BUSHMILLS IRISH WHISKEY SWEEPS THE BOARD AT 2012 SPIRIT COMPETITIONS

Bushmills Irish Whiskey has finished the 2012 awards season with a sweep of accolades from some of the world’s most prestigious spirit competitions – twelve of which have been picked up in the last month alone.

The recent awards include two gold medals for Bushmills 21 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey - one at the 2012 International Wine and Spirit Competition and another at the 2012 Spirits Business Irish Whiskey Masters.

The medals bring the number of awards that the handcrafted Bushmills range has won in 2012 to 32. This includes the accolade of ‘Best Irish Whiskey’ that Bushmills 21 Year Old also picked up at the 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. 

BUSHMILLS 16 Year Old Single Malt also picked up a coveted 'Master' award - the highest in its category - in the 2012 Spirits Business Irish Whiskey Masters.

BUSHMILLS Global Brand Director, Samantha Reader said: “The quality of BUSHMILLS, as recognised by the most credible experts in the industry, is an important factor in the growth of the brand.”

“Picking up a haul of 32 top awards has been the perfect ending to a big year for us. In the past few months, we’ve launched a new product, Bushmills Irish Honey, in the U.S.; staged Bushmills Live - a handcrafted whiskey and music festival - at the home of Bushmills; and collaborated with a range of world-famous artists such as Snow Patrol, Bon Iver and Elijah Wood.”

“We spend a lot of time here at Bushmills handcrafting each of our whiskies in small batches – that’s our secret to creating the best quality Irish Whiskey and the smooth taste that is our house style. We’ll certainly be enjoying a glass to celebrate!”

Berry Bros. & Rudd Spirits To Offer Authentication Service

Former owners of Cutty Sark, Berry Bros. & Rudd, who opened their doors over 310 years ago this week announced that following the revelation that a couple of questionable bottles of whisky purporting to have been bottled by Berry Bros. & Rudd in the 1970s have recently been offered for sale, Simon Berry, Chairman of Berry Bros. & Rudd, has announced his intention to remove any fakes from circulation:

“Having seen the damage wrought in fine wine circles by a few unscrupulous individuals, some of whom are now facing criminal proceedings, I am adamant that we will do what we can to prevent a similar situation arising in the world of single malt whisky. We cannot purport to be experts in all whisky forgeries but we can be certain when it comes to our own Berry Bros.’ bottlings.” 

Apparently coming from an Italian source...

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Global Film Competition helps to ‘raise a glass’ to dads this father's day

Some of the world’s most famous whisky makers, including Johnnie Walker, Bushmills Irish Whiskey, J&B and Talisker, have harnessed the creative talents of up-and-coming independent film makers around the globe to help inspire people to ‘raise a glass’ to their dads this Father’s Day.

As part of their ‘Raise a glass to your dad’ campaign, the whisky makers partnered with MOFILM, a global network of some 45,000 film makers, to seek short films that pay tribute to fathers.

Shopper statistics¹ show that, traditionally, consumers spend more on Mother’s Day than Father’s Day and the ‘Raise a glass to your dad’ campaign aims to redress the balance, urging sons and daughters to pay tribute to the ‘man behind their dad’.

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The Perfect Storm - Cutty Sark Storm review

Updated on Thu, June 28, 2012 by Darren

Earlier in the week I recieved a sample of the new Cutty Sark Storm. I've really been impressed with the direction the brand has taken since leaving Berry Bros. & Rudd. As a stedfast BNJ fan I've also found that my buying preference switching to the Cutty 12yo.

If you're not aware, over the last year the guys at Edrington have updated the label slightly and slimmed down the core range.  That means there is now only the Storm, 12 and 18 years old. Jason Craig at Cutty stated:

"There will, of course, be other specials and limited releases - such as Tam o' Shanter 25 year old, for example - but the intention is to give the brand greater focus, which is easier to do when there are fewer expersions."

This is a really positive sign and if you haven't tried any of the new releases do give them a go!

Also, if your not familiar with the Cutty Sark Tam o' Shanter see my blog post from January.

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Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Marcus Foster, The Staves, General Fiasco and David C Clements Join the Line Up for ‘Bushmills Live’

Bushmills Irish Whiskey has announced that Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Marcus Foster, The Staves, General Fiasco and David C Clements will join Snow Patrol, Foy Vance, Iain Archer and Elijah Wood on the bill for ‘Bushmills Live’, the handcrafted whiskey and music festival taking place at the Old Bushmills Distillery on 20^th and 21^st June.

The exciting line up brings together some of the best emerging talent from the UK, Ireland and America to play at the whiskey distillery located on Ireland’s north coast.   

Singer-songwriters Marcus Foster and Benjamin Francis Leftwich are two of the most exciting UK based performers today. The Staves are a sisterly trio, who have received huge critical acclaim for their unique song-writing and mesmerising harmonies. They and Northern Irish rock acts General Fiasco and David C Clements complete the impressive line-up.

 “I'm delighted with how the line up has come together for the event”, commented Festival Curator for ‘Bushmills Live’, Graham Brown.

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Broadsided by the Spirit of Adnams!

Adnams basically make a great beer called Broadside which John has distilled. Now, because of the hops present this could never be called whisky, it's an eau de vie of sorts.

Back last year I tried the unaged spirit and it was great straight off the still, the depth of flavour was amazing and I keenly awaited another oportunity to try the spirit once aged.

John said recently "It's amazing what you can do with wood as a distiller, we're testing spirit in new french oak and have introduced American oak hogsheads too...". I personally have to agree and the Spirit of Broadside is testement to that! It's due into the shops in May and would recommend it to anyone looking for a spirit that challanges the misconseption that hop spirits would never distill well.

Tasting notes

Product: Spirit of Broadside

Distillation: Date: January 2011

Spirit Type: Eau de Vie

Cask type: New European Oak

ABV: 43%

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Product Launch - Top Gun with The Famous Goose (Man)

Updated on Sun, April 1, 2012 by Darren

The first day of April sees the launch of our brand new product, The Famous Goose.

It's a product which has caused excitement for all of us at The Famous Grouse, as we welcome a new breed into our Famous Family. 

The Famous Goose gets its name from the celebrated Canada Goose, a migrant that ousts the Red Grouse as Scotland's favourite game bird, once a year in early April.  Its smooth taste comes from the blend of fine malt whiskies - including The McGonagall and Highland Snark - and sweet grain whiskies. 

We're sure it will become another one of Scotland's Favourite Whiskies, if only for a day. So why not open a bottle with a  gaggle of friends and see what all the fuss is about? Just be careful. The Goose can be an even more difficult breed to find than The Grouse.

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Multi-Platinum Selling Band Snow Patrol to Headline 'Bushmills Live'

Snow Patrol announced as the first of a number of artists who will perform at ‘Bushmills Live’ – a handcrafted whiskey and music festival taking place at the Old Bushmills Distillery on the north coast of Ireland on 20th and 21st June 2012.Bushmills™ Irish Whiskey has announced Snow Patrol as the first of a number of artists who will perform at ‘Bushmills Live’ - the handcrafted whiskey and music festival taking place at the Old Bushmills Distillery on the north coast of Ireland on 20th and 21st June 2012.

Snow Patrol, who are from Northern Ireland, are one of the world’s most popular bands, selling more than 11 million albums since their breakthrough record Final Straw debuted in 2003.

The two-day handcrafted festival will be the first ever staged in an Irish Whiskey distillery. The artists will play a series of intimate gigs in age-old buildings around the distillery. Other performers announced at this stage include renowned musician Foy Vance, who along with David Holmes composed the music for the OSCAR®* winning short film, ‘The Shore’, and award-winning singer songwriter and producer Iain Archer.

Snow Patrol’s Jonny Quinn, commented: “Playing live on a bill of great artists and friends, in the Old Bushmills Distillery that's been around for centuries - it doesn't get much better than that!"

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BUSHMILLS™ to Host First Ever Music Festival in an Irish Whiskey Distillery

Bushmills Village: 8th March 2012: The Old Bushmills Distillery, where handcrafted Irish Whiskey has been made for centuries, is to host a landmark whiskey and music festival – ‘Bushmills Live’. 

The two-day festival will take place on 20th and 21st June 2012 and will be the first ever staged in an Irish Whiskey distillery. 

Some of the brand’s most famous fans will play a series of intimate gigs at the distillery which is situated on Ireland’s north coast and age-old buildings where the art of distilling has been practiced for generations, will become venues for the festival which will be unlike any other ever staged before.

The brand already has a strong association with the contemporary music scene through a series of global partnerships that see artists such as Bon Iver, Chromeo, Theophilus London, Foy Vance and Iain Archer appear in its current advertising campaign.

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Press Release: GLENFIDDICH 21 YEAR OLD IS RELAUNCHED IN NEW PACKAGING

Glenfiddich 21 Year Old now features the sub-branding, ‘Gran Reserva’ which alludes to the single malt Scotch whisky’s exceptional quality.  The new presentation’s deep burgundy theme is embellished with an intricately designed filigree pattern on the bottle label and box, which also houses a display plinth and a booklet highlighting the Glenfiddich 21 Year Old heritage and story.  The bottle also bears the signature of Brian Kinsman, Glenfiddich Malt Master.

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What is a good food pairing with whisky like Lagavulin 16?

Last year on Islay Ben Ellefsen from Master of Malt made some pretty damn fine BBQ ribs for myself and the Chaps at Caskstrength.net, which we drank with the 2011 port aged Ardbeg feis Ile bottling. On returning home I was inspired to challenge my catering consultant/private chef wife to a rib off.

Being a chef she was pretty confident of winning already, but we set a time for some friends to come over and judge the results. To cut a long story short, when the day finally arrived I ultimately won hands down. The comparison made was Heaston Blumenthal versus Carol Brady.

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ARRAN WHISKY LAUNCHES NEW LIMITED EDITION BOTTLESARRAN WHISKY LAUNCHES NEW LIMITED EDITION BOTTLES

Award-winning* Scotch whisky producer Isle of Arran Distillers have launched a limited edition of 6,000 bottles; The Eagle. The bottling will be released in the UK and worldwide in March.

The single malt Scotch whisky was drawn from a combination of 14 Ex-Bourbon Barrels and 7 Ex-Sherry Hogsheads carefully selected by Master Distiller James MacTaggart from the 1999 distillation. The result is a powerful dram which has hints of tropical fruit salad, vanilla pods and caramel coated hazelnuts to the nose and, to the palate, leaves a buttery lemon drizzle cake sweet and citrus taste. 

The Arran Eagle has been named and dedicated to the pair of Golden Eagles who nest in the mountain above Lochranza, just behind the distillery. They have been an integral part of the Arran story since it opened its doors in 1995.

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GLENMORANGIE AND THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP – THE PERFECT PARTNERSHIP

Glenmorangie single malt whisky has teamed up with golf’s most famous competition in a three year partnership which sees them become the Official Whisky of The Open Championship.

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Cutty Sark - Tam o' Shanter

This evening we've been recording a new episode of Village of the Drammed and in the process I was given a sample of the newest 25year old release from Cutty Sark called Tam o' Shanter.

For those not familiar with the actual tea clipper Cutty Sark its figurehead is the witch called "Nannie" from the Burns poem "Tam o' Shanter", so the name of this blend is  pretty apt.

The only information I currently have is that it's a limited edition blend of 5000 bottles at 46.5% abv. It was created master blender Kirsteen Campbell

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Hitting it out of the Park! Orcadian 1971 & 1976 Vintages.

I'm a big fan of the Highland Park distillery and was really excited to have the opportunity to try the new 1971 and 1976 Orcadian Vintages. Around 2009, Highland Park started the release of exclusive Vintage limited editions each inspired by the myths and legends of Orkney.

These two new whiskies are adding to the exsisting range of the 1964, 1968 & 1970 (sadly I'm yet to try the 64 & 68). Sometimes, it feels like the seventies was a peak time in many ways for what is seen as a 'golden age' of whisky production. Most seasoned whisky drinkers know of an elusive dram from this period and more than once I've heard geeks talk with reverence for the barley strain of both the 70's & mid 80's, "Golden Promise"! (whether it was used at HP is another question)

Golden promises aside...

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Want Something Special? Try Diageo Special Release Whiskies 2011

Updated on Mon, September 12, 2011 by Diageo Whisky PR

Once again, it's that time of year where Diageo announce their special release bottlings. A selection of rare and unusual whiskies, which have been superb in previous years.

I'm positive the 2011 offering will be no different as it includes a 32 year old Brora, limited to only 1,404 bottles, and a Port Ellen, also at 32 years old (both are priced at approx. £300). These two iconic whiskies alone will undoubtedly sell out before retails have even received stock. Although I feel a majority are destined to linger in cupboards and on the shelves of collectors internationally, gathering dust, and rapidly increasing in value.

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Movember 2011: Who would you like to see grow a Mo? My vote is for the guys at Diggnation!

It's getting close to that time of year again, yes, I mean Movember and the release of the Whisky 4 Movember whisky!

What is Movember? It's a charity asking men to grow facial hair for November to raise awareness, and money for men's health issues. See the video below:

Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in the UK and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face and then for the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their actions and words raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health. 

At the end of the month, Mo Bros and their female supporters (known as Mo Sistas) celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember.  

Wouldn't it be cool? 

Now, if you're a tech geek, you might know of the guys from Diggnation (you can find the show on itunes here). They do a regular show for revision3.com, and was part of the inspiration for myself, Billy and Jason to do Village of the Drammed.

In episode 323, posted on Sept 7th, 2011, the guys agreed to grow beards for the next 3 months.

If one of them is unsuccessful the forfeit is to buy 3 bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue for the other participants, but don't you think it would be cool to see them grow Mo's for Movember?!

Host's Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht, both in their 30's are well known in the tech world and regularly set challanges that veiwers get involved in. However, this one may be too big, as no offense to Kevin, but it looks like he may struggle and end up with a top lip from Michael Schumacher's mullet days. It would be great to see the Rev3 shows all in support of Movember, especially as they appeal to the prime age group testicular cancer can effect.

Cool? or not?Eitherway, this year we'll see a bunch of whisky fans, professionals and myself growing some fine Mo's to promote this worthy cause.

To find out more about Movember visit there site here, and the Whisky 4 movember bottle by Master of Malt will be releaved over the coming weeks.

Pioneering Spirits: Glenfiddich Whisky Invites You to Reach the Summit!

Updated on Tue, September 6, 2011 by Darren

If like myself, you grew up climbing and reading books by adventurers such as Joe Simpson, Chris Bonington and Pen Hadow, you'll be excited to know that Glenfiddich Distillery is hosting a summit for 21^st century pioneers.

The "ONE DAY YOU WILL Summit 2011", will feature motivational talks from key pioneers, such as the above mentioned writer, and Polar explorer, Pen Hadow. The two day forum will also include inspirational seminars, exclusive nosing and tasting sessions and a celebratory dinner.

Running from October 18th - 20th, 2011, it will be a great networking opportunity for anyone attending. 

An Inspirational Two-Day Event

I'm sure you'll also agree the incredible determination, strength and passion it takes to do these sometimes unimaginable feats, undoubtedly end's with great motivational stories. 

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Timed To Perfection: Balblair Scotch Whisky & WIRED Magazine Competition

Yesterday WIRED magazine and Balbair single malt whisky announced the launch of an exciting photography competition.

The prize is a 1965 vintage of Balblair, which is part of a limited release of just 350 bottles, this rare single cask edition, distilled in 1965 was aged in an American oak, sherry cask (potentially from Ardbeg?)

I've been lucky enough to try this whisky in the past, and I have to say it's a great dram, and a very rare opportunity to own a £1250- £1500 bottle of whisky!

The theme of the competition is the Highland whisky distilleries motto: "Timed to Perfection".  

Running from September 1st to October 14th the competition will be encouraging talented amateur photographers to submit their work to the WIRED team.  Entries will be judged by WIRED picture Editor Steve Peck and Editorial Photographer of the Year 2010 – Edmund Clark.

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Not a Whisky Riot, but a Smooth Jazz Experience!

Those who are fans of Islay whiskies may be familiar with the Feis Ile (also know as the Islay Whisky Festival).  An annual whisky festival in May, which dedicates individual days over the space of a week to the distilleries of Islay, Jura and Arran.

However, you might not be as familiar with the Lavavulin™ Islay Jazz Festival. Currently in it's 13th year it looks like it won't disappoint! 

Although the festival started in 1999, Lagavulin only started sponsoring the event last year (2010). Over it's thirteen years the festival has grown to become a staple in the UK Jazz scene. I guess the combination of fantastic whiskies and amazing musicians can't but help draw people from all over the UK and Globe.

The Festival covers the weekend of Friday 16th September to Sunday 18th September. It will be opened by vocalist Viktoria Tolstoy. She’ll sing her own special arrangements of many great standards along with interpretations of pop tunes.

The Festival also features the world premiere of the sensational Scottish Drummer Tom Bancroft ‘s Red Triowith English piano star, Tom Cawley, and Norwegian bass sensation Mats Eilertsen, while Brian Kellock and Jacob Karlzon front two piano trios at different edges of the jazz spectrum.

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