Berry Bros. & Rudd Spirits To Offer Authentication Service
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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, one bottle was advertised as a single malt from the 1930s, the other from the 1940s. An examination of the bottles, cross-checked against the extensive Berry Bros. & Rudd archive, quickly established that neither bottle was genuine. The bottles were subsequently withdrawn from sale.

The Company believes this is an isolated incident but, should you have any doubts regarding a bottle of Berry Bros. & Rudd whisky you own, please contact Douglas McIvor, Spirits Manager

Doug will be able to check if the bottle is genuine, and provide a certificate of authenticity. However, should the bottle be a fake, Berry Bros. & Rudd will destroy it.

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’.

Andrew Fell, Global Customer Marketing Director, Diageo Global Whiskies Category said: “Working with MOFILM we were able to showcase new talent and truly creative ideas. The winning entries were all touching, amusing, provocative and innovative and perfectly illustrated the love and respect due to fathers.”

 

MOFILM, which is the world’s leading video and film contest community, challenged 20 previous contest winners to create a short piece that told the story of their relationship with their father and how whisky plays a part in that.

 

The winner, New Yorker Jody Lauren Miller, was flown to Palm Springs to celebrate her win in style at the Coachella Music Festival. Her film, entitled ‘Victor’ – which featured her father and his fondness for Johnnie Walker - was described by the judging panel as “quite simply superb”.

 

Jody was presented with a $5,000 cash prize and a separate gift of a personally engraved bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

 

In a close second place was the Swedish team of Daniel, Fredrik & Henrik Lundh. Their entry – ‘The Man with the Nose’ – told the story of their dad’s character and his amazing sense of smell that leads him to Talisker whisky.

In third place was Will Shipley of the US with ‘Like Father Like Daughter’ which celebrated Bushmills Irish Whiskey. In fourth was ‘You Know Him’ by Canadian film maker Lloyd Choi, linked to J&B Whiskey, and in fifth place was ‘Sleepless Nights’ by John Waters from the UK, which also linked to Bushmills.

 

The winning entries can be viewed and downloaded here:

 

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/prne/diageo/53835/

 

Andrew Fell added: “We believe film is an incredibly powerful medium to capture the feelings that people have for their fathers, a feeling that is often hard for them to express. Watching these films it’s hard not to raise a smile - and a glass - to dads!”

 

1 In the US consumers were expected to spend $16.3 billion on Mother’s Day compared to $11.1 billion on Father’s Day in 2011. Source: BIGresearch survey in partnership with the National Retail Federation (NRF) 2011. Total spending is extrapolation of spending of U.S. adults 18+.

 

The Perfect Storm - Cutty Sark Storm review

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.

Which whiskies from the range has Cutty Sark Storm replaced?

The Storm has replaced both the Cutty Black and Cutty Sark Blended Malt. It's available imminently in a number of international markets including the UK, Greece and Portugal.

Bottled at 40% and chillfiltered, it is vibrant and clean with citrus notes and sweetness. The palate is full, rich & delightful with a light powdering of coal dust. Kirsteen Campbell, Master Blender, was charged with the task of making something deliciously rich, yet in keeping with the rest of the range.

Personally, I think Kirsteen has suceeded and in the process created a great example of what a good Blended Scotch Whisky can be. When curious about the difference from the rest of the range I was told that:

Cutty Sark Storm is made from the same top quality North British grain whisky as Cutty Sark Blend, but Futures a higher malt content percentage. She has used more mature whiskies from Highland Park and The Macallan, among others. As a result the palate in particular is spectacular'

See my tasting notes below.

Tasting Notes

ABV: 40%

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Nose:

Pineapple is there from the start and follows with a plethora of tropical fruits. This instantly made me think of an advert for starbursts (see the youtube video below)! After a while in the glass this becomes resinous like furniture polish and big bold notes of blood orange with subtle elements of coal tar come in on the back. 

Palate:

Sweet and mouth coating, from the outset this whisky has a light pepper spice to the sides of the tounge which develops into a mild astrigency. Once the dryness has gone and you start to salivate buttered popcorn and ripe peach come into the back. 

Sweet smouldering tinder and crisp red grape husks follow into the next sip. This is a complex dram, which is easy to enjoy and keeps giving.