Yes, the next TWAS tasting is here:

When: Monday, June 22nd 2009
Where: Lark Distillery
Time: 7pm
Prices: $70 on the night.

This time we have a showdown - Scotch Whisky vs Bourbon Whiskey.

This knockout battle will be fought at the Lark Distillery, and leading the battle for each side, will be two highly skilled warriors, battling to make their spirit the ultimate winner.

Our Ambassadors are:

Aren Springvloed - Scotch Whisky

The story behind our Single Malt Whisky Brand Ambassador starts with a family journey through the vineyards of the Barossa Valley. As animpressionable eight year old, Aren Springvloed was sampling the finest wines that Australia had to offer ­declaring sweet sticky dessert wines “yummy”.  Thankfully, over the intervening years his taste and vocabulary have expanded somewhat; as an adult, two years spent living in Scotland and Ireland touring through Whisky distilleries grew a passion for Whisky.

Having worked as a Bartender throughout University, Aren eventually discovered that an appreciation of flavour in spirits combined well with Cocktail bartending, leading to success in competition in the UK. Returning home to Australia, Aren joined the bar team at Luxe Bar in Perth, and started transferring his passion for all things whisky to whomever would listen, conducting training sessions and consulting.  After a highly successful stint as an Account Manager for Maxxium, Aren now finds himself as the Maxxium Brand Ambassador for some of the most prestigious Whiskies in the World ­ The Famous Grouse, The Macallan and Highland Park.  He is actively involved in education of consumers and industry staff Australia wide, communicating his passions for Whisky and good drinking.

Jared Plummer - Bourbon

Jared Plummer has travelled the world seeking inspiration for his passion – drinks and bartending. Jared has joined Beam Global as Brand Ambassador, representing their premier Premium Bourbon portfolio.

Jared started his career in Perth where he worked for three years co-managing Luxe Bar, one of Australia’s most awarded venues. He has always had a passion for spirits, creating cocktails and training and this passion saw him move to Sydney to work for the Hugo’s Group in an assistant management capacity.

Throughout his time behind the bar, Jared has won numerous awards including most recently Australian Liquor Industry Award - Bartender of the Year for 2007, Bar Team of the Year – 2007, Bar of the Year 2007 – Hugos. As a result of these and many other award’s Jared has had the opportunity to travel the world over the past years which has seen him travel to many distilleries developing his passion even further with the craft of spirits making.

Jared is the first premium bourbon ambassador in Australia and his portfolio includes Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam Black, Jim Beam Small Batch, Bakers, Booker Noe’s and Basil Haydens. Jared’s role will see him travel across Australia and New Zealand, training and educating the trade, sales teams and consumers of the virtues of the premium bourbon category.

…

So - who is up for it? It will be an awesome night…

Please get in quick, as seats are limited, and you don’t want to miss out.

–

^{RSVP So Far:}

^{Richard Stewart
Jim Woodward
Justin Plunkett
William Skinner
Steve Townsend + Guest
Todd Wheeler
Bill Lark
Tim Duckett
Patrick Maguire
John Burgess + 3 Guests
Jon Kudelka
Erik Wapstra
Darren Sheen
Daimon Hill
Mark Murton + 6 Guests
Phiip Millin
Brad Gunn}

^{27 Total}

Scotch Whisky, Gatherings, General, Other Whisky | Comments Off

The BBC has attempted an unusual biofuel experiment on the whisky island of Islay.

TV’s wine expert Oz Clarke and Top Gear’s James May attempted to run a high performance racing car on a special distillation of Bruichladdich single malt whisky. The presenters were filming for Oz and James’ Great British Adventure, a series that follows on from their educational wine tours in French and Californian vineyards.

The presenters managed to achieve a speed of 60mph in 3.5 seconds after filling a Radical SR4 racing car with three litres of Bruichladdich’s quadruple-distilled X4 Islay Spirit.

“The exhaust smells much better than petrol”, said Duncan MacGillivray, Bruichladdich distillery manager. “It’s a sustainable biofuel; but at £26 a litre, the duty and VAT isn’t.

“Fuel here is a whopping £1.50 - £1.60 a litre, so it’s not a viable alternative just yet. The police even tried to breathalyse the car but fortunately they had the wrong type of tester.”

_{Article Courtesy of Evening Times}

Scotch Whisky, General | Comments Off

A tiny Scots brewery has developed a whisky-tinged stout that ranks among the world’s most expensive beers.

Makers BrewDog say the Paradox 1968 Islay Cask is matured in a Bowmore whisky barrel for a year, “infusing the stout with the essence and aroma” of whisky.

Two hundred bottles of the limited-edition stout are being released at £40 for 330ml.

Over half of the batch has already been pre-ordered by in-the-know beer connoisseurs from around the world.

BrewDog has been producing Paradox since the brewery launched in 2007 and the special stout has been released to mark their first birthday.

The Bowmore whisky first matured in the 1968 barrel sold for an impressive £1,500. Aberdeenshire-based BrewDog is run by lifelong friends James Watt and Martin Dickie, both 25. Managing director James said: “This beer totally rocks, it is completely unique and a world first on many levels.

“I can’t wait to raise a glass of this special batch of Paradox to toast BrewDog’s first birthday.

^{http://www.brewdog.com/} 

^{Article Courtesy of Daily and Sunday Express}

Scotch Whisky, General | Comments Off

From the “where is my bucket and straw department…”

Traffic was severely disrupted in the west end of Glasgow last night after a heavy goods vehicle carrying 15,000 litres of whisky in dozens of casks crashed shortly after leaving the Clyde Tunnel.

The east-bound carriageway of the Clydeside Expressway was closed for several hours after the vehicle toppled over as it left a slip-road at the Broomhill-Whiteinch interchange at Partick just after 6.30pm.

Three fire appliances, an ambulance and several police vehicles attended the scene. A spokesman for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service said foam was used to treat some spillage of whisky.

The tanker driver was treated for a head injury before being taken by ambulance to the city’s Southern General Hospital. His injury was not believed to be life-threatening.

The whisky casks were being transported by a private haulage firm on behalf of Chivas Bros from its site in Dalmuir to Mulben in Speyside.

As the lorry lost its balance, the spirit that it was carrying flooded across the road, leaving firefighters the task of mopping it up.

^{Article Courtesy of The Herald}

Scotch Whisky, General | Comments Off

A single rare bottle of George Washington’s Distillery Straight Rye Whiskey signed by former president George H.W. Bush, fetched $35,000 for Historic Mount Vernon’s educational programs at a gala auction on the mansion grounds last night sponsored by the Distilled Spirits Council.

The winning bidder was John R. Frank, Vice Chairman of Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc. of New Rochelle, NY, whose company imports JÄGERMEISTER and Tommy Bahama Rum, and developed the luxury vodka Grey Goose.

The bottle of George Washington’s Straight Rye whiskey, number five of a limited edition of 24 bottles, was the first ever made at the distillery of one President and signed by another. It was produced on October 21, 2003 on the distillery grounds by a team of master distillers according to the historic recipe found in George Washington’s mansion records, and hand-bottled on September 26, 2006.

“There has been no better way to highlight the rich heritage of distilling in America and to increase cultural acceptance of the industry than by supporting the George Washington’s Distillery,” said Frank.

The Council’s annual heritage dinner on the lawn at Mount Vernon, supported by the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, raised in total over $300,000 to support Mount Vernon’s education programs and was attended by over 700 Washington notables including the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and over 30 members of Congress.

Separately, the distilled spirits industry has donated over $2.1 million for the archaeology and reconstruction of the first President’s distillery, which is now open to the public from April through October, and is the only site in North America to accurately showcase 18th century distilling techniques. Britain’s Prince Andrew cut the ribbon at the distillery dedication ceremony in the Fall of 2006, where the rare whiskey was first bottled.

American Whisk(e)y, General | Comments Off