Late April 2014 Outturn Offerings 

Cask No. 29.144                                        $175

‘You gotta love this one’

Islay

The smell made us all smile and for some there were memories of a warm sunny autumn afternoon day – peat smoke emerging from the pagoda and a fresh salty/briny breeze – standing on the pier at the distillery by ‘the beautiful hollow by the broad bay’. Freshly opened oysters, crispy seaweed and tempura prawns with a sweet chilli sauce complete the kaleidoscope of aromas. Very restrained on the palate; salty and sweet popcorn, beach barbeque with langoustines and scallops as well as crispy aromatic duck. Adding water it becomes like a comfort blanket or a long soak in the bath. Sweeter and juicy to taste like a tropical fruit salad and in the finish clean peat smoke.

Drinking tip: If in need of a comfort blanket

Colour: Pale sunshine after rain

Cask: Refill hogshead

Age: 22 years

Date distilled: October 1990

Alcohol: 51.2%

USA allocation: 180 bottles

Cask No. 9.74                                             $100

Thai Noodle Stir-fry

Speyside, Spey

The nose neat started off with a solvent note (turpentine and nail polish remover) but was very soon replaced by fresh and fruity aromas of green apples, ripe bananas, pear cider and Thai sesame noodles. Hot, peppery and a ginger spice on the initial taste followed by the bitter flavouring of tonic water and finishing with the sweetness of cooked bananas or stewed apples. With water, freshly cut flowers in a vase in a kitchen whilst a crispy beef stir-fry with lemon grass and spring onions is being prepared. The taste is now fresh and juicy like homemade ginger beer and in the finish an old fashioned Bitter Lemon.

Drinking tip: Whilst cooking a stir-fry

Colour: Macon Villages Blanc

Cask: First-fill barrel

Age: 10 years

Date distilled: June 2003

Alcohol: 62.0%

USA allocation: 120 bottles

Cask No. 71.38                                           $205

A cheese-board in a library

Speyside, Lossie

A tired bowl of fruit (including bruised apples and ripe peaches), backed by polished wood panelling, leather books and faded roses, then a scent of mild cheeses (Caboc, unripe brie, white stilton) and Melba toast. The taste reflects some of these scents: sweet, then ‘cheese on a Cream Cracker’. With water the cheese note shifts to full-fat creamy (Laughing Cow), with melon, green banana, peach skin and a hint of Badedas chestnut bath oil. Soft and sweet to taste, then faintly fizzy/peppery (Flying Saucers, spicy), with a long warming finish and a hint of banana yoghurt in the aftertaste. This distillery supplies the heart malt for Ballantine’s, so is uncommon.

Drinking tip: With cheese and grapes after informal supper

Colour: Barley sugar

Cask: Refill hogshead

Age: 27 years

Date distilled: May 1985

Alcohol: 57.0%

USA allocation: 90 bottles

 Cask No. 73.60                                           $185

Watching the Monaco Grand Prix from a roof terrace

Speyside, Deveron

Very deep aromas on the nose neat; beeswax furniture polish on a soft cloth, cedar lined Art Deco cigarette box, rosewood scented stationary, mead flavoured with spices, pastrami and always  the smell of strong espresso coffee in the background. The taste is that of walnut oil, salty almonds, and buttered sour dough but at the same time green apples, floral blossoms and a bright finish like a delightfully refreshing Pinot Grigio. With water aromas of treacle toffee, coconut fragrant sun tan lotion and ever so often the hint of burnt tyre on hot tarmac. The taste is coffee cream and walnut cupcakes, Tiramisu and honeyed mead bread with salted butter. 

Drinking tip: Spring time in Monaco or celebrating Indian Summer in Scotland

Colour: Topaz

Cask: Refill butt

Age: 24 years

Date distilled: May 1989

Alcohol: 57.0%

USA allocation: 120 bottles

Cask No. 125.67                            $130

Clean and innocent

Highland, Northern

The nose inspired sweet descriptors (meringue, barley sugars, toffee, honey, crème brûlée) and woody references (tea chests, sawdust, coconut, polished Steinway) – also leather, lemon zest, banana, apple, elderflower and vanilla – clean and innocent. With water, some perfume and tropical mix appeared. The unreduced palate had clove and nutmeg spice, sugar-coated fennel seeds and old-style wooden toys (sticky with love and sweets and chocolate and ice-cream and honey and custard)… more perfumed with water, we found orange blossom, suntan oil, guava, mango, peach and Cadbury’s creme eggs. The finish was long-lasting – like the memory of a first kiss. Made by sixteen men.

Drinking tip: This could turn a lazy Sunday into a perfect lazy Sunday

Colour: Innocent blonde

Cask: First-fill barrel

Age: 14 years

Date distilled: July 1999

Alcohol: 58.7%

USA allocation: 72 bottles

Please visit the Scotch Malt Whisky Society at http://www.smwsa.com/

NEW ARRIVALS

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• Bruichladdich Islay Barley Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($59.99)

• Port Charlotte Scottish Barley Heavily Peated Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($55.99)

United States – Bourbon and Rye

• Jim Beam Black 8 Year Old Kentucky Bourbon 1L – 10 available ($27.99)

United States – Single Malt Scotch

• Lost Spirits Distillery Umami Single Malt Whiskey 750ml – 7 available ($59.99)

BACK IN STOCK

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• Laphroaig “Triple Wood” Islay Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($64.99)

United States – Bourbon and Rye

• Jim Beam Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon 750ml – 7 available ($29.99)

• Peach Street Colorado Striaght Bourbon Whiskey 750ml – 4 available ($62.99)

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

Whisky Pairing Dinner

April Auction goes live today, 25 April 2014, at 13.00! 

 View April Auction

There are some very rare bottles in this auction! Some of the highlights are shown below; Ardbeg Guaranteed 10 Year Old bottled during the 1970s, Macallan 1963 and Glen Flagler 1973, bottled from the last 5 casks owned by Inverhouse. 

We also have a quite a few big, rich whiskies, such as; Dalmore 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon, Glenmorangie 30 year old oloroso finish and a 1972 37 year old Glendronach to name a few.

There are always more recent bottlings in our auctions as well and we are lucky to have the elusive Balvenie Tun 1858 Batch #1, Glenlivet Alpha, Bowmore Devil’s Cask and many more!

There is no registration fee, our commission structure is very competitive and we offer world wide shipping. For more information on our terms and conditions please click here. 

With over 10 years of experience in the whisky industry, Whisky Auctioneer specialises in auctioning whisky whether it be fine, old, rare, collectable or affordable.  Formed in 2013 and based in Perth, central Scotland, we aim to be the most comprehensive website for the buying and selling of whisky online.  

www.whiskyauctioneer.com 

Happy bidding!

Heaven Hill Distilleries Unveils New Packaging for Its World Renowned Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond Straight Rye Whisky 

New “Retro” Labels Inspired by Original Rittenhouse Packaging of the 1930’s 

LOUISVILLE, KY — One of the most iconic brands in the American Whiskey category is getting a total makeover—and everything old is new again. 

Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond Straight Rye Whisky, a favorite of mixologists and whiskey aficionados and a brand at the forefront of the rye renaissance, is getting a label redesign, using graphic elements from its original post-Prohibition packaging. Designed to create a more premium look that reinforces the authenticity and historic significance of the brand, the new labels and capsule closure evoke the Art Deco style of the 1930’s, when the brand was first introduced. 

Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond is a longtime favorite of mixologists who consider it the “go to” brand for classic rye cocktails such as original Old Fashioneds, Manhattans or Sazeracs. With a spicy, bold 100 proof flavor, and aged according to “Bottled-In-Bond” government regulations, Rittenhouse provides a cocktail with rye “backbone” which stands out among mixers and modifiers. The brand was in short supply for several years, as the sudden resurgence of traditional straight rye whiskey saw much of the existing stock snapped up, primarily by on-premise accounts, while new barrels were waiting to come of age. Now that inventories of barrels laid down during that shortage are maturing, additional cases should be made available to the retail or off-premise segment. And given the number of new rye brands introduced since the rye boom began some 8-10 years ago—many of whom are non-traditional “blending” ryes or even Canadian variants—the need to stand out on retail shelves as a classic American Straight Rye becomes more important, making the redesign of the Rittenhouse package very timely. 

The new labels maintain some of the key graphic elements of the previous packaging, such as the burgundy and black color palette and the brand logotype, but utilizes it in a completely redesigned face label that is based on classic Art Deco Rittenhouse Rye labels of the 1930’s, when the brand was known as Rittenhouse Square Rye. The main graphic motif that has been revived from the original packaging is the diamond geometric design around the logotype, which also contains the “100 proof” and the “Straight Rye Whisky” designation, as in the original post-Prohibition labels. The new redesign also brings back the tax stamp, which was originally mandated as proof of the “bottled-in-bond” status, with a printed neck capsule that adds a classic and more upscale feel. 

The new packaging will be unveiled on the 750ml size, which will remain at the national suggested retail price of $24.99, and will begin appearing on retail shelves and back bars in June. 

“Rittenhouse, like several other traditional American Straight Ryes, has probably seen more activity and interest in the past 8 or 10 years than it saw in the 70 years prior,” noted Susan Wahl, Senior Brand Manager for American Whiskeys at Heaven Hill. “There has been an amazing and truly unprecedented resurgence in straight rye, and for those few of us who have made it for decades in limited quantities, it is both an opportunity and a challenge to produce enough to meet sudden record demand. We are now starting to see our stocks come in line, so we can begin to more aggressively pursue new distribution, and this package redesign is the best evidence of that growth.” 

Rittenhouse Straight Rye Whisky (traditionally spelled without the “e”) was founded immediately after Prohibition as a traditional, Pennsylvania style rye, a style that was originally far more popular than Bourbon. Spicier and fruitier than the more grassy and vegetal Maryland style ryes of the day, Rittenhouse was an important brand during the early years of the modern distilled spirits business, and production was suspended during World War II so the distillery could make alcohol for the war effort. After resuming production, the straight rye category began a slow decline due to the increasing popularity of Scotch Whisky and Bourbon. Some ten years ago, after Single Barrel and Small Batch Bourbons began to capture consumer interest, mixologists and American whiskey aficionados rediscovered straight rye, leading first to a shortage, and now to a boom. 

Founded in 1934, Bardstown, KY-based Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. (www.heavenhill.com) is the nation’s largest independent, family-owned and operated spirits producer and marketer and the world’s second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon. Heaven Hill’s diversified portfolio of brands includes Evan Williams Bourbon; Burnett’s Vodkas and Gin; HPNOTIQ and HPNOTIQ Harmonie Liqueurs; Admiral Nelson’s and Blackheart Rums; The Christian Brothers Brandies; PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur; Lunazul Tequila and Rittenhouse Rye Whisky. Heaven Hill reminds you to “Think Wisely. Drink Wisely.”

UK TASTING TOUR

I hope you had a great Easter, whatever you got up to.

Our next series of tastings starts in just 7 days so it’s time to get involved!

After intensive looks at whiskies from Ireland and India, we felt we were long overdue in getting back to basics and tasting Scotch whiskies from some of our favourite ‘Indie’ bottlers.

Often the source for whiskies for the ‘purist’ in us, Indie bottlers regularly bottle whiskies at cask strength and from a single cask. These casks have been ‘liberated’ from brokers and distillers and are a glimpse into how whisky was bought and sold going back hundreds of years.

Due to generally less ‘flamboyant’ packaging and marketing spends, Independent bottlers often represent excellent value for money as well as tasty whiskies! 

Once again we will be tasting 6 excellent whiskies and asking your palates to do the talking and judging…

DATES & VENUES

LONDON           Wednesday 30th April          THE RED LION, CROWN PASSAGE, SW1
BRIGHTON        Thursday 1st May                 HILTON METROPOLE, KINGS STREET
NEWCASTLE      Friday 2nd May                    BLACKFRIARS, FRIAR ST.
SHEFFIELD        Tuesday 6th May                  THE SHEFFIELD TAP, SHEFFIELD STN.
LIVERPOOL        Wednesday 7th May             JENNY’S BAR, FENWICK ST.
LEEDS               Thursday 8th May                THE CROSSKEYS, WATER LANE
MANCHESTER    Friday 9th May                     BRITONS PROTECTION, B’WATER ST.
YORK                Saturday 10th May               BRIGANTES, MICKLEGATE

Just check your diaries and then click on that date and venue combination that works best for you!

We look forward to seeing you at a tasting soon.

Cheers!
Eddie and Team Whisky Lounge

© Robert Hall 2012 roberthall.com

Join us twice a month to sample single malt Scotch whisky:

First Friday in May 2014 you’ll sample 3 top-shelf features then pick 2 malts from our single malt menu. $40

Second Saturdays, monthly, we’ll feature 3 malts. You’ll roll a die and taste a regional malt whisky then pick a connoisseur’s choice for your 5th dram. $25

85 single malt Scotch whiskies from 56 Scotch distilleries fill our bar

– 64 at or above 46% abv

— 27 at cask strength

— 22 single casks

What’s all this mean?

watch Mark Gillespie’s WhiskyCast HD: “Life on the Road with Whisky’s Wanderers“

 Kelsey Dayton: “… bellying up to the bar for a splash of Scotch,” The Washington Post, Feb. 6, 2014

COMPANIONS OF THE QUAICH & LEGACY LIQUOR STORE VANCOUVER WEDNESDAY, MAY 14TH 7:30PM – 9:30PM. Open to members and non-members, please join us for a whisky tasting & dinner as we sample our way through our feature distiller, Kavalan Whisky – Taiwan Single Malt and the following offerings: Concertmaster, Soloist single casks, Sherry and Bourbon oak. Less than 5 years after its construction, Taiwan’s Kavalan distillery shocked the world with its impressive 3 year old single malt whiskies. With the assistance of whisky industry Top Gun Jim Swan the distillery was able to turn its scorching hot climate to its advantage. Not even a decade later Kavalan is still turning heads and taking the world by storm. – See more here 

Springbank 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch – $428.99

(1 bottle available) 

Nationwide shipping available! 

Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits

www.moraswines.com

631-941-4458

sev.clemens@moraswines.com

Ardbeg distillery announces Kiwis first in the world to taste 2014 limited edition

— Limited Edition whisky will be released on Ardbeg Day – 31st May 2014 —

Ardbeg, four-time winner of the World’s Best Scotch Whisky award, will launch its highly anticipated Limited Edition Ardbeg Auriverdes on Ardbeg Day, the distillery’s annual global celebration of all things Ardbeg. This year, Kiwis beat the rest of the world and will be first to taste the new single malt.

A distillery known for its cult following, Ardbeg invites New Zealand whisky enthusiasts to lead the worldwide celebration of Ardbeg Day on 31 May at Ardbeg embassies, House of Whiskey in Auckland, Regional Wines & Spirits in Wellington and Whisky Galore in Christchurch where Ardbeg Auriverdes will be exclusively available in very limited quantities.

The 2014 Limited Edition has been matured in American oak casks with specially toasted cask lids, tailor-made for this unique product. The new toasting technique gives the whisky a unique flavour profile with the lids producing a mocha coffee flavour at one end, flowing into creamy vanilla at the other – truly a dram of two halves!

“Kiwi Ardbeg fans will be thrilled to be first in the world to try the much anticipated Auriverdes. I have no doubt we will see a repeat of last year, with Embassies packed full of Ardbeg fans throughout the day,” says Rai Banbury, Ardbeg senior brand manager.

Distilled with equal measures of skill and passion, Ardbeg Auriverdes was named for the golden colour of the whiskey (auri) and the classic green Ardbeg bottle (verdes). Auriverdes is also the nickname of Brazil’s national football team, hosts of this year’s world cup. Taking inspiration from ‘peat football’ and Islay’s rich football heritage, New Zealand Ardbeg embassies and 120 other countries worldwide will kick off Ardbeg Day with football inspired events in-store.

Ardbeg Auriverdes follows the highly acclaimed Limited Edition Ardbeg Galileo, which scooped the ‘World’s Best Single Malt’ at the World Whisky Awards 2013.

Auriverdes celebrates the Islay Festival (the Feis Ile), of which Ardbeg Day marks the culmination, running from 23rd to 31st May 2014. It has become a key date in the calendar of malt whisky aficionados around the world, with thousands of them making the trip to the Island of Islay annually.

To find out more about Ardbeg Day, join the Kiwi celebration and become a committee member, visit:

http://www.ardbeg.com/ardbeg/members/public/index/register

Notes:

NZ Ardbeg Day Events on Saturday 31st May 2014:

• Whisky Galore, 66 Victoria Street, Central City, Christchurch. 11-5pm

• House of Whiskey, 50 Courthouse Lane, Auckland, CBD. 11-5pm

• Regional Wines & Spirits, 15 Ellice St, Mt Victoria, Wellington. 11-5pm 

Ardbeg Day:

Ardbeg Day will be celebrated at the distillery on Saturday 31 May 2014 and at participating Ardbeg Embassies around the world. For full details go to www.ardbeg.com  

Ardbeg Auriverdes Tasting Notes:

Aroma: Tarry and herbal notes with hints of mocha.

Taste: Coffee grounds pass to smoked root vegetables, while maple-cured bacon collides with hot-smoked salmon. 

Finish: A lingering, smoky vanilla note.

Ardbeg Auriverdes is non chill-filtered for extra texture and mouth feel.

 About Ardbeg:

Ardbeg prides itself on being the ‘Ultimate Islay Malt Whisky’. Established in 1815, Ardbeg is revered by whisky connoisseurs around the world as the peatiest, smokiest and most complex of all the Islay malts. Despite this, Ardbeg is renowned for its delicious sweetness, a phenomenon that has affectionately become known as ‘the peaty paradox’.