Friday, December 9, 2011

New Look for Talisker

NEW LOOK FOR TALISKER™

TALISKER™, the celebrated Single Malt Scotch Whisky from the Isle of Skye, is being given a new family identity as it continues to grow in markets around the world.
The single malt whisky itself has, of course, not changed.

What’s new?

Powerful maritime photography on the new outer cartons and more prominent maps of Skye on both cartons and bottle labels now anchor the brand more strongly in its rugged island home and emphasise its Made by the Sea character.

Stunning photography

The wrap-around images on the new cartons were shot by Skye-based photographer Cailean Maclean, and feature stormy waves crashing against the Isle of Skye’s rocky and mountainous coast.  Cailean’s photography transforms into a striking coastal vista when two cartons stand side by side. The images are reinforced by Cailean’s signed commentary on each scene.
Skye's rocky coast stars on new Talisker pack
Cailean’s photography features on most cartons, but the Talisker 18 year old carton carries an equally turbulent seascape image by Scottish photographer and Skye enthusiast Angus Bremner.

‘It speaks to our roots’

Mark Lochhead, manager at Talisker Distillery on Skye, is enthusiastic about the new designs: “Talisker is made by the sea in every sense of the word, just as all our lives are shaped by the elements here on Skye. To have this captured in these new designs is exciting for everyone here. At the same time it both speaks to our own roots and helps consumers understand what kind of place Skye is.
“More than this, the strong impression I think the new packaging gives is of a family united, of all the expressions of Talisker now being brought together in one design family, so that Talisker can march forward strongly as a brand in its own right. And understandably, I rather like that idea!
The redesigns were carried out by Claessens International, the drinks brand design consultancy.
Evolved label design for Talisker single malt Scotch whisky
James Boulton at Claessens  said: “ “The new Talisker designs are born of our experience, meeting the people at the distillery and seeing at first hand how Talisker relates to its home, the Isle of Skye. Armed with that understanding and building on earlier ‘maritime’ designs, we have added a richness of detail and a ruggedness to reinforce what Talisker stands for and what kind of place it comes from.”

Phased introduction

The new designs are being introduced onto bottles and cartons progressively, as new stocks are bottled and distributed. Talisker 10 year old will be the first to see the new carton in Great Britain before Christmas 2011 and the revised labels will follow shortly in the New Year.
In Great Britain, for Christmas 2011, the new carton for the 10 year old will initially carry the RNLI flash  that signals the brand’s support for this famous British maritime charity. In some cases the new cartons will enclose the old-style bottles until stocks are sold through.
The new standard carton and bottle designs for Talisker 10 year old will then launch into GB and other markets in the first quarter of 2012. The new designs for other Talisker expressions will be introduced throughout the remainder of 2012.
At the same time Diageo has announced that from 2011, Talisker 25 year old and Talisker 30 year old will be available on a regular basis within the Talisker range – although necessarily in limited editions, and bottled at the traditional Talisker strength of 45.8% ABV. In the past, these long-aged expressions of Talisker have been issued at cask strength in Diageo’s annual Special Releases series.

Cardhu 15 YO

Cardhu 15 ans,
en exclusivité pour vous


En cette fin d’année, la découverte de dix whiskies d’exception et une offre exclusive sont au programme pour vous, vos amis et votre famille!
 

Cher Friend,
 
A l’occasion des fêtes, les Classic Malts proposent tant de superbes whiskies à découvrir que nous avons créé un Guide pour vous accompagner. Pour le télécharger, cliquez simplement ici.

Vous y trouverez des présents adaptés à tous les moyens et envies, pour des amateurs de whisky de malt de tous horizons, jusqu’au plus exigeants des connaisseurs! Des whiskies parfaits pour la famille, pour des amis chers, et peut-être même pour vous?

Les coffrets accompagnés de verres, de Cardhu 12 ans, Talisker 10 ans et The Singleton of Dufftown 12 ans sont certains d’attirer le regard à leur ouverture sous le sapin, et ne coûtent pas plus que les étuis habituels. L’idéal pour vos amis?

Si vous recherchez des embouteillages vraiment spéciaux, laissez-nous vous présenter notre sélection de single malts rares. Choisirez-vous un Singleton of Dufftown 15 ou 18 ans richement fruité, un Caol Ila 25 ans sublimement fumé ou une élégante édition limitée annuelle? Lagavulin 12 ans et Caol Ila Unpeated 12 ans sont deux whiskies très populaires dans cette gamme de bruts de fût, et font d’excellents cadeaux. Pour le chef de famille, toutefois, il ne faudra certainement rien de moins qu’un frais et élégant Glenkinchie 20 ans? Faites vite, les stocks de ces whiskies sont très limités.

A l’achat de deux bouteilles de n’importe lequel de nos grands whiskies, nous vous les enverrons en port gratuit. Commandez simplement en ligne.

Et maintenant, que diriez-vous d’un petit quelque chose pour vous, vous le méritez sûrement après toutes ces emplettes? Nous vous proposons un single malt absolument extraordinaire en avant-première: Cardhu 15 ans d’âge embouteillé en 2011, disponible uniquement pour les Friends. Vous pourrez ainsi être l’un des premiers à expérimenter son velouté et sa richesse inoubliable.

J’espère que vous serez heureux de réserver une place de choix à ces Classic Malts pendant les fêtes... En attendant, je vous adresse mes meilleurs voeux de fin d’année depuis l’Ecosse.

Slàinte!

Andy Cant
Manager, Cardhu

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

BENRIACH AND GLENDRONACH LOOK BACK OVER A UNIQUE AWARD-WINNING YEAR

BENRIACH AND GLENDRONACH LOOK BACK OVER A UNIQUE AWARD-WINNING YEAR

AS 2011 draws to a close, the BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd - owners of BenRiach and GlenDronach - has been looking back on its most successful year ever.

Managing Director Billy Walker said: "We have been very fortunate to win a number of top awards this year which reflect the passion our people bring to the art of whisky creation.

"They are also testament to the huge amount of time and energy we dedicate to our wood management programme."

Billy highlighted three awards of which he was especially proud this year.

First, at the 2011 Malt Maniacs Awards, the company won two gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

The GlenDronach 1972 bottling of cask 712 was the best overall whisky in the competition. 1972 cask # 712 was bottled earlier this year as part of the fourth batch of GlenDronach single cask bottlings. That meant that, for the second year running, a 1972 GlenDronach won best overall whisky; the previous year was a 1972 bottling from cask 700, a Taiwan exclusive.

Also at Malt Maniacs, of only eight gold medals up for grabs, GlenDronach won two while the recently-launched GlenDronach 21 year-old "Parliament" and the BenRiach 1976 cask # 6942 (from Batch 8) both won silver.

Second, Billy was also gratified by numerous excellent reviews in Jim Murray's 2012 Whisky Bible.

"Jim made a number of very kind comments in his new book, but the highpoint was his singling out GlenDronach as the distillery with the most consistently impressive output throughout 2011.

"He very generously concluded by saying: "If there was a Whisky Bible Scotch Malt Whisky Distillery of the year, GlenDronach would be it."

"That was very special."

In the "Bible", there were fantastic scores for two relatively new expressions - the BenRiach 12 year-old Sherry Matured and BenRiach 15 year-old Solstice.

The GlenDronach 1992 bottling of cask 161 (from Batch 4) gained 96 points and was voted 'single malt - single cask of the year in the 16 - 21 year-old section'.

The GlenDronach 18 year-old went one better and achieved 96.5 points as did the BenRiach 1971 cask # 1947 (Batch 8) while the GlenDronach 1972 cask # 712 (Batch 4) achieved 95.5 points. BenRiach 1976 # 6942 (Batch 8) gained 95 points and there were stunning performances from three of the five GlenDronach single cask bottlings from Batch Five, released only last week, which also scored 95 plus.

And finally, Sales Director Alistair Walker looked back on a phenomenal IWSC this year at which BenRiach and GlenDronach won an unprecedented nine awards including two trophies.

"IWSC is the one every whisky producer wants to win. It's the most prestigious competition of its kind in the world and carries huge weight and credibility through its reputation and history. As you might expect, we were ecstatic to do so well."

Star of the IWSC show was the BenRiach 12 year-old sherry matured which won two trophies while the BenRiach 20 year-old also picked up a gold medal.

Said Alistair: "For a small independent distillery like BenRiach, to win two trophies for the same single malt was astounding - especially when you consider all the big multi-nationals which also participated."

Our pictures show the GlenDronach 1972 cask # 712 and the BenRiach 1976 cask # 6942.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

laphroaig newsletter

Winter has truly arrived at Laphroaig, with winds exceeding 95 MPH yesterday! It’s been a great year for us at Laphroaig; in fact it’s been another record production year for us - ensuring we keep you in your whisky! As well as that we’ve been pretty busy with some other things.
As you all know we launched a new look website earlier in the year, as well as a new, improved online shop. I’ve had some great feedback which I really appreciate, as after all it’s your site really so we wanted to ensure you were happy with it. As always, if you have any suggestions on things you’d like to see, let me know.
I’ve been busy travelling, meeting as many Friends of Laphroaig as I could. Thanks to everyone I met along the way in North America; Australia; New Zealand; Asia; Germany and of course the UK. It was great to get out further afield this year due to the Laphroaig Live video production. If you haven’t yet watched it, it’s a great show. You’ll find the link on the website homepage.
We’ve also had a couple of weddings up at the distillery. It’s always such a pleasure when Friends of Laphroaig want to share their special day with us - it’s a true honour. Our best wishes to both couples, we hope them a long and happy marriage.
I’d also like to extend my best wishes to Eddie Morris, our Warehouseman who is retiring after 28.5 years with us here at Laphroaig - we wish him all the best in his retirement.
Now, as you know we usually send you a festive eCard at this time of year. However this year we thought you might like a change and so we’ve created an online Friends of Laphroaig Advent Calendar instead!
Just go to http://laphroaig.createsend4.com/t/r/l/ijtkdjy/miykdiddt/j/ and you will find our virtual Advent Calendar with 24 windows. Every day during the run up to Christmas, a different Friend of Laphroaig will win a special Laphroaig gift; these vary from four of our finest whiskies to some lovely merchandise from the Laphroaig shop. Each day a new window can be opened by clicking on it to reveal the prize and the winning plot number. If it’s your plot number then you have won the day’s gift! It’s as simple as that.
Talking of Christmas, we have some great new items in our shop that we hope will make great gifts. My favourite is our new Islay Christmas hamper with a super selection of Islay and Scottish produce including of course a bottle of Laphroaig. We also have a Christmas pudding cheese for UK FOLs and a very Scottish gift of ‘Tablet’ (it’s a bit like fudge). It comes in 3 varieties; including a tablet infused with Laphroaig 10 year old. If you have a sweet tooth you will love it!
If you are planning to get some Christmas gifts online, be sure to order in time as our last posting dates are fast approaching:
UK - 18th December
Europe - 8th December
International - 4th December
We’ve got some exciting plans for 2012 both here at the distillery and also for our Friends of Laphroaig. I’ll be writing to you in the New Year with some more information.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy our Advent calendar and I’d like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year.
Best Wishes
John Campbell
John Campbell
Distillery Manager, Laphroaig

Malt Maniacs 2011 Awards

Dear fellow whisky lover,

I'm happy to report that the complete results of the Malt Maniacs Awards 2011 are now available, in the form of two PDF documents;
Full Score Card PDF - all average and indivudual scoresJury Report PDF (14 pages, 800 Kb) - all award winners, legend, comments and more.

That's all for now - I hope you do enjoy the results. All winners will be informed personally over the coming days.