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Edencroft Fine Wines – Octomore 4.2 Comus/167PPM

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Mark from Edencroft Wine & Spirit Specialists has let us know about a great new malt that is to be released next Tuesday, 14th February. (Hmm … that date rings a bell …)

Edencroft Fine Wines - Octomore 4.2 Comus/167PPM

Edencroft Fine Wines - Octomore 4.2 Comus/167PPM

On that day the latest Octomor release from Bruichladdich “The Octomore 4.2 Comus/167PPM” will be unleashed.

Following on from the now legendary Octomore Orpheus, the now legendary Jim McEwan has created another landmark Octomore. Comus was the son of Bachhus (god of wine and revelling) and Circe, daughter of Helios the sun god and a sorceress who would beguile the innocent into drinking her magic potions.

To celebrate the release, Edencrofts has an introductory offer price for this whisky. It is available for £90.00 per bottle.

As ever, this will be on a first come first served basis as stock is very limited and they are already receiving good interest.

More information can be obtained from Mark at:-
EDENCROFT FINE WINES
8-10 Hospital Street
NANTWICH
Cheshire
CW5 5RJ

www.edencroft.co.uk

Tel: 01270 629 975
Mob: 07974 650 998

Edencroft New Malt Whisky Spotlight

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Mark from Edencroft Wine & Spirit Specialists has let us know about three nice malts that they’ve just got in (they are also on the little widget on the right.)

As usual, they are of excellent quality and make an ideal Valentine’s present (either to yourself or print out this page and leave in an appropiate place as a very broad hint!)

Tasting notes from Jim Murray’s 2012 Whisky Bible.

Glendullan 1995 13 Year Old Managers Choice
Nose: A flawless nose: an absolute perfection of balance between purring barley and fresh fruit, especially apples. Just love the new-mown hay. In fact, everything about this, especially that mix of old and new characteristics.

Taste: Intriguing combination of ripening fruit and young-ish make: has a suet pudding feel but with extra addition of thick sultana and reduced sauce.

Finish: A long, leviathan of rich fruit, dappled with barley and vanilla.

Balance: A bit like finding a perfectly preserved old Merc with low mileage: performs as beautifully as it does effortlessly and offers a priceless symmetry between simplicity and style. Whoever chose these casks deserves a medal struck. And take this one at body temp only.

Cask No: 12718 No of Bottles: 636 Distilled: 1995 Bottled: 2009

93.5 Points – Jim Murray’s 2012 Whisky Bible.
£144.00
Glenlossie 1999 9 Year Old Managers Choice
Nose: A delicate trace of lime to the barley: what an understated, fragile, uber sexy nose.

Taste: Unusual in that the first wave on delivery appears to be a thin, oily note. This is promptly followed by the young barley water, threatening a sharpness but dampened by the lightest scattering of icing sugar; mouth watering, and youthful;

Finish: Even with the custard powder arrival, never a hint of anything that is remotely non kindergarten.

Balance: One of the most impressive examples of Speyside malt, apparently not even out of nappies but treating you to a spectacular display of barley in all its beauty. Confirmation, barley needed, that with Clynelish, this has to be Diageo’s most under-rated distillery.

Cask No: 14098 No of Bottles: 207 Distilled: 1999 Bottled: 2009

92.5 Points – Jim Murray’s 2012 Whisky Bible.
£176.00
Knockando 1996 12 Year Old Managers Choice-Sherry Cask
Nose: I think my staff have poured me the wrong stuff: they’ve opened up some pot still Demerara, right…? Wrong. No definitely from the Knockando sample. Well, well, well…let’s just say it’s a fruity, sugary, rich start on the nose.

Taste: Actually, I don’t care if this is rum or whisky. When you get flavours this beautifully defined, a body this sublimely structure…it really doesn’t much matter. Oozes fruity, beautifully natural sweetened quality and complexity.

Finish: A slight bitterness on the finish where, for the first time, there is a minor blemish, but the array of sugars still make for something memorable…and absolutely 100% nothing like I have tasted from any previous Knockando.

Balance: I have been in the Demerara region Guyana, crawled around a rum warehouse at a rum distillery and opened a cask of rum which has less rum characteristics than this rumbustuous chappie. Quite a rum do.

Cask No: 800790 No of Bottles: 599 Distilled: 1996 Bottled: 2009

94 Points – Jim Murray’s 2012 Whisky Bible.
£184.00

More information can be obtained from Mark at:-
EDENCROFT FINE WINES
8-10 Hospital Street
NANTWICH
Cheshire
CW5 5RJ

www.edencroft.co.uk

Tel: 01270 629 975
Mob: 07974 650 998

Master of Malt Stock Diamond Jubilee Whisky

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Glen Grant 60 Diamond Jubilee Whisky

Glen Grant 60 Diamond Jubilee Whisky

Well that’s timing!

Hot on the heels of my blog announcing the release of a very special whisky – matured for 60 years, and bottled in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (see below); Master of Malt have just let me know that they now stock it!

That was quick!

Bottled on 2nd February 2012, and distilled on 2nd February 1952, this whisky has matured in a Sherry cask for a full 60 years, making it one of the oldest whiskies ever released for sale. The whisky has been bottled by legendary Scottish Bottlers Gordon and Macphail.

The whisky is packaged in a beautiful handmade decanter, individually numbered (only 85 decanters are available worldwide), and is sure to become a collector’s item almost immediately.

Master of Malt have compiled tasting notes for the whisky, which read as follows:

Nose: Rich malt, an apple-y freshness which belies its age. A good hit of really decent honey is followed on the tail by cinnamon and allspice.

Palate: Initially slightly mineralic – reminiscent of a well-aged Riesling, as the honey from the nose powers through again. The freshness from the nose is still here – an absolutely magnificently juicy dram. Freshly-picked cherries join the apple, but there’s no hint of them having been stewed, these are fresh as a daisy.

Finish: The official tasting notes for this make mention of the fact that this whisky bitters out towards the end. I don’t get that at all. The freshness powers through, bringing still more of that tangy, sweet goodness with it. The spices make themselves more known towards the death, with the Cinnamon and Allspice being joined by just a touch of the Clove.

Overall: An absolutely magnificent whisky. As with previous ‘very well aged’ G&M bottlings, the surprise is how incredibly fresh and juicy it has remained. Were a dram of this presented to ‘her-for-whom-it-was-bottled’, we’d like to think she’d get on with it very well. Kudos, G&M.

You can buy a bottle of Glen Grant 60 Years old Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee (1952-2012) for £7995 here.

Rare £8,000 whisky marks Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

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The Rare whisky launched to mark Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

The Rare whisky launched to mark Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Rare whisky launched to mark Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

A 60 year old Single Malt Whisky is being launched today in honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee by one of the world’s leading malt whisky specialists Gordon & MacPhail.

The Elgin based and family-run Single Malt Whisky specialist has released only 85 bottles of Glen Grant 60 Years Old.

Distilled on 2nd February 1952, four days before the Queen acceded the throne, the whisky was bottled on 2nd February 2012 at cask strength, making it exactly 60 years old.

Gordon & MacPhail’s Joint Managing Director Michael Urquhart said: “Glen Grant 60 Years Old is a rare single malt whisky and we are delighted to be releasing it to mark the celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.

With whisky of this quality and rarity – each bottle comes with a certificate of authenticity – we expect considerable interest, not just in the UK, but from the international marketplace where recent export figures have shown we have an avid consumer following.

In producing the packaging for this remarkable Single Malt we worked with Scottish craftsmen, allowing us to showcase some of the finest talent in the country.”

Gordon & MacPhail Glen Grant 60 Years Old is described as having poise and great complexity, displaying aromas of Cox’s Pippins and Granny Smith apples, laced with cinnamon and root ginger.

The palate reveals the age and depth of character as rich, burnt fruit notes mingle with a drying, spicy edge and a dusting of white pepper.

G&M's 1952 Cask

G&M's 1952 Cask

The Single Malt is presented in a pyramid shaped crystal decanter adorned with a diamond shaped stopper. Each decanter is expertly engraved – the script in-filled with silver – and uniquely numbered.

The decanter carries an engraved crown with a sparking Swarovski crystal, set at the meeting point of the crowns two arches. A silver collar, placed around the neck of the decanter completes the presentation.

The decanter is packaged in a hand-crafted box made of Scottish Elm, felled a short distance from Holyrood House, the Queen’s official Scottish residence. The decanter nestles in the box lined with luxurious, purple Harris

Tweed and a dust jacket made from the same material protects the box and the precious contents.

The limited edition bottles are expected to sell for around £8,000 per bottle.

TASTING NOTE:

After maturing slowly for sixty years the result is a beautifully balanced Single Malt with poise and great complexity. The introduction to the whisky is one of fresh fruit and spices – aromas of Cox’s Pippins and Granny Smith apples,
laced with cinnamon and root ginger. In the background linger subtle hints of lavender and rose petals, all wrapped in a sweet, toffee parcel.
A sip of the whisky reveals the age and depth of character. Initially there are hints of cedar wood and freshly cut grass. However, these are quickly replaced by rich, burnt fruit notes with a drying, spicy edge and a dusting of white pepper.
A smokiness twists its way through the flavour leaving a slightly bitter, treacle toffee finish.

A Special Offer From The English Whisky Co.

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SPECIAL OFFER FOR FEBRUARY

SPECIAL OFFER FOR FEBRUARY

The English Whisky Co. have a rather nice offer for their distillery tours for February. Here are the details:-

SPECIAL OFFER FOR FEBRUARY.

Spend £35 or more on English Whisky products in the distillery shop during February and they will give you 1 free tour voucher OR you can come for a tour of the distillery and receive a £5 discount at the end to spend on English Whisky products.

I’d give it a go, especially for us lot who don’t live in Bonnie Scotland as it often adds up to a much shorter trip! (They are based in Norfolk.)

I went last summer and would recommend it. Warm welcome, great tour and a nice malt at the end.

How can you beat that?

They aim to run a tour every hour on the hour from 10am til 4pm. 7 days per week.

This tour includes coffee or tea and of course a slug of our finest malt, which is well worth the visit in itself!

The tours cost £5 per person or £2 for under 18’s. They also offer group discounts.

Pop over to their website: English Whisky Co. or give them a call on: 01953 717939

Master Of Malt – New Malt Whisky Samples!

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Master Of Malt's Sample Collection!

Master Of Malt's Sample Collection!

The ‘Chaps’ at Master Of Malt have excelled themselves again with a great new set of malt whisky samples (plus one honourary Vodka.)

To be honest I had to wrestle the parcel from the Postie who seemed hell bent on taking the sample package back to the depot. I think they have a nose for these kind of things!

Anyway, after a half-mile chase down the street in stockinged feet I was able to lay claim to a fine set of new samples from the Master Of Malt guys.

I eagerly ripped open the packaging (my strength knows no bounds when motivated) and here’s what my trembling hands revealed:-

Bunnahabhain 20 Year Old 1990 – Single Cask
Inchgower 29 Year Old – Single Cask
St Isidore
Besmoked Vodka

After tasting the samples (in a controlled scientific environment) I shall blog again with my taste buds results.

I dream about days like this …

Edencroft Fine Wines – Glenmorangie 25 Year Old “Generations of Wisdom”

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Mark from Edencroft Wine & Spirit Specialists has dropped us a line with some advance news about a new Glenmorangie malt whisky due for April release.

Edencroft Fine Wines - Glenmorangie 25 Year Old "Generations of Wisdom"

Edencroft Fine Wines - Glenmorangie 25 Year Old "Generations of Wisdom"

It’s the Glenmorangie 25 Year Old “Generations of Wisdom”

Every release of the 25 year old is special, however, this year’s is even more so.

A limited number of 25 year old purchasers will receive a shareholder pack, which gives details of a Commemorative cask to be laid-down in 2012, an opportunity to come and sign the cask at the Distillery and after 25 years, the shareholder to send in share certificate to receive a free personalised bottle of 25 Year Old.

The Glenmorangie 25 Year Old “Generations of Wisdom” will be released in April, if you would like a bottle and shareholder pack reserving, please drop an email to Mark me as soon as possible as they will only receive a very limited supply of this release. (Details below.)

About Glenmorangie 25 Year Old
The rarest and oldest member of the Glenmorangie family, this is a single malt of notable class and intensity. Full bodied and sumptuous, the Glenmorangie 25 Years Old is the real embodi-ment of our continued dedication to perfection.

Matured in a range of casks including American white oak, Oloroso sherry casks and French Burgundy casks before being blended back together in exact quantities, the Glenmorangie Quarter Century is complex, bursting with deep flavours, and a perfect testimony to our knowledge and experience.

Aroma: The first impression is of dried fruits – blackberries, cher-ries, plums and dates interwoven with chocolate and coffee.

Taste: Big and full-flavoured. Deep forest fruits burst on the tongue with mouth-watering blackberries and redcurrants emerging with bramble jelly.

Finish: Long and gentle, with brambles and warming spices.

Colour: Old gold.

More information can be obtained from Mark at:-
EDENCROFT FINE WINES
8-10 Hospital Street
NANTWICH
Cheshire
CW5 5RJ

www.edencroft.co.uk

Tel: 01270 629 975
Mob: 07974 650 998

Master of Malt Seeks Online Editor (includes Dramming Allowance!)

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Master of Malt Seeks Online Editor (includes Dramming Allowance!)

Master of Malt Seeks Online Editor (includes Dramming Allowance!)

Online spirits retailer Master of Malt seeks a new Online Editor for an exciting, challenging role in the spirits and drinks industry, with a competitive salary and incredible job perks including a monthly whisky allowance!
As Online Editor, you will be responsible for Master of Malt’s online presence. This includes writing, maintaining and updating all the content on the website, as well as creating press releases; writing blog posts; coming up with products and content for email newsletters; writing detailed information and tasting notes for new products; and creating and updating information on brands, distilleries, regions, spirits and their styles.

The successful candidate will also be the voice of Master of Malt, crafting its PR message and ensuring its delivery. This requires a thorough understanding of social media such as Twitter, Facebook and other networks, and the ability to manage Master of Malt’s presence on them. An extension of this involves representing the company at various industry events, tastings and trips.

The successful applicant will have an absolutely impeccable grasp of the English Language; faultless Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation are essential. You’ll need a high level of competence in all Microsoft Office products (especially Excel), a good knowledge of HTML & CSS, and very good skills in all products in the Adobe Creative Suite.

A keen knowledge of whisky and other spirits is a must-have, as is a decent working knowledge of Wine and Champagne. Training will be provided, but a solid foundation is a necessity.

Perks of the job:

– A monthly “Dramming Allowance” of whisky to improve your tasting knowledge.
– The chance to work within the exciting, ever-changing spirits industry
– Frequent tastings, seminars and trips to distilleries!
– The opportunity to work in a face-paced, creative working environment
– Competitive salary

The hours are Monday-Friday 09:00 – 17:30, working in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

If you feel this role is for you then please send a CV and a covering letter to:-
Ben Ellefsen, Sales Director (ben[ *** at *** ]masterofmalt.com). All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Burns Night Extravaganza with The Whisky Exchange at Vinopolis

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Burns Night Extravaganza with The Whisky Exchange at Vinopolis

Burns Night Extravaganza with The Whisky Exchange at Vinopolis

The Whisky Exchange and Vinopolis present…
Burns Night Whisky, Food & Fun, with Simon & Franchi from Simply Whisky.
Wednesday 25th January, 7:00pm

Yes, it’s that time of the year again. Not that we have any complaints!

The annual Whisky Exchange Burns Night Whisky celebration has enlisted the fine services of Simon Roser and Franchi Ferla from Simply Whisky.com – a Scottish duo who are virtuosos in the art of tongue-in-cheek entertainment.
Simon & Franchi’s tasting in Vinopolis at the start of 2011 went down a storm and ranks as one of the best (and funniest) tasting evenings The Whisky Exchange has ever held.

Simon & Franchi will be bringing with them pipers, drummers, live music and of course a few extra surprises to keep you all in fine spirits throughout the evening.
Of course, no Burns Night would be complete without just a little Highland dancing, so to that end an invite has gone out to Licence to Ceilidh. They will be coming along to the dinner and be on-hand to teach you a few moves and set the night off!

There's a great line-up of drams to keep you in fine spirits for this delightful evening!

There's a great line-up of drams to keep you in fine spirits for this delightful evening!

Don’t worry! … you don’t have to be wearing a kilt or a ballgown on the night – there’s no dress code for the dinner, but don’t forget your dancing shoes!

You will be greeted on arrival with a whisky cocktail, before each course of the dinner is matched with a different whisky and accompanied by wine, beer and soft drinks. After dinner there will be a free bar sponsored by Chivas Brothers to accompany the dancing, open until 11:30pm with carriages at midnight.

The Whisky Exchange has put together a great line-up of drams to keep you in fine spirits for this delightful evening:-

* Chivas Brothers will be starting the evening by showing off some cocktails as well as running the post dinner bar featuring the middleweight champion of Speyside – The Glenlivet
* They will also be behind the delicious pairing of Scapa 16 year old with Cock-a-Leekie soup.
* Whyte & Mackay are beefing up the main course of Haggis, Neeps & Tatties with a little Isle of Jura 16 year old
* Glenfiddich will be on hand to wash down your Clootie Dumplings with a goodly dose of the 14 year old Rich Oak.
* For the final dram of the meal, we’ll be serving coffee with the Isle of Skye’s finest malt, the Talisker Distiller’s Edition.

Tickets are priced at £89 per person, and full tables of 8 are available at a 10% discount if you are looking for a corporate / party booking.
They are available by calling Vinopolis directly on +44 (0)20 7940 8300, or online.

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