Brown-Forman goes north of the border

/ / Bourbon, Other Whisk(e)ys, Richard's Blog

Brown-Forman, makers of Canadian Mist are coming out with a new Canadian whisky. Collingwood is “mellowed” using maple wood. Here is the press release Brown-Forman sent over:

Brown-Forman Releases Collingwood Canadian Whisky
Introducing the only toasted Maplewood mellowed Canadian whisky

February 14, 2011, Louisville, Ky. – Brown-Forman announces the release of Collingwood, a new premium Canadian whisky which is set to hit shelves in February. Collingwood will be the only Maplewood mellowed Canadian whisky available on the market.

Every batch of Collingwood starts with the finest Canadian grains, pure spring water from Ontario’s Georgian Bay and its very own, hand-crafted, Maplewood mellowing process. The whisky is triple distilled for smoothness and then matured in white oak barrels. In Collingwood’s unique finishing step, the whisky rests with toasted Maplewood to complete its smooth character.

“By now, people have figured out fancy bags and bottles don’t make great whisky, it’s what’s inside that counts,” said Brown-Forman Master Distiller Chris Morris. “With passion and perseverance, we set out to create nothing short of the smoothest Canadian whisky ever made. Collingwood has arrived to set the new standard for smoothness and to revolutionize the Canadian whisky category.”

The gentle Maplewood mellowing process Collingwood undergoes is something unique in the Canadian Whisky category. It has a refined character that can be enjoyed on the rocks or mixed in a whisky cocktail.

Collingwood’s unique over-cap, flask shaped package was created by the media & design group at Brown-Forman based in Louisville, Kentucky.

“The brand objective was to communicate and personify smoothness to the discerning whisky drinker,” said Webb Blevins, Global Creative Director at Brown-Forman. “We believe Collingwood is the smoothest whisky ever made, and because of this, we wanted the package to really show off the liquid inside. We tried to immediately communicate premium without shouting or trying to impress, because Collingwood is for those who have nothing to prove to anyone but themselves.”

Collingwood will launch an ad campaign to coincide with the product’s release in several trade magazines and out of home billboards in launch markets. Available in Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana and Texas initially, more markets will be added later in 2011. Each bottle is presented at 80 proof with a suggested retail price of $26.99 for a 750ml bottle.

The good folks at Brown-Forman are sending over review samples of Collingwood and the new Early Times bourbon. I will post reviews as soon as I can.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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Balvenie Golden Cask

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

The Balvenie Golden Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 14 Years
47.5% ABV/95 Proof
$60 to $65
Travel Retail Exclusive
Website

What the Distillery Says:
“characterised by fruity sweetness and subtle spice”

In the crafting of GoldenCask, Balvenie is carefully aged for many years in traditional oak whisky casks and then transferred into barrels that had previously held golden Caribbean rum for a final period of maturation.

Characterised by fruity sweetness and subtle spice, The Balvenie GoldenCask is only available in Duty Free and is non chill-filtered and bottled at a strength of 47.5% abv.

NOSE: Light and fruity with notes of vanilla and honey. Delicate layers of orange and subtle flora add complexity.
TASTE: Sweet and spicy with a beautiful syrupiness. Chocolate orange and vanilla oak combine with hints of aniseed and liquorice.
FINISH: Long, dry and oaky.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Very light with lots of creamy honey fruit notes that remind me of cognac. Maybe scotch + rum = cognac? (I’m kidding!)
Palate: There is just a hint of sweetness. I’m mostly picking up a spicy smokiness. That’s not really what I expected from a rum cask finished scotch.
Finish: The finish is long with lots of smoky oak.
Comments: I don’t get out of the country too much. I’m not the international man of mystery the internet would lead you to believe. When I do I try to look for travel retail bottlings. A lot of them really are nothing special but I’m sucked in by the exclusivity of only being able to buy them in travel retail. This particular bottling is nice. I enjoy it from time to time but I was really hoping for a little more sweetness. Something closer to the Havana Reserve Glenfiddich 21 Year Old. I would’ve recommended that you pick up a bottle last year but with the new 14 Year old Caribbean Rum Cask as part of their standard line I’m not so sure anymore. I’ll have to grab a bottle and do a side by side to see if this is really just the same thing with 4.5% extra alcohol.
Rating: Stands Out

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Balvenie Doublewood

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside / ,

The Balvenie Doublewood Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years
43% ABV
$37 to $42
Widely available around the world
Website

What the Distillery Says:
“characterised by rich honey sweetness and a delicate layer of sherry”

The Balvenie DoubleWood is a 12 year old single malt which gains its distinctive character from being matured in two woods. Over its period of maturation it is transferred from a traditional oak whisky cask to a first fill European oak sherry cask. Each stage lends different qualities to the resulting single malt ~ the traditional casks soften and add character, whilst the sherry wood brings depth and fullness of flavour.

NOSE: Sweet fruit and Oloroso sherry notes, layered with honey and vanilla.
TASTE: Smooth and mellow with beautifully combined flavours ~ nutty sweetness, cinnamon spiciness and a delicately proportioned layer of sherry.
FINISH: Long and warming.

What Richard Says:
Nose: I get a lot of honey and fruity notes but somehow I’m missing the vanilla and sherry.
Palate: Very smooth. Sweet at the start and then it settles into notes of oak, oranges, and hazelnuts.
Finish: The finish is as smooth at the palate and very warm. It’s a little more tart and bitter on the finish though.
Comments: I really like this particular dram, especially under the $40 price point. I think it’s a great value dram and shows great craftsmanship coming out of William Grant & Sons.
Rating: Stands Out, Great Value

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February Administrative Update

/ / Richard's Blog

Only the first week of February and I’m already breaking my resolution. Well, the delay of our February reviews is beyond my control. I have a young daughter who’s in daycare. For those who don’t know, daycares are breeding grounds for every version of the common cold. As a result, my nose and palate were out of action all last week. I plan to have a review of Balvenie 12 Year Old Doublewood out by mid week and a Travel Retail version of Balvenie out by Friday. February’s theme is William Grant and Sons. We’ll be posting reviews of a few select Balvenie and Glenfiddich drams this month.

On an administrative note, you may have noticed that Matt’s been a little quiet the last few weeks. His work schedule among other things are taking up a good bit of his time. Unfortunately, running the website doesn’t pay the bills. 🙂 I’ll be holding down the fort and Matt will post when he can for a short while until things calm back down. The content will keep coming on a normal schedule. The only thing I ask is that if you are a reader, marketer, producer, or distributor and have a pertinent communication please copy me on it too so that we can make sure you get a response as quickly as possible.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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New U.S. Releases: January 2011

/ / Bourbon, Scottish Whisky

A new year and some new whiskey coming our way. January is typically a little light on new releases but anything better than the drought we saw in November and December. Here are the two we heard about this month.

Arran Machrie Moor
ABV: 46%
Price: $60
Timeframe: Early 2011
Matt mentioned this a couple of weeks ago. This will be the first peated single malt coming from Arran. Only 9,000 bottles are included in this initial release.

Evan Williams 2001 Vintage
ABV: 43.3%
Price: $26
Timeframe: Early 2011
I always look forward to this annual release. I really enjoyed the 2000 vintage last year. I can’t wait to try this one.

As always, if you heard of something we missed please let us know.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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