OLMagazine 2018-1

O ld L i q uors L ifestyle M aga z ine | T h e Past & F uture of L uxury S pirits

Old Liquors SPECIAL EDITION 2018

Dust covered passion The world’s largest private collection of cognac, armagnac, port, chartreuse and other liquors

| special R A R E & LU X U R Y S P I R I T S | F I N E W I N E S | G A S T R O N O M Y | A R T O F Old L I V Liquors I N G | AU C T I O NEdition S & CO2018 L L E-C1T I N G 1

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e g a t n i v Private Stash

Bottles from a $23.5 million vintage liquor collection will soon be available in the U.S. see page 36

The Past & F uture of Luxury Spirits | CONT ENT

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Content A Look Inside the Mysterious Absolut Distillery in Sweden.

How a luxury brand thrives with an artisanal touch.

A Journey Around Japanese Whisky

Dust covered passion

Tahlin, the CEO of Absolut Elyx

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It’s Not Often You Find a Tome About Whisky That Reads Like a Travel Journal. A Journey Around Japanese Whisky

by Dave Broom

Tahlin, the CEO of Absolut Elyx

Rows and rows of dusty bottles of cognac, armagnac, port, chartreuse and other liquors stand proudly together on the many shelves like an army of old friends, the world’s largest private collection.

Rémy Martin’s Loiseau Creates Exclusive Blend Loise Moinet 1806 | The Whisky Watch El Tesoro 80th Anniversary New York’s Black Tail at Pier A Harbor House The New Rolls-Royce Phantom Old liquors, one of the world’s greatest Private collections Angel’s Share Wine & Liquors Bowmore | World’s Oldest Whisky Vault Wyers at Kimpton de Witt in Amsterdam Calvados tempting since the beginning of time Dust covered passion The Last Drop 1947 Cognac Hors d’Age A look at premium whiskeys Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye

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Tawny Port vs. Vintage Port A Look Inside the Mysterious Absolut Distillery in Sweden Seabreacher x semi-submersible watercraft!

Dictador Rum Announces Partnerships Louis XIII ‘The Origin 1874’ Unveiled Casa Noble Tequila Havana Club Forever Cuban Bonhams Record Auctions heaven hill bourbon Champagne Bollinger Uncovers Its Roots The GlenDronach Kingsman Edition 1991 Vintage Glenrothes Whisky Cherry Heering to Hit United States The Best Malbec in the World!

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Old Liquors Magazine is published four times a year. Printed in U.S.A. No portion of the website or of the magazine may be reproduced without written consent of the publisher. Old Liquors Inc. Publishing Division, 110 East Broward Blvd., Suite 1700 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 The United States of America Email the publisher - magazine@oldliquors.com - Call 954-315-3836.

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t h e uni q ue c haracter of Ré my Martin

Rémy Martin’s Loiseau Creates Exclusive Blend For 7 years, Cellar Master Baptiste Loiseau crafted Rémy Martin Cognacs side by side with his predecessor to ensure the range’s consistency and to create Cognacs that represent the epitome of the taste and spirit of the House of Rémy Martin.

When Loiseau became Cellar Master in 2014, the House granted him “Carte Blanche,” or free reign, to utilize his Cognac expertise to select a unique blend that reflected his personal style and highlighted the treasures of the Maison. This Holiday, Rémy Martin is revealing Carte Blanche Merpins, a new limited-edition blend in the United States.

There will only be 2,000 numbered bottles available in the United States at specialty locations nationwide and will retail for $500 USD per bottle.

Remy Martin Cellar Master Baptiste Louiseau

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“For this edition of Carte Blanche, I wanted to illustrate the unique character of Rémy Martin with an original blend,” described Baptiste Loiseau, Cellar Master for the House of Rémy Martin.

He continued, “I carefully selected this Cognac Fine Champagne from the collection of Eau-devies housed in our Merpins cellars.” Matured in a single vat, it perfectly embodies the spirit of the House. Bottled at the percentage proof naturally occurring in the vat at 42%, the original structure of the blend is completely preserved. Aged 27 years, the blend releases delicate notes of plum and gingerbread and reveals how time has worked its magic. Since 1724, the House of Rémy Martin has produced premium spirits that consistently appeal to the world’s most discerning connoisseurs. A profound love of the land, a continuity of family ownership and a

the unique character of Rémy Martin

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passionate commitment to excellence has sustained Rémy Martin for nearly three centuries.

Because of its masterful production and generations of tradition in Cognac, the House of Rémy Martin today produces Cognac Fine Champagne, including Rémy Martin V.S.O.P, Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal and Rémy Martin XO Excellence.

According to Remy Martin: “The House of Rémy Martin will forever be intertwined with the lands of Charente where it was founded in 1724. It is in this small piece of French terroir that our signature blend of Grande and Petite Champagne crus was born, together forming Cognac Fine Champagne. The secret to the most aromatic grapes lies in the soil in which the vines grow. Using fruit from only quality vineyards, the pale and chalky soil of the region provides the ideal conditions to ripen the grapes to perfection.”

“An excellence cultivated by patience and devotion, the House is a guardian of time. By focusing on the Cognac Fine Champagne, we chose to privilege aging the grapes, allowing them to fully reveal and express their true character. Passed down from generation to generation, this approach has been at the heart of our Cognac—extraordinary Eaux-de-vie with a complex palette of rich and unique aromas.” “In 1981, legendary Cellar Master André Giraud decided he wanted to pay tribute to the three-century-long union between Grande and Petite Champagne that lies at the heart of Rémy Martin. The result was the Rémy Martin XO-an extra-old Cognac with a captivating explosion of fragrances. For more than 30 years, the XO has been an emblem of the unparalleled excellence of this signature blend.”

Cognac Remy Martin Louis XII Old Liquors Collection

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loise moinet 1806 | T h e W h isky Watc h

$45,000 for a Single Drop of Whisky Encased in a Gold Watch For whisky and watch enthusiasts, Wealth Solutions and Louis Moinet paired up for a perfect new product. The Whisky Watch from Louis Moinet houses a single drop of Old Vatted Glenlivet 1862 — thought to be the oldest in the world! The bottle of Old Vatted Glenlivet 1862 was opened on March 14, 2017, in Warsaw. The Whisky Watch is actually Wealth Solutions’ third Spirit Watch, where they combine collectible timepieces with unique spirits. The Whisky Watch joins the Cognac Watch and the Rum Watch.

Independent Swiss watchmaking brand, Louis Moinet was founded in 2004 in Saint-Blaise, Neuchâtel to honor master watchmaker and the inventor of the chronograph, Louis Moinet (1768-1853). The luxury watch brand is best known for creating limited edition unique timepieces using unusual materials. During its short history, the company has already

won a number of coveted awards and accolades and amassed a loyal client base. The Whisky Watch is part of Louis Moinet’s Metropolis collection, which features three distinct openwork elements to give the face of the timepiece a three-dimensional look. On the dial of the 43 mm sized Whisky Watch, we clearly see the capsule of whisky sitting at 3 o’clock.

On the opposite side of the dial, at 9 o’clock, lies a small seconds lacquered subdial. Powered by the in-house LM45 Caliber, an automatic movement that operates at 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz), the Whisky Watch offers 48 hours of power reserve. Available in very limited numbers, there are only ten pieces of the 18k rose gold version and 40 pieces of the stainless steel version.

Priced at approximately $44,000 and $18,000 respectively, these pieces will inevitably sell out like the preceding Spirit Watches by Wealth Solutions.

The bottle of Old Vatted Glenlivet 1862 was opened on March 14, 2017, in Warsaw.

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Tequi E l T esoro 80t h Anniversary

El Tesoro Release 80th Anniversary Tequila To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the legendary La Alteùa distillery in the highlands of Jalisco, known for having some of the finest agave fields in Mexico, El Tesoro has released one of its most aged tequilas yet – the El Tesoro 80th Anniversary Limited Edition.

Aged eight years and with only eight casks of this celebratory liquid in existence, the U.S. will be the only market to receive this precious bottling as of October 2017.

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uila

El Tesoro 80th Anniversary

Since the founding of El Tesoro Tequila in 1937 by iconic tequilero Don Felipe Camarena, the spirit has been a celebration of Don Felipe’s most precious asset: his 100% estate-grown agave. Every decision, every part of the painstaking process is carried out in celebration of this unique treasure. To capture its essence in a bottle, El Tesoro is made honoring family traditions that started 80 years ago – slowly and carefully, shunning efficiencies in search of flavor.

As with all of El Tesoro’s tequilas, the 80th Anniversary Edition begins with these same time-honored techniques before spending eight years aging to perfection in American oak ex-bourbon barrels, making this one of the most aged expressions that El Tesoro has ever released.

Meant to be enjoyed as a sipping Tequila, this commemorative spirit offers a rare chance to experience the balance between the edition’s agave-forward flavor and the oaky, woody notes imparted by the extensive aging process. “In truth, my grandfather created a very inefficient process for making Tequila,” says Carlos Camarena, Don Felipe’s grandson and Master Distiller for El Tesoro. “Yet it is these unique and stubborn production methods that make our Tequila so special, and perhaps the most authentic. Eighty years later, we don’t care that there are faster ways to make Tequila now. We care about the flavor, and the fact of the matter is that our method tastes better and is the best way to honor the agave.”

“The 80th Anniversary Edition is the perfect tribute not only to our precious agave but also to my grandfather,” says Camarena. “With it, we continue to push the boundaries of what it means to make excellent Tequila, without sacrificing our traditional methods and beliefs. It is a spirit that I know Don Felipe would be proud to put his name on.” As of October 2017, El Tesoro 80th Anniversary Edition will be available only in the U.S. with a suggested retail price of $199.99 (750ml). For a limited time only, it will join El Tesoro’s portfolio of fine tequilas including Blanco ($44.99 SRP), Reposado ($49.99 SRP), Añejo ($64.99 SRP) and Paradiso Extra Añejo ($99.99 SRP).

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THE NE W R OL L S-ROYCE PHANTOM

T h e way of Wh isky

It’s Not Often You Find a Tome About Whisky That Reads Like a Travel Journal The Way of Whisky: A Journey Around Japanese Whisky by Dave Broom Delicate, reverent, meticulous—these characteristics encapsulate the essence of Japanese culture and are the impressions I gleaned from a recent sojourn in the Land of the Rising Sun. They also describe the latest book from award-winning whisky expert Dave Broom, The Way of Whisky.

It is a delightful account of his journey around Japan by way of its distilleries, searching for answers as to why Japanese whisky is distinct from other whiskies of the world.

The Way of Whisky, author Dave Broom

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The way of Whisky

Dave Broom

It’s not often you find a tome about whisky that reads like a travel journal. Broom’s intimate insights, coupled with the inspiring photography of Kohei Take, lead to nooks and crannies in Japan that are perhaps known only to “whiskyphiles.” Each chapter focuses on a particular distillery—its history, style, master blender, facilities, and tasting notes. Interspersed between chapters are nuggets of information on topics such as umami, Zen, kaiseki, and the tea ceremony; these give the novice, expert, and even clueless non-whisky drinker an easy-to-digest diversion from the more technical aspects of distilling. Indeed, the Japanese apply the same exacting standards—perhaps even more so—to whisky making as they do to food, services, crafts, and infrastructure.

And while the basic process may be similar to Scottish, American,

or Canadian whiskies, where it differs is a matter of culture that is difficult to pin down. This echoed my search for answers while writing about samurai warriors and what makes them fearsome and different from other warriors. Stature and weapons aside, the answer I believe lies in their style, strategy, mindset, and meticulous attention to detail. The same principles apply to whisky making in Japan. The synergy between culture, rituals, religion, and art also come into play, all influencing the craft of making whisky in ways only the Japanese can. Broom is particularly amazed by “how closely the approach of Japan’s whisky makers is to that of the country’s traditional crafts. The same principles of clarity, modesty, intensity and ‘calmness’ pervades the whisky. They aren’t showy, they don’t shout. They are discreet but intense.”

They aren’t showy, they don’t shout.

They are discreet but intense

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T h e way of Wh isky

Suntory Whisky Distilleries, Yamazaki Distillery

Location, Location, Location It is unlikely that any corner of Japan was spared from the ravages of the civil wars fought by rival samurai warlords for hundreds of years. This is especially true of the town of Yamazaki on the outskirts of Kyoto. It was here that the Battle of Yamazaki took place in 1582 when daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi avenged the death of his master, Oda Nobunaga. It was also here that Japan’s oldest malt whisky distillery, Suntory Yamazaki, was founded in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii, due to its auspicious location as the source of Japan’s purest waters. Suntory recently released its 18-year-old limited edition of the Yamazaki Mizunara single malt, labeled with Echizen paper to reflect Japan’s ancient papermaking tradition, and packaged in a cabinet-style box made from old oak barrels.

No Age Statement (NAS) Whisky The aged whiskies of Japan have flown off the shelves since garnering prestigious awards over the last couple of years. But supplies are dwindling. In the meantime, Japan’s distillers are hard at work producing the finest NAS whiskies. Can a NAS stand up to a 12-, 15-, or 25-year old whisky? Broom’s opinion is that “It depends how good the NAS is!

There is a difference between age and maturity. Age is a number, and maturity is a character, which comes from the interaction between the cask and the spirit. In other words, you can have a

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25-year-old whisky, which hasn’t reached maturity, and you can have a 10-year-old, which could be over-mature.” “My advice is not to be led by the age, but by the taste, balance, complexity, and flavor. Not having an age statement allows the whisky maker a wider range of flavor opportunities picked from the arc of maturity than if he or she has to work from an age statement where the youngest component is the number, which will appear on the label.”

The Japanese Way Throughout the 17 years, Broom has been exploring the depths of Japanese culture and whisky making, there were many lessons to learn and surprises along the way. ºIn such a competitive market and with the growing demand for Japanese whiskies, I asked him what whisky distillers around the world can learn from the Japanese style and process: “Although this might sound glib, I believe that the Japanese make the best Japanese whisky in the world. The Scots make the best Scotch, the Irish the best Irish … and so on. In other words, they have all crafted their own style — a whisky that reflects place, climate, the palate of the people, and the manner in which they like to drink it. That’s what the book is about: what makes Japanese whisky ‘Japanese.’ I don’t think anyone would try to make Japanese style whisky elsewhere in the world, but they could (and do) share information about

The way of Whisky

Triple Highball Samboa Style

production, just as the Japanese distillers still learn from their colleagues around the world.” That’s what the book is about: what makes Japanese whisky ‘Japanese.’ “What I think could be taken on board is the ‘kaizen’ mentality of incremental improvement.

Japanese distillers are never happy. They always wish to improve their whisky and that can mean radically changing how it is made.

In the rest of the world, consistency is the main aim. I prefer the Japanese approach.” Triple Highball Samboa Style. Where does the future of Japanese whisky go from here? “Production capacity is indeed being increased and there are some distilleries reopening after years of silence (Mars Shinshu is a good example), while there are a number of brand new distilleries started up in the past couple of years. The future is good.” The future is exciting indeed, not just for fans of Japanese single malts, but also for NAS blends. I can also see the Highball becoming a trend, alongside cocktails that incorporate Japanese whisky in the mix. The Way of Whisky is a joy to read, a book you can dip into for inspiration about Japanese culture. Broom’s expert knowledge about Japanese whisky and his deep connection with the culture shine through. I can’t wait to visit Japan again and immerse myself in the “Japanese way.”

Dave Broom has been writing about spirits for the last 25 years and has won numerous awards. He authored Gin: The Manual and The World Atlas of Whisky, and two of his books — Drink! and Rum — each garnered him the Glenfiddich Award for Drinks Book of the Year. He was also bestowed the Glenfiddich Drinks Writer of the Year and the 2013 International Wine and Spirit Competition Communicator of the Year awards. Aside from writing about spirits, Dave is also actively involved in lecturing and designing in-house training courses for distillers.

The Way of Whisky: A Journey Around Japanese Whisky.

By Dave Broom

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Montegrappa | italian design

Game of Thrones

A pen fit for Kings…

Following the first set of pens celebrating the great houses in Game of Thrones, Montegrappa has issued a new series of limited edition Iron Throne pens. Capturing the essence of the most coveted seat in Westeros, the Iron Throne pens will provide fans with a talisman to cherish.

To represent the intricacies and complexities of the Iron Throne itself, Montegrappa’ s artisans have fashioned a cap formed of overlapping swords representing the seven kingdoms. Their hilts rise above the cap’s top to create a crown, the pommels and blades running the length of the cap itself. Standing proud is a sword that serves as the pocket clip, its hilt bearing a fiery red ruby. At the cap’s top, surrounded by the swords’ hilts, is the Game of Thrones logo. The pen’s barrel, a truly virtuous artwork fashioned in precious metal with the lost-wax casting technique, represents the saga through symbols evocative of the houses, from dragons to stags. Details of the pen are enriched with Flaming White celluloid. The Iron Throne Pen is limited to 300 fountain pens and 300 rollerball pens in Sterling Silver with Vermeil accents, denoting the year of settlement of the last of the Targaryen Kings (300AC). 7 exclusive fountain and 7 rollerball pens cast in solid 18k Gold represent the number of Kingdoms. The fountain pen is piston fed, with nib traditionally made in 18k gold, engraved with the image of the throne itself. www.montegrappa.com

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M ontegrappa | italian design

‌and Queens

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N ew York’s B lack Tail at Pier A Harbor House

Visit Cuba in all its Prohibition-Era Glory at NYC’s BlackTail

With travel restrictions eased for U.S. residents seeking to visit Cuba, there’s been a corresponding surge in interest for all things Cubano, from the island’s architecture and classic cars, to its rum, cocktails and cigars. The realm of the unknown and unattainable, at least for Americans, was suddenly within reach.

At New York’s BlackTail at Pier A Harbor House (22 Battery Place, 2nd Floor), the team behind now-famous The Dead Rabbit saves you the flight and the visa though, bringing Prohibitionera Cuba to life right in lower Manhattan. BlackTail, which opened in August 2016, may be poised to capitalize on the renewed interest in Cuban culture, but the idea for the bar predates the eased access. Partners Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry apparently had this concept in mind prior to opening The Dead Rabbit, and bided their time waiting for the right space and opportunity to unveil it. “Cuba was a direct beneficiary [of U.S. Prohibition],” said Muldoon in an official statement. “Many top U.S. bartenders relocated to the island and opened American bars catering to their thirsty visiting countrymen. As a result, Havana’s opulent bar and cocktail culture achieved peerless new heights, which we are recreating at BlackTail.”

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New York’s B lack Tail at Pier A Harbor House

Being that we’re right on the Hudson, what could be a better name than BlackTail?

The name BlackTail refers to seaplanes that often transported America’s thirsty elite down to Cuba, and the bar’s riverside location at the tip of Manhattan perhaps offers a vantage point for where such planes could have taken off and landed. As floor manager Laura Torres puts it, “Being that we’re right on the Hudson, what could be a better name than BlackTail?” The whole space has been painstakingly and beautifully designed, with wood paneling, stained glass, and ceiling fans evoking what an actual American bar in Havana during Prohibition may have looked like. The walls are adorned with hundreds of black and white photos and assorted artifacts, and the bar features brass plaques with the names of American celebrities known to have partaken in the indulgences of Cuban nightlife, from Ernest Hemingway to Al Capone. As with The Dead Rabbit, the actual menu at BlackTail is a prized piece of art. It’s a cocktail list combined with a narrative and artwork—it weaves a tale of Irish-American barman Ed Donovan, his Havana bar, and the narrator who finds him and begins indulging in Cuba’s offerings—and the hardcover 88-page book is actually available for purchase at a price of $50.

BlackTail is about people and their stories, about destinations and culture and connections The current menu and book will remain for the remainder of the bar’s first year, and will then be replaced with a new edition. Torres says that the next menu will showcase more of a storyline focus on gangsters and the mob. A postcard is also placed inside the menu cover, which guests can fill out and have sent anywhere in the world. It’s another component that

lets you know BlackTail is about people and their stories, about destinations and culture and connections. Of course, a stylish setting and an intriguing concept are one thing, but at a bar such as BlackTail, it’s still prelude to the drinks themselves.

“All of our recipes are loosely based on historical recipes,” says bartender Will Pasternak. “The menu is focused on the spirits you would have found at the time, mostly focused on rums, gin, brandies, and whiskey.” The historical concepts though are then morphed with the best of modern mixology’s techniques and the creativity of the bar team. For instance, in what has become a signature for the bar, a simple rum and coke is reimagined without the coke. Instead, Champagne provides dryness and effervescence, and a cola syrup reduction and Fernet-Branca provide the flavor, with rum still serving as the drink’s backbone.

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N ew York’s B lack Tail at Pier A Harbor House

Visit Cuba in all its Prohibition-Era Glory at NYC’s BlackTail

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New York’s B lack Tail at Pier A Harbor House

“They wanted to add another layer—like all the cocktails, we take a step away from what’s expected,” explains Pasternak. “It has all the flavors of a rum and coke in a very different way.” Such creative twists don’t come easy, of course. “The R&D here is off the charts,” says Pasternak. “I’d be surprised if they did less than 30 takes on it.”

The team he’s referring to includes McGarry, who created the drinks lineup along with head bartender Jesse Vida and beverage director Jillian Vose. The main cocktail list that’s part of the book offers a total of 40 cocktails across five classic categories: Highball, Punch, Sour, Old-Fashioned, and Cocktail. “We are celebrating American bar culture in Havana from the 1920s through the 1950s,” said McGarry in a statement. “We consulted classic cocktail books from the era to see what Americans were drinking… In particular, we are championing the highball, the unsung high priest of tall drinks.”

An insert of eight rotating seasonal cocktails is also included, and it’s there that the rest of the bar team can get more hands-on and involved with drink creation. “It’s super collaborative,” says Pasternak on the process of coming up with those seasonal drinks.

A separate full spirits list is also expansive. There are more than 100 whiskies available, along with approximately 40 rums, over a dozen gins, and a range of agave spirits and brandies.

As with every small detail, it’s all about authentically harkening back to the era they’re recreating.

BlackTail also deploys a house white rum blend, a mix of four off the shelf rums, providing a unique flavor profile for several of their cocktails. As with every small detail, it’s all about authentically harkening back to the era they’re recreating. “We knew we wanted a white rum more in the style of what you would have found in Havana at the time,” explains Torres. With nothing available that they felt was a true fit, they opted to take matters into their own

hands and concoct something new. Guests are welcomed with a small daiquiri as they ponder the menu, and live music can be heard on several nights a week, with Cuban, jazz, and swing jazz all getting a turn in the rotation. The bar stools are designed to look like those at the famed El Floridita bar in Havana, and bartenders are dressed in Cuban-style guayabera shirts and fedoras. Every step has been taken to evoke the authentic aura that BlackTail seeks to bring back to life. The bar is loud and lively, there’s a buzz and energy in the air with a diverse crowd partaking in the revelry.

It’s as if maybe we all did just hop down for a quick jaunt in a seaplane, drawn to Cuba for the allure of its people and its parties, its cocktails and its culture. With a quick walk up a flight of stairs, the BlackTail team manages to transport you to a different time and place entirely, Cuba at its Prohibition-era heyday.

www.blacktailnyc.com

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ROLLS-ROYCE P H A N T O M

R OL L S-ROYCE PHANTOM

BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA HERALDS THE ARRIVAL OF THE NEW ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM

The New Rolls-Royce Phantom made its debut in the nation’s capital at an event hosted by Sir Kim Darroch, the British Ambassador to the United States at his official residence in Washington D.C. New Phantom is the pinnacle offering from RollsRoyce, the world’s leading luxury brand. As the longest existing nameplate in motoring history, Phantom has defined British luxury craftsmanship for more than 92 years. Every modern RollsRoyce is handcrafted exclusively at The Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England. “Rolls-Royce is an outstanding example of a British luxury brand that combines modern engineering with classic British style.” Said Sir Kim. “American car enthusiasts appear to like the result, whether Rolls-Royce or other British car brands: the US is the single largest country market for British cars, and the latest Rolls-Royce Phantom is sure to be another hit, representing as it does a unique combination of state of the art design with handcrafted excellence.” Speaking from the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, Chief Executive Officer of Rolls-Royce, Torsten Müller-Ötvös said, “As the world’s leading luxury brand,

we at Rolls-Royce are proud to carry the message around the globe that Great Britain’s luxury industry is the world’s best. I thank Sir Kim for welcoming New Phantom, the world’s leading luxury product, to America in such style.” “We are proud that the newest and most exclusive member of the Rolls-Royce family has been welcomed to America by the British Ambassador to the United States,” said Pedro Mota, President of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Americas. “RollsRoyce continues to represent the very best of luxury craftsmanship in the world. For well over a century, Rolls-Royce has been a global beacon for British luxury manufacturing excellence. With the arrival of New Phantom, considered by those in the know as “The Best Car in the World,’ the United States is poised to remain the largest market for Rolls-Royce, worldwide,” added Mota. New Phantom offers a wholly new, innovative and contemporary interpretation of the Rolls-Royce Phantom DNA. New levels of luxury, technology and silence are underpinned by “The Architecture of Luxury”, an all-aluminium spaceframe architecture designed by Rolls-Royce engineers at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood.

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O LD LI Q U O R S | Private stach

liquors Bay Van der Bunt, the owner of one of the world’s greatest booze collections

Private Stash: Bottles from a $23.5 million vintage liquor collection will soon be available in the U.S.

The owner of one of the world’s greatest booze collections rarely partakes in its pleasures—in other words, he doesn’t get high on his own supply. So when Bay van der Bunt, an eccentric antiques dealer turned spirits collector, pours two different cognacs distilled in 1848 into glasses in front of me, he’s making a rare exception. “I have a glass of cognac and I’m not right for two days,” he jokes. “That’s the advantage to me.

They buy to drink it. I buy to collect it.”

Van der Bunt’s unassuming countryside estate is tucked away in the sleepy outskirts of Breda, in the Netherlands. It looks like little more than a charming farmhouse and a few barns.

And that’s essentially what it is, except that Old Liquors is also headquartered here. In the cellar of a former cow barn are some 10,000 bottles of liquor worth more than €20 million (about $23.5 million). The crowded storehouse is stuffed to the brim with bottles proudly coated with centuries of dust that testify to their age and authenticity. As the thirst for rare spirits has risen in recent years, Old Liquors is, for the first time, bringing parts of its collection to retail stores in the U.S. This was never part of a grand plan, but is instead the culmination of a hobby that turned into a passion, and then snowballed into a veritable treasure chest of a hooch collection. “There’s no why,” van der Bunt says about the beginnings and expansion of his private stash. “I couldn’t imagine this 20 or 30 years ago.” Van der Bunt’s company procures its stock from major auction houses, amassing thousands of bottles per year in bulk lots. In an adjoining room

Old liquors’ collection features bottles dating back to 1715

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s Old liquors, one of the world’s greatest Private collections

next to his main collection are stacks of hundreds of unopened brown boxes— recent auction purchases yet to be cataloged.

The company used to sell bottles privately and at auctions, but now operates exclusively as a wholesaler. Old Liquors utilizes an intensive system to authenticate andappraise bottles in order to connect to potential buyers. Most bottles sell for between $2,500 and $50,000. His oldest cognac dates to 1760, and his oldest bottle overall is a Madeira from 1715. There’s the six-liter bottle of cognac from 1795, said to have traveled with Napoleon’s army, and there are the shelves of prestigious bottles obtained from floundering fancy restaurants in need of a cash influx. There’s rum from 1780, some chartreuse here and assorted liqueurs there, and the occasional bottle of scotch. But primarily, Old Liquors has cornered the market on absurdly old cognac and Armagnac. If there was a prized vintage from any of the major cognac houses at any point in the 19th century, van der Bunt probably has it. By the end of 2017, the company hopes to establish a presence in a select number of fine liquor stores in major cities including New

York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. It’s easier said than done. The bottles aren’t in standard U.S. sizes, labels are in many cases partially or entirely missing, and there are the logistics of importation and distribution. Further, every product sold at retail is required to have a specific, approved label, and because each bottle is a unique specimen, or one of a mere handful, a new label must be created.

Then there are the intertwined matters of authentication and convincing prospective buyers to make a purchase. The company builds minutely detailed histories for each bottle, who sold it to whom, when, and for how much, its distillery information and contents painstakingly authenticated in every way possible. Each bottle will then be housed in a “museumlike” plexiglass display case with its personal fact sheet included. “It’s like art: You need the provenance,” says Bart Laming, managing director of Old Liquors. “It’s not about price; it’s about uniqueness. Some of these are the last bottles in the world.”

Old liquors’ collection features bottles dating back to 1715.

Most sell for between $ 2,500 and $50,000.

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JAMESON BLACK BARREL IRISH WHISKEY Leave it to the most iconic Irish Whiskey brand to take a great product and add a new dimension to it. That’s what happened with Jameson Black Barrel Irish Whiskey, which is charred twice.

It’s a triple distilled blend of pot still grain whiskey matured in a mixture of sherry casks and bourbon barrels before being bottled.

And the pictured 50ml pack of Black Barrel is even more unique, packaged in a beautiful tear-away bag.

The bag is an homage to the Black Barrel charring process that has helped make this Irish Whiskey one of the best in the Jameson portfolio.

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A ngel’s S h are W ine & L i q uors

The Debut of Angel’s Share Wine & Liquors in Washington, D.C. The phrase angel’s share implies a sense of the lost and the rare, the beautiful nectar which the thirsty gods have taken away from us. So you just know that a store dubbed Angel’s Share Wine & Liquors is going to have all the good stuff, and with the debut of Prav Saraff’s new shop in Washington, D.C., he hopes to accomplish that and much more.

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A ngel’s Share Wine & Liquors

Anything aged that is brown is on a huge uptick “The concept for the store is similar to my two other shops in the sense that we’ll provide the very best combination of selection and customer service,” Saraff says. “I’d like to think that we pretty much carry everything anyone could desire, and if we don’t carry it, then we can do our best to seek it out for them.”

More specifically, Saraff will be stocking Angel’s Share with more than 900 Whiskey SKUs, “with many of them being exclusive private barrel picks,” he says. That’s keeping in line with not only the name of the store, but also where Saraff has seen the spirits world moving overall. “The market demand these days is definitely skewing more and more toward Whiskey, and that is all types of Whiskey—Bourbon, Rye, single malt Scotch, and global malts in general,” Saraff says. “Anything aged that is brown is on a huge uptick and we’re also trying to keep ahead of these demands by having a wider array of all of these types of products available.”

I’d like to think that we pretty much carry everything anyone could desire

A quality local shop and a personal relationship can always make an impact

Anything aged that is brown is a wide category, but the sentiment is true. The demand for and appreciation of all things Whiskey has sparked burgeoning interests in different categories as drinkers look to expand on their own palates and preferences.

“I think the next two big things will be—and are slightly already on the rise—Rum and Brandy,” Saraff says. “The reason these will keep increasing, in my opinion, is because the market demands aged goods. And in these two categories, there is availability still of aged goods at reasonable prices. We are trying to adapt to this by keeping a wide selection of things that will satisfy every type of customer, whether they’re just curious or experts on the subject.” While many Whiskey drinkers begin searching for other spirits out of curiosity and interest, others begin to do so out of necessity of finding something enjoyable at a good value, as Saraff implies with the above. Despite the fact there’s increased knowledge and an increased overall presence of premium offerings, Whiskey and spirits lovers today are having a harder time than ever in tracking them down. The supply simply can’t keep up with demand for such products, which is where being able to rely on a personal relationship with a purveyor can pay dividends.

Those in the know aren’t lining up for lotteries when the annual Buffalo Trace Antique Collection or Pappy Van Winkle supply—or anything else of note—is released. No, they get in touch with their longtime local shop, who they’ve been buying from for years, and inquire if they can snag a bottle at a fair price. Therefore, even with an abundance of stores in a single city, not to mention a whole world of online retailers and internet auctioneers, a quality local shop and a personal relationship can always make an impact. “I always think that if a store is run properly, it fills a need,” Saraff says. “Ours has an endless selection with a knowledgeable and friendly staff.

The neighborhood [Shaw, in Washington, D.C.] was seriously lacking that.”

We saw a neighborhood that needed a store like ours With two stores under his belt already, seven stores owned by his family in total, and over 20 years in the business, Saraff hadn’t necessarily been looking to expand—but opportunity came knocking.

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The dream came to fruition on November 8 “When this opportunity came up, it was a little bit too good to pass up and we had to seize it,” he says. “We saw a neighborhood that needed a store like ours, and one that’s ever-growing and changing. There really isn’t a store anywhere in the area, in my opinion, that does the things we do.” It doesn’t hurt that the aforementioned ever-growing scene also happens to include many of Washington, D.C.’s, and some of the country’s, top cocktail bars. Those bars have fueled the entire area’s surging interests for everything from vintage spirits to Mezcal, Sherry to wine, and, of course, all things Whiskey and anything aged that is brown. “We do and will have pretty much everything imaginable,” Saraff says. “We carry and will continue to carry all the rare annual and one-time Whiskey releases, rare and unique spirits from all around the world, the craft beers that are sometimes next to impossible to source, and a wine selection that will make even the most demanding customer satisfied.”

once they see our selection and get a chance to experience our customer service,” he says. “It has been an amazing and fulfilling ride to get this store up and running,” Saraff says. “Since the first time we laid eyes on it, it was a dream project. I was telling a friend earlier that I have never worked as hard and been as fulfilled with my work as I have in the last few weeks. This is the first time in a decade that I’ve built a store from scratch and I’d like to think I know a lot more now about my business than I did then. I designed every single inch of that store and tried to make it as customer friendly and appealing as possible. I’m very pleased with the way things turned out.”

The dream came to fruition on November 8, a special day for the family, as it’s also the birthday of Saraff’s daughter. A good omen to be sure, and certainly not the last celebration or special day for Saraff and Angel’s Share.

We’re donating a portion of all of our net proceeds to local charities There’s one extra component to Angel’s Share that makes it just that much more special, too: Saraff plans on being heavily involved in the community, something you don’t necessarily see from a liquor store very frequently. “There is one new and very cool thing we’re doing here,” Saraff says. “We’re donating a portion of all of our net proceeds to local charities every year with this store. One of the possibilities is to open up a ‘Shaw Residents Scholarship Fund’ and put the funds in there to be given out every year.”

It would be a noble effort, and also speaks to his desire to be a stalwart in the community and not simply another faceless and random storefront. Further, while serving the local neighborhood is always a focus, Saraff also hopes the store takes root beyond the immediate surrounding vicinity. “While we know our neighbors will be our driving force, we also look for customers from all over the area to discover the store and make it a destination shop for them

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B owmore | W orld’s O ldest W h isky Vault

New Scotch From the World’s Oldest Whisky Vault Scotch Tasting Features latest Bowmore creation ‘Vault Edit1°N Atlantic Sea Salt’

The Scottish island of Islay (pronounced E-lay) in the Inner Hebrides holds a special place in many Whisky lovers’ hearts. Even if you’re not a fan of the often-peaty Whiskies and Single Malt Scotches produced on this small island just west of the mainland and north of Northern Ireland, there’s no mistaking a Whisky from Islay. “They call it (Islay) the happy island,” Bowmore Scotch Ambassador Brenden Lee said. “There are over eight distilleries on the island.

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B owmore | W orld’s Oldest Whisky Vault

Bowmore Distillery

They call Islay the happy island Some distilleries on Islay take the peat flavors to delirious, sometimes dizzying heights like Laphroaig or Lagavulin. And then there’s Bowmore, one of the islands oldest and best-known distilleries located in the town of Bowmore. While you can definitely smell and taste the peatiness in Bowmore’s Whiskies and Single Malt Scotches, other flavors often emerge, depending on the Whisky’s age and a wide range of other factors. “Bowmore is kind of entry level for the peat,” Lee said, “whereas Laphroaig and Ardbeg really hit you in the face.” Founded in 1779 by a local merchant named John P. Simson, Bowmore Distillery has since

become world famous for its subtle, understated Whiskies and Single Malt Scotches. And while the massive Japanese beverage conglomerate, Suntory, has owned Bowmore since 1994, this picturesque, white-walled distillery perched on the southern shore of Loch Indaal has refreshingly remained relatively the same during the past two centuries and continues to produce top-notch Whiskies. The Number One Vault is the oldest maturation area in the world. But Bowmore is not stuck in the past. The distillery continues to experiment and create different, distinct recipes for new mouthwatering Whiskies.

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B owmore | World’s O ldest W h isky Vault

The Number One Vault is the oldest maturation area in the world Its latest creation is the “Vault Edit1°N Atlantic Sea Salt,” which reflects the sea spray from the Atlantic Ocean that constantly washes against the seawall of Bowmore’s legendary No. 1 vaults, the oldest maturation vaults in the world. (During World War II, Bowmore’s storage vaults for Whisky were used by Allied forces to store ammunition.)

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“The Number One Vault is the oldest maturation area in the world,” Lee said. “All this Whisky has been laying for 10 to 12 years (in the Number One Vault) and when you walk in there, it’s a spiritual experience because you hear the waves crashing, you feel the salt air, you hear the weather, the wind’s coming through. And the Whisky in the barrel is breathing. The Whisky is alive.”

B owmore | W orld’s Oldest Whisky Vault

Earlier this year, Bowmore also released its last bottling of its ultra-rare 1964 distillation “Black Bowmore 50 Year Old The Last Cask To Be Rediscovered,” with a suggested retail price of $25,000.

But no matter what Whisky Bowmore creates, it all comes back to the decomposed seaweed transformed into peat briquettes and cultivated on Islay. Bowmore cuts its own peat, which is used to fuel the fires that give its Whiskies and Single Malt Scotches their peaty flavor. Specifically, the smoke from a peat fire used to dry damp barley gives the malted grain its distinct peaty flavor.

(And any leftover mash from Bowmore is then used to feed local sheep, pigs, and other livestock on Islay.) And once you smell the smoke from a burning peat briquette from Islay, everything about Bowmore’s distinct, earthy flavors will make perfect sense.

Fortunately, Lee brought a peat brick from Islay to a recent, private vertical tasting of six different Bowmore Whiskies, including four Single Malt Scotches ranging in age from 12 to 25 years old.

• • • • • •

Bowmore Dorus Mor (“Tempest” in Europe) Bowmore Vault Edit 1°N Atlantic Sea Salt (New Release) Bowmore 12-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Bowmore 15-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Bowmore 18-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Bowmore 25-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch

Using a small blowtorch, Lee burned the Islay peat brick until a thin, fine smoke began to smolder in one corner. The smell was musky, earthy, and filled with the flavors many Whisky lovers know and associate with Bowmore’s distinct Single Malt Scotches.

Lee also brought a jar full of dried barley used to make Bowmore Whisky. Tasting the dried barley toasted with Islay peat, you could instantly pick up on all the flavors that find their way into each bottle of Bowmore. And while each Bowmore Whisky has its own unique flavor, Lee noted that “citrus and chocolate really shine with Bowmore.” (Note: If you see Bowmore for sale aged in Bordeaux wine casks, buy it. These rare, 23-year-old Bowmore Whiskies “have a unique jammy flavor you don’t normally find in many Whiskies,” Lee said.)

Lee added he enjoys the journey Whisky takes people on, especially when you participate in a vertical Whisky tasting. “Whisky brings you somewhere and it brings people together,” Lee said. “It’s something you can talk about with your friends for years to come.”

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B owmore | World’s O ldest W h isky Vault

Bowmore Dorus Mor (“Tempest” in Europe) Alcohol by Volume – 55.1 percent. Aging – 10 years in Bourbon barrels. Aroma – Tropical smell with hints of orange and mangoes. Tasting Notes – Slightly salty aftertaste with hints of roasted chestnuts and dried oranges. “This is actually the brother of Bowmore’s Devil Cask,” Lee said. “If you’re ever at the distillery at Bowmore, you turn around and there’s a church on the hill. It’s a round church. You know why? So the devil can’t hide in the corner. Now close your eyes. Smell the peat. It’s the first cold night. Waves are crashing. Close your eyes and bring yourself there. This one has a little more fruit. Look for mangoes and papayas.”

Bowmore Vault Edit 1°N Atlantic Sea Salt (New Release) Alcohol by Volume – 51.5 percent. Aging – Unspecified number of years in Bourbon barrels. Aroma – Understated smell with faint hint of vanilla and cinnamon. Tasting Notes – Cinnamon, toasted vanilla with hints of sea salt, and toasted coconut. This distinct Whisky has a bright, floral-like finish. Served neat, Bowmore Vault Edit 1°N Atlantic Sea Salt has a slow, subtle burn that smolders for more than 30 seconds after each taste. Hints of dried peaches and apricots also clearly come through in the aftertaste. Shop Great Cigars, Cigar Samplers and Cigar Accessories at Thompson Cigar! “This one has some heat on it,” Lee said. “Salty, sweet, a little vanilla. This one is quite nice. I would suggest putting a splash of water in there. The water opens it up” since it’s stronger than many other Bowmore Whiskies. “This one is also fun with chocolate.”

Bowmore 12-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Alcohol by Volume – 40 percent. Aging – 12 years in Bourbon and Sherry barrels, including a final 6 months in Bourbon barrel. Aroma – Toasted lemon, honey. Tasting Notes – Smokey, slightly sweet flavors mixed with hint of vanilla, caramel, bacon, and Islay’s distinct peatiness. “It has a nice, long, smooth finish,” Lee said. “Easy on the palate. Now try to get it on the middle of your tongue. Swish, swirl, and chew your Whisky and swallow and exhale. Again, light, approachable, smoky—that’s the peat.”

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B owmore | W orld’s Oldest Whisky Vault

Bowmore 15-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Alcohol by Volume – 43 percent. Aging – 12 years in Bourbon barrels, 3 years in Sherry barrels, and a final 3 months in Bourbon barrels. Aroma – Dark chocolate, dried fruits, and a slight smoky smell. Tasting Notes – Jammy flavors mixed with hint of chocolate, cedar wood, and dried apricots. Can taste the finish smoothing out as each Scotch in the vertical tasting gets progressively older. “This is a really fun after dinner Whisky,” Lee said.

“Look for raisin [flavors] in this [Single Malt Scotch], look for the Sherry flavors you typically get—smoke, chocolate, dried fruit.”

Bowmore 18-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Alcohol by Volume – 43 percent. Aging – 18 years in Oloroso, Pedro Ximenez Sherry, and Bourbon barrels. Aroma – Hint of coconut and peat. Noticeably more subtle than younger Bowmore Single Malts. Tasting Notes – Longer finish than younger Bowmore Single Malts. Hints of roasted almonds, vanilla. Aging in Sherry casks very apparent and gives the Bowmore 18 Year Old a very clean, velvety, smooth finish. “You get that really nice fruit and dark chocolate finish that really shines through again,” Lee said. “The Whisky has a mahogany look and a smoky, caramel taste.

As Whiskies get into their teen years, they tend to get really fruity. As Bowmores get older, they tend to have a coconut-like taste.”

Bowmore 25-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Alcohol by Volume – 43 percent. Aging – 25 years in North American Bourbon and Spanish Sherry casks. Aroma – Subtle hint of smoke, sherry notes combined with dried fruit, particularly lemon. Tasting Notes – The epitome of velvety smooth, this dry, mahogany-colored Single Malt has a subtle, complex finish.

Sherry flavors really come to the forefront, along with a splash of toasted lemon and hazelnut. Tasting the 25-year-old Bowmore truly feels like you have ascended to the peak of a mountain after a vertical tasting. The Bowmore 25 exemplifies everything this distinguished distillery does right. Outstanding. “The finish is going to be slow, gentle, and complex,” Lee said. “You’re going to get that peat. You’re going to get stewed fruits and other complex flavors. It’s going be really deep and complex. And as the Whisky sits there in the barrel, it’s living and breathing for 25 years and a lot is going on with it.”

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Chef Sammy D Debuts Wyers at Kimpton de Witt in Amsterdam When Kimpton opened its first European property, the Kimpton De Witt in Amsterdam, the hotel wanted to make a quick splash on the city’s dining scene. To do so, they handed the executive chef reins to chef Sammy “Sammy D” DeMarco and allowed him to impart his culinary preferences, but also his personality, onto the food being served at Wyers.

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Chef Sammy D

The restaurant debuted this summer after DeMarco already had his boots on the ground in Amsterdam for nearly a year prior to its opening. Not only was he helping to get things up and running and overall, but he was participating in a mix of what you could call local culinary immersion, not to mention personal acclimation time. After all, it’s not just DeMarco who made the move from the states to Amsterdam, but his three kids as well. “I put it all on the line to be here,” he says.

Located right in the heart of the bustling city center area of Amsterdam and its literal boatloads of tourists, there’s no denying that the restaurant is appealing to the traveler. It’s designed to offer elevated cuisine without the weight of a stuffy, white tablecloth atmosphere. Many restaurants in the city find themselves at the far ends of the casual to “fine dining” spectrum without much wiggle room in the middle, and DeMarco is trying to close the gap with Wyers. Grab a seat at the bar or a high-top table, or an open stool at the chef’s counter, where you’ll quite literally feel the heat from the kitchen and its wood-burning grill. Enjoy a beer, or even a beer cocktail, or try one of the bar’s classic cocktail riffs, whether it’s a house G&T variation, or their Dutch Negroni, subbing in genever for a heartier rendition. The bar also showcases a diverse list of whiskey, including several American craft whiskeys at accessible prices. For a traveler who hasn’t been stateside for several months, seeing something such as Few Bourbon was a welcome slice of home. Before or after dinner, you could also stop into the House Bar in the lobby of the hotel.

If Wyers has made a quick culinary impression, House Bar has succeeded just as much with its craft cocktails, finding a place alongside the better cocktail bars in Amsterdam.

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The Evolution of Amsterdam DeMarco describes Wyers as an upscale casual restaurant that offers a mix of American dishes highlighted by his own influences and interpretations of local ingredients and staples. “Amsterdam is evolving,” DeMarco says, adding that he’s eager to be part of the process. “And my food will evolve as I’m here, too.”

He hopes the approach will end up resonating with locals as well, creating a friendly atmosphere filled with regulars, not simply a constant churn of in and out travelers.

“Tourists might pay the bills,” DeMarco says, estimating between 60 and 70% of customers to potentially be tourists, “But we have to appeal to locals, too.” For instance, the menu offers the Amsterdam staple of bitterballen, but his are made from the scratch and stuffed with a rich concoction of oxtail and bone marrow, served with house-mustard and horseradish to cut into its fried unctuousness. “Why not fuck around with these,” DeMarco asks rhetorically to anyone who cares to listen. Elsewhere, DeMarco continues to offer a mix of his own cuisine and influences alongside local ingredients. He transforms lamb chops and mint jelly into a raucous modern rendition with roasted Dutch lamb and a weaving array of flavors and textures –mint-jalapeno pesto, curry oil, couscous, peas, and carrots.

I always say if wings come out too fast, don’t eat them. On the rest of the menu, find charcuterie and cheese boards, grilled appetizers and assorted bar bites. Stay classic with an overflowing bowl of moules made with a beer and cream sauce or hanger steak and

We have to appeal to locals, too.

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Chef Sammy D

“I always say if wings come out too fast, don’t eat them,” frites, or try something more adventurous, such as a sweetbread salad or DeMarco’s new take on chicken puttanesca. For the latter, he stuffs chicken breasts with smoked eel to provide a distinctive funky-saltiness to his riff. Yet at the same time, the menu offers one of his all-time bar-friendly classics, the lollipop chicken wings. Deceptively simple but outrageously delicious, they’re chopped up and cooked to order – “I always say if wings come out too fast, don’t eat them,” DeMarco says, noting these are cooked for 8 to 10 minutes – and remain one of his signature dishes.

Over two decades ago in the East Village, DeMarco became known for his wings at his first restaurant. He rejected the accolades at first, saying, “I didn’t want to be the ‘wings chef.’” Soon though, he embraced it as well as another role he became famous for – “The chef feeding chefs.”

Even as he has gone onto accomplish quite a bit more since then, there is hardly a higher accolade than that. But at Wyers, he’s embracing the next challenge and the next phase of his career. He’s also happy to be part of what you may call a reverse commute for chefs. Traditionally, Europeantrained chefs have often headed stateside to run kitchens, open restaurants and explore new ventures. In his case, he’s taking his American approach to the continent. “It’s very cool to be an American chef coming here,” he says. You’d be hardpressed to lump DeMarco into any category though. He’s doing what he does best, in the only way he knows how, and the restaurant certainly speaks to his own out-sized influence.

So what’s this place really all about? “Going global,” DeMarco says. “Cooking for the people.

Having fun.” He says he’s relishing his time in the kitchen, and actually being a “cook” rather than just a face or an absentee executive chef designing menus from thousands of miles away. But make no mistake, DeMarco is a showman, and clearly enjoys interacting with guests, and most of all, getting some time in the spotlight. So at the end of the journey, don’t be surprised if there may even be a long-awaited book in the works. “It would be cool to put something on paper,” DeMarco says. If it reads like he talks, and like his food tastes, it will certainly be one to grab from the shelves.

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Art & Passion | C ALVAD O S

Calvados tempting since the beginning of time On March 28, 1553, Gilles Picot, Sire of Gouberville, conducted an experiment bringing together thousands of years of evolution, the advances made by ancient civilizations, and the output of his orchards in Le Mesnil-au-Val. Gouberville poured some of his beloved apple cider into a still and earned the gratitude of generations of brandy lovers to come. The eau de vie that emerged was the first recorded incarnation of what we know as calvados.

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A rt & Passion | C ALVADOS

The road to Calvados begins with apples The road to Calvados begins with apples, which have been tempting man since the beginning of time, and alcohol, which has been doing so for nearly as long. Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines perfected the process of fermenting apples into cider long before Jesus was born, about the same time as Egyptian alchemists began distilling the essences of flowers herbs to make perfumes and cosmetics. Trade and conquest would bring cider and distillation together at Gouberville’s villa 1,600 years later. Basque sailors bought their apple wine with their Norman counterparts as early as the 700s. Meanwhile, invading Burgundians brought domestic apple-growing to Normandy. Normans began making their own cider during the 13th century when advances in apple pressing made manufacturing more efficient.. Calvados 1893 Pierre HuetDistillation came relatively late to Normandy. The process already had been used on corn for whisky, juniper berries for gin, wine for cognac and Armagnac, and even potatoes for vodka by the time Gouberville’s friend suggested trying it on apple cider. From there, however, events moved quickly. During the late 1500s, inhabitants adopted the name “Calvados” for their homeland – though not yet for the eau de vie that Gouberville had “invented.”

The name probably comes from the El Salvador, a ship of Philip II’s famed Spanish Armada, which ran aground and was plundered by local citizens in 1588. They commemorated their windfall by naming the site after the wreck, and over the years it evolved from Salvador to Calvador to Calvados. It took only a few decades for an apple cider distillation guild to be created in 1606. Demand rose as the Little Ice Age began killing off France’s grapevines and limiting

supplies of grain for malt beverages. Production techniques and acreage devoted to orchards increased dramatically. The apple brandy’s success did not go unnoticed by the crown, and Louis XIV imposed harsh taxes on the spirit while limiting its production and sale in an effort to protect the cognac and Armagnac industries.

The restrictions lasted until the French Revolution when Calvados officially became a department of old Normandy. The apple liquor distilled there came to be known as Calvados as well, but only officially adopted the name in 1942. The Renaissance calvados enjoyed at the expense of grape brandies thanks to the Little Ice Age repeated itself with the phylloxera vastatrix outbreak during the last quarter of the 19th century. The area’s orchards thrived as grapevines succumbed to the virus, and land devoted to apple trees quadrupled to 14 million hectares before the turn of the century. At the dawn of the 20th century, calvados production had become a true industry. Owners and merchants established production efficiencies, quality control measures such as filtration and controlled blending, and distribution networks throughout France and northern Europe. Cider processing grew from local facilities to include distilleries in virtually every canton. Businessmen created wholesale operations, buying calvados from farmers and selling it for a profit at the ports of Caen and Cherbourg. The good times ended as conflict erupted on the Continent. During World War I, apples and cider were diverted to the war effort, leaving little supply for calvados, and in World War II, German occupiers seized local alcohol – except for Armagnac and cognac – for similar purposes until 1942 when calvados received an appellation d’origine.

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t h e world’s largest private collection

Dust covered passion He unlocks the door and I follow him into a cool, faintly lit room with ancient beams and red tiles. Rows and rows of dusty bottles of cognac, armagnac, port, chartreuse and other liquors stand proudly together on the many shelves like an army of old friends, their heads dripping wax as if they’ve just emerged from a snowstorm. I can sense we’re in a special place.

Elixir of the gods “This is the world’s largest private collection of old liquors, among which the world’s oldest cognac from 1760”, the collector says proudly. “The most famous one? That’s the one from 1789 – the year the French Revolution started”, he beams. Cognac is a medieval town which bears the name of the famous wine-growing region where this ‘elixir of the gods’ of the same name has been created since the 17th century. All cognac may be brandy, but not all brandy is cognac.

It has to come from a designated area of France by law – the Charente region near Bordeaux – which is divided up into six ‘crus’ – and has to be made according to strict, legal guidelines, ensuring that the 300-year old production process remains unchanged. That means that it must be distilled

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Dust covered passion The world’s largest private collection of old liquors, among which the world’s oldest cognac

the world’s largest private collection

Dust covered passion twice in copper pot stills, the design and dimensions of which are also legally controlled. The resulting eau-de-vie, a French phrase which literally means ‘water of life’, is a colourless spirit containing about 70 percent or more alcohol. Next, it must age for at least two years in French barrels made from oak trees from the forests of Limousin or Tronçais before it can be called cognac. The final product is usually diluted to a 40 percent alcohol content with pure and distilled water. The age of the cognac is calculated as that of the youngest eau-de-vie used in the blend, which is usually of different ages. This blending, or ‘marriage’, of different eaux-devie is important to obtain the complexity of flavours absent from an eau-de-vie from a single distillery or vineyard. Each cognac house has a master taster, a ‘maître de chai’ who is responsible for creating this delicate blend of spirits.

appreciation, have never changed and even after 220 years it is still a delicacy. There’s nothing else man-made in the world that’s this old that you can eat or drink. That’s what makes it so unique.”

Fact is: cognac would never have become so famous if everyone wasn’t in complete agreement about its consistent superb quality.

Passion The collector points to an enormous bottle, covered in dust. “That one is from 1795. Napoleon’s army took up to 20 or 30 of these bottles with them on campaign for their officers. It’s worth something between 100 and 150 thousand Euros.” I try, but fail to estimate the value of what I see on these shelves, but am too embarrassed to ask how much money’s worth there is in this room.

I sense that – for the collector – this has nothing to do with money.

“It’s about passion”, he says, reading my thoughts, “and greed, maybe, but passion sounds so much better, doesn’t it?” When I ask him what his collection means to him, he smiles dreamily. “Look at that one.” He points out a – to me – inconspicuous bottle. “It’s from 1789, which means it started gathering dust in the year the French Revolution started, the year of the storming of the Bastille!

It’s amazing that you can drink something that looks so dirty and old, coming from such a turbulent year; something that is more than 200 years old but still tastes so great. I love that contradiction.

You know that you will never eat anything that old, do you? This bottle has stood in twenty or thirty cellars. Who was the previous owner? The people who picked the grapes were born 270 years ago. Who were they? Taste changes. Not only during a lifetime, also throughout the ages. The taste of cognac however, and its

The beginning I know quite a lot of collectors, but I fail to see how you start collecting bottles of liquor. “My father and grandfather, everyone in the family drank cognac”, he muses. “If you smoked cigars, you drank cognac. My grandfather had hundreds of bottles in his cellar which he had been given by his father. He gave them to my father and my father gave them to me, so this is something I have grown up with. Collecting eventually became a real passion 30 or 40 years ago. It starts with family and friends knowing you’re interested, telling you they have some bottles, or know someone who does. Well, 9 out of 10 times it may not be anything interesting, but once in a while they gave me something special. Then I started going to auctions all over the world.” How is it possible there are still so many old bottles around? “People die, their children come in and clean out the house but the cellar gets forgotten. Eventually, after a hundred years, it does get cleaned out, but no one knows what to do with the bottles.

Sometimes they take them to an uncle who puts them in his cellar, or they get taken to an auction house. That’s how Sotheby’s and Christie’s became involved in old liquors in the forties and fifties.

That’s where they were bought by lovers of old liquors, but also by restaurateurs. I used to buy bottles for my collection, but my

“Did you know that cognac is a Dutch invention?” he asks me. “The French may not like it, but it is.” In the 17th century Dutch ships bought white wine in the French region of Charante, but found it didn’t keep well. They burned the wine to reduce its volume, producing ‘brandewijn’ or, literally ‘burnt wine’. It was also noticed that this brandy, traditionally kept in casks, improved with age and could be drank dry. At the end of the 17th century the inhabitants of Charente developed the second distillation. Cognac was born.

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t h e world’s largest private collection

“You don’t drink cognac“

You sip it ... competitors did so for business purposes. So whenever I bought a 100 bottles, I could sell 95 and was perfectly happy with the 5 I could keep for myself.”

Emotion “You don’t drink cognac”, he says. “You sip it. From one bottle you can pour 20 to 25 glasses. One glass is 20 small sips and it takes an hour or more to drink one glass. You drink it purely for its taste when you’re already relaxed, not to become relaxed or drunk.” Even now, when he tells the story of the unsuspecting cleaning lady who dusted two of his bottles years ago, he can still get angry; especially when I joke that it still tasted the same, didn’t it? “You shouldn’t say that! Cleaning a bottle is a horror to a collector! When you remove the dust you remove part of the emotion.” It’s probably best not to repeat the punishment he thinks the perpetrator should have received...

“It’s out of the question that I would ever open a rare bottle”, he exclaims when I ask him how he decides which bottle to open and which one to leave closed. “A friend of mine had a restaurant that sold more than a hundred cognacs and armagnacs by the glass. One glass could cost as much as a thousand Euros. When he sold his restaurant, which was well known to cognac lovers from all over the world, he sold these 100 to a 150 bottles that were already open for a very reasonable price. I still drink from those.” This means he even has an opened bottle from 1789. “Isn’t it wonderful that I can taste cognac from 1811 as well as 1789? And I have chartreuse, port, armagnac and other liquors as well. I can taste them all. That’s what makes this collection so unique for a potential buyer.” Why, is he selling then? “I’ve been considering it for about five years now.”

Not cognac The history of port, a fortified wine which takes its name from the city of Oporto, begins in the 17th century. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties. True Port wine only comes from the Douro Valley in Portugal. “My grandfather gave me 12 bottles of port from 1840, still in their original boxes, which

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the world’s largest private collection

makes them extra special. I also have 2 boxes of white Russian port from 1936. They belonged to an old Russian family that had been making the best quality port for decades. In ‘36 they were arrested by Stalin’s troops and their belongings were confiscated.

Their children were able to flee, but the parents were taken to a camp and were never heard of again. If these bottles didn’t have such a terrible history the port would taste even better.” Like cognac, armagnac is a brandy, but the difference – apart from the fact that it is produced in the Armagnac region of France – is that it is distilled only once. “It is not a cheap cognac, as is sometimes thought”, the collector says. “The average consumer values Armagnac lower than cognac, but that is a false belief and certainly not fact. Cognac has become more of an export product in the last 75 years and is therefore better known. You can’t get a good bottle of Armagnac however below 150 euro’s.

It has to be at least 15 years old to get that special taste. This is what makes it so expensive. You could say Armagnac suffers from an image problem and that’s a shame; it deserves far more respects than it gets.”

Paradise The collector points out an A.E. Dor of 1805. “My favourite brand”, he beams. In the cognac houses’ cellars the spirit in the casks slowly turns into cognac by evaporation. The part that disappears into thin air is called ‘the angels’ share’. “I was in A.E. Dor’s ‘Paradis’ in 1980,” he reminisces. ‘Le Paradis’, or paradise, is what the cognac houses call the part of their cellars where they store their oldest and rarest cognacs. Here they rest, bottled in large wax-sealed glass containers called ‘Dame Jeanne’. In A.E. Dor’s paradise nothing has changed since the 19th century. “They had a wicker basket with a Dame Jeanne of 3.5 liters of cognac down there. At one point one of us asked the owner why he didn’t bottle it. So he did. I bought one bottle, the other 2 relations bought one, the owner kept one and the rest went to the French president. There are now only 3 bottles of Soleil d’Austerlitz 1805 left, one of which is mine. That is so unique – something that is never coming back!”

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Dust covered passion Destruction I wonder if you can taste from what year cognac is, like wine. “No, you can’t. Cognac is made from a blend of cognacs from different years”, he explains. “The age of the youngest liquid in the blend – which has to be at least 2 years old – determines the age of the cognac. Once cognac is bottled the ageing stops, so you buy a particular bottle because of its curiosity or rarity.

What you can taste, however, is that cognac from before the late 19th century, when the phylloxera epidemic destroyed most of the vineyards for wine grapes in France, tastes fundamentally different from the ones after that.“ The Phylloxera is a root louse that attacks the roots of grape vines and eventually kills the plant. Phylloxera appears to have been accidentally imported from North America.

To get rid of the pest completely all vinestocks were destroyed, but the cognac houses could survive thanks to their enormous stocks of already distilled cognac. The pre-phylloxera cognac has a unique quality, not found in modern cognacs. The original cognac vineyards were chiefly planted with Folle Blanche. After phylloxera, the cognac growers replanted with grafted Ugni Blanche. The unique character and depth of the 50 to 60 year old Folle Blanche vines was lost forever. Today, less than 5 percent of the total cognac vineyard is Folle Blanche, the rest is all Ugni Blanche.

The Comet Vintage The Great Comet of 1811 was one of the largest comets in history and visible to the naked eye for around 260 days. It was thought to be responsible for the long, hot summer and dry autumn and the following abundant harvest that year. Winemakers have always attributed successful vintages and ideal weather conditions like those of 1811 to comets, hence the name ‘comet vintages’. The year on the label, or a picture of the comet on the bottle, became synonymous for outstanding quality. That is why, by the end of the nineteenth century there were a lot of 1811 cognacs that were – granted – very fine, but not really from 1811 at all. Producers simply used the year on the bottle to signify this was their best blend, regardless of the actual years used. In the 20th century in America ordinary brandies were rebottled under fake 1811 labels, but these are apparently easy to

recognize by the connoisseur. “I have about 30 bottles from 1811”, the collector says, so how can he tell they are the real thing? “You can conclude that a bottle has to originate from that period by the age of the bottle, the glass, the cork, the seal, the house and its origin”, he explains. “But you can’t see if a bottle is from 1811 or 1870. You have to assume, use your expertise. I know where I bought each and every bottle, but Christie’s and Sotheby’s are known to sell forgeries now and then as well. You can’t know that, but it’s not so important. I don’t say it doesn’t happen, or I don’t have a few forgeries, but…”

Nothing left I remember what he said earlier; how this collection would certainly appeal to a buyer. So, is he selling? “I have a tendency to keep everything. My father always said that you had to keep what you found beautiful, because you would never be able to get it back. But I can’t keep it all. I’m not getting any younger, but now I still have the energy to sell it; I probably can’t do that anymore in 5 to 10 years’ time. Also, my wife and I don’t have any children or potential heirs who would be able to take care of the collection. ” The editor looks at all the shelves and wonders if he won’t mind the empty spaces when it’s all gone.

“It won’t be gone tomorrow; there’s still a lot to do first. It can take another 10 to 15 years before everything is sold. Let’s say I’m contemplating the moment of selling. I went from love to passion and now I have reached a point where there is nothing left to collect. There are no more unique objects to buy. No one will be able to collect what I have in one lifetime; it would take another 2 to 3 generations. But yes, I’m going to sell my collection – although I’ve been saying that for the last 5 years. It’s easy to split it up in several parts without taking anything away from its exclusiveness, although the advantage of having duplicates is of course being able to trade them for others.” All this talk about liquors has made me long for a drink when I get home and I ask him what cognac he can recommend. “Don’t bother”, he says. “Any cognac under 200 or 300 Euros is just not worth drinking.” Pity; apparently he knows how much I’m willing to spend.

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full-bodied Cognac

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Courvoisier Sherry Cask Finish

Beam Suntory has launched the groundbreaking Courvoisier Sherry Cask Finish, a rich and complex Cognac which has been finished in ex-Sherry casks to create additional layers of flavor. Set to shake-up the Cognac category, this new release provides travel retail customers a unique and exciting bottling that is set to appeal to a wider audience of premium brown spirit drinkers. Having looked for inspiration for fresh flavors across the world, Patrice Pinet, Courvoisier’s Master Blender, discovered a technique that, when applied to Cognac, releases unprecedented layers of flavor that appeal to traditional Cognac drinkers as well as malt Whisky drinkers and those looking for a new experience.

Courvoisier Sherry Cask Finish is the first bottling in Courvoisier’s boundary exploring Masters Cask Collection and it celebrates the chemistry of maturing, pushing the limits of the category. Having first matured in French Limousin oak casks for years to develop its iconic taste, the Cognac undergoes a second maturation in ex-Sherry casks, building additional layers of flavor for a subtly sweeter, complex Cognac and a lasting finish. This revolutionary liquid has been awarded Gold at The Luxury Spirits Masters Awards 2017.

According to a press release: “Deep golden in color, on the nose there are bold aromas of carnation, orange peel, cloves and hazelnut developing into subtle layers of grilled almonds and honey with rich dried fruits and walnuts on the palate to create this smooth, full-bodied Cognac. Courvoisier Sherry Cask Finish is delicious on its own or served long with tonic and a few dashes of Angostura bitters, making it a diverse and versatile spirit perfect for any drinking occasion.”

Fernando De Vicente Meiras, the Senior Global Travel Retail Marketing Manager, says: “Courvoisier is committed to reenergizing Cognac, pushing the boundaries of this heritage category by delivering exceptional liquids and limited-edition releases, and with the launch of Courvoisier Sherry Cask Finish we are doing just that. This innovative spirit has been born out of the craftsmanship of our Master Blender and his love of oak, and shows that Cognac can be exciting and appeal to a wider audience.” According to Courvoisier: “Courvoisier has built an international reputation for producing one of the finest Cognacs over almost two centuries. Its entrepreneurial founders, Louis Gallois and Emmanuel Courvoisier, founded the brand in Paris in the early 1800s. As the business flourished, it gained renown and acclaim citywide before becoming the supplier to Emperor Napoleon III.” “The story continued during the Paris Golden Age, a time of glamour, optimism, and decadence when Courvoisier was one of the toasts of choice at the inauguration of the Eiffel Tower in 1889. As a result, it became a celebratory drink of choice during this innovative and progressive period.”

“Courvoisier continues its relationship with a celebration today as it encourages consumers to take the time to mark their achievements and raise a toast.” This innovative Cognac is available in a 70cl bottle and is housed in a stunning golden wood effect box evoking the bold Spanish Sherry casks that the liquid has been aged in, with a batch number and master blender signature featured boldly to honor the process, age, and craftsmanship that has contributed to producing the liquid. Courvoisier Sherry Cask Finish is available in Europe Travel Retail and Asia Pacific Travel Retail.

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Cognac Hors d’Age

A Rarity From the Aftermath of War The Last Drop 1947 Cognac Hors d’Age Imagine the immediate aftermath of World War II, as the era of deprivations slowly eases and life gets back to normal. In the Charente region of France, the department where the town of Cognac is located, a family whose Cognac-making history dates back to 1727 creates one of its first distillations of this Brandy variety since the end of the war. And there it lies in several barrels, for decades, awaiting discovery.

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Cognac Hors d’Age

And discovered it finally is, by the Last Drop Distillers, a company founded upon a desire to seek out and discover the rare and hidden gems of distilling that have been lost to time, hidden in dark and forgotten corners. Though Scotch Whiskey is their specialty, Last Drop’s 1947 Hors d’Age Cognac — limited to only 186 bottles that are offered at £3,200 each — is just the kind of rare gem that the company was founded to discover and bring to the contemporary market. James Espy, Tom Jago, and Peter Fleck founded Last Drop after long careers at the pinnacle of the liquors industry. They have been key players in the brand creation of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Chivas Regal 18-Year-Old, the Classic Malts, Malibu Rum, and Baileys Irish Cream. At the conclusion of their professional lives, they came together to create a company committed to saving and bottling the past.

When you crack the wax, draw the cork, it fills the room. A waft of old roses, but charged with a touch of citrus; its history is manifest at every step.

An Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire since 2013, Espy was a founder of The Keepers of The Quaich, which promotes Scotch Whiskey globally, and brands he’s overseen include J&B Rare, Johnnie Walker, and Chivas Regal. Jago has worked in the wine and spirits trade for decades and was a member of the team that developed Baileys Irish Cream — considered one of the greatest brand introductions in the history of the industry.

Among other achievements, the worldwide footprint of Malibu Rum is Fleck’s claim to industry fame, along with his crucial work in the growth of several brands in Africa.

Last Drop Founders: James Espy, Tom Jago, and Peter Fleck

A waft of old roses, but charged with a touch of citrus; its history is manifest at every step. The complexity of sensations stems from that history,” is Jago’s description of this Cognac. “Distilled in 1947 in a small, ancient copper still, burning wood or charcoal, it’s rich in the imperfections that mark the exceptional from the simply fine Cognac.”

This Cognac is a rarity since very few examples of vintage distillations are left to be found. Its visual highlights include a deep bronze base with flashes of gold. Its scent is fresh and its character strong. “The aromas have the richness of summer flowers and when eventually you sip this delicate liquid you come across the same ingredients in a much more complex form,’’ states Faith in his tasting notes. “It seems ridiculous that one’s first impression of a 70-year-old Cognac is how fresh, young, and delicious it is.”

The buyer of The Last Drop 1947 Hors d’Age Cognac will receive not only a wax-sealed bottle in a red-leather case with a custommade stopper but also an additional 50-milliliter miniature and a certificate of authenticity, complete with a tasting booklet.

Now backed by their ownership arrangement with New Orleansbased Sazerac, the Last Drop primarily focused on searching around Scotland for stray barrels of old Whiskeys. The business plan was to bring to the marketplace long-lost heirlooms of distilling that have the flavor and uniqueness that connoisseurs would appreciate. This led to the equally refined world of fine Cognacs, and the 1947 Hors d’Age Cognac is their second specialized Brandy brought to the market. Hotels.com: Save big NOW on all hotel bookings with Up to a $100 Cash Back Rebate with code REBATES17! Book by 12/31/17, Travel by 1/31/18. “First, the nose. When you crack the wax, draw the cork, it fills the room.

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A look at P R EM IU M W H ISKE YS

A look at premium

Whiskeys that should be on your radar

Regardless of the time of year, there’s nothing like a dram of Whiskey to hit the spot. Now more than ever, fans of a wee dram are spoiled for choice; Scotland, the US and Canada, not to mention that recent darling of the Whiskey world, Japan, are all producing examples of great power, elegance, and persistence. Whether you’re a collector or simply enjoy savoring the best malts available, here are a few top of the line Whiskeys you need to try.

Auchentoshan Three Wood Scotch Where there were once many Lowland Whiskies, today there is only a handful left. Of those few, Auchentoshan unquestionably leads the pack. Located just outside of Glasgow, Scotland, the Auchentoshan distillery has been around since the early 19th century. These single malt gurus use a unique distillation process: they are the only Scotch distillery to employ triple distillation; one more than the status quo. What does this mean for the spirit itself? Auchentoshan clocks in at a higher alcohol level and has fewer impurities than its counterparts. Smooth and incredibly flavorful, they offer quite a few different bottlings but one of the real standouts is the Three Wood Scotch. Aged first in a Bourbon barrel, then an Oloroso and finally, Pedro Ximenez Sherry cask, this Scotch is rich, fruity, and faintly sweet.

Suntory Hibiki 17 Years Old Japanese Whisky is a great investment and an example of the art of distillation which continues to impress and surprise in equal measures. It has taken the spirits world by storm and has established itself as a real competitor for Scotch. This example from Suntory is a blend of top quality single malts aged in Japanese oak. An award winning Whisky, the Hibiki 17 is characterized by caramel, vanilla, and subtle oak notes taken from the rare Mizunara casks it is aged in.

Compass Box The Peat Monster Peated Whiskies may be something of an acquired taste, but once you’ve crossed that line, you tend not to look back. For real aficionados of that unparalleled rich, smoky flavor, the Peat Monster will satisfy even the pickiest of peat fiends. Hailing from Ardmore in Speyside, this blended Scotch is actually comprised of malts from around Scotland. Islay brings

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that classic smoke and seaweed character, while the addition of elegant Highlands malts successfully rounds it out with a pleasant fruitiness. The Peat Monster is a deeply stylish number that isn’t half as monstrously peaty as its name suggests – the key is balance, and here, Master Blender John Glaser achieves just that. In truth, everything Glaser has done at Compass Box is on point, making this Scotch Whisky producer one well worth exploring further.

A look at PR EMI UM WHI SKEYS

Green Spot Whiskey This single pot distilled Irish Whiskey is truly outstanding. Once solely made for and sold by Mitchell & Sons of Dublin (produce by Midleton Distillery in Cork), it’s now more widely available around the world…which can only be a good thing. A limited number of 500 bottles are released per year and it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of us if the Irish kept Green Spot all to themselves, although it would be hard to blame them for doing so. A blend of 7 to 10-yearold Whiskeys which are aged in mixed Bourbon and Sherry casks, Green Spot also lays claim to the title of oldest continuously produce single pot Whiskey in Ireland. Lauded as one of the world’s greatest Whiskeys by Jim Murray of Whisky Bible, Green Spot is definitely one to seek out. Once you try the original, be sure to taste the Green Spot Chateau Leoville-Barton – the same Whiskey which is then finished in used casks from the St. Julien cru classé estate – a taste experience which is impossible to forget.

Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon For some, this Bourbon is the Holy Grail of American spirits. One of the world’s greatest Bourbons, Pappy can be tricky to get your hands on due to its very limited production. Yet it is well worth the investment of tracking down a bottle, as this is an example of a fine spirit which is definitely deserving of the hype. One of the things that makes it so special is the mash; like all Bourbon, Pappy Van Winkle’s mash bill is based on corn, but it also includes wheat as opposed to rye, and also benefits deeply from a dash of delicately spicy barley. The results are a perfectly balanced, gently sweet Bourbon that stands head and shoulders above

the rest of them. If you’re able to swipe a bottle of this beautiful, elegant American legend, do yourself a favor and enjoy it neat or on the rocks.

Whistlepig 10-Year-Old Straight Rye Born in Canada but now completely produced and matured in the US, this 100 percent rye Whiskey is one of the best currently available on the market, and has gained a dedicated following worldwide as a result of its undeniable quality. Dave Pickerell is at the helm of distilling at Whistlepig, a position he took after serving as Maker’s Mark Master Distiller for a decade and a half. The man clearly knows his stuff; this 10-year-old rye tastes utterly gorgeous, with notes of creamy caramel and rich butterscotch, all framed with that citrus and vanilla hit that we all love so much in a glass of fine rye Whiskey.

Lock Stock & Barrel 16-Year-Old Straight Rye This rye is a Canadian classic through and through. Double distilled in copper pot stills and made from 100 percent rye, then aged in new charred American oak barrels for no less than 16 years, it ends up being gorgeously rich and fruity, with plenty of spicy oak and vanilla, even a hint of sassafras. We can clearly see why it picked up the Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition as Lock Stock & Barrel is complex, intense, and extremely satisfying - a real treat. The world is full of wonderful Whiskeys. You can dedicate your entire life to discovering new ones and be delighted by the fact there will always be something you haven’t tried yet. These are merely a few favorites rest assured, when it comes to fine whiskey, you’ll never grow bored!

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Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye

Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye The first-ever permanent addition to the Basil Hayden’s portfolio Basil Hayden’s, the fastest-growing super-premium Bourbon on the market, continues to deliver approachable and unexpected flavor to the Whiskey community with the release of a remarkable new expression – Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye, the first-ever permanent addition to the Basil Hayden’s portfolio.

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B asil Hayden’s Dark Rye

a versatile sipping experience to be shared with friends and family Much like Basil Hayden’s flagship Bourbon, Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye is designed to stand out in the ever-expanding crowd of American Whiskeys. Uniting the duo of Kentucky straight rye Whiskey and Canadian rye with a splash of California port, Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye offers an idhttps://www.basilhaydens.com/ dark-rye/eal sipping experience through harmoniously layered flavor. The spiciness of Kentucky straight rye Whiskey pays homage to the high-rye content and trademark spice of Basil Hayden’s Bourbon and balances seamlessly with the soft, rounded presence of Canadian rye from the award-winning Alberta Distillery. A finishing touch of California port ties a bow of sweetness and deep ruby-color on this unprecedented blend. “Bringing Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye to life as the firstever permanent addition to the Basil Hayden’s family is an exciting moment for the brand and our growing fan base,” said Rob Mason, Vice President of North American Whiskey at Beam Suntory. “Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye offers an unparalleled complexity and rich flavor while staying true to the unique approachability and style that has made our Bourbon a long-time favorite.”

Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye is best enjoyed when sipped neat, on the rocks or as the base to a modern-day twist on a Boulevardier cocktail.

The rich, fruity sweetness and spice of the rye Whiskey provides an impeccably firm counterbalance to the bitterness of apéritifs and other liqueurs typically found in cocktails. The expression features the following characteristics: • Proof: 80 • Color: Deep, rich amber with ruby

undertones • Aroma: Oaky notes balanced with dark berries and molasses • Taste: Complex blend of caramel, dried fruit, and oak with additional notes of spice and a rounded mouthfeel • Finish: Lingering dried fruit with a hint of sweetness and rye spice notes Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye further builds on the momentum set earlier this year by Basil Hayden’s Rye Whiskey, the brand’s firstever limited-edition release, which quickly answered consumers’ appetite for unique rye offerings and distinctive flavors.

Released to impressive reception and acclaim, Basil Hayden’s Rye Whiskey was awarded “Rye of The Year” at the 2017 New York International Spirits Competition.

Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye is now available nationwide for a suggested retail price of $39.99 for a 750ml bottle. Look for it packaged in a deep red, hand-applied parchment bib and wrapped with the copper belt iconic to Basil Hayden’s.

Basil Hayden’s Whiskeys are known for standing out in the crowd. The distinctive flavor of Basil Hayden’s Bourbon was originally inspired by the legend of a family recipe said to date back to 1796 when Master Distiller Basil Hayden Sr. broke ‘the rules’ and went off-the-beaten-path mixing the spiciness of rye with the smoothness of corn to create a light-bodied, mixable and smooth Bourbon. Today, Basil Hayden’s is crafting its own story by providing Bourbon drinkers with a versatile sipping experience to be shared with friends and family.

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SMWS Releases Blended Malt The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), renowned for their single cask, single malt expressions, has for the first time in its history released a new blended malt offering. A 10-year-old release with the name Exotic Cargo, the expression will become available from September 1 at SMWS.com. In the past, SMWS have released a selection of single grain offerings as well as a few other spirits including rum.

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SM W S R eleases Blended Malt

‘Exotic Cargo’ will be available in an Outturn of 1,937 bottles, and as with all Society single malts, is neither chill-filtered nor colored.

The society explained that the newest expression, with its heavy Sherry influence, is a clear “example of its mission to explore the full spectrum of flavors in Whisky and other spirits”.

The Scotsman recently reported: “In July earlier this year, The SMWS released a new Single Cask Spirits brand for its Rum, Gin, Cognac, Bourbon and non-malt Whisky releases. Later in the year, rye and grain Whiskeys will also be added to the range.

To create ‘Exotic Cargo’, The Society’s spirits manager Euan Campbell sourced a number of pre-blended malt Whiskeys, all distilled on the same day on 2006, and all matured in first fill ex-Sherry casks.”

“A number of blends at various strengths were then tried before the Society’s expert Tasting Panel selected a blend with a reduced strength of 50% ABV which they describe as a “Sherrysoaked cruise into paradise”. The official tasting notes for the new Exotic Cargo expression read: “A wooden ship is sailing through the tropics with an exotic cargo of spices, scented flowers, Medjool dates and mangoes… close your eyes and drift away on this sherry-soaked cruise into paradise.” Initially, the new blended malt was revealed exclusively to members of the Scotch Whisky Society, with a few lucky of volunteers being sent preview samples to provide feedback upon. Commenting on the Whisky’s release, Kai Ivalo, spirits director at SMWS said: “The Society has always had an unconventional streak and we’re really breaking the mold of what can be done with a blended malt.” “We’re looking to our members for feedback on the bottle before releasing further intriguing creations, however, we’re sure they will be as eager as ever to get their hands and palates on what truly is a piece of exotic cargo.

club unlike any other. As well as being a place to connect with other like-minded Whisky lovers, we are also internationally renowned for our mission: to provide our members with an adventurous and fun journey of discovery of the world’s widest collection of single cask Whiskeys.”

“Our Society grew out of a few individuals’ irrepressible spirit of discovery and adventure, which still drives us today. Inspired by the unique character of a single malt Whisky cask, purchased over 30 years ago from a Speyside distillery, this pioneering group of friends founded the Society in 1983 to buy more casks and share their discovery with like-minded adventurers.”

“Each of our single cask Whiskeys must pass the uncompromising noses of our expert Tasting Panel – a secretive group of independent Whiskey connoisseurs from all walks of life – before being deemed worthy of an iconic Society green bottle.

The selection criteria are simple: quality and interest. All the Tasting Panel’s work is performed with no information on age, origin or cask type, to ensure Society Whiskeys are always bottled when they are ready, whether young or old, Highland or Lowland, Sherry-casked or ex-Bourbon.”

”In its 34-years of existence, SMWS has garnered a reputation for a refreshing attitude towards what is perhaps the most traditional spirit of all. This includes a focus on single cask expressions as well as a reputation for promoting new world Whisky. ‘Exotic Cargo’ ($58) will be available in an Outturn of 1,937 bottles, and as with all Society single malts, is neither chill-filtered nor colored. According to their website, SMWS is “a

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C ristiano Zeller | port

Tawny Port vs. Vintage Port What Enthusiasts Need to Know “Port may evolve in many different ways,” says Cristiano van Zeller during a tour of his Quinta Vale D. Maria property Taking your first step into any new spirits or wine category requires a great deal of learning. Of course, that type of hard work is best done with a glass in hand for tasting purposes. But beyond the experiential side of things, basic questions can be cleared up to help set you down the right path. When it comes to Port, one of the key factors then is the difference between Tawny Port and Vintage Port.

The Basics To produce Port, the fermentation process of a wine is cut off via the addition of grape Brandy at a strength of 77% ABV (Alcohol By Volume). This is generally an unaged, neutral grape spirit, but specific flavors or qualities could be sought out as well. The higher alcohol strength kills off the yeast and therefore stops the ferment right where it is, leaving lingering unfermented sugars while providing the boost of fortification, eventually yielding a wine of about 20% ABV. The resulting fortified wine is then left to rest, and this is where the production can turn in one direction or the other. “Port may evolve in many different ways,” says Cristiano van Zeller of Van Zellers & Co., during a tour of his Quinta Vale D. Maria property. A Port destined to become Vintage Port heads to large vats, which could be anywhere from 2,000 liters to 20,000 liters in size, or more. It’ll remain there for two years before being bottled. The Port isn’t finished there, though. It’s made to continue maturing in that bottle—potentially for decades more.

Cristiano Zeller and his daughter Fransisca Zeller

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Cristiano Zeller | port

“Vintage Port has these two great moments of enjoyment,” says Ben Howkins, author of Rich, Rare & Red: A Guide to Port, now in its fourth edition. The first is when it’s very young and fresh, although that’s not what it’s truly meant for. The next is after 15 to 20 years, “when it is what it is supposed to be, in all its power,” Howkins says. Still, that Vintage Port can continue its work, a “slow evolution,” for another half-century in the bottle. “Vintage Port is the crown jewel, the rarity,” says Francisca van Zeller, Cristiano’s daughter who’s involved in the family business herself. A vintage release has to first be declared by a producer, and then has to be tasted and approved by a commission before being officially dubbed as such. Only a tiny fraction of Port goes on to become Vintage Port.

Tawny Port, on the other hand, doesn’t go from large vats to bottles, but instead spends its time maturing in wooden casks, generally 550 liters in size. As the Port ages and evaporates, casks are “topped up” with fresh Brandy, in tiny quantities at a time, making up for lost alcohol while also maintaining an element of

bright, fresh flavor. It’s aged for a minimum of eight years and is generally released in decades-long intervals, e.g., at 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, and so forth.

Blending and Playing Music “The essence of Port is blending,” Cristiano explains. Blending grape varietals, blending together grapes from different vineyards, from different subregions, and, in many cases, from across different years of production. “From there you play music,” Francisca says, referring to the blending process.

That music is never a solo instrumental, either. But rather, an orchestra, requiring what often amounts to centuries of built-up expertise, carefully honed and passed to the next generation. “In no circumstances is Port made alone,” Cristiano says. “Especially in the tasting room, that’s the crucial place. The accumulated experience of generations makes great works of art in terms of Port. The crucial point of every Port company is being able to pass along those sensory memories… and we all have our little secrets, too.” In terms of comparing taste and structure, Howkins compares Vintage Port to Cabernet Sauvignon wine, while Tawny

Port may evolve in many different ways

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C ristiano Zeller | port

Vintage Port is the crown jewel, the rarity

Port he compares to Pinot Noir, “elegant, lighter, softer, more fragrant, nuanced,” he says. Beyond that, what you’ll find with Tawny is that thanks to its lengthy cask maturation it undergoes hefty oxidative aging while picking up characteristics of the oak.

Therefore, well-aged Tawny Port is a natural choice for the Whiskey or Cognac drinker who’s looking to get started in the category.

There are a few additional points to consider While we’ve hashed out the macro differences between Tawny and Vintage Ports, there are a few additional points to consider: • First is that the given age of a Port doesn’t refer to either the oldest or youngest Port in the batch. It’s closer to an average, but more accurately, is a perceptive age of how old that Port tastes and appears. • Next is that Tawny Ports can actually hail from a single-year vintage, too. Enter the Colheita, which is Tawny Port from a single vintage.

Colheita Port 1871 Quinta de Loureiro

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The Emergence of Tawny While the bulk of sales and production has always been Tawny Port, the most prized has always been Vintage Port. A slight shift has occurred though, with rare Tawny of the highest quality becoming a more prominent selection.

“The market was demanding more and better Tawny ports,” Howkins says, who also says he believes that’s the future of the category as well. “Which is a huge change. We’re launching at the right moment.” The we he’s talking of is The Last Drop, a company self-described as the “antique dealer of the spirits world” and also as “rare spirits hunters.” Howkins serves as a director with the company, and the launch he’s talking of is The Centenario Port Duo, featuring an 1870 and 1970 Tawny Port.

From single-vintage years, these rare Tawny Ports are therefore both Colheitas and will be offered as a set with 770 pairs released globally, due out in spring 2018. A worthy splurge indeed, if you can handle the $5,000-plus price tag.

Cristiano Zeller | port

Old Vintage Port bottles

“These two wines come from the same family and same vineyards,” Cristiano explains. It was he who tracked down the old casks used for the release, eventually partnering with The Last Drop. There are 22,000 such potential farmers in the region, and relationships and proven track records are therefore crucial. “This is one I’ve known for generations and generations.”

aging in the bottle. “It’s quite a different animal, and it doesn’t last as long as it would if it had been kept in wood.” Besides a short shelf life after opening, though, there’s the matter of storage and temperature of storage, decanting, when and how best to open and enjoy it, and much more. Whichever direction you go in, you’ll soon come to appreciate the complexity and quality of Port, while also coming to the realization that there’s always more to learn. And more to try.

Whichever direction you go in, you’ll soon come to appreciate the complexity and quality of Port You may or may not be in the market for an epic, exclusive, and absurdly old pair of Ports, but even if not, if you’re dabbling at home, you may first want to venture into the domain of Tawny. “The market is opening for Tawny Ports in a very major way,” Howkins says. One side of that is the aforementioned flavor profile. But also consider that Tawny Ports eliminate the guesswork of when and how you should be enjoying it. “With Vintage Ports, you have to worry about when you open it,” Howkins says of the variety, which is made to continue

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Absolut Vodka

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Absolut Vodka

A Look Inside the Mysterious Absolut Distillery in Sweden How a luxury brand thrives with an artisanal touch Absolut Vodka is not only one of the biggest-selling spirits in the world, but also one of the most recognizable.

With a distinctive logo and marketing campaign, Absolut has a unique identity that sets itself apart from the competition. What most people don’t know is how much attention to detail goes into every bottle, especially with Absolut Elyx—a luxury brand with an artisanal foundation.

There’s nothing quite like walking through a thick cloud of Vodka in the air, but that’s exactly what I felt during a recent visit to the south of Sweden. Security is tight at the mysterious Absolut Elyx Distillery. I had just walked through the doors of the Absolut Elyx Distillery, a historic brick building that sits on a canal in the quiet yet scenic vacation town of Åhus. It’s a beautiful yet imposing and mysterious structure with few people allowed inside. My small group was required to hand over cameras and smartphones before the security team even considered opening the gates. The operation is run by master distiller Krister Asplund who estimates about 700,000 to 800,000 bottles of Absolut Elyx are produced a year—although there’s a capacity for about 11

million. “It is incredibly cool,” says Jonas Tahlin of the distillery. “It’s a completely computer-free zone where the production is done by hand in a gorgeous vintage copper still from 1921 that very few people in the world know how to operate.” Tahlin is the CEO of Absolut Elyx, which operates with an independent spirit from the general Absolut brand. However, all products originate from the Åhus area. “Every single bottle of Absolut is made by one single community in Southern Sweden,” says Tahlin. “Unlike almost all other Vodka brands, Absolut produces everything inside of a 50mile radius and controls everything from seed to bottle. Most other Vodka brands buy a raw spirit on the open market and then only do the distillation.”

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Absolut Vodka

The artisan nature of the spirit is clear while walking through the distillery Tahlin has been with Absolut for more than a decade and became global chief marketing officer in 2011—around the same time Absolut Elyx was developed. “I fell in love with it to such an extent that I suggested, then created, a separate company to run Absolut Elyx as a separate business headquartered in New York and Los Angeles,” he remembers. “We are now the fastest growing high-end Vodka in America.” The artisan nature of the spirit is clear while walking through the distillery. It’s a quiet structure of brick walls and cement floors with minimal furnishings, industrial elevators, and a tight spiral staircase between levels. It’s almost like traveling through the hull of a vintage ocean liner. Nothing is automated. Krister Asplund’s well-trained team controls the operation by hand—literally. That means keeping a close eye on every step of the production, making adjustments on the spot, and, if necessary, tapping lightly with a hammer to gently turn knobs into place.

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Absolut Vodka

Tahlin, the CEO of Absolut Elyx

Winter wheat is sourced exclusively from the Råbelöf estate While a nearby computerized distillery uses local wheat from more than 400 farms for most Absolut products, the team behind Elyx takes the process a step further. Winter wheat is sourced exclusively from one place: the Råbelöf estate, which has been harvesting the crop since the early 15th century. The property has the climate, soil, and topography to produce wheat with the ideal amount of starch and protein for Vodka. When harvested at the end of summer, the wheat is taken to the Absolut Elyx Distillery and milled into pieces no larger than 1.5 millimeters each. Large tanks are then used to mash the flour with enzymes, yeast, and water drawn directly from wells within the distillery that sit above an underground lake.

Vodka has always been one of the things Sweden does best Following a 48-hour fermentation process, thousands of copper packets are added to the mix in order to remove sulfur and other unwanted compounds. The packets are only used once and discarded. The product then makes its way through the vintage column still—every part of it made from copper. “Absolut Elyx is in contact with copper throughout the entire distillation process,” says Tahlin. “That removes unwanted trace compounds from the Vodka to the point where it doesn’t need to be filtered through charcoal. It leaves an incredibly delicious and smooth Vodka that we call liquid silk.”

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Absolut Vodka

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Absolut Vodka

The distillery makes a point to retain the natural character of the water. It’s naturally filtered through limestone within the aquifer and reverse osmosis is used to gently remove any leftover minerals.

“A lot of people think that Vodka should be tasteless, odorless, and colorless, but great Vodka should actually have a pleasant flavor,” adds Tahlin, who notes that competitors often filter Vodka “until it’s dead” and “doesn’t taste like anything.” After more water is added, the final bottling process leaves Vodka with a strong 42.3 percent alcohol by volume. The taste isn’t harsh like other Vodkas—with subtle notes of lemon, vanilla, and macadamia. It’s very much a tasting spirit and well-suited to simple cocktails prepared without sugar or intrusive ingredients.

An upstairs tasting room offers an expanded education in all things Absolut Elyx As if to prove the point, an upstairs tasting room offers an expanded education in all things Absolut Elyx. The space is the only part of the facility featuring stylish contemporary decor—much of it made from copper of course. Simple additions like olives, lemon peel, and bitters are suggested to complement the spirit in the form of an uncomplicated Martini served cold—neat or over ice. Although Vodka is commonly associated with Russia, it’s also well entrenched in the heritage of Sweden—with the delicate flavor of Absolut Elyx front and center as a prime example. “Sweden is part of what is known as the Vodka Belt, meaning it was one of the first countries to produce Vodka more than 300 years ago,” explains Tahlin. “There is a deep knowledge about how to produce Vodka in Sweden that has been passed down through generations.”

Yet to this day, every bottle of Absolut is born from an established foundation of Swedish ingenuity At one point, Absolut was actually owned by the Swedish government, who led a movement to import Vodka to the United States in the late 1970s. At that time, the distillery that now produces Absolut Elyx was manufacturing every drop of Absolut. The company was privatized and sold to Pernod Ricard of France in 2008. Yet to this day, every bottle of Absolut is born from an established foundation of Swedish ingenuity. “Swedish values include an obsession with quality, attention to detail, great taste, and design, as well as an unwavering commitment to the environment and sustainability,” says Tahlin with a heavy dose of national pride. “All of those values are embodied by Absolut and Absolut Elyx.”

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X

TOYS F O R B I G B OYS | TH E SE AB RE AC H E R X

SEABREACHER semi-submersible watercraft!

AVAILABLE NOW !!! for immediate purchase 2017 seabreacher x model.

Value: usd 89,000 sale price: usd 75,000 (your choice of powder coated or galvanized trailer) Great white shark airbrushed paint scheme.

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TOYS F OR B IG B OYS | THE SEABREACHER X

MODELS We are currently selling custom-built versions of our different watercraft models. Our most popular model, the Seabreacher X, is a high performance version that has an aggressive shark-style appearance, and come standard with a 260hp supercharged engine and your choice of paint. Our next model is the killer whale inspired Seabreacher Y, which also comes with the 260hp supercharged engine and has the same high performance capabilities as the X model. However, the Y model has more body modifications to give it a realistic killer whale appearance.

Our latest model, the Seabreacher Z, is the first Seabreacher capable of performing high speed 360 degree barrel rolls on the water. The Z model is available in three body styles; Dolphin, Shark, or Killer Whale. This new model comes standard with a 260hp supercharged engine, and can still be additionally customized and painted to your preference. All models feature tandem style seating for the pilot and passenger.

THE BUILD Each one of our vessels are built to the customer’s specific requirements from start to finish, and typically have a 60-90 day build time – depending on model and customization.

All models are approved for recreational use and sale, and can be registered as a conventional inboard powerboat in most countries. Please note, the Seabreacher is NOT considered a submarine or a jet ski.

PRICE Price for a custom built Seabreacher is dependent on the model and number of options that a customer chooses.

We have an extensive list of available options, but any specially requested options can also be considered. We encourage new ideas and suggestions to personalize each customer’s boat.

TEST BEFORE YOU BUY If you are interested in seeing or trying the Seabreacher in person, then we do offer training/demo days at our facility in Northern California for a US$ 1,000 nonrefundable fee. We will spend the day putting on demonstrations and training you know how to safely operate the Seabreacher.

If you decide to go through with the purchase of your own Seabreacher, then we will credit the US$1,000 towards your boat.

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TOYS F O R B I G B OYS | TH E SE AB RE AC H E R X

The Seabreacher X the ultimate diving machine The Seabreacher X is one of the most advanced submersible watercraft that we have built to date.

This exciting version is similar in size to the J model, but with higher performance and a more aggressive shark style body. The X model also steps up the performance envelope with a 260hp supercharged engine.

The new patented fully vectored thrust system mimics the tail articulation of real aquatic animals like sharks and dolphins.

The X Model’s smaller control surfaces make it a more agile and responsive vessel, allowing it to jump 90° out of the water. The X model is purpose built for pilots who want to get the most out of their Seabreacher watercraft.

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TOYS F OR B IG B OYS | THE SEABREACHER X

Seabreacher X SPECIFICATIONS

FEATURES

OPTIONS

• • • • • • • • •

• Redesigned shark style body • Fully vectored jet nozzle for increased maneuverability • High performance, low profile wings and elevators • Underwater view ports (mouth shaped) • Tinted drag boat style canopy • Custom paint job • Front and rear LCD screens display live video from snorkel mounted camera • Marine audio system with iPod/iPhone docking station • Fully customized upholstered interior • Custom powder coated hardware

• • • • • • • • • •

Two seat (Pilot: 6’ 4”, Passenger: 6’ 2”) Rotax 1500cc 4 stroke engine 260 hp supercharged, intercooled High output, low emissions Fuel capacity: 14 gallons (52L) Length: 17’ (5.18m) Width: 3’ (0.9m) Wingspan: 7’10” (1.9m) Approximate weight: 1350lb (612.35kg)

Shark mouth graphics 3D gills or fiberglass eyeballs Snorkel extension Portable cooling unit VHF Radio Panoramic bubble canopy Custom cover Custom trailer Custom airbrushing Strong back lifting cradle (for launching from yacht/dock)

Don’t forget to check out our other models at, www.seabreacher.com

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Desi D E S I G N | R ikke Hagen

Glasses Designed for Pleasure

By Rikke Hagen

Cognac Glass The Cognac Glass is an exclusive cognac glass that breaks with the classical convention of design, and is a beautiful combination of function and pure pleasure. It is a glass constructed with consideration to its content’s aroma, temperature and volume. The shape of the glass increases the intimate experience of drinking cognac by accentuating the deep color and movement of the liquid. Place the Cognac glass on your table, and enjoy how it gently turns, exposing the fine aroma of your favorite cognac.

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D ESIG N | Rikke Hagen

Glasses Designed for Pleasure Rikke Hagen has designed an exclusive series of unconventional glasses. Besides being a beautiful combination of function and pure pleasure, the glasses are constructed with consideration to its content’s aroma, temperature and volume. The shape of the glasses increases the intimate experience of drinking by accentuating the color and movement of the drink. Rikke Hagen explains: “I wanted to design a cognac glass. The perfect gift to the man, who has everything. The inspiration comes from my own perception of when you drink a cognac; when you have the time in calm surroundings. I wanted the glass to give the user a feeling of a gentleman’s study and at the same time, the sense of calmness you get when you e.g. fondle a stone. The stem kept irritating me. I took the consequence and cut it off. That’s how my Cognac Glass was born.

It seemed obvious to make a smaller version for liqueur. The Liqueur Glass is the perfect gift for women and I often use it myself when I have my girlfriends over for a cozy evening.”

“Just like the Cognac Glass and the Liqueur Glass I have designed, my inspiration for the Whiskey Glass came from my passion for collecting stones on the beach. The act of playing with stones in one’s hand in a serene, meditative movement can be summed up in a functional and aesthetic design. The curve at the bottom provides a natural grasp for the glass, and the little bubble elegantly elevates the ice cubes like small ice blocks.” Rikke Hagen’s glass series complements any bar cabinet with glasses for Cognac, Liqueur and Whiskey.

www.normann-copenhagen.com/product/designers/rikke-hagen

Whiskey Glass The Whiskey Glass is an exclusive glass that combines elegance, pleasure and function in a simple, Nordic design. The Whiskey Glass conveys an elegant expression, and the entire experience revolves around how you hold the glass in your hand. Aroma, temperature and volume all come together and the wide opening completes the indulgence.

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D ictador R um

Dictador Rum Announces Partnerships Colombian rum producer Dictador is thrilled to announce exclusive partnerships with premier Cognac, Whisky, Champagne, Armagnac, Bordeaux and Sauternes houses worldwide for a pioneering rum project coined 2 Masters.

The first program of its kind, the 2 Masters initiative was conceived over two years ago when Dictador Rum Master Blender Hernan Parra resolved to create a truly remarkable and wholly unique collection of sipping spirits by uniting with top producers in the wine and spirits community. Selected and invited by Parra, this esteemed group of skilled artisans agreed to take creative onus to finish a portion of Dictador’s finest, decades-old (minimum 40 years) Colombian rum. In all cases, the master distiller, cellar

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master, or master oenologist at each respective 2 Masters affiliate House has total control over the finishing process of the aged Dictador rums. “Allowing complementary Masters to finish the liquid that my family has nurtured for decades is not only a leap of faith but a form of art,” said Parra. “Choosing the correct Houses to participate was incredibly important in that there had to be a symbiotic relationship between myself and the other artisans who would agree to craft a version of our rum that

Dictador Rum

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D ictador R um

2 Masters, Dictador and Champagne Leclerc Briant would not just be liquid art, but an eventual masterpiece.” As the name implies, the initiative joins two brand masters together to create a singular rum experience.

The project features masters from: Hardy Cognac: Mickaël Bouilly, Cellar Master. Glenfarclas Distillery: Callum Fraser, Master Distiller, and Distillery Manager. Champagne Leclerc Briant: Hervé Jestin, Master Oenologist. Château d’Arche Sauternes: Jérôme Cosson, Cellar Master. Vignobles Despagne: Thibault Despagne, Master Winemaker, and Visionary. Laballe Armagnac: Cyril Laudet, Cellar Master. “Selecting the appropriate collaborators with the knowledge, skill and unwavering passion were paramount to creating 2 Masters,” explained Parra.

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“As we embarked on this journey, we had the wonderful opportunity to get to know our partners and understand their experience. This has made the alliance even more exciting as together, we can see all the possibilities ahead for this project.”

Of the 2 Masters project, Bénédicte Hardy, owner of Hardy Cognac has said, “Rum is a little more innovative. I think it’s a unique experience for us because I have known Dictador for a few years and I am very impressed with the way they approach the market. I am very impressed by the style of their products and I am really enjoying the fact that we can cooperate.” This is the first time in Dictador’s century-plus history that an entity outside the brand will have influence over their rum. While each of the producers has creative control over the finishing process—which

Dictador Rum

is expected to take anywhere between three months to three years to complete depending upon the environment and artistic discretion—Parra and the Dictador team are in close contact with the partners to chronicle each journey on film. “We believe that the result of these alliances will ultimately create a unique product that will transcend traditional categories and labels,” said Parra. Masters from bourbon, tequila, mezcal, sake, port and baijiu brands are expected to be a part of the 2 Masters initiative in the near future. It is anticipated that the first collaboration of 2 Masters will debut in the second quarter of 2018. Each release date will vary according to the creative intent, aging, and resting process. To keep updated on the story of each rum and its journey

between two masters, please visit the Dictador website where videos and information about 2 Masters are housed. Dictador can be found online at www.dictador.com. To follow Dictador on social media, please find the brand on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Dictador is a dynamic, modern and luxury lifestyle brand that embodies heritage and provenance, with a history in spirits production of over 100 years. Dictador offers an unrivaled, award-winning offering in ultra-premium Colombian aged spirits to a discerning worldwide clientele. Appropriately named, the ‘Dictador Experience’, the Dictador client can indulge in and pair complementary products within the Dictador portfolio, including Dominican cigars, to create a fully immersive experience.

For more information, visit www.dictador.com

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Martell V S Single Distillery

Martell Launches Provocative New Bottle Legendary Cognac house Martell has launched its VS Single Distillery expression, with a brand new approach to packaging that looks to redefine industry standards.

Inspired by Martell’s heritage of craftsmanship, the bottle of Martell VS Single Distillery is modeled on a “montre” – the traditional sampling bottles used for Cognac. Indeed, by innovating in the modern day, Martell have looked to their past for inspiration.

same time, we communicated the single distillation process in an easy to understand way.” Over the course of its 300-year history, the House of Martell has fostered a spirit of curiosity that has resulted in what is a brave new Cognac. Offering an in-depth experience of the unique Martell distillation style, VS Single Distillery is blended from Eaux-de-vie derived from a single distillation source. With very similar taste characteristics, this Eaux-de-vie unites to create what is an even richer Cognac. According to Martell: “Alone among the great Cognac houses, Martell double distills exclusively clear wines – from which all sediments have been removed – in order to preserve the authentic fruity aromas of the grapes.”

Martell VS Single Distillery is thus a pure expression of the authentic Martell style.

According to the brand: “Proudly bearing the iconic Martell swift emblem on the bottle, its simple yet elegant design is complemented by an artisanal look cap with a visible cork and a beige color paper ribbon, stamped with Martell seal.” “The bottle’s textured white label with discreet gold edges is printed with the arms of the House and the signature of its founder, Jean Martell. From its rich taste to its refined design, Martell VS Single Distillery is thus a pure expression of the authentic Martell style.” The brain-child of agency Nude Brand Creation, the ambitious packaging looks to the craft drinks sector for inspiration. “Within the Cognac category, there were very few brands talking about their product story,” says Mike Parsonson, a partner at Nude Brand Creation. “Today’s consumers are interested in brands with a compelling back story. So, we knew dialing up this aspect of the story would resonate with them. We took some inspiration from the craft drinks sector but gave it a modern twist by adding drama and vibrancy into the design. “At the

This choice of quality over quantity produces the fine, luscious Cognacs that are the hallmark of the Martell style.

A deep golden color, Martell VS Single Distillery possesses intense notes of plum, apricot, and candied lemon. The brand maintains that with this smooth blend, the fruity flavors already associated with Martell will be kicked up yet another notch. Founded by Jean Martell in 1715 at the height of French art de Vivrevivre, Martell is the oldest of all Cognac houses. With origins in a time when gastronomy, taste, and craftsmanship were celebrated and enjoyed as a key part of life, these three concepts became the foundations upon which the entire brand has been built. Obtaining impeccable levels of flavor through the double distillation of clear wines and aging in fine-grained oak casks, for 300 years Martell has produced, exported and marketed spirits that command global respect for their unbeatable taste and panache. Martell VS Single Distillery is now available in the US and the UK, with a worldwide slated for September.

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R é my Martin’s Louis XIII Cognac

Louis XIII ‘The Origin 1874’ Unveiled

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R émy Martin’s Louis XI I I Cognac

French liquor behemoth Rémy Martin has unveiled its Louis XIII Time Collection series in Hong Kong under the name ‘The Origin – 1874’. With an asking price of HK$62,800 (US$8,028), the Cognac is sure to attract an exclusive clientele. Stored in an exclusive decanter, the Cognac follows the famous Louis XIII blend of up to 1,200 different Eaux-de-vie taken solely from the Grande Champagne region of France.

The name of ‘The Origin – 1874’ comes from the style of decanter used, which was originally created in 1874. Indeed, each new edition purports to relay the story of a particular period of the legendary brand’s colorful history. This edition, that of ’The Origin – 1874’, is the very first in a run of exclusive decanters relaying key milestones in the Rémy Martin’s history that are set to be released once every two years. According to the Rémy Martin, the design of the decanter is based on the design of the oldest decanters used 142 years ago, from the incident of Paul-Émile Rémy Martin, the company’s founder, purchasing an old flask found by a farmer in a field near Jarnac, which had been a historic French battle ground. According to the Spirits Business, he was “inspired by its striking shape and regal fleur-delys medallions, he decided to create a decanter in its image for a special Cognac made with only the very oldest and rarest Eaux-de-vie from Grande Champagne in his cellars.” “At that time, the decanter’s distinctive features included 13 dentelle spikes (and not the usual 10 spikes used today) and a unique stopper in the form of an upturned decanter (instead of a fleur-de-lys). The neck and collar seal is in a ‘Champagne-gold’ hue, exclusive to this edition.” said the Spirits Business. Ludovic du Plessis, Louis XIII Global Executive Director, said: “The greatest stories often have humble beginnings and ours is no exception. It was 1874 and a new, yet very old Cognac was born. A true act of genius, housed in a decanter so unmistakable it has traveled through five centuries and still lives on today. “

‘The Origin – 1874’ marks one of the landmark moments in Louis XIII’s fascinating story, and it will become part of your own personal legacy and tale.” As a Hong Kong edition only, this special edition will be available in the Remfly Wines & Spirits store in the island’s Wanchai district. In June, The Financial Times reported a resurge in sales of Rémy Martin Cognac in the Far-East. After a government crackdown on bribery, which directly affected the Chinese practice of “gifting” expensive spirits, the market is once more on the up. In late 2016, Rémy opened a boutique dedicated to their Louis XIII mark in a luxury mall in Shanghai, which has since been performing exceptionally well. Starting from $3,000 per bottle, the Cognac has in recent years found its most loyal market in mainland China.

Speaking to Fortune, the Remy Cointreau division’s chief executive, Eric Vallat, said: “We hit rock bottom but a faithful client base remained on which to build. The anti-graft crisis had one benefit in that it led clients to refocus on buying for themselves and family. This individual consumption is much more sustainable.” “We think this upturn is very sustainable but reasonable. It is not going super fast but it is very healthy.” Only time will tell whether the newest evolution of Rémy Martin’s Louis XIII Cognac – “ The Origin 1874” expression – will prove as successful as the former releases in the Far-East. Based on recent trends, however, the brand will only continue to grow in what is an ever-growing, ever more lucrative market.

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Zacapa Luxury Rum

Zacapa Luxury Rum Rum is certainly altering its reputation as a rough pirate’s drink. Now, it is taking over drinks menus from Shanghai to San Francisco and it is even tempting the most of fanatical after-dinner Whiskey and Cognac drinkers to make it their digestif of choice.

Indeed, this transformation forms part of the wider cocktail revolution that’s emerging across the globe. Some reports suggest that there has been a 400% increase in cocktail sales over the past five years alone. With nearly 80% of consumers admitting they would pay more for a premium cocktail with high-quality ingredients. Zacapa may well be one of those ingredients. A luxury Rum crafted from the finest virgin sugar cane, it is a drink making waves across the bartending world and further afield. A product of the misty Guatemalan highlands, Zacapa has garnered something of a cult following in recent years. Since the brand was purchased by Diageo, it has seen an upturn in sales and distribution, helped in part by the very Rum revolution it helped to create in the first place. There have been reports suggesting that the Gin and Whiskey fads have passed and it’s now time for Rum to take the lead. Adored by consumers and bartenders worldwide, Rum is becoming a spirit to create cocktails for all palettes. The final of the World Class Bartender of the Year, hosted this year in Mexico City, was the setting for a tense showdown between some of the world’s leading mixologists. This international summit brought together the world’s best bartenders as well as the industry’s leading experts to showcase and predict future trends in mixology. Sharing some of the secrets behind the success of the world’s leading luxury Rum was Lorena Vasquez, Zacapa’s Master Blender: “We’re seeing more bartenders recommending to enjoy Rum in the same way as Whiskey and Cognac – straight up – which is introducing this incredible liquid to people all around the world. Zacapa really is the most exquisite luxury tasting Rum, especially when served neat, however, its distinctive depth of flavor, rich aroma and versatility also make it perfect for cocktails.” “Today people expect more from their drinks, drinks that tell a story and create experiences. At Zacapa, we do just that and for us, there’s no greater luxury experience than time. Time is one of our most important ingredients, time to not just possess life but appreciate it.” “We focus on it through every stage of crafting Zacapa. From taking the time to select the finest virgin sugar cane, to our unique maturing process, to the hand crafting of a Mayan ‘petate’ band for each bottle. Time is integral in every part of the journey. It’s just as important that everyone takes time to savor that little moment of luxury as they enjoy each sip. It’s a philosophy we like to call The Art of Slow and it’s a philosophy that appears to be working.”

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Tequi C asa N oble

Tequila Selección Del Fundador Volume II

Today, Casa Noble announced the latest addition to its extensive portfolio of first-class tequilas. Casa Noble Selección del Fundador Volume II is a triple distilled, extra añejo, which has been aged for eight years in new Taransaud 114-liter French white oak barrels to impeccably develop its complex, elegant character.

Available December 1, with only 300 bottles available worldwide, the luxury limited-edition Casa Noble Selección del Fundador Volume II celebrates Casa Noble’s rich history and the always forward-looking vision of the brand’s founder and maestro tequilero, Jose “Pepe” Hermosillo, as well as his

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creativity and expertise. Selección del Fundador Volume II is certified organic and has been made with 100% Blue Weber agave plants, originally planted in 1997 to commemorate the founding of Casa Noble. “My desire is to take tequila to the next level, to see what it can be,” adds Jose “Pepe” Hermosillo. “Selección del Fundador Volume II is an exquisite spirit showcasing our philosophy that making exceptional tequila is truly a noble pursuit. This tequila has been 20 years in the making, I hope people can enjoy sharing this treasured creation with us.” The liquid itself is a warm, harmonious spirit full of character and elegant complexity. The French white oak barrels impart a rich amber color with a savory and silky mouthfeel. Intricate aromas of cooked agave layered with chocolate, butter, and vanilla give way to subtle notes of dried fruit, sweet flowers, and cinnamon to enhance the experience like no other. Recently named “Tequila Producer of the Year” at the 2016 International Spirits Challenge, Casa Noble is one of the few certified organic and kosher tequilas on the market today. The product is made in small batches and always triple distilled – going beyond industry standards. Selección del Fundador Volume II is no exception and has an MSRP of $1,499.00. A renowned boutique distillery, Casa Noble represents the pride, passion, and quality commitment of more than 200 years and over 7 generations of tequila production. The Casa Noble family of estate-grown, organic tequilas – Crystal, Reposado, and

uila Anejo – has a rich history that has earned them a position as one of the finest ultra-premium spirits portfolios in the world. Its agave is harvested from private family estates – boasting over 6,500 acres of land and more than one million blue agave plants – and then distilled at the famed La Cofradia distillery. Casa Noble’s handcrafted tequilas are exported to over 23 countries worldwide. Constellation Brands, Inc. owns and markets Casa Noble. Constellation Brands is a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits with operations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Italy. Constellation is a Fortune 500® company and one of the top performing stocks in the S&P 500 Consumer Staples Index. Constellation is the No. 3 beer company in the U.S. with high-end, iconic imported brands

C asa Noble

such as Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra and Pacifico. The company’s beer portfolio also includes Ballast Point, one of the most awarded craft brewers in the U.S. In addition, Constellation is the world’s leader in premium wine, selling great brands that people love, including Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois, Kim Crawford, Meiomi, Mark West, Franciscan Estate, Ruffino and Jackson-Triggs. The company’s premium spirits brands include SVEDKA Vodka and Casa Noble Tequila. Based in Victor, N.Y., the company believes that industry leadership involves a commitment to brand building, our trade partners, the environment, our investors and to consumers around the world who choose our products when celebrating big moments or enjoying quiet ones.

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FOREE VER CUBAN

Havana Club Forever Cuban Havana Club Rum, which is distilled in Puerto Rico, has officially announced the launch of its new “Forever Cuban” integrated campaign, which tells the story of the brand’s Cuban heritage and declares that though the brand is no longer produced in Cuba, it is, and will forever be, Cuban.

In advance of the upcoming 59th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, the campaign, created by BBDO New York, launched with a powerful 60-second spot video that features Cuban-American actor Raul Esparza, best-known for his roles on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Hannibal, reciting “Island Body,” a poem written exclusively for the campaign by world-renowned Cuban poet

Richard Blanco. Through the poem and the spot, Havana Club Rum speaks to its Cuban roots, establishes its authenticity and boldly tells adversaries “Don’t tell us we’re not Cuban.” Written, produced and directed entirely by Cuban exiles in Miami, and available in both English and Spanish, the film culminates with the tagline “Forced from home. Aged in Exile. Forever Cuban.”

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In 1960, the revolutionary Cuban government illegally seized without compensation the Arechabala family businesses, including their Havana Club distillery, and jailed, then forced the family to flee the country in exile. But, they could not steal the Arechabala’s recipe or strip the faily of their soul, which is rooted in the craftsmanship of their product and solidifies their continued family legacy. The family sought refuge in the U.S., where the recipe was personally transcribed by Ramon Arechabala and given to Bacardi as part of an agreement between the two families. As a result, Bacardí has sold Havana Club Rum exclusively in the U.S. since 1995. “We recently debuted the ‘Forever Cuban’ campaign to reaffirm our place as the true Havana Club Rum. Pernod Ricard, a French company, continues to partner with the Cuban dictatorship to produce rum under a stolen name. That does not make the Pernod Ricard and Cuban government’s rum brand ‘real,’ or ‘authentic,’ it makes it an imposter,” said Ned Duggan, Vice President of Rums for Bacardi.

“Bacardi will continue selling Havana Club rum using the recipe based on the original, which was created by the Arechabalas in 1934 and is part of their family heritage.”

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FOREE VER CUBAN

The ultimate convergence of two Cuban families coming together to continue an iconic brand’s legendary heritage with an authentic product, Bacardi is committed to continuing this legacy, having experienced the same oppression and exile from Cuba. Its authenticity is based on the original recipe, great-taste, craftsmanship, technique, and passion since the brand was crafted by the Arechabala’s in 1934. The Arechabala family has entrusted Bacardi with their recipe, and the brand’s goal is to carry on this legacy with the same passion and perseverance that the Arechabala and the Bacardi families are known for, having experienced the same hardship and sharing a common goal.

“My father’s family was exiled by the Cuban regime and their factories seized without warning or compensation,” said Paola Arechabala Consuegra, second-generation Arechabala family member. “After expulsion from their country, my family took our rum recipe – the one that has been in our family for nearly 85 years – and sought refuge in the U.S., a place where their original recipe would be safe from imposters and the Cuban regime. Through our agreement with Bacardi, we found a way to maintain our legacy by having our recipe and brand live on.” Havana Club rums are

premium, aged rums, distilled and finely crafted in Puerto Rico, comprised of Havana Club Añejo Blanco and Havana Club Añejo Clásico. Havana Club Añejo Clásico and Havana Club Añejo Blanco are carefully crafted by the brand’s Maestros de Ron to mirror the original processes and liquid style of the Arechabala family from 1934. To maintain the authenticity and originality of the rum in both taste and bottle design, Havana Club rum, distilled in Puerto Rico, is based on the Arechabala family recipe and archival bottle design. In homage to the 1934 original, Havana Club Añejo Clásico is a golden liquid with robust notes of sweet fruits akin to pineapple and apricot, complemented by oaky notes with hints of almond and vanilla, and Havana Club Añejo Blanco boasts sweet notes reminiscent of tropical fruits and florals.

From the small screen to reality, the “Forever Cuban” campaign encourages consumers who share similar stories of exile to reclaim their heritage and recognize that there is nothing anyone can do to take their identity away through a range of advertising and digital channels, including online video and mass and targeted social (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.). Out-of-home will run in Florida and New York markets in December.

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Bon h ams R ecord Auctions

Bonhams Whisky department recorded its most successful year ever According to a recent statement from the company, Bonhams Whisky department in Edinburgh has recorded its most successful year ever, with total sales of £ 919,000. Bonhams held its first Whisky sale in 2008 and now holds four sales a year at its Edinburgh HQ as well as four sales in Hong Kong, including its first-ever online-only sale.

Bonhams Whisky specialist in Edinburgh, Martin Green said, “2017 has been a bumper year for Bonhams Whisky sales in Scotland. Since we started selling Whisky at auction in 2008, the market has grown steadily year on year, but 2017 has been exceptional. We are undoubtedly benefitting from the global interest in collecting Whiskies which is now very much an international pursuit. We have regular bidders from all over the world, including China, Hong Kong, Singapore Japan and Taiwan, all the countries of mainland Europe, north and south America as well, of course, as Scotland and the rest of the UK.”

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B onhams R ecord Auctions

Top results at Bonhams Edinburgh in 2017 include: • •

• •

Dalmore-50 year old-1926 sold for £26,250 in December 2017 The Bowmore Trilogy: Black Bowmore-42 year old-1964 Gold Bowmore-44 year old-1964 White Bowmore-43 year old-1964 sold for £25,000 also in December 2017 The Macallan Millennium Decanter 50 year old 1949 sold for £21,250 in June 2017 The Macallan Select Reserve-25 year old – 1946 sold for £15,625 in October 2017

Bonhams Hong Kong highlights included: • • • •

A bottle of The Macallan-50year old-1928 sold for HKD 588,000 (£57,000) in November 2017 Macallan Lalique-50 year old (1) Macallan Lalique-55 year old (1) Macallan Lalique-57 year old (1) Macallan Lalique-60 year old (1) Macallan Lalique-62 year old (1) Macallan Lalique-65 year old (1): sold for HKD 3,797,500 (£377,000) in August 2017

According to Bonhams CEO Matthew Girling: “When I’m asked what distinguishes us from other international auction houses, I could mention our innovative sales, our world records or our Michelin-starred restaurant. But having joined Bonhams in 1988 – I started in the jewelry department at Bonhams Knightsbridge – I know that the most important element of the company is our specialists.” “This is where the true source of our strength resides. We offer items in 60 different categories – the broadest range for any international auction house – and every single department is fuelled by passion. Our specialists are leading connoisseurs in their field. They are also astute business people who know where and when to sell a work – and for buyers, they give advice as to whether or not a piece will fit with a particular collection. At times, we have also been counselors, as we understand how it is sometimes emotionally difficult to part with items. But above all, each and every one of our specialists offer a bespoke service for you as we recognize that every item bought and sold at auction is a special event.” According to Bonhams: “Bonhams has a heritage and reputation for connoisseurship and bespoke service known throughout the world. Founded in London in 1793, we are the sole remaining international auction house that is privately owned and in British hands. We hold more than 400 specialist sales a year in 60 different categories at our flagship salerooms in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. The breadth of our reach means that Bonhams can offer items for sale wherever the works will attract the strongest interest and keenest bidding. Matching the item to the sale is an art in itself – and Bonhams has become a master at it. With specialists in every major area of art, antiques, jewelry, motor cars and collectibles, the depth of knowledge at Bonhams makes us a natural choice as the place to buy and sell.”

Matthew Girling, CEO Bonhams

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heaven h ill bourbon

Heaven Hill Creates Largest Bourbon Production Site Heaven Hill Distillery today dedicated the expansion of its Bernheim facility, creating the single largest Bourbon production site after a $25 million investment. Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-03) and Mayor Greg Fischer joined Heaven Hill President Max L. Shapira and Master Distiller Denny Potter in a toast to the latest advancement in industry innovation.

Dating back to 1871, the historic site of Heaven Hill Distillery’s Bernheim facility, D.S.P. -KY 1, is a landmark for a broad range of iconic brands in the American Whiskey category.

Acquired in 1999 by Heaven Hill, the site is now home to the Evan Williams Bourbon, the second largest selling Bourbon in the world, Larceny, Elijah Craig, and Henry McKenna, among others. The current expansion brings capacity to 400,000 barrels per year, marking Heaven Hill’s commitment to producing a full range of American Whiskey styles to meet current and future demand. “As an American-owned and operated company, Heaven Hill Distillery is proud to be on the forefront of the American Whiskey movement and embark on the latest iteration of distillery technology and innovation,” said Shapira. “The Bourbon distillation project combines the latest of distilling techniques with the ability to produce our brands using traditional methods as we have for more than 80 years.”

Bernheim’s history as a leading distillery in experimentation, coupled with Heaven Hill’s commitment to quality, sets the stage for growth of both innovative and historic brands.

Major components of the current expansion include four additional fermenters, another distillation set of a thumper and 66-inch beer column, a drop tub to increase the number of mashes per day, a 50,000 pph boiler, a new grain handling and storage upgrade, a cooling capacity upgrade, and an operations software upgrade. Two prior expansions were completed at Bernheim since 2006, with the first bringing capacity to 200,000 barrels per year in 2007 and the second to 300,000 barrels per year in 2014. Since 2016, Heaven Hill has opened four warehouses at the new Cox’s Creek barrel warehouse location, where each warehouse holds almost 57,000 barrels of the more than 1.3 million barrels (approximately 25% of the world’s Bourbon supply) aging across Jefferson and Nelson Counties.

“This expansion is a truly monumental event for Heaven Hill, for the city of Louisville, and for the bourbon industry worldwide,” said Congressman Yarmuth. “This historic company has continued to distill some of the best American Whiskeys for nearly a century and has helped lead the rebirth of bourbon as America’s native spirit. As co-chair of the Congressional Bourbon Caucus, I’m especially proud to now represent the largest bourbon production site in the world.” In conjunction with Heaven Hill’s growing economic impact

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in the West Louisville community, Shapira also introduced a partnership with Dare to Care to support hunger relief within the area. A $10,000 donation will support a mobile pantry unit for West Louisville and purchase six freezers for partner agencies within the area to distribute fresh food and produce. To celebrate the achievement, a commemorative barrel was signed by Heaven Hill employees and local dignitaries, and all shared a toast of Evan Williams Bourbon. The company remains true today to its original mission as a family-owned and operated, independent Kentucky company—the last remaining in the Bourbon business today. Lifting America’s spirit since 1935, Heaven Hill Distillery continues to be on the forefront of Bourbon as it has been through the last eight decades.

Founded in Kentucky by the Shapira family in 1935, Heaven Hill Distillery continues its legacy as one of the foremost American Whiskey producers. Heaven Hill has cultivated the traditions and history of America’s Native Spirit with its fierce independence, passionate family ownership, dedication to quality, and thoughtful innovation. Today, Heaven Hill Distillery maintains over 1.3 million barrels aging in 54 warehouses throughout Nelson and Jefferson Counties. It is home to an award-winning collection of American Whiskeys including Elijah Craig Bourbon, Larceny Bourbon, Evan Williams Bourbon, Pikesville Rye Whiskey, Rittenhouse Rye Whisky and Parker’s Heritage Collection. Heaven Hill Distillery previously held the titles of 2016 Whisky Magazine Distillery of the Year, 2016 Whiskey Advocate American Whiskey of the Year and 2016 Rye Whiskey of the Year from “Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.”

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B OL L INGER | vintage Champagne

Forgotten History:

Champagne Bollinger Uncovers Its Roots Old Liquors Magazine joins Bollingers’ Guy Rivoire for a tasting of vintage Champagne.

In 2010 an intern was sent into the labyrinth-like cellars at Champagne Bollinger in Aÿ, France to begin cataloging some of the three-quarters of a million bottles.

What he stumbled upon re-wrote Bollinger history, brought the past to life, caused a sensation at Sotheby’s, and is now the must-see destination in Aÿ.

Champagne Bollinger was served at the real life wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in London in 1981 and is the Champagne of choice for the fictional James Bond. Aside from that Bollinger is a circumspect Champagne House, not seeking attention for itself. Established in 1829 it is certainly not one of the oldest houses; Maison Runiart began a century earlier, Taittinger was founded in 1734, and Veuve Clicquot in 1772. But Bollinger has established itself as one of the premier houses, adamantly devoted to quality. It’s not a long drive from Charles De Gaulle Airport to Aÿ in Champagne’s heart and when I arrive it’s late, so I head to the nearby hotel and wait for morning. I walk through the compact unassuming village, observing the cemetery abutting the vineyards, walk down the street, and turn into the magnificent edifice of Bollinger. I’m here to see and to taste history.

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B O LLI N GE R | vintage C h ampagne

Intern reveals small compartments behind dozens of racks Bollinger began restoration of some of their older vintages as early as 1969 according to Commercial Director Guy de Rivoire. “For most of the bottles it is taking the bottle, opening them, changing the cork, putting on new wire, essentially protecting them, letting them continue on with their life,” he tells Old Liquors Magazine. In 2010 an intern was searching for older vintages and down one of the long tunnels was a small room to his right, one of many small rooms to the right and left dotted throughout the nearly six kilometers of tunnels buried in the Champagne soil. Entering that room was a smaller room immediately to his left.

That small room, which I now stand in, was crammed full of dozens of racks of bottles and as these were pulled out there were small compartments, about waist high, closed with small arched wood doors. “The entrance was blocked by walls of 600 empty bottles and magnums,” de Rivoire says. Once the racks were cleared away there were bottles - dozens and dozens of them, full of Champagne, no labels, just codes.

Initially, no one knew what they were or why they were here. “No one at Bollinger, nobody of the parents of the employees - because we have several generations working here - no shareholders knew of the existence of these bottles so we don’t know when they were put there. There were marks indicating the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th Century so we think they might have been stored there between the two World Wars, but we don’t really know.” Marked with a code, CB 14, staff frantically searched the written archives. “That was the key discovery of 54 bottles coded CB 14, and we were

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able to decipher they were from the foundation of Bollinger - these were our very first Champagnes.” De Rivoire pauses, sighs, and you understand that this is a very personal thing.

“You can imagine the emotion,” he whispers to me. But what does one do with 180-year-old bottles? They had already developed three initiatives back in 1969 - archive, restoration and presentation, and with that, a subterranean gallery was born in order to showcase Bollinger history known as Galerie 1829. “In Galerie 1829 we present all the top vintages of Bollinger starting in 1830.” Of the original 54 bottles found from 1830 only 13 remained in stable condition and are now on display - the others were in such poor condition they could not be saved.

The sound of our shoes echo out from the stone floor and it’s all very sleek and sexy, very James Bond There are 65 distinct vintages showcased here, a total of 7,330 bottles, magnums and jeroboams and 4,000 of those were restored. Galerie 1829 itself is dimly lit; amber tones emanating underneath black lacquered cases and racks; shadows and hues, light and dark playing against wine bottles.

The sound of our shoes echo out from the stone floor and it’s all very sleek and sexy, very James Bond. Flanking the vault are bottles from across the century, their date emblazoned with a gold pen. At the end in the far distance is the prize of Bollinger’s possessions - 13 bottles from 1830. It is at once impressive and curiously static. It is also not easy to get invited to Galerie 1829; in fact James Bond could probably not sleuth his way in. A visit is only for the few, the elite collectors and

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B O LLI N GE R | vintage C h ampagne

no, there are no tastings of any of the historic vintages. To help cement the exclusivity, Bollinger auctioned off a bottle of the 1914 vintage combined with a visit to the estate, which went for $10,00 at Sotheby’s New York in November 2016. I was fortunate enough to not pay that amount and to visit Bollinger and taste through several older vintages including 1992, 1975, 1973 (in jeroboam, magnum and bottle), 1964, 1955, 1928 and the prized 1914.

Tasting Notes of Select Vintages 1973: Comprised of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay from mainly eight different vineyards, this was served at Lady Diana’s wedding. Harvest and bud break were normal, though hail occurred early May. Classic nose with light tart expression, bright acidity, green apple, baked brie with back notes of honey and stone. Disgorged late 2012 1955: An even growing season lead to an early October harvest. Disgorged in 1967 this is lush and full, nearly perfume-like. The palate is filled with sweet meringue, resin, and a tartness grips the finish and a bright acidity. Sweeter in style (13 grams of sugar), yet wonderfully drinkable and smooth.

1928: The average harvest date of this vintage was September 28. A few frosts were recorded in May but that was tempered by a long harvest. 12 grams per liter of residual sugar are in this, there’s a similar style to Sauternes, but with smoked apple wood oak, sweet butterscotch, honeyed notes and the acidity and comprehensive quality of the wine is still evident.

1914: Made primarily of Bouzy Pinot Noir, records indicated that harvest was late September after a long uninterrupted growing season. This is lighter in style but more viscous, aged on the lees, no ML, still very drinkable. The acidity has waned and the structure is slightly compromised, nonetheless this 103-year-old Champagne is still delightful.

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T h e GlenD ronach Kingsman

The GlenDronach Kingsman Edition 1991 Vintage The famed GlenDronach distillery has teamed up with international film studio 20th Century Fox to create a limited edition single malt Scotch Whisky celebrating the upcoming release of Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

Set for release in cinemas on 20 September, the movie is the sequel to 2014’s surprise smash-hit Kingsman: The Secret Service. Starring Colin Firth, Taron Egerton and Channing Tatum, the second installment has film fans across the globe excited for more of the film’s trademark slick action, witty dialogue, and crisp Saville Row style. The movie plays out with Egerton’s Eggsy enlisting the help of a US ally spy body called Statesman, once the Kingsman’s London headquarters is destroyed in an attack. Now, this is where the film becomes relevant to Whisky fans. The Statesman, which is a top secret organization that

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The GlenD ronac h Kingsman

is based in Louisville, Kentucky, take on the guise of a team of master distillers in order to hide their true identity. Of course, Kentucky is the spiritual home of Bourbon Whiskey. As a homage to the upcoming movie release, GlenDronach master blender Rachel Barrie has forged her nouse with that of Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn to craft a 1991 Sherry cask-matured GlenDronach, with a 48.2% ABV. “I selected the 1991 vintage as it marks the birth year of ‘Eggsy’, who is also known as Kingsman agent Galahad,” said Vaughn. “It’s really special to get a limited edition vintage like this, and even more so as The GlenDronach is my favorite single malt Whisky. I hope Kingsman fans around the world enjoy it as much as I do.”

With each bottle individually numbered and signed by both Barrie and Vaughn, the will certainly be a huge appetite among collectors for the expression, of which there are only 2,000 in existence.

Rachel Barrie joined GlenDronach in March this year and she had this to say regarding the new expression, of which she was co-creator: “It took over a quarter of a century for The GlenDronach Kingsman Edition to come of age, matured in Sherry casks from birth. As we say at the distillery, ‘Cask is King,’ and this is evident in the taste experience of The GlenDronach Kingsman Edition 1991 Vintage, which is richly Sherried, elegant and full bodied to the last.” The GlenDronach Kingsman Edition actually features in the film itself and will be available from selected retailers worldwide from September for approximately $650 per bottle.

The GlenDronach has been creating top-notch single malt Scotch Whisky since 1826. Known as Sherry cask specialists, the distillery says that: “Independent ownership gives us the freedom to rekindle the reputation of GlenDronach as the distiller of richly sherried single malt Whiskies of inimitable and individual character. It’s a reputation that has traveled worldwide – to those in the know, it’s a well-kept secret.” “The team at GlenDronach have set out on a journey to bring GlenDronach back to life. In April 2009 the famous 12, 15 and 18 year-olds were re-launched, creating the GlenDronach Core Range. Since then, we have developed our portfolio with some interesting wood finishes, excellent single cask bottlings and fantastic additions to the core range.”

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ferrari j50 takes top h onours

The Ferrari J50 takes top honours in the Red Dot Award Product Design 2017

Maranello, 2017 – For the third year running, Ferrari has taken the Red Dot: Best of the Best award for the maximum expression of design quality and ground-breaking design. The model to receive the top Red Dot Award in the prestigious annual Product Design competition this year was the Ferrari J50, the strictly limited series of bespoke cars built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Ferrari in Japan.

A sophisticated two-seater, mid-rear-engined roadster based on the 488 Spider, the J50 features a radically futuristic design language and was praised by the Red Dot jurors for its innovation. Designed by the Ferrari Design team under the direction of Flavio Manzoni, just 10 examples of the J50 will be built in the spirit of Ferrari’s fuori serie tradition.

The international jury of design experts also awarded Ferrari Red Dot distinctions for the high design quality of the GTC4Lusso, LaFerrari Aperta and the 458 MM Speciale.

The award ceremony held the evening of the 3rd of July at the Aalto Theater in Essen thus focussed attention on the design excellence that characterises Ferrari’s entire model range in the year that the company celebrates its 70th anniversary.

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ferrari j50 takes top honours

The GTC4Lusso, LaFerrari Aperta and 458 MM Speciale receive Red Dot distinctions

Ferrari’s unique heritage, in fact, is encapsulated in the most extensive and diverse range of sports cars in the automotive sector. The GTC4Lusso is Ferrari’s flagship GT production car, an exclusive interpretation of the four-seater concept, combining extraordinary performance in all driving conditions with sporty elegance and luxurious comfort. The LaFerrari Aperta is a limited-edition special series, an open-top version of the acclaimed LaFerrari supercar which represents the finest expression of the marque’s technical capabilities in both GT and Formula 1 engineering. The 458 MM Speciale instead is one of the latest creations from Ferrari’s special OneOff programme, a bespoke service for clients who desire a truly unique car with innovative, individual styling.

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G lenroth es W h isky

Glenrothes Whisky From Scotland’s Speyside Region Made Perfect History, tasting notes for several older Single Malt Scotches Many Whisky distilleries in Scotland are all about age - 12-year-old Single Malt Scotch, 18-year-old, 25-year-old, or more. Then there’s Glenrothes, the distinguished distillery in the heart of Scotland’s Speyside region, the heart and soul of Scotland’s Whisky production.

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What makes the Glenrothes different is also what makes it exceptional Located near the banks of the River Spey in the small town of Rothes (home to Speyburn, Glen Grant, and Glen Spey Distilleries), Glenrothes has been carefully making Scotch since 1878. Even so, many of Glenrothes’s Whiskies do not have specific ages. Instead, the distillery often simply specifies the vintage, the year the Whisky was bottled after carefully being aged in a wide range of casks, according to the Glenrothes team at the distillery in northern Scotland. “What makes the Glenrothes different is also what makes it exceptional,” notes the Glenrothes team. “At the Glenrothes, we only bottle our Single Malt Whisky at the moment it reaches its peak of maturity and taste. Thus, all of our Whisky is, by its very nature, vintage. But don’t be fooled. Age matters at Glenrothes. The distillery recently released the Single Cask 8377, a 32-year-old Single Malt Whisky that sold out in a matter

of weeks. And on a regular basis, the distillery routinely releases other, older Single Malt Scotches. These rare releases can often only be purchased by eager subscribers to Glenrothes’s mailing list. But Glenrothes insists that all the Whiskies it releases meet the distillery’s highest standards. Such standards include primarily aging its Whiskies in former Sherry casks as well as Bourbon casks in some cases. This approach explains why its Whiskies often have a citrus-like aftertaste with subtle, floral notes. “You see, age statements are no guarantee of quality or taste,” Glenrothes notes.

“What happens to the Whisky in the cask is far more important than the number of years it spends inside it. Much like a fine wine, Whisky matures at its own pace. Which is why each individual cask of ours is carefully checked, nosed, and tasted many times over many years, until perfect.”

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G lenroth es W h isky

History of Distillery Perfection has been the goal at Glenrothes for more than one hundred years. Founded by James Stuart in 1878, who worked at the nearby Macallan Distillery, Glenrothes has forged a unique path in this world-renowned corner of Scotland famous for making some of the world’s best Whiskies.

(Note: Even though the distillery was founded 1878, its first year of production was not until one year later under the guidance of John Cruickshank, Robert Dick, and William Grant.) The distillery has also changed hands several times throughout its sometimes difficult history, which has been marked by several substantial fires (in 1897 and 1922), as well as an explosion in 1903. Earlier this year, Edrington (owners of The Macallan, The Famous Grouse, Highland Park, and Cutty Sark, which has used Whisky produced by Glenrothes for decades to make its popular, blended Whiskey sold throughout the world, including especially in the United States) purchased Glenrothes back from wine and spirits merchant Berry Bros & Rudd. But no matter who owns Glenrothes, this distillery continues to have a loyal following around the world. “Nestled in the town of Rothes in the Scottish Highlands’ Speyside—a region densely populated with some of the world’s most famous Whiskies—the Glenrothes has been turning out exceptional Scotch since 1879,” the Glenrothes team wrote. “Malt master

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Gordon Motion carefully selects and marries specific standout vintages, with a particular emphasis on the 2004 vintage. The Glenrothes is so popular due to its characteristic ‘house style’ and is a fantastic dram for Whisky connoisseurs.”

Unique Flavor Profile And for connoisseurs of Single Malt Scotch, what attracts many fans to Glenrothes is the distillery’s distinct flavors. “Every expression we create must have its own unique personality, underpinned by our distillery’s characteristic flavor profile—ripe fruits, citrus, vanilla, and an exquisite spicy finish all encased in the creamiest of textures and with a complex yet well-poised balance,” the Glenrothes team wrote. “Only when it meets our thorough requirements can it be bottled, either within one of our exquisite Reserves, as a unique and finite Single Vintage, or as a much sought-after Special Release.” And while Glenrothes has fans around the world, this unique Whisky sells particularly well “in several key markets such as the UK, Spain, the Nordics, Asia, and travel retail,” according to Glenrothes. The distillery added that it recommends pairing its distinct Scotches with a wide range of cheeses. “Glenrothes pairs well with a variety of foods, but the perfect way to navigate our Whisky and explore a taste sensation is to pair with a well-stocked cheese board.”

Glenrothes Whisky

Tasting Notes The Glenrothes, Vintage Reserve

Glenrothes 25 Year Old 1990, Cask 10784, Xtra Old Particular, Douglas Laing

Alcohol by Volume – 40 percent

Alcohol by Volume – 56.6 percent

Aging – Unknown number of years aged in a

Aging – 25 years in a single Sherry butt.

variety of casks.

Aroma – Cedar, cinnamon, butter, and smoke.

Aromas – Floral, vanilla, citrus, and dried lilacs.

Tasting Notes – Distilled in June 1990 and

Tasting Notes – Glenrothes’s signature Whisky,

bottled in June 2015, Glenrothes made 285 bottles of this smooth yet intense Single Malt Scotch. A wide range of flavors burst forth in every, intense sip - from cinnamon and pepper to smoke and roses.

Add a few drops of water (I personally added unfiltered well water) and this refined Single Malt Scotch reveals its subtle, tropical side. There were hints of apricot, orange peel, and a slight pepper aftertaste in this understated Whisky with a long, bold finish. Have this Scotch with a porterhouse or another thick cut of beef.

this light, refreshing Scotch has notes of vanilla, citrus, and flowers, especially lilacs. Definitely on the lighter side when it comes to Speyside Whisky, this wonderful expression of Glenrothes remains a timeless classic. Perfect before or after any hearty meal any time of year.

The Glenrothes, Minister’s Reserve

Glenrothes 26 Year Old 1988, Single Cask (Master of Malt)

Alcohol by Volume – 43 percent

Alcohol by Volume – 53.4 percent

Aging – Unknown number of years aged in

Aging – 26 years in a single refill Bourbon

Spanish oak casks.

hogshead cask.

Aroma – Nectarines, orange peels, flowers, and

Aroma – Vanilla, citrus, orange, dried flowers,

wet cave.

toasted chestnuts, and tangerine.

Tasting Notes – Fiery and intense, this Glenrothes Single Malt Scotch is not for the faint of heart. Distilled in June 1988 and bottled in September 2014, this bold Whisky has real character and delivers a wide range of flavors— from roasted oranges to dark chocolate.

Tasting Notes – One of the best Scotches produced by Glenrothes, this smooth, subtle Whisky displays a wide range of flavors, including fresh-picked oranges, sea salt, and vanilla. A long aftertaste, this perfectly balanced Whisky more than held its own about many higher-priced Whiskies. Let me add that you can really taste the Spanish oak in a subtle but not overpowering way. Truly outstanding Whisky, absolutely delicious. This is one you will want to savor after a long, robust meal.

Add a few drops of water and the peppery notes of this older expression from Glenrothes still packs a powerful kick. Definitely a winter Scotch for a long, cold night.

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H E E R I N G | c h erry li q ueur

Cherry Heering to Hit United States Following its recent global acquisition, Cherry Heering Liqueur will be available to bartenders and consumers across the United States through Royal Dutch Distillers. The Miami-based subsidiary of De Kuyper Royal Distillers will act as the exclusive importer and sales and marketing force of the renowned and well-established Cherry Heering brand.

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HEER ING | cherry li queur

De Kuyper, well known for the world’s largest brand of premium cocktail liqueurs, had announced the acquisition of Cherry Heering

Cherry Heering, probably the oldest cherry liqueur in the world, was established in 1818. It is known as the original “Cherry Brandy” and contributed to the creation of some of the most legendary cocktails. The very first “Singapore Sling” was created with Cherry Heering and, since then, the brand has been the global reference for this famous cocktail. Today it is still the essential ingredient and global reference for such world-famous cocktails as the “Blood and Sand” and the “Copenhagen.”

“The United States is the number one cocktail market in the world, and a key market for Cherry Heering,” says Mark de Witte, CEO of De Kuyper. “We are very pleased that we can now bring this internationally recognized and iconic brand to bartenders and retailers in the US, in conjunction with the other great brands in the portfolio of Royal Dutch Distillers: Rutte Gins and Genever, Mandarine Napoléon, Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto, Half Hitch Gin, and ChocoVine. We are continuously looking to extend our range of premium brands to offer customers a complete portfolio.

Just like our premium spirits, Cherry Heering is the global reference for a variety of classic cocktails and fully in line with our Global Company Strategy and vision to ‘Own the Cocktail’”.

“The Cherry Heering brand is well-established and has a high level of recognition in the US bartender community,” says Adéle Robberstad, CEO of Peter F. Heering company. “We are very proud and grateful for this close relationship with the US onpremise and will continuously build on it with our constant support.” Marc De Kuyper, an 11th-generation De Kuyper family member and CEO of Royal Dutch Distillers in the US, comments: “We are very happy to take over the brand that’s in such good shape thanks to the great work done by Royal Wines over the last couple of years.

2018 marks the 200th anniversary of Cherry Heering and we’re very much looking forward to celebrating this great heritage brand together with our customers.

For the anniversary, we’ll support sales of this modern classic with a new marketing campaign, including specials such as a Special Edition Label and a holiday gift box.”

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I nternational W ine and Spirit Competition

The Best Malbec in the World!

The Viniterra Single Vineyard Malbec, 2015 has been officially announced to be the best Malbec in the world Are you a wine lover just like me? Then you are in the right place…keep reading to find out all about the best wines of 2018. On November 16, 2017, the world’s favorite wines were revealed to the public by the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC), where the contest aims to reward and promote the world’s finest wines, spirits, and liqueurs.

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International W ine and Spirit Competition

IWSC Awards, Judges Tasting Notes

The IWSC stands out among the other competitions for various reasons According to the incredible results released by the judges of the IWSC, the winner is a “high altitude” Malbec, produced at an incredible 1,020 meters above sea level.

The Viniterra Single Vineyard Malbec, 2015 has been officially announced to be the best Malbec in the world and it has also been awarded with the Malbec Trophy which symbolizes high quality and excellence. The IWSC stands out among the other competitions for various reasons, one of which is the professionalism and the reputation of its judging process. Panels are made up of the top experts in the industry including Master Distillers, Masters of Wine, wine and spirit buyers, sommeliers, WSET-qualified educators, and respected wine and spirit journalists. Every single wine and spirit is blind tasted and assessed on its own merit within the context of its class.

Judges Tasting Notes This deep red color with purple hues combines notes of red fruits (like ripe plums and cherries with notes of vanilla and dried fruits), herbs, and sweet spices and a glimpse of a new oak. Very upfront palate. It’s warm, dry, and elegant, and whilst enjoyable now, there’s some ways to go to yield its full potential.

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I nternational W ine and Spirit Competition

The Viniterra Single Vineyard Malbec 2015 is a “vineyard in the clouds” Wine lovers are pouring more and more glasses of wines produced at extremely high altitudes. The 2017 reports have shown the growing trends toward these types of wine and the reason is simple… “There has definitely been a shift toward wineries including specific regional labeling on their bottles in a move to emphasize altitude, as consumer interest and awareness of these exceptional wines increases. This year’s South American and Mexican results show the mark that these prestigious wineries are making on a national, and international, scale, proving a cut above many others within their own category, and the competition as a whole” says Pip Mortimer, senior tasting manager at IWSC The Viniterra Single Vineyard Malbec 2015 is a “vineyard in the clouds,” producing wines of exceptional flavors. The unique taste is attributed to the ripening process of the grapes exposed to intense sunlight and atmospheric agents. Winemakers have long recognized the benefits of altitude. But what exactly does “high elevation” mean when it comes to finished wine? The dramatic shifts of temperatures and higher solar radiation at high altitudes causes grapes to develop deeper pigment concentration, just like getting a

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International W ine and Spirit Competition

tan in the form of a thick, tough grape skin essential for making a wine age-worthy. And Now a Bit of History about Malbec Wines of “Terroir” Viniterra Winery “Wines of Terroir” was founded by Adriano Senetiner in 1997, a well-known enologist with over 50 years of experience in the wine–spirits industry. Villa Rosa is the name of the vineyard located in Agrelo–Luján de Cuyo at 1.020 meters above sea level (3.346 ft), at the foot of the Andes Mountains, usually referred to as the “birthplace of Malbec.” At Villa Rosa, they produce and cultivate a wide range of vibrant grapes but most of all they believe in discipline and hard work…even though the environmental conditions are favorable to their cultivation.

Adriano believes that when there is the perfect combination of soil, climate, training, and pruning there is high-quality wine. The vineyard offers a wide range of products such as oak fully aged wines and sparkling wines. They want to keep and preserve the unique taste that characterizes the wines of this area…some examples are the Carménère, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio, and Viognier along with the embraced Malbec, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon, among others.

IWSC Awards, Judges Tasting Notes

People who wonder whether the glass is half empty or half full miss the point… the glass is refillable - Vasudev Argentina is the fifth biggest producer of wine in the entire world since the 1600s. But how did everything begin? In the late 1800s, Governor of Mendoza Domingo Faustino Sarmiento commissioned the French agronomist and wine expert Miguel Pouget to import some of the grapevine cuttings from France. The vines that Miguel Pouget brought to Argentina were the very first Malbec vines to be ever planted in the country. The plant adapted so well to the new climate and to the territory of Mendoza that it rapidly spread everywhere along with some help from Argentine winemakers which have contributed toward the improvement of the Malbec and winemaking development in general.

A popular legend tells us that Italian wine pioneer Roberto Cipresso was sent to inspect several vineyards to buy for a project with a group of family friends from Argentina. After checking out various vineyards at Uco Valley and Luján de Cuyo, Mr. Cipresso came across an abandoned vineyard in Mendoza, which was about to be demolished the next day to make some space to grow some new plants. After tasting a berry, he immediately called his manager to announce to him that he had found the right vineyard to invest his money in. Roberto paid him right the way, without hesitation, so that he could start the project immediately. Fifteen years later, this vineyard is one of the most famous in the world, producing, importing, and exporting the most expensive wines in Argentina.

By restricting the irrigation system the Vineyard managers started to produce less grapes but of exceptional quality. Drainage makes it a struggle for survival and means that all energy in these vines is preserved to produce fewer grapes but of very high quality.

Another Italian winemaker who invested in the Terroir of Mendoza was Nicolas Catena Zapata, a third-generation winery owner who began an independent research project of Malbec and specifically the Terroir of Mendoza, leading the way to high-altitude grapes growing in the Uco Valley.

The Viniterra Single Vineyard Malbec, 2015

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A stral T e q uila L aunch C ampaign

Astral Tequila Launch Campaign After becoming a pop culture icon through bending a spoon with his mind, holding his breath for one hour, becoming the namesake of the sun and receiving the “Best Actor” award for a movie not out yet, Jonathan Goldsmith is at the center of some legendary moments in Astral Tequila’s first creative campaign, “This Calls for Tequila.”

The 10-spot video campaign, launched today, marks Jonathan Goldsmith’s first large-scale advertising appearance since his role as “The Most Interesting Man in the World.” The spots, created by ad agency Erich & Kallman, focus on toasting life’s most legendary moments with the most fitting tequila, Astral.

“This Calls for Tequila” encourages consumers to choose Astral

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for every celebration as well as life’s best, most unexpected, legendary moments–an ethos embodied by Goldsmith, the campaign’s star and Astral Tequila partner. The campaign also features a new character who portrays Goldsmith’s butler, who gleefully brings news of his master’s accomplishments. “This Calls for Tequila,” Goldsmith replies when told of his most

A stral Tequila L aunch C ampaign

recent accolade, to which his servant responds, “The Finest Tequila!” “Astral Tequila is the only spirit fitted for life’s most legendary moments, conversations and experiences whether that be a friend’s promotion at work or successfully disarming a bomb while blindfolded,” said Goldsmith, “I’m thrilled to share these videos with the world to explain why my drink of choice is tequila, Astral Tequila.”

Astral gave a preview of its partnership with Goldsmith this past June during a rare video message directed by David Lipman followed by several 30-second social videos leading up to the “This Calls for Tequila” launch. “I told you I don’t always drink beer,” said Goldsmith. “I prefer tequila – Astral Tequila.”

The Davos Brands premium portfolio is currently composed of TYKU Sake, Aviation American Gin, Sombra Mezcal, and Astral Tequila.

Erich & Kallman (https://www.erich-kallman.com) is an independent, San Francisco-based creative shop founded by Wieden+Kennedy, Barton F. Graf, and Goodby Silverstein & Partners veteran Eric Kallman and former Crispin, Porter + Bogusky president Steven Erich. The agency is lean by design to reduce overhead costs and allow for a more nimble process. And their focus on speed has proven impactful on both AOR and project work for companies such as General Mills, Chick-fil-A, Bolthouse Farms and New Belgium Brewery among others.

“Astral Tequila is unlike any other, it is a heritage tequila reminiscent of the way the spirit was made before the process was industrialized,” said Master Sommelier and Astral Founder, Richard Betts, “It’s been exciting for me to work with Jonathan and to share our dream with so many people.” The campaign will come to life through a mix of traditional and social media (@astraltequila) throughout 2018. The first three spots can be viewed at www.AstralTequila.com.

Founded by Master Sommelier Richard Betts, Astral Tequila is a unique spirit reminiscent of the way tequila was made 150 years ago before it was industrialized. Produced as a celebration of beautiful culture and spirit, Astral was awarded The New York Times’ highest rating, a Double Gold medal from San Francisco World Spirits Competition and named one of the “Top 10 Blanco Tequilas” by Food & Wine magazine. Prior to Astral Tequila, Richard Betts founded Sombra Mezcal, a Double Gold medal winning mezcal. www.AstralTequila.com Our mission is to build and develop the highest quality, bestin-class wine, and spirits brands that create a valuable and lasting connection with consumers. We do this through teamwork, innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and relentless perseverance. Our team thinks outside of the box and finds ways to obtain outstanding results through an entrepreneurial focus.

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