Make the once in a lifetime trip and sail with Tall Ship Thalassa! Sail along with us to the best single malt distilleries and visit the famous Islay Whisky Festival. Discover Scotland’s coastal distilleries, enjoy the company of whisky lovers and learn from whisky professionals! See Scotland and its isles from a different angle and discover its beauty.

We are proud to present the whisky sailing programm of threemasted barkentine Thalassa for 2013 to you:

Dates and prices

Whiskytrip 1: Saturday May 18th – Saturday May 25th 2013

Price: € 895,- per person

Whiskytrip 2: Saturday May 25th – Saturday June 1st 2013 (during ISLAY WHISKY FESTIVAL)

Price: € 995,- per person

Extra fare for a single cabin is € 450,-. If you book for two persons, sharing one cabin, the price for the second person is € 795,-.

The price for this trip includes:

– 7 nights on board of Tall Ship Thalassa;

– all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner);

– all drinks during meals (coffee, tea, milk and water);

– 2 whiskytastings on board guided by a whisky expert.

Not included are all alcoholic beverages (beer, wine and whisky), visits to the distilleries and other events visited during the Islay Whisky Festival and other excursions ashore.

The sailing trips start and end in Scotland, in the harbour of Troon. Transport to and from Scotland should be arranged by yourself and/or your local travel agency.

Day 1: Embarkation in Troon

Day 2: Sailing to Campbelltown and visit Springbank distillery

Day 3: Port Ellen

Day 4: Bunnahabhain or another distillery

Day 5: Bruichladdich and visit distillery, sailing to Ballycastle

Day 6: Giant Causeway and Bushmill’s Distillery

Day 7: Troon

Day 8: Disembarkation in Troon

The definite sailing route depends on wind and weather conditions. The captain of the vessel is authorized to modify the schedule, if necessary due to circumstances as described above.

During the trips the guests are facilitated on board of Tall Ship Thalassa in one of the 15 high quality double cabins, each with a privat shower.

With her 14 sails, altogether 800 square metres, Tall Ship Thalassa makes an impressive appearance. Rigged according to century-old traditions and equipped according to the latest security regulations, Tall Ship Thalassa is extremely safe and seaworthy.

More information about the trips can be found here. For further questions please contact us by email or phone: +31-10-4156600.

For online booking click here.

Welcome on board!

Kind regards,

Liesbeth Wammes – de Graaf

Brigitte Beckers

Loch Fyne Whiskies  ‘Christmas 2012 DEALS! Now Online’

All our DEALS! for the season are now online and our regular old-style mailing is being printed as we type, those of you who have ordered from us in the last 12 months can expect something via Mr. Postie at the end of next week. In the meantime, if you are impatient, here are downloadable copies …[please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article]…

THE LINK

Best regards,

Loch Fyne Whiskies

david@lfw.co.uk

Tasting Calendar 2012 – 2013

“An excellent evening. We enjoyed the relaxing and characterful surroundings of the Milroy’s of Soho cellar, and the tutor was very informative…”

Dates and information about forthcoming tastings

Big Beasts: Sherry Cask Whisky November 14th

Not just a convenient vessel for transporting and maturing spirits! Old sherry casks also introduce a spectrum of flavours to whiskies: from dried fruits to dark chocolate. Join us as we discover how Scotland’s and Jerez’s most famous exports combine so well. £45.00

Bruichladdich Ambassador Night November 19th

Expect some old favourites and some exciting new releases: Islay barley…Peat Project…Port Charlotte…Laddie 10 year old and so many more… Not only that but the ticket price is redeemable against purchases on the night! £20.00

Fine and Rare Whisky November 22nd

Old whiskies from long closed distilleries as well as sought after limited editions that come and go; this is our selection of some of the finest and rarest of whiskies. A laid back evening of whisky reverence and a spectacular line up. Quite the night to remember. £100.00

Happy Whiskey To You Fellow WhiskyLover

It has been a tumultuous two weeks since my last email. Most recently we again showed the world how lucky we are to live in a nation “of the people, by the people”.

And one week prior to that demonstration of democracy, the Global HQ of ForWhiskeyLovers took a mighty blow from a nasty wench named Sandy in my home village of Piermont NY on the mighty Hudson river.

The devastation in my town, and the broader NY/NJ/CT area, is like nothing I have ever seen before. Trees…boats…electrical wires…everywhere. We had no power through last Thursday, and we were extremely fortunate. As of this morning their were still untold thousands still without power…with an old-school Nor’easter bearing down on us.

But fear not. We’re New Yorkers…and if there is anyone I’d bet my last dollar on to “tough it out and bounce back”, its one of us. And of I had $4, I’d bet $2 on New Jersey, and $2 on New York, and I’d laugh all the way to the bank.

If you feel so inclined…please consider donating to some sort of Sandy Relief effort….like the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army. There is so much rebuilding needed…of lives, business and infrastructure. Every little bit will help.

So what better way to honor and thank my fellow NY’ers, for being my neighbor and working to rebuild our lives, than to raise a glass to them…a glass of an exquisite whisky with a New York history: Compass Box’s Great King Street, New York Blend.

Created for the 2012 New York Whisky Fest, GKSNYB is the first in a series of one-off, regional Scotch whisky blends released by Compass Box under the Great King Street label.

The whisky, created by Compass Box’s whisky maestro John Glaser, is dedicated to Patrick J. Duffy…the man who in 1894 (legend has it) first brought a branded and bottled Scotch whisky to New York. GKSNYB is based on an actual recipe Glaser found from the 1890’s.

GKSNYB was created using lots of peaty single malts, plenty of sherry cask-aged single malts, and a much higher proportion of malt to grain whisky (80%/20%) than is typically used today. This is just as the finest blending houses would have created a whisky in 1894.

This is a hearty, full-flavored Scotch with notes of smoke, dried fruits and malty complexity, The whisky was bottled at a higher strength of 46% ABV, with natural color and without chill-filtering.

GKS New York Blend is an extremely limited production whisky, with less than 1700 bottles produced, and less than that available in the US, primarily in the New York Metropolitan area.

But fortunately for us our man Nicky The Neck OWNS New York, and everything to do with it. And so we’ve been able to procure more than our fair share of this whisky with ‘tude, and can offer you the opportunity to acquire your own bottle of GKSNYB for $89.95/ bottle, with $10 from every purchase being contributed to the Piermont NY Volunteer Fire Department.

I hope you’ll join me in honoring my fellow New Yorkers, and helping us rebuild. You’ll be getting an amazing and highly collectable whisky as a “thanks” for your generosity.

But act now, because once its gone…

Until next week…I wish you high spirits!

Doug Stone
Founder
ForWhiskeyLovers.com

GREAT KING STREET – NEW YORK BLEND

DEWAR’S^®: THE DRINKING MAN’S SCOTCH

World’s Most Awarded Scotch Challenges Category Conventions with Irreverent and Seductive

New Campaign for the Modern Man  

Launch Marks DEWAR’S Return to National Television after a Five Year Absence  

Coral Gables, Fla.  – DEWAR’S^® Blended Scotch whisky, the world’s most awarded Scotch and the number-one selling premium blended Scotch whisky in the United States, announces a break from the tired conventions of the category for the launch of its new campaign – “DEWAR’S: The Drinking Man’s Scotch.” The tweed and tradition that dominate Scotch whisky will be subverted to reintroduce DEWAR’S to a new generation of modern and urban men. Just as the Dewar family revolutionized the Scotch category when it launched the brand in 1846, the new DEWAR’S campaign will once again challenge the norm by bringing sensual taste intellectual stimulation and a hint of irreverence to the world of men in television, print and digital mediums nationwide.  The campaign, which will highlight DEWAR’S® WHITE LABEL® and DEWAR’S® 12 year old, is the first time that the brand will appear on television since 2007.

“The DEWAR’S campaign takes a never-before-seen approach,” says Arvind Krishnan, VP, Brand Managing Director, DEWAR’S Blended Scotch Whiskies. “It speaks to the personality and motivations of men, and challenges them to rethink their Scotch selection. It has intelligence and wit, bringing the brand back to the independent spirit with which it was created.” 

The new campaign is delivered with a wink and a smile. The icon, a beautiful, alluring and mysterious Scottish woman has the presence of a queen and the mouth of a gangster. She draws the viewer in from the moment she is seen, enticing men and pulling them into her clandestine world. She is incredibly desirable yet unattainable. She offers sharp words of wisdom to the DEWAR’S man – advice on living life, on drinking Scotch, on women and on being a man. She has a strong, commanding grip over the edgy, underground world of the East End of Glasgow, Scotland – a post-industrial landscape littered with intrigue, mystique and secrets – and exudes her power through her piercing attitude, cutting tongue and entrancing beauty. By displaying her strength in an edgy, yet inescapably striking way, the icon entrances men to follow her lead and step up to DEWAR’S Blended Scotch.

The gritty, industrial setting of Glasgow – the same place where DEWAR’S bottles its award-winning Scotch – brings a new identity to the brand. “The Drinking Man” doesn’t take life too seriously, but knows that his choice of Scotch is an important one. He is smooth and sociable, but with a sharp edge that carries him through his urban environment. Gone are the wood-paneled libraries, leather club chairs and cigar smoke: Glasgow is the home of DEWAR’S and the home of its cunning icon. While its image has evolved to reflect more modern times, the liquid has remained, and always will remain the same. DEWAR’S, the most awarded Scotch in the world, is renowned for its double barrel ageing process, unparalleled smoothness and character.

In the print campaign, stunning images of the icon are presented with her signature words of wisdom, such as “Serious is not always easy, but it comes with serious benefits” and “Speed is often the enemy of true pleasure.” Upon seeing these striking images and listening to the icon’s seductive words, the DEWAR’S man understands that he shouldn’t take life too seriously, just his choice of Scotch.

The DEWAR’S campaign will run in national and regional print publications, with the commercial airing on premium cable networks starting October 30, 2012. The campaign will also be available on www.dewars.com and www.facebook.com/dewars starting October 30, 2012.

About DEWAR’S^®

Founded in 1846 by John Dewar, DEWAR’S has grown from a small wine and spirits merchant shop in Scotland, to one of the largest Scotch whisky brands in the world.  Best known for its iconic DEWAR’S White Label, the top selling Blended Scotch Whisky in the USA, it has expanded its family to create a portfolio of premium and super premium whiskies including DEWAR’S 12 Years Old, DEWAR’S 18 Years Old & the exclusive DEWAR’S Signature. These whiskies are crafted using the DEWAR’S double barrel ageing process. Pioneered by DEWAR’S in 1899, it involves returning the hand-crafted blend to vintage oak casks for further maturation. The result is a smoother taste with a long, lingering finish; a taste that wins medals and applause, making DEWAR’S the world’s most awarded Scotch. 

About Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.

Bacardi U.S.A., Inc. is the United States import and distribution arm of one of the world’s leading spirits and wine producers. The company boasts a portfolio of some of the most recognized and top-selling spirits brands in the United States including BACARDÍ^® rum, the world’s favorite and best-selling rum, as well as the world’s most awarded rum; GREY GOOSE^® vodka, the world-leader in super-premium vodka; DEWAR’S^® Blended Scotch whisky, the number-one selling premium blended Scotch whisky in the United States; BOMBAY SAPPHIRE^® gin, the top-valued and fastest-growing premium gin  in  the world; CAZADORES^® 100 percent blue agave tequila, the number-one premium tequila in Mexico and a top-selling premium tequila in the United  States; MARTINI vermouth and sparkling wines, the world’s leading vermouth and the world’s favorite Italian sparkling wines ; and other leading and emerging brands. For additional information, visit www.bacardiusa.com.

sample image

Port Ellen 31yo 1979/2011 (52.1%, Douglas Laing Old & Rare, Refill Hogshead, 253 Bts) 

Some slight ‘greenish’ notes on the nose with some cocoa, , coffee grounds and then after some moments some welcome peat smoke. Very clean, a flash of kippers and brown toast (we’re almost headed towards Patum Peperium on white toast here but pull up just short – and in time). Then after some time languishing in the glass a striking moment of 7-Up (which can be interpreted as quite sweet). The peat smoke, while present, is very gentle and the coffee grounds make a reappearance. So far so good and quite jolly too! With time in the glass the peat smoke grows, not to Kilchoman levels but it does increase. The taste is quite gentle at the fore with a little fizziness and some citrus and the peat smoke ; the wash away pretty much everything else …hold on here comes the coffee grounds. Quite sensational. The finish is chewy peat smoke with some coffee caramel in the back ground. The finish continues for a long while and holds tight to the afore mentioned descriptors. Some delightful chocolate malt makes a late appearance.

Not overly complex but quite frankly who cares, this is really good and very well balanced.

$733

Score 91 points (to hell with your friends, damned the price, drink it all to yourself!)

Part four of four of Old & Really Expensive Week.

www.ralfy.com concludes a two-parter with Whisky Review 317 (2/2) – concluding review of Greenfield’s 1960’s Scotch.

Loch Fyne Whiskies Selects, ‘LFW’S BOTTLING OF THE YEAR’

Once a year, your LFW team consider which whiskies have proved most attractive for our customers following an in-shop taster. The selection of just one single whisky involves long drawn out debate, featuring strong contenders and strong individual’s minds!

In a sea of competition winners this focuses on one product with the maximum appreciation of the […please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article]…

THE LINK

Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk

1 November 2012

Dear Client

There are fifteen (15) new bottlings under the OLD MALT CASK label – sorry about that! -– together with three (3) OLD & RARE as well as three (3) CLAN DENNY Old Grains and lastly 2 new DOUBLE BARREL releases being an Ardbeg/Glenrothes as well as a Ledaig/Bowmore.

Tasting Notes for OLD MALT CASK follow:

OMC 2215 Glenlivet 11 Year Old Sherry
Nose: Spiced & sweet + macerated dark fruits – vanilla syrup & toffee
Palate: Nutty with chewy barley – Scotch tablet – mocha &sweet spices
Finish: Camphor cough drops + muscovado sugar – grist + flamed orange. (F)

OMC 2217 Mannochmore 13 Year Old
Nose: Clean & fresh – grassy & spiced – peppery & malty
Palate: Big on the barley! citric – still grassy + butterscotch
Finish: Long – warmingly spiced +that same barley style(F)

OMC 2220 Laphroaig 14 Year Old
Nose: Tarry sweet – warmingly spiced – “bandaged” + iodine.
Palate: Opens soft & honey sweet – builds to intense ash-soot-peat.
Finish: Nicely “medicinal” distinctly phenolic spices –soot – and tar (F)

OMC 2204 Tamdhu 14 Year Old
Nose: Toffee’d and vanilla’d – citrus abounds – then oak & Malt too.
Palate: Massively sweet – treacle? + barley & maraschino cherry
Finish: Butterscotch-y – then expect subtle spices and soft oak. (F)

OMC 2218 Ben Nevis 16 Year Old Sherry
Nose: Big & fruity – aromatic & sweet –honey’d & spiced
Palate: Attractively sweet – both fruity and fudgy + late barley & smoke
Finish: Carries a spicy gristiness + warming camphor & more soft honey (F)

OMC 2208 Caol Ila 16 Year Old
Nose: Big and “Islay” in style – oily rags + phenols & rock pools
Palate: Smoked barley + soft peat + ash & a soft tarry quality.
Finish: Camphor style cough drops + chimney soot & spices. (F)

OMC 2169 Clynelish 16 Year Old
Nose: Sweetly barley’d – attractively spiced & vanilla’d – distinctly citrusy.
Palate: Now honey’d + spicy – mellowing to cedar, camphor and warm sugary.
Finish: Sweet cough drops with milk chocolate powder plus muscovado sugar. (F)

OMC 2197 Highland Park 16 YEAR OLD
Nose: Carries dark treacle, peat, salty ozone, cedar + trailing smoke
Palate: Phenolic with- iodine, leather, demerara sugar + more smoke
Finish: Maritime& leathery+ darkly spices – camphor &late treacle (F)

OMC 2209 Glentauchers 16 Year Old
Nose: Fresh and fruity – spiced/lightly oaked with sweet barley.
Palate: Citric sweet with juicy barley sugar, vanilla & Malt.
Finish: More barley + a sugared biscuit quality & late camphor. (F)

OMC 2207 Speyside 16 Year Old Sherry Finished
Nose: Warmingly spiced – sweetly fruited – now with demerara sugar
Palate: Lightly oaked -relatively dry – then catch barley sugar+ soft fruit
Finish: Back to the spices +a gristiness + caramel & now marshmallow !(F)

OMC 2203 Tormore 17 Year Old Nose: Sweet & buttery + vanilla & banana + smoke & spices Palate: Sweetly spiced now – distinctly vanilla’d + fruit & butterscotch Finish: Medium long – round & mellow + spicy toffee & sweet mocha (J)

OMC 2198 Macallan 18 Year Old Nose: Opens sweet & fuity – carrying a butter cream style + vanilla Palate: Still sweet & creamy + softly spiced running to vanilla tablet Finish: Smoothly honeyed + crunched sugar – in a more’ish style (J)

OMC 2205 Glenturret 18 Year Old
Nose: Carries fresh fruit and honey – warms to juicy barley, spices & oak.
Palate: Has a peppery tang – more oak + macerated fruit & molasses.
Finish: Spicy – still showing honey’d sweetness, malt and late camphor. (F)

OMC 2219 Linkwood 21 Year Old
Nose: Big – “beefy” – spicy with brown sugar – citrus & vanilla
Palate: More sweet spices with vanilla – sugar & barley.
Finish : Lightly oaked – still vanilla’d – nicely gristed + mocha. (F)

OMC 2216 Glen Mhor 30 Year Old
Nose: Clean and spiced + cedar, cappuccino, barley and vanilla.
Palate: Citric – smoked- toffee’d + a homebaked style (& peat?)
Finish: Carries burnt sugar – more spices – malt & trailing smoke. (F)

Tasting Notes for OLD & RARE:

OAR0182 St Magdelene 30 year old
On the nose detect a clean – fresh and herbal style which warms to barley , caramelised fruit (particularly peaches) and crème anglaise/ vanilla custard. Palatewise it is still sweet and herbal – being distinctly fruited, now in a macerated style, and carries warming spices together with toffee/fudge flavours. The finish remains fruity with that same peachy style plus molasses and demerara sugar- showing a late butterscotch and cereal based style. (F) – PLEASE NOTE – THIS ALSO HAS A MID NOVEMBER RELEASE

OAR0179 Port Ellen 35 year old
Opens in a softly subtle – yet self evidently Islay – style, then anticipate smoked barley-mocha-peat and a leathery belt combination. Palatewise it is initially light – but holding it opens it to soft tar, bonfire ash with more coffee and chocolate flavours which all run to a finish which is now more tarry – citric – sooty and phenolic. (F)

OAR0136 Bunnahabhain 37 year old Sherry
The nose is rich and heavily spiced and carries a marinated plums character with a polished oak quality. Still massively spiced on the palate, it now develops to dried fruit & nuts with an attractive oceanic style – lightly salted and softly peated. The finish is long, carries a dark chocolate quality and remains spicy with a ginger and pepper quality. (J)

CLAN DENNY Tasting Notes:

DEN0091 Port Dundas 34 year old
Burnt orange plus Scotch tablet sweet as the nose opens – detect also some soft oak and perfumed spices. Palatewise anticipate mouthcoating sweetness – in the style of sugary fudge, flambéed banana and sherbet – running to an equally all combining sweet finish with soft spices and floral notes off setting it. (F)

DEN0090 North of Scotland 38 year old
Screams Bourbon initially on the nose – it is so sweet and very vanilla’d – distinctly toffee’d and coffee’d in style. Early oak gives way on the palate to creamy and vanilla flavours – maybe even some citric pineapple and more toffee – then its (all too short finish) is candied, still creamy, softly spiced and buttery (F).

DEN0070 Dumbarton Bourbon 46 year old
Massively and sweetly spiced early on the nose – it then softens to a truly fruity mixed bag – beyond which detect sugar and light oak. The palate is BIG, still fructiferous but carries black coffee, sweet spices and vanilla flavours – all neatly (and too swiftly) replicated on the finish. (F)

That was a busy 6-7 weeks of tastings for Mr Fred – but he believes there are some real value-for-money younger, quality driven PROVENANCE bottlings – allied to some top end Malts, too many to itemise from OLD MALT CASK/DIRECTOR’S CUT and OLD & RARE … but they are – we believe – self-evident!

Yours faithfully

Fred Laing

Visit Douglas laing at www.douglaslaing.com

BENRIACH RE-STARTS ITS OWN MALTINGS

BenRiach started making its own malt again this week which means the Elgin distillery is now one of only a handful of distilleries in Scotland with its own maltings.

Malt whisky production begins when the barley is “malted” — by steeping the barley in water, and then allowing it to get to the point of germination. Malting releases enzymes that break down starches in the grain and help convert them into sugars. When the desired state of germination is reached, the barley is dried using the traditional kiln floor.

BenRiach’s Stewart Buchanan explained: “For the last year we’ve been working hard to get the maltings back up and running. After being shut for the best part of thirteen years, the machinery is still in great condition.

“Earlier, we got some weight on the system to see how it would run under stress. Three tones of barley whirled round the floors and it was great to hear its blood pumping and the old place coming back to life.

“Re-starting the maltings has coincided with some strange events in the old distillery. As some of the boys worked late into the night painting around the steeps, footsteps and voices were heard over at the kiln area on the other side of the building. Thinking it was myself or Les, our engineer, they headed over for a blether…but found no-one! They thought we had left and went back to the job in hand. The second time they heard the noises they shouted over but no reply. And the third time, the paint brushes were dropped and a hasty exit was made! Perhaps it was the wind…or perhaps not!”

BenRiach MD Billy Walker said: “From a commercial point of view, it makes no sense because the costs of producing malted barley are significantly more. The reason we’re doing it is because we had everything in place and in fantastic condition. Bolting the maltings onto BenRiach is a beautiful join-up.”

Founded in 1898, BenRiach is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery in the Speyside area of Scotland. Gaelic for “speckled mountain”, it’s operated independently by the BenRiach Distillery Company Limited which was formed by two South African funding partners, Geoff Bell and Wayne Keiswetter, and Scotch whisky expert Billy Walker. In 2008, the company expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of the GlenDronach distillery in Aberdeenshire.

Two pictures show the resumed maltings at BenRiach.