An Unbelievable Price on a 96-Point Japanese Whisky
Hakata 16 Year Old Sherry Cask Aged Fukuoka
100% Barley Japanese Whisky (750ml) ($149.99)
“A spectacular drink…” — Jonny McCormick, Whisky Advocate

We didn’t envision being able to offer a 16-year-old Japanese whisky with a 96-point Whisky Advocate score for $150. After all, the Hakata 16 Year Old Sherry Cask is one of only eight whiskies this decade to notch 96 points or more, and all of the others range in price from $2,600 to $50,000. Quite the opportunity for Japanese whiskey fanatics, and for any serious collector of the world’s finest spirits.

Hakata 16 Year Old Sherry Cask Aged Fukuoka 100% Barley Japanese Whisky (750ml) ($149.99)

*This product will ship after June 9th and is available on a special order basis. Please allow 5-7 business days after that date for shipments to arrive.

96 points Whisky Advocate: “A spectacular drink that opens with aromas of Seville orange marmalade, milk chocolate, ground pepper, barley, and soft rounded oak, with an underlying dryness from the sherry. The umami notes are there, but are more integrated than other Hakata. An oily texture bursting with bitter plain chocolate, citrus oil, fresh walnut, black cherry, pepper, and ground ginger, develops an underlying creaminess and serves up a hazelnut finish. (JM, Summer 2023)”

K&L Notes: The Hikari Distillery on Fukuoka has been distilling since 1912. This wonderful product is produced from 100% barley using koji to break down the complex carbohydrates into simple sugars for the yeast to consume. The conversion using koji is more efficient than malt enzymes and adds a distinct umami character to the spirit. The high-quality barley spirit is aged in fresh sherry butts in traditional warehouses, some openly exposed to both the humid 95°F summer weather and the cold winter temps. The exceptional 16-year version of Hakata achieved an incredible 96 points from Whisky Advocate!

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Campbeltown Loch Blended Malt

All five malts from the region’s three distilleries have been used to produce this genuine Campbeltown blended malt. It’s an unmistakable Campbeltown whisky: Initial sweet, softer notes of fruit, honey and butterscotch give way to reveal more complexity with traditional maritime and spice notes combined with the subtlest touch of peat smoke. Matured in a combination of Ex-Bourbon and Ex-Sherry Casks. Vatted and bottled at Springbank Distillery, Campbeltown.

£38.99

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ralfy review 980 – AnCnoc 18yo @ 46%vol: (2023)

CHIVAS BROTHERS’ MASTER BLENDER, SANDY HYSLOP, CELEBRATES 40 YEARS IN THE SCOTCH WHISKY INDUSTRY

BALLANTINE’S, CHIVAS REGAL, ROYAL SALUTE, THE GLENLIVET NEWS

An icon of the world of whisky, industry legend Sandy Hyslop – Director of Blending and Inventory at Chivas Brothers – celebrates his 40th anniversary in the Scotch whisky industry this May.

Among his many prestigious achievements, Sandy holds the rare position of being only the fifth Master Blender in the distinguished history of Ballantine’s blended Scotch whisky. Progressing to Director of Blending in 2016 and Director of Inventory in 2018, Sandy now oversees the creation of all Chivas Brothers single malts and blended Scotch whiskies, including brands such as Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Royal Salute and The Glenlivet.

With an emphasis on quality and consistency at all times, Sandy is passionate about opening up the whisky category to new audiences and pushing the boundaries of Scotch whisky crafting. Catering to the growing taste for bolder flavours, Sandy and his team launched the Chivas Extra 13 collection in 2019, an experimental 13 Year Old blend range which delivers extra flavour through the use of different casks.

Since Sandy took on this role, Royal Salute has undergone a major evolution, driven in part through the extension of the 21 Year Old range and innovations, such as rare cask finishes (the 26 Year Old Scottish Oak Cask Finish), alongside high-aged releases including the recent Forces of Nature by Kate MccGwire which includes a precious 53 Year Old blend.

Coinciding with Sandy’s anniversary, Ballantine’s unveiled its new 40 Year Old Masterclass Collection last month. This series will see the annual release over five years of five exceptional expressions of Ballantine’s 40 Year Old whisky, with each expression celebrating the five essential skills that former Ballantine’s Master Blender Jack Goudy passed on to his then apprentice, and now world-renowned Master Blender, Sandy Hyslop.

Congratulations, Sandy!

We’re delighted to tell you about this month’s auction, there plenty to be excited about! Here at Click Whisky Auctions we know that our auction may not be the biggest but this month it’s certainly packing a punch, with some genuine heavyweight whiskies. First up, the Highland Park 1958 must be one of the most iconic releases by the Orkney distillery, bottled in 1998 and limited to only 665 bottles!

Next up this absolutely stunning Old Pulteney, aged for 40 years and limited to only 493 bottles, the oldest whisky from this popular Highland distillery to date. The hand-crafted, hand-blown bottle has exquisite artwork and is presented in packaging that exudes pure class, a rare addition to any collection

First released in 2022, the Springbank 30 Years Old was received to great acclaim in the whisky world. An annual release available in very limited numbers, so we are very excited to be able to offer the 2023 release in this month’s auction.

These are only a few of the bottles in our June auction, to view more gems visit clickwhiskyauctions.com. Register to bid. Remember, you’ve got to be in it to win it! Auction ends Sunday 18th!

Take a hike through the Highlands with this rich Single Malt

The whisky regions of Scotland are vibrantly diverse and produce character single malts that have lasted generations. The largest of all, covering much of mainland Scotland and the islands that surround it, is the Highland region. Commonly split into north, east, south and west due to the sheer expanse, the Highland region commands no specific character traits – there is Scotch for every taste!

More about Highland Scotch

A Walk in the Orchard is from the Macduff distillery on the Moray Firth in the east of the region. The location brings light traits and soft fruitiness to the fore while the spirit of the cask exposes toasted nuts and a long finish of caramelised apples. Experience this walk for yourself and indulge in the Highland region.

A Walk in the Orchard UK

Violet Tapestry is a Royal Brackla single malt from pretty much bang in the middle of the Highland region. The whisky pulls together most of the Highland traits, it is silky and intensely floral with parma violets and jasmine finishing on eucalyptus and coriander leaf. A broad and open single malt and fit for a whisky drinker of any level!

Violet Tapestry EU

About the Single Cask Collection

Hand-selected from some of Scotland’s finest distilleries, each expression in our Single Cask Collection reflects the one-of-a-kind nuances of production, season and cask influence in Scotch single malt whisky. Evocatively named and beautifully presented, our Single Cask releases are extremely rare and highly-covetable.

The English Distillery Heavily Smoked Sherry Butt

A limited edition run of only 2132 bottles – a heavily smoked, sherried whisky such as this is rarely seen in English whisky

£77.00
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The English Distillery Heavily Smoked Sherry Butt Description

Speyside 1992 30 Year Old XOP, Xtra Old Particular Cask #17240

Speyside 1992 30 Year Old

Matured in a sherry butt.

One of only 538 bottles produced

£445.00 >

One of only 538 hand-filled bottles available. From the ‘XOP Old Particular’ range of whisky by Douglas Laing. From Speyside Distillery. Distilled May 1992, bottled March 2023, from a Sherry Matured Butt – DL17240 Natural Cask Strength, Natural Colour – No Chill Filtration.

Official notes from Douglas Laing:

The nose is rich and darkly attractive, with spiced and macerated red fruits “en croute”. The palate is subtly piquant, minted and gently oaked with a later honey and nuts style. Catch walnuts and sweet damp sugary dates amongst the molasses on the finish.

Cask Strength – Set in a gorgeous wooden presentation box. From Speyside Distillery. Matured and bottled by Douglas Laing.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the show in which I’ll be taking a look at their Spring 2023 releases.

https://youtu.be/zhVmKuisC84

International Beverage Completes £4 Million Balmenach Distillery Upgrade to lead Sustainability Drive

Integrated Anaerobic Digestion and Bio-Methane Technologies Cut Carbon Footprint

International Beverage Holdings Ltd (IBHL) has today announced the completion of an ambitious £4 million upgrade at Balmenach, which will place this historic Speyside distillery amongst the greenest operating in the Scotch whisky industry today.

Founded in 1824 just a few miles from Grantown-on-Spey and one of the oldest distilleries in the Speyside Region, IBHL has invested in an integrated system of innovative green technology at the site, which produces nearly 3 million litres of alcohol per year for the company’s own blends as well as the blended Scotch market. It is also home to the company’s super-premium Scottish gin, Caorunn.

At the heart of the project is a new Anaerobic/Aerobic Digestion (AD) Plant which uses micro-organisms to break down the liquid co-products of whisky production (pot ale and spent lees), allowing them to be processed on site. This process produces clean bio-methane gas which feeds a Combined Heat & Power (CHP) Engine to generate power for the Distillery and the grid, integrated with an existing biomass boiler which uses locally-sourced wood pellets to produce zero-carbon steam for the system.

Having paused the development during the pandemic, the site is now fully operational, and is having an immediate impact in terms of significantly reducing the Distillery’s overall carbon footprint:

• Renewable energy: each day approximately 130m³ of whisky co-products are processed to produce 2,000m³ of clean bio-methane gas which feeds a CHP Engine to generate renewable steam. This meets 100% of the Distillery’s energy requirements, producing 30,000kW of energy per week, 25,000kW of which is used to power the site (with the remaining 5,000kW exported to the grid);

• Improved energy efficiency: results to late 2022 report a reduction in Distillery energy use from 7.8kWh to 6.8kWh per litre of alcohol produced;

• Reduced Co2 emissions: from 1.5kg to 0.5kg per litre of alcohol produced.

• Water efficiency: the system cleans and returns 40% of processing waters back to the Distillery’s watercourse, the Cromdale Burn, which is a tributary of the River Spey;

• Reduced road transportation: a drastic reduction in the need for heavy goods vehicle movement at the site, removing 12 tankers from Spey Valley roads every week (each with a capacity of 25,000 litres);

• Efficient use of co-products: the AD plant produces a permeate stream, providing nutrient rich bio-solids for use as fertiliser by local farmers in the Speyside region;

The Balmenach project is IBHL’s biggest investment in sustainable whisky production to date. It represents a major step forward in meeting the company’s commitment to use only renewable energy for production by 2040: a goal that is made possible by IBHL’s early adoption of various clean fuel sources across its five distilleries. The business no longer uses heavy fuel at any of its sites and reduced the group’s energy consumption from 11kWh per litre of alcohol in 2005 to 6.4kWh in 2022.

The company’s Group Distillery Manager Sean Priestley explained: ‘At IBHL there is a culture of genuine accountability for the environmental impact of our production process, which means we have been striving for cleaner, greener whisky production many years ahead of the current Scotch Whisky Association’s sustainability target of net zero by 2040. The system we’ve built at Balmenach has been challenging, but a combination of investment, innovation, partnership working and perseverance are paying off, resulting in the significant reductions we are able to report in emissions and energy use today, which will only increase over time.’.

IBHL Managing Director Malcolm Leask added: ‘The completion of our £4 million project at Balmenach leads our ambition to decarbonise production and achieve industry leading standards of sustainability in the future. Sustainability is a long held and central commitment in our business – from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index listing of our parent company ThaiBev, to the daily efforts of our distillery teams across Scotland to respect and care for the local land, lochs and rivers that surround them. This is one of the industry’s oldest distilleries and it wasn’t built for efficiency. But nearly 200 years on, the improvements we are seeing in terms of energy use, emissions and efficiency show just what is possible in sustainability at such a historic site.’ 

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL BEVERAGE

International Beverage is one of the drinks industry’s most dynamic global businesses. Established in 2006 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thaibev, the company operates as its international business arm, specialising in the development of premium local spirits for the global market. Its success is built on a strong understanding of local cultures and markets within a worldwide business network. Based in Hong Kong with regional offices in Singapore, Malaysia, the USA and UK, the company is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of a portfolio of premium brands in over 85 markets. These brands are built on character, craftsmanship and quality, led by a range of award-winning Scotch whiskies and an array of vibrant spirits. These include:

• Single malt Scotch whiskies Old Pulteney, Balblair, anCnoc and Speyburn
• Blended Scotch Hankey Bannister
• Caorunn, No.1 Premium London Dry Gin in the Scottish Off Trade*
• Mekhong, ‘The Spirit of Thailand’ since 1941
• Phraya, a premium rum handcrafted in Thailand

*Neilson IQ – Volume and Value latest 52 weeks to 28/08/2022.