Our whisky related Christmas gift guide

It is that time of year again when many people's thoughts turn to the festive season and what to buy their family, friends and colleagues.  Black Friday has been and gone, as has Cyber Monday and most are still panicking about what to buy  If you are like us, December seems to have snuck up on us this year and Christmas is just a few weeks away - where has 2013 gone?  As with previous years we have decided to do a short gift guide, so you can banish any ideas of Christmas socks that play Jingle Bells when you walk along ...

New release - Benriach 17 years old Virgin American Oak Finish

The award winning Speyside distillery of Benriach (pronounced ben-ree-ack) has teamed up with The Whisky Shop, the UK's largest whisky retail chain, to release an exclusive bottling.  This 17 years old whisky has been crafted from just four single casks, which were all filled on the 4th May 1995. The four were married together exclusively for the chain.  Each cask was transferred to virgin American oak casks (ie - fresh oak casks which have not previously held whisky) for a short 'finishing' time before this marrying.

In a unique twist, the final whisky was chosen by a selected group of The Whisky Shop's customers in the form of a panel of W Club members (the W Club is The Whisky Shop's own private members club for customers). To join or for details on how to join, visit one of their 21 stores or www.thewclub.co.uk.  It has been at the natural cask strength of 53.1% ABV and is retailing in The Whisky Shop's stores or via www.whiskyshop.com for £73.99.

Benriach is a small independently owned distillery which is located in the Speyside region of Scotland, just to the south of the city of Elgin.  It was founded in 1897 by John Duff & Co, who built it to help with production at the adjacent Longmorn distillery.  They named it (rather unimaginatively) Longmorn 2. The distillery is currently owned by the Benriach Distillery Company, who took control from previous owners Pernod Ricard in 2004.  The distillery had been closed for a few years but the company invested heavily and the Benriach single malt brand has since gone from strength to strength, winning countless awards.  The annual production capacity is approximately 1.8 million litres.

Our tasting notes
The colour is a vibrant golden yellow and the nose is immediately intense and spicy.  There are powerful aromas of vanilla, freshly sawn oak, coconut oil, burnt brown sugar and plenty of wood spices (think of cinnamon bark, nutmeg and cedarwood).  Underneath are softer aromas of honey, stewed apple, toffee, toasted almonds and a whiff of spiced orange.  It is very oaky and has a bourbon-like quality.

On the palate, this whisky is equally as intense as on the nose. The drying wood spices instantly grip the taste buds and hang on - think again of coconut, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Other notes start to penetrate and add some sweetness and balance.  These include a lovely honey-like characteristic, which is joined by further notes of vanilla, crumbly brown sugar and a hint of tangy spiced orange zest.  With time the apple note from the nose can be detected, although now it is more reminiscent of dried apple. The finish is long, intense and drying with plenty of the woody notes and accompanying spices on show. This gives the whisky a mouth watering quality with some creamed coconut, honey and that hint of orange coming through right at the end.

With a few drops of water, the whisky instantly feels creamier, softer and rounder in the mouth.  The intense spices are dampened and the other notes are allowed to flourish, while maintaining their own intensity.  An interesting floral note is also detected - imagine something like honeysuckle.

What's the verdict?
This whisky is very interesting but throws up some challenges. The intensity is clearly driven by the combination of the virgin oak casks and the high alcohol strength.  This will mean that it may not be to everyone's taste.  However with water it becomes more approachable and has greater balance, as some of the subtle aromas and flavours are allowed to shine.  We would recommend adding water and it can take quite a lot, while still maintain its intensity and interest.

We also like the idea of allowing customers/whisky enthusiasts to select a whisky for release - naturally this is potentially fraught with danger or problems for the retailer, but the panel have not made a bad start with this Benriach.  We look forward to the next such release from them ...

Inbox - March 2, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.

AnCnoc - New Vintage released
Inver House Distillers, the owners of AnCnoc, have announced the release of the latest in their increasing line of Vintage expressions.  This one was distilled in 1998 and has been matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.  There are to be just 5,100 bottles and the whisky is being released at 46% ABV.  It will appear in March in selected markets - France, Germany, Japan, Russia and the UK. As yet, no pricing information is available.

Ballantine's - Four new whiskies
The popular range of blended Scotch whiskies have announced four new expressions to be sold through the travel retail sector. These whiskies form the new Signature Distillery Editions. The first is 17 years old and based around the Glenburgie distillery, which is regarded as 'the heart of the Ballantine's blend'. The other three will see a staggered release over the next three years. They will be of the same age and based around the Scapa, Miltonduff and Glentauchers distilleries.

The Glenburgie edition will be placed in European and Asian travel retail and has been specially created by Ballantine's Master Blender Sandy Hyslop. Sandy says of the release,  “Glenburgie has played a central role for many generations of Ballantine’s Master Blenders. This stunning limited edition offers the whisky drinker a unique insight to the role that Glenburgie malt plays in the original and much-celebrated Ballantine’s 17yo blend".

Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society - Now in business
The JSMWS (let's call it that for short!) is a new membership club that has been formed by our good friends Josh Hatton and Jason Johnstone-Yellin.  It has grown from Josh's popular JSMWS blog and is now dedicated to sourcing and bottling some of the finest single malt Scotch whiskies that they can, while remaining faithful to the needs of the religion.

The Society has three tiers of membership priced at $180, $480 and $960 - these prices cover a year of membership, with a proposed $36 per year renewal fee after that.  For details of what you get within each price bracket and for further information about the Society, please visit www.jsmws.com. having spoken to Jason recently, he pointed out that you do not have to be Jewish to sign up because it's all about the whisky - "whisky first, Jewish second ..." as he put it.

The W Club goes live

This week, a new venture has been launched by The Whisky Shop - the UK's largest specialist whisky retail chain. The W Club is a private membership club which offers plenty for the whisky consumer and fan. There is a new website and blog, which are being edited by whisky journalist Dominic Roskrow, in addition to a permanent 10% discount on all products that The Whisky Shop stock (this discount applies in any of the chain's 18 UK stores and through their website).

Other membership benefits include access to limited edition and exclusive bottlings, entry in to 'money can't buy' competitions, special tasting events and distillery tours.  Membership costs just £12.50 a year or £25 a year for a special membership welcome pack. To complete your membership, please go to www.thewclub.co.uk.  If you don't wish to join, then you can still see various parts of the site, which is packed with new information.

The Whisky Lounge - Fest! returns to London
The popular whisky show has announced its return to London after a year off. The Lounge's co-founders, husband and wife team Eddie and Amanda Ludlow, are hosting the London 2012 show at The Royal Horticultural Halls on Saturday 21 April.  Previous shows around the UK have been given much praise and press as Eddie and Amanda try to present whisky to beginners and connoisseurs alike, but in a relaxed, informal way - their tag line of 'Bringing whisky to the people' says it all really.

The London show includes over 30 stands, tutored tasting sessions, food and whisky matching demonstrations and a 'live blogging area'.  There are two sessions - 11am to 3pm and then 4pm to 8pm - and tickets are £40 each per session.  To book your tickets for the Fest! - please visit www.thewhiskylounge.com and follow the links to the London event. We hope to see you there ...