Whisky Guild - single malt scotch whisky new york new jersy

Whisk(e)y musings, news & notes Wednesday April 2, 2008 \| Glen Karlovitch A weekly collection of select whisky news and our personal rants. You won’t find any industry profit/lose nonsense here; we’ll let other sites cover that THRILLING subject. Highland Park - Scotch This week the Whisky Guild hosted a Highland Park tasting in our “yes, it’s a free event” series with Brand Ambassador Martin Daraz. Martin was kind enough to bring the whole line and entertained the crowd with his great sense of humor. These Brand Ambassadors are really top notch, they make our job so easy. It also doesn't hurt when your pouring such a great whisky like Highland Park. After waiting for a few stragglers, we started the night with the 12 year old which is a vibrant and peaty dram that really set the crowd up nicely for what we would taste during the event. Highland Park 12 yr old If you like a youthful, heavily sherried, yet vibrant dram, this just might be the one for you. The hints of heather, bitter orange, and ozone in the nose belie a medium, slightly oily mouth-feel. But it’s in the finish where this expression excels. Short, warming, lightly peated, and with an essence of orange cake, it’s the finish that will hook you on this one. We then moved on to the 15 year old which I think is one of the most underappreciated drams on the market. A little difficult to find but well worth seeking out. Highland Park 15 year old: This may seem silly, but this dram was…fun. It’s crisp, light body was preceded by a nose of lightly roasted pecans, malt, and fresh-cut lawn. Not what we expected from a Highland Park. And that carried over to the finish. I’m not sure the Highland Park people would appreciate the comparison, but the 15 year old reminded me of a “Lagavulin light”: peat, iodine, burnt rope, but offset nicely by tart apples and some chestnuts as it wafted away in a very smooth finish. In a word – Delicious. Next up was only one of the best whiskies in the world Highland Park 18 year old. Highland Park 18 year old: As a carnival barker might say, “Alright everyone, step right up!” When “whisky aficionados” (snobs) talk about the quintessential whisky, Highland Park 18 always comes up. And though it pains me to agree with them, they’re right on the money! This is the “it’s-got-everything-you-could-want-in-a-whisky” whisky. The nose recalls fresh mixed nuts, cream soda, cotton candy, heather, and fireplace embers. The body is lightly chewy; substantial, yet not overbearing. And the finish! Muted heat of peat and smoke, some marzipan sweetness, and that trademark orange (peel) essence. This is Highland Park. The next dram was a huge hit with our crowd and is much different than other whiskies in the Highland Park range. Rich and full of sherry; we couldn’t pour this one fast enough.
Highland Park 25 year old: Where to start! Very complex, with a nose full of sherry, honey, wet walnuts, hospital gauze, kumquats, and dried spices (yup, all that!), this one perked-up some tired eyes. The 25 year old had a medium body that segued nicely into a beautiful warm, shortish, lightly biting finish full of fresh oranges and lotus cakes. Syrupy, yet slightly smoky, this one is my favorite or the range. Need I say more?
Martin saved this one as a surprise for the end of the night. The crowd was thrilled to finish of the tasting with such a rare and special Highland Park. Highland Park 30 year old: Highland Park’s sippin’ whisky. Very subtle, with a (not overpowering) oaky nose, that is also slightly nutty with a vanilla sweetness and musty character. There seem to be different layers of sweetness to the nose that just add to the overall complexity of the dram. The body is crisp and clean on the palate, belying this whisky’s 30 years. This beauty’s smooth finish completes the package – dry, medium-to-short, with apples and that almost omnipresent bitter-orange character. A whisky to be savored. A special thanks Martin and everyone that attended. Check our www.whiskysocial.com site for other upcoming Whisky Guild events. Highland Park tasting notes by Brett ‘two t’ Calish Knob Creek – Bourbon The Knob Creek® Bourbon Lounge opens at Bluegrass Airport 9:10 AM on Mar. 31, 2008 The next time you fly in or out of Lexington, Kentucky, you just might be hoping your plane is delayed. Because on March 28th, The Knob Creek® Bourbon Lounge opens at Bluegrass Airport. Located in the Main Lobby of the terminal, The Knob Creek Bourbon Lounge is designed by and dedicated to our favorite bourbon. Of course, there is a fine array of other whiskies and spirits, including The Original Small Batch Bourbon CollectionTM. And, since The Knob Creek Bourbon Lounge is situated outside the security area, you don't even need a plane ticket to enjoy a drink. So the next time you're in the area make sure you drop by — or maybe even fly in. Sincerely, Bernie Lubbers Whiskey Professor
Kilbeggan – Irish Kilbeggan, The “Worlds Best Blended Irish Whiskey” Cooley Distillery is proud to announce that the Kilbeggan 15 Year Old Irish Whiskey has been selected as the “World’s Best Blended Irish Whiskey” by an illustrious panel of independent Whisky experts at the World Whiskies Awards in London.
This panel of judges chose Kilbeggan 15 Year Old Irish Whiskey over competitor bottlings, such as Jameson 12 Yr Old and Bushmills 1608, that had made it through to the last round. Jack Teeling, Marketing Director for Cooley Distillery, commented: “Kilbeggan is an ancient brand from the golden era of Irish Whiskey. It is only right that a bottling, released to celebrate the distillery’s 250th birthday, would now emerge as the World’s Best Irish Blended Whiskey. It is rewarding to see that in the renaissance for Irish Whiskey Kilbeggan is again rising to the forefront”. Kilbeggan will now represent the Irish as it goes head to head with the “World’s Best” Blended Whiskies from around the world at the World of Whiskies Conference in Glasgow in April. The Whisky Magazine, which run the World Whiskies Awards, assembled some of the best noses and experts in the Whisky business to form an independent tasting panel.
These were the brave souls who tackled the large number of Irish Whiskeys that entered the competition. Chaired by Dave Broom, this annual selection of the very best proprietary Whiskies evolved out of Best of the Best, the biannual tasting held since 2000. The judging process started with the independent panel receiving samples at home and judging blind. This enabled the panel to whittle down the large number of entries to a select few that were then tasted by an invited panel from the International Whisky Industry on the eve of Whisky Live London 2008. This award coincides with the launch of a new website for Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, www.kilbegganwhiskey.com, that offers a virtual tour around the oldest licensed distillery in the world, the Old Kilbeggan Distillery and a question and answer session with Noel Sweeney, Cooley’s Master Blender. Drams You Need To Try (if you haven’t already) Scotland Highland Park 15: Very approachable and easy drinking. A real step up in class. American Jim Beam Black: Aged 8 years in the hot Kentucky sun produces a rich and well balanced premium bourbon Irish Redbreast 12: Buy this! I don’t care if you don’t like Irish whiskey. This one can compete with any dram. Upcoming Whisky Events April 2nd Whisky Live, NYC info 2nd SWMS Australia Whisky 101 Class, Part 1 Sydney info 4th WhiskyFest, Chicago, Illinois info 7th Knob Creek Stillhouse Society Diner, The Palm, NYC info 9th SMWS Australia Whisky 101 Class, Part 2 Sydney info 9th SMWS Atlanta, GA info 13th SMWS Dallas, TX info 25th Scotch Whisky Training School, The Scotch Whisky Experience, Edinburgh info 28th Whisky Live Strasbourg, France info Cocktail of the Week (PLEASE!!! just don’t use anything too expensive) The Rusty Nail 2 oz Johnnie Walker Red 1 oz Drambuie Lemon twist Combine Scotch and Drambuie over ice in a tumble glass. Garnish with lemon. Link of the Week www.whiskycast.com Mark Gillespie brings you in depth whisky news and commentary Picture of the Week Empting casks at Jim Beam Remember to always drink responsibly and like what YOU like & how YOU like it.