New Lost Lantern Single Cask Collection Highlights the

Evolution of Innovation in American Whiskey

WEYBRIDGE, Vt., February 21, 2022—Lost Lantern, an independent bottler of American whiskey, is pleased to announce the release of their ninth single cask collection since launching in 2020.

The Spring 2023 cohort features four limited-edition single casks—all aged at least 7 years–from three distilleries: Westland Distillery in Washington, Watershed Distillery in Ohio, and Corbin Cash Distillery in California. It is Lost Lantern’s first 2023 release and its first since being named the 2023 Independent Bottler of the Year at the Icons of Whisky Awards America in February.

The new collection demonstrates just how much the world of American whiskey has transformed in recent years. “Distilleries that began experimenting and exploring new ideas a decade or more ago have now proven that those ideas work,” said Lost Lantern founders Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski. “Once, Pacific Northwest single malt, estate-grown rye whiskey, and thriving urban distilleries were just intriguing ideas with a lot of potential. But today, they have become realities, thanks to years of dedicated effort and commitment on the part of the country’s most innovative distilleries. The Spring 2023 Collection is emblematic of the growing maturity of innovation in the American whiskey world.”

The Spring 2023 Single Cask Collection will be available for sale beginning March 1st on LostLanternWhiskey.com, Seelbachs.com, and at select retailers in California and Alberta, Canada. As always, all offerings are released with full transparency, bottled at cask strength, are non-chill-filtered and have natural color.

• Westland Distillery American Single Malt 7 Years Old (215 btls): SRP, $130
• Westland Distillery American Single Malt Finished in a Red Wine Cask 8 Years Old (185 btls): SRP, $140
• Watershed Distillery Ohio Straight Bourbon Whiskey 7 Years Old (65 btls): SRP, $120
• Corbin Cash California Straight Rye Whiskey 7 Years Old (217 btls): SRP, $120

Single casks are an essential piece of the Lost Lantern model, inspired by the long tradition of independent bottlers in Scotland. Since its debut in October 2020, Lost Lantern has released 40 one-of-a-kind single casks from 20 of the finest distilleries in the United States: Santa Fe Spirits (NM), Cedar Ridge (IA), New York Distilling Company (NY), Ironroot Republic (TX), Whiskey Del Bac (AZ), Balcones (TX), Watershed (OH), Boulder Spirits (CO), Spirit Works (CA), St. George Spirits (CA), McCarthy’s (OR), Smooth Ambler (WV), Starlight (IN), Westward (OR), Frey Ranch Distillery (NV), Dad’s Hat (PA), Copperworks Distilling (WA), Breuckelen Distilling (NY), Westland Distillery (WA), and Corbin Cash (CA).

ABOUT LOST LANTERN’S SPRING 2023 SINGLE CASK COLLECTION

Lost Lantern’s single casks show that the best whiskey reflects where it’s made, how it’s made, and who made it, and demonstrate that compelling whiskey comes from across the United States.

2023 Single Cask #1: Westland Distillery American Single Malt 7 Years Old

(215 btls | 105.7 Proof): SRP, $130

Washington-based Westland is a transformative voice in American single malt and a champion behind the emerging terroir of the Pacific Northwest. This release, Lost Lantern’s first from Westland, was distilled from the distillery’s signature 5-malt recipe. Aged for 7 years in a new oak cask, this whiskey is fresh, creamy, warm, and malty, with balanced notes of grain and oak and flavors of rich vanilla and caramel creams.

2023 Single Cask #2: Westland Distillery American Single Malt Finished in a Red Wine Cask 8 Years Old

(185 btls | 107.68 Proof): SRP, $140

Lost Lantern’s second cask from Westland shows a different side of the distillery. Like the first, it is made from Westland’s signature 5-malt recipe. It was aged for 5 years in new oak and then finished for 3 years in a Washington Cabernet Sauvignon wine cask. The finish amplifies the fruity, spicy flavors of the whiskey. Soft and rounded with a lot of spice, it has flavors of black raspberry, soft oak, apple cider donuts, and black cherry ice cream.

2023 Single Cask #3: Watershed Distillery Ohio Straight Bourbon Whiskey 7 Years Old

(65 btls | 132.2 Proof): SRP, $120

Founded in 2010, Watershed is one of the most sought-after and beloved distilleries in the Midwest, thanks to its meticulous production methods, commitment to local ingredients, and innovations with grain. In 2021, Lost Lantern released a 5-year-old five-grain bourbon from Watershed. This cask is its sibling. While the first was bottled right away, Lost Lantern continued to age this one in Vermont. After two years of humid summers and long, cold winters, this is a different whiskey than it was before: even deeper and more nuanced, yet still recognizably Watershed. It has a rich, full oak flavor, with notes of baking spice, vanilla sweetness, and fresh oatmeal raisin cookies. This is the oldest straight bourbon whiskey Lost Lantern has ever released, and one of the only 7-year-old releases to date from Watershed.

2023 Single Cask #4: Corbin Cash California Straight Rye Whiskey 7 Years Old

(217 btls | 128.72 Proof): SRP, $120

The Souza family has been growing sweet potatoes in California’s Central Valley for over 100 years, and they’ve been growing rye for just as long as a cover crop. In 2007, David Souza opened Corbin Cash Distillery, named for his son, and began distilling that rye. Their grain to-glass whiskies reflect the bounty and warmth of one of the world’s great agricultural regions. This release was distilled from 100% estate-grown Merced rye and was aged for 7 years in a heavily charred new oak barrel in the heat of the Central Valley, making this a rye from an uncommonly hot climate. The result is a welcoming and powerful whiskey. It is fresh and minty, with notes of sweet chocolate, delicate oak, and wintergreen. This is Lost Lantern’s oldest rye whiskey to date.

ABOUT LOST LANTERN

Founded by Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski, Lost Lantern is an independent bottler of American whiskey. In 2023, they were named Independent Bottler of the Year at the Icons of Whisky Awards America. The company seeks out the most unique and exciting whiskies being made across the country and releases them as single casks and blends, always with a deep commitment to transparency. Currently, the portfolio consists of American Vatted Malt Edition No. 1, an award-winning blend of American single malt whiskey made in collaboration with six U.S. distilleries, and 40 single casks (10 of which are available now). Lost Lantern debuts new hand-selected whiskies throughout the year and announces one-off limited releases from time-to-time. Subscribe to Lost Lantern’s newsletter to learn about new offerings as they become available. Lost Lantern Whiskey is available for purchase at LostLanternWhiskey.com, at Seelbachs.com, and at select retailers in California and Alberta, Canada.

Engage with Lost Lantern Whiskey on the following channels:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lostlanternwhiskey

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lostlanternwhiskey

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LostLanternDram

We added a new bottle to our catalogue last month and have been delighted at the success of the launch of the Friar John Cor, The Cask Strength Congregation Batch, Chapter 1. A dram that we are exceptionally pleased with, and which is receiving absolutely fabulous feedback.

The FJC was matured in a blend of Bourbon, Monbazillac, STR, and Sherry casks. The introduction of the Monbazillac casks gives a sweetness and complexity that complements perfectly the classic Lindores style. The bottles are now released into the wild, so visit our stockists page and see where your nearest bottleshop is to pick up a bottle!

Tours and events are filling up on a daily basis now, and we are looking towards a really busy season in 2023. Daily tours start again in April, so if you are planning a visit this year, it might be an idea to book.

The Legacy Bar opened on Friday 17th February for the first of our new monthly bar nights and it was a really cracking evening with a great crowd, some good drams and lots of impromptu singing; there will be a food truck each month, we will be serenaded by musicians or a DJ and once the weather improves we will move from the intimate space of the Legacy to the rather more accommodating area of the Courtyard Bar.

We have been welcoming lots of casks owners to the distillery as they finally get to bottle their private casks, which involves lots of filling and labelling bottles for the delighted owners.

We hope to see as many of you as we can at the distillery this season!

Slàinte

Drew McKenzie Smith
Managing Director of Lindores Abbey Distillery
& Custodian of Lindores Abbey

DISTILLERY NEWS

Amazingly, our distillery is coming into its sixth year of production, and is starting to show a little bit of wear. You cannot run a Ferrari without it going in for a major service every so often! And for lovers of obscure facts, especially the person who asked this question – the Lyne arms on our spirit stills sit at an angle of 27.5°!

Alongside essential maintenance, we are catching up with some campaign bottling. As I write, Lorena is nosing and tasting fifty cask samples for some exciting single casks. Amongst this little lot, in no particular order, you will find the following type casks, all filled with our new make spirit:

• Australian Red Wine American Hoggies – a mixture of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Coonawarra region
• Australian Red Wine Rejuvenated (basically fresh red wine casks given a re-char, a personnel favourite)
• Australian Fortified Shiraz (and yes, it’s as good as it sounds)
• Australian Sweet Apera – basically Sherry, but in Australia you cannot call it sherry because it wasn’t grown in and around the area of Jerez
• Calvados – just a great cask, previously maturing 12yo Calvados from Normandy
• Rum Peats, this old chestnut – rum casks used to finish off an Islay peated whisky, refilled by us – a firm favourite of Lorena’s
• Thiron Virgin Oak – these were made in 2019 with a very strong char, the nose reminds me of very good bourbon
• Ruby Port Wine Barriques – this was the first cask type we filled in mid 2018 which was outwith our mainstay of bourbon, sherry and STR.

As with some of our oldest casks, they have a beautiful colour and nose, we are happy with how these turned out

We have also managed to get some of our product into new markets for Elliot and it’s great to hand Friar John Cor Chapter 1 over to Murray, and see the buzz happening around it in the UK. It’s not going to sit on the shelf for long, trust me. In fact I think most shops are no longer taking pre-orders as it’s all sold – just fantastic news!

Slàinte
Gary Haggart
Distillery Manager

Lindores Abbey Distillery
Abbey Road
Newburgh, Fife KY14 6HH
United Kingdom

To mark International Women’s Day this month, here at the Society we find ourselves celebrating those who think differently. This First Friday, taste and explore a truly exceptional selection of casks BUT be sure to be bold in selecting your bottlings – now is the time to try something a little different.

Ahead of our March Outturn release on Friday, 3 March at 9am, Unfiltered editor Richard Goslan sat down for a chat with SMWS head of whisky creation Euan Campbell and spirits coordinator Julien Willems to discuss some interesting bottles to look out for.

Discover a taste of what to expect, sit back and listen to the conversation in full via the link below. OR click over to our website now to browse the new Outturn before the bottles go on sale.

DON’T MISS: In the meantime, don’t miss out on our new Maverick whisky, the first of our 40^th anniversary releases. AND with today being St David’s Day, a celebration of the patron saint of Wales, be sure to give the unique bottling Cask No. 128.29 Biscuit rose de reims a sample.

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READ OUTTURN

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 here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Friar John Cor

‘The Cask Strength Congregation Batch’

Chapter 1 

A new release from Lindores Abbey Distillery – The Friar John Cor – Chapter 1. It was matured in a blend of Bourbon, Monbazillac, STR, and Sherry casks. The introduction of the Monbazillac casks gives a sweetness and complexity that compliments perfectly the classic Lindores style. Lindores Abbey is the officially recognised site of the first recorded distillation of Scotch Whisky in 1494, when Brother John Cor, a Lindores monk, was commissioned by King James IV in 1494 to turn 8 bolls of malt into Aqua Vitae, Lindores is again taking its place in history with its, now commercially available, Friar John Cor ‘The Cask Strength Congregation Batch’ – Chapter 1.

NOSE

Mellow ripe banana, honeycomb, apricot, and fresh pastry aroma fills the nose. A beautiful combination of fruity red apples, peaches and layers of winey touches.

PALATE

Rich fruity dates, apricots and spicy cinnamon with figs, prunes, blood orange, nutty almonds and waves of vanilla. Extremely silky texture. Very well balanced and complex.

FINISH

Pleasant medium to long with sweet honey, subtle spices and nutty.

£67.00

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2009 BenRiach 12 Year Old K&L Exclusive Barrel #13467 Peated Rye Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml)

(Previously $120)

$84.70 View

The long and complicated history of BenRiach includes an optimistic vision, a long closure, a rebirth, a short closure, and finally, a modern renaissance – of which we are now in full swing. Built in 1897 by John Duff, BenRiach sits next door to Duff’s hugely successful Longmorn distillery. BenRiach boasts a huge floor malting facility and five on-site, traditional, stone-walled and earthen-floored dunnage warehouses. It is one of the most traditionally-styled distilleries in all of Scotland. Sadly, shortly after it was built, the market fell out of Scotch and it was shuttered for over half a century. When it was reborn in 1965, it was controlled by Seagrams for a time, then taken over by Pernod Ricard, then shuttered again in 2001. Fortunately for whisky fans everywhere, the inimitable Billy Walker purchased the facility in 2003 and with this change in ownership, BenRiach’s fortunes began to change. Walker had spent years blending whiskies and knew the magic that lied within BenRiach. Over his tenure the quality of their releases skyrocketed, and the popularity of the distillery soared. This grabbed the attention of Brown Forman, who took over in 2016. It is now under the watchful eye of one of Scotland’s finest Master Blenders, Rachel Barrie. This special K&L cask spanned both Mr. Walker and Ms. Barrie’s tenure. The peated distillate, laid down in 2009, drinks like a supremely old-school Speysider. Tropical fruit and intense spice mingle perfectly with the smoke.

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

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 483: Glentauchers 13 Year Old 2009 Buds & Barrels

Mark Dermul, Belgian whiskyblogger, tries a lesser known malt. Independent bottler Buds & Barrels launched this summery Glentauchers in its ‘sticky label’ range at the end of last year, from a refill sherry butt. I confess, when I first read it, I looked surprised for a moment, because Manny and I had also bottled a Glentauchers 2009 from the same cask type in May of the same year. And then a monkey on the label too? I won’t say anything else, but I’m going to taste it right away.

https://youtu.be/auElXK6Jn7g

CHIVAS BROTHERS HY ORGANIC NET SALES +23% AS PORTFOLIO ELEVATION AND PREMIUMISATION STRATEGY CONTINUES TO TAKE EFFECT

Chivas Brothers, the Pernod Ricard business dedicated entirely to Scotch whisky, today announced its half-year (HY23; July 2022 – December 2022) performance with organic net sales up +23% compared to HY22.

This strong performance is due to its strategic focus on portfolio elevation and premiumisation – two-thirds of the +23% growth is driven by price/mix — along with the strength of its global footprint. Its key strategic brands Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Royal Salute and The Glenlivet each experienced double-digit growth.

Chivas Brothers’ extensive and balanced global footprint has enabled this growth, with emerging and mature markets growing at +24% and +22% respectively, and expansion across all key regions. Consistent with recent years, performance in Asian and Latin American markets continues to be exceptional, with Korea, Japan and Taiwan up +59%, +53% and +37% respectively, while Brazil, Colombia and Mexico saw increases of +40%, +30% and +21%. In European markets, Spain rose +17% and Poland +7%, and separately North America +6%.

This heightened demand also supports its continued investment in the elevation of the Prestige portfolio (+28%). Specifically, Ballantine’s Prestige range grew +81% owing to increased demand across Asian markets and Global Travel Retail (GTR), while The Glenlivet’s top-line performance was driven by its Prestige expressions.

Chivas Brothers’ Chairman and CEO, Jean-Etienne Gourgues, commented:

“These positive results reflect the impact of our long-term portfolio elevation and premiumisation strategy. It’s a testament to the resilience of Scotch, its bright future and our continued drive to open up the category to new audiences.”

Performance across strategic brands

Chivas Regal

The continued popularity of Chivas 12 and 18, the brand’s emerging and mature market growth balance as well as the release of innovations such as Chivas Extra 13 have contributed to the positive brand performance of +34%.

Ballantine’s

As a result of the very strong pricing and premiumisation strategy, Ballantine’s global sales rose +17%, which was drawn from innovations such as Ballantine’s 7 and American Barrel 10 Year Old, as well as the growth of its Prestige portfolio.

Royal Salute

The globalisation of Royal Salute and its continued diversification has led to increased enthusiasm for the brand, resulting in a +37% sales growth. Key product drivers were the hero 21YO collection, alongside market and channel exclusives. Notably, Royal Salute grew within the key regions of Asia +39% and Americas +38%.

The Glenlivet

The Glenlivet continued to increase its value share with +12% global growth as a result of value strategy and pricing, coupled with the healthy performance of the Prestige range. Asia was its #1 growth contributor by region, with rest of world also accelerating.

Bruichladdich 30 YO

Connoisseur’s Choice 1990 Vintage

£650.00

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Bruichladdich [‘brook-laddie’] Distillery, ususually for an Islay distillery, focusses on non-peated whisky. This single cask 1990 vintage was distilled in the period before the distillery’s closure in 1994 and resurrection in 2001, so offers a rare chance to explore vintage Bruichladdich.

Matured in a single cask Refill Sherry Hogshead #3000 bottled March 2021 by Gordon & MacPhail for the Connoisseurs Choice series. Only 228 bottles at cask strength 51.9% . Bruichladdich 30 Year Old 1990 vintage Islay single malt Scotch whisky. Single cask Refill Sherry Hogshead #3000 bottled March 2021 by Gordon & MacPhail for the Connoisseurs Choice series. 228 bottles.

Nose: Stewed dates and fragrant orange zest compliment subtle ginger aromas.

Palate: Sweet baked apple flavours combine with marzipan and morello cherries.

Finish: A medium finish of toasted oak.

Bruichladdich Distillery was established in 1881 by the Harvey family of distillers based in Glasgow. Situated on the Rhinns peninsular on the island of Islay close and close to the sandy bays of Loch Indaal. Re-opened in 2001 with much of the original Victorian equipment restored to working order. The first release of Bruichladdich’s new whisky was the highly acclaimed PC5, the first release in the limited Port Charlotte range. Also producing very highly peated Octamore, Organic using Islay grown barley, and triple and quadruple distilled single malt and single cask releases. Bruichladdich distillery participates in Feis Ile, the annual Islay Whisky Festival.

NEW IN AT
THE WHISKY EXCHANGE

Not had a chance to explore our latest releases? Here’s a round-up of our popular new whiskies, featuring single malts bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange to celebrate our co-founders Sukhinder and Rajbir’s 50 years in the drinks industry.

We’ve also welcomed our exclusive smoky and sherried Bowmore 21 Year Old, bottled for us by Douglas Laing, a limited-edition Glenallachie finished in European oak wine barriques, and the 2022 Distillers Editions from distinctive distilleries Lagavulin and Talisker, each finished in ex-sherry casks and full of rich fruit, sweetness and peat smoke.

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LINDORES SINGLE CASK EXCLUSIVE – AWARD WINNER!

We’re absolutely delighted to report that our Lindores Abbey Single Cask Exclusive has won the prestigious ‘Recommended Award’ in the latest edition of Whisky Magazine (Issue 189).

Out of the 20 or so whiskies being blind tasted, our Lindores single cask received the second highest mark, missing out on top spot by 0.1 points. The standard was extremely high, making this achievement even better.

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