Promotions — Malthound

Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve & Recipes

October 25, 2011 by Gary Leave a Comment

Ballantine’s has announced the release of it’s Christmas whisky, Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve.

Ballantines Christmas Reserve

Created by Master Blender Sandy Hyslop, Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve is a blended whisky available annually for a limited period. First launched in 2010, the expression was a Scotch whisky category first, with its luxury seasonal aromas including cinnamon, orange, raisin, candy apple and pear.

On the nose, Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve is rich, deep and fruity with hints of moist raisin fruitcake and sweet candy apples perfectly balanced out by caramel toffees and soft ripe pears. It tastes sweet with succulent tangy orange and a superb liquorice root and ginger flavour. The finish is very long, round and sweet.

Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve is ideal served on its own over ice or as the base for a range of seasonal cocktails. To support the 2011 launch, Ballantine’s Brand Ambassador Fredrik Olsson has created a series of seasonal cocktails, including ‘Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve Golden Saffron Martini’, ‘Ballantine’s Spiced Hot Chocolate’ and ‘Ballantine’s Hot Christmas Punch’.

Ballantines Christmas Reserve Hot Christmas Punch

Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve cocktails

Ballantine’s Hot Christmas Punch

3 parts Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve
1 part Apricot Liqueur
2 parts Spiced Berry Cordial
8 parts Hot Water

Method: In a large punchbowl with candle heat, build the ingredients with the boiling water to taste.
Glass: Punchbowl
Garnish: Orange Peel, raspberries and raisins

Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve Golden Saffron Martini

50ml Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve
15ml Saffron infused sugar syrup
5ml Hazelnut Liqueur
25ml Double Cream

Method: Shake and strain
Glass: Martini
Garnish: Saffron threads

Ballantine’s Spiced Hot Chocolate

50ml Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve
3/4 Mug of quality hot chocolate
Mini marshmallows
Chocolate sauce

Method: Make hot chocolate, add the Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve and top with garnish
Glass: Cup
Garnish: Marshmallows and chocolate sauce

You can buy Ballantine Blended Whisky from:-

The Whisky Exchange
Master of Malt
Edencroft Fine Wine & Spirit Specialists
Whisky Online

Smokehead Malt Whisky – A Novel Approach

March 18, 2011 by Gary Leave a Comment

Smokehead Islay Single Malt Whisky - A Novel Approach

Smokehead Islay Single Malt Whisky has formed a partnership with its namesake book, Smokeheads, the brand new release by Scottish writer Doug Johnstone.

Smokeheads is set on the famous whisky producing island of Islay, home to the mystery distillery which produces Smokehead Single Malt. The book follows four late-thirties ex-university mates heading to Islay with a serious thirst. ‘Four friends, one weekend, gallons of whisky. What could go wrong?’

Well quite a lot!

Over a weekend soaked in the finest cask-strength spirit, events spiral out of control, they are all thrown into a nightmare that gets worse at every turn.

Smokehead Single Malt sponsored the book’s launch event, held in Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms, where ‘Smoke and Coke’ was flowing, adding to the atmospheric reading by the author.

Doug Johnstone reading from his new novel

If the storyline of the book has whetted your reading appetite then you can win copies at www.faber.co.uk/work/smokeheads or win bottles of Smokehead plus exclusive discount codes offering 10% off bottles of Smokehead for readers at www.smokehead.co.uk.

Smokehead is available from The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt

Tasting notes:
Nose: Heavy smoke and peat. Amazing richness. Lemon, fresh ginger, plum jam. Salty and spicy.
Body: Like a cannonball – hits the palate at once with cocoa, peat and some honey sweetness then explodes with peppery spice and more earthy peat. Spreads to all the areas of your mouth with more peat and light sweetness.
Finish: Even more peat, spice, mandarin – then dries up. When you think it’s all over the peat comes back to hit you again.
Impression: A rollercoaster of peat and spice with some delicate sweetness.

Smokeheads Book Cover

VisitScotland finds Smokehead just the ticket

January 27, 2011 by Gary Leave a Comment

VisitScotland finds Smokehead just the ticket

Following successful partnerships with iconic rock brands such as Marshall Amps and Classic Rock Magazine, Smokehead Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky is now celebrating Glasgow’s vibrant music scene with an exciting new competition with VisitScotland.

Promoted as part of VisitScotland’s seasonal Winter White campaign, Smokehead is now selling all its UK standard bottles with on-pack promotional stickers offering fans the chance to win a luxury two night break in Scotland’s largest, brightest city. Staying at the five star Glasgow Hilton, the lucky winner and guest will also receive their choice of music gig tickets for the SECC, courteous of TicketSoup.com.

The prize also includes breakfast both mornings, evening meals at The Hilton’s stylish Cameron Restaurant and Ashton Lane’s popular Grosvenor Bistro, entry to the West End’s Viper Club, £300 travel/spending money and of course a special bottle of Smokehead Whisky.

Iain Weir of Smokehead Whisky said: “Glasgow has one of the most exciting music scenes in the UK and working with VisitScotland to promote this is the perfect way for us to build on Smokehead’s growing rock credentials, offering a competition that will really appeal to our target customer base.

“With our continued support for fantastic events such as this summer’s High Voltage music festival and the Marshall Ultimate Band Contest, this is set to be a big music year for Smokehead. The Winter White promotion with VisitScotland is the ideal start to 2011.”

Described as being like a cannonball, Smokehead is an explosive combination of peat, smoke and spice with some delicate sweetness. The single malt flavour is described as fresh, fruity and immense, with notes of sherry, iodine, toffee, smoke and sea salt. The taste hits the palate at once with cocoa, peat and some honey sweetness, before exploding with peppery spice and more earthy peat.

The Competition closes on 14th. March 2011.

Tasting notes:
Nose:
Heavy smoke and peat. Amazing richness. Lemon, fresh ginger, plum jam. Salty and spicy.
Body:
Like a cannonball – hits the palate at once with cocoa, peat and some honey sweetness then explodes with peppery spice and more earthy peat. Spreads to all the areas of your mouth with more peat and light sweetness.
Finish:
Even more peat, spice, mandarin – then dries up. When you think it’s all over the peat comes back to hit you again.
Impression
A rollercoaster of peat and spice with some delicate sweetness.

An Alternative View for Malts?

December 23, 2010 by Gary Leave a Comment

Could we ever see Malt Whisky promoted like this?

Well the above is obviously not a Malt Whisky advert. It’s promoting Heineken.

But could this style of promotion ever be used to promote a famous malt brand?

The advert is extremly well done; slick, amusing, provoking, attention grabbing etc., etc. …. and obviously expensive to produce.

So why not use the above sort of image to stimulate us dram drinkers? After all were not a bunch of fogey, sit in front of the fire reading a good book types are we?

I don’t think a little bit of excitement is going to give me a heart attack just yet.

What I’m saying is, malt advertising can be, a bit vintage dull. A rose tinted, sepia-toned fantasy of life-gone-by.

Well I like that image too, it works and suits this type of spirit but not all the time!

I’d like to see something different for some of our mainstream malts.

And an advertising campaign like the one above may just do the trick.

Richard Hawley Announces Exclusive London Gig

November 16, 2010 by Gary Leave a Comment

Richard Hawley Announces Exclusive London Gig

You may remember we have been covering Glenfiddich’s partnership with Richard Hawley on our site.

Well, the final two tracks from Hawley’s new EP – Dufftown Songs – were released yesterday on www.glenfiddich.co.uk, where fans can download them for free, win tickets to an intimate live performance and watch exclusive footage of Richard in the studio.

Not bad!

Richard Hawley

The new tracks are called “The River” and “Opening the Bottle” and represent a new direction for Hawley, who recently called The River “one of the favourite pieces of music I have ever written.”

The world exclusive live premiere of the “Dufftown Songs” will take place at the Albannach in Trafalgar Square on 6th December, where Richard and a select group of musicians will be performing the new tracks plus additional songs from Richard’s extensive back catalogue.
(Tickets to the invitation-only gig are available from www.glenfiddich.co.uk/richardhawley ).

Of his work Richard says:

“I get my inspiration from a wide range of places, so it’s been a real challenge to capture and convey the magical way Glenfiddich transform water into whisky. The live performance is going to be really exciting – these are complex and innovative new tracks which will be a challenge to pull off live.”

The artists on “Dufftown Songs” include harpist, Julia Thornton, David Coulter on musical saw, Shez Sheridan on guitar and Kate St. John on cor anglais and other instruments.

If you’d like more information, behind the scenes imagery and details of the partnership, check out www.glenfiddich.co.uk/richardhawley.

Richard Hawley at work in the studio

Richard Hawley Malts Music at Glenfiddich

October 23, 2010 by Gary Leave a Comment

RICHARD HAWLEY HITS THE PERFECT NOTE

– MOJO AWARD WINNER RELEASES FIRST OF THREE EXCLUSIVE NEW TRACKS –

After visiting the Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, earlier this year Richard Hawley, British musical icon and MOJO award winner, has created some stunning new music inspired by the time-honoured art of whisky-making.

Entitled “Dufftown Songs”, the collection of tracks is Richard’s musical interpretation of the pioneering processes he witnessed at the distillery.
The first of the exclusive new tracks has now gone live on www.glenfiddich.co.uk/richardhawley.

Entitled ‘In the Barrel’, the track evokes the claustrophobic feeling of whisky maturing in a barrel and features a unique collaboration of artists including harpist, Julia Thornton, David Coulter on musical saw, Shez Sheridan on guitar and Kate St. John on cor anglais and other instruments.
‘In the Barrel’ can be downloaded for a limited period on www.glenfiddich.co.uk/richardhawley, where fans can also watch exclusive, behind-the-scenes studio footage of Hawley.

Speaking of the partnership, Richard commented: “There’s a certain magic in how Glenfiddich transform water into whisky which I wanted to convey in these songs. It’s been a challenge to write songs which fit the project yet also have wide appeal – something I hope I’ve managed to achieve. I’m looking forward to releasing the other two tracks – “The River” and “Opening the Bottle” – and performing them live later in the year.”

Jamie Milne, the UK brand ambassador from Glenfiddich, comments: “This is the first time the whisky-making process has been captured in song, making the “Dufftown Songs” truly pioneering. Richard’s hard work and creative expertise echoes the pioneering spirit and determination of the people at the Glenfiddich distillery, who are dedicated to producing the best dram in the valley.”

The two remaining tracks from “Dufftown Songs” will go live in November, before Richard performs an exclusive live gig in London in December.

And if you sign up now, you have the chance to win tickets and watch videos of the project so far.
Just go to www.glenfiddich.co.uk/richardhawley.

Glenfiddich Explorers – The Box: Clue No. 4

August 7, 2010 by Gary Leave a Comment

Glenfiddich - The Goodies inside

Yesterday I received the last instalment in the story of the intriguing box from Glenfiddich Explorers.

Clue Number 4 is:-

Your mystery blog is a real exchange of whisky knowledge.

Well after looking at all the clues I reckoned that the blog in question belonged to The Whisky Exchange.

Glenfiddich Label

However, before I could receive a reply from The Whisky Exchange I received the code from Glenfiddich Explorers and was able to get into the mystery box!

Glenfiddich Cask Label

As you can see it contains a bottle of Cask Strength Glenfiidich 15 Year Old Single Malt.

Yahoo!

What a great mystery box and many thanks to Glenfiddich Explorers for sending it to me.

But there is also a chance to be one of the first to visit Warehouse Preview.
It is a new site and gives you the the opportunity to encounter tales of a pioneering spirit and win some great prizes!

It is well worth a visit and don’t forget there are some great Glenfiddich prizes to be won!

Best of luck!

Glenfiddich - Inner Box Text

Glenfiddich Explorers – The Box: Clues No. 2 & 3

August 5, 2010 by Gary Leave a Comment

Glenfiddich Explorers

Yesterday I told you about the intriguing box I received from Glenfiddich Explorers.

Well I received Clues Number 2 & 3 today.

Clue 2 is:-

Voted UK’s No.1 online whisky retailer by Icons of whisky.

Clue 3 is:-

A blog that is summed up as a wealth of whisky blogging goodness.

Glenfiddich have been very clever with this marketing campaign but I think I know who my code holder might be now so I’ve e-mailed them and asked for their 3-digit code.

I’ll not say who I think it is just yet but I reckon that most of you whisky lovers out there will know who I’m talking about.

Unless, of course, Glenfiddich have been really sneaky and sent me up a blind alley!

See you tomorrow for Clue Number 4!

Glenfiddich Explorers – The Box: Clue No. 1

August 4, 2010 by Gary Leave a Comment

I received a very intriguing box today from the folks at Glenfiddich Explorers.

But, as it said on the label, there is a catch. A very big catch indeed. Big and brass.
Attached to the splendid box was a very sturdy looking big brass combination padlock!

So, what to do?

Obviously reach for the hacksaw, chainsaw, bench saw, flame thrower, anything heavy in fact to which I can attack said beefy padlock and wrench nice looking box open to reveal the Glenfiddich goodies inside.

Fortunately reason stepped in before I could step on the box and I noticed the back of the label attached to the padlock. It said to keep a sharp eye on my Inbox today to find out more.
So I did and I received the first of four clues for my efforts.

Apparently I’m one of 10 bloggers to receive this fiendish box from Glenfiddich and each of us have received a combination code to unlock someone elses box, but not mine!

Clue Number 1 which will unlock MY box is as follows:-