Distillery and Whisky News January 2023 - Strathisla
Hello whisky lovers, and welcome to our January edition of Distillery and Whisky News.
Happy New Year to all our loyal readers, we hope you've had a great festive break and are now looking forward to whatever 2023 may bring. Hopefully lots of distillery trips, and some new malts to try...
If you like to kick off a new year by getting lots of 'dates in the diary' let us help you, visit DistilleryTours.scot and choose one of our bespoke tours with destinations like Islay and Speyside all well covered.
Sláinte and Lang May Your Lum Reek!
Distillery Of The Month: Strathisla
Strathisla Distillery
Strathisla, the spiritual home of Chivas is the oldest working distillery in the Scottish Highlands dating back to 1786. The Chivas family motto set the tone for the brand ethos - By Virtue. Not By Force.
At Strathisla Distillery you will feel closer to the true spirit of its rich, smooth, Chivas Regal blends and the classic Speyside malt at their heart. As a whisky aficionado your Strathisla visit will be a sensory experience, created in a beautiful riverside distillery now in its 232nd year of Scottish Highlands’ history.
The Chivas Cellar Tasting is a must-do for any visitor. This exclusive tasting offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy drams drawn straight form the casks in front of them inside the Chivas Regal Cellar within Warehouse No 3 at Strathisla Distillery.
All the drams are at natural cask strength and they include a Bourbon barrel of Chivas Regal 12 years old, a sherry butt of Chivas Extra, a hogshead of Chivas Regal 18 YO, a sherry butt of Chivas Regal 25 YO and last a barrel of Chivas Ultis.
The tasting is led by an experienced guide and promises to be an unforgettable experience and will provide an insight into the complexities of the blending of luxury whiskies.
Find out more about Strathisla their whisky and tours on their dedicated page on the DistilleryTours.scot website.
Venue of the month: Scotch Malt Whisky Society at Queen Street
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) is the world’s leading whisky club, offering members an ever-changing variety of rare and exceptional single cask whiskies.
The Society’s focus is on unique whiskies bottled from a single cask at natural strength without the addition of water or colouring. As hosts of the world’s most colourful whisky experiences, the Society also bring its members together to share their passion, at its Members’ Rooms, tasting events, festivals, and international partner bars.
With breathtaking views over the waters of the Firth of Forth, 28 Queen Street is an impressive four-storey Georgian building, comprising a suite of modern and elegant rooms. The Kaleidoscope Whisky Bar is open to all, with exclusive Members’ Rooms on the top floors.
The bars boast over 200 rare single malts from across Scotland, which can be paired with the finest craft beers, artisanal spirits and wines. The bar menu is available for a delicious and hearty meal.
Discover the world's widest collection of single cask whiskies, all lovingly selected for their exceptional quality and interest by our expert Tasting Panel. Unique, distinctive and strictly limited to a single cask, every one of our whiskies is a case study in the distiller's craft.
Find out more about Scotch Malt Whisky Society at Queen Street on its dedicated page at the DistilleryTours website.
Scotch Malt Whisky Society at Queen Street
Date With A Dram: Borders Distillery
This month's competition is with Borders Distillery to win a bottle of their WS:01 Malt & Rye.
In 2019, Borders Distillery distilled a small batch of rye spirit and matured it in the same fresh-fill bourbon casks as the malt, to create this remarkable and aromatic whisky. This is the first blended scotch whisky to leave the Scottish Borders since 1837, and the first expression of the Workshop Series from the Borders Distillery.
Each WS:01 Borders Malt & Rye bottle is individually numbered, and only 5,988 will ever be released for sale in the UK, so if you want to get your hands on a bottle - you know what to do!
Competition Time!
Want to be in with a chance to win a bottle of WS:01 Malt & Rye? Simply follow DistilleryTours.scot on Facebook or Instagram and share our 'Date with a Dram' post dated 1 January. The lucky winner will be chosen at random and announced in our February newsletter!
Congratulations to Daksha Mistry from Warwickshire who has won a bottle of Lagavulin 16 Year Old. Enjoy Daksha!
Please note, will never approach you for your credit card details or personal information, send you friend requests or ask you to click on a link. Please stay safe online.
Follow and Share to Enter!
DistilleryTours Podcast - Slow Down & Listen
Take some time over the holiday period to slow down, sit back, relax and listen to some of our brilliant podcasts.
Our last six podcasts have been with a real cross section of the whisky industry, from master distillers to whisky retailers we've covered the lot.
Dennis Malcolm, Master Distiller at Glen Grant Distillery tells us some fascinating tales about his 60 year career in scotch whisky, as you’ll hear he was almost literally born into the job and has seen huge changes since his first day as an apprentice cooper at Glen Grant in 1961.
While John Stirling at Arbikie Distillery near Montrose tells us about the new visitor centre and about how sustainability and a field-to-bottle approach is at the heart of everything they do.
You could also listen to Sam Hale of Caol Ila Distillery, Matthew McFadyen of The Good Spirits Company, Mike Stuart of Inverurie Whisky Shop or Karen Somerville of Angels' Share Glass.
Thanks to Angels' Share for sponsoring the podcast - if you're looking for some beautiful glassware to enjoy your favourite dram in, then visit our shop for some inspiration.
Malt Of The Month - Red Wine Cask Collection
Our January Malt Of The Month is now live on the DistilleryTours.scot website featuring Aberfeldy Distillery's Red Wine Cask Collection.
Aberfeldy Distillery has released two new limited releases in their Red Wine Cask Collection, an Aberfeldy 15 Year Old finished in Cabernet Sauvignon wine casks from Napa Valley and Aberfeldy 18 Year Old finished in Tuscan red wine casks from Bolgheri.
Crafted by Malt Master Stephanie Macleod and inspired by her adoration of fine wine, Stephanie began the exploration of how flavours from red wine casks interact with and elevate Aberfeldy’s aged malt. Evolving to include red wines from further afield, the newest bottlings widen the collection’s offering to encompass cask finishes from both an Old World wine and a New World wine.
Find out more about these special whiskies over on the website now.
Brand New Tour: Johnnie Walker Four Corners of Scotland
We've a brand new tour over on the website - the Johnnie Walker Four Corners of Scotland Tour.
The four distilleries in this tour represent the ‘four corners of Scotland’ and the regional variations of Lowland (Glenkinchie), Speyside (Cardhu), Islay (Caol Ila) and Highland (Clynelish) crucial to the art of whisky blending at the heart of Johnnie Walker.
The perfect starting point for this tour is the superb Johnnie Walker Princes Street Experience in Edinburgh where you can learn all about these famous drams before tasting them in their own unique settings.
DistilleryTours Shop - Big January Sale!
Who doesn't love a bargain in the January sales? Head to our shop today to take advantage of some great savings!
There are big savings to be had on all t-shirts and hoodies. Check them out now over at the DistilleryTours.scot shop.
Whisky Comes To Glasgow
With over 200 whiskies available to sample from some of the most celebrated names in the industry, plus an extensive programme of award-winning mixology, local food vendors, cutting edge musicians and live artists - The National Whisky Festival experience will leave you feeling inspired by the contemporary character and experimental nature of Scotland’s national drink.
The 'definitive whisky festival' returns to Glasgow on 21st January. Find out more, and book your tickets here.
Looking for inspiration for your next Distillery Tour? Follow us on TWITTER, FACEBOOK and INSTRAGRAM to hear more, and subscribe to this newsletter at DISTILLERYTOURS.SCOT/SIGNUP.