In November, Master of Malt announced their whisky blending service, and initially you had to buy a minimum of 6 bottles. Well, due to the popularity of the service they’ve reduced the minimum to just one! So here is the revised press release from the guys at Master of Malt.

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In late November 2011, Master of Malt launched the Blend Your Own Whisky service. Whisky lovers can now visit the Blend Your Own Whisky page and literally create a blended whisky of their very own using a set of sliders to adjust the quantities of 10 different “ingredients”.

Once this is done, the whisky’s label can be personalised with a name and then ordered. It couldn’t be simpler…

The service has become a huge success almost overnight, with hundreds of whisky lovers already using it. In fact, it has now become so popular that Master of Malt have reduced the minimum order from a case of 6, down to just one bottle! This means you can now create your very own, custom blended whisky and order a single bottle from as little as £33.58!

For years, only a very select few ever had the opportunity to blend their own whisky, but now Master of Malt has created a simple, easy-to-use webpage allowing anyone to try their hand at whisky blending! These custom blends make the ultimate gift for friends and family. It is also perfect for anyone who just can’t find a blended whisky they really like, because they can now make their own Scotch as sweet, smoky, peaty or fruity as they could ever wish!

To help create the blend, Master of Malt is also selling a Home Blending Kit, which contains samples of each of the 10 different blending whiskies (including malt and grain “base whiskies”, various single malts for the core of the blend, and some very old, very rare top-dressers). The kit also contains measuring equipment, a conical flask and a tasting glass to allow you to perfect your recipe before having it made up.

Simply visit www.masterofmalt.com/blend-your-own-whisky for more details.

About Master of Malt

• Established in 1985
• One of the UK’s leading Online Whisky Merchants, with a huge range of whiskies, rum, brandies, gins, cocktails and other fine spirits.
• UK Next Day Delivery from £6.95

Follow Master of Malt

• On Twitter: @MasterOfMalt
• On Facebook: MasterOfMalt

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I have to admit this sounds like a great idea and could be an ideal Christmas present for yourself
(or for a whisky fan you know if you’re that confident of your blending skills!)

Don’t forget you can follow me on Facebook too…MoIppai

At the end of September the Kobe Regatta and Athletic Club (KR&C) held their first annual Sannomiya Craft Beer Tasting Festival in the garden of their main building.

Over 12 Japanese craft beers were on offer throughout the day and in the short time I was there I tried about 6 of them.

There were several live bands, a kids play area, food and a charity raffle for the Red Cross Japan and the International Disaster Relief Organization Japan.

I won a t-shirt! – Unfortunately it was too small, so I passed it on to a charity flea market at our local supermarket.

Unlike some beer festivals this was free entry and you just bought tickets for the number of beers you wanted to try. This was a result, as my wife doesn’t drink beer so (rightly) refuses to go to festivals and pay ¥3000 to watch other people get drunk!
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Hot on the heels of their Movember 2011 Charity whiskey, Master of Malt announce a spiced rum addition to their line up, “Rumbullion!“.

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Master of Malt are proud to announce the release of an intensely spiced, old-fashioned rum from Professor Cornelius Ampleforth. Rumbullion! is one of the most cockle-warming spiced rums on the market.

Based on a blend of fine, high proof Caribbean rum, Rumbullion! is made using luxuriously creamy, sweet Madagascan vanilla, and a generous handful of zesty orange rind. Finally, fresh cinnamon and cloves are added, and just a hint of cardamom.

The recipe was loosely based on old-fashioned spiced maritime rums, with a huge level of heart-warming spiciness. The result is a very rich, full-bodied spiced rum that harkens back many years to the days of pirates and merchant men.

Each bottle is wrapped in crinkled brown paper, featuring a print of a hand-drawn illustration depicting an old naval grog tub, bearing the words “The Queen, God Bless Her”. The bottle necks are wrapped with twine, and finally each bottle is individually dipped in black sealing wax.

Superb when served neat, Rumbullion! also works brilliantly with a squeeze of fresh lime, or as a long drink with old-fashioned cola and plenty of ice.

You can buy Rumbullion! from Master of Malt for £32.95.

Tasting Notes

Nose : A fabulously decadent nose of intense, sweet vanilla and flamed orange zest. The cardamom makes itself known by offering up an evocative suggestion of old-fashioned cola, and to this the cloves bring out a deep, dark complexity. Yet more sweetness comes from the juicy, fresh cinnamon, which melds beautifully with a core of the essential oils of Seville orange peel.

Palate : At once a fabulous mix of thick cut bitter orange marmalade and tingling, zinging spices. Hints of Manuka honey and mouth-watering cinnamon form its heart, with molasses, candy floss, toffee apples, crème brûlée and clove-studded oranges.

Finish : A long finish, with tongue-prickling spices, and a stunning degree of freshness as the cinnamon, orange and creamy, sweet vanilla coat the palate for minutes.

Overall : Rich and profoundly intense, this is a rum to see you through the coldest months.

About Master of Malt

• Established in 1985
• One of the UK’s leading Online Whisky Merchants, with a huge range of whiskies, rum, brandies, gins, cocktails and other fine spirits.
• UK Next Day Delivery from £6.95

Follow Master of Malt

• On Twitter: @MasterOfMalt
• On Facebook: MasterOfMalt

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Don’t forget you can follow me on Facebook too…MoIppai

A few days ago Suntory started accepting orders for a very special limited edition bottling of their “Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky“.

This whisky has been aged more than 50 years and is selling for the very reasonable (if you’re idea of reasonable is ridiculously expensive) price of ¥1,000,000 (about US$13,000)!

The whisky is appropriately called “Yamazaki Single Malt 50-Year-Old Whisky” and is limited to 150 bottles.

Unfortunately, in case you did have ¥1 million spare, they sold out in 24 hours.

Oh well, maybe next time.

Just the other day a sample dram of the special Movember 2011 Charity bottling of a 9 year old Highland Single Malt from Glenfarclas and Master of Malt arrived in my post box.
I haven’t tried it yet, but here’s what Master of Malt have to say about it…

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Master of Malt teams up with Glenfarclas for Movember 2011

Online retailer and independent bottler Master of Malt has teamed up with the legendary Scotch whisky distillery, Glenfarclas, to release a very special Charity bottling to raise funds for Movember UK – a charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for men’s health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer.
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