whisky

Win a VIP Trip to the Kentucky Derby with Woodford Reserve

Filed under: Spirits, Events, Art, Sports

Woodford Reserve, the Official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby, is once again honoring the country's favorite horse race with the release of a Kentucky Derby commemorative bottle (pictured above) full of their celebrated whiskey. The 2011 limited edition design features the work of award-winning artist and Virginia native Brett Amory.

Amory showcases two horses racing in those final moments towards the finish line with the only splash of color on the bottle. "The build up to the Derby is unlike any other sporting event," Amory notes. "Louisville is absolutely transformed, and people from all over the world come to join the excitement. I wanted to capture on canvas that one key moment they all came to see."

The limited edition liter-size bottle will be available in early April in 42 US states at a suggested retail price of $42.99. In addition to purchasing a true collector's item, consumers can enter Woodford Reserve's Kentucky Derby Sweepstakes with a chance to win a VIP trip to the 2012 Derby. They can enter by either registering their bottle's unique number printed on the neck label, by entering any random five digit code at www.WellCraftedDerby.com, or by mail.

Upon registering, entrants will be given a randomly-generated post position, from 1-20, for the 2011 Kentucky Derby. If the horse that starts from their assigned post position wins, he/she will be entered in the grand prize trip drawing. Official Rules are available at www.WellCraftedDerby.com; no purchase is necessary but you must be 21 or older to participate.

Tags: art, bourbon, contests, equestrian, horse racing, horses, Kentucky, Kentucky Derby, Louisville, Virginia, whiskey, whisky, Woodford Reserve

Royal Wedding Malt from the English Whisky Company

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Scotland has a beautiful tradition when it comes to marriages. When a child is born, the parents lay down a cask of whisky, and years later at the wedding, a special "Wedding Malt" is blended from the groom's cask and the bride's. Of course for the tradition to be practiced today, everyone would have to lay down a cask for each of their children, which is not so commonly practiced these days. But the tradition is kept alive by affluent families acquiring a cask from the groom's year of birth and another from the bride's.

With the marriage of Price William and Kate Middleton fast approaching, the English Whisky Company has been commissioned to create this special wedding malt. And while it does not appear to be a classic wedding malt in the vintage of the casks selected for the blend, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate along with the royal couple. A very limited quantity of commemorative bottles (700ml each) are being offered, and are available directly from the distillery and from Single Malts Direct at around £70.00 inclusive of the (recently increased) value added tax.

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Tags: english whisky company, kate middleton, prince william, royal wedding, wedding malt, whisky

Balvenie Whisky Academy Opens Online

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, Video

Even for those of us who write about whisky professionally, there's still much to be learned about single malts, including how they're made and how they're best to be enjoyed. Master classes go a long way towards filling in the vast knowledge gap, but not everyone can get to one of these sessions. So to reach out to the whisky-sipping public, Balvenie has launched a series of films under the Whisky Academy banner.

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Tags: balvenie, Balvenie Whisky Academy, education, expert, spirits, video, whisky

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Glenlivet Decades from Gordon & MacPhail

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Gordon & MacPhail have set down a new benchmark with its Generations series. The label started with the 70-year-old Mortlach, and has now been followed by a Glenlivet of the same age. But since not everyone will be able to buy the 70yo Livet -- quantities being both extremely limited and expensive -- the independent bottler has accompanied it with the Glenlivet Decades private collection.

The Decades collection is comprised of five bottles representing five decades of Glenlivet history: one bottle each from 1954, 1963, 1974, 1980 and 1991.

The enticing range is available as a five-bottle pack for £2,850, or individually at prices ranging from £95 to £1,250 depending on the age.

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Tags: decades, glenlivet, glenlivet decades, gordon and macphail, gordon macphail, private collection, scotch, single malt, single malt scotch, spirits, the glenlivet, whisky

Ruaraidh Special Edition Single Malt from Arran

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Enthusiasts of Scotland's island whiskies may already be familiar with The Arran Malt. Distilled in Lochranza on the Isle of Arran, the single malt scotch has gained a following among drinkers and tourists alike. Now the distillery is launching the latest bottling in its special Icon of Arran range.

Ruaraidh (apparently pronounced "roo-ree" – don't get us started on Gaelic) honors the distillery's de facto mascot, distillery manager James MacTaggart's Scottish terrier. If you've visited the distillery you may have seen Ruaraidh running about the grounds, and now his face and name adorn this unique bottling.

The product of 12 years of maturation, the Ruaraidh malt was laid down in ex-Olorosso sherry hogshead barrels back in 1998, and is now being offered in a limited edition, non-chill filtered and uncolored series of 6,000 bottles.

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Tags: arran, icon of arran, icons of arran, isle of arran, ruaraidh, scotch, single malt, the arran malt, whisky

Glenlivet 70 Generations from Gordon & MacPhail

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail stole headlines last year in the whisky world when they released the oldest single malt ever bottled. That was a 70-year old scotch from the Mortlach distillery, launching the company's Generations series. Now G&M has followed up with another classic, this time from the world-famous Glenlivet.

Tags: glenlivet, Glenlivet 70 Generations, gordon and macphail, gordon macphail, scotch, single malt, spirits, the glenlivet, whisky

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Five Awesome Irish Whiskey Sips for St. Patrick's Day

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Irish whiskey makers will have a prosperous St. Patrick's Day as their particular brand of elixir remains one of the fastest growing segments of the spirits business.

Jameson Irish whiskey, the world's leading brand, reported a strong 16 percent spike in sales by volume (shipments to liquor stores) in the last six months of 2010. The brand sold more than three million cases during 2010, with one million of these cases consumed in the United States. In the U.S., sales were up a hefty 27 percent.

Though the market is dominated by two brands, Jameson and Bushmill's, there are several other brands of Irish whisky to consider laying in for the holiday, or giving as a gift.

Tags: bushmills irish whisky, Irish Whiskey, Jamesons irish whiskey, michael collins irish whiskey, Redbreast Irish whiskey, spirits, St. Patrick Day, whisky

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The Balevenie Searches For America's Great Artisans

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

This is pretty intriguing, whisky brand The Balvenie is launching the Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow, a nationwide search for the craftsmen and artisans across America who maintain a dedication to the practice and preservation of traditional crafts. The Balvenie Ambassadors Andrew Weir and Nicholas Pollacchi will traverse the U.S. in a Morgan car visiting with artisans in a variety of fields and documenting every step in a Web series and eventual documentary film. In addition to being featured on a dedicated website and in a nationwide print campaign, craftspeople will also have a chance to be honored at special celebratory events. The journey is meant to tie in with The Balevenie's own commitment to craftsmanship. The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow will kick-off in March 2011. Follow along at The Balvenie Road Show website.

Tags: balevenie, the balevenie, whisky

Highland Park Leif Eriksson

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Highland Park is preparing to unveil a new limited-edition single malt scotch whisky later this month. Named after Leif Eriksson, the special scotch is set to debut at the International Association of Airport Duty Free Stores (IAADFS) trade show later this month and will be exclusive to travel retail outlets.

The special bottling honors the first European to reach America. Legend has it that Leif Eriksson set out on his voyage from the Scottish Isle of Orkney, which sits in between Norway and Iceland (where Eriksson was born) and which serves as Highland Park's home.

Bottled at 40% ABV, the 700ml Highland Park Leif Eriksson will retail at $88 in the United States before being rolled out in markets around the world.

Tags: highland park, leif eriksson, scotch, single malt, whisky

Brown Forman Introduces Collingwood Canadian Premium Whisky

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Brown-Forman, the parent company behind Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve, Early Times and Southern Comfort has launched Collingwood Canadian whisky, a new premium brand in the company's portfolio.

Collingwood, a blend of two whiskies, takes its aging in white oak barrels, but receives a finishing stage in casks made of toasted maple wood. Master Distiller Chris Morris perhaps not coincidentally this year released a new expression from Woodford Reserve Masters Collection that is maple finished.

"Sugar maple does not lend itself to barrel making the way oak does," Morris told Luxist in a recent interview. "But we can work with it in finishing stages, and it imparts a very unique flavor and finish to the whisky that is very desirable."

Water for Collingwood is spring water drawn Ontario's Georgian Bay. The whisky is triple distilled. And the new brand is bottled in a unique flask-style bottle with a large "over-cap."

The whisky is smooth at 80-proof, and not as rye-centered as other Canadian whiskies. Notes of applesauce, cedar, butterscotch and molasses are in the nose.

The new brand is initially available in Texas, Florida, Kentucky and Louisiana, hitting more markets throughout 2011. A 750ml bottle will retail for around $27.

Tags: canadian whisky, chris morris, collingwood canadian whisky, jack daniels, maple casks whiskey, whiskey, whisky, woodford reserve

Bushmills Single Cask 19 Year Old Rum Cask Finish

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Bushmills Single Cask 19 Year Old Rum Cask Finish

Looking for an extra special spirit to help celebrate St. Patrick's Day? New York's Park Avenue Liquor Shop is the first and only retailer in the country to obtain a unique Bushmills Single Cask Single Malt Irish Whiskey bottling finished in a rum cask and aged 19 years.

The cask in question produced only 420 bottles which have been bottled exclusively for Park Avenue Liquor; they're priced at $125 apiece. "We are happy to have this bottling, the second rum cask finished Bushmills for the shop," notes Park Avenue Liquor Shop owner Jonathan Goldstein. "An Irish whiskey finished in rum casks is pretty unusual."

Bushmills offers the following tasting notes on the precious spirit:

Nose - A clean crisp saltiness at first, and then notes of mellow rum, vanilla, toasted wood, faintly almondy. Some deeper tones too - dark chocolate, a touch of leather and black pepper.

Palate - A pleasantly dry maltiness in counterpoint to a rummy honeyed sweetness; then various wood, spice, some almond and dark fudge. Overall, a complex and rather unique taste that is achievable only by very long aging in a rum barrel.

Finish - A fading sweetness, and the gentle rum, wood and dry malty noted lingering pleasantly on the palate.

Tags: Bushmills, event, Ireland, Irish whiskey, New York, Park Avenue Liquor Shop, single malt, spirits, St. Patricks Day, whiskey, whisky

Willem Dafoe Stars in Ad For Jim Beam

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Premium Bourbon Jim Beam has tapped actor Willem Dafoe for an unusual TV ad campaign.

Directed by Dante Ariola and created by New York ad agency StrawberryFrog, the ad uses Dafoe to talk about the choices we make in life and how they define who we are. "Life boils down to a series of choices," says Dafoe in the voiceover. "All choices lead you somewhere; bold choices lead you where you are supposed to be."

In between the statements, the commercial surprises and amuses the viewer with images of Dafoe as chess player, circus clean-up man, fashion designer, plant manager, sumo wrestler and trapeze artist. The commercial's last image is of a bottle of Jim Beam, suggesting this is the bold choice bourbon drinkers must make.

Tags: alcohol, bourbon, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, spirits, StrawberryFrog, whisky, willem dafoe

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First Taste: Highland Park 50 Year Old Single Malt

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

With gale-force winds that would make Mount Washington shiver, and scant winter sunlight, the northern Scottish islands of Orkney provide little reason to spend much time outside, unless it's for the annual game/riot of Ba'. But while not ideal for sunbathing, those conditions do lend themselves to other pursuits, namely, distilling whisky-which is what Highland Park has been doing since 1798. As we told you last October, Highland Park announced the release of the oldest island region single-malt yet, a 50 years old bottling housed in five kilos of hand-made silver designed by fellow Scot, Maeve Gillies.

Gillies, along with Highland Park's Martin Daraz and Gerry Tosh, were in town recently to share a dram of the precious release, which the US will only see five of this year, currently priced at $17,500.

Having spent a half-century in Sherry oak casks, the nose and palate evidenced the pleasantly expected notes of almond, clove, and candied orange. And while mellowed by age, I nonetheless picked up a healthy amount of vanilla and wood, which Daraz pointed out was most likely due to the fact that after 50 years in cask, the liquid moves beyond the portion seasoned by the Sherry and deeper into the wood staves. At just 2% peat concentration-which Highland Park still cuts by hand-the smokiness hovered at the periphery of the tongue, never feeling intrusive.

While obviously meant for the collector, both in terms of aesthetics and content, Gillies pointed out that her bottle design holds a reward for increasing the ullage: When viewed from behind, a rose window design becomes visible on the reverse of the Highland Park sandstone emblem as the level drops. "So you can pray to God for more," quipped Tosh.

Tags: Highland Park, scotch, scotland, single malt, tasting, whisky

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Michael Collins Irish Whiskey Debuts 10 Year Old Single Malt

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Michael Collins Irish Whiskey Debuts 10 Year Old Single Malt

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, the last independent, Irish-owned distillery in Ireland has unveiled a Michael Collins 10 Year Old Single Malt and an attractive new bottle for its classic blended whiskey. The 10 Year Old Single Malt is double distilled in small, long-necked copper pot stills from both malted barley and peated malted barley and then matured in bourbon casks for a minimum of ten years. The result is rich and complex with hints of ripe fruit, meadow flowers and peat, a medium dry finish and lingering light smokiness. A refined blend of malt Irish whiskey and grain Irish whiskey, Michael Collins Blended Irish Whiskey is double distilled for proper balance of purity and character and then matured in bourbon casks from four to twelve years. Aromas of honey, citrus and malt give way to a delicate balance of these flavors with a fresh oak finish.

Tags: Cooley Distillery, distillery, Ireland, Irish, Irish whiskey, Michael Collins, Michael Collins Irish Whiskey, single malt, spirits, St. Patricks Day, whiskey, whisky

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Glen Garioch Releases Ltd. Edition 1991 Single Malt

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Glen Garioch Releases Ltd. Edition 1991 Single Malt

The Distillery Manager at Glen Garioch, one of the oldest operating distilleries in Scotland founded in 1797, has delved into his library of well-aged whisky to release a limited batch of single malt featuring a peated production style that hasn't been seen from the Highland landmark in nearly two decades. The Glen Garioch (pronounced "Geery") 1991 is limited to only 120 bottles in the U.S. priced at $100 apiece. More than two centuries ago, the brothers John and Alexander Manson built the Glen Garioch distillery in the Scottish town of Oldmeldrum.

The distillery peated its own golden barley from the Valley of the Garioch back then which gave their whisky a heathery smokiness, now recaptured for the 1991 expression. In 1995 the distillery was mothballed but was reopened in 1997 in time to celebrate its 200th birthday. The precious 1991 whisky, floor malted with small amounts of peat, has been maturing for 19 years in hogshead bourbon casks. The bottling is presented at cask strength and non-chill filtered to show the true expression of the single malt.

Tags: distillery, Glen Garioch, Scotch, Scotland, single malt, whisky

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