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Speyside

Tamdhu Distillery To Close

Filed under: Spirits

A classic whisky distillery is being shut down in a cost-cutting measure. The Edrington Group plans to close the Tamdhu distillery and malting operations in Aberlour next year resulting in a loss of more than 30 jobs. The group has decided to concentrate its efforts on its three main brands, The Macallan, Glenrothes and Highland Park. Another distillery Glenturret will also remain open. The closure is a response to the economy.

Whisky is still selling well but costs have risen and The Scotsman quotes Graham Hutcheon, group operations director for Edrington, who said that the move was done to make sure that the "business is the right size and shape to support current and future activity levels." Edrington employs about 2,200 people across the globe and also owns the Famous Grouse and other brands such as Cutty Sark and Brugal rum. The Tamdhu distillery opened in the late 1890s and went through several closures over the years including a long period between 1928 and 1947.

World's Largest Whisky Bottle In Small Scottish Village

Filed under: Spirits

world's largest scotch whiskyA small Scotch whisky distillery has put itself on the map by producing the world's largest bottle of whisky. The bottle of single malt was filled by hand with nearly 28 gallons of 14-year-old Tomintoul Speyside Glenlivet Scotch. The five-foot-high bottle holds around 150 standard bottles and the cork had to be hammered in with a huge mallet. The bottle will be on permanent display at the Clockhouse in the village square at Tomintoul village in Scotland. Tomintoul is said to be the highest village in the Highlands of Scotland in the Speyside region. Tomintoul Distillery uses water from Ballantruan Spring, a nearby natural spring in their Tomintoul Speyside Glenlivet Single Malt which is billed as "the gentle dram" on their website.

[via Deadline Scotland]

The Singleton - New Single Malt Scotch

Filed under: Spirits

A deliciously smooth 12-year-old single malt Scotch from the heart of Speyside in Dufftown, aka The Malt Whisky Capital of Scotland, will be available here nationwide for the first time this fall.

The Singleton of Glendullan is produced on the site of the original distillery, in a wooded valley along the banks of the rivers Dullan and Fiddich, which was built in 1897. Water from both rivers is used along with locally grown malted barley to create the Singleton, with its notes of toffee, spice and roasted nuts.

While we usually opt for smokier single malts like Lagavulin, that also tends to confine our consumption to the cooler months as they complement each other so well. We're quite taken with this smoother spirit however, which not only suits the milder weather perfectly, but isn't too heavy for a pre-prandial dram.

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Up On eBay

Filed under: Spirits, Auctions

A few weeks ago I mentioned the Speyside festival and the unique whisky from 26 different distilleries. Now the one and only bottle is up on eBay for bid. Bids were originally up over $1,000 but the auction got relisted and so now the bids stand at £300 (around $547). The auction listing cautions that "the value of the auctioned item is in the collectable container, not in its contents" and that any contents are purely incidental and are not intended for consumption" since eBay doesn't allow alcohol sales.  So remember, you are buying it for the very plain bottle not for the carefully blended creation within. This auction ends on May 1.

[via The Scotsman]

Speyside Festival To Feature Unique Whisky

Filed under: Spirits, Events

How many different types of single malt can exist harmoniously in one bottle? The place to find out is the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival being held later this month. The Scotsman reports that over 150 bottles of single malt from 26 Speyside distilleries will be blended to create a one-off blend. The unique product is the creation of Ed Dodson, who was a master distiller at the Glen Moray distillery and Jim Cryle who is a retired master distiller at The Glenlivet. The malts range from ten-year-olds to 21-year-olds including some rare offerings. Only one 700ml bottle will be produced and auctioned off. The bottle will probably go to a collector for an exorbitant sum but there will be also be 2,000 souvenir miniatures available at the festival.

Quarter Century Macallan in Lalique

Filed under: Spirits

The Macallan decided to go all out, where an ordinary glass container would not be adequate to hold their special 50 year single malt.  Lalique will be hand blowing an exclusive 470 decanters made to resemble the Spanish sherry barrels in which the Scotch rested for five decades. Only 20 will be for sale in the UK, which makes me feel pretty special here in the US where we will get 100 at about $6,000 each. The whisky is presented in a leather and silk box, with a crystal stopper and a leather-bound collectors guide with The Macallan’s Easter Elchies House Stamp of approval. The burnish gold-colored malt is rich with flavors of cardamom, black cherries, and chocolate.

Blended Scotch Whiskies

Filed under: Spirits

Forbes released an article telling us the detailed background on the history of blended Scotch and what to look for in the crowd this year.  Master blenders recognize the right components to harmoniously marry single malts to grain whiskies which give us blended Scotch whiskies.  An Edinburgh merchant was probably the first to do so in 1853 when he mixed the malt whisky from The Glenlivet with other whiskies to be labeled as Old Vatted Glenlivet, O.V.G.  The merge proved to be less aggressive and soothing then the challenging drink of single malts. This and other blends corroborated that two styles of Scotch whisky was more attractive to the general consumer than when sold separately. Even though some of us snobs might refuse to consider Scotch blends, I suggest you give a try from the short list of current respected blends. When a single malt is not around, from the list, I personally enjoy Chivas Royal Salute 21 Year and the 12 Year, Johnnie Walker Gold 18 Year, and Dewar’s Special Reserve 12 Year. What are your favorite blended Scotch whiskies?

Live Aid Whisky

Filed under: Spirits

Two special decanters that contain Speyside malts are being sold to make money for Make Poverty History. The whisky was created for the 20th anniversary of Live Aid and all the whisky used is at least 20 years old. The malt whisky was collected from a variety of distilleries by a team from Whisky magazine during a charity walk for Make Poverty History. The whisky was blended by Richard Paterson of Whyte & Mackay and there was only enough whisky for two bottles. The two decanters were designed by Glencairn Glass and one will be auctioned off at the Whisky Magazine whisky show in New York in April. Whisky Magazine is accepting bids for the other decanter.


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