Hello Fellow Scotch Lovers – 

This week, I am again thrilled to offer you the opportunity to pre-order another highly collectible whisky: Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix 2010.

The story about this incredible whisky is one of, shall I say, divine intervention.  This is an extremely limited edition whisky…it will absolutely not be availabe beyond March, and this may be your only chance to aquire a bottle (limit 2-bottles per customer, please). So if you want a bottle, please purchase your Snow Phoenix ASAP.
  http://for-lovers.com/store/scotch/glenfiddich-snow-phoenix-2010-non-chill-filltered-speyside-single-malt-750ml.html?sid=akae3t5vjfa9rt772u790f2494

Also, for those who live in California, or are looking for a great reason to visit San Francisco in March, I am excited as hell to tell you that ForScotchLovers will have a booth at this years Whiskies of the World Expo on March 26th.  This is a terrific show, and I’m thrilled we’ll be a part of it.  And because we are participating in the show, I’m able to offer you a great discount on tickets (see below).

These are two extremely exciting opportunities…I hope you’ll take advantage of both. And if you do attend the Whiskies of the World Expo, ya better stop by our booth and say hello.

I hope to see you all there,    

Doug Stone
Founder
www.ForScotchLovers.com

12th Annual Whiskies of the World Expo & Artisanal Spirits Fest

March  26th in San Francisco

The Whiskies of the World Expo gathers the world’s most fascinating distilled spirits along with their makers and ambassadors to give its guests an opportunity to sample, learn and experience a night of delicious spirited fun.

By popular demand, the 12th Expo will take place again on the San Francisco Belle Yacht (docked) with its three ballroom-size tasting decks, and an open roof Whisky & Cigar Pairing deck. Come on March, 26th to enjoy a full buffet dinner; meeting and learning from the world’s spirits producers; creators and experts; a live Pipe and Drum Concert; mixology demonstrations, Celtic craft  and whisky gear booths, artisanal food pairings with exclusive whiskies;  live music and more. Learn, celebrate, experience!

And of course, ForScotchLovers will be there too!

For details and to buy your tickets visit the Whiskies Of The World website. 

Enter discount code: WOW2011FSL on the checkout page for an 8% discount on tickets and Dram Club membership.

GLENFIDDICH SNOW PHOENIX NON-CHILL FILTERED WHISKY

THE SNOW PHOENIX STORY

Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix commemorates a moment of drama in the long history of the Glenfiddich Distillery. It all began in December 2009 when it started to snow – it kept snowing for several months. After weeks of record low temperatures and alternate freezing and thawing there were four feet of densely compacted snow on the distillery roofs.

On the evening of Thursday 7th January, in the most remote part of the snow covered distillery, some of the warehouse roofs collapsed, ripped open by the sheer weight of snow, leaving maturing oak casks of Glenfiddich exposed to the winter sky. It was as if some of the distillery angels had finished their ‘share’ and had come back looking for more.

Glenfiddich Malt Master Brian Kinsman selected a number of casks from the snow damaged warehouse, some of these casks had previously held Oloroso sherry and others were traditional whisky casks made of American oak.

This Glenfiddich is as they found it – a marriage of Glenfiddich single malt Scotch whiskies of different ages and finishes with the strength brought to 47.6% abv by the addition of the distillery’s Robbie Dhu spring water. It has not been chill filtered.

This is a limited edition bottling – one of a kind and only bottled and released in 2010. 
 
TASTING NOTES

Colour – Gold with bright copper highlights

Nose – Creamy vanilla aromas mingle with vibrant notes of apple and pear – the whole complimented by the scent of fresh blossom.

Taste – This is Glenfiddich in the wild – apples roasted in the embers of a campfire, sweetened with heather honey and accompanied by a piece of chocolate, rich and complex with a whiff of burned sugar, coffee and woodsmoke.
 
Finish – An exceptionally long finish – austere sherry notes mellow into a satisfying sweetness.

www.ralfy.com has a new review  –  Whisky Review 184 1/2 – Aberfeldy 1989/2007 Gordon&Macphail (C.C.)
with the emphasis on first impressions of whiskies.

… go enjoy malt-mates !

February Outturn: Red Hot Lovers

Let’s take a look at the single casks getting you HOT…here’s the TOP Five fastest-selling whiskies from February’s Outturn:

    1.     127.7 A sense of elemental freedom

    2.     44.48 Turkish seduction

    3.     29.89 The dark edge of Saturn

    4.     64.28 Lots of ginger (SMWS HOT favourite)

    5.     53.146 A saline gargle, with peanuts   

    Not forgetting our February Offers:

    PAIR: 53.146 & 36.51 for £90 (save £17.70)

    THREESOME: 29.89, 64.28 & 44.48 for £131 (save £26.40)

    CASE OFFER: 53.146, 36.51, 29.89, 64.28, 44.48 & 1.156
    for £259.50 (save £50.00)

Society Tastings & Events (48 Society tastings online)

6 Nations Wales V Scotland Lunch – The Vaults, Sat 12 Feb
6 Nations Wales V Scotland – Queen Street, Sat 12 Feb
Valentines’ Champagne & Whisky Tasting – Queen Street, Mon 14
Dining Room Valentine Dinner – Queen Street, Mon 14 Feb
Valentine Dinner at The Vaults – The Vaults, Mon 14 Feb
Wokingham Preview Tasting – Cantley House Hotels, Fri 25 Feb
Harrogate Preview Tasting – Hotel du Vin, Fri 25 Feb
Brighton Preview Tasting – Hotel du Vin, Fri 25 Feb
6 Nations Ireland V Scotland Lunch – The Vaults, Sun 27 Feb
6 Nations Ireland V Scotland – Queen Street, Sun 27 Feb

SMWS Venue News: If you go down to the Members’ Rooms, be sure of a big surprise…

28 Queen Street: Enjoy Queen Street only Valentine Offers and Treats, more >

The Vaults & London: Sample drams of the Society’s oldest bottling – at 47 years old!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ
Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm).

Visit the Society at http://www.smws.co.uk/memberships for your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers.

Tickets on Sale Monday, April 4th!

After an excellent start to 2011, Spirit of Toronto is excited to announce that tickets for this year’s show go on sale Monday, April 4th at 10:00am. As in years past, tickets will be available from Roy Thomson Hall’s box office online, by phone or in person. Tickets for the show are $129 HST included and a reminder will go out on April 3rd for those of you subscribed to this list.

Planning for this year’s Masterclass Series is well underway and will be published by mid-March. Last year’s scheduling of pre-show masterclasses at 5:30pm was a resounding success and will be repeated again in 2011. Updates will be emailed as new details for both the show and masterclasses are confirmed.

In the meantime, please read on to find out more about two very special guests for 2011.

Special Guest: John Glaser, Compass Box

I’m not sure what’s more incredible: that it’s been 10 years since John Glaser founded Compass Box Delicious Whisky… or that it’s been 4 years since he last graced Spirit of Toronto in person.

To commemmorate ten years of blending small batch Scotch whiskies, it seems only fitting to have John return to Spirit of Toronto and host a retrospective tasting of the Compass Box range from past to present.

John’s visit will also give him a chance to launch his latest magnum opus in person, The Spice Tree, a blended malt whisky being released in Ontario stores this month, not to mention a redux of the controversial whisky that found him at loggerheads with the venerable Scotch Whisky Association in 2005.

For those interested in learning more about John Glaser and how he breaks with convention to create fabulous Scotch whisky, an excellent video interview can be found online at www.connosr.com

Special Guest: Willie Tait from Isle of Jura

Spirit of Toronto is honoured to be welcoming one of Scotland’s most distinguished master distillers to this year’s show, the affable and inimitable Willie Tait from Isle of Jura. Fans of island whisky, distillery lore and devillish charm will not want to miss the opportunity to sample this growing range with one of Scotch whisky’s most respected statesmen.

Like the island itself, Jura’s whisky is singular and one of quiet appeal, “a Highland malt made on an island” according to Willie, and a whisky converting its accolytes one at a time without pomp or fanfare. In addition to the fantastic Jura Superstition, a few cases of the recently launched Jura Prophecy still remain on store shelves and provide an excellent counterpoint for those who enjoy gentle depth and complexity in their peated whisky.

Now I have yet to meet Willie in person, but am told that to know him is to love him. With this in mind, please continue for a brief introduction…

Q&A with Willie Tait

What is the first whisky you remember tasting?

Well, like most young people it was from my dad’s collection, sorry to say it wasn’t Jura!

What is your fondest memory from the distillery? Do you miss the hands on work of making whisky on a daily basis?

Fondest memory is walking home from doing a night shift—that walk along the sea shore was like heaven itself. And yes, I miss the chat from the boys every morning.

Where have your travels with Whyte & Mackay taken you so far and what has been your favourite location?

I have travelled all over Canada, the US and Europe, but my favourite location is where I am at the time.

Islay gets all the attention these days but what sets Jura apart from its Hebridean neighbour?

Well, I tell people the nicest thing about Islay is the view over to Jura—Jura is much more remote and I like it that way.

Have you ever actually climbed the Paps of Jura?

Yes, many times, and not always in the best of weather. Like all mountains they draw you to them.

Best whisky being made outside of Scotland at the moment in your opinion?

I love Bourbon and Forty Creek. I say to people we showed them how to make it and they still got it wrong!

If you had to choose: haggis or black pudding?

I like both but at different times.

New York or New Zealand?

Never been to New Zealand; I do love NY but my heart says New Zealand.

If you were stranded on a desert island and a case of Jura washed up on shore… which expression do you hope it would be?

Oh, I thought you said woman! I would love to find a case of Jura 16 Year Old… and a woman to help me drink it.

www.spiritoftoronto.ca

www.ralfy.com WhiskyReview 183 – Caol Ila 30yo Mackillops Choice      ….. runs on for over 14 minutes, bnut the reason is to discuss more fully the benifit of extended tasting notes and how very old Whiskies can offer more of a ‘conversation’ to the malt-fan.

The perfect gift for whisky lovers – with a further 5% discount for our newsletter members!

Glengoyne Personalised Bottles with a Valentine’s Neck Tag. Choose from the 10 YO, 17 YO or 21 YO.

You can personalise the label by specifying your own text and / or by uploading a photo.

Personalised Bottles are currently available at the same price as normal bottles. To get a further 5% discount use the voucher code VAL5 on the shopping basket page before checking out.

Note: Last order time for UK orders is 5 pm on Thursday 10th February to get bottle delivered on February 14th.

http://shop.glengoyne.com/personalised-bottles

New Packaging for Ale Cask Reserve

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone who said they liked the photos on Facebook  and commented on the blog.  It’s great to see so many of you sharing your thoughts and opinions.

As promised, here is a first glimpse of the new packaging for Grant’s Ale Cask Reserve.

Cask Edition No1 is the only Scotch whisky matured in…

Follow the link below to see the latest blog post on Behind the Blend from Ludo

http://blog.grantswhisky.com/2011/02/new-packaging-for-ale-cask-reserve-2/

Loch Fyne Whiskies has stocked a new item, ‘Glenfarclas 175th Anniversary’

Glenfarclas 175
43% abv
£71.90 inc vat
£59.92 ex vat

Celebrating the 175th Anniversary of Glenfarclas Distillery.

Limited to 6000 bottles worldwide including 1500 in the UK.

You may view the latest post at https://www.lfw.co.uk/blog/2011/02/08/glenfarclas-175th-anniversary/

Best regards,
Loch Fyne Whiskies

Canadian Whisky: Canada’s Best Wine & Spirits Blog

Feb 4, 2011.

Winners of the first annual Canadian Food Blog Awards were announced January 31, 2011, with canadianwhisky.org garnering the honours as Canada’s best Wine & Spirits blog.

Davin de Kergommeaux launched the Canadian Whisky website in July 2010. The site features Canadian whisky reviews, and discussions about Canadian whisky. “There are so many great whiskies made here in Canada that no one outside the country ever finds out about,” he said.  “This website is opening a lot of eyes to best of Canadian whisky.”

As an original member of the Malt Maniacs de Kergommeaux helped found the prestigious Malt Maniacs Awards which he has judged for the past eight years. A trained sommelier, who writes about whisky for a number of publications, including Whisky Magazine, he also judges the prestigious World Whisky Awards. In 2010 his Canadian Whisky Awards drew world-wide attention to Canadian connoisseur whisky.

The Canadian Food Blog Awards were created by Sheryl Kirby and Greg Clow, administrators of the Canadian food blog aggregator site Beer and Butter Tarts, and founders of the Canadian Food Bloggers Association. “We received over 800 nominations for 174 different blogs in 17 different categories,” said Sheryl Kirby. “In the People’s Choice category, over 500 valid votes were cast.”

From the nominations a short-list of five blogs was created for each of the 17 categories.  Judging was conducted independently by wine and spirits writers and other industry professionals. In addition to canadianwhisky.org, Wine and Spirits nominees included on the short list were Billy’s Best Bottles, Cellar Door, The Jolly Inebriate, and Vine Arts: Wine Made Simple.

“Congratulations to all the winners, as well as the finalists who made the short list,” said Kirby. “You have set the bar for standards in Canadian food blogging.”

Links:

Canadian Whisky http://www.canadianwhisky.org/

Canadian Food Bloggers’ Association  http://www.canadianfoodblogs.com/about/

Dear Customer,

Being released in February we have five (5) new bottlings under the OLD MALT CASK label, two (2) CLAN DENNY Grains, four (4) in the 20 cl range and a DOUBLE BARREL.

Tasting notes for OLD MALT CASK:

OMC1984 BOWMORE 14 YEAR OLD
Nose: Freshly scented + peat, fruit & vanilla + boiled sweets.
Palate: Opens sweet – runs to a spiced/smoky/ashy character.
Finish: Sweet liquorice develops to soft/chewy tar and BBQ ashes (J)

OMC1986 GLEN GRANT 15 YEAR OLD
Nose: Opens with a sweet grist quality running to a creamy home baked style
Palate: Carries a fruity sweetness (lemon and oranges) + vanilla & honey
Finish: Remains fresh & sweet, still vanilla’d now with a more spicy character (J)

OMC1968 ABERFELDY 16 YEAR OLD
Nose: Softly perfumed with fruit, honey and dry grist.
Palate: A silky smooth introduction to vanilla, Malt and spice.
Finish: Butterscotch + spices + sugar + oak (F)

OMC1972 PORT ELLEN SHERRY 27 YEAR OLD
Nose: Clean & fresh, yet strongly spiced + a chewed leather quality
Palate: Opens round – subtly peated/sweetly spiced – runs to smoke
Finish: Spices continue + some late, sweet, smoky character returns (J)

OMC1983 CAOL ILA 30 YEAR OLD
Nose: Fresh and grassy – developing to an earthy + dark chocolate style.
Palate: Overwhelmingly rich character + burning tobacco + a soft tar quality.
Finish: Still sweet (burnt custard) running to a cough drop (camphor) style (J)

Tasting Notes for the CLAN DENNY GRAINS:

DEN0058 CAMERONBRIDGE BOURBON 45 YEAR OLD
Carries a soft fermented apple quality on the nose, running to a “Poire William” style with a sweet & macerated fruit character, maybe even some late tobacco. The palate is more Calvados in style running to toffee’d apples – bizarrely without much Scottish heritage – but intriguing nevertheless! The finish is typically short yet remains surprisingly fruity – now carrying a honey, vanilla, stewed bananas and light oak quality. (F&J)

DEN0041 GIRVAN 20 YEAR OLD
Opens sweetly with a round vanilla quality – Bourbon style. The palate is still vanilla’d with a warm custard and toffee character, running to an interestingly sweetly spiced quality. The finish is, typically, not so long yet replicates the palate – still sweet and attractively spiced. (J)

The DOUBLE BARREL releases is:

DBS0022 Highland Park/Bowmore

And lastly the four (4) 20cl Advance Samples are:

SMC0383 Aberlour 12
SMC0384 Auchentoshan 12
SMC0382 Glengoyne 12
SMC0385 Miltonduff 12

We will continue to pick casks that we believe to be of an appropriate quality for you to enjoy in good company.

All best wishes

Fred H Laing
Managing Director

Visit Douglas Laing & Co. Ltd. at www.douglaslaing.com