From our friends at Scotch Whisky Auctions;

Welcome to the 33rd auction, the last of 2013 and the first of 2014! We’d like to thank everyone for their support over the past 12 months and wish you all the very best for the new year.

Found 1632 products.

Late December 2013 Offerings 

Cask No. 26.89                                            $185 

An exotic tearoom experience 

Highland, Northern 

Lemon drizzle cake, dried pineapple cubes and waxiness on the nose give way to fresh ginger, gorse flowers and wood glue. Tasted neat, there was a spicy pepper heat and the waxy notes. The taste also offered peaches, vanilla pods and an apricot cake. Adding water led to notes of vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce, lemon sorbet, spiced apple tea and an indulgent orange spiced soap! The taste was warming and exotic introducing Turkish delight, old fashioned perfume (lavender) and a hint of ras el hanout spices. This cask comes from the Brora distillery, whose name means ‘sloped garden’. 

Drinking tip: A dram for after church high tea 

Colour: Polished pine                               Date distilled: November 1984

Cask: Refill Sherry butt                               Alcohol: 56.6%

Age: 27 years                                              USA allocation: 120 bottles 

Cask No. 29.142                                          $135 

Rock Pooling and beach barbeque 

Islay 

It is a warm sunny afternoon on the beach and we are rock pooling, exploring diverse marine life; starfish, anemones, crabs, limpets, small fish and seaweed – exposing a possible meal every low tide. Talking of a meal there is also aromas of lamb chops sizzling on a barbeque with a hint of rosemary and the freshness of mint sauce. The taste is ashy to start, oak smoked mackerel, cold smoked salmon and the sweetness of honey glazed ham. With water turning into sweet cured herring with a dill sauce and gravlax with a honey mustard marinade. The taste is now hickory sweet smoked fish, beer battered calamari and roasted marshmallows over an open fire – hungry yet? 

Drinking tip: Take a hint from the title

Colour: Polished copper                         Date distilled: April 1995

Cask: Refill barrel                                        Alcohol: 58.6%

Age: 18 years                                              USA allocation: 108 bottles

Cask No. 63.29                                            $160 

Charcuterie board in a carpenter’s workshop 

Speyside, Spey 

We all moved into a carpenter’s workshop with warm, deep and woody aromas of chestnut, cedar, pine, oak and cinnamon bark. At the same time wood shavings, glue, felt tip pens and a glass of freshly pressed apple juice. The taste turns the juice into Calvados, very mouth coating and moreish with a pleasant semi dry finish combined with the chewy sweetness of blackcurrant wine gums. Adding water, still plenty of aromatic wood besides tobacco and banana leafs and a quince jelly. The taste is now more oriental wood, alongside a well brewed Lapsang Souchung tea accompanied by a charcuterie board served with oatcakes. 

Drinking tip: Whilst getting things ready for hosting a party 

Colour: Polished brass                              Date distilled: December 1989

Cask: Refill barrel                                        Alcohol: 53.0%

Age: 23 years                                              USA allocation: 84 bottles

Cask No. 73.52                                            $160 

Speakeasy perkiness     

Speyside, Deveron 

The nose hinted at uniforms and boots in a wooden chest, musky perfume in a leather handbag, calvados, sherry-soaked fruit cake, molasses, syrup, crême brûlée and a distant bonfire. With water it remained fascinating and perky – perhaps fruitier (apple, pear, peach, orange) but with some bitterness, burnt notes, wood and hessian. The palate delivered a surge of sweetness and a spreading glow of warmth – marmalade, aniseed, apple pie, black coffee and traces of smoke. The reduced flavours suggested humbugs and a gangster’s moll sipping espresso in a 1920’s speakeasy. The distillery contributes to Dewar’s and sits between Keith and Buckie. 

Drinking tip: While watching favourite gangster movies 

Colour: Autumn gold                               Date distilled: May 1989

Cask: Refill Sherry butt                               Alcohol: 57.5%

Age: 23 years                                              USA allocation: 90 bottles 

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

NEW ARRIVALS

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• 1978 Bunnahabhain Samaroli Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 6 available ($419.99)

• Oban 15 Year Distillers Edition Montilla Fino Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 10 available ($89.99)

• SMWS 35.100 (Glen Moray) “Rare Release” Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($115.99)
  The illustrious Scotch Malt Whisky Society finally comes to a retail store. Do not fret if you’re already a member, the amount of whisky being released to the public is a tiny drop in the bucket, just a taste to show the world what the Society has for those who are not aware. We were lucky enough to be selected as one of the four retailers to carry SMWS, along with a few key on-premise accounts, and will be your only source for SMWS bottlings for non-members. This outstanding cask is highly collectable not simply because it’s the 100th cask from this little distillery to be bottled by the Society, but also because it’s one of the best whiskies I’ve had all year. Glen Moray is not a well known distillery in the states, but I think the utter freshness of this whisky will shock even those who know it well. Vibrant and brimming with life, it spent 10 years in a fresh bourbon barrel. The Society’s stringent cask selection system is on display h ere, so it will certainly be sought out by SMWS members who pride themselves on procuring special casks like this one. Get yours now or wait and lose out on one of our most interesting casks of the year. SMWS tasting notes, “Fruity and Fresh, the nose has lime pastilles, apple sours and Midori, coriander leaf, flowers and rhubarb tart – refreshing as a waterfall. The palate has lime, orange sherbet, apple turnover and kiwi – wood shavings, pepper and chilli provide a punchy finish.”

United States Bourbon & Rye

• Redemption 6 Year Old Barrel Proof Straight Rye Whiskey 750ml ($69.99)

BANK IN STOCK

Ireland – Irish and Blended Scotch

• Tyrconnell Single Malt Irish Whiskey 750ml – 4 available ($33.99)

Scotland – Irish and Blended Scotch

• Samaroli Evolution 2012 Multi Vintage Pure Malt Scotch Whisky 750ml – 6 available ($319.99)

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• Glenlivet Archive 21 year old Single Malt Whisky 750ml *ships as 3L in box ($159.99)

• Glenlivet XXV 25 year old Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Elsewhere $390) ($349.99)

• Macallan 25 Year Old Distillery Bottling Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 9 available ($799.99)
  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

Glenfiddich Spirit of a Nation

December saw the official launch of the Glenfiddich ‘Spirit of a Nation’ 29 Year Old Limited Edition. The bottling was produced to commemorate their sponsorship of the Walking With The Wounded South Pole Challenge 2013. This is the second year … Continue reading >>

Chivas Brothers Wins Rocco Award for ‘Journey to Zero Waste’

Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, has been recognised for its green commitments with the ROCCO award for Journey to Zero Waste.

The accolade highlights the company’s pledge to send zero waste to landfill by 2015. Chivas Brothers has already made significant strides towards this goal, with a current recycling rate of 98%, up from 78% in 2006. This has been achieved through a reduction in packaging waste, improvements to the manufacturing process, employee awareness campaigns and events, and the replacement of standard bins with recycling bins in all areas of the business – from warehouses and distilleries to canteens and offices.

The ROCCO awards are the annual business awards of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce, and this year celebrated their 10th anniversary with a glittering awards dinner at the Normandy Hotel in Renfrew. This is not the first ROCCO win for Paisley-based Chivas Brothers – last year the company won the ROCCO award for International Trade.Chivas Brothers Environment Manager Ronald Daalmans, who collected the award on behalf of the company, said: “The award recognises the hard work being done at Chivas Brothers to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill. It is a great honour to have this acknowledged so close to home, by the Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce.

“Our strong environmental performance could not have been achieved without a shared commitment from all employees in all areas of the business, of which we are incredibly proud. That said, we are determined to keep improving and reach our target of zero waste to landfill by 2015.”

BEAM JOINS OPERATION HOMEFRONT IN HOLIDAY MEALS PROGRAM FEEDING 7,500 MILITARY FAMILIES

Deerfield, Ill. – Dec. 20, 2013 – For the fifth consecutive year, Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM), a leading global premium spirits company, has joined with Operation Homefront as a partner for the Holiday Meals for Military program, which will provide 7,500 holiday meals to military service members and their families at 22 bases nationwide this month.

Beam, and its flagship Bourbon brand, Jim Beam, founded the Holiday Meals for Military program in 2009 to help ease the burden that service members and their families often experience during the holidays. Now in its fifth year, the Holiday Meals program has grown from initially providing 500 meal kits in 2009 to providing 7,500 this holiday season – reaching 15 times more military families than the first event five years ago.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to Operation Homefront and the military, Beam is honored to be a key partner in the Holiday Meals effort and celebrate the fifth year of the program by reaching more military families than ever before,” said Ken Ruff, VP of national accounts, on-premise for Beam. “Service men and women have given so much to our country; this is just one small way we can give back to them and share the spirit of the holidays.”

In a series of 22 giveaway events happening this month, Beam, Operation Homefront and key sponsors will distribute pre-packaged meal kits to military families stationed at bases nationwide, including Fort Campbell and Fort Knox in Kentucky, where Beam produces more than 60% of its volume; Great Lakes Naval Base, near Chicago and close to Beam’s global headquarters; and several other large military communities. In addition to helping secure sponsors and volunteers, Beam will donate $25,000 to the cost of the pre-packaged meal kits, which contain all the grocery items needed for a full holiday meal and more.

“Operation Homefront has been proud to partner with Beam on several charitable efforts since 2008, the Holiday Meals program being a great example of the incredible impact that can result,” said Jim Knotts, President and CEO of Operation Homefront. “We have significantly expanded our reach every year for the past five years, and we look forward to working together to support even more of our nation’s military families in the future.”

Since 2008, Beam has worked closely with Operation Homefront, an organization that provides emergency financial aid and other assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors. Beam has donated more than $2.5 million to the cause since their partnership began.

For more information on Holiday Meals for Military events or to join Beam in support of this cause, please visit http://www.holidaymealsformilitary.org/. 

Japan – Single Malt Scotch

• Suntory Yamazaki 25 year old Japanese Single Malt Whiskey 750ml – 1 available ($1,599.99)  
• Suntory Yamazaki 12 year old Japanese Single Malt Whiskey 750ml – 11 available ($49.99)

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 Intelligence has added a new category called ‘Vignettes – Moments in Whisky’ which will feature whisky moments as experienced by the readership. If you have a whisky moment please feel free to submit your moment and we’ll do our best to publish it.

Go on, you know you want to be famous…

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #74

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries something extraordinary. The supporters of his local football club AA Gent are called Buffalo’s. And they have their very own whisky, aptly named Smoking Buffalo. This 5th edition is something special though, being a Speyside single malt from an undisclosed distillery, finished on an Islay cask, thus living up to the name! 

http://youtu.be/HUVaNwziIn8