Welcome to this weeks epic episode of the show in which I’ll be taking a look at some Independently bottled old Bladnoch. The samples came from the 2017 and 2018 Independent Bottlers Challenge and given the competitions demise it’s unlikely that these sort of samples will come my way again. So enjoy!

https://youtu.be/I8wrhtzQNmM

Lost Lantern Announces First Annual Winter Whiskey Wednesday Drop with a Trio of New Limited Edition Single Casks

Light Up the Holidays with McCarthy’s, Smooth Ambler, and Starlight Whiskies 

NOVEMBER 19, 2021—On Wednesday, December 1^st, Lost Lantern – the independent bottler of American whiskey that launched in late 2020—will celebrate the upcoming holidays with its first Winter Whiskey Wednesday drop, a release that will take place on the first Wednesday of December every year. On this new tradition, Lost Lantern Co-Founders Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski said, “While we don’t normally reveal release dates far in advance, fans can expect a Lost Lantern winter drop timed to the holiday season the first Wednesday of December every year. This release, beginning with our Winter 2021 collection, will include some of our most exciting whiskies of the year, selected with celebration, cold weather, and gift giving in mind.”

The Winter 2021 collection will feature three limited-edition single casks, available exclusively via Seelbachs.com as of December 1^st and on LostLanternWhiskey.com at a later date. All are bottled at cask strength, are non-chill-filtered, and have natural color.

• 2021 Single Cask #6, McCarthy’s 6 Year Old Oregon Peated Single Malt (248 btls): SRP, $140
• 2021 Single Cask #7 Smooth Ambler West Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey (195 btls): SRP, $80
• 2021 Single Cask #8 Starlight Indiana Straight Rye Whiskey (211 btls): SRP, $70

Blake Riber, founder of Seelbach’s is excited to launch the new collection. “We’re thrilled to have the exclusive Lost Lantern Winter Collection on Seelbach’s! Most of their fall release sold out before we even had a chance to announce it. Lost Lantern is pushing the boundaries for independent bottlers in American Whiskey. This is exactly what we want to showcase on Seelbach’s.”

All three of these distilleries and states are new additions to Lost Lantern’s single cask lineup. “Clear Creek has been making McCarthy’s for over 20 years and has a well-deserved cult following,” said Nora and Adam. “Smooth Ambler is best known for sourcing and blending but has also been distilling their own whiskey for years, so we’re excited to present their own West Virginia-distilled wheated bourbon. Finally, Starlight showcases Southern Indiana’s terroir, climate, and agriculture and is quickly becoming one of the darlings of bourbon drinkers.”

Lost Lantern released 10 single casks in its first year (all sold out) and debuted five more on their one-year anniversary in October (one of which is sold out). All were hand-picked from some of America’s most exciting distilleries: 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), and St. George Spirits (CA). Single casks are an essential piece of the Lost Lantern model, inspired by the long tradition of independent bottlers in Scotland. These highly limited, one-of-a-kind single casks consist of unique and deeply expressive whiskies produced by some of the finest distilleries in the United States.

Lost Lantern’s flagship blend, American Vatted Malt Edition No. 1 (SRP $120) also remains available. Created with some of the most exciting names in American single malt (Balcones in TX, Copperworks in WA, Santa Fe Spirits in NM, Triple Eight in MA, Westward in OR, and Virginia Distillery Co. in VA), American Vatted Malt represents the spirit of collaboration and community in the American distilling world.

ABOUT LOST LANTERN’S WINTER 2021 SINGLE CASK COLLECTION

Lost Lantern 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 all across the United States.

2021 Single Cask #6: McCarthy’s 6 Year Old Oregon Peated Single Malt

(248 btls | 111.2 Proof): SRP, $140

McCarthy’s is arguably the first American single malt, and this single cask, aged for six years, is one of the oldest McCarthy’s whiskies ever released. Made from U.K. barley malted with Islay peat, it was fermented, distilled, and aged in Oregon. Single Cask #6 was aged in a 228-liter 3rd-fill Oregon oak cask with a medium toast and medium char. This whiskey’s deep smokiness, savory notes of smoked meats and leather, and balance of oak and French vanilla will enthrall lovers of peated single malt.

2021 Single Cask #7: Smooth Ambler West Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey

(195 btls | 124.2 Proof): SRP, $80

Smooth Ambler has long been on the vanguard of sourcing and blending whiskey with transparency and integrity. They’ve also been distilling and aging their own whiskey all along as they forge a new whiskey tradition in West Virginia. This is Lost Lantern’s first wheated bourbon selection, distilled on Smooth Ambler’s own column still in West Virginia. It was aged in a 53-gallon barrel for 5 years. The nose has notes of dried ginger, clove, and rosehips, while the palate bursts with dark chocolate, candied walnut, and robust oak flavors. 

2021 Single Cask #8: Starlight Indiana Straight Rye Whiskey

(211 btls | 113.2 Proof): SRP, $70

Starlight Distillery is part of Huber’s Orchard & Winery, an Indiana institution since 1843. While Starlight is just across the Ohio River from Kentucky and about 20 miles from Louisville, the climate, conditions, and culture are quite distinct from their counterparts to the south. This straight rye whiskey was aged for 4 years in a 53-gallon barrel. Made with 85% locally grown rye and 15% malted barley, it has a robust rye spice, with notes of cardamom, molasses, burnt caramel, and lemon zest. This is Indiana whiskey at its finest.

ABOUT LOST LANTERN

Founded by Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski, Lost Lantern is an independent bottler of American whiskey. Inspired by the long tradition of independent bottlers in Scotland, 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 Lost Lantern portfolio consists of American Vatted Malt Edition No. 1, a blend of American single malt whiskey made in collaboration with six distilleries from across the U.S., and eighteen single casks. 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, Kentucky, and Alberta.

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

Online whisky marketplace platform Caskshare is set to launch ‘The Collective’, a new exclusive cask movement. 

Since its launch earlier this year, Caskshare has been bringing an array of specialist cask sellers to the market, revolutionising the way that consumers engage with distilleries and cask owners to experience single cask whiskies, a bottle at a time. Buyers can choose from a wide range of casks, from more traditional ex-Bourbon to innovative casks such as Barossa Valley ex-red wine and Tokaji Aszú casks, all of which are uniquely imparted with distinctive flavours and aromas.

The brand is now set to launch The Collective, which gives whisky lovers the opportunity  to access new cask releases, Collective-only exclusive distillery releases, as well as plenty of other perks and benefits throughout the year. Members of The Collective (priced at £125 per year) will receive tasting packs full of samples of the finest maturing spirit stock every 6 months, allowing the unique chance of experiencing whisky as it is developing, getting inside the processes involved in making whisky and helping them make their selections for their own personal collection. Cask samples will range from mature casks nearing their bottling date to young casks starting on their maturation journey, delivered directly to their door.

As a unique feature of The Collective, Caskshare is also launching their BarrelBank, allowing members to save funds and choose the whisky they want when they want. All funds used from the Caskshare BarrelBank attract a 5% interest which can be used in conjunction with additional exclusive discounts on selected caskshares and the luxury ready bottled shop.

www.caskshare.com/the-collective

The latest Warehouse 1 release from Glen Moray

The final release in the Warehouse 1’s inaugural year of bottlings – here we have a spirit distilled in 2008, matured in ex-bourbon casks with a finish in Manzanilla sherry barrels and left at cask strength of 54.6% abv. The popular series has shown Glen Moray’s skill in experimenting with less common casks to create exciting and unique expressions. Limited to only 1,240 bottles – don’t miss out!

Buy here now →

Glen Moray 2008 Warehouse 1 Manzanilla Finish Description

Welcome to our first and soon to be annual Festive Festival in a Box!

We have put this exclusive pack together, very much with Christmas in mind – to put a big smile on your face, or that of a loved one!

Within our new gift pack, is everything needed to have the most incredible whisky Xmas ever…

• 23 Amazing whisky and spirit samples, from all over the world
• 1 Glencairn Whisky Tasting glass – the best glass for tasting whisky
• 1 Pre-mixed Old-Fashioned – perfect for de-stressing, post Xmas dinner!
• 1 packet of popcorn and Hawkhead whisky-smoked seasoning – perfect with said Old-Fashioned!

And as if this wasn’t enough, every recipient gets access to over 12 hours of new video content, with exclusive interviews and tastings with the very producers of the whiskies included in the pack!

This should keep even the most dedicated of whisky-lovers happy and busy for the whole Xmas week and beyond!

The whiskies featured are from some of our favourite distillers and have been hand-picked by us. The Festive Festival in a Box gives any whisky-lover the chance to explore whiskies, and even other spirits, from some familiar, and unfamiliar names, from Japan, Ireland, Wales, the USA, Scotland and even England!

Our Black Friday offer to you is a simple one! You can buy 1 or more Festive Festival in a Boxes for 25% less than the full price, using the code below. That’s a saving of nearly £20!

The code you need (when checking out) is:
FFIAB25
Simply click on the button below.

If you want to pass this email and code onto any deserving friends or family, please do!

We are working with a new (to us) fulfilment partner and we are confident these will be delivered to you, or your nominated addressee, well before Xmas day.

Video content will be made available from Xmas day onward!

BUY NOW – Festive Festival in a Box 2021

Slainte,
Eddie

The Causeway Collection: 2000 Port Cask

20 Year Old | 70cl | 54.1% ABV | Cask Strength

The 2000 Port Cask is a limited edition, cask strength Irish Single Malt. This expression has spent its entire life in rare first-fill ruby port casks. After maturing for 20 years, the malt is imbued with bold and luscious red fruit flavours. The fortified port wine cask has added waves of sweet, caramelised toffee notes, balanced by a hint of sweet chilli.

UK Exclusive Release With Only 2,322 Bottles Available

£259.95

WHISKY.AUCTION
NOW LIVE!
Bid now on the greatest ever whiskies and fine spirits.
Auction ends Tuesday 7 December.
Get bidding and good luck!

WATCH LIVE AUCTION NOW

WIN OUR BIGGEST-EVER TASTING SET – THE PERFECT MEASURE GIVEAWAY

You may have noticed that Christmas is approaching. While we’ve got loads of great things happening on our website – and you can find them through our Christmas page – we also have lots going on in our London shops, including one of our biggest giveaways ever: three lucky winners will start the new year with hundreds of tasty things things to drink…

The Perfect Measure…to share?

For the whole of December, each of our three London shops will have a big box of bottles for visitors to admire. Each will be filled with samples from The Perfect Measure, our Fine Christmas Malt 2021 and a handful of deliberately deceptively sized boxes and baubles, and your mission is simple: guess how many samples there are in the box. The prize? The contents of the box.

Each shop has its own box, each with a different number of Perfect Measures, and you can make a guess for each one – that’s three chances to win a huge pile of tasty drinks. There’ll be a QR code to scan in-store to take you to the competition sign-up page, and once you’ve popped in your email and made a guess, you’ll be in with a chance of winning.

What’s in the box?

Not only have we grabbed currently available samples from across The Perfect Measure range, but we’ve also dug deep into the archive, and raided my own stash of long sold-out bottles.

We’ve got drams from closed distilleries like Imperial, sought-after favourites including a few 1996 Ben Nevises (Ben Nevii?), and a stack of no-longer-available TWE-exclusive bottlings that I’d been saving for a special occasion. That occasion is this December.

On top of all of that, each box will contain a sample of the recently released (and sold out) Karuizawa 34 Year Old Ruby Geisha. The penultimate entry in the Karuizawa Geisha range, it and its sister bottling were sold by ballot, with the 34yo commanding a price of £18,000. Based on bottle price alone, a 3cl sample is worth more than £771.

Get to the shops!

So, if you want to be in with a chance of winning our biggest-ever tasting set, head down to our London shops this December. You can find out where the shops are, when they’re open and how to drop them a line over on our website:

Covent Garden – Great Portland Street – London Bridge

Good luck and happy counting!

Calumet Farm 15 Year Old “Single Rack Black” Small Batch Unchillfiltered Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) $119.99 View

The new Calumet Farm 15 Year is an unusual release from this upstart, Kentucky-based brand. Both the highest proof and highest age for the brand to date, this is great old Kentucky bourbon bottled without chillfiltration. The “Single Rack” is a reference to the source of the batch being from a single rack in the brickhouse, meaning all barrels were aged in the same center part of the warehouse, which lends to longer aging as compared to the top floors. Calumet Farm is the most famous horse farm in Kentucky (having bred and trained two Triple Crown winners and eight Derby winners), and their pedigree has allowed them access that few others have. Distilled and aged in Bardstown entirely in 2006, only 19 barrels were used in the production of this batch. At the time, only one distillery was operating in the area, so we can assume this is good Barton juice. The mash bill is 74% corn, 18% rye, and 8% malted barley.

Sample Image

Resilient 16 Year Old “Barrel #122” Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) $129.99 View

Resilient 16 Year Old “Barrel #203” Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) $129.99 View

Obtainium 27 Year Old Canadian Whiskey (750ml) $199.99 View

This is a classic Canadian blend of mostly light whisky, with 3% traditional rye and 2% traditional corn. The three whiskies were distilled at what is now known as the Black Velvet Distillery (formerly the Palliser Distillery) in Southern Alberta before being blended and aged in oak barrels for 27 years before being cut from 156 proof to a slightly more managable 141. Rich and complex, the light whiskies don’t have the bodied or complexity of a straight bourbon or rye until they start to get serious age. This is the oldest we’ve ever seen. It’s somewhere akin to a single grain whisky being aged in active refill bourbon barrels for many many years. It’s a wild expression unlike any other on the market today, but this is one experiment that’s worth the risk.

ralfy review 904 – Glen Moray 13yo @46.3%vol: (exclusively Madeira matured)