The Teeling Whiskey Company signals intent with launch of Hybrid Malt Whiskey

The Independent Spirit of Irish Whiskey is Reborn 

The Teeling Whiskey Company has announced its entry in to the marketplace by creating a whole new whiskey category with the launch of Hybrid Malt Whiskey.

Jack Teeling, Cooley Distillery’s former Managing Director founded The Teeling Whiskey Company in 2012 with the aim of bringing back a strong independent voice to the Irish whiskey market.  The Teeling Whiskey Company will broaden consumer choice within the Irish whiskey category by creating unique handcrafted whiskeys based on a commitment to quality and innovation.

In the Teeling Whiskey Company’s search for new and interesting tastes a new category of whiskey was born – Hybrid Malt whiskey.  The offspring from marrying award winning aged Malt whiskies from around the world creates a fusion of styles and flavours which delivers a truly unique taste experience. Bottled at cask strength with no chill filtration or colouring added, Hybrid Malt Whiskey is for connoisseurs who can see beyond the norm.

Jack Teeling, Managing Director of the Teeling Whiskey Company, commented, “We set up the Teeling Whiskey Company to ensure that there was an independent alternative to the multinationals who are currently driving the category.  We will focus on innovation and providing choice and unique whiskey expressions for whiskey connoisseurs and enthusiasts alike. 

The Hybrid is a prime example of our approach to product and category innovation.  It is a fusion of styles and flavours which delivers a truly unique taste experience.  Over the coming months the Teeling Whiskey Company will release a range of other products that will further expand consumer choice and challenge existing perceptions of Irish whiskey.”  

Edition No.1 of the Hybrid Malt Whiskey consists of award winning Single Malt whiskey from Cooley Distillery in Ireland and 10 Year Old Single Malt whisky from Bruicladdich in Scotland which has been married together in oak barrels for 8 years. The Hybrid Malt Whiskey is bottled at cask strength at 44.1% Alc/Vol with no chill filtration or colouring added.  Edition No.1 will be limited to just 1,200 70cl bottles.

Linkwood 28yo 1982 (53.9%, SMWS, Refill Hogs Head 39.83, +/-2012)

On the nose there are some very nice honeyed notes as well as some slight ‘greenish’ back ground notes (think cut grass but not cut flowers which can be bitter) but the latter dissipates quite quickly leaving the afore mentioned honey firmly in place. There are also some vibrant unlit cured tobacco notes (think of both tobacco and some sweetness). The taste is big and vibrant with all the aromas previously mentioned present however the greenish notes are not. Some nice malt, a bit of ‘meatiness’ and the sweet tobacco tie it altogether very nicely. This is very good and it’s not too dramatic one way or the other but sits firmly on solid center ground. The finish is much like the nose and the taste (Hurrah! -Great balance) and some fantastic lightly smoked malt (where did the smoke come from?) and still the honey holds on however the malt takes the gold medal here. Quite long and holds together well. Lashing of malt and then sadly it’s over.

More vibrancy than one would expect for a 28yo whisky and a real delight.

$180 and 120 bottles for the US branch of the Society

Score 89 points

Part 1 of 4 featuring the excellent single cask single malts of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America. Samples kindly provided by the SMWS of A.

Please visit the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America at http://www.smwsa.com/ for further information on their single cask bottlings.

Diageo Special Releases 2012

It’s that time of year again and Diageo has launched its Single Malt Scotch Whiskies. To benefit from our spectacular generosity please select from one of Special Releases 2012 Sets below. As usual, the series embraces some exceedingly rare and therefore increasingly sought after single malts from the dwindling stocks of long-silent distilleries alongside expressions from familiar and less familiar working distilleries, but at unusual ages. All are at natural cask strength.

To Buy Diageo Special Releases 2012:

Lagavulin 12 year old – “limited numbers”

Offer Price £71

Set of Two Special Releases 2012

(experience the two extremes: the peatiest and the most delicate of the Special Releases 2012)

Includes: Lagavulin 12, Dalwhinnie 25.
RRP: £256
Offer Price: £243 (5% discount)

Set of Four Special Releases 2012

(selection of our four favourite Special Releases)

Includes: Lagavulin 12, Talisker 35, Caol Ila 14 Unpeated, Dalwhinnie 25.
RRP: £847
Offer Price: £804 (5% discount)

Set of Seven Special Releases 2012
(complete set excluding Port Ellen)

Includes: Lagavulin 12, Lagavulin 21, Talisker 35, Caol Ila 14 Unpeated, Brora 35, Dalwhinnie 25, Auchroisk 30.
RRP: £1,827
Offer Price: £1,735 (5% discount)

Complete Set of Eight Special Releases 2012

Includes: Lagavulin 12, Lagavulin 21, Talisker 35, Caol Ila 14 Unpeated, Port Ellen 32, Brora 35, Dalwhinnie 25, Auchroisk 30.
Offer Price: £2,427

The eight single malt releases this year are:

	Port Ellen 32 year old – 2,964 bottles Twelfth of a very limited series of annual releases. From refill American Oak   and refill European Oak casks filled in 1979. Distillery closed in 1983. Nose   – Unmistakable Water Melon and a hint of satsuma. With time hay barns and wet   hay with Port Ellen’s characterful Chamoise Leather creepy in. Palate – Sweet   water melon, the peat isn’t overpowering, lanolin, menthol and hint of cream.   Finish – Fantastic, more chamoise leather, fudge and camp fire wood. The nose   and finish were superb, but on the palate it didn’t quite live up to   expectation – but could it ever? RRP £600
	Brora 35 year old – 1,566 bottles Eleventh of a very limited series of annual releases. Vatted from whiskies at   least 35 years old distilled in 1976 & 1977 and aged in refill American   Oak casks. Distillery closed in 1983. Nose – Incredible, sweet spiced   oranges, dried raisins, toffee and chocolate, there is so much here it would   take an evening just to fully appreciate the aroma. Palate – Wonderfully rich   and complex, white chocolate, cocoa powder with a hint of cold black coffee,   costal salt and the faintest waft of peat. Finish – Spice apple, brown sugar   and espresso. Complexity in abundance, so much going on, brilliant! RRP £400
	Auchroisk 30 year old – 2,976 bottles The oldest Auchroisk ever released by the distillers. From a mix of American   & European Oak refill casks filled in 1982. Nose – Dried red berries,   some slight jammy notes developing into varnish and rich sherry oak notes.   Palate – Age defying sweet dried fruits at the start, moving into slightly   bitter wood notes finishing with a hint of caramel. Finish – Wood and burnt   sugar, complex and pleasing. One of the best whiskies of the night, instantly   enjoyable and remarkably good value for a 30 year old cask strength whisky. RRP £230
	Lagavulin 21 year old – 2,772 bottles Only the second 21 year old ever bottled by the original distillers. Vatted   from first fill ex-sherry European Oak casks each at least 21 years old,   filled in 1991. Nose – Burnt wood embers and zippo lighter fluid. Palate – Stewed fruits, spicy peat, very good though lacking some thing to   make it outstanding. Finish – spiced fruit and coal fires. Truly impressive.   Required far more time and attention than we were able to give it. One for   great contemplation. RRP £350
	Talisker 35 year old – 3,090 bottles The oldest limited release ever offered by the distillery. Sixteenth in this   series. From American & European Oak refill casks filled in 1977. Nose –   Typically Talisker, sea air, white pepper, thyme and a touch of crème brulee.   Palate – Grapes and spiced pears and cinnamon fire ball gob stoppers. Finish   – Fresh menthol and oaky caramel. The abundant Talisker style comes out well   given the 35 years. RRP £525
	Caol Ila 14 year old – “limited numbers” From a batch made only once a year, the 7th limited release of unpeated Caol   Ila, the first at fourteen years old, also the first ‘sherried’ Caol Ila   released in this series. From 1st  fill ex-bodega European Oak casks   filled in 1997. Nose – Great sherried character, rich malty with milk   chocolate. Palate – More of the same, biscuity with cloves and a dash of   citrus. Finish – Delicious marmalde and pepper, very enjoyable. Much more   richness and depth than its unpeated predesscors. Lovely take on an quirky   classic. RRP £66
	Dalwhinnie 25 year old – 5,358 bottles Latest of four limited releases to be offered by the distillery, and the   first of these to come from rejuvenated American Oak hogsheads. Nose – Very   expressive, floral notes, orchids and wild flowers. Lime infused cream and   freshly sawn pine. Palate – Gentle belying its 52.1%. Almost citrus like   acidity backed up with some light oak and spun sugar. Finish – Subtle hints   of sweet caramelised oak. Surprisingly interesting, rounded and elegant   – despite not being one the night’s chest thumping blockbusters it was an   excellent well balanced delightful Dalwhinnie.  RRP £185
	Lagavulin 12 year old –   “limited numbers” Eleventh in a series of special 12 year old releases from the original   distiller’s stocks. Vatted from refill American Oak casks, each at least 12   years old. Nose – Wash backs and brewers yeast instantly spring to mind,   lemon infused crème caramel and well intrigated peat. Palate – More yeasty   notes, hay, cured meats and red fruits sit on top of the rich peat, a great   whisky. Finish – Sweet toasted oak, freshly cut hay and something a little   farm yard-esq. The popular vote winner on the night we tasted it and perhaps   the best Lagavulin 12 bottled to date. £71

To place an order please visit milroys.co.uk, call Lee on 020 7437 2385 or email  Lee.Tomlinson@jeroboams.co.uk

Our mailing address is:

Milroy’s of Soho

3 Greek Street

London, England W1D 4NX

United Kingdom

A shoveful of Islay Single Malt Scotch Whiskies including malts distilled at Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen.

Big Peat carries a big peaty (often called “phenolic”), beachy, oceanic, slightly ashy selection of Malts from the island of Islay. Ally these lusty and robust Malts selected for Big Peat with the fact that no chill filtration takes place – a more old fashioned traditional approach – and you will detect a massive amplification of the anticipated sea-fairing qualities on the nose, palate and finish. These are particularly appreciated when consumed leisurely in the same style these Malts have waited for you in the cold, dark and windswept warehouses of Islay.

BIG PEAT CHRISTMAS EDITION CASK STRENGTH

£42.99
CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW

A Most colorful October To You Fellow WhiskyLover

This weeks featured article on ForWhiskeyLovers is a terrific profile of Balvenie’s David Stewart and his 50 years(!) in the whisky industry. The article by Ian Buxton, covers David’s career from a stock-boy at William Grant, to his rise to Balvenie’s Master Distiller. It’s a great read, and well worth taking the time to check it out.

And so in keeping with honoring David Stewart and his career, this weeks featured whiskies are two of my favorite whiskies from the distillery: Balvenie Portwood 21 Year Old and Balvenie 17 Year Old Peated Cask.

The Balvenie Peated Cask is a bit of whisky hybrid. In 2001, a heavily peated batch of barley was distilled at The Balvenie Distillery and was allowed to mature until David Stewart decided it was time to rejuvenate the maturation process. So the whisky was transferred to newly prepared traditional casks.

The casks that had originally held the peated liquid had taken on much of its character. So David decided to experiment by filling them with 17 year old Balvenie for a short period. The result was an intensely peaty whisky. Marrying this liquid with 17 year old Balvenie finished in new American oak casks produced The Balvenie Peated Cask, a complex single malt that is rich and spicy with layers of smokiness.

To create Balvenie 21 YO Portwood, David took a marriage of rare Balvenie whiskies, and transferred it to 30 year-old Port pipes (port casks), which have held fine port wines. Here it was sampled regularly by David to ensure that just the right amount of character is imparted by the port casks, enhancing and developing the single malt whilst preserving its original characteristics.

This additional period of maturation in has given this aged Balvenie an extra level of depth and concentration of flavour, adding potent fruit and smoke notes to the silky-smooth full-bodied palate. This is a rich, indulgent, after-dinner Speyside at it’s best.

And so it is with immense joy that we’re offering you two of David’s great accomplishments: Balvenie 17 Year Old Peated Cask ($119.95/ bottle) and Balvenie 21 Year Old Portwood ($175/ bottle).

I hope you’ll join me in honoring David Stewart and commemorating one hell of a career, by partaking of two of the great fruits of his 50 years of labor.

Until next week…I wish you high spirits!

Doug Stone
Founder
ForWhiskeyLovers.com

BALVENIE PORTWOOD 21YO & PEATED CASK 17YO SPEYSIDE WHISKIES

DAVID STEWART’S TASTING NOTES

Peated Cask 17YO
NOSE: Gentle floral aroma with hints of violet and lavender. Delicate smoke beautifully balanced with honeyed vanilla and spicy oakiness.
TASTE: Prominent smoke softens to reveal oaky honey and vanilla. Cinnamon and nutmeg develop with time.
FINISH: Sweet and spicy with a hint of smoke

Portwood Finish 21YO
NOSE: A perfume of fruity and ripe raisin notes, backed by a nutty dryness.
TASTE: Refined with remarkable character, it’s creamy & silky with fruit, honey & spice notes.
FINISH: Long, gentle, nutty.

Anchored in History; Created for Today. Chivas Regal Launches a Global Travel Retail Exclusive

Chivas Regal will today launch The Chivas Brothers’ Blend, the new ultimate whisky to share, exclusively to the global travel retail channel. This perfect expression of the smooth Chivas style will be a permanent part of the Chivas portfolio and will be available only to shoppers in travel retail. This is the first product launch for the brand since Chivas Regal 25 Year Old was relaunched in 2007.

The inspiration for The Chivas Brothers’ Blend came from founding brothers, John and James Chivas. The brothers first worked together at the Chivas Brothers’ Emporium in King Street, Aberdeen which was established in the mid-1800s and was known for selling fine foods and whiskies. Today, the famous Chivas Brothers’ legacy lives on, selling 4.9 million* cases in over 150 markets around the world.

Paying a contemporary tribute to this rich history, the brothers and their legendary blending skills is The Chivas Brothers’ Blend – a thoroughly modern whisky that is ultra smooth, perfect for sharing. This unique 12 year old blend uses a carefully selected range of malt whiskies including Strathisla and Longmorn to recreate the extra smooth taste that made Chivas Regal’s whiskies famous.

The Chivas Brothers’ Blend has a rich amber colour which bursts with ripe soft fruit flavours including peach and pear, and accented with runny honey, marmalade and soft candy. The rich taste echoes the nose of fresh fruit flavours, giving way to a sweet, creamy texture.

The Chivas Brothers’ Blend bottle and carton design is both unique and striking in its bold use of purple. With the etched Chivas Regal family crest on the bottle, it marries both tradition and modernity to create a product that has a regal nobility and great stand-out. The entire concept of The Chivas Brothers’ Blend brings to life the current consumer trend of revivalism where iconic items are pulled from history and refreshed for today.

Following the global Travel Retail teaser campaign ‘A New Arrival from Chivas’ to fuel travellers’ excitement and curiosity, Chivas Regal will create a consumer journey in airports around the globe that from the point of arrival to the moment of departure, travellers can experience an eye-catching activation involving out-of-store theatre, digital interaction, innovative consumer engagement activities and more.

James Slack, Global Brand Director, Chivas Regal, says, ‘We are delighted to launch The Chivas Brothers’ Blend exclusively in Travel Retail and offer a new Chivas Regal product which focuses on our heritage of craftsmanship blended with a modern twist. The result is an ultra-smooth whisky for today’s travellers who are looking not only for brand innovation but also an experience. The Chivas Brothers’ Blend is the ultimate whisky to share.’

Notes

* Pernod Ricard March 2012 MAT

Chivas Regal
Chivas Regal is a truly global brand, selling 4.9 million* 9L cases annually in more than 150 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific and Americas. The Chivas Regal range is the epitome of style, substance and exclusivity and includes Chivas Regal 12, 18 and 25 Year Old.

The Chivas Brothers’ Blend tasting notes

Colour: rich amber
Nose: bursting with ripe soft fruit flavours, including peach and pear, and accented with runny honey, marmalade and soft candy
Taste: rich taste of fresh soft fruit flavours echoing the nose, giving way sweet, creamy texture
Finish: creamy, round and smooth

For further information visit: www.chivas.com

Austrian Whisky Association Founded AWA starts off

Ernie – Ernst J. Scheiner, The Gateway to Distilleries at www.whisky-distilleries.net

Distilling fruit and wine has a very long tradition in Austria. There are hundreds of farm and micro distillieries all over the country.

Whisky distilling is also very popular in Austria. Since 1995 when the first Austrian Distillery J. Haider started producing whisky in the region of Waldviertel – 110km west of Vienna – Austrian whisky distilleries have grown in numbers. More than 78.000 visitors were interested in whisky distillation at Haider’s Whisky Experience in 2011 where about 70.000 litres of whisky mature in warehouses. Johann Haider’s vision turned into a success story. Others followed.

(See: http://angelswhiskyclub.com/awc/Roggenhof.asp)

No wonder, about twenty Austrian micro distilleries produce whisky today. Seventeen years after Johann Haider’s first steps most of his fellow distillers joined together to form an Association of Austrian Whisky Producers which is officially named AUSTRIAN WHISKY ASSOCIATION (AWA).

AWA’s objectives are the promotion of Austrian Whisky in Austria and internationally, the represention of the distillers’ interests and activities. Their prime motivation of safeguarding high quality standards of their products united the whisky distillers.

They fully agreed that Austrian Whisky should be produced only according to the Regulations of the European Union. (See REGULATION (EC) No 110/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 January 2008 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89;
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:039:0016:0054:EN:PDF)

Some of the AWA’s ideas to implement further measures of quality control were also taken from The Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009. They adapted some terminolgy and regulations of “Blended Whisky, Single Malt, Single Grain, Blended Malt and Blended Grain.” (See: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/2890/made)

The members of the Austrian Whisky Association guarantee that

• the distillery is in Austria
• the malted grain may be bought from commercial malsters according to legal regulations
• the whisky is distilled in Austria
• the minimum maturation period is for three years
• their spirit filled into a cask matured in Austria only
• flavouring additives are not added except they are resulting from cask maturation
• the production and reducing water is Austrian and observes the specific national drinking water legislation
• the lowest alcohol bottling strength is 40% a.b.v.

The elected chairwoman Jasmin Haider, who is the driving force behind Austria’s new whisky quality management, said : „From now on we’ll be able shape the future of Austrian Whisky positively. Our whiskies will be promoted at home and internationally. Austrian whiskies will certainly gain a wider recognition as they are based on high standards of production and quality.“

Contact: 

Austrian Whisky Association  

Bundesinnung der Lebensmittelgewerbe

Wiedner Hauptstrasse 63

A-1040 Wien

E-mail          office@austrian-whisky.at

Web              www.austrian-whisky.at

SULLIVANS COVE named Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year in 2013 Whisky Bible

Sullivans Cove, Tasmania’s luxury single malt whisky, has been named Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year in Jim Murray’s 2013 Whisky Bible.

Sullivans Cove French Oak Cask HH509 scored 96.5/100, the highest score ever achieved by a Southern Hemisphere whisky, and was named Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year. It is one of only 60 out of 4500 whiskies to have scored 96.5 and above, placing this exceptional whisky in the top 1% of whiskies ever made.

Now in its 10th year, Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible aims to annually score every whisky available on the market. The book currently list 4,500 whiskies, each individually tasted, evaluated and rated by Murray, with the 2013 edition adding 1,300 whiskies to the list.

2012 has been a fantastic year for the boutique Tasmanian producer, winning Gold at the World Whisky Masters, being named Australasian Distiller of the Year at the Wizards of Whisky and now completing the grand slam with Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year.

Speaking from LA where he is currently on tour promoting the USA launch of Sullivans Cove, Chief distiller Patrick Maguire was delighted with the results: “This is the second time this week that I have been called up with great news. First it was Australasian Distiller of the Year and now Jim Murray’s Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year! This is the greatest moment of my distilling career. To be awarded that kind of score by Jim Murray is just unbelievable. I would like to say a big thanks to the team back home; this is true testament to our hard work and its just such a great feeling to know that you have made an historic whisky. Huge party at the distillery when I get back!”

According to Murray, Sullivans Cove French Oak Cask HH509 “…re-wrote the Australian whisky books…it is not just the best whisky I tasted from Taz (sic), but it walked off with Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year. Not only that, it made its way to the Whisky Bible World Whisky of the Year taste off conducted among the six best whiskies I had tasted this year, hob-nobbing with the likes of Buffalo Trace, Ardbeg and Ballantine’s 17.”

This adds to Tasmanian whisky’s growing reputation for excellent whisky. In addition to Sullivans Cove, which has now won its third “Liquid Gold” award, Old Hobart Distillery and Nant Distillery have both achieve “Liquid Gold” status. Jim Murray awards Liquid Gold status to whiskies that score 94/100 or higher in his Whisky Bible and these whiskies are considered to be the very finest currently available in the world.

About Sullivans Cove

Tasmania Distillery produces Sullivans Cove Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky. Sullivans Cove Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky is double distilled using only Tasmanian barley with only the purest wilderness water from local mountains and forests. Matured in hand selected oak casks and allowed to settle and clear naturally, the whiskies retain full, creamy and lingering flavours that are winning fans the world over. Each cask is bottled separately, yielding only around 450 bottles, making each bottle a rare item to own and enjoy.

Tasmania Distillery Pty Ltd

New Glenfarclas 105 Aged 20 Years

The limited edition Glenfarclas 105 Aged 20 Years has now been released and is making its way to specialist whisky retailers worldwide. Matured for 20 years and bottled at natural cask strength of 60% volume, only 4000 bottles of this remarkable whisky will be available.

This is the second time J. & G. Grant have released an older expression of Glenfarclas 105. The first was in 2008 when the limited edition 40 year old version was launched to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the first bottling of 105.

In 1968 when George S. Grant, 4th generation of the owning family, bottled a single cask straight from the warehouse, and sent the bottles to family and friends as Christmas gifts. By chance the strength of the cask George S. Grant selected was ‘105’ British Proof, and along with the name of the distillery, this was all the information he detailed on the hand written label. By the end of January the recipients of the gifts requested further bottles, hence Glenfarclas ‘105’, the first commercially available cask strength whisky of the modern age was born. The name refers to the strength in the British Proof system, equivalent to 60% alcohol by volume.

Commenting on this new limited edition from Glenfarclas, George S Grant, Director of Sales and 6th generation of the owning family said, ‘My family have been producing Glenfarclas 105 for 3 generations now and the 20 Year Old makes a great addition to the ‘105’ family, along with the 105 and 105 40 Years Old. This is a 105 as it should be – big and powerful with all the classic Glenfarclas flavours coming through. Definitely a dram to savour as the finish just goes on and on.’

To read George’s tasting notes please click here to visit our website.

Glenfarclas
Website: www.glenfarclas.co.uk
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/glenfarclas/
Glenfarclas Distillery, Ballindalloch, Banffshire AB37 9BD, UK

www.ralfy.com talks about a standard blended scotch, which can be better than a single malt, why?

Watch Whisky Review 313 – Crawfords 3 Star to find out!