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Hi folks. Just a quick email to tell you about our revised opening times. We will be available Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm. If you really need to come in on Saturdays, please call ahead through the week and set an appointment. This change will enable us to give you a better service through the week.
Kind regards from Glasgow
The SWA Team
The Relaxed Whisky Weekend
5 – 7 September 2014
Hellooo relaxed whisky lovers,
Almost Sold Out:
We are sorry to say that almost all the beds at Maltstock are sold. At the moment we have just a couple of beds left and just two cabins. Once they’re booked the only way you can still enjoy the relaxed whisky weekend is when you arrange your own accommodation. There’s a campsite just across the road and a hotel about 4,5 kilometer away. Please check our website for more information.
Cabins:
We still have 2 cabins available for you. Cabins can be rented by a minimum of 2 people per cabin. (Please order your Maltstock ticket first and then email us to rent a cabin.)
http://maltstock.com/index.php/en/maltstock-info/location-facilities/maltstock-cabins-camp
Maltstock 2014: MASTERCLASS TIMETABLE:
We know many of you are eagerly awaiting the masterclass schedule. Well, not for much longer now. At July 1st the schedule will go online. And everybody with a Maltstock ticket will receive an e-mail with a link to the reservation page.
We have some fantastic masterclasses lined up for you. It will probably not be easy to choose your favorites. Simply use the reservation page to let us know which masterclasses you would like to attend. And we will try our very best to make everybody happy again. As always the masterclasses are free at Maltstock.
There’s plenty of time to let us know your preferences. Relax! You have until August 24th. After that we can’t accept any new reservations. We only take reservation requests through our reservation page, which will go live on July 1st.
Maltstock promo tour:
Bob and Teun are very excited to visit the Dramboree! It sounds like a very relaxed weekend.
Tag Maltstock at the Dramboree and become the most relaxed of all!
Dramboree – 4\5\6\July http://www.dramboree.co.uk
We hope to see you at Maltstock 2014,
Annette, Bob, Jeroen, Klaas, Stan and Teun
Late June 2014 Outturn Offerings
Cask No. 7.94 $205
Silk Sarong Seduction
Speyside, Lossie
Caramels swimming in the foam of a chocolate porter; apricot liqueur spilled on a ballroom floor; a leather purse, tanned with Burgundy and sultriness, left on a barstool. The mouth is a silk sarong of smuggled rum and toasted acorns held in the arms of a woman with perfume dabbed on her wrists. A little water gives us her mouth, shaped like a fresh fig, after she’s washed down almond macaroons and orange fudge with cola gone flat on the site of an old chapel in Elgin. Finishing with betel nuts wrapped in honeyed firefly wings for sweetness and light.
Drinking tip: Anniversary dinner: after the cake, before the kiss
Colour: Amber glinting in sunlight
Cask: Refill hogshead
Age: 27 years
Date distilled: September 1985
Alcohol: 55.6%
USA allocation: 120 bottles
Cask No. 29.146 $150
Bright and uplifting
Islay
Burning heather, smouldering logs and toffee rolled in ash – something medicinal (Germolene, First Aid box) oyster shells, cigar box, glazed gammon with clove, sweet and sour pork with fried rice and increasing peat smoke – that was the nose; somehow bright and uplifting. The palate was ashy, smoky and earthy, with wild mushrooms, soy sauce, prawn toast, gammon and pineapple and tasty spices (cardamom, toasted coriander seeds, chilli). Water opened up the floral side of the nose (rose petals); the palate also developed some perfume – marshmallows, fruity bubble-gum and gin and tonic with cucumber. Friends of this distillery have a square foot.
Drinking tip: To evoke memories of beach bonfires on Islay – or to accompany a Chinese takeaway
Colour: Polished beech
Cask: Refill barrel
Age: 18 years
Date distilled: April 1995
Alcohol: 58.1%
USA allocation: 96 bottles
Cask No. 39.92 $180
Dessert Wine and Smoking Jacket
Speyside, Lossie
Like well-aged Sauternes this complex whisky displays a nose of honey covered toast , chocolate with dapples of coconut and strawberry. The taste delivered a decadent American Breakfast; crispy bacon, pancakes and maple syrup. The addition of water created the notion of supper as scents of grilled pork chop were followed by Eton Mess. Aromas of toasted cedar wood were interspersed with ginger. The palette offered the panel darkly roasted coffee, ginger cake and brown sugar coated peach all consumed within a draughtsman’s office. A decadent offering from this Elgin distillery.
Drinking tip: Cigar in hand and nose upturned
Colour: Golden syrup
Cask: Refill hogshead
Age: 23 years
Date distilled: October 1990
Alcohol: 49.5%
USA allocation: 72 bottles
Cask No. 100.10 $90
Spritzy and tasty with a bitter twist
Speyside, Deveron
The nose commenced with spirity pear, apple and wood shavings; then sweetness emerged – vanilla, Rice Krispies squares, strawberry Angel Delight, barley sugars and Edinburgh Rock; tea leaves and tobacco later. The palate had pepper, horseradish and wasabi heat, but was tasty (sugared almonds, Cadbury’s mini eggs, red apple, sweet citrus) with an attractive bitter twist (tonic, fruit skins, perfume spray, oak). The reduced nose was more accessible, if little changed (rhubarb and custard sweets, grass, sherbet straws). The palate now settled to peeled twigs, lychees, sherbet lemons, purple fruit pastilles and some spritzy effervescence. This distillery once had a whisky fountain.
Drinking tip: Could be a palate cleanser or an aperitif
Colour: Sandy ocean bed
Cask: Refill barrel
Age: 8 years
Date distilled: February 2005
Alcohol: 60.3%
USA allocation: 120 bottles
Cask No. 121.67 $125
Energising and enigmatic
Highland, Island
The nose could make the unwary recoil (Tabasco, vinegar, nettles, gloss paint), yet it was also sweetly attractive (sticky dates, fig rolls, Liquorice Allsorts, raisins, toffee). The intense, hot, tasty palate had mouth-gripping oak and black tea tannins, stir-fry sauce and jalapenos but was also surprisingly and satisfyingly sweet (sticky toffee pudding, chocolate, runny honey, raspberry ripple). The reduced nose was interesting, energising and enigmatic – putty, waxed jackets and sanded wood, but with comforting kitchen smells (apple crumble, shortbread, lemon sponge). The palate continued lively and tasty – orange peel, lemon meringue pie dusted with pepper and crystallized ginger. Arran’s only distillery.
Drinking tip: A stimulating dram – to spark up the old grey matter when faculties are flagging
Colour: Oiled pine
Cask: Refill hogshead
Age: 13 years
Date distilled: December 1999
Alcohol: 58.1%
USA allocation: 120 bottles
Please visit the Scotch Malt Whisky Society at http://www.smwsa.com/
The Whisky Exchange
Springbank Distillery – a family affair
David Allen, a key member of the Springbank team
It’s hard to think that Campbeltown was once the whisky capital of the world. With just three distilleries in operation in the area now, you wonder what happened to the other 27 that were there in the 1800s. Campbeltown isn’t the easiest of places to get to. There’s no train station, so your options are a three-hour drive, a four-hour bus journey, or a flight in a tiny plane on to one of the longest runways in the world. But however you get there, it’s well worth the visit. Were it not for Hedley Wright (the owner of Springbank Distillery), Campbeltown may have been lost as a whisky region altogether.
Back in 1998, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) decided that two distilleries were not enough to classify Campbeltown as a whisky region alongside the likes of Speyside, Islay, Highlands and Lowlands, and so it was merged into the Highlands. But Hedley spotted that there were only three operational distilleries in the Lowlands, and took it upon himself to purchase a second distillery in the region. After a large amount of investment – and a lot of time and energy – Glengyle distillery was completed in 2004, and following a visit from the SWA, Campbeltown was back on the map.
This highlights the care and love that the family and team at Springbank put into making whisky. They were once described (affectionately) as an ‘odd company of odd people’, and they’re quite happy with this label. They don’t always follow convention when it comes to making whisky. There are elements of their distillation process which no one can provide a reason for other than that’s what’s always been done, including producing ‘two-and-a-half-times-distilled’ whisky (more on that later). Springbank is the oldest independent, family-owned distillery in Scotland, dating to 1828, when John Mitchell first started distilling legally on the site of his father’s illicit still.
Everything at Springbank is done on site, from the malting of the barley right up to the labelling, which is done by hand. There has never been any chill-filtering or colouring, and production is all done in batches. Although this means that there can be some slight variances from batch to batch, it can’t be denied that each bottle is made with a huge amount of care – I’m yet to try a bad whisky of theirs. For this evening’s tasting, David Allen, a key member of the Springbank team, flew down especially to guide us through a selection of his fine whiskies.
A diverse range of whiskies are produced at Springbank Distillery in Campbeltown
The night began with Hazelburn. Production is split into three styles at the distillery, with Springbank making up 80% of the production, and Hazelburn and Longrow the other 20%. Hazelburn is unpeated and, unlike most Scottish single malts, it is triple distilled, giving it a floral and fruity character which many have described as a ‘breakfast whisky’ (light and approachable).
Nose: True to its style, the nose is rather fruity with notes of peach, mango, sweet dried fruit, and a hint of raisin and dried banana, too. With a touch of water, a malty character edges in.
Palate: The malty character is more pronounced on the palate both with and without water. This is backed up quite nicely with stone fruits, sweet dried fruit and candied bananas. There’s a touch of sweetness in there, too, which makes it go down rather easily.
Finish: Long finish here with all the flavours playing together; there’s peach, malt and sweetness all working beautifully together.
Comment: I really like this. The sherry cask influence is light and subtle, adding fruit but nothing overbearing. It’s fresh, fruity and slightly sweet and goes down oh so easily.
Hazelburn 2003 Rundlets & Kilderkins, 50.1%
Rundlet and Kilderkin are names for types of cask which – at 68 and 81 litres respectively – are much smaller than those normally used to mature whisky. These smaller barrels give the whisky much more interaction with the wood, giving the whisky further character. However, the ‘angel’s share’ is much higher with these casks, making it a rather expensive whisky to produce. This one is about 10 years old and a mix of first-fill bourbon and sherry casks.
Nose: Quite woody (as you’d expect), but in a good way. Honeycomb and chocolate comes through with time, and a lanolin note also.
Palate: Sweet mango, peach, honeycomb, chocolate and a soft alcohol prickle which softens nicely with water.
Finish: An earthy note comes through on the finish with some honey and unripe papaya.
Comment: Rich and fruity with some lovely earthy notes towards the finish. All backed up with a lovely honeycomb character along the way.
Kilkerran WIP 6 Bourbon Wood, 46%
Glengyle is still quite a young distillery, at just 10 years of age, and as such they’re yet to release a standard bottling. They are, however, rather good to us, and like to keep us all in the loop with how things are going. Work In Progress (WIP) was first launched in 2009 as a single bottling of ex-sherry and bourbon casks vatted together. This continued annually until last year when WIP 5 was released as a sherry cask and bourbon cask individually, and they have done the same again this year. WIP 6 is double distilled, lightly peated and 10 years old. The suggestion from David is that once the whiskies reaches 12 years of age, they will release a standard bottling, but we’ll just have to wait and see…
Nose: Slight hint of smoke. They get their peat from the Speyside region which is more mossy and earthy than Islay peat, and provides a very different character to the whisky than its island counterparts. This peat character is backed up with lots of green fruit – apples and grassy notes.
Palate: Lovely and fresh, slightly sweet with notes of green apples, zesty, sweet peach, grassy, floral and ever so slightly nutty. There’s even a hint of Scottish tablet.
Finish: This finishes with a green-tea note which is delicious and completed with lots of green flavours like grass and apple skin.
Comment: I’m a big fan of this one. It’s well balanced, fresh, delicate and delicious already. If this is the current benchmark for Kilkerran, then their first official bottling is definitely one to look out for.
Kilkerran WIP 6 Sherry Wood, 46%
Nose: Nutty, dried fruit, tropical notes and prunes. It doesn’t seem overly sherried; they use a mix of first- and third-fill casks which keeps the sherry influence quite light.
Palate: Lovely gingerbread character, and full of nutty, dried-fruit flavours and sweet smoke. It starts out quite sweet but becomes drying in the mouth. With a little water, the dryness softens and dark-chocolate flavours come forward.
Finish: The finish is a little dry – again, in a good way. It has a huge length with lots of fig, nutty and dark-chocolate flavours backed up with some sweet spice.
Comment: A very interesting whisky, full of lots of layers, but ultimately rich, chocolatey and packed with dried fruit.
Springbank 12 year old Cask Strength #7, 50.3%
Released in 2013, this is the seventh batch of 12 year old cask strength. Springbank’s distilling techniques are slightly unusual to say the least; they distil the whisky two-and-a-half times. In essence, part of the spirit is distilled two times and a portion is redistilled a third time. They have tried experimenting with double and triple distillation for Springbank, but the resulting liquid has never been as good.
Nose: Sweet smoke, nutty, toffee, fruity and slightly earthy.
Palate: Quite sweet, fruity, nutty, lots of toffee, stone and tropical fruit along with a hint of dried fruit. As it opens up, there’s vanilla, chocolate and raisin coming through. With water added, there’s a lovely briney character along with an oily texture and Scottish tablet.
Finish: The finish is delicate, with notes of chocolate, dried fruit and raisins, and a soft, sweet character.
Comment: This is lovely, rich and surprisingly smooth for its strength. Full of flavour.
The malt for Springbank is peated to 10ppm but for Longrow malt, it leaps to 50ppm. Although one might think this would come across as a smokier flavour in the whisky, I found that the smokiness in the NAS is actually quite subtle. The Speyside peat could explain this one, as peat doesn’t always mean bonfires and smoke.
Nose: Salt and brine character balanced around aromas of lime, grape, grass and citrus.
Palate: Sweet and green. Lots of lime, grass, brine, opens up in time to show dried peach, pear, mango and the slightest hint of smoke.
Finish: This opens up slowly but ends with sweet, juicy sultanas and stone fruits.
Comment: This really changes over time. What starts out as a really fresh, citrusy whisky develops after four or five minutes into quite a rich, fruit-driven dram that continually develops. Definitely savour this over a long period – you’ll be well rewarded.
Longrow Red Port Cask (abv unknown)
Longrow Red has previously been aged in Australian Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon wine casks. For this next release, they have moved on to a port cask and used it for its entire maturation rather than just to finish the whisky. As a result, this release of Red is quite definitely, without any doubt, a red whisky. But don’t be fooled by its colour; it’s absolutely delicious.
Nose: Cherries, red berries, plum, prune, stewed red cherry and Braeburn apple. Everything about this nose screams red fruit with abundance.
Palate: Lots of chocolate here, supported by red fruits: sweet cherry, red berries, raspberries and Braeburn apple. Although bold in flavour, there’s a lovely soft, creamy character, especially with a bit of water added.
Finish: Chocolate raspberries
Comment: So, so fruity. This is big, rich and packed full of red fruit and chocolate. Even though it’s red in colour, I wasn’t expecting this much red-fruit flavour. I’m not always a fan of port-matured whiskies, but everything that I’ve tried lately has blown me away, and this is no exception. This is due to be bottled in August with approximately 11,000 bottles being made.
Springbank 1999 14 year old local barley, 57.8%
The evening culminated in a rather special bottling, normally only available to members of the Springbank Society. This was one of only 546 bottles, matured entirely in refill sherry casks and, as the name suggests, made using local barley. Typically, Springbank use Optic barley – a variety commonly used for whisky production – from the Fife area. Optic barley doesn’t grow particularly well on the west coast, however, so Westminster barley is grown instead. This variety produces lower yields and is harder to use, but that hasn’t stopped Springbank from making a fantastic whisky from it.
Nose: So much going on here. Caramel, toffee, dried fruit, a hint of smoke, Brazil nuts, raisins and that classic ‘rancio’ note.
Palate: Nutty, toffee, caramel, dark chocolate, raisin, dried fruit, damp peat and earth. With water, this gets fruitier and the chocolate gets milkier.
Finish: Such a long finish. The peatiness comes forward more on the finish and is complemented with chocolate and raisins. As it changes and develops, some earthy notes then come into the fore.
Comment: This is an exceptionally good whisky. Springbank have a huge following for their whiskies and it’s not hard to see why. As mentioned earlier, this is only available to those who are members of the Springbank Society. That said, the suggestion is that in a couple of years’ time, they may well release this same whisky, or something very similar, as a 16 year old.
As always, our thanks go to David Allen for coming down from Campbeltown and hosting a superb evening filled with delicious whiskies.
We are coming to the end of our month celebrating all that is Jura here at Milroy’s of Soho. Whilst we have been enthusing about the sweet and delicate Jura 10 Year Old; the rich and full bodied 16 Year Old; and the smoky and peaty Prophecy bottling; we have decided to end with a cheer to the limited edition Tastival bottling.
Released initially for the Jura stretch of this year’s Feis Isle celebrations, the Jura Tastival aims to capture the imagination of the drinker. This whisky with not one, not two, but seven cask finishes, encourages the drinker to write their own tasting notes on the back of the bottle. The launch of this Island single malt will culminate with the official tasting notes being revealed in August.
Jura Tastival – 44% ABV – £84.95 – Buy Here.
*TWO COMPLEMENTARY JURA GLASSES WITH EVERY JURA PURCHASE!!!*
NEW ARRIVALS
Other International – Single Malt Scotch
Kavalan Solist Bourbon Cask Taiwanese Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 4 available
United States – Bourbon and Rye
Back in Stock
United States – Bourbon and Rye
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
The cash was raised in two stages. Everyone who attended the company’s festive parties at the end of 2013 was asked to donate £5, and additional funds were then generated by a grand raffle, in which any seasonal gifts sent to the company by its suppliers were given away in a prize draw.
CHAS is a cause close to the hearts of Chivas Brothers employees – who have donated more than £133,000 since 1996. This includes donations from work events, individual fundraising and the company’s doubling up scheme – which matches amounts raised by employees by up to £500 per person per year.
Manufacturing Director Alister McIntosh said: “The work that CHAS does for seriously ill children and their families is just phenomenal, and we are proud to support them in any way we can. Everyone gave generously again this year. Our employees have long been supporters of CHAS.”
CHAS is the only charity in Scotland that provides vital hospice services for children and young people with life-shortening conditions. It runs Robin House in Balloch – a home-from-home where families can relax, recharge their batteries and make the most of the short time they have together.
CHAS Fundraiser Scott Maxwell said: “The support across the Chivas Brothers’ sites has been incredible over the years and everyone should be extremely proud of themselves for their fantastic efforts in raising £133,000 to date – what a great achievement. CHAS need to raise £25,000 every day to keep our vital services running, and it just wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for support like this from everyone at Chivas Brothers – thank you!”
Notes
Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard – the world’s co-leader in wine and spirits. Chivas Brothers is the global leader in luxury Scotch whisky and premium gin. Its portfolio includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater Gin, The Glenlivet, Royal Salute, Aberlour, Plymouth Gin, Longmorn, Scapa, 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport.
Ardbeg and cheese tasting (including Auriverdes!) – Wednesday 2 July at 7.30pm
The team at Tomoka Spirits Boutique in St. Albans, Hertfordshire are delighted to announce a very special tasting of Ardbeg single malt whisky.
We will be tasting the core range together with the new limited release Ardbeg Auriverdes and matching the whiskies with fantastic artisan cheeses.
Tickets are £15 per person and are strictly limited.
Please email us on billmccoy@tomokaspiritsboutique.co.uk or call on 01727 894869 to find out more and book your tickets.
Tomoka Spirits Boutique
5A Christopher Place
St. Albans
Hertfordshire AL3 5DQ
01727 894869
IF YOU DON’T BLOW YOUR OWN TRUMPET…
… nobody else will! We are delighted with our latest exclusive own label bottlings. All of them are drawn from a single cask (so in limited supply) bottled unchillfiltered at 46% (except for the Jura at 51.1%) and have been quality control tested and fully approved by RMW staff! The Port Charlotte which has been 100% matured in a rum barrel and the cask strength 23 year old Jura are the stand out bottlings, which we are quietly confident will sell out swiftly. In addition to these two gems, we also have a Blair Athol, a Bunnahabhain and a Highland Park. Each bottling represents the distillery of it’s origin in a exceptionally positive light. We dare say that the relevant distillery owners might even regret selling some of these casks on once they try them!
FOR ALL GENERAL ENQUIRIES PLEASE CALL: 0131 524 9380
or email: contact@royalmilewhiskies.com
Royal Mile Whiskies
Whisky Magazine’s ‘Retailer of the Year 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011’
Last Chance!
Early bird discount ends June 30th!
www.whiskyfest.com or call 800-514-3849
WhiskyFest is your opportunity to taste from a huge selection of whiskies from around the world, over 300 of them, including many that are rare and exclusive. Even better, they’re poured by the whisky distillers, master blenders, and other whisky experts who will be in attendance. If that’s not enough, there are also in-depth seminars conducted by those same experts throughout the night.
Your ticket will get you the grand tasting and access to the seminars, a Glencairn crystal whisky glass, handy event program, and a gourmet buffet that’s open all evening. You’ll enjoy all of this in the company of people who love whisky almost as much as you do!
Taste from a selection of more than 300 whiskies from around the world
