*DOUGLAS LAING & CO WHISKY TASTING – WEDNESDAY 8TH DECEMBER 2010*

For our final whisky tasting of the year we are pleased to be welcoming Jan Beckers Malt Ambassador for the independent bottlers Douglas Laing & Co.  Established in 1948 in Glasgow, Douglas Laing is a family company that has built it’s reputation on the quality whiskies they bottle from their vast stock of casks that hail from many different distilleries.  The Laing family’s huge passion for their product, their insistence on no added colour or chill filtering for their whiskies, and the wonderfully quirky tasting notes they produce, all add up to a truly independent company whose aim is to make the discerning whisky drinker happy.

Amongst the whiskies that Jan Beckers will be presenting for us there will be some from the renowned Old Malt Cask range.  These are single cask bottlings from a  variety of distilleries, including a number of closed ones.  There are always some real stars to be found in this range, and all the whiskies are bottled at 50% abv (known as the ‘Golden Strength’).  Also on show will be some of the Provenance collection, an intriguing range of small batch and single cask expressions that feature the season the whisky was distilled (be it Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter) on the bottle label.  Last, but certainly not least, there will be a guest appearance from that wonderful Islay character Big Peat.  Rapidly becoming one of our best selling whiskies, this vatted malt has some of the real big hitters from Islay – Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen are all brought together in one glorious breath of peat reek that is an ideal dram for a cold winter’s night (or any other night really)

This is the last tasting of the year so don’t miss out.  Come along and enjoy some great whiskies (and start compiling your Christmas ‘wish(ky)’ list!)

*How to book*

The tasting will be at Stanton House Hotel, Stanton Fitzwarren (www.stantonhouse.co.uk), and will commence at 7.00 for 7.30pm. Tickets for the event are priced at just £10.00, and this includes a discount of £3 against a bottle of one of the featured whiskies if bought or ordered on the night of the tasting.

Most, if not all, of the whiskies tasted will be available to purchase on the night. We accept cash, credit/debit card or cheques.

Tickets are limited, and allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. To buy them just log on to www.whiskyandwines.com and place an order for the number you require, or telephone us on (01793) 765071, or call in and see us at Arkwrights, The Dormers, Highworth, Wiltshire. Admission to the tasting is by ticket only, and Arkwrights reserve the right to restrict the number of tickets per person.

Tasting tickets always sell very quickly (usually within 48 hours) so it is best to book ASAP.

We look forward to seeing you for another great evening of whisky tasting.

Slainte!
Fran and Ken
Arkwrights Whisky and Wines
www.whiskyandwines.com

Maltstock
Discount reminder

Hello whisky enthusiasts,

Just a short reminder that you get a 10% discount on your Maltstock 2011 tickets if you buy them before the end of 2010. Click here to go directly to our webshop.

The first tickets for Maltstock 2011 have already been sold. We expect many to follow. Remember there’s a limited number of tickets available. So avoid disappointment and get yours in time.
We already have one special tasting lined up for Maltstock 2011: the guys from Master of Malt will do a closed distilleries tasting. We will of course keep you updated on the Maltstock 2011 program.

This weekend the Maltstock team will be at the whisky fair in Leiden. We look forward to meeting you there. Also in Leiden will be the terrific team of the Highlander Inn, Craigellachie, Speyside. They made a superb Scottish breakfast at Maltstock this year. And we are very happy that they will be back next year!

Any questions? Just let us know! You can also follow us on Facebook.

Slainte!

The Maltstock team
Arthur, Bob, Eline, Rogier & Teun
www.maltstock.com

Malt Advocate held its annual WhiskyFest New York this past week, and the microdistilling community was out in force. Some of the most creative experiments in distilling are being done at American microdistilleries, and you’ll hear from some of the distillers in this episode. In the news, a boiler explosion shuts down Springbank, a $160,000 bottle of whisky is still on the market, and the Friends of Laphroaig visit the Statue of Liberty.

Listen to episode #289 at www.whiskycast.com

Whisky in Your Pocket
Publication date: 18th November 2010

Waverley Books Limited
Book Publishers

World’s bestselling pocket guide to Scotch returns after 12 years

The single Scotch malt category owes much of its increasing popularity to a couple of Scottish wine and spirit merchants who persuaded the big London hotels, restaurants and clubs to start stocking single malts back in the late 1960 and 70s. They were the Milroy brothers, Jack and Wallace, who made their forays into the on-trade from their tiny Soho Wine Market. In the mid-1980s Wallace was approached by Neil Wilson, a  whisky writer and publisher, who suggested he should write a pocket guide to single malts for his fledgling list. The result was Wallace Milroy’s Malt Whisky Almanac and it was to go on to sell over 300,000 copies worldwide.

After seven editions Wallace and Neil felt that it had served its purpose and it was retired in 1998. Jack went on to sell the Soho Wine Market and Wallace became a consultant to the trade. But in 2009 Neil and Wallace decided that the time was right to bring the almanac back, but this time to cover grain and blended whiskies as well. Their reasons were simple: confused consumers were growing in number and a new entry-level pocket guide to the world of Scotch was desperately needed. The published guides that had followed the original almanac had raised the level of information and subjective opinion on whiskies, but they felt that newcomers to the subject were increasingly confused and bewildered by what was on offer.

The result is Whisky In Your Pocket, which details 139 single malts (including Bushmills from Northern Ireland), 10 single grains, 4 blended malts, 2 blended grains and 16 blended Scotch whiskies. Illustrated with bottle shots, regional and distillery location maps throughout, the result is a comprehensive thumbnail picture of what consumers can expect when they take their first foray into the amazing world of Scotch whisky.

Whisky In Your Pocket by Wallace Milroy and Neil Wilson
Publication date: 18th November 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84934-023-6
Price: £7.99
192 pages, full colour throughout

The Taste:

It blends the recipe of centuries ago with the smooth, refined flavors that appeal to today’s palate

Nose – Freshly snapped cornhusk, but only after a bare drizzle of pure water is added to open the nose.
Taste – Smooth, mellow and elegant. A mid warm sweetness of unrefined raw sugar, retaining the richness from freshly picked corn.
Finish – A pleasant and tempered clean finish, void of impurities, with a diffused and balanced lingering of warmth.

Versatility – the subtle, distinctive character is most noticeable when sipped just shy of neat with a slash of pure water. When wall bruised with ice, it transforms into a creamy, voluptuous, satiny texture. The mixability of this spirit is most friendly to any fruit that has medium or strong acidity, but is also well-matched with most mixers within the bartender’s repertoire.

Did You Know…

MOONSHINE was crafted by many U.S. Presidents….and outlawed by others.

For more then a decade it ruled New York’s most decadent and glamorous age of nightlife and was hotly pursued by federal agents. It gave birth to the nations second largest sport: NASCAR. During Prohibition MOONSHINE runners souped up their cars so they could get away from the law.

Signature Cocktail: The Shiner

1 ½ parts Original MOONSHINE
Juice of one-half Lime
3 oz of club soda
Pour Original MOONSHINE and lime juice into an old fashioned glass over ice cubes. Top with club soda and stir. Garnish with a slice of lime.

The STILLHOUSE Distillery:

The STILLHOUSE Distillery is located in historic Culpeper, Virginia.

The Culpeper area was a highly prized position for both sides during the Civil War. In 1863, over 20,000 soldiers clashed at Brandy Station just outside of Culpeper, engaging in what would go down in history as the largest cavalry battle in the history of the Western Hemisphere.  All the corn that goes into the production of Moonshine is grown at the estate in Culpeper. The estate distillery houses a genuine sold copper pot still, which was constructed in 1930, there years before the end of Prohibition

The Brand

Original MOONSHINE is the first product launched from STILLHOUSE, a premium spirits brand based in Culpeper, VA .

STILLHOUSE partners include entrepreneur Brad Beckerman and famed chef Adam Perry Lang, who passionately developed the Original MOONSHINE recipe over the past 3 years.  Original MOONSHINE is now available in select locations throughout New York, Los Angeles, Austin and Virginia and is coming soon to Las Vegas and Miami.

It also will be available off- premise in early 2011 at select retailers.

www.moonshine.com

W Hoboken Hotel will host an exclusive evening of Whisky and Music, as Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky presents special guest Heather Greene and her musical sounds of Argon 40 on December 1st in the hotel’s event space The Living Room.    

The event invites guests to an unforgettable experience, as the signature flavor of Glenfiddich, the world’s most awarded Single Malt Scotch whisky, is paired with the sultry musical sounds of Argon 40, a unique musical collaboration between the multi-talented musician Heather Greene and platinum recording artist Adam Williams.  The release, “Fair Lawn,” is set to drop in January 2011.

 In addition to being an internationally acclaimed singer with two records under her belt, Greene is one of the world’s only female Whisky experts and an internationally recognized Icon of Whisky.  As comfortable on stage as she is behind a bar, Greene will also be leading a Glenfiddich tasting for guests, unlocking the distinct notes and flavors of this range of whiskies.

 “This listening party, the first in a nationwide tour, combines my loves for whisky and music and allows me to present my music in totally new way,” Greene said.  “My project Argon 40 sets a backdrop to chill, offering an unexpected, new and compelling tasting experience as well.”  

Guests at this event may rub shoulders with an array of local television and sports personalities and will also enjoy an assortment of luxury cigars and fine passed hors d’oeuvres.  The event will take place on Wednesday, December 1st from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.  Press invitations are available at rsvp@thehipevent.com. Admission is free, contact rsvp@thehipevent.com to RSVP.

W Hotels Worldwide

W Hotels is an innovative, contemporary, design-led lifestyle brand and the hotel category buster with 36 hotels and retreats in the most vibrant cities and exotic destinations around the world. Inspiring, iconic, innovative and influential, W Hotels provides the ultimate in insider access to a world of “Wow.” Each hotel offers a unique mix of innovative design and passions around fashion, music and entertainment. W Hotels offers a holistic lifestyle experience that is integrated into the brand’s sensibility through contemporary restaurant concepts, glamorous nightlife experiences, stylish retail concepts and signature spas. With more than 10 years of proven success, W Hotels is on track to more than double its footprint by 2011. W Hotels and W Retreats have been announced for London, Paris, St. Petersburg, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Bali, Vieques Island, Koh Samui, and Verbier, among other international destinations. For more information, visit www.whotels.com.

Hello Fellow Scotch Lovers –

Each Wednesday from now until the end of the year we’ll let you know about exciting opportunities to acquire a special limited production collectible whisky. These whiskies will be reasonably priced, so you can give one as a gift in addition to keeping one for yourself.

Our first whisky is Compass Box Flaming Heart Malt Scotch Whisky Ltd Ed 10th Anniversary Bottling, one of the fiinest and most-difficult-to-get-your-hands-on expressions created by John Glaser and the folks at Compass Box.

John Hansell of The Malt Advocate said in his What Does John Know blog “I like this version (the third Flaming Heart release and second one brought to the U.S.) better than the last one imported here. I love the balance on this one, all the way through to the finish…” and then gave the whisky a Malt Advocate magazine rating of 95 points.

The ForScotchLovers retail price is $84.50, which includes a FREE acrylic presentation box to store your prized whisky (see below).

If you want a bottle, please purchase it ASAP (limit: 2-bottles per member). http://tinyurl.com/3x5hmdh With less than 2,000 bottles allocated to the US market, we have a limited number of bottles available to us. 

Enjoy!

Doug Stone
Founder
ForScotchLovers.com

To celebrate their 10th Anniversary, John Glaser and the folks at Compass Box have released the third limited edition of Flaming Heart, with a new label illustrated by Alex Machin The bottle comes with a clear storage/ presentation case. 
 
Compass Box Flaming Heart

Flaming Heart combines Highland, Islay and Island single malts, aged in a both American and French oak casks, to create a smokysweet flavor profile like no other Scottish malt whisky.

Availability: One-off, limited release of 4,186 bottles bottled in September 2010. Less than half of that production making it to the US.

Flavor Descriptors: A complex and smoky malt whisky with a rich, sweet, spice-laden fruitiness and long, lingering finish.

Distillery Sourcing: Single malt whiskies from six distilleries located in the northern Highlands and Islands. Primarily whiskies from distilleries located in the villages of Brora (Highlands), Port Askaig (Islay) and the
Isle of Mull (Islands).

Wood: 40% refill American oak, 31% first-fill American oak, 29% new French oak.

Bottling Details: Bottled at 48.9%. Not chill filtered. Natural colour.

www.ralfy.com has a fresh Vlog for your nosing and tasting.

whisky review 165 – Sazerac 18yo Rye (bottled Fall 2009)

New on www.canadianwhisky.org:

Still Waters Distillery.  Barry Bernstein and Barry Stein are making Canadian single malt whisky in their Concord, Ontario distillery and have plans to begin distilling high-rye Canadian whisky in January.

http://www.canadianwhisky.org/news-views/still-waters-distillery.html

And an old favourite:

Crown Royal Black is selling so well in the U.S. that plans are in the offing for a Canadian release.  Black is a rich, robust take on the signature Crown Royal house style.

http://www.canadianwhisky.org/reviews/crown-royal-black-45-alc-vol-90-proof.html

Glengoyne Still Going SLOW!

We are keen to stress our SLOW credentials. Our distillation speed is slower than any other Scotch Whisky. We attribute our high quality, smooth tasting malt to this slow distillation, which is about one third the normal rate.

Slowly distilling our spirit allows more contact with the copper stills, removing unwanted sulphur which can result in bitterness and encouraging the formation of esters creating Glengoyne’s distinctive apple fruitiness.

We’ve always done it this way but have just taken 177 years to tell you. That’s SLOW for you!

Food Festival Returning

We are delighted to announce that the Glengoyne Christmas Food Festival is back this winter. It is taking place on Saturday 4th December and we hope that you can all make it along. Our last food festival in 2008 was a huge success but this year’s event promises to be even bigger, bolder and better. Some of the old favourites will be back such as cookery demos by Tom Lewis, Santa’s grotto at the foot of the waterfall and stalls with unique gift ideas for Christmas but there will also be lots and lots more to keep all the family entertained!

Picture Perfect Christmas

Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky has launched the first in a new range of special collectible tins, just in time for Christmas.

Available now, the collectable ‘Art of Glengoyne’ tin features a stunning watercolour of ‘Scotland’s Most Beautiful Distillery’ by accomplished Edinburgh based artist and illustrator Dave Brogan

The Glengoyne website is changing

The Glengoyne website has been with us in its current form since 2003! We are in the process of developing a new website at the moment and would love to hear from you about the type of things you would like to see on the website in general and also in the new members only section that we are adding to the website.

We will be randomly selecting an entry from each survey that will win a bottle of multiple gold award winning Glengoyne 17 YO!

Glengoyne Launches Two New Limited Editions

 
Glengoyne is expanding its award-winning whisky portfolio with the launch of two new Limited Edition Single Cask Malts.

The new 13 Years Old and 23 Years Old Glengoyne Highland Single Malts were handpicked by a team of experts at Glengoyne before being personally approved and signed by Distillery Manager, Robbie Hughes.

Please note: The 13 Year Old Limited Edition Single Cask has now sold out.

Glengoyne Launch New Port Cask Finish Addition to Core Range

 
For the first time in its 175 year history Glengoyne will have a special cask finish as a permanent addition to their multi-award winning core range, with a different limited edition finish always on offer to the consumer.

The first of the new cask finishes to be launched is a limited edition 13 Years Old Port Cask Finish. Only 2,817 bottles of the 13 Years Old Port Cask are available and will be replaced by a different cask finish when sold out.

The Christmas Cask

Cask 790 Distilled 2002, 1st Bottling – December 2010

An unusually slow Single Cask release, selected by the Glengoyne Tasting Panel.

Welcome to the first in a series of five releases from Cask 790. Every December, until 2014, you can trace the flavour evolution in this remarkable, yet typical Glengoyne Sherry Butt. Rich with hints of rosehip syrup, cocoa beans, oak and spice, Cask 790 still clings to the last of it’s spirited youth, but delivers plenty and promises much more.

This new bottling CAN ONLY be purchased by visiting the distillery. The inaugural release of this bottling will be on the 4th of December at our Christmas Food Festival.

Visit the Glengoyne Distillery at www.glengoyne.com