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Joe from Whisky Wednesday reviews Bushmills Black Bush Irish Whiskey for St. Patrick’s Day
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Whisky Ramblings Via Video #39
Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, celebrates Saint Patrick’s Day with the ultra-smooth triple distilled Irish blend Tullamore Dew. He shot the video during his holiday in Austria, so enjoy the view as well as the tipple.
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Whisky Ramblings Via Video #40
Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, wraps up Saint Patrick’s Day with the rather excellent Bushmills Black Bush in his 40th Whisk(e)y Rambling.
GLOBAL SENSATION ‘OF MONSTERS AND MEN’ SET TO ROCK BUSHMILLS LIVE 2013 – ONLY INDIE MUSIC FESTIVAL IN AN IRISH WHISKEY DISTILLERY
Bushmills Village: March 2013: The Old Bushmills Distillery today announced that it will throw open its doors to play host to world class headline acts and emerging indie talent at ‘Bushmills Live’ – a unique two-day festival celebrating handcrafted whiskey and music.
Bushmills Live will take place on Ireland’s stunning North Coast on 19th and 20th June 2013 and is the only indie music festival in an Irish Whiskey distillery.
Internationally acclaimed indie folk band, Of Monsters and Men will headline the two day festival – their first ever gig in Northern Ireland.
The Icelandic five-piece are currently enjoying enormous worldwide success having just won the 2013 European Border Breakers Award*, which honours the best new European music acts. Of Monsters and Men have been dubbed the ‘must see act’ of the year and this summer marks the beginning of a busy festival schedule for the group which will include a performance at one of the biggest international festivals, Coachella in California – making their intimate appearance at Bushmills Live unlike any other that fans will experience this year.
Only 500 tickets are available globally for Bushmills Live, which will see both iconic and emerging artists share the stage for a series of intimate gigs in age-old buildings at the historic Old Bushmills Distillery, where the art of distilling has been perfected over generations.
The ‘money can’t buy tickets’ will not go on general release. Instead, music and whiskey fans can win the chance to attend the festival by entering a draw on the Bushmills Irish Whiskey Facebook page – facebook.com/bushmills1608. Entries to the draw will open this Sunday, on St Patrick’s Day at 16:08 GMT.
Ragnar Þórhallsson, singer with Of Monsters and Men, said: “Playing a show in such a unique location, around the centuries-old warehouses and whiskey barrels, to such an intimate audience, is an experience we are very excited about. It’s going to make our first gig in Northern Ireland a memorable one, and not just for us, for the fans too, we hope!”
Of Monsters and Men are in good company. They join a list of fellow indie rockers such as the iconic Snow Patrol, singer-songwriters Foy Vance and Iain Archer, Elijah Wood, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Marcus Foster, The Staves, General Fiasco and David C Clements who all played electrifying performances at Bushmills Live last year.
Bushmills Live can also be credited with providing a great platform for up-and-coming music acts to launch their careers. The Staves have gone on to support Bon Iver on his global tour while Foy Vance has had continued success and is set to support Ed Sheeran on the European and US legs of his 2013 tour.
Speaking at the launch of this year’s event Master Blender at The Old Bushmills Distillery, Helen Mulholland, promised fans that they can expect to enjoy “great music between great friends.”
“Whiskey and music have always gone well together”, added Helen Mulholland. “And at Bushmills Live we like to make both by hand, bringing this fusion of handcrafted whiskey and handcrafted music together against the backdrop of our beautiful distillery with performances from artists who are friends – which makes for a cracking atmosphere!”
“It goes without saying that we’re looking forward to extending a warm Bushmills welcome to our new friends, Of Monsters and Men, and to emerging artists who we’re proud to support by creating a music platform that allows fans to discover new and upcoming talent.
“I can’t wait to reveal the rest of the line up in the coming weeks. We’re of course just as excited to open our doors to whiskey and music fans the world over who want to attend Bushmills Live, so get your entry in and good luck!”
NOTES
Bushmills Irish Whiskey Facebook: facebook.com/bushmills1608
Bushmills Irish Whiskey Twitter: @BushmillsGlobal
Twitter Hashtag: #BushmillsLive
OF MONSTERS AND MEN BIOGRAPHY
Of Monsters and Men is an amiable group from Iceland whose debut album “My Head Is An Animal” is a collection of infectious folkie pop songs. With the group’s single “Little Talks”, the band (consisting of Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson, Brynjar Leifsson, Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, Kristján Páll Kristjánsson) has become a breakout act all around the world.
After a breakout year, “My Head Is An Animal,” the band’s debut album, was officially certified platinum worldwide. Surpassing 1 million sales, the record remains a clarion call for the band’s invigorating style. The band capped off the year with “Little Talks” selling over 3.5 million singles worldwide, the album reaching Platinum status in Canada and Ireland, as well as Gold in multiple countries including Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States.
In 2013, Of Monsters and Men will embark on a world tour including stops in Japan, Australia, South America, UK, Europe, and heading back to North America this summer.
*More information on the European Border Breakers Awards: http://www.europeanborderbreakersawards.eu/eng
ABOUT THE COMPETITION:
To win tickets to ‘Bushmills Live’ or to find out more, visit facebook.com/bushmills1608. Entry opens at 16:08 GMT on 17th March 2013 and closes at 23:59 GMT on 5th May 2013. Winners will be notified by 9th May. Terms and conditions apply.
The Facebook competition is open to people of at least 18 years, in:
From each, one pair of finalists will win tickets to ‘Bushmills Live’.
ABOUT BUSHMILLS IRISH WHISKEY
With a heritage rooted in authenticity and quality, Bushmills Irish Whiskey is produced, aged and bottled at Ireland’s oldest working distillery in the village of Bushmills in County Antrim on the far north coast of Ireland. The Old Bushmills Distillery uses 100% malt barley to make triple distilled malt whiskey, which is what creates the rich, mellow and distinct flavour that is the house style. The Bushmills portfolio includes: Bushmills Irish Whiskey; Black Bush, Bushmills 10 Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 16 Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 21 Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 1608 and now Bushmills Irish Honey.
ABOUT DIAGEO
Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards Wines.
Diageo is a global company, trading 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 Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.
Craft distilling has become big news in the US recently, with demand for small batch bourbon and rye sky-rocketing in the past few years. On March 25th we are lucky enough to have Chip Tate, President and Distiller of Balcones Texas Whisky, at The Whisky Exchange Shop at Vinopolis to show us his superb range of ground-breaking American whiskies.
Chip’s tiny stills produce a mere 1,000 litres of spirit at a time, and his whiskies have been winning awards left, right and centre since they first started to appear in 2011. For this tasting, he’ll be taking us through his core range, which includes the Baby Blue and True Blue Corn Whiskies, the amazing Brimstone smoked whisky, and finally the winner of Caskstrength.net’s 2012 ‘Best in Glass’ award, the Balcones Texas Single Malt.
The whole range was a huge success at The Whisky Show last year, so this is a great chance to see what all the fuss is about.
Chip’s enthusiasm for whisky-makin’ is infectious, and this casual tasting evening will give you a chance not only to meet the man himself, but also try something that we can assure you is completely and utterly different to anything you’ve tried before.
The tasting will take place on Monday 25th March, 7:30pm.
£15 per ticket
As ever, tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis and are limited to two per customer
Book your ticket
Call us: 020 7403 8688 or visit our shop
http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/Vinopolis.aspx
http://www.facebook.com/events/226698914136242/
NEW Whisky Insiders Interview from The Whisky Wire: Davin de Kergommeaux, Whisky Writer & Author of Canadian Whisky the portable expert https://goo.gl/zYHfA
Happy Whiskey Selection Fellow WhiskeyLover! –
I have two important bits of news this week:
Bit one: For those of you living in the Greater Boston to Philly corridor, I’m sure you’re as excited as I am that, in a matter of weeks the doors will open to (what I consider) the premier annual whisky event in the New York area: Whisky Live NYC.
On Wednesday April 3rd, Whisky Magazine takes over the magnificent event space at Pier Sixty, at Chelsea Piers on Manhattan’s West Side, for an outrageous evening of whisky exploration and education. Hundreds of exceptional whiskies from around the world will be poured, while Master Classes by renowned industry thought leaders are offered along with great food and music.
Tickets for the event are
– $149 for the VIP treatment, which includes early entrance to the event at 5:00pm, 90 minutes earlier than standard admission, a Whisky Live tasting glass, show guide, full dinner buffet and 14 drink vouchers.
– $119 for regular entrance at 6:30pm, plus a Whisky Live tasting glass, show guide, full dinner buffet and 8 drink vouchers.
But wait! There’s more.
We scored big for you…use the coupon code “explorer” when you purchase your tickets, and you get 15% off your ticket price. And VIP ticket purchasers will also get a 1-year subscription to Whisky Magazine.
Not bad…eh? If you are a WhiskeyLover within 100 miles of NYC, you owe it to yourself the make this event.
Bit Two : This weeks Whiskey Wednesday feature: Bunnahabhain Toiteach.
We featured Toiteach about a year ago when it was first released. Since then we’ve “stumbled upon” an unsecured allotment…more on that later…and so we’re exited to offer it again.
The Bunnahabhain distillery was founded in 1881. It was still a new venture when visited by the author Alfred Barnard while he was researching his definitive book on distilleries. One of Alfred’s many observations was that, “Nothing but peat is used in the kilns, which is dug in the district and is of exceptionally fine quality.”
This is in stark contrast to the gentle Bunnahabhain of today.
Now, over a century and a quarter later, Bunnahabhain Toiteach (Pron. ‘Toe-chack’) has been created in honor of this original, long-lost style of Bunnahabhain.
Toiteach, which means “smoky” in Gaelic, is the first heavily peated Bunnahabhain to be introduced in the United States. The whiskey is not chill-filtered, with no added coloring. And the water used to produce the whisky is sourced from a pure natural spring, making Bunnahabhain the only distillery on Islay to use a natural spring as its water source.
The nose has a charming subtle peatiness with prickling strength emanating from the dram. The taste has immediate warming flavors drifting towards a slightly sweet sherry influence with delicate peppery notes. The finish has a good robust length with an extremely pleasant aftertaste – a beautifully peated Bunnahabhain single malt for a highly discerning palate.
Toiteach was produced in very small quantities, and there is extremely limited availability.
Good luck finding it…anywhere…at any price.
As I mentioned before, we’ve been able to get more.
Our man Nicky The Neck, himself awarded an Alfred Barnard Fellowship while performing his post-doctoral research on methods of distillation at Cambridge University, attended his a class reunion this past weekend. While there he learned of an unsecured allotment of this exquisite whisky, and moved swiftly to acquire the extremely rare whisky for us
And so I’m again thrilled to offer a very lucky few the opportunity to acquire a bottle of Bunnahabhain Toiteach for $87.50.
If you want a bottle, order it now. Because once it’s gone…
Don’t forget to cast your votes for the 2013 Drammie Awards: The Voice of the Whiskey Enthusiast, and until next week,
I wish you the finest of spirits!
Doug Stone
Founder
ForWhiskeyLovers.com
BUNNAHABHAIN TOITEACH
BUNNAHABHAIN TOITEACH – TASTING NOTES
Color: A light golden hue
Nose:Smoky with a subtle floral nose
Body: Buttery mouth feel with sweet smokiness
Finish: Long and complex with a lingering peppery note.
www.ralfy.com shares a few valuable minutes with one of the most obscure of Irelands whiskies with Whisky Review 348 – Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey
This month, The House of Suntory Whisky proudly marks its 90th anniversary of whisky making. It has been 90 years since founding father, Shinjiro Torii, built the first whisky distillery in Yamazaki, Japan in 1923, and this new “art of whisky making” was born. Since then, the House of Suntory has grown to include its three luxury brands – The Yamazaki and The Hakushu single malts, and the blend, Hibiki – all which have gone on to earn high praise and global success.
Some highlights include:
– 1923 – Shinjiro Torii, established Japan’s first distillery in Yamazaki on the periphery of Kyoto
– 1973 – Torii’s son, Keizo Saji, completes Suntory’s second distillery, Hakushu
– 2002 – Shingo Torii, grandson of Shinjiro Torii is named the current Master Blender of the House, and continues to perfect the quality of Suntory’s Japanese Whisky
– 2012 – Suntory achieves global accomplishment, when named Distiller of the Year for the third time in three years
– 2012 – Suntory’s marks impressive global growth of shipments: The Yamazaki increased by 24% and The Hakushu increased by a remarkable 187%
– 2013 and on – Looking to the future, Suntory plans to strengthen their global presence by expanding to new markets, talking to new customers, and proposing new ways of enjoying their whisky. In 2013 and 2014, Suntory will be investing approximately 5 Billion Yen (US$50 Million) to increase productivity at the Yamazaki Distillery and the Ohmi Aging Cellars. This expansion and investment is to meet the increasing demand globally for Suntory whisky, specifically, in the US and UK.
