IT’S GAME ON FOR THE NATION’S BAR GAMES STARS AS WHYTE & MACKAY ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR LOCAL CHAMPIONS

Does your pub darts team dream of making it to the regional finals but can’t quite afford the membership fees?  Are you the fastest speed pool player in your pub, but your local needs a new pool table for you to practise on?  Or is your local pub footie team climbing the league table but needs a new kit to look sharp on the pitch?

If you’re part of a bar games team – or play a bar game solo – and are struggling to fork out for a revamp, renovation, kit or equipment, then Whyte & Mackay, today (Monday, 8th November) announces a competition that may have the answer to all your financial woes.

As part of their recently launched Bar Games campaign , which heralds the return of traditional pub games, Whyte & Mackay are offering teams and individual players of bar games the chance to win a share of £3,000 to help get them to the top of their game.

Individuals and teams simply need to visit Whyte & Mackay’s Facebook page and upload their story with any photos or videos detailing why they deserve the cash.   Alternatively, they can e-mail info@whyteandmackay.com and say why they need a little help to boost them up their league.  The top prize winner will scoop £2,000, while three runners up will receive £500 and 2x £250.

Top TV psychologist Professor Geoff Beattie is a supporter of Whyte & Mackay’s Bar Games campaign as bar games are a great way of socialising.  He comments: “The psychological benefits of bar games are that they provide a joint focus of attention when people are out socialising.  They draw people together in joint activity where the emphasis is on fun and friendly competition.  People may take the competition seriously but they should not take it too seriously, as in many other types of sport, because that would defeat the essential object of the activity. 

“The core aspect of bar games is that the inherent competition must always be both friendly and enjoyable.  The reason therefore why bar games are inherently important, from a psychological perspective, is that they allow human beings to display their competitive side without any negative impact on the social relationship between the individuals concerned.  Competitive sport may often produce rifts between people, bar games should not.”

Richard Paterson, Master Blender at Whyte & Mackay said: “I’ve been disappointed as I’ve seen the demise of traditional pubs through the years. It’s a sad truth that many pubs have sacrificed space used for traditional games to make way for ipod docks, mixologists and wasabi peas. Whyte & Mackay have listened to their fans and are making a stance to bring games back to Britain’s pubs.”

Go to www.facebook.com/whyteandmackay or www.whyteandmackay.com for more info or to enter the competition which runs until Monday, 6th December.

Notes

Winners will be chosen by Whyte & Mackay and notified within 28 days of entry. The winning entry will recive £2,000, one runner up will receive £500, and another two runners up will receive £250 each.

About Whyte & Mackay
Whyte & Mackay was founded on the docks of Glasgow in 1844 by James Whyte and Charles Mackay. For over 160 years, the whisky has remained true itself and the pioneering spirit, and is a top choice for Scots who appreciate its rich, smooth flavour, achieved by maintaining the time-honoured double marriage blending process; a process  that all Scotch whisky distillers used to carry out but have since abandoned.

Whyte & Mackay expressions are the Special, the Thirteen, the Old Luxury (19 years old), the Supreme (22 years old), the 30 years old and the 40 years old.

November 2010

Dear Customer

This month we have a number of new bottlings, being twelve (12) from the OLD MALT CASK,four (4) PREMIER BARREL ceramics, one (1) OLD & RARE, two (2) DOUBLE BARRELs, three (3) CLAN DENNY Grains and five (5) in the 20cl range.

The Tasting Notes for OLD MALT CASK follow:

OMC1928 LAPHROAIG 12 YEAR OLD
Nose: Opens to old style hairdressing – warms sweet ‘n’ peaty.
Palate: Distinctly phenolic, tarry, creosoted – still sweet.
Finish: Ashy, rather sooty – as above, still sweetly phenolic. (F)

OMC1936 MANNOCHMORE 13 YEAR OLD
Nose: Fresh, carries a green fruit quality + a boiled sweeties character
Palate: Sweet + peaches on syrup – runs to a sweet cough drop style
Finish: Long, still sweet, now spicier – develops to toffee and orange (J)

OMC1934 MORTLACH 13 YEAR OLD
Nose: Macerated ripe fruit – runs to spicy biscuits + polished wood
Palate: Mellow & round, spicy & sweet – vanilla tablet + ginger
Finish: Medium long – balance of rich spices & toffee character (J)

OMC1931 CAOL ILA 14 YEAR OLD
Nose: Charred meat on the BBQ + beach bonfire style – SMOKY!
Palate: Opens sweetly – runs to a light spice, smoky and soft tar quality
Finish: Long and smoky – bonfire ashes and a grilled meat style (J)

OMC1932 CRAGGANMORE 19 YEAR OLD
Nose: Carries sugary, grassy, gristy and sweet elements.
Palate: Initially drier – then spiced fruit/barley/oak all evident.
Finish: Gristy, warmingly spiced, now dry, lightly smoked. (F)

OMC 1959 SCAPA 17 YEAR OLD
Nose: Fresh/fruity/vanilla’d – a custard, fruit, and jelly tartlet style
Palate: Still fruity and sweetly – barley sugared with honey & sweet spices
Finish: Long, still fresh – runs to warming spices, smoke and orange pith (J)

OMC1901 BRAES OF GLENLIVET 20 YEAR OLD
Nose: Opens fresh, dryly spiced – warms to barley sugar and Malt
Palate: Still dry initially – warms sweetly, honied and spiced.
Finish: Warmingly spiced – cough drop style. (F)

OMC1935 GLEN ORD 21 YEAR OLD
Nose: Fresh & citrusy with a gristy sweet quality – lemon meringue pie
Palate: Tangy & crisp – a lemon curd character – runs to banana + orange
Finish: More citrus lingering on the medium long finish – now lemon pith (J)

OMC 1955 PORT ELLEN 27 YEAR OLD
Nose: Opens fresh running to a green malt sweetness being peat kilned
Palate: Initially sweet, developing to camphor + a charred wood style.
Finish: Smoke + ashes + dark chocolate & liqueur quality, run and run… (J)

OMC1923 CAPERDONICH 28 YEAR OLD
Nose: Initially malty, then runs to a sweet, mixed dried fruit quality
Palate: Macerated summer fruits, fudge & barley, tends to oak & walnuts
Finish: Long & spicy, more dried fruit, with a Christmas pudding style (J)

OMC 1948 DALMORE RUM FINISHED 33 YEAR OLD
Nose: Initial spicy sweetness runs to macerated ripe fruit + melted chocolate (Rum style)
Palate: “Rum and Raisin” now + concentrated vanilla carrying a lingering oak quality
Finish: Long – still carrying an oak tang + a liquorice wood character (J)

OMC 1949 TOMINTOUL 40 YEAR OLD
Nose: Fresh and fructiferous – with some cedary/spiced tones
Palate: Beyond its light body that same fruity gristiness endures
Finish: Vanilla custard/fruit dessert, more (Chinese?) spices + light smoke (F)

OLD & RARE Tasting Note:

OAR 0110 LAPHROAIG SHERRY MATURED 21 YEAR OLD
On the nose it carries soft summer tar initially – then as it warms – it softens to sweet spices, tobacco, barley, smoke and
liquorice. The big palate is “dark” distinctly peated, ashy, still sweet, spiced, peppery with late gentle oak (lightly toasted) –
going onto a finish which is drier – yet largely replicates those flavours of the palate. (F)

The PREMIER BARRELs taste something like this!:

PBR0082 BLAIR ATHOL SHERRY 13 YEAR OLD
A buxom, balanced, buoyant beacon of Blair Athol. Saliently and surely – salubriously spiced …. supremely satisfyingly,
superbly and scyntillatingly citric! Tango with this B.A. of the North! (F)

PBR0083 BOWMORE 13 YEAR OLD
A bundantly (sic) bodacious Bowmore – briny, beachy and braw! A sure-fire sea-shanty of salty sails, stylish smokiness,
sea-weed and saline swash buckling…. AAHRR …..to be sure, Jim lad! (F)

PBR0084 HIGHLAND PARK 12 YEAR OLD
A high powered – high spirited – HIGHland Park! Fundamentally and factually a feast of fetching fermented phenolic
flamboyance – with a titanically titillating toast of a taste – tantamount to toffee! (F)

PBR0085 AULTMORE SHERRY 12 YEAR OLD
This authoritive Aultmore arrays an aromatic and masterful miscellany of Malt mash – a substantial sugary swirl of syrup,
plus a forté of fresh, fragrant fruitiferousness! (F)

Tasting Notes for the CLAN DENNY Grains:

DEN0032 NORTH OF SCOTLAND 37 YEAR OLD
Carrying a dried fruit overload, it warms further to light tobacco and old wardrobe smells. Very sweet throughout the
palate – detect hard candy boilings and vanilla caramel – running to a lightly smoked and spiced finish, with a treat of a
toffee’d tail. (F)

DEN0052 GARNHEATH 43 YEAR OLD
The nose is sweetly spiced then heads citric with a subtle hint of new wooden flooring, freshly polished. Palatewise,
overripe pineapple, plus ginger, vanilla and mocha flavours all appear leading to a drier, lightly smoked and oaky – even
mentholated – finish. (F)

DEN0053 CARSEBRIDGE 29 YEAR OLD
Americana in style on the nose – detect its Bourbon cask history (even on the empty glass). Massively sweet on the palate
– it is full of hard candy fruity boiling plus vanilla pods. The finish carries a hint of smoke – plus soft, sugary, flambéed
banana. (F)

The DOUBLE BARREL releases are:

DBS00018 Macallan/Laphroaig
DBS0021 Highland Park/Bowmore

And lastly the five (5) 20cl Advance Samples are:

SMC0378 ARDMORE 7
SMC0379 BLAIR ATHOL 11 SHERRY
SMC0381 BOWMORE 13
SMC0380 LAPHROAIG 11
SMC0377 BEN NEVIS 12

We hope you will find that there are some really interesting new Malts offered in this selection .

With all best wishes, I remain

Yours faithfully

Fred H Laing
Managing Director

Visit Douglas Laing & Company at www.douglaslaing.com

It’s not too late to book your memorable Christmas celebration at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

‘…delectable food and drink served in three unique settings…’
With acknowledgments from The Michelin Guide and The Scotsman, the Society executive chefs create delicious food on par with the quality of our world-famous single cask whisky.

So whether it’s period luxury or authentically Scottish, you can impress this Christmas with a choice of three distinct venues and seasonal menus.

Make your own choice this Christmas.

28 Queen Street, Edinburgh
Luxuriate in our beautifully restored Georgian townhouse with its high ceilings, classical details and stunning views over the exclusive Queen Street Gardens.
Christmas at 28 Queen Street

The Vaults, Leith
If you’re dreaming of an authentic Scottish White Christmas look no further than the spiritual home of the Society – The Vaults. Our Members’ Room lounge can now also be exclusively hired from Mon to Wed.
Christmas at The Vaults

19 Greville Street, London
For a secluded Christmas feast indulge in the perfect private whisky tasting and dinner, in partnership with the award-winning Bleeding Heart Restaurant.
Christmas at 19 Greville Street

With exquisite private dining and receptions starting from £30, book your memorable Christmas celebration now.

Call the team on 0131 555 2266 or email events@smws.com

Friday 19th November

Gregg and Chris from Compass Box will have some of their fabulous range of whiskies open to taste. Telephone the Whisky Exchange to book your tickets.

A message from the Master Blender Richard Paterson;

Become a custodian of The Dalmore

Dear Connoisseur,

1263 is a highly significant year in the history of The Dalmore. And now so too is 2010. For it marks the launch of our new website www.thedalmore.com where you can view the entire Dalmore collection, read an irresistible insider’s guide to The Dalmore and learn many of the secrets of this magnificent malt.

But it is the opportunity to become a Custodian of The Dalmore that will surely lure you to its pages. As a Custodian you will gain unfettered access to exclusive bottlings, new expressions and Custodian only events. And should you be one of the first 1263 to join this very select group of connoisseurs, you will be granted access to a highly limited expression, bottled from casks laid down moments after the start of the new millennium.

No other whisky excites aficionados and collectors the world over quite like The Dalmore. And no other whisky website will either. To whet your appetite, just click here; http://www.thedalmore.com/

Yours sincerely,

Richard Paterson
Master Distiller

PLANNING PERMISSION GRANTED FOR THE GROUSE ART INSTALLATION ON ROUNDABOUT

As a lasting legacy to mark Perth’s 800th anniversary, an iconic sculpture depicting a grouse taking flight, is soon to appear above the trees on Broxden roundabout on the outskirts of the city, after the project gained planning permission from Perth & Kinross Council.

The sculpture of the grouse has been chosen as a symbol of Perthshire and will be gifted to the people of Perth by the project funders, The Edrington Group.

Work has now begun in earnest on the sculpture which is being created by Ruaraig Maciver of Beltane Studios, who is most famous for the statue of Jean Armour at Mauchline.  The 6.25m high structure is being made from an open framework of galvanised steel and will be mounted on an eight metre high plinth sitting above the trees at one of the main entry points into Perth.

The dramatic artwork will be located on the Broxden roundabout as a gateway feature for the city.  The planning application was made following close consultation with Transport Scotland, the government agency responsible for the Scottish trunk road network, to ensure that the project was appropriate for the intended location and met all the necessary structural and safety requirements. The roundabout is a busy junction which brings together the A9 from Glasgow/Inverness and the M90 from Edinburgh.

John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and local MSP for North Tayside, said:

“I am delighted that planning permission has been granted for this striking sculpture at the gateway to Perth, providing a lasting legacy of the Perth 800 celebration with the symbol of Perthshire. The Scottish Government wholeheartedly supports Perth in its aim to restore its city status and is pleased that our transport agency, Transport Scotland, is playing an active part in supporting the Perth 800 anniversary, celebrating the work of the Royal Burgh.”

Perth & Kinross Provost, Dr John Hulbert, said: “Perth 800 has been a huge success and this gift from The Edrington Group to the city is a fantastic legacy to end our year long celebrations.  “I am sure this statue will become a key landmark for Perth and one which the residents of Perthshire will be very proud of. Perth has a great history and connection with the grouse – especially given its great importance to the local economy, so we felt this was a very fitting choice. We hope this sculpture will become our version of the ‘Angel of the North’.”

Gerry O’Donnell, director of The Famous Grouse at The Edrington Group, said: “We are delighted to make this gift to Perth to mark the finale of Perth 800. We hope that it will provide a spectacular landmark that symbolises Perth’s wonderful location as the gateway to the highlands.” 

NOTES

• ‘Perth 800 is a year long celebration in 2010 which marks the 800th anniversary of the granting of the Royal Burgh Charter to Perth by King William the Lion in 1210.’
• The structure is being created by Ruaraig Maciver from Beltane Studios, Peebles. Beltane Studios is one of the few remaining foundries which specialise in traditional bronze casting. As well as creating their own bronze sculptures including the Jean Armour Memorial, they have also worked closely with renowned sculptor Andy Scott on the Ibrox Disaster Memorial statue of John Greig, the Jim Baxter Memorial and the globe for the Thanksgiving Beacon in Belfast.
• This is a gift from The Edrington Group to the people of Perth therefore they are covering all costs – both the structure and any associated costs regarding installation and maintenance.
• The Edrington Group, is a private Scottish company controlled by The Robertson Trust. The Edrington Group owns some of the worlds leading whisky brands, The Famous Grouse, The Macallan, Highland Park and Cutty Sark along with Brugal, one of the largest international rum brands.

Kilchoman Winter Release

Following the previous releases we expect this one to move fast so we are giving you the opportunity to pre-order now to avoid missing out on one. Despatch to you is the 22nd November 2010

Tasting Notes:

Colour – Pale straw

Nose – Strong peaty aromas and a complex blend of pear drops, citrus and hints of mango.

Palate – An initial sweetness is followed by peat and smoke and mixed fruits

The finish is long, clean and refreshing leaving hints of peat smoke and cloves.

Kilchoman Distillery was founded in 2005 and is the first to be built in Islay for over 120 years. It is a farm distillery and a proportion of the barley used in production is grown and malted at the distillery.
 
Kilchoman is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland producing 90 to 100,000 litres of alcohol per year bourbon barrels from Buffalo Trace Distillery, Kentucky, USA and fresh oloroso sherry butts direct from Spain.

Visit Single Malts Direct at www.singlemaltsdirect.com

Sample Image

Dr. Bill Lumsden presents Glenmorangie in San Jose

The Village Bistro http://www.thevillagebistro.net/
Santana Row,
San Jose, CA
Monday November 15, 6:00 – 7:30 pm

Join me at the Village Bistro this coming Monday to Nose, Taste, and Savor five Glenmorangie expressions, each paired with tasty bites. We will indulge with the Glenmorangie Original, the Extra Matured Range, and the sophisticated 18 year.

Additionally, we will learn how to host our own tasting at home and receive a free Gift Giving Pairing Guide.

The Village Bistro will have a special offer for us if anyone wants to stick around for dinner following the Tasting Experience.

Seating is limited and tickets are advance purchase only.

http://www.whiskiesoftheworld.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=20&products_id=120

Dr Bill Lumsden is Head of Distilling and Head of Whisky Creation for Glenmorangie. Dr Lumsden is regarded by the malt whisky industry as the pioneer of wood management, producing whiskies that have truly changed the single malt market.

The world’s peatiest whisky is now voted the world’s best.

Whisky guru Jim Murray, having tasted over 4500 whiskies from around the world, awarded the 2011 victor ludorum to Octomore “Orpheus” in his definitive whisky guide, the Whisky Bible, published last week.

Octomore, winner of the title “Single Malt of the Year”, is distilled at Islay’s Bruichladdich distillery, and is 3 times more peaty than any other mainstream whisky.

Winning 96.5%, Octomore “Orpheus” outperformed other category winners up to 10 times its age.  Being only 5 years old, it also won the title of best whisky under 10 years.

“This is no monstrous brute,” said Jim McEwan, head of distilling at Islay’s Bruichladdich Distillery, “it’s an iron fist in the velvet glove. That’s what you get when you combine massively smokey barley with the purest spirit around. It’s like nothing else on earth.”

“It also shows what great quality barley, slow, artisanal distilling, and premium quality wood can achieve; it makes a mockery of that assumption that old must equal better.”

Unusually, the award-winning whisky was matured in both  standard American and premium French oak – the latter from the prestigious bordeaux winery of Chateau Petrus.
15,000 bottles were made of Octomore “Orpheus” from barley malted to  140 ppm and bottled at 61% ABV.

The latest release, Octomore 3, is even peatier at an unprecedented 152 ppm and  is available exclusively from whisky specialists.

Loch Fyne Whiskies has stocked a new item, ‘Jura 21yo 200th Anniversary’

Jura 21yo 200th Anniversary
44% abv
£82.50 inc vat
£70.21 ex vat

Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk
Visit Loch Fyne Whiskies at www.lfw.co.uk