Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Glengoyne news

Hello and welcome to our second Glengoyne newsletter of 2013. Spring is finally arriving at the Distillery, the snowdrops are out and leaves are appearing on the trees surrounding the waterfall.
Springtime 2003 was a very special time for us at the Distillery, as it was ten years ago today that Ian Macleod Distillers, took ownership of Glengoyne. As well as being leading Scottish distillers, the company is still independent and family owned, in keeping with our tradition – since it was first established in 1833 Glengoyne has only ever been owned by three families. It’s why we launched the Glengoyne Family and why we’re so pleased you’re a part of it.
New to the Family
We thought our 10th anniversary celebrations would be the perfect time to herald a new look for the Glengoyne Family. So we’ve revamped the Family area on our website and have some exciting things planned for Family members.
Not least is the chance to take part in live online single cask tastings via podcast. As a Family member we’ll be asking for your help in choosing a suitable cask to create an exclusive bottling – you can take part in a web chat, tasting and Q&A session with Distillery Manager Robbie Hughes and Brand Heritage & Commercial Manager Stuart Hendry. A vote for your favourite cask would follow and the most popular cask would be bottled. We’ll let you know when the first event will take place, via email. Naturally, Family members will have the opportunity to purchase a bottle before anyone else.
After all, at Glengoyne we believe in looking after our Family members as well as we look after our whisky. Don’t forget, as a member you receive:
  • Early notice of new releases and limited editions
  • Discounts on selected Glengoyne malts & gifts
  • Special offers from selected partners
  • Glengoyne Family news and events
  • Access to exclusive Family member bottlings
  • The opportunity to be part of the selection panel
  • Family e-newsletter
  • And lots more…
Your chance to win a decanter of 35 Year Old Glengoyne 
Your chance to win a decanter of 35 Year Old Glengoyne
As part of our celebrations, we’re giving you the chance to win a decanter of 35 Year Old Glengoyne worth £3,000.
This exclusive bottling is a rich malt with a tropical fruit intensity and a liquorice and dark chocolate finish. We’ll enter you into the draw automatically and the winner will be announced during 2014.
In the meantime, if you can’t wait that long, the 35 Year Old will be available to buy in the shop in June – as a Family member you’ll be among the first to know exactly when, so look out for our email.
Savour our new Glengoyne and Chocolate tasting tour 
Savour our new Glengoyne and Chocolate tasting tour
They say a balanced diet is a chocolate in each hand, but here at Glengoyne we prefer a chocolate in one and a dram in the other. So we’re delighted to announce our new ‘dram fine’ interactive Chocolate and Whisky-tasting Tour, in partnership with Glasgow-based chocolatier, Nucoco. 

The new Tour offers visitors a chocolate and whisky tasting experience designed specifically to complement our flavour profiles. The matching session will pair the Glengoyne 10 yo with a smooth Nucoco milk chocolate and tablet delight and a hand-crafted 54% dark chocolate with cranberry, whilst in order to go toe to toe with the dried fruit and rich, spicy oak flavours of the Glengoyne 21 yo Nucoco has created a 54% dark chocolate with ginger and a 70% dark chocolate with pistachio. Also included in the new Experience is a tour of the Distillery and a welcome dram of Glengoyne 12 yo.
As well as being part of the new tour at the Distillery, Nucoco chocolates will also be available to purchase at the Distillery shop and online with suggested whisky matches.
It’s no wonder Glengoyne and Nucoco is a perfect partnership – we both believe in offering a premium product that has been produced through investment of time and infinite care. 
Whilst Glengoyne whisky is handcrafted using air-dried barley and oak sherry casks, which are seasoned for six years, Nucoco chocolate is produced from the finest cocoa beans from Asia, Africa and America – all of which combines to produce whisky and chocolate worth savouring.
The Tour costs £20 per person and runs every hour between 10am-4pm. Treat yourself and a chocolate lover to the Tour by calling +44.136.0550.254.
An amazing 10,000 likes
An amazing 10,000 likes
In March, we hit the significant milestone on Facebook of 10,000 likes. We are thrilled to have so many loyal Facebook followers and to celebrate this and thank you all, we launched a competition to win a bottle of our multi-award winning 21 yo malt. Here’s the question to ponder…
10,000 days ago Facebook had not been invented. However in 1985, our craftsmen at Glengoyne were already producing the slowest distilled whisky in Scotland, hand selecting only the finest oak casks and drying our barley by air, never peat.
A sherry butt was filled with our amazing spirit back then and still sleeps in our Dunnage warehouses. However if we were to bottle that whisky today how many cask strength, unchilled filtered, 70cl bottles do you think we would have to tantalise your taste buds with?
A wee clue: the first year our sherry butt gives away 4% ‘angel's share’, then every year thereafter it is an average of 2%.
The competition closes on Thursday 18th April and the person who guesses the nearest figure to the actual number of bottles, wins the 21 yo. There’s still 3 days left to enter, so for your chance to win, please visit our website or Facebook page. Good luck!
The Final Choice - 250/9 bottling
The Final Choice - 250/9 bottling
Between 2005 and 2007, Glengoyne released the landmark series of CHOICE single cask bottles. Having long benefited from the collective experience of the men who make it, we took the decision to let them loose in the warehouses, with the simple instruction to “hunt down your favourite cask”. It was arduous work. Armed only with a head torch and a cracked tumbler, these nine brave men relentlessly opened and evaluated thousands of barrels, butts and hoggies, eventually emerging in ones and twos, blinking into the sunlight. The result was a range of award-winning Single Cask whiskies, which showcased our full range of flavours in an exemplary fashion.
On 12th January 2012, nine of our Distillery workers – Duncan McNicoll, Ewan Hendry, Ronnie Palmer, Jim Leslie, Charlie Murray, Peter Andrew, Robbie Hughes, Billy Edmiston and Deek Morrison – celebrated a combined 250 years service to the whisky industry. To commemorate this milestone, they have put together this unique dram, The Final Choice 250/9 bottling – containing casks whose combined ages total 250 years. The first nine bottles will be presented to our boys, as a liquid long service medal, with the remaining 241 available for sale at the Glengoyne Distillery shop and online. A fine dram indeed.
This very special bottling will be available for the first time in May – watch your email for more details.
Father’s Day at Glengoyne
Dad's go free!
Forget the ties and socks this Father’s Day and treat your Dad to a unique gift from Scotland’s most beautiful distillery. We have two special Glengoyne offers - a bottle of the fantastic, personalised Glengoyne 10 yo and a Tour of the Distillery to see how our unique malt is made. And Dads go free on Sunday 16th June!
As a special treat, we are offering Dads our personalised whisky for the same price as our 10 year old, making a bottle just £33.49 (usual price £38.49).
However for members of the Family, we are offering an additional 10% discount making a bottle just £30.14. The offer ends June 16th, so don’t delay – the last order for delivery before Father’s Day is June 13th.
And on the day itself, tours take place every hour between 12 noon - 4pm.
To book your Dad’s Tour, please call +44.1360.550.254
Glengoyne on the road
Glengoyne is excited to be on the road again. In May we are providing whisky tastings at the Scottish Art Exhibition in London for an annual exhibition of Scottish artist John Lowrie Morrison’s work. Several organisations are hosting evening events at the gallery throughout May and the fantastic 10 and 12 yo malts will be sampled:
  1. Wednesday 8 May: University of Edinburgh London Club

  2. Thursday 9 May: Turner and Townsend

  3. Tuesday 14 May: Glasgow Caledonian University 

  4. Wednesday 15 May: Old Fettesian Association – London Branch

Family members are especially welcome to attend! For more information on the exhibition please click here.
Until next time..
We hope you've enjoyed this edition of the Glengoyne Family newsletter. Don't forget, we'll be back in touch with details of our exclusive bottling launches and our online tasting podcast. Until then, please do visit our new look Family area on the website and keep enjoying Glengoyne.

Slainte!
Robbie Hughes
Distillery Manager

Isle of Jura Whisky Festival, Feis Ile 2013

Your invite to the Jura whisky Festival
Jura single malt whisky - in a world of its own
Jura - You're invited to our 50th birthday party
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the rebirth of the Jura Distillery in 1963, and we’re welcoming you to the island to help us celebrate this milestone on the 29th and 30th of May at the Jura Whisky Festival.
Wednesday 29th May, Thursday 30th May
Get involved in our Whisky Masterclasses, presented by Willie Cochrane, Willie Tait & Richard Paterson. Spend some time in the cooperage savouring a dram at our new dramming bar whilst listening to live music and sampling some local venison burgers.
We’ll also be releasing a unique festival bottling. These 663 bottles will be available only during the festival, with a limited number being released online exclusively for Diurachs on our online shop.
We’ve got loads more planned, even if you’re just coming for a wee visit, so check out the festival programme for more info on what’s happening.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Book now View programme
If you can’t make it to Jura this May, join us on Facebook to win 1 of 10 vials of a secret future release. You can also join in on Twitter by signing up to our live tweet tasting on the Wednesday 29th. Head to @jurawhisky to sign up.
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2013 Jura is a registered trademark of Whyte & Mackay Limited.
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Always drink in moderation.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

MALT WHISKY AND PLACE’ DEBATE: LONDON GASTRONOMY SEMINAR,


MALT WHISKY AND PLACE’ DEBATE: LONDON GASTRONOMY SEMINAR, 30TH JANUARY 2013

London-based colleagues may be interested to know about this forthcoming event arranged by The London Gastronomy Seminars. It is at 6:30pm, on Wednesday 30thJanuary 2013 (approximate duration two hours), at Senate House, University of London.
It will be a discussion, chaired by eminent wine & drinks writer Andrew Jefford.  Representatives from two of the leading Islay distilleries, Bruichladdich and Lagavulin, will each to present their case as to how and why their whisky is distinctive.
The aim will not be to ‘prove’ that ‘terroir exists’ or doesn’t exist for Single Malt Scotch Whisky, but to understand where the differences come from.
Speakers will be Georgie Crawford (Site Operations Manager, Lagavulin Distillery), Jim McEwan (Production Director and Head Distiller, Bruichladdich Distillery), and Dr Nick Morgan (Head of Whisky Outreach, Diageo).
Tickets are being sold at £12. Full details can be found at:http://www.londongastronomyseminars.com/upcoming.htm
And also on Facebook.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Springbank whisky auction for charity


Springbank Distillers has joined forces with independent whisky vlogger extraordinaire
Ralfy and Scotch Whisky Auctions to put forward a unique bottle to be auctioned to raise
money for local primary school children.
The specially-labelled bottle of Springbank, which is 17 years old and comes from a port
cask, has been signed by Distillery Manager Gavin McLachlan and is accompanied by a
20cl "tasting sample" and a coveted, individually-numbered, Springbank local barley
canvas print which has been signed by Springbank's production team.
It is being auctioned by Scotch Whisky Auctions, who have waived their usual fees, and
promoted jointly by ralfy.com and Springbank.
The money raised will be donated to Campbeltown's Dalintober Primary School, who will
use it to develop and equip their school allotments. The allotments are tended and
maintained by the pupils themselves, growing fresh vegetables for use in the school
kitchen. In addition to providing a good supply of produce for the school, the allotments
also encourage pupils to take pride in their work and provide a fresh-air activity for them to
enjoy.
Ralfy commented: "ralfy.com has become established in only three years as one of the
most prominent, eccentric and original whisky sites on the internet pioneering the
dysfunctional but entertaining Vlog (Video Blog) format to opine, educate and simply share
experienced whisky-stuff/reviews with anyone who is interested in Scotch Whisky.
"After very successful partnerships with Bladnoch Distillery in 2010 and Benromach
Distillery in 2011, the theme of a partnership bottling for a specific distillery-local good
cause continues here in 2012 with that most iconic craft Scotch Malt Distillery which we
know as Springbank.
"Springbank have donated a one-off hand-prepared and dated, manager-signed bottle of
cask strength 17yo port matured single malt whisky along with a 20cl sampler and quality
canvas limited edition staff-signed old-labelling poster. The bottle is the only one of its kind
stating on the label '1 of 1' and as such is outstandingly unique for any distillery to
release."
Ralfy is adding to this package with a memory stick All-Vlog collection of videos relating to
the auction along with a private Vlog for the fortunate buyer, plus handwritten tasting
notes, a hand-made whisky dropper, and a yet-to-be-declared special addition!
The Scottish-based on-line Auctioneers scotchwhiskyauctions.com are, for a second year,
presenting the auction free of buyer's commission and continue to enjoy a growing
reputation as one of the internet's best sources for rare and valuable whiskies.
Ralfy added: "Show us your bids Malt-mates and lets raise all we can for Dalintober
Primary School children. The school are using the produce grown on the allotment in the
school canteen and any excess is then sold to staff and parents.
"This project needs funds for a tool shed, assorted tools, seeds, fertilisers and protective
clothing. Thanks for looking at this auction lot."
The auction will go live this Friday, November 23rd, at www.scotchwhiskyauctions.com.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Angels Share News, tasting, book,



Am letzten Wochenende durfte ich zusammen mit vielen interessierten Gästen an zwei Abenden in einem jeweils voll besetzten Angels Share Inn das Erscheinen der vollständig überarbeiteten und erweiterten Neuausgabe meines Buches
»Whisky – Die Enzyklopädie« 

feiern.

Ein herzliches Dankeschön an alle, die gekommen sind, um bei Geselligkeit, gutem Essen und einigen echten Whiskyraritäten mit mir zusammen diesen besonderen Moment zu feiern. Ich schicke aber auch ein grosses Exgüsi an alle, welche gerne gekommen wären, aber keinen Platz mehr hatten!

Kaum ist dieser Anlass vorbei, kommt schon der nächste:

Das
Whiskyschiff Zürich 2012 
öffnet seine Pforten vom 29. November bis und mit 2. Dezember.

Auch das Angels Share ist wieder mit einem schönen Stand vertreten: Auf dem Oberdeck der Wädenswil präsentieren wir die Abfüllungen von James MacArthur; Arran; Glengoyne; Glenrothes; Berry Bros. & Rudd und ein paar Abfüllungen von Ian MacLeod.

Selbstverständlich kann auch mein neues Buch angeschaut, gekauft oder bequem bestellt werden (es ist wieder eine »gewichtige« Sache geworden ...!). Auf alle Fälle freue ich mich darauf, Euer Exemplar – es ist auch ein hervorragendes Weihnachtsgeschenk ;-) – zu signieren.

Das seit Jahren treue Angels Share Team mit Tom Trachsel, Urs Lüthy, Annemarie Vetter und mir wird dieses Jahr ergänzt durch Arthur Winning (James MacArthur), Lucie Stroesser (Arran Distillery), John Glass (Glengoyne) und Luigi Barzini (Glenrothes/Berry Bros. & Rudd)!

Schaut Euch doch auch einmal auf der Internet-Seite dieses grössten Schweizer Whisky-Anlasses um: 
http://www.whiskyschiff.ch. Es gibt dort unter anderem ein paar spezielle Whiskyschiff-Abfüllungen als Vorbestellangebote: Dabei ist neben zwei Abfüllungen von Jack Wiebers und einem Blend aus schottischem und schweizerischem Single Malt auch ein Glengoyne als Sonderabfüllung Whiskyschiff erhältlich. Achtung: Diese Abfüllung kann nur bei den Organisatoren des Whiskyschiff Zürich bestellt und gekauft werden! John Glass wird auf unserem Stand auf dem Schiff die neue Linie und ein paar andere Glengoyne-Raritäten präsentieren.

Ich freue mich zusammen mit dem ganzen Angels Share-Team auf Euren Besuch!

Herzliche Grüsse
Peter Hofmann


VORANZEIGE

Der nächste Anlass im Angels Share in Oberentfelden ist am 25. Januar das
Robert Burns Supper

Zum ersten Mal wird der schottische Barde Robin Laing diesen Anlass bei uns mit seinen Liedern verschönern und auch die Haggis-Zeremonie übernehmen!
Anmeldungen sind ab sofort möglich. 

SPRINGBANK News


SPRINGBANK News

We have just taken delivery of the new Springbank Calvados in the shop today, itʼs a 12y/o
which has been 6 years in a bourbon cask and 6 years in a Calvados cask, strength
52.7% and costs £58.
Tasting Note:
Colour - Golden syrup
Nose - The influence of the Calvados casks is immediately apparent, with notes of
greenapples, citrus fruits and sweet toffee showing themselves in the beginning. Vanilla
essence, pears and some gentle spice come later.
Palate - A very lively dram at cask strength. Black pepper and rhubarb give way to
demerara sugar, green grapes, a touch of cinnamon and a little bit of home-made fudge.
This is an oily whisky for sure.
Finish - Orange marmalade, gooseberries and a pleasant, dry, peatiness leave a lasting
impression
The staff up at the distillery have been working very hard both inside and outside and the
place is looking very smart and tidy. There have certainly not been any “idle hands” over
the past few months. Our Distillery Manager, Gavin, is very neat and tidy and this must
be rubbing off on everyone else, I think.

SPRINGBANK WHISKY SCHOOL
The whisky school will run next year from week beginning 6th May until week beginning
8th July, 10 weeks, arriving here on the Sunday and leaving on the Friday. Places are
starting to fill up but we still have plenty to fill. There are only six places each week so that
we can ensure that everyone has a chance to work in all aspects of the Distillery and
spend as much time as possible with the Distillery staff. The staff are all very friendly and
enjoy the Whisky School, being able to pass on their skills to people who are obviously so
interested in what they do. Frank is busy making up new information for next yearʼs pupils
and we are hoping to present them in booklet form which will be a reminder of your time
spent with us here in Campbeltown.
Last year we published a piece on facebook weekly with a photograph of that weekʼs
pupils (all still smiling at the end of the week) and comments from the “Headmaster” Frank
McHardy. There were no “detentions” or “punishments” handed out to anyone throughout
the ten week period and everyone seemed to get on really well, during and after working
hours. We even had one pupil dressed up in a kilt - you know who you are!!!!
So, if you would like to join us next year please let me know by emailing
whiskyschool@springbankwhisky.com and I will send you some information and a
registration form.

SPRINGBANK OPEN DAY 2013
Next yearʼs Open Day is starting to be discussed, plans being made, etc. The Open Day
will be on Thursday 23rd May and as we get nearer the time all will be revealed as to what
we will be doing. There will of course be Single Casks and Masterclasses and tours, but
we will have to wait and see what else is in store for you.
Watch this space ...............................

SPRINGBANK SALES TEAM
The Sales Team have been kept very busy these past few months, Sales Manager Ranald
Watson has been jetting around the globe spreading the Springbank word, Melanie
Stanger has been travelling round the UK and Europe, attending shows and Tastings and
our newest member John McCallum has also been out and about, finding his feet, so to
speak. When we get to the Open Day next year, John will be an “old hand” by then and
will no doubt be involved in some of the tastings. Melanie was involved in the Open Day
this year so she has already “cut her teeth”.

LONGROW CV
We now have the new Longrow which replaces the Longrow CV, the packaging is rather
eye catching I think.
The tasting note for the Longrow is as follows:
Colour: Light amber with slight olive highlights.
Nose: Very creamy, vanilla custard. The smoke develops gradually, like a slow burning log fire,
never overpowering butalways reassuring. Our guest taster was reminded of marshmallows toasted
on a campfire - crisp on the outside and sticky sweet in the middle!
Palate: Incredibly well balanced - rich and creamy with a slight medicinal hint. The smoke is
always present, washing over the palate in waves, like the soft billows of smoke from the kiln.
Finish: The gentle smoke lingers and lingers leaving you yearning for more!
The Cadenhead shop now also has Longrow 5cl £5 and Hazelburn 12y/o 5cl £5 in stock, as well as
the Springbank 10y/o and 15y/o 5cl. These have proved to be very popular since being introduced
recently.

St Andrew’s Night
The Tasting Room at Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop, Campbeltown are hosting a St Andrew’s Night on
Saturday 1st December. There will be a 3 coarse dinner and a whisky tasting. Tickets available
from Cadenhead Whisky Shop, Campbeltown at a cost of £25 per person. Time, 7.00 pm for 7.30
pm. If it is as successful as the Hallowe’en night we held recently it promises to be good.

Hallowe’en Night
We held a Hallowe’en night on 27th October in the Tasting Room and although fancy dress was not
compulsory everyone joined in and came along dressed in various costumes, most of which were
home made. We had Dorothy and her friends from the Wizard of Oz, a giant pumpkin, Edward
Scissor Hands (the winner of the competition), a girly clown and lots more. The staff were
dressed as zombies with Donald as the zombie chef, Grant as a very scary zombie and Mairi, Julie,
Leslie and myself as zombie waitresses.
We enjoyed a lovely warming winter dinner cooked by Donald and accompanied by cocktails rather
than a whisky tasting. The evening, of course, included some games - “dooking” for apples -
surprised there wasn’t any mess for this one, and throwing corks into a pumpkin to win a prize.
The Tasting Room was suitably dressed for the occasion with spiders webs, skulls, bones and
gravestones, and spooky music playing all night (not too loudly).
This was our first Hallowe’en “function” and hopefully not our last.


SLÁINTE!!!!
Janet

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Master of Malt Announces New Releases from That Boutique-y Whisky Company

 Master of Malt Announces New Releases from That Boutique-y Whisky Company

Online retailer Master of Malt announces the release of four new Single Malt Whiskies from That Boutique-y Whisky Company.

The second instalment of whiskies from That Boutique-y Whisky Company has now been released – these whiskies hail from the Speyside distilleries of BenRiach, Aberlour, Aultmore and Benrinnes. All are bottled without age statements and feature cult comic book style labels that reference various stories and in-jokes associated with the distilleries and the people connected to them.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company was launched in September 2012 as the latest independent bottling label from Master of Malt. That Boutique-y Whisky Company bottles Single Malt Scotch Whiskies in the truest sense of the term, meaning that they are a blend of casks from a single distillery. They are labelled without age statements to demonstrate that the flavour of the whisky is more important than its age. Also, remember to keep hold of your old bottles because you might just be able to play spot-the-difference with later batches – that's if you look very carefully!

The new releases from That Boutique-y Whisky Company are now available from Master of Malt here.

Nose: Raisins and dried apple lead to cox apples, cloudy apple juice, ground ginger and roast cocoa beans with maybe the slightest hint of smoke.
Palate: Rich, fruity and mouth-filling, with additional notes of ginger, barley and bitter dark chocolate.
Finish: The finish is substantial and well-rounded with burnt dry fruits, autumnal berries, Pink Lady apples and brandy cream flavours.
Nose: Vanilla oak notes, followed by lemon zest and greengages. As the whisky opens up intense notes of cloves and lime zest reveal themselves.
Palate: The palate is layered with mixed spices, sweetened with creamy vanilla, and highlighted with notes of greengages and citrus peels.
Finish: The finish lingers with refreshing menthol, deep dark chocolate and tingling white pepper.
Nose: Big fruity cherries, marmalade, a hint of red vermouth followed by subtle toffee and old leather. Then, just out of reach, is a little bit of peat just to remind you of BenRiach's other personality.
Palate: Red cherries, strawberry coulis leading to floral heather and a (very small) pinch of peat.
Finish: The finish is soft and gentle with a sugar syrup quality flecked with strawberries and raspberries with the briefest suggestion of crushed black pepper.
Nose: A fat aroma of stewing peaches and lychees dominates the nose with side notes of a just opened packet of juicy sultanas and moist fruit cake. Positively enchanting!
Palate: Silky and oily with reduced tropical fruit juices, fireworks, grape juice and a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Finish: Lingering firework smoke, rhubarb, passion fruit and peaches in a full-bodied and fruity finish.