vanilla sweetness are accentuated by candied orange peel, green apple freshness and just a hint of cut flowers. This is a rare example of a very mature dram displaying in equal measures its robustness, liveliness and the unique Distillery character.

Taste: Full-bodied, intense and complex. Fruit cake, sticky toffee and seasoned leather are followed by signature notes of honey and lemons, leading eventually to a long, mouth-watering finish full of vibrant spice and earthy raisin sweetness.

Notes

• anCnoc [a-nock] Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky is produced at Knockdhu Distillery in the village of Knock near Huntly.

• The distillery was established in 1894 and is considered one of the mostenchanting in Scotland.

• The distillery uses traditional production techniques including a time honoured method of condensing distillate in worm tubs.

• anCnoc is known for being a modern brand with a strong focus on the contemporary, diverse whisky audience. The brand has a strong affiliation with modern arts and sponsors a number projects and galleries in Scotland and beyond.

• Core expressions of anCnoc include a 12 Year Old, 18 Year Old and 22 Year Old, all celebrated worldwide.

• In 2012 super premium anCnoc 35 year old was launched across selected markets worldwide to much critical acclaim.

• In April 2014 anCnoc launched the Peaty Collection consisting of whiskies distilled at Knockdhu Distillery with the use of peated malt. To date these includes Rutter, Flaughter, Tushkar and Cutter, all are named after traditional tools of the trade.

• In November 2014 anCnoc 18 Year Old was added to the core range to critical acclaim

• anCnoc is part of International Beverage Holdings