Source: TheGuardian Read more
A sour dram for Scotland
Suntory time: Japanese whisky named world’s best in sour dram for Scotland
World Whisky Bible gives highest mark to Yamazaki single malt while spiritual homeland’s ranking is dramatically watered down
A whisky from the Yamazaki distillery in Japan has been ranked the world’s best. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Guardian
Scottish drinkers could be forgiven for crying into their drams after a single malt from Japan was named the best whisky in the world for the first time.
Whisky expert Jim Murray awarded a record-equalling 97.5 marks out of 100 to Suntory’s Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013, hailing it as “near indescribable genius” in his comments in the forthcoming 2015 World Whisky Bible.
Murray’s tasting notes described the whisky, from the company’s distillery near Kyoto in western Japan, as possessing “a nose of exquisite boldness” and as “thick, dry, [and] as rounded as a snooker ball”.
It is the first time since the guide was first published 12 years ago that the top award has gone to a whisky from Japan. The country’s whiskies were once the butt of jokes but have won a slew of awards and widespread critical acclaim in recent years.
To compound the pain felt in the spiritual home of the “water of life”, this is the first time that not a single Scottish whisky made it into the top five in Murray’s respected guide.
Suntory’s winning whisky is aged for 12 to 15 years in casks previously used for Oloroso sherry, giving it what Murray described as a “light, teasing spice”.
Ballantine’s limited edition collection
The Ballantine’s 17 Year Old Signature Distillery Collection consists of whiskies from four different distilleries each intended which demonstrates the taste profile and “unique structure” of the blended Scotch whisky.
The four “signature” whiskies released in the collection are Scapa, Miltonduff, Glenburgie and, most recently, Glentauchers. – The Spirits Business
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Thousands of litres of whisky flushed down drain in Dumbarton
The mistake happened at a Chivas Brothers bottling plant
Thousands of litres of whisky have been flushed down the drain by accident at a bottling plant in Dumbarton.
It is understood the mix-up happened at Chivas Brothers during the night shift on Tuesday while equipment was being cleaned.
Instead of draining away waste water, the workers on duty somehow flushed out thousands of litres of bulk whisky.
The smell was so strong that sewage workers reported it.
Chivas Brothers – which employs 600 workers at the plant and produces the world’s second biggest-selling brand, Ballantine’s – said it was investigating an accidental release of spirit.
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I’ll Have a Shot
Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve which sold at auction in London to an anonymous telephone bidder for £44,000. Photo: PA
The bottle of Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve was sold at auction in London to an anonymous telephone bidder.
It is the second of 11 bottles to be released to the public.
The first sold at Bonhams in Edinburgh in December for a record breaking £46,850, topping the previous world record of just under £30,000 for a bottle of single malt.
The 11 bottles of the 1955 tipple are being released to honour Janet Sheed Roberts, the granddaughter of William Grant who founded the Glenfiddich distillery.
Mrs Roberts, who celebrated her 110th birthday in August, is the oldest living person in Scotland, a spokeswoman for the distillery said.
Source: The Telegraph Read more
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