LAGAVULIN DISTILLERY ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF THIS YEAR’S SPECIAL BOTTLING FOR THE LAGAVULIN ISLAY JAZZ FESTIVAL

by Pat Roberts

A special limited-edition bottling of Lagavulin™ single malt Scotch whisky will again be available at this year’s Lagavulin Islay Jazz Festival ( #LagavulinJazz ), which starts on Friday 13 September with a concert in the Malt Mill at Lagavulin distillery by the master of American Stride piano, Stephanie Trick.

The third in this series of releases, the 2013 bottling comes in an edition of 1,500 individually numbered bottles and drawn from hand-selected Sherry Butts filled on 19 January 1995. It is bottled at an ABV of 51.9%.

“We’re delighted to announce our third Jazz Festival bottling” said Nick Morgan, Diageo’s Head of Whisky Outreach. “The first two have been of quite exceptional quality, and this year we’ve increased the quantity to ensure that it can be enjoyed by visitors who come from all over the world to enjoy the Lagavulin Islay Jazz Festival, and those who follow.”

The neck labelling continues the jazz theme of previous editions, again featuring a piano keyboard.

Bottles will be available to personal visitors only at Lagavulin distillery (limit of two bottles per customer) at a UK RRSP of £99.

The Islay Jazz Festival

The Festival is promoted by specialist jazz promoters, Jazz Scotland, and The Islay Arts Association, and receives funding from Argyll and Bute Council and Creative Scotland.

The Festival has been running since 1999. Since then the Festival has promoted musicians from over 25 countries and presented fifteen world premieres and is today regarded as a significant jazz event in the UK calendar.

Programme details can be seen on the Islay Jazz Festival website www.islayjazzfestival.co.uk. The events of the Festival are spread over three days and many venues on Islay.

Diageo’s famous Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Lagavulin™ first sponsored the Festival in 2010.

About Diageo

Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JεB, Windsor, Buchanan’s and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com.

For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com .

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.

The LAGAVULIN word and associated logos are trade marks. © Diageo 2013

Japan – Single Malt Scotch

•Nikka 17 Year Old Taketsuru Pure Malt Japanese Whisky 750ml ($139.99)
•Nikka 21 Year Old Taketsuru Pure Malt Japanese Whisky 750ml ($169.99)
•Nikka Coffey Still Grain Whisky Japanese Whisky 750ml ($62.99)
•Nikka Miyagikyo 12 Year Old Single Malt Japanese Whisky 750ml ($109.99)

•1998 Arran 14 Year Old K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky ($99.99)
Our first attempt to visit the lone distillery on Scotland’s Isle of Arran was disastrous – a gigantic blizzard blew through the south of Scotland, completely shutting down the available ferry system and knocking out power for the entire island. Despite our desire to finally see one of the true up-and-comers of the Scotch industry, we were simply out of luck this year. That didn’t mean we couldn’t taste through casks, however. Luckily for us, the Arran rep was stationed at Glasgow when the storm hit and had samples pulled in anticipation of our appointment. We met up with her shortly after the storm and immediately fell in love with an ex-sherry hogshead that was as complex and delicious as anything we had ever tasted from the young distillery. The nose is all golden grains, brandied fruit, and malty goodness. The palate has a short burst of bright fruit before settling down into faint sherry and sweet barley. At cask strength the alcohol makes these flavors even more powerful, but water doesn’t hinder them in any way. Arran is easily the MIP of the malt industry – the most improved player. Recent releases have been top notch, especially for a producer that began in 1996. We have no doubt that this wonderful cask will make believers out of K&L customers as well. The richness of the finish lingers on forever, reminding for minutes how legit this whisky is. Of course, we knew that going in. That’s why we were willing to brave the blizzard. (David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer)

Scotland – Blended Scotch

• Compass Box Delilah’s Special Edition Blended Whisky 750ml ($69.99)

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• Glenfarclas 40 year old, Distillery Bottling 750ml – 6  available ($469.99)

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

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www.ralfy.com gets a little confused with vlog numbers but save the moment with Whisky Review 390 (2/2) – Balcones baby blue corn whisky

Tomintoul 14 Year Old

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Delicate soft and creamy with light floral malt and some sweetness.

Palate: Elegant, round, soft and gentle clean malt with some creamy sweetness.

Finish: Long and creamy, tending to dry with slight peppery tones.

£40.00 Buy Now!

Tomintoul 10 Year Old

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Intense and sharp. Slightly spirity. Leafy. Fern. Cherry trifle. White pepper.

Palate: Enveloping and warm. Velvety. Cream fudge. A lot of spices. Nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper.

Finish: Long-lasting. Warm. Gently vanishing with almonds and nuts.

£28.00 Buy Now!

BOWMORE

 ® ISLAY SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY LAUNCHES

THE DEVIL’S CASKS

A SPELLBINDING DRAM RICH WITH FRUITCAKE, CHOCOLATE AND DELICIOUSLY DARK FRUITS

Bowmore, Islay’s first Single Malt Scotch whisky, has announced the launch of The Devil’s Casks – a devilishly delicious dram which has been matured exclusively – and unusually – for 10 years in the finest first fill sherry casks. This non chill-filtered, small batch release is bursting with Bowmore’s hot and fiery characteristics, deep mahogany colour and rich fruitcake flavour.

Created to celebrate one of Islay’s most famous tales – a story shrouded in myth and legend – 6,000 bottles of The Devil’s Casks will be released in October, just in time for Halloween. The story goes that the Devil himself was spotted in the round church of Bowmore and chased by local congregation down into the No. 1 vaults at the Bowmore distillery. Here, as the warehousemen were filling casks and loading them aboard the paddle steamer (The Maid of Islay) the devil was lost. It is believed he escaped in a cask of Bowmore bound for the mainland.

The devil is in the detail when it comes to packaging for this delectable treat – the perfect addition to any whisky connoisseur’s collection. A deep red box tells the story of the legend alongside smoke illustrations and a Devil’s pitchfork suggesting the Devil himself isn’t far away!

TASTING NOTES:

Colour: Deep mahogany

Nose: Dark fruits, birch tar, the warmth of old leather, brandy, fruitcake and maple syrup.

Taste: Rich fruitcake, tarry chocolate, lingering dark fruits, tobacco and angelica root.

Finish: Exceptionally long, full-bodied finish.

Bowmore’s Master of Malts Iain McCallum: “Ten year’s maturation in first fill sherry casks has brought out Bowmore’s fiery characteristics. The notes in this dram are hot and seductive. This small batch release is quite simply, devilishly good!”

540 bottles of the Devil’s Casks has been released in the UK priced at £50.99 RRP, 56.9% ABV.

Bowmore The Devil’s Casks is available from October.

Please contact Nicola Young at Mulberry Bank Auctions for information on lots that did not sell in the September 10th Whisky Auction.

http://www.mulberrybankauctions.com/

The GlenDronach  “Recherché” is a 44 year-old Highland single malt, which was distilled and filled to cask on September 24th, 1968.

The ’68 stock represents the oldest whisky in GlenDronach’s vast warehouses, and GlenDronach 1968 cask # 005, an Oloroso sherry butt, was hand-picked to be bottled as “Recherché”. The name “Recherché” has been chosen because it means “carefully sought-out”.

This expression is sublime; a full-bodied, richly-sherried single malt (bottled at a cask strength of 48.6% vol), with all the traditional characteristics you would expect of a GlenDronach…and indeed one of which enigmatic founder James “Cobbie” Allardice would heartily approve!

This is a limited release of just 632 bottles, which will be available worldwide. GlenDronach “Recherché” will retail in the UK at £2749.99.

GlenDronach 1968 Recherche

Benromach 10 Year Old & Benromach Organic Special Edition Available Now!

Benromach 10 Year Old
43.0%       70cl

£27.20 Buy Now

Benromach Organic Special Edition
43.0%      70cl

£35.00 Buy Now

UK vlogger Joe Ellis a.k.a Whisky Wednesday reviews Glencadam 12 Year Old Portwood

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