Concannon Irish Whiskey

Background: Launched in U.S. in early 2012, Concannon Irish Whiskey is the independent spirit of Ireland. Developed as a joint collaboration between Livermore Valley-based Concannon Vineyard and Ireland’s renowned Cooley distillery.

Brand Ambassador and 4th Generation Vintner, John Concannon, is continuing his family’s legacy of blending rich tradition with pioneering innovation with the development of Concannon Irish Whiskey. “Our Irish roots run deep, and entering the Irish Whiskey market symbolizes building an eternal bond with the past by creating a bold, new chapter in our Concannon Family History.” Concannon Irish Whiskey, a special tribute to his Great-Grandfather, James Concannon, in admiration for his adventurous spirit, vision and ambitious endeavors. James Concannon also celebrates his birthday on St. Patrick’s Day.

Product: Concannon Irish Whiskey is a refined blend of malted barley and corn, craft distilled for proper balance of character and purity. It is matured in bourbon barrels for a minimum of four years, then mellowed in Concannon Petite Sirah wine barrels for four months before blending. This is known as the “Concannon Effect”, which gives Concannon Irish Whiskey a uniquely fruity character with a full, clean and balanced taste.

Tastings Notes: Visual: Light golden wheat color

Nose: Toasted malt, red fruit and vanilla

Palate: Balance of honey sweet, spice, and citrus flavors

Finish: Medium-length. Warming and round, with hint fresh oak.

Price: $24.99 for a 750ml bottle, 40% ABV.

Accolades: Concannon Irish Whiskey received Best New Irish Whiskey of the Year in 2012 from International Spirits Competition (NYISC).

Distribution: Nationally distributed in the U.S.

Website: http://concannonirishwhiskey.com/

www.ralfy.com heads off to Ireland in the run up to St Patricks’ day with Whisky Review 345 – Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey . . .  very easy drinking.

Paul reports;

1. Here is a grand Irish whiskey tour for May that we have a few places remaining!

Aye, some seats can still be booked on this exclusive Irish whiskey trip, but hurry!

The tour starts and ends in Dublin, it is a wee group tour hosted by Daley Irish Tours, part of MCLEANSCOTLAND.
TUE 14 May; Fly into Dublin on arrival day (under own steam), soon as all ready we shall travel a scenic route to Cork, we visit Midleton distillery. overnight Midleton.
WED 15 May; This morning to Dingle www.dinglefoundingfathers.com  then drive north, staying overnight Tullamore, good pubs locally!
THU 16 May; to Tullamore distillery for the first visit, distillery. After this we visit Kilbeggan distillery, spend time and sample drams! Excellent distillery tour here. We then drive west through Athlone and on to Donegal, overnight here in a castle hotel.
FRI 17 May; After breakfast from Donegal to Derry, some free time here, then more sightseeing as we head east to Coleraine area, overnight here, overnight
SAT 18 May; Visit the Giants Causeway, departing then to Bushmills distillery. From here south to another unique whiskey event, Slane Castle, who have their own whiskey! Overnight locally.
SUN 19 May; Drive down to Dublin today, arrive and use remainder of the day for free time, although we shall make time for a group tour of Old Jameson distillery visit. This evening, dine out as a group, with a whiskey tasting, in superb surroundings. Overnight Dublin (final night)

As usual, we shall be providing some extra whiskies on tour and one or two surprises, the usual mcleanscotland tour!
THIS TOUR; all accommodation as shown, breakfast (cooked) each morning, fully guided, luxury mini coach, tour notes, whiskey for tastings.
COST; £745 per person sharing, Single supplement £210

TO BOOK ONTO THIS TOUR, or to receive more details, please contact Paul@mcleanscotland.com

2. Whisky with a Mexican twist.

This tour will cover Ireland and Scotland. You will be on board our coach with a Pipe Band from Mexico City! Never done before with us, join a pipe band on tour, enjoy the craik, the sounds, fun and scenery, oh – and also enjoy a whisk(e)y or more! The band was established in 1997 to honour the Irish and Scottish soldiers that fought alongside Mexico in the war with of 1846-1847. These soldiers were an artillery unit and was known as the St. Patrick’s Battalion.  In 2011 the band performed with The Chieftains at their concert in Lorient, France. The band has also performed with famed Spanish Piper Carlos Nuñez and Scotland’s Tenors. The band proudly wears the MacKenzie tartan, which combines the colours of both the Mexican and Scottish flags. The band’s tour in August 2013 would be the first time the band travels as a group to Ireland and Scotland for performances and competition at the World Championships.

See this great itinerary here; www.mcleanscotland.com/awc/St.Patrick’sBattalionPipes&DrumsMexicoCity.asp

Costs; the band are very flexible, you can join the Irish tour only; £450 per person sharing. The Scottish only; £550 per person sharing, or the whole tour for £900 per person sharing.

There will be more added to this tour including distillery visits etc.

To find out more; paul@mcleanscotland.com   www.mcleanscotland.com

Whisky Wednesday reviews the fantastic German Single Malt whisky Slyrs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58ZTWBLcIzk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The Macallan unveils The Flask in Oakley Inc. design collaboration

Luxury single malt, The Macallan, has partnered with sport and lifestyle brand Oakley, Inc. to produce a unique limited edition flask.

Entitled ‘The Flask’, this latest collaboration for the brand has an edgy, adventurous feel.  It underlines both The Macallan’s credentials in innovation whilst adhering to the brand’s unwavering commitment to precision and detailed craftsmanship.

Made from stainless steel and carbon fibre the flask is durable in style as well as design.  The Flask has gone through extraordinarily exacting regimens and processes to ensure the exquisite taste of the single malt when in The Flask is maintained.

Ken Grier, Director of Malts, Edrington Group, said: “Working with people like Colin Baden and Neil Ferrier at Oakley, Inc. has not only been a huge amount of fun, but together it has allowed us to defy convention and take a truly design-driven approach in crafting this beautiful, yet high octane Flask.  The Macallan is known for its unique collaborations and this latest output continues our commitment to the high quality creativity now inherent within the brand.”

The edgy and adventurous theme to this collaboration is brought to life here in *The Flask: Test Sessions video

Neil Ferrier of Oakley, Inc., said: “I love the story behind The Flask as it was born in a very fitting environment. When Ken visited Oakley’s design bunker, he brought us some great Macallan so we granted him access! After a few drams, he asked Colin Baden, Oakley’s CEO, about making a convention-defying hip flask, and The Macallan; The Flask was born.  The challenges along the way were a ton of fun and result is a highly-engineered piece of hardware that is dedicated to purpose beyond reason.”

The Flask, which can hold 20cl, is extremely robust in functionality with every potential circumstance and environment of usage considered.  The inner flask is laser welded, wrapped in carbon fibre composite and clad in aerospace grade aluminium.

Limited stock of ‘The Flask’ will be available to purchase via www.themacallan.com. 100 flasks will be available from 27^th February date, priced £600.

Notes 

*The Flask: Test Sessions film is the creation of Oakley Inc, the architects of The Macallan Flask.  It is designed to showcase their creativity and flair.  This is not a promotional film on behalf of The Macallan brand.  

About The Macallan

Founded in 1824 in the heart of Speyside, The Macallan was one of the first distilleries in Scotland to be legally licensed. Since then it has built a reputation as one of the world’s leading single malt whiskies.  The creation of The Macallan draws on the vital contributing influences of Spain, North America and Scotland, and of their respective natural raw materials, combined with traditional methods and craftsmanship. From its founding, through the subsequent owners of The Macallan distillery in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and into the present century, The Macallan has been recognised for its outstanding quality above all else. Today this remains the foundation for the worldwide fame of The Macallan and is such that it is truly “The Last Word” in luxury and at the heart of those special moments brought alive over a glass of The Macallan.

We’ve had some great new whiskies and wines in over the last few weeks, including a follow on to the Shackleton Discovery whisky, a couple of limited edition Jura whiskies, some new expressions from Dewar Rattray, a host of Bladnochs and the addition of a number of Laurent Perrier bottlings to our champagne range. We’ve shown a selection below but you can see more in our New Products section online.

And with only a week or so to Mother’s Day why not check out our handy article on gift ideas for Mum? Go on, you know she’s worth it!

Sláinte!
Fran and Ken

On the lookout for something different? Look no further!

Our March Outturn is available now, so visit www.smws.ca to view our latest batch of single cask beauties.

A reminder for our Vancouver and Lower Mainland members, the usual Outturn tasting will not happen on Monday as we will be premiering all seven releases at Tip A Wee Dram on Friday, March 8th.

Edgemont Fine Wines, Spirits & Ales will be accepting bottle orders as of today but your first chance to sample them will be at Tip A Wee Dram.

TAWD, sponsored by Edgemont and Team Hope, is a fund-raising whisky festival for the BC Cancer Society.
It’s a great cause and if you’d like to attend, you can purchase tickets here:
www.tipaweedram.com

For now, let two of our tasting notes tempt you:

Cask No. 39.82 Suede shoes walking through clover
13 years old; refill sherry butt; 60%abv
The nose conveyed clementines, cherries, sweet and salty popcorn, a basket of mushrooms and suede shoes walking through clover. The palate had peppery, earthy, salty, savoury elements yet was surprisingly sweet too.

Cask No. 29.121 Seafood party on the beach
20 years old; refill sherry butt; 55.1%abv
The initial nose gave coal sacks, beach barbecue wood smoke, ash, raisins, toffee and toasted nuts. The palate was very sweet – coconut, candy and sweet tobacco balanced nicely by cigars and smoke from a driftwood fire.

Tempting? There are plenty more where these came from. To view the rest of the March Outturn as well as fantastic past bottlings still available, go to:
www.smws.ca

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada
104-1240 Kensington Road NW, Suite 160
Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 3P7
Email – curious@smws.ca

www.ralfy.com goes into a bit more depth with Whisky Review 344 – Information on Whisky Maturation and Finishing

JAMESON IRISH WHISKEY SPREADS SPIRIT OF THE IRISH WITH JAMESON ST PATRICK’S LIVE 2013

Jameson, the world’s No.1 Irish whiskey, is bringing St Patrick’s Day celebrations to life across the world for consumers by hosting Jameson ‘St Patrick’s Live’ events throughout March and on Sunday 17th March.

The headline event will be held in Dublin, Ireland and aims to give Jameson fans the ultimate, alternative St Patrick’s experience. Festivities include The Jameson St. Patrick’s Live party in Dublin, which will be headlined this year by globally-acclaimed band, Bombay Bicycle Club, with support from leading Irish musicians, Jape and The Cast of Cheers. The concert will be streamed live on www.jamesonwhiskey.com to allow people all over the world to experience St Patrick’s Day, Jameson-style.

Jameson is also taking over streets and venues in major cities such as Prague, Buenos Aires, Mumbai and Stockholm to give locals a taste of true Irish St Patrick’s festivities.

This year’s Jameson St Patrick’s Live celebrations sees the return of the annual Jameson Live Global Broadcast, where radio stations from around the world descend on Dublin to join in the festivities and broadcast their shows live from the Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin. 43 radio stations from 10 countries will broadcast and capture the bustling atmosphere of Dublin.

Once again, Jameson is supporting its St Patrick’s Day activities with the release of a special limited edition bottle, which will be available to on trade, off trade and travel retail customers. Created by glass artist, David Smith, the 2013 design evokes a classic back bar mirror, in recognition of the iconic glass etching and ornate gilding that can be found in Dublin pubs where Jameson has been served for generations. The limited edition bottle is available in 24 countries around the world from February 2013.

Howard Southern, International Marketing Director for Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard said: “As the world’s No. 1 Irish whiskey, we are proud to offer an alternative Dublin St Patrick’s Day experience to consumers around the world. The Jameson Live Global Broadcast and the Jameson St Patrick’s Live party have proven to be very popular and we are confident that this year’s events will encourage even more Jameson fans to join in and embrace their Irish spirit”.

The 2012 celebrations saw over 200 hours of broadcasting time at the Jameson Global Live Broadcast, from countries such as the US and Japan. The Jameson website registered more than 25,000 hits on 17th March 2012, as consumers around the world looked for Irish inspiration, while the activities helped the brand surpass the 400,000 Facebook ‘Fans’ milestone.

About Jameson
Jameson is the world’s No 1 Irish whiskey. Award-winning as a result of its exceptional smoothness following its unique triple distillation process, Jameson is enjoyed in more than 120 countries worldwide. The core Jameson range includes Jameson; Jameson Select Reserve; Jameson Gold Reserve; Jameson Signature Reserve (Travel Retail exclusive) and Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve.

For further information, please visit: www.jamesonwhiskey.com