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Malt Advocate Shocks Scotland: Names Indian Amrut "World Whisky of the Year"

Filed under: Spirits

The influential Malt Advocate Magazine has named Indian whisky Amrut Fusion "World Whisky of the Year."

It is the second major honor bestowed upon Amrut's Fusion, having been named third best whiskey of the year in the 2010 edition of "The Whisky Bible." This time, it scored top of the heap worldwide, besting and shocking Scotland, American and Canadian whiskey producers.

World Whisky of the Year is a new award category for the magazine. Editor John Hansell says: "We created this category to recognize that there are some wonderful whiskies being produced in countries like Japan, India, Sweden, England, and many more, but there aren't enough whiskies made in any of these countries (and imported to the United States) to warrant their own category."

Amrut Fusion, about $60.00, sold in the U.S. bears no age statement, but contains no whisky aged more than six years old. Much of the whisky in Fusion is less than four years in the barrel. Aging in second-fill casks in India speeds maturation because of India's warm climate. The whisky is made from combining Indian malted barley with peated Scottish malt.

For the benefit of the uninitiated, Amrut Distilleries Ltd. belongs to the N.R. Jagdale Group, which is an old line Indian industrial company based in Bangalore. The company also produces vodka, gin, brandy and rum.

Malt Advocate awards honors for several other categories. Of the six major product awards, it is worth noting that only one is currently priced above $100.00.

Click links below for detailed Luxist reviews and inormation about the products and distillieries.

Scotch Whisky Single Malt of the Year
Glenfarclas 40-Year old: At $460.00 Malt Advocate calls this single-malt a "steal."

Scotch Whisky Blend of the Year
Compass Box "Flaming Heart": A blend of malt whiskies from seven distilleries in three regions of Scotland, Compass Box proves again that you don't have to make your own whisky to produce great blends. Price: About $85.00.

Tags: Amrut Fusion, Buffalo Trace, Compass Box, Forty Creek Confederation Oak, Glenfarclas, Kilchoman, Malt Advocate, Rebreast 12 Year Old, Whisky Bible, World Whisky of the World

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Holiday Shopping Guide: Ten Great Whiskies To Buy

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

There are few things a whiskey connoisseur likes better under the tree than a long, festively wrapped box containing something special.

It has been a good year for new whiskey expressions, so there is no shortage of options. And I would recommend something new to the market to help the receiver usher in a new year.

Sure, you can buy your Glenmorangie or Glenlivet loving gift recipient a bottle of 12-year old. But put a bit more thought into it, and a bit more brass, and you can turn a grin into a broad smile. For holiday gift-giving, I always thing it's better to give someone a limited edition or otherwise special expression of the brand they prefer. The other route to go is to introduce them to something unique in the category that will capture their interest and sense of curiosity.

These days, almost every brand of Scotch, Irish or American whiskey has a "special," whether it's a single-barrel, cask-strength, extra-aged or barrel-finished.

Here are some gift suggestions of new whiskies Luxist has tried this year and reviewed. Most of these will be found at better whiskey shops in major cities, as well as duty-free travel retail, rather than the corner store.

Gallery: Holiday Shopping: Ten Great Whiskies

Tags: Amrut, Ballantines Scotch, Bowmore, Compass Box, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, holiday gift guide, Jim beam, Whiskey gifts, whisky gifts, WhistlePig

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Compass Box Releases Tenth Anniversary Special Edition

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Compass Box president John Glaser is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the brand with a new expression called Flaming Heart blend.

For Flaming Heart, Glaser says he sought to create an unusual balance among sweet, peat and spice that he'd found in an early Compass Box limited edition he called Eleuthera. "Eleuthera was this lovely balance of sweet and and fruity, with spice and peat," he said, while drawing the comparison.

Compass Box's 10th Anniversary Flaming Heart malt Scotch whisky is being produced in a limited release of 4,000 bottles (1,800 available in the U.S.). It should be available at better whisky shops in the major U.S. markets, as well as abroad by October 25.

Compass Box is a blender, not a distiller. The company offers five "base" labels--Asyla (malt and grain blend), Oak Cross (10- to 12-year-old Highland single malts), The Peat Monster (10- to 16-year Islay, south shore and Ardmore blend), The Spice Tree (10- and 12-year Highland blend), and Hedonism (12- to 28-year whiskies).

Flaming Heart is made from single malt whiskies from six distilleries located in the northern Highlands and Islands. Primarily whiskies from distilleries located in the villages of Brora (Highlands), Port Askaig (Islay) and the Isle of Mull (Islands), 40% was aged in refill American oak, while 31% was aged in first-fill American oak and 29% in new French oak.

Tags: alcohol, Compass Box, Compass Box Peat Monster, flaming heart, liquor, whiskey, whisky

Colorado Whiskey Joins Scotland and Kentucky For Malt Advocates' Best

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

The Malt Advocate released its picks for Best Whiskies of The Year" in its new Spring issue. Like many of these rankings, there is a little to go around for everyone to argue about, as well as a surprise or two.

Top of the list for pleasant surprises is Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey. This young distillery, opened in 2004, has been a stand out since getting started, but it is also up against dozens of emerging micro-distilleries popping up all around the U.S. It used to distill from beer wash obtained from Flying Dog Brewery, but is now making its own. batch 49, honored by Malt Advocate, contains whiskey as young as two years old, but no older than five. At $55 a bottle, it's a buy, with an eye toward putting one away for future auctions. On the palate, you should find notes of English toffee, maple, roasted chestnuts and a bit of tobacco.

"Best Buy" of the Year went to The MacPhail's Collection; 8-year old expressions of Highland Park, Glenrothes and Tamdhu. At $30-$35, it was a solid choice. It's hard to find age stated whiskies this good, and nicely packaged. All are aged in refill Sherry casks. There are whiskies I like as much at the lower end of the range: Ardmore 'Traditional Cask" comes to mind, but for a few dollars more. That makes The MacPhails a worthy winner.

The American Whiskey of the Year went to Parker's Heritage Collection "Golden Anniversary." This expression was developed to mark Parker Beam's fifty years of service at Heaven Hill Distilleries. The blend was created from whiskies from the last five decades. With so many ages mingles, its not surprising to find a very complex, layered taste: vanilla and cocoa, but with very definite notes of citrus and cinnamon. At $150.00, I'd have to say it's right priced.

The Canadian Whisky of the Year is Crown Royal Cask No. 16. This is not surprising, but perhaps a little disappointing. No. 16 is a fine whisky to be sure. But the choice is disturbingly predictable because of the seeming lack of innovation coming out of Canada compared with the U.S. and Scotland. A close competitor in my tasting book would be Canadian Club 30 Year, at $200.00. To be eligible for Malt Advocate's ranking, the whisky has to have been sold in the U.S. in the previous year. The problem with some of the better, smaller volume Canadian whiskies is that they are not sold in the U.S., and they are often priced lower than they deserve, making comparisons with high-end Crown Royals and Canadian Clubs difficult for many taste testers.

Gallery: Whiskies of The Year

Parker's Heritage Collection Golden Anniversary

Tags: Ardbeg Corryvreckan, ArdbegCorryvreckan, Canadian Whisky, CanadianWhisky, Compass Box, CompassBox, Crown Royal Whisky, CrownRoyalWhisky, Heaven Hill, HeavenHill, Jamesons irish whiskey, JamesonsIrishWhiskey, Parker Beam, ParkerBeam, Scotch whiskey, ScotchWhiskey, Stranahans Colorado Whiskey, StranahansColoradoWhiskey, whiskey, whisky

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Compass Box Whisky's New Hedonism Scotch

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Just in time for Father's Day, artisanal British spirits company Compass Box has released a new limited edition bottling of its rare old "Hedonism" Scotch grain whisky. Compass Box calls Scotch grain whisky the "forgotten" spirit. Its origins go back to the early 1800s, but these days it's not made to be drunk on its own. Made from wheat or corn and distilled in a continuous still, it's not aged like malt, but rather used to as a base for the marquee brands of blended Scotch - filler, in other words.

However, the company notes, "good Scotch grain whisky aged for a lengthy time in good quality American oak casks [is] another matter altogether." When done right these whiskies can develop richly textured flavors of vanilla and toffee. The Scotch grain whisky that goes into Hedonism is on average 20 years old, and a bottle costs about $100. The new bottling joins Compass Box's critically acclaimed range, including smoky Peat Monster, woody Oak Cross, bold Flaming Heart and more.

[via Kempt]

Gallery: Compass Box Whisky

Tags: Compass Box, CompassBox, Scotch, Scotland, Whisky

Oak Cross Whisky

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

The latest whisky from Compass Box is Oak Cross, a single malt which is a blend of three Highland single malt whiskies (from the villages of Teaninich, Brora and Carron) all aged approximately 10 years. The whiskies are aged for their primary maturation in a mix of American oak cask types and the marrying casks are a mix of first-fill Bourbon barrels and their proprietary "Oak Cross" casks made of American and new French oaks. The resulting whisky is meant to marry the best of American and French oak flavors. The tasting notes say that it has flavors of clove and vanilla with a subtle fruit character. The new whisky sells for $40.

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Tags: alcohol, compass box, CompassBox, spirits, whisky