Distillery: Balblair
Age: 24
Distilled: 1990
Bottled: January 2015
Number of Bottles: 180
Wood Type: Bourbon Barrel
ABV: 52.2%
Price: £76.50 from Cadenhead
Author Archives: themadvatter
Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015 Feis Ile 200th Anniversary Edition News
If you are a fan of Islay whiskies then you might know that this year is a big year. Laphroaig and Ardbeg are celebrating their 200th Anniversaries this year! That’s right, they’ve both been around since 1815.
In conjunction with Feis Ile, Laphroaig will be releasing a special Cairdeas release featuring 11-12 year old whisky made only from malt that was malted at Laphroaig.
The Cairdeas (Gaelic for friendship) bottlings are released every year for Feis Ile. To get first access to bottles you can either show up at the distillery during Feis Ile or sign up to the Friends of Laphroaig. Or if you live in the US, bottles tend to show up at specialty stores in the states a short while after the festival.
UPDATE!! 16/6/2015
Got another email last night from Laphroaig announcing that the Cairdeas 2015 will be sold by Ballot and registration has commenced. The link to register seems to be linked to your specific FoL account. For some reason AliceInWhiskyland did not get the email and could not use the link from my email to register. So if you haven’t gotten the email you may want to look into it.
Edinburgh Whisky Solstice 2015
The Edinburgh Whisky Solstice 2015 hosted by the Whisky Lounge will take place on June 20th from 12-5pm.
Tickets are £30 each.
From their website:
Once again we’ve teamed up with those great guys and gals at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society and we’re gearing up to put on an absolute belter of a day. A real summer celebration of all things whisky, proving once and for all that whisky really can be a drink for all seasons.
As usual we’ll have a whole carnival of whiskies in tow but here is a little taste of what will be on offer at The Edinburgh Whisky Solstice…
Amazing whisky from all over Scotland and the world (and plenty of it) amazing food, a smattering of delicious ale and a light dusting of cocktails all in the stunning surroundings of Edinburgh’s beautiful (and normally private) Queen St Gardens.
Yes indeed this will be a day to remember, oh and did we mention that this year we will be outside? That’s right! Outside! Here’s hoping for good weather.
Here’s what each ticket includes…
- Entry to the Whisky Solstice 12-5pm
- A Glencairn tasting glass
- A bottle of water (for obvious purposes)
- The Festival Guide
- ALL WHISKIES SAMPLED IN THE MAIN AREA (not including ‘under the counter’ drams)
How the festival works…
Simply approach any of the exhibitor stands, ask politely for a dram and you shall receive a tasty glass of whisky (it really is that simple) Every exhibitor should know their whiskies inside out and it’s well worth taking advantage of this knowledge. They’ll be able to answer all and any whisky related questions you may have and will happily explain why their whisky is so damn tasty.
Under the counter drams…
The vast majority of whiskies on show are available to taste within your ticket price.
However, ‘Under the Counter’ Token drams simply allow you access to some of the rare and more exclusive whiskies in the festival. More details to follow.
MASTERCLASSES – To be be announced soon.
For ticket purchases and more info click here.
2015/5/7
Ardbeg Perpetuum Distillery and Embassy Release
Ardbeg is celebrating their 200th anniversary with a special Feis Ile bottling known as Perpetuum.
There are actually two versions of the Perpetuum: the distillery release and the general release (embassy release).
Distillery Release Information:
The distillery release is easily recognizable with the bright red stamp across the front label as shown in the picture above. It also does not come with a box. In terms of the liquid inside, the spirit is at an ABV of 49.2% (different from the general release).
The Distillery Release as the name implies is/was only available at the Ardbeg Distillery. The retail was set at £70. Sales begain some time in March of this year (2015). However, it was sold online for Committee Members only on May 4th. Shipping was restricted to the UK further reducing it’s availability. Also the servers were not able to handle the traffic on May 4th leading to some difficult ordering and disgruntled customers. Rumours have it that there are only 12,000 bottles of the Distillery Release.
General Release Information:
The general release comes in a spiffy box and has slightly different designs for the labels and top than the distillery release. See image below for general release. The retail for the general release is set at £84.95. It has an ABV of 47.4% (lower than the distillery release). I am not sure if this means that it is from a different vatting of casks or if a single vatting was diluted to the two different bottling strengths.
The general release will officially be available on Ardbeg Day (May 30th) at Ardbeg Embassies. However, there have been reports of early sales in the US and some Scandinavian countries. If you are in Edinburgh, you can get yours from Royal Mile Whiskies on Ardbeg Day. It is for sale in store only and they will not be taking reservations. Again rumours have it that 65,000 bottles of the general release have been produced.
There was some confusion about the differences and dsitributuion of the distillery release due to the LCBO in Canada posting the Perpetuum on their site as the 49.2% version (as of 2015/5/29) for $186.95 (CAD). However, I suspect this might be a mistake and they have now updated with a photo of the general release. So if you are in Ontario, Canada, I’m sorry to tell you that you will not be getting the Distillery Release.
If you are an Ardbeg committee member you can now pre-order (with free shipping to the UK) the Perpetuum from the Ardbeg website. I am not sure how long they will make it available for pre-order. Quite likely this option will be removed after Ardbeg Day.
I’ll update this post as more information surfaces.
2015/5/7
Whisky Fringe 2015 Ticket Sale Date Set
The folks at Royal Mile Whiskies have posted the ticket sale date for the 2015 Whisky Fringe.
From their website:
7th, 8th & 9th August 2015.
Mansfield Traquair,
Edinburgh,
EH3 6BB
TICKETS WILL GO ON SALE WEDNESDAY 27th MAY 2015, AT MIDDAY
Whisky Fringe Tickets will ONLY be on sale through:
Brown Paper Tickets www.brownpapertickets.com
Below are key details plus terms and conditions
- Whisky Fringe 2015 is on Friday 7th, Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August, 2pm – 6 pm each day (last sample pour at 5.45pm)
- Tickets are NOT available to reserve or buy in advance of the May 27th release date.
- Tickets are not available to purchase through royalmilewhiskies.com, telephone sales or from any of our shops.
- 4 tickets maximum per customer.
- Tickets are non refundable and will not be replaced if lost or stolen.
- Tickets will be priced at £30.00 plus booking fee (includes a £10 money off voucher)
- Please note, we strongly recommend you purchase tickets via a desktop or laptop computer rather than with mobile devices.
- At the event, look after your free snifter glass. It’s yours to keep and we will give you a box at the end to carry it, but if you misplace or break it you will be charged if you want a replacement. You have been warned!
- Exhibitors are well within their rights not to serve anyone who is rude, threatening or intoxicated. Event management reserve the right to refuse entry or eject anyone who is out of order. Please drink responsibly – don’t ruin it for everybody else or, more importantly, yourself.
- This event is only available to those of legal drinking age in Scotland (18 years old). We will be checking ID at the event in accordance with the Challenge 25 initiative. If you look young please bring ID.
The popularity of our event means that once again we will undoubtedly be oversubscribed for tickets and unfortunately some people will miss out. We would love to accommodate everybody, but the reality is that this is simply not possible. Part of the success of our event is due to the wonderful venue, there really is nothing comparable to the Mansfield Traquair.
We look forward to seeing you in August. For the most up to date information follow us on Twitter or Facebook
2015/5/5
Hakushu 12 Years Old
Hakushu, the lesser known brother of Yamazaki. Both Yamazaki and Hakushu have many different still shapes to be able to produce a wide range of spirit. While Scottish blenders are able to use whiskies from virtually any of the distilleries in Scotland, Japanese blenders are typically limited to the whiskies produced by their company. Hence, many stills at each distillery for many different kinds of whisky. The big difference between Hakushu and Yamazaki whisky is that Hakushu is peated. It’s not that mega in your face Islay kind of peat but a more reasonable level of smokiness. In general peaty whiskies have not done well in Japan. Some of the earliest Japanese whisky had trouble selling due to the peat levels that were designed to emulate the highland whiskies of the time. But Hakushu brings a bit of smoke to the equation which adds to the complexity of their blends and provides a nice contrast to Yamazaki.
The Hakushu lineup has the same ages as the Yamazaki lineup: NAS, 12,18, and 25. It seems like whatever Yamazaki bottles, Hakushu gets a similar bottling. Although Hakushu may not be as famous as Yamazaki, it is certainly not in any way inferior. It has its own distinct style which I think complements Yamazaki quite well. I guess that was Suntory’s whole point of building the distillery.
It is a bit harder to find Hakushu, but I definitely recommend giving it a try.
Type: Single Malt
Distillery: Hakushu
Age: 12
ABV: 43%
Price: ~£75 (£73.81 from Master of Malt)
Yamazaki 18 Years Old
Well this is one of the big boys of Japanese whiskies. Highly rated and award winning. There is a reason it’s in Ian Buxton’s “101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die” book. It’s not cheap and at this present moment in time (May 2nd 2015 as I write this) the 18 is hard to find and the prices at retailers are typically grossly inflated. Last time I checked, you would be lucky to find one for £200. Considering that 2-3 years ago you could get a bottle for $160 in the US, it’s hard to swallow.
Recent price hikes for Suntory products will insure that retail prices never go back to the good ole days and diminishing stocks of older whiskies may mean that this expression will jump even further or perhaps even be retired.
Well if you have a bottle, consider yourself fortunate and if you get a chance to try this for a reasonable price, do.
Type: Single Malt
Distillery: Yamazaki
Age: 18
ABV: 43%
Price: ~£200 (£169.95 from Master of Malt)
Yamazaki 12 Years Old
I would dare to say that this is the flagship whisky from Suntory. Yamazaki is the oldest true whisky distillery in Japan (1924). The distillery was designed by Masataka Taketsuru for Shinjiro Torii (founder of Suntory). For a long while the Yamazaki 12 was the youngest and most affordable Yamazaki Single Malt available in Europe and the US. That place has now been taken by the Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve, but the 12 remains as one of the iconic Japanese single malts expressions. The 18 and 25 year old Yamazaki’s are now getting to a price point well above most budgets so the 12 will probably be the new “18” in terms of how people purchase and drink it.
A lot of people wonder why Japanese whiskies are more expensive than Scottish whiskies at a given age. I am sure there are a lot of factors involved including taxes and trade agreements but one fundamental reason is that whiskies age faster in Japan. By this I mean that the angel’s share is quite a bit more dear at the distilleries in Japan. Due to greater fluctuations in weather in Japan, casks breathe more which causes greater loss of spirits but also faster maturation. So because they lose more spirit faster, they get less whisky after 12 years than a typical Scottish distillery. Well that’s one reason anyway.
Distillery: Yamazaki
Age: 12
Type: Single Malt
ABV: 43%
Price: £65 (£63.89 from Master of Malt)
Taketsuru 12 Years Old
The Taketsuru 12 is a blended malt from Nikka comprised of malt whisky from Yoichi and Miyagikyo. It is named after the founder of the Nikka Whisky Company, Masataka Taketsuru. Taketsuru is known as the father of Japanese whiskies and his story is truly inspiring. I’ll write about that later.
While Nikka have released quite a few “pure malts” in the west, this one is a bit different in that it is completely Japanese. This might come as a shock to some readers but the Pure Malt Series (Red, Black, and White) actually contain whisky from the Ben Nevis distillery which is owned by Nikka. From what I’ve heard, it is actually cheaper for Nikka to produce spirit at Ben Nevis and ship it over than it is to produce spirit in Japan. Makes sense considering they mostly import their malt from Europe anyway.
Type: Blended Malt
Distillery: Yoichi and Miyagikyo
Age: 12 Years
ABV: 43%
Hibiki 12 Years Old
If you’ve seen the movie Lost in Translation, you have heard of the Hibiki blend. You may recall Bill Murray holding up a glass of whisky saying “For relaxing times, make it Suntory time.” Indeed this blend is created by the biggest Japanese whisky company, Suntory. Suntory has a long history with whisky involving the founder Shinjiro Torii and the Japanese whisky king Masataka Taketsuru. I won’t go too much into it now but I’ll write a post on Japanese whisky history later.
The Hibiki line consists of the 12, 17, 21, 30, and the new no age statement Hibiki. The 12 used to be the entry level whisky to the line up but I guess with whisky prices moving on up, Suntory felt it was necessary to introduce something that would take the place of the 12 in price range.
Recent price hikes have been implemented in Japan for Suntory whiskies. See Nonjatta. While prices in the west have soared due to the increased interest in Japanese whiskies after Jim Murray’s proclamations.
Whisky economics aside, the Hibiki 12 is an interesting blend. The word on the street is that part of the whisky going into the blend was aged in plum wine casks. As far as I know this was only done in the 12 year old expression. I really wish they would release a single malt exclusively from plum wine casks but alas they do not seem keen on it.
If you ever see a bottle of Hibiki in the shop, you’ll notice it’s excellent bottle. Some people aren’t as fascinated by it as I am but I think it looks rather smart. It reminds me of something out of an old detective movie. The bottle has 24 facets which supposedly represents the Japanese calendar with some people saying 24 seasons or months. I am not sure which but it is beautiful.
The malt in this blend comes from Yamazaki and Hakushu, while the grain comes from Chita.
Origin: Japan
Type: Blend
ABV: 43%
Price: ~£55 (£50.80 from Master of Malt)
Adventures in Whisky Land 