You are looking at posts that were written in the month of April in the year 2007.
Source: “Review - World Whiskies Conference 2007,” Chris Brook-Carter, April 23, 2007
Bringing together the great and the good of the world’s whisky distillers, The World Whiskies Conference - which ran this week, April 20-21, 2007, in Glasgow - saw Whisky Peddlers out in force. The two-day event, which saw both fur and sparks fly, was declared a resounding success.
Popularity: 15% [?]
The Malt Monk provides a great page about Whisky-Food…what to do, what to do
Check it out under the pages category to the right.
Cheers !
Popularity: 15% [?]
Spirit of Toronto 2007 is honoured to be featuring Canada’s first Rare Whisky Auction as a tribute to whisky writer Michael Jackson, best known as author of the “Malt Whisky Companion”, now in its 5th edition. Mr. Jackson recently announced that he has Parkinson’s Disease and all proceeds from this auction will be going to the Parkinson Society Canada. We wish to note that all items are all personal donations from the cellars of the whisky community at large, and we thank donors for their generosity in supporting this cause.
An official bottling of Glenury Royal 50 Year Old—easily the rarest whisky ever available for purchase in Canada—is the highlight of the two dozen single malts to be auctioned at this year’s show. Sealed bids on this bottle and other whiskies will be accepted from 6:30 to 9:30pm at the show.
Most of the whiskies being auctioned here will never be available for purchase in Canada but we are also pleased to feature a few genuine collectibles including an official bottling of Linlithgow 30 Year Old, The Macallan ESC V, a Springbank 9 Year Old from a rum cask and a Hazelburn 8 Year Old specially bottled for the Springbank Society, and a tempting trio of Ardbegs: Very Young, Still Young and the newly released Almost There. Of particular note is a special bottling to commemorate the event, a one-off edition of The Living Cask from Richard Joynson of Loch Fyne Whiskies in Inveraray, complete with a pen and ink drawing of Michael Jackson.
Please find below a partial list of whiskies being auctioned along with minimum bids. The full list is now posted online at www.spiritoftoronto.ca—happy bidding!
Ardbeg Very Young
Distilled in 1998
Limited Edition bottled by the distillery in 2004 at 58.3%, 700ml
This is the first official bottling from new distillations of Ardbeg since it re-opened in 1998. A powerful, punchy, heavily peated whisky that is no longer available for purchase. (Note: bottle only, no outer packaging)
Donated by Dr. Bill Lumsden
Minimum bid $150
Ardbeg Still YoungSecond official bottling from new distillations of Ardbeg since it re-opened in 1998. Still powerful, still punchy, still heavily peated.
Donated by Dr. Bill Lumsden
Minimum bid $100
Ardbeg Almost There“This is Perfect Ardbeg: the peat and fires have stepped aside and the huge depth and complexity has come though in a huge burst of fruit, linctus and kelp. A merry dance on the tongue with a particularly long finish.” — Richard Joynson, Loch Fyne Whiskies
Donated by Dr. Bill Lumsden
Minimum bid $100
Benromach 25 Year OldThe family owned firm of Gordon & MacPhail purchased this Speyside distillery in 1993 and since have shown off what great whisky was made here with their range of official bottlings. This 25 Year Old boasts the freshness and lemon sherbet of the Traditional with the depth and complexity that comes with 25 years in an oak cask.
Donated by Michael Urquhart
Minimum bid $150
The Macallan ESC VWith over one hundred entries for Macallan in his latest guide, it is safe to assume that Michael Jackson is rather partial to this most celebrated of Scotland’s distilleries. This particular bottling represents traditional Macallan at its best, from the distillery’s now discontinued Exceptional Single Cask (ESC) series, bottled from casks hand picked by distllery manager Bob Dalgarno himself. This ESC V is from cask #552, an oloroso butt with a total outrun of 858 bottles.
Donated by Bob Dalgarno
Minimum bid $150
Monster“Batten down the hatches for a whisky ride that is deliciously powerful, earthy, and perfect for drinking on a cold and windy day. Beware: not for the uninitiated.” — John Glaser, Compass Box Whisky
Very peaty, very smoky cask strength vatted malt designed for Park Avenue Liquor in 2003; now sold out. It was this custom order for a big smoky whisky that inspired John Glaser to create The Peat Monster as part of his standard range of whiskies.
Donated by John Glaser
Minimum bid $100
“Wonderful sweet, fruity, smouldery-smoke aroma… a fascinating dram, fantastically complex. And an ace for that.” — Richard Joynson, Loch Fyne Whiskies
Uncommon release of Springbank from port and first fill bourbon casks, selected and bottled by Gordon Wright of the Wright family that owns and operates the Springbank distillery.
Donated by Gordon Wright
Minimum bid $100
Loch Dhu 10 Year Old ‘The Black Whisky’“Dhu you dare?…”
A discontinued bottling of Scotland’s most infamous single malt whisky, distilled at Mannochmore in Speyside and darkened to appeal to trendy consumers; currently available at The Whisky Exchange in London for CDN$400. (Note: bottle only, no outer packaging)
Donated by Johanna Ngoh and Charles Anderson
Minimum bid $150
Hazelburn 8 Year OldSingle cask bottling of Hazelburn from a refill sherry butt, total outrun of 600 bottles. Very fragrant on the nose and banana sweet on the palate, Hazelburn is triple distilled at the Springbank distillery in Campbeltown.
Donated by Peter Currie
Minimum bid $75
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Macallan, Highland Park and Glenrothes Masterclasses Now Confirmed! Spirit of Toronto is pleased to have added additional masterclasses from 3 of Scotland’s most prestigious distilleries, The Macallan, Highland Park and The Glenrothes.
Masterclasses are presented on the lower level of Roy Thomson Hall during the course of the evening. Included as part of admission to the show, these 45 minute sessions offer guests the opportunity to taste whiskies not easily available for sampling, one-on-one with the pros.
Speaking from experience, this show is a knockout. Not having to buy ‘dram’ tickets, but your admission price is a one time payment for the entire evening
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By Mary Ellen Podmolik
Special to the Chicago Tribune, Apr 11
Looking across the bar at Delilah’s, owner Mike Miller is seeing a lot of different faces — and more of them — than he saw when he first opened the Chicago tavern 14 years ago and started specializing in whiskey.
“A decade ago, I didn’t have near as many people coming here to drink whiskey,” Miller said. “The stereotype, a decade ago, was true. It was older men. It’s impossible to say who a whiskey customer is these days. You can have 22-year-old punk rock girls sitting next to 50-year-olds drinking high-end whiskeys.”…
…..Sales for the kind of higher-end whiskeys that will be featured are recording some dizzying gains. Percentage sales increases of super-premium bourbon, blended Scotch and single-malt Scotch rose by the mid-teens last year, while sales of Irish whiskey posted a whopping 38 percent increase.
…..Sensing the profit potential of those trends, taverns, restaurants and liquor stores routinely conduct tastings and educational seminars to turn confused consumers into connoisseurs — and better customers. Some events are free, underwritten by the establishments and the distillers.
Those type of events are reaching a crescendo around Chicago this week, as the industry’s top celebrities, the distillers, make personal appearances to talk about their craft and sign bottles before the main event Friday night. (Apr 13)
“It’s kind of like whiskey mecca,” said John Hansell, publisher of Malt Advocate. “[The distillers] are rock stars. It’s their favorite whiskey in the whole world and the guy who’s been making it for 30 years is standing right in front of them. It’s as cool as it gets. It’s like being into U2 for 20 years and then getting to meet Bono.”
Among the many bottles to be poured Friday are Bunnahabhain 18-year single-malt Scotch, Knappogue Castle (1994) single-malt Irish whiskey and several from small batch Scotch producer Compass Box, including Peat Monster and Hedonism. One American offering will be Bulleit bourbon from Kentucky.
Monique Huston, general manager of Dundee Dell, a bar and restaurant in Omaha, can’t get to Chicago for the whole week, but she and a group of 35 whiskey drinkers are flying in Thursday night. It’ll be Huston’s sixth annual trip to the Chicago event; the first year, she was accompanied by just four friends…..
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from FRANK URQUHART; Scostman.com
THEY include some of the most magical names in the pantheon of the finest Scottish malts: Bruichladdich, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Isle of Jura and Talisker.
And yesterday, 16 of Scotland’s best-known whisky brands joined forces for the first time to form a united company to promote the rugged west coast and its myriad islands as one of the country’s premier tourism destinations.
Dubbed the Whisky Coast, the firm has been established by the rival distilleries, together with three tour companies, 18 hotels, restaurants, golf courses and visitor attractions in the area with the aid of substantial undisclosed funding support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise and VisitScotland.
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SAN FRANCISCO, April 9 /PRNewswire/ — The most influential spirits
industry professionals in the United States gathered at San Francisco’s
Mandarin Oriental Hotel March 17th and 18th to swirl, sniff, sip, spit and
rank the world’s best spirits at the 7th annual San Francisco World Spirits
Competition, the only competition of its kind in the United States.
highlights…
- Best of Show, Whisky, Bowmore 18 yr Old Single Malt Scotch
- Top North American Whiskey, Double Gold Medal, Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey
- Top Canadian Whisky, Gold Medal, Canadian Club Classic 12 Canadian Whisky
- Top Irish Whiskey, Double Gold Medal, Redbreast 12 Year Old Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
- Top Blended Scotch, Double Gold Medal, Johnnie Walker Anniversary Pack
- Top Blended Malt Scotch, Double Gold Medal, Johnnie Walker Green Label Scotch, 15 Year Old
- Distiller of the Year, Double Gold Medal, Highland Park 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch,
click here for complete results whisk(e)y category
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The debate over Kentucky bourbon versus Tennessee whiskey has raged for as long as the two have been around.Pop culture is no help. George Thorogood needed “one bourbon, one scotch and one beer,” while George Jones found a love “as smooth as Tennessee whiskey.”
What’s the difference?
Ultimately, it all comes down to charcoal.
For much of its life, Tennessee whiskey is very similar to Kentucky bourbon. Both are made from a blend of corn — at least 51 percent to qualify as bourbon, though Jack Daniel’s uses 80 percent — plus rye and barley malt. The grains are cooked with limestone-filtered water, fermented, strained and distilled (then generally distilled again, to further remove impurities), until what remains is a high-octane alcohol ready for aging.
Bourbon makers like to say that “all bourbon is whiskey but not all whiskey is bourbon.” At this point in the distillery process, turning the brew into Tennessee bourbon would be easier — and cheaper — than turning it into Tennessee whiskey. But instead of moving the distilled alcohol directly into charred, white oak barrels the way their bourbon-making cousins do, Tennessee whiskey makers go a step further.
The booze is strained through finely chopped sugar maple charcoal (made at the distilleries) and blankets of white virgin wool. Known as the “charcoal-mellowing process,” the additional step removes additional impurities and refines the flavor of the drink.
“It takes days for a drop of Jack Daniel’s to get all the way to the bottom,” Tolley said. “And then it goes into the barrel.”
It’s worth noting that the charcoal-mellowing process removes many more impurities left behind during fermentation, particles called congeners. While they contribute to the taste, congeners are often accused of contributing to hangovers.
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