All whisky tastings take place on Thursday nights from 7:30pm until approximately 10pm at the Tolbooth Tavern, 167 Canongate, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, Scotchland. You’ll find this location on Google Maps at the bottom of the page.

Tickets : £17*/20 or when a tasting’s theme requires buying more expensive bottles the increase will be reflected proportionally in the ticket price.

At least 5 drams, cask strength being the preferred option when a choice is available and affordable.

Refunds only possible if tasting not sold out or if ticket can be resold.

The tastings aim to inform and entertain. The relaxed approach is still structured and props are used so the tastes and smells of the various influences on production can be experienced first hand, for example there will be the opportunity to smell and/or taste both malted and un-malted barley, yeast and new make spirit.

The tasting usually ends with a raffle where every entrant wins a miniature’s worth of whisky left over from previous tastings, entry to the raffle is an additional £2 and any further donations being collected for World Vision’s ‘Sponsor a Child’ scheme (we’ve collected more than £2000 to date).

All tastings include oatcakes, shortbread and chocolates.

The Tollbooth offers meals up to the time of tasting. ENTRY BY PREPAID TICKET ONLY – prices from £20/17* *first timers & members discount, 13 month membership = £10 Want to taste the whiskies but can’t attend? We can bottle them for you to take away. Empty minis always appreciated.

Sept. 6th, 20th

Oct. 4th, 18th

Nov. 1st, 15th (a Glencadam vertical), 28th

Dec. 13th and 27th.

Visit the Jolly Toper at http://www.jollytopertastings.co.uk/

Loch Fyne Whiskies Has Some News 

‘New from Longrow’

Due soon:

Longrow (replacing CV)

Longrow Red

Coming in the next few months:

Springbank 12yo Calvados Wood – October 2012

Springbank 21yo – January 2013

Longrow 10yo Rundlets & Kilderkins – January 2013

Miniatures:
Longrow
Hazelburn 12yo

Best regards,
Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk

SCOTCH WHISKY INDUSTRY NOW IN “A GOLDEN AGE”, SAYS BENRIACH’S WALKER

“east of Beirut, the world is booming”

BILLY WALKER, the scotch whisky veteran who resurrected the fortunes of BenRiach and GlenDronach, believes the industry has entered “a golden age”.
 
Mr Walker, who next week is going out to Mongolia to do tastings as part of a trade mission, is upbeat about the prospects for the industry.
 
“We really are in an extraordinary period which can definitely be classified as “a golden age”. The amazing thing about scotch whisky is that this little country of some 5.2m people has successfully secured the position of making scotch whisky the absolute international drink of choice. 140 million cases were exported worldwide in the last twelve months and exports generated over £4 billion for the UK balance of trade.
 
“But in many ways in the UK we have become obsessed with our own economic situation and we perceive the world to be the same. Yet, for whisky, the core markets were never really that depressed in spite of the economic indicators. And the truth is that, east of Beirut, the world is booming.
 
“Emerging markets like China and India haven’t got anywhere near where they will be yet. Mongolia where I’ll be next week is absolutely in its infancy but there will be opportunities, as there are with places like Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Add onto that Russia where the rouble has recovered and which is having a boom time just now. South America is clearly enjoying significant economic advantages as well. Mexico has become a big big market for scotch, and you’ve got untapped Africa waiting in the wings.
 
“That’s why the industry has to believe the data and forecasts feeding into these markets. It’s very encouraging but we’re only scraping the surface. So from an operational production point of view, the industry has to provide for this demand which will be for twelve years out. If you add them up, the total is greater than the sum of the parts, that’s for sure.
 
“That’s why we’re in this golden period which I believe will endure for quite some time. We don’t have the same industry shape that we had in the past; we’ve had so much consolidation and as a result it appears to me there are no weak players in the industry. In my opinion, that forms the fundamentals of a solid future.”

The Relaxed Whisky Weekend

7 – 9 September 2012  
  
Fellow whisky enthusiasts,

Just one more week and it’s Maltstock time again! We’re all really looking forward to it. It promises to be a fantastic weekend.  We have a record number of 9 very interesting masterclasses for you. There will be music and entertainment, and a Barrel Race!. And excellent food! Of course there’s the brilliant BBQGuru team with a whole hog and BBQing with Ardbeg. The Highlander Inn will make you the best Scottish breakfast. And on Saturday afternoon there will a delicious selection of food to match whisky.

It wouldn’t really be a whisky weekend without whisky…. Well there’s plenty to share and enjoy! We have most independent bottlers represented. The latest additons are Malts of Scotland and Wilson Morgan. But many more, please visit our website to see who all will be at Maltstock. Full Proof is there again as well with his amazing collection of some of the best old and new whiskies. And of course there’s the big Share and Enjoy table where all our visitors share whisky they bring.

Masterclasses
Just a wee reminder to all of you coming to Maltstock. Please let us know your Masterclass preference before 31 Augustus. Won’t be easy to choose though. The launch of the very first Four Roses single barrel for Europe is definitly something to look forward to. But the first tasting by Tatsuya (Suntory) in Holland is as well. Sam Simmons (Balvenie) and Donald MacLellan (Glendronach) will surely bring something very special. And the guys from Master of Malt named their tasting ” Something Special”.  Billy Abbott (Speciality Drinks) and Tony’s Virtual Glenfiddich Tour will make sure we get the perfect start at Maltstock! Aberfeldy is one I really look forward to. And last but not least there’s Georges Nosing Academy!

Whiskyquiz
The Whisky Shop Dufftown team has been working hard to create a challenging and fun whisky quiz for the forthcoming Maltstock. To win you are going to have to be a team of cunning minds and have a good bit of whisky knowledge as well. There will be 8 rounds including famous whisky people, distillery visitor centres and the hard facts on the malt whisky capital of the world so get revising. There will be great prizes for those that know their malt.  Do you have what it takes?  If you are the type of person that knows the capacity of the distilleries on Islay and exactly what Balvenie distillery looks like you may have a chance. But don’t expect these questions to actually appear. That would be too easy!!!

Raffle
The whiskyquiz isn’t the only opportunity to win some great prizes. There’s also a big raffle. We would like to thank all who contributed this year. What a fantatsic raffle we’ve got.

Maltstock 2013 tickets at a discount
Starting  September 7th tickets will be available for Maltstock 2013. If you buy your 2013 tickets before midnight Sunday 9 September they’re just € 175,- After midnight they will be € 195,-. Just like this year it’s an all inclusive price.

To all of our guests this year: we will send you an e-mail next week with all the latest information and with your masterclass schedule. Looking forward to meeting you all and enjoy a relaxing weekend! 

Arthur, Bob, Eline, Rogier & Teun
http://www.maltstock.com/

Stronachie 18yo (46%, A.D. Rattray, Batch Number 18/10-01, 2010)

On the nose there’s a good solid meatiness (think Bovril or such) with lots of good sherry and some nice spiciness. There’s also some really very lovely crème brulèe and when all are taken together they are very good and everything is in balance. Some slight hints if ‘green’ notes in the back ground but only light hints.  And maybe a little coconut. The taste is much as the nose although perhaps the meatiness and some nice cask influence (oak spice and cocoa powder) have taken the lead here somewhat; which is good. The sherry merrily skips along behind adding some class to the other two and quite frankly there’s not a foot put wrong here. The finish is cocoa and coffee beans and then a blast of malt followed by some of the meatiness’coffee/cocoa who have now teamed up for a grand finale. Sort of like the closing ceremony at London 2012. Not sure if the Spice Gorls fit in here but none the less a grand finish.

All very excellent and well done A. D. Rattray

$80

Please visit A.D. Rattray at www.dewarrattray.com Part 4 of 4 featruring the whiskeis of A.D. Dewar Rattray this week.

NEWSFLASH! 

The Longrow Red will be in Campbeltown Shop tomorrow.   The price will be £48.00 plus postage and packing, bottles available worldwide 9,000 and the strength 52.1% ABV.

Sorry this is so late in going out to you, it has just been bottled in the last week.

Regards

Janet
For the Springbank Society

Please contact Janet directly to join the Springbank Society.

*********************************************************
J & A Mitchell and Co Ltd, The Tasting Room, 9 Bolgam Street, Campbeltown, Argyll, PA28 6HZ Scotland

 Tel :+ 44(0) 1586 555492  Fax :+ 44(0) 1586 551110 http://www.springbankwhisky.com/ 

An incredible £26.00 off this stunning Glen Grant 15 year old single cask bottling only at whiskyshop.com. So treat that someone special whilst stocks last! Now only £49.99. RRP £75.99!  

 
Distilled in April 1995 and bottled in January 2011 this is one of only 222 bottles and is sure to sell quickly. Glen Grant is famed for its rich delicate notes and this expression is no different.

Nose Opens with a sweet and creamy home baked style.

Palate: Carries a delicious sweetness (Lemon and oranges) with some vanilla and honey

Finish: Remains fresh and sweet, more hints of vanilla but now with a more spicy character.

Click Here To Buy  
     
The Whisky Shop Tel 0141 440 0600 info@whiskyshop.com http://www.whiskyshop.com/

Loch Fyne Whiskies  ‘Last of the Macallan 10yo, now £3 off!’

Macallan are no longer producing 10yo single malt, the new products will have no age statement and the first of three will be available soon, titled Macallan Gold.

To help move the old 10yo and make space for the new we have £3 off the sherry matured 10yo and the Fine Oak 10yo, buy now because […please click on the link below to read the remainder of the post…]

THE LINK 

Best regards,
Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk

Vikings…and a tuna the size of a small horse (and a few drams in-between)

By Stewart Buchanan, newly installed BenRiach and GlenDronach Brand Ambassador

So the journey begins…Although I have covered many shows, tastings and events over the years, they were always a wee sideline from production and seen as a bit of a “jolly”. I did wonder how I would get on with this being my full time job? I didn’t hesitate accepting the position when Billy and Alistair Walker offered it to me but I will admit I didn’t exactly know what I was letting myself in for: a life away from production after 20 years, moving to Glasgow, 9 till 5 in an office environment, constantly travelling around the UK, Europe, the world. It was going to be a 100% change of lifestyle.

With my house in Elgin all packed into an old garage at BenRiach, I jumped into the car with a holdall of clothes in the boot and my kilt thrown into the back seat. I waved and tooted farewell to the warehouse boys and neighbours, and with an Arnold Schwarzenegger style “I’ll be back!” I turned left out of BenRiach and sped down the Longmorn strait.

Should I have been worried? Not at all! From the word ‘go’, I was on the road and the funny thing is that it felt perfectly natural. Travelling to such diverse places no matter how big or small, near or far, each and everyone has been fantastic. The whiskies I have been able to offer have also been outstanding – from some old GlenDronach 70’s vintages to the fantastic new BenRiach Septendecim which is now at the heart of our BenRiach peated range. Also bringing the GlenDronach 21YO Parliament and the new BenRiach Authenticus 25YO to people for the first time has been amazing. I love the feedback when we can offer such a rich mixture of expressions in one tasting. Sometimes the only problem is that time goes so fast when you’re having such fun!

I wish I had space to detail all the trips and to thank everyone I have visited so far but it would run to endless pages so I would just like to say a big thank you to anyone reading this that I have bumped into over the last few months and I hope you have enjoyed the tastings as much as I have.

The reason for the title is they are a couple of the things that will stay in my head for a long time:

Norway
I was lucky enough to be staying in a hotel in Tronsberg, Norway, which was next to the construction of a replica Viking ship ‘Saga Oseberg’. It was amazing to see the ship being crafted using the traditional methods. After a tour of the build site, I was invited to join the boat builders for a campfire, barbeque and a few warmers of aquavit – a great night and company.

Japan
The most bizarre moment was undoubtedly crashing the (totally off limits) fish market in Tokyo. With two of the usual suspects from the industry, we hitched a lift on what I can only call a cement mixer powered barrow, whizzing through the narrow lanes of fish tanks and boxes. We struggled to hold on with laughter and after jumping off the buggy we passed every species of sea life imaginable. We stopped at a lovely old man standing beside the biggest fish I had ever seen (roughly the size of a small horse). The slice in its back showed the scarlet flesh, gesturing to the wee man I pinched a bit of the melt in the mouth tuna which had only been caught 3 hours prior. Six men heaved the beast to the wooden slab to prepare it for its last journey to restaurants and shops across the country, if not the world. We did attract a few odd looks as we inspected the days catches and it wasn’t long until we were kindly asked to leave. As we walked back to the hotel we asked ourselves if what we had experienced actually happened.

If this is the prelude of things to come I think this job is going to be what I can only call “interesting”.

Until the next update.

Slainte!