The Scotch Blog

Christmas Presents (Future Tense)

Do you love someone? I mean REALLY love them.
If you do, I have the perfect gift for you to give them.

Bruichladdich is offering future bottlings of four special expressions for sale today.

But make sure this is a long-term relationship, as this gift will require patience. It will be at least three years (and likely 6 - 10 years) before the recipient can enjoy this gift:

Bruichladdich, the innovative Isle of Islay whisky distillery, is offering for sale Futures of  four individual, recently distilled new whiskies. Each is a world first.

CEO Mark Reynier:

The four spirits are the world’s first ever triple-distilled Islay single malt (ed. - This would be the Trestarig). The first distilled from Islay-Grown barley. The most heavily peated whisky in the world (ed. - This would be the Octomore II - "The Beast" - peated to a minimum of 80ppm). And the world’s first Organic Islay single malt.

We all like to be first, whether it is first-day covers,  a first edition hardback, or Cheval Blanc. It is the same for whisky fans - whether as a present or for speculation – nothing beats being there at the start.

The whisky, to be allocated exclusively from the first day of each distillation, will remain in cask on Islay, maturing until ready for bottling at Bruichladdich at the discretion of Master Distiller Jim McEwan.

The limited editions of each whisky, with prices ranging from £250 ($444 US) to £350 ($620 US) per case (12 bottles @ 70cls) under bond, will be subject to Excise Duty, VAT and delivery prior to delivery.  At today’s rates this would cost an extra £125 ($221 US) per case.

A mixed case of three bottles of each of the four whiskies is also available. For more information on placing an order, go here.

And if there's no one you love this much, then show a little self-love.

Aberlour Founder's Day

Going to be in Scotland on November 22nd?

Then you may want to attend the Aberlour Founder's Day Dinner being held at the distillery in honor of James Fleming - "a special event that celebrates both the man and the whisky he created."

Each course will feature a different expression of Aberlour Single Malt, specifically selected to match the food. The infallible combination of imaginative cuisine and fine malt whisky will ensure that everyone who attends the dinner is in for a night to remember. The presiding spirit of James Fleming will do the rest.

Neil MacDonald of Aberlour tells me:

22nd November 2005 will mark 125 years to the day when the Aberlour Distillery started operating - construction began the previous year, hence our foundation date of 1879. To celebrate we are holding a dinner at the Distillery to which will be invited key people connected to the Distillery. I thought it would be a good opportunity for any Companions of Aberlour who wished to join our celebration.

Places are limited but if anyone is interested they should contact me as soon as possible! No price is set yet but it will be very reasonable!

This is a chance to participate in a once in a lifetime event.

There are a limited number of tickets available for this very special occasion. For details, contact Neil MacDonald at neil.macdonald@chivas.com but your first task is to go to the Club Bar section of Aberlour's web site and sign up.

And if, like me, you can't be at Aberlour, you can certainly raise a toast to James on November 22nd.

Better yet, come up with a great toast to James Fleming and there could be a handsome reward in your future. Post your toast at Aberlour's Visitor's Book by November 22nd and they'll be giving away a pair of specially designed Riedel whisky glasses for each of the six best entries.

Membership has its rewards

Many of the Scotch Whisky sites have members' sections, where you agree to give them a little information about yourself and in return you get...well usually nothing.

I thought I'd do a little research and let you know what you get for providing your personal demographics.

The Glenlivet Society
As a member of the Glenlivet Society, you are entitled to 5 free personalized labels.
Three expression's labels are available - the 12 year old, French Oak Reserve, and the 18 year old.

You select which expression's label you want, personalize the label, and put in your order. What's nice about this is you can choose to have all 5 labels say the same thing such as "Merry Christmas from The Scotch Blog" or create a more personalized message for up to 5 friends - for example: "Dear Mr. Gates, I would love to be adopted."

When your labels arrive you simply place them over the original labels of the bottles you bought as gifts. What... you didn't think the label itself was the gift, did you?

I did this last year and gave 5 happy friends a nice bottle of Glenlivet.

Friends of Laphroaig
Friends of Laphroaig get something pretty special. Once registered you are given a square foot of Islay - really. Each plot is registered and you may visit it (or view your plot on the members website -  a virtual version, at least). And more importantly, since it is yours, you get to collect rent from Laphroaig – each year Laphroaig will pay you your rightful rent of one dram of Laphroaig. The catch is you have to collect in person.

For those of you who can't get to Islay each year to collect, Laphroaig has set up one of the most interactive and lively communities I've seen. To join, you must prove you've bought a bottle of Laphroaig; this is accomplished by providing the ISBN number from a bottle.

Balvenie Club
You don't get much for joining the Balvenie club...just a little more information.

Glenmorangie Kindred Spirits
Kindred Spirits members are entitled to a free copy of Graham Eunson's notebook - I haven't received one yet, so I can't tell you exactly what it is. UK members get a subscription to "The Tain Times."

And this is nothing to sneeze at: As a member of kindred Spirit you're entitled to a special deal at Glenmorangie House the five star country house hotel at Cadboll near Tain - you will receive a free room upgrade (depending on availability) and a complementary bottle of Glenmorangie Ten Years Old for you to enjoy during your stay.

BTW, Glenmorangie has one of the slowest sites I've ever had to endure.

The Ardbeg Committee
Ardbeg, The sister distillery of Glenmorangie, also offers a member area, though you don't get much for registering.

Bruichladdich Malt Crusaders
Bruichladdich doesn't ask for much, just an email, so you shouldn't expect much: Access to "The Laddie Letter" the distillery newsletter; The opportunity to become a Càirdean (pronounced "Carch-en" which is Gaelic for 'friends' or 'family'.

Diageo
Diageo is quite disappointing as they do not offer any sites that I'm aware of for specific distilleries.
The do have a site Malts.com which asks for an awful lot of information and is apparently only for residents of the UK.
They also have a Friends of the Classic Malts site which is apparently aimed at the US market. They also ask a lot of information - in return you'll get a subscription to The Quaich newsletter, apparently free admission to the Classic Malts distilleries (Dalwhinnie, Cragganmore, Lagavulin, Oban, Talisker, Glenkinchie), and a welcome pack. Unfortunately the site did not allow me to complete the registration process.

Bunnahabhain
Bunnahabhain is working on a new site. They are asking for name, email, and date of birth and will notify you when the site is live.

Isle of Jura Club
Viral marketing. By signing up friends as members as well, you'll both be entered to win a bottle of Superstition (I'm happy to add anyone who emails me, so we both get a shot :)) Standard Desktop backgrounds;  member's forum; Members get a free distillery tour. All in all, not much, but a clean site.

This was not meant to be an exhaustive list of distilleries with member sites, nor a full  review of what you get.

If you know of any more, please feel free to make a comment, or email me directly.
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Also a reminder that with the holiday season coming up, Doceon Press, the publisher of The Instant Expert's Gude to Single Malt Scotch has a great selection of whisky tasting glasses and whisky-themed framed art available as gifts. I undertand the Glenmorangie glasses are almost gone as are the Aberlour glasses.

SMWS Extravaganza

On October 27th I told you about the Single Malt Whisky Society's Whisky Extravaganza (Read Scotch Blog, Get Discount). I just got back from the Washington DC stop, and I must tell you that the SMWS really knows how to throw a party.

The food was fantastic, The guests and ambassadors were excellent company, and there was plenty of special whisky to be had.

Some of the highlights of my night:

Finally getting to try the JMR Easy Drinking Whisky Company's new products.

• The Smooth Sweeter One This was a pretty tasty little number - and the first dram of the evening. I would recommend this one as an aperitif, or anytime you want something light and tasty.
• The Smoky Peaty One I'm not really sure who the market is for this one. It is definitely peaty and smoky, but the attack is short, the finish short, and the flavor is overwhelmed somewhat by the smoke. I think it may be too smoky for a novice to really enjoy, and an Islay fan may be disappointed. It might make a great ingredient for a cocktail that can take advantage of the smoky taste.
• The Rich Spicy One Didn't get to try it, as I moved on to the Highland Parks. Maybe next week in New York.

Spike McClure (Diageo's master of Scotch) and Evan Cattanach (Master Distiller Emeritus Diageo) are two passionate, engaging, and just plain nice guys. I had the pleasure of trying a number of the Classic Malt Distiller's Editions:

• Talisker Distiller's Edition Take Talisker, then finish it in an Amoroso Cask. Talisker is the first whisky I remember saying "Hmm, I could get to like this stuff" And I always have an open bottle of Talisker in my collection. This is better. Awesome.
• Glenkinchie Distiller's Edition I don't drink a lot of Glenkinchie - just too hard to get here in Virginia. The Distiller's edition is finished in an Amontillado Cask and is VERY good. Cheers Mr. Poe.
• Talisker 175th Anniversary Edition A one time, limited supply bottling; everything I love about Talisker, but more.

And some others:

• Aberlour a'bunadh The funny thing is that I have a full un-opened bottle of this in my bar; I just haven’t had a chance to try it yet. Luckily for me the Chivas table was pouring freely. This stuff is potent, raw and basically a powerhouse. Use water liberally if you want to remember the rest of the evening.
• Glenmorangie 18 I’ve never met a Glenmorangie I didn’t like. This is a Glenmorangie to love.
• Balvenie 30 The Balvenie is always on my list when someone asks about my favorites. I tell people that Balvenie DoubleWood is the best Bourbon you’ll ever have – that is not a disparaging remark – Balvenie DoubleWood is what I use to entice my Bourbon drinking friends to try Single Malt. It hasn’t failed yet. The 30 takes the Balvenie DoubleWood to a different level.
• Glenrothes 1972 The Glenrothes is a distillery that doesn’t get a lot of play – This is unfortunate. If you get a chance to try Glenrothes, do it. As a matter of fact, you should go do it now.

I also got to try 2 things that really took my by surprise:

• Johnny Walker Green I was floored by how good this was. In case you are not familiar with it, Green is not a blended Scotch like all of the other Johnnie Walker labels; it is a vatted (or Pure malt) made of a mixture of single malts from various (Diageo) distilleries.
• Chivas Royal Salut 21 Even though the Chivas rep told me that this was a vatted malt and not a blend, I knew better. But this is very likely the best blend I’ve ever had. At an average price of $150, it better be.

And that is just a small sampling of everything that was available to try.

All in all I don’t think I can recommend the event highly enough. If you think The Scotch Blog discount of $90 is still high, let me tell you that you are just plain wrong.
You are not likely to find such a wide selection of fine Scotch (and some Irish, too) in one place.

And consider the cost of going to your favorite restaurant and trying each one, at say $10-$20 a pop. Yikes.

When you also throw in the mix that being in a room with a bunch of people who share your passion, I’d say that the $90 is far too little to charge. And the SMWS complimentary tasting glass was an extra bonus.

These is still time to attend one of the upcoming events:

• Philadelphia Friday November 4 - The Union League of Philadelphia
• San Francisco Tuesday November 8 - The Fairmont Hotel
• Los Angeles Thursday November 10 - The Fairmont Miramar
• Miami Thursday November 17 - The Biltmore

To attend, contact the SMWS via email or by phone at 954-349-7744.

You must mention that you are a reader of "The Scotch Blog" in order to get the discount! and remember business attire only (No sneakers, denim or athletic wear). Reservations are limited.

New Symbols for Whisky

Independent bottler Murray McDavid, has introduced new information pictograms to highlight the natural process they employ when bottling.

 

Independent Bottler?

Independent Bottlers (IB) acquire new or aging whisky by the cask, sometimes from distilleries that are currently 'mothballed' or ones that have been completely dismantled. The casks are matured by the IB, and then bottled and usually presented under their own particular label. The IB usually lists the origin of the whisky prominently on the bottle.

 

Some Independent Bottlers specialize in producing limited editions of rare, premium whiskies from specially selected casks acquired through brokers or directly from the distillery.

 

These whiskies are attractive to the whisky connoisseur as an opportunity to sample a rare vintage, whisky from a distillery which currently produces, but does not bottle, whisky under their own label, or a whisky from their favorite distillery that has been matured in a different type of cask or bottled at a different age from the normal standard production.

The symbols:

 

Non Chill Filtered & Colouring Free

Why?

Sales Director Andrew Gray:

We want to draw attention to the naturalness of our bottlings which are all non chill-filtered and caramel-free to maximise the texture and taste. So we created the symbols to emphasise this and have incorporated them in the new design labels and tins.

All our whisky is bottled on the isle of Islay at the Bruichladdich Distillery – our parent company. We use their extraordinary spring water to reduce the strength to 46% - which has to be better than using Glasgow tap (water).

CEO Mark Reynier:

Whisky labelling can be confusing at the best of times – look at the disingenuous use of the word ‘pure’ for example as in ‘pure malt’. Even the SWA can see that this is confusing.

 

Other distillers and bottlers might adopt the same symbols so that consumers can be genuinely sure of what they are getting. But some how though I doubt it, as most would not Qualify.

Bruichladdich is well known for their jabs at colleagues – it’s part of the institutional sense of humor evident in their marketing, packaging and product development.

 

No word on whether the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has any issue with the symbols, though honestly, I’m hard pressed to see that they would, as the symbols simply give a graphic representation for allowed text.