Tag Archives: Product Launch

The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve

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Official launch, Sydney Australia

The Glenlivet – Australia’s best selling single malt – recently launched their newest expression in style at an intimate gathering held in a private penthouse in Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay. The Founder’s Reserve is a new, No Age Statement (NAS) single malt which has been introduced to replace the classic 12 year old expression as the entry point into The Glenlivet’s extensive core range.

The Glenlivet - Fireplace

The evening’s guests ascended to the penthouse in a mirrored elevator. The doors opening to reveal a lavish space filled with oversized art, the flicker of a fireplace and floor to ceiling glass offering up stunning views across Sydney harbour.

Glenlivet - fan

Around the corner, our private bartenders whipped up trays of ‘Founders Keepers’ cocktails. Think of them as The Glenlivet’s homage to the classic Tom Collins. Served tall, the recipe comprised of The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve, peach liqueur, Lillet Blanc, apricot jam and lemon juice, topped with a splash of soda. They were refreshing and balanced and I can already see this recipe being featured a lot as the months get warmer.

The Glenlivet - Ice

DJ Alice Quiddington set the mood, whilst a duo of chefs appeared to work effortlessly in the penthouse’s stone-clad kitchen, serving up some amazing canapés throughout the evening. The likes of which included herb crusted ballotine of salmon with Avruga caviar, milk fed veal crudo, and quince star anise orange tart tartin.

Canapes

An hour in, Pernod Ricard’s Marketing Manager, Sladjan Maksimovic offered guests an official welcome before The Glenlivet’s brand ambassador, Ben Davidson, took centre stage. Ben walked us through a private tasting of the Founder’s Reserve, putting it into context by offering up historical overview of The Glenlivet brand.

So with a raise of the glass we toasted ‘sláinte mhaith’ (to good health) and welcomed The Founder’s Reserve into the fold.

Glass

The nose presented me with tart apples, tinned pears and sweet tropical fruits, on a bed of sweet vanilla pastry. I also got a hint of citrus and some wood-bark oak notes at the back. I found the palate creamy and juicy, offering up more of those tinned tropical fruits, toffee sweetness and vanilla, with hints of bitter pith and a fair amount of drying wood.

As the evening drew to a close, guests were invited to sample some of The Glenlivet’s finest.

The Glenlivet - lineup

I’ve been fortunate enough to taste many of the expressions in this lineup before, but there were two that had eluded me, the new Nadurra Oloroso (at 60.7% ABV) and the elder statesmen, the XXV.

Glenlivet Nadurra

Some have griped at the loss of the 16 year age statement found on the ex-bourbon cask expression, but age statement or no age statement, this new Nadurra Oloroso really is a fantastic whisky, especially when you consider the price point. A casual conversation with Ben and Sladjan revealed that fans of the cask strength Nadurra range can look forward to further one or two expressions in the near future, including one that really breaks with tradition – it’s going to be mildly peated!

The Glenlivet XXV

Finishing the evening with a dram of The Glenlivet XXV, I stepped out onto the penthouse’s terrace, surrounded by fellow whisky lovers and had a few good laughs whilst looking out at the rippling waters of Sydney Harbour as the moon sat full in the sky.

The Glenlivet XXV is a truly luxurious and decadent whisky and it was an absolute treat to sample it. You know what though? At that moment in time, it would have made no difference to me whether I had the new entry-level Founder’s Reserve, or the range-topping 25 year old in my glass, as after all, simply sharing a tasty dram in great company is what whisky is all about, isn’t it?

The Glenlivet

The new Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve is available in Australia now at a recommended retail price of $64.99. A sincere thanks goes to The Glenlivet for having me as your guest.

Ardbeg Day, Sydney

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With Ardbeg Day 2015 rolling around in less than a month (May 30th to be exact), I thought it was about time I recapped last year’s festivities in Sydney. Pictures speak a thousand words, so I’ll let them do most of the talking.

Ardbeg Bunting

Sydney’s 2014 Ardbeg Day celebrations were held at The Mint, Sydney CBD’s oldest public building that once operated as a coin producing facility. Walking through the 19th century wrought iron gates, we were greeted by Shortie and his relatives. Pretty sure I’m in the right spot.

Ardbeg Shortie

Two steps further inside. Ah yes, I’m most definitely in the right spot.

Ardbeg Cocktail

I’m not generally a huge fan of whisky cocktails, but there were two variants on offer and one of them was a cracking, moreish concoction of Ardbeg 10 year old, pear nectar and simple syrup with a dash of vanilla and orange bitters to boot. I’m sure it had an official name, but I’m simply going to call it delicious peaty breakfast juice.

Ardbeg Cocktail

We all know what happens when you drink on an empty stomach but thankfully there was no chance of that happening with ample canapés doing the rounds, including dozens and dozens of freshly shucked oysters. If you’ve not yet samples oysters + a drop of peated whisky, take my word for it, it’s a stellar match.

Ardbeg Oysters

Before the day’s festivities even rolled around, we knew 2014’s Ardbeg Day release was called Auriverdes (meaning gold and green). We also knew 2014 happened to be the year the FIFA World Cup was being held in Brazil, so it came as no surprise to find the day heavily soccer themed.

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If you could drag yourself away from the Ardbeg, edible delights & live music, there were a bunch of soccer themed games and activities setup.

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I must admit that I didn’t really pay too much attention until I noticed some mates return with a loot of prizes. Then it was game on!

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I managed to score some Ardbeg coasters, a fob key ring and this neat cardholder – which is rather astonishing considering I have two left feet and zero sporting ability. If there’s a similar setup this year, mark my words, I plan on being a walking Ardbeg merchandiser by the end of the day.

Ardbeg Cardholder

The small Ardbeg-branded foosball table was good fun, but from the moment we first walked in, we all really wanted to see was this one in action. That’s right, a human-sized inflatable foosball table!

Ardbeg Football

Yes, we got to have a go at the end. Yes it was loads of fun. Yes, we all thought we were elite athletes when we were strapped in there. Speaking of which, former Socceroo, Chelsea and Man. United goal-keeper, Mark Bosnich, was on hand to award the winners with their trophy and help officially introduce Auriverdes to the crowd.

Mark Bosnich

And that’s when things really kicked-off!

Ardbeg Day

I don’t think I could ever tire of this sight – enjoyed responsibly, of course.

Ardbeg Auriverdes

Just in case you needed a top-up at all, there was an extra bottle on hand.

Ardbeg Auriverdes Gold

All this sport made many rather hungry, so this was a welcome sight to all. Spit-roast, salads and sides – all generously on the house.

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If you liked the look of this, then you really, really don’t want to miss Ardbeg Day 2015!

Ardbeg Auriverdes

Head on over to Ardbeg.com, register your details, become an Ardbeg Committee Member and be the first to get notified when Ardbeg Day registrations open. See you on the 30th… in the future.

Check out @whiskyledger on Instagram and Twitter for more whisky photography

The Balvenie 14 year old Caribbean Cask

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Official launch, Sydney Australia

Attention Australian Balvenie fans – The Balvenie 14 year old Caribbean Cask has just been launched locally!

In true William Grant & Sons style, this was cause for celebration, so on a recent Monday evening, celebrate we did. Where should The Balvenie hold an event for the release of a rum-finished whisky? A specialist rum bar of course, so it was off to Sydney’s The Cuban Place/Parke Davis.

Balvenie Craft Bar

Guests approaching the venue knew they were in the right spot when they spotted this hand-crafted Balvenie sign at the entrance and were greeted by the sound of authentic rasta-sounding steel kettle- drums.

Parke Davis

Descending the half dozen stairs into the swanky sub-ground Parke Davis, we were greeted by our ever consummate host – The Balvenie’s Sydney brand ambassador – Mr James Buntin.

James

James’ partner in crime for the evening would be Melbourne-based Dick Blanchard, who I’d had the pleasure of meeting a few day’s prior at the Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championships (post to follow shortly).

It should be said that Dick has a knack for crafting some rather special whisky-based cocktails and had put together this Balvenie-inspired duo to get the evening started.

Menu

A handful of friendly hellos were exchanged before a handful of Balvenie was received, your choice of a cocktail or perhaps something from The Balvenie’s core range? The 12 or 17 year old double wood, the all new 14 year old Caribbean Cask or perhaps a healthy dram of the luscious 21 year old Port Wood (if you happened to bump into the right person!) They were all on offer and the crowd made a good dent in their stocks!

I started with a Balvenie-inspired Dark & Stormy and Parke Davis’ bartenders made short work of mixing a couple down.

Balvenie Stormy

Oh yeah, they’re also pretty efficient at pouring a mean Beachcomber or two…

Pyramid

Balvenie – a story of craftsmanship

The Balvenie don’t just place pride in their liquid, but also in the craftsmanship that brings it to life. From the partial onsite maltings, to the in-house cooperage that prepares their barrels, they take a very hands-on approach to whisky making. As such, they also display an appreciation for those who exude the same passion in their own craft.

Drum

To really highlight that connection, The Balvenie had invited along Charles Moller to present a short, but genuinely fascinating, intro into the world of crafting steel kettle-drums. It’s not the first time The Balvenie has been involved with local artisans either, setting up a craft bar in Melbourne’s famous laneways back in November 2013.

Release the rum-finish

We were here for a particular reason though and that was to see the official release of this fine dram into the local Australian market.

Balvenie trio

So with a short enthusiastic toast from the captivating Mr B. we welcomed The Balvenie 14 year old Caribbean Cask to Australia.

Balvenie toast

So what’s it like?

In short, pretty damn enjoyable. So enjoyable in fact that I totally forgot to jot down any tasting notes on the night.. bugger.. The geniuses at Balvenie obviously figured as much and had the forethought to but together these goodie bags, complete with a crafty hand-labeled sample.

Goodie bag

After mulling this one over for a while, I got sweet syrupy malt on nose, layered with brown sugar. Whether the label is prompting me to look for it, I’m not sure, but I also get some golden rum notes too. Searching a touch longer, it’s not hard to find the classic honeyed-apple Balvenie notes buried underneath. A very round and perfectly approachable nose.

Sample

Fairly thin on the palate and immediately sweet, yet drying at the same time. Oaky wood spice develops quickly along with bitter dark chocolate and a hint of orange pith. These tart drying notes are nicely balanced by a rounded sweetness, which almost comes across as confectionary like at some points (think lolly bananas and fresh marshmallows). Add to that some hints of vanilla and a noticeable rum note, both of which come out toward the back of the palate and remain on the finish which turns oaky and drying once more.

I think the main take away from this is to not expect a rum flavoured whisky. It’s not a flavouring (thank goodness for that) – it’s a finish – one which builds on the underlying approachable character of Balvenie, creating something a bit more special.

Having also tried the 14 year old Cuban Cask, I admit that I did notice a difference between the two and the Caribbean Cask is certainly my pick of the duo.

Warehouse 24

If you liked the look of this event, you too can get involved!

Whilst some distilleries have mailing lists, or token membership groups, The Balvenie’s Warehouse 24 program genuinely makes an effort to connect with their fans the world over. Regular competitions are mostly open to international entrants and special events are held in major cities everywhere.

Group

In fact, invites to the Caribbean Cask launch were extended to Australian Warehouse 24 members – just for being members! Whether you’re reading this in Australia or abroad, it’s worth checking out.

Where, when and how much?

The Balvenie 14 year old Caribbean Cask is bottled at 43% ABV will be available in Australia from the finest liquor retailers from August at a recommended price of AU$115.

Balvenie 14

Big thanks to The Balvenie and William Grant & Sons for hosting such an enjoyable evening. And to James, farewell from your Australian fans, thanks for all the laughs and we hope you have a blast in the UK.

Glengoyne 25 year old launched in Australia

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A day in the Hunter with Glengoyne

A little while back I received a cordial invite to spend the day in the Hunter Valley, eating delicious food and tasting the full line-up of Glengoyne whiskies. Let’s just say that it didn’t take too long for me to RSVP.

Arriving in the Hunter Valley

After the two and a bit hour trek north, we arrived at the Glenguin Estate in one of New South Wales’ premier wine-producing regions, the Hunter Valley. The location may seem rather extravagant and somewhat out of the way for a tasting (hey, I wasn’t complaining!), but it was actually chosen for good reason.

You see, Glenguin Estate and Glengoyne distillery have a rather intimate family connection dating back well over one hundred years. The full story is explored here, but it essentially begins with Arthur William Tedder, born in Glenguin, Scotland to a Customs and Excise officer of the Glengoyne distillery.

Fast forward a few generations and we’re introduced to Arthur’s grandson, Lord Robin Tedder. After leaving Scotland in his teens Lord Robin, the third Baron of Glenguin, eventually settled in NSW’s Hunter Valley. Here he established the Glenguin Estate in 1988, thus giving us the wonderful reason to be here on a warm winter’s day.

Glenguin Estate
Image courtesy of DEC PR 

Being winter, the vines were rather bare and the property was perhaps not as lively as it would be at other times of the year. But one thing was still apparent, and that was how peaceful and serene this place was – can you believe that was a winter’s day!?

Jonathan Scott

Even Jonathan Scott – Glengoyne’s Asia Pacific Brand Ambassador – seemed pretty impressed.

In case you still doubted the Glenguin/Glengoyne connection, I spotted this interesting tube on the counter and dearly hoped we’d be tasting it.

Glengoyne 16 Glenguin

The story goes – around 2007, Glenguin sent 20 ex-shiraz casks over to Glengoyne in Dumgoyne, Scotland where they were filled with 16 year old Glengoyne whisky and left to work their magic. After being carefully monitored for a number of months, the ten best casks were selected and in June 2008, 3,800 individually numbered bottles were released.

Naturally I asked whether there happened to be a spare bottle lying around, but as I suspected, they’re all long gone. I wonder how the other ten casks are coming along?..

Jonathan Scott bringing Glengoyne to life

Re-entering the main room, it was time to take a seat with Jonathan and get down to business. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes, Jonathan is Scott by both name and heritage.

Scottish Kilt

Jonathan walked us through the history and heritage of Glengoyne, from Arthur Tedder’s days to the present. Personally, I love the history and stories almost as much as whisky itself, so here are some of the interesting tidbits that really appealed to my whisky nerdism:

  • Glengoyne have a staff of nine and produce in the region of 900,000 litres of spirit per year.
  • They also claim to have the slowest distillation in Scotland. Exactly how slow are we talking? Jonathan tells us that the spirit is collected at a flow rate of just 4.5 litres per minute.
  • Whilst strictly a Highland distillery, you could literally cross the road out the front, walk a short distance and you’d find yourself in the Scottish Lowlands, with distillery neighbours such as Auchentoshan.
  • Up until 1908, Glengoyne was actually called the Glenguin distillery
  • The full Glengoyne range is natural colour and all Glengoyne whiskies are matured in traditional dunnage warehouses, racked three barrels high.
  • Wondering how old their oldest stock is? Around the 40 year old mark.

Apart from getting my nerd on, we were lucky enough to taste through the whole core range. I’ll keep my notes limited to the following expressions as this is where I personally encountered the most notable variation in character.

Glengoyne 10 year old 

A make up of both American and European Oak, including around 30% from first fill American Oak casks. Bottled at 40% ABV.

Glengoyne 10 year old

On the nose I got clear toffee apple notes, some light honey and subtle nuttiness. Quite delicate and sweet while being very approachable. These notes translated fairly closely to thin, delicate palate with noticeable pear and apple sweetness, some grassy notes and a fairly short, pleasing finish. I thought this was actually very solid for an entry-level expression.

Glengoyne Cask Strength Batch 1

Again, a composition of both American and European Oak vatted as a small batch release and bottled at a respectable 58.7% ABV.

Glengoyne Cask Strength

On the nose, plenty of creamy honeyed vanilla notes, thick and rich with less of the apple and more zest, custard and a hint of spice. Creamy and mouth coating on the palate with richer sweet vanilla and more spice. A noticeably longer finish than the 10 year old (to be expected), but perhaps not quite as long as you’d expect from a dram at this ABV.

Glengoyne 18 year old

A higher percentage of ex-sherry casks in this expression, bottled at 43% ABV.

Much richer on the nose with more of those typical sherry notes, a lot more spice, some citrus peel, red apples and dried fruits. On the palate, some initial citrus notes (orange), more malty and oaky with a slight zestiness and more spice. This especially showed on the finish, which was slightly nutty with a hint of oaky bitterness and the very end.

Glengoyne 21 year old

Glengoyne 21 year old

A visibly different beast here, so no surprise that this is made up of 100% ex-Oloroso sherry cask spirit. Bottled at 43% ABV

Textbook sherried whisky here, with a rich ‘rounded’ nose of berries, dried fruit, toffee and gentle spice. The nose translated nicely to a palate of stewed red fruits and honeyed spice fading to a spicy and chewy finish.

I found all the flavours to be rounder than the younger expressions, pulling this whisky together as a much more balanced dram. In saying that, I feel as though this could benefit from a slightly higher ABV (not much – maybe 3% to 5%)

Hard work makes me hungry..

..which is a good thing, as a rather delicious lunch of was being quietly prepared in the background as Jonathan took us through our tasting.

Glengoyne main

Lunch consisted of a delicious main of dukkah crusted lamb loin, lamb shank croquette, smoked eggplant and thyme jus.

Glengoyne dessert

This was followed but a seriously decadent dark chocolate delice with confit of sour cherry and coconut ice cream.

Both courses were matched with some cracking Glenguin wines, including an amazingly tasty Ironbark Tannat. Not a varietal I’ve ever tried before, this red was super dusty, dry and tannic all while remaining somewhat fresh – which we’re told are hallmarks of this grape from south-western France.

The main event – tasting the Glengoyne 25 year old 

The moment we’d all been waiting for! Truth be told though, I was slightly concerned about the prospect of getting the most out of this dram from a short tumbler, but a small amount of ferreting around in one of the cupboards yielded some small copita glasses – perfect for getting a good nose and palate out of the 25 year old.

Glengoyne 25 year old

On the nose, ever richer (than the already rich) 21 year old, with some polished oak notes, wet brown sugar, toffee, more citrus and spice. This translated nicely to a much thicker, richer mouthfeel loaded with tart dried fruits, spice and a lingering oily sweetness. The finish was fairly long and rather oaky, but not in a bitter old wood sense.

No desire to add water to this one and that slightly higher strength of 48% seemed spot on to me. It really allowed you taste more of that complexity from the nose. A really satisfying and special dram.

Glengoyne 25 year old

The presentation of the Glengoyne 25 year old is rather special as well. The clear glass bottle differs from the core range with a thick weighted base, silver neck medallion and a weighty oak and metal stopper. This handsome bottle is then packaged up and presented smartly in an oak and card case.

Glengoyne 25 year old

You may have noticed a fair amount of chocolate popping up here and there in the images above. That’s because there was a whole lot of it and it wasn’t there by mistake either!

Glengoyne chocolate

We rounded out the day with a Glengoyne and Scottish chocolate pairing, including some delicious combinations like:

  • Glengoyne 10 year old + 54% dark chocolate with cranberries
  • Glengoyne 18 year old + Banana and pecan milk chocolate
  • Glengoyne 25 year old + Orange and cardamom dark chocolate

A highly enjoyable day and special thanks to our gracious hosts, Glengoyne, Jonathan Scott, Andrew Tedder and Klaus from Glenguin Estate and the kind folks at DEC PR. 

Fancy your own Glengoyne tasting?

The full Glengoyne range is currently available nationwide through Dan Murphy’s and select specialty retailers. The Glengoyne 25 year old will retail for AU$599 when it’s released in September as an online exclusive through Dan Murphy’s.

Glengoyne group

As an aside, if you happen in Melbourne this coming weekend (18th and 19th of July), you can catch Jonathan Scott and Glengoyne at Whisky Live in St Kilda.

Suntory whisky launch

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Six new expressions for Australia

Until now, Suntory products have been fairly thin on the ground in Australia. Sure you’ve been able to track down the odd bottle of Yamazaki 12 year old, or maybe even a Hibiki (if you know where to look), but as far as official imports go, they’ve been fairly non-existent.

With the recent rise in popularity of whisky – and Japanese whisky specifically – Suntory Australia have started to officially import six expressions, which can now be found in most major liquor stores right throughout the country. For details on the range and pricing, see this recent post.

With that decision came a product launch and on a recent Monday night they hosted a rather decadent soiree in Sydney, which unfolded a bit like this.

Suntory whisky launch, Sydney, Australia

As a general rule, I don’t like Mondays. However, when they involve whisky, and in particular, a rather lavish evening of whisky, excellent food and great company, they all of a sudden become a whole lot better. Such was a recent Monday when Suntory Australia officially launched six of their bottlings in to the Australian market, in Sydney, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Gallery

Upon entry, guests were treated to a highball (whisky + soda water) of Hibiki 12 year old and Perrier sparkling water, served simple and tall in a Champagne flute.

Hibiki 12 Highball

I’ve had whisky + soda before, but never in this ratio. I can’t say I’ve ever really contemplated diluting a quality whisky to this extent, but it was actually really refreshing. I don’t think it’ll replace a good G&T in summer, but I’ll certainly start to alternate my choice of libation on those warmer days!

Crowds

Guests mingled in the main foyer area of the gallery around six illuminated plinths, each housing one of the six Suntory expressions now available locally.

Yamazaki 12

If Suntory were hoping to achieve the whole museum display piece look, then as far as I’m concerned, they nailed it. People stopped and stared, read the placards and took photos. Some seemed to admire them as genuine display pieces (and why wouldn’t you? The faceted Hibiki bottle is a work of art).

Hibiki 17

Although it was mere metres away, I must admit that I was enjoying myself so much that I completely failed to notice the tasting room setup toward the back, right up until we were politely ushered in.

Tasting

As someone who really appreciates detail, the setup of this space was incredibly visually pleasing. Everything was perfectly aligned, miniature maples adorned the waist-height tables, the glasses were all etched – logos facing forward – and were all adorned with perfectly sized watch-glasses.

Glasses

It seemed rather fitting that in a setup of such precision and craftsmanship we were trying Japanese whiskies, created with much the same attention to detail.

Following a brief introduction, Suntory’s Global Brand Ambassador, Hiroyoshi (Mike) Miyamoto, took us through a tasting of the three core expressions in front of us – Yamazaki, Hakushu and Hibiki – all of the 12 year old variety.

Mike

Unfortunately, some of the crowd got a bit restless at times, but I suppose that’s to be expected for a group of 150-200. In any case, I absorbed plenty of new info and will write up my thoughts on these three core 12 year old separately.

Trio

The tasting marked the end of the evening’s formalities. Guests were invited to the adjacent space (which usually holds the Gallery’s main restaurant) to be greeted by whisky and matched canapés, expertly prepared by the Restaurant’s chefs. Think grilled short rib with truffle béarnaise, parmesan and herb gnocchi and seared scallop with passion fruit and vierge dressing – these were seriously tasty.

Canapes

A nightcap wasn’t hard to come by, with three stations spaced around the room, each serving a duo of Yamazaki, Hakushu or Hibiki. Guests were invited to try them neat or on the rock (yes, singular).

Drinks pouring

I say ‘rock’, as each station was equipped with a flawlessly clear block of ice. My initial reaction was that they were for display only (and probably made of plastic). But oh no, they were the real deal and they were being hand-carved and served. I know, I know, it’s a bit crazy to get excited over ice, but these were rather impressive.

Drinks rocks

A DJ kept the beats coming at an ambient level (kudos for not trying to deafen us all on a Monday) and drinks and canapés were still freely flowing as I said my farewells to friends, old and new. A very fitting local introduction for a quality whisky brand steeped in history – just like the rest of the objects within the walls of gallery.

Set

My thoughts on Suntory’s core range will follow in a new post shortly.