A brand new whisky tour website has been launched today via whisky intelligence.

www.whiskytourscotland.com

This new whisky website has been designed to give the whisky tourist to Scotland and Ireland, the very best information and, the very best tours! All tours arranged by MCLEANSCOTLAND.

They specialise in bespoke whisky tours, and have worked with many whisky clubs from around the world, Diageo ran a competition in South Africa, two lucky whisky winners came with MCLEANSCOTLAND  to Scotland for a VIP whisky tour of Diageo distilleries. Beam Global hired them for their VIP whisky trip from Australia visiting Speyside. In 2015 they have been hired again for a VIP whisky tour, this time to Islay. They looked after Ben Riach’s Russian distributors, visiting the group’s distilleries. They design lasting memories! but don’t take their word for it….

“After organizing excellent group trips for us in Scotland, we decided to choose McleanScotland also as the organizer of Malt Whisky Association of Finland’s first-ever venture to Ireland. Now in hindsight this was a really wise decision, which we did not regret one bit, on the contrary! Our week-long tour of Ireland could not have been better organized. Paul’s network of contacts and ability to provide us with lovely, unexpected surprises (like a live local band & ex-tempore whiskey tasting, guided by an expert at Hugh Lynch’s pub in Tullamore – what a night!) really made us all extremely happy indeed”. Mika Jansson. President. Malt Whisky Association of Finland. 

Email whisky@whiskytourscotland.com

Sent as an exclusive to Whisky Intelligence 

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• Mortlach Rare Old Single Malt Whisky 750ml (ships like a 1.5 L bottle due to shape) – 12 available ($109.99)

United States – Bourbon and Rye

• Smooth Ambler Old Scout 7 Year Old Rye Whiskey 750ml – 6 available ($41.99)
  Another batch of delicious LDI rye bottled this time by our friends at Smooth Ambler. Spicy and ready to mix!

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

We are concentrating on the wood……

The most common question people ask is why we use old oak casks that have had other spirits in prior to the scotch whisky.

There are two main reasons. Firstly the lack of British Oaks due to our past endeavours building ships and homes without replacing the felled trees hence the way our moorland’s look today (Not as natural as some imagine).

The second reason is the abundance of American & European oaks available, added to the mix Bourbons can only be matured in fresh wood it makes perfect sense to re-use them in Scotland for malt whisky production plus environmentally its a good thing.

Springbank Distillery 12 Year Old – 70cl / 54.3%

First whisky off the block is the new Springbank 12 year old cask strength, it’s a 65% sherry cask and refill bourbon casks.  We had this dram on our tasting evenings after the open day tasting we held on August 1st’ General view is it’s probably the best 12 year old cask strength in the series so far this year! I have to say it’s got a lot going on with a perfectly balanced taste that we all know and love from Springbank, the sherry wood never over dominates. Available now.

Longrow Red Port Cask from Springbank Distillery – 70cl / 53.7%

The next whisky is still awaiting the final bottling run at the distillery, it’s the new and rather amazing Longrow 11 year old Port wood cask. It’s name is Longrow Red 11 year old, just like last years this is a limited edition with 9000 bottles world wide, as usual we will have a larger delivery to ensure it lasts a few weeks (Hopefully). The colour is a rich red-pink amber, the nose is quite simply spectacular, now i am no peaty malt maniac but this one has me hooked. I am even putting my own name down on the hold list for this dram. Expected in-store around the first week of September.

Hazelburn From Springbank 10 Year Old – 70cl / 46%

Another malt still awaiting bottling is the new Hazelburn 10 year old 46% Vol. It’s all change with the Label as a new circular panel replaces the 3 still colour image label we have had since the first 8 year old was released. This is a bourbon cask matured Hazelburn that’s truly transformed the palate to a more highland taste, no smoke or peat as one would expect but most definitely a much bigger palate than the old 8 year bourbon cask used to launch this dram back in the early 2000s. Expected in-store around the first week of September

Glen Garioch: The Renaissance 15yo – celebrating a rebirth

I like Glen Garioch. While their regular range is unchanging, other than when they release a new vintage, they do like a special edition. Following on the heels of the Wine Cask Matured from earlier this year follows the first in a new range, billed as ‘The first chapter in a four-part story’ – Glen Garioch: The Renaissance 15 year old.

Back in 1994 Glen Garioch changed. Owners Morrison Bowmore were acquired by Suntory, and the distillery closed while the new bosses worked out how they wanted to run things in the future. After extensive testing and development, the distillery started up again in 1997, and a variety of changes went in: mash temperatures changed; fermentation times changed; the greenhouse, full of tomatoes and kept warm by waste heat from the distillery, was closed down; and most importantly, the malt changed.

Previously, Glen Garioch used barley from its own maltings, using a low peating level – about 5-10ppm. However, under the new owners, the maltings closed and unpeated malt was brought in. This made a big change to the style of spirit, focusing on malty and fruity flavours without the gentle smoke of earlier bottlings. It’s getting harder to find the old style of whisky, although the 1994 is still available and reasonably priced, but the more recent whiskies are very much now what the distillery is known for.

The Glen Garioch Renaissance series celebrates the distillery’s rebirth, and this first chapter is bottled at 15 years old. It consists only of spirit distilled since the reopening, and focuses on the flavour profile of their new style of whisky.

Glen Garioch: The Renaissance First Chapter, 15 years old

Nose: Sweet and malty, with gentle woody spice. Sour lemon peel sits behind the sweetness, with toffee and hazelnuts.
Palate: Oily and sweet, with more nuts and toffee, as well as buttered brown toast. A little bit of tongue drying tannin but still juicy, with baked apple and vanilla cream.
Finish: Butter toffee, hazelnuts and their skins, crisp apple and a touch of candied orange peel.
Comment: Very much on message: a whisky that shows off what Glen Garioch are all about. It’s rich and malty with some solid spice and a pleasantly oily mouthfeel.

The series will continue over the next three years, with releases of 16, 17 and 18 year old whiskies, to further show the development of the spirit as it matures.

• Four Roses K&L Exclusive OBSK (9 Years Old, 6 Months) Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon 750ml ($59.99)
  Another feather in our Four Roses cap comes in the wonderful cask of the OBSK (60% corn, 35% rye, 5%). This recipe has gained some notoriety for its part in the well regarded 120th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch. This bourbon features the high rye recipe and the spicy K yeast strains. The full throttled style on display here is packed to the brim with sweet woody aromas. Like fresh oak resin laced with layers of baking spice and doused in cream, the complexity is surprising at this age. Bottled half way through its 10th year, this cask is a real treat for those who enjoy a dryer style with tons of dark power flavors like gravel, graphite, vanilla bean and dark roasted cacao.

• Four Roses K&L Exclusive OBSV (11 Years Old, 4 Months) Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon 750ml ($59.99)
  We’re amassing a collection of cask strength Four Roses because it’s one of the best bourbons in production and they keep sending us these choice casks. We can’t keep these in stock so it’s been hard to consistently offer all ten recipes. Everything these guys put in the barrel is gold. We just can’t get enough. This Recipe, OBVS, may be the most important for the distillery. Their regular offering, Four Roses’ Single Barrel, is exclusively made from OBVS. It’s probably the best readily available bourbon on the market. Renowned for its creamy rich body and delicate character, we’re lucky to have come across this cask strength version of this special bourbon. Get this quick as we rarely see OBVS over 11 years old.

• Four Roses K&L Exclusive OESK (10 Years Old, 4 Months) Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon 750ml ($59.99)
  The OESK (70% corn, 20% rye, 5% malt) recipe is full and spicy. It, like all Four Roses’ bourbons, goes through an exacting souring process including rigurous testing for quality before being parcelled out between the distilleries 24 fermentation tanks. K yeast tends to create bourbons of great power and depth. It’s one of the two yeasts strains present in the distilleries Small Batch offering, which contains both high and low rye bourbons fermented with either the K or O yeast strains. This excellent cask balances that spicy earthiness out with a rich texture and a round sweet finish. Powerful aromas of sandlewood & cinnamon on the nose and persist throughout the palate. Only at the very end does a sweet Werther’s Original like caramel note raise it’s voice. It’s a veritable concerto of spice and oak.

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

anCnoc ‘Cutter’ makes its mark as new peated whisky unveiled at midnight gathering

The latest expression from anCnoc’s collection of limited edition peated malts was unveiled in Edinburgh last night, as whisky enthusiasts gathered under cover of darkness to share a midnight dram of the smoky new single malt.

anCnoc ‘Cutter’ is officially released to the global market today (1^st September), but as the clock chimed to greet the 1^st September launch date last night, an intimate group of anCnoc friends and fans stayed up late at the city’s Last Word bar to enjoy a first taste and toast the arrival of this much anticipated new release.

anCnoc launched its peated collection earlier this year with three expressions of varying peat strength – ‘Rutter’, ‘Flaughter’ and ‘Tushkar’  – aiming to help drinkers find a peaty dram to suit their palate and to ‘shine a light’ on the dark, enigmatic world of peat.

With drinkers embracing the new collection , the ‘Cutter’ launch marks the start of a new anCnoc tradition which will see a new peated expression unveiled every year on 1^st September, alongside a midnight celebration of anCnoc’s dark and mysterious side.

‘Cutter’ is the most peated of anCnoc’s single malts to date, with a phenol content of 20.5 PPM (parts per million). Light gold in appearance, it has an intense, thick and oily smoke structure on the nose which reveals a sharper, more medicinal phenolic layer with a piercing burst of fruity ripe peaches and just a touch of oak. It has an ashy taste, with slight apple-core bitterness and notes of leather and spicy vanilla lingering at the back, accompanied by sharper notes of pink grapefruit and ripe orchard fruits.  A long, elegant finish brings a kaleidoscope of spicy and peaty notes that die out with a juicy burst and a loud call for another sip.

The new whisky’s traditional yet contemporary packaging retains the striking dark green glass bottle of the first peated releases but this time features a traditional ‘cutter’ peat tool emblazoned in silver on the pack’s distinctive black label and tube design. 

anCnoc Assistant Brand Manager Stephanie Bridge commented:  ‘Given the popularity of anCnoc as a contemporary, easy drinking malt whisky, we are thrilled with the reception our new dark, peaty side has had amongst drinkers since we launched the collection back in April this year. We wanted anCnoc’s peated malts to find their way to the many people out there who love whisky but think that peat is not for them, and initial feedback shows that we are starting to build the appeal of a peated dram amongst our drinkers which is good news. We are delighted to have Cutter join this exquisite collection, bringing a slightly smokier, stronger peated option that has all the quality, character and taste that every whisky made at Knockdhu distillery enjoys. The 1^st September is now officially anCnoc Peaty day and a date to put in the diaries of whisky fans in years to come.’

2000 cases of anCnoc ‘Cutter’will be available online and in specialist and independent UK whisky retailers from 1^st September, rrp£52. Cutter is bottled at 46% ABVand in its most natural state – neither chill-filtered nor coloured.

http://www.ancnoc-peaty.com/

#LightOnDark 

Notes

About anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky is produced at the Knockdhu Distillery which was established in 1894 and is one of the smallest and most enchanting in the Scottish Highlands. It’s renowned the world over by malt enthusiasts for producing a single malt that makes every day a special occasion.

The new peated collection from anCnoc aims to unravel the mysteries of peated whisky for modern drinkers, this new range from the Knockdhu Distillery features anCnoc’s classic light, easy-drinking style but with a dark, distinctive and smoky twist.The first three releases in the collection Rutter, Flaughter and Tushkar were unveiled at a launch event in early 2014.

About International Beverage 

International Beverage Holdings (www.interbevgroup.com) was established in 2005 as the international arm of ThaiBev, one of South East Asia’s leading alcohol beverage companies. With a network of regional offices in Asia, Europe and North America, the company is responsible for the production, sales, marketing and distribution of a portfolio of premium global brands in over 80 countries and territories.

Inver House Distillers (www.inverhouse.com) is globally integrated into International Beverage Holdings and drives the distillation and maturation of Scotch through its five distilleries.

International Beverage brands include:

• Chang Beer: Thailand’s iconic beer brand
• Single Malt Scotch Whiskies: Old Pulteney, Balblair, anCnoc, Speyburn
• Blended Whiskies: Hankey Bannister
• Mekhong: ‘The Spirit of Thailand’ since 1941
• Caorunn – a small batch distilled Scottish Gin infused with 5 Celtic botanicals

The company’s success is built on the combination of a strong understanding of local cultures and markets with the creation of a truly global operational network.  Brand building pays respect to heritage, provenance and craftsmanship whilst delivering innovative and highly effective strategies at global level. A skilled and dedicated team of more than 12 nationalities speaking over 14 languages delivers the highest standards of customer service and attention to detail across all aspects of the business.

Be in with the chance to win a unique piece of art to celebrate the release of the Single Barrel, Aged 25 Years

Our Single Barrel Traditional Oak, Aged 25 Years will very soon see the light of day, having spent its time maturing in a refill American oak cask. Once our Malt Master, David Stewart has carefully sampled the matured whisky, he will select those casks that are most characterised by subtle spices and rich, honeyed sweetness to be bottled.

The age-old craft of whisky-making and the alchemy of wood, spirit and time are perfectly embodied by this unique expression. Each cask tells its own story and its yield is, by nature, one of a kind as each bottle is one of no more than 300 drawn from a single cask.

To mark the release of this new expression, we have commissioned Mr Smith’s Letterpress Workshop – one of the few remaining traditional letterpress workshops in London, to create a framed limited edition A1 print, each of which will be signed by David Stewart.

The Balvenie Single Barrel Aged 25 years will be appearing shortly, so do keep an eye out for it. In the meantime, we’ll be emailing you details of our competition to win a rather special piece of artwork.
Slainte mhath,

David Mair
The Balvenie Distillery Ambassador

LEARN MORE

Time for something new.  

Hi. It’s been a while.  

We’re updating and changing a few things, including completely redesigning our website. 

Go to http://vadistillery.com/ for a taste of what’s to come. We hope to have our full page done soon, so keep tabs on us via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for now.

www.ralfy.com covers some controversial ground with Whisky Review 482 – Evan Williams Single Barrel bourbon 2003

We have stock again!

We have caught our breath, all of our distributor orders are up to date and we can finally allocate some stock to our online shop! Thank you all for your immense patience – we promise that the wait was worthwhile because these three whiskies will make you smile!

Today, for your drinking pleasure, we are very pleased to offer a very limited 6 bottles of French Oak Cask HH521, 18 bottles of American Oak Cask 446 and 60 bottles of Double Cask DC71.

And we are dead serious when we say HURRY, because stocks won’t last!

SHOP NOW