Fit for heroes
Former Secretary General of NATO, Lord Robertson, returned recently to his home island of Islay and the Ardbeg Distillery to receive a special bottling of Ardbeg on behalf of the ex-Services’ charity, Erskine.The proceeds from the sale of this cask will be donated to the charity.More than 200 bottles have been signed by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen and are on sale at the Ardbeg Distillery Visitor Centre and website priced at £220 per bottle.Born in Port Ellen on Islay, Lord Robertson, then Secretary General of NATO, visited the Distillery 10 years ago and a special cask, cask number 1217, was laid down to commemorate his visit.Erskine – Lord Robertson’s chosen charity – was founded in 1916 and has provided nursing and medical care for former members of the Armed Forces through two world wars and the more recent conflicts and peace keeping initiatives of the 20th and 21st centuries.Another app for...The Urban Bourbon Trail completes a successful milestone entering its third year on May 30th and launches a new feature to celebrate.Patrons visiting the nine establishments on Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trial now have the option of using a traditional paper passport or going paperless and downloading a new free application from the iTunes store.Limited Isles Independent bottler and distiller, Ian Macleod Distillers, has launched a new limited edition Pomerol finish of its blended malt, The Six Isles.Finished in the finest French oak Pomerol wine casks, the limited edition brings a new dimension and depth to the original, enhancing its rich, peaty and honeyed flavours with spicy, red fruit notes.Described as having a smoky, spicy nose with notes of strawberries and wine gums, the fruity, peaty body of the Pomerol Finish brings in herbal and chocolate undertones before a fresh, salty and minty finish.Blending six full-bodied Single Malts from each of Scotland’s whisky producing islands of Islay, Jura, Skye, Mull, Orkney and Arran, The Six Isles brings together every distinctive style and flavour of each island, from the smoky peat from Islay to the soft, heathery and iodine notes of the Orcadian malt, a sensory voyage through the malt whiskies of the islands of Scotland.Celebration time
It was a landmark occasion in early June for Glen Grant, with the distillery celebrating its 170th birthday in style.At an evening tasting event held in the distillery’s vast filling store, master distiller Dennis Malcolm introduced several hundred guests to a brand new bottling, which brings together carefully selected Glen Grant vintages from 1976 to 1999 and marries them together to create one very special Glen Grant.“For the 170th anniversary, we wanted to celebrate the history of the brand while translating the innovative Glen Grant approach into something new and unexpected,” Dennis commented.“This edition is not a typical cask strength whisky – it is a one of a kind that will refresh the palate with its pleasant, long and lingering finish. We’re sure this will delight and surprise whisky lovers the world over.” Guests were treated to a traditional céilidh supper complete with accompaniment from a local piper, each course being paired with one of Glen Grant’s core range, from the youthful 10 Years Old, through to the now discontinued 1992 Cellar Reserve.The 170th Anniversary bottling is a limited release and will retail for around 100 Euros in selected markets. Bottled at 46%, the nose demonstrates an initial fruitiness, coupled with some marzipan and a spicy raisin sweetness, but lots of very clean, crisp barley freshness.The palate gives spirity notes at first, leading into a hint of red summer fruits, then a sharp wave of gooseberries and green apple peel. With the addition of water, a fresh bread-like maltiness emerges, some raisins and a subtle hint of peat smoke.A lingering finish develops, with liquorice, but most of all, very clean barley. A well-rounded expression indeed.
Former Secretary General of NATO, Lord Robertson, returned recently to his home island of Islay and the Ardbeg Distillery to receive a special bottling of Ardbeg on behalf of the ex-Services’ charity, Erskine.The proceeds from the sale of this cask will be donated to the charity.More than 200 bottles have been signed by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen and are on sale at the Ardbeg Distillery Visitor Centre and website priced at £220 per bottle.Born in Port Ellen on Islay, Lord Robertson, then Secretary General of NATO, visited the Distillery 10 years ago and a special cask, cask number 1217, was laid down to commemorate his visit.Erskine – Lord Robertson’s chosen charity – was founded in 1916 and has provided nursing and medical care for former members of the Armed Forces through two world wars and the more recent conflicts and peace keeping initiatives of the 20th and 21st centuries.Another app for...The Urban Bourbon Trail completes a successful milestone entering its third year on May 30th and launches a new feature to celebrate.Patrons visiting the nine establishments on Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trial now have the option of using a traditional paper passport or going paperless and downloading a new free application from the iTunes store.Limited Isles Independent bottler and distiller, Ian Macleod Distillers, has launched a new limited edition Pomerol finish of its blended malt, The Six Isles.Finished in the finest French oak Pomerol wine casks, the limited edition brings a new dimension and depth to the original, enhancing its rich, peaty and honeyed flavours with spicy, red fruit notes.Described as having a smoky, spicy nose with notes of strawberries and wine gums, the fruity, peaty body of the Pomerol Finish brings in herbal and chocolate undertones before a fresh, salty and minty finish.Blending six full-bodied Single Malts from each of Scotland’s whisky producing islands of Islay, Jura, Skye, Mull, Orkney and Arran, The Six Isles brings together every distinctive style and flavour of each island, from the smoky peat from Islay to the soft, heathery and iodine notes of the Orcadian malt, a sensory voyage through the malt whiskies of the islands of Scotland.Celebration time
It was a landmark occasion in early June for Glen Grant, with the distillery celebrating its 170th birthday in style.At an evening tasting event held in the distillery’s vast filling store, master distiller Dennis Malcolm introduced several hundred guests to a brand new bottling, which brings together carefully selected Glen Grant vintages from 1976 to 1999 and marries them together to create one very special Glen Grant.“For the 170th anniversary, we wanted to celebrate the history of the brand while translating the innovative Glen Grant approach into something new and unexpected,” Dennis commented.“This edition is not a typical cask strength whisky – it is a one of a kind that will refresh the palate with its pleasant, long and lingering finish. We’re sure this will delight and surprise whisky lovers the world over.” Guests were treated to a traditional céilidh supper complete with accompaniment from a local piper, each course being paired with one of Glen Grant’s core range, from the youthful 10 Years Old, through to the now discontinued 1992 Cellar Reserve.The 170th Anniversary bottling is a limited release and will retail for around 100 Euros in selected markets. Bottled at 46%, the nose demonstrates an initial fruitiness, coupled with some marzipan and a spicy raisin sweetness, but lots of very clean, crisp barley freshness.The palate gives spirity notes at first, leading into a hint of red summer fruits, then a sharp wave of gooseberries and green apple peel. With the addition of water, a fresh bread-like maltiness emerges, some raisins and a subtle hint of peat smoke.A lingering finish develops, with liquorice, but most of all, very clean barley. A well-rounded expression indeed.
