I regularly have the conversation about bringing a new product to the Las Vegas market and can I help them. The best advice I could give anyone for years was to skip Las Vegas and Nevada and go straight to Colorado. That may not be the advice I give soon. In 2016 Colorado passed Senate Bill 197. Since prohibition, Colorado only allowed one full-strength alcohol license per licensee, which effectively kept any local chains like Twins and Spec’s that dominate the Texas landscape or the Bevmo’s of California from rising in Colorado and now has barred national competition like Total […]
Read MoreThe International Whisky Competition moves to Las Vegas
The 8th annual International Whisky Competition was held in Las Vegas on May 3, 4, 5. All whisky are sampled double blind so the participants don’t know anything about the whisky in the glasses except what they see, taste and smell in the glasses. The whiskys are rated on a 100 point scale that is a total score from 15 sensory categories. This year’s overall winner is Ardbeg Kelpie Committee Exclusive which scored an astonishing 97.3 Full results available at: https://www.whiskycompetition.com/2017-results/
Read MoreA new distributor gives small brands an even footing
In an era of craft everything, how do small startup brands find traction in a marketplace dominated by big brands with enormous advertising budgets? A common problem in the restaurant industry is alcohol buyers know what they want but no idea who they can buy it from. Also many smaller restaurants struggle to meet prohibitive minimums. LibDib seeks to solve all of these problems in one online platform. Only operational now in California and New York, LibDib is the first online app to meet the qualifications as an alcohol distributor in a three tier system in the U.S. Because […]
Read MoreMaster Distiller of the Year 2017 Named
Dr. Bill Lumsden has been on quite a run. Named Master Distiller of the year for 2016 by the International Whisky Competition on the strength of the magnificent Glenmorangie Signet (97 points) and he repeated again in 2017 by winning whisky of the year for his Ardbeg Kelpie Committee Exclusive. It is an amazing feat to blend incredible unpeated whisky as well as deliciously balanced heavily peated whisky. His whiskies do great credit to the distilleries of both Islay and the Northern Highlands.
Read MoreIWC Top Whisky of the Year
Ardbeg Kelpie Committee Exclusive (97.3 pts) Kelpie is this year’s limited release from Ardbeg. In 2004 Ardbeg began producing limited distiller’s editions. The Committee Exclusives are only for the Ardbeg Committee club members, but Ardbeg is releasing a version of the Kelpie to the general public. Both versions are non-chill filtered but the Committee Exclusive is bottled at 51.7% ABV, but the public release is blended at 46%. Both will be heavily peated in the finest Ardbeg tradition. Get your bottles soon. All of the limited editions from Arbeg always sell out and are highly sought after under normal circumstances. […]
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