November 30th, 2007
John Hansell
Joe Howell of Federal Wine and Spirits in Boston (current importers of Blackadder) just let me know about all the new Blackadder whiskies coming into the U.S. Here’s the list, including a bunch of Blackadder “Raw Casks”:
Aberlour 17 Y.O. 46%
Auchroisk 18 Y.O. 46%
Blairfindy 31 Y.O. 43%
Raw Cask Auchroisk 18 Y.O.- 60.9%
Raw Cask Balmenach 17 Y.O. – 52.9%(Sherry)
Raw Cask Balmenach 17 Y.O. – 57.4%
Raw Cask Blairfindy 31 Y.O. – 48.7%(Sherry)
Raw Cask Lochranza 11 Y.O. – 53.6%
Raw Cask Glenrothes 17 Y.O. – 57.7%(Sherry Finish)
Raw Cask Jura 14 Y.O. 55.6%
Raw Cask Linkwood 17 Y.O. – 56.0%(Sherry)
Raw Cask Lochside 26 Y.O. – 55.8%
Raw Cask Macallan 15 Y.O. – 63.1%
Raw Cask Mortlach 17 Y.O. – 58.4%(Sherry)
Raw Cask Strathisla 17 Y.O. – 62.7%
Raw Cask Glenury Royal 34 Y.O. 47.7%
Those of you who want to get your grubby little fingers on some of these, but can’t find them, can reach out to Joe directly: joe@federalwine.com. He’s a great guy and always helpful.
Category: New Releases, Scotch whisky
November 29th, 2007
John Hansell
Willie Tait of Whyte & Mackay informed me a few days ago that Isle of Jura 21 year old is being phased out, and an 18 year old will be replacing it. Here’s what Willie had to say about it:
We are changing from a Jura 21 yr. to a Jura 18 yr. This will have no effect on the 16 yr. The range will be 10, 16, 18 and Superstition.
The reason for this change is quite simple, we don’t have the stocks to continue the 21 yr. The change has already come about in the UK, although the US market, still has existing stocks of the 21 yr. We have pledged that there are certain amounts of 21 yr. in our Superstition bottling and we would like this practice to carry on.
The 18 yr. is quite an exciting venture. It’s very different from the 16 yr. and the 21 yr. It’s spicier. I like these middle aged spirits; they are more exciting on the palate.
So there you go. You heard it directly from the man! Those in the U.S. who like their Jura 21 should go out and buy a bottle before they disappear. (Personally, while I liked the nose on the 21 yr., I always felt that it was a wee bit heavy on the sherry.)
Category: New Releases, Scotch whisky
November 28th, 2007
John Hansell
For the first time, Chieftain’s Choice whisky is heading to the U.S. This is from the importer, Steve Lipp, who used to import Duncan Taylor whiskies:
“I will be introducing to the US Market for the first time, Cheiftain’s Choice Range of Single Malts. The first consignment which includes Bottling’s from the following 11 Distilleries, will be arriving February 2008. Any interested Wholesalers or Retailers can contact me on at: scotwhisky@aol.com
Longmorn 1994 – 13 Year Old
Linkwood 1991 – 16 Year Old
Caol Ila 1990 – 17 Year Old
Glen Moray 1989 – 18 Year Old
Glencadam 1985 – 22 Year Old
Port Ellen 1982 – 25 Year Old
Allt A Bhainne 1977 – 30 Year Old
Springbank 1968 – 39 Year Old
Benrinnes – 10 Year Old – Tokay wood finish.
Dalmore – 11 Year Old – Madeira wood finish.
Glenrothes – 12 Year Old Burgundy wood finish.”
For those of you not familiar with the brand, here’s some background (from their press release):
A collection of exceptional single malt Scotch Whiskies bottled for the connoisseur by Ian Macleod Distillers who, since 1936, have amassed unrivalled cask stocks from Scotland’s many distilleries
From our enviable stocks we only select a limited number of single malts to bottle under the Chieftain’s label
Bottled at 43% Vol for a smoother and fuller traditional taste
Rare malts, some from closed or mothballed distilleries
Some are further “finished” in the best quality sherry, port or rum casks, and some are bottled at natural strength all adding extra character, body, flavour and complexity
Bottled at up to 50 years old
The collection’s hallmark is that each bottling meets the exacting criteria of our selection panel. It must be fit for a King, a Leader: in the Celtic world, A CHIEFTAIN.
At least some companies think it’s worth bottling at 75cl and importing to the U.S.
Category: Scotch whisky, Uncategorized
November 27th, 2007
John Hansell
In Part 1 of my “Three things that really frustrate me” post, I talked about how I feel like we’re in prison here in the U.S. because many great whiskies are not imported to the U.S. One of the whiskies I mentioned was “The Family Casks” line from Glenfarclas, which is not being imported (43 different vintages of Glenfarclas from 1952 to 1994).
This is Robert Ransome’s (of Glenfarclas) response to that posting:
Dear John,
On the day you posted the first ‘Three things that really frustrate me” piece I was in Calgary, for Willow Park’s Whisky Wednesday event. The store has agreed to take three sets of The Family Casks, and Kensington Wine Market, also in Calgary, has also ordered from the range. The LCBO have also offered The Family Casks as a virtual offer. So we are at least sending some of The Family Casks to the right continent!
With no liquor monopoly, and being a market where both 700ml and 750ml are legal, I reckon there is a greater range of spirits available in Alberta than any other province or state in North America. Maybe you should head to Calgary on a shopping trip!
Well, they’re getting closer…
Category: New Releases, Scotch whisky
November 26th, 2007
John Hansell
This is something that really frustrates me. Far too many times, there are writers doing stories on whisky for big name newspapers and magazines and they keep writing things that are incorrect or very misleading. Sometimes, it seems obvious that the writer doesn’t even like whisky.
This happens fairly frequently (i.e., a few to several times a year). I’ll give an example just this past week. It was in New York magazine. It was titled “Bourbon at its Best” and was a listing of bourbons to buy as gifts. Their favorite of the bunch? Michter’s 10 year old, which the author describes as “being made by the distillery that supplied rye to the Revolutionary army.”
Sorry, but the Michter’s Distillery has been closed for about two decades, and the last remaining stocks of Michter’s whiskey was sold on the market as Hirsch, at 16 and 20 year old expressions. A different company bought the rights to the Michter’s name and is selling whiskey as “Michter’s” but it is not from the Michter’s distillery. (They do not reveal the source of the whiskey.)
Sometimes writings on whisky (what whisky is, how each is made, how each one differs, etc.) are so generalized, that they serve no real purpose to the reader. Other times, what they write is inaccurate, perpetuating the very problem they are supposed to resolve: consumer ignorance and misunderstanding about a increasingly complicated subject.
It is so important that the consumer understands what they are drinking. An educated consumer is a satisfied consumer. Large circulation newspapers and magazines can go far to helping this cause. I can think of several really good whisky writers who would do a great job on just about any whisky topic. It would be nice if the editors of these major publications would hire someone who actually knows the subject, rather than assign it to a staff member just to save time and money.
I have written for a newspaper for several years now, and I can tell you first-hand that freelancer pay is so pathetic, most good whisky writers would just laugh at an offer, even if the editor was wise enough to go out and attempt to hire a knowledgeable freelance writer. So, I don’t see anything changing anytime soon.
Category: Bourbon, Opinions
November 22nd, 2007
John Hansell
This is all good stuff: donate about $50 to a good cause, and have a chance to win your own dream home on Islay, in addition to other cool prizes.
The contest is called “Spot the whisky barrel.” Basically, here’s how it works. A whisky barrel (empty, sorry) is going to be dropped by plane off of Islay with a parachute. The person who guesses the closest to where the barrel will land wins the first prize of about $500,000 or three acres of land on Islay and cash to build a house on it! The other prizes aren’t too shabby either: vacations on Islay, barrels of whisky, bottles of whisky, etc.
For the particulars, go to: http://www.spotthewhiskybarrel.com/
Good luck!
Category: Events, Opinions
November 20th, 2007
John Hansell
Okay, I give in. I’m opening the blog up to comments. People are emailing me about my blog comments because they can’t comment on the blog site. (I get the hint.)
Let’s use this posting as the test posting. I know a lot more about whisky than I do blogging software, so we might have to iron out a few bugs.
Give it a try. Send me your thoughts–about allowing comments, or anything else about “What does John Know?”, good or bad. Comments will be allowed starting with this posting, going forward.
I set it up so that any new authors must have their posts screened by me before it posts. If it’s your first posting and there’s a slight delay, this is why.
Let the commenting begin!
Category: Administrative
Recent Comments