The second in our series of videos about Alan Winchester is now online*. In this episode Alan talks about the distillery expansion and what it means for the future of The Glenlivet, following the historic expansion of The Glenlivet Distillery. The re-opening ceremony was an enormous success that was presided over by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. Attendees reached 300 including representatives from Pernod Ricard markets around the world, international press, The Glenlivet VIPs and residents from the local community.

“It was great being involved in the opening of the new expansion. I was lucky enough to be in the line up to meet Prince Charles, which was a great experience. The whole day went really well and there was an amazing buzz to the whole place – wherever you looked there was something fun happening, from the sampling of the casks in Warehouse One to the helicopter rides over the Distillery. I’m now looking forward to the 200th year celebrations in 2024!”
Lesley McIntosh, Distillery Visitor Centre Deputy Supervisor

“It was surreal! My first royal encounter! Got to shake Prince Charles’s hand and joke with him about the new way of drinking whisky! With a cup of tea?”
Shuhui Lim, Pernod Ricard Travel Retail Europe

“Thank you again for an exciting, informative and memorable two days at The Glenlivet. The pride and passion shown by all was inspirational and it was a real privilege to be part of the experience.”
Graeme White, World Duty Free

“Extensive use of glass brings the outdoors inside and, in a way, takes the production process outside, it feels very natural and I can’t imagine it being done in any other way. Full marks. “Their brave future outlook, their ‘think globally, act locally’ marketing approach, their product range, the actual whisky, the hospitality, they got it right.”
Lucas Dynowiak Edinburgh Whisky Blog

Covered in the interview, Alan answers some of the questions that the Guardians of The Glenlivet recently asked him on his web page. Thanks to everyone who sent a question and remember to come back to the site to be sure to catch the whole series. We hope you enjoy watching the latest video.

 
 Slàinte mhath, 
 The Glenlivet 

* http://tinyurl.com/3486abx

MILROY’S OF SOHO AUGUST NEWSLETTER

It might be holiday time, but there’s plenty to report on the whisky front.  We have news of a forthcoming masterclass with Whyte & Mackay Master Blender Richard Paterson.  This promises to be a superb evening, not to be missed.    We have an exclusive offer for mailing list members on selected bottlings from the Diageo Manager’s Choice portfolio.  There are some huge savings to be had, but quantities are limited.   We also feature three new releases from the Whyte & Mackay owned Fettercairn distillery.  Read on for further details.

WHISKY OF THE MONTH – GLENDRONACH 15 YEAR OLD
GlenDronach 15 year old Revival continues as our Whisky of the Month throughout August.  This superb Oloroso Sherry cask-matured whisky is a wonderful after dinner dram, perfect for sipping with a cigar or the finest dark chocolate
£38.50 per bottle – and receive a free miniature of GlenDronach 18 year old with every bottle bought.

GLENDRONACH SINGLE CASK – 2010 RELEASES HAVE LANDED
The 2nd batch single cask releases featured in July’s newsletter have landed at Milroy’s of Soho.  Please be aware that quantities are limited and whiskies are selling quickly.  Do act now if you are interested.

“THE ART OF BLENDING” – WHYTE & MACKAY MASTERCLASS WITH RICHARD PATERSON – 6.30PM MONDAY SEPTEMBER 20
Raconteur, entertainer, bon viveur and whisky guru, Richard “The Nose” Paterson is one of the whisky industry’s great characters.  A master blender at just 26, there is little that Richard doesn’t know about whisky.   Anyone who has attended one of Richard’s tastings knows that they are well worth the price of entry for their entertainment value alone.

Richard will be joining us on the evening of Monday September 20 to impart his immense knowledge of the art of blending.   We will taste several premium whiskies from the Whyte & Mackay portfolio and end the evening with a blending competition.  Make sure your noses and palates are razor sharp!
£60 per ticket – limit 28 tickets – BOOK NOW!

DIAGEO MANAGER’S CHOICE WHISKIES – EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR MAILING LIST MEMBERS
For the next seven days we are running an offer on selected whiskies from the Diageo Manager’s Choice portfolio.  This offer is exclusive to Milroy’s of Soho mailing list members on a first come first served basis.  Please quote the offer when you make your purchase. 

CARDHU 1997 12 year old, 57.3% ABV, Bourbon American Oak
Seldom seen in the UK, this cask strength single cask Cardhu is silky smooth, rich sweet and malty.
£250 per bottle RRP
Exclusive Offer Price – £185 per bottle

LINKWOOD 1997 12 year old, 58.3% ABV, Refill American Oak
Intense, malty and vibrant Linkwood.  Best enjoyed with a judicious dash of water.
£200 per bottle RRP
Exclusive Offer Price – £150 per bottle

MORTLACH 1997 12 year old, 57.1% ABV, Refill American Oak
Rich, butterscotch Bourbon wood-matured Mortlach.  One of the best of the first tranche releases, and very different to the standard Mortlach 16 year old.
£250 per bottle RRP
Exclusive Offer Price – £185 per bottle

TEANINICH 1996 10 year old, 57.1% ABV, Refill American Oak
A robust and full flavoured malt from one of Diageo’s lesser known malt whisky distilleries.
£200 per bottle RRP
Exclusive Offer Price – £150 per bottle

FETTERCAIRN DISTILLERY – NEW LIMITED RELEASE WHISKIES
For many years, Fettercairn has played a secondary role to the two blue chip distilleries in the Whyte & Mackay portfolio, Dalmore and Jura.  However, investment from Whyte & Mackay’s Indian owners has elevated the status of Fettercairn, reflected in these three new limited release bottlings.

FETTERCAIRN 24 Year Old, 44.4% ABV
Just 6,000 bottles of this 24 year old whisky are to be released.  Matured in American white oak casks, it is elegant and fruity, with characters of apple and pear, overlaid by caramel and brioche.
£125 per bottle
Exclusive Newsletter Offer Price – £112 per bottle

FETTERCAIRN 30 Year Old, 43.3% ABV
This mature Fettercairn delivers a veritable cornucopia of tropical and citrus fruit; mango, pineapple, pink grapefruit and Navel oranges.  So vibrant and fruity it demands a lilo, pair of Bermuda shorts and some sunscreen!
£199 per bottle RRP
Exclusive Newsletter Offer Price – £185 per bottle

FETTERCAIRN 40 Year Old, 40% ABV
Matured in Oloroso Sherry butts from Gonzalez Byass, this extremely rare whisky (just 463 bottles) is bursting with Sherry-derived flavours, including dark chocolate, crème brulée, Seville oranges, raisins and hazelnuts.
£750 per bottle RRP
Exclusive Newsletter Offer Price – £700 per bottle

SPRINGBANK DISTILLERY 2010 RELEASES
A quick update on the 2010 releases from the much-loved Springbank distillery.   The Kilkerran and Hazelburn sold quickly last year and are likely to do so again.

Kilkerran Work in Progress 2                  £32.50 limited stocks

Hazelburn 12 year old                               £46.95 due end August 2010

Springbank 12 year old Claret Wood    £39.95 limited stocks

Springbank 18 year old, 2nd Release    £67.50 limited stocks

Until next month, slàinte!

Best regards
Philip

Philip Shorten
Milroy’s of Soho
3 Greek Street
London, W1D 4NX

T: 020 7437 2385
F: 020 7437 1345
W: www.milroys.co.uk

Meryl Kerkhoff, 1929-2010

Dear friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I reach out to tell you that we have lost Templeton Rye Master Distiller Meryl Kerkhoff. Meryl died at Manning Hospital, surrounded by his family. I really struggle to put into words how much we all admired this great man. He will be missed dearly.

Meryl was a child of the Depression, born a mile from our current distillery in Templeton in 1929 to Alphonse and Frances (Bluml) Kerkhoff. He attended Sacred Heart School in Templeton and graduated in 1946. Meryl fought in Korea for two years and went on to a successful career as a farmer and auctioneer. He and his wife Imelda had seven children and 14 grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Ohde Funeral Home in Manning, Iowa.

Meryl had a presence that was unmistakable. He was a true gentleman and a man of great stature, both in size and in character. I will always remember how his huge hands, strengthened by a lifetime of farming, would totally engulf those of anyone who would shake them. He dressed well, yet modestly, and had his signature Templeton Rye cap slightly tilted, or “a little cocky” as he would say.

Meryl had a sense of humor and his own language that greatly amused the rest of our team. A nice place was “Uptown” and when things were going well we were “Cadillacing.” He was a caring man who was always excited to see you and would ask, “So, how’ve things been going?” Meryl was a patient man and was more likely to listen than to talk. He gave Keith and I great advice over the years and was always very thorough about issues that impacted our company.

Obviously things will continue at Templeton Rye and Keith has been handling the day-to-day duties for sometime. Genetics are a powerful thing I guess, as I look at what I have written about Meryl, I could very well be describing Keith.

Please keep Meryl, Imelda, Keith and all of the Kerkhoff family in your thoughts and prayers.

At Meryl’s request, we got together a couple of weeks ago to record Meryl, Keith and I reminiscing about some of our experiences with the company. We video taped a portion of the discussion which can be seen below.

Scott Bush, President, Templeton Rye

Meryl

Online Special Offer
10% OFF every purchase
 
So what are you waiting for!!!!
Visit our website today
 
www.robbiesdrams.com

Terms & Conditions

10% OFF
EVERY PURCHASE
Terms and Conditions
For a limited period Robbie’s Drams are offering a 10% Discount on all online sales.
Place and confirm your order as normal.
Before being charged for your order, you will be sent full details, highlighting your 10% Discount.
Shipping charges are not included in Discount.
UK shipping (mainland) 1bt to 18 bts: Only £9.00
For non UK parcels, please refer to Shipping.
For non UK parcels, please refer to Shipping.
This is a limited offer which ends midnight Tuesday 31st August 2010.

The Irishman The Movie…The Irishman The Whiskey

Did you know….

…that a big budget Hollywood gangster movie called The Irishman is to be released in early 2011?

… The Irishman chronicles the rise and fall of infamous Cleveland gangster Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson), who engaged in a power struggle with the Italian mob.  Greene was as an upstart longshoreman union rep and later became a cocky, legendarily difficult-to-kill troublemaker in the world of organized crime in the 1970’s. Based on the real story of mobster Danny Greene, Christoper Walken will play the loan shark and nightclub owner Shondor Birns and Val Kilmer is a Cleveland police detective who befriends Greene.

Source: www.movieset.com/theirishman

An offer you can’t refuse….

Let us know what other famous Irish gangsters you have heard of!

Simply e-mail the names of 3 famous Irish gangsters you have heard of to madaboutwhiskey@hotirishman.com and enter a draw to win a bottle of “The Irishman” 70 Superior Irish Whiskey – a unique blend of pure pot still and single malt whiskeys. All correct entries will be entered in the draw with ten winners chosen at random.

Sláinte!

www.hotirishman.com

Dear Customers,

For our August releases we are pleased bring to your attention five (5) new bottlings under the PROVENANCE label.

Tasting Notes:

PRV0640 AUCHENTOSHAN 9 year old
Distinctly gristy as it opens on the nose plus some citrus and lightly oaked tones. The palate is initially massively sweet, opening further to barley and nutty flavours – all neatly replicated plus more spice on the finish. (F)

PRV0634 GLEN GARIOCH 9 year old
Opens smooth and fresh on the nose and develops to a sweet, vanilla tablet quality. The palate is sweetly spiced, with a toasted bread and toffee popcorn style. The finish jointly replicates the nose and palate and remains attractively sweet. (J)

PRV0635 GLENALLACHIE 9 year old
The nose is fresh and fruity, with a grapefruit quality and runs to mellow, vanilla sweetness. The palate is warming, still sweet with more fruit flavours, spice and barley apparent. The finish is short yet attractive, still carries a fruity character, now with camphor and orange pith. (J)

PRV0637 STRATHISLA 10 year old
The nose opens with a gristy sweet character, like entering a malt barn and develops to a fruit plus creamy style. Still sweet, the palate carries a barley sugar quality and has a nice malty mouthfeel with cough sweet warmth. The sweet gristy style returns on the finish which is long, dryly spiced yet mellow. (F & J)

PRV0641 HIGHLAND PARK 12 year old
Opens on the nose with bees wax and soft smoke reminiscent of old fashioned candles before a fresh and fruity quality appears. The lightly peated palate carries a sweet fruit quality and is balanced with smoke and spices. The finish is tangy, now ashy with a leather character that runs and runs. (J)

We certainly like these releases but more importantly we hope you similarly do. We thank you in advance for your kind consideration.

All best wishes,
Fred H Laing
Managing Director

Visit Douglas Laing Provenance at www.douglaslaingwhisky.com

Cooley Collects 10 Gold Medals at IWSC Two Years Running

Latest win brings Cooley’s total Gold Medal haul to over 100

Cooley Distillery, Ireland’s only independent Irish whiskey distillery, has matched the record it set in 2009 by winning 10 Gold Medals at the 2010 International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC).  The results were announced yesterday at the IWSC Awards ceremony in London.

IWSC medals are awarded on a strict points system by a panel of international judges.  They are the most prestigious honours bestowed to the drinks industry as they are judged solely on the quality of the wine or spirit.

The 2010 IWSC Competition Banquet will be held in the Guildhall in London on the 17th November 2010 when specific product and producer trophies will be awarded. Cooley Distillery has been named European Distiller of the Year for the last two years and is in the running to make it three in a row.

Cooley Distillery collected a total of 20 medals at the IWSC in 2010 making it by far the most successful Irish whiskey distiller at the IWSC and brings Cooley’s overall haul of Gold Medals to over 100 in all International Spirits Competitions.

Jack Teeling, Managing Director of Cooley Distillery, commented, “The latest haul of IWSC Gold Medals brings us over the landmark of 100 Gold Medals in all competitions and justifies our continual investment in innovation and quality. At a time of resurgence in Irish whiskey we are delighted to continue to build on both Ireland’s and Cooley’s reputation for being a world class producer of whiskey.”
 
List of Gold Medals at the 2010 IWSC

Gold Medal & Best in Class, Kilbeggan 15 Year Old Blended Irish Whiskey
Gold Medal & Best in Class, Tyrconnell 10 Year Old Madeira Finish Single Malt
Gold Medal & Best in Class, Connemara Peated Single Malt
Gold Medal & Best in Class, Connemara Cask Strength Peated Single Malt
Gold Medal & Best in Class, Connemara Sherry Finish Peated Single Malt
Gold Medal & Best in Class, Greenore 8 Year Old Single Grain
Gold Medal & Best in Class, Greenore 15 Year Old Single Grain
Gold Medal & Best in Class, Dún Léire 8 Year Old Single Malt
Gold Medal, Tyrconnell 10 Year Old Sherry Finish Single Malt
Gold Medal, Tyrconnell 10 Year Old Port Finish Single Malt

Visit Cooley Whiskey at http://www.cooleywhiskey.com/

The notorious “Loch Dhu” is at the Park Avenue Liquor Shop
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Perhaps you’ve heard of the “black whisky” and thought it couldn’t possibly be real. Like the mysterious  ‘El Chupacabra,’ the single malt known as “Loch Dhu” has been seen by very few. Yet unlike the cryptozoological creature, this scotch is very,  very real. We have captured 5 bottles and are offering them first to our loyal  email customers. It was originally created (or was it?) at the Mannochmore distillery in 1996 but was quickly discontinued and became an instant cult favorite. See details below.

Thanks for taking a look. As always, please contact us if you have any questions. We also included a special discount offer from the Whisky Guild’s next “Whisky on the Hudson” Tasting & Dinner Cruise.

Don’t forget! Our annual 50% off Wine Sale begins August 2nd. Contact the store  for details and look for our ads in the New York Post.

Cheers!
Jonathan & Eric
The Park Avenue Liquor Shop
292 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
212-685-2442
www.parkaveliquor.com
info@parkaveliquor.com
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
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Loch Dhu ~ 10 Year Old

There is no doubt that this is a polarizing whisky. Single malt drinker’s either
 love Loch Dhu’s unique characteristics or loathe them with the white hot heat of a thousand suns. We’ll get to those notes in a second. First a little background. Loch Dhu,  means “Black Lake” in Gaelic, and was aged in special, double-charred  oak casks to create a whisky as black as night. This bottling has been rumored  to have been “a production accident at Mannochmore”. While others claim it was just a short-lived experiment. Either way, it has become a collector’s item. Tasting notes run the gamut from cigar ash, to licorice to chocolate covered espresso beans.

These notes make some rejoice and others recoil.

Our Price: $400 (limited availability)

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Whisky Guild: Tasting & Dinner Cruise

Join us for the Whisky on the Hudson the premier whisky event in the New York. Whisk(e)y enthusiasts can enjoy the opportunity to sample from more than 200 rare and exclusive whiskies,  by distillery managers and master blenders from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and Japan.

DISCOUNT CODE = parkave
VIP Boarding Time: 6:00pm
Boarding Time: 7:00-7:30pm
Sail Time: 7:30-10:00pm

Ticket Price $95
VIP Ticket Price $115 (Board At 6:00pm)
TICKET PRICE INCLUDES FULL BUFFET DINNER AND ALL WHISKY SAMPLING
Call 908-578-2726
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Due to ever changing inventory, we cannot guarantee bottle availability. Please  contact the store with any questions regarding shipping.

Mackillop’s Choice Single Cask Whisky to be at 2011 World of Whiskies San Francisco

“Only those whisky casks I have approved after careful selection are chosen to bear my family’s name.” – Lorne Mackillop

The beauty of single cask bottlings is found in the barrel selection and Lorne Mackillop has mastered the art of selecting the finest barrels from a host of distilleries across a range of malt styles. From the complex, well-balanced Coal Ila 15 year old (Islay) to the 30 year aged Glenlivet 1977 (Speyside) to the precious Tomintoul 41 year old (Highlands), each Mackillop’s Choice Single Cask is personally selected by Lorne Mackillop. Of the hundreds, even thousands, sampled, fully 80% of all the casks that are reviewed are rejected by this master of whisky. Lorne’s stated goal in selection is to find the barrel with the best balance of fine malt flavors – whiskies that represent true excellence.

To learn more about Mackillop’s Choice Single Cask bottlings, Lorne Mackillop and his family, visit their website at www.mackillopschoice.com.

Sample Mackillop’s Choice at World of Whiskies 2011.

Visit the World of Whiskies at http://www.whiskiesoftheworld.com/

Where to Find MacKillop’s Choice in California:

LEDGER’S LIQUORS, Berkeley
THE WHISKY SHOP, San Francisco
JOHN WALKER & Co., San Francisco
CASK, San Francisco
K&L WINES
BEVERAGES And MORE
BELTRAMO’S INC. Menlo Park

Dear Customer,

We are happy to update you on 4 new additions to the DOUGLAS (of Drumlanrig) Malt Selection.

Tasting notes follow for each of them:

DOD0123 LAPHROAIG 9 years
Anticipate: Honey & vanilla + burnt cookies & smoke + bonfire ashes (J)

DOD122 CAOL ILA 9 years
Anticipate: damp ashes, burnt toast + marmalade, tar & sweet smoke

DOD0124 MORTLACH 12 years
Anticipate: spices/citrus/burnt toast/jam and honey. (F)

DOD 0121 ROYAL LOCHNAGAR 12 years
Anticipate: Fresh & fruity – barley sugar & mandarins – light + an orange tang (J)

We anticipate some further interesting bottlings through late summer and early autumn to add to the range.

All best wishes
Fred H Laing
Managing Director

Visit Douglas of Drumlanrig at www.douglaslaingwhisky.com