Category Archives: News

October 8, 2012 · 12:40 pm

The Fall 2012 Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza

It is that time of the year again for our larger whisky tasting events.  I have attended the SMWSA’s Whisky Extravaganzas for the past couple of years.

Please see the SMWSA’s formal invitation:

Ladies and Gentlemen are cordially invited to enjoy a connoisseur’s evening featuring rare & exceptional single malt, Scotch and unique whiskies from around the world. The evening includes a delicious dinner buffet as well as a selection of premium imported cigars for our guests’ later enjoyment. The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza brings the discerning enthusiast the opportunity to sample the participating whiskies in a sophisticated and elegant environment with genuine camaraderie and knowledgeable representatives from each participating distillery.

All events from 7:00pm-9:00pm. Registration begins at 7:00pm. Business casual, Jackets preferred. No denim or athletic attire.

Schedule: 

Chicago:  October 18, 2012, The Union League Club of Chicago, 65 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604

Washington, DC: October 30, 2012, JW Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004

Philadelphia:  November 1, 2012, The Union League Club of Philadelphia, 140 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Los Angeles:  November 9, 2012, Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 1700 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401

San Francisco:  November 14, 2012, The Intercontinental San Francisco, 888 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

Seattle:  November 16, 2012, The Rainier Club, 820 Fourth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104

Fort Lauderdale:  December 6, 2012, The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 1 Seminole Way, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314

Ticket Prices:  Members tickets to the Extravaganza are $135.00 each and non-member guest tickets are $150.00 each.  Readers of the WhiskyWall will receive the members’ price at $135.00 each, when you use the promotional code: “WW2012″.

You can purchase tickets directly on the web here or you can call (800) 990-1991.

 * I am planning on attending the San Francisco event, thanks to the SMWSA.  Hope to see some of you there! – Chris

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September 19, 2012 · 1:30 pm

A Couple of New Glenfiddich Expressions

The core Glenfiddich range – a very solid and tasty range at that – of what appeals to the general whisky drinking population remains the same. Thankfully no drastic measures are being taken like eliminating age statements or any nonsense like that. Instead, Glenfiddich released a pair of new whiskies that should peak the interests of those that are more than just the casual whisky drinkers.

The first new release is the Malt Master’s Edition. As the name suggests, this release is a nod to Glenfiddich’s Malt Master, Brian Kinsman. What makes this release unique for Glenfiddich is that it is double matured. The Malt Master’s Edition is composed of whisky that was aged 6-8 years is ex-Bourbon casks and then aged an additional 4-6 years in Sherry casks.

On the nose I got a lot more of the sherry influence. But on the palate more of the bourbon casks came through in the spices, vanilla and cherry flavors. This whisky nicely walks the line of smooth but lively. Coming in at 43%ABV this formerly distillery only release will be available in the US this month at a reasonable $80.

The second release is definitely a lot more rarefied: the 1974 Vintage Reserve.  There is a vintage released annually but this is the first time that the whisky is a vatting of casks.  This is a vatting of both Sherry and Bourbon casks all from 1974 (guaranteed 36 years old).  There were only 1,000 bottles made available worldwide and only 35 allocated for the US market.  The brand ambassadors helped to select this vintage by converging on the distillery and sampling whiskies from 1973, 1974 and 1975.  The hands down winner of the sampling was the whisky from 1974. 

The 1974 Vintage Reserve comes in at 46.8% ABV and has a very lively nose – and not just for its age.  I got a lot of pears that I usually associate with Glenfiddich as well as some tropical fruits.  With the addition of water I picked up a little more oak influence as well as a nice earthiness, almost rutty.  A very beautiful whisky, unfortunately it is extremely limited and out of the price range for most of us.

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September 18, 2012 · 1:46 am

Suntory Yamazaki 2012 Limited Cask Collection

Just a quick note that Suntory’s Yamazaki Limited Cask Collection for this year will soon be released. The three expressions are: Sherry Cask, Puncheon and Bourbon Barrel. These NAS whiskies come in at 48% ABV and are priced between 8,180 and 8,380 Yen or about $105 given our current crappy exchange rate. They will be available for sale at Sake Brutus on September 25.

The Sherry Cask usually gets all the love (arguably as it should) but from the 2011 series I really really liked the Bourbon Barrel.

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September 10, 2012 · 10:59 pm

Chichibu Newborn Cask Number 23

This Newborn was aged for a whopping 6 months in a new American oak hogshead. Dispite all of the grief craft distillers are getting here in the US for releasing young whiskies, I have enjoyed all of the Newborn releases that I have tried so far: Heavily Peated, Double Matured and Mizunara Cask.

This Newborn can currently be found at Liquors Hasegawa in Tokyo Station.

Stats of this Newborn are as follows:
Cask In: April 2008
Bottled: October 2008
Cask: New American Oak Hogshead
ABV: 62.9%
Price: 4,800 Yen

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July 11, 2012 · 4:14 pm

Shinanoya Does It Again…

*Image taken from Shinanoya’s Facebook Page*

Well at least they are going to on July 26.  As we all know Karuizawa bottels are getting harder and harder to find these days.  And surprisingly even more so in Japan.  Shinanoya who’s The Game Hanyu bottling I loved is releasing their private cask bottling of Karuizawa on July 26.  You can get a preview taste of it at the Osaka Whisky Festival on July 15.

1995 Karuizawa 16 y/o 12,900 Yen
Shinanoya Private Cask 5th Anniversary
Japanese Wine Cask 69.3% ABV

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May 6, 2012 · 10:53 pm

2012 Tokyo Bar Show

This past weekend was the Tokyo Bar Show held at Roppongi Midtown. Although I initially thought it was purely a bartender/cocktail event there was a very heavy whisky presence at the event. In fact the special bottlings for this event were all whisky – specifically Japanese Whisky. Five expressions were bottled to commemorate the event:

Karuizawa – a vatting of 1999 and 2000 casks. Aged in sherry butts and bottled at 61.6%ABv

Chichibu – cask #287. Distilled in 2009 (3 y/o) aged in Chibidaru barrel (Chichibu’s original quarter cask. Bottled at 61.8%ABV

Yamazaki – Single cask, Distilled 1999 (12 y/o), aged in a puncheon. I couldn’t find it’s bottling strength unfortunately.

Hanyu – single cask # 349, Distilled in 2000 (12 y/o), aged in Chibidaru quarter cask, bottled at 58.4%ABV

Karuizawa – another vatting of sherry butts Distilled in 1999 and 2000. Bottled at 61.7%ABV

These are some interesting and rare bottlings that you won’t want to think about for too long if you are even remotely interested in liking them up. You can purchase them online here

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March 21, 2012 · 9:51 pm

Chichibu The Floor Malted

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Another interesting new release from Chichibu and I am definitely not complaining…well the wallet is a little but I am sure that I will overcome its protests. Here in the US craft distillers get a lot of praise for their innovation and attention to detail – rightfully so. Ichiro Akuto should be acknowledged as well for what he is doing at Chichibu. This currently release is Chichibu The Floor Malted. Which as the same suggests is made with barley that is floor malted – a characteristic of one of a whisky’s primary ingredient that is getting to be more rarified.

There will be 8800 bottles of this release coming in at 50.5%ABV. It is an interesting combination of primarily bourbon casks as well as puncheon and Chichibu’s own original quarter casks called “Chibidaru”. This is supposed to go on sale this month so keep an eye out for it because I expect it to sell out almost immediately like most Chichibu and Ichiro’s Malts releases.

**Update** Some more insightful details about this bottling over at the Japanese whisky authority Nonjatta here.

Clint over at Whiskies R Us reviewed and provided his tasting notes on The Floor Malted here.

Where to buy:  You can order a bottle from Claude Whiskies Japan here.  They do speak English and ship outside of Japan as well.  Tokyo’s Liquors Hasegawa also has bottles for sale now too.

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March 4, 2012 · 9:27 pm

Whiskies of the World – Right Around the Corner!

We have attended the last two years of the Whiskies of the World Expo and are happy to say that last year was a major improvement.  The management is dedicated to improving this event every year so we expect this year to be even better.  See you there!    

13th Annual Whiskies of the World Expo & Artisanal Spirits Fest

The Whiskies of the World Expo gathers the world’s most fascinating distilled spirits along with their makers and ambassadors to give its guests an opportunity to sample, learn and experience a night of delicious spirited fun. The grand tasting will take place aboard the San Francisco Belle Yacht (remains docked), with its three ballroom-size tasting decks, and an open roof Whisky & Cigar Pairing deck. Come on March, 31th to enjoy 100′s of Whiskies, a full buffet dinner, Whisky Masterclasses, a live Bushmills Pipe and Drum Concert, whisky mixology; artisanal food pairings, live jazz, cigars and more. Learn, celebrate, experience!

Details: http://www.WhiskiesOfTheWorld.com

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February 7, 2012 · 9:18 am

Suntory Hakushu Sherry Cask

We thoroughly enjoyed the Yamazaki Sherry Cask bottling last tear, as did many others. Now we finally get the combination we have been waiting for: Hakushu + sherry casks! Hakushu tends to be on the lighter more refreshing spectrum so it will be interesting to see how it will hold up against the bold robust sherry casks. This is a somewhat “limited” release of 4,300 bottles and like the Yamazaki release this is also bottled at 48%ABV. The Hakushu Sherry Cask is scheduled to be available for purchase from Sake Brutus on February 28 for 8,560円. However, there may be other shops releasing it earlier. We will update this post as we get more info.

Image taken from the Sake Brutus website

**UPDATE ** Official Suntory Press Release

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January 18, 2012 · 8:08 pm

Whisky World News

Win a Trip to Scotland from the Glenrothes:

The Glenrothes is launching the a brand new video to coincide with the second-annual Vintage Maker competition (running now till Jan 31). The Are You The 2012 Glenrothes Vintage Maker? video can be found here.

A little more about the competition:

The Glenrothes®, the preeminent vintage distilled single malt Scotch whisky, is launching its second annual Vintage Maker contest. This bespoke dram, which prides maturity over age, (you won’t find any pre-determined age statements here) wants you to recall and share a game-changing or halcyon moment in your life. The winners will be the entries that in the opinion of the judges best represent the definition of a Glenrothes vintage moment: a perfect combination of time, place, people and/or occasion when everything comes together to create a moment that will stay in the memory forever. . .

Four of the most compelling stories will be selected from the US and the winners will be flown to the Speyside region of Scotland – home of The Glenrothes – in May 2012. Alongside The Glenrothes Malt Master, Gordon Motion, the winning four will nose a wide gamut of whiskies, before selecting the best casks to be laid down for maturation, to eventually be bottled and released as The Glenrothes 2012 vintage. This year’s Vintage Maker contest follows hot on the heels of over 10,000 budding whisky makers entering last year’s draw.

Morrison Bowmore Distilleries Appoints Rachel Barrie As Master Blender:

Morrison Bowmore Distillers (MBD), one of the major names in Scotch Whisky and producers of Auchentoshan, Bowmore and Glen GariochSingle Malt Scotch Whiskies, announces the appointment of Rachel Barrie to the newly created position of Master Blender effective immediately. Barrie will also head up the company’s Spirit Quality Control and laboratory functions. She will join Morrison Bowmore’s Operational Senior Executive Group and report directly to Andrew Rankin, MBD Operations Director and Chief Blender. Barrie joins the company bringing a vast amount of knowledge and experience having served many years in a similar role within The Glenmorangie Company.

Commenting on the appointment Andrew Rankin says, “Rachel is one of the most experienced Master Blenders in our Industry and I am extremely delighted that she will be joining our team here at MBD. We have a very strong blending team within the company and this appointment will massively strengthen and reinforce our commitment to producing the ultimate in quality single malt Scotch whiskies.”

Another New Release of Hanyu:

Not that we are complaining! Following up on their very successful single cask bottling of the now extinct Hanyu distillery, the Game, Shinanoya is slated to release another single cask bottling. This release will also be called the Game – distilled in 2000 and bottled in November 2011 at 59.4%ABV, Mizunara Heads Hogshead Finish. Shinanoya is taking reservations/orders on January 26th. Like all Hanyu malts, jump on this as soon as possible if you have the chance.

Update: this bottle is now available for purchase here

Update to the update: sold out now. That was faster than I expected

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