Ticket Sales!

Wednesday 21st March: The Balvenie

Tickets for this tasting are now on sale!
Get them now from the Societies Reception
Prices are £5 for members, £6 for non-members.
Ask Laura Chalmers for the tickets (available from 9am to 2pm, Mon-Fri)
This distillery tasting will be limited to 50 people, so act fast!

Friday 23rd March: Trip to Tomintoul Distillery

£10 per person – tickets available also at tastings (limited to 14 people)
Tomintoul, known as the ‘Gentle Dram’, does not normally do visits.
You will be one of the few people to have access to this great distillery!
Kevin will be in Alfie’s from 12-1pm on Friday selling tickets if you want to get yours

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Tastings coming up…

Wednesday 18th April: Glenfiddich Tasting
Tickets on sale at Balvenie Tasting, and in Societies Reception after that

Friday 20th April: ABERDEEN WHISKY FESTIVAL
Advance tickets available at Balvenie Tasting
Also available at Aberdeen Whisky Shop, The Grill, St Machar Bar and Skene House Rosemount from 19/03
www.aberdeenwhiskyfestival.com

Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th April: ISLAY TRIP
Details on request

Wednesday 2nd May: Jura Tasting
Tickets on sale week before at AUSA reception in Butchart.

All of the above tastings start at 7pm sharp in the Butchart Centre – details below…

Location: BookEnds (top floor), Butchart Centre, University Road, Old Aberdeen
(click here for map)
Time: 7pm sharp
What to Bring: £3/£5 for entry + Membership Card + money for raffle

and bring your friends!

Our mailing address is:

University of Aberdeen Malt Whisky Society
The Butchart Centre
University Road
Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire AB24 3UT

In Support of Childreach International

Jim Beam® Expands Bourbon Portfolio with the Addition of Two Bold New Red Stag by Jim Beam® Expressions

Jim Beam® is expanding its world-leading bourbon portfolio with two new Red Stag by Jim Beam® expressions hitting shelves nationwide this month – Red Stag Honey Tea and Red Stag Spiced. This announcement comes two years after one of the most successful bourbon launches of the past decade – Red Stag Black Cherry. Red Stag Honey Tea and Red Stag Spiced, like their predecessor, use signature Jim Beam four-year-old bourbon – the world’s number one bourbon – as a base, but instead of black cherry, the new expressions are honey tea and cinnamon flavored. All three Red Stag offerings provide a mixable, approachable spin on America’s native spirit.

“My family has a history of making bold choices by consistently challenging itself to embrace innovation while honoring the tradition of our world famous bourbon,” said Fred Noe, Seventh-Generation Jim Beam Family Distiller and great-grandson of Jim Beam. “We’ve done a great job of pushing the envelope and trailblazing the innovative bourbon category while still staying true to our roots with an authentic 80-proof, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.”

While some flavored whiskeys and bourbons use liqueur to alter their flavor – all three Red Stag expressions are 80-proof bourbons, infused with natural flavors through a unique artisanal process. Red Stag Honey Tea offers a warm, rich taste with a hint of honey and tea for just the right amount of sweetness, while Red Stag Spiced enhances the bold bourbon with flavors of cinnamon and spice.

“The Red Stag brand has broken barriers and driven new consumers toward bourbon, including women who may have previously shied away from brown spirits,” said Rob Mason, U.S. Senior Director of Bourbons, Beam Inc. “We’re proud that we were the first to address that trend with the launch of Red Stag Black Cherry, and now with Red Stag Honey Tea and Red Stag Spiced. We look forward to helping new and old bourbon drinkers make the bold jump into the bourbon category.”

The two new additions to the Red Stag portfolio have received glowing recommendations from industry experts. According to Tony Sachs, spirits writer for The Huffington Post, “The Honey Tea is a nice combination of sweet, tangy honey with dry, slightly bitter tea, while Spiced has a nice cinnamon edge to it.”

Red Stag by Jim Beam is now available for a suggested retail price of $17.99 for a 750ml bottle. For more information about Red Stag by Jim Beam, go to www.jimbeam.com/red-stag, visit us at www.facebook.com/JimBeam or follow us at @JimBeamOfficial.

Ed Kohl invited to join The Keepers of the Quaich Society

Ed Kohl, Managing Director of ImpEx Beverages, Inc. has been invited to enter the esteemed Keepers of the Quaich Society. The induction ceremony will take place on April 23, 2012, during the next Keeper’s banquet at Blair Castle of Atholl Estates in the Highland region of Scotland. The Keepers of the Quaich is a Scotch Whisky society with membership by invitation only, founded to acknowledge those who have contributed to the Scotch Whisky industry. This prestigious honor was given to Ed Kohl in recognition of 17+ years of contributions to the industry. Kohl was chosen specifically for his ability to blend the old with the new. He has enhanced scotch awareness with his non-stop national tasting seminars, sharing his palate with connoisseurs and recently discovered scotch lovers. He uses modern social media venues such as Facebook and Twitter to keep regular fans posted on announcements and upcoming events. His use of social media venues also serves to attract a different demographic from the “traditional” scotch lovers and cultivates passion for whisky in a variety of age groups.

A leading whisky expert and spirit specialist, Kohl conducts more than 100 educational seminar tastings every year. He travels the United States promoting the ImpEx portfolio of products while maintaining close relationships with manufacturers, distributors, retailers and consumers. He is passionate about single malt Scotch whisky and has a niche focus in understanding the needs of independent bottlers and how to successfully bring new products to market. ImpEx Beverages, Inc. is the exclusive USA importer of a variety of products including the Ian MacLeod brands: Chieftain’s, Isle of Skye, and SMOKEHEAD. Prior to founding ImpEx Beverages, Inc., Ed spent 15 years as North American Marketing Manager for Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co.

ImpEx Beverages, Inc.
300 Swift Ave.
Side B Suite 9
So. San Francisco, CA 94080
Phone: 650.872.1113
Fax: 650.872.1114
Email: office@impexbev.com
www.impexbev.com

Canada

Royal Canadian Small Batch Canadian Whiskey 750ml – 11 available ($19.99)

Ireland  

Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey 750ml ($59.99)

United States – Bourbon

John B. Stetson Kentucky Straight Bourbon 750ml ($24.99)

Scotland 

1964 Black Bowmore “Final Edition” Islay Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Elsewhere $5900) – 1 available ($5,499.99) Bottled in 1995, turns out it wasn’t really the “Final Edition,” but another Black Bowmore was not released for 11 years. Do not confuse this with that less rare Black Bowmore 42 Year bottled in 2006. Incredible rich and infamously delicious from some of the finest Sherry butts to ever land on the Islay’s shores. This is the only bottle available from the 1995 release in the USA. Totally worth the outstanding price! Bottle no. 629.

Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Whisky 750ml ($179.99)

Laphroaig 10 year old Original Cask Strength Islay Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($65.99) Whisky Magazine says, “Nose: Fresh, mild antiseptic, subtle peat smoke; Palate: Complex. Smoked haddock, cut plug tobacco, burnt newspapers, but buttery, sweeter cooked fruit notes predominate; Finish: Chewy toffee drying out to oak; Comment: A fine robust dram with lots happening. Laphroaig at its best.” Now bottled at 57.8%! “Amber with gold streaks. Its aroma and flavor is fresh, powerful, and medicinal, with notes of peat smoke, band-aids, tar, rich toffee, seaweed, and brine. Thick in body, with an almost molasses-like viscosity.” 92 points – Malt Advocate

K&L Wine Merchants

http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Whisky Live London 2012

London has started to pick up two distinct drinks festival ‘seasons’ over the last few years. Autumn has become the home of London Cocktail Week and its bookends, our Whisky Show and Rumfest, and spring the land of the Whisky … Continue reading >>

Whisky Intelligence has added a new category called ‘Vignettes – Moments in Whisky’ which will feature whisky moments as experienced by the readership. If you have a whisky moment please feel free to submit your moment and we’ll do our best to publish it. Go on; you know you want to be famous…

Bloody Scotland: Launch of the Glengoyne Short Story Writing Competition

Glasgow: Like its whisky, Scotland is world-renowned for the exceptional quality of its crime fiction.

To celebrate and recognise this synergy, Glengoyne Highland Single Malt is proud to announce the launch of a new short story writing competition as part of Scotland’s inaugural international crime writing festival, Bloody Scotland (14-16 September 2012) in Stirling.

With the aim of discovering the next big name in crime fiction the Glengoyne Short Story Writing Competition opens for entries today (Thursday 8 March), giving amateur writers the opportunity to be read and reviewed by some of the most respected authors, publishers and editors in the crime literary world. The prestigious prize will include digital publication by Blasted Heath as the lead short story in an ebook collection of the best competition entries. The winner will also benefit from a week-long residential writing course run by Arvon at a location of their choice.

The overall winner will receive a bespoke hand-engraved Glencairn Crystal Decanter filled with an exceptionally rare 35 Years Old Glengoyne Highland Single Malt, worth over £2,000, presented at the closing award ceremony at the Bloody Scotland Festival in September.

To enter, writers need to submit a maximum 3000 word short story online via bloodyscotland.com by 29 June 2012. All entries need to, on some level, incorporate the theme or wording: ‘worth the wait.’

Iain Weir, Marketing Director for Glengoyne, explained: “Crafting a great crime novel takes time, care and attention to detail, but the results are worth the wait. The same attributes are crucial in making Glengoyne Whisky’s natural, unpeated taste and flavour. Scottish crime fiction is an international success story and we are delighted to be part of a competition that celebrates our country’s unique creative contribution.”

Crime author and Bloody Scotland event organiser, Gordon Brown, commented: “With UK retail sales for crime fiction now worth over £143 million, the genre has never been more popular. We are thrilled to have Glengoyne’s support for the short story writing competition. Bloody Scotland celebrates not only our nation’s crime fiction legacy, but the success of crime writing across the globe. Glengoyne’s sponsorship reaffirms the Scottish roots of the festival, but like the whisky, an exciting crime thriller can be enjoyed with a great quality dram anywhere in the world”.

Taking place 14-16 September 2012 in Stirling, Bloody Scotland will have over 20 events and host over 40 UK and international authors, including Scotland’s own Ian Rankin and Val McDermid. Named by VisitScotland as the Year of Creative, 2012 is a landmark date for Scottish crime fiction. Bloody Scotland will also celebrate the 125th anniversary of the publication of the first Sherlock Holmes story, the 35th anniversary of William McIlvanney’s ‘Laidlaw’, the father of ‘Tartan noir’ – and the 25th anniversary of the first Rebus novel by Ian Rankin.

A crime scene from her latest novel, A Pound of Flesh, Alex Gray launched the Glengoyne Short Story Writing Competition in Glasgow’s Blythswood Square. Alex is the brains behind the Bloody Scotland Festival, along with her good friend and partner in crime Lin Anderson. They are also the main organisers along with Jenny Brown (their literary agent), Gordon Brown and Clio Gray, and they are supported by fellow authors who have given their invaluable assistance to help organise the event. Alex Gray says:

“With over 40 literature festivals taking place in Scotland each year, not one has ever exclusively recognised the remarkable talent amongst Scottish crime writers. Bloody Scotland will showcase all that is great in Scottish crime literature and indeed the fabulous authors who continue to excite, thrill and entertain us.”

The Glengoyne Short Story Writing Competition is open to all amateur writers over 18 years old. Entries must be uploaded to www.bloodyscotland.com before the closing date of 29 June 2012.

For further information on Glengoyne Highland Single Malt and for exclusive expert tips on successful crime writing visit: www.glengoyne.com.

Photo captions (in order of appearance from top):

1. Mashman Charlie Murray and stillman Duncan McNicoll search for creative inspiration among the casks for the new Glengoyne sponsored Short Story Writing competition, part of the inaugural Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival.

2. Glengoyne Distillery’s Engineer Billy Edminston and stillman Duncan McNicoll get set for the Glengoyne Short Story Writing competition, part of the inaugural Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival.

3. Mashman Charlie Murray does his detective work for the Glengoyne Short Story Writing competition, part of the inaugural Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival.

4. Glengoyne Distillery’s stillman Duncan McNicoll and mashman Charlie Murray get inspired from Sherlock Holmes for the Glengoyne Short Story Writing competition, part of the inaugural Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival.

For further details on the competition prizes, and entry terms & conditions visit: www.bloodyscotland.com

Glengoyne

Situated nearby to Bloody Scotland Festival’s home in Stirling at the beginning of the West Highland Way, Glengoyne Distillery is known as Scotland’s most beautiful distillery and offers an unrivalled visitor experience. Owned by independent family company, Ian Macleod Distillers, Glengoyne, has been producing its award winning Highland Single Malt for over 175 years. Using methods passed down for generations, Glengoyne has nurtured and perfected the art of producing multi – gold award winning single malts. The result is a portfolio of whiskies including the core 10, 12, 17 and 21 Years Old range, as well as special limited edition Single Malts, released each year. www.glengoyne.com

Avron

Arvon is all about writers. Their residential writing courses pluck you from your everyday life and place you gently in one of their four writers’ houses, located in Devon, Inverness-shire, Shropshire or West Yorkshire, where you are insulated from the outside world of email, internet and mobile phones. Each course is tutored by two professional writers plus a guest writer who visits mid-week to read their own work and answer your questions. There are daily workshops over four days running from Tuesday to Friday, plus a one-to-one tutorial with each tutor. www.arvonfoundation.org

Blasted Heath

Blasted Heath is a digital publisher of original ebooks with a focus on crime fiction. Their authors include Ray Banks, Douglas Lindsay, Anthony Neil Smith, Gerard Brennan, Nigel Bird, Tony Black and Damien Seaman. Len Wanner’s series of interviews with crime writers, The Crime Interviews, published this month, is an excellent introduction to the craft of crime writing, featuring in-depth contributions from nine professional writers including Ian Rankin, Chris Brookmyre, Stuart MacBride, Louise Welsh and Allan Guthrie. Blasted Heath’s imminent Blasted Shorts imprint will showcase original short crime stories from some of the finest exponents of the form. www.blastedheath.com

Mazars

Leading accountancy and business advisory firm, Mazars is the headline sponsorship of Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s first International Crime Writing Festival.

As at 1st January 2012, the Group has a presence in 68 countries and draws on the expertise of 13,000 professionals to assist businesses, major international groups, SMEs, entrepreneurs and public bodies at every stage in their development. Mazars also has correspondents and local representative offices in 14 further countries, which gives it additional capability to serve clients to the same strict quality standards across five continents. By listening closely to clients and understanding their needs, the Mazars range of services is designed to provide the assurance of recognised technical and regulatory expertise together with the added-value of a business partner that can advise effectively on improving performance at all levels. www.mazars.co.uk

Blythswood Square

A crime scene in Alex Gray’s latest novel A Pound of Flesh, published 1 March, Blythswood Square is an award winning five star hotel, situated in Glasgow’s city centre. Not only does it have 100 stunning guest rooms but it also houses an amazing spa, restaurant, bars (including the historic Rally Bar, cocktail bar and champagne bar) and private event areas, a true 5 star proposition. www.blythswoodsquare.com

Hi all,

Hope you are well and in fine fettle.

A very quick reminder to you all that we have our series of Irish Invasion tastings coming up and starting this Friday! We will be tasting six of the finest from the Emerald Isle, showing off what they can really achieve, rather than some of the more commercial items you might see on Supermarket shelves…

As always the tastings are fun, engaging and full of information and useful (and useless!) facts to arm you as you continue your path to whisky nirvana. Details can be found by clicking here.

A reminder of dates:

Irish Invasion Tastings, 2012 UK tour

Manchester Friday 16th March, The Britons Protection
Newcastle Saturday 17th March, Blackfriars
York Saturday 17th March, Whisky Lounge HQ (not a misprint, we are a team now and splitting up for Saturday!)
London Monday 19th March, Albannach, Trafalgar Sq.
London Tuesday 20th March, Red Lion, Crown Passage
Leeds Wednesday 21st March, Crosskeys, Water Lane

All of these are only £20 a ticket and I think most of you will agree that you definitely don’t get this much fun and enjoyment for that little anywhere else! All start at 7pm and go onto until 9(ish) and if you need more info – aside from the whiskey (that’s a surprise) – please do drop in on the website at http://www.thewhiskylounge.com/book-now/

Many of these are nearly sold out so please be quick to avoid disappointment!

We really hope you can make it to one near you and look forward to seeing you for a night of whisky and craic!

Cheers,
Eddie

Eddie Ludlow
Whisky Evangelist

thewhiskylounge
IWSC Spirit Panel Judge 2009-present
www.thewhiskylounge.com
eddie@thewhiskylounge.com

The Claymore Times

~ All The News That’s Fit To Drink ~

1994 Caperdonich 46% (LCBO# 262790)

This particular distillery (used to be called Glen Grant #2) went silent 1902 and remain closed for 60 years until it was reopened in 1965 under the name Caperdonich (secret well). Eventually sold to Pernod Ricard in 2001who promptly closed the distillery and remains silent to this day.

Although this distillery was one of the main ingredients of Chivas Regal and Queen Ann they never actually released any bottles of their own and that makes this quite rare but, at a very healthy price point of $99.95 Unfortunately the LCBO only purchased 96 bottles from me.

1994 Caperdonich tasting notes

Presentation.

Colour: Pale Gold

Body: Medium

Finish: Long and warming

Cask Type: Refill Sherry hogshead

Style: Soft, smooth and balanced

Tasting notes.

Aroma without water

Fresh toasted ,alt notes, with subtle floral influences emerging. Sweet and fruity – strawberry jam

Taste without water

Hint of black pepper, creamy and smooth. As subtle aniseed influence lingers

Aroma without water

Fresh with hints of well toasted malt. Some pleasant estery notes. Fruity- fresh pinapple.

Taste with water

Mouth warming, with a rounded hint of spice. A fresh and fruity edge comes to the fore, pineapple

Distillery notes with permission from Malt Maniac Ralfy at www.ralfy.com

Caperdonich distillery started its life in 1898 under the (relatively uninspiring) name ‘Glen Grant #2’. Caperdonich distillery was founded by J. & J. Grant, the people that also built the ‘original’ Glen Grant distillery in 1840. This brand new whisky distillery (which was built at the height of the whisky boom of the late 19th century) was conveniently located just accross the street from Glen Grant in Rothes. (Other neighbours include Glenrothes and Glen Spey.)

Both ‘sister’ distilleries are located at the northern end of Moraytown Village in Rothes, but only one of them operated continuously until the present day. Caperdonich closed its doors again in 1902, a mere four years after the distillery was opened. This ‘false start’ in the Scotch whisky world was caused by the after-effects of the Pattison Crisis that caused panic in Scotland around the turn of the century. In a way, it was not unlike the credit crisis of 2008…

Nevertheless, during the early years Caperdonich didn’t manage to become as popular as Glen Grant – hence the closure in 1902. Glen Grant Number Two remained inactive for six decades, but in the year 1965 it was rebuilt by Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd. who resumed production. The new owners also changed the name to Caperdonich (“Secret Well”)

In 1977 Seagram from Canada acquired Caperdonich distillery – before selling it on to Pernod Ricard in 2001. Pernod Ricard closed the distillery one year later in 2002, together with three of its sister distilleries; Alt A’ Bhainne, Braeval (Braes of Glenlivet) and Benriach. At the end of the decennium Caperdonich was the only distillery from this group that hadn’t been reopened yet. The longer a whisky distillery remains inactive, the higher the costs of making it operational again. This sad fact makes it ever more unlikely that the Caperdonich distillery will ever be reopened again.

So, it’s hardly surprising that Seagram’s used the malt whisky that was produced at Caperdonich distillery mainly for their blended whiskies like Passport, Chivas Regal, Something Special and Queen Anne. As a result, there are no official bottlings of Caperdonich. Well, at least not that I know of; there is one Caperdonich 16yo 1988/2005 (55.8%, OB, Chivas Brothers) on the MMMonitor.

There have been a handful of independent releases by independent bottlers like Douglas Laing , Duncan Taylor and Gordon & MacPhail, but those are fairly hard to find. Sometimes bottlings can be quite unique though, like a Caperdonich 10yo 1998/2008 by Alambic Classique, which apparently was made from a very rare peated batch. That’s the story of the Caperdonich in a nutshell…

Reproduced by permission of Malt Maniac Ralfy http://www.maltmaniacs.org/

What’s going on in the area:

21st March at The DAM pub in Thornbury (Stephanie 519-599-2110) with Glenlivet Ambassadour Frank Biskupek and sample the Glenlivet 12yo, 15yo 18yo and the Glenlivet Nadurra Cask Strength special 4 flight vertical tasting & food pairing ~ $35

21st March for the Kitchener companions: (Trish MacNeil 519 749-1166) Rum Runner Pub 1 King Street West, Kitchener, Cost: $50 for members

22nd March Downtown Companions (Ed at president@thequaich.com) Three-course dinner and three superb Single Malts. THE ALBANY CLUB

3rd April Niagara on the Lake Companions (Neil Middleton at 905-468-0802) The Old Winery Restaurant.

4th April the York Companions (Robert Head at 905-898-8344) three-course dinner and three superb single malts. RedCrest Golf Club.

20th April Kincardine’s Companions (Dave Dechene 519 396-3692) Best Western Governor’s Inn. Member Price $55.00 ~ Guest Price $65.00

7th May Hamilton Companions (Ed at president@thequaich.com). Three superb Single Malts plus a delicious three-course dinner. Scottish Rite Club, King & Queen Sts. Member Price $50.00 ~ Guest Price $60.00

12th May Spirit of Toronto (Roy Thomson Hall at 416 593 4828)

The Claymore Team (I’m the sexy looking one says Bill Somerville – far left)

A spectacular, once-a-year evening that features a dazzling array of 100 plus single malts and premium spirits, tutored tastings, live jazz and bossa nova, a gourmet table d’hotel from Daniel et Daniel, classic cocktails, and a poolside cigar bar

In my opinion this is Toronto’s best event and we’ll be attending this year again, along with Michael Urquhart who will host a master’s class.

Last year Michael shared a 70yo bottle of Glenlivet with the class (valued at $35,000) and I’m quite keen to learn what he’s going to bring this year, I’ve even tried to bribe some of the folks back in Elgin, but alas, I fear it will remain a secret until the master class starts.

Last year after the Spirit of Toronto finished up we all retired back to the Royal York Hotel for a nightcap, the bar was empty and we still had about 5oz left of the 70yo Glenlivet, the barman promptly produced some clean wine glasses and we finished off the bottle, all the time Michael kept us entertained with stories of his years / decades in the whisky industry. John Urquhart (Michael’s grandfather) learned from James Gordon, and George Urquhart (father) learned from his father – by the end of his life George was universally recognised as one of the most knowledgeable people in the entire Scotch whisky trade. He passed on his skills and experience in selecting and evaluating whiskies to his sons and daughter – Michael is said to have whisky in his blood!

One of these impromptu evenings, unforgettable and another reason why I love my job so much.

And what you may have missed

Tasting with legend Jim McEwan. What a wonderful night and we were able to sample some fabulous Bruichladdich whiskies, my favourite being the 16yo Bourbon cask.

Jim McEwan with Ed Patrick in the background

The event was hosted by Chris Cayley of the Companions of the Quaich in the town of Oakville and Jim McEwan took us through the history of Bruichladdich with his unique sense of humour, “you understand”. Jim had us dancing on the tables which I’m sure brought a frown to the members of the Oakville Yacht Club.

While there, we sampled the Bruichladdich Organic, the Classic, the 15 yo 2nd edition, the16yo Bourbon cask and the Port Charlotte An Turas Mor., A very well organized evening and super fun was had by all.

Could this be the first ever internet whisky tasting? Here’s a report from Trish MacNeil

(Who apparently likes to drink whisky in her underwear?) read on

A group of folks from the Bruichladdich LinkedIn group got together online recently via Skype’s group video chat to share a selection of Bruichladdich single malts. Linda from England, Curt in Ohio from livefirewhisky.com, William “The Scotch Guy” from Missouri, Trish – a convenor with Companions of the Quaich from Ontario and Bill from Claymore Times also in Ontario joined in, with Scott from New York joining in by text from SOBEWWF in Florida. The idea was that each pick a Bruichladdich (or three) and present it to the group, sharing some info about your choice and then taking it through the nosing and tasting process and adding any comments.

It took a bit of planning to find a date and time that worked across all time zones but finally settled on a Sunday at 2pm. By the time that was sorted, Linda had consumed all of her Bruichladdich so chose a Caol Ila instead. Curt brought us the Laddie 10 while occasionally taking a break to check on his burnt offerings on the smoker and leaving the group wishing Skype had a scent plug-in. William had an exquisite line-up for us – Bruichladdich 15 Year Old / Links VIII-Torrey Pines, Infinity #1 & Golder Still, causing the group to ask William to adopt us (he declined). Scott was pouring Laddie 10 and Botanist Dry Gin at SOBE. Bill chose a Bruichladdich 16 yo. Bourbon Cask that he clearly enjoyed and Trish rounded out with a Port Charlotte An Turas Mor that she paired with a good cigar (kidding on the cigar). We were able to see the colour of the whiskies quite well, enjoyed the chatter and discussion about all things Bruichladdich and whisky and consensus was that the experience definitely deserves a repeat. Things learned from the first attempt at an online tasting via Skype – turn off the updates on your computer before getting started, it’s a great deal of fun to compare notes and talk about Whisky with other enthusiasts and that the experience should definitely be repeated and finally, if you’re in your underwear while you’re drinking whisky with others, nobody will know.

Gordon & MacPhail http://www.gordonandmacphail.com releases a 60yo Glen Grant to celebrate the Queens jubilee

King George VI’s health was deteriorating, forcing him to abandon his proposed trip to Australia and New Zealand. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were scheduled to take his place. They visited Africa on their journey to the southern hemisphere.

On 6th February 1952, whilst staying in a remote part of Kenya, Princess Elizabeth received news of her father’s death and of her own accession to the throne. Her tour was abandoned and she flew back to London, where she was greeted by Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

After lying in state at Westminster Hall, King George VI was buried on 15th February 1952.

Over a year later, on 2nd June 1953, Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was held at Westminster Abbey.

Places of interest

Benromach Distillery http://www.benromach.com/benromach.html

Christine http://hotanddirtyinthekitchen.ca

Curt’s blog http://livefirewhisky.com

Gordon & MacPhail http://www.gordonandmacphail.com/

Malt Maniacs http://www.maltmaniacs.org/index.html

PUB Magazine http://www.pubmagazine.ca/upcoming_issue.php

Ralfy whisky blog www.ralfy.com

Whisky Intelligence https://www.whiskyintelligence.com/

The Scotch Guy http://web.me.com/scotchguy/ScotchGuy/Welcome.html

Other Whiskies Arriving Soon in Ontario

Aultmore

1997 Dailuaine

1958 Glen Grant

30yo Benromach

Benromach Traditional

WAS £23.99 NOW £18.99

SAVE £5.00

A fresh, rounded Single Malt, with a balanced mix of flavours. Matured in first fill Bourbon and Sherry casks, the palate reveals smoky cereal and malt flavours which dry up with spicy, peppery notes followed by a delicate floral edge.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW

Single Malts Limited | 36 Gordon Street | Huntly | Aberdeenshire | AB54 8EQ