NEW ARRIVALS

We just took delivery of Texas's very first whisky. Called Baby Blue and distilled in Waco, Texas by Balcones Distilling, it uses only Hopi blue corn, so it's not a bourbon. The result is a fresh, young and complex dram!
We've also taken in Stanahan's Colorado Whiskey for the first time.

And a couple of the new Glendronach releases which I was going to hold over for our new list - the 14yo Virgin Oak Finish and the 20yo Tawny Port Finish 171010

Oh, and Jim Murray's World Whisky of the Year for 2011, Ballantine's 17yo Blend - we used to hear a lot about the geese who guarded the bonded warehouses at Dumbarton. Are they still there? I'm sure I had a tie celebrating the geese!

Back in Stock & New Whiskies

I'm please to report we have some very rare whiskies back in stock.

Lagavulin Distillers Edition
Rosebank 12yo Flora & Fauna Bottling
Macallan Sherry Wood 30 yo
Black Bowmore 2007 Release.

The only new whisky I have added to the shelves recently is

Balvenie 17yo Peated Cask, a most un-Balvenie like offering according to Serge at the Malt Maniacs 281010

I am currently preparing a new list(menu)for release at the start of the year - to coincide with the new increase VAT rate. Unfortunately this will result in price increases, our contribution to the global financial crisis. The good news is that there will be a number of new whiskies on the list - and at the rate the distillers are pushing them out there will be more than I had anticipated.

WHISKY LIST

The new Fettercairn is just in, along with an addition to the Glen Deveron range.

Fettercairn have recently rebranded their whisky and launched a range of older malts, including a 24, 30 & 40 year old. Coming from the same stable as The Dalmore and Jura, these older whiskies will have been carfully selected under the careful nose of Master Blender Richard Patterson. Although it's one of our local distilleries, it has a fairly low profile in these parts. The new packaging looks smart and the name, Fior (Gaelic for "Pure & True") will atract attention. The choice of  NAS (no age statment) will also attract attention and for a limited period we still have some of the old 12yo for a comparative tasting.

The Glen Deveron is a 15yo version of this underrated malt from Macduff distillery.

Whiskies we've had to bid farewell to include

Ledaig Sherry Finish
Bowmore Black - yes the bottle is empty.
Bowmore Dawn - the port finish
Bruichladdich Manzanilla Cask
Caol Ila 1969 Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection
Bailley Nicol Jarvie Blended Whisky

WHISKY LIST

It's been a while since I last posted anything - busy with the job of running the pub.

Despite a world-wide recession there's no let up in the number of new whiskies being released. I've tried to keep abreast with what's going on and have certainly taken delivery of several new releases over the last couple of months - it's just that I haven't found time to let you know about them!

So here goes, in alphabetical order
(the numbers are a link to Serge Valentin's excellent WhiskyFun.com site)

Amrut Double Cask - bottled from two casks that were matured for 7 years in Bangalore, losing 59% to the Angels' Share! Whisky ages quicker in a hot dry climate (hence more young bourbons than old ones) and these casks have produced a "Wow" factor according to Serge at the Malt Maniacs. 300310

Ardbeg Rollercoaster - Yes I did mention this previously! It must have got lost in the pile 'cos it's only now going on sale. 120210

Chapter 6 - one of the first bottlings from St George's Distillery, Norfolk, England! Still a bit young but the first single malt to be distilled in England for over 120 years.190410

Dalmore Dee Dram - a special bottling which will help raise funds for the River Dee Trust. The Trust works hard to protect and enhance the environment of this local river which which is famous for its salmon fishing. Not too dissimilar to the standard 12yo.

Glenglassaugh 21yo - one of the first limited releases from the new owners of this previously mothballed distillery. 040809

Glenfarclas 40yo - the oldest of the standard bottlings from this family-owned distillery - and as usual it's amazingly good value. 290410

Glenugie 1977 31yo from Signatory - bottlings from what was the most easterly distillery in Scotland at Peterhead (pe'erheeed as its sometimes called) are now hard to come by. The distillery closed in 1983 and has since been demolished. 131109

The Spirit of Lewis - that's correct, spirit not whisky since this stuff was only distilled 3 months ago! From the Abhainn Dearg or Red River Distillery on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis. The last time whisky was legally distilled on the island was around 1830. The colour is surprising for having been in cask such a short time.  More details on the distillery here.

We've also had to say cheerio to some old favourites

Ichiro's King of Spades - now replaced by the Five of Spades
Talisker 20yo - the outstanding sherry cask bottling.
Glengarioch 8 & 15yo - now replaced by the NAS Founder's Reserve, the 8yo was a popular dram.
Port Dundas Single Grain has followed the distillery into retirement.

By the way did you know, WhiskyFun is available in a special iPhone format, and the weekly WhiskyCast podcast is available as an App for the iPhone.

WORLD'S OLDEST WHISKY - MORTLACH OR MACALLAN

At the end of last week I received an email from David Urquhart of Gordon & MacPhail giving details of their latest single malt bottling.

Released under Gordon & MacPhail's Generations range, Mortlach 70 Years Old is the oldest bottled single malt Scotch whisky in the world.

The new-make spirit from Speyside’s Mortlach Distillery was filled into the cask on 15th October 1938 by John Urquhart, my grandfather. Exactly 70 years later, the decision was made to carefully empty the cask and bottle the contents.

Each bottle is beautifully presented in a tear-shaped hand-blown crystal decanter with an elegant silver stopper. The decanter nestles in a stylish silver base and is framed in a handmade Brazilian Rosewood box, created using wood from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified sources.

Mortlach 70 Years Old was matured in a Spanish oak, ex-bodega sherry hogshead cask, which yielded 54 full-size (70 / 75cl) and 162 (20cl) small decanters bottled at cask strength (46.1% ABV). The large decanter will have a RRP of £10,000 and the small decanter a price of £2,500.

You may already have read about this whisky since it has attracted a lot of media attention as the oldest bottling of single malt ever offered for sale. If you would like some more information, follow the link below
http://www.gordonandmacphail.com/mortlach70/

For those of you who weren't aware, Gordon & MacPhail had previously bottled a Macallan from 1938 at 65 years old. We currently offer this dram for sale and we believe it to be the oldest single malt ever offered for sale over the bar.

WHISKY LIST

Just over a month ago I told you that I had produced an updated whisky list. Well the good news is it's now available to view online at

http://www.thegrillaberdeen.co.uk/whisky.htm

The bad news you could say is that it's already out of date.

The following bottles are now finished
Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist
Caol Ila G&M 25yo Private Collection

Some good news though - we have managed to acquire some new bottlings and will be putting them on sale shortly

the much raved about Ardbeg Rollercoaster,
the specially commissioned Dee Dram from Dalmore (helping to raise funds to protect the environment of the River Dee),
and a cask strength bottling of Kilkerran from Glengyle distillery in Campbeltown, one of the first bottlings from this new distillery and aged for 3 years in a Port Pipe.

OLD MACALLAN

A couple of years ago I bought a Gordon & MacPhail bottling labelled as Pride of Strathspey, Distilled 1938. I suspected that this might be a bottling of Macallan since the firm has always had access to a significant number of casks.


I was pleasantly surprised to read the latest blog from The Whisky Exchange which confirmed my suspicions, see the full article at http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2010/02/secrets-from-sukhinders-stash-pride-of-strathspey-1938/.


At £30 a dram this is surely a bargain for anyone wishing to sample an old Macallan.

Malts of the Month

Our Malts of the Month for March are

Non-Smoky - Glenmorangie Original.

Smoky - Ardmore 1993 from Gordon & MacPhail & Bunnahabhain from Duncan Taylor.

WHISKY LIST

At long last I have produced an updated Whisky List, although it won't be available online for another couple of weeks.

I should like to highlight a number of new additions:

A Dalmore aged for 30 years in a Matusalem sherry cask

The new Glengarioch Founders Reserve

Glenmorangie Signet, a truly exceptional dram

Old Pultney 18yo single sherry cask bottling 58.8%, an old favourite returns

A selction of four of the finest of the Glenfarclas Family casks from four different decades - 1960, 1970, 1980 & 1990

A 53yo sherry cask-aged Mortlach distilled in 1954 (before I was born!)

The Whisky That Cannot Be Named , a 50yo bottling from Speyside by Adelphi that might just be a Glenfarclas

Jura Prophecy, a heavily peated offering which always attract a lot of
interest

One of the first bottlings from Kilchoman, the newest distillery on Islay

One of the early bottlings of Kilkerran, from Glengyle distillery in Campbeltown, the first distillery to be built there in 125 years

Armorik single malt from the Warenghem distillery in Brittany, France,

Mackmyra The First Edition, from this well-known Swedish distillery, after a number of experimental releases which all sold out fairly quickly, we now have what promises to be a regular bottling.