Hi all,

Hope you are keeping well and enjoying further good weather and the general spring-like feeling…

I have just come back from London where I was helping a famous whisky brand bring it’s distillery to life in Covent Garden. Images can be found here if you’re interested, and if you’re in the area, the ‘shop’ is there until 5th June.

Quite a few events in all venues to tell you about, some of which are coming up fast…

Whisky & Seafood – A Culinary Tasting Experience
Sunday 12th June
Blackfriars Medieval Banqueting Hall, Friar Street, Newcastle
7pm, £40 per ticket
An amazing six-course tasting menu put together for this night only by the award-winning chefs at Blackfriars. The whiskies have been chosen by yours truly to compliment and I would be amazed if you didn’t walk out of this event truly delighted and chomping for more! Perfect event for couples and for those needing converting to the liquid gold…

Berry Brothers & Rudd – Independent Bottlers
£22 per ticket
A mini-series of tastings featuring whiskies from our good friends at Berry’s. If you have tasted their whiskies before, you know that the quality is up there with anything on the market at the moment. If you haven’t… well shame on you to begin with, and an opportunity awaits…
Newcastle customers fear not, we are hoping to bring them to ‘Toon’ later in the year!

Manchester – Friday 17th June, Britons Protection, 7.30pm
London – Tuesday 21st June, Red Lion, St. James’s, SW1

Bluffer’s Guide to Whisky
£10 per ticket!
For those looking to learn about our favourite liquid from a ‘beginners’ perspective. A tasting, yes, but more importantly a chance to ask questions and generally find out more about whisky in all its forms. I will be conducting each class and it will be informal (as always!) and fun.
A great opportunity for those seeking knowledge or a fantastic present for anyone you know who would enjoy this.

York – Saturday 13th August, Cedar Court Grand, Station Rise
London – Monday 22nd August, The Red Lion, St. James’s, SW1
Manchester – Friday 26th August, Britons Protection, Gt Bridgewater St.
Newcastle – Saturday 27th August, Blackfriars, Friar Street

If you would like to book onto any of these events they are now available on the website – simply click here – or email or phone me to make a booking.

Father’s Day 2011

If any of these tastings tickle your fancy as a gift for your Dad then we can email you a PDF of the ticket for you to print, trim and pop in a card of your choice! We also have some gift vouchers in the ‘shop” area of the website if you would like something but the current dates don’t suit.

Newcastle Whisky Festival 2011 – Thanks!

Just a very quick thanks to all of those who made it to this years event. It was our busiest yet and I appreciate all the feedback you’ve already given and will work hard to make it even better next year! If you would like to see a video of the event click here and/or for some images on Facebook, click here.

Anyway, that’s quite enough for now – I look forward to seeing you all very soon.

Slainte!
Eddie

Eddie Ludlow
Whisky Evangelist

thewhiskylounge
www.thewhiskylounge.com
eddie@thewhiskylounge.com

Thursday June 9th:- P/O/U/R/S £20/17*

Thursday June 23rd:- Arran £tbc
Machrie Moor peated 46%
‘Oran Mor’ 56.4% sherry cask 236 bottles
10yo 57.1% Bourbon cask 219 bottles Loch Fyne Whiskies bottling
Cadenheads 1998 12yo 57.4%
plus another one to be confirmed

Thursday July 7th P/O/U/R/S £20/17*

Thursday July 14th Lagavulin £23/20*
LG2
Distiller’s Edition 1994 – 2010 43%
16yo 43%
1995 12yo European oak 48% Friends of Classic Malts
Available only at the distillery bottled 2010 52.5%

Future Themes:

18yo- ‘Us’ and ‘Them’: comparisons of distillery bottlings with independant expressions – Highland Park, Glendronach and Tamdhu.

Ben Nevis: Cadenheads 1996 – 03/2009 12yo 57.1% Bourbon hogshead 256 bottles, 10yo 46%, single blend, single grain, Cadenheads ‘dumpy’ 06/1965 – 12/1981 16yo 46%.

Bladnoch: Rare Malts 23yo, Cadenheads 17yo 55.1% Bourbon hogshead, peated, sherry cask plus one other example.

Peaty blends 40%: Islay Mist, Islay Hallmark 8yo, Black Bottle 10yo, Black Grouse, Black Bottle, plus a special guest (Brora or Port Ellen).

All of the Jolly Toper’s whisky tastings take place on Thursday nights from 7:30pm until approximately 10pm at the Tolbooth Tavern, 167 Canongate, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, meals available up to the time of the tastings. For more details on the tastings themselves, please click here

*P/O/U/R/S = Peaty, Old, Unusual, Rare and Sherry cask matured

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

Kentucky Cooperage Tours

Mon.-Fri. ♥ 9:30 a.m. & 1 p.m.

712 E. Main St.

Tel. 270.692.4674

marcia.morgeson@kentuckycooperage.com

Kentucky Cooperage makes the charred oak barrels critical for the production of bourbon. See how “charring” is done, how staves are shaped, how hoops are put in place and how barrels are made leak proof without manmade sealers.

Find out more about Lebanon Kentucky at www.visitlebanonky.com

EAGLE RARE BOURBON LAUNCHES
SECOND ANNUAL RARE LIFE AWARD
Award Winner Will Receive a $20,000 Donation to the Charity of their Choice

 FRANKFORT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, KY. – Eagle Rare Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey has won its share of honors and awards. Now the bourbon is sharing its passion for excellence for a second year in a row by opening the nomination season for the 2012 Rare Life Award. 

This past February, the 2011 Rare Life Award was awarded to Grand Prize winner Master Gunnery Sergeant Charles Padilla for his incredible story.  After more than 20 years of service in the Marine Corp, Padilla ran 3,530 miles across America to raise money to benefit wounded soldiers. For his amazing story, Eagle Rare donated $10,000 to the Semper Fi Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit set up to provide immediate financial support for injured and critically ill members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.        

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2012 Rare Life Award at www.eaglerarelife.com. The award will be awarded to a person with an amazing life story that demonstrates the bourbon’s core values of courage, leadership, survival, heroism, devotion and character. The 2012 Grand Prize award winner will be awarded a $20,000 donation to the charity of their choice. In addition, six others will be selected and awarded $2,000 to the charity of their choice. Entries will be posted at the Eagle Rare website online and the general public can vote on who they think most embodies the “Rare Life” core values through January 5, 2012. All winners will be chosen from the top 20 stories that receive the most votes and will be announced in early February 2012.

“We are thrilled to double the prize money for the 2012 Rare Life Award,” said Kris Comstock, Eagle Rare Brand Manager. “Last year we received hundreds of nominations and we hope to hear more amazing stories this year. This country is filled with courageous, generous and hardworking people who lead rare lives every day. We want to hear their stories. Eagle Rare Bourbon embodies life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This award will honor those who do the same. We can’t wait to hear their stories and award them.”

About Eagle Rare Bourbon

Eagle Rare Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey is part of the award-winning Buffalo Trace Distillery, a family-owned company based in Frankfort, (Franklin County), Kentucky. The distillery’s rich distilling tradition dates back to 1787 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee. Eagle Rare Bourbon is a ten-year-old single barrel bourbon that has won multiple awards, including five double gold medals from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. To learn more about Eagle Rare visit www.eaglerarelife.com.

Isabella’s Islay…redux

It seems that my rant last week about the Isabella’s Islay, the “World’s most expensive whisky”, has come to the attention of LBC, the folk that are producing the product. I was having a bad day, slightly worse the wear after a visit to Balvenie’s Whisky Den (of which more in a later post – …(please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article)…

http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2011/05/isabellas-islay-redux/#more-2009

AND BE SURE TO READ THE COMMENTS AFTER THE ARTICLE!!

The Fuss

 

… need any advice concerning whisky hip-flasks? Ralfy can help with …. Whisky Review 203 – Advice about whisky hip-flasks.

Visit Ralfy at www.ralfy.com

The Malt Maniacs have published a new E-pistle by founding member Louis Perlman called ‘Guilty Pleasures’ and it can be viewed at http://www.maltmaniacs.org/whisky-articles/Malt-Maniacs-2011-04-Guilty-Pleasures.pdf

       Clynelish 21yo         
                    £79.99 inc VAT                   

Craigellachie 14yo
£55.00 inc VAT

Fettercairn 13yo
£44.99 inv VAT   

        Glen Ord 21yo           
         £59.99 inc VAT          

         Littlemill 19yo          
£67.99 inc VAT
        
Lochside 21yo
£94.99 inc VAT

    Miltonduff 12yo       
    £44.99 inc VAT       

         Mortlach 13yo         
        £49.99 inc VAT       

      Strathisla 18yo        
              £59.99 inc VAT                

          Tamnavulin 18yo       
£59.99 inc VAT

Tobermory 14yo
£48.99 inc VAT

Port Ellen 30yo
£304.99 inc VAT

Visit Single Malts Direct at www.singlemaltsdirect.com

New Distillery Visitor Centre Opens on Jura
 
Isle of Jura Distillery has marked the first day of this year’s Feis Ile with the opening of a new £100,000 Visitor Centre.
 
The Jura Distillery Visitor Centre, on the same site as the former distillery shop, offers visitors a glimpse into the history and legends of Jura along with an opportunity to savour an authentic taste of single malt from the distillery. The centre also serves as the base of operations for the distillery’s tours.
 
The Visitor Centre takes its inspiration from the island’s legends and symbols, reflecting its literary, cultural and mythical heritage in West of Scotland folklore. Designed to replicate a traditional Hebridean bothy, there is a tasting unit which will serve rare Jura expressions alongside its core range, and a tasting table with a copper Diurachs’ symbol set into the centre. Photos of Diurachs past and present adorn the gallery wall, including key figures from the distillery’s 200 year history, bringing to life many of the associated myths and legends.
 
Inside the Jura Distillery Visitor Centre guests can purchase an array of Jura merchandise, including hats, jackets, glassware and chocolates, alongside Jura’s extensive range of core and rare whiskies.
 
Isle of Jura is hoping that the new Visitor Centre will create a long-lasting impression for the island’s rising visitor numbers. Since 2007, visitor numbers have steadily increased year on year, a considerable achievement given the island’s ‘unget-at-able’ location. The increased interest is a reflection of Jura’s strength in the single malt market and the growing trend for whisky tourism.  Jura single malt is now the third largest malt in the UK, with year on year growth of 60% across its key markets.
 
Distillery Manager Willie Cochrane commented:
 
“Many of those who make the effort to visit Jura do so because of our fine whisky and the rich culture of our remote island. Having a visitor centre that reflects the history and culture of our island, whilst matching the quality of our single malt, will provide our guests with a truer experience of what Jura is all about. More importantly, they will hopefully be more inclined to buy some of our fine whisky and share the magic of Jura with their friends and family!”
 
About Jura

Off the west coast of Scotland lies one of nature’s best kept secrets, the Isle of Jura.  Populated by a community of less than 200, known as Diurachs (the Gaelic name for the people of Jura), it is a place of myth, legend and intrigue – and an award-winning range of single malt whiskies which hold the promise of good fortune for all those that believe.
 
There are four classic bottlings in the Jura Collection:  Origin 10, Superstition, Diurach’s Own and Prophecy.  Many of the Jura whiskies have their own distinctive drinking rituals, but one cuts across the range.  Islanders believe that it brings good fortune to knock on wood before they drink a dram. 
 
To find out more visit www.isleofjura.com

The Balvenie Whisky Den

The folks over at William Grant & Sons like a bit of interesting marketing. Their portfolio stretches outside of the world of whisky, with both Hendrick’s and Sailor Jerry Rum on the books, and over the last few years they’ve been doing some interesting things. We’ve had locked boxes of whisky sent out to a …  (please click on the link below to read the remainder of the article)…

THE LINK