18-year old Lagavulin aged in European oak

The Lagavulin 2013 special festival bottling, is amde from whisky distilled in 1995, which has been aged in ex European Oak Sherry Butts, and was personally selected by Lagavulin warehouseman Iain McArthur.

Triple-matured Caol Ila

This year’s Caol Ila festival bottling  is a little special and unusual, explains distillery manager Billy Stitchell, who personally selected the whisky:

“Spirit distilled in 1998 has been triple-cask matured. For 12 years it rested in a combination of Refill Butts, Hogsheads and Barrels. The vatted whisky was then allowed to mature for several months in active hogshead casks to impart a spicy/oaky note to the existing delicate Caol Ila smoke. Finally it was treated to a final gentle maturation in European oak.”

Volumes and prices

Bottles will be on sale to individual visitors at the distilleries priced  at £99. The Lagavulin festival bottling goes on sale at the distillery at 10:00 am on Saturday 25 May (Lagavulin open day); the Caol Ila bottling goes on sale at 10:00 am at the distillery on Monday 27 May -  in both cases with an allocation of two bottles per customer.

Each release has been bottled at natural cask strength and comes in limited editions of 3,000  individually-numbered bottles.

The Islay Festival Distillery Days 2013 will run from 25th May until 1st June.

Special Islay Festival Bottlings Of Caol Ila And Lagavulin

Via WhiskyIntelligence

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Sartorial Life - Style with Substance

In particular suede is one of those materials that most of us love especially for spring and summer but can be a chore to care for.

A staple of suede shoe care that is well know is Omni’Nettoyant from the French brand Saphir but it’s a multi step process that can take awhile to complete. That’s why I thought I’d pass on the news when I saw how effective and easy to use Nano Protector was. Prepare to be astonished!

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Sartorial Life - Style with Substance

The Apolis model of “Advocacy Through Industry” is a revolutionary way to harness the power of business to create social change. This model is founded on the simple idea that people can live better lives when they are given equal access to the global marketplace.

The Uganda Project is a micro-economic program employing formerly displaced Ugandans in the rebuilding of the once-strong Ugandan cotton business.

Price: $396 USD (Only available in black)

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Sartorial Life - Style with Substance

This new offering is called Red Fleece is a more youthful take on the classic Brooks style as defined by slimmer proportions and a more eclectic sensibility.

That is all well and good but since it has been a few years since Brooks Brothers introduced slim fit and extra slim fit clothing across their entire range is there really anything new about Red Fleece besides re-branding for a younger customer? On the website the labels in the clothes don’t even say Red Fleece which seems somewhat contrary to the idea of a collection.

Don’t get wrong there are some interesting items here (see pics below) but the overall presentation that binds these items as a collection seems a little off the mark.

Arm Stripe Track Jacket $168.00

Bold Tattersall Sport Shirt $79.50

Piped Jersey Polo $59.59

Casual Parka $298.00

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Sartorial Life - Style with Substance

Ardbog follows the highly acclaimed 2012 Limited Edition Ardbeg Galileo, which scooped the ‘World’s Best Single Malt’ at the World Whisky Awards 2013.

Ardbeg – the world’s peatiest whisky* and four-time winner of World’s Best Whisky awards– will launch the single malt on 1 June, named “Ardbog Day” this year in a nod to Ardbeg’s latest release.

Ardbog Day is set to take place at Ardbeg’s distillery on the south coast of Islay. And Ardbeg is calling on its 85,000 fans from 130 countries worldwide to visit Scotland and compete in such eclectic events as bog welly tossing, peat-tasting and even organoleptic orienteering tasting.

The Islay Festival of Malt and Music (the Feis Ile) – of which Ardbog Day marks the culmination – runs from 26 May to 1 June 2013. It has become a key date in the calendar of malt whisky aficionados around the world, with thousands of them making the trip to the Island of Islay annually.

The Ardbeg Distillery is also organising ‘Ardbog Day’ parties around the world for those who cannot make the annual pilgrimage to Islay and their favourite distillery, with gatherings taking place from San Francisco to Sydney to the centre of London.

Distillery Manager Michael Heads said: “Every year we welcome hundreds of Ardbeg fans from all over the world to the distillery to have a lot of fun, and we’re hoping this year will be no different.

“Bog welly tossing we’ve done before, but organoleptic orienteering tasting – where participants use their navigational skills to find the manager and his team at each control point and savour some extraordinary drams – now that should be interesting!”

The Limited Edition Ardbog will be launched at Ardbog Day. It is bottled at 52.1% ABV and will be available from www.ardbeg.com.

Dr Bill Lumsden, Director of Distillation and Whisky Creation, explains: “The overall combination of effects in Ardbog truly conjures up the impression of ancient, primeval, salty peat bogs, but reassuringly this is combined with some classic, intense Ardbeg notes of leather, toffee and smoke.

“As with all Ardbeg it is about getting the balance of many flavours right so others such as mocha coffee, cloves and even anchovies play their part!”

Ardbog is matured for ten years in traditional American oak ex-bourbon barrels and rare ex-Spanish Manzanilla sherry butts. This gives Ardbog a distinctively salty texture accentuating the salty, briny flavours already prevalent in the whisky.

Dr Bill Lumsden continues: “Every year we try to come up with something interesting and enticing for our Ardbeg fans, and we have for years laid down a range of experiments which may or may not see the light of day!

“Ardbog is one such experiment in that it combines two different styles of maturation to create a new flavour experience.

“At its heart our hallmark smoky yet fruity and floral spirit has been matured in Spanish ex-Manzanilla sherry casks for ten years, which has then been wrapped with traditional Ardbeg of the same age that is matured in American ex-bourbon oak casks. The Manzanilla maturation weaves salty flavours through the whisky which is then balanced with the maple syrup creaminess of the first-fill ex-bourbon casks.”

“This dichotomy of savoury and sweet flavours underlines Ardbeg’s status as the most complex of all the Islay Malts.”

In recent years Ardbeg has spread the word about its annual celebration through its worldwide fan club, the Ardbeg Committee, which today numbers over 85,000 members in 130 countries. To sign up to become a Committee member, log on to www.ardbeg.com 

Notes:

Ardbog and Ardbog Day

Ardbog is non chill-filtered for extra texture and mouth feel.

Ardbog Day will be celebrated at the distillery on Saturday 1 June 2013 and at participating Ardbeg Embassies around the world. For full details go to www.ardbeg.com

Ardbog Taste Notes

Aroma

Deep, enticing waves of pecan nuts, salty toffee & caramels combine with fudge, leather and with a distinct whiff of herbs, lavender and violets. The smoke is soft and aromatic, and is interwoven with salty, savoury notes, such as Iberico ham and olives.

The addition of water brings forth herbal, perfumed notes, smoked rhubarb, aged balsamic vinegar and some salty, ‘graphite’ notes reminding you of the Manzanilla cask element.

Taste

A full, oily/tingly mouth feel leads into a powerful, salty, savoury burst of flavours including salted cashews and peanuts, clove, aniseed flavoured toffee, green olives and a curious hint of anchovy.

Finish

A long, lingering aftertaste, in which the classic Ardbeg sweetness (like a hint of maple syrup) is kept in check by oak tannins, clove and coffee grounds.

Via WhiskyIntelligence

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Sartorial Life - Style with Substance

What I decided on was the three piece Chatsworth chrome set from Edwin Jagger whose products are made by skilled craftsmen in Sheffield, an area synonymous with quality metalwork since the Georgian period. They did offer a four piece set which comes with a shaving bowl but I found this unnecessary as I am very pleased with the Mühle porcelain shaving bowl I’ve been using for a few years.

The Chatsworth range particularly in chrome, is quite striking and as I found out upon opening this well presented set, extremely sturdy. The reason for this is that the set is made using solid turned, hand polished brass which has then been triple plated with copper, nickel and blue white chrome resulting in a particularly appealing finish.

The synthetic fill brush is exceptional, a perfect blend between soft and firm with a nice amount of spring to the fibre. It whips up a lather in no time and has not shown any sign of loose bristles. The razor when is compatible with the Gillette Mach III system, seems well balanced a glides very nicely over the face.

The only small issue I will bring up is with the double wire stand which is minutely off-kilter. This only becomes noticeable when taking off and putting on the robust brush. The leveling issue however small I feel is worth noting and may be nothing more than the slight differences that result from an item that is handmade. All in all a very nice shaving set that I would recommend.

This Edwin Jagger set was purchased through The English Shaving Company for £178.00 (before VAT).

Edwin Jagger chrome Chatsworth shaving set with a Parian bust of George Frideric Handel.

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Sartorial Life - Style with Substance

The black zirconium oxide ceramic dial is complemented by a matching ceramic 44.25 mm case with a brushed and polished ceramic casebody that features 18K white gold applied indexes as well as two blackened sub-dials. This unique timepiece is presented on a highly durable black Cordura fabric strap complete with a black ceramic buckle.

The “Dark Side of the Moon” Speedmaster is powered by the in-house Omega Co-Axial calibre 9300 movement and is equipped with a Si14 silicon balance spring.

This new Speedmaster will make its debut at Baselworld 2013.

“Dark Side of the Moon” Black Ceramic Omega Speedmaster

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Sartorial Life - Style with Substance

Three sizes are available including a 30″,21″ and 18″ case that are made from from vulcanised fibreboard and accented with chocolate leather trim and brass fittings. The luggage is made in the U.K. and ranges in price from £795.00-£1,195.00 per case (including VAT).

The choice of British Racing Green certainly lends a somewhat retro feel to these cases that may not appeal to some and even though it would not be my first pick in terms of colour, the look has certainly grown on me and will combine very well with navy or grey clothing.

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Sartorial Life - Style with Substance

The single malt whisky was matured for the full 10 years in American oak casks of different ages with the older small wood contributing the exceptional smoothness of the whisky while also imparting a slight sweetness to it.  It is a full-bodied and well-rounded whisky with a hint of peat and estery notes that add a slightly sweet fragrance hinting of dried fruit and fudge.

With only 8000 bottles coming on the market in October last year, you might just be lucky enough to find a bottle at liquor outlets and so make this exceptional whisky part of your collection.

The Three Ships range of whiskies is produced by master distiller Andy Watts at The James Sedgwick Distillery, situated in Wellington in the shadow of the Cape’s Drakenstein Mountains. The distillery was established in 1886 and over the past two decades underwent several upgrades which transformed it into a state-of-the-art distillery, the only one in Africa. The range consists of Three Ships Select, Three Ships 5-year-old Premium Select, Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish and the limited-edition Three Ships 10-year-old Single Malt Whisky.

The Three Ships 10-year-old Single Malt is available from fine liquor outlets and retails for about R230.

Limited edition Three Ships 10 year old single malt whisky

Via WhiskyIntelligence

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Sartorial Life - Style with Substance

Berg & Berg basketweave silk pocket squares are handmade in Italy and feature handrolled edges. They are sized at 33cm x 33cm. The company was started in 2009 by Karin & Mathias Berg with the aim of creating classic timeless products using the finest materials.

Price: €20.80

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Sartorial Life - Style with Substance