News aggregator

St. John Frizell has a story in Edible Manhattan about bartender mentoring, and the passing of knowledge from Dale DeGroff to Audrey Saunders to Jim Meehan to his staff. Go read it.I wrote a long post about how San Francisco... Camper English

I received this note from Frank McHardy, Director of Production at Springbank. It went out earlier this morning to me (and other select media sources). This is great to see Springbank starting back up in 2009, as they promised they would

(And yes, I was the writer referring to Springbank as the “canary in the coal mine,” with regards to what might be happening to the whisky industry, in the current issue of Malt Advocate.)

Here’s the letter from Frank:

It is now nearly six months since we took the difficult decision to temporarily suspend  the production of spirit from both  Springbank and Glengyle Distilleries. There were a few contributing factors which led to our decision and these included the high price of electricity, oil, empty casks and barley. The Still House roof also required replacing and this has now been completed. Our warehouses were pretty full of maturing stock but with bottling continuing to fulfil demand world wide for our products more warehouse space is now available. Six months ago we said that  “the material market will be kept under continuous review” and “we can now clarify that we will commence production from both of our distilleries during early 2009.”

The price of utilities has dropped dramatically recently and we will take advantage of this to get the distilleries producing again. J & A Mitchell have recently been reported by one whisky writer to be like “the canary in the coal mine.” If you remember coal miners used to use a canary as an early warning system to detect gas at the coal face . We reckon that we have recognised the warning signals early enough and acted sensibly to protect our brands, and of course the canary. After 180 + years in distilling we think that we know how to react to trends within our industry.

This year we commissioned local farmer Robert Miller to grow 25 acres of Optic barley. The crop has produced 50 tonnes of barley which now lies in our barley loft and we await the barley to come out of dormancy. Distillery Manager Stuart Robertson is carrying out weekly “mini steeps” of the barley in small plastic food containers, they actually look suspiciously like his sandwich box. Once the barley “wakes up” and can germinate we will start malting. The local barley supplemented with malted barley already stored in our malt storage bins will ensure production of spirit at both our distilleries for up to six months next year. Great news.

F. McHardy

Steve Olson is a consultant and spokesperson for the Wines from Spain, a group of Spanish wine producers. We met at B44 on Belden Lane for a Spanish lunch and big sherry tasting with 14 really fine examples. Sherry is... Camper English

Steve Olson is a consultant and spokesperson for the Wines from Spain, a group of Spanish wine producers. We met at B44 on Belden Lane for a Spanish lunch and big sherry tasting with 14 really fine examples. Sherry is... Camper English

Flossmoor Staion, a Chicago brewpub, now sells its beers in area stores. Until recently, you "couldn’t secure any of their product outside of a growler or a visit to the restaurant," says Serious Eats.

The Intoxicologist features cocktails from 10 Cane rum to ease the recession blues, including the 10 Carat: Rum, lime juice, simple syrup, passion-fruit puree, and a Champagne float.

The two biggest producers of Beaujolais Nouveau go green: transporting their wine by sea rather than air and packaging the vintage in plastic bottles.

Robert Hess -- better known as Drink Boy -- has gone tiki mad, popping out 6 new Small Screen Network videos featuring tropical concoctions.

The Kitchn sets out in search of the perfect Thanksgiving cocktail and picks the Poinsettia.

Pineapple Citrus Punch, with or without the vodka.

Poteen -- Irish moonshine -- has been around so long it was banned in 1661. Bevlog tells us more.

Gift Guide: Glassy Gifts! Yes, glass ~ so many gorgeous double walled, colored, organic glassy options they needed a guide of their own!

Lots of Macallan news these days. This one came through the back door. None of my “regular” Macallan company contacts told me about this. We heard about it via their PR company–and seemingly quietly.

Maybe it’s because only five bottles will be available in the U.S., or that it’s only 15 years old (distilled in 1962?), via a collector. We’re not given a price. Only a price range of the Fine & Rare collection–not much help. 

Here’s the press release. I didn’t get a review sample but, with only five bottles, I don’t think it really matters.

Rested in meticulously selected Spanish Oak casks for 15 years, The Macallan Fine & Rare 1947 Single Malt Scotch Whisky is now available for the first time in highly-limited quantities.  This extraordinary 15 year old whisky was purchased by The Macallan from a noted single malt collector, which allows the expression to take its rightful place in the Fine & Rare collection. 

With only five available bottles in the United States this newest addition to The Macallan Fine & Rare collection is a coveted item for any Scotch aficionado’s personal collection.  

The Macallan Fine & Rare 1947 is unique not only for its rarity but also for its attributes:

Color: Natural rich beech color drawing from sherry casks, including second fill.

Nose: Peat balanced by citrus fruit, chocolate orange with vanilla, and oak notes in the background.

Palate:  Light fruits, bitter chocolate and wood spice, with a touch of peat.

Finish:  Lingering fruits and peat smoke.

Price: Available upon request. Bottles in The Macallan Fine & Rare collection range between $1,000 and $60,000.

A visit to Chateau Montelena Winery

NOTCOT Holiday Giveaway #4: A massive bundle from Fred & Friends ~ from the calf and half double-walled glass, to pick your nose cups, to gin and titonic ice cube trays and more...

Gintime interviews cocktail expert Camper English on wide-ranging subjects from his favorite gin cocktail (he's a Negroni man) to saving money while partying like a rock star.

It arrived today. I checked the back label for the bottling date. It was bottled last Friday. Now that’s fast! I’m going to let it settle down for a few days before conducting a formal review of it (and I’ll post it up here on the blog). 

But I couldn’t resist popping the cork of and having a taste as I’m posting this. My initial, informal thoughts on it? An elegant expression of EWSB. And very drinkable! I like it. (This is from Barrel #1. Keep in mind this is a single barrel bottling and yours might–probably will–taste a little different than mine.)

If you've a spare $25K burning a hole in your pockets, Spungle suggests the Ultimate Glenrothes Experience: an evening of rare vintage single malts for up to 10 guests.

Darcy O'Neil spots a trend: Stylish '20s bars -- like Amsterdam's door 24 -- are making a comeback.

The Intoxicologist posits that "While what’s inside matters most, it never hurts to have a catchy label." She samples Pin-Up Cabaret, and several other wines from the same vintner.